Reports of Societies. 



43 



September, to Snaith ; the Rev. 

 H. Rees, vicar of Snaith, kindly- 

 acting as cicerone. The chief 

 interest of this excursion was anti- 

 quarian, and but little of natural 

 history of any importance was 

 undertaken, Cerastium aquaticum 

 being the least common plant 

 observed. A iew fungi of common 

 kin(is were seen, but plants of this 

 order seem particularly scarce this 

 season. — H. FnANKLiisr Paesoks, 

 Secretary. 



HECKMOisnDWiKE Naturalists' 

 Society. — An ordinary meeting of 

 the Heckmondwike Naturalists' 

 Society was held in the usual 

 meeting room, at the house of Mr. 

 Jas. Robinson, on Saturday even- 

 ing, Aug. 21st, the vice-president, 

 Mr. J. M. Barber, in the chair. 

 The preliminary business of the 

 Society, comprising the reading and 

 confirming of the minutes of the 

 last meeting, the reading of corres- 

 pondence and reports of kindred 

 societies, the admittance of new 

 members, and the financial trans- 

 actions having been disposed of, a 

 number of specimens lying on the 

 table, brought by various mem- 

 bers, were exhibited and described. 

 Amongst them were a ringed snake 

 with its cast-off skin, some speci- 

 mens of geology, zoology, and 

 botany, &c. 



Htjddersfield Naturalists' So- 

 ciety. — An ordinary meeting was 

 held on the 30th August, Mr. G. T. 

 Porritt, F. L. S. , in the chair. It was 

 resolved that Whitley should be 

 proposed at the annual meeting 

 of the West Riding Consolidated 



Naturalists' Society, as a suitable 

 place for an excursion next season. 

 Wessenden was also mentioned. 

 The president announced that the 

 room and library of this Society 

 will be open every Wednesday 

 evening from eight to ten, for the 

 purpose of reading, comparing spe- 

 cimens, &c. , but no books are to be 

 taken away. Mr. S. L. Mosley 

 exhibited a Ruhus, in which the 

 leaflets were much divided, and 

 more like the leaves of the haw- 

 thorn than the ordinary form. Mr. 

 Hobkirk suggested that the plant 

 looked like a cross between Ruhus 

 and Cratoegus. — Mr. Taylor exhi- 

 bited "sports" of Poly podium Dry- 

 opterisshud Cystopterisfragilis. There 

 was also a collection of exotic ferns, 

 exhibited by Mr. J. Tindall from 

 Mr. Pontey's nurseries. In ento- 

 mology, specimens were exhibited 

 by Messrs. Porritt, Mosley, and 

 Noble. Mr. Mosley showed a 

 drawer from his cabinet of butter- 

 flies, with the larvae mounted on the 

 food plant, and showing specimens 

 in natural positions. At Blackpool 

 and Fleetwood Mr. Mosley had 

 taken Sphinx Convolvuli, a splendid 

 variety of Lyccena alexis, Ag^^otis val- 

 ligera, Agrotis tritici, and others. Mr. 

 Porritt exhibited Stilhia anomala 

 and Crambus geniculellus taken by 

 himself in the Isle of Man about a 

 fortnight previously. He had also 

 taken larvae of Dianthcecia ccesia and 

 capsophila from the Silene maritima 

 on the cliffs. — Mr. Hobkirk read a 

 paper on " Some apparent Anoma- 

 lies in Natural History." After 

 detailing and showing the older 

 definitions between animals and 

 plants, he showed that lately the 



