pour of rain would clear off whatever dust and soot might have lodged on them, and render the statues as bright as on their inaugural day. Of course the artists would never consent to that; and yet I think an eternity of glitter would be better than an eternity of dirt. As for the expense, I do not think it need be seriously discussed. Corporations or individuals who can pay for bronze statues at all will not find it very hard to pay a little extra for the assurance that their things of beauty will be joys for ever. To continue the present practice-supposing that what I have just said is well established-will be a fine example of "Penny wise and pound foolish."

Mr. G. H. BALL also read a short paper on the "Overflow of the Nile, and the System of Irrigation in Egypt." Mr. GEORGE HENRY MORTON followed with a paper on "Colour Harmony." *

THIRTEENTH ORDINARY MEETING.

ROYAL INSTITUTION, 16th April, 1883.

EDWARD DAVIES, F.C.S., F.I.C., PRESIDENT, in the Chair.

Dr. SYMES exhibited specimens of Kola Nuts (Stercularia acuminata), and made the following observations :

Kola Nuts are not new. So long ago as 1865 Professor Daniell directed attention to them as a product of tropical West Africa, and as an important article of commerce along the whole coast line from Sierra Leone to Angola, south of the equator. They are used by the natives not only as a

See page 219.

luxury, but in a complimentary manner, and as a means of opening up peaceful negotiations between the different tribes. As an act of courtesy they are given to strangers, who soon acquire a liking for them.

About 1866 a small consignment came to Liverpool; they were in a good state of preservation, and somewhat lighter in colour than those recently imported. They are considered to have more value when in an undried condition, and the specimens I have here this evening have been so preserved by rolling in damp earth and keeping in a covered jar; since, however, they are very liable to spoil, they are mostly sent over dry. Professor Attfield examined these nuts chemically, and found that in the dry state they contained 42 per cent. starch, 10 per cent. gum and sugar, and over 6 per cent. albumenoid substances. He further confirmed Professor Daniell's experiments, and showed that they contained 2 per cent. caffeine or theine-a highly nitrogenous substance.

It would, therefore, appear that the reason why the Aborigines so largely use them is that they compensate in some measure for the deficiency of animal food.

Recently, they have been advocated as a remedy for dipsomania, and if they possess real value in this respect, it must be due to the presence of this caffeine- the propor tion present being equal to that found in the best samples of coffee. Where the will of the patient is exercised in a direction favourable to the remedy, I have no doubt that they will prove valuable.

The Rev. H. H. HIGGINS exhibited a rubbing of an ancient cross in the churchyard of Grange-over-Sands.

Mr. WALTHEW exhibited a Japanese work, containing a series of illustrations representing the herbaceous plants of Japan.

Mr. A. H. MASON read a paper on "Perfumes, Odours, and Flavours."*

An EXTRAORDINARY MEETING was held previous to the above meeting, the President in the Chair, when the following new law was passed for the first time, on the recommendation of the Council. Moved by Dr. CARTER, and seconded by Mr. RICHMOND LEIGH, that "Ladies are eligible to become Members, with the same duties and privileges as other Members."

FOURTEENTH ORDINARY MEETING.

ROYAL INSTITUTION, 30th April, 1883.

EDWARD DAVIES, F.C.S., F.I.C., PRESIDENT, in the

Chair.

Mr. RICHARD STEEL was unanimously elected President for the term of the next two Sessions.

A paper by Miss HEATH on The Structure of the Polycarp and the Endocarp in the Tunicata "† was read by Professor HERDMAN.

The following communication was then read :

REPORT UPON THE ORGANISMS FOUND IN A SAMPLE OF WATER FROM "MILKY SEA," NEAR THE ISLAND OF SOCOTRA, IN THE INDIAN OCEAN, BROUGHT BY CAPTAIN JACKSON TO THE LIVERPOOL FREE MUSEUM.

BY PROFESSOR HERDMAN, D.Sc.

A SMALL bottle, containing about six ounces of a pale brownish fluid, and labelled "From the Milky Sea near

Socotra," was sent to me for examination some weeks ago by Mr. Moore. I have since received from him the particulars as to the history of the fluid from the notes of the collector and donor.

These notes are to the following effect :-Captain Jackson, of the "Diomed," whilst steaming along the north coast of the Island of Socotra, about five miles from land, on the 12th August, 1882, at 9 p.m., the night being dark and hazy and no moon visible, noticed that the sky to the eastward suddenly brightened as by a rising moon, and that a thin luminous streak had made its appearance upon the horizon stretching north to south. This gradually widened as the ship steamed towards it, and about 9.30 the ship passed almost instantaneously from the usual sea water into what appeared a sea of milk. Captain Jackson describes at length the effect produced, and speaks of the water as being "luminous " as well as "milky." The vessel was completely surrounded by the luminous water, which made the sky appear of inky blackness above, and gave the sea, which was really at the time moderately rough, the appearance of a dead calm. The ship appeared to be stopped. Small pieces of seaweed floating past stood out dark and clearly defined in the water, and could be distinctly seen and distinguished some sixty yards away. This lasted until about 12.30 a.m., when the ship passed out of it again almost as suddenly as she had entered it, and the sea and the sky were as before. At 10.30, and when the sea was at its brightest, three bucketsful of water were drawn from over the side, and then carefully strained through a silk handkerchief, the luminous residue being carefully lifted out with a tablespoon and put into a bottle with about three glasses of whisky. That was the bottle sent to me by Mr. Moore.

Captain Jackson further notes that the luminosity was

not confined to the surface, since the water brought up by the deck-pump, the suction-pipe of which entered the sea at a depth of about twenty feet, was exactly the same as that drawn in the buckets, "except that the luminous bodies were all broken up in their passage through the pump.'

On examining the bottle of whisky and sea-water, I found that there were a number of fairly well-preserved organisms representing nearly all the great invertebrate groups of animals.

observed :

The following is a list of those I

Peridinium.-A good many specimens of P. tripos, and a few of two other forms.

Vorticella.(?)—Several colonies of stalked peritrichous Infus

oria allied to Vorticella; two forms were noticed. Radiolaria.-A few specimens of Heliosphæra, also an Acanothometra.

Medusa. Two or three small specimens, all more or less injured. They are probably medusoid gonophores. Echinopædium.-A well-preserved specimen of the Bipinnaria stage in the development of an Asterid. Sagitta.-Eight large specimens and a few small ones. Copepoda.-Many specimens of same minute Copepods, and also several Nauplii, probably of Copepoda. Phyllopoda.-Two specimens of a phyllopod Crustacean. Appendicularia.-Three specimens of a short-bodied form, probably A. flabellum.

Doliolum.-Two small specimens of what is apparently the sexual form of Doliolum denticulatum, Quoy and Gaimard.

Salpa. Two small specimens of Salpa mucronata, a sexual free-swimming form.

Mollusca. Some small, probably embryonic, Gastropod

shells.

There were also a number of Diatoms (Coscinodiscus,

f