Notes and Comments. 219 



difficult to assign to their proper place.' If any of our readers 

 can help in the direction desired we shall be glad to have 

 their views. 



NOTTINGHAM FOSSILS. 



At a recent meeting of the London Geological Society, 

 Mr. Lewis Moysey read a paper ' On Palceoxyris and other 

 Allied Fossils from the Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire Coal- 

 field.' After reviewing the bibliography of Palceoxyris, the 

 author records the finding of 22 specimens from Shipley Clay-pit 

 (Derbyshire), and over 130 from Digby Clay-pit (Nottingham- 

 shire), also several isolated examples from other localities in 

 the district. He describes Palceoxyris helicteroides noting espec- 

 ially the presence of a ' beak,' which had not, hitherto, been 

 adequately described. He then describes Palceoxyris prendeli 

 from Shipley Clay-pit, again noticing the formation of the 

 ' beak.' The discovery of Palceoxyris johnsoni from Digby is 

 noted, and it is proposed that this fossil be removed into the 

 genus Vetacapsida. He also describes a specimen of Vetacap- 

 sula cooperi from Newthorpe Clay-pit (Nottinghamshire), 

 and discusses the differences between this and other specimens, 

 and Mackie's type-specimen, but considers it unadvisable to 

 multiply species. A review of the bibliography of Fayolia is 

 followed by the description of a new species from Shipley 

 Clay-pit ; also a small compressed example is described as 

 near to Fayolia dentata. The author then discusses the dis- 

 tribution of these organisms in time, and their possible affinities 

 with the egg-capsules of the Cestracionts and the Chimseroids. 



THE LARGE LARCH SAWFLY 



Referring to the note in our issue of March 1909 (p. 65), 

 the Board of Agriculture and Fisheries has now issued a memo- 

 randum on the large Larch Sawfly {Nematus erichsoni Hart.). 

 In this it is pointed out that in recent years the larch plantations 

 of Great Britain have been visited by a pest which has already 

 caused great losses in certain places and threatens to inflict 

 serious injury on British Forestry. The Large Larch Sawfly 

 is known to have done much damage in Denmark about sixty 

 years ago., and in more recent times has devastated the larch 

 forests of North America. How long it has been present in 

 Great Britain is not known, but its presence was not officially 

 confirmed till 1906, when it was reported from Cumberland. 

 It has since been found over a large area in Wales, a wide dis- 

 trict in the north of England, and a very considerable area of 



1910 June I. 



