l62 



HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



the case in the primitive open flowers. The 

 advantage to the long-tongued insects in having 

 flowers especially suited to them is clear. I do not 

 see any evidence to justify the assertion that it is 

 more *' trouble " to a bee, for instance, to thrust its 

 jKoboscis into an orchid than into a pear-blossom, 

 and it is certain that the honey is less likely to be 

 gone, and the bee is less likely to be jostled in the 

 former than in the latter case. Thus there is room 

 for berth primitive and highly-specialised flowers in 

 the floral world, for long and short-tongued insects 

 in the insect world. A. G. Tansley. 



{To be cojiclndcd.) 



THE GEOLOGISTS' ASSOCIATION. 



A N enjoyable Whitsuntide excursion was spent by 

 -i^y. the members of the above association amongst 

 the Suffolk Crags, under the directorship of Mr. W. 

 Whitaker, F.R.S., and Dr. J. E. Taylor. On 

 Saturday the party visited Southwold, where special 

 attention was paid to the wasting away of the cliffs 

 at Covehithe. It was noticed that the waste of 

 these cliffs was less than was formerly the case. On 

 Monday the party took train for Felixstow, whence 

 they drove to Bawdsey Ferry. Crossing over, they 

 stopped at Bawdsey Manor, where, thanks to Mr. 

 Cuthbert Quilter's hospitality, refreshments awaited 

 them. Thence to Bawdsey Cliff, which was new 

 to the association. It gives the finest section of 

 Red Crag in the country. The Crag is in places 

 overlain by glacial sand or gravel, and underlain by 

 London clay rich in pyritised wood. Mr. Whitaker 

 pointed out that it was not, as was generally supposed, 

 the sea alone which wasted away the cliffs. This 

 was rather due to landslips caused by weathering, 

 through the percolation of water and other agencies, 

 aided and abetted by the slipperiness of the surface of 

 the London clay upon which the crag rested. Then the 

 sea acted as scavenger in clearing away the debris 

 which had fallen. The fossils as a rule were not in 

 good preservation, owing to the beached-up condition 

 of the formation. The most valuable find was a fine 

 specimen of Voluta Lamberti, picked up on the beach. 

 Leaving Bawdsey the party returned to Ipswich, 

 where after dinner they visited the Ipswich Museum, 

 to inspect the valuable crag collection, Dr. Taylor 

 giving an interesting address on the principal 

 specimens. On Tuesday the first place visited was 

 Butley pit, containing a section of Red Crag noted 

 for the occurrence of land and fresh-water shells. A 

 fine specimen of Helix nemoralis was found. Next 

 came the Chillesford stackyard pit, where the Chilles- 

 ford Crag and Clay overlie the Red Crag. Another 

 pit showed a good section of Chillesford Clay, 

 containing many Arctic forms of shells embedded in 

 the position in which they lived. These, however, 

 were so brittle that it was almost impossible to get 



good specimens. The next two pits visited contained 

 Coralline Crag ; in one of them this was overlain by 

 the Red Crag, which was of a white colour whilst the 

 Coralline was of a deep red, thus reversing the order 

 of things. Then the party visited the famous pit of 

 Coralline Crag in Sudbourn Park. Here many fine 

 specimens both of mollusca and polyzoa were found. 

 The visits to the various pits were made doubly 

 interesting by the short addresses of the two directors. 

 At about half-past three the party lunched in the fine 

 old keep of Orford Castle, and afterwards drove 

 back to Ipswich, and thence by rail to London. 



SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



We have received the Annual Report of the York- 

 shire Philosophical Society for 1888, which besides- 

 the lists of members, catalogue of donations to the 

 museum and library, &c., contains the following 

 papers : "On the Occurrence of Ananchytes Ovaius 

 in the Margate Chalk," "On Terebrahila bisinuata 

 from the London Clay of Hampshire," "On Oolitic 

 Brachiopoda new to Yorkshire," all by Mr. J. F. 

 Walker ; " On the Spinose RynchonellcB found in 

 England," by S. S. Buckman and J. F. Walker ; 

 " On a Head of Hybodus Delabechci, associated with 

 Dorsal Fin-Spines, from the Lower Lias of Lyme 

 Regis, Dorsetshire," by A. Smith Woodward. 



Mr. W. a. Smith sends us his " Report as to the 

 Best System for the Maintenance of Main Roads in 

 the County of Hereford. " This report should be read 

 by all interested in the subject of road-making, etc. 



W. Wesley's Catalogue of Works on Geology and 

 Mineralogy contains a large assortment of books at 

 very moderate prices. 



Mr. W. p. Collins' Catalogue of Books relating to 

 Cryptogamic Botany, etc., contains prices of all the 

 best works on the subject. 



A Field Club has been formed for Wincanton and 

 neighbourhood. The following subjects will engage 

 the attention of the club : — Archeology (including 

 Architecture) ; Earthworks, Local History, etc. ; 

 Natural History, including Geology, Botany, Ento- 

 mology, Zoology, etc. ; and other subjects connected 

 with science and art. 



The Rha^tics of Leicestershire is the title of an 

 interesting paper by H. E. Quilter. The same cover 

 includes Notes by A. Smith Woodward "On Some 

 Remains of Fossil Fishes from the Rhcetic Beds of 

 the Spinney Hills, Leicestershire," and " On a Species 

 of Pholidophorus from the Rhittic Paper Shales of 

 Wigston." 



No. 31 of " British Dogs," by Hugh Dalziel, the 

 well-known authority on all matters connected with 

 our canine friends, is to hand. The work when 



