SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



287 



Royal Meteorological Society. — At the 

 meeting of this Society, held on December 21st 

 at the Institution of Civil Engineers, Westminster, 

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

 Capt. A. Carpenter, R.N., D.S.O., F. R. Met. Soc, 

 gave an account of the hurricane which caused so 

 much devastation in the West Indies in September 

 last. The cyclone passing eighteen miles south of 

 Barbados swept over the southern half of St. 

 Vincent Island then took a north-west direction 

 towards Aves Island, its rate of progression being 

 about 7^ miles per hour. From here it pursued 

 a northerly course for 450 miles, passing between 

 Puerto Rico and the Windward Islands. It then 

 swerved to the north-west for 600 miles, when it 

 re-curved to the north-east. Its diameter was 

 eighty miles as it approached Barbados, and 170 

 miles after leaving St. Vincent. The actual storm- 

 centre (in which the force of the wind greatly 

 increased) was only thirty-five miles in diameter, 

 until St. Vincent was passed, but after that the 

 strength of the wind extended to 170 miles from its 

 centre. The diameter of the calm vortex or "eye" 

 of the storm was not less than four miles. The 

 storm was accompanied by very heavy rainfall, the 

 amount at St. Vincent being about fourteen inches 

 in the twenty-four hours ending at 9 a.m. on the 

 12th. The barometer at the Botanic Gardens, 

 Kingstown, on the nth, fell from 29-539 inches at 

 10 a.m, to 28'509 inches at 11-40 a.m , a fall of 1-03 

 inches in 1 hour 40 minutes. In Barbados 11,400 

 houses were swept away or blown down and 115 

 lives were lost ; and in St. Vincent, 6,000 houses 

 were blown down or damaged beyond repair and 

 200 lives lost. Mr. W. H. Dines, B.A., F.R. Met. 

 Soc, read a paper on the connection between the 

 winter temperature and the height of the barometer 

 in North-Western Europe. From an examination 

 of the records of the barometer and temperature at 

 several observatories, extending over many years, 

 the author is of opinion that the winter temperature 

 at a place in Western Europe has no connection 

 with the height of the barometer at that place, and 

 that in winter it is just as likely to be cold when 

 the barometer is below the average as when 

 it is above the average. The annual meeting 

 was held on January 18th, at the Institution of 

 Civil Engineers, Westminster, Mr. F. C. Bayard, 

 LL.M., President, in the chair, who was re- 

 elected President for the ensuing year. The 

 council, in their report, stated that owing to the 

 premises now occupied by the Society, at 22, Great 

 George Street, being required by the Government, 

 they had been obliged to take a suite of rooms at 

 70, Victoria Street, Westminster. Mr. Bayard, in 

 his Presidential Address, gave an account of the 

 Government meteorological organizations in 

 various parts of the world, and enumerated the 

 number of observing stations associated with each 

 organization. In most countries forecasts of the 

 weather are issued, and Mr. Bayard gave some 

 interesting particulars as to the success attained 

 by each office. The amount of money voted by 

 the various Governments for the support of 



Meteorology showed what a very small portion of 

 the revenue of the different countries goes towards 

 the promotion of this science. In the British 

 Isles it is two shillings and sixpence per square 

 mile, but only about one-third of a farthing per 

 head of the population. The address was illus- 

 trated by a large number of lantern slides showing 

 views of the various observatories, and portraits of 

 the directors. 



South London Natural History Society. — 

 January 12th, 1899. The President in the chair. 

 Mr. West, of Greenwich, presented to the Society 

 specimens of 125 species of Hemiptera-Heter- 

 optera to form a nucleus for a reference collec- 

 tion. Mr. Carpenter exhibited specimens of 

 Apatura iris, bred from New Forest larvae, with 

 notes on their hibernation. He and other members 

 complained bitterly of the damage which was 

 being done by some of the local dealers, who used 

 ropes and sails, and beat the bushes with stout 

 cudgels, effectually smashing and destroying the 

 sallows. Mr. Tutt brought further specimens of 

 the genus Zygaena, received from M. Oberthur, of 

 Rheims, and read some notes on them. Mr. 

 Lucas, specimens of recent uninvited visitors to 

 Kew Gardens, Periplaneta americana, P. australasiae, 

 and Panchlora maderae from the Belgian Congo 

 Anisolabis annulipes (?) from Penang, and Phillo- 

 dromia sp. from Zomba, British Central Africa. 

 Mr. Moore, male and female larvae, larval cases, 

 pupae, and female imagines of the large psychid 

 moth, Ocketicus kirbii, received from Antigua, West 

 Indies, and contributed notes. Mr. Malcolm Burr, 

 a wonderfully clever imitation of a grasshopper in 

 porcelain from China, and a case containing a 

 species frbm each group in the various sections of 

 the Orthoptera to aid in illustrating Mr. Stanley 

 Edwards' paper, together with various species 

 showing protective resemblance. Mr. Edwards 

 brought a large number of specimens of Orthoptera, 

 chiefly from Borneo, the Mantidae and Phasmidae 

 being very well represented. Among the Locustidae 

 he showed were a number of the curious Phasmid- 

 like Proscopias, from South America. Mr. Edwards 

 then read a paper on the Orthoptera, devoting his 

 remarks chiefly to the Phasmids and Mantids. 

 A discussion ensued, and among others Messrs. 

 Burr and Tutt gave interesting accounts of their 

 observations of the habits of the European repre- 

 sentatives of these two families. — Henry J. Turner, 

 Hon. Report. Secretary. 



Leicester Literary & Philosophical Society. 

 — The usual meeting of Section D, or Botany, was 

 held on December 22nd, 1898. Among the exhibits 

 were : section of the stem of elm showing rings of 

 growth, and of Eucalyptus and Rubus chamaemorus. 

 Mr. John Harrison, junr. read an interesting paper 

 on " Grasses." In the course of his remarks 

 Mr. Harrison reminded those present that animal 

 existence in the world mainly depended upon 

 plants belonging to the Graminaceae, as they com- 

 prised the important food plants, maize, wheat, 

 barley, oats, rice, rye and grass. Nature adapts 

 them to their place of growth : in dry places they 

 are furnished with particular formations for sus- 

 tenance, many in fact having become arbores- 

 cents ; in cold regions they are provided with thick 

 fibrous roots. Stolons are characteristic of those 

 growing on the sea-shore ; broad leaves of those 

 in sunny places ; while the leaves are tough and 

 curved of those whose home is among the rocks. — 

 (Miss) J. W. Read, Hon. Sec. 



