SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



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Conchological Society. — On January 17th, 

 some of the London members met at the Borough 

 Road Polytechnic to consider the question of 

 forming a London branch. The Rev. J. W. 

 Horsley took the chair, and it was resolved that 

 monthly meetings for the exhibition and exchange 

 of specimens be held at the various members' 

 houses. The next meeting is to be held on 

 February 21st, at St. Peter's Rectory, Walworth, by 

 invitation of Rev. J. W. Horsley. The undersigned 

 will be glad to hear from anyone who wishes to 

 join the branch. The subscription will be nominal. 

 It is not intended to compete in any way with the 

 Malacological Society. — ■/. E. Cooper, 93, Southivood 

 Lane, Highgate, N. 



Royal Meteorological Society. — Themonthly 

 meeting of this society was held on Wednesday 

 evening, February 19th, at the Institution of 

 Civil Engineers, Westminster, Mr. Edward 

 Mawley, F.R.H.S., President, in the chair. The 

 Report on the Phenological Observations for 1895 

 was presented by Mr. Mawley, in which it was 

 shown that, owing to the great frost at the 

 beginning of the year, all the first spring flowers 

 made their appearance very late, and it was not 

 until the middle of June that plants began to come 

 into blossom in advance of their usual time. 

 During July, the dates recorded were, as a rule, 

 exceptionally early. The yield of all the farm 

 crops, except potatoes, was exceedingly poor. 

 Pears and plums yielded badly, but there was a 

 splendid crop of apples, and also of all the small 

 fruits. As regards vegetation generally, seldom 

 has a year ended under conditions as favourable 

 for the one succeeding it. Mr. R. H. Scott, F.R.S., 

 read a paper on the recent unusually high baro- 

 meter readings in the British Isles, in which he 

 stated that the Daily Weather Chart for 6 p.m. on 

 January Sth, was the first in these islands that ever 

 showed 31 inches. The station was Stornoway, and 

 by the next morning all over the northern portions 

 of Great Britain and Ireland the barometers were 

 above 31 inches. The highest reading of all was 

 31 ■ 1 19 inches, photographically recorded at 

 Glasgow, at 9 a.m. on the 9th. The barometer- 

 pressure then gave way, and the region of highest 

 readings moved southwards along our west coast, 

 and finally left the south of Ireland on the 15th. 

 Weather throughout the period was mild, an 

 unusual thing with a very high barometer. At the 

 end of the month a second anticyclone spread over 

 the country, when the barometer rose to 30-96 

 inches at Cork. Reference was made to previous 

 excessively high barometer readings in England 

 and in Siberia, and it was stated that a reading of 

 31-62 inches at Barnaul in Siberia, in 1877, was 

 probably the highest ever observed. Mr. R. 

 Inwards, F.R.A.S., read a paper on " Turner's 

 Representations of Lightning," which he considered 

 to be true to nature, and demonstrated the same 

 by placing an actual example of Turner's work 

 side by side with a photograph of a real flash of 

 lightning. 



The South London Entomological and 

 Natural History Society. — Annual General 

 Meeting, January 23rd. Mr. T. W. Hall, F.E.S., 

 President, in the chair. The reports of the Council 

 and treasurer were read and showed that the 

 society still maintained its very satisfactory condi- 

 tion both numerically and financially. The election 

 of officers and Council for the ensuing year then 

 took place as follows : — President, R. South, F.E.S. ; 

 Vice-Presidents, C. G. Barrett, F.E.S., T. W. Hall, 

 F.E.S. ; Treasurer, R. Adkin, F.E.S. ; Librarian 

 and Report Secretary, H. J. Turner, F.E.S. ; 

 Curator, W. West ; Hon. Secretary, Stanley 

 Edwards, F.L.S. ; Council, C. A. Briggs, F.E.S., 

 J. H. Carpenter, John T. Carrington, F. W. 

 Frohawk, F.E.S., W. Mansbridge, F.E.S., W. A. 

 Pearce and H. A. Sauze. The President then 

 read his Address, which comprised a short resume 

 of the Society's history, notices of the additions to 

 the British insect fauna, an obituary of the year, 

 an epitome of the Society's work during the year, 

 and other matters of general interest. The Presi- 

 dent announced the donation to the Society, by 

 Mr. C. A. Briggs, of the herbarium of British 

 plants which had been formed by the late Mr. W. 

 H. Tugwell.— February 13th, Mr. R. South, F.E.S., 

 President, in the chair. Mr. Tolhurst, of Becken- 

 ham, Mr. E. Montgomery and Mr. A Montgomery, 

 of Ealing, were elected members. Mr. McArthur 

 exhibited a very long series of Triphcena comes from 

 Hoy, all of them being intermediate between the 

 type and var. curtisii, and without black suffusion of 

 hind wings ; also a number of extinct, rare, and 

 unique British species of lepidoptera, including a. 

 series of Chrysophanus dispar, a pair of Lasiocampa 

 ilicifolia, A braxas grossulaiata, two completely banded 

 and one with yellow ground, two Killarney specimens- 

 of Notodonta bicolor, the original specimen of Nyssia 

 lapponaria, Bav., two Synia musculosa, Hb., specimen 

 of Hadena peregrina from Lewes, three Caradi ina 

 ambigua, one Xylina lambda, var. zinkenii, three- 

 Ophiodes lunaris, one of which was a beautifullv 

 banded var. ^the example of Catocala elect ra, taken by 

 Mr. Vine at Brighton, one C. fraxini and a series of 

 EupcBcilia gilvicomana, Zell. Mr. R. Adkin, a speci- 

 men of Citcullia gnaphalii, bred by the late Mr. 

 Tugwell. Mr. Sturt, specimens of Sph inx convolvali, 

 bred from Cornish larvae. Mr. Sturt was congratu- 

 lated on being the first to rear the species from 

 British larvae. Mr. Oldham, Comia affinis from 

 Epping Forest, and several shells of the genus 

 Helix from Folkestone. Mr. Frohawk, the contents- 

 of a pheasant's crop, consisting mainly of the larvae 

 of the Dipteron Bibo marci. Mr. Moore, an ichneu- 

 mon, with an extremely long ovipositor, from the 

 Upper Amazon. Mr. Auld, a bred series of Tortrix 

 cratcegana from the New Forest. Mr. Carpenter, 

 a very large number A rgynnis papliia and its vars. 

 Mr. South, a number of Argviinidce from the Palas- 

 arctic region, and read a paper on " The genus 

 A rgynnis, with reference to varieties having pale 

 areas." — Hy.J. Turner (Hon. Report Sec.) 



City of London Entomological and Natural 

 History Society. — At the meeting of January 

 7th, 1S96, exhibits by Mr. Prout included : 

 continental types of species, or varieties of the 

 Caradrina quadripunctata group, viz : C. selini, from 

 Germany ; var. anceps, from Syria ; C. albina, from 

 Russia; menetriesii, from Siberia; and infusca, from 

 central France. Excepting selini, all the specimens 

 bore a very strong resemblance to some of the 

 forms of quadripunctata. Mr. Bate, a very dark 

 specimen of Luperina testacea from Dulwich, and a 



