212 NATURAL SCIENCE. March, 



At a meeting of the Hull Geological Society on January 7, Mr. T. Sheppard 

 exhibited a skull from the Millhill gravels, near Brough. It differs somewhat from 

 the typical brachycephalic skulls of the Bronze Age in being longer and narrower. 

 The supraciliary ridges are prominent. 



At a meeting of the Norfolk and Norwich Naturalists' Society, on January 26, 

 the following papers were read : — T. Southwell, on Grassi's work on the develop- 

 ment of the eel ; W. H. Tuck, on aculeate Hymenoptera from Tostock, Suffolk ; 

 A. W. Preston, meteorological notes for i8g6 ; and G. H Harris, on the Yarmouth 

 herring-fishery of 1896, which was notable for a large catch, the total landed at 

 Yarmouth being 19,252 lasts, and at Lowestoft 8,i8g lasts. It was remarkable that 

 this vast host should be "told," that is, literally counted, not in ones, but in fours or 

 "warps." The fish were "told" into baskets or " mands " on deck, thirty-three 

 " warps "or a " long tale " (or long tell) hundred go to a " mand." The " mand " 

 was slid on a plank from deck to quay, carried across the road, and emptied into a 

 larger basket, or "swill." Thirty "swills" went to the "last." A "last" was 

 13,200 herring, or 3,300 " warps." Mr. Harris suggests that the word " mand," 

 now applied to the basket, was originally the word for the heaps or " mounds " of 

 fish. The other words are clearly of Scandinavian origin — " varp " means a netful 

 or draught of fish ; " tal " is a number ; " last " is a ton ; " swill " is a very old 

 English word for a herring-basket, probably connected with the Swedish "sill," 

 herring. May it not therefore be that " mand " equals the Swedish " mangd," or 

 multitude ? 



The tenth annual Report of the Liverpool Marine Biology Committee is as 

 interesting as the reports of previous years, and contains suggestive remarks by 

 Professor W. A. Herdman on the relations of the Marine Biological Station at Port 

 Erin to the general public, especially that of tender years. Experiments in fish- 

 hatching were conducted on a modest scale, but not without success, at the station 

 during the spring of 1896. Eight dredging expeditions were organised during the 

 year, resulting in the capture of a number of new and interesting species ; amongst 

 these is a large green Gephyrean worm, probably a new species of Thalassema, dis- 

 tinguished by the possession of a remarkable green pigment, not allied to haemoglobin 

 or chlorophyll, with a single broad absorption band in the red between C and D. 

 One of the greatest needs of the station is a young chemist or physicist who would 

 join the expeditions with the object of reporting upon the sea-water at the various 

 localities, depths, and seasons. Other items of interest in this Report have already 

 appeared in our news pages. 



The programme of the Scarborough Field Naturalists' Society for 1897 shows 

 that this body continues its good work of popularising science, and of utilising the 

 work of its more enthusiastic though perhaps less trained members. On the latter 

 point Mr. D. W. Bevan offered valuable advice in his presidential address on 

 January 14. . 



We regret to learn from the Revue Sdentifique that the Jardin d'Acclimatation, 

 which was founded in 1858 to conduct experiments in concert with the Societe 

 d'Acclimatation on the introduction of foreign animals and plants into France, has 

 now separated itself from the Societe, and will form for itself a new society. 



The Cape of Good Hope Government intends to investigate the marine fauna 

 of the South African coast. A small biological station will probably be erected on 

 False Bay, and equipped with a steam launch of 150 tons. Specialists who may 

 wish to work up the material obtained are requested to communicate with 

 Dr. J. D. F. Gilchrist, Agricultural Department, Cape Town. The conditions are 

 as follows : Specimens will be forwarded as procured, and, on receipt of manuscript 

 and drawings, each piece of work will be published without delay in a uniform 

 style, so as to form ultimately a complete record of the Cape marine fauna. Authors' 



