PROCEEDINGS OF PROVINCIAL SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES. 



Transactions of the Yorkshire Naturalists* Union, Part 34, for 1908 



[issued 1909]. Hull, A. Brown & Sons, 2/6 net. 



This massive volume of some four hundred pages is not perhaps one 

 that will be read straight away from cover to cover ; nevertheless it is 

 excoodmgly \ aluable. Fortunately the Union has two sets of publications, 

 its monthly journal taking the notes more generally interesting and 

 requiring more immediate publication. But there are many more lengthy 

 papers, which, whilst not particularly appealing to readers of a monthly 

 magazine, nevertheless require publishing in some form handy for reference. 

 The present part contains the last four annual reports of the Union, in 

 which are set forth the results of work of various departments ; a record of 

 which any Society might be justly proud. Mr. C. Crossland then follows 

 with the full lists of species collected on the Maltby and Grassington Fungus 

 Foravs ; these being supplementary to the recently issued Fungus Flora 

 of the county. i\Ir. T. Sheppard contributes his bibliography of the 

 geology of the northern counties, for 1902-1908. These lists formerly 

 appeared in The Xaturalist, but are better in these annual Transactions, as 

 the}" include the particulars of all the geological papers, books and memoirs 

 issued bearing upon the northern counties of England. It will be understood 

 that they are of value to the student, and it is somewhat complimentary 

 to find that they are used by H.M. Geological Survey. The present 

 compilation contains details of over 1600 references. Following this are 

 reprints of the well-known excursion programmes issued by the Yorkshire 

 Naturalists' Union during the past four years, which contain most valuable 

 natural history records bearing upon all parts of the county. 



The Goole Scientific and Field Naturalists' Society has issued Vol. I. 

 of its Transactions for 1908-9 (42 pp.), in which we are glad to find that, 

 notwithstanding its meagre membership of thirty-four, there is no lack of 

 enthusiasm, and there are evidently some careful workers. Besides the 

 list of officers, etc., and the Committee's report, there are notes on ' The 

 Flora of Westfield Bank,' by INIr. A. E. Greaves, who also has a note on 

 ' The Flora of the New Railway Embankment and of the Site of the New 

 Dock in Bridge Street,' ; Mr. T. G. Kirby writes on ' The Birds of the 

 District,' with notes on unusual visitors by Mr. T. Bunker. Mr. W. 

 Jackson gives ' Notes on some Mycetozoa found in the neighbourhood of 

 Goole ' ; and reprinted from the ' Goole Times ' are ' Some references to 

 the ancient History of Goole and Marshland,' by Mr. L. Holmes, and a 

 ' Visit to Adlingfleet. ' If we must grumble, we should like to complain of 

 the small size of the pages (7" X 4^") instead of ordinary 8vo, and if a 

 further publication is issued by the Goole Society, we should like to suggest 

 that it contains a detailed history of the Goole Scientific Societies and their 

 work ; say by our old friend Mr. Bunker. 



The Liverpool Botanical Society is to be congratulated on the uniform 

 excellence of its first volume of Transactions (Liverpool University, 109 pp., 

 4/-), which has been printed at York. Every contribution is of great value 

 and interest, and we hope that the Society may long continue to do such 

 good work. Prof. R. J. H. Gibson writes on ' A Classification of Fruits on a 

 Physiological Basis ' ; and on ' The Problem of Photosynthesis,' ; Messrs. 

 A. Wilson and J. A. Wheldon describe Cladonia hiteoalba, a new Lancashire 

 Lichen ; Honkenya peploides, a Maritime pleiogamous species ' is con- 

 tributed by Mr. F. N. Williams ; Messrs. J. A. Wheldon and W. G. Travis 

 give an exhaustive list of South Lancashire Hepatics ; Mr. Travis has a 

 useful paper ' On Plant Remains in Peat in the Shirdley Hill Sand at Ain- 

 tree, S. Lanes.' ; Mr. C. T. Green records the occurrence in Britain of an 

 interesting micro-fungus, Cintractia cingens. An unusually useful contribu- 

 tion is the Biographical List of Deceased Lancashire Botanists, with a 

 chronological enumeration of their published works and papers. This is 

 by the Editor, Mr. A. H. Dallman, and Miss M. H. Wood. 



Naturalist,. 



