Journal of Proceedings.
clv
to him that these broad general facts with regard to the site were much
more decisive in showing the mining theory to be the truer one than
the presence or absence of pottery and bones could be, and as they had
been little, if at all, noticed by the disputants on either side, he thought
it might be useful to call attention to them.
The Rev. E. Gepp sent for exhibition some specimens of a species of
Myosotis, obtained near Felstead, which he thought might prove to be
M. repens.
Mr. A. P. Wire exhibited some original coloured drawings of Stephano-
ceros,
Mr. W. White exhibited some drawings of instances of petallody in
the Anemone. He believed the occurrence was somewhat unusual. The
peculiarity consists in the development of petals from the axil of the
verticillate leaves at the base of the flower stalk ; they present all the
character of true petals, being of the same translucent nature.
They occur in the case of both red and mauve varieties ; and the
character is partially produced in some of the leaves, to the extent of
forming coloured striations in the leaves, such leaves having their chloro-
phyll more or less absorbed or changed, so that some are streaked with
green, white, and red. The plants are believed to have been imported
from France, and the development may be due to over-stimulation in
the hands of nurserymen. Mr. White had noticed converse cases of
extra green petalloid bracts, or leaves grown from behind the corolla,
and also an additional whorl of leaves at the top of the flower stem. The
florescence appears to be subject to a good deal of variation under culti-
vation.
Mr. White also exhibited, and made some remarks upon, a series
of remarkable instances of protective resemblance in Lepidopterous larva;
of the geometrid order, including specimens of Odontopera bidentata—
three different forms of the caterpillar (preserved), together with a pupa
of the same species, Amphydasis prodromaria:, Biston hirtaria (with a
mottled variety), two examples of the dimorphic larvae of Rumia
crataegata (brown and green forms), and cleora lichenaria. In the
midst of these, Mr. White had placed three ivy twigs just as they had
been left by the caterpillars, the branches of which presented so remark-
able a resemblance to half-grown caterpillars as they appear when at
rest, that very few would take them to be anything else than cater-
pillars. A still more curious instance was noticeable in the case of a
simple twig of black poplar, which bore so strange a likeness to one of
these larvae, head, claspers, and ringed excrescences, that an expert ento-
mologist, who had just examined it very closely, was thoroughly deceived
by it, and wanted to know to what species it belonged. Against the
larvae of C. lichenaria was placed a small bunch of the lichen food plant
(still containing an empty pupa case), which at one time held a couple
of larvae which were so like the plant that Mr. White had to take the
lichen to pieces before he could find either of them to take their portrait.