316 NATURAL. SCIENCE: APRIL, 
A vist of seventy names was read by the Secretary of those who had expressed 
their willingness to join the Society, and it was resolved that they be the original 
members. The annual subscription was fixed at half-a-guinea, and the entrance fee 
at the same sum ; all those joining before December 31, 1893, will be elected by 
ballot in the customary manner, but will be exempt from the entrance fee. 
THE meetings of the new Society will be held on the second Friday in each 
month (November to June) at 8 p.m., and, for the present, Mr. Harris has courteously 
permitted the Society to meet at 67 Chancery Lane. The Council as at present 
appointed will draw up the rules of the Society, which will be presented to the 
first General Meeting, to be held on April 14. Letters to the Secretary (Mr. E. R. 
Sykes) should be addressed to 13 Doughty Street, London, W.C. 
THE objects of the society will be to study Malacology in all its branches, 
both recent and fossil, anatomical and skeletal, and if we may judge from the list of 
names furnished to us as founders of the society, has a great future before it. We 
hope, however, that it will do real scientific work, and leave the publication of local 
lists and small matters of that kind to the field clubs. 
Tue Geologists’ Association will start for Norwich on Thursday evening, March 
30. On Friday the members will visit the Norwich Crag and Chalk at Bramerton 
and Thorpe, on Saturday the cliffs at Mundesley, Trimingham, and Overstrand and 
on Monday those from Cromer to Sherringham and Weybourn. On Tuesday, 
those who have the time still free will proceed to Lowestoft and visit the Pakefield 
Cliffs. 
WE have received from Professor Jules Marcou a pamphlet, entitled ‘‘ A Little 
More Light on the United States Geological Survey,’’ containing bitter personal 
attacks on many of the geologists. We do not profess to understand the rights of 
these personal disputes, but are sorry to see, from various papers that have lately 
reached us, that party feeling is affecting the value of much of the geological work 
done in the United States, both by the official geologists and those outside. Some 
comments on the work of the United States Geological Survey will be found in our 
last volume (p. 644). 
Circuars from the World’s Fair at Chicago arrive with startling rapidity. 
The latest we have received comes from the ‘‘ General Division of African Ethno- 
logy,’ and unfolds a gigantic programme of work to be accomplished, dealing with 
Geography, History, Arts, Language and Literature, Religion, Natural Science, and 
Social and Political Science. Natural Science, of course, interests us the most, and 
we read that the following papers are promised :—‘‘ Astronomy,’’ by W. W. Payne; 
“Structure of Africa and its Geological Systems,” by James Geikie (invited) ; 
‘“Economic Geology of Africa,” by Jos. Thomson (invited); ‘African Anthro- 
pology and Ethnology,” by Heli Chatelain; ‘‘ African Flora and Fauna, with 
Economic Botany and Zoology,” by G. Schweinfurth and E. Holub (both invited). 
What the word ‘‘invited’’ means we are not told, but we only hope the desires of 
the promoters will be realised. There is a long and important list of ‘‘ Advisory 
Council’’ printed at the end, and among those who are representatives of the 
different countries of the world, we read ‘‘H. M. Stanley, representing Humanity,” 
and this entry comes first. 
A SYSTEMATIC and alphabetical index of new species of North American flowering 
plants and ferns published in 1892 is in preparation at the United States National 
Herbarium. What a boon to systematists if all national Herbaria would follow 
this example ! 
