OCTOL'EU S, 1896] 



NA rURE 



547 



lake them with many grains of salt. My observations have not 

 been quite regular, and are wholly unscientific, and are confined 

 to a very narrow area. In fact I cannot distinguish between a 

 swallow and a martin when in flight, nor do I know what may 

 be their differences in the affair of migration. I believe both 

 kinds of swallow (to use the popular term) abound here in 

 normal quantities, and I am told that swifts are comparatively 

 scarce. But my own observation is of the shallowest and loosest 

 character, confined indeed to the asthetic side — viz. to 

 admiration of the beauty and grace of the birds in dancing their 

 endless reels. 



Tuesday, September I ... multitudes of swallows. 

 Wednesday ,, 2 ... | , 



Thursday „ 3 ... |^ 0"e or, perhaps, two. 



Friday ,, 4 ... ) ,, 



Saturday ,! 5 ... | "one at all. 



Sunday ,, 6 ... multitudes. 



Monday ,, 7 ... none (reappeared at 3 p.m. in 



small numbers). 

 Tuesday ,, 8 ... a few. 



Wednesday ,, 9 ... none in morning ; some about 



2 p.m. 

 Thursday ,, 10 ... none observable. 



Friday ,, II ... none observable. 



Saturday ,, 12 ... a few. 



After this, the quantities were about normal : not remarkable 

 for multitudes or for paucity. Hobhouse. 



Charlton House, Portbury, Bristol. 



" The Scenery of Switzerland." 



Bei.m; awa,y from home, I have only just seen Nature of 

 .September 10, and I should like, with your permission, to make 

 a lew remarks on one or two points in Miss Ogilvie's review of 

 my "Scenery of Switzerland." 



With reference to the origin of transverse valleys, she says 

 that I first describe them as due to erosion, and afterwards 

 endeavour to explain them as the result of tectonic causes. I 

 fear, therefore, that I have not made my meaning clear. 



Some transverse valle)s are no doubt entirely valleys of 

 erosion, but in others the original direction is clearly the result 

 of tectonic causes, though the depth may be due to erosion. 



Miss Ogilvie goes on to remark that the idea that both 

 longitudinal and transverse valleys " had their primal cause in 

 tectonic movements, by no means finds its first exponent in Sir 

 John Lubbock. It is perfectly familiar throughout the writings 

 of .Austrian and German geologists," and she gently blames me 

 for not referring to them. But I made no such claim. More- 

 over, I quoted Prof. Bonney's interesting remaiks on the fact. 

 My suggested explanation is, however, quite different from that 

 of the authors referred to by Miss Ogilvie. Their view was, in 

 her own words, " that the ttan.sverse lines of weakness were 

 planes of movement long after the longitudinal folds had ceased 

 to move." My suggestion is, on the contrary, that transverse 

 and longitudinal folds were simultaneous, and due to the same 

 cause. 



There is one other criticism on which I should like to say a 

 few words. 



Miss Ogilvie observes that " it is the greatest blemish in Sir 

 John Lubbock's book that he nowhere gives a geological insight 

 into the structure of the Monte Rosa ma.ssif of mountains from 

 the Simplon Pass to the St. Bernard." 



This dilfcult district was nia]ipcd by Gerlach, who was 

 unfortunately killed by an accident before he had completed the 

 letterpress. 



No doubt there are several important memoirs on it, which I 

 have read with interest. I had also the advantage of visiting it 

 with Prof Renevier and Prof. GoUiez, and had, in fact, written 

 several pages on the subject. 



Certain of the rocks are, however, of such doubtful age, and 

 there is so much difference of opinion, that the time has not 

 yet, I think, arrived when a "geological insight" into this 

 district can be given with confidence. 



Under the circumstances, therefore, while regretting the 

 omission, I thought it better not to make the attempt. 



St. .\ndrcws, September 21. JCHN Li'i;bock. 



NO. 1406, VOL. 54] 



THE LIVERPOOL MEETING OF THE 



BRITISH ASSOCIATION. 

 VL— The Excursion to the Isle of M.\i\. 



A SCIENTIFIC account of the Isle of Man was given 

 -'*■ as an appendix to the Liverpool "Handbook." 

 This five days' e.\cursion to the island may almost be 

 regarded as a supplementary meeting of the Association. 

 About a hundred members, representative of the more or 

 less Biological Sections C, D, H,and K, left Liverpool on 

 Thursday morning by the Prince of U'd/es, one of the 

 best boats of the Isle of Man Sleam Packet Company, 

 and made a rapid passage to Douglas. There they were 

 met on arrival by His Honour Deemster Gill and other 

 leading members of the Natural History Society, and 

 were conveyed to Government House, where His 

 Excellency Lord Henniker gave a reception to the party. 

 Later in the afternoon the Zoologists and Botanists went 

 by train to their headquarters at Port Erin, while the 

 Geologists and Arch;eologists settled down at Douglas. 



The weather throughout has been rather tempestuous 

 and unsettled, and has interfered to some e.xtent with 

 field work. Probably the Zoologists have suffered more 

 than the other Sections, as they have been prevented 

 from carrying out their proposed dredging e.\peditions- 

 However the storms which rendered work at sea im- 

 possible made the shore-collecting more interesting, as 

 vast quantities of Laminaria and others of the larger 

 .Alga? were cast up, with many animals attached or cling- 

 ing to them. 



The Zoological party included, in addition to the 

 leaders (Prof. Herdman and Mr. Thompson), Prof. 

 Poulton (Oxford), Dr. Hjort (Christiania), Dr. de Man 

 (Holland;, Dr. Gilchrist (Cape Town), and others. Both 

 Zoologists and Botanists made considerable use of the 

 Marine Biological Station at Port Erin for the examina- 

 tion and preservation of their speciinens. On the 

 Saturday, the Governor of the Island lunched with the 

 party at Port Erin, and afterwards visited the Biological 

 Station. The Botanists were largely engaged in marine 

 work along with the Zoologists, but they also made 

 several excursions into the glens and hills in search of 

 mosses and other land plants. Amongst the more dis- 

 tinguished Botanists in the party were Profs. Weiss, 

 Magnus, Pfitzer, Zacharias, and Chodat. .AH of them, as- 

 well as the foreign Zoologists, expressed themsehes as 

 deeply interested in the rich marine fauna and flora at 

 Port Erin, and several made large collections. 



The Architological party was under the leadership of 

 Mr. P. M. C. Kermode and Prof. Haddon. Their pro- 

 gramme was carefully arranged so as to include examples 

 of nearly every object of antiquarian interest in the 

 island, and, being practically independent of weather, was 

 completely carried out. 



Prof. Haddon reports as follows on the work of this 

 Section of the party : — " On the first day a visit was paid 

 to the church of Braddan, with its interesting Scandi- 

 navian and Celtic crosses ; and the obscure alignments 

 were inspected. At the Tynwald Hill, near Peel, Deemster 

 Gill gave an account of the promulgation of the laws ; the 

 afternoon was spent at Peel Castle, examining the ruins. 

 On Saturday forenoon the Attorney-General took the 

 party round Rushen Castle and its small but interesting 

 museum of Manx antiquities, and in the afternoon Dr. 

 Herdman's Biological Station was visited, and the unique 

 Neolithic grave circle, explored a few years ago by 

 Kermode and Herdman, was carefully inspected, and the 

 probable age and history were discussed by Dr. Alontelius, 

 Dr. Munro, and others. The party went to Ramsey on 

 Monday, and on the way ascended the ancient hill fort of 

 Cronk Sumark. At Rainsey, as elsewhere, local collec- 

 tions were exhibited, and the splendid series of casts of 

 early crosses, got together by the enthusiasm of Mr. P. 

 M. C. Kermode, was greatly appreciated ; so much was. 



