80 
REPORTS OF SOCIETIES. 
which subject the president, Mr. It. W. Chase, made some instructive 
and interesting remarks. Mr. W. P. Marshall, M.I.C.E., read a paper 
on “ The successful Use of Oil to Calm Hough Seas.” This paper, 
which will shortly appear in the “ Midland Naturalist,” was full 
and exhaustive, and gave rise to an interesting discussion in which 
Messrs. Chase, Levick, Cullis, Wilkinson, and Grove took part. 
BIRMINGHAM MICROSCOPISTS’ AND NATURALISTS’ 
UNION.—January 23rd. Mr. A. T. Evans showed pebbles from the 
Drift, and remarked on the frequency with which fossils occurred in 
zones; one pebble from the Bunter beds contained a Lingula l ex cur ii ; 
Mr. J. Madison, shells from Algiers, mostly Helices; Mr. J. Collins, 
a fungus , Peridermiuvipini. —January 30th. An exhibition, to which 
the public were invited, the President, Mr. T. H. Waller, B.A., B.Sc., 
in the chair. The exhibits were as follows :—Mr. H. Hawkes, a large 
series of mounted plants showing three forms of disease to which they 
were liable, viz., parasitic fungi, gall-making insects, and leaf-mining 
insects; Mr. P. T. Deakin, plants of the district, also a collection of 
nests and eggs; Mr. C. P. Neville, butterflies and moths; Mr. J. 
Madison, recent and fossil Planorbis, varieties of Limncea peregra , 
foreign Helices, and a collection of models of snails and slugs ; Mr. F. 
Shrine, a collection of British reptiles, and a number of cast skins of 
the ring snake, Tropidonotus Natrix ; Mr. A. T. Evans, fossiliferous 
pebbles, from the Drift; Mr. J. W. Moore, macro and micro- 
lepidoptera ; Mr. W. H. Bath, marine algae ; Mr. Delicate, photo¬ 
graphs of local scenery ; the Society, birds of the district. Not the 
least interesting part of the exhibition was the collection of micro¬ 
scopes, under which many interesting and unique objects were showm. 
The meeting was largely attended, and the efforts of the members to 
excite an interest in the beauties of creation were widely appreciated. 
—February 6tli. A paper was read by Mr. W. Flower, “ Notes on the 
Hive Bee.” The writer said bee-keeping was a profitable under¬ 
taking if properly studied, and if advantage were taken of the latest 
improvements in hives. The artificial stamped wax foundation 
saved much time and waste, and the use of the extractor to remove 
the honey from the comb allowed it to be used again. The 
development of the bee from the egg to the imago, male or drone, 
imperfect female or worker, and perfect female or queen, was 
fully explained, as well as the different treatment given to the 
larva of a worker, which would produce a queen if required. The 
writer considered the various kinds of bees, and remarked on those 
most suitable for bee-farming. At the close of the paper a modern 
hive was exhibited, and specimens of comb showing worker, drone, 
and queen cells, and the members were invited by the writer to inspect 
his bees at work.—February 13th, Mr. Corbet showed specimens of 
measled pork. Mr. J. Rodgers, then read a paper on “The Moon,” 
which described it as a world very similar to our own, but without seas 
or atmosphere, in fact, a worn-out world. By the aid of photography 
its surface has been as fully explored as some parts of the earth. 
Observations show that the causes that have brought about the physical 
features of its surface, are the same that have moulded the surface of 
the earth ; but the scenery of the moon was sharper and showed more 
asperities from the fact that it has not suffered much from denudation. 
The plains, mountains, and craters were described, the first as beingthe 
beds of dried-up seas, in some cases showing the effects of erosion and 
disintegration on their margins. The writer concluded that the moon, 
at one time similar to the earth, was now destitute of life, though 
formerly capable of supporting it. The paper was illustrated by 
diagrams of lunar scenery, &c. 
