I20 
PROCEEDINGS OF SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES. 
Part 4 of Vol. IV. of the Proceedings of the University of Durham 
Philosophical Society contains a number of papers of interest to readers 
of The’ Naturalist, including ‘Some Observations on the Effect of Soil 
Aeration on Plant Growth,’ by C. Hunter; ‘ Analysis of a Florida Clay,’ 
by Dr. A. A: Hall, and the Boulders Committee Report, No. 6, by Messrs. 
G. Weyman, F. Walker, D. Woolacott, and J. H. Smythe. 
The Board of Agriculture and Fisheries has issued its valuable Annual 
Report of Proceedings under Acts relating to Sea Fisheries for the Year 
19114. Wyman & Son, xlvii. + 174 pp., Is. 11d. It is a useful record 
ef our fishing industries, so arranged and classified that full facts and 
figures can be obtained at once in reference to the various species of fish 
that occur in the seas, quantities caught, value, etc., etc. Accompanying 
the Report are some elaborate charts. 
The Transactions of the Entomological Society for 1912, Part III. 
are devoted to an elaborate and exhaustive article on ‘ The Comparative 
Anatomy of the Male Genital Tube in Coleoptera,’ by Dr. D. Sharp 
and F. Muir. It contains 166 pages, and is illustrated by thirty-seven 
plates. With characteristic thoroughness the authors have ranged 
through almost all the families, and describe their results in detail, 
showing how these bear on phylogeny. The full value of the work can- 
not at present be estimated, but it is satisfactory to find that it confirms 
the general systematic position of the families as we now know them. 
The South Eastern Naturalist, being the Transactions of the South 
Eastern Union for 1912, pp. Ixxxii and 82, 3/6 net., besides elaborate 
reports of the Union’s excursions, committees, etc., contains the presi- 
dential address of Lieut. Colonel Sir David Prain, on Botanical Bye-paths ; 
the Alien Flora of Britain, by W. H. Griffin; The Flora of Folkstone, by 
G. C. Walton;  Lepidopterous Case-Bearers, by A. Sich; Entomo- 
straca from the Warren, Folkstone, by D. J. Scourfield; and Geology 
of the Warren, by W. F. Gwinnell. There are also one or two papers of 
antiquarian interest. An unusual and hardly ‘scientific ’ illustration is 
that on plate vii, shewing ‘ A group of fossils from and in Gault clay.’ 
Vol. VII., part II. of the Saga Book of the Viking Club (1912, pp. 127- 
246, 7/6) is a further useful record of work accomplished by this energetic 
Club. Besides the usual records of meetings, etc., the Saga Book contains 
‘Two Derivations,’ by Professor E. Bjorkman; Costumes, Jewels and 
Furniture in Viking Times, Dr. A. Bugge; Miniatures from Icelandic 
Manuscripts, Dr. H. Fett ; William Herbert and his Scandinavian Poetry, 
Mr. W. F. Kirby; Early English Influence 9n the Danish Church, Rev. 
A. V. Storm; and Anglo Saxon silver Coin} 3 Norway, by Dr. A. W. 
Brogger. The last refers to a hoard of nearly 800 coins, including 135 
belonging to Aethelred, Canute, Edward the Confessor, etc. These were 
minted at Lincoln, York, Nottingham, etc. 
In addition to the paper on Hydroid Zoophytes referred to on page 
3 ef The Naturalist for January, the Proceedings of the Royal Physical 
Society, Vol. XVIII, No. 4, contain a number of valuable contributions 
to Zoology, etc. These include notes on a parasite (Bucentes geniculatus) 
of Tiprela, by Dr. J. Rennie; An Aid in the Study of Nematocysts, by 
Mr. T. H. Taylor; Pelagic Organisms and Evolution, by Mr. J. G. Kerr; 
Rhizopoda of Gough Island, Dr. E. Penard; On Docophorus bassane 
and Lipeurus staphylinoides, by Mr. J. Waterson; A New Species of 
Hvdracarina, by Mr. W. Williamson ; Arctic Palzozoic Fossils, by Dr. 
G. W. Lee; and Mallophaga from the Little Auk, etc., by Mr. W. Evans. 
Each item is a valuable record of good work, and we should like to con- 
eratulate the Society and its Secretary, Dr. Ritchie, upon the excellence 
of its Proceedings. 
Naturalist, 
