1893-94-] Exhibits in Natural History. in 



honour in his own country. One is rather disappointed to 

 read in the new edition of ' Chambers's Encyclopaedia " (1888) 

 that " British specimens of Anacharis are exclusively female, 

 the male plant not having been introduced." I wrote to the 

 editor, Dr Patrick, calling attention to this inaccuracy, and he 

 has courteously promised to make the correction in the next 

 edition. I trust the name of the discoverer will also be men- 

 tioned, and some recognition be thus made of a worthy 

 Scottish naturalist. 



EXHIBITS IN NATURAL HISTORY. 



The following were the chief exhibits at the evening meetings 

 throughout the session : — 



By Mrs Sprague. 



Wasp's Nest from Africa.— This uest is of a roughly cylindrical shape, 7 

 inches in length, and 4 inches in diameter. It is formed of a sort of 

 papier-mache, of a pale brownish colour, and was suspended from a small 

 branch of a tree. The bottom is flat and circular, and the entrance to the 

 nest is a round hole in the centre of the bottom. It was bought at a 

 bazaar, and has two words written on it which seem to be " Cabas Tapinas ". 

 Nothing could be learnt about it at the Edinburgh Museum of Science 

 and Art. 



Land-shells from Mentone.— These included shells of the large edible 

 snail, Helix pomatia, and the pretty Cyclostoma elegans. The most re- 

 markable, however, was Bulimus decollatus, of which every specimen found 

 was broken off at the apex. Regarding this condition of the shell, Pro- 

 fessor Nicholson writes in his < Manual of Zoology ' (p. 353 of fifth edition) : 

 " In many of the spiral univalves, as the animal grows, it withdraws itself 

 from the upper portion of the shell, often partitioning off the space thus 

 left vacant. In many instances the portion thus abandoned falls off, and 

 the shell becomes ' truncated ' or ' decollated ' ; this being the normal con- 

 dition in fully -grown examples of some shells ". 



Tropical Bean-pod (Afzelia Guanzensis (Welw.))— The pod exhibited was 

 about 5 inches long by 2J broad. It contained five large smooth beans of 

 a dull black colour, with a beautiful large scarlet aril. Another specimen 

 was 6 inches long by 2 broad. A description of the plant is given in 

 Oliver's ' Tropical Africa '. 



Articles from Zululand. — These included several implements of war, 

 articles of dress, and ornaments. The most interesting were, perhaps, the 

 necklaces made of medicinal roots and seeds : these are worn by both men 



