HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



essentially of eruptive origin, though no trace has 

 yet been found of the original discharge of any 

 portion of them at the surface. Passing to the 

 younger crystalline schists, which he classes under 

 the term " Dalradian," he pointed to the evidence of 

 included volcanic products in them throughout the 

 Central Highlands of Scotland and the North of 

 Ireland. The Uriconian series of Dr. Callaway he 

 regarded as a volcanic group, probably much older 

 than the recognised fossiliferous Cambrian rocks of 

 this country. The Cambrian system he showed to 

 be eminently marked by contemporaneous volcanic 

 materials ; and he discussed, at some length, the so- 

 called pre-Cambrian rocks of North Wales. He 

 reviewed the successive phases of eruptivity during 

 the Arenig and Bala periods, and described the 

 extraordinary group of volcanoes in northern 

 Anglesey during the latter time. The volcanoes of 

 the Lake District were next treated of, and reference 

 was made to the recent discovery by the Geological 

 Survey that an important volcanic group underlies 

 most of the visible Lower Silurian rocks in the South 

 of Scotland. The last portion of the address was 

 devoted to an account of the volcanoes of Silurian 

 time in Ireland, and it was shown that during the 

 Bala period a chain of submarine volcanic vents 

 existed along the east of Ireland from county Down 

 to beyond the shores of Waterford ; while in Upper- 

 Silurian time there were at least tv.-o active centres of 

 eruption in the extreme west of Kerry and in Mayo. 



Fossil Fish in Lower Silurian Rocks. — A 

 remarkable discovery is announced from America. 

 The enormous number of fishes which so suddenly 

 make their appearance in the Old Red Sandstone or 

 Devonian, have always staggered evolutionists. The 

 only reply was " the imperfection of the geological 

 record" — the failure to come upon the rocks con- 

 taining those experiments of nature which would 

 supply the missing links. These, however, have now 

 teen discovered in western America. In the Lower 

 Silurian sandstones near Canon City, Colorado, there 

 bave been found hosts of tishes of a lower type than 

 those in the Upper Silurian or Devonian. They are 

 also the oldest backboned animals as yet known, and 

 indicate that when the still more ancient Cambrian is 

 fully investigated transition between the vertebrate 

 and the invertebrate groups may be unearthed. 



NOTES AND QUERIES. 



Fungus Growth on Eggs. — Can any reader of 

 Science-Gossip suggest a remedy for a fungus that 

 has got into my collection of eggs. It can be rubbed 

 easily off coloured eggs, but leaves a dark mark on 

 white eggs. The collection is kept in a thoroughly 

 dry room, in drawers, covered with glass. All the 

 specimens of my own collecting were well washed out. 

 What can have caused the fungus ? I intend putting 

 ■ carbolic acid in each drawer to keep off moths. 



Will that have any effect in checking the fungus ? 

 I am told that carbolic acid is preferable to camphor, 

 as the latter tends to produce dampness. Will 

 the common brown acid do, or must it be the refined 

 kind that is used ? — T. Brown. 



Local Conchological Society. — Being anxious 

 to discover if there are any Conchologists in Exeter 

 and neighbourhood who would join myself and friends 

 here in establishing a local society, I should feel 

 grateful if you would kindly allow me a few lines in 

 your much read and widely circulated magazine for 

 that purpose. Collectors in this part of England 

 labour under disadvantages unknown to those living 

 in the more favoured north. Every little piece of 

 knowledge has to be painfully acquired. There are 

 no well-known specialists to apply to ; no museums 

 with good local collections to which we can refer 

 when difficulties arise. A walk through the Exeter 

 Museum quickly shows how little general interest is 

 taken in Conchology and Entomology in this county. 

 There is certainly an attempt at a local collection of 

 land and fresh-water shells, but to my knowledge 

 it has not been added to, or re-arranged for years, 

 and several of even the commoner local forms are 

 misrepresented. A few persons interested in the 

 science, who would co-operate and meet together 

 from time to time for mutual encouragement and 

 instruction, would undoubtedly very soon succeed in 

 rendering this a less "dark" district, and if 

 thoroughly worked I am very sure it would soon 

 prove itself a very rich one, as with but i&v! oppor- 

 tunities for collecting I have already found several 

 species not in the county list. — L. y, S., Topshavi, 

 S. Devon. 



The Great Yarmouth Natural History 

 Society held their annual meeting at the Free Library 

 on Tuesday evening, January 27th. The Secretary 

 read the annual report which showed the Society 

 was financially better than last year. Notes were 

 read on the black-headed gull, and long-eared bat, 

 a living specimen of which was exhibited. Letters 

 from the President, Sir James Paget, Rev. M. C. H. 

 Bird, and Rev. E. N. Bloomfield, with which the 

 latter gentleman enclosed a copy of his " Lepidop- 

 tera of Suftblk," and " Moss Flora, and Hepaticae," of 

 the same county. The papers read at the ordinary 

 meetings were as follows : " Bird Mortality," " The 

 Little Gull," "The Sole," "The Great Sirex," 

 "Skulls of Birds," "Microscopic Fungi," "The 

 Black Rat," "Bees and Bee-keeping," "Five- 

 bearded Rockling," " Fifteen-spined Stickleback," 

 " The great Water Beetle," &c. 



Cuckoo's Egg in a Greenfinch's Nest. — It 

 is not, I think, a very frequent occurrence to find a 

 cuckoo's egg in the nest of a hard-billed bird, being 

 mostly found in the nest of the hedge-sparrow, and in 

 the nest of other warblers. It may be interesting to 

 some to know that a cuckoo's egg was discovered 

 here in the spring of 1887 in a greenfinch's nest, which 

 contained four. eggs of the greenfinch. — //. G. Ward, 

 North Mars ton. 



The following interesting occurrence, which was 

 told to my cousin, who -related it to me, may perhaps 

 be interesting to readers of Science-Gossip. In a 

 hedgerow around this village a blackbird built its 

 nest last winter and laid five eggs, which were 

 eventually hatched, and the young ones fiew away. 

 The young man who knew the nest, used, it seems, to 

 visit it occasionally to see how the young ones were 

 getting on. In one of his" visits he found that the 

 young ones had flown, and was greatly surprised to 



