20 



REPORTS OP SCIENTIFIC MEETINGS. 



January 2nd, 1873. 



Mildness oj the Weather at the close of the year 1872,— Colonel 

 Cox read a paper recording the extraordinary weather, and its 

 effects on organic and inorganic nature. In his garden, near 

 Canterbury, on New Tear's day was heard the song of the black- 

 bird, song thrush, mistle thrash, robin, and starling. Of insects, 

 the large and small tortoiseshell butterflies were sporting about, 

 gnats playing in cloud* in the garden, and many within doors ; 

 bees were flying about, lured from their hives by the wannth, in 

 search of scanty food. He gaihei-cd at the same time in his garden 

 a bouquet of roses, consisting of several varieties. 



Beach Pebbles at Dover. — Though this place has a bad repute 

 for good pebbles, Colonel Cox, after much experience there, found 

 many fine specimens, among which were excellent Choanites, various 

 Spongiadffi, and landscape stones ; and of these and many others he 

 displayed beautiful examples. Thus the microscopist at Dover 

 should be in no want of splendid materials of this kind. 



Stings of the Queen-Bee and fVorJcer-Bee. — A paper by Major 

 Munn was read, illustrated by drawings and specimens, on the 

 honey-bee. The leading points he intended to prove are that, 

 though the queen-bee has a sting and ejects venom therevsdth, she 

 neither can nor does inflict a wound by penetration of the sting, 

 but merely smears the poison on the stigmata of a rival queen during 

 combats. Hence he insists on the importance of the facts to the 

 apiarian and experimental physiologist, as the queen may be handled, 

 even by the most delicate fingers, without the least fear of hurt by 

 stinging. From specimens examined, at Major Munn's request, by 

 Mr. G. Gulliver, of Pembroke College, Oxford, the queen's sting 

 was found to be cui-ved, larger, and slightly blunter, than that of 

 the worker, and this last quite straight and very sharp ; the queen's 

 sting has three blunt barbs, and is about 1 -360th of an inch in 

 diameter ; the worker's sting has from eight to ten sharp barbs, 

 and is about 1 -500th of an inch in diameter. 



Pollen of Petasites fragrans. — This plant, which was imported 

 from Italy in 1806, is bi;coming quite naturalised in many English 

 and Irish places, and is abundant on a weedy waste on the north 

 side of Canterbury Cathedral. The pollen is now extremely abund- 

 ant and its grains were shown to be beautiful objects for the 

 microscope ; their shape oval, each l-500th of an inch long and 

 l-760th broad, and muricated, Uke the pollen of other Compositce, 

 on the surface, but becoming more or less spherical, with three 

 Bcars apparent, when soaked in water or dilute sulphuric acid. 

 January 16th, 1878. 



Manufacture of Agates at Oberstein. — Colonel Cox exhibited a 



