56 Notes and Comments. 



who has just completed the catalogue of the Society's her- 

 barium, gave an interesting account of some of the principal 

 contributors to the herbarium. Chief among these was 

 the Rev. James Dalton, rector of Croft, who was born in York, 

 and who became one of the leading botanists of the kingdom. 

 He presented his herbarium and collection of coleopterous 

 insects to the Society. Miss Mary Ann Dalton, who was her 

 father's coadjutor, illustrated many of her father's botanical 

 works. Sir James Dalton Hooker, the famous scientist, and 

 godson of the Rev. James Dalton, when ninety years of age, 

 wrote to Mr. Wilkinson stating that Mr. Dalton's microscope 

 was given to him by his godfather, and he used it during the 

 whole of his work with the Antarctic Expedition in 1833, and 

 it was now in the Kew Museum. In the course of some further 

 remarks on certain specimens from the herbarium, the lecturer 

 stated that he was convinced that if the land around York 

 were to go out of cultivation there would again be a magnificent 

 forest of oaks. 



LONDON NATURALISTS. 



The Transactions of the London Natural History Society 

 have recently appeared (112 pages, 3s.), and besides the reports 

 of sections, extracts from minutes, etc., and the Annual Report 

 of the Birds of Epping Forest, there are the following : — 

 ' Presidential Address ' (by Dr. E. A. Cockayne) ; ' The London 

 Gulls,' by F. J. Stubbs ; ' Some Points of Interest in the 

 Geometridae,' by L. B. Prout ; ' The Apterous Condition in 

 Lepidoptera,' by T. A. Chapman ; and ' Some Aspects of 

 Birds' Life in Europe,' by J. A. Simes. In view of the present 

 conditions the publication is a laudable one, the only objection 

 we have being that the advertisements are paged with the 

 rest of the matter, and as some are printed on the back of the 

 last page of the index they cannot very well be torn out. 



MANCHESTER MICROSCOPISTS. 



The Annual Report and Transactions of the Manchester 

 Microscopical Society for 1916 (125 pages, is. 6d.), was issued 

 on January 3rd. It is a particularly valuable number, and 

 besides the usual reports and rambles, etc., contains the 

 following : — President's Address, ' Seeds and Seedlings of 

 Orchids ' ; ' Notes on Two Hepatics,' by H. G. Willis ; ' Notes 

 on the Reproduction of Hydra,' by A. E. Openshaw ; ' Notes 

 on Residues obtained from the Treatment of Substances 

 \^dth Acids,' by R. Pettigrew ; ' Plant Hairs,' by C. H. Brierley ; 

 ' Some Notes on Alcohol,' by H. Garnett ; ' Pathogenic 

 Protozoa,' by G. Talbot ; and ' Plumatella repens,' by W. 

 Harvey. Of especial interest is Mr. Mark Sykes' report on the 

 British Association meeting at Newcastle, in which he deals 



Naturalist, 



