SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



279 



in the chair. Mr. Briggs exhibited a living speci- 

 men of the Madeira cockroach, Fanehlora madera, 

 taken in Covent Garden Market. Mr. Edwards, 

 specimens of the rare morphos, M. cacica and 

 M. neoptolemus, from Peru. Mr. R. Adkin, a series 

 of Emmelesia taniata, from co. Kerry, lighter in 

 colour than the English form, and a specimen of 

 Arctia caja, from Louth, with very intense black- 

 brown markings. Mr. H. W. "Williams, a bred 

 series of Oporabia diltttaria, including two very dark 

 uniform specimens and one with a light marginal 

 area. Mr. McArthur, living larvae and a recently 

 emerged imago of Triphana comes, var. curtisii, from 

 Orkney, and said that all the captured ones were 

 of that form. Mr. Turner, a specimen of Phoro- 

 desnta smaragdaria, unique in being bred on Sep- 

 tember 26th, and several varieties of Vanessa urticce, 

 one of which had the central spots reduced to 

 minute dots. Mr. Mansbridge, a series of Scoparia 

 basistrigalis, taken at sugar in Epping Forest. Mr. 

 Sturt, a living larva of Sphinx convolvuli, from 

 Cornwall, with drawings of others he had had. 

 It was noted that one specimen was of the rare 

 striped form of the larvae. A discussion took place 

 as to the necessity of forcing the pupae of the 

 larger hawk -moth. Mr. South, a short bred series 

 A crony eta menyanthidis, from Macclesfield, and stated 

 that the larvae much preferred sallow as food, 

 although a few fed on birch. Mr. Carrington, a 

 large number of specimens of Helix memoralis, 

 varieties from various localities, including mons. 

 sinistrorsum, from co. Donegal, var albolabiata, from 

 Arran Isles, var. major from the South Downs of 

 Sussex and a number of curious sub-fossil forms 

 from Dog's Bay, co. Galway. A considerable dis- 

 cussion took place with reference to the latter. Mr. 

 Winkley, a Simian hand, prepared to show the 

 bones and tendons with their various attachments 

 and ramifications. Mr. Ashdown, a number of 

 Lepidoptera, including a strange var. of Melanippe 

 sociata, having a light looped band from the costa, 

 including the discoidal spot. Mr. Step commu- 

 nicated a list of British stalk-eyed Crustacea, 

 including the new species, with references to all 

 species described in Bell's " British Crustacea." — 

 November 28th. Mr.T.W. Hall, F.E.S., President, 

 in the chair. Mr. R. Adkin exhibited a specimen 

 of Mesogona Acetosella, a species new to Britain. 

 Mr. Adkin also exhibited a series of Corcmia munitata, 

 from Hoy, with series of the same species from 

 Shetland and Paisley, and of C. designata, for com- 

 parison, and read notes on the variations exhibited. 

 Messrs. Barrett, Tutt and Carrington remarked on 

 the habit of the species of flying during the day- 

 time in elevated, exposed and Alpine regions. Mr. 

 H. Moore showed a long series of Ocneria dispar, 

 bred from a Bordeaux female. They were all 

 small, owing, it was thought, to the larvae being 

 fed on hawthorn. Air. Carrington, four specimens 

 olEpinephele janira, with bleached splashings on the 

 wings, from Leigh, Essex, taken in the same field 

 in 1890-91 ; also he showed typical and lemon- 

 coloured forms of Hesperia lineola, from Shoebury- 

 ness. Mr. Clark, a number of large and well-executed 

 micro-photographs. Mr. Hy. J. Turner, a specimen 

 of the moorland form of Noctua /estiva, from 

 Carlisle. Crambus pinellus, from Box Hill, a very 

 rosy specimen of Anticlea rubidata, bred from 

 Chichester, and a pair of Coccyx cosmophorana, from 

 Carlisle. A long discussion took place on the life 

 history of the latter species. Mr. McArthur had 

 bred a number from the knobs produced by Retinia 

 resinella a year after resinella had emerged, and 

 said that he found the larvae feeding on the grass 



of that species. Coccyx cosmophorana occurred at 

 Rannock, where R. resinella had not been recorded, 

 but from several localities where R. Resinella was 

 known to occur. Mr. Ashdown, a bred specimen 

 Acronycta alni, from Richmond, and a specimen 

 of Eumenes coarctata. Mr. Briggs, an Orthopteron, 

 Periplaneta australasitz, taken at Kew, and introduced 

 to Britain. Mr. Perks, a specimen of the velvety- 

 stemmed Agaricus, Agaricus volutipes. — Hy. J .Turner 

 (Hon. Report Sec.) 



Natural History Society of Glasgow. — The 

 third meeting of the winter session, was held in the 

 Society's Rooms, 207, Bath Street, on November 

 26th. Professor Thomas King, President, in 

 the chair. Mr. F. J. Hanbury, F.L.S., editor 

 of the " London Catalogue of British Plants," 

 and Professor Edward E. Prince, B.A., F.L.S., 

 Director of Fisheries, Dominion of Canada, were 

 elected corresponding members. Professor G. 

 Bell Todd, M.B., CM., submitted and described 

 a second series of dried plants, collected in the 

 province of Victoria by Baron Fred, von Mueller, 

 K.C.M.G., M.D., F.R.S., Government botanist, 

 Melbourne. Many of these plants were of special 

 interest, some from peculiarities in themselves, 

 others from their affinity with species occurring 

 in Europe. Miss M. Henderson exhibited photo- 

 graphs taken in situ, of the scaly spleen wort, 

 Ceterach ofpeinarum , growing spontaneously in the 

 Roseneath peninsula, a new county record for 

 Dumbartonshire. Mr. A. Somerville, B.Sc, 

 F.L.S., showed dried specimens of Ceterach from 

 the east and west of Ireland, and gave particulars 

 as to its distribution in Britain, and of its more or 

 less sporadic occurrence in eleven Scotch counties. 

 Living specimens of the Ceterach specially sent by 

 a friend from Hyeres, in the south of France, for 

 the meeting, were distributed amongst those present. 

 Mr. Peter Ewing, F.L.S., read a paper entitled 

 "Remarks on the 'Ninth Edition of the London 

 Catalogue' (of British Plants), with Illustrative 

 Specimens," in which he compared this list with 

 the eighth edition, issued in 1886, and criticised 

 the increase in its length, due so largely to the 

 splitting up of species, and to the recognising of 

 new varieties described in papers scattered through- 

 out botanical journals, but not as yet included in 

 any of our floras. Mr. Ewing further criticised 

 the assumption by the catalogue of the functions 

 of a flora — as, for instance, in the physiological 

 department of hybridization, so remarkable a 

 feature in the willows, willow-herbs and other 

 genera. 



Greenock Natural History Society. — The 

 usuel monthly meeting of this society was held 

 in the Museum, Kelly Street, on November 27th. 

 Mr. Andrew Kerr, President, occupied the chair. 

 Mr. G. W. Niven read a paper on "Ancient Nautical 

 Instruments." Some curiosities of nomenclature 

 were first alluded to. Photographs were thrown 

 on the screen of many beautifully engraved gold, 

 silver and bronze astrolabes, taken from ancient 

 MSS. and old prints. The nautical instruments 

 successively used, such as the plummet quadrant, 

 astronomical ring, nocturnal, cross staff, fore 

 staff, back staff, mariners' bow and numerous 

 forms of the Davis quadrant, were also described 

 and illustrated. Mr. Niven concluded with a 

 brief sketch on the subject of longitude, giving 

 some quaint extracts from old navigators regarding 

 their troubles, with what was, until the invention 

 of the chronometer, the most difficult nautical 

 problem to solve. 



