78 



THE YOUNG NATURALIST. 



experiments were intended to act as a further test of the conclusions arrived 

 at by Mr. E. B. Poulton in his paper on the subject in the Transactions of 

 the Royal Society • and to effect this object different and additional influences 

 had been brought to bear on these pupae, so that an analogy might be drawn 

 between the two sets of results. 



Mr. Poulton, Lord Walsingham, Mr. Jacoby, Dr. Sharp, Mr. White, and 

 others took part in the discussion which ensued. — H. Goss, Hon. Secretary. 



CITY OF LONDON ENTOMOLOGICAL AND NATURAL 

 HISTORY SOCIETY. 



The meeting of March 1st was numerously attended, and in the absence of 

 both President and Vice-President until a late hour, Mr. Anderson took the 

 chair. Owing to the inclement weather, there were but few entomological 

 exhibits, but Mr. Clark showed a long and beautiful series of Nyssia Mspi- 

 daria, which he had reared from ova. One very dark male was specially 

 noticed among this lot, and it was also remarked that there appeared to be 

 two distinct forms of the female, one being of a uniform black colour, the 

 other being considerably larger and of a greyish hue, showing black markings 

 clown the body. The chairman exhibited specimens of T. munda which had 

 emerged from pupa that day. Mr. Harper had fine specimens of B. ruhiginea, 

 D. cceda, Z. conformis, and other rarities. Mr. Cooke had with him the skin 

 from the feet of an albatross, which appeared to be wonderfully tough and 

 flexible. Mr. Hillman mentioned that the very severe weather had caused 

 many sea birds to come up the River Thames. On one afternoon more than 

 50 gulls were shot on Barnes Common, among them being two specimens of 

 the black-backed gull ; he further mentioned having seen large flocks of Field- 

 fares at Kensington, and upon examining them he found that they presented 

 a most pitiable condition, there being hardly any flesh on them. Mr. Huckett 

 had also observed specimens of this bird in the northern suburbs of 

 London in a most wretched state. Mr. Lamplough presented the Society 

 with large framed crayon portraits of the late Mr. Doubleday and Sir John 

 Lubbock, one of the Patrons ; and Mr. Cooke made a donation of four vols, 

 on entomology by Rennie, and some of the early authors. 



The paper of the evening was by Mr., Hillman, on " Wheat and its food 

 value," and though a little out of the ordinary routine it proved to be of a 

 most interesting character. After a brief outline of the earlier stages, the 

 author concentrated his remarks to the description of the various elements 

 and parts composing the grain, rendering his observations lucid by the free 

 use of large diagrams which he had prepared for the occasion. The paper 

 concluded with strong arguments in favour of the use of whole meal bread in 



