yune 13, 1872] 



NATURE 



135 



Sollas as to the foraminiferal origin of many of the green grains. 

 He did not agree with Mr. Fisher in attributing all the nodules 

 to the bed in which they were found, but thought that a con- 

 siderable portion might be leferrtd to the upper part of the 

 Gault. In proof of the washing the Gault near Cambridge had 

 undeigone, he mentioned the occurrence there of a number of 

 boulders of rocks quite foreign to the district. — Mr. J. F. Walker 

 thought that most of the fossils of the phosphatic band at the 

 base of the Chalk-marl were derived fiom the Gaulr, whilst the 

 bed differed from chalk only by green grains becoming gradually 

 more abundant. The fossils were generally much water-worn, 

 the characteristic fossils of the Warminster Greensand were 

 absent, and the mo't abundant fossils were all of Gault species. 

 It seemed that wherever these accumulations of phosphatic 

 matter occurred denudation had taken place, and that they 

 were the residuary hesvy materials of a large thickness of rock. 

 This might also be obseiTed in the Upware and Potton beds. — 

 Mr. Whitaker observed that the Upper Greensand thinned out as 

 much to the south as to the north of London. He inquired as to 

 the alleged abundance of phosphate of lime in the upper part of 

 the Gault. He doubted whether the thin band at Cambridge 

 could represent the great thickness of Upper Greensand wl-.ich 

 was to be found in some other districts. He regarded it rather 

 as a gradual passage into Chalk, though the line of dtmarcation 

 was evident on the Gault. Though agreeing with Mr. Walker 

 as to some of the fossils having been derived from the Gaidt, he 

 could not regard them all as ha\'ing come from that source. — 

 Mr. Meyer thought that the Greensand had always been ab.sent 

 in the Cambridge district, and mentioned the occurrence of a 

 bed of much the same character as that in question at Knighton 

 in the Isle of Wight. — Mr. Forbes pointed out that the amount 

 of phosphatic matter in fishes was so small that it was difficult 

 to assign such an abundance as that described to this source. 

 In limestones almost entirely composed of shells, he could 

 find only from i to 1 per cent, of phosphate of lime. 

 Even with true coprolites, he thought that they had become 

 richer in phosphate since their deposition ; but whence it 

 was derived he would not pretend to say. He thought this 

 question of derivation still open. — Prof. Morris mentioned the 

 occurrence of similar deposits near W'issant, on the ccast of 

 France, and near Calne, in Wiltshiie. He called attention to 

 the extremely quiet nature of the sea in w hich the phosphatic 

 bed had been deposited, and observed on the existence in recent 

 times on certain sea-shores of ooze containing a large amount of 

 phosphatic matter. — Mr. Fither, in reply, stated that he had in 

 his paper but slightly touched on the sources of derivation of the 

 phosphate of lime ; but as to the possibility of that substance 

 being localised and derived in large quantity from fish, he pointed 

 out that the principal manure of modern times, guano, was 

 derived from this source. He alluded to the possibility of some 

 ]irocess of dialysis having contributed to the segregation of the 

 phosphate. He disputed the identity of the nodules in the Gault 

 and in the Chloritic Marl of Cambridge. x\s to the character of 

 the fossils, he regarded it as the same as that to be found in a thin 

 band at the base of the chalk in parts of Hants and Dorset. Mr. 

 Sollas had examined sections of the fossils from the Cam- 

 bridge beds under the microscope, but had failed to find the 

 canals or tuberculated spicules characteristic of Alcyonaria. He 

 had, however, in the sand found numerous indisputable sponge 

 spicules. He had, moreover, found in sections of the coprolites 

 spicules such as were regarded by Dr. Bowerbank as character- 

 istic of sponges. He hoped, however, to recur to the subject. 

 Both Mr. Fisher and himself concurred in removing these nodules 

 from the category of concretion.s, and placing them under the 

 head of organic fossils. The transported blocks in the bet's 

 bear evidence of glacial action, and he considered had been 

 brought from Scotland or Scandinavia. The cold sea then 

 existing at the base of the Scandinavian chain of mountains 

 llowed southwards over the bottom of the ocean, carrying with 

 it mineral matter in solution, particularly phosphates, so that in 

 this way he thought that some portion of the phosphatic matter 

 was derived from the decomposition of the volcanic rocks north 

 of Lammermuir, which were rich in this substance, and of which 

 rocks he had four d fragments near Cambridge. He considered 

 that, under certrin circumstances, the phosphate matter present 

 in water would combine with animal matter, and hoped at some 

 future time to offer some remarks on this subject to tlie Society. 

 Zoological Society, June 4. —Prof. Flower, F.R.S., V. P., 

 in the chair. Mr. G. Dawson Rowley exhibited a specimen of 

 Zonotrkliia albuollis, which had recently been captured alive 



near Brighton, being the second recorded instance of the 

 occurrence of this bird in the British Islands, — Mr. P. L. Sclater 

 exhibited a specimen of the American Black-billed Cuckoo 

 (Coccyzns eryllnopthaliiiiis) killed in Ireland. This specimen 

 had been referred by Mr. Blake Knox to the Yellow-billed 

 Cuckoo (Coccyzus amcricamis), and by Lord Clermont, subse- 

 quently, to the Elack-billed species [C. crythropthaliinis). Mr. 

 Sclater remarked that there could be no question of the latter 

 determination being correct. — The Secretary communicated ex- 

 tracts from a letter received from Captain Henry Pain, of the 

 S.S. Scaiideria, on the habits of the .Sea-Lion [Olaria jtibald) 

 and Fur Seal of the Falklands (0. /alklandica). — Prof. Owen, 

 F.R.S., read a paper on Dinornis, being the nineteenth of his 

 series of memoirs on this genus. The present communication 

 contained the description of a femur, indicative of a new genus 

 of large wingless bird [Diotiwyttis attstralis, Oiu.^ from a post- 

 tertiary deposit in Queensland, Australia. — Prof. Flower, F.R.S , 

 read a note on some points in the anatomy of the Two-spotted 

 Paradoxure (Nandinia biiio/ata), and showed that the caecum is 

 absent in this animal, contrary to the almost invariable rule 

 which distinguishes the Arctoid subdivision of the Carnivora. — 

 A communication was read from Dr. John Anderson, Curator of 

 the Indian Museum, Calcutta, on the osteology and dentition of 

 Hyloniys. Dr. Anderson came to the conclusion that this form 

 was most nearly allieel to Gyinimra, and belongs to the 

 Ei inaceidre. — Mr. E. T. Higgins read a paper describing some 

 new species of shells discovered by Mr. Clarence Buckley in 

 Ecuador. — Mr. F. Moore communicated a paper by Captain 

 Thomas Hutton on the Bats of the North- Western Himalayas, 

 in which several new species were described. — Mr. P. L. 

 Sclater read some additional notes on rare or little known 

 animals, now or lately living in the Society's Gardens.- — Dr. 

 J. Murie read a paper on the Indian Wild-Dog (Cam's 

 dukhiintiisis) ; his observations being based on two specimens 

 formerly living in the Society's Gardens. After noting points in 

 their anatomy. Dr. Murie specially referred to the variations in 

 the pelage and skulls, which distinguish the four supposed 

 species of the genus. These he was inclined to regard only as 

 one species, v\z. C. primnvus, with geographical varieties. — A 

 second paper by Dr. Murie contained observations on the 

 Bornean Ape (Macaciis ip.aunis), being the first of a series of 

 papers on the raier forms of this group. 



Entomological Society, June 3. — Prof. Westwood, presi- 

 dent, in the chair. Mr. Stainton exhibited specimens of a very 

 large black Coccus on the cork oak found at Cannes by Mr. 

 Moggridge. Also specimens of Antispila riviUci, bred from 

 larva; mining the leaves of the vine at Slassa di Carrara, found 

 by the Hon. Miss de Grey. This insect was first discovered in 

 the island of Malta about 1750 by De Riville, but was not 

 again noticed until 1S71. — Prof. Westwood exhibited a large 

 cottony mass, in which were enveloped the cocoons of a minute 

 parasitic Hymenoptera which infested a large caterpillar in 

 Ceylon ; one of these caterpillars had produced at least i,oco 

 of this parasite .Mr. F. Moore had observed a similar 

 occutrence in the larva of a large Bondyx from Bombay. — Prof. 

 Westwood also exhibited apple twigs, the buds of which were 

 destrojcd by a larva, apparently of a Tortrix. — Mr. Higgins 

 exhibited a selection of magnificent species of Ccloiiiidic from 

 Java obtained from Dr. Monicki. — Mr. Weir observed that he 

 had recently found the larvaa of Goiioplcryx rkanini feeding 

 upon R/uiiHuiis alatcrnus in his garden at Blackheath ; this insect 

 had not been seen there during sixteen years, and not until 

 he planted this R/ia7>inus, which it immediately discovered, 

 although so totally unlike the two indigenous species of the genus 

 on which the larvK habitually feed here. — Mr. Miller called 

 attention to a paragraph in the daily newspapers concerning the 

 enormous increase of ants on the island of May to such an extent 

 as to render the land useless to the lighthouse-keepers. The 

 subject had been brought to the notice of the Northern Light- 

 house Commissioners, and a visit had been made to the island 

 for the purpose of investigating the matter. 



Linnean Society, June 6. — Mr. G. Bentham, president, in 

 the chair. The president appointed Mr. Geo. Busk, Dr. J. D. 

 Hooker, Mr. John Miers, and Mr. W. W. Saunders, vice- 

 presidents for the year. The papers read were : — On some 

 recent forms of Lagene from Deep-sea Dredgings in tlie 

 Japanese Seas, by J. M'. O. Rymer Jones ; On the Cutaneous 

 Exudation of the Water newt {Triton crisiatus), by Miss E. A. 

 Ormerod. 



