"24 REJPOK'i'S OK SOCIETIES. 



was no necessity for a direct road, as there was no direct tralfic ; but when 

 Lionrton had to be governed from Rome it was very important they sliould have 

 a good straiglit track. Tlie Komans followed their usual rule, and the fact of 

 their making deviations in this neighbourhood showed that there must have 

 been a good cause for it, viz., the potteries. Referring to a perfectly good leaden 

 vessel, which must have lieen in the groinid 1,700 years, he said there was reason 

 to believe that Britain traded with Egypt in tin, and had the credit of smelting 

 load at least 2,000 years before Christ. He concluded by expressing the pleasure 

 it gave him to see the beautiful collection of Roman remains before him. 

 Lady Huntly was so well acquainted with the subject that he felt she might 

 have treated it much better than he had done. The exhibits included Roman 

 cinerary urns, tibube, and coins collected by Ijady Huntly ; leaden coffer found 

 in London by Professor Tylor ; Roman jewels and coins, lent by Dr. T. J. Walker ; 

 Bellamine vases,etc. December (5.— Ordinary Meeting, when an address was given 

 Ijy the Kev. H. .J. Fry, P.R.G.S., on " The Land's End District." The lecturer said 

 that the district west of Penzance was a tableland, with a ridge of hills near the 

 northern coast, and deep intersecting valleys. The whole is composed of a grey 

 granite containing large crystals'of felspar. The country has all the peculiarities 

 of a granite district, such as castle-like escarpments on the hill sides,cairns,or great 

 piles of granite, a precipitous coast, immense boulders, and a light shallow soil. 

 The climate of the Land's End District is very mild ; myrtles and hydrangeas 

 grow to a great size, and cauliflowers and potatoes are sent very early to the 

 London market. The tin mines of Cornwall are not worked so much as formerly, 

 owing to the valuable ores imported from .\ustralia. The Cornish, however, 

 unlike the Irish, do not cling to the soil when there is no chance of getting a 

 living from it; they remove to other parts of England, or emigrate to other 

 countries. Trees are found only in the valleys of the district, the strong winds 

 preventing them from growing on the higher ground. Many plants common in 

 other parts of England are rare here, such as the dog-rose, cowslip, buttercup, 

 and others. On the other hand, plants rare in more northern counties grow 

 here in abundance. Some of the smaller -valleys are full of the royal fern 

 {Osmunda re(jalis.) Wahlenherfjia hederaceii is also found, and samphire and 

 the sea spleenwort (Asplenmm mariiium) are plentiful. The Land's End 

 district seems to have been one of the last parts of England subdued by the 

 Sa.xons. Athelstan defeated the Cornish in a great battle near St. Buriau, in 

 A.D. 926, and afterwards made an expedition to the Scilly Isles. The Cornish 

 language only lingers in the names of places and people— 

 " By Tre, Pol, and Pen, 

 You may know the Cornish men." 

 Cornwall, esi)ecially that part of it near .the Land's End, is full of antiquities, 

 and, according to Dr. Borlase, these were much more numerous a hundred years 

 ago. In the parish of St. Burian, where the lecturer resided, there are seven 

 ancient crosses, two Druidical circles, some holed stones, and several cairns, 

 barrows, and tall granite pillars. Cromlechs are abundant in the district, and 

 so are ancient encampments. There is an inscription on a large stone which 

 marks the grave of Kioval, the son of Cunoval, who is supposed to have 

 reigned in Cornwall about a.d. 454. In [some parts of the Land's End district 

 there are also curious huts, built in the shape of Esquimaux snow houses. 

 These wei'e probably built on the surface, but, perhaps owing to the action of 

 earth-worms, they are now beneath the ground. Mr. J. W. Bodger exhibited, in 

 the absence of Mr. Markland, an unusually fine specimen of Natica gigantea, 

 from the Ketton Oolite. December 14th. — Lecture by the Rev. J. G. Wood, on 

 '•Bee Life." 



CoBKECTioN. — Bo2}yrus squillarum. —My friend, Mr. H. E. Forrest, 

 has called my attention to an error in the " Description of Plate X.," 

 at page 273 of the December number. Figs. 4 and 5 should be 

 reversed to agree with the plate. This will be obvious on comparing 

 the figures with the description. The text needs no alteration. — 

 W. R. H. 



