REVIEWS. 



215 



completed by the last week in January it seems rarely that the volume 

 appears before the middle of May. An earlier issue would be much 

 more encouraging to the authors of papers who may wait many 

 months for their publication. The annual issues of this progressive 

 society for the past thirty-five years lies before us, and we can truly 

 say that it is a lasting record of progress in the carrying out of the 

 object of the Society, viz., " The diffusion of Biological Science by 

 means of Papers and discussions and the Formation of Typical 

 Collections." It is a society without vicissitudes : any changes which 

 have come about have always been changes of advance. No less than 

 seven of the present members were members in 1880 and of these 

 three are still almost invariably present. More than fifty have been 

 on the roll foi- a quarter of a century at least. 



The volume consists of three sections. The first contains all the 

 official information, Council's Report, Balance Sheet, etc. The second 

 part consists of the papers read during the year, concluding with the 

 annual address. The third section contains full accounts of the 

 proceedings at each of the twenty-three meetings with numerous short 

 notes contributed by different members, and the reports of the field- 

 meetings. 



Probably the most valuable paper, one of more than local interest, 

 is that on " The Genus Melitaea," by the Rev. Geo. Wheeler, M.A., 

 F.E.S., in which the groups of species, and the racial and local forms 

 from the whole of the Pabearctic and Nearctic Regions are dealt with 

 largely from a philogenetic point of view. Mr. Colthrup gives his 

 interesting experiences in " Photographing Birds on a South Coast 

 Beach." Mr. R. Adkin gives a summary of all that is known of the 

 occurrence of " CoUas eda^a in Britain," dealing with the species from 

 a historical point of view, and passing on to a consideration of its 

 migratory habits, illustrating his remarks with a map of Europe on 

 which suggested lines of migration are marked. Mr. K. G. Blair, 

 B.Sc, contributes a paper on " Luminous Insects," summarising the 

 main facts known of this subject ia the various grgups, and giving an 

 account of his own experiences in North America among the 

 " Hashing " or " lightning-bugs." Dr. E. J. Salisbury, D.Sc, gives 

 a summary of the main facts of his lecture on " The Sea Shore and 

 its Plant Life." Mr. W. J. Lucas gives a further instalment of his 

 contributions towards a knowledge of "other Orders" in '-British 

 Long-horned Grasshoppers," illustrating his account with three plates 

 containing figuies of all the species dealt with in the paper. Mr. K. 

 Adkin contributes a further paper, " Some Lepidopterous Piipal 

 Habitations and some reminiscences," a most interesting summaiy of 

 the varied directions of larval labour, and illustrated by four plates 

 of figures of the structures and one plate of microscopical details. 



Not less interesting are the detailed accounts of the meetings. 

 Among the more useful notes contributed we may mention. (1) Mr. 

 A. E. Gibbs on the American species of the genera Melitaea and 

 Pli)jvioiles. (2) Dr. Chapman's record with two plates of the abundance 

 of mistletoe on Scots pine in the Dauphiny Alps. (3) Mr. Step's 

 notes on the Aleunxles. (4) Mr. Turner's summary of the variation 

 shown in the races of hUebia jironnr. (5) Notes by various members 

 on the Mite, Tetrani/tliKs Untearias. (6) Mr. A. E. Gibbs, an account 

 of the variation in several species of I'anunsiKs in the Palffiarctic 



