234 



Northern News. 



the tree do not, like the trunk itself, bend towards the north- 

 east, nor do they point vertically upwards. They take, on 

 the other hand, a rather unexpected course, and bend towards 

 the south-west (plate xxiv.). In a row of young poplars this 

 feature, repeated tree after tree, is often very striking. 



We thus find that the regularity with which the Lombardy 

 Poplar is often credited, is disturbed by three features : — (i) 

 the main trunk is not perpendicular, but bends to the north- 

 east ; (2) the twigs situated on the south-west side do not 

 curve inwards like those on the other sides ;• (3) the branches 

 at the top of the tree bend in an opposite direction from the 

 main trunk. 



These observations have been carried on only for a limited 

 time, and it is impossible to say how far they will hold good for 

 other seasons and other places. It is thus too soon to draw any 

 conclusions as to the meaning of the peculiarities described. 

 If, however, they should prove to be generally applicable, the 

 following questions will arise : — What advantage does the 

 Lombard}/ Poplar derive from the fact that the branches at 

 the summit, and the twigs lower down on the south-west side 

 all bend towards the south-west ? Does this feature enable 

 the tree to resist the action of the south-west wind, which 

 exacts so heavy a toll from some other species such as 

 the Black Poplar ? What is the nature of the stimulus in 

 response to vs^hich some of the twigs bend towards the south- 

 west ? 







M. Albert de Lapparent, the well-known French geologist, died early 

 in May. He was sixty-seven years of age, and took part in the Geological 

 Society's centenary celebrations in London not long ago. 



Mr. W. Bateson, M.A., F.R.S., fellow of St. John's College, Cambridge, 

 and son of the late Dr. Bateson, master of that college, has been elected to 

 the newly-established professorship of Biology at Cambridge. 



In the May ' Geological Magazine ' Mr. L. Moysey has a paper on ' A 

 Method of Splitting Ironstone Nodules by means of an Artificial Freezing 

 Mixture.' By freezing the nodules, he appears to have obtained some 

 excellent results. 



' The Glaciation of East Lothian South of the Garleton Hills ' is the 

 title of a memoir recently issued in the ' Transactions of the Royal Society 

 of Edinburgh.' It is by Professor Kendall and Mr. E. B. Bailey, and is a 

 continuation of the work commenced by Professor Kendall on the Cleveland 

 Hills a few years ago. 



Those who have read Mr. A. Whitaker's papers on the habits of bats, 

 which have appeared in these columns from time to time, will be interested 

 in some ' Notes on the Greater Horseshoe Bat in captivity,' by Mr. T. A. 

 Coward, in the ' Memoirs and Proceedings of the Manchester Literary 

 and Philosophical Society,' volume lii. part 2. 



Naturalist,. 



