Notes and Comments. 125 
in its Annual Report, the last of which is before us: It contains 
Professor F. E. Weiss’s Presidential Address on ‘ The Micro- 
scopical Study of Fossil Plants.” Mr. J. E. Lord describes and 
figures a new rotiferon, Stephanops microdactylus, from sphag- 
num moss ; and gives a note on S. stylatus, and ‘ The Histology 
of a cycad leaf.’ Mr. L. W. Waechter writes on ‘ Seed Plants ;’ 
Mr. A. Flatters on Ceratium hirundinella ; Mr. W. Harvey on 
some common forms of Pond Life ; Dr. Tattersall on Plankton ; 
and Messrs. R. Pettigrew and A. Newton deal with cleaning and 
preparing specimens for the microscope. There is also a report 
of the Society’s rambles. 
LIVERPOOL GEOLOGISTS. 
The Proceedings of the Liverpool Geological Society (Part 
III., Vol. XI.), contain two papers dealing with districts far 
away from the field of operations of the Liverpool Society, yet 
they have an important bearing upon the geology of Lan- 
cashire and Cheshire. One is on ‘ Present Trias Conditions 
in Australia.” by the Rev. C. E. Spicer, and the other is by 
Prof. Sir Thomas Holland, and refers to ‘The Origin of 
Desert Salt Deposits.’ They form valuable contributions to 
our knowledge of the origin of the Trias. Dr. A. Wade writes 
on ‘ Glacial Lakes and the Welsh Border Rivers,’ and Mr. 
T. A. Jones gives some useful ‘ Petrographical Studies of 
Local Erratics.’ There is also Mr. W. Hewitt’s Presidential 
address, which principally refers to ‘The Coast in its Geo- 
logical Relations.’ The Proceedings are illustrated by Plates, 
etc., and are edited by Mr. J. H. Milton. 
LIVERPOOL BIOLOGISTS. 
The Liverpool Biological Society has issued Volume 
XXVI. of its Proceedings. It is a magnificent publication, 
and contains nearly 400 pages and many excellent plates and 
illustrations. Among the contents are ‘ Reptile Life in 
Captivity’ (the presidential address of Mr. J. H. O’Connell) ; 
the 25th Annual Report of the Liverpool Marine Biology 
Committee ; Prof. Herdman’s Report on the Investigations at 
the Laboratory at the Liverpool University, and the fish- 
hatchery at Piel ; Dr. Bassett’s Report on Hydrographic Work 
in the Irish Sea ; papers on the various diseases of fishes, and a 
remarkable Memoir on Buccinwm (The Whelk) by Dr. W. J. 
Dakin, which occupies over 100 pages. The Liverpool Bio- 
logical Society certainly take the lead in the quantity and 
quality of its work, and in the way in which that work is 
published. 
THE LIFE OF A SPIDER.* 
Under the above heading, a remarkable collection of essays 
is translated from Fabre’s Souvenirs entomologiques, and 
*By J. H. Fabre. London: Hodder & Stoughton. pp. xxxix.+ 378. 6s. net. 
1913 Mar. Ts 
