3<o6 



NA TURE 



[Jan. 29, 1885 



Vertebrata. — Mr. Tegetmeier exhibited a specimen of the Wild 

 Cat {Felts catus) from Donegal, and an example of a singular 

 variation in plumage of the Black Grouse (Tetrao letrix). — A 

 piper was read by Dr. P. Pelseneer on the coxal glands of 

 MyvaU. Dr. Pelseneer's observations had been made on a large 

 specimen of Mygalc of the subgenus T/ieraphosa received from 

 the Society's Gardens. The form an:l position of this or^an in 

 the Arachnides had not been previously described or figured. — 

 Mr. E. T- Sidebotham read a description of the muscular system 

 of the Water-Opossum (Chirjuectes), as observed in a specimen 

 of this Marsupial which he had recently dissected. — A paper was 

 read by Mr. G. A. Boulenger containing the description of a 

 new species of Frog from Asia Minor, belonging to the section 

 Ranee temfioraria. This was proposed to be called Rana 

 macrocntmis. — A communication was read from Dr. O. Boettger 

 containing the descriptions of five new species of shells of the 

 genus Buliminus. The specimens upon which these descrip- 

 tions were based had been collected by Vice-Admiral T. Spratt 

 in various parts of the Levant. — A communication was real 

 from Mr. J. H. Thomson, C.M.Z.S., containing the description 

 of a new species of Mollusk of the genus Hyalina, obtained at 

 the island of Vate, New Hebrides, by Mr. E. L. Layard, F.Z.S., 

 which he proposed to call Hyalina (Conulus) layard 7. — Dr. 

 Gwyn Jeffreys, F.R.S., F.Z.S., read the ninth of his series of 

 papers on the Mollusca of the Lightning and Porcupine Expedi- 

 tions. This part included the representatives of the families 

 from Ianthinidre to Cerithiopsida?, with seventy-five species, of 

 •which twenty-three were new to science. One new genus 

 (Stilus) was also described. 



Anthropological Institute, January 13. — Prof. Flower, 

 F. R.S., President, in the chair. — The election of Daniel Wilson. 

 LL.D. , of Toronto, as an honorary member, and of W. E. 

 Darwin and M. A. Rouffignac as ordinary members, was 

 announced. — The President exhibited the photograph of a 

 "tailed" boy from Saigon. The child was about eight years 

 old, and the appendage from six to eight inches long. — Dr. 

 Garson exhibited, on behalf of Dr. Arthur Thomson, some 

 composite photographs of skulls. — Mr. Oldfield Thomas read a 

 paper on a collection of skulls from Banks, Mulgrave, and 

 Dauan Islands, Torres Strait, recently received by the Natural 

 History Museum from the Rev. S. McFarlane, who obtained 

 them from a sacred skull-house on Jervis Island. The skulls 

 were shown to be of the most pronounced Melanesian type, 

 being characterised by their elongated shape, heavy frowning 

 brow-ridges, low orbits, long, narrow palates, and exceeding 

 prognathism. The various numerical indices showing these 

 points were fully worked out and compared with those of the 

 Fijians, Australians, and other allied races. A new index, the 

 " naso-malar index," was proposed to show the relative promi- 

 nence of the central as compared with the lateral parts of the 

 face, and the terms pro-opic, mesopic, and platyopic were sug- 

 gested for skulls or races showing various degrees of develop- 

 ment in this respect. Full measurements of the thirty-eight 

 adult skulls in the collection were given, and the averages both 

 of the measurements and indices were worked out in detail. — 

 The Director read a paper by Mr. A. L. P. Cameron on some 

 tribes of New South Wales. 



Royal Microscopical Society, January 14. — Rev. W. II. 

 Dallinger, F. R.S. , President, in the chair. — Mr. Beck exhibited 

 a very simple electric light apparatus for microscopic work, the 

 battery being very readily set up and worked, and the materials 

 harmless and cheap. He also showed a simplified form of the 

 Caldwell automatic microtome, by which long ribbons of sec- 

 tions were automatically cut and received on an endless band in 

 their exact order, the new form being a little more than a third 

 only of the price of the original. — Dr. Van Heurck sent photo- 

 graphs further illustrating his resolution of Amphipleura pellu- 

 cida into "beads" ; also specimens of the same object burnt on 

 the slide and then coated with a very thin film of silver, both by 

 Dr. A. Y. Moore's original process and by an improver! method 

 of his own. Dr. Moore also sent one of his slides. — Mr. Swift 

 exhibited a condenser made in 1883, which he claimed to be 

 identical with that of Dr. Wallich.— Mr. H. L. Brevoort de- 

 sired information as to investigations on the fur of animals as 

 distinguished from hair, it being a matter of great practical 

 importance in the manufacture of felted goods to understand the 

 method by which the fur-fibres act upon another.— Mr. H. 

 G. Hanks announced the discovery at Santa Monica of a de- 

 posit of diatomaceous earth like the celebrated fragment found 



in 1876, and sent a portion for distribution. — Dr. Gray warned 

 mounters against the use of balsam of Tola, which formed 

 crystals in a comparatively short time. — Dr. Anthony, in refer 

 ence to Mr. Wright's note on a new structure in the tongue of 

 the blowfly, showed that it was the same as that discovered by 

 him in 1874. — Dr. J. D. Cox further criticised Dr. Flogel's 

 researches on thin sections of diatoms, and stated that he dif- 

 fered from him (1) in finding a thin but indisputable film cover- 

 ing the outer surface of the hexagons of Trktratiuni, as well as 

 on the inner surface ; (2) he thinks there should be no doubt 

 of the existence of a film on the outer convex surface of Cosci- 

 nodiscus ; the real dispute has been as to the " eye-spot " film, 

 which is the inner one, Dr. Flogel reversing the relative 

 positions of the two films. The idea of the existence of 

 solid spherules must clearly be abandoned from any method 

 of examination. — Mr. Cheshire described and exhibited the 

 spermatozoa from the queen wasp and hive bee, and Mr. 

 Curties exhibited his improved form of the Hardy col- 

 lecting bottle and Abbe condenser as fitted to second-class 

 English stands. — Mr. A. D. Michael read a paper on the Hfe- 

 histories of some of the little-known Tyroglyphidse. In 1873 

 Riley published a report on the ravages of the apple-bark louse 

 (Aspidotus conchiformis), and described an acarus which was 

 supposed to destroy that pest, and which he thought might be 

 the Acarus malus of Shimer. Riley only describes the female. 

 Mr. Michael has found the Acarus in England under the bark 

 of reeds, destroying the reeds, not feeding on any insect, and 

 concludes that it is probably a feeder on various kinds of bark, 

 not on animal life ; he has traced the whole life-history. The 

 male (previously unknown) presents the exceptional features 

 possessed by Tyroglyphus carpis, discovered by Kramer in 1S81, 

 and the hypopial nymph has been figured by Canestrini and 

 Fanzago in 1S77, under the name of "parasite of an Oribata," 

 but without explanation. Mr. Michael finds in the life-history 

 of this hypopus a confirmation of his views that the hypopial 

 stage is not caused by exceptional adverse circumstances, as 

 Megnin supposes, but is an ordinary provision of nature to 

 insure the distribution of the species, which it is intended to call 

 T. corticalis. — Mr. Michael also called attention to the pre- 

 valence of Rhizoglyphus Robin: on Dutch bulbs imported into 

 England in 1884, and to the destructive nature of that species 

 and the damages it did to hyacinth, dahlia, and erecharis bulbs, 

 &c. , and recommended that imported bulbs should be carefully 

 examined. — Dr. Maddox read a paper on some unusual forms 

 of lactic ferment [Bacterium lactis), of which he showed draw- 

 ings and photo-micrographs. Some of the chains had the 

 different joints increased largely in size in different parts of the 

 chain in an irregular manner, whilst in others some joints had 

 become more or less globular, as well as very enlarged. Dr. 

 Maddox inclined to consider the enlarged cells as the result of 

 a generative effort (by which the organism can be tided over 

 such conditions as would otherwise lead to its destruction) rather 

 than as a degenerative state or return to a primary phase. — Mr. 

 C. Thomas read a paper on a new species of Acineta, which, 

 however, Mr. Badcock considered to be Trich phrya epistylidis, 

 Mr. Crisp exhibited and described Robinson's photo-micro- 

 graphic camera, Gibbe's membrane stretcher, live cell for 

 keeping objects cool, and other apparatus. -The death was 

 announced of Dr. F. Ritter v. Stein, the author of "Der 

 Organismus der Infusionsthiere," and an Honorary Fellow of 

 the Society. — The nominations for the new Council were read, 

 the Auditors appointed, and five new Fellows elected. 



Royal Meteorological Society, January 21. — Mr. K. II. 

 Scott, F.R.S., President, in the chair. — The Secretary read the 

 report of the Council, which showed the Society to be in a very 

 satisfactory condition. The Council equipped a typical clirr.ato- 

 logical station in the grounds of the International Health Ex- 

 hibition, in order that persons desirous of organising a station 

 might see one arranged in accordance with the regulations of the 

 Society. A conference on meteorology in relation to health was 

 arranged for by the Society, and held at the Health Exhibition 

 on July 17 and 18. The Council have appointed committees 

 to investigate the subjects of the brilliant sunrises and sunsets 

 of 1883-S4, and of the local phenomenon known as the helm- 

 wind of Cross Fell, Cumberland. The observing stations of the 

 Society now number eighty-five, the results from which are 

 printed in the Meteorological Record. The whole of the stations 

 in the south of England have been inspected during the year, 

 and found to be generally in a satisfactory state. The number 

 of Fellows on the roll of the Society is 552, of whom thirty- 



