48 



ASSOCIATIONS FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF SCIENCE. (BRITISH.) 



marks were descriptive of suggested points in 

 geology concerning which greater research might 

 aid in elucidation of the subject. 



The following-named papers were read and dis- 

 cussed: On the Relations between the Dover and 

 Franco-Belgian Coal Basins, by R. Etheridge; 

 The Southeastern Coal Field, by W. Boyd Daw- 

 kins; Note relating to a Boring through the 

 Chalk and Gault near Dieppe, by A. J. Jukes- 

 Browne ; On Some Recent Work among the Upper 

 Carboniferous of North Staffordshire and its 

 Bearings on Conceded Coal Fields, by Walcot 

 Gibson; Photographs of Sandstone Pipes in the 

 Carboniferous Limestone at Doolbau, Anglesey, 

 by Edward Greenley ;. Barium Sulphate as a Ce- 

 menting Material in the Bunter Sandstone of 

 North Staffordshire, by C. B. Webb; Recent De- 

 velopments in the System of Photo-micrography 

 of Opaque Objects as applied to the Delineation 

 of the Minute Structure of Fossils, by A. W. 

 Rowe; Water Zones and their Influence on the 

 Situation and Growth of Concretions, by George 

 Abbott: The Extra-morainic Drainage in York- 

 shire, by Percy F. Kendall; The Origin of Lateral 

 Moraines and Rock Trains, by J. Lomas; On the 

 Origin of Flint and Homotaxy and Contempora- 

 neity, by W. J. Sollas ; Some Observations on the 

 Surface of the Mount Sorrel Granite, by W. W. 

 Watts ; On the Origin of Chondritic Meteorites, by 

 A. Renard ; On Coast Erosion from Deal to Dover, 

 Folkestone, and Sandgate, by Capt. McDakin; On 

 Coast Erosion from Walmer to Whitstable, by 

 G. Dowker; A Preliminary Report upon the Ero- 

 sion of the Seacoast of the United Kingdom, by 

 G. W. Whitaker; Photographs of Wave Phe- 

 nomena, by Vaughan Cornish; On the Eruption 

 of Mount Vesuvius in September, 1898, by Tem- 

 pest Anderson; The Mode of Erosion of Some 

 Yorkshire Valleys, by Percy F. Kendall; The 

 Geological Condition of a Tunnel under the 

 Straits of Dover, by W. Boyd Dawkins; A Pro- 

 posed New Classification of the Older and Newer 

 Pliocene Deposits of the East of England and 

 Meteorological Conditions of Northwestern Eu- 

 rope during the Pliocene and Glacial Periods, by 

 F. W. Harmer; Some Observations on the Palaeo- 

 lithic Implements of North Kent, by J. M. Mello ; 

 Sigmoidal Curves in the Crust of the Earth, by 

 Maria M. Gordon; and A Few Observations on 

 the Subdivisions of the Carboniferous System in 

 Certain Portions of Nova Scotia, by H. M. Ami. 

 Also the following reports: Report of the Com- 

 mittee on Seismological Investigations, Report of 

 the Committee on the Structure of Crystals, Re- 

 port of the Committee on Life Zones in the Brit- 

 ish Carboniferous Rocks, The Report of the Com- 

 mittee appointed to investigate the Ty Newydd 

 Leaves at Tremeirchion, North Wales, Report of 

 the Committee on the Fossil Phyllopod of the 

 Palaeozoic Rocks, Report of the Committee on 

 Photographs of Geological Interest in the United 

 Kingdom, Report of the Committee to examine 

 the Conditions under which Remains of the Irish 

 Elk are found in the Isle of Man, Report of the 

 Committee to investigate the Canadian Pleisto- 

 cene Flora and Fauna, Report of the Committee 

 appointed to investigate the Ossiferous Caves at 

 Uphill, Report of the Committee on Erratic 

 Blocks of the British Isles, and Report of the 

 Committee on Registration of Type Specimens, 

 were presented before the section. 



D. Zoology. The presiding officer of this sec- 

 tion was Prof. Adam Sedgwick, F. R. S., of Trin- 

 ity College, Cambridge, who delivered an address 

 on Variation and Some Phenomena connected 

 with Reproduction and Sex. In beginning his 

 address he said : " That part of the science of 



zoology which deals with the functions of organs, 

 particularly of the organs of the higher animals, 

 is frequently spoken of as physiology, and is 

 separated from the rest of zoology under that 

 heading. Some of the most important problems 

 of the physiological side of zoology still remain 

 within the purview of this section." On the vari- 

 ation of organisms he said : " The members of a 

 species, though resembling one another more 

 closely than they resemble the members of other 

 species, are not absolutely alike. They present 

 differences, differences which make themselves 

 apparent even in members of the same family 

 that is, in the offspring of the same parents. 

 It is these differences to which we apply the 

 term variation. Without variation there could 

 have been no progress, no evolution in the struc- 

 ture of organisms." After discussing genetic 

 variation, he asked: "Has the variability of or- 

 ganisms ever been different from what it is now? 

 Has or has not evolution had its influence upon 

 this property of organisms, as it is supposed to 

 have had upon their other properties? There is 

 only one possible answer to this question. Un- 

 doubtedly the variability of organisms must have 

 altered with the progress of evolution." This he 

 then discussed at length, closing with: "If varia- 

 tion was markedly greater in the early periods 

 of the existence of living matter, it is clear that 

 it would have been possible for evolutionary 

 change to be effected much more rapidly than at 

 present, especially when we remember that the 

 world was then comparatively unoccupied by 

 organisms, and that, with the change of condi- 

 tions consequent on the cooling and differentia- 

 tion of the earth's surface, new places suitable 

 for organic life were continually being formed." 



The following-named papers were read and dis- 

 cussed: A New Form of Sponge (Astrosclera 

 willeyana] from Lifu, Loyalty Islands, by J. J. 

 Lister: The Morphology of the Cartilages of the 

 Monotreme Larynx, by Johnson Symington; The 

 Palpebral and Oculomotor Apparatus of Fishes, 

 by Bishop Harman; The Development of Lepido- 

 siren paradoxa, by J. Graham Kerr; Animals in 

 which Nutrition has no Influence in determining 

 Sex, by James F. Gemmill; Some newly Discov- 

 ered Neo-mylodon Remains from Patagonia, by 

 A. Smith Woodward; Observations on the Habits 

 and Characteristics of the Fur Seals of the 

 Bering Sea, by G. E. H. Barrett-Hamilton; The 

 Results of Some Experiments made at Plymouth 

 on the Artificial Rearing of Sea Fish, by Walter 

 Garstang; An Account of Dr. C. G. Joh. Peter- 

 son's Investigations in Plaice Culture in the 

 Limfjord, by Sir John Murray; The Occurrence 

 of the Gray Goumard and its Spawning in the 

 Offshore and Inshore Waters, bv W. C. Mclntosh ; 

 The Physico-Biological Aspect of the Thames 

 Estuary as Bearing on its Fisheries, by J. Murie. 



Also the following reports : Report of the Com- 

 mittee appointed to promote the Systematic Col- 

 lection of Photographic and other Records of 

 Pedigree Stock, Report of the Committee on the 

 Periodic Investigation of the Plankton..and Phys- 

 ical Conditions of the English Channel during 

 1899, Report of the Committee on the Occupation 

 of a Table at the Zoological Station at Naples, 

 Report on the Zoology of the Sandwich Islands, 

 Report on the Zoological and Botanical Publica- 

 tion, Report on the Zoology and Botany of the 

 West India Islands, and Report of the Committee 

 for constructing a Circulatory Apparatus for Ex- 

 perimental Observations on Marine Organisms. 



E. Geography. This section was presided over 

 by Sir John Murray, F. R. S., who since 1882 has 

 been the editor of the scientific results of the 



