232 



HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



and before midnight found myself standing near the 

 church at Eastnor, also connected for so many years 

 with " Hymns Ancient and Modern " in the person of 

 the present venerable rector, so long the indefatigable 

 Chairman of the Publication Committee. 



I do not know that there was anything very 

 remarkable in the day's expedition beyond this — that 

 such gatherings bring people living far apart to- 

 gether, and opportunities are afforded for sharpening 

 one another's wits and for picking up a vast amount 

 of valuable information. The arrangements were 

 made by the excellent honorary secretary, Henry 

 Cecil Moore, of Hereford. It is to the same patient 

 and skilful hand that the Club owes the editing of 

 the last excellent volume of "Transactions," which 

 has recently been published, and which, besides a 

 faithful engraving of the late Dr. Bull of Hereford, 

 so long the life and soul of the society, contains many 

 entertaining and instructive contributions, one espe- 

 cially charming being on the "Tame Hares of 

 Caradoc." 



SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



We have received No. 2 of " Le Diatomiste," 

 edited and published by J. Tempere, 168, Rue St. 

 Antoine, Paris. The photo-collotype plates are most 

 excellent, and are fully described in the text. 



We have received a copy of Mr. John Hopkinson's 

 highly-suggestive paper "On Local Scientific In- 

 vestigation in Connection with Committees of the 

 British Association." 



Messrs. Geo. L. English & Co., of Philadelphia, 

 send us their extremely interesting priced catalogue 

 of minerals, which not only describes many of the 

 minerals, but also gives illustrations of some of the 

 most important. 



A scheme has been started for the formation of a 

 Scientific, Literary, and Arts Club for Bristol and 

 neighbourhood, and has met with much success. 

 Whilst not neglecting the social element, it is purposed 

 to make the institution a local centre for the dissemi- 

 nation of the subjects for which it is founded. The 

 committee include many of the leading scientific 

 men in the West of England. The secretary is Mr. 

 H. A. Francis, F.R.M.S., 14 York Place, Clifton, 

 Bristol. Nearly four hundred names have already been 

 sent in for membership. 



The Thirteenth Ordinary Meeting of the Great 

 Yarmouth Natural History Society was held at the 

 Free Library on Wednesday evening, 27th instant, 

 at 8.30 p.m., when a very interesting paper and 

 notes on the Natural History of the District were 

 read by the members. 



MICROSCOPY. 



Abbe Condenser. — An old friend has lately 

 made me a present of an Abbe condenser. Would 

 some of your readers kindly instruct me as to the 

 best way of using it, and the forms of the best stops ? 

 I suppose it wants racking up according to the 

 power of the object-glass. I have an inch, half-inch, 

 sixth, and fifteenth oil immersion lenses. Any hints 

 as to use would be thankfully received. — Pev. A. C. 

 Smith, 3 Park Crescent, Brighton. 



ZOOLOGY. 



Helix nemoralis and hortensis. — May I ask 

 the various conchological readers of your paper to 

 be so kind as to forward me records of their finds of 

 these shells? What I want specially for them to 

 note to me are as follows. What are the colour- 

 variations (with band-formulae) of these two species 

 that they have found ? What number of each variety 

 and band-variation have they found ? What are the 

 characters of the soil and herbage? And in each 

 case I want the records from separate and distinct 

 hedges or banks.— J. W. Williams, 57 Corinne 

 Road, Tufncll Park, London, N. 



A WHITE VARIETY OF LlMN/EA GLUTINOSA IN 



Norfolk.— During last year Mr. A. Mayfield sent 

 me a pure white specimen of L. glutinosa from 

 Norwich. So long as variety-names stand, and in 

 the event of an albino of this shell not been named 

 before, I propose that the variety-name of albida be 

 given to this form. — J. W. Williams. 



Helix hortensis, var. trochoidea (Cless.) in 

 Worcestershire. — During my visit to Stourport, 

 in Worcestershire, this year, I found two specimens 

 of this variety near Dunley, with a diameter of 

 iS mill. I believe this is the first time that this 

 variety has been recorded for Britain. Since finding 

 them, Mr. Robert Wigglesworth writes me that he 

 has found a specimen corresponding to the same 

 variety at Clayton-le-Moors, near Accrington. That 

 gentleman suggested that the variety name of pyra- 

 midalis might be given them, but on returning to 

 town I found that Clessin had described them under 

 the name of Trochoidea, and this latter name must 

 therefore stand. Clessin gives the diameter as 

 ranging from 17 to 19 mill. Mr. Wigglesworth's 

 specimen, however, has a diameter of 20 mill., and 

 is therefore a little larger than the specimens from 

 which Clessin described the variety. This does not 

 make much difference, as the trochoid character of 

 the shell determines the variety, and not, in this case, 

 any special measurement. The variety corresponds 

 in hortensis to what Jenner's var. conoidea does in 

 nemoralis.— J. IV. Williams. 



