270 THE ZOOLOGIST. 



FISHES. 



Basking Shark on Coast of Sligo. — On June 5th a specimen of the 

 Basking Shark, Selachus maximus, became entangled in the salmon-net of 

 Mr. Kilgallen, at Aughriss, Co. Sligo, a short distance off the pier; and 

 after a desperate struggle, in which it caused great damage to the net and 

 ropes, was, by the united efforts of four boats, towed into shallow water on 

 the sandy beach, where it was killed. This great fish was evidently a full- 

 grown specimen, for it measured thirty feet in length. — Robert Warren 

 (Moyview, Ballina). 



SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES, 



Linnean Society of London. 



June 1, 1893. — Prof. Stewart, President, in the chair. 



Mr. F. H. Leslie was admitted; and Messrs. R. Assheton, W. G. 

 Oxford, J. Gabriel, and W. H. Wager were elected. 



Dr. J. Lowe gave an account of a newly observed habit of the Blackcap, 

 Sylvia atricapilla, in puncturing the petals of certain flowers (Hibiscus 

 rosa-sinensis and Abutilon frondosus), specimens of which he exhibited, thus 

 causing the exudation of a viscid secretion which proved attractive to insects 

 upon which the bird preyed. The observations in question were made at 

 Orotava, Teneriffe, during the mouth of March last (see p. 169). 



By way of introduction to a paper by Mr. W. B. Hemsley on Poly- 

 nesian plants collected by Mr. J. J. Lister, the latter gave an interesting 

 account of the geology of the Tonga Islands, their volcanic nature, and 

 the coral and limestone reefs with the soil formed chiefly of volcanic 

 outpourings in which dense patches of bush were growing. Referring 

 then to the bird-fauna of the Tonga group, Mr. Lister compared it with 

 that of Fiji and Samoa, and showed that it had no special affinity with 

 the avifauna of New Zealand, and exhibited very little specialization. 

 Mr. Hemsley then gave an account of the plants collected there, as also in 

 the Soloman Islands. 



Mr. A. B. Rendle gave an abstract of a paper on fossil palms, in which 

 his remarks were directed to a revision of the genus Nipadites, Bowerbank, 

 and were illustrated by drawings of specimens from the London Clay, 

 Sheppey, from the Sussex coast, Selsey, Brussels, N.E. Italy, and elsewhere. 

 The paper was criticised by Mr. Carruthers, and by Mr. Clement Reid, who 

 described the finding of specimens in situ at Selsey. 



The Secretary then read a paper by Dr. Baur on the temperature of 

 trees from observations taken in Colorado. 



