SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



Royal Meteorological Society. — The open- 

 ing meeting of the session was held on the evening 

 of November 16th at the Institution of Civil 

 Engineers, Great George Street, Westminster, 

 Mr. F. C. Bayard, LL.M., President, in the chair. 

 A report on experiments upon the exposure of 

 anemometers at different elevations was presented 

 by the Wind Force Committee. The experiments 

 have been carried out by Mr. W. H. Dines and 

 Captain Wilson Barker, on board H.M.S. " Wor- 

 cester," off Greenhithe. Five pressure - tube 

 anemometers were employed, the first being at 

 the mizzen royal masthead, the second and third 

 at the ends of the mizzen topsail yardarm, and the 

 fourth and fifth on iron standards fifteen feet 

 above the bulwarks. The results show that the 

 ship itself affected the indications of the lower 

 anemometers, while some low hills and trees, 

 which are a quarter of a mile away from the ship 

 to the south and south-west, also affected the 

 wind velocity from those quarters. The Com- 

 mittee are of opinion that the general facts 

 deducible from these observations bearing on the 

 situation of instruments for testing wind force, are : 

 (i) that they must have a fairly clear exposure to 

 be of much value, and it would appear that for a 

 mile at least all round there should be no hills or 

 anything higher than the position of the instru- 

 ments ; (2) that on a ship the results may be con- 

 sidered fairly accurately determined by having the 

 instruments fifty feet above the hull, but that on 

 land it will generally be necessary to carry the 

 instruments somewhat higher, to be determined 

 entirely by the local conditions ; (3) that no other 

 form of anemometer offers such advantages as the 

 pressure-tube, from the fact that it can be run up 

 and secured easily at this height above a building, 

 and that the pipes and stays can be slight, so as to 

 offer no resistance to the wind or cause any deflect- 

 ing currents. Captain D. Wilson-Barker read a 

 paper giving the results of some observations 

 which he had made on board ship with several 

 hand anemometers with the view of comparing the 

 estimated wind force with that indicated by instru- 

 ments. Mr. W. Marriott exhibited some lantern- 

 slides showing the damage caused by the tornado 

 which burst over Camberwell about 9.30 p.m. on 

 October 29th. The damage was confined to an 

 area of about half a mile in extent, and within that 

 space chimney-stacks were blown down, houses 

 unroofed, trees uprooted and windows broken. 



The South London Entomological and 

 Natural History Society. — October 13th, Mr. 

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

 Russell, "The Limes," Southend, Catford, was 

 elected a member. Mr. Drury, F.R.H.S., pre- 

 sented a large number of Tortrices and Tineae to 

 the society's collections. Messrs. Ashdown and 

 Lucas presented numerous specimens of dragon- 

 flies. Mr. Moore exhibited a series of Polia chi 

 from Yorkshire. They were taken at rest on dark 

 stone-wall hedges, and were found most conspicu- 

 ous, even from a distance. Mr. Fremlin, for Mr. 



Auld, eleven hybrids between Pygaera curtula and 

 P. anachoreta, bred by Dr. Knaggs in April, 1898, 

 together with typical specimens of both species for 

 comparison. It was noted that the markings for 

 the most part followed the female parent P. curtula. 

 He also showed various races of Tephrosta lari- 

 caria and T. biundularia ; a fine bred series of 

 Phorodesma bajularia from the New Forest ; speci- 

 mens of Zonosoma amutlata var. obsoleta from Devon ; 

 unusually dark forms of Emydia cribrum ; a few 

 Eugonia autumnaria, bred from a female taken at 

 Folkestone ; and a bred series of Himera strigata 

 (thymiaria). Mr. Hall, two anastomised fruits of 

 banana, which, however, had separate stems. Mr. 

 Turner, a bred specimen of Vanessa polychloros from 

 Horsham, much darker than usual and comparable 

 to some of those produced by Mr. Merrifield's 

 temperature experiments. Mr. Kaye, a Syntomid 

 moth, Macraeneme ladis, from Venezuela, and a 

 species of wasp which it mimicked. It had a 

 remarkable development of the hairs on the long 

 posterior legs. Mr. West, of Greenwich, speci- 

 mens of the Hemipteron, Ploiaria vagabunda, from 

 Reigate. Mr. Tutt read a paper entitled, " Sci- 

 entific Aspects of Entomology." — Hy. J. Turner, 

 Hon. Report. Sec. 



City of London Entomological and Natural 

 History Society.— Meeting, 18th October, 1898. 

 Exhibits : Mr. Riches, a series of Noctua ditra- 

 pezium from larvae found at Hampstead Heath in 

 the spring. This insect appears to be found in 

 Surrey and Sussex, but is otherwise rare. Lewes 

 and Tilgate Forest are known habitats ; it is still 

 found at Wimbledon, Richmond and West Wick- 

 ham. Mr. Tutt said he had not known it to occur 

 in Kent. Mr. H. May, larvae of Agrotis corticea, 

 hatched from ova laid by a moth which he had 

 taken early in the year at Sandown ; they were 

 feeding on potato and carrot. Noctua c-nigrum, a 

 curious variety, in which the orbicular stigma 

 could be distinctly traced as circular, and the 

 white patch, of which the orbicular formed part, 

 was, squared at the base, instead of being roughly 

 triangular ; the transverse lines were more like 

 those of N. triangulum than of N. c-nigrum. He 

 also showed several Leucania lithargyria, much like 

 L. albipuncta, also, for comparison, one of the 

 latter species, which is a smaller and more delicate 

 insect, the white spot being more sharply defined. 

 Mr. Garland, a dark Abraxas grossulariata, of 

 interest because captured, not bred. He took it at 

 rest at Leyton, Essex. It was rather small, with 

 a complete black outside border round fore- and 

 hind-wings, which was very deep on the hind 

 margin of the fore-wings, with two yellow spots on 

 the costa of each fore-wing at the shoulders, the 

 central white areas being sparingly dotted with 

 black. He also exhibited some beautiful vars. 

 (upper surface) of Lycaena aegon, from West- 

 moreland, with typical forms from Oxshott. Mr. 

 E. H. Taylor, a long series of Triphaena fimbriad, 

 bred from larvae taken at Wimbledon, including 

 some green-shaded forms that occurred in about 

 40 per cent, of the imagines, pale forms 15 per 

 cent., rich mahogany-brown forms 20 per cent., 

 unicolorous 20 per cent., and undecided forms 5 per 

 cent. ; one specimen emerged very small in size. 

 Mr. A. Bacot read a paper on "Nature," the term 

 usually employed to refer to all animate and in- 

 animate things that have not been disturbed by 

 man. Though why London, the city of commercial 

 speculation, gaiety and squalor should not be con- 

 sidered as much a natural object as a bird's nest or 



