SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



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5CIENCE GOSSIP 



Messrs. Archibald Constablej'axd Co., the 

 well-known publishers, of Westminster, have secured 

 the entire copyright in the English language of Dr. 

 Nansen's forthcoming work on his expedition to the 

 North Pole. 



On January 7th next, the Rev. J. W. Horsley 

 will give an address upon "Birds" before the 

 Fulham Society of Literature, Science and Art. 

 The meetings of the society are held monthly in the 

 Council Chamber of the Fulham Town Hall. 



Royal Institution. — The annual course of 

 Christmas Lectures, specially adapted for children, 

 this year, at the Royal Institution, will be delivered 

 by Professor Silvanus P. Thompson, F.R.S., his 

 subject being " Visible and Invisible Light." The 

 Managers have elected Dr. Augustus D. Waller, 

 M.A., F.R.S., Fullerian Professor of Physiology for 

 three years, and have appointed Dr. Alexander 

 Scott to be Superintendent of the Davy-Faraday 

 Research Laboratory of the Royal Institution. 



A Bibliography of Gilbert White . — This work 

 on the Natural Historian and Antiquarian of Sel- 

 borne, is announced to be published immediately by 

 the Roxburgh Press. The book is by Mr. Edward A. 

 Martin, F.G.S., and is published under the auspices 

 of the Selborne Society, of whose Magazine and 

 Leaflet Committee Mr. Martin is Honorary 

 Secretary. This book runs to nearly 300 pp. 

 octavo, and an edition de licxe is also contemplated. 

 Mr. Martin has been furnished with information in 

 compiling the Bibliography by a large number of 

 ladies and gentlemen. 



There died on October i8th, aged 91 years, 

 William Wilson, farmer. Hillocks, Alford, Aber- 

 deenshire, the last of four remarkable men in that 

 district, of a past generation, who devoted them- 

 selves to the natural history surrounding them. 

 The first was A. Murray, M.D., who wrote part of 

 a work called " The Northern Flora." Another, 

 the Rev. J. Farquharson, F.R.S., of Alford. Then 

 the Rev. J. Minto, teacher, Clatt, uncle of the late 

 Professor Minto, who contributed to Professor 

 Dickies' Botanical Guide. The late Mr. Wilson 

 devoted much of his leisure time to acquainting 

 himself with natural history, both as investigator 

 and by studying the hterature of the subject. 

 While occupying no prominent sphere in the 

 world of science, he followed closely all attempts of 

 scientific men to show the relationship of the 

 various sciences to husbandry. As a botanist he 

 discovered Linnea: boiralis growing on an open 

 moor ; Alpine sow-thistle at a lower sea-level than 

 previously known to exist. He was the first to 

 notice what has proved to be a remarkable 

 extension in area of the beech fern {Phegopteris). 

 He traced many remarkable changes in the dis- 

 tribution of animals as affected by man's agency, 

 such as the departure of some and appearance 

 and change of habits of others Of birds, the 

 snipe has practically disappeared from his district, 

 while the curlew and starling have established 

 themselves during his time. 



City of London Entomological and Natural 

 History Society. — Tuesday, 6th October, i8g6. 

 Exhibits : Mr. J. A. Clark, Sirex jitvencus, from 

 Eltham, and a specimen of the second brood of 

 Hemevopliila abruptaria. Mr. Tutt, Zygaena carniolica 

 from Bourg d'Oisans, France, which were almost 

 without the creamy rings and had the abdomen 

 entirely black — a combination of the ab. diniensis of 

 H.-S. and the ab. beriloneusis of Stdgr. Mr. H. 

 H. May, a Callimorpha dominula, with yellow hind 

 wings. Mr. Bayne, a var. of the female of Argynnis 

 paphia, resembling A. pandora but without the 

 reddish tinge ; it was strongly tinged with the var. 

 valesina green, especially on the hind wings ; also 

 a brown-suffused valesina ; and a variety of the 

 male, with the black marks forming short streaks, 

 and the black spots at the ends of the wing-rays 

 much enlarged. Mr. Prout, two examples of 

 Apoiophyla australis (var. ingenua), from Sandown, 

 I.W. ; also, on behalf of Major Robertson, dark 

 forms of Tephrosia bistortata icrepuscularia) and T. 

 crepuscularia {biundulayia), which were quite dis- 

 tinguishable on account of the browner tone of the 

 former. Mr. Heasler, a bred specimen of the light 

 olive-green form of Triphaena fimbria, from Wimble- 

 don. Mr. Southey, a series of Heliothis armigera, 

 bred from larvae found among tomatoes from Spain 

 and Teneriffe. Mr. Pearse, a specimen of Acidalia 

 Jwlosericata, bred, 5th October, 1896, from eggs laid 

 25th June, 1896 ; also eggs and larvas of that 

 species. Mr. C. May (a visitor), a specimen of 

 Hibernia aiirantiaria, with a dark band similar to 

 that on some specimens of H. marginaria ; also a 

 very brown suffused Plusia gamma. Mr. Bacot, 

 drawings of hairs of larvae of Psilura monacha and 

 Leucoma salicis, to illustrate a paper read by Mr. D. 

 C. Bate, on " Notes on the early stages of Psilura 

 monacha and its allies." — Tuesday, October 20th, 

 1896. E.xhibits : Mr. Oldham, a very light Crocallis 

 elinguaria, and a strongly marked female Heimera 

 pennaria from Epping Forest ; also a short bred 

 series of Hypsipetes ruberata from Cambridgeshire, 

 and a specimen of the ichneumon, Rliyssa persuasoria, 

 from Norfolk. Mr. Prout, a very dark Luperina 

 tcstacea, eight Caradrina ambigua, and others, from 

 Sandown. Rev. C. R. N. Burrows, a male Epionc 

 apiciaria with a broad purplish hind-marginal band 

 on all the wings, the rest of the wing in both pairs 

 being without the usual reticulations and of a very 

 dark orange colour ; also a small, reddish Agrotis 

 nigricans almost without markings, and three 

 Orthosia suspccta without the usual dots, but 

 with transverse lines ; all from Suffolk. Mr. 

 Tremayne, a good specimen of a fungus, supposed 

 to be Agaricus procerus, the parasol mushroom, from 

 the New Forest. Mr. T. \W Jackson, Syrichthus 

 alveolus var. taras (with a white central blotch on 

 fore- wings), from Horsham, and a bred specimen of 

 Pyrameis atalanta having two large suffused white 

 spots near the apex of the fore-wings and a small 

 white dot near the apex of hind-wings, the red band 

 on the latter was without the usual black spots. 

 Mr. T. F. Clarke, a sprig of the plant from which 

 the so-called jumping-beans are obtained, showing 



