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SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



and distribution. It was announced that Part i 

 of the "Proceedings" was published, and ready 

 for distribution. — Hy. J. Turner, Hon. Report. Sec. 



Royal Meteorological Society. — At the 

 monthly meeting of this Society, on December 

 15th, at the Institution of Civil Engineers, Mr. 

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

 Mr. W. Marriott read a paper on "The Rainfall 

 of Seathwaite, Cumberland." This place has long 

 been noted for its heavy rainfall, being in fact one 

 of the wettest spots in the British Isles ; the average 

 yearly amount is 137 inches. The spring months 

 of April, May and June are the driest, so they not 

 only have the least rainfall, but also the least 

 number of rainy days. August, the month when 

 the Lake District is thronged with visitors, has the 

 greatest number of rainy days. The heavy nature 

 of the rainfall may be gathered from the fact that 

 21 per cent of the falls are above 1 inch, 2 per cent 

 being above 3 inches. The greatest fall in one day 

 was S'03 inches on November 12th, 1897. The 

 author has investigated the atmospheric conditions 

 under which the heavy rainfalls occurred at Seath- 

 waite, and he finds that these heavy falls are due 

 to the direction and force of the wind. When the 

 wind is blowing strongly from the south-east or 

 south-west, it will be concentrated in the valleys 

 on the windward of Scafell, and rush up them with 

 very great force, the air current consequently 

 being projected to a considerable altitude beyond 

 Scafell. Owing to the reduction of temperature 

 with elevation, the air parts with a great deal of its 

 moisture, w'hich falls as rain. With such a process 

 going on continuously for a whole day, the heavy 

 rainfall at Seathwaite is fully accounted for. Mr. 

 R. C. Mossman, F.R.S.E., also read a paper on the 

 daily values of non-instrumental meteorological 

 phenomena in London, from 1763 to 1S96. The 

 phenomena discussed were, thunderstorms, light- 

 ning without thunder, fog, snow, hail and gales. 



City of London Entomological and Natural 

 History Society. — Tuesday, November 2nd, 

 1897, Mr. J. W. Tutt, F.E.S., President, in the 

 chair. Exhibits : Mr. May, series of Leucania 

 phragmitidis, with var. rufa, from Sandown, July, 

 1897. Mr. Oldham, Apamea ophiogramma from 

 Woodford. Mr. Garland, Melitaea aurinia from 

 Carlisle larvae, and M. cinxia from Isle of Wight 

 larvae, both bred this year. Mr. Prout, a series of 

 Lycaena icarus bred from larvae taken from rest- 

 harrow ; a specimen of Lapliygma exigua, taken at 

 sugar at Sandown, September 2nd, 1897 ; two series 

 of hybrid Tephrosicis bred from June to September, 

 1897. These produced by the crossing of male 

 bistortata with female crepuscularia yielded both sexes 

 in equal proportions, and no pupae went over. Those 

 reared from crossing male crepuscularia with female 

 bistortata gave only one female, which emerged on 

 the earliest date at which the brood commenced to 

 appear. About ten or twelve pupae of this latter 

 brood, but no males, went over the winter in that 

 state. Mr. Tutt, on behalf of the Rev. W. Claxton, 

 Anchocelis pistacina, var. serina and ab. venosa, Agrotis 

 exclamationis ab. picea, Xylophasia hepatica ab. clxar- 

 acterea, Miselia oxyacanihae ab. capucina. Mr. Clark, 

 a curiously suffused variety of Artica caja. Mr. 

 Nicholson read a paper on "The Microscope," 

 and a discussion followed. — Lawrence J. Tremayne, 

 Hon. Secretary. 



Scarborough Field-Naturalists' Society. — 

 At the annual meeting an average number of 

 members attended. The exhibits, which were not 

 numerous, included a specimen of the great horse- 



shoe bat from Tenby, South Wales; a variety of 

 the common hare having a white breast and one 

 hazel and one white eye. The principal item of 

 the evening was the reports for the year just closing. 

 Mr. R. J. Fryer read the secretaries' reports, stating 

 that never before in the history of the society had 

 they had such a successful year both in point df 

 numbers and in the interest of the specimens and 

 papers. The number of members was now about 

 seventy, with an average attendance of twenty-two, 

 which, when taking into consideration that the 

 meetings were held right through the season, 

 was very satisfactory. Excursions, though not 

 numerous, had been very interesting, including 

 an all-night excursion to Raincliffe Woods. The 

 Treasurer's report showed the exchequer to be in a 

 very satisfactory state. Mr. Gibbon also read the 

 Library report, showing that the magazines had 

 been more freely used by the members. Mr. C. D. 

 Head's report for Mammals recorded the taking of 

 two badgers in the district, and the dormouse, 

 evidently a rarity near Scarborough. In the 

 Reptiles none but the ordinary species had been 

 observed. For the Amphibians the palmated newt 

 had again been found, this time from Harwood 

 Dale. Mr. W. J. Clarke, in his Ornithological 

 Report, stated that species which had been verified 

 by the society numbered 191. Steady work had 

 been done in this branch during the year, several 

 new records being made. For Fishes, Mr. F. Grant 

 gave the number of sea fishes recorded as sixty 

 species ; freshwater, twenty-three species. There 

 were four new records and one or two rarer species 

 that had been observed. Mr. J. A. Hargreaves 

 stated for Conchology that the remarkably success- 

 ful year in 1896 had not been equalled during the 

 year just closing, though a good deal of work had 

 been done by the various members. The excursions 

 held by the Children's Guild of the Parents' 

 Educational Union had been attended and directed 

 by the members, and similar assistance had been 

 promised for the coming year. If like excursions 

 could be organised for the elder children attending 

 the elementary schools, it would be a permanent 

 benefit to the children and indirectly to the society. 

 One or two dredging expeditions in the South Bay 

 had been made with varying success. When the 

 pond in the park was emptied many fine swan 

 mussels were obtained. New localities had been 

 found for several species, though the districts 

 beyond Ayton and Burniston are still unworked. 

 Spiders being a new subject in the society, no 

 definite report was forthcoming through the 

 recorder; Mr. R. Gilchrist is, with difficulty, 

 working up a useful list of species. The recorder 

 of Coleoptera read a short paper on beetles. A 

 globe containing glowworms, which had been 

 captured on an excursion to Cloughton an evening 

 earlier in the week, was also exhibited, and created 

 great interest. The recorder for Lepidoptera, 

 Mr. T. W. Lownsbrough, said that the year had 

 been a failure from a collector's point of view in 

 this branch ; the beginning of the year was very 

 mild, and in February the earlier moths w-ere in 

 fair abundance on the moors, larvae having been 

 scarce. Sugaring, owing to the cold, damp nights 

 in the summer, was a decided failure. One fresh 

 butterfly had been recorded for the district. A 

 paper on the subject was also read by the recorder. 

 Mr. J. C. Harrison, for Marine work, reported 

 the taking of a sea squirt, or ascidian, which he 

 had still alive and under observation. Mr. E. R. 

 Cross, following with the combined report of 

 the Botanists, said that wild flowers and minute 



