July r, 1897] 



NATURE 



2i5 



morio, Fabr., from Java, with ordinary males and females for 

 comparison. In both specimens the right branch of the forceps 

 was of the male, and the left branch of the female form. — The 

 Hon. Walter Rothschild exhibited a series of specimens of 

 EudiCiHonia hrachynra, Druiy, and E. argiphontes, Kirby, to 

 show the differences between these two West African Saturniid 

 moths. The distinctness of the latter species had been doubted, 

 as until recently it was only known by the unique examples in the 

 Dublin Museum, and the three published figures of these were 

 materially different from each other. A comparison of the 

 series exhibited showed the two species to be abundantly dis- 

 linct. — Mr. Kirkaldy exhibited fifty specimens of Notoiiecta 

 i^latica, Linn., to show the extreme range in size and colour of 

 this widely-distributed species. — The discussion on mimicry and 

 homceochromatism in butterflies was then resumed by Dr. Dixey, 

 who replied to the comments of Prof. Poulton and Mr. Bland- 

 ford on his paper. He did not regard the phenomenon of 

 reciprocal convergence as necessarily a demonstrable feature in 

 Miillerian mimicry; it was merely potential. With respect to 

 mimetic Pierince, he did not consider that they were invariably 

 l)rotected, but that, in certain cases, they were shown to be so 

 l)y the indications of convergence exhibited by the models. 

 Mr. Elwes thought, from his personal experience as a collector, 

 that there was too much assumption about both the Batesian 

 and Miillerian theories. In many supposed cases he doubted 

 whether the so-called models were protected by taste or smell. 

 He had previously referred to the extraordinary superficial re- 

 semblance between two Pieridge found in the high Andes of 

 Holivia, and two others found at similar elevations in Ladak, 

 and was inclined to think that similar conditions of environment 

 produced similar effects. Mr. J. J. Walker, Sir George Hamp- 

 son, and Colonel Yerbury gave evidence, from personal experi- 

 ence in the Tropics, as to the extreme rarity of butterfly-destruc- 

 tion by birds. The President admitted its rarity in Africa, but 

 stated that he had seen birds, especially the Drongo shrike, 

 chasing butterflies. Mr. Blandford called attention to a recent 

 paper by M. Piepers, who, as the result of twenty-eight years' 

 observation in the Malay region, had seen four instances only of 

 butterflies, two of which belonged to the "protected" genus 

 Euplaa, being attacked by birds, and had been driven to the 

 conclusion that the phenomena of mimicry had nothing to do 

 with natural selection. — Papers were communicated by the Rev. 

 F. D. Morice, on new or little-known Sphegida; from Egypt, 

 and by Prof. J. R. Grole, on changes in the structure of the 

 wing of butterflies. 



Geological Society, June 9.— Dr. Henry Hicks, F.R.S., 

 President, in the chair. — The Cretaceous strata of County 

 Antrim, by Dr. W. Fraser Hume. The paper, which dealt with 

 the Irish Cretaceous strata, was divided into four parts, viz. : I. A 

 detailed account of the principal subdivisions, their local distribu- 

 tion, and characteristic fossils. The area occupied by these 

 rocks is separated into five divisions, each marked by special 

 lithological and pak^ontological features. The main lithological 

 features are displayed in sections between Lisburn and Belfast ; 

 they are (i) glauconitic sands (a blue-green rock rich in glau- 

 conite) ; (2) glauconitic marls ; (3) yellow sandstones (a light 

 calcareous sandstone) ; (4) chloritic sands and sandstones of the 

 Exogyra colufiiha-zone (yellow-green sands and sandstones) ; and 

 (5) white limestone. II. Chemical and micromineralogical 

 examination of the lithological types. The glauconitic sands 

 are characterised by the abundance of glauconite (23 per cent. 

 CaCOg), showing evidence of having been formed in the interior 

 of foraminiferal shells ; the glauconitic marls by an abundance 

 of spheres and rods of pyrites ; the yellow sandstones by a series 

 of heavy minerals, notably rutile, zircon, tourmaline, kyanite, 

 and perfectly-formed crystals of garnet ; the luoceramus-zone 

 contains delicate glauconitic mesh-works of hexactinellid sponges 

 and silicified portions of Inocerarntis and brachiopoda, besides 

 an abundant series of heavy minerals : in the chloritic chalk 

 above the glauconitic sponge-casts become very abundant, 

 associated with delicate casts of foraminifera ; the white lime- 

 stone itself has scarcely any residue. The analyses show that 

 the percentage of carbonate of lime increases steadily from base 

 to summit, the glauconitic marls alone being an exception. III. 

 This section dealt with the stratigraphical conclusions. IV. 

 General questions. — An account of the Portraine inlier, by C. I. 

 Gardiner and S. H. Reynolds.— Some igneous rocks in North 

 Pembrokeshire, by J. Parkinson. 



Zoological Society, June 15.— Dr. St. George Mivart, 

 F,R.S., Vice-President, in the chair.— Dr. Arthur Keith ex- 



hibited a series of lantern-slides showing the arrangement of 

 the hair and some other points of interest in the Orang- 

 outang (St'inia satyriis) that had lately died in the Society's 

 Gardens. — Mr. Oldfield Thomas read an account of the mam- 

 mals obtained by Mr. John Whitehead during the last three 

 years in the Philippine Islands. During this expedition the 

 peculiar mammal-fauna of the mountains of northern Luzon 

 had been discovered, and Mr. Thomas had already described 

 no less than five new genera and eight new species belong- 

 ing to it. The paper read contained a detailed account of 

 the whole of Mr. Whitehead's collection. — A communication 

 was read from Prof. T. W. Bridge, on the presence of ribs in 

 Polyodon {Spattilaria) folium. — Mr. R. I. Pocock read a paper 

 on the spiders of the suborder Mygalomorphce from the 

 Ethiopian region contained in the collection of the Biitish 

 Museum. Many new genera and species were described, the 

 most interesting being the new genus Cyclotrematus, containing 

 two new species collected in Mashonaland by Mr. J. ffolliott 

 Darling, Slasuioptis oculalus, sp. nov., from Bloemfontein, and 

 Mogqridgea whytei, sp. nov., obtained by Mr. A. Whyte on 

 the Nyika Plateau. The discovery of new stridulating organs, 

 consisting of modified setre, lying between the mandible and the 

 maxilla in Harpactiiiay was also alluded to. — A communication 

 was read from Miss Emily M. Sharpe on the butterfl-.es collected 

 in the neigbourhood of Suakim by Mr. Alfred J. Cholmley. 

 Thirty species were enumerated, and the localities where the 

 specimens were collected and the dates of their capture were 

 recorded. — A communication was read from Mr. Walter E. 

 Collinge, describing two new slugs of the genus Parinarion 

 from Borneo, viz. P. everetti and P. intermeJiuiu. — A com- 

 munication was read from Dr. Alphonse Dubois, containing 

 notes on certain specimens of birds in the Brussels Museum, and 

 de.scribing a supposed new species of woodpecker from Borneo, 

 proposed to be called Tiga borneonensis. — A communication 

 from Mr. D. J. Scourfield contained some preliminary notes and 

 a report on the Protozoa, Tardigrada, Acarina, and Entomo- 

 straca collected \>y Dr. J. W. Gregory during his expedition to 

 Spitzbergen in 1896. — A communication from Mr. David Bryce 

 contained a report on the Rotifera collected by Dr. Gregory's 

 expedition in Spitzbergen. —Mr. G. A. Boulenger, F. R.S., gave 

 a list of the reptiles and batrachians collected in Northern 

 Nyasaland by Mr. Alex. Whyte, and presented to the British 

 Museum by Sir Harry Johnston, K.C.B. Thirty-six species of 

 reptiles and fifteen species of batrachians were enumerated, of 

 which the following were described as new -. — Lygosoma john- 

 sloiti, Glypholycus whytii, Attthrolcptis whytii and Hylainbates 

 johnstoiti. — Dr. Fowler communicated a paper on the later 

 development of Arachnactis albida (M. Sars) and on A. boweni, 

 sp. nov., being the third instalment of the "Contributions to 

 our Knowledge of the Plankton of the Faeroe Channel." 



Royal Meteorological Society, June 16.— Mr. E. Mawley, 

 President, in the chair. — A paper, by Mr. R. C. Mossman, on 

 the non-instrumental meteorology of London, 1713-1896, was 

 read by the Secretary. The author has gone through the principal 

 meteorological registers and weather records kept in the 

 metropolis, and in this paper discusses for a period of 167 years 

 the notices of thunderstorms, lightning without thunder, fog, 

 snow, hail and gales. The average number of thunderstorms 

 is 97 per annum, the maximum occurring in July, and the 

 minimum in February. The average number of fogs is 24*4, 

 and of " dense " fogs 58 per annum. The decadal means show 

 that there has been a steady and uninterrupted increase of fog 

 since 1841. The average number of days with snow is I3*6 

 per annum. The snowiest winter was that of 1887-8, with 

 forty-three days, while in the winter of 1862-3 there is not a 

 single instance of a snowfall. The mean date of first snowfall is 

 November 9, and of last snowfall March 30. Hail is essentially 

 a spring phenomenon, reaching a maximum in March and 

 April ; the minimum is in July and August. The average 

 number of days with hail is 59 per annum. — Mr. C. Harding 

 gave an account of the hailstorm which occurred in the south- 

 west of London on April 27. This accompanied a thunderstorm, 

 in which the lightning was very vivid. The hail lasted only 

 about twenty minutes, from 6.30 to 6.50 p.m., and in that 

 short space of time the melted hail and rain amounted to about 

 an inch of water. The districts affected by the hail were 

 Tooting, Balham, Streatham, Tulse Hill, and Brixton. The 

 ground was quite white with the hailstones, which in some places 

 remained unmelted the whole of the next day. Much damage 

 was done to fruit-trees and shrubs. 



NO. 1444. VOL. 56] 



