134 



NATURE 



[Dec. 14, 187 1 



Ceylon, and its varieties. — Mr. D. G. Elliot read a paper 

 on various Felido;, rectifying the synonomy of several species, 

 and giving a more perfect description of one recently obtained 

 from North-West Siberia, vifhich he proposed to call K-/is 

 eupliluya. Dr. Gunther made a reply to some critical remarks 

 in a paper by S urgeon Francis Day, read at a recent meeting of 

 the Society. 



Geologists' Association, December i. — The Rev. Thomas 

 Wiltshire, M. A., K.G.S., president, in the chair. — "On 

 the Glacial Drifts of North London," by Mr. Henry Walker. 

 These drifts were described under the classification and n^imen- 

 clature given to the glacial deposits by Mr. Searles V. Wood, jun. 

 They were traced from East End (Highgate) and Muswell Hill 

 to Finchley, Colney Hatch Lane, and Whetstone. The pro 

 fusion of chalk found in the glacial clay at these places bears out 

 the designation of the main deposit in south-eastern England as 

 the great Chalk Boulder Clay ; but it is also found that the 

 sands and gravels of the Middle Glacial, which Mr. Wood seems 

 to restrict to a much lower horizun than Finchley, are also to be 

 found at these localities. At Whetstone the Chalky Boulder 

 Clay is found overlying twenty-five feet of gravel and sand, and 

 in the apparently corresponding beds at Fmchley and Hendon 

 Lane, drift fossils and casts are occasionally found. Mr. Henry 

 Hicks agreed with the conclusion that these sands and gravels 

 are Mr. Wood's Middle Glacial. Mr. Caleb Evans thought that the 

 heichts to the north of London marked the southern termination ol 

 the°glacial drift. Mr. Batt considered that the Drift had extended 

 to ttie country south of the Thames. Several other gentlemen 

 took part in a very animated discussion. — Collections of lossils 

 and boulders from the Middlesex Drift were exhibited, and a 

 quantity of peat obtained fiom the same source, was shown by 

 Mr. J. T. B. Ives. 



Society of Biblical Archaeology, December 5. — Prof. 

 Donaldson, B.A., F.R.S., in tne chair. A paper by the Chev. 

 de Saulcy, membra de I'lnstitut, " On the true sites of Capernaum, 

 Choiaziii, and Beihsaida (Julius) " was read by the secretary. In 

 the chevalier's paper, which took the form of a letter (addressed 

 to the Dean of Westminster), he stated that, having considered 

 the whole tenor of the argument first advanced by him in the 

 Revue Airlucologiqiie twenty years ago, he could come to no 

 other conclusion than that the traditional town of Bethsaida and 

 the identification of Kerazeh as Chorazin and Tel Houm as Caper- 

 naum were unsupported by geographical evidence, and were 

 contrary to the express statements of Josephus, who would be 

 sufficiently exact in describing the town where he was wounded. 

 At the same time the ruins of Kerazeh were too extensive to be 

 those of insignificant village like Chorazin ; and those of sup- 

 posititious B.thsaida were too few, and contained no indica- 

 tions of the Family Mausoleum of Herod Philip. 'I he conclu- 

 sion of the author was that Tel Houm was more probably the 

 real site of Capernaum. A considerable amount of philological 

 evidence illustrated these statements. On the close of the read- 

 ing of this paper an interesting discussion ensued, in which the 

 chairman and the following gentlemen took part : — Mr. W. R. A. 

 Boyle, Ur. Cull, Mr. S. M. Drach, Mr. John Macgvegor, and 

 Captain Wilson. 



Entomological Society, December 4. — A. R. Wallace, 

 president, in the chair. — Mr. Shearwood exhibited an extra- 

 ordmary variety of Afgyniiis aglaia, taken at Tcignmouth. Mr. 

 Bond exhibited varieties, or malfomiations, of various British 

 Lepliloptera. — .Mr. Jan on exhibited a large collection of insects 

 (chiefly Coleoptcra] from the diaaiond fields of South Africa. 



Mr. Higgins exhibited examples of Tetracha cruagem of 



MacLeay, from Australia. — Prof. Westwood made some remarks 

 concerning Fapllio lliersander, figured by Donovan, and arrived 

 at the conclusion that this species (figured originally by Jones in 

 his " Icones ") was founded on the combination of a Papi/io with 

 Charaxes Fabius. A discussion ensued concerning the right of 

 named figures of insects, by the older authors, to be regarded in 

 questions of priority. — With reference to the question of the 

 liability of large dragon-fles to the attacks of birds, Mr. MuUer 

 called attention to a statement by Natterer, to the effect that 

 some species of Fakonidd: habitually prey upon dragon- flies. Mr. 

 Home stated that during his residence in India he had never 

 seen those insects attacked by birds of any description.— Major 

 Parry communicated notes concerning Lissaplcnis Bmuittanus, 

 and Mr. W. F. Kirby on the synonymy of various Lepidoptcra. 



Linnean Society, December 7. — Mr. G. Bentham, president, 

 in the chair. " On the formation of British Pearls ami their 



pobsiijle improvement," by R. Garner. The author referred to 

 the theory, now generally adopted, that the production of pearls 

 in oysters and other moUusks is caused by the irritation pro- 

 duced by the attacks of the minute parasite known as Distoina, 

 and believed that, by ariificial means, this parasite might be 

 greatly increased. British pearls are obtained mostly from 

 species of Uiiio, Anodon, and Mytilis, but it is probable that all 

 moUusks, whether bivalve or univalve, with a nacreous lining to 

 the shell, might be made to produce pearls. An interesting dis- 

 cussion followed, in which Mr. Gwyn Jeffreys, Mr. Holdsworth, 

 and Dr. Murie took part. — "On certain Coleopterous Larva;," 

 by Dr. Burineister, of Buenos Ayres. — " On the Botany of the 

 Speke and Grant expedition," by Lieutenant-Colonel Grant. 

 Notwiths-.anding the difficulties of their journey, and that they 

 hid m. re than once to destroy or abandon their whole collection, 

 Captain Speke and Captain Grant succeeded in bringingl home 

 between 700 and Soo species of plants, many of them entirely 

 new, which have been described by Prof Oliver, and will be 

 published in the "Transactions" of the Society, with at least 

 100 plates. 



Anthropological Institute, December 4. — Sir John Lub- 

 bock, Bart., president, in the chair. — Messrs. J. Cordy Burrows, 

 J. Park Harrison, and P. C. Sutherland were elected members. 

 Captain Richard F. Burton read his second paper on ' ' Anthro- 

 pological Collections from the Holy Land." The paper included 

 a catalogue raisonne of articles presented to the museum of the 

 institute, found by Mr. John S. Rattray at Sahib El Zaman 

 ( Lord of the Age), the reputed tomb of Hezekiah. This " find " 

 consisted of fragaients of human skulls and long bones, old 

 copper bracelets, brass bracelets, coins, bits of lachrymatories 

 (the glass being highly iridescent), portions of Syrian majolica 

 of the type of that usually made at Damascus by the Tartars, 

 beads ot various kinds, &c. The tomb was situjited in a hollow 

 on the Eastern slope of the Libanus, and proved to be an arti- 

 ficial cavern, with a shaft for ventilation. A full detailed 

 description of this very .interesting discoveiy was given. Another 

 interesting discovery made by Captain Burton was at the upland 

 village of Ma'alulah, distant three hours from the large convent 

 .Saidnaya, roughly speaking N.E. of Damascus, and occupying 

 a p'ibition on the N.E. ranges of the Anti-Libanus. This find 

 consisted of various fragments of skulls and lower jaws, which, 

 together with the human remains from the tomb at Sahib El 

 Zam.an, were described by Dr. Carter Blake. The third part of 

 Captain Burton's paper w,is occupied by an account of a series 

 of flint and stone implements and flakes, and articles of bronze 

 and bone found near Bethlehem. In a detailed description of 

 these articles Mr. John Evans, F. R. S., pointed out for special 

 notice a basaltic hammer, which differed from the usual form of 

 similar instruments discovered in Scandinavia, in Britain, and in 

 North America, inasmuch as in the specimen the lateral de- 

 pressions were absent. — Prof Busk, F. R. S., read a communica- 

 tion from the Rev. Mr. Dale on flint implements from the Cape 

 of Good Hope, which were exhibited on the table ; and Mr. F. 

 W. Rudler, E.G. S., exhibited a stone implement of unique form, 

 also from the Cape. The President submitted for inspection 

 some stone implements of rare beauty from Greece. 



Quekett Microscopical Club, Nov. 24. — Prof. Lionel S. 

 Beale in the chair. A paper was read by Mr. M. C. Cooke on 

 " 1 he Minute Structure of Tremelloid Uredines {Podisoina]," in 

 which the structure of the Tremelloid masses, commonly found 

 on juniper bushes, was detailed, together with the results 

 of the observations of Tulasne, Oersted, and others on the 

 germination and development of these fungi, with a critical 

 examination of the species described under tlie genera Gynnw- 

 sporaiigiiDn and Podisoma. It was held by the author that no 

 good foundation existed for the constitution of two genera, since 

 the minute stiucture and development of both were identical. 

 Some convers.rtion ensued on the phenomena of alternation of 

 generations which these and other fungi present, and especially 

 in cases where some of the phases ot existence wei'e presumed 

 to be passed on different hosts. Especial reference was made to 

 the opinions entertained by Prof Oersted that the Podisomas 

 were found in one state parasitic on leaves of Pomaceous trees, 

 as Rcestelias, &c. , in another stage inhabiting the branches of 

 junipers, as Podisoma. The author of the paper did not con- 

 sider that this supposed phenomenon was satisfactorily proved. 



Manchester 

 Manchester Literary and Philosophical Society, Octo- 

 ber 31. — E. W. Binney, F.R..S., president, in the chair. — 



