1899] NEWS 87 



the proces-verbaux were public property, and that copies would be distributed 

 to the press, especially the scientific press, in due course. No copy has yet 

 reached us, and we gather from Science, as well as from other sources, that no 

 attempt has been made by the Royal Society to furnish the scientific public 

 with any account of the work carried on by this Congress. We now recall the 

 strange fact that the elaborate " Report of the Committee of the Royal Society 

 of London, with Schedules of Classification," though bearing date March 30, 

 1898, was never heard of by many of those most interested until late on in the 

 year (vide articles in Science, and by Rrof. Victor Cams in Zoologischer 

 Anzcii/er). It seems to us that the Royal Society does not realise its respon- 

 sibilities. Why this shrinking from the public gaze 1 Are the members of the 

 Committees so afraid of criticism 1 This is a scheme that appeals to the whole 

 world of science ; it will have to be supported by money ; it will require the 

 ardent co-operation of numerous individuals. To say the very least, it is not 

 wise of the Royal Society to put on its usual airs of superiority and indifference 

 in a matter of this kind. We have excellent reason for believing that the 

 eminent and courteous Secretaries of the Royal Society are not responsible for 

 this darkness where there should be light. Who, then, is the culprit ? 



In changing their treasurer the Royal Society of London has made an im- 

 portant alteration in its arrangements. From time immemorial the treasurer 

 has been the deputy of the president in the latter's absence, but in the future 

 the deputy of the president will be one of the vice-presidents, as is the custom 

 in the majority of other societies. 



The Report of the Council of the Palaeontographical Society adopted at the 

 Annual General Meeting on 17th June, was issued on 21st November, so that 

 the news contained in it is somewhat musty. It is pleasing, however, to learn 

 that the accessions to the ranks of the Society have more than balanced the 

 losses that had arisen from death and resignations ; also that £40 : 14 : has 

 been obtained through sale of back stock. Within the next ten years the stock 

 will, it is anticipated, be exhausted. Members can procure at a reduced rate 

 publications more than ten years old ; and separate parts, where a sufficient 

 supply exists, can be bought for a sum dependent upon the number of plates. 

 The new members of the council are W. Hill, J. Hopkinson, F. W. Rudler, and 

 D. H. Scott. The president is still Dr. Henry Woodward, and the secretary 

 Rev. T. Wiltshire, 25 Granville Park, Lewisham, London, S.E. The annual 

 subscription is one guinea. 



At the meeting of the Geologists' Association, London, on 2nd December, 

 A. M. Davies read "Contributions to the Geology of the Thames Valley." (See 

 p. 14.) 



The opening conversazione of the Dublin Naturalists' Field Club was held 

 on October 18; that of the Belfast Club on November 2. At each 

 function Dr. R. F. Scharff and Mr. R. Welch exhibited specimens of My sis 

 relicta, a fresh-water shrimp recently dredged in Lough Neagh. Among the 

 numerous other exhibits, testifying to the activity of both societies, we note 

 Elatine Hydropiper, recently discovered in the Lagan Canal, and exhibited by 

 J. H. Davies and W. Gray ; new species of foraminifera from the Pleistocene 

 clay of St. Erth, Cornwall, by Joseph Wright ; land and fresh-water shells col- 

 lected in Kerry, and living specimens of the Kerry slug, Geomcdctcs maadosus, 

 by R. Welch. 



At the second ordinary meeting of the Scottish Microscopical Society on 

 December 16, a communication was read on "Changes occurring in some cells 

 of the newt's stomach during and after activity," by Dr. E. Wace Carlier, B.Sc. 



The officers of the Swedish Geological Society for 1899 are: — President, 

 Prof. A. E. Tornebohm ; Secretary, Dr. E. Svedmark ; Treasurer, Dr. G. 

 Holm ; with G. de Geer and E. Erdmann as Members of Council. At the 



