1911-12.] 



535 



definite system on which collectors should record their captures." 

 The final report of this Committee will be ready by the next 

 meeting of the British Association in August. 



In my last report — a copy of which was sent to the Cor- 

 responding Societies' Committee by this Society, but never 

 acknowledged — I suggested that the' meetings of this Section of 

 the British Association might be better advertised, and I am glad 

 to say that an improvement was noticeable at Portsmouth, and 

 that a further improvement has been promised for the next 

 meeting. 



I )r. A. R. Dwerryhouse having discussed a point of interest 

 to Geologists, the President called upon Mr. Balfour Browne for 

 his lecture on the Dragon-fly, in which he mentioned that the 

 group of Dragon-flies is an extremely ancient one, fossil forms- 

 having been found even in the Carboniferous strata. These 

 Palaeozoic I )ragon-fly ancestors were apparently amongst the 

 largest Insects which have ever occurred, some of them measuring 

 more than two feet across the expanded wings. After referring to 

 the present almost world-wide distribution of these insects, the 

 lecturer described how he had reared some of the species from 

 the egg, and he dealt with many interesting details in their life 

 history. Mr. Balfour Browne then referred to experiments made 

 by him as to the effects of temperature upon the nymph, or sub- 

 aquatic stage, of these insects, and mentioned that the warming of 

 the water in which the nymph dwelt to Summer temperature, even 

 for a short period during Winter, had the effect of reducing the 

 duration of the nymph stage by a whole year. A discussion 

 followed, in which the President, and Messrs. John Hamilton, 

 N. H. Foster, and C. M. Cunningham took part. After Mr. 

 Balfour Browne had briefly replied, the election of five new 

 members — Dr. Marion B. Andrews, Mrs. Ferguson, Miss Grainger,. 

 Messrs. L. Mueller, and J. Hewton — terminated the meeting. 



