Apr.. 1889. 
REPORTS OF SOCIETIES. 
95 
synonymes of each species enumerated. Although many may differ 
with the learned doctor’s nomenclature, all who knew him, either 
personally or by correspondence, will deeply regret his death.— 
J. E. Bagnall. 
Imports of Sfffiettcs. 
BIRMINGHAM NATURAL HISTORY AND MICROSCOPICAL 
SOCIETY.— Geological Section, Feb. 19. Mr. T. H. Waller, B.A., 
B.Sc., chairman. Exhibits by Mr. Edmonds, a slab of red sand¬ 
stone showing ripple marks, from the cemetery; Mr. W. B. Grove (on 
behalf of Miss Gingell), a fungus, Judas’ Ear, from Dursley, Goucester- 
shire; Mr. W. H. Wilkinson, a starfish with fourteen rays, a sea- 
mouse (Aphrodite), an octopus washed up at Llandudno after the late 
storm. A series of photographic views of coal mines was exhibited 
by Mr. Alfred Pumplirey. Notes on the Volcanoes of the Two 
Sicilies, by Dr. Tempest Anderson, of York, were read by Mr. W. P. 
Marshall. The views in both cases were shown on the screen by the 
aid of the oxy-hydrogen lantern by Mr. Chas. Pumphrey. Mrs. W. 
B. Grove and Miss Moseley were unanimously elected members of the 
Society. —Adjourned Annual Meeting, Mar. 5. Mr. J. F. Goode in the 
chair. Mr. W. B. Grove, M. A., delivered his retiring address, which is 
printedin thepresentnumber. —Biological Section, Mar. 12. Mr.H.M.J. 
Underhill, of Oxford, gave a paper on “ The Eyes of Insects and the Way 
they See,” illustrating it by a series of photo-micrographs and diagrams 
as lantern views. These were shown on the screen by Mr. Charles 
Pumphrey, by the aid of the oxy-hydrogen lantern. There were also 
shown under microscopes a number of preparations from which the 
photo-micrographs had been taken. Mr. Underhill having first 
described the structure of the human eye and the simple eyes of the 
spiders, gave an account of the wonderful facetted compound eyes of 
the housefly and insects generally. He then gave the results of 
experiments he had made with the cornea of the compound eye of 
Dyticus, a water beetle, in order to test the action of the lenses of 
the individual cones or facets. He described the idea of the “ mosaic ” 
character of the image formed by these compound eyes, the image of 
each eye forming a single portion of the whole mosaic, and inferred 
that this idea was incorrect because the individual eyes would 
each form a reversed image of the portion of the object seen by it and 
the combined picture consequently be thrown into confusion. He 
thought it most probable that insects would not see with the whole 
number of their eyes at once, but that the brain would only receive 
the impression of the image formed by those most favourably situated 
for seeing in the direction to which the attention might at the 
moment be directed, in a similar way to the manner in which we are 
able to concentrate attention upon a part of the image presented by our 
eyes, without really seeing everything. —Geological Section, Mar. 19. 
Professor Chas. Lapwortli, F.R.S., chairman. Mr. W. E. R. Martin, 
F.R.M.S, was proposed for membership by Mr. Alfred Hill, M.D., 
seconded by Mr. W. H. Wilkinson. Mr. Edmonds exhibited sandstone 
from cemetery with dendritic markings, and micaceous sandstone. Mr. 
T. H. Waller, B.A., B.Sc., read a paper on “The Petrology of the 
