NEWS — REPORTS OF SOCIETIES — EXCHANGE. 



303 



A turtle was washed ashore on the beach 

 near Gorran, Cornwall, last week. When 

 found it was crawling up the beach towards 

 land. Some boys at Trevesson Farm, 

 pulled off its head with a crab-hook, and 

 killed it. Its weight was about twenty- 

 eight pounds. — Beading Mercury. * 



A very fine specimen of the eared seal 

 ( Otaria J, has just been added to the collec- 

 tion of the Zoological Society, Eegent's 

 Park. This animal was captured by a 

 sailor serving on board a French ship 

 while off Cape Horn, who after some 

 trouble and a few bites from his strange 

 pupil has succeeded in rendering it so 

 docile that it readily obeys its captor, fol- 

 lowing him about, performing various 

 feats and apparently bears, if the expres- 

 sion may be used, some amount of affection 

 towards its keeper, though to strangers its 

 bearing is not altogether friendly. Some 

 little interest attaches to this addition to 

 the Society's menagerie inasmuch as it is 

 the first time an eared seal has ever been 

 seen alive in the Society's gardens or indeed 

 in Europe before. 



The Quechett Microscopical Club. — The 

 ordinary monthly meeting was held on 

 Friday, 26th January, at 32, Sackville- 

 street, Piccadilly, P. Le Neve Foster, 

 Esq., V.P. in the chair. Mr. Suff'olk 

 delivered an introductory address on the 

 microscope, preparatory to the establish- 

 ment of Elementary Classes for beginners 

 in microscopic study. Mr. Archer also 

 read a paper on the respiratory organs of 

 Insects. There was a large attendance of 

 members and their friends. Eleven gentle- 



men were elected^and eleven proposed for 

 membership. A conversazione terminated 

 the evening, many very interesting objects 

 being exhibited. 



The Amateur Botanists^ Society. — At the 

 meeting of the above Society held in 

 London, February 7th, 1866, the Presi- 

 dent in the chair, some leaves of Hedcra 

 eonariencis were exhibited by the secretary, 

 to show how very nearly related it is to 

 H. Helix. Two papers by Mr. Robinson, 

 of Frodsham were obliged to be left over 

 till the next meeting, as it had been 

 resolved to devote a part of the evening to the 

 examination of Vegetable Tissues with the 

 microscope, and the President, also Messrs. 

 Bywater, Ruffles, and Reeves, very kindly 

 brought their instruments with some beau- 

 tiful preparations for the purpose. The 

 next meeting will be held on Wednesday, 

 the 7th of March. 



I have saved a large quantity of seeds of 

 Glaucium phceniceum, and will send a 

 packet to any one requiring it^ on receipt 

 of three postage stamps. The proceeds to 

 be applied in aid of the Building fund for 

 New Schools. I have also a few dried spe- 

 cimens of the plant, which I offer in 

 exchange for examples of rare British 

 plants. Address : Rev.W. M. Hind., The 

 Parsonage, Pinner, Watford. 



I have pupse of C. elpenor, N. dictcea, 

 N. ziczac, P. palpina, C. vinula, C. bifida, 

 C. furcula, t&c, . which I should be glad 

 to exchange for pupte of any of the fol- 

 lowing^. a^ro2?o5, S.porcellus, S.fitciformis, 

 S. bombiliformis, N. Carmelita, E. versicolor, 

 and C. bidcns. — W. E, Parsons, Califor- 

 nia, Aylesbury. 



