5/8 



NATURE 



[April 12, 1900 



M. Burr exhibited a niacropterovis var. of Xiphidiiim dorsale, 

 Latr., captured by Mr. Harwood near Clacton, remarking that 

 the fact of this species presenting a macropterous form was 

 apparently unrecorded hitherto. — Mr. W. J. Kaye exhibited 

 Nyssia hispidaria, an asymmetrical specimen taken on Wimble- 

 don Common. — Mr. C. O. Waterhouse exhibited a tube which 

 formed the entrance to a nest of a Trigona, sent from Singa- 

 pore by Mr. H. N. Ridley. He also exhibited a portion of 

 the resinous mass formed within the trees by these bees, and 

 stated that one of these masses sent from Penang by Mr. 

 Ridley weighed 15 lbs. The true nest of the Trigona consists 

 of an irregular mass of cells filled with honey, quite distinct 

 from the resinous formation. — A paper was communicated by 

 Mr. W. H. Ashmead, Assistant-Curator of the U.S. Nat. 

 Hist. Museum, on " The aculeate hymenoptera of the Islands 

 of St. Vincent and Grenada, with additions to the parasitic 

 hymenoptera, and a list of the described hymenoptera of the 

 West Indies." 



Royal Microscopical Society, March 21.— Mr. A. D. 

 Michael, Vice-President, in the chair. — A microscope presented 

 by Mr. F. R. Dixon-Nuttall was referred to by Mr. Nelson, 

 who said it was a microscope made by Benjamin Martin, dating 

 about the year 1765. A solar projecting apparatus was packed 

 in the same box ; this was the invention of Dr. Lieberkiihn, who 

 brought it to London in 1740. Cuff improved it by adding the 

 mirror in 1743. Mr. Nelson then called attention to a number 

 of microscopes which had been sent for exhibition. The first 

 ■noticed was by Plosel, and was kindly sent by Mr. C. L. Curties ; 

 this had already been illustrated in the Journal, but he asked 



'the Fellows to inspect the coarse adjustment, which was very 

 peculiar. The milled heads were of large diameter, a pro- 

 jecting stud was fitted on the inner side of each ; from these 

 studs descended a pair of links connecting them to similar studs 



-fitted on to the sides of the body of the microscope ; on turning 

 the milled heads the studs moved through an arc and thus raised 

 or lowered the body of the instrument. The next five micro- 

 scopes were sent for exhibition by Messrs. Spiers and Pond. 



•One, a French model, had a push-tube coarse adjustment and 

 a short lever nose-piece fine adjustment. A vertical slot was 

 made in the outer tube or sleeve to allow the fine adjustment to 



•move up and down when the coarse adjustment was being 

 effected. Another and smaller instrument was fitted with a 

 simple mechanical coarse adjustment, which appeared to tie a 

 modification of the Plosel adjustment just described. The con- 

 necting links of the latter form were omitted ; radial slots in the 

 milled heads engaged the slud pins fitted on the sides of the 

 body, so that when the milled heads were turned through a part 

 of a circle the body was raised or lowered. In a yet smaller 

 micrascope there was an ingenious detail of construction in the 

 method of securing the outer tube to the limb, by inserting the 



. screws from the inside of the tube and screwing into the limb, 

 a much superior plan to that of putting them in from the other 

 side. There was likewise a diminutive microscope measuring 



. about three inches high, of a cheap type. The next microscope 

 was sent by Mr. Ernest Barker ; it was a pocket form, the case 

 ^measuring, when closed, 4^" x 2" x if". It was an ingeniously 



. arranged little instrument, and very suitable for field work. — Mr. 

 J^elson read an extract, sent by Mr. Jerome Harrison, of Bir- 

 .mingham, from Dr. Hooke's " Microscopium " (1678), describing 



.a method of using convex lenses {'• globules") by contact with 

 water. Mr. Nelson thought it interesting to know that the 

 immersion objective was not such a modern invention as was 

 generally supposed. The chairman said this was a very 

 interesting record, showing once more that there is nothing new 



.under the sun. Mr. Nelson said Mr. Powell had just pointed 

 out to him that these lenses of Hooke's differed from the im- 

 mersion objectives of the present day, which had flat fronts, 

 whereas in Hooke's lenses the water was applied to a convex 

 ■surface, and so formed a sort of concave lens which corrected 

 to some extent the chromatism of the glass. — Messrs. Swift 

 exhibited a new pattern microscope, the upper portion of which 

 was a replica of the Continental form, while the lower part was 

 of the English type. The vertical axis was thrown more forward 

 than usual, to admit of a larger stage being fitted. — Mr. 

 Rousselet read a note in reference to a large selection of slides of 

 .new, rare and foreign rotifera which was exhibited under about 

 thirty microscopes. Special reference was made to specimens of 

 Trochosphaera sohtitialis, Apsilus lentiformts diud Asplanchna 

 kerricki which is much like other species of Asplanchna in 

 shape, but possesses a small glandular organ with the tube 



NO. 1589, VOL. 61 J 



opening outward, which is not known to occur in any other 

 rotifer, and the function of which is quite unknown. In 

 addition to this collection there were two specially well-mounted 

 slides of Stephanoceros and Floscularia to show what can be 

 accomplished in the way of preserving rotifers. 



Geological Society, March 21.— H. W. Monckton, Vice- 

 President, in the chair.— On a bird from the Stonesfield slate, 

 by Prof. H. G. Seeley, F.R.S. The varied affinities of this 

 large Carinate bird appear to lie midway between the ducks and 

 geese on the one side, and the herons and flamingos on the 

 other. It may be placed in a new family ; but its characters are 

 in all respects such as might have occurred in an existing bird. 

 There is no indication of affinity to the Archaeopteryx, or that 

 the bird diverged in any way from modern types. — ^The Lower 

 Ludlow formation and its graptolite fauna, by Miss Ethel 

 M. R. Wood. After deahng with the literature of the .strati- 

 graphical and palffiontological sides of the subject, the author 

 passes to a full consideration of the sequence and character of 

 the Ludlow rocks in the following localities : — The Ludlow 

 district, the Builth district, the Long Mountain ; and gives a 

 briefer account of those of the Dee valley, the Lake district. 

 Southern Scotland, Dudley, and the Abberley Hills While 

 the Wenlock shales are characterised by Cyrlooraplus and by 

 the Fiemingii-iy^tQ of Monograpltis, in the Lower Ludlow 

 shales the colonus- and spinose forms of Monograpltis, such as 

 M. chiviaera, are abundant. The line between Lower and Upper 

 Ludlow is drawn at the top of the Aymestry limestone. The 

 Lower Ludlow rocks are divided into five graptolitic zones, 

 which are not constant in character or thickness in the different 

 areas. 



Anthropological Institute, March 27. — Mr. C. H. Read, 

 President, in the chair. — A discussion of " Native life and cus- 

 toms in Sarawak" was opened by Prof. A. C. Haddon, 

 who exhibited a series of lantern-slides, made from photographs 

 taken by members of the recent Cambridge Anthropological 

 Expedition. The earlier ones illustrated the river scenery of 

 the Baram district of Sarawak, and the way in which travel is 

 accomplished in that region, while the remainder were 

 mainly concerned with the domestic life of the natives. All 

 the houses, as was shown in the photographs, are built on 

 the banks of rivers, and are of great size, a village usually 

 being composed of a single house or of a long string of 

 intercommunicating houses. These are built on posts, 10 ft. or 

 15 ft. in height, and each consists of a long verandah in which 

 is centred nearly all the social life of the community. Hanging 

 from its rafters are usually trophies of skulls of the inhabitants' 

 enemies ; under the skulls a fire is kept burning and many sacred 

 objects are associated with them, including stone implements 

 which are handed down from father to son, and in some cases 

 are looked upon as the teeth and toe-nails of the Thunder God. 

 The verandah is often decorated with carvings and painted 

 boards, and ornamentation of various kinds, according to the 

 artistic genius of each tribe, is found on the implements and 

 objects of every-day use. A partition, which runs the whole 

 length of the building, separates the verandah from the dwelling- 

 places of the various families, each of which inhabits a private 

 set of rooms opening by one door into the verandah. Outside 

 the houses are wooden images, posts, and sacred stones at which 

 offerings are made on important occasions. The occupations of 

 the natives were also illustrated. — Mr. C. Hose, resident of 

 Baram, Sarawak, also showed some slides, and said, in reply to 

 a question based upon the statements of Bock and other 

 travellers, that cannibalism existed in Borneo, that there were 

 cases in which human flesh was eaten, but he did not think they 

 could be properly called cannibalism. Sometimes they cut off 

 strips of flesh from their enemies, but these were not eaten, as 

 some observers had too hastily concluded. On the contrary, 

 they were stored in bamboos and used as an offering to the 

 hawks from which the omens were taken. The occasions on 

 which human flesh was eaten were cases of chronic illness in 

 which a small piece, swallowed with great difficulty by the 

 patient, was supposed to be curative. In Dutch Borneo the 

 people did roast and eat human flesh, but only very rarely, and 

 the practice had been stopped by the Dutch. When a male 

 child about fourteen years old was very ill, it was thought 

 proper to keep him alive, if possible, at the expense of a female 

 life, which was less valuable ; hence, as a last chance of saving 

 his life, a sister would be sacrificed, and a small piece of the 

 flesh given to the boy to eat. A large part of Mr. Hose's 



