^62 



X,-J rURE 



[October 3, 189; 



of oyster-cultural methods, experiments, and new proposals. 

 He pointed out the difficulties in " spat "' collecting, and showed 

 that if these could be overcome the problem of raising o)-sters 

 successfully would be solveil. He dwelt on the efl'ects of bad 

 aeration, and of changes of temperature, and on the difficulty in 

 retaining the embr)os in closed areas, such as the marc piicolo 

 at Taranto and the Brencj^y lake in France. Finally he dis- 

 cussed the cultural methods recently patented in the United 

 States. 



Prof. W. .\. Ilerdman and Prof. R. Boyce gave a paper on 

 oysters and typhoid, in which they explained the investigations 

 they had made on the normal and abnormal life-conditions of 

 the oyster, including the effect of pathogenic organisms. The 

 oysters were laid di»wn in various kinds of water, and {<iA on a 

 variety of substances, both in the laboratories at Liverpool and 

 also at the Port Erin Biological Station. Some of the results 

 obtained are : the beneficial effiKrts of aeration, the superiority 

 of natural food (protophyta, &c.) over artifici.al (oatmeal, &c. ), 

 the deleterious effects of stagnation, great toleration of sewage, 

 inimical effect of typhoid feecal matter, the idenlificalion of 

 Bacillus lyphoms in oysters fourteen days after infection. The 

 obsersations are still in prepress, and a Committee of the British 

 .■Association has been formed for the purpose of carrjHng on the 

 investigation. 



Dr. H. C. Sorby read a paper on the oyster culture in the 

 Colne district, which was to be \-isited by a jiarty of zoologists 

 from the Section the Wednesday following. He described 

 the grounds where spat was obtained, and the celebrated 

 P)-eflcet creek where the "natives" are fattened for the market. 



Mr. J. T. Cunningham gave the last of the fishery pajiers, on 

 fish and fishing grounds in the North Sea. This author dis- 

 puted the idea that the great quantities of young plaice in the 

 eastern parts of the North Sea are derived from the spawn and 

 cmbiyos carried across by currents, and that these plaice when 

 they grow large supply those parts of the North Sea that lie 

 further west. He suggests that the plaice on the tiennan side 

 are a smaller race, and that they corresimnd in distribution to a 

 tract of warmer .Atlantic water. He urged the necessity for a 

 scientific investigation of the North Sea fisheries, and for 

 experiments in rearing young food fish in artificial ponds. A 

 discussion followed, in which the authors of the papers, the 

 President, Mr. -Mward, Mr. A. O. Walker, and others took 

 part. 



In the afternoon a discussion took place on zoological biblio- 

 graphy, opened by Dr. Manland Field with an account of his 

 .scheme for the establishment of an international bibliographical 

 bureau, to be located at Ziirich. The organisation is now nearly 

 completed, and the bureau is expected to start work in January 

 1896. Dr. Field asks England to form a National Committee, 

 to organise a service of correspondents, and to give a grant 

 towards the Bureau. \ Committee of the British .Association 

 has been appointed to consider the matter and report. 



Dr. Fieia also read a (jailer on the date of publication of 

 zoological papers, in which he urged that the date oi distribution 

 l(e adopted as " publication." 



Rev. T. R. R. .Stebbing gave a pajier on economy of labour 

 in zoology, proposing that an effort should be made to gather 

 into a succinct form all the most indis|x:nsable knowledge in 

 each branch of zixilogy. 



Prof. G. Gilson (Louvain) described the septal organs of 

 Oweuia fusiformis ; Prof F. Y. Edgeworth read a paper on the 

 statistics of was(>s ; and Mr. W. Garslang exhibited a simjile 

 and efficient collecting reservoir for the surface tow-net. This 

 liiw-net W.1S experimented with on Saturday's dredging cx- 

 jiedilion. and was found to work very satisfactorily. 



On Monday forenoon. Prof L. C. Miall gave an account 



(illustrated by the lantern) of our present knowledge of the 



causes and conditions of insect transformation. He pointed out 



the fundamental distinction l>elween the metamorphoses of 



in«/vt5 and those of other .animals. The metamorphoses of 



inals were larval, those of insects .-idult metamorphoses 



.I'lry st.-igc l>eing late in the life. In insects the 



■ ' ■ ' 1 by the .adult, the feeding by the 



i'-rable difference between these two 



■ining more ami more highly organ- 



i-vai and ,nd the larva more and more ilegenerate. 



Thw mark' l.rought alxiut the necessity for a quiescent 



inipa sLagc L.mn;:). This paper led to some discussion on 



melami>rphosis. 



Dr. H. C. Sorby exhibited a scries of marine animals caught 



NO. 1353, VOL. 52] 



in the Suffolk estuaries, and mounted as lantern-slides after 

 various methods of preparation. 



Dr. Sorby gave an account of his apparatus for catching minute 

 marine animals, and for estimating the number of oi^anisms in 

 given quantities of sea water. 



Dr. E. Frankland read a paper on conditions affecting 

 Ixicterial life in river water, in which he showed that in a series 

 of monthly obser\ations on the water of the Thames bacteria 

 were more numerous in winter than in summer. There were 

 three conditions which might affect the Kacteria, and which he 

 had disentangle<l, viz. temperature, sunshine, and the volume of 

 water. .Sunshine was a powerful germicide, but its effect ceasts 

 at a small depth in muddy water. The amount of microbes 

 was found to vary with the amount of flood water. Storage has 

 a ver)- beneficial eftect in purifying river water from bacteria. 



Prof. A. C. Haddon made an apjwal to zoologists to urge up >n 

 Government and scientific .societies the necessity for an imme- 

 diate exploration of oceanic islands of the Pacific. He (winlcd 

 out that the great depths of the sea would remain for long 

 unaltered, that the .\ntarctic was probably not undergoing any 

 rapid change, but that the fauna and flora of the islands, and 

 the customs of their inhabitants, were all undergoing change 

 from year to year, and therefore ought to receive our first 

 attention. 



A paper on the Coccida; of Ceylon, by Mr. E. E. Green, 

 illustrated by beautiful plates, was read by Prof. Howes. 



Dr. H. O. Forbes g.ave a paper, " Criticisms on some points in 

 the summar)' of the results of the Challenger Expedition," in 

 which he dealt with the supposed greater size of the sun in 

 Carboniferous times, and also with the views of Dr. .Murray in 

 reference to the occurrence of similar forms in .\rctic and 

 .Antarctic regions. Finally he pointed out that the evidence for 

 an .Antarctic continent in Tertiary times is really sujiported by 

 the Challenger collections, rather than the reverse, .as held by 

 Dr. Murray. 



-A paper on the marine fauna of I loutman's Abrolhos Islands, 

 West -Australia, by W. Saville-Kent, showed that the anomalous 

 character of the fauna of .Abrolhos can only be accounted for by 

 the .assumption that an ocean current setting in from the 

 equatorial Indian Ocean penetrates as far south .as this island 

 group. 



Dr. Gregg Wilson read a ))aper on hereditary polydaclylism, 

 and also one on the reproduc ion of the common crab. Dr. 

 Wilson was of opinion that an increased size limit would be a 

 very distinct protection to the crab. -A close time at the end 

 of the year would protect the female at a time when there is 

 most destruction. 



On Tuesday, Prof. Lloyd Morgan gave an account of his 

 experiments on inslincti n young birds. He reared young moor- 

 hens, chicks, &c. , for the purpose of determining how far the 

 activities of locomotion (swimming, diving, running, flying), 

 feeding, bathing, &c. , are instinctive or congenital, and how far 

 their definiteness is a m.atler of individual .acquisition. It was 

 found that timidity had a congenital basis, but was perfected by 

 individual acquisition. There was no instinctive avoidance of 

 insects with warning colours, but such avoidance was rapidly 

 acquired by the individual. There appears to be little support 

 for the view that what is individually acquired is then passed on 

 by heredity. 



Dr. Bashford Dean gave an exhibition of ova and larv.e of 

 Ainia, Lepidostcus and Acipcnscr, with some notes on the early 

 development of the Ganoids, in which he brought out that 

 Embryology supports the \icws derived from Pahvonlology. 

 Dr. Dean considers that /A-pidoslcus is the oldest or most 

 primitive, and .tinia the form which comes nearest to the 

 Teleosts. 



Dr. Otto Maas (Munich) discussed some questions relating to 

 the morphology and distribution of Medus,\;. He exhibited 

 some plates of supposed deep-sea Medus;v from the Albalrost 

 expedition showing the prevalence of a purplish tint, which he 

 supposed to be the complementary lint to the green phosphor- 

 escent light given out by many deep-sea animals. 



Mr. J. E. Moore's paper on spermatogenesis in birds, 

 .showed that the spermatic elements of pigeons have a marked 

 tendency to form multinucleate masses. The whole course 

 seems to correspond more closely with clasmobranchs than with 

 mammals. 



Prof. G. B. Howes read a paper on the mammalian hy>iid. 

 He showed that there were two types: (i) Proterostylic, found 

 only in man and marmosets, ami (2) Opisthoslylic, known only 



