BIOLOGY AT LIVERPOOL. 
Proceedings of the Liverpool Biological Society. Vols. 1 to 4. 1887-1890. 
Liverpool offers an exeedingly attractive centre for the biologist, 
for not only has he a fairly rich terrestrial fauna and flora whereon 
to pursue his investigations, but the broad majestic river which 
flows by the city into the contiguous Irish Sea provides a scene of 
marine life abundant in its forms and almost endless in its varieties. 
With such material to work upon, biologists could hardly fail to be 
stimulated to enthusiastic effort to probe to the bottom the varied 
problems which such a teeming wealth of living forms offer for their 
study, and that they fully realise this, even if somewhat tardily, is 
demonstrated by the excellent publications which issue from the two 
vigorous biological bodies whose formation practically dates from 
the association of Professor W. A. Herdman, D.Sc., with the 
University College of Liverpool. These two bodies are styled 
respectively the Liverpool Marine Biology Committee, which 
concerns itself only with the Fauna of Liverpool Bay and the 
neighbouring seas; and the Liverpool Biological Society, whose 
view covers a much wider field and reaches over the entire realm of 
Biological science both local and general. It is with this last 
Society that we are now more nearly concerned, and it is their 
publications which we have before us. Founded in 1886, it has 
each year issued a volume of Proceedings, which testify to the 
enthusiastic labours and the wide general knowledge of its members. 
It would take up too much space to enumerate even the titles of the 
various subjects brought before this Society in the four volumes 
now under consideration, and which bring its work up to the session 
of 1889-90. Many of the papers naturally relate to the local fauna 
and flora, and are especially concerned with the marine fauna, the 
investigation of which has led to the discovery of many species, not 
only new to the locality, but also new to science. Mr. A. O. Walker 
is especially earnest in his study of the Nupide and other forms of 
Crustacea found in Liverpool Bay, and Mr. J. C. Thompson equally 
So of the Copepoda, both of them giving important lists of these 
two groups of animals. Prof. Herdman deals with some of the 
more abstruse problems of biological science, which he elucidates 
by that careful research and profound knowledge which characterise 
all his work. The Polyzoa of Puffin Island are reported on by 
Mr. Joseph Lomas; Mr. J. W. Ellis describes an actinarian new to 
Liverpool Bay, also treats of the Coleoptera of the Liverpool 
District; Dr. H. Stolterforth reports on the Marine Diatomacez ; 
Dr. Richard Hanitsch on the Porifera; Mr. Herbert C. Chadwick 
Feb. 1294. 
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