January 24, 1901] 



NA TURE 



315 



the Rev. O. Pickard Cambridge, F.R.S., containing an account 

 of some new and interesting spiders collected in South Africa by 

 Mr. G. A. K. Marshall, and in the Malay Peninsula and Borneo 

 by Mr. R. Shelford.— Mr. F. E. Beddard, F.R.S., contributed 

 a fourth instalment of his notes on the anatomy of Picarian birds, 

 which contained an account of the skeletons of the ground- 

 hornbills {Bucorvus cafer and B. abyssinicus) and notes on other 

 species of hornbills. — A communication from Dr. A. G. Butler 

 contained notes on and a list of the butterflies recently collected 

 by Captain H. N. Dunn on the White Nile. — Dr. F. G. Parsons 

 read a paper on the muscles and joints of the giant golden mole 

 [Chrysochloris trevelyani), based on an examination of three 

 specimens of this animal. The author found that previous 

 observations, which hid been made on less material, though 

 mainly correct, were somewhat inaccurate in details. 



Entomological Society, January i6. — Annual Meeting. 

 Mr. G. H. Verrall, the President, in the chair.— It was an- 

 nounced that the following had been elected officers for the 

 session 1901-2. President, the Rev. Canon Fowler ; Treasurer, 

 Mr. R. McLachlan, F.R.S. ; Secretaries, Mr. Herbert Goss 

 and Mr. H. Rowland-Brown. — The President referred to the 

 losses the Society had sustained during the past session by 

 the deaths of Mr. Spence, the Baron de Selys-Longchamps, 

 Mr. Blatch, Major G. Cockle, Mr. P. Crowley, Lord Dormer, 

 Mr. J. H. Leech, Dr. W. H. Lowe, Prof. Joseph Mik, Prof. 

 Emile Blanchard, Dr. Staudinger, and other entomologists. 

 He then delivered an address, in which he dealt chiefly 

 with the abuses and errors which have crept into entomo- 

 logical nomenclature and the reckless manner in which types 

 of various genera are described from single specimens, with- 

 out careful study of the many forms which a single insect may 

 assume even in a limited locality. He especially deprecated 

 the publication of supposed new species or varieties before their 

 identity had been certainly established, where the object of the 

 author was to claim something more than a contribution to 

 material for determination. In the vexed problem of priority 

 in nomenclature, he expressed himself all in favour of retaining 

 distinctive names only when such names were neither offensive 

 to good sense nor grammar, and cited instances in which a 

 printer's error was still received as orthodox, while the obvious 

 and original name given by the inventor was rigorously dis- 

 carded. Lastly, in reply to those who have questioned the 

 value of entomology as a science, he mentioned several amusing 

 instances of what an experienced entomologist might do in the 

 way of turning his knowledge to practical account. Commen- 

 tators on the work of the late Robert Louis Stevenson were 

 unable, but anxious, to discover whether the notes made by him 

 in a certain book were written before or after he had taken up 

 his residence in Samoa. A fly which had been squeezed be- 

 tween the pages settled the question, for Mr. Verrall at once 

 pronounced the remains as those of an insect peculiar to the 

 Polynesian islands. 



Institution of Mining and Metallurgy, January 16. — 

 Mr. A. G. Charleton, Vice-President, in the chair. — Notes on 

 mine surveying, by G. A. Troye. In this paper the author 

 refers chiefly to the practice in the Transvaal, and briefly de- 

 scribes the methods employed there. He aims at a high standard 

 in a mine surveyor, who, he thinks, in addition to essential 

 requirements, should be expected to be a competent geologist, 

 with a thorough knowledge of the occurrence of ore deposits, 

 their dislocations, &c. He considers that it is to him the 

 management should appeal in cases of disturbed ground, and he, 

 more than any one, should be able to quickly find a lode lost 

 through displacement, and should be held responsible for the 

 proper development of a mine. Numerous examples explain 

 ihe different forms of calculation. Stress was laid upon the 

 necessity of checking all survey work most carefully, and to 

 attain this the co-ordinates are always calculated by the author 

 from two sides of a triangle in order to obtain independent 

 results. The traverses are calculated by inverse multiplication 

 of the natural sines and co-sines of the angles of direction or 

 bearings. A strong point is made in the paper of the desira- 

 bility of having substantial permanent bench-marks both above 

 and below ground, the latter being labelled with a numbered 

 lin ticket. This, the author says, has proved of great advan- 

 tage to the mine-manager, sampler, &c. , and facilitates work of 

 all kinds, especially when a change of staff takes place. Many 

 useful hints are given as to conducting a survey, keeping the 

 field-book and calculating results. — Paper on electro-silvered 



NO. 1630, VOL. 63] 



versus plain copper plates, by Edward Halse. In this 

 paper the author deals with the question of the use of 

 electro-silvered plates in gold milling in preference to plain 

 copper plates, and quotes in support of his view various works 

 on the metallurgy of gold. An important question to the mill- 

 man is whether silvered plates extract more gold from the 

 crushed ore, and the author is convinced from experience that 

 this is the case and that therefore silvered plates should super- 

 sede plain copper plates in gold milling. He gives numerous 

 tables of results in support of his view, and the paper contains much 

 useful information. In the discussion it was pointed out that in 

 many cases the percentage of gold extracted was low in con- 

 sequence of the failure of the millman to keep his plates clean, 

 and the importance of the increased use of "elbow-grease" 

 rather than chemicals was strongly emphasised. — Note on an 

 improved native gold-mill, by the same author. The note gives 

 details of an improved mill worked by overshot water-wheel 

 erected by the Colombian Mines Corporation at Antioquia, 

 Colombia, where the water supply was much in e.xcess of 

 requirements.— Note on the geology of Lake Nyasa, by 

 Alexander Richardson. The author describes Lake Nyasa 

 as a sheet of clear water some 360 miles in length by from 

 14 to 40 miles in width, lying at an altitude of 1500 feet, 

 its deepest part being 1000 feet below sea-level. After describ- 

 ing the geological formations he goes on to say that whilst as 

 yet no valuable minerals have been discovered in British Central 

 Africa, half-caste Portuguese at one time worked alluvial gold 

 between the Angoni country and the Zambesi, and gives it as 

 his opinion that workable gold will be found in the mountainous 

 region to the west. For half the year the climate is wet and 

 malarious and for the other half dry, cool and healthy. 



Royal Meteorological Society, January 16. — The Pre- 

 sident, Dr. C. Theodore Williams, in the chair. — Annual 

 General Meeting. — Reference was made to the celebration of 

 the Society's Jubilee on April 3-4 last, and also to the death of 

 Mr. G. J. Symons, F. R.S., who had amongst other things be- 

 queathed to the Society about 2200 volumes and 4000 pamphlets 

 from his valuable library. — Dr. C. Theodore Williams delivered 

 the presidential address, taking for his subject the climate of 

 Norway and its factors. He considered that its meteorology 

 should prove an attractive study for the Society as having much 

 in common with that of our country, both the Norwegian and 

 the British shores being influenced by the same Gulf Stream, 

 and having their winters and summers tempered by the same 

 equalising agency. The factors which influenced the climate 

 were : (i) the insular character of the country ; (2) the distribu- 

 tion of the mountain ranges, which explains to a large extent 

 the rainfall ; (3) the waters of the ocean, which, from a variety of 

 circumstances, come into close connection with much of the 

 country and thus temper extremes of climate ; and (4) the sun, 

 which in this latititude remains in the summer long above the 

 horizon, and in the winter long below it. The address was 

 illustrated by a large number of lantern slides of Norwegian 

 scenery, embracing mountains, glaciers, fjords, &c. — The elec- 

 tion of officers and council for the ensuing year then took place, 

 Mr. W. H. Dines being appointed president, and Dr. C. 

 Theodore Williams treasurer. 



Linnean Society, December 20, 1900. — Prof. S. H. Vines, 

 F.R.S., President, in the chair. — Mr. B. Daydon Jackson exhi- 

 bited two editions of Hill's "Flora Britannica," the earlier, of 

 1759, being apparently unknown to bibliographers. This edition 

 differs from the usual issue of 1760 in having a different title- 

 page, and publisher's name : the copj- exhibited wants the plates 

 mentioned on the title. The species ascribed to the genus 

 Statice are three in number ; in modern nomenclature one species 

 of Armeria and two of Statice. — Prof. Howes, F.R.S., exhibited 

 a couple of pigeon's egg-shells, cast up at the mouth by the 

 tropical African egg-eating snake Dasypeltis scabra, now living 

 in the Zoological Society's Gardens, and called attention to the 

 presence of a series of spiral and longitudinal fracture- lines, 

 pointing to an elaborate co-ordinate muscular activity in the 

 " crushing " process, the probable nature of which he discussed, 

 in the light of the recent investigations of Katheriner into the 

 anatomy of the animal and the observations of Miss Durham 

 upon its feeding habits. — Prof. Poulton, F.R.S., exhibited a 

 living specimen of the death's-head moth (Acherotia atropos), 

 and proved with a stethoscope that the late Prof, Moseley was 

 correct in stating that the sound comes from the proboscis. He 

 also showed that all sound ceased the moment the tip of the 



