SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



29 



SOUTH-EASTERN UNION OF 

 SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES. 



THE third annual Congress of the Union of 

 Scientific Societies for the South-East of 

 England will be held in the town hall at Croy- 

 don, on June 2nd, 3rd and 4th, under the presidency 

 of Professor G. S. Boulger, F.L.S., F.G.S. The 

 union has now affiliated twenty-nine societies, 

 including four in London, six in Surrey, four in 

 Sussex and fifteen in Kent. They are City of 

 London Ent. Soc, City of London Coll. Sc. Soc, 

 North London Nat. Hist. Soc, South London Ent. 

 Soc; Balham Antiq. and Nat. Hist. Soc, Croydon 

 Micro, and Nat. Hist. Club, Croydon Camera 

 Club, Reigate Nat. Hist. Soc, Sutton Nat. Hist. 

 Soc, Working Field Club; Brighton Nat. Hist. Soc, 

 Eastbourne Nat. Hist. Soc, Hastings Nat. Hist. 

 Soc, Horsham Nat. Hist. Soc; Bromley Naturalists' 

 Soc, Catford Nat. Hist. Soc, Dover Nat. Hist. Soc, 

 East Kent Nat. Hist. Soc, Folkestone Nat. Hist. 

 Soc, Maidstone Nat. Hist. Soc, New Brompton 

 Naturalists' Club, North Kent Nat. Hist, and Sc. 

 Soc, Rochester Nat. Hist. Soc, Sidcup Lit. and Sc. 

 Soc, Southborough Field Club, Tunbridge Wells 

 Amateur Photographic Soc, Tunbridge Wells High 

 School Nat. Hist. Soc, Tunbridge Wells Nat. Hist. 

 Soc, West Kent Nat, Hist. Soc. 



According to present arrangements, at 8 p.m. on 

 Thursday evening, June and, the President will 

 deliver the annual address. On Friday morning 

 there will be a council meeting at 10 o'clock, and 

 the general meeting at the town hall, from n a.m. 

 to 1 p.m., when papers are down for reading by 

 J. W. Tutt, F.E.S., on " Entomology as a Scientific 

 Pursuit " ; by C. Dawson, F.G.S. , F.S.A., on 

 "Ancient and Modern Dene Holes and their 

 Makers"; and the "Folk-lore of Amulets and 

 Charms," by E. Lovett. On Friday afternoon 

 from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m., the papers to be read 

 are on " The Place of Geology in Education," by 

 Professor Logan Lobley, F.G.S., F.R.G.S., "The 

 Nature of Soil in Connection with the Distribution 

 of Plants and Animals," by H. Franklin Parsons, 

 M.D., and " Natural Gas in Sussex," by C. 

 Dawson, F.G.S., F.S.A. On Friday evening the 

 Mayor of Croydon will give a reception, when 

 there will be short addresses, with lantern illustra- 

 tions, on " Photography in Relation to Science," 

 by J. H. Baldock, F.C.S., " Life-history of the 

 Tiger Beetle," by Fred Enock, F.L.S., F.E.S., and 

 on " New Methods of Preparing Fossils," with 

 demonstrations, by Arthur W. Rowe, M.B., M.S. 

 On Saturday morning the delegates will meet for 

 business at 10.30. and at 11.30 the General Meeting 

 will take place, the discussions being led by various 

 members on " Ideals for Natural History Societies 

 and How to Attain Them " and " Botanical Work 

 Still Wanting." On the afternoon of Saturday at 

 3 o'clock excursions will be conducted to Bedding- 

 ton and neighbourhood, by Dr. Parsons, and to 

 Addington and district by Dr. Hobson. During 

 the meeting a temporary museum will be formed 

 by loan exhibits, arranged by the local committee, 

 relative to Croydon and its neighbourhood. Several 

 influential local and general committees have 

 been formed, and there appears every likelihood of 

 a successful meeting. Members of the affiliated 

 societies can join the meeting by payment of 2s. 6d., 

 and others for 3s. 6d. The Hon. General Secretary 

 is Dr. G. Abbott, of Tunbridge Wells, and the Hon. 

 Local Secretary is Dr. C. Poulett Harris, 75, 

 Morland Road, Croydon. 



The South London Entomological and 

 Natural History Society. — March 24th, 1898. 

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

 Mr. Adkin exhibited specimens of Grammesia 

 trigrammica (trilinea) in which the ground colour 

 was so darkened as to obliterate the usual trans- 

 verse lines. These were known as the Lewis 

 form. Mr. Moore, a pale pigmented variety of 

 Anosia menippe (archippus) from the Malay Archi- 

 pelago. It was noted that such a variation of 

 this species was hitherto unknown. Mr. Cant, a 

 series of strongly-marked specimens of Hybcrnia 

 defoliaria from Dean Forest, and a dark costal 

 form specimen of Xylocampa conspicillaris from 

 Worcester. Rev. J. W. Horsley, a large number 

 of land and freshwater shells from all parts of the 

 world, especially of the Helices, and gave a most 

 interesting address, entitled, "A Chat on Snails." 

 —April 14th. Mr. R. Adkin, F.E.S., Vice-Presi- 

 dent, in the chair. Mr. Harrison, a number of 

 living specimens of a Coleopteron from Bombay. 

 It was a species of the Cassida group and looked 

 like a piece of pure gold. It was stated that this 

 appearance was lost after death. Mr. South, on 

 behalf of Rev. A. Snell, a curious specimen of 

 Leucania littoralis having darkened hind wings ; 

 specimen of Leptogramma ferrugana and Cerostoma 

 radiatella taken this spring at Oxshott, having 

 hibernated. Mr. Barnett, a living specimen of 

 viper from the New Forest. Mr. Ashby, specimens 

 of the spring-tail, Machilis polypoda, taken under 

 wood and stone in the New Forest. Mr. Adkin, 

 various specimens of the Tephrosias. Mr. South, 

 and Mr. McArthur both gave details of the occur- 

 rence of very closely allied forms in Japan and 

 Assam. Mr. South, a large number of specimens 

 of Japanese lepidoptera kindly lent by Mr. Leech 

 to illustrate Mr. South's paper, entitled, " British 

 species of Lepidoptera occurring in Japan." — April 

 28th. Mr. R. Adkin, F.E.S., Vice President, in the 

 chair. Mr. Bishop exhibited a very varied series 

 of bred Taeniocampa miniosa and remarked that a 

 large proportion of the brood had the claws of the 

 front legs undeveloped, and were thus unable to 

 cling to vertical surfaces. Mr. Lucas, specimens 

 of the plant snakes-head (Fritillaria meleagris) from 

 fields near the Thames at Oxford, where it was 

 abundant. Mr. Sauze, a series of Brachinus crepitans 

 from Swanage, very variable in both size and 

 colour. Mr. Edward Saunders sent a series of 

 Hemiptera Heteroptera, comprising examples of 

 most of the genera of this group to illustrate his 

 paper. Mr. West (Greenwich), a drawer compris- 

 ing a large number of Hemiptera taken by himself 

 during the last three years. Mr. Adkin, a series of 

 bred Engonia qnercinaria, including a gynandro- 

 morphous specimen, together with mounted ex- 

 amples of the genitalia and enlarged photographs 

 of the same, and read detailed notes. A paper 

 written by Mr. Edward Saunders, F.L.S., entitled 

 " Notes on Collecting British Hemiptera," was 

 then read.— May 12th. Mr. J. W. Tutt, F.E.S., 

 President, in the chair. Mr. Adkin exhibited red 

 specimens of Cidaria unidentaria, and Mr. Tutt said 



