Reports of Societies. 



29 



miniata, Pempelia rohorella, Ehu- 

 lea crocealis, Pterophorus lithodac- 

 tylus, and many others. — Mr. Geo. 

 Brook exhibited a number of 

 species he had recently taken at 

 Redcar, amongst them Plusia inter- 

 ragationis, Tryphcena interjecta, 

 Lithosia quadra and Tryphcena 

 subsequa — all taken on the sand- 

 hills ; it was considered singular 

 that subsequa and quadra should 

 occur in such a situation. Mr. 

 S. L. Mosley showed a series 

 of larvae, pupae and imagos of 

 Abraxas grossulariata and Vanessa 

 urticce, mounted very effectively in 

 their natural positions on twigs. — 

 Mr. J. E. Palmer made some 

 observations on a martin's nest he 

 had noticed near Malham Tarn. 

 It was built some distance down 

 the wall instead of in the usual 

 position under the eaves, was con- 

 structed much as usual, but domed 

 over, with an entrance at the side. 

 A large number of plants from the 

 Askern district were laid on the 

 table, chiefly by Mr. Joseph Tin- 

 dall, and were named by Mr. Ed. 

 Taylor, amongst them being : — 

 Achillea tanacetifolia, Calamintha 

 Acinos, Ranunculus arvensis, Pimpi- 

 nella Saxifraga, Dipsacus sylvestris, 

 Anthyllis vulneraria, (Enanihe fistu- 

 losa, Oeranium pratense, Linaria 

 spuria, Lastrea Thelypteris, Lyth- 

 rum Salicaria, Centaiwea Scabiosa, 

 Campanula glomerata, G. Trache- 

 lium, Draba incana, Rumex Hydro- 

 lapathum, Nuphar lutea, Verbascum 

 Thapsus, Erigeron acris, Lepidium 

 campestre, Peucedanum Ostruthium, 

 Juniperus communis, Veronica scu- 

 tata, Anagallis tenella, Bartsia 

 Odontites, Narthecium ossifragum. 



Scabiosa columbaria, &c. — ^Mr. Wm. 

 Clegg read a very interesting paper 

 on " The Phosphorescence of the 

 Sea." After describing the general 

 appearance of phosphorescence, Mr. 

 Clegg described several of the 

 animalculse which contribute to its 

 formation. Of these, Noctiluca is 

 the most important, as being the 

 most plentiful on our coasts. It is 

 a minute, jelly-like animal, pos- 

 sessing a long tail, probably used 

 for locomotion. Besides Noctiluca, 

 many other organisms contribute 

 their light, Medusce, Tunicata, 

 Annelides, and even fishes being 

 amongst the number. Shoals of 

 herring leave a white line in their 

 track. The herring-fishers do not 

 shoot their nets unless they can 

 find a track. The cause of phos- 

 phorescence is not decided, but, at 

 any rate, no heat is produced. If 

 highly luminous water be filtered 

 so as to collect a large quantity of 

 animalculse on the filter, and a 

 delicate thermometer be plunged 

 into the luminous mass, no eleva- 

 tion of temperature is noticed. 

 The mode of production of phos- 

 phorescence is not always the same. 

 In Noctiluca, and similar organisms, 

 a vital process seems to go on over 

 the whole body, while in many 

 annelids, and other animals of 

 higher organisation, a special appa- 

 ratus is required. — After a short 

 discussion, the meeting was brought 

 to a close. — Geo. Bbook, Hon. Sec. 



MiRFiELD Naturalists' Society. 

 — The members of this Society met 

 on Saturday evening, the 14th 

 August, in the Working Men's Club 

 Room, Snake-hill. After the gen- 



