1S9S] SOME NEW BOOKS 279 



founded is 2902, coining from 1940 differenl places, and in no previous 

 case have the observations been so detailed and Interesting. 



Among llic tads and conclusions of scientific importance which 

 L)r Davison claims to have established with regard to the Hereford 

 earthquake the following may he mentioned :— The position of the 

 centres of disturbance is determined, and also the direction and hade 

 of the originating fault. It is shown that there were two entirely dis- 

 tinct centres, lying in a north-west and south-east line, and separated 

 hy a few miles, the north-west centre being the first in action by a 

 few seconds. A series of new lines called ' isacoustic lines ' (or lines 

 of equal sound-audibility), is drawn : these throw an important light 

 on the origin of the earthquake. Coseismal lines (or lines passing 

 through places where the shock was felt at the same instant) are 

 drawn for the first time with an approach to accuracy, and by their 

 means the average velocity of the earth-wave (which, in the case of 

 any but a very strong shock, was unknown) is determined. AVhile the 

 estimates of the direction of the movement in a limited area vary 

 widely among themselves, it is nevertheless found that the average of 

 all these directions passes through the centre. 



We hope that the publication of so interesting a work will not be 

 prevented by any backwardness on the part of British geologists. 



Scraps from Seimals 



In the Transactions of the Manchester Microscopical Society, there 

 is a paper on Botriomyces a microcosm which produces tumour of the 

 jaw in oxen chiefly, and was formerly regarded as a malignant cancer 

 known as osteo-sarcoma. This is by Mr Worstenholme. Mr 

 Gillanders reviews the Hemiptera-Homoptera, and Mr Mark Sykes 

 treats of Natural Selection in the Lepidoptera. This latter paper, 

 which we hope to notice elsewhere, is beautifully illustrated by eight 

 plates. 



The Proceedings of the Royal Society of Victoria, (vol. x. pt. 2) 

 contains papers by W. S. Dun on some new Upper Silurian Corals ; 

 J. Dennant on a new Unio from the River Glenelg ( U. glenelgensis\ 

 a much wrinkled form resembling young examples of U. austraUs ) : 

 E. R Waite on Muridae from Central Australia with two new generic 

 names founded on species of Gould's {Podanomalus and Tliylacomys); 

 J. Dennant and Clark on the Miocene of the Gippsland Lakes area; 

 Pritchard and Gatcliff on Coralliophila ivilsoni, a new gasteropod from 

 Port Philip; Baldwin Spencer on Initiation Ceremonies in the Arunta 

 Tribe : T. S. 1 [all, Stylasteridae from the Victoria Tertiaries with a new 

 genus Deontopora ; Officer and Hogg the second part of the Geology 

 of Coimaidai ; and Ada M. Lambert on a new land Leech {Philaemon 

 pungens ; Blanchard, undescribed). 



In the Journal of Conchology for July there is an interesting 

 account of the pairing of Limax maximus, />., by Mr Lionel E. Adams, 

 fully illustrated by Dr J. W. Taylor. Observations were made on the 

 whole performance and much information concerning the curious 

 suspensory threads was obtained ; the anatomv of the parts is also 

 given by Mr W. M. Webb. 



