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SCIENCE' G OSSIP. 



CONDUCTED BY P. SHILLINGTOX SCALES, F.R.M.S. 



Royal Microscopical Society, January 15th, 

 Wm. Carruthers. Esq., F.R.S., President, in the 

 chair. — This being the annual meeting of the 

 Society, the election of oiiicers and council for 

 the ensuing year was made. Dr. Hebb read the 

 report of the council for the year 1901, and Mr. 

 Yezey, the treasurer, read the annual statement of 

 account and balance-sheet. The President then 

 gave as his annual address an interesting resume 

 of the scientific work of Nehemiah Grew from 

 16il-1712, whom he ably defended from the 

 charges of plagiarism which had been brought 

 against him in respect to his discoveries as to 

 plant structure. Mr. E. A. Parsons gave a very 

 interesting exhibition of malaria parasites under a 

 number of microscoj)es lent for the occasion by 

 Messrs. Charles Baker. Messrs. Ross exhibited 

 their new form of Standard microscope, designed 

 specially for the use of medical students, fitted 

 with a new form of fine adjustment. Messrs. Ross 

 also exhibited a new simple lens for dark-ground 

 illumination. It consists of a meniscus lens, bored 

 through its centre to receive a spot, made of 

 vulcanite and provided with a stem to drop into 

 the hole in the centre of the lens. 



Qtjekett Microscopical CLrs. January 17th, 

 at 20 Hanover Square, W., Mr. J. G.Waller, F.S.A., 

 vice-president, in the chair. — A list of the Com- 

 mittee's nominations for president, oftlcers, and an 

 auditor was read bj^ the secretary. The members 

 nominated for the vacancies on the Committee and 

 an auditor on their behalf. Mr. W. Wesche read 

 a paper on "Modifications of the Lees in some 

 Dipterous Flies." The modifications described 

 consisted of variously shaped and grouped hairs 

 whose uses were known and understood in many 

 cases, but could onlj' be guessed at or were quite 

 unknown in others. In many instances these 

 curious structures were seen to be secondary sexual 

 characteristics, and were used in mating, etc. ; but 

 numbers of them were common to both sexes, and 

 were employed as brushes and combs in that im- 

 portant department of a fly's activity, viz. the 

 toilet ; while they very frequently existed as knives, 

 skewers, and such like. The author showed many 

 of these structures both in the whole insect and 

 when mounted and placed under microscopes, 

 .several of which were lent for the purpose by 

 Messrs. Baker, of Holborn. The objects were also 

 described by means of prepared and blackboard 

 drawings. In concluding his paper the author 

 appealed to entomologists to study the structures 

 and life-histories of insect.-; rather than devote 

 their time to the vanity of mere collecting. Mr. 

 Scourfield, in the absence of the author, Mr. C. D. 

 Soar, read a paper on ^^ Erpoliis papiUnsvs" r\ov. sp., 

 describing an unrecorded species of Hydrachnid 

 found in Britain. The only other species of the 

 genus was obtained in Madagascar. Mr. Soar 



named this water-mite from the curious papilli 

 found on the back. Drawings and a specimen 

 under the microscope were shown by Mr. Taverner. 



The Manchester Microscopical Society.— 

 January 9th, at the Grand Hotel, Manchester. Mr. 

 Jonathan Barnes, F.G.S., read a paper on " The 

 Microscopic Structure of Mountain Limestone," 

 illustrated by means of the lantern. After men- 

 tioning the extent and thickness of the carboniferous 

 limestone rocks Mr. Barnes gave an interesting 

 account of the stalactites found in the caverns of 

 that geological formation, with special reference 

 to certain curious shapes assumed, which, from 

 experiments he had made, he was led to believe 

 had been caused by the air currents inside the 

 caverns. A microscopic section of limestone 

 showed that it was almost entirely composed of 

 those minute remains of animal life known as 

 Foraminifera. Another section from a locality in 

 the vicinity of an igneous rock proved that the 

 intrusive mass had entirely altered its nature, the 

 signs of life having disappeared, leaving a mass of 

 crowded and irregular particles of calcite. The 

 Foraminifera as they occur in the Derbyshire 

 limestone do not appear to have mixed together in 

 one common society, but to have lived in colonies. 

 In one spot may be found, for example, Endothyra, ■ 

 Tertularia, and Nodosaria, three of the most 

 common genera, all together ; while at a short dis- 

 tance Trochamlnia has apparently existed alone, to 

 the exclusion of those previously mentioned. In 

 another locality the only form may be Valvulina. 

 In Northumberland the limestone is almost entirely 

 composed of Succavimina carteri. Other micro- 

 scopic forms have existed, viz. radiolaria and poly zoa. 

 The meeting on February 6th was chiefly devoted 

 to the exhibition of microscopical slides illus- 

 trating Mr. Barnes's paper of the previous meeting. 

 The exhibits included limestone sections showing 

 foraminifera, etc.; sections of igneous rocks. Carbon- 

 iferous limestone age ; micro-quartz crj^stals from 

 Carboniferous limestone ; intrusive igneous rock 

 and its action upon Carboniferous limestone, show- 

 ing metamorphism ; limestone pebbles from Glacial 

 clay ; various sections of limestone from the Isle 

 of Man, North Wales, Derbyshire, etc., etc.; and 

 hand specimens of the above rocks. Messrs. Thos. 

 Armstrong & Brother exhibited their new petro- 

 logical microscope. Mr. J. P. Shenton, F.C.S., 

 alluding to the remarks made by the chairman of 

 the Manchester Water Works Committee when de- 

 scribing the removal of some 700 tons of a growth 

 ?i in. thick in one of the Corporation's 40-inch water 

 mains, said that the so-called "pipe moss" was 

 generally composed very largely of such animal 

 forms as Pluniatella, FrcderiieUa, and Paludhrlla, 

 which zoologists, recognising the resemblance in 

 their appearance to the Bryophyta or moss plants, 

 had called the Bryozoa or moss-like animals. 

 Associated with the Bryozoa in these pipe growths 

 were, amongst many other forms, C'ordiilr2>hora, 

 sponges, and fungoid growths, amongst which 

 Crenothrix was almost invariably conspicuous. Of 

 course much suspended mineral matter became 

 entangled in these growths. With reference to 

 PahidireUa itself, in 1897 th^ water in the Mount 

 Pleasant reservoir of the Brooklyn Water Depart- 

 ment, U.S.A., become so charged with the diatom 

 Astcrionella that the peculiar fishy odour and taste 

 of that organism made itself unpleasantly apparent 

 in the water. The reservoir was therefore discon- 

 nected, and the water pumped directly into the mains. 



