were elected ordinary members, and Mr John Eaton Reid a life member, of the Society.

SPECIMENS EXHIBITED.

Mr John M. Campbell exhibited specimens of the Penguin, Spheniscus demersus, Linn., with its eggs, and the Crested Penguin, Eudyptes cataractes (Gmelin), from Patagonia. Mr Campbell gave some interesting notes on the history and habits of these aquatic fowls, as he had observed them in South America, in many parts of which they are found in immense numbers. During the breeding season they frequent the land, where they may be seen in large flocks, running with great rapidity in an erect position. They burrow like rabbits, and swim very quickly, their webbed feet, assisted by their fin-like short wings, enabling them to go through the water with great speed.

Mr Peter Cameron exhibited Sirex melanocerus, Thoms., a species not hitherto found in Britain. It was taken at Crewe, where it had probably been introduced in railway sleepers or pit timber. Also, Taxonus fletcheri, Cam., a new species discovered last year by Mr J. E. Fletcher of Worcester, near that place. It comes near to Taxonus glabratis, but is much smaller, and is readily recognised by having the collar white.

The Secretary exhibited a small collection of plants received from Canada, which contained a number of species widely prevalent there, but comparatively rare here. Amongst these were specimens of Linnaea borealis, from Quebec and Lake Superior, in which districts it seems to be generally diffused, while in this country it is chiefly found in the northern counties. This plant must always be regarded with interest, having been selected by the great naturalist to bear his name, and corresponding as it does in its humble and unpretentious growth with the character of the "Immortal Swede." Aconitum Napellus, although found generally in gardens here, is not considered naturalized. It is quite common in Canada everywhere, the woods and fields being brilliant with its handsome blue flowers. Although yielding a valuable medicine, the roots are a deadly poison, and are sometimes mistaken for those of a culinary plant, which they closely resemble, the partaking of them being often followed by fatal effects. Polystichum Lonchitis, a strictly northern fern, seems to be common also. Potentilla tridentata, of the British flora, stated to have been found

by Don, in Clova, though this has not been confirmed. Oxalis corniculata finds a place in the Clydesdale flora, the authority being Hopkirk, who gives Barncluith as its station, but it has not been found by any one else. There were other species in the collection which, although not so noteworthy as the foregoing, are by no means common here, such as Melilotus officinalis, Sagittaria sagittifolia, Lonicera caprifolium, Cynoglossum officinale, Lycopodium annotinum, etc. There were also a number of specimens belonging to orders which are unknown here, and others of genera corresponding to ours, but of species of which we have no representative, and which have no recognised place in our lists. Among these were fine specimens of Adiantum pedatum, belonging to a genus only found in warm or sub-tropical countries. Adiantum Capillus-Veneris is the only one out of 62 species that is found in Britain, and that only in the southern counties. Canada, which is in a lower latitude than the British islands, has a more rigid winter, but in summer the heat is almost tropical, and Adiantum pedatum is as common in the woods and fields as the grasses are with us.

PAPERS READ.

I.-On Chitonellus, recent and fossil. By Mr JOHN YOUNG, F.G.S. Mr Young stated that in the valuable collection of natural history objects recently presented by Dr Allen Thomson to the Hunterian Museum, he was much gratified to find a fine specimen of a recent Chitonellus preserved in spirits, which showed in a very satisfactory manner the arrangement of the eight plates which are inserted in the mantle of the animal. Chitonellus forms a subgenus of the Chitonidae, a family of molluscs, in which the shell is composed of eight imbricating plates, inserted in an overlapping series in the coriaceous mantle by means of projecting processes on the plates termed apophyses. The plates in the various species of Chitons differ considerably in form, as well as in their external sculpturing, and these differences constitute the distinctions. between the several sub-genera and species. Of the true Chitons more than two hundred and fifty living species are known, and they are found in all seas throughout the world, ranging from the rocks at low water to depths of from 10 to 25 fathoms; but, according to Professor E. Forbes, some of the British species are found at a depth of 100 fathoms. The family of the Chitonidae

is found in a fossil state so far back as the Silurian period, thirtyseven species being known. Until the discovery of the specimens now exhibited, which he (Mr Young) had found in the lower limestone shales at Craigenglen, Campsie, no fossil specimens of the sub-genus Chitonellus had been recorded for Scotland. The recent living representatives of this sub-genus, of which ten species are known, are said to be found in the fissures of coral rock, and their present distribution is in the seas of the West Indies, Western Africa, the Philippines, Australia, the Pacific, and Panama. It is interesting, therefore, to find that they have lived so far back in time as in the Carboniferous seas of Scotland, and so far away from their present habitats; although it does appear to be somewhat strange that remains of true Chitonelli have not yet been detected in any strata of the several formations that intervene between the Carboniferous and the recent period. This organism seems never to have been abundant, and the conditions under which it lived, in most cases in the midst of coral reefs, may have been unfavourable to its after preservation. The beds in Craigenglen in which these fossils are found are shales alternating with a bed of Lithodendron junceum and L. fasiculatum, corals which were the representatives of reefbuilding forms during the Carboniferous limestone period, and in the fissures of which the Chitonellus may have found a suitable habitat in this early stage of its existence. Chitonellus differs from the true Chitons in the much smaller size of the plates, and in the small portion of the plate exposed. This is well seen in Dr Thomson's specimen, which is about 3 inches in length and of an inch in diameter. The animal is slug-like, and has the small plates inserted in the mantle at increasingly wider intervals as they extend from the anterior to the posterior end, where they are widest apart. The exposed portion of the plate is seen to be rather less than of an inch in length, the inserted portion being narrow, and having the apophyses close together. In these characters the recent and fossil species agree very closely. For the sake of comparison, Mr Young had mounted the plates of another species, Chitonellus striatus. These were obtained from a dried and much-shrivelled specimen in the Hunterian Museum, and they likewise show how closely the recent and fossil species are related to one another. Two species of Chitonellus have been obtained from the shales of Craigenglen, which still continues,

notwithstanding the close examination of other limestone shales, to be the only locality which has yielded these interesting remains. Mr J. W. Kirkby has identified and described the species, naming them Chitonellus Youngianus and C. subquadratus respectively (Geol. Mag., 1867). Of the latter, only one plate has been found, but it is perfect and in fine preservation. The exposed portion of the plate has been small, showing a heartshaped ornament, which terminates in two prong-like ridges. Of C. Youngianus, four plates have been obtained; two are perfect and in fine preservation, the other two have parts of the inserted ends broken away. The exposed portion of the plates in this species is of an oval form, slightly raised, and surrounded by a narrow tuberculated border and radiating striae. Mr Kirkby, in the description referred to, says: "There are other palaeozoic Chitons which have been referred to the genus Chitonellus, such as C. Barrandeanus (De Ryckholt), of the Carboniferous rocks of Belgium; C. antiquus (Howse), and C. Hancockianus (Kirkby), of the Permian strata of Durham; but I do not know of any that appear to so nearly approach the recent Chitonelli as the species under notice." In the second edition of Dr S. P. Woodward's "Manual of Recent and Fossil Shells," only the species found in the Carboniferous rocks of Scotland are admitted as being true Chitonelli by the editor. Plates of other species referred to the true Chitonidae have been found in the limestone shales of one or two localities in the West of Scotland, but are, however, very rare organisms. The species which have been noted are Chiton gemmatus (De Koninck), Gallowhill, Strathaven; C. humilis (Kirkby), Robroyston, Lanarkshire; C. Burrowianus (Kirkby), Orchard, Renfrewshire; and a few undetermined plates, probably of other species.

II.-Notes on the state of Vegetation in the Public Parks, and Observations regarding the Weather, etc., during last year (1877). By Mr DUNCAN M'LELLAN, Superintendent of Parks.

The writer stated that, on reviewing the changeable character of the previous year, it would be at once perceived that it was a remarkable one in many respects. During the months of January and February there were only 9 dry days, as compared with 25 in the corresponding months of 1876. This was a very unsatisfactory beginning, and presented anything but a bright

aspect. The weather, however, underwent a favourable change during March, April, and May, so that vegetation looked brighter; but it required a strong reaction to make up the leeway of the previous month. June was dry and warm, hence plants and flowers made rapid growth; but all expectations were blighted in July and August, which were two of the wettest summer months that have been experienced for many years. During these months there were only 13 dry days, as compared with 38 in the same months of 1876. The blooms which had been formed during a favourable fortnight in June never had an opportunity of expanding, and owing to the absence of sunshine and the prevalence of damp weather, the majority of them wasted away. Violas were the only flowers which seemed to thrive with the wet, geraniums, calceolarias, etc., making no show whatever. In September there was a continuance of good harvest weather, but it came too late in the season. Not only in the flower garden, but in the fields, this was severely felt, the farmers having a late and a poor harvest, and in many cases the crops were not worth the trouble of gathering. The closing months were like too many of their predecessors, and the year ended as it had begun, there being only 10 dry days during November and December, against 30 in the corresponding period of 1876. The total rainfall for 1877 amounted to 48-03, against 37-31 in the previous year, showing the marked increase of nearly a foot of water. The mean temperature was much the same as in 1876, viz., 40·50, as against 40. The lowest point to which the thermometer fell was 13 degrees, on the 27th February; the highest point it reached was on the 14th and 16th of June, when it stood at 79 degrees in the shade. The number of dry days last year was 131, the number in the previous year was 195, showing a difference of 64 days. Snow fell on three days during January, on the 12th, 28th, and 29th, to the extent of fully four inches. During February it snowed only on one day, but the quantity that fell was equal to the whole fall in January. In March snow fell on three days, to the extent of fully five inches, but there was none in April, or in any of the succeeding months, until the 25th November, when there was a slight shower, and on 26th December there was a fall of fully two and a half inches. Upon the whole, the weather up to the close of the year was remarkably open and mild, the Christmas rose of last winter being a Christmas rose indeed.