SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



63 



The South London Entomological and 

 Natural History Society. — May 26th, 1898, 

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

 Mr. Edwards exhibited two very large prawn's 

 from Madras, and also a living specimen of a 

 scorpion found by himself in the neighbourhood 

 of Cannes, where they were abundant ; it fed readily 

 upon young cockroaches. Mr. West, of Green- 

 wich, a series of the smallest British water-bug, 

 Microvelia pygmaea, and stated that it ran readily 

 over the surface of the water. Mr. Turner, a life- 

 history series of Cohophoni genistaecolella from 

 Carlisle, showing imagines and cases made by the 

 larvae on the food-plant Genista anglica (the petty- 

 whin) ; he stated that the larvae were noticed at 

 Oxshott on May 21st, during the society's field 

 meeting ; he also exhibited a very perfect fossil 

 specimen of Trilobite. The collection of slides 

 circulated by the South-Eastern Union of Scientific 

 Societies, to illustrate the Gault and Wealden forma- 

 tions as they appear in the south-east of England, 

 were thenshownby the lantern, and Mr. Lucas, B.x\., 

 read the accompanying descriptive lecture. — June 

 gth, 189S, Mr. J. W. Tutt, President, in the chair. Mr. 

 Lucas, coloured drawings oi Libellula futva, showing 

 details. Mr. Bishop, a bred specimen of BrepJios 

 parthenias, having a gap in the wing due to an injury 

 to the pupa ; the gap was ciliated ; he also ex- 

 hibited specimens of r/(^t7a ritbi, and remarked on the 

 variability of the androconial marks in this species, 

 while in all the rest of the genus they were notably 

 constant ; specimens of Riunia luteolaia, showing 

 considerable range of variation in the red spotting, 

 and larvae of Taeniocampa inicnda, T. incerta and 

 T. stabilis. 'Sir. Tutt, ova of Hepialus liipuUmis, and 

 said that under a glass they looked like black sloes. 

 Mr. West, of Greenwich, series of the Hemiptera- 

 Heteroptera, Trapezonotiis agrestis and Tropislethus 

 holosericens, obtained by shaking moss in Headley 

 Lane. Mr. Shortridge Clarke gave an account of 

 a remarkable occurrence of thousands of larvae 

 and imagines of Caradrina quadripunctata {ciibicn- 

 laris) in a large hay store in the Isle of Man. — 

 Hy. J. Tuvner, Hon. Report Sec. 



Royal Meteorological Society.— The monthly 

 meeting of this society was held on June 15th, 

 at the rooms of the Royal Astronomical Society, 

 BurHngton House, Mr. F. C. Bayard, LL.M., 

 President, in the chair. A paper, by Mr. R. C. 

 Mossman, F.R.S.E., was read, on " The Frequency 

 of Non-Instrumental Meteorological Phenomena in 

 London with different Winds, from 1763-1897." 

 In previous papers the author has discussed the 

 secular and seasonal variation of various pheno- 

 mena, and he now gives the results of an analysis 

 of the direction of the surface winds observed 

 during the occurrence of snow, hail, gales, thunder- 

 storms lightning, fog and aurora. Snow is of 

 most frequent occurrence with north and east 

 '.vinds, and least common with south-west winds. 

 Hail showers occur most often with west, north- 

 west and north winds. Gales are most frequent 

 with west and south winds. The greatest number 



of both summer and winter thunderstorms occurs 

 with west winds, although the values in summer 

 are high with east, south-east and south winds. 

 The greatest number of fogs are recorded on calm 

 days, closely followed by days on which the wind 

 blew from the east. A paper, by Mr. A. L. Rotch, 

 was also read, on " The Exploration of the Free Air 

 by means of Kites at Blue Hill Observatory, 

 Mass., U.S.A." After giving a brief account of the 

 use of kites for scientific purposes from 1749 to the 

 present time, the author described the various 

 forms of kites which have been employed at Blue 

 Hill Observatory, viz., the Eddy, or Malay tailless 

 kite ; the Hargrave cellular, or box, kite ; and the 

 Lamson aerocurve kite. The highest flight was on 

 October 15th, 1S97, when, by means of four kites 

 having a combined lifting surface of 150 square 

 feet, the meteorograph at the end of 20,100 feet 

 of wire was raised vertically 11,080 feet above the 

 hill. About 200 records from kites have been 

 obtained in the free air at heights from 100 to 

 11,000 feet in all kinds of weather. Mr. Rotch 

 maintains that the kite can be made of the greatest 

 importance for meteorological investigation. At the 

 recent meeting of the International Aeronautical 

 Committee at Strasburg it was recommended that 

 all central observatories should employ kites, as 

 being of prime importance for the advancement 

 of meteorological knowledge. 



Conchological Society, London Branch. — 

 On June 4th a successful field meeting was held on 

 Barnes Common. From two ditches the following 

 mollusca were collected : Sphaevium corneiim, Pisidium 

 fontinale, Segmentina nitida, Planovbis corneus, P. con- 

 tortus, P. vortex, P. complanatus, Physa fontinalis, 

 Limnaea peregra, L. paliistris, Valvata cristata, and 

 a scalariform variety of the last-named which 

 does not seem to have been noticed previously. — 

 ] . E. Cooper, Hon. Sec., 68, North Hill, Highgate. 



NOTICES OF SOCIETIES. 



Ordinary meetings are ^narked f , excursions * ; names of 



persons foUoiL-ing excursions are of Conductors, 



London Geological Field Class. — Conductor, Professor 



H. G. Seeley, F.R.S. 

 July 2. — *Sevenoaks: parallel valleys and hills of stratifi- 

 cation. Weald to chalk. 

 Hon. Class Secretary (Second Series), J. W. Jarvis, St. 

 Mark's College, Chelsea, S.W. 

 Conchological Society, London Branch. 

 July g. — 'Field Meeting at Swanley, leaving Holborn 

 Viaduct Station at 3.15 p.m. Visitors will be 

 vfelcomed. 

 Hon. Sec, J. E. Cooper, 68, North Hill, Highgate, N. 

 Geologists' Association of London. 



July 9.— 'Isle of Sheppey, Kent. W. Whitaker, F.R.S., 

 Pres. G.S., and T. V. Holmes, F.G.S. 

 ,, 16. — *Warlingham, Surrey. W. Whitaker, F.R.S. , 



Pres. G.S. 

 ,, 28 to Aug. 3. — *Birmingham, Nuneaton, Dudley, Lickey, 

 Cannock, etc. Prof. C. Lapworth, LL.D., F.R.S., 

 W. W. Watts, M.A., F.G.S., W. J. Harrison, 

 F.G.S., and W. Wickham King, F.G.S. 

 Sept. 10. — *Gravesend, Kent. G. E. Dibley, F.G.S. 

 Further particulars from Horace W. Monckton, 

 Hon. Sec. (Excursions), 10, King's Bench Walk, Temple, B.C. 



Lincolnshire Science Society. 



July i5. — *SkelIingthorpe andDoddington v?oods, ponds and 



Old Trent gravels. 

 Sept. 3. — *Barkstone, for Syston and Belton Parks. Rev. E. 

 Nelson, M.A. 

 ,, 21. — ^Woodhall Spa : botany of the Moors ; glacial beds. 

 Oct. 8.— *Torksey: Old Trent gravels. W. E. Asquith. 



Hon. Sec, G. A. Grierson, F.L.S., 312, High Street, Lincoln. 

 Nottingham Natural Science Rambling Club. 

 Conductors of Rambles : 

 Geologv, J. Shipman, F.G.S.; Botany, W. Stafford. 

 July 2. — *Geology. Meet at Midland Station, 1.15 p.m., for 

 Mansfield: sandstone, etc. Fare and tea, 3s. 3d. 

 ,, 16. — *Botany. Meet at Midland Station, 1.15 p.m., for 

 Hi.icknall. 



