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MICEOSCOPICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY SECTION. 
March 15 th, 1880. 
Charles Bailey, F.L.S., President of the Section, in the 
Chair. 
Mr. Joseph Sidebotham, F.L.S,, sent specimens of some 
Helices and Bulimi, collected by himself at Mentone, South 
France, for exhibition, and the Secretary (Mr. Melvill) also 
read a communication from him on the subject. The 
principal form of interest was a Helix, to which Mr. Side- 
botham had appended the name of Mentonensis. In the 
opinion of the author, this snail, which was only found by 
him in an isolated spot at Cap. Martin, near Mentone, was 
originally a hybrid between H. pisana (Mull) and H. virgata 
(L.), snails abounding in the locality, but that by perpetual 
interbreeding it had attained a developed specific form. It is 
characterised by being somewhat smaller than typical H. 
pisana, yellowish, and banded as in H. virgata or ericetorum, 
without any of the other tessellated markings which so 
characterise H. pisana, but mouth formed as in that species. 
Mr. E. P. Quinn called the attention of the geologists in 
the Section to the fact at the present moment an unusual 
opportunity was occurring at Oldham Edge, for those inter- 
ested in Sigillaria to visit the place, some gigantic specimens 
having been recently disclosed intact. 
Dr. Tatham, of Salford, described a new form of Stephen- 
son’s Binocular, which has been recently introduced by 
Messrs. Baker, of Holborn; 
The microscope being mainly intended as a working 
instrument, is of firm, rather than of elegant construction ; 
