3l6 NATURAL SCIENCE. April, 



be a laige series of Egyptian antiquities obtained by the donor herself while travel- 

 ling in the East ; but it is intended also to add a general collection of Natural 

 History, with special reference to the fauna, flora, and geology of East Cheshire. Miss 

 Brocklehurst proposes, in association with her brother, to arrange for an endowment 

 of ;^ioo per annum, half to be devoted to maintenance, half to the Park Keeper for 

 curating. As the munificent donor requests to be favoured with suggestions, we 

 would venture to remark, from our knowledge of the culture of the average Town 

 Councillor, that no institution of the character she proposes to found can flourish 

 under the direction of a Corporation Committee without the guidance of some 

 educated and experienced curator. Unless adequate provision be made for such an 

 officer, the Museum will become a mere storehouse of " curiosities" of no value to 

 anyone. 



We have received the Seventh Annual Report of the Liverpool Marine Biology 

 ■Committee and their Biological Station at Port Erin, Isle of Man, drawn up by 

 Professor W. A. Herdman. The work of the Committee was transferred to Port 

 Erin from Puffin Island in 1892, and the present report shows how it has benefited 

 by the change. Two dozen workers (not 60, as the report says) have stayed at the 

 station for varying periods during the year. The Curator for most of this period 

 was Mr. J. H. Vanstone, who resigned in September; a new Curator will 

 be appointed by the committee after Easter. A separate aquarium and tank- 

 house have been built for the storage of living marine animals and plants, 

 for facilitating observations on habits and life histories, and for exhibition 

 to the public. During the latter part of the summer a charge of 3d. was 

 made for admission to the aquarium, and this in four weeks produced 

 £1 17s. lod., from which we infer that one visitor was let in cheap or 

 else did not get his proper change. To make the aquarium more permanently 

 attractive than the come and go of living material renders possible, it is intended 

 to display round the walls a large collection of Manx Invertebrata presented by 

 Mr. G. W. Wood. It was hoped that the Lancashire Sea- Fisheries Committee would 

 by this time have erected a fish hatching-establishment alongside of the Biological 

 Station, especially as Captain Dannevig of the Norwegian hatchery at Flodewig 

 reported favourably on this scheme. Unexpected difficulties have, however, arisen; 

 but the reporter seems confident that sooner or later Port Erin will become an im 

 portant centre for the propagation of young food-fishes. During 1893 eight dredging 

 expeditions were carried out, mostly under the auspices of a Committee of the 

 British Association, and a considerable amount of the Irish Sea was explored. 

 Over a thousand species of marine animals were collected and identified, of which 

 38 were new records to the British fauna, 224 new to the particular district, and 17 

 new to science. The Report contains four plates illustrating the arrangements of 

 the station, a chart of the Irish Sea and a considerable quantity of interesting 

 matter. The expenses of the year amount to about /180, in return for which a 

 great deal of good work has been done ; but we regret to see that this is not quite 

 covered by the yearly income. Subscriptions may be sent to Mr. I. C. Thompson, 

 19, Waverley Road, Liverpool, while applications to be allowed to work at the 

 station or for specimens should be addressed to Professor Herdman, University 

 College, Liverpool. 



The City of London Entomological and Natural History Society has published 

 its Report for the year 1893. The President for this year is Mr. J. E. Clark, and 

 the Secretary Mr. C. Nicholson, 202 Evering Road, Upper Clapton, N.E. This 

 Society has for its object the diffusion of the science ot Natural History, by 

 means of papers, discussions, exhibitions, and the formation of collections for 

 reference. The meetings take place on the first and third Tuesdays in 

 each month, from 7.30 to 9.30 p.m., at the London Institution, Finsbury Circus. 

 The entrance fee is two shillings, and the annual subscription five shillings. The 

 papers in the Report deal entirely with entomological matters, but that by Dr. 

 Buckell on "Specific Nomenclature: Present, Past, and Future," should interest 



