262 THE ZOOLOGIST. 
a heap of shingle, on which he now mounted guard. Five times within two 
hours was the fish unearthed, and as often did the lobster shovel the gravel 
over it with his huge claws, each time ascending the pile and turning his 
bold defensive front to his companions. I am not aware that this canine 
propensity of the lobster has been before recorded—Ernest E, Barker 
(Rothesay Aquarium, Bute). 
Dr. Bowrrsanx’s Cotiection or Sponces.—We are glad to hear that 
the entire collection of Sponges and microscopical preparations left by the late 
Dr. Bowerbank have been purchased by the Trustees of the British Museum. 
This collection, which comprises the specimens referred to and described by 
Dr. Bowerbank in his four important volumes published by the Ray Society, 
will be most useful and valuable to all who are interested in the examination 
and study of the Spongiide. 
PROCEEDINGS OF SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES. 
Linnean Socretry oF Lonpvon. 
April 5, 1877.—Prof. Attman, F.R.S., President, in the chair. 
Capt. Chimmo, R.N., Westdown, Weymouth; the Rev. J. Constable, 
M.A., Agricultural College, Cirencester; and Prof. Liversidge, F.G.S., 
University, Sydney (New South Wales), were elected Fellows of the Society. 
Mr. Collett, of Christiania, read a communication “ On Myodes lemmus 
in Norway.” This Scandinavian naturalist’s observations on the habits 
and economy of the Lemming had extended over several years, and in 
1876 he had published these in a Norwegian scientific periodical. Since 
then his attention had been called to Mr. Crotch’s contributions in the 
Linnean ‘Journal,’ and, as in many particulars he differed from that 
author, the result was his present remarks on the subject. He stated that 
the number of young at a birth vary from three to eight, and two sets are 
annually produced. He regards their wandering propensities as a necessary 
consequence of their temporarily strong vitality, together with an inherent 
migratory instinct. The tendency, at intervals, to appear in unusually 
large numbers is not confined to the genus, but is common to all the 
species of the sub-family Arvicoline.* The majority of the wanderers are 
young, and in one instance, observed by himself, were chiefly males. The 
migration closes with the death of the individuals, generally brought about 
by an epizootic disease, the result of over-population, for the denser the 
masses the higher the rate of mortality. The bare patch on the rump, 
considered by Mr. Crotch to be due to the habit of protecting themselves 
against stones in resisting attack, Mr. Collett states is the result of a skin 
* See the remarks of Mr. Henry Reeks, “ On the Occurrence of the Lemming in 
Newfoundland,” in the February number of ‘ The Zoologist,’ p. 47. 
