Mr. E. Moor then contributed two interesting papers on “Cuttle Fish” and “Shell Building”.

The first showed with the assistance of diagrams, that the Cuttlefish, notwithstanding its external dissimilarity, is constituted on the same ground plan as the rest of the mollusca. The mantle, gills, foot, etc. occupy the same relative position in all of them, cross sections of the mussel & whelk being shown by way of illustration. The main cause of the difference in appearance is due to the peculiar development of the foot of Cuttlefish in a circular direction around the mouth instead of horizontally & backwards as in the case of gastropods etc.

It was also shown that for such apparent abnormalities as the siphon & suckers (anttia) of cuttlefish, parallels could be found in the siphons of Mya truncata, and the sucker like foot of the limpet. Attention was directed to the possible origin of sea serpent stories, by describing the enormously long tentacles of the cuttlefish Archioteuthis princeps (33 ft. long).

In the second contribution, the forms of molluscan shells were shown to be derived from the cone & combinations of the cone & spiral with various modifications thus, the limpet is a simple cone; the toothshell is a curved truncated one; by further increase in the curvature of the latter, an open spiral would result as in the case of the Spirula laevis; a still closer or greater curvature, bringing the coils into close contact, would give the planortis form.

If the coils are not in the same plane, that is, if the spiral is a descending one, the Trochus form would result.

Instances were given as in Vermetus limbricalis, where after commencing & continuing the closed spiral form of shell, a loose & vague spiral form was reverted to.

The common cockle shell was shown to be composed of two cones with oblique bases, placed base to base with the apices incurved. Such a form as the Unis was shown to be desirable from the cone by allowing for unusual expansion of the base, & a corresponding reduction in the height & curvature of the apex.,