NATURALISTS SOCIETY. 
SECTIONAL MEETINGS 
From the "Bristol Daily Post," of Dec. 23rd, 1864. 
Geological Section, Nov. 25th.— Mr. W. Sanders in thcl 
chair. It was resolved that the day of meeting be altered 
from the fourth Friday to the fourth Thursday in th<e 
month. An indiscriminate series of fossils from all rocka 
below the Devonian were placed upon the table for exami- 
nation, and the president proposed that each evening shoialcl 
be devoted to the study of one special class of fossil, so that 
ultimately the members mi^ht become familiar with many, 
if not all, of the extinct remains, and therefore he, in cori- 
junction with Mr. Stoddart, exhibited, as a commencement, 
examples of the oldest known forms of animal life, ind|- 
icating their locality in this neighbourhood. Thus, at Tort- 
jworth all the characteristic Lower Silurian fossils, as found 
in Wales, might le obtained ; and there also, as well as 4t 
a point between Longhope and Grange Court stations, oa 
the South Wales railway, a large number, if not all, of the 
Upper Silurian corals were to be found. A slab of stonig 
from the Wren's Nest, Dudley, was thus shown, containin/w 
a great number and variety of Wenlock limestone (Uppel^ 
Silurian) fossils, among which we may name CoeaiteSi 
labrosus, Alveolites repens, Atrypa reticulata, Retzia, 
cuneata, R. deflexa, Fenestrella assimilis, and Rhynchonel)j\ 
borealis. After some discussion upon these, Mr. Stoddart; 
exhibited a perfect specimen of Calymene Blumenbachii, 
found at Martley, Worcestershire ; also Numinulina Ijevi- 
gata, and Alevolina Boscii, which he had obtained in the 
Eocene beds of Sussex, and lastly Fusulina cylindrica, from 
the Russian carboniferous limestone, sent by Professor T, R. 
Jones. 
Entomological Section, Dec. 13th. — Mr. Barton, 
president, in the chair. The hon. secretary, Mr. E. C. 
Reed, being about to leave this country for Australia, 
tendered his resignation, which was accepted. Mr. John 
Barber was elected for the remainder of the year. Mr. 
Reed then read a short paper on the Entomology of Austra- 
lia. Very little was known of the Northern part, and only 
a rough estimate could be given of the Southern. The best 
collection in this country was that of Mr. Bakewell, and it 
was supposed that in his collection, that of the Adelaide 
Museum, and of Messrs, Waterhouse and Wilson, there were 
not less than 5000 species of Coleoptera. Upon the authority 
of Mr. Wilson, the following numbers of species in the 
principal families were given as approximative : — 
Curculionidse ... 600 I Chrysomelidse ... 450 
Buprestidje ... 800 | Cerambj'cidse ... 250 
Carabidge 200 Melonothidre ... 100 
Helopidse ... 100 j 
The smaller species were not neglected, a gentleman in 
Sydney having recently described Pselaphidte, The other 
orders had not been so thoroughly investigated, but the 
following numbers of species and representative families 
were given : — 
Hymenoptera ... 2500 Schneumonidte. Apidas 
Lepidoptera ... 1500 Geomotrae. Pyralidaa 
Diptera 1500 Muse. doe 
Orthoptera 200 Locustidie 
Hemptera and \ ^qq 
Heteroptera J '** 
Neuroptera ... 100 
It is expected that in a few years these numbers will be 
doubled. 
Mr. A.E. Hudd exhibited Eupithecea venosata, linariata, 
virgaureata, and subnotata. 
Chemical and PHOTOGRAnric Section, Dec. 14. — 
In the absence of the president, Mr. Leipner took the chair. 
The secretary requested that all members would endeavour 
to prepare some short paper for the section. Mr. Leipner 
