Marcu 25, 1915] 

ing hypogeal. The-plumule finally bursts through the 
petiolar tube, and grows up into the air with sharply 
bent over tip. The petiolar tube is covered with hairs 
which appear to function as root-hairs.—Dr. Marie C. 
Stopes: New types of stem-anatomy in Cycadeoidea, 
with a well-petrified new species. A short account 
was given of two species of Cycadeoidea in which the 
internal anatomy is partially preserved, and also of a 
well-petrified new species showing very curiously 
alternating series of wood zones.—W. E. Collinge : 
A new genus and species of terrestrial Isopoda from 
British Guiana.—Dr. Stapf: Inflorescences of the 
Carob tree (Ceratonia siliqua) representing the several 
sexual conditions in which the tree occurs. Reference 
was made to Cavanilles’s observations in the Carob 
groves of Valencia and the work done by Heckel and 
Schlagdenhauffen on the French Riviera, and_ by 
Gennadius in Cyprus. According to these authors 
most of the apparently female trees, that is, trees 
with very small subsessile anthers, are in_ reality 
hermaphrodite (brachystemonous hermaphrodites in 
contradistinction from the rare dolichostemonous 
hermaphrodites). But Dr. Stapf pointed out that no 
- anthers containing pollen could be found in_ the 
‘“‘brachystemonous” specimens in the Kew Her- 
barium, in spirit material recently received from the 
Italian Riviera, and in preparations of such flowers 
obtained from Cyprus. In spite of Heckel’s, Schlag- 
denhauffen’s, and Gennadius’s excellent work, there 
is still some mystery surrounding the pollination of 
the Carob tree which is certainly worth studying on 
the spot. 
Zoological Society, March 9.—Mr. R. H. Burne, vice- 
president, in the chair.—R. I. Pocock: The feet, per- 
tume-glands, and other external characters of the 
Viverrine. The term Viverrinze was used by the 
author in a restricted sense for the typical Civets and 
Genets referred hitherto to the three genera, Viverra, 
Viverricula, and Genetta. He pointed out, however, 
that a new generic term must be introduced for the 
African Civet (V. civetta), which differs from the 
Oriental species (V. zibetha), the type of the genus 
Viverra, in the presence of a small metatarsal pad, 
the absence of skin-lobes protecting the claws on the 
fore-feet, the nakedness of the area of the feet round 
the plantar pad, the structure of the perfume-gland, 
etc.—Mary L. Hett: New Pentastomids from the 
lungs of snakes. The snakes from which the mate- 
rial was obtained had died in the society’s gardens. 
There is great difficulty in establishing diagnostic 
characters for the separation of species in the Penta- 
stomids. Size and number of annulations have 
generally been used as standards of comparison and 
they hold good in a certain number of cases; but 
in many forms both these characters are so variable 
as to afford no sound basis for classification. This 
is illustrated by Porocephalus bifurcatus and three 
allied forms which are here described as varieties. 
They were all obtained from the lungs of snakes 
from different regions. An average specimen of each 
form differs from the other varieties in length and 
number of rings, but intermediate forms occur which 
almost bridge the gap between them in both par- 
ticulars. Hence it is difficult to regard them as 
separate species. If, however, the differences should 
prove to be of specific value, the four species, to- 
gether with one other, should certainly be united in a 
new genus, as they differ from all other Pentastomids 
and resemble one another in several important par- 
ticulars.—Reports on the collections made by_ the 
British Ornithologists’ Union Expedition and the Wol- 
laston Expedition in Dutch New Guinea :—G. J. Arrow, 
G. A. K. Marshall, and C. J. Gahan; Coleoptera.— 
NO. 2369, VOL. 95| 
NATURE 


elon 
F. W. Edwards and E. E, Austen: Diptera.—H. 
Campion; Odonata.—Dr. L. Cognetti de Martiis: 
Vermes.—G. Arnold and Dr. C. L, Boulenger: The 
fresh-water Medusa recently discovered in the Lim- 
popo River system. This jelly-fish is referred to the 
same species (Limnocnida rhodesiae, Boulenger) as 
the form described from a tributary of the Zambesi 
River in 1912. Species of Limnocnida are now 
known to occur in the five principal river systems of 
Africa as well as in the Bombay Presidency of India. 
The paper contains descriptions of the structure and 
habits of the jelly-fish, and attention is directed to the 
occurrence of parasitic Infusorians of the genus 
Trichodina on both the African species, L, tanganicae 
and L. rhodesiae.—F. F. Laidlaw: Bornean dragon- 
flies collected on Mount Kina Balu. Two new genera 
and seven new species were described, 
Geological Society, March 10.—Dr. A. Smith Wood- 
ward, president, in the chair.—C. Reid: The plants 
of the late Glacial deposits of the Lea Valley. Large 
collections of plants from the Lea Valley deposits, 
already described, have been made by Mr. S. H. 
Warren, Mr. E. T. Newton, and Mr. Wrigley. The 
localities from which the plants were obtained are 
Angel Road, Hedge Lane, Ponders End, and Temple 
Mills. A list from Ponders End has already been 
given by Dr. Lewis, but the new collections include 
many unrecorded species, several of which have not 
previously been noted as British fossils. Although 
there are slight differences, the collections from all 
four localities are so similar as to leave no doubt that 
the deposits are contemporaneous. The whole 
assemblage points to a very cold climate, though 
perhaps not quite so cold as that indicated by the 
Arctic plants found at Hoxne, in Suffolk. Among the 
more interesting novelties may be mentioned Armeria 
arctica, a species of thrift now confined to Arctic 
America, although it has also been recorded as a 
Pleistocene fossil from the continent of Europe by 
Dr. C. A. Weber.—S. Smith: The genus Lonsdaleia 
and Dibunophyllum rugosum (McCoy). The present 
paper discusses the literature, structural characters and 
development, descent, classification, and distribution 
of the corals constituting the genus Lonsdaleia; it 
includes also a description of Dibunophyllum rugosum 
(McCoy). 
Royal Meteorological Society, March 17.—Dr. W. G. 
Duffield: The meteorology of the sun. An account 
was given of methods and results of spectroscopic and 
other observaticns of solar phenomena. Abbot’s work 
on the variability of solar radiation opens up the 
prospect of further discoveries in connection with solar 
and terrestrial phenomena, the most important prac- 
tical problem in the region of physics or meteorology. 
It is the hope of astronomers that the earth will be 
completely girdled by observatories which will take 
part in the international scheme of co-operation in 
solar research. The promise of such observatories in 
Australia and New Zealand is welcomed by all in- 
terested in the development of solar and terrestrial 
meteorology. 

BOOKS RECEIVED. 
Elementary Human Biology. By J. E. Peabody 
and A. E. Hunt. Pp. xii+194. (London: Macmillan 
and Co., Ltd.) 4s. 
The Chemistry of Paints and Painting. By Sir 
A. H. Church. Fourth edition. Pp. xx+388. (Lon- 
don: Seeley, Service, and Co., Ltd.) 7s. 6d. net. 
Elementary Electricity and Magnetism. By W. Se 
