Journal of Proceedings. lxi
Holmes's paper, that as a personal friend of Mr. Roach Smith, he was
sure it was far from Mr. Smith's intention to ridicule the exertions of
those who were labouring to gain some correct knowledge of the
deneholes. The letter which recently appeared in the ' Essex Times '
was a private one, and had been published by " J. W." without the
knowledge and consent of Mr. Smith. [See Mr. Holmes's notes, Trans.
iv. pp. 103-106.]
The customary conversazione concluded the meeting, at which Mr.
Robarts exhibited a curious specimen of a fossil Echinus, found in his
garden at Woodford, which appeared to be quite fresh and unabraded—
very unlike the ordinary glacial fossils of the neighbourhood ; also some
very fine specimens of Silica (Geodes) from Central Madagascar. Mr.
Oldham exhibited a large collection of Forest Fungi, from the woods
near Walthamstow.
Saturday, November 24th, 1883. Ordinary Meeting.
The 44th Ordinary Meeting was held at the head-quarters at 7
o'clock, the President in the chair.
Donations to the library were announced from Mr. E. A. Fitch, Miss
Ormerod, and Mr. W. White.
The following were elected members of the Club :—Messrs. Thomas
Baxter, J. H. Leonard, Lieut.-Col. Lockwood, D.L., J.P., &c, Mrs.
Lockwood, Messrs. W. H. Miles, M.E.S., Robert Nuttall, and C. J.
Tower, D.L., J.P., &c.
Mr. White exhibited the specimens of Fuchsia referred to in the
following note:—
Notes on Aberrant Forms of Fuchsia Blossoms.
By William White, M.E.S.
It is frequently stated in Botanical text-books that the various parts of
flowers are so closely related to one another in their numerical propor-
tion as to constitute the relation an all but absolute law. We find,
however, that Nature does not admit of such arbitrary regulations as
have been thus devised by artificial systematizers, and the case of the
Fuchsia may be cited as bearing out this view.* This plant is, on
account of extreme cultivation under unnatural conditions, much subject
to variation,† and the aberrant forms of bloom figured here may not be
without interest.
Fig. 1 represents an instance of a curious development, or abortion, of
inflorescence, which was common more or less to the whole plant. The
bush, belonging to our member, Mr. Brooks, of Grays, who kindly allowed
me to take a number of blooms, is, I was informed, an old one, and
though in a greenhouse, had apparently not been specially attended to
*Strangely enough, Mr. Gibbs, in his interesting little treatise on the ' Symmetry of
Flowers,' has selected the Fuchsia as a typical illustration of the law which has been
assumed to exist (p. 9).
† Another peculiarity I noticed in the flower of a fuchsia growing at Leatherhead
consisted in the occurrence of spicules developed upon the exterior of the calyces,
suggesting the point of the closed bud.