HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



'85 



that the process took place in broad day ; whereas 

 the mole usually works, I believe, at three or four 

 o'clock in the morning. On one of the above occa- 

 sions I was walking through a wood, and seeing a 

 disturbance in the ground close to me, I watched it. 

 A mole, in working through the ground, had come 

 upon the root of a tree running horizontally near the 

 surface : it did not suit the animal's convenience to 

 burrow under, and so up he came into daylight. In 

 another minute, however, he was into the earth again 

 on the other side of the root. — IV. H. B. P. 



Science in the Provinces. — One noteworthy 

 feature of modern scientific research is the spirited 

 manner with which it is pursued in nearly every city 

 and town of importance in the United Kingdom. 

 Under some name or another denoting the nature of 

 the particular sciences affected, societies, associations) 

 and clubs, are distributed far and near. In most of 

 them we find men whose names are widely known for 

 scientific research, and who frequently act as nuclei 

 around which those gather who love science in some 

 form or another. Many of these provincial societies 

 publish their transactions, in which we often find 

 papers that would do honour to any learned society 

 in London. In natural science prominence is usually 

 and very properly given to papers dealing with the 

 fauna and flora, geology and meteorology of the neigh- 

 bourhood. The number of societies publishing some 

 abstract or another of their work is increasing, inso- 

 much that it has been found necessary to establish 

 such periodicals as the " Naturalist," to record the 

 doings of the various Yorkshire societies and clubs ; 

 the " Midland Naturalist " doing the same useful 

 work for all societies in the Midland counties. 

 Among other publications of this kind we have 

 lately received, we are glad to note the establishment 

 of another society in Manchester under the name of 

 " The Science Association," the president of which 

 is Mr. Thomas Harrison, F.C.S., and the secretary, 

 Mr. A. Hutton. This association has been founded 

 chiefly to enable working men to meet together for 

 scientific purposes. We wish it every success ! The 

 Liverpool Naturalists' Field Club have just issued 

 their "Proceedings" for 1877-78, containing their 

 president's address, and well-written accounts of the 

 excursions and evening meetings. This is one of the 

 oldest of our field clubs, having been in existence 

 eighteen years. It is fortunate in having for its 

 president such a well-known and enthusiastic natural- 

 ist as the Rev, H. H. Higgins, M.A. The Goole 

 Scientific Society have also issued their Annual Re- 

 port, in which we find short, but interesting, and often 

 valuable accounts of the summer excursions ; whilst 

 some valuable papers, such as the list of birds ob- 

 served in the neighbourhood (by Mr. T. Bunker), 

 and another, the flora of the district (by Mr. Birks), 

 have been printed in full. The Hastings and St. 



Leonard's Philosophical and Historical Society have 

 published a cheap but full and clear guide to the 

 natural history of the vicinity, in which we find a 

 catalogue of all the mammals, birds, reptiles, amphi- 

 bians, fishes, mollusca, insecta, Crustacea, &c, to- 

 gether with an equally accurate list of plants, phanero- 

 gamic, and cryptogamic. The Birmingham Philoso- 

 phical Society have also issued their " Proceedings " 

 for 1876-77, in which we find more abstruse papeis 

 "On the Kinetic Theory of Gases," by the Rev. H. W. 

 Watson; "On Science as an Instrument of Higher 

 Education," by Mr. Hookham ; "On the Place of 

 Archaeology in Science," by Mr. J. Kenward, &c. 

 We shall at all times be glad to receive copies of the 

 papers or abstracts of meetings of any or all of our 

 provincial societies. 



The British Association Meeting at Dub- 

 lin. — This annual congress of science commences 

 its meetings at Dublin on August 14th, under the 

 presidency of William Spottiswoode, LL.D., F.R.S. 

 &c. The following are appointed Presidents of 

 Sections : — Mathematical and Physical, the Rev. 

 Professor Salmon, F.R.S. ; Chemical, Professor 

 Maxwell Simpson, F.R.S. ; Geology, John Evans, 

 D.C.L., F.R.S.; Biology, Professor W. H. Flower, 

 F.R.S. ; Department of Zoology and Botany, Profes- 

 sor Flower ; Department of Anthropology, Professor 

 Huxley ; Department of Anatomy and Physiology 

 Dr. R. Mc Donnell ; Geography, Professor Sir 

 Wyville Thomson ; Economics and Statistics, Profes- 

 sor J. K. Ingram ; Mechanical, E. Easton, C. E. In 

 addition to the inaugural address there will be lectures 

 by Mr. G.J. Romanes, F.L.S. on "Animal Intelli- 

 gence," and by Professor Dewar, on " Modern Ideas 

 of Chemical Action." An excursion committee has 

 prepared a guide book to all the places appointed 

 to be visited, so that every object of scientific interest 

 may be brought before the notice of the visitors. 

 We anticipate a great success for the Dublin meeting. 



BOTANY, 



Fertilization of Ophrys muscifera. — H. 

 Midler has communicated to Nature some new facts 

 in connection with the hitherto mysterious fertilization 

 of this plant. In sunny weather, and under normal 

 conditions, the labellum secretes fluid, and a broad, 

 central, longitudinal stripe of its surface is covered 

 with small drops. Of 50 fresh flowers, Mr. Miiller 

 found the labellum in 13 covered with such drops ; 

 in 25, shining adhering moisture; and in 12 without 

 any conspicuous trace of fluid. The two small 

 shining projections on each side of the base of the 

 labellum were quite dry in all the flowers. In one 

 flower he saw a fly (Sarcophaga) sitting on the 

 labellum, and licking the drops. Its head was directed 

 towards the base of the labellum. On Mr. Midler's 



