232 NATURAL SCIENCE. may. 



destruction of these insects, he thought that the direct action of man might in most 

 cases be wholly disregarded. Indirectly, by draining the fens, man was no doubt 

 responsible for the extinction of many of their peculiar denizens, but even this did 

 not account for all, since some insects disappeared or became very rare without any 

 striking change in the locality they inhabited. He considered that such cases were 

 generally due to climatic causes, the insects being possibly on the extreme limit of 

 their geographical area. In some cases the gradual drying of the fen might, by 

 affecting the food-plant, prove fatal in the end to the larvae feeding on it. Mr. Horace 

 B. Woodward, of the Geological Survey, was elected President of the Society for the 

 ensuing year. 



We have received "The Caradoc Record of Bare Facts: a Systematic List of 

 the more noteworthy Observations made by the Members of the Caradoc Field 

 Club and Others, during the year 1891." The principal object of the publication is 

 to collect and systematically arrange a series of definitely ascertained facts in the 

 Natural History of the Caradoc District, for future reference. The services of 

 several specialists have been enlisted, and the record is placed under their superin- 

 tendence. Mr. W. Phillips is the referee for Botany, Mr. W. E. Beckwith for 

 Ornithology, Mr. E. S. Cobbold for Entomology, and Rev. J. D. La Touche for 

 Geology. Brief hints are given to observers, and the results for 1891 occupy eleven 

 pages of tables. The authority for each identification is stated, and the names 

 of Messrs. Harting, Howard Saunders, Etheridge, Lapworth, and Callaway appear 

 among others. Such records of occurrences are of great interest and value, and we 

 wish the Club success in its new undertaking. At the same time, we cannot refrain 

 from urging again our contention of last month, that records of this kind ought not 

 to be the ultimate aim of the Field Clubs. While the indexing is being done, there are 

 ample opportunities for obtaining items of immediate importance in the progress of 

 the philosophy of Biology and Geology ; and we hope the Caradoc Club will 

 be able to pay more attention to this aspect of its work in future Records. 



In reference to our remarks last month on the Palaeontographical Society's 

 announcements, a correspondent writes as follows : — " Your^comments on the Society's 

 list of memoirs promised are opportune, inasmuch as the Annual Meeting is 

 approaching. The list of memoirs in preparation is better than it used to be, but 

 there are still ridiculous entries. The Society first ' promised ' in 1862, and one of 

 these early promises, the ' Graptolites,' by Wyville Thomson, was repeated until 

 1881. The promise in 1865 of 'Cretaceous Mollusca,' by Wiltshire and S. P. 

 Woodward, was no doubt cancelled by the death of the latter in 1865, but the work 

 was still kept in the list until 1891. The ' Purbeck and Rha^tic Mollusca,' by 

 Etheridge, were first promised in 1866, and still remain, though it must be as 

 apparent to the executive as to the outsider that they might as well leave the list. 

 The same may be said of ' Fossil Cycadeae,' by Carruthers (1877), or even of 

 'Silurian Fishes,' by Harley (18S3). The first part of the 'Crag Foraminifera ' 

 appeared in 1S66, and the completion has been regularly promised ever since ; while 

 the memoirs on the Cretaceous and Liassic Foraminifera were ' in preparation ' 

 for at least 20 years until they finally dropped out of the list." 



The Jalirhiich der Haniburgischen Wissenschaftlichcn Anstalten for 1891 (vol. ix.) 

 contains several contributions to the Zoology of Eastern Africa, largely based on the 

 collections of Dr. Fr. Stuhlmann. Earthworms are described by W. Michaelsen ; 

 Termites, Odonata, and Neuroptera by A. Gerstiicker ; and Mammals by T. Noack. 

 The spiders of Madagascar and Nossibe are treated by H. Lenz ; and there are some 

 interesting notes on the tropical nut-bearing plants of Eastern Africa by R. Sadebeck. 



