Jan. 14, 1875] 



NATURE 



219 



are added. — Oppolzer gires the'elements of Winnecke's comet 

 (Comet III. 1S19), and an ephemeris for every day, from Jan. i 

 to March i, 1S75. The echpse of the sun of October last was 

 observed by H. Bmns and others at Dorpat ; four telescopes 

 were used, of 162, 97, 53, and 77 millimetres aperture respec- 

 tively. It appears that the first contact was observed to take 

 place earlier with the larger instruments than with the smaller ; 

 there is a difference of 44 seconds in time in the case of the 162 

 and 53 millimetre glasses. H. Bruns also contributes some 

 remarks on the finding of the altitude of falling stars. — Dr. J. 

 Holetschek gives elements and an ephemeris for the planet 

 Peitho (liS) for the month of Dec. ; and Ormond Stone adds a 

 remark on certain equations in the determination of a comet's 

 distsince from the earth. — No. 2,017. — I^''- O- Lohse ^viites to 

 the editor an account of the method of photographing the sun. 

 lie apparently uses collodion, containing chloride of silver, or 

 paper, instead of the ordinary sensitive plate. He remarks that 

 the process has the advantage of requiring no chemical prepara- 

 tion for each photograph, and he says the spots are sharply 

 defined. — Prof. Bredichin sends his positions and observations of 

 22 of the minor planets, the comets of AVinnecke, Borrelly, and 

 Coggia ; and Fearnley gives a list of 5S stars with their ascertained 

 positions for comparison with Coggia's comet. — Leopold Schulhof 

 gives elements and an ephemeris for the month of Dec. of Planet 

 (I39)- — Victor Fuss gives the times of contact of four observers 

 of the solar eclipse of October last. 



The Bulletin de la Societe (t Acclimalation de Paris for Sep- 

 tember opens with a curious instance, related by M. Duwarnet, 

 of a cross between the red and common grey partridge ; the 

 practical use of which, however, is not apparent, though it is a 

 curious example of a cro=s between two species of birds hitherto 

 regarded as irreconcilable. — M. La Perre de Roo contributes 

 an article on Military Pigeons, which details the uses to which 

 pigeons may be put for military purposes. Russia, Italy, Aus- 

 tria, and Germany have already created establishments for the 

 breeding and training of pigeons with this object. — ^L J. Bech 

 pleads the cause of the small birds in France, most of which, as 

 soon as the legal shooting season commences, are killed in large 

 numbers by sportsmen who cannot find better game. He recom- 

 mends the absolute prohibition of the slaughter of insectivorous 

 birds. — The acclimatisation of sponges is the latest idea of one 

 of the members of the society, who suggests that the celebrated 

 Syrian sponges might be cultivated in the South of France. — 

 The Notes trom America include observations on the Rlexican 

 Agave, the introduction of mahogany into India, and the tea- 

 productions of that country. 



Dcr Zoolo^isc/ic Garten. — In the November number Dr. von 

 Olfers discusses the food of the Stork (Ciconia alba), and its con- 

 sequent value to the farmer. He finds tlie principal items of its 

 bill of fare to consist of frogs, moles, grasshoppers, and the 

 larger carabine beetles. — Dr. Dorner reviews the twelve species 

 of Deer now represented in the Hamburg Zoological Gardens ; 

 a Stag (Ccn'iis elaplnis), aged only two years, has already antlers 

 with twelve points. — H. Thienemann remarks on the habits 

 of the Little Bustard ( Otis tdrix), which has recently established 

 itself as a breeding species in Thuringia, as has also the Fieldfare 

 (Tiirdus pilaris). — Among the remaining articles are notes on 

 Plotus ievaillantii, by H, Marno; and on Tropidmiohis tessellatus, 

 by H. Geisenheyner. 



SOCIETIES AND ACADEMIES 

 London 



Geological Society, Dec. 16. — Mr. John Evans, F.R.S., 

 president, in the chair. — The following communications were 

 read: — (i) Descriptions of the Graptolites of the Arenig and 

 Llandeilo Rocks of St. David's, by Messrs. John Hopkinson and 

 Charles Lapworth. Commencing with a brief historical account 

 of the discovery of graptolites in the neighbourhood of St. David's, 

 from their first discovery in the Llandeilo series in 1S41 by Sir 

 Henry De la Beche and Prof. Ramsay, the authors proceeded to 

 explain their views on the classification of the graptolites ( Grapto- 

 lit/iina, Bronn), which they place under the order Hydroida, 

 dividing them into two groups : Rhabdopliora (Allmau), com- 

 prising the true siculate or virgulate graptolites, which they con- 

 sider to have been free organisms ; and Cladophora (Hopkinson), 

 comprising the dendroid graptolites and theii' allies, which were 

 almost certainly fixed, and are most nearly allied to the recent 



Thecaphora. The distribution of the genera and species in the 

 Arenig and Llandeilo rocks of St. David's was then treated of 

 and the different assemblages of species in each of their sub- 

 divisions were compared with those of other areas. The Arenig 

 rocks are seen to contain a number of species which ally them 

 more closely to the Quebec group of Canada tlian to any other 

 series of rocks, all their sub-divisions containing Quebec species, 

 while the Skiddaw slates, which before the discovery of grapto- 

 lites in the Lower Areirig rocks of Ramsey Island in 1S72 were 

 considered to be our oldest graptolite-bearing rocks, can oirly be 

 correlated with the Middle and Upper Arenigs of St. David's. 

 The graptolites of the Arenig rocks of Shropshire and of more 

 distant locaUties were also compared with those of St. David's. 

 In the Llandeilo series of this district the Cladophora have now 

 for the first time been found, a few species, with several species 

 of RImbdophora, occurrmg at Abereiddy Bay in the Lower 

 Llandeilo, which alone has been carefully worked, there being 

 much more to be done in the Middle and Upper Llandeilo, 

 from which very few species of graptolites have as yet been 

 obtained. Some of the recently introduced terms, and altered 

 or more definite terminology, employed in the descriptions of the 

 species were then explained ; and the paper concluded with 

 descriptions of all the species of graptolites coll«cted in the 

 Arenig and Llandeilo rocks of St. David's within the last few 

 years of which sufficiently perfect specimens have been obtained, 

 doubtful species being referred to in an appendix. Forty-two 

 species were described, belonging to the following genera :— 

 Didymograptus, Tetragrapttis, Clemagraptns (gen.nov.),Dicdlo- 

 ^raptus, Cbmaco^raptus, Diplograptus, Phyllograptus, Glosso- 

 i;raptiis, and Trigonograptiis (Rhabdophora) ; Ptilooraptus, 

 JX-naograptiis, Callooraptus, and Dictyograptus (Cladophora). 

 (2) On the age and correlations of the plant-bearing series of 

 India, and the former existence of an Indo-oceanic continent, by 

 I*Ir. H. F. Blanford. In this paper the author showed that the 

 plant-bearing series of India ranges from early Permian to the 

 latest Jurassic times, indicating that, with few and local excep- 

 tions, land and freshwater conditions had prevailed uninterrup- 

 tedly over Its area during this long lapse of time, and perhaps 

 even from an earlier period. In the early Permian there is 

 evidence in the shape of boulder-beds and breccias underlyino- 

 the lowest beds ot the Talchir group of a prevalence of cold 

 climate down to low latitudes in India, and, as the observations 

 of geologists in South Africa and Australia would seem to show, 

 in both hemispheres simultaneously. With the decrease of cold 

 the author believed the flora and reptilian fauna of Permian 

 times were diffused to Africa, India, and perhaps Australia; 

 or the flora may have existed somewhat earlier in Australia, and 

 have been diffused thence. The evidence, he thought, showed 

 thtt durmg the Permian epoch, India, South Africa, and Aus- 

 tralia were connected by an Indo-oceanic continent, and that the 

 first two remained so connected, with at the utmost some short 

 intervals, up to the end of the Miocene period. During the 

 latter part of the time this continent was also connected with 

 Mayalana. The position of the connecting land was said to be 

 indicated by the range of coral reefs and banks that now exists 

 between the Arabian Sea and West Africa. Up to the end of 

 the Nummulitic epoch, except perhaps for short periods, no 

 direct connection existed between India and Western Asia. 



Zoological Society, J.an. 5.— Dr. E. Hamilton, vice-pre- 

 sident, in the chair.— A letter was read from Dr. George Bennett, 

 of Sydney, giving an account of an Indian beetle (Ckryscr/iroa 

 ocellata), which had been captured alive in the Bay of Bengal, 

 273 miles from the nearest land, by Capt. Payne, of the barque 

 William Matisoon. —A letter was read from Mr. Anderson, of 

 Futteyghur, East Indies, giving an account of the eggs and 

 young of the Gavial (G'aiw//j^<;«^rf<Vr«.r).—Tlie Secretary read a 

 letter addressed to him by the Marquis of Normanby, Governor 

 of Queensland, announcing that he had forwarded by the ship 

 Kamsay, under the care of Capt. Carter, a fine specimen of the 

 Australian Cassowary (Casiiariiis auslralis), as a present for the 

 Society's collection.— A communication was read from Mr. A. G. 

 Butler, giving descriptions of thirty- three new species of Spliingids 

 in the collection of the British Museum. — A communication was 

 read from Mr. Andrew Anderson, of Futteyghur, giving correc- 

 tions of and additions to a previous paper by him on the 

 Raptorial Birds of North-western India (P.Z.S., 1872, page6i9). 

 ---A communication was read from Mr. E. L Layard, H.B.M. 

 Consul for Fiji and Tonga, containing ornithological notes made 

 in the Fijis, together with descriptions of some supposed new 

 species of birds. 



