PROCEEDINGS OF PROVINCIAL SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES. 



The Transactions of the Norfolk and Norwich Naturalists' Society for 

 1908-9 (Vol. VIII., pt. V.) recently to hand, completes the eighth volume, 

 and contains a valuable index of the Society's publications from 1869- 

 1908 by Mr. C. Davies Sherborn. The papers are mostly of local interest: 

 the Rev. M. C. 11. Bird gives his presidential address, and deals with 

 East Rushton Common ; Mr. A. Bennet writes on ' East Anglian Plants 

 and on Deschampsia setacea, a little known Norfolk grass ' ; Mr. Eldred 

 has notes on ' The Great Bustard,' and there are papers on Meteorology, 

 Bird Life, Herring Fishing, Algje of Suffolk, and a special series of the 

 monographs on the fauna and flora of Norfolk, dealing respectively with 

 the non-marine mollusca. Marine Algae, Sawflies, Hymenoptera, Coleoptera, 

 Hemiptera, Fishes and I3irds. 



Barrow Naturalists' Field Club. Annual Reports, Proceedings, etc., for 

 27th and 28th years, ended 25th March, 1904. Vol. XVII., 1909. 288 pp. 



The Barrow naturalists and their enthusiastic editor — Mr. Harper 

 Gaythorpe — are to be congratulated upon the success which has attended 

 their efforts to keep a record of their work. The present substantial 

 volume (which, by the way, is well indexed), is by far the largest publication 

 the Society has issued, and it is also the most valuable. Though a little 

 belated (No. XVIII. for 1905-6 having been published over two years ago), 

 it is, nevertheless, welcome. About two-thirds of the publication consist 

 of local papers and reports, the remainder being devoted to subjects of 

 more general interest. Many branches of geology, archaeology and natural 

 history are represented, and tlie notes are illustrated by plans, sketches 

 and photographs. Amongst the latter are several excellent representations 

 of birds' nests. A portrait of I\Ir. Gaythorpe appears as frontispiece. It 

 is impossible here to enumerate even the more important items in the 

 volume, but it can safely be said that future historians and writers upon 

 the natural history and geology of the Furness district will be grateful 

 to the Barrow Society for the pains they are taking in printing particulars 

 of its investigations. 



Proceedings of the Liverpool Geological Society, Part V., Vol. X, 1909, 

 pp. 289-339. 



Thi3 is the first part of the Proceedings of this society that has appeared 

 for many years without the names of either Joseph Lomas or Mellard 

 Reade in the list of contributors. And the publication suffers. Still it 

 contains a record of useful work, and some papers of permanent value. 

 Dr. Dwerryhouse's presidential address, dealing with Carbonic Acid, and 

 the part it plays in the Universe, appears first. Judging from the 

 'Contents,' Dr. Given records some glacial striae near ^lossley Hill, though, 

 by an apparent oversight, the title of his paper is omitted. Mr. Travis 

 describes some Ordovician Rhyolites and Tuffs in Carnarvonshire, and gives 

 illustrations from micro-photographs. Mr. Brodrick sings once again 

 his old, old song about the footprint casts in the Oolites near Whitby, 

 wiiich he ' had the good fortune to find.' At the time he did not know 

 where they had come from, but on the first occasion upon which the place 

 was visited by another geologist, their exact horizon was identified, and 

 was described in this journal so long ago as October igo8. In view of 

 this, it is perhaps surprising to find the author writing, ' it is unfortunately 

 impossible to say with any degree of certainty the exact horizon from 

 which they had fallen.' The publication concludes with a ' List of Scien- 

 tific Papers by Joseph Lomas.' There is nothing to indicate who has 

 compiled this list, but it is much to be regretted that it is so '.ncomplete, 

 and we hope a supplementary list will be printed in the next part of t,he 

 Proceedings. His earlier work, published in the Proceedings of the Liver- 

 pool Biological Society, is not referred to in any way ; his papers in ' The 

 Naturalist"' are omitted ; as is also a paper in the ' Proceedings of the 

 Royal Society,' and no reference is made to his contribution to Cassell's 

 ■* Nature Book,' which are certainly by far the finest papers he ever wrote. 



Naturalist, 



