94 



NATURE 



\Nov. 30, 1 871 



general talile of corrections is then given, and this is followed by 

 tables of the lengths of the light-waves for the air and nieials as 

 coirccted by the quantiiies deduced from that general lable. The 

 author remarks that he has not yet succeeded in dij-covering any 

 relation amon;j tlie wave-lengths for the various lines given by 

 any one metal, &c. , which can suggest any mechanical explana- 

 tion of their origin. 



Zoological Society, November 21. — Prof. Flower, F.R.S., 

 V.P., in the chair. Rlr. Sclater exhibited and made remarks on 

 s.fme i'^n\ oi Atclesvarugalns Wagner (/i. bartletli Gray) which 

 had been received in a collection from Oyapok, on the eastern 

 limits of Cayenne, being a new locality for this species. — A com- 

 munication was read from Prof. O^^en, F. R.S., containing the 

 third of a series of memoirs on the osteology of the Marsupials. 

 In this memoir Prof Owen entered at full length into the modi- 

 fications observable in the cranium of the three kn iwn species 

 of Wombits (Phascdaiiiys). — Dr. Giinther, F.R S., read areport 

 on several important collection of Fishes which had been recently 

 obtained for the British Museum collection. Amongst them were 

 many new forms from the Pacific, obtained through the agency 

 of the Museum Godefroianum of Hamburgh ; several novelties 

 from Celebes, collected by Dr. B. Meyer ; and some interesting 

 fishes trom Tasmania, transmitted by Mr. Morton Allport. 

 Dr. Gunther called special attention to the occurrence of many 

 well-known European forms of fishes in the Australian seas, and 

 in explanation of this fact, suggested that these might also occur 

 as deep-sea fishes in the intermediate seas of the tropics. — A 

 paper by Mr. A. Anderson was read, containing notes on 

 the Raptorial Birds of North Western India. — A communi- 

 cation was read from Messrs. G. Stewardson Brady and David 

 Robertson, giving descriptions of two new species of British 

 Holothm-oidea. — Mr. P. L. Sclater exhibited and desciibed, under 

 the name Turtny alddu-anus^ a specimen of a new species of Dove 

 of the genus Tiirtnr, from the coral reef of Aldabra, nor h of 

 Madagascar. This specimen had been lately living in the 

 Society's Gardens, having been presented by Mr E. Newton 

 — A paper by Mr. John Brazier, of Sydney, N.S.W., was read, 

 giving descriptions of seven new species of the genus Hdix, 

 and of two Fluviatile Mollu^ks from Tasmania. A second paper, 

 by Mr. Brazier, contained notes on the specific names of certain 

 Land Shells from the South sea Islands. — A communication ^vas 

 read from Count Thomas Salvadori, containing a note on Cerwrnis 

 i'ahoti. — A communication was read from iMr. W. T. Blanford 

 giving a descripiion of a new Himalayan Finch, proposed to 

 be called Proi'ai'dtu'Us pnbcsccits^ from Sikim. 



Anthropological Institute, November 20. — Sir John Lub- 

 bock, B.art., M.P., president, in the chair. — Captain R. T. 

 Burton, late H.M.'s Consul, Damascus, read a paper on " An- 

 thropological Collections from the Holy Land." Captain 

 Burton having unexpectedly returned to England, under the 

 peculiar circumstances now publicly known, travelled to Palmyra 

 from Damascus between April 5 and April 20, 1870, and has 

 brought home specimens of the Palmyrene mummies, the first 

 which have seen the light in England, statuettes, beads, coins, 

 and other articles calculated to throw light upon a subject hitherto 

 left in the gloom of antiquity. On some ol the figures described 

 were emblems illustrative of the Phallic and other mysteries, and 

 according with similar reli ^ues found at Nineveh. — Dr. Carter 

 Blake read a long note on the human remains discovered by 

 Captain Burton ac Palmyra. These indicated an entirely dif- 

 ferent race from that which inhabited modem Syria, and the 

 skulls afforded many points of resemblance to the ancient Phceni- 

 cians which have been described by other anthropologists. The 

 men were of large stature, in one case reaching probably about 

 6 feet 4 inches. There were among these remains not one which 

 could be confidently referred to the Hebrew race, a fact tin which 

 the author laid stress, without offering any comment. Minute 

 descriptions and measurements of all the specimens were given. 

 Captain Bu'ton will rtad further papers before the Anthropo- 

 logical Institute, and describe, with topographical notes, the 

 various objects of silex and others which he collected during his 

 22 months of seivice in Syria and Palestine. 



Entomological Society, November 20. — Mr. A. R. Wallace, 

 president, in the chair. Ttie following gentlemen were elected ; 

 Mr. C. V. Riley, State Entomologist for Missouri, as foreign 

 member; Lieuieamt B. Low.sley, R. E., .-^nd Mr. F. Raine, as 

 ordinary members ; and Mr. W. H. Mi-kin as a subscriber. — 

 Wi h reference to Prof. Westwood's exhibition of Formica her- 

 cula'ua (at the last meeting), found in the crop of a great black 

 woodpecker said to have been shot near Oxford, Mr. Dunning 



remarked that, according to information received, several ex- 

 amp'es of this bird (presumably of foreign origin) were exposed 

 for sale in the London marke s at the precise tmie of its supposed 

 occurrence near Oxlord. Prof. Westwood had information from 

 Messrs. Roberi son and Jackson that it occurred in Devon; the 

 firmer genilcmaa affirming that he had repeitedlyseen it at Clo- 

 velly. Mr. F. Smith was informed that thirty examples had been re- 

 corded as British, and that one in particular had been shot by the 

 grandfather of the present Lord Derby. Mr. Jenner Weir re- 

 iterated his belief in the species not being British, and Mr. Bond 

 said that every recorded instance had been traced and found to 

 be erroneous, save Lord Derby's example, concerning which 

 doubt existed. Mr. E. Sheppard could not reconcile the occur- 

 rence of a gigantic ant, nothitfierto known as British, in theciop 

 of a bird, the origin of which was open to doufit, wiih the idea of 

 the former being an addition to the British Fauna, Mr. 

 McLachl.an suggested that Prof Westwood should visit the locality 

 in which the bird was said to have been shot, and search for the 

 ant. The discussion ended by Prof Westwood promising to 

 furnish further evidence.- -Mr. Bond exhibited small pale ex- 

 amples of Lasiocam/iti trifolii, which appeared to form a distinct 

 race ; also females of Clisiocawpa cashrnsis^ with the wings on 

 one side assuming male characters, without any evidence of 

 gynandromorphism. — Mr. St.unton exhibited a ymA^ of Agrotis 

 comes ( Triphiena oybona of collections), captured near Exeter by 

 VIr. Dorville. — Mr. Smith exhibited the cocoons of the American 

 Tipliia tarda ; the.'e were double, consisting of a flimsy outer 

 casing, and a hard inner cocoon. He expressed his belief that 

 the larva; of the Tiphia devoured those of Ap/wdim. Mr. 

 McLachlan brought before the nodce of the meeting an instance of 

 mimetic resemblance between two common North American 

 JJl'clliilidiC. The insects in question were Libelltila pulclidla 

 Drury, and Plathcmis trimaculnia De Geer. In the former the 

 sexes were nearly similar in appearance ; in the latter very dis- 

 similar, and the female almost precisely resembled that of Libel- 

 liilapiilchclla. During the discussion which followed, the ques- 

 tion was raised as to the liability or non-liability of dragon-flies 

 to the attacks of birds. Mr. F. Smith had seen swallows 

 devouring Agrions, and Mr. Biiggs had observed a congest 

 between a sparrow and a large dragon-fly in the streets of London, 

 in which the lormer was obliged to retreat. It was recommended 

 that American entomologists should observe the habits of these 

 two species, and su..gest a reason for the close mimicry existing 

 between them. — Mr. Miiller related that he had found the larva: 

 of a Tlirips to be destructive to peas, by eating the outside of the 

 green pods. — Mr. McLachlan read notes on the confusion ex- 

 isting in the nomenclature of the common European Myniiele- 

 oiiidiT, in consequence ol Linnaeus having confounded them in his 

 descriptions. — The publication of a further portion of the pro- 

 posed general Catalogue of British Insects {Hymenoptera Aculcata, 

 by Mr. F. Smith) was announced. 



Linnean Society, November 16. — Mr. G.Bentham, president, 

 in the chair. — "On the Floral Structure of Impaticits ftdva" by 

 A.jW. Bennett, F L.S The auihor described the closed "cleisto- 

 genous '' flowers of this plant, which are far more numerous than 

 the well-known conspicuous flowers, and which produce nearly 

 all the seed-vessels, being abund.antly self-fertilised. He sug- 

 gested that the " cup " formed by the calyx and corolla in these 

 closed flowers is thrown off by the elasticity of the stamens, 

 which are entirely different in structure from those in the con- 

 spicuous flowers, the anthers never dehiscing, but the pollen 

 putting out its pollen-tubes while still in the anther, and piercing 

 the wall in order to come into contact with the stigma In the 

 conspicuous flowers there is a peculiar arrangem-nt in the form 

 of a membrane attached to the stamen-iube, which prevents the 

 access of pollen to ihe stigma, and as they do not appear to be 

 visited by insects they seldom produce seed-vessels. — *' Florae 

 Hongkongensis Supplemenium," by H. F. H.ince, Ph.D. In 

 this paper a large nunher of new species are descrioed, increas- 

 ing the number included in Bentham's " Flora Hongkongensis" 

 by about one-seventh. 



Glasgow 



Geological Society, November 2. — Mr, John Young, vice- 

 president, in the chair. Mr. James Thomson, F.G S., laid 

 before the meeting some portions of curiously- spotted clay which 

 he had obtained during the recent excavations to the east of the 

 old College of Glasgow. He staled that the occirrence of white 

 S|iti''ricai spots in the Old Red sandstone, particulaily in the 

 neighbourhood of Dumiiarlon, had often been remarked by the 

 members, and various opinions had been expressed as to the pro« 



