502 



NA TURE 



[March 21, 1895 



P»rt ii." Mr. Walker and Mr. Gahan made some observations 

 on ihe distribution of cerlain of the species desciibed. — Mr. 

 Roland Trimen, F. R. S., contributed a paper entitled "On ■some 

 new species of butterflies from tropical and extra-tropical South 

 Africa." — Mr.G. A. James Rothney contributed a paper entitled 

 '■ Notes on Indian Ants," and sent for exhibition anumnerof 

 specimens in illustration of the paper, together with nests of 

 certain species. 



Geological Society, February 20. — Dr. Henry Wood- 

 ward, F K.S., President, in the chair. — The President 

 announced lo the Fellows the grievous los< which the Society 

 hadsuflerd in the decease of its Foreign Secretary, Mr. J. W. 

 Hulke, F.R.S., President of the Royal College of Surgeons. 

 He d-eli on the great value of .Mr. Ilulke's work in vcncbratc 

 palxontology, on hi> long services as a mniber of Council and 

 an ofTiLcr ol the Society, and on his amiable personal qualities, 

 which had endeared him to a wide circle of Iriends. He read 

 the following resolution which the Council had that afternoon 

 unaniulOu^^ly voted, and communicated to Mis. Huike with the 

 expression ol their heartfelt sympathy: "That this Council 

 most deeply deplore the sad loss that the Society and ail iho-e 

 inlercs ed in palxontology have sustained by the i.ntimely 

 decease of our Foreign Secretary, Mr. J. W. Hulke, F. R.S., 

 whose inve-tigations in various branches of science hdve led to 

 such valuable icsulls." — Contributions to the pa'Kuniology and 

 phy>ical geohgy of the We.-l Indies, by Dr. J. W. Gregory. 

 The cailier pan of the paper was largely concerned with the 

 corals uf the raised reefs of Baibados, and, on account of the 

 confa-'ion in the synonymy ol the West Indian corals, the syn- 

 onymy of the species was given in some detail. A list of the 

 mollusca of the low-level icefs lollowed. In dlscu>sir.g the age 

 of the Barbailus rocks, the author staled that the following was 

 the sequence (in descending order) : — 



f 



Low level : Pleislo- 



Raised coral reefs -' u^k*^"! i t>i- 

 j High level : PIio- 



l. ccne. 



I -4 /•«-A/ru/n««.f/«-<ii- 1 Miocene (and possibly 

 Oceanic series ... ', rw/i/wj-limesionc. j- partly l'liocene)and 



( Thalassic marls. j partly Oligocene 

 Scotland beds ... j Oligocene (probably 



( Lower). 



— The Whitehaven sandstone series, by J. D. Kendall. The 

 Whitehaven samlstone, with its associated shal-s, is a purple- 

 grry depos t sometimes having a thickness of 500 or 600 leel. 

 The auth'ir gave details of a large number 01 sections of the 

 series, whicn also contains tliin coal-seams and occasionally 

 .i/irori/j-liuiestone. — Notes on the genus Miircliisoiiia and its 

 allies, wi h a revision of the liiiii^h caiboi i crous species, and 

 descriptions of some new forms, by Miss |. Donald. 



Zoological Society, March S-— Sir W. H. Fl .wer, 

 K.C. B , I- R.S., Pre>Klent, in the chair. — The Secretary read 

 a report on the additions that had been made to the Society's 

 menagerie during the month of F'ebruary, and called special 

 attention lo a fine female giraflTe recently anived from South 

 Africa. This was believed to be the first example ol the large, 

 dark-blotched race ever seen alive in liurop , ihe giraffes pre- 

 viously exiiibiied having belonged to the smaller and paler form 

 found in Northern Tropical Africa. Tlie Socieiy has also 

 purcha-eH a pair of Sable Antelopes (//(/»/<)/. r7,«j nigcr) and a 

 pair of Brindled Gnus (Connochads laurina), all in excellent 

 condition.— Dr. St. George Mivart, h.R.S., read a paper on 

 some distinctive structural characters in the hyoid lione in 

 cerlain parrot". — Mr. A 1). Michael read a paper on a new 

 Frrshwater M lie lound in Cornwall, and lielongmg to the genus 

 Thyas, o' which only 'wo species were previously known. It 

 is pr- po-ed to call it Thyas pelrophiliii. — Mr.G A. B.iulenger, 

 F.R.S, read a paper "on ihc nurs.ng.haiiits of Iwo Souih- 

 Amencan Fr g<," and exhibited a aptcimeo of Hyla goeldii with 

 egg» on Ihe back. He also maHc reiiiaiks on a male kpccimcn 

 of Phylttbalei trinilath from Venezuela, carrying its tad|ioles 

 OD its back, in the same way as had previously hecn observed 

 io ffog» ol the genus Dendrobalts from .Surinam and Krazil. 



Royal Meleorolxgical Socieiy, Kebiui y 20. Mr. R. 



Inward*, Picsnlint, in ihe chair. — Mr. W. M irrioil gave an 

 account of the thunderstorm and squall which burst over Lon- 

 don so suddenly on the morning o( January 2J. It appears 



NO 1325, VOL. 51] 



that this storm passed acro-s England in a south-soulh-easterly 

 direction at the rate of about lony-seven miles an hour, being 

 over Norihumberland at 4 a.m., and reaching the English 

 Channel by II a.m. Thunder w.is fust heard in the vicinity of 

 Leeds, and accompanied the stoim in its progress across the 

 country. One of ihe most reniaikable featuies ol the storm was 

 ihe sudden increase in the force of the wind, for in London it 

 rose almost at one bound from nearly a calm to a velocity ol 

 thiitysix miles an hour. This ?uddcn increase of wind caused 

 considerable damage, and at Bramley, near Guiloford, twenty- 

 eight trees were blown down along a track 1S60 yards in length. 

 — Mr. E. Mawley presented his report on the phenolo^ical 

 observations lor 1894. Between the third week m March and 

 the third week in .May plants generally came into blossom in 

 advance of their usual time, and tow.irds the end of April the 

 dates of first flowering differed but little (rom those recorded at 

 the same period in the very forward spring ol 1S93. The 

 cuckoo made its appearance even earlier th.in in the previous 

 year. The y>ar 1S94 was a very productive one, and both the 

 hay and coin crops proved unUsually heavy, but much of the 

 latter was harvested under very trying conditions as regards 

 weather. The frosts ol May 21 and 22 entirely destro)ed the 

 previous prospect of a glorious Iruit season. Indeed, the only 

 really good crop was that of pears, which were singularly 

 atiundant throughout neailythe whole ol England. — .Mr. A. B. 

 Macl'owall read a papier on some gradual weadier changes in 

 certain mouths at Greenwich and Geneva. 



DUBLI.V. 



RoyaF Dublin Society, November 21, 1S94.— Prof. W. J. 

 SoUas, F R. S., in the chair. — The following p.ipers weie read: 

 On the occurrence o( seiches in Lake Derravaragh, co. West- 

 meath, by Start-Commander J. R. H. MacFarlane, K.N. This 

 paper (communicated by Prol. D.J. Cunningham, F.R.S.) is 

 interesting as being the first record of observations, from the 

 United Kingdom, of these ph nomenal changes ol the level of 

 the water in lakes. Ihese singular rhythmic movements, some- 

 what resembling tidal ebb and flow, were lound occurring in 

 the Swiss lakes lowaids the close ol the last, and beginning of 

 the present, century, and many skilful observers devoted con- 

 siderable time in the endeavour to elucidate the cause or causes ; 

 but, as yet, no distinct explanation has been given, although it 

 would appear to have been gencially noticed that they are 

 accompanied by a low baiometer. It also appears that the 

 characteristics ol the land, surrounding the observation spot, 

 influence the time occupied by a complete rise and lall ol the 

 water, which has been leimed the duration 0/ t/u seiche ; and, 

 further, that it is probable such duratious are constant for each 

 observation spot, but the amplitude, or amount of rise above, 

 ami lall below the level, will acpend on the amount ol influence 

 exercised in causing the seiche ; this influence being at present 

 unknown. The observations made at Lake Dcrravaiagh were 

 necessarily confined lo one spot, no other observers being 

 available lor synchronous observations at difl'cient stations. 

 The maximum amplitude recorded was 58 inches, and the 

 duration of seiche, fairly constant, about 39 minutes.— 

 A paper was communicated by Sir Charles Cameron, on the 

 elTeci of poisons and antiseptics on germination, oy Mr. F. H. 

 Perry Coste. — The Rev. R. Bodkin described an •'automatic ■ 

 image-finder," the object of which is (1) lo show where the 

 image ol any object placed before any lens must be lormed : 

 (2) to prove that the image is found there ; (3) 10 hcl|> to ex- 

 plain the construction ol the various optical instruments in use 

 such as the microscope, telescope, camera, and projection lamp. 



Decenilier 19. — Sir llowaid Grubb, F.R.S., VRc-Piesideni, 

 in Ihe chair. — I'he (olloiving papers were read: Mr. J..hn K 

 Wigham described and demontrated a ineihod ol incrcasinj; 

 the puwer of continuous lighthouse lights. — I'rnl. W. J. Sollos, 

 F.R.S. , gave a descripiion ol a new lossil, rcsemblii.g annelid 

 tubes, from the Cambrian of Puck's Rocks, llowih, near 

 Duhlin. Upon ihi.s fossil the author has bestowed the name 

 Pucksia Mai,Henryi 



Paris. 



Academy of Sciences, March II. — M. M.ircy in the 

 chair.— On aigon, b) M. Berthelot. The iiuthor announces 

 the C'lmbination ol the new clen ent with benzene vapour under 

 the influence of the electric discharge, and promises details t< 

 follow. — Remarks on the cuives defined by a dilTerenlial 

 equation of the first order, by M. Kmilc Picard. — On the total 



