34 



HARD WICKE 'S S CIENCE - G SSI P. 



an essay on " The Trentham Gravel -beds," which 

 are of Triassic age ; and Mr. J. D. Sainter one on 

 "The Geology of Mow Cop, Congleton Edge, and 

 the surrounding District." The veteran naturalist, 

 Mr. R. Garner, F.L. S., has some humorous and 

 suggestive " Lines on a Fossil Tree," as well as 

 other papers. In Zoology the Rev. Thomas W. 

 Daltry, F.L.S., besides contributing the "Introduc- 

 tion" to the volume, has a valuable paper " On the 

 Macro-Lepidoptera taken and observed in North 

 Wales by Members of the Club " ; and in Botany, 

 Mr. W. S. Brough has written a thoughtful essay 

 on "The Literature of Botany." Besides the aboye, 

 we have papers on local Archa;ology and general 

 questions' related to science. The Bedfordshire 

 Natural History Society and Field Club have issued ' 

 their first volume of "Transactions." This society 

 originated through a discussion as to whether Acorits 

 calamus was indigenous to Britain. It was shown 

 by several local naturalists to be abundant on the 

 banks of the Ouse near Bedford, and this incident i 

 led those concerned in the inquiry to form themselves ; 

 into a club. Several well-known names hail from j 

 the Bedfordshire district, and we are glad to see 

 them in this volume. Thus, Mr. James Wyatt, 

 F.G.S., has two papers, one on the " Geology of 

 Sandy," and another on "Land and Freshwater 

 Shells found in Bedford Gravels." Mr. W. Hill- 

 house, F.L.S., has "A Contribution towards a New 

 Flora of Bedfordshire," and an essay on "The Bo- 

 tanical Divisions " of the same county. Mr. T. 

 Gwyn Elger, F.R.A.S., contributes a very capital 

 paper "On the Scope and Objects of Natural History 

 Societies." Besides the above, we have a paper, by 

 Mr. W. B. Graham, "On the Geology of Sharn- 

 brook," and others by Dr. Prior, Captain De Vismes, 

 Dr. Adams, Mr. Blower, &c. We heartily con- 

 gratulate the Bedfordshire society on the interesting 

 character of their first volume. The Cardiff Natu- 

 ralists' Field Club is one of the most successful in 

 point of numbers of any in the kingdom. Tire in- 

 defatigable honorary secretaries have managed to 

 interest most of the educated people of the neighbour- 

 hood in the club, and we are therefore not suiprised 

 to find so many summer excursions are arranged for. 

 In the winter months the society introduces to the 

 members some of the leading scientific men of the 

 day as lecturers in the several departments of science 

 in which they are known workers, A good deal of 

 general useful work is thus effected. In the "Pro- 

 ceedings " of the club recently issued, we find a 

 capitally-written account of the excursions. The 

 abstracts of numerous papers are well done, the most 

 important being those by Mr. Waldron, " On Roman 

 IMining in the Mendip Hills" (illustrated) ; by Mr. 

 R. Drane," On Four British Birds," — a capital sketch 

 of the Green Woodpecker, Cuckoo, Kingfisher, and 

 Quail. Mr. Cruttwell contributes an essay on "The 

 Age of Reptiles," and Dr. Taylor a most readable 



one on "Animals living before Man." Mr. J. W. 

 Lukis, the well-knovm antiquary, was then President 

 of the club, and his lecture on " Some of the 

 Primitive Customs of Man " is exceedingly instruc- 

 tive, and refers as much as possible to local illustra- 

 tions. "Man and his Habitations" is the title of a 

 paper by Mr. James Milward. The various Meteoro- 

 logical " Reports," by Mr. Franklen G. Evans, are 

 scientifically valuable. The "Proceedings of the 

 Liverpool Field Naturalists' Club for 1875-6 " opens 

 with a most valuable address by the President, the 

 Rev. H. H. Higgins, "On the Names of Plants," 

 and gives us brief but graphic n'siunc's of field ex- 

 cursions, &c. ' ' The Proceedings of the Belfast Natu- 

 ralists' Field Club " for the same year is also before us, 

 and, as usual, contains some excellent papers on 

 "Vegetable Parasites on the Human Body," by Dr. 

 J. M. Scott; "The Beginnings of Life," by W. J. 

 Browne, M.A. ; "Practical Hints to Collectors of 

 Lepidoptera," by Rev. J. Bristow, M.A. ; and a 

 capital account of dredging operations in Belfast 

 Bay and the adjacent waters. At Norwich we find 

 a useful and social "Science-Gossip Club," which 

 meets fortnightly in the winter for the reading and 

 discussion of papers. A Report of Proceedings 

 from June, 1875, to June, 1876, has just been pub- 

 lished by the Committee, and in it we find some good 

 abstracts of papers by Messrs. Squirrell, John Parker, 

 S. C. Sothern, M. Knights, T. E. Gunn, J. B. 

 Bridgeman, John Gunn, F.G.S., T. G. Bayfield, 

 F. Kitton, and others. The ground taken up is 

 perhaps broader than it is deep, but there can only 

 be one opinion as to the value of associations like 

 these. 



A CHAPTER ON THE DUCKWEEDS 



{Lemnacecr). 



Bv J. T. Riches. 



DURING the later summer months, there may be 

 seen upon the surface of almost every stag- 

 nant pool of water, minute, more or less spherical 

 plants, floating on the surface, and by close ex- 

 amination we find them to consist of a small leaf 

 (frond) budding out from the margin, and one or more 

 slender roots proceeding from the under part of the 

 frond; and it is extraordinary good fortune if we 

 chance to find them producing flowers, as one may 

 ask old or young botanists whether they ever saw 

 them in flower, and by far the greater number never 

 have. We need not say what these tiny floating 

 organisms are, as everybody knows a "duckweed" 

 when he sees it ; but everybody does not, in a 

 scientific sense, know what a duckweed really is, — 

 its structure and peculiarities. And there are many 

 young students of nature who can distinguish accurately 

 the different species of duckweeds, yet could not, if we 



