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SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



with its lantern and all appliances for demonstra- 

 tion purposes. — Hy. J. Turner, Hon. Report Secretary. 



The North London Natural History 

 Society's fifth annual exhibition was held in 

 the lecture hall at the North-east London Institute 

 on Saturday, January 2nd, 1S97. The exhibits 

 were, if anything, even more numerous than last 

 year, and a great improvement was made in 

 covering the walls with photographs and botanical 

 specimens. The entomological department was, 

 as usual, the best represented, but botany was 

 also very much to the fore, and a charming 

 little table was made up of ornithological exhibits 

 supplied by Mr. Barber. IMr. Hanbury's botani- 

 cal stand was as attractive as ever. Lantern 

 illustrations were once more on view, Mr. Wattson 

 contributing some more " life in a pond," and 

 Dr. Gerard Smith attracting great attention with 

 his photo-micrographs illustrative of plant mor- 

 phology, marine zoology, etc. Short lectures were 

 delivered during the evening — by ^Ir. Bacot, "On 

 behalf of Insects ; bj' r\Ir. R. W. Robbins, on 

 " Botany " ; by Mr. Wattson, on " Pond life," and 

 by ^Ir. Rose, on "The flight of birds; and were 

 well received. The exhibition was unanimously 

 admitted to be the best the society have yet held. — 

 Lan'rence J. Tremayne, Hon. Sec, 



Cambridge Entomological and Natural 

 History Society. — Januarj^ 29th, the President, 

 Dr. Sharp, in the chair. Mr. Doggett exhibited a 

 pair of grasshopper warblers with nest and eggs, 

 from AVicken Fen ; a pigeon with webbed feet ; six 

 eggs of the barn-owl, taken from the nest at the same 

 time, dissected to show the embryos therein, which 

 varied from three to thirteen days in age. He said 

 there was also a young bird just hatched in the 

 nest with the eggs. I\Ir. Farren showed a wax- 

 wing lately shot in the Orkney Islands ; also two 

 young specimens of the great northern diver from 

 the same locality, one in an interesting stage of 

 plumage, the grey feathers of the young bird just 

 changing to the black and white of the winter 

 plumage. The President made some remarks 

 upon insect mechanism, illustrated by a South 

 American form of the common " click beetle." 

 Mr. Rickard read a paper upon the same subject, 

 discussing the way in which the movements 

 of the well-known jumping beans are brought 

 about by the larvse inhabiting them. — January 

 15th, Dr. Sharp in the chair. Mr. Rickard 

 showed some tadpoles of the common frog in a 

 lively state ; these had remained over from March 

 of last year, though others under the same 

 conditions had become frogs. Mr. Doggett 

 e.xhibited a series showing the development of the 

 common trout iSalmo fario) from the egg to the 

 adult fish : also a chevril, a variety of the goldfinch, 

 from Midsummer Common. Mr. Fleet exhibited a 

 good specimen of a large weevil (Cleonus nebulosus) 

 from the crop of a stone-curlew purchased in the 

 market. It was suggested that a probable locality 

 ■for both bird and beetle was Brandon. Dr. Sharp 

 exhibited a fine mass of the cocoons of Aphomia 

 sociella picked up in the neighbourhood ; also some 

 remarkable dipterous larvae, viz., an undescribed 

 Tabania larvs from the New Forest, with feet 

 disposed all over the body and somewhat allied to 

 Tabanus spodopterus : he thought it might be the 

 larva of Atylotus ; larva of Scenopinus fenestvalis 

 from Bucks. He called attention to the importance 

 of ascertaining whether this larva is injurious, as 

 commonly supposed, or whether it is present in 

 woollen goods only to destroy other larvae such as 



those of the clothes moth ; larva of Microdon 

 found in Portugal by Colonel Yerverry, which 

 shows no sign of segmentation ; also Idolothrips 

 spectrum, sent by Mr. Froggatt from New South 

 Wales. — February 12th, Dr. Sharp, the President, 

 in the chair. The President showed a remarkable 

 stridulating apparatus in a larva of the coleop- 

 terous genus Passahis. recently sent by Mr. C. Hose 

 from Borneo. He said that these larvs are very 

 abundant in logs in the tropics, and it v.-as difficult 

 to imagine what use such an elaborate organ could 

 be to them. Mr. Farren exhibited two black 

 guillemots from Orkney, one killed on January i8th, 

 and the other on February 6th. The former was in 

 full winter, the latter in full summer, plumage. 

 ^Ir. Rickard showed a collection of corals and 

 polypes from South Africa. ^Ir. Doggett has a 

 preparation showing the development of the 

 common grass snake from the egg. He also 

 read a paper upon Apteryx. He said that 

 during the last ten years he had kept in captivity 

 five of the six described species of this genus. 

 Upon one occasion a bird in his possession had 

 laid an egg. He described its habits in captivity, 

 dealt with many of its peculiarities in structure, 

 and mentioned some of the Maori legends in 

 connection with this remarkable bird. The paper 

 was illustrated by a skin of Apteryx naasti, and a 

 skeleton and egg also of the genus Apteryx. 



Norfolk and Norwich N.aturalists' Society. — 

 -\ meeting of the Norfolk and Norwich Naturalists' 

 Society was held at the Castle Museum, January 

 26th, the President, Sir F. G. M. Boileau, Bart., in 

 the chair. Mr. Southwell read a paper on the 

 recent discoveries with regard to the reproduction 

 of the eel. Referring to his previous communi- 

 cations he said that very little advance had been 

 made in our knowledge of the subject since his last 

 address, but that in November last a communication 

 was read before the Royal Society, embodj-ing the 

 results of the observations of an Italian naturalist, 

 Professor Grassi, in v.-hich it was shown that a 

 remarkable little fish found by him in the Strait of 

 Mesina was the larval form of the common eel. 

 This singular little creature was known as Lepto- 

 cephalus brevirostris. Dr. Grassi traced this little 

 creature through all its metamorphoses to the 

 " elvers ■■ which ascend the rivers in the spring. 

 The result of these observations was to fill up the 

 gap in the knowledge of the life-history of this 

 common fish, which, much to the discredit of 

 naturalists, existed between its migration to the 

 sea and the return of the new generation of elvers 

 in the spring. 3.1an\' other doubtful or obscure 

 points were also cleared up, and the general result 

 is that we are justified in concluding that all the 

 strange variations so noticeable in this fish, some of 

 which are even regarded as distinct species, are 

 but stages in its final development, which does 

 not take place until its arrival in the deep 

 sea, where it performs its appointed function 

 of reproduction. Mr. G. H. Harris read " Notes 

 on Yarmouth Herring Fishing of i8g6." The 

 herring fishing of 1896, he said, w-as notable 

 for two characteristics — a large catch and 

 low prices, the result being unsatisfactory to the 

 boat-owners. Exception must be taken, however, 

 in the case of the Scotch boats. As a whole theirs 

 was a satisfactory fishing. This was due, in- 

 directly, to the competition set up by the Norway 

 herring. Exported from Norwa}- to England, these 

 fish depreciated prices on the home markets; 

 exported also from Norway to the Continent, they 

 demoralized the continental markets. The reason 



