NATURAL HISTORY NOTES. 
117 
Nitella mucronata in Beds. —The statement by Mr. Hamson in 
the February “ Midland Naturalist,” with reference to the re-discovery 
of this plant, requires some qualification. It was first gathered by a 
youth named C. H. Davis. Specimens of this and some other 
Characeae were sent me by Mr. Davis. When it was known, through 
the kindness of Messrs. Groves, that one of them was really Nitella 
mucronata, I at once arranged to visit the station, see it growing, and 
gather some for distribution. This was only possible by wading 
through about a foot of floodwater, beneath a drenching shower, the 
youth directing my steps to the spot, which had been recently sub¬ 
merged owing to the heavy rains with which the month of October, 
1882, was characterized. Much time was spent during the summer of 
1883 to find it in fruit, but unsuccessfully, and it is gratifying to 
know that it has recently been again found not far from its only 
known station in 1882. Of course, readers of the “ Midland Naturalist ” 
are aware that it had only once before been gathered in Britain by 
Mr. Borrer many years since.—J. Saunders, Luton. 
BIRMINGHAM NATURAL HISTORY AND MICROSCOPICAL 
SOCIETY.— Geological Section, February 26th.—Mr. T. H. Waller was 
elected as chairman of the section for the ensuing year. It was 
decided to defer the appointment of a secretary till next meeting. Mr. 
Bagnall exhibited Pfdlonotis calcarea , Philonotis ccespitosa, Bryum 
pallescens, all new to Warwickshire; Fissidens pusillus , Fissidens 
incurvus , Scolopendrium vulgare. The last three are rare and were 
collected near Rugby. Mr. W. P. Marshall described three photographs 
of the Great Kimberley diamond mine, and exhibited an enlarged 
diagram constructed from them. Mr. J. Levick exhibited a large 
number of photographs of the diamond fields and various curiosities 
from South Africa. Mr. Austin made some remarks in continuation 
of the information he gave at a previous meeting. General Meeting, 
March 18th.—Mr. C. Pumphrey exhibited the palate of the shell fish 
Haliotus tuberculatus , which he had prepared from specimens collected 
in the Channel Islands. Mr. W. B. Grove, B.A., exhibited two micro¬ 
fungi, Botryosporium pulchrum, from Sutton ; and Stachylidimn bicolor, 
var. cyclosporum, from King’s Heath, new to Britain. Biological 
Section, March 11th, Mr. W. R. Hughes in the chair.—Mr. T. Bolton 
exhibited Clathrulina elegans, new to Great Britain. Dr. M. C. Cooke 
then read a paper on “ Dinners and Diners all the World over,” in 
which the writer proposed taking a geographical survey of the prin¬ 
cipal articles of animal food, passing first to the polar regions of 
Europe, and the warmer countries of Southern Europe, thence to 
tropical and subtropical Asia, the Islands of the Pacific, and Austral¬ 
asia, ending the Old World with Africa. After which, he passed to the 
New World, United States, Central States, and the countries of 
^outli America, enumerating some of the curiosities of animal food to 
be met with during such a progress. This gastronomic tour was 
terminated by a return to England and a hasty summary of some of 
our own eccentricities of animal food, with a graphic picture of the 
animal food consumption of the metropolis. At the close of the paper, 
Mr. W. R. Hughes proposed a vote of thanks, which was seconded by 
Mr. J. Levick, supported by Professor Hillhouse, and passed unani¬ 
mously. Sociological Section.— The eleventh ordinary meeting of 
