HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP, 



235 



this shingle occurred above the Lower Glacial brick- 

 •earth (Contorted Drift), and hence that the Westleton 

 Beds could not be of the age of the Bure Valley 

 Beds, which occurred beneath this brick-earth, and 

 (in his opinion) formed the upper portion of the 

 Norwich Crag Series. For the same reason, the 

 Mundesley Beds, which occurred beneath the Lower 

 ■Glacial Drift on the Norfolk coast, could not be of 

 the age of the Westleton Beds. Nor were the 

 INIundesley and Bure Valley Beds of the same age. 

 The former include the Leda myalis Bed of Mr. C. 

 Reid, which occurs at the top of the Forest Bed 

 Series ; the latter are equivalent to the Weybourn 

 ■Crag which occurs at the base of the Forest Bed 

 Series. Hence the Bure Valley Beds were part of 

 the Norwich Crag Series, and of Pliocene age, the 

 Mundesley Beds belonged to the debateable group 

 of " Pre-Glacial" Beds; while the Westleton Beds 

 were of Glacial a^e. 



The Norwich Geological Society. — The 

 "Proceedings" of this society for the session of 

 1SS0-81, just published, contains the following 

 papers: "On the Rootlet Bed in relation to the 

 Forest-bed series of Norfolk and Suffolk," by Mr. 

 John Gunn, M.A., F.G S. ; "On Discoveries of 

 Flint Implements in Quaternary Deposits of the East 

 of England," by Mr. H. Prigg ; "The surface 

 Metamorphism of the Eastern Counties," by W. H. 

 Dalton, F.G.S. ; " The Lower Pleistocene Strata of 

 England," by Professor Sandberger ; " Classification 

 ■of the Newer Tertiary Strata of England," by H. B. 

 Woodward, F.G.S. ; "Evidence of Interglacial 

 Erosion in Norfolk," by A. J. Jukes-Browne, B.A., 

 F.G.S. ; Presidential Address "On the Conservancy 

 of Rivers, Prevention of Floods, Drainage, and 

 Water Supply," by J. H. Blake, F.G.S., President, 



A New Family of Rugose Corals. — Mr. 

 James Thompson, F.G.S., of Glasgow, has published 

 an extensive and exhaustive paper on this subject, 

 devoted chiefly to a consideration of the genera 

 Clisiophyllum, Cyclophyllum, and Aulophyllum, 

 illustrated by six plates of longitudinal and transverse 

 sections of the ^corals described, executed in the 

 highest degree of artistic finish and scientific accuracy 

 combined, besides one exquisite coloured piate restor- 

 ing Cyclophyllum to what Mr. Thompson conceives 

 was the external appearance of the polyp when alive 

 with its tentacles expanded. The descriptions of all 

 the corals are very exhaustive, and this paper cannot 

 fail to enhance Mr. Thompson's reputation as one of 

 the best authorities on the subject of carboniferous 

 fossil corals. 



Green Frogs.— Can any of your readers tell me 

 the way to keep green frogs alive through the winter, 

 without having to catch flies for them. What other 

 food can they be fed with ? — Ellen Jane JVarrc. 



NOTES AND QUERIES. 



Snails near London. — In confirmation of your 

 correspondent's opinion as to Caterham Valley as 

 hunting ground, I may say that on April 9 last, 

 within ten minutes' walk of Caterham Junction, I 

 took Helix la/iieida, hispida, rotundala, Iioiiensis, 

 riifcscens, Jiirsnfa, Vitrina pcllucida, zonitcs, 

 celarins, Cydostonia elegans, Bnlanus olisciinis. It 

 is also a famous place for //. pomatia, it being found 

 in all parts of the valley. 



Land Snails. — If Mr. T. Roberts will send his 

 address to lo, Aulay Street, Ossory Road, S.E., I shall 

 be most happy to give him any information I possess, 

 or, if he would prefer a visit, he would be most 

 welcome to any duplicate specimens of salt and fresh- 

 water shells mostly secured in the neighbourhood of 

 London. Allow me to call the attention of amateur 

 students of the British Mollusca to our Society (the 

 Lambeth Field Club and Scientific Society) which is 

 devoting special attention to this most interesting 

 branch of Natural History. The papers which have 

 for the last three months appeared in SciENCE- 

 GossiP, the subject of which was "Water Snails, a 

 Study of Pond-life," were written by one of our 

 mmembers. My colleague, Mr. Rowe, favoured us 

 with his lecture, August 14th, " Introduction to the 

 Mollusca." I would also suggest the desirability of 

 forming an amateur society in London, which should 

 have for its special object, "The Mollusca, recent and 

 fossil species." — A. Loydell, 



Planorbis corneus. — Watching my aquarium, 

 the other day, I happened to see a specimen of this 

 mollusk seize a larva of Agrion virgo (one of the 

 dragon-flies) towards the thoracic extremity of the 

 abdomen, and by continued pressure of the sharp 

 edge of its shell against the glass, cut the larva in 

 two, in spite of its strenuous efforts to escape. 

 Having done this it apparently set to work to eat it. 

 I lost sight of it then, but this morning found the 

 empty integuments of the unfortunate Agrion floating 

 on the surface. Has such a circumstance been 

 observed of this or other freshwater moUusks before ? 

 — P. S. Taylor. 



The Tenant of a Snail Shell. — A year or 

 more ago I found an empty snail shell, but is it 

 hardly correct to say " empty," or "snail-shell," for 

 it had an occupant, and that occupant was not the 

 snail, but a curious little thing that rolled out when 

 the shell was shaken? I suppose it had "lived and 

 loved" and perhaps died alone, for I do not think it 

 was alive when I found it. At first I thought it a 

 seed, and intended planting it, when its curious little 

 legs caught my attention more closely to it. Two 

 oval plates, the one more convex than the other ; 

 numerous legs protruding from under the armour- 

 like covering, which is very hard. The colour is 

 bluish-grey, something like what we call a woodlouse 

 which I thought it at first was ; it is something 

 like a trilobite, I have seen on the Wren's nest 

 limestone. I have looked in Goldsmith's "Natural 

 History," and in Wood's " Insects at Home," but can- 

 not find out what to call the strange animal. Please 

 write and say what you think I must call it, and in 

 what collective place. — J/. Thompson. 



Helix tomatia. — Can any of your readers inform 

 me of a locality near London for //. pomatia I — 

 Arioii. 



