SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



3°3 



The South London Entomological and 

 Natural History Society. — January 13th, 1S9S. 

 Mr. R. Adkin, F E.S., President, in the chair. 

 Mr. Mansbridge exhibited a photograph of an 

 ash and an elm tree taken in winter to show the 

 distinctive character of their branching. Mr. 

 Adkin, minor varieties of Pararge megaera, and 

 contributed notes thereon : also a specimen of the 

 curious Turbellarian worm, Bipalium keweiise, found 

 crawling over the ferns in a friend's greenhouse. 

 Mr. W. G. Pearce brought a series of very dark 

 Heme) : Maria bred from ova laid by a 



female captured in North London. The Secretary 

 read a paper communicated by Professor A. Rad- 

 cliffe Grote, A.M., entitled " The Wing and Larval 

 Characters of the Emperor Moths," and exhibited 

 the following species in illustration : Saturnia 

 pavonia, Agiia taw, Automeris io, Hemileuca maia, 

 Cithtronia imperialis and Attaats speeulifer, kindly 

 lent by Mr. C. G. Barrett.— January 27th. Annual 

 Meeting, the President in the chair. Reports of 

 the satisfactory condition of the Society were read 

 from the Council and Treasurer. The following 

 ifficers and Council were then elected : President, 

 I W Tutt, F.E.S. ; Vice-Presidents, R. Adkin, 

 FES. W. Mansbridge, F.E.S. ; Treasurer, T. W. 

 Hall, F.E.S.: Librarian, H. A. Sauze ; Curator, 

 .est: Hon. Secretaries, Stanley Edwards, 

 FLS, H. J. Turner, F.E.S.: Council, T. A. 

 Chapman, M.D.. F E.S., F. Clark, A. W. Dennis, 

 \. Harrison, F.E.S , F.C.S., W. J. Lucas, B.A., 

 R South, F.E.S., H Tunaley, F.E.S. The 

 retiring President then read his address. He 

 dealt at length with matters concerning the well- 

 being of the Society, summarized the entomological 

 ork of the past year, referred in detail to the more 

 important workswhichhad recently been published, 

 and then passed on to a general consideration of 

 the bearing of the theory of evolution on our views 

 of nature. Mr Lucas exhibited a specimen of the 

 •aken at Reigate in October, 

 1897. by Mr West 1 Greenwich), of which only two 

 specimens had previously been recorded in Britain, 

 and contributed notes on its structure, habits and 

 occurrence. — February roth, Mr. J. W. Tutt, 

 .lent, in the chair It was announced 

 that Mr. Mansbridge had resigned owing to his 

 ,;!and, and that Mr Tunaley, F.E.S., 

 ha/! been chosen to fill the vacancy as Vice- 

 President, and that Mr. H. Moore had been 

 elected on the Council Mr McArthur exhibited 

 i /• .-. mmaiut Mlargui and 

 . < n. the lat!<:r iieing almost devoid of ocelli. 

 ennis, three n larvae of Calhm rpha 



rotn ova. vent by Mr. Tutt while collecting in 

 the Alps in 1897 They had fed all the 

 1 • f Relink . 

 variety '.f 1 

 m broad 



■ ,( the bii.'i 



elli, and also two females of 



■ • locality by 



ay Mr. Lucas, imagines and living nymphs 



of Calopteryx splendens from Fleet, and contributed 

 notes on the specific characters and habits of the 

 nymphs. Mr. Adkin, specimens of Dianthaecia 

 luteago var. tarretii, from Howth. Major Fickin, the 

 same species taken in Cornwall, and which form 

 Mr. Tutt has named var. ficklhti. Mr. Tutt, on 

 behalf of Rev. F. E. Lowe, of Guernsey, a third 

 form bred from pupa taken under Silene maritima, 

 and which he had named var. lowei. A considerable 

 discussion ensued on the singular variation shown 

 in this species, practically invariable in the same 

 locality, but each locality possessing a distinct 

 race. Mr. Tutt also exhibited, on behalf of Mr. 

 Lowe, a fine aberration of Melanippc sociata, in 

 which the central band of the wings was almost 

 completely obliterated ; and, on behalf of Mr. 

 Pearce, of Hackney, all the melanic specimens of 

 Hemeropkila abruptaria bred by him during the last 

 three years, some dozens, including extremes and 

 intermediates, and one partially gynandrous 

 specimen. — H.J. Turner, Hon. Rep. Sec. 



Royal Meteorological Society. — On Feb- 

 ruary 16th, at the Institution of Civil Engineers, 

 Westminster ; Mr. F. Campbell Bayard, President, 

 in the chair. Mr. E. Mawley, F.R.H.S., gave a 

 report on the phenological observations for 1897, 

 from which it appeared that there had been a 

 marked absence of very exceptional weather during 

 the past phenological year, the most noteworthy 

 features affecting vegetation being the persistent 

 rains in March and the three dry periods of May, 

 July and October. Until about the middle of May, 

 wild plants appeared in blossom in advance of their 

 usual time, but throughout the rest of the flowering 

 season they were all somewhat behind their average 

 dates in coming into bloom. The heavy rainfall in 

 the early spring favoured the hay, which proved 

 the only really abundant farm crop of the year, 

 but greatly impeded the sowing of spring corn . The 

 cereals were, however, much benefited later on by 

 the warm, dry and brilliant weather of the summer. 

 Taking the country as a whole, oats proved a good 

 crop, barley an average one, while the yield of 

 wheat was somewhat under average. There were 

 also fair crops of roots and potatoes. It was owing 

 more to the dry spring and summer and the sunless 

 autumn of the previous year than to the moderate 

 frosts and cold winds of the spring of 1897, that 

 the fruit crop was such a very light one. Apples, 

 pears and plums, and especially the latter, yielded 

 badly, while the small fruits were in most districts 

 only average crops. Mr. J. Hopkinson, F.L.S., read 

 a paper on " Monthly and Annual Rainfall in the 

 British Empire, 1877-96." In this the author gave 

 particulars of the mean monthly and annual rain- 

 fall, and the number of rainy days at the following 

 twelve stations in the British Empire, viz. : London, 

 England. Port Louis, Mauritius; Calcutta and 

 Bombay, India: Colombo, Ceylon; Adelaide and 

 Melbourne, Australia ; Wellington, New Zealand, 

 Toronto and Winnipeg, Canada; Kingston; 

 Jamaica ; and Malta. 



Royal Institution. — Speaking at the Royal 

 Institution on "Buds and Stipules" on January 

 1. the Right Hon. Sir John Lubbock said that 

 he had been struck, some years ago, by a remark 

 of Vaucher's that some rockro'.es have " stipules," 

 or small leaflets, at the base of the leaf-blade, and 

 11 bave none, Vaucher- observed that it was 

 > urlous that plants so nearly allied should 

 differ in this respect, and that it would be Interest- 

 ing to endeavour to determine the reason A fti-r 

 ! ai '.", S |ohn laid that the 



