GLEANINGS EEPOETS. 22 



Early Wild Flowers. — Will observers generally record and 

 communicate to ns the dates of flowering of such of the following plants 

 as they may note in their neighbourhood : Lesser Celandine, Sweet 

 Violet, Coltsfoot, Primrose, Dog's Mercury, Hazel, Snowdrop, Blue-bell 

 (Scilla nutans,) Cowslip, Marsh Marigold, Cuckoo Flower, (Cardamine 

 pratensis,) and Bulbous Buttercup (Ranunculus bulbosus.) — Eds. M.N. 



Water and Air. — Professor Tyndall's Christmas Juvenile Lectures, 

 at the Koyal Institution, on "Water and Air" will, by speeial permission 

 of Dr. Tyndall, appear in full in "The Journal of Science." The first 

 lecture will be inserted in the number for January, 1880. 



Dew, Mist, and Fog. — In a recent paper read before the Meteoro- 

 logical Society, Mr. Geo. Dines estimates the amount of dew which fall* 

 annually at ljjin. Mist and fog are stated to " differ only in degree ;" and 

 perhaps the best definition to be given of either is that of a cloud resting 

 upon, or rather rolling over, the earth's surface. Morning mists are 

 produced by the evaporation of water-vapour from damp surfaces being 

 greater than the air over those surfaces can absorb or retain in the 

 invisible state ; evening mists by cold surfaces (good radiators as grass 

 fields) chilling the air which rests upon them. Fog is more difficult 

 to account for fully, and Mr. Dines is "inclined to attribute these fogs 

 to some cause at present unknown to us, by which the whole body 

 of the air to some distance above the surface of the earth is cooled 

 down, and, as a consequence, part of the vapour in that ah - is con- 

 densed, and forms what has been called an ' earth cloud ' " i. e. a fog. 

 The reason why the water particles which form mists, fogs, clouds, &o., 

 do not fall at once to the earth is, Mr. Dines says, that they " are so 

 minute that they are unable to force their way through the air beneath 

 them ; they float in that air, like dust in our rooms or partioles of 

 smoke in the atmosphere ; yet, who doubts that both of these are 

 specifically heavier than the air by which they are surrounded ? " 



— • — 



BIRMINGHAM AND MIDLAND INSTITUTE SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 

 — November 26, Mr. C. J. Watson read a paper on the " Slide Rule," which was 

 illustrated by various forms of the instrument lent for the occasion by the 

 Mayor, and Messrs. Rabone and Sons. 



BIRMINGHAM NATURAL HISTORY AND MICROSCOPICAL 



SOCIETY.— Microscopical General Meeting.— November 18th.— Mr. T. 

 Bolton exhibited a curious Infusorian, Peridinium cinctum, occurring just now 

 in considerable abundance in the pools at Sutton. Mr. H. W. Jones exhibited 

 Sarjartia elegans, showing reproduction by gemmation Mr. W. P. 

 Marshall read some notes on Leptodora Tiyalina, which will appear in a future 

 number of the " Midland Naturalist." They were illustrated by numerous 

 coloured diagrams and specimens under the microscopes. At the conclusion Mr. 

 H. E. Forrest gave many additional particulars of the anatomy of the animal, 

 and a discussion followed, in which Messrs. J. F. Goode, W. R. Hughes, G. S. 

 Tye, R. M. Lloyd, and others took part. Geological Section. — November 25th. 

 — The subject of the exploration of Kent's Cavern having been introduced, the 

 section recommends that this society, recognising the importance of continued 

 exploration in Kent's Cavern, do correspond with Professor Williamson and 

 Professor Boyd Dawkins, requesting information as to the manner in which this 

 society can aid the proposed extension of the exploration, and as to whether it 

 would be possible for societies aiding to a fixed extent in the work to obtain a 

 series of typical specimens for their own collections. Mr. Levick communicated 

 a letter from Professor Kellicott, of Buffalo, on the new Rotifer, Anurcea 

 longisjnna, with two photographs. Mr. Jones exhibited a young specimen of 



