NATURALISTS SOCIETY. 
« 
SECTIONAL MEETINGS. 
From the Bristol Daily Post of April 20th, 1865. 
Geological Section, March 30.— Mr. S. H. Swayne in 
the chair. Mr. W. W. Stoddart called the attention of the 
memberd to a fine sectien of the Lias that was then exposed in 
the White Ladies'-road, at the back of West Park-road. 
NuiBcrous fossils had been collected, characteristic of the 
division known as the Bucklandi series ; but the point of 
most interest in connexion with it was an observation made 
by Mr. Sanders, who had found in that small tongue of the 
Lias an anticlinal, or curve of the strata, produced by some 
disturbing cause. Mr. Stoddart then read a paper on the 
upper beds of the Lower Silurian series, illustrating it with 
a complete series of fossils. The Bala beds in Merioaeth- 
shire were fully described and explained by sections, and the 
dilferent localities suited for study were pointed out. The 
beautiful Cystideans and other echinodenns that abounded 
iu these beds were explained, and their analogies shown. 
After a description of the Caradoc and Lower Llandovery 
beds, with their fossil contents, the author concluded his 
paper by giving a brief summary of the early life upon the 
earth, showing how gradual had been its development, and 
that as yet not the slightest trace of any vertebrate animal 
having lived in those immensely distant ages had been 
found. 
Zoological Section, April 5th..— Dr. H. Fripp, pre- 
sident, in the chair, Mr. Th. Charbonnier exhibited a rat 
which he had recently captured, with most abnormal incisor 
teeth, which, growing as uvaal in the Rodents, from a per- 
manent pulp, had become so altered in direction as to pass 
through the cheek and palate, effectually preventing the 
animal from closing his mouth, and it must therefore have 
lived by suction. Mr. E. A. Praeger re^d a short paper en- 
titled Anatomical objections to hedgehogs sucking cows. 
Afcer some introductory remarks upon the place of the 
hedgehog in the animal kingdom, and a general account of 
its habits, the author said that a characteristic mark of the 
family was to ha»e the upper fore teeth, two in number, 
separated, the lower two being contiguous, and that it was 
quite impossible for any hedgehog to get the teat of a cow 
into its mouth, on account of its size, and the presence of the 
teeth, which, it was well known, rendered the withdrawal of 
the milk a painful operation, it being impossible to remove 
the milk by any other method than that of suction. Mr. 
Praeger had had considerable opportunities of observing 
hedgehogs in Holland, where the tradition had never been 
heard of, and concluded his paper, which was illustrated with 
skulls, &c., of various small Insectivora, by some remarks 
in the change of form in the lips and tongue at the time that 
young animals ceased to be suckled. In the course 
of the discussion which followed, Dr. Fripp men- 
tioned that hedgehogs would occasionally lap up milk like a 
dog. Mr. Leipner then brought forward the subject of the 
proposed work on local natural history, and expressed a 
hope that as the Botanical section had undertaken the 
Botany, so this section would undertake to work the Zoology, 
except the Insecta, which belonged to the Entomologists. 
The chief divieions wanted were Mammals, Birds, both 
