Reports of Societies. 



79 



Ibbotson of York, who was present as a visitor, showed a large variety of 

 rare and local plants. Numerous microscopical exhibits were made by 

 Messrs. Washington Teasdale, W. Barwell Turner, F.C.S., and F. Emsley, 



360th Meeting, Nov. 11th, Mr. W. Barwell Turner, F.C.S., president 

 of the Microscopical Section, who occupied the chair, was unanimously 

 re-elected for the year 1880. The Botanical Section also re-elected their 

 president, Mr. James Abbott, and for secretaries, Messrs. J. R. Murdoch 

 and Percy Alexander. The exhibits were very numerous, and included 

 two very ingenious "live-boxes," by Mr. J. W. Dixon ; MoUer's " Typen- 

 platte," Gyrosigma angulatum, G. formosum, G. hippocampus, and G. 

 Balticum, by Mr. Edward Thompson ; and insects by Mr. F. Emsley. 

 Mr. Abbott showed Sphmroplea annulina, a morphological slide of Volvox 

 glohator, Biccia glauca in fructification, and a series of beautiful stained 

 preparations of the cockroach {Blatta orientalis). From these is shown 

 that the hairs on the antense pass through holes in the chitinous coats of 

 those organs, and proceed directly from the nerve-tissue beneath, thus 

 showing that the antennae are tactile organs. Messrs. W. Barwell 

 Turner, F.C.S., and W. E. Clarke, who are working at bird-parasites 

 together, showed Docophorus variabilis, parasitic on the dunlin, Nirmus 

 fuscus from the hen harrier, and also a Docophorus from the gray plover 

 {Squatarola helvetica), which is not described in Denny's " Moncgraphia 

 Anoplurorum Britannica " as infesting that bird. Mr. Turner further 

 showed the diatoms Actinocyclus Ralfsii, G&phyrea incnrvata, and Craspe- 

 dodiscus pyxidicula. Mr. J ames Fogg exhibited fresh-killed specimens of 

 the gannet and great black-backed gull (immature), killed on the York- 

 shire coast. — W. D. B. 



Manchester Cryptogamic Society. — Monthly meeting, Mr. J. 

 Whitehead, president, in the chair, — The following interesting and locally 

 rare mosses were exhibited by the president : — Eurhynchium pumilum 

 from Stirrup Wood, Derbyshire ; Gymnostomum squarrosnm from Hatters- 

 ley, Cheshire ; and fine fruiting specimens of Climacium dendroides from 

 near Stirrup Wood ; also the two locally rare hepaticse, Ptilidium ciliare 

 and Mastigobrynm trilobatum, from Charlesworth Coombs, Derbyshire. 

 Mr. Holt exhibited Barhula marginata from Ashley Mill ; Pogonatum 

 nannm from Halebarns ; and Dicranella Schreheri from near Rochdale — 

 all of them rare in the Manchester district. Mr. W. H. Pearson, vice- 

 president, mentioned that he had received from Mr. B. M. Watkins, of 

 Ross, specimens of a Biccia which he had determined as Biccia tumida 

 (Lindenberg) ; it was collected within the past few months about ten 

 miles from the other recorded Herefordshire station, where it was pre- 

 viously collected with Biccia sorocarpa (Bis.) also by Mr. Watkins. The 

 other stations are Cardiganshire (Wm. Joshua), Barmouth (T. Rogers 

 and W. H. Pearson). Mr. Pearson also read a short note, translated 

 from the Swedish by his friend Herr Zolier, on Andraa Rothii, by Prof. 

 Lindberg, who pointed out that in Scandinavia three species had been 



