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SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES. 



Linnean Society of London. 



June 6th, 1895.— Mr. W. Percy Sladen, V.-P., in the chair. 



The minutes of the list meeting having been read and confirmed, the 

 Chairman, on behalf of the President, nominated the following to be Vice- 

 Presidents : — Messrs. J. G. Baker, F. Crisp, A. Lister, and W. P. Sladen. 



Mr. B. B. Woodward was elected a Fellow. 



Mr. M. Buysman, who has laboured for many years to establish a 

 garden at Middleburg for economic plants, exhibited specimens to show 

 the excellence and completeness of his preparations. 



On behalf of Mr. T. J. Mann, who had lately returned from Ceylon, 

 Mr. Hatting exhibited specimens of a butterfly, Catophag a galena, Felder, 

 which had been observed migrating in thousands across the northern part 

 of that island during March and April last, in a direction from N.E. to S.W. 

 The movement commenced about 7 a.m. and lasted until noon, when it 

 decreased, and was resumed in the afternoon for another two hours. 

 Mr. Harting referred to the remarks on this subject made by Sir J. Emerson 

 Tennent (Nat. Hist. Ceylon, 1861, p. 404, note), to the observations of 

 Darwin on the countless myriads of butterflies met with at sea some miles 

 off the mouth of the Plata (Nat. Voy. p. 158), and to a paper by Mr. R. 

 McLachlan on the migratory habits of Vanessa cardui (Entom. Mo. Mag. 

 xvi. p. 49). He did not think that the movement was analogous to the 

 migration of birds, which travelled in opposite directions in spring and 

 autumn, for the insects moved only in one direction, and did not return, 

 vast numbers perishing en route. The phenomenon rather resembled what 

 had been observed in the case of Lemmings, Locusts, and Dragonflies 

 (Weissenborn, Mag. Nat. Hist. n.s. vol. hi. p. 516), and might be explained 

 as a sudden exodus from the birthplace, leading to a compensating reduction 

 of the species after a season exceptionally favourable to its increase. His 

 remarks were criticised by Col. Swinhoe, who was inclined to confirm this 

 view, and by Mr. Kirby, who referred to the particular species which were 

 found to take part in these so-called " migrations." 



A new Distomum was described by Mr. G. West, whose observations 

 were favourably criticised by Mr. W. P. Sladen and Prof. Howes. 



On behalf of Mde. van der Bosse, Mr. George Murray communicated 

 a description of a new genus of Algae (Pseudocodium), the characters of which 

 were minutely pointed out by means of specially prepared lantern-slides. 



A paper was then read by Mr. A. Vaughan Jennings on the nature of 

 Mobiwisponyia parasitica, on which critical remarks were made by Prof. 

 Uupert Jones and Mr. F. Chapman* 



