October 3, 1895] 



NA 7 LIRE 



561 



arisen, if, as usually supposed, all the species of a " genus "' have 

 descended from a common ancestral for each genus, in the one 

 case four-branched, and in the other case two-branched. On 

 the other hand, it is comparatively easy to explain the more or 

 less simultaneous existence of forms possessing the same number 

 of stipes, Ijut otherwise only distantly related, if they are 

 diflferent ancestral types. Phenomena somewhat analogous have 

 been detected amongst the species of Ammonites and Brachio- 

 pods. I'ollowing these inferences to their legitimate conclusion, 

 the authors point out how "genera,'' like Diplograpttis and 

 Monograptus, may contain representatives of more than one 

 "family" of graptolites according to the classification now in 

 vogue, which would account for the great diversity in the 

 characters in the monograptid hydrotheca;. 



Messrs. Garwood and ^iuir followed with a paper on the zonal 

 divisions of the Carboniferous system. The following zones are 

 recognised by them : — 



Zone of Prodtictiis c. f. edelhtirgcnsis. 



, , , , latissimiis. 



,, ,, giganteiis. 



,, Choneles papilionacea. 



,, Spirifera octop/uala. 

 Mr. Garwood has traced the zone of P. latissimiis occupying the 

 same position relative to that of P. giganteus from Settle, in 

 Yorkshire, to the Northumbrian coast, near Howick Burn. In 

 conclusion, the authors hope that their work may be continued 

 by a Committee, and one was appointed by the Section and 

 confirmed by the General Committee of the Associat-on. 



Prof. T. Rupert Jones, in the twelfth report on Palaeozoic 

 Phyllopoda, gave a rhuiiii of these organisms referred to in 

 previous reports, and appended some valuable notes and two 

 tables by Prof. Lapworth, of which the first gives a general 

 correlation table of the Lower Pal.-eozoic rocks ; the second, the 

 horizons of the chief species of Phyllopods. A third table gives 

 a list of the geological order of species. After hearing interim 

 reports from the Committees on Eurypterids, and on type 

 specimens, the Section listened to a paper by Dr. Woodward 

 on Decapod Crustaceans from the Cretaceous rocks of Vancouver, 

 in which the following new species were described. Callianassa 

 Whiteavcsii, Palicocorystes Harveyi, Plagiophthalmus(? ) vaii- 

 coiiverensis, and Homolopsis Kichardsoni. Many of these forms 

 approach contem|x)raneous European types. The closing report 

 was that on erratic blocks. The Yorkshire Boulder Committee 

 and that of the Hull Geological Society are promoting a 

 systematic survey of the ground. New work has also been done 

 in Lincolnshire, Shropshire, Cheshire, South Wales, and Ireland. 

 A very plea.sant feature of this year's meeting has been a 

 series of afternoon w alks or drives, carefully planned by the Local 

 Secretary, Mr. Ridley ; in many of these the President took the 

 leadership, and several members of the Section attended. The 

 list of these included Bramford, .Sproughton, Orford. Sudbourne, 

 Butley and Chillesford, Woodbridge and Sutton, Tattingstone, 

 Bawdsey, Foxhall, and Cromer. At several of these localities 

 the sections had been freshly scarped or reopened by the Local 

 Committee and by the landowners. It is much to be hoped that 

 in future similar opportunities may be afforded of acquiring as ftiU 

 a knowledge of the geology of the neighbourhood in which the 

 meeting is held. 



ZOOLOGY AT THE BRITISH ASSOCIATION. 



A S this Section was occupied with dredging excursions on the 

 ■"• Saturday and Wednesday, only four days were available 

 for sectional meetings, and as the number of papers and rejwrts 

 to be discussed was large (nearly fifty), the sittings were con- 

 tinued late into the afternoon. The majority of the papers 

 dealt with marine zoological subjects, and fishery questions 

 received special attention. 



After the President's address on Thursday, the following 

 reports of Committees were taken : — 



On the marine zoologj', botany, and geology of the Irish Sea. 

 The report deals with nine dredging expeditions held during the 

 past year, and discusses the additions made to the known fauna. 

 Statistics of the dredging results are given to show (i) the 

 relative richness, per haul, of the shallower over the deeper 

 waters, and (2) the relatively large number of genera repre- 

 sented by the species in one haul ; pointing to the conclusion 

 that, as a rule, allied species are not found together. The sub- 

 marine deposits rouml the Isle of Man, and the currents of the 

 Irish Sea are also discussed. 



NO. 1353, VOL. 52] 



On the migration of birds. The nine years' observations are 

 now being tabulated for presentation at next meeting. 



Investigation of the zoology of the Sandwich Islands. Valuable 

 collections are being made and brought home, and unless these 

 are mad; now they can never be done, as the extinction of much 

 of the present fauna is not only inevitable, but will be immediate. 



Research at the Zoological Station at Naples. The Briti.sh 

 Association table has been occupied by Mr. .M. D. Hill, who 

 has been investigating the maturation and fecundation of the ova 

 of Echinodermata and Tunicata. 



Research at the Marine Biological Laboratory at Plymouth. 

 This Committee have enabled Miss Florence Buchanan to work 

 out the blood-forming organ in the larva of Magelona ; Mr. E. J. 

 Allen to work on the nervous system of the embryonic lobster ; 

 and Mr. Sumner to work at the Echinoderm fauna of Plymouth. 



Investigation of the fauna and flora of the West Indian 

 Islands. The Committee reported upon the prepress made in 

 working up the collections. 



On an Index Generum et Specierum Animalium. In Mr. 

 Sherborn's hands the Index is making satisfactory progress. 



On the physiological applications of the phonograph. The 

 Committee are studying the marks on the cylinder of the phono- 

 graph by microphotographs and by recording curves, and they 

 propose to make these available for philological purposes in the 

 study of dialects. 



The following papers were then taken : — ■ 



On the Stereornithes, by C. W. Andrews. They are a hetero- 

 geneous group of extinct birds, found in Patagonia, whose chief 

 points of resemblance lie in their large size and reduced power 

 of flight. Some of them, at least, have no special aflinities with 

 the living Ratit.-e. They are not represented in European 

 museums. 



Facts and reflections on budding in compound Ascidians, by 

 Prof. W. E. Ritter (California). The author argues for the 

 polyphyletic origin of the compound Ascidians ; he considers 

 that there is no homologue of the " epicardium " of Claveliiia 

 in either Goodsiria or Botrylliis ; he suggests that budding has 

 arisen in small Ascidians as a compensation for diminished power 

 of sexual reproduction ; he believes that physiological necessities 

 have modified the course of development by budding, so that 

 the endoderm now produces some organs originally formed from 

 ectoderm. 



A new classification of the Tunicata, by W. Garstang. The 

 author gave his reasons for proposing to modify the classifica- 

 tions given by Herdman and by Lahille, by adopting some of 

 the features of each scheme. In the main he proposes to follow 

 Ilerdman in the primary divisions, and Lahille in the sub- 

 divisions. He considers Pyrosoma to be related to the pelagic 

 forms, such as Salpa, and not to the fixed .'\scidians. He makes 

 use of the branchial sac largely in classification. This paper 

 gave rise to an interesting discussion. 



On the presence of skeletal elements between the mandibular 

 and hyoid arches of ffexaiichus and Lcemargus ; and on the pre- 

 sence of a sternum in Hexanchus grisciis, by Dr. P. White. 



On the Creodonta, by Prof. W. B. Scott. This and some of 

 the other papers gave rise to considerable discussion, and the 

 Section did not adjourn till about five o'clock. 



In the course of the day's proceedings it was moved by Prof. 

 W. A. Herdman ( President of the Section), seconded by Dr. 

 P. L. Sclater (past-President), and carried unanimously, that the 

 zoologists of this Section desire to present to Dr. John Murray 

 their congratulations on the completion of the Challenger 

 publicatioiis, and their best thanks for his splendid services to 

 science. This resolution was duly conveyed to Dr. Murray, and 

 a letter of thanks from him was received by the Section later 

 in the meeting. 



Friday was devoted to papers and discussions on the marine 

 fisheries. Prof. Mcintosh led off with a paper on some of the 

 results of scientific investigations as applied to the fisheries. He 

 gave a useful summary of what had been effected by the Scottish 

 Fisher)^ Board ; he showed that the three-mile limit was in- 

 sufficient to protect the spawning fishes, and in conclusion urged 

 that scientific investigations on the fisheries should be carried 

 out by Government and not be left to Universities. 



Prof. Haddon followed with a report on the Royal Dublin 

 Society's Fishery Survey, and also gave an account of the 

 Fishery School at Ringsend, near Dublin. He pointed out the 

 special conditions of the Irish fishery grounds, the lack of access 

 to markets and of fish-curing stations on the west. 



Dr. Bashford Dean (U.S. Fish Commission) gave an account 



