24 
REPORTS OF SOCIETIES. 
BIRMINGHAM ENTOMOLOGICAL SOCIETY.—December 12th, 1892. 
Mr. R. C. Bradley in the chair. The following were exhibitedBy Mr. 
G. W. Wynn— A crony eta alni , bred from a larva found at Knowle; also' 
Lithosia complana, taken at Bewdley. By Mr. C. J. Wainwright— Isopogon 
brevirostris and Neoitamus cyanurus, from Barmouth, and Machimus atricapillus, 
from Brendon, Devonshire. By Mr. R. C. Bradley— Ghrysoclysta bimacu- 
lella and linnoella, and Stigmonota nitidana and regiana, all from Sutton. A 
paper upon “ Secondary Sexual Characters in Insects ” was communicated 
by Mr. J. W. Tutt, and read by the secretary, Mr. C. J. Wainwright. 
ELLESMERE NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY AND FIELD 
CLUB.—The first of the series of monthly evening meetings arranged by 
this society to be held during the winter months took place in the Town 
Hall, Ellesmere, on October 25th, Mr. A. T. Jebb, vice-president of the 
society, in the chair. There was a good attendance of members and friends. 
The subject of the evening was a paper on “ Zoology,” which was read by 
Rev. W. C. Tabor Although the subject was such a comprehensive one, the 
lecturer succeeded in condensing a large amount of interesting and instruc¬ 
tive matter into the short time allotted to him. He commenced with the 
“ Protozoa,” and ended with “ Man,” giving a brief account of the different 
orders into which the animal kingdom was divided, and the chief character¬ 
istics of each. At the conclusion of the paper, Mr. H. J. E. Peake proposed a 
vote of thanks to Mr. Tabor for his paper, and briefly pointed out how useful 
such a paper was to the members of the society. Most of the members were 
studying different branches of natural, history, and it was most useful for 
them to know the connection of the various branches with the whole animal 
kingdom. The resolution was carried. The remainder of the evening was 
devoted to a conversazione, and in looking at a small exhibition, illustrating 
the various orders of the animal kingdom.—The second monthly meeting 
was held on Tuesday evening, November 29th, Brownlow R. C. Tower, Esq., 
president of the society, in the chair. A lecture entitled “Early Human 
Dwellings and their Influence on Later Forms ” was given by Rev. W. L. 
Martin, Vicar of Bettisfield. The lecturer after speaking of the probable 
origin of human dwellings, spoke of the tree dwellers, the cave dwellers, the 
earliest stone houses, the Tartar tent, early Asiatic and Egyptian dwellings, 
&c. The lecture was illustrated by a number of well-executed drawings 
and plans, made by the lecturer himself. A vote of thanks was given to 
the lecturer. After the lecture, a small archaeological exhibition was 
held, when a number of old keys and other objects of interest found 
in the neighbourhood were exhibited. The exhibit^ included the sup¬ 
posed key of Ellesmere Castle.—The third monthly meeting of this 
society took place on Monday evening, Dec. 19th. There were present 
Mr. A. T. Jebb and Rev. J. Alderson, vice-presidents, and a fair attend¬ 
ance of members. Rev. O. M. Feilden, Rector of Welsh Frankton, read 
an instructive paper on “Local Marsh Plants,” in which he described 
considerably over fifty species of marsh and water plants to be found near 
Ellesmere, including Andromeda polifolia, 3Ienyanth.es 4 trifoliata, Veronica 
Beccabunga, Utricularia minor , U. vulgaris , Lobelia Dortmanni, Lythrum 
Salicaria, Lysimachia vulgaris , Listera cordata (one specimen found by Mr. H. 
J. E. Peake), Narthecium ossifragum , &c. He also mentioned Butomus 
umbellatus and Sagittaria sagittifolia to be found near Uffington, and Stratiotes 
aloides to be found near Gresford. A vote of thanks was awarded to the 
lecturer. There was the usual conversazione and an exhibition of mounted 
specimens of local marsh and water plants from the collection in the 
Ellesmere Museum. Several fossils found during excavations near Ellesmere 
were also exhibited. 
January, 1893. 
