SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



93 



; mori, differing from the ordinary type, the 

 silk being white ; also a female specimen of Acidalia 

 ;j:.i. taken in his garden at Hackney. Mr. 

 Woollev, living larvae of Dicranura vinula, in third 

 and fourth skins. Mr. L. J. Tremayne, insects 

 taken in the New Forest at Whitsuntide. Mr. 

 E. M. Dadd. eggs of Liparis salieis, who said the 

 eggs are laid in batches, a fresh one being made 

 every day. The laying takes place during the 

 hottest part of the day. They are bright green, 

 and covered with a satiny silk. Mr. Heasler, 

 beetles from the New Forest, including Carabus 

 and Dasytes niger. Mr. Clark recorded 

 single specimens of Dkycla oc and Cymatophora 

 :•, from sugar, at Epping Forest. Mr. 

 Tremayne had been at Oxshott on June 27th, when 

 he found Lycaena aegon swarming all over the heath. 

 Five Macaria liturata were taken, but practically 

 nothing else worth noting, except, perhaps, a 

 single specimen of Epinephclt hypcranthes. Mr. 

 I'rout had also been at Oxshott on July 5th, and 

 bad had much the same experience, but had taken 

 rather more variety, his captures including 

 faratd, Melanippe unangulata, Erastna 

 i, and NemeopkUa russula. — Lawrence J. 

 Tremayne, Hon- Secretary. 



Hull Scientific and Field Naturalists' 

 — The usual fortnightly meeting of this 

 Club was held in the Friendly Societies' Hall, 

 Hull, on Wednesday evening, June 23rd. The 

 President, Dr J. Hollingworth, occupied the chair. 

 Mr Waterfall gave an account of the club's 

 excursion to Twigmoor Gullery. and referred to 

 the botanical rarities of that district. He also 

 reported having seen the moonwort growing at 

 York recently. The President exhibited some 

 photographs taken on the excursion to Twigmoor, 

 etc. For the Entomological Section, the Recorder, 

 Mr. Boult, stated he had obtained several additional 

 larvae of the blood-vein moth from New Holland 

 since our last meeting. He also gave an account 

 of visits he had paid to Goole Moor and Kelsey 

 Hill A magnificent specimen of the marsh- 

 cin<|uefoil, from the former place, and a live 

 grass-snake, from Kelsey Hill, were placed upon 

 the tabic Mr. Phillip exhibited a large album of 

 of plants which he had collected from Northern 

 Italy during the past lew weeks. The plants were 

 of a most beautiful description and were tastefully 

 mounted Mr. 1'orter handed round specimens of 

 two moths obtained from Spring Head, viz, 

 1 arbuli and Hecalira serena, v. hich were 

 ■:red good captures. Mr Iiavis showed 

 several large photographs of the natives of different 

 parts of Africa, an interesting ethnological collec- 

 The Secretary exhibited, on behalf of Mrs 

 Blenkin, of Burstwick, a pair of small deer-antlers 

 which had been dug up near the Old Hall at that 

 place. It is thought by antiquarians that this spot 

 n the site of ttv- the Albemarles. This 



being so. the probability is that these antlers 

 belonged to a deer which lived in the neigbboui 



al the time the in .1 80111 



condition. The Rev A E Shaw, M A , oi Hull, 

 and Mr Wm Wrigl 



mrmbcri of the club. Mr I ■ Ice, M.C.S., 



then read an interesting paper on "Crab* The 



• notion 

 nerally, and also of other animals 



.ng to the -arne natural order, and ;cn 



en of t be 

 eruliar inhal.il • 



i the various 



of crabs to be found among the rocks at 

 Filey, Flamboro' and other places within reach 

 of Hull naturalists. Numerous specimens col- 

 lected by the lecturer were handed round. The 

 members were urged to pay a little more atten- 

 tion to the inhabitants of the rocks and pools 

 on the coast, as much work is yet to be done 

 in this direction. Several members took part 

 in the discussion which followed the paper. — 

 The first Meeting in the Club's new room, 72, 

 Prospect Street, was held July 7th ; Dr. J. 

 Hollingworth, the President, oocupied the chair. 

 Mr. Blakeston handed round a magnificent specimen 

 of coral, free from matrix, which had been lately 

 found on the beach at Withernsea. This has, no 

 doubt, originally been derived from the carboni- 

 ferous limestone of Teesdale, and is probably a relic 

 of the ice age. Two excellent examples of stone 

 axe-heads were exhibited by Messrs. W. Chadwick 

 and J. R. Boyle, F.S.A., which were described by 

 the latter gentleman. Mr. Chadwick's specimen 

 was about seven inches long and two inches broad, 

 and was made of green jade, a fine-grained igneous 

 rock. This specimen is of the chisel type, and is 

 of a beautiful form with high polish. The other 

 specimen has many points of interest ; it is made of 

 a tough grey stone, and was undoubtedly used as 

 an axe. The cutting edge is well formed and 

 polished, and, what is by no means a common 

 feature, a large hole is drilled through the axe at 

 the opposite end to the sharp edge, at right angles 

 to it. Authorities vary as to the use of the hole, 

 but Mr. Boyle was of opinion that it was drilled in 

 order to securely fasten the head to a haft by means 

 of thongs. This being so, it has an interest from the 

 point of view of evolution, being, no doubt, the fore- 

 runner of the "ear" which occurs on some later 

 bronze implements. Mr. Boyle's specimen is from 

 Denmark. Other exhibits included some rare moths 

 from the neighbourhood by Mr. J. W. Boult, some 

 geological specimens by Mr. Chadwick, and some 

 large sponges from the south coast of Wales by 

 the President. Messrs. J. Crompton, Wm. An- 

 field, Wm. Andrews and J. Walker were elected 

 members of the club. A leeturette was then 

 delivered by the President, his subject being " Sea- 

 Mats." It was pointed out that the plants and 

 animals so frequent in our lanes, fields, woods and 

 ponds, and also the common objects of the sea- 

 shore are the first to attract the atention of the 

 naturalist. The object of the lecture was to induce 

 those members taking interest in no special subject, 

 to undertake the systematic study of some par- 

 ticular branch of natural history. It is an 

 impossibility to thoroughly master everything, and 

 we are compelled, therefore, to devote our time to 

 some definite subject. The President suggested 

 that a most fascinating study would be the examina- 

 tion of the various forms of amimal and plant life 

 to be found on our shores, a subject not by any 

 means exhausted. The lecturer then proceeded to 

 give a brief and interesting account of the various 

 species of sea-mats (erroneously called "sea 

 reeds") i" I"- found around our coasts, Hi e 

 plained that sea-mats were really colonies of small 

 animals, the cells being distinctly seen by the aid 

 of a lens or microscope After pointing oul the 



■ ;i\ "I identifying the dillcienl :,|>e< ies, 

 the methods of preparing and preserving sea-mats 

 ■•I' deal) with, some valuable hints being given. 

 Numerous specimens from localities on the easl 

 banded round In illustration oi the 

 / Shefpard, Hon. Sic, 7X, Slio-intm Street 

 Hull. 



