436 NATURAL SCIENCE [December 



to forms of capsules and their dehiscences ; (iii) Coast erosion in S.E. England ; 

 (iv) Marine organisms as transparent lantern-slides. Those willing to help this 

 excellent project should communicate with Mr H. E. Turner, 2 Bouverie Road 

 West, Folkestone. Another proposal is the formation of a postal magazine club, 

 whereby members will doubtless be made acquainted with at least the titles of 

 many magazines, but which will probably tend to lower the circulation of some 

 publications yet further. It is an example we scarcely wish to see followed. 

 The next Congress will be held in Rochester early in June 1899 under the 

 presidency of W. Whitaker. 



The Hull Scientific and Field Naturalists' Club opened its winter session on 

 October 12, with a paper by F. W. Fierke, its treasurer, on " The ancient meres of 

 Holderness and their Contents." Subsequent papers have been by J. Holling- 

 worth on " Public Health," by Rev. H. R Slade on " Our Water Supply." Among 

 forthcoming items we note J. R. Boyle on " The organisation of an English 

 Manor," and J. J. Marshall on " The Mosses of the East Riding." It is satisfac- 

 tory to see how many papers are careful studies of local subjects rather than the 

 generalities so dear to many societies of the kind. The president is R. H. Philip ; 

 the secretary, T. Sheppard, 78 Sherburn Street, Hull. 



Recent papers read before the Oxford University Junior Scientific Club have 

 been by Dr Gustav Mann " On the Origin of Life," and by Mr A. D. Darbishire 

 " On Natural Selection among Lepidoptera." The Transactions of the Club are 

 now issued separately from the notices of meetings, and will be sent to life 

 members post free for one year for three shillings. No. 5, recently received, 

 contains a " Preliminary note on changes in the gland cells of Drosera produced 

 by various food materials," by Lily H. Huie, and a paper on " Turpentining [i.e. 

 obtaining turpentine from trees] in the Southern States [of America]," by H. E. 

 Stapleton. 



The Sheffield Literary and Philosophical Society have presented Dr H. C. 

 Sorby with his portrait, by Mrs M. L. Waller, in celebration of his fifty years' 

 connection with the society (1847-1897). 



The British Mycological Society held its second annual meeting in Dublin, 

 September 19-24. Excursions were made to Howth, Powerscourt, Brackenstown 

 near Swords, the woods of Avoca, Lucan, and Dunran. These resulted in an 

 addition of sixteen species to the fungus flora of Dublin and Wicklow ; a list 

 will appear in the December number of the Irish Naturalist. Dr Plowright, pre- 

 sident for the current year, delivered an address, discussing certain fungi figured 

 in Cooke's " Illustrations." Papers were read by Messrs Wager, Crossland, 

 M'Weeney, Soppitt, and Rea. 



On Oct. 18, Dr John William Toore was elected president, and Dr W. J. 

 Smyly vice-president, of the Royal College of Physicians in Ireland for the 

 ensuing year. 



The Naturalists' Society of St Petersburg has erected a new biological 

 station on Lake Bologoy ; it is specially intended for the study of plant- 

 plankton. 



Thanks to agitation begun by the Field Naturalists' Club of Victoria, Wilson's 

 Promontory in that Colony has been proclaimed a national park for the pre- 

 servation of native fauna. This Club is also doing its best to suppress the 

 ruthless destruction of the wattles (acacias) for the sake of their flowers. The 

 subject has also been taken up by the Australian Natives Association. 



The Scientific Alliance of New York consists of the Torrey Botanical Club, 

 the New York Microscopical Society, the New York Section of the American 

 Chemical Society, the New York Mineralogical Club, the American Mathemati- 

 cal Society, the Linnean Society of New York, and the New York Entomologi- 



