154 MIDLAND UNION GENERAL BUSINESS. 



have been found to be, to some extent, fossiliferouH and to be derived 

 from the Bunter Conf»lomerate, which latter fcrmation is derived from 

 a ridge of old laud which extended from the Malverns to Charnwood 

 Forest. Vestiges of this old land occur not only in Charnwood and the 

 Malverns, but in the Hartshill Range of Warwickshire, and the Lickey 

 Hills of Worcestershire ; rocks of Cambrian and Pre-Cambrian age 

 have quite recently been detected in both these localities ; rocks which 

 had been wrongly mapped by the Geological Survey as Upper 

 Silurians, Millstone Grit, and even as coal measui'es ! It is most clear 

 that the Government map should be very closely scrutinized and 

 regarded with a " healthy scepticism " instead of the implicit acceptance 

 with with it has hitherto been received. The neighbourhood of 

 Nottingham has shown the same thing ; the able and long continued 

 researches of Mr. James Shipman having enabled him to correct in 

 many points the work of the Survey, and to construct the large-scale 

 geological map of the town and neighbourhood which is exhibited at 

 this meeting. 



Although in other branches of science less marked discoveries have 

 been made, yet the progress has been satisfactory. In Entomology many 

 beetles new to the Midlands, and one or two species which are probably 

 new altogether, have been found by Mr. W. G. Blatch. 



The organ of the Union — TJw Midland Naturalist — has been issued 

 with regularity during the year, and has maintained the high place in 

 local scientific literature which it assumed on the appearance of the 

 first number. It cannot be doubted that in future years the value of 

 perfect sets of The Midl(ni(l Naturalist to all scientific workers in the 

 Midlands will be very great. It is greatly to be regretted that this 

 Journal is not better supported by the members of the societies whose 

 official organ it purports to be ; the ai-my of grumblers is very large, 

 but the number of those who render active aid of any kind is very 

 small, and the whole burden devolves, and has devolved from the 

 beginning, upon a few willing shoulders. The more important papers 

 published during the year include "The Desmidiese of North Wales," 

 by A. W. Wills, "Flora of Warwickshire," by J. A'. Bagnall, "Entomo- 

 logical Rambles," by W. G. Blatch, "Minerals of the Midlands," by 

 C. J. Woodward, "Meteorology of the Months," by C. L. Wrarjue, "The 

 Permian Formation," by E. Wilson, " Ancient Inhabitants of the 

 Cotswolds," by //, BZ/yZ, " A Nest-building Fish," by Silvanus Wilkiiis, 

 " Migratory Birds," by 0. V. Aplin, " The Archasau Rocks," by Dr. C. 

 Callaway, "The Goldfinch," by //. A. Macpherson. "Fresh-water 

 Aquaria," by R. M. Lloyd, " Study of Fungi," by Dr. M. C. Cooke, 

 "Birds of Leicester.shire," by T. Macaulaij, "Note on Bopyrus 

 Squillarum," by W. R. Huyhes, " Report on Penn'ttulida," by the Messrs. 

 Marshall, "The Myxomycetes,'" by ir. B. Grove, "Beavers and the Bute 

 Beavery," by E. D. De Ilamel, " Derbyshire Land and Freshwater 

 Shells," by Rev. H. Millies, &c., &c. Mr. W. J. Harrison has written 

 several reviews of scientific works for the Magazine. 



Daricin Prize. — The award of the first Darwin Medal was made 

 known at the fourth annual meeting of the Union, at Cheltenham, in 

 1881. The medal could not be presented at that meeting, as the dies 

 wei'e not ready, but the delay is not to be regretted, since, as the 

 medal was won by a Nottingham geologist — Mr. E. Wilson, F.G.S., 

 — there is a peculiar appropriateness in its actual presentation to that 

 gentleman taking place at the present meeting. 



The subject of the Darwin Prize for 1882 was Biology. This subject 

 is such an extremely wide and comprehensive one, and the difficulty 

 of comparing papers on botanical subjects with papers on zoological 



