S(W/:XCEGOSS/P. 



3'9 



Kkarim; DKArii'siiKAii Minus. — Last autumn 

 more than tlic avcratjc number of larvae and |)upiie of 

 .Ic/ierontia atropos were taken in Kngland. They 

 were, as usual, found chiefly in potato fields. It is 

 to he feared that a large proportion of these captive 

 pupae will he lost during the coming winter in con- 

 se<|uence of want of experience in artificially forcing 

 them into ihe imago stage. This process is a simple 

 one, and it may be broadly stated that without its 

 help very few pupae of the rarer sphinx moths can 

 be successfully reared to maturity in Britain. Those 

 who practise the .system regularly seldom lose a 

 single specimen. Take an ordinary large flower-pot ; 

 one about lo in. wide is best. Fill it with earth 

 which has been baked in an oven sufficiently to kill 

 any predatory creatures. Cover this with a thick 

 layer of moss that has been scalded in boiling water 

 for the same reason. Then place the juipae on the 

 top of the earth under the moss, room having been 

 left between the top of the moss and the glass cover 

 for the moths to develop their wings. Keep the 

 earth and moss damp, Ijut not wet, until the moths 

 appear. The flower-pot with its contents must be 

 kept in a warm greenhouse, or on a kitchen mantel- 

 piece where there is a regular fire, for six weeks, 

 when the moths will begin to appear almost certainly 

 to the day. — -John T. Carringtoii, December is/, 

 1S99. 



Cl.t;AM.M; Coral. — Place the coral in a pan of 

 boiling water. Then add spirits of salts, about J- lb. 

 to 2 gallons of water. Take out the coral, and 

 immediately rinse it in cold water.— y. £. L/n/er, 

 Twickenham. 



Ci.EANiNt; Coral. — I h.ive cleaned corals with 

 hydrochloric acid in the following manner : — -Take 

 an earthenware pan containing sufficient water to 

 cover the coral. Add to this enough acid to make 

 the coral slightly effervescent when put into the 

 mixture. The acid should previously have been well 

 mixed with the water and allowed to stand for a few- 

 minutes. The eflervescent action on the coral will 

 release most of the dirt. The coral sln)uld not be 

 allowed to stay in the mixture long enough to destroy 

 the .sharpness of structure Then hold the specimen 

 under a strong current of water from an ordin.ary tap, 

 using a tooth-brush or any other suitaijle to remove 

 dirt remaining. If not sufliciently clean from the 

 first operation, repeat the process, when ijie coral will 

 become as white as snow. — Thomas Edwards, Eijuily 

 Koad, Leicester. 



.\rion atkr var. Bocacel in Ireland. — In 

 the "Journal of Malacology," vol. vii. p. 33, this 

 Portuguese form of the common black slug is recorded 

 from the .South of Ireland, which already possesses 

 at least one other Portugtiese slug. Dr. Scharft'ver}' 

 properly points out in the "Irish Naturalist" that 

 in giving this record the editor of the "Journal of 

 Malacology" refers to ./. aler as A. eiiipericonim, 

 and disagrees with .Mr. Collinge in the nomen- 

 clature. 



N'aii'ral History .Socikiy oi-" Glasgow.— 

 M the fifth meeting of the forty-ninth session, held 

 in the Society's rooms, 207 Bath .Street, on I.st 

 l'"ebruar>', Mr. Alexander Somerville, H.Sc, F.L..S., 

 occupied the chair. On behalf of I'rofessor G. I'. 

 Scott Klliot, M.A., K.L.S., &c., there was exhibited 

 by .Mr. J. VVylie a collection of sixty-four species ol 

 Mycelozoa — presented to Professor Elliot by Mr. 

 Arthur Lister, I''. U.S. — and .Mr. VVylie read a paper 

 treating of the group. Mr. Charles Kirk exhibited 

 the common buzzard, Btileo vulgaris Leach, from 

 the Crieff district. This large hawk, which has all 

 the appearance of a miniature eagle, was at one 

 time common throughout .Scotlanrl, but has for so 

 long been trapped and shot that it is now scarce. It 

 feeds on small quadrupeds, birds, and reptiles, and is 

 of service to the farmer in driving away wild pigeons. 

 According to the late Robert Gray, it is the kind of 

 instrument required for clearing oft" sickly young 

 game-birds, and so improving the breed. .Mr. 

 Lumsden, writing in 1876, states that the buzzard 

 nests in the neighbourhood of Loch Lomond. Dr. 

 J. F. Gemmill, .M.A., brought forward and described 

 an unusually large-sized skull of a polar bear, Ursiis 

 inarilimiis Uesmarest, shot near Hamilton Gulf, 

 Greenland, lent for exhibition by Mr. .Vlam Wood, 

 Troon. Dr. Gemmill imlicated the chief character- 

 istics of the skulls of carnivores in general, and of 

 bears in particular, and pointeflout that the specimen 

 on view showed some individual peculiarities, the 

 result in all probability of an early and .severe injury. 

 Mr. James -Mitchell, who had recently visited the 

 Cape, exhibited a fir.e series of horns of South 

 African antelopes, including those of the eland, 

 koodoo, gemsbok, and springbok, and he read a 

 paper describing these animals. 



North London Natural Hlstory Society.— 

 The eighth annual exhibition of the North London 

 Natural History Society was held on December 30th, 

 1899, and January ist, 1900. The Committee again 

 secured the ser\-ices of Mr. R. B. Lodge, of Enfield, 

 who, on the first evening, gave a most interesting 

 lantern lecture on " British Birds at Home and 

 Abroad." Mr. J. VV. Tutt, F.E.S., lectured on the 

 second evening on " Protective Colouration and 

 Mimicry in .Vnimal Life," illustrating his instructive 

 and entertaining remarks by means of numerous 

 lantern slides. Exhibits in the Entomological sec- 

 tion were scarcely as numerous .as on some previous 

 occasions, but they included some well-illustrated 

 life-histories of Lepidoptera by Messrs. C. Nicholson 

 and A. Ijuail, as well as a number of Lepidoptera by 

 Mr. L. B. Prout and others. There was also a good 

 show of exotic Lepidoptera, among which Mr. 

 Bacot"s insects from South .\frica were specially 

 interesting. Other branches of zoology were well 

 represented. Some well-mounted birds, lent by Drs. 

 S. Wilson and J. S. .Sequeira, and fine examples of 

 amateur taxidermy were contributed by .Mr. D. C. 

 Barber : all the birds exhibited, including a British- 

 killed specimen of the common bittern (Bolaurus 



