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: NORTHERN NEWS. 
The Journal of the Board of Agriculture for June contains an article 
on ‘The Prevention of Egg-Laying on Turnips by the Diamond-Back 
Moth,’ by R. A. Harper Gray. 
We see much made in the daily press of “a scorpion with a sting notor- 
iously venomous,’ brought to Leeds in a crate of bananas. The ‘reptile’ 
was taken to a local naturalist, who appears to have supplied the news. 
The Annual Report of the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution 
for 1913, just received, includes a number of important papers, among them 
being ‘ Whale Fisheries of the World,’ by Charles Rabot, and another 
‘The Most Ancient Skeletal Remains of Man,’ by Dr. A. Hrdlicka; both 
are well illustrated. 
The twenty-fourth annual report of The Roval Society for the Pro- 
tection of Bivds has been issued (84 pages, Is.) and is an excellent record 
of this society’s achievements. Perhaps Yorkshire does not take quite 
such a prominent part in the work of this society that it would do, were 
it not for the fact that this county already has its own Bird Protection 
Committee, which is doing such good work. 
The Journal of the Quekett Microscopical Club for April contains the 
following notes: ‘ The Early History of the Quekett Microscopical Club,” 
by R. T. Lewis; ‘A New Copepod found in Water from Hollows on 
Tree Trunks,’ by D. J. Scourfield; ‘Some Details in the Anatomy of the 
Rat Flea,’ by A. E. Minchin; Presidential Address on the ‘ Biological 
Conception of Individuality,’ by A. Dendy; ‘ British Hydracarina : 
the Genius Lebertia,’ by W. Williamson and C. D. Soar. 
Mr. C. S. Middlemiss, of the India Geological Survey, who was a native 
of Hull, and many years ago spent much time in investigating the geology 
of East Yorkshire, has made a valuable addition to the geological section 
of the Hull Museum. He has presented his entire collection, the specimens 
being all carefully labelled and catalogued, and most of them refer to 
East Yorkshire. Some years ago Mr. Middlemiss had an opportunity of 
examining the interesting sections in the Kellaways Rock at South Cave, 
which were made during the construction of the Hulland Barnsley Railway, 
and described in the Geological Magazine at the time. The South Cave 
specimens, together with many others from the red and white chalk, 
etc., are included, and in addition there is a valuable series of rocks, with 
a catalogue giving full localities, etc. 
There are various methods of describing natural history records; but 
the following, which is only a part of the discourse, appears under the 
head of ‘ An interesting find at Robin Hood’s Bay,’ in a recent journal, 
and, presumably, has to do with a record of ‘The Worm Pipe Fish’: 
‘In modern warfare there are two general methods of dealing death 
with rifles. In the first the soldiers drawn up in a certain stratagetic 
order fire in unison in the direction of the enemy without taking special 
aim at any individual. The effectuality of this method depends more or 
less on the laws of chance. Whilst the majority of the bullets whistle 
harmlessly past the heads of the enemy (not without their moral effect 
perhaps), a deadly few find human billets, achieving from the stratagists 
point of view economical success. The other method is that of the sharp- 
shooter who carefully picks out a commanding position. Here he methodi- 
cally calculates the range of the distant enemy, the rise and fall of the 
intervening country, the direction and force of the wind. Slowly, but 
surely, he adjusts the sights and guages on his specially-chosen rifle, and 
gives it its deadly charge; carefully picks out the individual enemy whose 
- soul and body he wishes to disconnect; steadily aims, fires—and gives 
vent to a feeling of surprise and deprecating annoyance if the chosen one 
does not re-act in the generally-accepted manner. The modern rifleman 
is seldom surprised in this respect.’ 
Naturalist, 
