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The Naturalist. 



and meetings. Several interesting species were recorded. Mr. T. 

 Lister, in resigning the office of president, which he had held from the 

 infancy of the society, gave a very brief glance at the work accomplished 

 and the progress made, urging to continued efforts in promoting the 

 success of the society. He alluded to the excursions carried out last year 

 by the Yorkshire Naturalist Union, one of which included the Dearne 

 valley, Wentworth Castle, Canon Hall, &c, and strongly recommended 

 that the excursions and meetings should receive the increased support of 

 members and friends of societies. The election of officers was then made 

 as follows : — President, Mr. A. Kell ; corresponding secretary, Mr. C. 

 Bellamy ; financial secretary, Mr. W. Barraclough (the two last-named 

 being re-elected). A few occurrences of birds have been noted. A late 

 stay of the night-jar, or goatsucker, is confirmed about the end of 

 October ; three specimens were observed, unfortunately shot, also several 

 of those useful vermin-killers, the white and long-eared owls. A white 

 sparrow, a black bullfinch (just dead), and a pied blackbird were seen at 

 Stainborough Jan. 34th ; a great spotted woodpecker recorded by Mr. E. 

 Hailstone at Walton, and widgeons still there. Fieldfares, redwings, 

 snow buntings, wood pigeons, bullfinches, carrion crows, kestrels, and a 

 few sparrow hawks are recorded by many observers. — T. Lister. 



Bradford Naturalists' Society. — Meeting Jan. 18th. — The president 

 (Mr. W. West) delivered his opening address. At the outset he spoke of 

 the distribution of butterflies, after which he thoroughly described the 

 nature of fungi, and referred to the animal nature of the myxomycetes. 

 In speaking of lichens he treated of their structure, and showed the 

 similarity existing between the fruit of these plants and ascomycetous 

 fungi. He then stated that lichens were no longer considered as a separate 

 class of plants by leading mycologists, but they were in reality ascomyce- 

 tous fungi, parasitic on algse. The address was illustrated by sketches 

 on the blackboard, and by a number of interesting slides under the 

 microscope. 



HuDDERSFiELD Naturalists' SOCIETY. —Meeting 15th Jan., Mr. J. 

 Yarley in the chair. — Mr. S. L. Mosley exhibited some fine specimens of 

 exotic moths and butterflies, including Mania raphoeus, Madagascar : 

 this is universally acknowledged as being the finest butterfly in the 

 world : Atticus luna, North America ; A. cynthea, China ; Banias 

 chrysippus, European ; Grapta interrogationis, North America ; PapJiilio 

 Hector, Asiatic ; Danias lemnacea, Asiatic Islands ; Delias lucharis, India ; 

 Diadema boliva, India ; Papilio dimoleus, Africa. The above will be 

 seen to comprise some very rare specimens, and are a splendid assortment 

 of insects. In the course of some observations Mr. Mosley remarked 

 that there was difficulty in ascertaining the fact whether some of the 

 insects are butterflies or moths, and stated that this difficulty arises from 

 our having no larvae of the exotic insects, only the perfect insect itself 

 exhibited. The chairman exhibited a pair of snow buntings, shot at 



