164 



NORTHERN NEWS. 



A public museum has been opened at Newark. 



On July 15th next, the Royal Society will celebrate its 250th birthday. 



The Lapwing is now protected throughout the year in Cumberland, 

 Northumberland and Lancashire. 



The interesting old church at Hickleton has been seriously damaged 

 by subsidence, as a result of the mining operations in the vicinity. 



It is a significant fact that a certain northern librarian has ceased to 

 advertise drinks on the cover of his monthly ' circulars,' and is advertising 

 perambulators instead ! 



Mr. F. Barker has resigned the secretaryship of the Halifax Scientfic 

 Society, after occupying the position for twenty- three years. Mr. J. H. 

 Lumb is now the secretary. 



According to the History of Withevnsea, recently issued, the following 

 birds ' yearly nest ' at Spurn : — ' Tern, Sheldrake, Oystercatcher, Golden 

 Plover, Dunlin, Godwit, etc' 



.\ boy was brought before the magistrate at Penrith on the 9th April, 

 for gathering eighteen eggs of the Plover, the bird being now protected 

 throughout the year in Cumberland. 



We learn from the daily press that ' a red admiral butterfly was caught 

 by a police sergeant in the old gaol yard, Scarborough, on Wednesday.' 

 We hope that the attention of his chief will be drawn to the sergeant's 

 smartness. 



A hint. The curator of a Yorkshire museum, who was lecturing in 

 the Scarborough museum recently, cast envious eyes upon some o-' the 

 specimens there. The council has since met, and is making enquiries as 

 to the rate of insurance against burglary. 



The science of the popular magazine is only equalled in the extent and 

 variety of its information by that of the bookseller's catalogue. We have 

 just seen the following items under ' Marine Botany ' : — ' On Pourtalesia, a 

 genus of Echinoidea,' by I^oven, and ' The Genera Vermium,' by Barbut. 



In the list of publications received by a well-known American museum, 

 we notice that the Warrington and Norwich Museum reports are entered 

 in the. ' C ' column ; The Field is under ' E,' the Liverpool Art Gallery 

 under ' W,' while the London Museums and Galleries are under ' W,' ' V,' 

 ' H,' etc. Oddly enough, ' Hull ' is among the H's! 



A primeval Washing-day. We learn from the Yorkshire Post's account 

 of the discovery of the South Pole that ' geologists have hopes that the 

 pre-Cambrian rocks of the Polar regions may not have been subjected to 

 that dipping into the internal lava of the earth which has melted them in 

 other quarters of the globe, so that, on re-emerging, any fossils they may 

 have contained have been destroyed.' 



Mr. C. G. Lloyd, of Cincinnati, Ohio, has just issued a well illustrated 

 Synopsis of the Section Oviniis of Polyporus,' at the end of which are the 

 following : — ' Index, distribution, and advertisements,' ' Index of the 

 species considered valid in this publication, the countries from whence 

 known, and the personal name to be added to the specific name by those 

 who believe in this system of advertisement] ' 



We have just seen a newspaper report of an interview with a Lincoln- 

 shire naturali.st named Webster. According to this, the best catch of 

 snakes he ever had was when he obtained eighty-five in a bunch in a manure 

 heap. U'hen he was at Cowbitt, he caught two hundred and twenty in 

 two years. ' The largest I ever caught measured 8 feet 6 inches ; it was 

 between Spalding and Crowland.' The article concludes : ' Mr. Webster's 

 interest in natural history is not confined to living reptiles. His front 

 room is crowded with stuffed animals, from a panther, a vulture, and a 

 python, to a skinned and preserved flea ' ; all caught, we presume, between 

 Spalding and Crowland. 



Naturalist 



