ease Ott Yy “) y res ‘ oa ‘ Dy 2, Seat Sst ety HA53% 9 tS oth f 4 “ A ff tS Niel tary AS SAN % a5 at) Waseca pte 2) Hite teh Ba teiy he hae 4 pts ry ‘ bsehtites 5 PY er TeeT gery AN Hi CENT Sig rs “5 oe ent 5, \ ‘ al \ ff \ A |g) \ WV Lore) >. TT S/S ey ATURALI ~ THE JOURNAL OF THE 9) ASSOCIATED NATURAL HistTORY, PHILOSOPHICAL, AND ARCHAOLOGICAL SOCIETIES AND FIELO CLUBS OF THE MIDLAND COUNTIES. EDITED BY HK. W. BADGER & W. J. HARRISON, F.G.S. ‘‘Come forth into the light of things, Let Nature be your teacher.” Wordsworth. VOL Mie 14. 1880. ej London: David Bogue, 3, St. Martin’s Place, Trafalgar Square, W.C. Birmingham : Cornish Brothers, 37, New Street. —_o——_ PRINTED AND PUBLISHED AT THE HERALD PRINTING OFFICE, UNION ST., RTRMINGHAM, UA Learn. , Pay, Bes <> PREFACE. The * Darwin Prize” scheme has a special interest for the readers of this magazine, for the prize is to be awarded from time to time for papers indicating original research upon sub- jects within the scope of the Societies in the Midland Union, contributed by members for publication in these pages. The Editors earnestly direct the attention of their readers to the details of the scheme at page 181 of this volume, and solicit suitable contributions, which, to be eligible for the prize to be awarded at the Cheltenham Meeting next year, must reach them not later than the 31st March, 1881. Attention is also directed to the prize offered by Sir Here- wald Wake, Bart., for the best Original Essay on the Life History of any one genus of Insects indigenous to the Midland Counties, full particulars of which are given at page 223. The essays must be sent in not later than May 1st, 1881. The idea is rapidly gaining ground that local Natural History Societies and Field Clubs will increase their usefulness and add to their strength by following the example of the Yorkshire and Midland Unions and amalgamating together, so as to utilise such of their separate labours as are of general interest, afford opportunities for the interchange of ideas, and by placing on record what they are severally doing, make it easy for the scattered workers in science to refer to fellow- workers at a distance. The pages of the ‘‘ Midland Naturalist”’ have been the means of making public many valuable papers, which would otherwise have been but little known outside the societies before which they were read. The monthly reports of some of the Societies in our Union contained in these pages have been found of great service; and if all would follow the _ example of the few, an inducement might be given to many members to become subscribers, and the usefulness of the magazine would be increased. We therefore urgently ask the Secretaries to send us regularly concise reports of the pro- ceedings of their several Societies, and such papers read before them as are worthy of extended publication. PREFACE. The present volume contains a large number of phenolo- gical observations ; but it is felt that in order to make such information of permanent value, it is desirable that they should be recorded on some well-considered and uniform plan. In an early number we hope to offer some useful suggestions on the subject, meanwhile we shall be glad to hear from correspondents who are interested and are willing to give their assistance. It is our pleasing duty to acknowledge much helpful assistance, and to thank our contributors one and all. Our Meteorological observers still continue their useful labours ; Mr. W. B. Grove, B.A., has given us the same valuable help that we have had to record in former years; the Birmingham Natural History and Microscopical Society has supplied free of cost eight of the eleven plates by which this volume is enriched ; Mr. A. W. Wills with like generosity contributed the two beautiful plates which illustrate his valuable paper on Volyox globator; and Mr. John Hopkinson, F.L.S., the plate of Well Sections in the London Basin. Last, but certainly not least, we acknowledge our indebtedness to Professor Huxley, F.R.S., for his kindness in allowing us to present his admirable paper on ‘“‘ The Work of Microscopical Societies” to our readers, and to the Quekett Club, before whom it was read, for their cordial assent. NOTICES TO SUBSCRIBERS AND CORRESPONDENTS. The Subscription for 1881 (6s.) will be due on January Ist. We cannot too strongly enforce upon our readers the importance of every one who can do so assisting us by sending for publication short notes of personal observations on Local Natural History. Our charges for advertisements may be had on application. All communications to be addressed to the Editors of the Mipnanp Naturauist, Herald Office, Birmingham, PRINCIPAL CONTRIBUTORS TO THIS VOLUME. O. V. Aruin, Bodicote, Banbury. Professor C. C. Banrneton, Cambridge. Epwarp W. Bancrr, Birmingham. James E. Baenatu, Birmingham. W. G. Buatcu, Birmingham. J. T. Carrineton, London. H. J. Carrer, F.R.S., Budleigh Salterton. T. Spencer Cosson, M.D., F.R.S., London. Rey. J. Witson Coomps, B.A., Cheltenham. G. C. Drucez, F.L.S., Oxford. Epwarp E. Evans, Brinscombe, Gloucester. Rev. O. M. Feinpen, M.A., Frankton Rectory, Oswestry. W. Jerome Harrison, F.G.S., Birmingham. W. R. Houaeuzs, F.L.S., Birmingham. Professor Huxtey, F.R.S. H. W. Jonzs, F.C.S., Birmingham. W. Savitz Kent, F.L.S., F.R.M.S., London. Joun Levicr, Birmingham. Lord Linrorp, F.Z.S. Tos. Macaunay, M.R.C.S., Kibworth. F. T. Mort, F.R.G.S., Leicester. A. Mitnes MarsHatt, D.Sc., Owens College, Manchester. W. P. Marsnatz, M.1.C.E., Birmingham. Horacz Pearce, F.L.8., Stourbridge. Wituiam Parties, F.L.8., Shrewsbury. A. H. Scott-Wuirt, B.Sc., B.A., &c., Nottingham. R. G. Scriven, Castle Ashby, Northampton. James Suipman, Nottingham. W. B. Srruenewn, Cheltenham. Lawson Tart, F.R.C.S., Birmingham. J.J. Harnis Traut, M.A., F.G.S., Nottingham. G. SHerriur Tye, Birmingham. C. J. Watson, Birmingham. A. W. Wits, Birmingham. E. Wiuson, F.G.S., Nottingham. H. B, Woopwarp, F,G.S., H.M. Geological Survey. PLATES. Dendrosoma radians as ee fs i» “4 ae Leptodora hyalina Marine Infusoria . . British Lichens .. oe eee ae Well Sections inthe London Basin reaching Paleozoic Rocks a oe vs Volvox globator .. ae ” ” . Leptodora hyalina ee 50 ” ” sie w Te Entomological Cabinet .. WOODCUTS. Arbor Low (a Megalithic Circle) ae Two Urns from Tumulus at Arbor Low ILLUSTRATIONS IN VOLUME III. Plate VI. Plate VII. Plate VIII. — Plate IX. Plate X. Plate XI. bN'D Ex. Acronycta alni, 178 Actinia: How to Send per Post, 201 Aerating Marine Aquaria, 270 Age of the Penine Chain, 1 Air and Water, Lecture on, 22 Amphocarpi, 80 Anatomy, Atlas of, (Review,) 17 Ancient River Course, Probable, 45 Ancient Roman Pavement, 225 Anemone, a Bicipital, 67 Animal Sagacity, Instances of, 20, 43 Antiquity on a Welsh Hill, 9, 43 Ants, Reasoning Powers of, 45 Anurzea longispina, 166 Aplin, (O. V.,) Autumn and Winter Migratory Birds of Bodicote, Oxford- shire, 287 Aplin, (O. V.,) On Quadrupeds Found in Bodicote. 221 Appeal on Behalf of the Magpie, 13 Aquarium, Marine, Frozen over, 43 Arbor Low, Megalithic Circle at, 282 Artificial Diamonds, 69 i Artificial Sea-water, after Six Months’ Use, Ascomycetes, 55 Ash, Leafing of, 91, 141, 144, 145,177 Aston Aquarium, Artificial Sea-water in, 9 Auk, Great, Eggs of, 206 Autumn Fruits and Foliage, 296 Avyeling, (W. T.,) Geology of Nottingham- shire and Derbyshire, (Review,) 114 Bagnall, (J. H.,) on the British Moss Flora, (Review,) 225 Bagnall, (J. B.,) Cryptogamie Flora of Warwickshire, 10, 80, 132 Bagnall, (J. E.,) Hepaticzes of Warwick- shire, 290 ~ Bagnall, (J. E.,) Proceedings of the Liver- pool Naturalists’ Field Club for 1878-9, (Review,) 15 Beacon Stoop, Meteorological Station at, 231, 252 Beckwith, (W. E.,) Ornithology of Shrews- bury, (Review,) 16 Beech, Leafing of, 144 Bees when Gathering Honey, 45 Bicipital Anemone, 67 Autumn and Winter Migratory, 287 Chiff-chaff, 119 Cuckoo, 178 Hider Ducks at Leicester, 69 Flight of, 48 Gull(Kittiwake)Shot atLeicester,43 Great Auk, 206 Kite or Glead, 145 Magpie, Appeal on Behalf of, 13 of Kurope, 69 of Gloucestershire, 245, 261 of Northamptonshire, 169, 206 HETIL Birds of Passage, (Summer,) 110 Swallows, Late Stay of, 295 —— Swift, Young of, 230 (See also Ornithology.) Blackburn, (T.,) British Coleopterr, (Review,) 17 Blatch, (W. G.,) on Blackburn’s British Coleoptera, (Review,) 17 Blatch, (W. G.,) on a Cheap and Useful Entomological Cabinet, 281 Blatch, (W. G..) Entomological Rambl¢s at Olton, Solihull, and Knowle, 83 Birmingham Natural History Society : —— Annual Conversazione, 46 — Plates for ‘“ Midland Naturalist,” 46 Professor Huxley, Vice-President of, 121 Bodicote, Migratory Birds of, 287 Quadrupeds of, 221 Botany—Autumn Fruits and Foliage, 297 Botanical Note Book, (Review,) 64 Calendar of Nature, 14 Cardamine, Proliferous, 67 Centunculus minimus, 228 Characee, British, (Review,) 273 Cryptogamic Flora of Warwick- shire, 10, 80, 132 Falmouth, Late Flowering Plants at, 297 Floral Dissections, (Review,) 17 Floral Notes, 91, 117 Hepaticee of Warwickshire, 290 Leafing of Beech, 144 Leafing of Oak and Ash, 91, 141, 144, 145, 177 Lichens, British, 125, 167, 196, 241 London Catalogue of Mosses and Hepaticer, (Review,) 273 Mistletoe, 67 Moss Flora, British, (Review,) 225 Mosses of Warwickshire, 10 Nephrodium Oreopteris, 202 Notes from South Beds, 92, 118, 142, 177, 229 of Shrewsbury, (Review,) 16 Pitcher Plants, Structures of, 5, 58 Plants iG POWIHE at Great Depths, 7, Primroses, 43 Primula vulgaris, 43, 66 Seeds, Germination of, 104 Text-Book of, (Review,) 274 Violets, 67 White Varieties of Plants, 177 Wild Flowers, 22, 43, 47, 66, 67, 91, 92, 94, 112, 117, 297 (See also Botanical Notes) (See also Natural History Notes) Botanical Note Book (Review,) 64 Notes, 15, 92, 118, 142, 176, 177, 202, 298, 229, 230, 253, 277, 298 Bottle, Mounting for Microscopists, 188 ll INDEX. Boulder, an Erratic, 92 Braithwaite’s, (R.,) British Moss . Flora (Review,) 225 Brazil Wood, Rocks of, 121 British Association, Annual Meeting, 205 British Characeer, (Review,) 273 British Lichens, 125, 167,196, 241 Brocken Spectre in Wales, 10, 43 Bryaces, 10 Cabinet, Entomological, 281 Calendar, Comparative, of Nature, 14 Callaway, (C.,) Geology of Shrewsbury, (Review,) 16. Camberwell Beauty, 253 Cardamine, Proliferous, 67 Carter, (H. J.,) on Sponges, 190 Cassell’s Natural History, (Review,) 113 Centunculus minimus, 228 Cephalotus follicularis, 6 Ceratium fusus, 76 Chalk Fossils, 121 Characee, British, (Review,) 273 Cladocarpi, 81 Climate, Changes of, during Geological Periods, 77, 107 Closterium lunula, 187 Coalfield of Yorkshire, (Review,) 16 Cobbold, (T. S.,) Parasitism in the Toad, 99 Coleoptera, 17 Outline Descriptions of British, (Review,) 17 Comparative Calendar of Nature, 14 Coniomycetes, 55 Coombs, (J. W.,) on Changes of Climate during Geological Periods, 77, 107 Correspondence, 20, 43, 66, 91, 116, 141, 176, 201, 228, 252, 276, 295 Creswell Caves, A Visit to, 135 Crocodilian Remains in the Elgin Sand- stones, (Review,) 272 Cryphzacee, 81 Cry pronaiaie Flora of Warwickshire, 10, , 132 Geology of, Darlingtonia Californica, 5 Darwin Prize, the, 181 Deep Borings in the South - east of England, 188 Dendrosoma radians, 29 Derbyshire, Foraminifera in the Lime- stone of, 220, 252 Derbyshire, Geology of, (Review,) 114 Detbystrire, South, Fossil Fish Remains of, 17: Desmidieze found in Sutton Park, 265 Dew, Cause of, 22 Diamonds, Artificial, 69 Dictyocysta cassis, 74 Dines, (G.,) On Dew, Mist, and Fog, 22 Dog, Long Journey of, 231 Dresser’s (H. EK.) Birds of Europe, 69 Ducks, Hider, at Leicester, 69 Dwelling Houses, Fungi of, 34, 52 Eggs, Abnormal, 20, 116 of Great Auk, 206 Eider Ducks, at Leicester, 69 Elementary Text-Book of (Review,) 274. Encouragement of Original Research, 181 Botany, Entomology, 14, 66, 83, 112, 141, 178, 223, 253 Entomological Cabinet, 281 Entomological Prize, 223 Entomological Rambles in the Midlands,83 Evans, (EH. E.,)on the Birds of Gloucester- shire, 245, 261 Exchange, 72, 148 Falmouth, Plants of, 67, 297 Fauna of Norfolk, (Review,) 63 Feilden, (O. M.,) An Antiquity and a Phe- nomenon on a Welsh Hill, 9 Ferns, Nephrodium Oreopteris, 202 Fissidentacee, 80 Hices (Gy phoesuae) of Warwickshire, 10, Floral Dissections, (Review,) 17 Fioral Notes, 91, 117 Fog, Cause of, 22 Foliation of Trees. (See Ash, Beech, Oak.) Follicularia ampulla, 102 Fonque’s Santorin et ses Hruptions, (Review,) 227 Foraminifera in the Carboniferous Lime- stone, 220, 262 Fortresses, the Town of, 9 Fossils, Chalk, 121 Fossils of the Yorkshire Lias, 70 Hose) hiiah Remains of South Derbyshire, Freshwater Life, 20, 29, 49 Freshwater Jelly Fish, 206 Frog (Edible) found at Cheltenham 295 Frogs, Mortality among, 201 Fruits and Foliage of Autumn, 296. Fungi of our Dwelling Houses, 34, 52 in a Lead Mine, 47 Subterranean, 47, 93, 120 Garden Snail Shell, Howitis Formed, 56 Geology—Age of the Penine Chain, 1 and Geography of Great Britain, (Review,) 112 — Brazil Wood, Rocks of, 121 —— Chalk Fossils, 121 —— Creswell Caves, 135 —— Deep Borings in the South-east of England, 188 —— Erratic Boulder, 92 —— Foraminifera in the Carboniferous Limestone, 220, 252 — Fossils of the Yorkshire Lias, 70 — Fossil Fish Remains, 172 Mammoth at Helpstone, 230 of Nottinghamshire and Derby- shire, (Review,) 114 of Shrewsbury, (Review,) 16 of the Yorkshire Coalfield, (Review,) 16 Oligocene Formation, 69 Rocks of North Wales, 214, 237, 266 Survey of Nottingham, 121 Text-book of (Review,) 64 Field Geology, Gleanings, 21, 46, 69, 120, 205 Gloucestershire, Birds of, 245, 261 Green, (A. H.,) Geology of the Yorkshire Coalfield, (Review,) 16 Gull (Kittiwake) Shot at Leicester, 43 Gun Flints, Manufacture of, (Review,) 115 INDEX. lll Harrison, (W. J.,).on Deep Borings in the South-east of England, 188 Harrison, (W. J.,) Meteorology of the Midlands, 18, 41, 65, 89, 110, 139, 174, 199, 224, 250, 274, 293 Helix lapicida, 141 Hemiophrya (Podophrya) gemmipara, 103 Henslow, (G.,) Floral Dissections, (Review,) 17 epee, London Catalogue of, (Review,) 273 Hepatice of Warwickshire, 290 Herb Robert, White-flowered, 277 Holmes’s (K. M.) Botanical Note Book (Review,) 64 Horse, Sagacity of, 20 Human Body, Anatomy of, (Review,) 17 Huxley, (Protfessor,) on the Work of Micro- scopical Societies, 25 Huxley's (Professor) Science Primer, 205 Huxley (Professor) on the Crocodilian Remains found in the Elgin Sand- stones, (Review,) 274 Hybernia rupic:praria, 66 Hymenomycetes, 54 Hyphomycetes, 55 Hypnaceze, 82 Infusoria, Manual of, 205 Infusorian, New, 252 Insects. (Injurious,) (Review,) 226 Insectivorous Plants, 5 Isle of Man, Excursion to, 146 Observations on, Jelly-Fish, Freshwater, 206 Jones, (H. W.,) on Artificial Sea-water, 38 Kent, (W. S.,) on Marine Infusoria, 73, 101 Kent’s (W. S.) Manual of the Infusoria, 205 Kite or Glead, 145 Knotty Cushion Star-fish, 44 Larentia cesiata, 141 Leadenhall Market, Birds at, 21 Leizester Museum, Curatorship of, 206 Leptodora hyalina, 20. 21, 49, 256 New Locality for, 276 Pronunciation of, 20 Leskeaces, 82 Leucodontacez, 81 Levick, (J.,.)on Dendrosoma radians, 29 Levick, (J.,) on Anurzea longispina, 166 Lias Fossils, 70 Lichens, British, How to Study, 125, 167, 196, 241 Lightning Conductors, 47 Lilford, (Vord,) Address to Midland Union of Natural History Societies, 158 Lilford, (Lord,) on Birds of Northampton- shire, 163, 206 Liverpool! Naturalists’ Field Club, Pro- ceedings of, (Review,) 13 Lloyd, (W. A..) Death of, 206 London Catalogue of British Mosses and Hepatice, (Review,) 273 Lubbock, (R.,) the Fauna of Norfolk, (Review,) 63 Lunar Rainbows, 45 Magpie, Appeal on Behalf of, 13 Mammoth at Helpstone, 230 Manual of the Infusoria, 205 Marine Aquarium, and the Winter of 1879, 43 Marine Aquaria, How to Aerate, 270 Marine Excursion to the Isle of Man, 146 Marine Infusoria, Notes on, 73, 101 Marshall, (A. M.,) on the Habits and Life- history of Leptodora hyalina, 49 Mansball, (W. P.,) on Leptodora hyalina, 7 Mason’s, (Sir J.,) Science College, 47 Merulius lacrymans, 35 Medusa, or Jelly Fish, 206 Megalithic Circle, at Arbor Low, 282 Meteorology of the Midlands, 18, 41, 65, 89, 110, 139, 174, 199, 224, 250, 274, 293 Beacon Stoop, New Station at, 231, —— Dew, Mist, and Fog. Causes of, 22 —— Lunar Rainbows, 45 —— Lightning Conductors, 47 —— Meteor, 117 — Rainfall of 1879, 42 — Sunshine Recorder, 206 —— Thunderstorms, 201, 251 Winter of 1879, 43 Midland Union of Natural Societies, 69 Annual Meeting at Northampton, 69, 120, 129, 149 —— Botanical Excursion, 97, 130, 185 —— Conversazione, 182 —— Council’s Report, 153 — Excursion to Castle Ashby, 97 History Geological Excursion, 129, 185 Lord Lilford’s Address, 158 President’s Address, 150 The Darwin Prize, 181 The President’s Prize, 223 Microscope—Testing of Object Glasses, 92 Mounting Bottle for, 188 Microscopical—206 Royal Society’s Journal, 21 Societies, the Work of, 25 Miller, (Mrs. Fenwick,) Atlas of Anatomy, (Review,) 17 Mist, Cause of, 22 Mistletoe, 67 Moles, 117, 141 Moss Flora, British, (Review,) 225 maar London Catalogue of, (Review,) 3 Mosses of Warwickshire, 10, 80, 132 Mniacez, 11 Mott, (F. T.,) on Germination of Seeds, 104 Myxomycetes, 45 Natural History Notes, 19, 42, 66, 89, 90, 91, 92, 93, 112, 118, 139, 142, 148, 174, 201, 251, 276, 295 How to Record, 89 Natural History Society at Oxford, 206 Natural Science Society, Wellington Coll., Report of, (Review,) 227 Neckeracez, 81 Nepenthes, 7, 58 Nevarcdram Oreopteris in Warwickshire, Norfolk, the Fauna of, (Review,) 63 Northamptonshire, Birds of, 169, 206 Northern Stone Crab, 44 Nottingham, Geological Survey of, 121 Nottinghamshire, Geology of, (Review,) 114 November, Walk in the Month of, 296, IV INDEX. Oak, Leafing, 91, 144, 145, 177 Object Glasses, Testing of, 92 Observations of Injurious Insects, 226 Oligocene Formation, Te, 69 Ophryodendron pedicellatum, 103 Origin of the Rocks and Scenery of North Wales, 214, 237, 266 Original Research: The Darwin Prize, 181 Ormerod, (Miss,) Observations of Injurious Insects, (Review,) 226 ' Ornithology, 13, 14, 16, 20, 21, 44, 68, 69, 91, 119, 120, 145, 146, 178, 179, 277 Oscott College, Notes from, 119 Oxford Natural Histery Society, 206 Oysters, Roman, at Leicester, 121 Parasitism in the Toad, 99 Pascoe’s, (F. P.,) Zoological Classification, (Review,) 227 Pavement, Ancient Roman, 228 Penine Chain, the Age of, 1 Penning’s (W. H.) Text-book of Field Geology, (Review,) 64 Phenological Notes, 22, 47, 119, 143, 176, 178, 2038, 204, 229, 230, 254, 295 Phenomenon on a Welsh Hill, 9 Phillips, (W.,) Botany, &e., of Shrewsbury, (Review,) 16 Phillips, (W.,) on the Fungi of Dwelling Houses, 34, 52 Phillips, (W.,) on British Lichens, 125, 167, 196, 241 Photography at Sydney Exhibition, 206 Physomycetes, 55 Pitcher Plants, on the Structures of, 5, 58 Plants at Falmouth, 67, 297 Growing at Great Depths, 47, 93 White varieties of, 177 Pleurocarpi, 81 Polytrichaces, 12 Pond Life, Anurwa longispina, 166 Prank’s Elementary Text Book of Botany, (Review,) 274 Primroses, 43 Primula vulgaris, 43,66 Proliferous Cardamine, 67 Quadrupeds of Bodicote, 221 Rainbows, (Lunar,) 45 Rainfall for November, 1879, 19; Decem- ber, 42; January, 1880, 66; Feb- ruary, 89; March, 110: April, 139; May, 174; June,199; July, 225; August, 251; September, 274, October, 293 of 1879, 42 Rambles, (Entomological,) 83 Ramsay, (A. C.,) Geology and Geography of Great Britain, (Review,) 112 Rana Esculentea, (Edible Frog,) 295 Rat, Sagacity of, 43 eel (Original,) Encouragement of, 1 Reviews: Atlas of Anatomy, or Pictures of the Human Body, 17 Botanical Note Book, 64 British Moss Flora, 225 Cassell’s Natural History, 113 Crocodilian Remains Found in the Elgin Sandstones, 272 Elementary Text-Book of Botany, 274 Reviews: kloral Dissections, illustrative of TypicalGenera of the British Natural Orders, 17 Geology of Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire, 114 Geology of the Yorkshire Coalfield, 16 Guide to the Botany, Ornithology, and Geology of Shrewsbury, 16 Land and Freshwater Shells of the British Isles, 271 London Catalogue of British Mosses and Hepaticss, 279 Manufacture of Gun Flints, 115 Notes of Observations of Injurious Insects, 226 Obseryenions on the Fauna of Norfolk, 3 Outline Descriptions of British Coleop- tera, 17 Physical Geology and Geography of Great Britain, 112 Proceedings of the Liverpool Naturai- ists’ Field Club for 1878-9, 15 Report of the Wellington College Natural Science Society, 227 Santorin et ses Eruptions, 227 Text-book of Field Geology, 64 The British Characesx, 273 Zoological Classification, 227 Rimmer’s (R.) Land and Freshwater Shela of the British Isles, (Review,) 7 Ripariacess, 81 Rivals, The, 9 Rocks of Charnwood Forest, 121 of North Wales, 214, 237, 266 Roman Oysters at Leicester, 121 Pavement at Woodchester, 228 Sagacity of the Horse, 20 of the Rat, 43 Santorin et ses Eruptions, (Review,) 227 Sarracenia, 5 Scenery of North Wales, 214, 237, 266 Science Primer, Introductory, 205 Scott-White, (A. H.,) Arbor Low, (a Megalithic Circle,) 282 Sea-water, Artificial, After Six Months’ Use, 38 Seeds, Germination of, 104 Shells, Land and Freshwater, of the British Isles, (Review,) 271 Shipman, (J.,) a Visit to the Creswell Caves, 135 Shrewsbury, Botany, Ornithology, and Geology of, (Review,) 16 Simpson’s, (M,,) Fossils of the Yorkshire Lias, 70 Simple Mode of Aerating Marine Aquaria, 70 Skertchly, (S. B. J.,) Manufacture of Gun Flints, (Review,) 115 Snail Shell, How it is Formed, 56 Societies—Reports of Birmingham Natural History and Microscopical Society, 22, 48, 70, 94, 121, 146, 179, 207, 222, 254, 279, 298 Birmingham and Midland Institute, Scientific Society, 22, 48, 71, 95, 123 148, 180, 255, 280, 300 Birmingham Philosophical Society, 71 Burton-on-Trent Natural History and Archseological Society, 23, 71, 95, 123 Caradoc Field Club, 208, 255 INDEX. Vv Socivties—Reports of oo Natural Science Society, Dudley and Midland Geological Society and Field Club, 208, 232, 255 a Field Naturalists’ Club, 48, Northampton Natural History Society, 24, 72, 96, 123 Nottingham Literary and Philosophi- cal Society, 23, 48, 96, 123, 180, 208, 300 eo Naturalists’ Society, 24, Oswestry and Welshpool Naturalists’ Field Club, 148, 256 Peterborough Natural History and Scientific Society, 124 Stroud Natural History and Philoso- phical Society, 48 Woolhope Naturalists’ Field Club, 124 Spectre of the Brocken, in Wales, 10, 43 Sponges, 190 Star-fish, Knotty Cushion, 44 Stone Crab, Northern, 44 Structure and Life-history of Volvox Globator, 209, 233 Structures of Pitcher Plants, 5, 58 Strugnell, (W. B.,) Appeal on Behalf of the Magpie, 13 eri, (W. B.,) on Garden Snail Shells, Subterranean Fungi, 47, 93, 120 Summer Birds of Passage, 110 Sunshine Recorder, 206 Sutton Park, Desmidies found in, 265 Swallows, Late Stay of, 295 Swift, Young of, 230 Tait, (Lawson,) on the Structures of Pitcher Plants, 5, 58 Teall, (J. J. H.,) on the Origin of the Rocks a Scenery of North Wales, 214, 237, Text-Book of Botany, (Review,) 274 Thunderstorm at Trent College, 201 at Spondon, 251 Tintinnus subulatus, 75 Toad, Parasitism in the, 99 Town, The, of Fortresses, 9 Town of the Giants, 43 Tre’r Ceiri, 9, 43 University Intelligence, 21 Visit to the Creswell Caves, 135 Volvox globator, near Leicester, 141 i and Life-history of, 209, Wake, (Sir Herewald,) Presidential Address to Midland}Union of Natural History Societies, 150 Wake, (Sir Herewald,) Prize Offered by, 223 Wales, aoe, Rocks and Scenery of, 214, 7, Walk (a) in November, 296 War witha lies csp sceemald Flora of, 10 Hepatice of, 290 Water and Air, 22 Water, Sea, Artificial, after Six Months’ Use, 38 Water Shrew, 205 Watson, (C. J.,) on Aerating Marine Aquaria, 270 Weather of November, 1879, 18 ; December, 41; January, 1880, 65; February, 89; March, 110; April, 139; May, 174; June, 199 ; July, 224; August, 250; September, 274 Wellington College Natural Science Society, Report of, (Review,) 227 Welsh a Antiquity and Phenomenon on, Y, White Varieties of Plants, 177, 277 Wild Flowers, 22, 48, 47, 66, 67, 91, 92, 94 112, 117, 297 ? Wills, (A. W.,) on the Structure and Life- history of Volvox Globator, 209, 233 Wills, (A. W.,) on the Movement of the _,_Cell-Contents of Closterium lunula, 187 Wills, (A. W.,) On Desmidiez found in Sutton Park, 265 Wilson, (E.,) on the Age of the Penine Chain, 1 Wilson, (E.,) on Fossil Fish Remains from __the Carboniferous Limestone, 172 Wilson, (E.) on Foraminifera in the Car- boniferous Limestone, 220 Winter, Severe, of 1879, 43 Woodchester Cathedral, Roman Pave- ment in, 228 Work of Microscopical Societies, 25 oe Coalfield, Geology of, (Review,) Lias Fossils of, 70 Yr Hifi, 9 Zoological Classification, (Review,) 227 Zoothamnium alternans, 101 ; dichotomum, 101 BIRMINGHAM ; PRINTED AT THE HERALD OFFICE, UNION STREET. 1880. RLAT i a te . , oy \ , 4 Lh OM dei rig ie } tO hy £Orsy¢ ; ae PRL A Dt PUNE IA me er Ov en Pe ei ee) Th peer F ‘ e.cain dt YA fait Tr hi Dt jst oat. i i at j ar . ad i“? 4 Py : Yh ch) , > 3 : tf t . ' : ) ; ’ ® 2 wuts i : j d i = ‘ ’ ' ‘ wR AY ¢ +3. ry ' ; le ‘ THE MIDLAND NATURALIST. “Come forth into the light of things, Let Nature be your teacher.” Wordsworth. THE AGE OF THE PENINE CHAIN.* BY E. WILSON, F.G.S. The Penine Chain is the name for that hilly tract of country which stretches from the borders of Scotland on the north to the centre of Derbyshire on the south. This important range possesses the structure of a great though complex anticlinal, the result of a meridional move- ment of upheaval that took place at aremote period in the physical history of our island. The axis of elevation of the chain, which ranges a little west of north, through North Derbyshire and the West Riding of Yorkshire, throws off the coal measures of Yorkshire and Derbyshire on the one side and those of Lancashire and North Staffordshire on the other, with a steeper dip on the west, and a much gentler inclination on the east. The maximum upheavalis attained in the north of Derbyshire, where a large dome-shaped mass of mountain limestone has been brought to the surface at an altitude of 1,500 feet above the sea. In many ways this prominent feature in the physical structure of our island is worthy of notice. It has hada great deal to do with the distribution of the mineral wealth of the North of England; and if as one result of that elevation a vast amount of valuable coal measures has by subsequent denudation been swept away, still many mineral substances of great economic value are brought within our reach that would otherwise have been hopelessly buried in the bowels of the earth. At the same time we are indebted to this ancient earth-movement for that bold and beautiful scenery—moorland and mountain, scar and dale—that characterises the Penine Chain in its range from the Weaver Hills northwards through the counties of Derby and York. It is not, however, from an economical or an xsthetic, but from a physical point of view that I propose to consider this ancient mountain chain. In particular I seek to arrive at the geological date of its upheaval. The age of the Penine Chain has long been a matter of conjecture with physical geologists. While all are agreed that the uprising of this great anticlinal took place before the Triassic epoch, the question still remains whether it occurred before or after the Permian era. In 1861 _* Read before the Natural Science Section of the Nottingham Literary and Philosophical Society, Oct. 8th, 1879. B 2 THE AGE OF THE PENINE CHAIN. Prof. Hull stated his belief that the Penine Chain was elevated into land during the deposition of the earlier Permian strata. In 1868, however, the learned professor had come to the conclusion that this earliest upheaval took place between the close of the Permian period and the commence- ment of the Trias, “ that it belonged to that period of general strati- graphical disturbance which marked the close of the Palzozoic age.” As a rule geologists appear to have been content to follow in the wake of so high an authority. Several years ago my local rock studies led me to believe that the Penine Chain was older and not younger than the Magnesian Limestone, and later observations have tended to fortify me in that opinion. Before considering the evidence in favour of this hypothesis, let us in the first place examine what is to be said for the opposite view. The chief, if not the only item cited by Prof. Hull in support of an after-Permian upheaval, is the supposed identity in origin (in Lancashire, Cheshire, and Staffordshire) of two important lines of fracture known as the Anticlinal Fault and the Red Rock Fault. Prof. Hull’s argument is somewhat as follows.* The Anticlinal Fault and the Red Rock Fault run meridionally (approximately) parallel with each other and with the Penine Chain, therefore all three were the results of a common earth-movement. The Anticlinal Fault which runs from Colne on the north to Leek on the south, near Leek, passesunder New Red Sandstone (Bunter conglomerate) without faulting it, therefore this common movement was pre-Triassic ; the Red Rock Fault, (an important fracture running parallel with the Anticlinal Fault from Staleybridge southwards, and forming the boundary between the Carboniferous and more recent formations from Bredbury and Poynton, in Cheshire, south- wards for several miles,) near Stockport, faults Permian against Carboniferous beds, therefore this common movement was post-Permian. But the same Red Rock Fault elsewhere, viz., near Macclesfield and Con- gleton, displaces New Red Sandstone (Upper Keuper) rocks, and it might, therefore, be inferred that this fault was (wholly) of later date than the Trias. To evade this difficulty Professor Hull assumes that the Red Rock Fault is the result of two independent displacements, the first of which took place before the Permian, the second after the Trias. To this style of reasoning I object, in the first place, that it is unphilosophical to base an argument on a mere assumption; in the next place, that, on the hypothesis of two movements for the Red Rock Fault, the failure of participation in the second of such movements by the Anticlinal Fault shows that faults may run parallel to one another and to great anticlinals without their being contemporaneous; and lastly, that on the assump- tion that the Red Rock Fault, the Anticlinal Fault and the Penine Chain were coeval, and that the Red Rock Fault has undergone a second displacement, there is still no evidence against its having been the second, instead of the first of such movements, that for the first time faulted the Permians near Stockport, and that an earlier displacement of the Red Rock Fault, together with the Anticlinal Fault, and the elevation of the Penine Chain, took place before the Permian epoch. “ Quarterly Journal weological Society,” vol. xxiv., p. 323, a THE AGE OF THE PENINE CHAIN. 3 I now proceed to the consideration of the evidence I have been able to gather together in favour of a pre-Permian upheaval. I. The great Yorkshire Coal Basin was evidently formed before the commencement of the Permian epoch; for, all along the eastern borders of the exposed portion of this coalfield, wherever the coal measure strata are seen to pass under the Magnesian Limestone, the easterly dip of the coal measures is, more or less, evidently greater than that of the Permians. Now, as the north and south axis of the Yorkshire Coalfield Synclinal runs parallel with the axis of the Penine Chain Anticlinal, we may safely infer that these had a common origin, consequently the Penine Chain is also pre-Permian. In the magnificent sections recently opened out by the railway extensions at Kimberley, near Nottingham, you may see the Middle Coal Measures dipping north-east at angles varying from 5° to 10° or 15° beneath Permian, (Marl Slates and Lower Magnesian Limestone,) that dip east at about 1°. In consequence of this greater inclination of the coal measures, any particular seam of coal is found at constantly increasing depths going east. The ‘‘Top Hard” or Barnsley Seam, for instance, which at Kimberley is only 284ft. below the Permian base, is 630ft. beneath the same horizon at Cinderhill, two miles to the east. Again, the same coal at Clowne is 890ft. deep, but at Steetley, which lies about three miles further east, it is 1,590ft. down to it. ‘All along the edge of the escarpment of the Magnesian Limestone,” says Professor Hull, ‘‘and for a short distance beyond, in Notts and Derbyshire, as far north as Rotherham, the coal seams are found to dip eastward at a greater angle than the limestone itself, which (with the ‘Lower Red Sandstone) rests unconformably on the coal measures.” TI. The Marl Slates, a series of blue thin-bedded argillaceous and dolomitic sandstones and shales that come beneath the Lower Magnesian Limestone, attenuate slowly but surely in a westerly direction, as if approaching a margin. In some recent unsuccessful explorations for coal in Lincolnshire, (South Scarle, between Newark and Lincoln.) the Permians proved to be much more developed than in West Notts. Under Lincolnshire the Lower Magnesian Limestone and Marl Slates together amount to about 220ft. in thickness, at Bestwood to 95ft., at Kimberley to from 53ft. to 33it., while west of the Hrewash no Permians are found, and Triassic rocks repose directly on various members of the car- boniferous formation. Ill. Coincidently with this attenuation of the Marl Slates the Lower Magnesian Limestone becomes intermingled with sedimentary materials on the west. Though no thicker on the east than on the west the Lower Magnesian Limestone is a very different rock. Under Lincoln- shire it is a pure cream-coloured compact limestone, while on the west it is instead a coarse granular dolomite, interleaved with seams of marl and micaceous sand, and may become gritty and even conglomeratic. These phenomena would seem to indicate the shallowing of the waters and the vicinity of land on the west in the Zechstein epoch. TV. Mountain Limestone pebbles are said to have been found in Permian rocks on the east, and certainly occur in Permian breccias on 4 THE AGE OF THE PENINE CHAIN. the west of the Penine Chain. Such pebbles could only have been derived from the wear of a central tract of land composed of carboni- ferous rocks, and their presence clearly indicates that not only had the Penine Chain come into existence in pre-Permian times, but also that denudation had supervened to such an extent that rocks so low down as the Mountain Limestone were then laid bare in that range. Y. Though the Bunter Sandstone of West Notts and East Derby- shire contains numerous fragments of carboniferous rocks, limestone, chert, and millstone grit, no débris of Permian rocks is to be found in that or any other member of the Trias. This fact, though negative, and therefore inconclusive, would seem to show that the Permians were formed subsequently to the elevation of the Penine Chain, and con- sequently were not uptilted so as to be exposed to denudation on the flanks of that range in Triassic times. VI. The absence of Permian outliers at any distance west of the Magnesian Limestone escarpment, taken in conjunction with the absence (of fragments) of Permian rocks in, and their overlap by, the Triassic deposits of the neighbourhood, indicates that the original margin of the Magnesian Limestone waters did not lie very far west of the present escarpment. VII. There is no similarity either in character, thickness, or succession of the Permians on the opposite sides of the Penine Chain. In Lancashire and Cheshire the Lower Permians are represented, according to the Government surveyors, by a mass of uniossiliferous red sandstone, estimated to attain a maximum thickness of 1,500ft., (near Stockport.) while the Upper Permians of South Lancashire consist of from 100 to 250 feet of red calcareous marls with thin bands of earthy limestone and gypsum. Omitting from consideration the ‘‘ Lower Permian Sandstone,” the true horizon of which seems somewhat doubtful, we still find a very dissimilar grouping of the Permians on the two sides of the Penine Chain. In Lancashire and Cheshire we look in vain for any deposit answering to the highly characteristic marl slates of the north- east of England, nor do we find any considerable masses of dolomite comparable with those of Durham and Yorkshire. From Notts to Northumberland the Marl Slates, Magnesian Limestone, and Upper Marls are severally distributed, but on passing across England from Notts to Lancashire—a much less horizontal distance—we find that we cannot positively recognise one of these members of the Zechstein. This marked dissimilarity is in part, at least, to be accounted for by the presence of an intervening land barrier; this barrier was no doubt the range of high land known as the Penine Chain. We may then, I think, without hesitation, conclude that the eleva- tion of the Penine Chain took place before the Permian era, or at any rate prior to the deposition of the Permian rocks of the North of England. T have already drawn your attention to some of the results of the elevation of this important range. Its influence on the distribution of the rock masses of the neighbourhood, which began in early Permian times, persisted into the Keuper epoch. Having in pre-Permian times acquired the elevation and stability of an arch, this great anticlinal still maintains that relative superiority to the surrounding country that has justly earned for it the epithet ‘‘the Backbone of England.” Though marine denudation has planed away its top, while sub-aerial decay has ~ cut deeply into its framework, the great hardness and extreme durability of its more axial rocks have enabled this ancient mountain chain to resist those agents of destruction so successfully that it still forms a broad elevated tract of country, while rearing its loftier peaks from two to three thousand feet above the level of the sea. ~— <7 THE STRUCTURES OF PITCHER PLANTS. 5 NOTES ON THE STRUCTURES OF PITCHER PLANTS.* BY LAWSON TAIT, F.R.C.S., PROFESSOR OF ANATOMY TO THE BIRMINGHAM ROYAL SOCIETY OF ARTISTS, ETC. (Continued from Vol. II., page 297.) SARRACENIM CONTINUED. Sarracenia rubra closely resembles S. flava in all the above details, and the amount of fluid in both was always exceedingly small, only enough to moisten the hairy zone and sometimes not sufficient even for that. S. flava maxima.—I found the zones here to correspond closely with those above detailed. At the base of this pitcher the development of the trichomes and their relations to the intercellular canals can be especially well seen. I have had no opportunity of examining a fresh lid of this magnificent pitcher. S. Drummondii.—Unless this plant is in extremely good growth its leaves abort and do not grow pitchers. It can evidently make use of only very small insects, for anything larger than a house-fly kills the pitcher. Its first two zones correspond exactly with those already described, and its third, which is homologically its fourth, is destitute of glands, but studded with numerous trichomes. Below this is a very extensive con- tinuation of this zone destitute of everything but epithelium. I have never found any fluid at all in its pitchers. The species is evidently an instance of imperfect or early development. S. variolaris.—I selected this plant as representing Dr. Hooker’s second group. I found the surfaces of the lid the same as in S. rubra. The first zone of the pitcher had no stomata and very few glands, and these were evidently not sub-epithelial, though the mammillary process of the cells was produced over them. The second zone had no glands or stomata, and the third had the usual tubular trichomes. I found one pitcher of S. variolaris filled with natural food, amongst which a little moisture had gathered. The source of this moisture is probably the air of the hot- house, for I found quite as large an amount gather in a narrow test tube containing a number of flies, placed under similar circumstances. I squeezed the fluid out of the flies from the pitcher, but it had no acid reaction. Darlingtonia Californica.—I have had opportunities of examining pitchers from four plants, one of which was sent living from its native soil at Sacramento, and a description of a pitcher of this plant, which was fourteen centimetres long and two in greatest diameter, will answer my purpose best. The curious two-lobed organ hanging from the lip, stated by Dr. Hooker, on the authority of Professor Asa Gray, tobe smeared with honey, is abundantly supplied with spiral vessels. Both surfaces are numerously supplied with stomata, and situated on or close to the twigs of spiral vessels are large epithelial cells containing brown protoplasm and a large, bright nucleus. (Fig. 10.) I think these are nectaries. The first zone of the pitcher was spiked as in Sarracenia, there was abundance of spiral tissue, but no brown cells, ostioles, * The figures referred to in this paper will be found in the Plates Nos. VII. and VIII. in Vol. IL. ait aa f al 6 THE STRUCTURES OF PITCHER PLANTS, stomata, or glands were found. There was only one other zone, which was covered with the tubular trichomes as in Sarracenia, and had also a few scattered stomata. This surface retained water when wetted, and it extended for ten centimetres from the base of the tube. I failed as com- pletely to obtain any evidence of a process of true digestion in Darling- tonia as I did in Sarracenia. The lacunar spaces on the lip, having brown nuclei, are probably nectaries. Cephalotus follicularis—The amount of material at my command for experiment in this case was limited, but what resultsI did obtain were so decided that I think my conclusions are well founded. The plants examined were all grown in this country. The pitchers of Cephalotus seem to rest their base on the ground, and have three ridges or wings, the outer two of which are fringed, and afford excellent guides into the pitchers for insects creeping off the ground. The lid completely covers the mouth, and in all the specimens which I have examined it is very slightly raised from the lip, this arrangement, with the fluted struc- ture of the lip, allowing the passage of only small insects. The pitchers averaged about 25mm. in depth and fifteen in greatest diameter, the development of erythrochrome being principally on the under surface of the lid. On the unaltered leaves there is abundant erythrochrome on the under surface and numerous stomata. Besides these there are papillary prominences with deep crypt-like cavities. In a young leaf the occurrence of transition forms between these craters and the stomata make it certain that they are developed from the latter, and ought, there- fore, to be regarded as additional respiratory organs. We might call them tracheoles, for stomata are sometimes visible within them. On the upper surface of the unaltered leaf the epithelium is of the sinuous kind, and there are stomata sparsely distributed and multifid buds nearly sunk under the epithelial surface. These budsare about ‘05mm. in diameter, round, the cells being seen in many cases to have their protoplasm divided into processes or even into distinct cells. On section of the leaf they can be recognised by their brown colour, and can be seen to be only modifications of ordinary epithelium, and that in their most complete form they occupy a nest in the parenchyma, whilst the stomata occupy the top of small papillary eminences. On the under surface of the leaf they are also found, but there they are much less numerous than on the upper surface, and the reverse is the case with the stomata. This is one of many reasons which make me regard the upper surface of the unaltered leaf as the representative of the inner surface of the pitcher. On the outer surface of the pitcher stomata and buds are numerous, especially the former; but inside the pitcher there are no stomata, and the buds can be seen enlarging into glands of great size and importance. In a very young pitcher which I examined I really could not tell, in a section, except for the curve, which was external and which internal surface, for on both the buds werethe same. But in the mature pitcher the protoplasm in the buds is divided, and large compound glands are to be found situated in cavities of the parenchyma, which are lined by epithelium. Of these glands only the upper part is presented above the surface, so that the appearances on THE STRUOTURES OF PITCHER PLANTS. 7 section very much resemble those of the solitary glands of intestine. They vary in size, even in the mature pitcher, from that of the multifid bud on the outside (05 mm.) to a size which rivals that of the largest glands in Nepenthes, (‘275 mm.,) and are then quite visible to the naked eye. ‘These largest glands are situated on two eminences, composed of a thickening of the parenchyma, situated obliquely, near the bottom of the pitcher, and symmetrically, one on either side. These glandular bodies are crescentiform, and measure about 1lmm. by 8. The smaller glands are distributed very irregularly over the surface of the pitcher, but each gland, whatever its size, seems to have a close relation to a twig of spiral tissue with which the pitcher is very liberally supplied. The glands are composed of polygonal cells, between which run intercellular canals. I have never been able to trace any direct connection between the glands and the spiral tissue. On the inner surface of the lid the cells are spiked and point inwards, and the multifid buds exist just asin the Sarracenia. In a completely formed pitcher, which still had the lid adherent to the lip, Ifcund a few drops of clear and slightly viscid fluid, perfectly neutral, and containing two substances, to which I have given the names of Droserin and Azerin, described elsewhere, together with traces of chloride of potash and soda. In two pitchers I found insects bathed in fluid, with a strongly acid reaction, and this fluid digested shreds of albumen exactly as I found the fluid of Nepenthes pitchers did. I conclude, therefore, that a true digestion of its victims is carried on by the Cephalotus pitcher. NEPENTHES. In this family I have been able to examine a large number of pitchers from the following varieties:—N. distillatoria, ampullacea, ampullacea vittata, hybrida, hybrida maculata, lanata, Raflesiana, phyllamphora, gracilis, levis, Hookeri, Sedeni, Khasyoma, and sanguinea. I have made a large number of observations on their gland structure and its functions, but they may be all liable to correction, as I have not yet had an opportunity of examining native-grown pitchers. The discrepancies which I have met with are very few, and being ’ confined entirely to minor details of the quality and action of the secretion of the pitchers, I do not attach much importance to them. Still I feel certain that these interesting structures must be studied each in its native place before our knowledge of them is complete. The form of the pitchers is too well known to need description. On their outer surfaces two ridges occur very constantly, which, in some varieties (Rafiesiana and Veitchii) reach to a large size, and are deeply fringed at the margins. They extend from the base of the pitcher in an angle from the stalk up to the lip, and include a space which I propose to call the platform. In such pitchers as have these wings there is a constant tendency for the stalk of the pitcher to rest in contact with the platform, and I have watched plants and seen that this is of essential service to them in procuring insect food. This particular kind of nutrition seems to be most necessary for the plants during their youth, for as those which have winged pitchers grow old they tend to produce pitchers without wings, with other changes in their structure, and with very much impaired digestive powers. Thus the pitchers of N. Rafilesiana in a young plant are flask- shaped, the largest diameter being near the bottom, the wings are 8 THE STRUCTURES OF PITCHER PLANTS. very wide, and the stalk touches the platform. The pitchers of an old plant, however, have only very slight ridges to represent the wings, they are prolonged into conical funnels, and are bent on the stalk in the direction opposite to that of the young pitchers, whilst the stalk does not approach the side of the pitcher. Their structure is likewise altered in that the pitchers of the young plant are soft and easily withered, whilst those of the old are hard and coriaceous, and are scarcely altered either in colour or shape by prolonged drying. Diges- tive powers in the latter can hardly be said to exist, and the pitchers seem to have degenerated into mere receptacles of water. On this most interesting point I have the following information from Messrs. Veitch, the well-known growers of pitcher plants :— ‘‘ Flowers and pitchers are never borne on the same plant at the same time, the production of the latter always preceding that of the former, and when the plant is in a condition to produce flowers the pitchers become abortive and cease to be formed. The leaves of seedlings and young plants form their pitcher appendages from the very first. In young plants the winged side of the pitcher is turned towards the petiole, the lamina or lid being of course opened on the opposite side. As the plants increase in age and strength, the newly formed pitchers are elongated, and finally become curved something like the horn of an ox; their position with reference to the peticle being then changed, the winged side being turned away from it. During these gradual changes the wings cease to be developed. When the plants are several feet high, and are in a condition to bear flowers, the pitchers cease to be formed.” It is clear, therefore, that the pitchers and their digestive processes are useful for the development of the reproductive function of the plant. This is also shown by the fact, stated to me by growers, that if it is wished that a plant of Sarracenia should continue to grow pitchers, its flower must be nipped off before it is impregnated. These changes take place in the pitchers of other varieties of Nepen- thes apparently sometimes independently of age, but rather in consequence of an abundance of food and its being easily obtained. Thus the pitchers of N. gracilis and N. distillatoria are quite wingless, but have always very active digestion. The real significance of these changes can be determined only by a study of the plants under their natural conditions, and when this has been done I have little doubt that they will afford very striking illustrations of the modification of structure by the influence of surrounding circumstances. Another noteworthy matter in the general structure of the pitchers is the lid. Sometimes it covers the mouth com- pletely, as in N. distillatoria, N. phyllamphora, N. Khasyoma,&c. In other cases, it either stands erect, as in N. Rafjlesiana, or covers the mouth very imperfectly. When it covers the mouth the pitcher is nearly always bottle-shaped, having a very distinct constriction about its middle, which marks the abrupt cessation of the secreting surface. In such cases the amount of secretion is alwayssmall, but its action is very powerful, and the lid covering the pitcher is evidently for the purpose of excluding rain. Mr. Albert Ratcliffe, a very successful grower and a minute observer, informs me that the lid of N. distillatoria closes over the mouth towards evening. This may be to prevent the ingress of nocturnal insects too large for its digestive powers. When the lid is erect, the glandular surface comes up close to the lip of the pitcher, the secretion is large in quantity and slow in action, and the addition of rain-water does not seem of much consequence. This is well seen in N. Rafflesiana and in N. ampullacea vittata. These differences are sure to be dependent upon some conditions peculiar to the native habitat of the plant, or to the food of which it partakes. (To be continued.) ANTIQUITY AND PHENOMENON ON A WELSH HILL. 9 AN ANTIQUITY AND A PHENOMENON ON A WELSH HILL. BY THE REV. O. M. FEILDEN, M.A. On an out-of-the-way hill, close to the sea coast of Carnarvon Bay, about ten miles from Pwllheli, and four from Nevin, there is a curious relic of great antiquity. The hill is called ‘“ Yr Hifi,” corrupted by Saxon tongues into ‘“ The Rivals.” It has three peaks, the highest of which is in the centre, and in height about 1,880 feet. There is a broad marshy dip between this and the peak more to the east and most inland of the three. In this dip, and stretching up the western side of the inland peak, is the object I have referred to. It is an ancient fortification, nearly oblong in shape, surrounded by a wall of loose stones, about 900 yards in circumference, single where it runs along the nearly pre- cipitous side of the mountain, but double (and in some places there are traces of its having been treble) where the ground is not so steep. The main entrance was on the west side. There is an opening in the inner wall, and then an inclined causeway at right angles to the opening down to another opening in the lower wall. Within the enclosed space, scattered about apparently without much regularity, are groups of huts composed of loose stone walls, mostly circular or oval, but some nearly square. The circular ones are from ten to fifteen feet in diameter, the walls in some instances six feet high; but very few attain this height, and in most cases the area is so filled up with stones and rubbish that it is very difficult to judge what the height was. The huts were probably roofed with turf or heath. There areno traces of windows. The sides of the mountain are covered with masses of loose stones, some of great size, which doubtless served for purposes of defence. This singular place is now known by the name of “ Tre’r Ceiri,” “The Town of Fortresses;” but I believe neither its age, origin, nor purpose has as yet been satisfactorily determined. Some suppose its builders to have been the Gael or Gwyddel, before they were driven out by the Cymry, though tradition assigns it to the latter. But this may be accounted for by the supposition that the Cymry appropriated to their own use a fortress of such strength and extent. However, there can be no doubt that it dates back to a remote antiquity, and it is well worth a visit. Any one who undertakes the labour of scaling the steep and strong eminence which this ancient fortress crowns will be well rewarded for his trouble, not only by the curious sight Tre’r Ceiri presents, but also by the magnificent view which the hill commands, Holyhead Mountain, Bardsey Island, Carmarthen Bay, with the Merionethshire coast beyond, being all plainly visible on a clear day; and, above all, Snowdon in all its grandeur, and the magnificent pile of adjacent mountains, which remind one of a monarch surrounded by his court. Taking leave of Tre’r Ceiri, [made my way to the highest point of Yr Hifi, and while there witnessed a very remarkable phenomenon, which I believe is but rarely seen. It was the evening of a summer day, and the G 10 ANTIQUITY AND PHENOMENON ON A WELSH HILL. san was near the horizon due west. A few light clouds came up from the south, and passed very near me on the eastern side of the hill; and, as they passed, I saw my shadow cast upon them by the sun, at first small and at a distance; but as the clouds came nearer the mountain the spectral shadow increased to gigantic proportions, and faithfully imitated my own actions. When I stretched out my arms, or waved them about, the spectre did the same, and as the clouds got denser, a beautiful rainbow surrounded the shadow, sometimes circular or oval, but at other times quite pointed at the top and bottom. When theclouds were thin and light the appearance was very shadowy and indistinct, but the thicker the clouds got the more distinct and visible became the spectre ; and, framed as it was with the rainbow, it was a most beautiful as well as a most curious sight. I have heard of this phenomenon being seen in Switzerland, where it is called a Brocken Spectre; and I should like to know if any one has witnessed it, or heard of its being seen on the mountains of Wales or Cumberland. THE CRYPTOGAMIC FLORA OF WARWICKSHIRE. BY JAMES E. BAGNALL. (Continued from Vol. II., page 280.) BRYACER. 312.—Leptobryum pyriforme L. Bryum aureum KE. B., Purt. Sandstone rocks and walls, local. Olton Reservoir! Rowington! Stone Quarry, Warwick! Leek Wootton! Birdingbury (Kirk)! Willen- hall, near Coventry (Kirk)! Shrewley canal bank! tree pots Botanic Gardens! ‘‘ Walls of Warwick Castle” (Purt.) May. 317.—Webera nutans Schreb. Brywm nutans Schreb., Wils., Hobk. Damp places, thatched roofs, &c., frequent. Sutton Park! Coleshill Pool! Acocks Green! Yarningale Common! &c. A peculiar densely-tufted form occurs abundantly on thatched roofs by Powell’s Pool, Sutton Park! May, 319.—W. annotina Hedw. Bryum annotinum Purt., Wils., Hobk. Damp sandy places, local. Rare in fruit. ‘Coughton Lane” (Purt.) In fruit Marston Green! Canal bank Rowington! Sutton Park! Quarries near Nuneaton! Dripping Well, Milverton! June. 321.—W. carnea L. Bryum carneum L., Wils., Hobk. Sandy and clayey banks, local. Clay pits Erdington! Canal bank Shrewley Heath. April. $22.—W. albicans Wahl. Bryuwm Wahlenbergii Schwg., Wils., Hobk. Marshy sandy places and damp rocks, rare, Stone quarries near Nuneaton! near Corley Village! near Middleton Hall! Bearley canal bank! Binley, near Coventry (Kirk)! May. 325.—Brywm pendulum Hornsch. Brywm cernuwm Wils., Heobk. Sandstone walls, rare. On the outside walls of Kenilworth Castle! walls of Bracebridge Pool, Sutton Park! on walls by Rowington Church ! May. 326.—B. inclinatum Swartz. Sandstone walls and banks, rare. Railway bank near Stechford! [Abundant on walls by aqueduct, Hamp- stead. ] June. CRYPTOGAMIC FLORA OF WARWICKSHIRE, ial 328.—[B. lacustre Brid. Should be looked for in moist sandy places; it occurs in such habitats at Weolley Sand Quarries, Harborne. } 333.—B. intermedium W. and M. Walls, frequent. Sutton Park! Erdington! stone quarries, Warwick! Rowington Canal bank! Berkswell! June. 334.—B. bimuwm Schreb. Marshes, bogs, &c. Often abundant in the barren state. Sutton Park! bog, near Packington! Canal banks, Rowington! Olton! Holywell! &c. June. 338.—B. erythrocarpum Schwg. Bryum sanguineum Brid., Wils. B. bicolor Purt. ‘Coleshill Pool,’ Bree. Sandy places in quarries, &c., local. Near rail way, Whitacre! Canal bank, near Kingswood May. 339.—B. murale Wils. On the mortar of walls, rather local. Sutton Park! Canal bridge, near Olton Pool! Bridge, near Shrewley Heath! Ufton Church yard wall! Baulk Lane, near Berkswell! June. 340.—B. atropurpureum W. and M. Walls and heathy places, not un- common. Near Milverton Church! Whitacre Heath! Sutton Park! Ufton Churchyard wall! May. 343.—B. cespiticium L. Walls, thatch, &c., common. Sutton Park! Erdington! Lea Marston! Acocks Green, &c. May. 345.—B. argenteum L. Banks, walls, roofs, &c., frequent. Erdington ! Sutton Park! Fenny Compton! &c., &c. October. 346.—B. capillare L. ‘Trees, walls, thatch, bank, common. Sutton Park! Erdington! Fillongley. May. Var. b. majus. Often very abundant on thatched roofs. Marston Green! Berkswell! &c. A barren form often very abundant on the trunks of trees, which I cannot refer to any of Wilson’s varieties. 350.—B. pallens Swartz. Marshy sandy places, rare. Usually barren, and abundant in this state at several pools in Sutton Park. In fruit on railway siding near the engine-house, Small Heath, 1877, locality probably destroyed now. June. 353.—B. pseudo-triquetrum Hedw. Marshes, rare, barren flowers found only. Sutton Park! bog, near Packington! 857.—B. roseum Schreb. Sandy banks, very rare, always barren. Mayr- ston Green! Sutton Park, near Bracebridge Pool, 1878! MNIACES. 362.—Mnium affine Bland. Shady banks, marshes, bogs, rather local. Olton Canal bank! Marston Green! Haywoods! Sutton Park! abundant in bogs above Blackroot pool, with female flowers always barren. 863.—M. undulatum Hedw. Bryum ligulatum Purt. ‘‘Marsoms Gate, Dunnington.” Very rare in fruit. Shady woods and banks. Sutton Park! Marston Green,! Olton! in fruit in a quarry near Allesley village ! June. 364.—* M. rostratum Schrad. Bryuwm rostratum E. B., 1475, Purton. “ Subalpine counties, rare. Oversley Hill.” (Purt.) April. 365.—M. hornum L. Bryum hornum L., Purt. ‘ Ragley woods.” Banks, woods, &c., frequent. Sutton Park! near Solihull! Middleton woods! Knowle and Rowington canal bank! &c. May. 370.—WM. stellare Hedw. Shady wet banks, local. Shustoke! near Max- toke Priory! Dripping rocks near Milverton! always barren. 12 CORYPTOGAMIC FLORA OF WARWICKSHIRE. 872.—M. punctatum Hedw. Bryuwm punctatum Purt. ‘ Oversley Wood.” Near streams, marshes, and on wet clayey banks, local, rare in fruit. Olton canal bank! Marston Green! in fruit Long Moor, Mill Pool, and above Blackroot pool, Sutton Park! March. 373.—M. subglobosum B. and 8. Bogs and marshes, rare. Near several of the pools in Sutton Park, fruiting sparsley. Shirley Heath, in abundant fruit 1879! March. 374.—Aulacomnion androgynum Li. Hedge banks, in a sandy soil, woods, &c., frequent, but always barren. Sutton Park, &c. 375.—A. palustre L. Bryum palustre L., Purt. ‘‘ Coleshill Pool!” marshes and bogs, local. Marsh near Packington! Sutton Park frequent! Marston Green! always barren. Fruit recorded by Webb, from Sutton Park. GEORGIACER. 378.—Tetraphis pellucida L. Banks, woods, old tree stumps, &c. Not unfrequent with gemmiferous shoots, rare in fruit, abundant in the gemme state in Sutton Park! in fruit Poors Wood, Honily! near Three May Poles, Shirley ! wood near Olton! New Park, 1879! August. POLYTRICHACER. 381.—Atrichum undulatum L. Marly banks, woods, &c.,frequent. Sutton Park! Olton canal bank! Rowington! Haywoods! Ufton Wood! &ec., &e. October, November. Var. attenuatum. Sandy banks, rare. Sandy bank, Warwick Road, near Solihull ! 385.—Pogonatum nanum Neck. Heathy footways and banks, local. Castle Bromwich! Shirley Heath! Chalcot Wood! Kenilworth Heath j abundant 1879. Var. longisetum Hampe. Rare. In drive by Chalcot Wood, 1874. October, November. 386.—Pogonatum aloides Hedw. On marly and sandy banks, local. Polytrichum aloides Purt. ‘‘Ragley Woods,” Sutton Park in several places! lane from Meriden to Packington Park! Shirley! Umberslade ! October, November. Var. b. minus. Sandy banks. Near Brown’s Wood, Solihull! Shirley Street ! 390.—Polytrichum gracile Menz. Woods and heath lands, local. Sutton Park abundantly! Trickley Coppice! New Park, Middleton! Brown’s Wood! Hartshill Hayes! May, June. 391.—P. formosum Hedw. In woods and on heath lands, local. Sutton Park! Arley Wood! Wood near Maxtoke ! Brown’s Wood, Solihull! Trickley Coppice! New Park! Haywoods! May, June, 392.—P. piliferum Schreb. Heath lands and heathy waysides, local. Coleshill Heath! Old Chester Road! Sutton Park abundant! Coleshill Pool! May, June. 393.—P. juniperinum Hedw. Heath lands and heathy waysides, local. Plantsbrook! Sutton Park abundant! Coleshill Heath! Coleshill Pool! May, June. 395.—P. commune L. Marshes and bogs! local. Near Packington Park! Coleshill Bog! Coleshill Pool! Railway Cutting Acocks Green! Brown’s Wood, Solihull! New Park, Middleton! Arley Wood! Haywoods! Sutton Park abundantly! Var. c. minus Swartz. In drier heathy places and woods. Sutton Park! June. (To be continued.) THE MAGPIE——CORVUS PICA. 18 THE MAGPIE—(CORVUS PICA.) AN APPEAL ON HIS BEHALF. A Naturalist Magazine can fairly be appealed to on behalf of one of the most lively and picturesque birds of our woods, the Magpie—which bids fair to become as extinct as the Dodo. Of late, amongst other medizval revivals, that of falconry has been making progress, and, in a recent number of the Field, the Secretary gives his butcher’s bill for 1879, which includes sixty-seven Magpies. To this he adds the result of the Club’s flying visit to Ireland, where forty-eight more Magpies were killed by the Club’s falcons. Game preservers denounce Magpies as destroyers of game, but this occurs chiefly in the two months during incubation, when Magpie masculine has to bring home dainty food, and plenty of it, to his mate. This is an insufficient reason for Maggie’s destruction by the Falcon Club members, for they include forty-one Partridges and three Pheasants in their game list, as well as two Peewits. Who is there, except the game preserver, who does not rejoice to see the piebald wing of the Magpie flash across the glade, or is not delighted to witness the gay blue and steel colours of his tail feathers, which Warburton, no mean judge, declared to be equal to those of tropical birds! No other bird struts about with the same jerky up-and-down motion of the tail, as he digs over and under the fallen leaves for worms and larve, which he devours greedily, to the great benefit of the farmer. Harwigs and cock- roaches are pecked up in great numbers by my specimen, a fine cock bird about twelve moaths old, who is allowed to roam about my out-premises, and is thus free to develop the vices attributed to him by unjust and prejudiced maligners. Maggie is said to be a thief, and the opera of “Tia Gazza Ladra,” or the thieving Magpie, may be appealed to in substantiation of the charge. But surely blame should be laid on the human accusers and the blind justice, which too hastily assumed the pretty waiting maid’s guilt! Maggie had seen a ring glitter- ing in the sunshine, mistaking it for a glow-worm, he took it to his nest, and found it indigestible eating, no doubt. My bird has not developed any vice save a little unnecessary violence to the sparrows, who approach too closely to the secret hiding places where superfluous cheese-rinds and small bones are secreted for a time of need; and then he pounces on them like a British Brigadier. General, and punishes them with maiming or death. But, on the other hand, Maggie acts the good Samaritan to a lame, waddly, old duck, who is aprivileged pensioner iu the yard. Maggie will instantly attack any y oungster disturbing the old quack, and brings her dainty morsels—a fat lob-worm, or a cabbage leaf, standing by her, and twinkling his roguish eyes while the duck tastes, and either rejects or swallows his present. Maggie’s chatter of a morning, after his bath, when he sits on a hurdle and dries himself, and then favours us with his views on things in general, is to me a most enjoyable sound, and a great relief to the cock-crowing and quacking accompaniments of a poultry yard. Shut 14 THE MAGPIE—CORVUS PICA. Maggie up in a cage, cover him over, and repeat sentences to him, and he will do greater credit to his tutor than most of the human pupils at a college, who blunder for years over their French and German, without being able to speak either. Wild—he is the ornament of the woods. Tame—he is the amusement of the villagers, and the never-failing pet of all the children. Taking, then, all the points in his favour, his addition to the picturesqueness of our woods, the pleasant chatter of his ‘‘talky-talky,” his practical usefulness to the farmer, his amiable qualities, and his unsurpassable cleverness, I would fain raise a plea in his favour, and hope that Falcon Clubs will not aid the gamekeepers in exterminating Corvus pica. Cheltenham, December, 1879. W. B. SrruGNetu. COMPARATIVE CALENDAR OF NATURE. OOMPILED BY MEMBERS (CHIEFLY JUNIORS) OF THE BURTON-ON-TRENT NATURAL HISTORY AND ARCHZ OLOGICAL SOCIETY. I.— ORNITHOLOGICAL. 1877. 1878. 1879. Thrush’s nest with eggs (Turdus TEC Masa deo aces ne 1 eonsodee Feb. 23 April 2 Robin’s nest with eggs (Hrythaca TRLDECUUL)|. Xs .0iua ecialee ain ae cee orks Mar. 6 3° 22 Thrush’s nest with young birds .... 7 2d May 16 Hedge sparrow’s nest with eggs (Accentor modularis) .......+.- Sees April 16 Swallows seen (Hirundo rustica) .... April 13 April 11 ns 3 Cuckoo heard (Cuculus canorus) .... bee May 5 i>. ae Chaffinch’s nest with eggs (Fringilla GEES) cms eoomdsvagse acub Gor April 30 May 8 Corncrake heard (Rallus crex) ...... 55: eee i 8 II. ENTOMOLOGICAL. Tortoiseshell butterfly (Vanessa UPUCE) SSCODN ctcate ole fafa iats| oieeels= Mar. 3 Feb. 12 Bee HFsb SCC) Gz6s s io ienieee- sie Feb. 17 Mar. 7 Wasp first seen (Vespa vulgaris) .... ee ili April 2 White butterfly (P. rape) ........ April 11 May 4 Hybernia progemmaria .....+-++++- April 2 Feb. 24 Mar. 7 - leucophearia........-.« Mar. 4 pa 4 ‘ TUPICAPTATUA! ©. sole imi ~\4 eles os 4 3 nf Glow-worm (Lampyris noctiluca).... June 2 May 24 Orange tip (A. cardamines) ........ a5 5 June 2 Ghost moth (H. humuli) .......... = 7 §. 7 aS AQ OUEGA Seni 3 ice edt e's spielen = sre ane April 5 April 1 PEASULUIVIG “soc s heres bee Pecieees es tices A 2 - | TU SINSTGDURS is wie o's ic Shoes Sate he wee ee Mar. 6 “3 2 Brimstone moth (R. crategata) .... June 7 June 20 Larve of Streak (C. spartiata) .... - 8 Perr ig: ke ° Clouded Magpie (A. ulmata)........ one » 30 Garey Dagger (A. psi).........22.-. ee July 15 Cabbage moth (WU. brassic@)........ oe June 17 PUOSTOP GAMBIA Ce alsie ste cbt wath cial tieie iste Pe | my 9 +. — COMPARATIVE CALENDAR OF NATURE, 15 IlI.— BOTANICAL. 1877. 1878. 1879. Currant lf. (Ribes rubrum) ........ Feb. 23 Mar. 1 Gooseberry lf. (Ribes grossularia) .. Mar. 9 > 9 Lime lf. (Tilia ewrop@a) .......... May 13 May 15 May 4 RPEUTEEPT Plies occ < onc caieeiecwace ce ce + 7 April 14 A 5 rh BESS olen clapeteier sive 'siwis iors June 1 June 5 Hawthorn fl. (Crategus oxyacantha) - 1 oa ae 3 6 Daisy fl. (Bellis perennis) .......... Mar. 9 Mar. 9 Hazel fl. (Corylus avellana) ........ a8 LG Feb. 22 Violet fl, (Viola odorata) .......... ss 9 Mar. 16 Primrose fl. (Primula vulgaris) .... 3 9 aye oO “STR O1e. ih, SP eee Pe 9 May 24 Oak If (Quercus robur) ........++6 May 26 ah Muelle Wood Anemone ffl. (Anemone BEANIURTUSEA) Mois oie: = <'ai's ors © ore 0d © ici vie vl ee April 14 Forget-Me-Not fi.( Myosotis sylvatica) April 14 May 24 Bluebell fi. (Scilla nutans) ........ ae Te Pe 25 Stitchwort fi. (Stellaria holostea) Si a 2 apa: ILA) Sahni a Eee eee eae eee May 17 June 7 Dandelion fl. (Taraxacum dens leonis ) Mar. 23 April 26 Wild Rose fl. (R. canina) .......... June 10 July 3 J. E. Nowenrs, Hon. Sec. for Junior Members. The Grammar School, July 31, 1879. Acbietvs, Proceedings of the Liverpool Naturalists’ Field Club for the year 1878-9. Txis volume reflects great credit upon the Liverpool Field Club, not merely on account of its literary excellence, but as giving evidence that the Club is in every way a success, having many energetic and good working naturalists among its members, who are, by a wholesome system -of competition in the field, kept from rusting. The Club is also a success financially, as the balance sheet shows a considerable sum in the hands of the bankers. The President (the Rev. H. H. Higgins, M.A.) con- tributes an excellent address on the ‘‘ Biographical History of Botany, from its Origin to its Union with Zoology in the Science of Biology.” This is a concise history of leading botanists, from Theophrastus down to Goethe. It is written in a very charming style, would fascinate the most: unscientific reader, and yields information valuable and interesting to all lovers of natural history pursuits. Thisis followed by a report of the Excursions during the year, which shows that there is a great amount of healthy competition at the Field Meetings, which must necessarily keep the Club from stagnating. ‘The Botanical Résumé,” by Mr. R. Brown, the foremost botanist of the society, gives an excellent account of the botanical work of the year, and this is followed by a goodly list of the rarer flowering plants and ferns noticed during the Excursions. The volume closes with a long list of books useful to the student of biology, their prices and the publisher’s names attached to each ; a very useful list o young students. Jj Ey, Bs 16 REVIEWS—GEOLOGY OF THE YORKSHIRE COALFIELD, ETO. The Geology of the Yorkshire Coalfield. By A. H. Green, M.A., F.G.S., R. Russe11, C.E., F.G.S. (Geological Survey Memoir.) 823 pages, 125 woodcuts, 26 plates. Price 42s. Txis great work has been edited by Professor Green, but a large portion is the work of Mr. Russell, and the names of five other members of the Survey appear on the title-page as having assisted in the examination of the district. It is much to be regretted that for want of sufficiently accurate maps the detailed work of the Geological Survey has been arrested on the southern boundary of Yorkshire. Professor Green remarks: ‘‘It seems hardly credible that the bogs, mountains, morasses, and unproductive wilds of the whole of Ireland. should have been long ago mapped and published on the six-inch (to a mile) scale, while so many of these large mining districts, to which our country owes her wealth and importance, have still to be content with little one-inch maps; but so it is, and, till this anomaly is put right, the detailed survey of the southern portion of the great central coalfield of England must be postponed.” All Midland science workers will endorse this statement, and it would be well for the Council of our Union to consider if some appeal could not be made to Government for the more rapid prosecution of this much-needed work. The country described in this memoir extends from Sheffield and Rotherham on the south to Skipton Moor and the Valley of the Wharfe on the north, and from the Pennine ridge on the west to the magnesian limestone escarpment on the east. The rocks which form this area are carboniferous limestone, Yoredale rocks, millstone grit, and lower, middle, and upper coal-measures, overlaid by drift deposits. Of all of these a most faithful and detailed account is given; indeed, the book is a perfect storehouse of facts relating to carboniferous geology, and will prove a source of most valuable information to such of the local land- owners and colliery proprietors as understand how to avail themselves of it, and this is the more important as Professor Green tells us that “The Yorkshire Coalfield is comparatively virgin ground. Along its western and northern outcrops mining operations have been, indeed, vigorously carried on, but these are, so to speak, bassett workings, exceeding, in very few instances, a depth of 200 yards. The great spread of exposed coal measures in the centre of the basin is untouched, and the portion beneath the magnesian limestone pierced by only afew shafts.” The book concludes with a valuable list by Mr. W. Whitaker of 361 books and papers which have been written on the geology of the district between 1626 and the present time. It only remains to add that the price is, for a geological survey memoir, a very reasonable one. W. dome A Guide to the Botany, Ornithology, and Geology of Shrewsbury and its Vicinity. Edited by W. Pumuies, F.L.S. Shrewsbury: Bunny and Davies. Price 1s. We have pleasure in drawing attention to this useful little handbook which needs no commendation from us or anyone. The Botany is by Mr. W. Phillips, F.L.S., the Ornithology by Mr. W. E. Beckwith, and the Geology by Dr. Callaway, F.G.5., &c. REVIEWS—BRITISH COLEOPTERA, ETC. 17 Outline Descriptione of British Coleoptera. By Rev. T. Buacesuarn, B.A. 1875. Perth: J. Young. Price 2s. 7d., post free. Tus forms the first part of what promises to be, when complete, a very useful addition to our rather meagre list of books on British Coleoptera. It is reprinted from the ‘Scottish Naturalist,” in which excellent serial, we are informed, the ‘‘ Outlines” will be continued until finished. The portion under examination, embracing the Geodephaga, Hydradephaga, and Philhydrida, gives a good idea of the intention and plan of the work. The author, in a short but highly practical introduction, tells us that, as his book is ‘‘ designed especially for beginners,” the object he has kept in view ‘‘is the provision of a ready means of identifying species, not classification.” It is important to keep this in mind, as otherwise the “beginner” who takes up the book will be rather puzzled at the apparent disorder in which the specific names are arranged; anyway, he may be excused if he express his regret that the rules of identification and olassi- fication should not always run on the samelines. The plan of the work is ‘‘ to furnish in the briefest possible form tables of the leading charac- ters of the British Coleoptera.” By the free use of abbreviations the matter is much compressed, and, as they are all easy to remember, at least two great advantages accrue—the student can take in tho full details of a description at a single glance, and the book is brought within “pocket” limits. The author has succeeded in most cases in displaying the salient points of each species. The printing is well done, in olear, though small type; and the only typographical errors I have detected are in Helophorus tuberculatus, on page 62, and Hydraena nigrita, on page 67. Would that similar brevity, clearness and accuracy characterised all professedly scientific publications! The “Outlines” can be strongly recommended, not only to ‘‘ beginners” but to “ old hands.” W. G. Buatog. Floral Dissections, illustrative of Typical Genera of the British Natural Orders. By the Rev. Gro. Henstow, M.A., F.L.8., F.G.8. London: Stanford. Price 4s. Tus is a very satisfactory book, containing a large number of illustrations lithographed and described by the author. To those who, like the members of our Science Classes, have to study Botany in the winter when fresh specimens are not obtainable, it should prove of great service; and when actual specimens can be had, this book will teach the student “what to look for,” the very point on which he requires instruction. W. J. H. An Atlas of Anatomy, or Pictures of the Human Body, with descriptive Letterpress. By Mrs. Fenwick Mumuzr. London: Stanford, Price 12s. 6d. Tx1s book contains twenty-four quarto coloured plates, comprising 100 separate figures, boldly drawn and highly coloured, being indeed of a high order of merit. They are quite large enough to serve as ordinary class diagrams, whilst the accompanying letterpress and index fully explain and describe them. W. J. ET. D 18 THE WEATHER OF NOVEMBER. METEOROLOGY OF THE MIDLANDS. THE WEATHER OF NOVEMBER, 1879, RAINFALL. TEMPERATURE, j Greatest fall|'S<| Greatest ht. Great’st cold STATION. OBSERVER. Ee in 24 hours. se : In In. | Date. ae Deg| Date. |Deg| Date. ee eer a —/}——_ —) —s GLOUCESTERSHIRE. Cheltenham ......... «|R. Tyrer, Esq. ...ee-+ee0.-| 1°82/8)66) 21 13 | 560 a 17-0) 28 Stroud ...... walsiesiaters.a S. J. Coley, Esq.. *B9| *17| 21 & 24) 7 | 650 29°0| 15 BHROPSHIRE. Haughton Hall, Shifnal -|Rev. J. Brooke . *B6\s)'34) 26 11 | 54:0} 18 |490) 15 Woolstaston ....secseseeeees Rev. H. D. Carr 1°22) -30) 0 16 | 68°0 5 |g] 22 More Tal , Bishop's Castle)Rev. A. Male .. 1°25] *88} 20 17 | 540 7 |900| 14 &15 Marden Hallo. is scccn cases Miss F. R. Boug 1:35] *34) 20 15 Bishop's Castle . ..|E. Griffiths, Esq. -»~| 1°02] *B80) 90 12 | 86:0} 18 91:0) 21 Cardington ............ .|Rev. Win. HIHObt wedceck Aes 185} *40} 20 11 HEREFORDSHIRE. Stoke Bliss ....... Jantee ....- (Rey. G, B, Aloxander......| °87] °83) 20 18 |67°0} 18 |95-0/ 80 WORCESTERSHIRE. Orleton, Tenbury.......++ .o0(T. H. Davis, Haq ...000000.| 99) 85] 20 15/587} 18 {17a} 92 West Malvern ... ..|A. H. Hartland, Eag.......) "64) °22) 1 10 | 54:0} 18 |ga0] 380 Pedmore .......eeeees ..|B. B. Marten, Esq. ........) 1°15) *38} 0 16 | 57-0 7 160 90 Longlands, Stourbridge ake Jeffries Esq. Petianisicttameles 1:08} *86} 20 18 | 5670] 18 20-0/14, 29, 30 Dennis, Stourbridge ........ Mr. C. Webb .....-.00. sees] ‘79) 84) 20 12 | 550] 18 180} 14 BTATYORDSHIRE. TDP Baasasdodeddcoubden acecc{Mti de BUSOr ..etwesseunsc) 106) "227 Ds il Sedgley....... oa Mir. O-(BGR16 W cs apn ence pec ne *87| *82| 90 11 | 52°0 230! 3 Oakamoor ... ..-|H. Kettle, Haq. ........000- 1°84] *59) 91 14 | 53°6/12, 17,18] 17-8] 15 Tnvoer ...00008 ...|Rev. W. H. Bolton ........ 91] *81) 90 16 |560| 18 21:0] 14 & 30 MMR cst aren enetncne ss seine Mr. N. KB. Best .......0000 111] °80} 90 15 [84:0] 18 | 99> 21 Grammar School, Burton....|C. U. Tripp, Esq. ........-- 151} *50} 9 18 | 57:0 7 190} 15 Weston-undor-Lyziard R' tory Hon.and Rev.J. Bridgeman 1°05]s)'30) 90 13 | 560; 18 200) 22 Wrottesley: i... cecscncacccnes E. aes Livy Sess os 87|s)'34| 90 10 | 53:5] 18 &19}90:0| 22 Heath House, Cheadle J.C. P. lips HES... .ceeeeee 40] 46} 90 14 | 52:0] 6, 7,17 | 99-0) 28 & 30 Alstonfield Vicarage .. ..|Rev. W. H. Purehas .| 2°09} 46] 10 10 | 55:3 7 je4| '4 Farley, near Cheadle....... C. L. Wragge, Esq. .......- 168} *69) 91 15 | 52'5) 18 20:0} 22 WARWICKSHIRE. Coundon, Coventry....... ...|Lieut.-Col. R. oe 1:07} :23| 90 & 93/ 13 | 52°0) 17 & 18) 930) 14 & 30 GOVEDELY cacsecnececevecnenes J,. Gulson, Hsq. . 1:19} 35 20 16} 580! 17 19:0, 15 St. Mary’s College .......... Rev. 8. J Whiity me 114] *45) 2) 16 | 581) 18 10; 22 Henley-in-Arden ....eeeeeeee C. H..G. Newton, TH one 120) °36] 20 11/550} 18 |J190) 15 Rugby School..........+ UI] Rey. £.N. Hutchinson ..../115] -36] 20 14 | 56-4 7 =|200) 15 DERBYSHIRE. ‘ Stoney Middleton....... 4.eee)Rev. U. Smith .....ssecees 1°68} *74) 90 13 | 43:0] 18 |13-0) 21 Fernslope, Belpor.........+++ J.G. Jackson, Esq. ........ 1°62) °73; 20 17 | 54:0] 17 & 18} 91:0, 21 Linacre Reservoir .......... G; Hi PONGK, VHS. aseuciene 178] *70} 920 14 SYONGON esses caceenesececes J. T. Barber, Hsq........... 150} *64| 20 13 | 54-2 7 |20:¢) 14 & 21 NOTTINGHAMSHIRE Hesley Hall ............ ....|B. J. Whitaker, Esq. ...... 146) 67) al 13 |560] 18 19:0] 92 TuxfOrd ..ccscsccsccscnecncs J.N. Dufty, Hag. ......... 1-49 53°0 7 20:0) 921 Hodsock Priory, Worksop ..}/H. Mellish, Huq. .........- 1°76) °78} 29 15 | 56:0 7 |20°4) 22 Park Hill, Nottingham......)/H. F. Johnson, Ksq........ 1°80) 57) 20 13} 545} 17 |28:0) 15 LEICESTERSHIRE. Loughborough ......... srachey Wa su Esa Baise afalte tle 89] °38} 20 12 | 66-7 7 ~~ | 9071/15, 16.22, Ashby Magna.........seevees Rev. EH. Willes ............ 1°12] -33] 20 13/560} 18 190) 1 (a3 Market Harborough ......4|8. W. Cox, Esq Mes icelsienetaetnn 1:24] -34] 90 8 | 52:0] 7&18 j160| 15 BID WOFEN «00 ccsevccnccnsence Wu Macaulay, BQce se asanec 1°36] *88] 20 14 9200} 15 & 16 Town Museum, Leicester ..../W. J. Harrison, Esq. ...... j 1:09] *s7) 21 15/552) 18 23°5| 15 Syston ...ceecerseeeseaee ..|J. Hames, jun., Hag. .....- | 84) -29) 20 10 | 58°0 19 23°0| 11 & 23 Waltham-le-Wold ../K. Ball, Exq. lesen ofa a's els 'e\eipi ia |150, 85) 20 15/520) 18 22:0] 21 Foxton Locks ....-++- ..|Union Canal Company ....| ‘97} °38} 20 7 Coston Rectory, Melton......|/Rev. A. M. Rendell....... »| 1°60) *50) 21 15 | 530} 917 150} 16 NoRTHAMPTONSHIRE. Towcester Brewery......+0++ J. Webb, Hsq.......+ 92) 24) 24 6 Castle Ashby ......eseeeeeees R. G. Scriven, E 1°83] °34| 22 14 |58°0 8 240 3 CGLEOLIIIE weisision s eis)ebisinis's's cle'are J. Wallis, Esq. ... *91)s)'23} 20 11 |58°0} 18 25°0|16, 17,80 AIthOrpe ..sccecsecsccecsevce G. S. Groom, Hsq...... 114) -24) 24 11 | 530 18 20°0} 14 RUTLAND. West Deyne, Uppingham.... Rev. G. H. Mullins ........ *98]s)'32) 20 91530} 18 93°41 22 Northfields, Stamford ......|W. Hayes, Esq. .....++- apni 27 6 8 |66°0) 19 21:0} 23 OXPONO esis ocak es cesses non, .../E. J. Stone, Esq..........| 68) 25) 21 10 }53'4] 18 22°1| 14 Ventnor Hospital...........+ W.'T. Ryder, Hsq.......+++ 66) °35) = 22 2 | 59° 18 26-7, 30 tev. J. Power, M.A. ......| -67|a(16| 30 7 [57 19 21°01 30 Altarnun Vicarage.......... BY W. JEROME HARRISON, F.G.S. This month witnessed a continuation of the dry period which commenced in October ; ‘‘the driest November, and one of the driest months remembered at Altarnun ;” ‘the driest November here (Shifnal) THE WEATHER OF NOVEMBER. 19 for forty-four years, with two exceptions, viz., 1855, when ‘57 inches, and 1858, when ‘61 inches, fell.” ‘‘The rainfall of November has not been under one inch here (Syston) since 1871, when it was ‘95 inches.” The dry weather proved of incalculable value to farmers in facilitating the operations of the plough, and checking the diseases to which cattle and sheep are subject when the ground is in a wet and saturated con- dition. Generally speaking, the first half of the month was very fair and pleasant, but after the 17th the weather became more unsettled, with heavy falls of snow and sleet from the 18th to the 27th. The barometer continued remarkably high, and with but little range. North- westerly winds prevailed; in temperature the first half of the month exceeded, and the latter half was below the average. The ice on lakes, &c., was sufficiently firm in most places for skating on the 30th, although on the 15th and 16th it was sufficiently firm for a short period to ‘‘ bear” small boys and light-weights generally. A lunar halo was seen at Oxford on the 28th. At More Rectory ‘a bright meteor was visible for nearly a minute at 7 15 p.m. on the night of the 10th ;” but of the expected showers during the last few days of the month but few were seen. Naturat History Norzs py Osservers.—Coventry.—Although there is a good supply of Hawthorn berries, I have not seen any considerable number of Fieldfares, or other winter birds. On the morning of the 8th a very large flock of Wild Geese, numbering, as Iam told, some hundreds, were seen flying over a part of the town. They were flying eastward, and passed over Stoke. I regret that I did not see them, as so large a flock is of rare occurrence. Farley, near Cheadle——November 2nd, Daisies still jn flower. November 9th, Wild Geranium in bloom. November 10th, Digitalis purpurea (Foxglove) in flower still, Buttercups also, tops of Oaks bare, Birch ‘‘ universally” bare. November 14th, noticed some large Blackberries ripe, apparently in sheltered places, where they were protected from the first severe frost; fruit lacking flavour and perfection, however; many shrivelled before attaining maturity. Oak trees generally bare. Ice, half an inch thick. November 18th, Oaks “ universally” bare; species of Buttercup still in bloom. November 26th, Fringilla calebs (Chaffinch) feeding; this bird has lately been seldom seen. November 29th, Ice about lin. thick. Linacre—Saw the Foxgloye, the Crocus, and other flowers in bloom, on the 13th of the month. An occa- sional Primrose in the woods. Nottingham.—The Oaks retained their leaves throughout the month, but all the rest have cast theirs some time since, those of the Horse Chestnut particularly being very brightly tinted. Hips and Haws are plentiful, especially the latter. More Rectory.— Heard a few Fieldfares on the 19th, but have seen very few. Burton- on-Trent.—F all of leaves rapid in and near Burton during first week, though on the higher lands each side of the Trent Valley the fall was fully a fortnight later. Berries generally scarce. Shifnal.—A fine Wheat seed-time; Grey Wagtails here on 10th. Cowndon.—The last field of Wheat in this parish cut and carried between Sunday, 26th October, and Sunday, 2nd November. Bon-Chrétien Pears of last year’s crop were ripe and consumed by 30th September. The Pears from the same tree on table this day, December 1st, unripe. White Plums, (Golden Drop,) Damsons, and Pears on trees, and unxipe, after every leaf had fallen from them on 15th November. 20 CORRESPONDENCE, Correspondence, ete LEPTODORA HYALINAA—The enquiry that has been made about the correct pronunciation of this name can be answered by reference to the derivation of the word, namely Le’pto-do’ra, from eros, delicate, and dopa, Skin, in allusion to the remarkably delicate and transparent covering of this very interesting creature. The o in dopa being the short Greek letter, makes the sound strictly Le’pto-do’rra.—W. P. MarsHauu. AsyormMaL Haas of the domestio hen, similar to that named by Mr. C. Rothera, (Vol. I1., p. 259,) are not [think very uncommon. I have several in my possession gathered from the hen roost during the last few months which vary much in size and appearance. One is perfectly globular and very small, not.more than half an inch in diameter; another is’ rather larger and rather more oval in shape, and having one large lump of calcareous matter at the narrower extremity of the egg; the others are smoother and more oval, but none larger than a pigeon’s egg.— Antuur §. Maun, More Rectory, Bishop’s Castle. OrnitHoLoGaicaL Notrs.—The Grey Wagtail is more common with us in autumn than at other times of the year. On the 15th November I observed five along the Cherwell, in this parish, and a few days after- wards I found several about thesame place. On the 22nd of that month I saw what I believe to have been a Green Sandpiper. If it was of that species it was an unusually late date. I am informed by a friend that he saw Redwings about the middle of October, I, myself, did not see any till the 22nd of last month—a very late date. Neither this bird nor the Fieldfare is nearly so numerous this year as it usually is. The early winter may account for this. We have had a good many Wild Ducks coming to feed at night on the Cherwell, and one or two Teal have been shot, but the dryness of the meadows has prevented them coming in as large numbers as usual. The Heron may still be frequently seen here. About a month ago I saw four sitting in a tree in Wykham Park; and it is no unusual thing to rouse one or more in ® walk along the stream. This bird looks very peculiar on leaving a tree. Itslonglegs hang down for the first few strokes of its wings, before they are gathered up and stretched out behind.—O. VY. Apiin, Bodicote, Oxon, Dec., 1879. Animat Sacaciry.—As you ask to be furnished with instances of sagacity or instinct on the part of animals, I send the following anecdote :—‘‘ A horse of mine, which had been stall-fed for several years, was turned out to grass in one of my fields. I accompanied the man with it, feeling a little curiosity to see how it would behave. It did not - kick, or gallop, or roll about as horses sometimes do on being let loose, but immediately began quietly to partake of the pasturage, nibbled for a moment, moved on a step or two, then tried again. He then, instead of moving on to bite fresh grass, remained stationary, grubbing away with his teeth on the same spot, until he had bitten through the turf into the soil, and had sunk a small cavity into it, the dirt or soil coming out with the saliva at the sides of his mouth. He did not seem to swallow, but simply to grind it between his teeth. After doing this for a short time he commenced feeding on the grass in a natural way. The theory we formebout it was that the horse found himself at first unable to nip off the blades of grass in a eatisfactory manner, owing to his teeth having been worn too smooth by the long period of stall-feeding, and this led him to adopt an expedient for roughing them by grinding their surfaces with the grit of the soil. The process of grazing may, perhaps, afford a natural supply of grit in the very small quantity that is necessarily CORRESPONDENCE—GLEANINGS. 21 taken up with the grass. I cannot say whether this is a correct explana- tion, but if it is, it would seem to point to the advantage of giving stall- fed animals a little fine sand or gritty matter of some kind occasionally, with food that is free from it, to maintain the efficient grinding quality of the teeth. Perhaps some of your readers may have observed horses under similar circumstances, and can say whether this, to me, peculiar conduct, has been noticed before.”—A. F. O. Birps at LeaprnnatLt Marner, (December, 1879.)—The following list of birds which I observed in Leadenhall Market about the middle of this month may perhaps be of some interest, although of course the localities in which they were killed cannot be given—no doubt the greater number were foreign. The first on the list, and in fact a good many others, can hardly be called good eating :—Kestrel, (one,) Blackbirds, Missel and Song Thrushes, Redwings and Fieldfares, Larks in thousands, Rooks, two Jays, large numbers of Starlings, very many Capercailzies, a few Red Grouse, Common and Red-legged Partridges, and a great number of Pinnated Grouse and Blackcocks; thousands of Snipe, also a few “ Jacks,” Woodcocks in large numbers, Dunlins, Redshanks and Stints, Water Rails, a dozen or more; Golden and Grey Plovers, and a good many Lapwings; Curlews and Bar-tailed Godwits, one pure white Pheasant, and of course countless numbers of ordinary ones. About a dozen Herons, Moorhens, and one Coot. The duck family was well repre- sented. Besides very large numbers of the ordinary Wild Ducks, Wigeons, Pochards, and Golden Hyes, I noticed a few Teal, two Pintails; and a fine male Shoveller, which I was informed was killed at Tralee, Ireland. There were a good many Sheldrakes and Brent Geese, and two Bewick’s Swans. I saw several little Grebes, and one immature Great Northern Diver; also a few Kittiwake, Common and Herring Gulls. Amongst the live birds were a Kite, half a dozen Kestrels, a Raven, a Rook, and one or two Common and Kittiwake Gulls —O. VY. Apu, Bodicote, Oxon. Gleanings. University INTELLIGENCE.—We are glad to notice that our corres- . pondent, Mr. F. F. Grensted, of University College, Oxford, has gained a First-class in the Final School of Natural Science, at Oxford. “Tae Royvan Microscopican Socrety’s JOURNAL,” which now appears bi-monthly, maintains its high position in all respects. It is most ably edited by Mr. Frank Crisp, LL.B., B.A., F.L.S., assisted by well-known specialists, and contains articles of great interest to all biological students and microscopists. In the current number, which completes Vol. II., there is an admirable paper by our contributor, Mr. H. E. Forrest, on Leptodora hyalina, describing the external structure, the digestive and circulatory system, the nervous system, and sensory organs, the muscles, the sexual differences, the zoological position, and the history of this interesting entomostracon. This and other articles are well illustrated. ‘Two important features of the journal are the record of current researches relating to invertebrata, cryptogamia, microscopy, &c., including embryology and histology generally, and the bibliography of English and foreign periodical literature relating to the same branches of science, the latter giving a classified index in English to the contents of upwards of 300 scientific journals and transactions, and the former abstracts of, or extracts from, the more important of the articles notedin the bibliography. GLEANINGS—REPORTS. 29 Earnty Wiip Fiowrrs.—Will observers generally record and _ communicate to us the dates of flowering of such of the following plants as they may note in their neighbourhood: Lesser Celandine, Sweet Violet, Coltsfoot, Primrose, Dog’s Mercury, Hazel, Snowdrop, Blue-bell (Scilla nutans,) Cowslip, Marsh Marigold, Cuckoo Flower, (Cardamine pratensis,) and Bulbous Buttercup (Ranunculus bulbosus.)—Eps. M.N. Watrr anp Arr.—Professor Tyndall’s Christmas Juvenile Lectures, at the Royal Institution, on ‘‘ Water and Air” will, by speeial permission of Dr. Tyndall, appear in full in ‘‘ The Journal of Science.” The first lecture will be inserted in the number for January, 1880. Drw, Misr, anp Foc.—In a recent paper read before the Meteoro- logical Society, Mr. Geo. Dines estimates the amount of dew which falls annually at l4in. Mist and fog are stated to “ differ only in degree ;” and perhaps the best definition to be given of either is that of a cloud resting upon, or rather rolling over, the earth’s surface. Morning mists are produced by the evaporation of water-vapour from damp surfaces being greater than the air over those surfaces can absorb or retain in the invisible state; evening mists by cold surfaces (good radiators as grass fields) chilling the air which rests upon them. Fog is more difficult to account for fully, and Mr. Dines is ‘‘inclined to attribute these fogs to some cause at present unknown to us, by which the whole body of the air to some distance above the surface of the earth is cooled down, and, as a consequence, part of the vapour in that air is con- densed, and forms what has been called an ‘earth cloud’” i. e. a fog. The reason why the water particles which form mists, fogs, clouds, &c., donot fall at once to the earth is, Mr. Dines says, that they ‘are so minute that they are unable to force their way through the air beneath them; they float in that air, like dust in our rooms or particles of smoke in the atmosphere; yet, who doubts that both of these are specifically heavier than the air by which they are surrounded? ” Acports of Societies, os BIRMINGHAM AND MIDLAND INSTITUTE SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. —November 26, Mr. C. J. Watson read a paper on the *‘ Slide Rule,” which was illustrated by various forms of the instrument lent for the occasion by the Mayor, and Messrs. Rabone and Sons. BIRMINGHAM NATURAL HISTORY AND MICROSCOPICAL SOCIETY.—Microscopican GENERAL Merntinc.—November 18th.—Mr. T. Bolton exhibited a curious Infusorian, Peridinium cinctum, occurring just now in considerable abundance in the pools at Sutton. Mr. H. W. Jones exhibited Sagartia elegans, showing reproduction by gemmation Mr. W. P. Marshall read some notes on Leptodora hyalina, which will appear in a future number of the “ Midland Naturalist.” They were illustrated by numerous coloured diagrams and specimens under the microscopes. At the conclusion Mr. H. E. Forrest gave many additional particulars of the anatomy of the animal, and a discussion followed, in which Messrs. J. F. Goode, W. R. Hughes, G. 8. Tye, R. M. Lloyd, and others took part. GzoLoGicaL Sxction.—November 25th. —The subject of the exploration of Kent’s Cavern having been introduced, the section recommends that this society, recognising the importance of continued exploration in Kent’s Cavern, do correspond with Professor Williamson and Professor Boyd Dawkins, requesting information as to the manner in which this society can aid the proposed extension of the exploration, and as to whether it would be possible for societies aiding to a fixed extent in the work to obtain a series of typical specimens for their own colleetions. Mr. Levick communicated a letter from Professor Kellicott, of Buffalo, on the new Rotifer, Anurea longispina, with two photographs. Mr. Jones exhibited a young specimen of REPORTS. 93 Dog-fish, Scyllium canieula, showing umbilical sac, and specimen of prawn, showing the way in which it casts its skin. Mr. Waller read a paper on Obsidians and Pitchstones, showing several specimens, illustrative of the various structures observed in them. Gmneran Mrntine.—December 2nd.—Mr. R. W. Chace exhibited a fine stuffed specimen of the Avocet, Reewrvirostra avocetta, shot near Stornoway, and which he had received in the flesh. Mr. J.O. W. Barratt exhibited specimens of Stentor Miillevi. Mr. Doeg, of Evesham, sent for exhibition specimens of the rare Rotifer, Zubicolaria najas or Melicerta tyro, which had appeared in his aquarium, having been probably introduced with some willow roots from the banks of the River Avon, at Evesham. Mr. J. W. Cotton sent for exhibition a crystal of Fluor Spar, containing a bubble floating in a fluid, occupying a large part of its centre. Mr. H. W. Jones read a paper by Mr. W. Southall, F.L.8., on Arvum ervilia, the Bitter Vetch, showing the poisonous effects which it has upon pigs, when eaten dry, but after being soaked in water it loses its poisonous properties. It is not poisonous to all animals, however, as sheep eat it with impunity. Bronocican Sxucrion.—December 9th. Mr. J. HE. Bagnall contributed Ophrys aranifera, var. fucifera, Sisyrinchium Bermudiana, Stratiotes aloides, and other rare plants; also specimens of Anacharis Alsinastrum, collected as a rare plant in 1847 by Rev. A. Bloxam, in Leicestershire. In reference to this last, Mr. R. M. Lloyd remarked that the original plants were apparently longer in the internodes than those of the present time, a difference which Mr. Bagnall attributed to difference of habitat, plants inhabiting deep water having longer internodes than those dwelling in shallow. Mr. W. G. Blatch exhibited a remarkable specimen of Euplectus minutissimus, one of the Coleoptera, new to Great Britain, and found at Repton, in blood refuse, by Mr. Gurneys and Rev. W. W. Fowler, by the latter of whom it is described in the current month’s number of the “‘ Entomologist’s Magazine.” Mr. T. Bolton exhibited Stentor Barretti, from the Edgbaston Botanical Gardens. In reference to a peculiar caterpillar from Australia, exhibited some time back to the section by Mr. Simcox, and presenting the appearance of being carved out of wood, Mr. R. M. Lloyd stated that he had found that this appearance was caused by a fungoid growth which attacks the animal, and gradually substitutes a wood-like growth for its tissues. MicroscopicaL GENERAL Mrnrinc.—December 16th. Mr. T. Bolton exhibited beautiful specimens of Lophopus crystallinus, taken from underneath ice at Chester by Mr. Shepherd. It is remarkable that this Polyzoon is more abundant in winter than in summer, and usually dies down about August. Mr. H. W. Jones exhibited afish which is now generally supposed to be the female of Callionymus lyra, the Yellow Sculpin or Gemmaceous Dragonet, but which was formerly described as a distinct species under the name of C. dracunculus, the Sordid Dragonet. Mr. H. H. Forrest called attention to a notice in the *‘ Journal of the Royal Microscopical Society,” page 901, of a new Moneron, described and figured by M. Schneider, under the name of Monobia confluens. He said he had little doubt that it was identical with the animal found by Mr. Bolton, Mr.Levick, and himself, in Barnt Green Reservoir last year, and exhibited a drawing, made by himself about a year ago, for comparison with the plate in the ‘ Journal.’ The Rev. H. Platten exhibited Zeiss’s 1-15th immersion objective, which resolved the markings on Navicula rhomboides very clearly. Mr. J. Levick read a very interesting paper on Dendrosoma radians, (which will appear iu the next number of this magazine,) in which the author for the first time works out its life history. BURTON-ON-TRENT NATURAL HISTORY AND ARCHAIOLOGICAL SOCIETY.—December 9th. At the usual Monthly Meeting, the Rev. J. M. Mello read a paper on ‘“‘ The Ascent of Man.” We hope to be able to induce the author to favour our readers by allowing us to print it in a future number. NOTTINGHAM LITERARY AND PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY.— December 5th. Gilchrist lecture—‘‘ Vegetable Nutrition, and Insectivorous Plants.’ By Professor W. C. Williamson, F.R.S.—December 12th. Gilchrist lecture— Life History of the Simplest Animalcules,’ by Rev. W.H. Dallinger. —December 18th. E. Carpenter, Esq., M.A., lecture on “ Abraham Lincoln.”— Natura Science Srction.—October 8th. ‘ The Age of the Peuine Chain,” by E. Wilson, Esq., F.G.8., (which appears at page 1 of present number.)—October 22nd. General microscopical evening.—November 12th. ‘The Origin of the 24 REPORTS. Rocks and Scenery of North Wales,” by J. J. Harris Teall, Esq., M.A., F.G.S., president of the section, (which will be printed in a future number.)—November 26th. ‘‘ Sandstones, their Composition, Origin, and Colouring,” by J. H. Jennings, Esq.—December 10th. General micros¢opical evening. NOTTINGHAM NATURALISTS’ SOCIETY.—November 19th.—This was a microscopical meeting, the subject being ‘‘ The Kidneys,” which was illustrated by diagrams of the structure of the organ and sections exhibited under the microscope. The hon. sec., (Mr. L. Lee,) in the course of an interesting address, in which he treated the subject lucidly, gave an instructive account of the food required by a healthy full grown man every twenty-four hours, and of the constituents of that food, and the purposes which each served in the economy of the system in building up tissues, heat producing, &c. The several excretory organs, and their distinctive work in filtering effete organic matter from the blood were next described, the functions of the kidneys in getting rid of the nitrogenous waste of the body being dwelt upon more particularly. This was — followed by anatomical details of the structure of the excretory organs, especially of that which formed the special subject of the address. An interesting discus- sion followed. NORTHAMPTON NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY.—The opening meeting of the winter session was held on November 25th, when there was a good attendance. Sir Herewald Wake, Barv., in the absence of Lord Lilford, presided.—Mr. Crick (for Mr. G. C. Druce, F'.L.8., who has removed to Oxford) read the report of the Botanical Section, which detailed the principal “ finds” during the year. It stated that a list of plants indigenous to the county had been forwarded to the British Museum, and would shortly be printed in the society’s new journal.—The Chairman expressed the hope that Mr. Druce would continue a corresponding member.—Mr. Hull said that the Geological Section had nothing of importance to record. He might say that the geological specimens in the Museum had been arranged by a gentleman who thoroughly understood his business, but a part of the collection, principally the mineralogical, had not yet been named. ‘The only practical work in the neighbourhood that he knew any- thing of consisted of well-sinkings through the lias formation.—Mr. R. G. Scriven said that the weather, which had been disastrous for out-door excursions, had prevented the Photographic Section from doing much, but he might state that he had prepared the negatives of several famous trees, and they had been sent to be copied by the Woodbury process, in order to obtain a sufficient number for the new journal, which, it was expected, would be ready in February.—The Chair- man, who has become president of the Entomological Section, then read a paper. It was, as he explained, rather on the science gene- rally for the purpose of interesting his hearers in it, and, possibly, enlisting recruits. Having alluded tothe bad time which the hymenoptera had had this summer, though the coleoptera might have fared better, he expressed the opinion that wet seasons tended to the destruction of insect life. He then showed that insects subserved a very useful purpose in the unimal creation, remarking that if the Almighty had not created them, nothing else would have long survived. Their use as scavengers as well as fertilisers, assisting to carry and spread the pollen of flowers, as well as the important contributions of insects to our industries, were pointed out. Sir Herewald then proceeded to touch more especially upon the diptera. Selecting the common gnat, he both interested and amused the audience by explaining its structure and several stages of develop- ment, which were illustrated by drawings, relating several anecdotes, some of which had come within his personal experience when in Florida and other places abroad, concerning that formidable member of the culicide, the mosquito. Hn passant, Sir Herewald referred to the earwig, for the purpose of exploding a common error that it has a fondness for taking refuge in the human ear. So far from that, he said, the wax in the ear would repel the insect, and if it got into the ear it would soon be glad to get out again. In concluding, he recommended the study of entomology to the botanists, because botany and entomology, like bread and butter, went well together. Mr. Godfrey gave a short account of local entomology, and Mr. Bailey raised the question of a museum for the society, and made an appeal for support. The meeting then terminated. Plate IfTf. Re : { WP Marshal’ del| Leptodora byalina LEPTODORA HYALINA. 49 ~ ON THE HABITS AND LIFE-HISTORY OF LEPTODORA HYALINA. BY A. MILNES MARSHALL, D.SC., ETC., PROFESSOR OF ZOOLOGY IN THE OWENS COLLEGE. In view of the approach of another season for obtaining specimens of this new and specially interesting Hntomostracon, and for investigating its life-history, the following notes of the Continental experience and study of this creature may be found of service. They are extracted from the German memoir by Weismann, ‘On the Structure and Life-history of Leptodora Hyalina,’ which appeared first in the Zeitschrift fiir wissenschaftliche Zoologie for 1874, and was subsequently republished in a separate form. This memoir, a carefully written and detailed treatise of 70 pages, illustrated by six large plates, is by far the most complete and accurate account of Leptodora that has yet appeared. Weismann first met with Leptodora in Lake Constance during the summer of 1873, and supposing it to be new to science devoted much time and trouble to working out its life-history during this and the following year. The principal results to which he was led, as contained in the paper above referred to, are as follows. For the capture of Leptodora Weismann employed a fine net dragged immediately beneath the surface of the water; he notes that Rererences to Prats II. The Figures, which are copied from Bronn’s Klassen und Ordnungen des Thier- reichs, represent three stages in the development of the spring brood of Leptodora. a. Anterior pair of antenne, or é. Labrum, or upper lip. antennules. f. Carapace. b. Posterior pair of antenna, g. Compound eye of adult. or antenne proper. h. Larval or Nauplius eye. ce. Mandibles. z. Intestine. d. Thoracic appendages. k. Ovary. Fig. 1—First stage in the development of the spring brood, seen from the dorsal surface. This earliest or Nauplius stage possesses only three pairs of jointed appendages—antennules, a, antenne, b,and mandibles, c. The great size of the second pair, the antenne, b, is obviously correlated with their large size in the adult, and is a point serving to distinguish the Nauplius larva of Leptodora from the Nauplii of other Crustacea, Fig. 2—A somewhat older larva seen from the right side. In addition to the marked increase in size, the most important changes are the greater development of the thoracic appendages, d, the appearance of the ovary, k, (all the spring brood are said to develope into females,) and the rudiment of the compound adult eye, g Fig. 3.—A still older larva, seen from the rightside. The thoracic appendages, d, have now grown very considerably; the carapace, f, has begun to appear ; the limb-like portion or palp of the mandibies, c, has under- gone not only a relative but an actual decrease in size; the compound eye, g, has greatly increased in size; the abdomen is segmented; and the alimentary canal has acquired the arrangement characteristic of the adult. In Figs. 2 and 3 the appendages of one side only of the body are shown. Novr.—In the original figures, which are very roughly drawn, the larval or Nauplius eyeis not distinctly shown. As its presence is of extreme importance as distinguishing the spring brood from all other generations, and as my sole object in giving these figures is to facilitate the recognition of the larva, I have inserted this eye in the figures in the position which it holds according to Weismann’s descriptions. I hope that before long some of the Birmingham Naturalists may be able to give us more satisfactory figures of these developmental stages. Na A; M. M, ue 50 LEPTODORA HYALINA,. wherever they occur they are found in large numbers, They appear to avoid strong light; thus, in clear sunshine none are found at the surface, though they may abound at a depth of afew feet; at night they occur quite at the surface, but bright moonlight is sufficient to drive them down again. The best time for capturing them is in gloomy weather, towards evening, or on dark nights. Weismann suggests, however, that. this shunning of the light may be only apparent after all, and due to the fact that Cyclops, which, according to him, is the chief food of Leptedora, has the same habit, so that Leptodora may be merely following its prey about, instead of being itself directly influenced by light. Still the fact is one of some interest, and one a knowledge of which may greatly facilitate the capture of this interesting Entomostracon. Swimming is effected entirely by means of the posterior antenna, and is comparatively slow. It is only in extremest necessity, when stuck fast, that the abdomen is used for progression, while the feet appear to be never used for this purpose. Cladocera may be divided into a littoral group and a deep-water group, to the latter of which Leptodora belongs. It is only found in water clear from vegetation, and away from the shore. When kept in captivity, algee and particles of dirt soon attach themselves to the swimming arms or antenne, and the animals rarely survive so long as a fortnight. They are not uncommonly attacked by a fungus, which grows inwards through the integument and gradually kills them. Weismann describes Leptodora as habitually lying quietly stretched out in the water, like Corethra, and waiting till its prey comes within reach of its foot-jaws; he considers that the terminal dilatation of the alimentary canal partially counterbalances the thorax and head, and so aids in the maintenance of the horizontal position. The relations of Leptodora to the other Cladocera are discussed by Weismann at considerable length. He points out how the long segmented abdomen of Leptodora is correlated with the rudimentary condition of its carapace, and shows how in such forms as Bythotrephes and Polyphemus we have a gradual increase in the size of the carapace, accompanied by a gradual diminution in the length of the abdomen and fusion of its different segments; while finally in Daphnia the carapace has grown backwards and downwards, so as to completely enclose the whole animal —a change accompanied by complete fusion of thorax and abdomen, in which no indication of the constituent segments is visible in the adult. The reduction of the body and fusion of the segments is carried to a still higher point in the Ostracoda, such as Cypris, in which also the bivalve shell reaches its highest development. The absence of branchial lamelle on the legs in Leptodora is also to be correlated with the rudimentary condition of the carapace; these lamellx, which attain their greatest development in Lynceide and Daphniade, in which also the carapace is most fully developed, probably serve to maintain a current of water through the shell, rather than to act themselves as direct respiratory organs, and they are therefore need- less when the shell is absent or rudimentary. LEPTODORA HYALINA. 51 From these arguments Weismann concludes that Leptodora is the most primitive form of Cladocera with which we are acquainted—a conclusion supported in a remarkable manner by what little is known of its development. Leptodora, like Cladocera in general, appears to form two kinds of ova, which may be distinguished as winter ova and summer ova. The two kinds of ova differ markedly in appearance and in their subsequent mode of development, though both kinds may occur at one time in the ovary of a single female. The difference between the two appears to depend mainly on the winter ova being fertilised while the summer ova develope parthenogenetically. This, however, is not definitely proved; all that is known is that males occur very rarely or notat all until late in the autumn, and that their occurrence is apparently coincident with the development by the females of winter ova. From the summer ova are developed young which undergo no marked metamorphosis, and resemble their parents at the time of leaving the egg. The winter ova, on the other hand, produce embryos which when hatched have the form known as Nauplius, and only attain the form of their parents after a long and gradual series of metamorphoses, accompanying the successive moultings of their skin. The occurrence of this Nauplius larva is of very great interest. A Nauplius is characterised by possessing only three pairs of appendages (corresponding to the two pairs of antennz and the pair of mandibles of the adult), a rudimentary unsegmented abdomen, and a single median eye instead of the double eye of the adult. Nauplius larve are very general among the Entomostraca, but till the life-history of Leptodora was worked out by Sars in 1873 the Cladocera were supposed to stand alone among Entomostraca in never passing through the Nauplius stage. Leptodora serves in this respect to connect the Cladocera with the other Entomostraca, and in this way fully proves its title to rank as one of the most primitive forms of Cladocera known. The Nauplius larve of different Crustacea generally have some resemblances to the adult forms, and this is particularly well shown by the Nauplius of Leptodora, in which, while the anterior antennz are very small, the posterior antenne are very large indeed, thus fore- shadowing their enormous size in the adult. As these early stages are of very great interest and importance, figures of some of the most important larval stages of Leptodora accompany this paper, in the hope that they may facilitate the recognition of the forms when actually met with. The winter ova, it appears, give rise in March or April to larvee which hatch in the form of Nauplii; these moult several times, and gradually acquire the form cf the adult. This spring brood may be always recognised by the fact that they retain even when adult the median eye of the Nauplius, in addition to the large double compound eye of the adult; the larval eye persisting as a small black spot on the under surface of the brain. The spring brood gives rise to females only; these 62 LEPTODORA HVYALINA. females produce summer ova which develope into adults, and produce other summer ova, and so on; males do not appear until the autumn, and even then are much scarcer than the females. At the end of his paper Weismann gives a list of all the localities in which Leptodora had been observed up to the date of his paper, 1874. The first specimens were found by Focke in 1844 in the town moat of Bremen, which is described as being clear water more than 100 feet wide, and moderately deep. Lilljeborg found it in Sweden in 1860. The males were first discovered by Miiller in 1867 in Danish lakes, and in Lakes Geneva and Constance. In 1868 Wagner found it in a Russian lake near Kasan, and, ignorant of its previous discovery, re-named it Hyalosoma dux. It has also occurred in Lake Maggiore, in Italy, but according to Weismann is not found in Lake Zurich, nor in the smalk lakes near Lake Constaice. t The above paper stggests several points well worthy the attention of our local naturalists during the present and ensuing months. The occurrence of the Nauplius form is of extreme interest, as an isolated instancé among Cladocera; while the retention by the spring brood of the Nauplius eye affords a ready means of recognising them in their later stages. It will be very important to ascertain whether any of this spring brood develope into males, i.c., whether any males are met With possessing the Nauplius eye. Any direct confirmation of the parthenogenetic nature of the summer ova would be also very valuable. A point which I would ask any one to determine who has the opportunity of observing a living Leptodora, is the nature of the process of respiration. This will probably be found to be effected, as in Cyclops and other Entomostraca, by means of rhythmical contractions of the terminal dilated portion of the alimentary canal; water being alternately sucked into and ejected from this dilated portion. The arrangement of the muscular system strongly suggests that this is the real mode of respiration, a point which would probably be settled by a few minutes” observation of a healthy specimen. THE FUNGI OF OUR DWELLING HOUSES. BY WILLIAM PHILLIPS, F.L.S. (Continued from page 88.) The next twenty-three species in our list (14—36, to which 44 and 45 may be added) comprise those which are known as microscopic fungi, being so minute that they require a magnifying glass fo see any of the details of their structure. They may be none the less formidable, how- ever, in their effects on health. When it is remembered that the potato disease, Peronospora infestans, the hollyhock diséase,Puccinia malvacearum, the coffee disease, Hemileia vastatrix, together with many others that may — be mentioned, are all microscopic fungi, it will be admitted that mere THE FUNGI OF DWELLING HOUSES. 58 size is not indispensable for effecting much injury. Nearly all this group are_sound on damp wall paper, or damp plaster, and produce the dis- colouration so frequently seen when moisture finds its way through or on toa wall. To one unacquainted with these minute organisms it will be a matter of surprise to be told that what looks like apatch of dirt or dust is in reality a curious little forest of vegetation, of various species, which spring up, flourish and decay, in the course of a few months, one crop following another in continued succession, the more minute making way for the larger and more conspicuous species. There is not more dis- similarity in the trees of an ornamental park than can be seen in these minute growths, each plant having its own characteristic outline and peculiar fruit. Many of them are exceedingly beautiful, and will well repay careful examination by those who possess a microscope. We will confine our remarks to one species (No. 30 in the list,) which is known to most people. [I allude to the cellar fungus, Zasmidium cellare. This fungus, which forms the sombre drapery hanging over the arches of old vaulted wine cellars, and in undisturbed bins in which are deposited special vintages only to be produced with pride on festive occasions, consists of a mass of entangled threads, bearing on certain parts spherical vesicles not larger than a pin’s head, of a brittle carbonaceous texture. These vesicles are the sporangia, filled with minute spores, destined to reproduce the species. By the kindness of Mr. Allen Harker, of Gloucester, we are able to exhibit to you some specimens from the bonded cellars of that city, bearing fruit. One of the specimens varies from the normal colour, being of arusty brown. This colour arises from its being impregnated with a solution of some salt of iron. Mr. Harker says, ‘“‘I have analysed the incinerated ash, and find iron in large quantities.” The only injurious effect of this fungus is that it occasionally penetrates the corks, rendering recorking necessary, but not injuring the wine. Time will not allow of our saying anything about the many interesting species contained in this group, besides which it would be difficult without drawings to give any- thing like an adequate notion of their interesting and often elegant structure. . The last group in our list to which we would diréct attention are the cup-shaped fungi, of which there are eight species, (Nos. 37 to 44,) found on damp wood or walls, in various places about dwellings not properly eared for. Their form is that of a miniature tea cup, from the fraction of an inch to two or even three inches across. The colour of several is of a sober drab or dirty white. They appear on the vertical surface of wood or walls, often on ceilings, attached by their base, at which there is often a manitest development of white, root-like threads (mycelium,) to which they owe their origin. No. 39 in our list, called Balfour’s Peziza,is a pretty, purplish-white species, about one inch across. It occurred, for the first time it had been noticed, on the walls of Inverleith House, near Hdinburgh, occupied by Professor Balfour. This house had been burnt down previous te the Professor’s occupation of it, and gave evident signs that it had never become thoroughly dry since. Indeed, the presence of 54 THE FUNGI OF DWELLING HOUSES. any in this group indicates a confirmed state of dampness, quite incom- patible with a healthy condition of # dwelling house. We have thus briefly glanced at a subject which deserves much more extended notice, especially that part of it which relates to their sanitary influence. It hasbeen established, beyond doubt, that the spores of fungi are capable of producing evil effects, such, for example, as those of the common puff-ball when passed into the lungs by breathing, and it is not unreasonable to conclude that many of these household species may exert a like evil influence. The case of one of the assistants in the Botanic Gardens of Edinburgh having experienced injury from this cause, and the fact quoted in that admirable little book entitled ‘‘ Fungi . their Nature, Influence, and Uses,” as to the black rust of the seed, Arundo donax, producing eruptions on the skin, point clearly to this con- clusion. Who shall say how many of the ailments of children, as well as grown people, may be attributed to this cause, though never for a moment suspected. The showers of invisible spores thrown off by a patch of black mould the size of a human hand may fill the atmosphere of a room with disease-producing bodies none the less potent because they cannot be seen. Besides this, as we have already shown, the presence of fungi invariably indicates a state of unwholesome dampness in the apartment where they are found, suggesting the necessity of better drainage and ventilation. They thus perform for us, in one way, the office of a friend, by warning us of the unhealthy condition of our house; while, if such warning be despised, they may become our most formidable foes. HyYMENOMYCETES. 1.—Coprinus aphthosus, Fr. Scaly Coprinus. On decaying moist wood in cellars, cold kitchens, &c. 2.—Coprinus radians, Fr. Radiating Coprinus. On plaster walls. 3.—Coprinus domesticus, (Pers.) Domestic Coprinus. On damp carpets, 4.—Lentinus lepideus, Fr. Scaly Lentinus. On rafters. 5.—Panus violaceo-fulvus, Batsch. Violet-brown Panus. On wood in cellars ; not British. 6.—Polyporus destructor, Fr. Destructive Polyporus. On worked wood in houses. 7.—Polyporus cryptarum, Fr. Cellar Polyporus. In cellars; not British. 8.—Polyporus hybridus,; B. and Br. Dry-rot Polyporus. On oak in houses and ships. 9.—Polyporus Vaillantii, Fr. Vaillant’s Polyporus. In cellars. ae lacrymans, Fr. Dry-rot Merulius. On beams and wood in ouses. a hirsutum, Fr. Hairy Stereum. On damp wood and water utts. 12.—Corticium puteaneum, Schum. Well corticium. On damp Wood in cellars, wells, &c. 13.—Corticium aridum, Fr. Parched Corticium. On pine wood in houses: Myxomycetes. Slime Fungi: 14.—Lycogala parietinum, Fr. Paper Lycogala: On paper: THE FUNGI OF DWELLING HOUSES. 55 Coniomycetes. Dust Fungi. 15.—Torula murorum, Cord. Wall Torula. On walls. 16.—Sporidesmium alternaria, Cooke. Paper sporidesmium. On damp wall paper. Hyenomycetes. Thread Fungi. 17.—Isaria furcellata, Mont. Forked Isaria. On chips in cellars; not British. 18.—Stilbum typhinum, Wallr. Tub Stilbum. On vinegar barrels; not British. — 19.—Sporocybe alternata, B. Alternate Sporocybe. On damp wall paper. 20.—Stachybotrys atra, Corda. Black Stachybotrys. On wall paper. 21.—Macrosporium cheiranthi, Fr. Common Macrosporium. On damp wall paper. 22.—Aspergillus glaucus, Lk. Blue Mould. On anything damp. 23.—Aspergillus roseus, Lic. Pink Aspergillus. On damp wall paper, carpets, &c. 24.—Rhinotrichum lanosum, Cooke. Woolly Rhinotrichum. On damp wall paper. 25.—Prnicillium chartarum, Cooke, Paper Penicillium. On damp wall paper. 26.—Oidium chartarum, Cooke. Paper Oidium. On damp paper. 27.—Sporotrichum sulphureum, Grev. Sulphury Sporotrichum. On wood in cellars, &c. 28.—Sporotrichum fenestrale, Dit. Window-glass Sporotrichum. On glasg in windows. 29.—Myzxotrichum deflecum, B. On damp wall paper. PuysomyceTes. Vesicle-bearing Fungi. 30.—Zasmidium cellare, Fr. Cellar Fungus. Incellars on walls, bottles, corks, &c., &c. 31.—Mucor phycomyces, Berk. Shining Mucor. On greasy walls, fat, &. 32.—Mucor mucedo, L. Common Mucor. On fruit, paste, and many other things. Ascomycetes. Ascus-bearing Fungi, 83.—Perisporium princeps, B. Princely Perisporium. On old beams. 34.—Chetomium murorum, Corda. Wall Bristle-Mould. On plaster walls. 35.—Chetomium chartarum, Ehb. Paper Bristle-Mould. On damp wall paper. 36.—Chetomium glabrum, B. Smooth Bristle-Mould. 37.—Peziza viridaria. B. and Br. Greenhouse Peziza, On damp plaster walls. 38.—Peziza tectoria, Cooke. Plaster Peziza. On damp plaster walls, similar to the preceding. 39.—Peziza Ade, Cooke. SBalfour’s Peziza. On damp walls. 40.—Peziza cretacea, Cooke. Chalky Peziza. On plaster ceiling. 41.—Peziza domestica, Sow. Domestic Peziza. On damp wall paper and on plaster. 42.—Peziza Pigottii, B and B. Pigott’s plaster Peziza, On plaster ceilings. 43.—Peziza hemastigma, Fr. Blood-red Peziza. On walls. 44.—Peziza Bullii, Smith. Bull’s Peziza. On water butt. 45.—Orbicula cyclospora, Cooke. Paper Orbicula. On varnished wall paper. 46.—Orbicula perichenoides, Cooke, On beams in old houses. 56 A GARDEN SNAIL SHELL. A GARDEN SNAIL SHELL.* The snail is an architect whose house-work does not fall within the denunciations of Professor Ruskin, or Gambier-Parry. His three-storyed building has no want of curvilinear lines, it is not only weatherproof and waterproof, butis also ornamented with bands and mosaics, and has its interior floored with enamel. Its drainage is perfect, and its _ ventilation irreproachable—cool in the summer and no icy-draughts in the winter. The Garden Snail, Helix aspersa, is but one of 253 species of a sanitary scavenger, whose function it is to consume and assimilate into living organism much superfluous and decaying vegetation, that otherwise might not only offend the human nostrils but, in a state of putrescent decay, would emit carbonic acid gas, and so poison the air for human beings. The writer, one fine spring morning, had scooped up a troweltull of mould from the base of a greenhouse wall, and in so doing noticed therein a dozen snail eggs, round and glistening substances, the size of peas. Wishing to obtain a minuter inspection of these globules, he went in-doors for a pocket-lens. Not more than ten minutes elapsed, when, on looking for the “‘ objects” for the lens, it was discovered that they had evolved into living and moving snails, and had briskly commenced their march of vagabondage, henceforward “ eating to live and living to eat.” It was evident that the sunlight or sun heat in which the eggs had been left was too much for their pulpy bodies and transparent envelopes, and that they had simultaneously and instinctively determined to decamp and search for a lee-side and a shady corner. Of a pale amber hue, the twelve travellers resembled twelve — animated beads. Their horns were very prominent, and the salivary track they left behind was very slight. They did not as yet betray any ornament on their shells by way of band, or motley brown. Soft to the touch, they possessed a consistency greater than was expected in shells only ten minutes old. Within one week they hardened and darkened in hue, and an increase in marginal growth and thickening of the layer or band which wound round the columella or pillar was plainly evident. The activity of the little things was quite frolicsome, wandering away from green lettuce leaves and nibbling only at various portions, as if their spiral confinement required extra exercise or stretching out of the foot muscles. The snail’s shell is formed in successive layers or lamine, its cal- careous and earthy growth proceeding simultaneously with the growth of the animal by sympathetic exudations from the secretive glands of the fleshy neck of the mantle. The neck (or collar, as it is called) of the snail increasing in growth daily, it is able to push the collar from time to time beyond and outside its original shell margin. In these motions, * This paper, written at the request of the Editors, gives a popular account _of the formation and growth of a Garden Snail Shell, in answer to « correspondent at page 53, in Vol, IL. A GARDEN SNAIL SHELL, 57 additional membranous and calcareous matter is exuded, which adheres to the shell edge, or mouth, and hardens into an additional diagonal line of thatch. The colouring deepens, and gradually becomes more pronounced, as line upon line is added daily. Itis bound or strapped on the back of the snail by two muscles which begin at the pillar, and, having penetrated the body below the spiral part, trend forwardunder the stomach. The fibres having interlaced the ‘‘foot” muscles, on their contraction, the body of the Helix is drawn within. The motion may be likened to the shutting up of a lady’s flounced parasol, the whalebone ribs repre- senting the muscles. Egress is facilitated by circular fibres which surround the body, above the foot, and this motion is aided by the polished, surface of the interior, which is formed by an excretion of pure lime. An old shell has a highly-polished lining, from the constant friction of the soft body passing in and out. When about a month old, the snail begins, for some practical end, to be prettily ornamented with the tattoo of his species; and by this time the glands on the neck of his mantle are well furnished with the mucous slime and the colours which pervade the pores of the shell and vivify it. Ifyou look at any empty garden snail shell, you observe that the upper two out of his three whorls have no tattoo marks ; they are of a pale, horny hue. That important organ, the liver, has not up to that period developed into the fat and plump liver which marks a well fed, pluralist snail. Prokably, with an increased power in the odontophore, or teeth-cushion- saw, strong flavoured and thicker vegetation is attacked and digested, and thus the exudations are of more marked and decided tints than before. What we may term the pattern is produced by the admixture of the albuminous or white mucous with the dark-brown excretions from the larger glands of the collar. The process isexemplified in the mechanical arts in the “marbling” of the bookbinder, where different coloured pigments are adjusted in a trough and interspersed, and, as the mechanic is so disposed, either a Scotch plaid pattern or a simple mottle is produced when the pook-edges are dipped therein and dried. There is no perceptible growth in the tattoo marks after their first formation—that is to say, no expansion has been traced. The power of repairing the shell is worth noticing. In a human habitation, if a roof-tile is broken off, one or two artificsrs, one or more ladders, and one or two days are employed to repair the damage; but when Helix aspersa sustains a fracture or damage in his roof, a nerve telegram is sent from the surface of his mantle to the cerebral ganglia or principal nerve centre, and an order is transmitted simul- taneously to the nearest mucous glands in the collar (the thickest part of the body nearest the shell) to exude the necessary cement. This hardens quickly, being a coagulating cement, free from animal matter. Eyesight, in our conception of the word, the snail can hardly be said to possess, and so the creature repairs the roof without ‘‘ surveying” the damaged spot, or overlooking the process of reparation, except by the local sensation of comfort or discomfort. For whether the ocelli or black spots in the posterior or hinder pair of horns are eyes is a moot question. iu 58 A GARDEN SNAIL SHELL. It has been observed that snail shells of the same species differ in brilliancy of pattern from various causes. The lesser or greater supply of lime, the more or less prevalence of succulent vegetation, — and ample or deficient sunlight decidedly affect the shells. Confine handsomely-marked snails in a Wardian case with little sunlight, and the colours will exhibit a falling off in a short time. As an abnormal instance of absence of colour, Mr. Mann, the lepidoptera collector, of Clifton, had, a few years ago, white shells of H. aspersa, which hefound in one spot near the Downs. It would be interesting if some Bristol correspondent would take notes respecting this variety. If the snail shells—empty shells, of course—are dipped in boiling water the outer scarf skin will come away, and leave them more bright in colour than before. This epidermis is put on (like a light overcoat) at the approach of winter in increased thickness, probably to preserve the shell during the long hybernation. This paper will have no sympathy from some reader who has suffered from an excessive immigration of snails into his garden, and he will not concur in the estimate, given atthe outset, of the snail’s utility ; but if the birds provided to keep the species in check—the blackbird and thrush—were not scared away or killed off with such persistence, snails would only be seen in moderate quantities, and would pursue their functions, usefully and not destructively. Time was when the rustic maiden in English rural parts read her fortune in the movements of a snail. It is thus poetized by Gay:— “Last May-day I searched to find a snail That might my lover’s name reveal.” She placed it on ‘‘ the milk-white embers spread ;” when “Slow crawls the snail; and, if I right can spell, In the soft ashes marked a curious L. Oh! may this wondrous omen lucky prove, For L is found in Lubberkin and love.” W. B. Srrvenetn, Cheltenham. NOTES ON THE STRUCTURES OF PITCHER PLANTS. BY LAWSON TAIT, F.R.C.S., PROFESSOR OF ANATOMY TO THE BIRMINGHAM ROYAL SOCIETY OF ARTISTS, ETC. (Continued from page 8.) On the outside of all Nepenthes pitchers multifids and their buds are seen in great numbers, and they are always most numerous and largest at those parts of the pitchers where rain water would be most likely to lodge. They are also best marked in the young condition of the plant in such an instance as N. Rafflesiana. In the subepithelial parenchyma a number of cells may be seen to — send up slender processes to be in contact with the insertion of the multifids. Bubbles of air may, in rare instances, be seen breaking the a : THE STRUCTURES OF PITCHER PLANTS. 59 column of fluid contained in the multifids, just as in the tubular trichomes of Sarracenia. Thisis probably the result of injury. Stomata are not very numerous on the outsides of any kind of pitcher which I have examined, and they are not found at all on the inner surfaces. Numerous multifids and buds exist on the upper surfaces of the lids of all pitchers and on the under surfaces of such lids as do not cover the mouth. On such lids as do cover the mouths of the pitchers, as in N. distillatoria, they exist only as buds, and usually are not numerous, but they are also found inside the pitcher on a short zone immediately above the true glands. This, together with other reasons already given, leads me to believe that these structures are for the absorption of water and substances dissolved in it. It may be here just noted that these multifids exist in great abundance on the backs of the lobes of the Dionwa, and that when the trap is closed, they afford a spongy surface on which water remains for a long time, and its absorp- tion there I think must be of great use to the plant when the trap is closed and the process of digestion is going on. On all the surfaces mentioned these buds are seen occasionally to be sunk beneath the epithelial surface, and to present the peculiar appearances already described in Cephalotus. This appearance in Nepenthes has been described by Lindley as a special kind of stoma, but he admits that they do not open into cavities of the parenchyma as is the case with the latter. (Introduction to Botany, Vol. I., p. 142.) On the under surface of the lids of most pitchers are to be seen glands identical in structure with those to be immediately described as occurring on the inner surface of the pitcher. Dr. Hooker believes these to be honey glands, but I differ from that eminent authority for the following reasons :—That they are identical in structure with the true digestive glands, and that they are better marked in the pitchers where the lids cover the mouth completely than in those which do not ; that in many such, as in N. distillatoria, they are hooded in exactly the same way as the glands of the pitcher ; that when the gland is excited by food I have been able to detect acid secretion collected in the hoods of the lid glands of N. distillatoria; that nectaries are usually very inconspicuous, and only a small spot of tissue which, without being trans- formed, produces the nectar. (Sachs.) Spiral tissue abounds in every part of the parenchyma of Nepenthes’ pitchers. The most important structures in Nepenthes’ pitchers are the round or oval glands found regularly distributed over a greater or less extent of the inner surface. These glands are sometimes to be found throughout the whole extent of a pitcher, as in N. Raflesiana; but in many kinds they are limited to the lower part. When thisis the case there are always two clearly defined zones, the upper of which resists wetting, and throws off water, while the lower readily retains it. On this upper surface the epithelium is irregularly polygonal in some pitchers, but in the majority itis of the sinuous kind and interspersed with regularly distributed crescentic markings of very small size, (03mm. in length by ‘01 in breadth,) which are arranged with the concavities 60 THE STRUCTURES OF PITCHER PLANTS. downwards, and in the same position as the hoods of the glands lower down. Occasionally at a little distance below one of these markings an epithelial cell can be seen enlarged, and with an increase of protoplasm, sometimes even having a semblance of segmentation, which makes it appear as if it were making an effort to become a gland. The crescentic markings on section can be seen to be formed by the doubling of one epithelial cell under another, so that beyond doubt they are rudimentary hoods. These hoods, as will be afterwards seen, have a very important purpose, but even in this rudimentary condition they would prove serviceable by affording an increase Of absorbent surface, just as the valvule conniventes doin the intestine. These latter structures are found in quite as rudimentary a statein the intestine, as those by which the perfect hoods are represented in the upper surface of the Nepeuthes’ pitcher. The line of commencement of the glands (in a pitcher where there is a non-glandular surface) is quite abrupt, and corresponds with the ampullary enlargement generally seen outside. From this point the glands are found distributed with great regularity, and increasing in size towards the bottom of the pitchers, where, on the lower or greater curvature, the largest are always found, that spot being, of course, the position in which the gland function will most frequently be called into action. These glands resemble in structure very closely those seen in Drosera and Dionza, though, of course, their details differ somewhat. They are sessile, and are placed in depressions of the parenchyma, lined with epithelium, which, at the top of the pit, is produced into a double fold of modified epithelium, between the cells of which run intercellular spaces, and each gland is placed on a twig of spiral tissue, in this arrangement being identical with the glands of Drosera. It requires favourable sections to display this fact, and it gave me much trouble to make myself certain of it. The cells of the outer layer of the epithelium of the gland are regularly columnar, and do not seem to be nucleated, exceptin virgin pitchers. (Fig. 11.) When crushed between the cover and the slide they do not seem to have fluid contents, but spread out as if they had a putty-like consistency. The inner cells are larger, more irregular, and have coloured nuclei. Im a few cases I have seen appearances asif the intercellular canals had direct communication with the spiral tissue; but the possibility of this being an optical illusion is so considerable, that I could not venture to assert it as a conclusion. There is, however, as great probability that such connection does exist as there is in the view of the origin of the hepatic ducts advanced by Chrzonsczsczewsky and others. Examination by high immersion powers have convinced me that these intercellular canals are really walled, and that they contain streams of colourless protoplasm, which is in a state of slow movement. ‘These glands vary very greatly in size in different varieties of Nepenthes, the largest which I have seen being at the bottom of amature pitcher of N. distillatoria, which measured *375mm. by ‘2, whilst the smallest were at the top of a virgin pitcher of NN. Ragiesiana, measuring only ‘045mm. (Fig. 12.) The rule of their "AD THE STRUCTURES OF PITCHER PLANTS. 61 progvessive increase towards the bottom of the pitcher is quite uniform, and with their increase in size they have a varying relation to the hood. Thus in a mature but unopened pitcher of N. Rafiesiana I made a set of careful measurements of the glands and their hoods over the whole surface, the results of which are embodied in the following table :— MEASUREMENTS OF THE GLANDS OF A MATURE BUT UNOPENED PITCHER OF NEPENTHES RAFFLESIANA. ws |f#oalino eat Aa Millimetres | 42 5 on BaS8 og from the top| o5/ de eoollsa ofthe |SHA| im |" s8s Pitcher. |@5.5) 4 2 aie S88 A HS 1 Round glands, wholly covered by the hood. 6 | 045 | 04 | ‘1 oil Average size of glands, *053. ‘0 c al Average depth of hoods, ‘056. I+} 15 | :055} 05 | ‘11 || -11_ || Estimated number of glands to one sq.mm.,73 20 | 065 | ‘055 -11 || +125 || Proportion of gland surface to the whole 25 065 | °065 | ‘15 125 area, ‘09225. Here the glands become oval. : A cs : Glands covered by hoods in proportions vary- 30 | 185 | 2 | as. || 28 || “ing from ¥ at the top, to 3 at the bottom d A 5 of the zone. syee es A “07 : i Average size of glands, °*163. aE cy pe ape ae Average depth of hoods, ‘086. 60 19 075 | °175 || -175 Estimated number of glands per sq.mm., 25. Proportion of gland surface to whole area, ‘3, Hoods cover less than } of the glands. 65 ‘19 05 175 || *175 || Average size of glands, ‘2. 2 04 ‘175 || +175 || Average depth of hoods, ‘04. 2, 035 | ‘175 || -175 || (At this point hoods are entirely above the 80 “21 085 | “195 || 175 glands.) "2 ‘035 | +175 || +175 || Estimated number of glands per sq. mm..,"36. 2 035 | °175 || *175 || Proportion of gland surface to whole area, “84, The measurements in the iast two columns are only relative and not absolute. The epithelial cells and the intercellular canals have a corresponding increase in their size. It will be seen from this table that the increase in size of the glands from the lip of the pitcher downwards is gradual up to a certain point, about a third of the way down. This zoneclearly may be taken to repre- sent the non-glandular surface of pitchers whose lids cover their aperture. We may also conclude that at one time the lid of N. Raflesiana covered. its mouth, but that some advantage being derived (probably that of a subsidiary insect trap, which it may readily be) from the modification of the lid now seen, the disadvantage of the admission of rain-water had to be made up for by an increase of the gland surface. This appears to me to make it certain that the minute crescentic markings already described on the non-glandular surface of N. phyllamphora are not retrogressions, but structures only needing the necessity for development which N. Rafle- siana has incurred. As all Nepenthes’ pitchers have the lids of their pitchers originally over their mouths, it is again in evidence that the arrangements of N. Raflesiana are an advance, and this is borne out by the whole appearance amd character of the plant, for it is said even to 62 THE STRUCTURES OF PITCHER PLANTS. digest small vertebrata in its native haunts. The size of the glands, their number, and relative area are all less in this zone than in those below, because its digestive power would be less frequently called ito action than would be that of the others. The complete covering of the glands in this zone may be of advantage in protecting them and their secretion from accident and the depredation of insects, for the glands here are much more likely to be uncovered by water than those further down. I think it also very likely that these hoods store up the digestive principles of the pitcher until they are required or until it is washed out by the contact of water, it being retained in their cavities by capillary attraction. In the second zone the glands gradually alter from a round shape toan oval one, increasing at the same time in size as they are viewed from above downwards, and they become less covered by the hoods. The relative gland area is also greatly increased. The greatest amount of work would necessarily fall on the third zone, so we have here the glands at their maximum, and almost uncovered by the hoods, which still remain in existence, however. The glands are so large and so close that the bulk of the surface is occupied by them. The epithelial surface of the pitcher (N. Rafflesiana) is composed of irregularly polygonal cells, which, in the young pitcher, are regularly nucleated. Between these run continuous interspaces, forming a perfect network over the whole surface. On the surface of the hoods the cells are elongated, and the spaces run up between them, at right angles, to the lip of the hood, where a canal seems to run, into which they all enter. These intercellular spaces are truly walled on the upper surface, whether they may be or not on their surfaces next the cells; for, in a mature pitcher, recently fed and perfectly fresh, I am quite satisfied they are slightly raised above the cellular surface. In a virgin pitcher they are scarcely perceptible, whilst in a mature pitcher they are large and distinct, and especially large in the lowest zone. Further, I have on several occasions compared two pitchers as nearly alike av possible from the same plant, one of which I had fed, and the other I had starved, and I have been satisfied that in the fed pitcher the intercellular spaces were largerthan those in the one which had not been fed. The stream of protoplasm in these canals can be occasionally seen broken, and in such a state the reality of their canalicular structure can be demonstrated. In one observation which I made on a fragment of a mature pitcher of N. distillatoria which had never been fed, I placed over it adrop of fluid taken from the results of the digestion of albumen in another pitcher. I then saw the canals present slight dilatations here and there, and I was satisfied that some of them underwent general increase in calibre. But in several repetitions of this observation I did not obtain convincing results, probably because it was getting late in the season and the pitchers were inactive. In old pitchers the superficial canals sometimes seem to communi- cate with a deeper set. Silver and gold staining did not help me in the investigation of these structures. From what I have seen I am inclined to regard these canals as absorbent vessels. i i REVIEW—THE FAUNA OF NORFOLK, 63 Acbicts, $$ Observations on the Fauna of Norfolk, and more particularly on the District of the Broads. By the late Rev. Ricnarp Luspocx, M.A. New Hdition. Norwich: Jarrold and Sons. 1879. Price 6s. Amone the works descriptive of the Natural History of particular districts or counties in England, the “Fauna of Norfolk” occupies a conspicuous position. To quote the words of Mr. H. Stevenson, F.L.S., ‘“‘ There is scarcely a writer, since 1845, on the birds of the United Kingdom that does not quote Lubbock, and in ornithological works comprehending a far wider geographical range, his name as surely finds an honoured place in reference to the habits of wild fowl and species extinct only in the last half century in the marshes of Norfolk. His classical attain- ments lent that charm to his writings which only an acquaintance with ancient as well as modern literature can afford, and the happy combina- tion, in his case, of the well-read naturalist with the practical experience of the sportsman, gave the stamp of truth to his graphic descriptions.” The first edition of the work was published in 1845, and has long been out of print, and the author died in 1876, at the ripe age of seventy- eight. This new edition has been edited by Mr. Thomas Southwell, F.Z.S., (President of the Norfolk and Norwich Naturalists’ Society,) who has performed his work with great care, distinguishing by brackets the new work derived from the author’s own MS. notes, and appending initials to all editorial and other passages. While Mr. Lubbock’s personal observations were chiefly directed to the neighbourhood of the Broads, the editor has endeavoured to make the work as comprehensive in its scope as possible, and he includes the district known as Lothingland, between Lowestoft and Yarmouth, which, though in Suffolk, belongs geographically to Norfolk. The Broads form the most picturesque part of Hast Norfolk, con- stituting a lake-district, unrivalled for boating expeditions in any other part of the country. As their name implies, they are broad, though shallow, expanses of water that are found along the valleys of the Bure and Yare ; sometimes they lie in the direct course of the river, at others they are only connected with the main stream by narrow channels. The fishes of these waters receive due attention from Mr. Lubbock, and it is mentioned as a matter for the angler, that on Ranworth Broad upwards of ninety pike have been taken in a day by two amateur fishermen. Among the mammals, the Otter is still common in Norfolk; its stronghold, as Mr. Southwell observes, being in the district of the Broads, but there is scarcely a stream in the county near which it has not been found. Particular notes of the Decoys are given, and their position is shown onamap. Some notes on Hawking, from the pen of Prof. A. Newton, F.R.S., are appended; as well as notes by other naturalists, on the Reptiles and Amphibians, the Sea Fish, Lepidoptera, and Botany. A 64 REVIEWS—BOTANICAL NOTE BOOK, ETC. Memoir of the late Rev. R. Lubbock, by Mr. Stevenson, is given in the introduction. The work cannot fail to be interesting to Midland naturalists, especially with the many new and interesting facts recorded by Mr. Southwell. H. Bye Botanical Note Book: A Practical Guide to a Knowledge of Botany. By BH. M. Houmes, F.L.S. London: Christy and Co., 1878. Tus little book is evidently compiled for the purpose of helping pharmaceutical students to prepare for examination, and is probably well suited for that purpose, Within a small space a great amount of useful knowledge has been brought together; all, however, is of an elementary nature. It is illustrated by three diagrams, which will be useful in pointing out the position of the various organs composing plants, and they will be a great help to those students who are unacquainted with the names and positions of those organs. Directions are given as to the mode in which plants should be examined. An ample glossary of the terms applied to each organ is also given, with the accentuation and derivation of each term. Two charts are also given— one of the main divisions of the Vegetable Kingdom, and the other of the British Natural Orders. These are very good, and the student will find them useful. The book contains a number of blank schedules to be filled up by the student, and these, if properly used, will be the means of imparting a fair knowledge of descriptive botany. The book is written with a good intention, and if used in conjunction with other and more advanced books will be found very helpful. J. H. B. A Text-book of Field Geology. By W. H. Prynine, F.G.S., with a section on Paleontology, by A. J. Juxes Browne, B.A., F.G.S, 2nd Edition. Bailliere, Tindall and Cox. Tuts is a greatly improved book; indeed, in its present form it is one of the most useful books a geologist can have in his library. It is divided into five parts. The first treats of geological surveying, describing the instruments used, and their method of application in clear and simple language; the second part shows how to fully examine any section of rocks that may be met with in a quarry, cutting, &c. ; it contains very useful instructions for the determination of the true dip from the observed dips. Rocks and minerals are treated of in Part III., and fossils in Part IV.; in the latter two very valuable tables are given showing (1) the characteristic genera of the British formations, and (2) the characteristic species. The latter is sufficiently full (containing over 500 species) to be most useful as a guide in forming either a public or private collection of fossils. In the last part the importance and interest of Field Geology are insisted on and illustrated with reference to the questions of water- supply, scenery, &c, W. Jd. 4H, See ee THE WEATHER OF JANUARY. 65 METEOROLOGY OF THE MIDLANDS. 7 THE WEATHER OF JANUARY, 1880. BY W. JEROME HARRISON, F.G.S. RAINFALL. TEMPERATURE, ati Greatest fall $<|Greatest ht. Greut’st wld STATION, OBSERVER. = = in 24 hours. rn ia ——- in Thuasne (he € Deg) Date. |Deg) Date. GLOUCESTERSHIRE, Sheltenham ................|/R. Tyrer, HSq. .cs.seeeees-| 96] 63} 16 6 | 53°0 1 |100) 920 PREOMO Mean edasiincssessse0s+(S- J. COLCY, WSQ.....0002:20| “27 “10 1 6 | 510 1 jirv} 20 SHROPSHIRE. Haughton Hall, Shifnal ....|Rev. J. Brooke ............] °55) ‘27/16 7 | 63°0 1 120 Woolstaston ...............- Rey. E. D. Carr. eee| “O9) *32) 16 6 | 480 6 16°0 20 28 Leaton Vicarage, Shr’wsb'ry|Rev. EK. V. Pigott. 60] °32] 16 6 | 683 1 lly ‘More Rectory, Bishop's Castle\Rev. A.Male ....... -| “62) -23] 16 8 | 52°0 il 14°0 20 vi 21 Larden Hall .......... Miss F. R. Boughton -| “61) :23) 16 7 Bishop's Castle .|E. Griffiths, Hsq. ......... 52] 18} 16 6 | 53:0 i 120] 20 Cardington . -|Rev. Wm. Elliott ..........] “28) 10) 138 4 Stokesty ....................|hev. J. D. La Touche ....| ‘67| ‘15| 16 5 | 644 1 13°0} 27 HEREFORDSHIRE. Stoke Bliss ..................|Rev. G. E. Alexander......| “62) °39) 16 4/470} 4&81 }200) 96 WORCESTERSHIRE. ‘ Orleton, Tenbury...:......../T. H. Davis, Esq ..........| °48/ 18] 16 6 | 590 8 148} 20 ‘West Malvern .... .|A. H. Hartland, Esq. ......|129|s)30] 18 10 }.0°0} 31 | 165) 27 Pedmore ............s.0200.{E. B. Marten, Esq. . -.-| “69/ 33) 16 6 | 540 I 180) 19 & 21 Longlands, Stourbridge......|J. Jeffries Esq..... +-.| “63) °30) 16 4 | 54°0 2 {110}, 91 Dennis, Stourbridge ........|Mr.C. Webb .... .-| “45) °30} 16 3 | 540 1 15'°0} 19 Evesham ......... eesenseceeeiL. J. Slatter, Esq.. sescceeee| 29} 12} 16 &17) 6 | 65:0 1 16%} 99 STAFFORDSHIRE. Dudley .....+...s.+.0++0e+++-|Mr. J. Fisher .. Pe) (eas feat 2 fi ay 3 Sedgley... ..|Mr. C. Beale .. -| 60) ‘25; 16 7 {510 1 20°0) 98 Oakamoor K. Kettle, Esq.... 78 °85) 16 7 | 63°4) 1 lad 29 4 Kinver ... Rev. W. H. Bolton . ue -| O7] *26) 16 4 | 55-0 1 16°0/ 19 & 20 VY oe ceo cies REMERON: Bi, BSG -sissenc 54) 22 16 5 1570 1 Qu 26 Grammar School, “Burton..../0. U. Lripp, Hsq. .... 33) 19) 17 6 |640} 1&2 |s0Vv} xg yeston-under-L yziard R'tory|tion.and Rey.J. Bridgeman 38] 17 16 v | 55°0 1 13°0| 90 Wrottesley ..................|H. Simpson, Hsq...........| ‘o4/ “41) 16 4/533) 2 to'b} af Heatl: House, Cheadle ...... J.C. Philips, Esq.. «| 44) 20) 15 4/510 1 16°0) 29 & 80 4 Alstonfield Vicarage ........ Rev. W. H. Purchas ......| °5| -35] 16 3} 504) 2 Hlud| ay Farley, near Cheadle ........)C L. Wragge, Esq. ........] “61) °33] 1 5 | 617 1 151) a7 WARWICKSHIRE. Coundon, Coventry ..........|Lieut.-Col. R. Caldicott ....| “51] -25] 17 6 | 53°0 1 {190° 19 & 28 . Coventry .........+ feaemes-|PaGuison, Hsq. ... 2 ‘61| 27) 1 5 }560} 2 {150 ay Bickenhill Vicarage .|J. Ward, Esq... bo) 40) 17 3 | 47°0 1o'0) + St. Mary’s College Rev. S.J Whitty atajarecaia 41} 221 16 5 | 63°0 1 179) 99 ‘Henley-in-Arden ..|L. H. G. Newton, Hsq......| °58) °32} 16 4/540 1 | 140) 29 & 30 PRED WA CHOO i: ca csicivasincie ss Rey. f. N. Hutchinson ....| ‘39| -25} 16 6 |53°6 iy }| 16:2) ioe Snitterfield, Stratf’d-on-Avon.|J. Goodacre................| “67| °33]) 1a 6 | 62°8 1 |iy) 18 & 19 : DERBYSHIRE. ; Stoney Middleton............|Rev U. Smith ............] ‘20| 19] 15 8/500} 31 |120 19 Fernslope, Belper............/J.G. Jackson, Wisq........ .| 23] 12) 16 5/530} 1 | 18'0'20,29, 30 j Linacre Reservoir ..........0. B. Jones, Esq. ........| ‘47| °06| 15 &16| 4 | 4 Spondon ......... ......|J. T. Barber, Esq...........| 80] 17] 16 5 |468} 6 |100) 97 : Duel ee sec. sses-.s....-|/Ws Bland, Hsq.-......6+.0..| 726] 16] 18 7 NOTTINGHAMSHIRE. Tuxford ..... Peres. ss.53)0.N. Dutty, Kiaq: ...0.02.-.| (48 520) 1 | 180/26, 28, a9 Hodsock Priory, Worksop ..|H. Mellish, Esq. 22) °18) 16 4 | 564 1 |165) “20 a Park Hill, Nottingham......|/H. F. Johnson, Esq........| 03} 22) 16 7 | ot 1 Pt) 3 LEICESTERSHIRE 5 é Loughborough . ....|W. Berridge, Hsq..........) 29] 15] 16 4)062) 31 | 15° 29 Ashby Magna....... Rey. E. Willes ... 3 33] 21] 16 4 | 59:0 1 |15°0) 29 Market Harborough ... S. W. Cox, Esq. . 49) 21! 15 520} ~=91 | 40. 0:20, 27, a9 RA WOrh lowssebeu.s.......(T Macaulay, Esq. .| 47] °19) 15. & 16) 5 10°0} 38 Town Museum. Leicester ....|W. J. Harrison, Hsq. ......| 35} ‘21) 16 6 | 04'S 1 4,0) 29 Syston --...5................|0- Hames, jun., Esq. ......| 31) °15| 16 4 [540] 1&2 |180) 91 & 29 | Waltham-le-Wold..... -«|E. Ball, Esq. .........200.-| "26/8)'35| 15 6 | 460) 31 1ou) 27 Coston Rectory, Melton ..|Rev. A. M. Rendell 43] *18] 16 6/538) 31 [1355] 99 Dalbe Hall ..................]Mr. G. Jones .........002..| °39} “16] 16 5 }.o20) 90} 20 NORTHAMPTONSHIRE, Towcester RSweEY: Geena ssid. WEDD, HSQ....0s «.| °35] °23) 16 4 Castle Ashby ...... ..|R. G. Scriven, Esq, 35] *20) 16 5/550} 1 {20°0) a7 Kettering....... J. Wallis, Esq. ... *43) -20| 16 7 | 53%] 1 | 200) 98 & 29 Althorpe ..... G. S. Groom, Esq.. .-| 41) 20] 16 6/540) 1 |16°0; dy Pitsford) ....:.. ++eee..|C. A. Markham, Esq. ......! 62 lou Ruruany. 4 West Deyne, Uppingham..../Rev. G. H. Mullins ........| ‘34, “14/16 6 (538, 1 |166) 29 Northfields, Stamford ......|/W. Hayes, Esq.............| 81 “17/16 4/500 1 jslel 98 16 3 1606 1 |24°4) 99 17 6 Pog 4: 6.81 13°0 26 16 6 'b3°2 1 jl61) 2 & 26 K 66 THE WEATHER OF JANUARY. January, like the three months which preceded it, was extremely dry. Our returns show only two stations (Altarnun and West Malvern) where the total rainfall exceeded one inch. Commencing with seven or eight days of mild weather and south-westerly winds, a frost set in on the 9th, which continued without intermission till the 28th, when it began to break up. During this cold period the Barometer ranged very high, and was steady, with light and variable winds. The amount of sunshine varied greatly ; in some places local fogs were frequent and persistent, while elsewhere at the same time there was much bright sunshine. A little snow fell about the middle of the month, but only to a depth of one or two inches. On the last two or three days the hoar-frost on trees, &c., attained a length of nearly an inch, and had a beautiful appearance in the morning sun. A fog-bow (‘like a colourless rainbow”) was seen at Shifnal at 1 p.m. on the 15th. Solar Radiation Thermometer attained 91°2° at Cheltenham, 89° at Leicester, and 88° at Loughborough on the 31st. Natura History Notes spy Opsrervers.—Spondon.—Green vege- tables have suffered heavily during the last fortnight, chiefly from want of snow covering. Robins seem to have disappeared. I have not seen one here for several weeks. Coventry.—The pro- tection which a covering of snow affords to vegetation has been entirely wanting, and the destruction amongst the tender shrubs and evergreens will, I fear, be found very extensive. The Bay and the Laurustinus may shoot up from the root, but the upper shoots and foliage are killed off, and I have noticed many of the Deodaras so pinched that I do not believe they will survive.—larley near Cheadle.— Wild daisies in flower early and in middle of month, and saw primroses in bloom at Oakamoor on 4th January. January 10th, pair of Brown Linnets (fringilla linota) seen. January 12th, Sturnus vulgaris feeding, evidently in hundreds, forming one large flock; same day, dead rook found on tree, apparently frozen to its perch. Saw fine Turdus vis- civorus feeding close to this station. Corvus frugilegus but a fitful visitor throughout the month; and Marsh Tit (Parus palustris) and Turdus merula seen occasionally.— Oakamoor.—Primroses out in garden on January 1st.— Woolstaston.—There has been a most marked scarcity of birds here during the whole of this winter ; food put outside the windows for them (our inya- riable custom during hard weather) remained almost untouched.—More Rectory.—Fieldfares and other winter birds have been scarce, but small birds—Chaffinches, Sparrows, and Linnets—are plentiful. The abun- dance of Moles, as evidenced by the mole-heaps conspicuous everywhere, is remarkable. May this not be owing, amongst other causes, to the general destruction in past years of birds who prey upon them, especially the Brown Owl. Noticed a pair of Ravens on January 7th; they are now very scarce.—Stroud.—Daisy and Cardamine hirsuta noted on the 4th, being the only wild flowers seen during January. Correspondence. es e Hysperrnia nvpicaPranria taken on alampin Burton on February 11th. SBR INE Priva Vuuearis in flower on February 4th, in a garden, Branstone Road, Burton-upon-Trent.—J. E. Nowrrs. Priva Vuesris.—I saw several blooms on the 17th January in & sheltered spot, and in my own little garden I have now several buds on one root. The only primrose in bloom I gathered on the 7th inst.— Macain T. Guirriza, Chester, Feb. 10th, 1880. yt Th CORRESPONDENCE. 67 Puants av Fatmouta.—My Eucalyptus, most of my Veronicas, and many Fuchsias survived last winter. I have had a big plant of Desfon- tainea spinosa (6ft. high) continuously in flower from last summer till a week ago, quite without any protection. A Rhododendron Nobleanum has been grandly in flower since January.—H. F., Falmouth, February 16th. Earty Frowrrs.—On February 18th I found a white violet. I have noticed that white violets are much earlier than sweet blue ones. Is that the general experience, and are white the hardier of the two varieties? In this neighbourhood blue violets are very rare. There are a few pink ones, commoner than the blue, and a great many white. Snowdrops, both wild and in gardens, have been in full flower for the last week, and daisies and primroses are showing the flowers here and there.—O. M. F., Frankton, Salop. A Brcrerran Anemone.—About two years ago, a Dianthus in one of my tanks developed the above peculiarity, and the second head 1s now hardly to be distinguished from the original in size. If the animal be fed by both, the food is seized by each separately, and can be seen to enter the stomachic cavity; if fed by one, its course can be similarly followed ; but whether fed by one or both, there is, during digestion, the usual enlargement and display of tentacles by each head. If one disc be touched, the other contracts synchronously; if, again, the base or pillar, both heads instantly close. These few observations may interest some of your readers who keep marine tanks.—G. L. B., Denmark Hill. MistLeTor (Viscum album. )—Will any of your readers kindly solve the following problems? Does the mistletoe male and female occur on the same host, or does each sex occupy exclusively a separate tree? From a few observations I was able to make last year, I should suppose that the male and female are on separate hosts. Is the mistletoe insect- fertilised or wind-fertilised? The single flowers are inconspicuous, yet the male flowers have a yellow colour, and when in numbers are somewhat attractive. The pollen is not easily detached, and the flowers secrete a gummy substance, while the stigmas are so placed that wind- carried pollen could only reach them if dropped just into the flower; yet they are well adapted to take the pollen from the head of an insect endea- vouring to get at the gummy substance secreted by the flower.—C. E. C. Prouirerous Carpaminre.—I send some leaves of either Cardamine pratensis or hirsuta, with young plants growing from them, and should be glad to know if it is a common or unusual occurrence. The plant is a very luxuriant one, and is growing on clay soil at the foot of a fernery, having been accidentally transplanted there with others —C. EH. J. |The leaves sent appear to be those of Cardamine hirsuta. This proliferous state is not unfrequent in certain seasons, as when severe cold is followed by mild damp weather. Both C. hirsuta and C. pratensis are liable to this peculiar phase in plant life. Dr. Boswell says of C. pratensis : ‘‘In damp seasons the stem frequently bears small bulbs at the base and buds on the leaves, which propagate the plant.” (‘ Eng. Bot.,” 3rd Ed., Vol. I., page 159.) This subject has been ably treated by Mr. John Price, M.A., of Chester, and an abstract of his paper was given in ‘“ The Proceedings of the Chester Natural History Society, 1878.” Both these plants are found wild with double flowers, sometimes in abundance, and in such circumstances are mainly propagated by the young plants, which are produced by the stem and leaves. The writer has found C. pratensis in marshy places in Sutton Park, with foliaceous flowers, the petals being replaced by ordinary green leaves, similar to the terminai leaflet of the stem leaves. An allied species, rare in England, C. bulbifera, produces bulbs in the axils of the leaves constantly, and in this case, as the flowers are usually abortive, the plant is mainly propagated by these bulbs.—J. E. B.] hes iia [oe Ji | oom CORRESPONDENCE. _ OrnirgotoaicaL Norzs.—I do not think the birds suffer so much when there is no snow on the ground, even if it be hard with frost. I have noticed the Starlings busily beating over the frozen fields, and a flock or perhaps a score of Redwings on the ground, apparently finding something worth picking up. During the very cold weather the small birds evidently resort to the places where they find most warmth and shelter. At Stoke most of our tree trunks are covered with ivy, and we till have abundance of Blackbirds and others. In the town a Song Thrush comes to breakfast on the crumbs with the Sparrows, but we hear little of its song at present. The small birds seem to have deserted tue hedge-rows during the cold, but in a sheltered lane where the baiks are well covered by a growth of luxuriant fern and bramble, I tidticed a few days ago hundreds of Finches and Linnets, which had evidently flocked there for shelter. During the frost a pair of the Common Gulls (Kittiwakes) were seen for a few days on Swanswell Pool. ‘'wo have since been shot in the neighbourhood (perhaps the same) and are now at David Smith’s. David has also received a number of speci- mens of the common Buzzard, varying greatly in plumage from dark hrown to mottled white. There is also the little Scops Owl, and some other interesting birds, shot by Mr. Browett, in France, where they are now less rare than in this country.—J. Gutson, Coventry, February 4th. _, OrnitHoLocican Norzs.—The winter in Leicestershire has not-been proliiic in natural history observations, many of our usual visitors being cougpictious by their absence. Thus, Fieldfares and Redwings have been very scarce, especially the former. The only approach to a flock of this svecies that I have seen was on the 4th January, when I saw about a hundred together. I have not seen or heard of any hawtinches this winter. On November i8th, two Common Scoters were shot at Thornton Lyeservoir. On November 5th, an Hagle was shot at Coleorton Hall. This was duly chronicled in the ‘local newspapers, and inthe Field as a Golden Eagle: By the kind permission of Sir Geo. Beaumont, I was pble to obtain a sight of the bird whilst in the hands of Mr. White, of Castle Donington, who had it to set up. It turned out to be a young specimen of the White-tailed Eagle, Huliaetus aibicilla. On December Ze a flock of five Wild Geese were seen, uear to Kioworth, and two were hot. They were the White-fronted Goose, Anseralbifrons. January 3rd, © ©. Kittiwake was shot at Gumley; another was shot near the town of Titicester in the same month. In the last number of the “Midland Naturalist” I observe that one of your correspondents records a ‘* King- fisher shot,” and he adds ‘‘seldom seen now.” ‘These lovely birds muy well be seldom seen if they are shot down in wantouness. Many a time i could have shot them, but it gives me far more pleasure to note their rainbow hues as they skim over the pool, or flash along the brook, than it would to add them to my bag, or to see them, as is too often the case, adorning a lady’s hat. Let me plead with your correspondent for the lives of ‘these beautiful birds.—THomas Macauuay, M.R.C.S8.L., Kibworth: OrnirHonocicaAL Notrs.—There has been a great scarcity of winter migrants this season—hardly any Fieldfares, Redwing rather more numerous, Widgeon very scarce—I did not hear of any till the 24th ult., Wuen about twenty-five were seen; last season they were much more plentiful. About the first week in December some Wild Geese flew over the village, but I have heard of none settling; perhaps the floods which have lately risen very much will attract some. On January 13th I put up five Teal off the Cherwell, and on the 12th inst. four more. On that day TY saw a rather fine sight—from an ornithological point of view— four Herons, about five and twenty Wild Ducks, and a small flock of Peewits rose all at once from a small meadow partly covered with water. ‘ 1 { —— =” CORRESPONDENCE—GLEANINGS. 69 Two or three Woodcocks have been shot; we never have many. Snipe were driven away by the frost, the Carrion Crow also left; I very seldom see one of these fine birds during the winter, unless it should be unusually mild. The few fine warm days at the beginning of last month deceived the birds into opening their song. On the Ist I heard Hedge Sparrow and Robin, on the 8rd Missel Thrush and Lark, and on the 8th the Starling—if the long whistles and chattering of this bird may be called asong. Song Thrushes opened on the 3rd, Chaffinch on the 6th, Yellow Ammer on the 7th, and Blackbird on the 14th inst. On January 17th I purchased a fine male Peregrine Falcon, which had been shot that morning close to the town of Banbury. It measured full 3ft. across the wings. A Curlew was shot here in the autumn. This fine bird has occurred several times in the neighbourhood.—O. V. Aputn, Bodicote, Oxon, February 20th, 1880. Emer Ducks 1 Letcester.—Amongst other ducks in Leicester Market, on Saturday, January 17th, were three Hider Ducks (Anas mollis- sima,) two females and one male. The male I purchased, and have since stuffed.—Cuas. Adcock, Taxidermist, Willow Street, Leicester. Gleanings. Mrpranp Unron oF Naturat Hisrory Socirtirs.—The third Annual Meeting will be held at Northampton in June next, in connection with the Northampton Natural History Society. The date and other details will be announced in the nextnumber. Communications should be addressed to the Hon. Sec., Mr. C. E. Crick, 1, Horsemarket, Northampton. ‘“ Brrps oF Huropz.”—The last volume of Mr. H. HE. Dresser’s great work on the “ Birds of Europe” is now in the printer’s hands, and will be ready for delivery to subscribers in about a month’s time. Some delay has arisen on account of the difficulty of arranging the order of classification, but this has at length been surmounted. ArtirictrAL D1amonnps.—Mr. N. Story-Maskelyne, of the British Museum, announces (February 19th) that artificial diamonds have at last really been produced. The gentleman who has had the fortune to solve a problem which has hitherto defied every attempt to deal with it is Mr. J. Ballantine Hannay, F.C.S., of Woodbourne, Bellensburgh, and Sword Street, Glasgow. His process will shortly be communicated to the Royal Society. THE Ouicocene Formation.—Some years ago, Prof. Beyrich pro- posed the term Oligocene (slightly recent) for certain strata which on the Continent are clearly intermediate between the Hocene and Miocene Formations. In an important paper, read before the Geological Society on February 4th, Professor Judd proposes to include under this term all the ‘‘ Fluvio-marine Series” of the Hants Basin, which he divides into (1,) the Headon Group; (2,) the Brockenhurst Series ; (3,) the Bembridge Group; and (4,) the Hempstead Series. By this new grouping, the strata of the Hampshire Basin are brought into exact correlation with those of France, Belgium, North Germany, and Switzerland; and the whole series of fluvio-marine beds in the Isle of Wight, which are shown to have a thickness of between 800 and 900 feet, are proved to be the representatives of the Lower and Middle Oligocene of those countries. The use of the term Oligocene in this country is advocated on the ground that by its adoption only can we avoid the inconvenient course of dividing the fluvio-marine series between the Hocene and the Miocene. 70 GLEANINGS—REPORTS,. Lis Fossms.—We are glad to hear that Mr. Martin Simpson, of the Whitby Museum, the veteran Yorkshire paleontologist, has nearly ready for publication a new edition of his ‘Fossils of the Yorkshire Lias,” which will include descriptions of about 700 species. Mr. Simpson published a Monograph of Lias Ammonites so long ago as 1843, and the first edition of his ‘“ Lias Fossils” appeared in 1855. At the time these works attracted little attention, but the merits of the author, as a keen, acute, and hard worker, have since been amply recognised by Prof. Phillips, and by Messrs. Tate and Blake. Aeports of Societies. BIRMINGHAM NATURAL HISTORY AND MICROSCOPICAL SOCIETY.—Microscorican GENERAL MrrETING —January 20th—Mr. H. E. Forrest read a letter from Professor A. Schneider, relative to a new species of Moneron, Monobia confluens, supposed to be identical with one he had found at Barnt Green Reservoir.—Mr. J. F. Goode exhibited foraminifera, from sand dredged during the Falmouth expedition.—Mr. T. Bolton exhibited Pycnogonum littorale.—Mr. H. E. Forrest read a very interesting paper by Mr. W. Saville Kent, F.L.8., F.R.M.S., on some of the more remarkable forms of infusoria, captured during the Falmouth expedition of July, 1879, (which will appear in next month’s ‘ Midland Naturalist,”) and enlarged the illustrative figures upon the black board. GronocicaL Secrion.—January 27th.—Mr. T. H. Waller was re-elected Secretary of the Section, and the Presidency was offered to Mr. Sami. Allport, F.G.S., who, however, was not present, and has since declined to accept the oftice.—Mr T. H. Waller exhibited specimens of Zozoon canadense. ANNUAL GENERAL MrEETING.—February 3rd.—The report and balance sheet for 1879 were received and adopted. ‘The report stated that the work of the Society during the past year had been of a satisfactory character, and the number of members had increased ; the Treasurer had a balance in hand of £33 10s. 74d., and over £700 had been expended on the Library and apparatus since the estab- lishm-nt of the Society. The following were elected officers for the current year :—President, Wm. Southall, F.L.S., F.R.M.S.; Vice-Presidents, E. W. Badger and J. Levick; Treasurer, Chas. Pumphrey; Librarian, J. E. Bagnall; Curators, W. B. Grove and R. M. Lloyd; Secretaries, J. Morley and H. E. Forrest. Brotocican Srcrion.—February 10th.—Mr,. A. W. Wills was unani- mously elected Chairman, and Mr. J. F. Goode Secretary of the Section.—Mr. Allport announced that he had been appointed to form a Natural History Museum at Sir Josiah Mason’s College and would be glad if any of the members would assist him with specimens.—Mr. Thos. Bolton exhibited a beautiful collection of Sea-weeds, from Torquay, mounted by a lady, which elicited universal admiration.—Mr. J. E. Bagnall exhibited a moss, Bartramia pomiformis, from near Erdington—local in Warwickshire—Mr. J. F. Goode exhibited a worm of the genus Tubifex, from the surface of the mud in a ditch.— In the absence of Mr. Lawson Tait, Mr. H. E Forrest read a short paper by Dr. T. Spencer Cobbold, F.R.S., on Strongylus nodularis, a parasitic worm found by Mr. Tait, infesting the gizzard of a gosling. Specimens of the worm were exhibited.—_Mr. W. R. Hughes made some remarks, and read some extracts from Dr. Cobbold’s work on the Entozoa with reference to the subject.—Mr. E. W. Badger read a paper ‘On the Work of the Society,” in the course of which he pointed out various methods whereby its usefulness and the number of working naturalists among its members might be increased.—An interesting discussion followed, in which several members joined. Mr1croscoprcaAL GENERAL Meetine.—February 17th.—In recognition cf the distinguished services which he has rendered to Biological Science, Professor T. H. Huxley, L.L.D., F.R.S., &c., was elected Honorary Vice-president of the Society —Mr. J. E. Bagnall exhibited antheridia of Sphagnum dehiscing ; antheridia and archegonia of Mnium subglobosum ; Pogonatum nanum, and Bryum roseum, from Marston REPORTS. 7A Green; and other rare mosses.—Mr. T. Bolton exhibited Zoothamnium dichotomum, from one of the reserve tanks in the Aston Aquarium.—Mr. W. G. Blatch exhibited Pecilocampa popult, December Moth, rare in the district, taken at Knowle, in December last.—Mr. H. W. Jones, F.C.S., F.R.M.S8., read a paper on ‘“ Water Plants, and their Office in Nature,” which will appear in a future number. BIRMINGHAM AND MIDLAND INSTITUTE SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY, —January 28th. Mr. C. J. Woodward, B.Sc., read a paper on the Outline of the Kinetic Theory of Gases.—February 11th. Mr. A. E. Robinson, F.C.S. Alkaloids, their Sources and Reactions. BIRMINGHAM PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY.—At a general meeting of the members of this Society, on February 12th, (Dr. Darwin's 71st birthday,) on the motion of the Rev. H. W. Watson, M.A., (Vicar of Berkswell,) seconded by the Rev. H. W. Crosskey, Dr. Darwin was elected an honorary member ; and, on the motion of the President (Dr. Heslop,) seconded by Mr. Lawson Tait, the following address was unanimously adopted :—‘‘ To Charles Darwin, M.A., LL.D., F.R.S., &e. The President, Council, and Members of the Birmingham Philosoph- ical Society, assembled on this, the 12th day of February, 1880, your 71st birthday, respectfully and unanimously offer to you the first Honorary Member- ship which the Society has conferred. They desire also to present their hearty congratulations, and to express their earnest hope that you may long be spared to coutinue those researches which have so widely extended the boundaries of human knowledge, and so profoundly influenced modern scientific thought. Few men are permitted to form by their works Epochs in the history of the world; but the appearance of the ‘Origin of Species,” followed as it has been by numerous other publications illustrating its doctrines and extending their applica- tion, has constituted an Epoch as important as any that has yet marked the intellectual development of our race. Those who may refuse their assent to the philosophical principles enunciated in your works must admit, equally with those who accept them, that there are few realms of thought into which their influence has not travelled; while there is no branch of natural history, and hardly a problem connected with the position of man himself upon the earth, which has not had new light cast upon it, by the investigations called forth by your genius. The Members of this Society are conscious that, in offering you this Honorary Membership, they are asking you to confer a distinction upon them; but they feel that such a tribute of respect as they now desire to pay may not inappro- priately come from the town which is the centre of that district with which your family have so long, and with so much honour, been associated.—Signed on behalf of the Philosophical Society of Birmingham.” BURTON-ON-TRENT NATURAL HISTORY AND ARCHAOLOGICAL SOCIETY.—January 20th. Mr. W. Molyneux, F.G.S., read a paper on “‘ Bosworth Field.” He said the battle of Bosworth Field was fought either on the 21st or 22nd August, 1845, the two combatants being members of the same family—Richard III. and Richmond, who afterwards became Henry VII. It was the concluding battle of the Wars of the Roses. which had raged for thirty years at a sacrifice of over 105,000 men. On that field perished the last, if not one of the greatest of the Plantagenet kings—a race of men who, during the long period of 330 years had carried the destinies of England in their hands, and by their high courage, their determination, and generosity had done much in the founda- tion of the institutions and in the maintenance of the glorious and remarkable history of the country. Mr. Molyneux then commented upon the fact that no authenticated particulars of the engagement were known, but he remarked that the battle stood out as an event of three plain and simple but momentous facts— the defeat of the king’s troops, the death of one king, and the proclamation of another. The works of historians who lived immediately after the battle were alluded to; and Mr. Molyneux next proceeded to give what he believed to be a correct account of the battle. February 10th.—Mr. W. G. Blatch, of Birming- ham, read a paper on “ Entomological Work in Winter.” THe said the object he had in view in preparing his notes (which were originally contributed to the Birmingham society) was to try and explode the popular fallacy that insects 72 REPORTS. could only be found in summer. The truth was there was no day in the year when insects could not be found by those who kuew where to look for them, and were willing to sacrifice personal comfort to entomological enthusiasm. Myriads of insects of all orders passe: the winter in a seclujeu state; in faci, paradoxical as it might appear to the uninitiated, the more severe and prolonged the winter the more likely were they to survive. Anyone could readily confirm this by becoming an observer of insect life for two or three seasons, and the time and labour thus bestowed would not be iil spent. He then took his hearers on an imaginary winter excursion in search of insects, and, supposing them to have arrived ata locality suited for their labours. he gave a list of the numerous insects which might be found iu a dead reed, at the roots of trees, the bark of trees, the moss and lichens growing on the tree trunks, the decayed stumps of oak and birch trees, grassclumps on the margins of watercourses, fungi, the accumulated rubbish on the sides of hedges, coping of stone walls, the tranks of popiars, and the decaying stumps of hawthorns, haystacks, &:. A vote of thanks was passed to Mr. Blatch, and the Rev. W. Fowler, in moving it, pointed out that in the neighbourhood of Burton numerous insects might be found in the rubbish left in the fields after a flood.—Mr. H. T. ord then read a short paper relating to the discovery of bitumen on Bearwood Hill, his observations being illustrated by diagrams contributed by Mr. Boden. Mr. Ford stated that the eutting through Bearwood Hill having recently baen widened to improve the way from Burton to Winsbili now aispiayed a most interesting section of the Keuper sandsiones, part of the New Red formation. Near the midule of the cuttiug, and at the base of the section, there was a bed of very hard sandstone strongly impregnated with bitumen. In expl nation of how this bitnmen came there, he said it was usually iaid down that such mineral oily matters were uistiilea by sabterranean heat irom depusits of coal vr other vegetavle matter, aud in that care it might have exuded through a fault or fracture in the strata, which struck this deposit ata richt angle. He also pointed out that there was a remarkable contrast in the sand and clay resting on the sandstone. One end of the section was a reddish brown, and the other blue anu grecu, the chauge taking place without any break in the stratification. The biue stain was considered to be from carbonate of iron, and might have resulted from percolation of water from a small lake which must once have existed in Winshill hollow, its outlet being clearly traceable turough a guily running norwi-west. ‘The beds also contained the well-known ripple-marked water-stones, some specimens of which weic exhibited, together with a drawing of the labyrinthodcn, a toad of gigantic proportions, whose hand-like footprints were sometimes found on those waterstoues. NORTHAMPTON NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY.—Jauuary 8th.— BoranicaL SEcrion —A co:nmwunication was read from the President, Rev. M. J. Berkeley, in which be said he was not inclined to attribute the scarcity of fungi in 1879 to the long continued frost in the Spring; that he had fouud Hygrophorus Wynnie in Wales in 1879; that during fhe early au umn he examined some true Prlyporus varius trom an apple tree, aud noticed that the spores, When just arriving at cuew ull developum, Were fringeu wich deli¢ace threaus like cyclashes. These uuder ihe microscope proved to be cylindrical bodies filled with globose sporitia. A paper by Mr. G C. Mruce, F.I.S., on “The Botany of Fruits” was then read, in which he described the present classification of fruits, and described sume of their Contrivauées for becoulug disseminated. December 20:h.—Mr. lh. G. Scriven reat a paper on ‘* Common Ferns,” in which he described the Jifferent genera occuring im Britain, and gave some very usefnl hints on the cultivation of British Ferns. January l6th.— Rev. T. C. Beasley read a paper on * Weather Forecaois.” January 29va.— GeoLtocicaL Secrion.—Mr. Kuusou exiivited specimens from the Lias from Kiugsthorp., and gave an interesting paper on “ The Study of Geology.” EXCHANGE. Microscopic apparatus and slides in exchange for geological specimens or British land and freshwater shells.—C. L. Lorp, 6, Ambler Street, Manningham, Bradford. : PVater: FOV. a Ee —V pT TTT ' | ‘ \ \ ews Marine Infusoria. Ie Savilleliont aid. cs . - MARINE INFUSORIA. 73 NOTES ON MARINE INFUSORIA.* BY W. SAVILLE KENT, F.L.S., F.R.M.S., ETC. Among the treasure trove amassed by the Birmingham Natural History Society during their last summer’s enjoyable outing on the Cornish coast, and at the gathering of which said material, availing myself of the kind invitation of the President, Mr. Walter Graham, I ‘vas permitted to assist, a considerable number and variety of Marine Infusoria were obtained. While none of these are new to science, several of them possess a more than ordinary interest with relation in some cases to their individual plan of structure and affinities, and in others to their marked diversity from the Infusorial types more frequently encountered by non-migratory ‘‘ Midland Naturalists.” To some few of these minute organisms, the produce of one day’s wielding of the dredge and towing net, (July 11th,) I here propose to direct attention, accompanying my remarks with delineations of the more important forms. Out of the eight types in all it is here proposed to select, the majority, five in number, were found associated with the horny polypidoms of the Hydroid Zoophytes, Polyzoa, and other organic REFERENCES TO Puate LY. Fig, 1.—Dictyocysta cassis, empty silicious lorica, showing fenestrated pattern. Fig. 2.—Dictyocysta cassis, animalcule with extended tentacula; the fenestra of vets ae are not represented, in order to give a clear view of the occupant (after eckel.) Fig. 3.—Tintinnus subulatus, Fig. 4.—Ceratium fusus. Fig. 5.—Zoothamnium alternans, showing at a, a, a, the larger and axillary reproductive zooids. Fig. 6.—Zoothamnium dichotomum, showing at a, a, a, the larger transversely- striate reproductive Zooids. Fig. 7.—Follicularia ampulla, animaleule extended and inhabiting a lorica, with a moderately-produced neck=Lagotia viridis, 8. Wright. Fig. 8.—Follicularia ampulla, empty lorica, with very short neck. Fig. 9.—Follicularia ampulla, lorica, with greatly produced neck, exhibiting annular growth markings; Lagotia producta, 8. Wright. Fig. 10.—Hemiophrya gemmipara, with tentacles of two orders fully extended. Fig. 11.—Hemiophrya gemmipara, with two anteriorly developed buds. Fig. 12.—Ophryodendron pedicillatum, proboscidiform zooid,witb characteristic organ extended. Fig. 13.—Ophryodendron pedicillatum, with proboscis retracted. Fig. 14.—Ophryodgndron pedicillatum, vermiform zooid. Fig. 15.—Ophryodendron multicapitatum, sessile zooid, with four proboscidi- form appendages. Fig. 16.—Ophryodendron multicapitatum, stalked zooid, with two proboscidiform organs, one immaturely developed vermiform zooid, and two supplementary spheroidal buds. Fig. 17,—Asterionella Bleakeleyii (?) showing characteristic spiral disposition of the associated frustules, Tig. 18.—Asterionella Bleakeleyii (?) a few detached frustules, exhibiting a substellate disposition. Fig. 19.—Asterionella Bleakeleyii, single frustule. * The full title of this paperis “ Notes on Certain Marine Infusoria, obtained during the Summer Excursion (1879) to Falmouth of the Birmingham Natural History and Microscopical Society, communicated by W. Saville Kent, F.L.S., F.W.M.S8., and Honorary Corresponding Member of the Birmingham Nattiral History and Microscopical Society.” It was read before the Society January 20th L 74 MARINE INFUSORIA, matter brought by the dredge from the sea-bottom. By the use of the towing-net, employed, however, on one occasion only, and when the elements were by no means propitious for such operations, the small minority, including, as it eventually proved, the most interesting capture of the series, was secured. Thecontents of the net, as emptied on board the steam-boat into the glass receivers, were by no means promising, consisting merely of a little flocculent matter, at first distributed indifferently through the mass of water, but which, after a shortinterval, collected at the surface in the form of a pale yellow unsubstantial scum. Specimens of this scum examined fresh, and permanently mounted, both on board and later on in the evening, on our return to Falmouth, demonstrated that almost its entire mass was composed of two minute pelagic diatomaceous types. One of these, (Plate IV., Figs. 17 to 19,) forming substellate or long spiral and corkscrew-like aggregations, each component frustule having a somewhat inflated triangular body, and a long median and spine-like apical prolongation, is apparently identical with, or closely allied to, Asterionella Bleakeleyti. In no account of the several species of this same genus, at this moment accessible, however, doTI find any record of their formation of long symmetrically twisted spiral aggregations, which in the present case is so eminently characteristic of the fully developed and perfect organism. The second, but less dominant diatomaceous type, accords essentially with the figures and descriptions given of Rhizosolenia setigera, consisting of perfectly straight, attenuate cylindrical frustules, chiefly remarkable for their finely produced and needle-like axial terminations. In some of the larger frustules a single or double spiral pattern was faintly discernible. A more leisurely examination of the mounted slides of these diatomaceous skimmings has led to the detection among the same of the three infusorial forms placed first on this list. All these are, like the diatoms, essentially pelagic in their habits, and, possessing in each case an indurated lorica or carapace, adapt themselves readily for permanent preservation. 1.—Dictyocysta cassis, Hkl., (Plate IV., Figs. 1 and 2.)—Of this type, the most interesting capture on my list, unfortunately only the empty test or lorica has been preserved. The form and structure of this skeletal element are, however, so definite and characteristic a8 to leave no doubt whatever regarding the nature and relations of its former occupant. The lorica, which resembles in shape a conical cap or helmet, is of silicious consistence, perforated throughout with closely-set, irregular, polygonal foramina, and, in the absence of the knowledge that has recently come to hand, would be regarded as the silicious test of one of the simpler pelagic Radiolaria, and be referred in that same group to Ehrenberg’s Polycystine genus, Dictyocysta. Professor Heckel, however, has lately shown in an account of some new pelagic Infusoria, published in the “‘Jenaische Zeitschrift,” for the year 1873, that the original fabricators and inhabitants of these elegant helmet-shaped tests are not Radiolaria, but belong to the more highly organised group of the Ciliate — —_— MARINE INFUSORIA. 75 Infusoria, representing among the same a specially modified form of the Vorticellide: and other familiar members of the section Peritricha. The test itself, except for its silicious consistence and cancellated structure, corresponds morphologically and physiologically with the horny or chitinous protective lorica of a Cothurnia or Vaginicola. It is a secretion or exudation of the external cuticula. The enclosed animalcule, how- ever, as shown by Heckel, exhibits a very wide divergence from the ordinary Peritrichous type. The body of the same is attached posteriorly to the proximal or hinder extremity of the cavity of the lorica, while the more expanded oral or distal region is projected, when the animalcule is extended, beyond its everted anterior margin so far that the tout ensemble may be compared to a minute bell, in which case the lorica represents the bell-body, and the posteriorly attached animalcule the clapper. It is in the projecting oral region of the animalcule that the essential points of modification are found to obtain. Here, in place of the customary simply circular or spiral wreath of cilia, the margins of the oral disc are produced into about twenty long tentacle-like organs, probably of a prehensile nature, which, as the animalcule swims mouth downwards through the water, impart to it the aspect of a minute jelly fish or medusa. Inside the outer wreath of tentacles, which would appear to represent outgrowths or prolongations of the raised peristome-border of an ordinary Vorticella, is situated an inner circlet of stout vibratile cilia, which conducts to the oral aperture. This is apparently homologous with the adoral ciliary wreath of the same peritrichous type. Dictyocysta cassis, with which the minute silicious lorica taken in the towing-net on the Cornish coast entirely corresponds, was originally discovered by Professor Haeckel, in the neighbourhood of Messina, and its recent encounter in somuch more northerly a latitude is of itself a feature of considerable interest. Three other species of Dictyocysta, all distinguished by various modifications of the form of the lorica, or in the pattern of its perforations, were obtained by Professor Heckel from the same Mediterranean station, which would appear to lie within its most congenial and favoured area of geographical distri- bution. Two remaining species, upon which, in the year 1854, the genus was first founded by Ehrenberg, were encountered in deep Atlantic sound- ings, and no doubt originally lived, like Noctiluca and the Radiolaria, in the surface waters. Three infusorial types, having tentacle-like appendages, similar to those of Dictyocysta, but with loricee formed of chitine, with an admixture of agglutinated sand grains and other foreign particles, have been described by Professor Heckel, in the serial above quoted, in association with the new generic title of Codonella. The delineation here given of the animalcule of Dictyocysta cassis is reproduced from Heckel’s illustrations, that of the lorica being a sketch from the Falmouth specimen. 2.—Tintinnus subulatus, Miller, (Plate IV., Fig. 3.)—A single example of this type has been found mixed with the preserved diatoma- ceous skimmings. The lorica is of glass-like transparency, sub-cylin- drical, and produced at the proximal or posterior extremity into an acute MARINE INFUSORIA. a and often much attenuated spine-like point; it bears, in fact, no inconsiderable resemblance to the segment of a frustule of the diatom, Rhizosolenia setigera, with which it isso abundantly associated. The contained animalcule, resembling an elongate Vorticella, is fixed by a contractile pedicle to the bottom, or sometimes to one side of the lorica, and does not project beyond its anterior margin. The oral cilia, forming a spiral wreath at the distal extremity, are exceedingly long and powerful, and in its normally free-swimming state serve to propel the animaloule and its associated lorica backwards through the water with great rapidity. According to Claperéde and Lachmann, the entire body in the representatives of this same genus is clothed throughout with fine vibratile cilia, and thus assimilates the typical characteristics of the section Heterotricha; the presence of these finer cilia, however, could not be detected in the spirit-preserved example recently examined. 3.—Ceratium fusus, Ehr., (Plate IV., Fig. 4.)—Several examples of this cilio-flagellate type have been found scattered through the prepared slides referred to, this species being remarkable among its associated family group of the Peridiniide on account of the production of the two segments of the carapace into single attenuate axial prolongations, the other representatives of the same genus, as C. tripos and C. furca, having usually two antero-lateral and not axially disposed processes. Although Ceratium is usually regarded as an essentially marine type, one form, C. Kwmaonense, has been described by Mr. Carter (Ann. Nat. Hist., Vol. VII., 1871,) as occurring in prodigious numbers in the lakes of Kumaon, Hindostan, at an elevation of from 4,000ft. to 6,500ft. above the sea level, while the Ceratiwn (Peridiniwm) longicorne of Perty, (having, like C. Kumaonense, three anterior horn-like prolongations,) originally found in Switzerland, has been recently encountered in the neighbourhood of Birmingham, whence I have received speci- mens for identification from the hands of Mr. Levick. Among the Falmouth specimens of Ceratium fusus, one example in which the cara- pace had been crushed, and the enclosed yellowish and granular proto- plasm extruded, exhibited a well marked oval nucleus-like body, while the aspect of the fractured edges of the carapace seemed entirely to support the suggestion recently made to me by Mr. Charles Stewart, F.L.S., and arrived at by his burning C. tripos on platinum over a spirit lamp without the destruction of the carapace, that this latter, in the case at least of the marine types, is probably of a silicious nature. The animalcule of Ceratium corresponds essentially with that of Peridinium, having a monadiform structure, and single long lash-like flagellum, which projects from a medially situated oval aperture ; the carapace consists of an anterior and posterior valve, closely approximated, with an equatorial groove or channel between them upon which a circlet of fine vibratile cilia is developed, and upon the ventral face of which groove the oral aperture with its associated lash-like flagellum debouches. The fresh-water Peridinium tabulatum recently supplied to me from the neighbourhood of Birmingham through Mr. Thos. Bolton’s excellent microscopic agency, is a form admirably adapted for the observation of this same funda- mental type of structure, the carapace valves in this instance being moreover composed of elegantly reticulated polygonal facets that amply repay microscopic investigation. ; (To be continued.) tie CHANGES OF CLIMATE DURING GEOLOGICAL PERIODS. rit THF: CHANGES OF CLIMATE DURING GEOLOGICAL PERIODS.* BY THE REV. J. WILSON COOMBS, B.A. It has long been observed that the climate of the northern hemisphere must—at a former and comparatively recent period—have been considerably warmer than it is at present. The traces alike of the fauna and flora discovered in the rocks, as well as the bones of animals found in caves, and the fossil trees imbedded in the coal measures and elsewhere, furnish undoubted evidence that at one time the climate in this and other northern countries must have been nearly, if not wholly, tropical. For many years geologists were satisfied with the explanation that this reduction of temperature (which was supposed to have been continuous and unbroken) was to be attributed to the gradual cooling of the earth. But not to say that the effect of this upon climate is very vouch smaller than was formerly supposed, the abundant evidence which now exists of a much colder climate in former times than that which at present obtains has rendered this theory no longer tenable. The knowledge of glacial action in Norway and Switzerland, resulting from the labours of Agassiz. Forbes, Tyndall, and others, has sufficed to prove that not only were existing glaciers at one time much more extensive than at present, but that in Alpine regions and elsewhere glaciers were at one time present where now not even the most attenuated ice-stream is to be seen. Moreover, the careful examination of the rock- basins which form so many of the lakes of Switzerland led to the conclu- sion that these must have been to a great extent hollowed out by the continuous action through long ages of glaciers, vastly larger than those which in regions more or less remote now supply the streams or rivers by which these lakes are fed. Along with these discoveries the fact was brought to light that there were abundant traces of ice-action in Britain and in other lands where glaciers have certainly never been present in historic times. Agassiz, Buckland, and others stated their belief to this effect, but these statements attracted at the time but little attention. Professor Ramsay discovered such traces in many parts of the Snowdon range, and h3 and others have found in the north of England and in Scotland all the signs which in Switzerland have been observed to indicate the presence of a glacier. ‘‘ The Great Ice Age,” by Mr. James Geikie, furnishes an exhaustive account of what has hitherto been brought to light by these investigations. Striated rocks, the roches moutonnées, glacial moraines, and boulder clay or till are found in many places and in great abundance, and, as in Switzerland, so also in Britain, *Read before the Cheltenham Natural Science Society, December 18th, 1879. 78 CHANGES OF CLIMATE DURING GEOLOGICAL PERIODS. boulders of granite and other rocks have been conveyed by the agency of ice many wiles from their natural source.* As far back as 1819 Dr. Buckland observed that on the Cotswold Hills there were found pebbles of hard red chalk, which must have come from the Wolds of Yorkshire and Lincolnshire ; and Mr. Lucy, who has directed attention to the fact that these hills aresprinkled over with boulders from Charnwood Forest, states that on visiting the latter place he found that many of the stones contained in it had come from Yorkshire. The inlets of the sea so common in Norway and there known as fiords, and on the West Coast of Scotland where they are called lochs, are found only near mountains, and where there are the unmistakable evidences of glacial action, and in every instance the deepest part of the loch is found to be at the head, and strixs are observed in the rocks at the sides often high above the sea level ; so that there is every reason to believe that they, like the lakes of Switzerland, have been hollowed out by the action of ice. A general consensus of evidence goes to prove that at one time the whole of Scotland, with the exception of a few of the highest peaks, was locked in a great ice-sheet, coming down, in all probability, from Scandinavia, and extending far out to sea, overspreading all the islands, and connecting itself in one unbroken mass with the almost equally extensive ice-sheet that covered Ireland. But not only is there this ample proof of the existence of a great ice-age in Britain and other parts of Europe, and in North America, but there is evidence, which though of necessity much scantier is yet sufficient, of other glacial epochs long antecedent, with intermediate warmer periods. Intercalated beds are found between the till or boulder clay. In some cases from 20ft. to 30ft. of sand and gravel and peaty matter, containing the remains of the elk, horse, reindeer, and mammoth, have been found between layers of the till, and in some instances four distinct formations of till have been found, separated from each other by beds of sand from 2ft. to 20ft. in thickness. At the last meeting of the British Association, paleolithic implements, pro- nounced by Sir John Lubbock and others to be undoubtedly of human origin, were exhibited, which were found beneath the chalky boulder clay in various parts of East Anglia, proving the existence of man in these districts previous to the glacial periods. In one case there was first sandy soil 2ft., then chalky boulder clay 6ft., gravel 4ft., loamy clay 4ft., boulder clay 6ft., chalk, and this spot yielded great numbers of flakes and many implements. Other evidence of the existence of man in the pre-glacial age is given in Heer’s ‘‘ Primeval World of Switzerland.” The Forest Bed of Cromer furnishes.evidence of distinct formations * BOULDER CLAY oR Tinu.—This is a tough, clayey deposit, fine in texture, tenacious, and often of a stone-like hardness. IJt1is always full of rocks and stones, which are usually covered with striz, oiten crossing each other in various directions. It is found chiefly in low lying districts, sometimes as much as 100 feet deep,-and, oceasionally it is found as high as 2,000 feet above the sea in hollows on hiil sides. The rock surfaces on which this rests are wornsmooth, and when the rock is hard greatly grooved and striated. The constituents of the till all correspond with the character of the rocks of the district. It is often found underneath moraines, but never above them. CHANGES OF CLIMATE DURING GEOLOGICAL PERIODS. 79 of till. It has been traced for more than forty miles along the coast, and consists of stumps of trees standing erect. Above these we have a fluvio- marine series, the flora and fauna of which belong to a warm inter- glacial period. Above this comes the Norwich boulder till, containing blocks 6ft. or 8ft.in diameter, many of which must have come from Scandinavia. Then, in succession, (1) beds of sand and gravel; (2) a drift yielding shells indicating a mild climate ; (3) the upper boulder clay ; (4) freshwater beds, containing seeds, bones, &c., indicating a mild and temperate condition of climate. Professor Geikie observed a section of a cliff in the South of Scotland which stood thus:—1, vegetable soil; 2, boulder clay 30ft. to 40ft.; 3, yellowish gravelly sand; 4, peatysilt and clay; 5, fine ferruginous sand ; 6, coarse shingle 2ft. to 3ft.; 7, coarse stiff boulder clay 15ft. to 20ft. In one instance, at Diirnten, on the lake of Zurich, a coal seam 12ft. thick, which would require from six to ten thousand years for its forma- _tion, is found lying on boulder clay. Overlying this coal is another mass of drift and clay, 30ft. in thickness, with rounded blocks, and on the top of this upper drift lie long angular erratics, which evidently have been transported on the back of glaciers. Indeed the formation of coal beds can be explained on the supposition of interglacial periods, as it can be on no other. An interglacial climate is the one best suited for the growth of the coal plants. The coal period indicates the existence of a moist, equable, and temperate climate, such as will be shown must have been the character of our climate between these glacial epochs. At the same time, we have in the cold periods of such an epoch the condition most favourable for the preservation of those plants, for then they would be submerged and covered over by a thick deposit of sand, mud, and clay. In South Africa there is evidence not only of a glacial condition during the Pliocene period, but also of a warmer climate than now prevails in that region. Recent glaciation extends over a large portion of Natal and other parts. It is not to be wondered at that the evidence of glacial action in very remote times should be very scanty. Indeed, remembering what must be the effects of the warm periods succeeding, it is, perhaps, remarkable that we have any evidence left of the preceding cold ones. It is evident that cold periods are best marked in temperate regions, and warm ones in Arctic; and in many Arctic localities the remains of a luxuriant flora of the Miocene period have been often found in great abundance. Remains of mammalia are found in the icy alluvial deposits of North Siberia, and unfossilized trees—conifers and others—in the Arctic lands of North America. Coal beds of the carboniferous age are extensively developed in Arctic regions, proving that a mild and temperate condition of climate must in some part of the carboniferous age have prevailed up to the very pole. Masses of Silurian limestones are also found in the Arctic regions, spread over a wide surface containing encrinites, corals, and mollusca, and other fossil remains. In the Hocene period, when palms and turtles and crocodiles inhabited England, we find travelled blocks and other indications of ice- 80 CHANGES OF CLIMATE DURING GEOLOGICAL PERIODS. action. Near the lake of Thun, one of the granite blocks of this formation is nearly 100ft. square. Itis red, and of a kind not now to be met with in situ anywhere in the Alps. Similar erratics of the same age have been found in the Carpathians and in the Apennines. In the lower Permian conglomerates of the West of England there are unmistakable signs of ice-action. These contain angular fragments of various rocks, striated or polished, which can often be traced to Welsh rocks, from twenty to thirty miles distant. Evidence of a similar kind— more or less full—has been furnished of glaciation, and of warm periods in each of the other geological epochs. There is, therefore, abundant proof of many distinct alternations in past ages, of arctic and temperate climates. How can we account for these alternations? It seems natural to conclude that the main reason for them must be sought in the changes which have taken place in the relation of the earth to the sun. These changes, however, have been asserted by eminent astronomers to be inadequate to account for these effects. This is quite correct, so far as the direct influence of solar heat is concerned, but the indirect influence of greater or less amount of that heat is much more efficient than the direct. Physical as well as astronomical calculations are needful, in order to estimate the changes which are thus wrought. The direct results of the precession of the equinoxes, and of the eccentricity of the earth’s orbit, are greater than have usually been admitted by astronomers. Calculations, extending over long periods, of the variations of eccentricity have been made by Leverrier and others, one of whom, Mr. James Croll, of the Geological Survey of Scotland, has published an elaborate work on the subject of this paper, entitled ‘ Climate and Time, in their Geological Relations.” This book is my authority for many of the following statements. ; (To be continued.) THE CRYPTOGAMIC FLORA OF WARWICKSHIRE. BY JAMES E. BAGNALL. (Continued from page 12.) SECTION If—AMPHOCARPI. FISSIDENTACE. 399.—Fissidens bryoides Hedw. Marly and sandy banks, frequent. Sutton Park! Knowle! Acocks Green! &c. February. 400.—I’. exilis Hedw. On rabbit heaps and clayey soils in woods, and on banks in Lias soils, rather rare. Bearley! Haywoods! Canal bank near Acocks Green! Lane near Yarningale Common! February, 401.—F’. incurvus Schwg. Clayey banks, local. F. viridulus, e. incurvus Wils. Bearley, on banks near the village, Solihull! Canal bank near Solihull and Olton! Temple Grafton! Lane near Yarningale Common! March. 403.—F. tamarindifolius Brid. Marly banks, rare. Near Princethorpe! Drayton bushes! near Binton Bridges! March. CRYPTOGAMIC FLORA OF WARWICKSHIRE. 81 404.—F. pusillus Wils. Damp sandy banks, rare. Near Bacons End, Castle Bromwich! lane near Yarningale Common ! March. Var. Lylei Wils, M.SS. Very rare; abundant on the bank of a drain near Counden, on the way for Allesley! on Lias banks, Birdingbury Wharf ! April. 405.—F. crassipes Wils. F. viridulus, c. major Wils., very rare. Sparingly by the water wheel, Guy’s Cliff! April. 406.—F. inconstans Schpr. On Lias banks, veryrare. Specimens found growing with F. incurvus near Binton Bridges are apparently identical with specimens received from H. Boswell, Esq. February. 409.—F. adiantoides Hedw. Marshes, rare in fruit. Sutton Park, by Windley and Long Moor Mill Pool in fruit! Ballards Green, near Arley Wood! recorded by Purton from a strawberry bed near Studley Castle. October. 410.—F. tazifolius L. Clay banks, somewhat local. Canal bank, Olton! Haywoods! Baddesley Clinton! Canal bank, Rowington! near Hartshill in several places! Ufton Wood, near Southam! Pool Hollies, Sutton Park! November. SECTION III.—CLADOCARPI. RIPARIACER. 414.—Cinclidotus fontinaloides Hedw. Trichostomum fontinaloides Purt. ‘‘ Mill walls, banks of rivers, rare. On a stone cistern at a watering place at Binton,” (Purt, vol. ii., p. 527.) ‘On mill wheels at Bidford Grange, in full fruit, Bree,” (Purt, vol. iii., p. 387.) The cistern at Binton I find is now altered into a modern drinking fountain. I saw no trace of the moss ; the second locality T have not yet visited. ' 415.—Fontinalis antipyretica L. Streams and pools, attached to wood, rare. In river near Holywell! in small pool near Stratford-upon- Avon Road to Alcester ! CRYPHHZACER. 418.—Hedwigia ciliata Dicks. On sandstone, very rare. Arbury (T. Kirk) ! I have seen authentic specimens collected by Mr. Kirk from this locality, but have not found it myself. 420.—Cryphea heteromalla Hedw. Neckera heteromalla Purt. On trees, local. ‘‘In a thicket at Alcester mill, near Allesley”’ Purt, Bree. On elms near Stratford-upon-Avon ! on elms, Wolstone Heath, near Dunchurch! near Sherbourne! Bridle Road from Drayton Bassett to Chadshunt! on ash and elm trees between Offchurch and Birdingbury ! frequent in this locality. April. SECTION IV.—PLEUROCARPI. LEUCODONTACER. 422.—TLeucodon sciuroides Lu. On trees, local in North, frequent in South Warwick. Drayton bushes! Chadshunt! Chesterton! Harbury ! Oakley! Exhall! Solihull! Rowington! Stratford-upon-Avon ! Copt Heath! always barren. NECKERACEZ. 428.—Neckera complanata Ih. On trees, &c., frequent. Solihull! Shustoke! Maxtoke! Oakley Wood! &c. Not found in fruit. 429.—Homalia trichomanoides Schreb. Omalia Wils., Hobk. Hypnum trichomanoides Purt. ‘‘Allesley.’’ On banks and trees, local. School Rough! Marston Green! Solihull on way for Bentley Heath ! near Wroxall Abbey! November. [Hookeria lucens Dill. Should be sought on moist banks in woods. Found by the late Mr. Westcott at Moseley, near Birmingham !] M 82 CRYPTOGAMIC FLORA OF WARWICKSHIRE. LESKEACER. 437.—Leskea polycarpa Khrh. Hypnum medium Purt. ‘On tiles, Allesley, (Bree.”) On trees, especially on the roots near water, local. Forge Mills, on alder roots! Bridle road from Drayton Bassett to Chadshunt! on poplar and alder roots, stream near Holywell! May. 440.—Anomodon viticulosus LL. On tree roots. On ash trees, near Sher. bourn! lane from Kingswood to Wroxall Abbey! Holywell! 446.—Thuidiwm tamariscinum Hedw. Hypnum tamariscinum Wils., Hobk. Marly banks and woods, frequent. Sutton Park! Canal bank near Rowington! Olton! &c. November. ‘ HYPNACEE. 453.—Thamnium alopecurum L. Isothecium Wils. Hypnum Hobk., Purt. ‘‘Oversley.” Banks, woods, and coppices. Rowington, in fruit! Drayton bushes, in fruit! Maxtoke Churchyard! Wootton Wawen! Yarningale ! November. 454.—Climacium dendroides L. Hypnum dendroides Purt. Bogs and marshes, local. Canal bank near Holywell! Lane from Four Ashes to Box Trees, Shirley! Sutton Park! Allesley (T. Kirk)! Cold Comfort,” (Purton.) 456.—Isothecium myurum Poll. Hypnum curvatum Purt. “ Allesley (Bree.”) On trees, local. Plants brook! Haywoods! Holywell! Bearley Bushes! In fruit Chesterton Wood! November. 459.—Homalothecium sericeum Li. Leskea sericea Hedw., Wils., Hobk. Walls, trees, thatch, &c., frequent. Sutton Park! Acocks Green! Olton ! &. November—March. 460.—Camptothecium lutescens Huds. Hypnum lutescens Huds., Wils., Hobk., Purt. ‘‘ Cleve Bank opposite Salford.” On banks in a marly or lias soil, local. Bearley Canal bank! near Ufton Village ! Oversley Woods! not found fruiting. 462.—Scleropodium cespitosum Wils. Hypnum cespitosum Wils., Hobk., Berk. Tree roots near water, local. Forge Mills, near station! abundant on banks of Alne, near Aston Cantlow! borders of pool by Middle- ton Park! on alders near Mar! Cliff! near Holywell on footbridge! near Curdworth bridge ! 466.—Brachythecium glareosum B. and 8. Hypnum glareosum Br., Wils., Berk., Hobk. Marly banks, local. High bank, Stratford Road, near Henley-in-Arden! marly banks near Rose Hall, Oversley! near the Bird in Hand, Henley! 468.—B. albicans Neck. Hypnum albicans Neck., Wils., Berk., Hobk. Grassy places, local. Near Upper Witton Reservoir! Sutton Park by Keeper’s Pool, sparingly ! Very abundant onthe borders of a pine wood, Coleshill Heath! 469.—B. velutinum L. Hypnum velutinum Dill., Wils., Berk., Hobk. Banks, woods, fields, &c., common. Sutton Park! Solihull, Acocks Green! &e. November. 473.—B. rutabulum L. Hypnum rutabulum Wils., Berk., Hobk. Banks, woods, fields, &c., common. Sutton Park! Acocks Green! Solihull! &e. A very robust form is also frequent on damp marly banks and in drains, abundant above Blackroot Pool, Sutton Park, Olton Canal bank, and other localities. November. 475.—B. rivulare B. and 8. Hypnum rivulare Br., Wils., Berk., Hobk. In drains, rare. In a drain, canal bank near Holywell! November. 476.—B. populeum Hedw. Hypnum populeum Wils., Berk., Hobk. Walls, sandstone rocks, trees, rare. Tythall Lane, near Solihull! Olton Canal bank! November, — CRYPTOGAMIC FLORA OF WARWICKSHIRE. 838 477.—B. plumosum Swartz. Hypnum plumosum Sw., Wils., Berk., Hobk. ~ On sandstone rocks, &c., very rare. On stone coping of canal bridge, near Olton ! 478.—Eurhynchium myosuroides Li. Isothecium myosuroides Brid., Wils. Hypnum myosuroides Brid., Berk , Hobk. On trunks of trees, rocks, &c., rather local. On ash trees, near Sherbourne! Bearley Bushes, on young trees! Haywoods ! Chesterton Wood! November. 482.—H. striatum Schreb. Hypnum striatum Schreb., Wils., Berk., Hobk. Woods and shady banks, local. Solihull! abundant in Drayton Bushes! Snitterfield and Bearley Bushes! Chesterton Wood in fruit! Shirley ! November. 484.—H. piliferum Schreb. Hypnum piliferum Schreb, Wils., Berk., Hobk. Shady marly banks, very local. Olton Canal bank! Canal bank near tunnel under Shrewley Heath, abundant ! 485.—E. speciosum Brid. Hypnum speciosum Brid., Wils., Berk., Hobk. On roots of trees near water, very rare. Coppice by Windley Pool, Sutton Park, in fine fruit, 1870! January. 487.—E. Swartzit Turn. Hypnum Swartzii Turn., Wils., Berk., Hobk. Damp banks in a marly or calcareous soil, local. Sutton Park! Coppice near New Park! Drayton Bushes! Ina drain, lane from Middleton to Kingsbury! Abundant on lias bank near Kineton! November. 488.—E. prelongum Dill. Hypnum prelongum L., Wils., Hobk., Berk: Shady banks, woods, &c., frequent. Sutton Park! Acocks Green! Water Orton! &c. November. 489.—E. pumilum Wils. Hypnum pumilum Wils., Berk., Hobk. Shady and marly banks, local. Bank near Middleton! Olton Canal bank! In fruit, near Solihull, on the way for Bentley Heath, abundant! November. 490.—E. TeesdaliiSm. Hypnum Teesdalii Sm., Wils., Berk., Hobk. Very rare. ‘‘ In a moist shady place, between Oversley Green and the Mill, upon the upper bank,” Purton. I have not succeeded in finding this moss in the place indicated, and am unable to refer to Purton’s specimen. (To be continued.) ENTOMOLOGICAL RAMBLES IN THE MIDLANDS. IlIl.—OLTON, SOLIHULL, AND KNOWLE. BY W. G. BLATCH. The month of April, with its mingling of cloud and sunshine, warmth and cold, wet and dry, typifies to some extent the state of an Entomologist’s mind at this interesting season of the year. Hope and foreboding, ardour and indifference, regret and resolve, alternately occupy his thoughts, according to the point of view from which he looks forward to the coming season, or reviews the results of his labours during the past. Hopefulness, however, is his prevailing mood, and, as surely as the sunshine of summer dispels wintry gloom, this perennial quality asserts its dominion over every dismal feeling. A few genial flashes of sunshine, the bright young green of the budding hedgerows, the gradual resurrection of insect life, have an irresistible influencc—awakening thd 84 ENTOMOLOGICAL RAMBLES IN THE MIDLANDS. dormant enthusiasm of even those most addicted to slumber. As surely as the sap rises in the trees, causing them to put forth their leaves and blossoms, so the mystic mercury rises in the soul of the entomologist and forces him into activity. He watches with peculiar interest the develop- ing spring, and longs for an opportunity to revisit some of his favourite haunts, to see what insects are out, and what new facts and phases he may be able to observe. In consonance with this feeling, let us avail ourselves of the first suitable opportunity to go forth on an April expedition, in search of insects, and thus resume our ‘“‘ Entomological Rambles in the Midlands.” Nor need we wander far afield. Within ten miles of Birmingham there is ample scope for our entomological acumen, sharpened though it be to its keenest edge by surrounding conditions. Leaving the “big” localities—the “Forests” and the ‘ Chases”—until the season is more advanced, we will paya visit to less pretentious, though not less beautifulor interesting parts. Indeed, the district we propose to visit inspires consider- able interest in both the Naturalist and the Archeologist, and,although now bereft of many of its ancient characteristics, bears sufficient traces of having once been—in fact, as it is by tradition—the ‘‘ Forest of Arden.” The distance to be traversed would not be too much for good walkers, but it will save time, at least, if we take advantage of the facilities for reaching our ground afforded by the Great Western Railway. Leaving the train at Olton, we cannot help looking longingly at the Canal Reser- voir, and thinking of the probability of some rare Bembidia and Sten being found upon its banks; of uncommon bees and moths swarming about the sallows, now in bloom, that margin it round; and of hosts of Hydropori and Corixe living unknown and undisturbed in its watery expanse: but as it is ‘‘ forbidden ground” we pass on, the only gratifica- tion derived from its contemplation being ‘pleasures of the imagination.” Proceeding past the new church and the college, we pass into a field-walk on the left which takes us in the direction of Solihull. On the oaks in the lane we have just left the Lepidopterists of our party found some interesting moths, including the handsome Amphydastis prodromaria, Phigalia pilosaria, Hybernia leucophearia, and Larentia multistrigata. That queer object which a keen-eyed member of the party has detected on an oak trunk is the female P. pilosaria: itis wingless and, like the male, mouthless, and looks like anything but a moth. At the margin of the wood skirted by the field-path we find, feeding on dandelion, larve of the Golden Swift moth, Hepialus hectus, which, in the perfect state, abounds here in June. Upon reaching the road, we turn to the left towards Cut-throat Coppice, a startlingly horrible name truly, but the only thing at all unpleasant about the locality is its name. In the hollow, growing beside the brooklet, are some alders upon which we are lucky enough to find two larve of the large Emerald moth, Geometra papilionaria, and amongst —_——- =e ENTOMOLOGICAL RAMBLES IN THE MIDLANDS. 85 the dead stalks of last year’s plants a few pupe of the very local and beautiful Royal Mantle moth, Anticlea sinuata. From the hawthorn hedges are beaten séveral larve of the curious little moth, Cilix spinula. A number of sallows are in bloom on the waste ground alittle further on» about which various bees and other insects are flying and buzzing in lively style, and upon which, at night, most of the spring moths—includ. ing nearly all the Teniocampe (T. gracilis amongst the number) may be taken. By beating the underwood in Cut-throat Coppice we start the some- what rare moth, Phorodesma bajularia—the ‘‘ Blotched Emerald”—so called from the colour of the wings, which are green with a conspicuous creamy and red blotch in each anal angle. On a lilac tree at the door of a cottage close by we find a freshly-emerged specimen of the delicately- coloured Lilac Beauty moth, Pericallia syringaria, and on the opening buds of birch growing outside the wood a number of larve of the very hand- some J'ryphena fimbria are feeding, a good supply of which we duly secure. This Jarva, in its earlier stages, feeds, chiefly at night, on low growing plants—such as the primrose—but as soon as the tender shoots of the birch and sallow begin to unfold it ascends these trees and feeds upon the buds. It may frequently be found by day, although early evening is much the best time to search for it. Sitting on a post, apparently asleep, in tint and outline very much like a small patch of lichen, and, moreover, closely simulating the colour of the wood, is a specimen of the charming little Long-horn beetle, Pogonocherus hispidus. This specimen is most unlikely to be the only one in the immediate neighbourhood, and the hint afforded by its presence is not to be neglected; hence, knowing the creature’s predilections, we beat over an inverted umbrella some dry sticks placed in a hedge close by to stop a gap, with the result that three more hispidus andone P. dentatus, a closely allied but smaller species, are secured. Ina piece of oak bark which we strip from a decaying tree are a colony of Octotemnus glabriculus, two species of Rhizophagus, Homalium planum and H. florale ; whilstin a fungus growing outside near the base are two beetles that, except in habitat, widely differ from each other, their names being Cis bolett and Mycetophagus quadripustulatus. By digging at the roots of a solitary oak, growing in the middle of a field opposite the coppice, we obtain three pupe of Amphydasis betularia, commonly known by the undignified appellation of ‘‘ Pepper Moth,” and one A. prodromaria. From under moss-covered bark of poplar, two cocoons of Acronycta megacephala are brought to light, together with some half dozen specimens of Erirhinus vorax, one of the Rhynchophorous or snout-bearing beetles. Whilst removing these, we observe on the trunk of the tree, at its base, scores of the pretty yellow-legged weevil, Apion fagi, and capture two examples of A. difforme, both males, as indicated by the peculiar enlargement of the basal joint of the anterior tarsi. By shaking over our sheet of paper some of the moss loosened in our search after pupe we obtain specimens of Encephalus complicant, Megacronue 86 ENTOMOLOGICAL RAMBLES IN THE MIDLANDS. analis, Syntomium eneum, Phleobium clypeatum, and of the minute and curious Bythinus bulbifer. We now shape our course towards the pleasant township of Solihull, whence, after paying our respects to the grand old Church, (and perhaps also taking a little refreshment at the ‘‘George,”) descending the hill on the right, past the Rectory, and passing through the wicket on the left, we make the best of our way to Blythe Bridge, the walk taking about twenty minutes. Arrived at the Bridge, we go the length of one field down the river (sic) Blythe, working our water nets as we advance. The water is low and clear, and, consequently, exactly suitable for our pur- pose. Three or four species of Corixa (an extensive genus of the order Heteroptera) are extremely abundant, as also are several kinds of water beetles. Of the latter the more interesting captures are Brychius elevatus, Agabus didymus, A. nebulosus, A. maculatus, Elmis eneus, E. Volkmari, and Limnius tuberculatus. Inthe weedy pond on our right, near the foot- bridge, we find the skeleton-like Hydrometra stagnorum, the vicious- looking water scorpion, Nepa cinerea, and, very abundantly, the typical. Notonecta, as well as a fair sprinkling of the prettily maculated variety. Several of the larger water beetles also occur, amongst them being, of course, the giant Dytiscus marginalis and its inseparable companion and imitator, Acilius sulcatus. Our dredging operations bring to light a vast number and variety of larve—Stoneflies, (Caddis,) May- flies, dragonflies, gnats, bugs, and beetles. By taking these home and carefully tending them, we may, in due time, be gratified by seeing a few, at least, assume their winged state, when we can either let them exercise their newly acquired powers in the free air, or immortalise them ty making cabinet specimens of them. One other insect must be mentioned as having been fished up from the muddy bottom of this prolific pond, viz., the extremely curious and uncommon Ranatra linearis. On a willow, near the bridge, as we return, one of our party finds a newly-emerged Puss moth, Dicranura vinula, worth noting as an unusually early specimen. The eggs of this moth are very pretty, being hemispherical in form, red, with a yellowish centre; they are laid singly on the superior surface of willow and poplar leaves, and so closely resemble the tiny red galls, common on the foliage of those trees, as to be distinguishable only by a practised eye. May is the month in which to look for them, although they may sometimes be found as early as April and as late as June. During one very favourable season I recollect having larve of this species fullfed and ‘‘spun up” in their cocoons as early as Midsummer-day—the usual time being August and September. The caterpillar is a very remarkable animal, and has attracted the notice of observers of all kinds. Readers of the amiable ‘‘ Isaac Walton ” will remember a characteristic description of it in his ‘Complete Angler.” Under the flood refuse here (not ‘‘ blood” refuse, as once printed by mistake) occur lots of interesting beetles—Bembidium rufescens, Lesteva longalitrata, and Philonthus nigritulus, being, perhaps, the best of the more conspicuous species. This, by the bye, is the only locality I know of in this district for the first-named beetle. ENTOMOLOGICAL RAMBLES IN THE MIDLANDS, 87 Ascending the brook—I beg pardon, the “‘river’—our attention is attracted by two interesting plants—Geum rivale and the columbine, Aquilegia vulgaris—the latter being particularly ornamental when in bloom, occurring as it does all along the Blythe, especially in the vicinity of woods. In one of the meadows here, feeding on sorrel, we find the yellowish, hairy larve of the Green Forester, Procris statices, the moth being abundant, some seasons, during the month of June. In the same field, on bird’s-foot trefoil, Lotus corniculatus, are larve of the Six-spotted Burnet moth, Zygena filipendule, resembling in some respects those of the ‘ Forester.” On the young alders that margin the stream, larve of the Miller moth, Acronycta leporina, may be found freely in August and September. This is one of the queerest of caterpillars. It always restsin a more or less curved position, is pale green, clothed with long white silky hairs, which are parted along the dorsal line, like the hair of a lady’s head, only that on one side it is brushed forward, and on the other backward, producing a very droll appearance—suggestive of the idea that the two sides had quarrelled, and had decided to go different ways Both the coppices here—‘ Shelley” and “ Sanderfield,” would be worth working, but as they are strictly ‘‘ preserved,” we keep on the outside. But though forbidden to enter, we may surely venture to look over the fence, in doing which we are gladdened by the sight of a perfect carpet of Lily of the Valley, Convallaria majalis. Venturing to gather a few of the dead leaves lying just within an enclosed belt, near Sanderfield Coppice, we obtain therefrom the minute Orthoperus atomus, and several specimens of a shell that will be very acceptable to our conchological friends, viz., Helix aculeata; also, afew H. pygmea, the smallest Helix, as we are told. Near this spot may be found the caterpillars of a very pretty little geometer, which, later on, flits about the alders on warm evenings; it is known as the ‘“ Bordered Beauty,” in science Epione apiciaria. Whilst searching for these we discover two more larve of our handsome friend the large Emerald, G. papilionaria—these are rather smaller than those taken earlier in the day, but still we shall hope to rear them into ‘ first- rate specimens.” A few ‘‘ March Daggers,” Diurnea fagella, are yet to be seen resting on the trees, but the younger members of the party pass them by with contempt, not only because the moth is so extremely common, but ‘‘because it is not in Newman.” It may be as well to say now that by ‘“‘sugaring” here in June legions of beautiful moths can be obtained, including such general favourites as Thyatira batis, T. derasa, Tryphena interjecta, T. janthina, T. fimbria, Aplecta herbida, and others— ‘foo numerous to mention.” Under bark, on a post forming part of a field fence, we capture a single specimen of the rather rare Coryphiwm angusticolle, a beetle of the Brachelytrous section, closely allied to Homalium. The field we are now about to pass through, on our way to Four Ashes and Knowle, is extremely fertile in flowers and insects, and a 88 ENTOMOLOGICAL RAMBLES IN THE MIDLANDS. whole afternoon might be profitably spent in it by both Botanist and Entomologist. We must now, however, push forward, or we shall not complete our walk before night overtakes the lingering day. Near the road at Four Ashes are a number of birches of unusual growth, bearing upon their branches enormous examples of the fibrous excrescence peculiar to this tree. On the surface of the ground beneath these, amongst the dead leaves, we obtain the cocoons of two of’ the ‘¢Prominents,” Notodonta dictea and N. dicteoides, both of which feed, in the larval stage, on birch. From a.poplar tree close by we take some cocoons of the Puss moth, and one of the Kittens, Dicranura bifida; there are plenty of empty cocoons of the latter, and some one pertinently enquires how it is ‘‘ that their outline cannot easily be detected until the moths have escaped ?” Turning into a sort of alley beside the White Lion Inn, we soon find ourselves in a field where, next to grasses, the prevailing plants seem to be yellow rattle, Rhinanthus crista-galli, and the earth-nut, Bunium. flecuosum. I never found anything entomological on the former, but the latter is the food plant of the Chimney-sweep moth, Tanagra chero- phyllata, great numbers of which may be taken now either by searching or sweeping; the latter being by far the quicker method. It is a linear, green larva, almost white on the back. It rolls in a ring, and simulates death when disturbed. In the middle of the next field stands a solitary oak tree, which I have never visited without finding upon it a moth of one kind or another. To-day there are two species on its trunk—the desirable Amphydasis prodromaria and Anisopteryx e@scularia. Under- neath its spreading branches hyacinths, Scilla nutans, grow very thickly, many white ones (the number increasing year by year) intermixed with the blue. Crossing into the next meadow, we continue a very pleasant walk, but find nothing new, with the exception of one larva of the Ruby Tiger moth, Arctia fuliginosa, and a pair of Muslin moths, Arctia mendica. On the railway banks, which we have now reached, the common broom, Sarothamnus scoparius, grows luxuriantly, by beating which larve of two pretty moths are obtained, viz., Chesias spartiata and Pseudoterpna cytisaria. A month later would be better for collecting these, if we could be sure of finding them. As, however, we are not certain about finding them at a future time, we take now what suffices us, at the same time quoting as an excuse for bagging them so young the pithy couplet— “ Who putteth off until the morrow, Soweth gold and reapeth sorrow.” ‘ Turning now into a small meadow resplendent with Lent lilies— ‘“‘ Daffodils that come before the swallow dares,” we soon reach the locality for Trachys troglodytes, one of the most brilliant and rare of our native beetles of the ‘skip-jack” tribe. His wing cases are highly polished, bright green suffused with purplish and golden reflections, and he is, as you will confess, should we be fortunate enough to find a specimen, one of F | . ENTOMOLOGICAL RAMBLES IN THE MIDLANDS. 89 nature’s gems. - Ah! there is one sitting unsuspectingly on a leaf of devil’s bit scabious, and positively gleaming in the sun’s rays; but, wary to a degree, he has discerned our intrusive presence and disappeared. amongst the thick turf. After a long search (in prosecuting which we discover some young plants of the Moonwort, Botrychium lunaria, just peeping through the soil) we capture our prize and place him, as becomes his rarity, ina small bottle by himself. With this red-letter capture I think we may fairly terminate this day’s ramble, especially as we are so near to Knowle station, with a train due in less than ten minutes. We have, however, only got through about half our programme—the original intention having been to extend our explorations to Hampton-in- Arden and Coleshill—I fancy, however, that those places will be quite sufficient in themselves for another half-day’s excursion, and so we contentedly resign ourselves to circumstances and the railway train, hoping soon to meet again and complete our little tour. METEHOROLOGY OF THE MIDLANDS. THE WEATHER OF FEBRUARY, 1880. BY W. JEROME HARRISON, F.G.S. The long cold and dry period which began in October ended about the 4th of February; from this date to the end of the month showers fell almost daily, although no single fall was of very great amount. The total rainfall of February is somewhat above the average, and there were slight floods from the 16th to the 18th. Rather strong §.-W. winds prevailed, with a low and fluctuating barometer. Temperature was decidedly above the average ; the first week was foggy, but there was on the whole a fair amount of sunshine. Storms of thunder and hail, but of no great intensity, occurred on the 8th, 20th, and 27th. Altogether the month may be characterised as mild, moist, and windy, leading us to hope for a bright and warm summer. * ,™“ As a regular reader of and contributor to the ‘“ Midland Naturalist,” I should like to make two suggestions to those who contri- bute Natural History notes :—1st, It would add much to the interest of the notes if they referred to wild flowers only ; because however interest- ing a garden may be to the owner, it does not interest those who only read of it; in addition to which the flowers in a garden, however roughly kept, are grown under much more favourable conditions than wild flowers. 2nd, the value of the notes would be increased if, in addition to the name and date of flowering, the situation, soil, and aspect of the place of growth were also given, and arranged in a tabular form.— OBSERVER. 90 THE WEATHER OF FEBRUARY. rr RAINFALL, A Greatest falls STATION. OBSERVER. Sz {in 24 hours. ae In. |In. | Date. es a a es SS ee GLOUCESTERSHIRE Cheltenham . Stroud Haughton Hall, Shifnal .. Woolstaston Leaton Vicarage, Shr’ wsbury More Rectory, Bishop's Csatle Bishop's Castle .....e++-eee0 Cardington ....... aiste sehen Adderley Rectory eee Stokesay ...cccseees HEREFORDSHIRE. Stoke Bliss ......... ossecsees WORCESTERSHIRE. Orleton, Tenbury....... West Malvern .. .|Rev. J. Brooke . Rey. E. D. Carr. Rev. E. V. Pigott at A. Male K. Griffiths, Esq. ......... 3° ‘Rev. Wim. Elliott .|I. H. Davis, Esq. . .jA. H. Hartland, Esq. « asus cg 419 «| 4°05 Pedmore ...e.ccerere .|E. B. Marten, Esq. -| 3°24 Longlands, Stourbridge......|J_ Jeffries, Esq AAanoonscigg 3°12 Dennis, Stourbridge . oes MIr.. Oz WEDD, cscevescis sence) 200) Bvesham erainies pacsascseo ooo (Le J. Slatter, Hsq..... 2°87 STAFFORDSHIRE. Dudley .....++0+ ooe|Mr. J. Fisher ...ssesesesees 2°50 Sedgley.. ooo Mr. C. BOBle soc ccusccccces 2°27 Kinver .. -..|ReY. W. H. Bolton........ 2°96 Walsall...... {MOPS IN cH. ESOBE awisencsjscae 2°78 Grammar Scho -|C. U. Tripp, Hsq. .......... 2°07 Weston-under- Lyziard R’tory|Hon.and Rev.J. Baldgemey 2°21 Wrottesley .....++.. .|E. Simpson, Esq. .... 2°31 Heath House, Cheadl .|J. C. Philips, Esq..... 2°76 Alstonfield Vicarage . .|Rev. W. H. Purchas 407 Farley, near Cheadle ........ C L Wragge, Esq. ........| 2°54 OBREKAMOOr scccese sees Seas» lit OXOUGLG, HIG: cescccsveces 275 WARWICKSHIRE. Coundon, Coventry ....++++++ Lieu.-Col. R. Caldicott ....| 3°25 Bickenhill Vicarage ........ Oe WAT, ESO .c veccisccnes cic 3°36 St. Mary’s College, Oscott....|Rev. S.J Whitty........0. 2°48 Henley-in-Arden ....... ...../T. H. G, Newton, Hsq......|& 3°49 Rugby School.......++e+e+e+s Rev. T. N. Hutchinson ....| 2°75 Snitterfield, Stratf’d-on-Avon.|J.Goodacre, Esq. ......++. 274 DERBYSHIRE. Stoney Middleton...........- Roy. Us Snnith Gisesivesiesievs 2°69 Fernslope, Belver........+++- J.G. Jackson, Esq........- 2°18 Willesley Gardens, Cromford|J. Tissington, Hsq........ 3°02 Svondon .......++ minnie nieln oie J. T. Barber, Esq...... weeee| 2°05 DUMOLL. sedesses ccscessineses W. Bland, Esq. ......00000.| 2°05 NOTTINGHAMSHIRE. MMAKtOLd ovetesr ssc savas en -e|J- N. Dufty, Esq. ...0...00 1:80 Hodsock Priory, Worksop -|H. Mellish, Esq. .......0.- 1:89 Park Hill, Nottingham......)H. F. Johnson, Esq........ | 2°13 LEICESTERSHIRE. Loughborough .. -..|W. Berridge, Esq.....e..0-| 2°28 Ashby Magna.. .|Rev. EK. Willes ..... eeccece 2°81 Kibworth...... .-| Macaulay,Esq..... 2°80 Town Museum ./W. J. Harrison, Esq. 2°88) Syston .....00< .|J. Hames, jun., Esq | 2°25 Waltham-le-Wo .|E. Ball, Esq. ...... 1:80 Coston Rectory, Me .|Rev. A. M. Rendell -./ 181 Dalby]Hall .......ssecesceees Mr. G. JOmeS cosveeceveseee| 2°00 NoRTHAMPTONSHIRE. Towcester Brewery......++++ J. Webb, Esq...... cevcescce| 2OL Castle Ashby ...... ./R. G. Scriven, THe aeiagenas 2°28 Kettering...... -|J. Wallis, Esq. aetemeeeeee ce | 2°89) Althorpe .....+ sien | xs ss Groom, Tash Paoseenccoe 2°70 Pitsford ...crccecccee apes eel Onac Markham, HUSQ. cossce 2°75 RUTLAND. West Deyne, Uppingham....|/Rev. G. H. Mullins ........ 1°75 Northfields, Stamford ......]/W. Hayes, Hsq........: ../ 1°93 Ventnor Hospital....... cso ne| Wel EVVOOE, dus cenusesw ss 8°04 Altarnun Vicarage .... .|Rev. J. Power, M.A -| 6°29 OXfOLd .ccccvccceccsescvesece| Meds StONG, HSQseceverceeee! aco Natourat Histo ry NortTEs TEMPERATURE. enna pees ES ov Grotion: ht.|Great’st cold an —-. aa 4 ee Date. Deg Date. 23 |54°0) 19 26°0 if 22° )570) 29 27°0| 1 & 25 22/530) 19 260) 25 23 |53°0 4 30°0 9 22 |53°2) 18 & 29/260) 25 23 | 52°0 3 250; 25 23 | 520) 19 & 29)27°0| 25 18 21}588| 18 {2672 9 21 | 52:0) 26 & 29/80'0| 1 & 24 22 1556 4 267) 25 23 |51°0| 4&18 |30°5| 4 & 24 22 | 52°0/12, 18,28) 26°0) 24 20 |53°0) 28 & 29/270) 24 19 |540) 18 27°0| 24 21 |55°7| +19 26°2 1 16 21 |50°0| 29 810} 24 21 |53°0| 29 270) 24 22 Fi 23 1550} 29 |27°0 1 26 |54°0) 19 260} 23 21 |52'5) 20 285} 13 21 }62°0)} 18 30°0) 5 & 18 490) 29 21" 1 20 |51'6) 19 29%) 22 20 |52°8) 29 23°9) 2 21 | 63°0) 19 & 29 ave 1, 4,5 17 | 49°0 50 23 |544| 20 80" 9) 25 21 | 540) 19 & 29) 23°0 1 20 | 850} 28 29°0) 25 21 |54°0) +19 25°9 4 13 | 50°0| 1,3, 29) 25°0| 7&8 “4 52°0 9 | 280) 9 & 12 2 16/535) 20 278 22 (13 52°0} 29 29°0/4, 8, 11, 20 |55°7) 20 27°0) 16 | 52°7| 20 & 29) 301 1 19 ,551 1 24°4 1 21/610) 18 27°0) 23 & 25 20 250) 11 18 |56°8) 18 |25°9 1 25 | 50°0| 19 & 29) 27°C 1 16 |50°0} 19 29°0 2 20 |53°9) 19 245 1 18 | 5270) 19 260) 25 17 13 |54°0} 29 ,81°0 1 18 |54°0) 20 29°0} 1 & 2 16 | 5370) 19 & 29) 24-0 1 580} 17 16°0 20 | 52°8} 19 30°7 5 13 | 49°0 7 28°0 7 11 | 52°8} 26 82"4 4 20 | 59°0) 20 & 21) 240) 25 22 }5491 20 25°0 1 BY OBSERVERS.—Burton-on-Trent.—1st, Rooks actively engaged at repairing old nests, (Newton Solney;) 19th, Black Currant lf.; 28th, Common Elder If. The following flowered on dates given :—13th, Blue Azalea (Bretby ;) 20th, Snowdrop; 25th, Red Mezereon ; 29th, Yellow Primrose and Yellow Crocus ; March 4th, very large METEOROLOGY OF THE MIDLANDS. 91 flights of Plovers at Branstone ; there were none to be seen in January. Their return, according to local tradition, shows winter to be ‘clean gone.” Altarnwun.—Snowdrops in bloom generally during first week ; Yellow Primrose on 23rd, both very late for Cornwall. Oakamoor, near Cheadle.—Snowdrops out on 27th. Stroud.—6th, Catkins of Hazel, low and damp, loamy, south-west; 21st, Snowdrop, low and damp, loamy, south; 24th, Pistil of Hazel, low and damp, loamy, south-west; Ivy- leaved Veronica, Mouse-ear Chickweed, hillside, heavy and damp south-west; 26th, Primrose, hilltop, heavy loam, south-west’; Dog’s Mercury, hillside, heavy land, south-west ; 28th, Coltsfoot, Ground Ivy, hillside, loamy, south-west. Nottingham.—Primrose first flowered 21st January, Snowdrops first flowered 14th February; Willow Catkins seen on February 20th. Uppingham.—Turdus musicus singing January 28th, Alauda arvensis began singing January 31st, Fringilla celebs singing February 1st, Motacilla Yarrellii first seen February 21st, Coccothraustes chloris singing on February 21st, Galanthus nivalis in flower February 18th, Draba verna in flower February 22nd, Corylus avellana in flower February 25th; Frogs—spring croaking commenced February 21st. Farley, near Cheadie.—4th,Honeysuckle bursting into leaf; 7th, Turdus musicus surely singing, heard for first time this year; 10th, pair of Gold- finches seen; signs now of activity among the feathered tribe; Fringilla celebs in song; 21st, Turdus musicus, Turdus merula, Turdus viscivorus, and Sturnus vulgaris becoming more abundant. Shifnal.Snowdrops spring on 5th, Aconites on 10th, and full out on 25th ; Rooks carry sticks on 21st. More Rectory—The Common Thrush was in song throughout the whole of the month, and the Blackbird since the 20th, in theevening. Waltham. —Snowdrop open on 7th, in sheltered spots; Aconite on 13th, Primrose (coloured) 19th, in gardens. Spondon.—Crocus in bloom in warm situa- tions in the last week; in exposed parts only just peeping above the ground. Correspondence, SS Lrarinc or THE Oak and AsH.—Observers will oblige by communi- cating the exact dates of the first appearance of leaves on oaks and ash trees respectively.—Eps. M. N. Puants in Fuowser.—Lesser Celandine, (Ranunculus Ficaria,) in flower at Bretby on 6th March ; Viola odorata, in flower in a garden 13th March.—J. E. N., Burton-on-Trent. Froran Nores ror Fresruary.—Uler gallii in flower February 8th; Ranunculus Ficaria in flower February 8th—H. W. Trorr, Wimborne, Dorset. Puants IN Fiowrr.—I first observed the Daisy, February 21st; Dog’s Mercury and Hazel, 22nd; Primrose, Snowdrop, and Sweet Violet, 26th. —A. Davis, jun., Great Marlow, Bucks. Prants In Frowrr.—February 21st, Hellebore, (Helleborus fetidus, ) Boxley Hills; Hazel, (Corylus Avellana, ) Boxley Hills; Coltsfoot, (Tussilago Farfara,) Snodland Marsh. February 28th.—Lesser Celandine, (Ranunculus Ficaria,) Boxley; Chickweed, (Stellaria media,) Boxley Hills.—J. Tuornuiuu, Maidstone. Sprine Frowrrs.—The following species were gathered February 29th, between Leicester and Charnwood Forest :—Sweet Violet (buds), Dog’s Mercury (buds,) Little Celandine (buds,) Snowdrop, Daisy, Coltsfoot, Speedwell, Hazel. Marth 14th :—Primrvs., mit Chrysdsplenium 92, CORRESPONDENCE. Natura History Notres.—Viola odorata, March 7th; Ranunculus Ficaria, March 13th; Salix’caprea, (female,) March 13th; Tussilago Farfara, March 20th. I found a Thrush’s nest, with three eggs in it, to-day, March 20th. The hedges (thorn) are beginning to show a bit of green, but the cold nights are keeping them back as yet.—H. F. Jounson, Nottingham. Eariy Frowrers.—February 25th I found Hazel, both male and female flowers, and on the 26th the Barren Strawberry (Potentilla Fragariastrum,) and the perennial Dog’s Mercury; March 3rd, a Dandelion; March 8th, Lesser Celandine (Ranunculus Ficaria) and Coltsfoot ; March 13th, Wood Anemone; March 15th, Willow; March 21st, Moschatel, (not quite out;) and March 24th, Wood Sorrel and Green Hellebore.—O. M. F., Frankton, Salop. AnotHer BovutpEr.—I noted, a few days since, a fine erratic block lying in a field between the villages of Ratby and Glenfield, and about four miles west of Leicester. It rests upon a thin stratum of drift con- taining quartzite pebbles, under which the red marls of the Keuper are seen in a brook-course close by. The boulder measures 3} by 3 by 2 feet, and consequently weighs about 14 tons. It is of Mountsorrel granite, somewhat rounded, and contains several dark patches or inclusions, some of which look much like the volcanic ashes of Charnwood Forest, caught up by the granite when it invaded the sedimentary rocks. Such “inclusions” are very common in the Mountsorrel rock; the majority of them, however, are found, when examined microscopically, to be only granite of a finer grain than the mass, the crystals being smaller, The boulder lies six miles §.S.W. of its original home, the hummock of igneous rock which forms Mountsorrel and Buddon Wood. It is only one mile due south of the syenite of Groby. Its height above sea level (by Aneroid).is about 270 feet.—W. J. H. Boranican Nores From Sovran Bxrps.—Primula vulgaris.—These flowers were cut off by the frosts at the end of January, and re-appeared at the end of February. Mercurialis perennis—Many staminate plants showed their spikes of unopened flowers on February 29th, but no pistillate ones were observed. Corylus Avellana.—Blossoming freely on February 22nd. Tussilago Farfara.—Many plants in blossom on railway banks, with southern aspect, on March 3rd. Lamiwm purpwreum.—First blossom noticed on March 10th, on a bank with a south-west aspect. Viola odorata.—Earliest observed blossoms in the open country on March 10th. Salix caprea.—tin full blossom by March 13th. Adoxa moschatellina. —Foliage and inflorescence about three inches high, but flowers unopened March 13th. Anemone nemorosa.—In blossom in a sheltered wood March 13th. Helleborus viridis.—Virst foliage showed above ground on February 11th. Ranunculus Ficaria, Caltha palustris, and Petasites vulgaris, in full blossom March 13th, in a boggy meadow, under trees.—J. SAUNDERS, Luton. A Mergop or Testine tHe Derinition or Opsnct Guasses.—When the Rev. W. H. Dallinger visited Birmingham to lecture on his important researches into the minutest forms of life, he favoured me with some information on his methods of manipulating the very high powers he used in these researches. In the course of conversation, in reply to my enquiry whether or not he considered that the indications of a power so high as the 1-72nd could be relied on, he stated he could place as much reliance on it as on one of lin. focus ; and explained, he never used any power which he had not tested on an object, which he could verify with the naked eye. To do this, he takes any clearly defined object, such as a watch dial, and places it in the position which the CORRESPONDENCE. 93 mrror usually occupies. This he strongly illuminates ; then, by using as a condenser the power in his possession next lower to that he wishes to test, an image is formed, at the level of the stage, of the selected object, but extremely minute. Upon this reduced image he brings to bear the object glass he is testing. This enlarges the image, and enaples him to compare it in all its details with the test object, which is of a size he can measure with his naked eye. If the result is satisfactory, he can use the objective, thus tested on the known, with confidence upon the unknown. I applied this test most easily to several powers, of which _ the highest was a Ross 1-12th, with satisfactory results. A 1-5th of Swift’s, very moderate in price, compared very favourably with some much more expensive powers. The object used was a piece of printed paper, cut round so as to lie flat on the face of the mirror.—EpuunpD Tonks. SUBTERRANEAN F'unat, &c.—A wish is expressed in the February number of the ‘‘ Midland Naturalist” for information respecting the subterranean and light-avoiding Cryptogamic plants, occurring in the Midland District. Though I have not made the subject a special study, I may mention instances of the occurrence of such plants. Rhizomorpha medullaris exists creeping down to a great extent on the walls of a covered well, near my residence. I have also seen the same curious plant descending on the walls of a friend’s wine cellar. This plant was fully described and figured many years since in the Linnean Transactions. A plant, possibly an Alga, but with crowded branches, only an inch or two long, and a line wide, compressed, of an orange colour, and more divided below, occurs dependent from the woodwork covering wells, and also from the roofs of vaults. Racodiwm cellare, or mouseskin byssus is, of course, a common find in our cellars; and I have had it sent to me from the cellar of one of our Universities, noted, however, for better productions. A friend tells me that he found immense masses of a similar plant, composed of a white or reddish thready structure, in a mine on the Great Orme’s Head. The Dry-rot (Merulius) is, unfortunately, too well known. It has, to my knowledge, destroyed the wooden flooring beneath the pews of a large church, and also the staircase in a friend’s mansion. Subterranean fungi also occur very frequently in coal mines. I noticed some timber that was phosphorescent owing to the presence of the hymenium of a fungus; and the same appearance occurs in hot weather at the decayed foot of posts, &e.—R. G., Stoke-upon-Trent. Narvurat History Norrs.—The winter has been felt very severely at Oscott, more so than for many years. The hard frosts have killed many of the evergreen shrubs in the plantations. The Arbutus, Laurestine, Portugal Laurel, and Bay, have nearly all succumbed to the severity of the season; and even the common Laurel, generally so very hardy, has suffered considerably, The spring, too, is unusually late, much later here than in the neighbourhood. The following are the observations recorded by the Oscott Natural History Society :—February 22nd.— Snowdrop, Daisy, and Chickweed in flower. 27th.—Redwings flocking together, starting northwards; Skylark, Chaffinch, and Song Thrush singing. 28th. Daphne Mezereon in flower. 29th.—Coltsfoot and Hellebore in flower. March 2nd.—Ants working. 3rd.—LHElder tree in leaf. 5th.—Several Ladybirds seen. 6th.—Crocus in flower, and House Flies seen. 7th.—Hawthorn in leaf in sheltered places. 10th.—Ground- sel and Polyanthus in flower; Cockchafer and Wasp seen. 11th.—Bertius aquifolia and Yew in flower. 12th.—Ranunculus Lenormandi. 14th.— Cerastium viscosum and Scleranthus annuus in flower. 17th.—Horse Chest- 94 CORRESPONDENCE. nut inleaf. 21st.—Luzula campestris, Dogtooth Violet, and Jonquil in flower. We have not recorded the Primrose in flower here as yet, nor has the Honey Bee been seen. Thereare no signs of Veronica hederifolia, though it is not unusual to see this plantin flower all the winter through. In Worcestershire, on the 9th inst., we found Primrose, Sweet Violet, Dog’s Mercury, and Veronica agrestis. On February 1st, Ranunculus acris was found in flower at Stonor Park, Henley-upon-Thames. On February 13th, a fine specimen of the Clouded-yellow Butterfly, Colias Edusa, was caught at Oscott, in a room where, I suppose, it had been hibernating, brought into activity once again by the warm sun.—J. CaswELL, Oscott. OBSERVATIONS ON THE FLOWERING or Puants, from January Ist to March 15th, 1880, with the dates when observed last year :— 1880. 1879. Groundsel (Senecio vulgaris) in flower by .. .. Jan. 1st. Jan. Ist. Primula vulgaris, Viola odorata and tricolor, in flower, in the. garden, Dy) fae. a6 “ee” se. lien peas) Meee Veronica agrestis seen in flower... .. .. .. -- «4, 6th. Mar. 3rd. Chickweed (Stellaria media) .. oe ee 99) dG eee Shepherd’s Purse (Capsella bursa-pastor is) oe ee gy, Ly AVE Whitlow Grass (Draba verna) in flower by .. .. ,, 8th. ,, Ist. Winter Aconite (Hranthis meremelia) first seen in flower in the garden .. -» «» «» BMeb. 13th. Heb. 9th: Daisy (Bellis perennis) in flower by .- : eke », 13th. Mar. 18th. First Snowdrop expanded in the garden «so oes og) Lith: (hebereme Filbert (Corylus sativa) first seen in flower .. .. ,, 17th. ,, 8th. Polyanthus (Primula polyanthus) .. .. .. +. 5, 19th. Hazel (Corylus Avellana) in flower by .. .. .. ,, 20th. ,, 16th. Spurge Laurel (Daphne Laureola) .. .. .. «. 5, 21st. Mar. 7th. Winter Aconite in flower in plantations by .. .. ,, 21st. Feb. 2ist. Yew Trees (Taxus baccata) in flower by.. : » 29th. Mar. 8th. Coltsfoot (Tussilago Far fon) first seen in flower .. - Mar. 1st. Prey (lie Crocus .. sa. oop is 4 pul Red Dead Nettle ( Lamium pur. purewm ) in 1 flower sis » 4th. Feb. 21st. Wych Elm (Ulmus montana) .. Samheeicie tc », 4th. Mar. 19th. Alder (Alnus glutinosa) in flower by .. ia. sie Soetisns | Se 5» Othe Celandine (Ranunculus Ficaria).. .. .. «. «+» ,, Sth. 4, iOthe Violets (Viola odorata) flore pragriren sis | teres) eaten RS eee 3)» Sule ;, lore albo 2 sid 5 LS Common Elm (Ulmus campestr is) i in flower by w* 99, GUL, eames ian Mercury (Mercurialis perennis) male flowers .. .. ,, 9th. ,, 28th. Primrose (Primula vulgaris) in flower .. .. .. ,,12th. ,, 15th. Sallow (Salix caprea) inflowerby .. .. .. .. ;,12th. ,, 25th, Mercurialis perennis, female flowers... .. .. .. 3, L5th. Lungwort (Pulmonaria officinalis) .. .. .. ++ 5, 15th. April 8th. R. R., Castle Ashby. Reports of Societies, BIRMINGHAM NATURAL HISTORY AND MICROSCOPICAL SOCIETY.—February 25th.—The annual conversazione was held in the Town Hall, and passed off with great success. The display of microscopes was, perhaps, the finest ever seen in this town, comprising over one hundred instrn- ments, which were arranged systematically, according to the class of object shown in each. These occupied the floor of the hall, and wero the main feattre of the exhibition. Tho galleries were crowied by & splenditt collection of REPORTS. 95 specimens in every branch of Zoology, Botany, Geology, Art, and Archeology, which it would take far more space than is here available to enumerate. Nearly 700 persons attended the gathering, and, judging from the numerous expressions of approval and pleasure to be heard on every hand, we may safely add that they all thoroughly enjoyed themselves. GrnrRAL Mrrtinc.—March 2nd.— Mr. A. W. Wills exhibited two diatoms, Asterionella Bleakeleyii, from Falmouth ; and A. formosa, from Sutton Park.—Mr. J. E. Bagnall exhibited Fissidens exilis, a rare moss; and Antheridium of Diplophyllwm albicans, both from Solihull—Mr. W. P. Marshall read Dr. Marshall’s paper, (printed on page 49, et seq.,) giving the results of Professor A. Weismann’s researches into the habits and life-history of Leptodora hyalina. Illustrations were given of three stages in the development of the nauplius or larva, and some large diagrams of nearly allied forms, connecting it with the other Cladocera, were shown by Mr. Marshall.— BrotoeicaL Section.—March 9th.—Mr. J. E. Bagnall exhibited and described, on behalf of the Rev. W. H. Painter, a fine collection of plants from Anglesea. —Mr. T. Bolton exhibited pro-embryo of Chara fragilis, grown from spores.— Mr. Levick exhibited, under the microscopes, the rotifer Notommata Brachionus, males and females, the latter making webs to which they attach themselves. He also exhibited Anurwa curvicornis and Polyarthra platyptera.—The first part of a valuable paper, by Mr. W. Phillips, F.L.S., of Shrewsbury, ‘‘ On the Study of the Lichens,” was read by Mr. J. HE. Bagnall, and illustrated by a large number of typical specimens and drawings. The concluding portion of the paper, which is looked forward to with much interest, will be read on the 30th instant. A vote of thanks was passed to Mr. Phillips for his communication.— GENERAL Mrrtinc.—March 16th.—Mr. W.G. Blatch exhibited Pogonocherus hispidus, one of the Longicorn beetles, found at Sare Hole, Moseley, on the 14th inst., which is remarkably early for its appearance.—Mr. T. Bolton exhibited Wenham’s immersion illuminator.—Mr. J. Levick exhibited a curious Infusorian Dinobryon sertularia, and Volvox globator—Mr. W. B. Grove, B.A., read a most interesting paper on ‘‘Some Phenomena of Ice,” illustrated by drawings and by thin slabs of ice in the oxy-hydrogen microscope; the paper will be printed in a future number. BIRMINGHAM AND MIDLAND INSTITUTE SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. —February 14th—The members made an excursion to the site of the New Lunatic Asylum, at Rubery, where, during the excavations for the foundations, the coal measures have been exposed. A seam of coal, nearly two feet thick, Was examined by the party. February 26th.—Fifty-eight members and friends went to Aston Lower Grounds. Mr. W. R. Morris explained the Gramme Machines, and showed various experiments with the Electric Light. Mr. H. W. Jones, F.C.S., conducted the membtrs through the Aquarium, describing the various forms of animal life in the tanks, &e. March 10th.—Mr. J. H. Baxter read a paper on ‘‘ What can be done with a cheap Microscope,” and exhibited a large collection of slides, which were well shown under microscopes not costing morethan 10s. 6d.each. March 17th.—Mr. R. Waite gave a very interesting description of Stonehenge and Salisbury Plain. BURTON-ON-TRENT NATURAL HISTORY AND ARCHAOLOGICAL SOCIETY.—March 2nd, Mr. Robert Thornewill read a second paper on ‘‘ The History of Burton Abbey.” In his first paper, March 1878, Mr. Thornewill gave a sketch of the history of the abbey from its foundation by Wulfric Spot in 1004 to the death of Abbot Nicholas in 1197. The present was a resumé of the history of the abbey during the 13th and 14th centuries. William Melbourne, a monk of Reading, succeeded Nicholas in the‘abbacy ; during his rule—on the 31st of March and the 1st of April, 1200— King John was a guest at the abbey. In this abbot’s time occurred the first uncovering of the remains of Burton Church—probably the Saxon church partly replaced in 1114 by the Norman work at the west end by Abbot Nigel. Melbourne was also a great benefactor to the town. They were told he built the town ‘ extending from the great bridge at Burton as far as the new bridge in the direction of Horninglow;” and he procured from King John a charter for the Thursday market and the fair now known as ‘‘ Burton Winter Fair.” Abbot 96 REPORTS. Melbourne died in the year 1214, and was succeeded by Roger Norman, who on] ruled for two years. Nicholas Wallingford, prior of Burton, was the next abbot, and he died in 1222, after six years’ rule. He was succeeded by Richard de Insula or Ely, who built the chapel of St. Edmund and endowed it. He procured from Henry III. a confirmation of the charter given by King John, and also a charter for a market and fair for Abbot’s Bromley. Having been translated to the abbacy of St. Edmund’s, Richard was succeeded in 1229 by Lawrence, a monk and cook at Burton, who presided over the abbey fer thirty years, during which time some notable events occurred. On the 2nd of October, 1254, the town was destroyed by fire, and a little more than a month later the Trent overflowed its banks. and there was a ‘terrific flood.” In July, 1255, there was a “ fearful hailstorm,” which was followed by a “‘ marvellous tempest.” Abbot Lawrence gave liberally to the monastery, and began to build the Lady Chapel of the grand old church. In his time there were thirty monks in the abbey. Lawrence died in 1260, and was succeeded by the prior of Burton, John de Stafford, a native of Stretton, and a great scholar. For the good of the souls of his father and mother he built a bridge at Egginton, which is called Monk’s Bridge to this day. In his time the Lady Chapel was completed by Prior Michael. After being abbot twenty _ years, John de Stafford retired on account of old age and died in 1280, a few weeks after his retirement. He was succeeded by Prior Thomas Packington, who ruled twenty-six years. During his time there was a terrible famine, and to relieve the ‘distress he employed the people to make Cat Street, now called Station Street. The building of the chancel or the upper church, or choir, was also began and completed. John Fisher, of Stapenhi!], a monk of Burton, was next appointed, and in turn he was succeeded by William Bromley, who had formerly been cellarer of the monastery. During his time—in the year 1322—the battle of Burton Bridge was fought between the forces of the Earl of Lancaster, owner of Tutbury Castle, and Edward II. This event caused the monks so much suffering that the King, to compensate them, gave them the advowsons of Hanbury and Tatenhill, which had previously belonged to the Earl of Lancaster. On the death of Bromley in 1329 a dispute arose as to his successor, one party favouring the appointment of Roger de Bybington, a monk, of Burton, and another that of Robert Longdon, formerly of Burton, and then prior of Tutbury. The dispute was finally referred to the Bishop of Coventry and Lichfield, who chose Robert Longdon. He was twelve years abbot, and built the Chapel of the Confessors with its spiral columns and ornamental capitals. Longdon died in 1340, and was succeeded by Robert Birkhull, monk and cellarer of Burton, who died in 1348. John Ibstoke, monk and almoner of Burton, then ruled as abbot for eighteen years, and was succeeded by Thomas Southam, monk and chaplain to the late abbot, who retired on the 1st of November, 1400, after being in office thirty-three years.— Mr. Thornewill was jeartily thanked for his paper. A number of excellent drawings of portions of the old abbey were exhibited. ; NORTHAMPTONSHIRE NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY. — February 17th. General Monthiy Meeting. Mr. B. Thompson, F.C.S., reada paper on * Polari- sation of Light,” illustrated by various kinds of Polariscopes. March 4th.— Entomological Section. The President, Sir Herewald Wake, Bart., read a paper on “ Wasps,” in which he detailed his observations on the way in which larve are fed; and a plan for systematic work for the ensuing year was adopted. NOTTINGHAM LITERARY AND PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY.—The following lectures have been delivered this season :—January 29th, G. H. Wallis, Fisq., on ‘‘ The Potter’s Wheel ;” February 5th, J. B. Hutchinson, Esq., on “The Present Agricultural Depression, and Its Probable Consequences ;” February 12th, G. B. Kidd, Esq., LL.D., on ‘* Philosophy in the Middle Ages— Schools and Schoolmen;”’ February 17th, Dean Stanley, on ‘‘ The Relations of Theology, Science, and Literature;’ February 26th, H. Y. Stanger, Esq., B.A., on “ Utilitarianism ;” March 4th, Rev. J. F. McCallan, M.A., on ‘ Inter- mediate Education;’ March 11th, H. C. Sorby, LL.D., F.R.S., on ‘The Structure and Origin of Limestones;’ February 17th, J. J, Harris Teall, Esq., M.A., F.G.S., on “The Structure of Molecules,” = — = BOTANICAL EXCURSION. 97 MIDLAND UNION OF NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETIES. - NORTHAMPTON MEETING, JUNE, 1880. BOTANICAL EXCURSION. BY R. G. SCRIVEN, A MEMBER OF THE NORTHAMPTON NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY. As the excursions from Northampton at the approaching meeting of the Midland Union will probably be over ground which is new to most of the members present, I have been invited by the Editors of this Journal to contribute a few notes to introduce to them the general features of interest which we propose to bring before them, and to assist them in making their choice as to which of the excursions they will join for the day. ‘here will be two excursions on the second day of the meeting, one being principally Botanical and the other Geological in its object. The Geological excursion will, I understand, form the subject of a paper to be contributed by another of our members, and I shall, therefore, confine myself to describing the course proposed to be taken by the Botanical excursion. Starting from Northampton at nine A.M. in carriages provided for the day, the members will take the road leading down the Nene valley for about four miles, when they will cross the river at Billing Bridge, from which point on their right they will see Clifford Hill, a small Roman earthwork, probably thrown up to defend the passage of the river. The Nene valley, here, as along the whole of its course, is a wide alluvial fiat of rich water meadows, subject to frequent flooding, and covered in spring time with masses of the Marsh marigold and the Cuckoo flower, (Cardamine pratensis, ) while by the banks of the sluggish river grow the Iris and the Bulrush, and the long spikes of the Purple Loose-strife (Lythrum salicaria,) the “long purples” of Ophelia. From Billing Bridge the route will be by Cogenhoe, which stands on a steep hill on the right bank of the Nene, and by Whiston, where there is a small Perpendicular church of great beauty, which may be worth a flying visit, to Castle Ashby, the seat of the Marquis of Northampton. Some time will be spent here in viewing the mansion and grounds, which are well worthy of inspection. From Castle Ashby the party will proceed through Yardley Hastings to the Chase Park Farm, where luncheon will be provided, and the remainder of the available time will be spent in botanising in the adjoining woods. Yardley Chase is one of a series of ancient forests, extending along the southern border of the county of Northampton, on the high ground forming the watershed between the Nene and the Ouse, which runs through the neighbouring counties of Buckinghamshire and Bedfordshire. Salcy Forest is the next adjoining to it, beyond which is the old Royal Forest of Whittlebury. The soil is barren, being composed of the glacial drift which here overlies the oolite to the depth of a hundred feet, the limestones cropping out from under it in each of the adjoining valleys. Tt is a hard clay, filled with chalkstones. The soil is, however, admirably oO 98 BOTANICAL EXCURSION, suited to the growth of oak timber, which, in consequence of its slow growth, is remarkably hard and durable, and oak trees of great size are met with throughout this tract of forest land, two of which, called Gog and Magog, stand close to the Chase Park Farm. Nor is the soil, though poor, destitute of botanical interest, nay, perhaps, from that very reason its flora may be more abundant. It is a well ascertained fact that a rich soil and high cultivation are unfavourable to a great variety in the flora, and I remember ~ seeing a remarkable instance of this in Mr. Lawes’ experimental plots at Rothamsted, where the unmanured plot bore a small crop containing a great number of different species, while in the highly manured portions, though the crop was increased ten-fold, the number of species had sunk to some half dozen. These woods contain most of the plants commonly met with in similar woodland districts, together with a few plants now strictly indigenous to the chalk formation such as Chlora perfoliata, which I hive found in a few places; and in the adjoining fields Linaria spuria and LElatine, aud Lithospermum officinale and arvense. One curious plant, which is not found except in similar situations, the herb Paris, P. quadrifolia, is tolerably abundant, while near it, in a part of the Chase which will be visited by the members of the excursion, is the only locality I know in this district for the common garlic, Allium ursinum. The Orchidacee are fairly represented, among the more common being the Butterfly orchis, Habenaria bifolia, Orchis Morio, mascula, and maculata, and Listera ovata. The common wild Hyacinth, Agraphis nutans, and the Wood Anemone cover large tracts of ground, as does also the common Mercurialis perennis. The wild Honeysuckle and the Clematis vitalba are abundant, though the latter is rather local. Of Ferns the number is very limited, comprising only the male fern, dspidium Filix-mas, the Crested Fern, A. cristatum, the Lady Fern, Asplenium Filix-femina, the Hart’s Tongue, the Common Polypody, and the Bracken. A great number of interesting plants are also found in the open ridings and grassy glades in the Chase, among the more prominent of which are the Eyebright LEuphrasia officinalis, the pretty little Contaury Erythrea centaurium, Polygala vulgaris in three colours, the Woodsorrel Ozalis Acetosella, two or three varieties of Hypericum, Carex, and Equisetum. Of course, in the limited space allowed me it would be impossible to give anything like a complete list of the plants to be found in so large an area, and I have, therefore, only given a few of the more common, hoping in this way to give some indication as to the general character of the flora of the locality. The excursionists will leave the Deer Park about four o’clock in the afternoon, and will proceed direct to Northampton by the road leading through Denton and Brafield. The Leopard’s Bane, Doronicum pardalianches, grows in a hedge bank by the roadside, just outside the village of Denton, probably escaped from some garden. It is most likely that this excursion will be chosen by many of the students of Entomology, and I should lixe, therefore, to have added a few notes for their benefit, I have been unable, however, to get any assist- BOTANICAL EXCURSION. 99 ance in this matter, and my own knowledge is limited to a: few of the more striking of the Lepidoptera. The Purple Emperor is fairly abundant, and though the date of the excursion is too early for the mature insect, I have known several instances of its having been secured in the larval state about that time. The Purple Hairstreak is also pretty common, and the Marbled White is in some seasons abundant. Among the rarer varieties which may be met with at the time of the excursion, are the small Fritillary, Welitaa selene, and the Skipper, Thymele alveolus. CURIOUS INSTANCES OF PARASITISM IN THE TOAD. BY T. SPENCER COBBOLD, M.D., F.R.S., PRESIDENT OF THE QUEKETT MICROSCOPICAL SOCIETY. Just forty years ago I remember, as a lad, to have been painfully struck with the distress of a toad, as shown by its outstretched fore limbs firmly planted in the soil, and by an otherwise peculiar atti- tude. The victim was in a plantation of my father’s rectory grounds, Wortham, Suffolk. Noticing the constant outward and inward move- ment of several parasites which occupied the cavity of the nose, my chief thought was how I could best put the unfortunate batrachian out of its misery. I killed the toad; but the parasites were neither removed nor preserved. It was, in fact, my earliest observation in helminthology. From that time onward the circumstance continually recurred to me as one worthy of scientific notice; but as, until recently, I had received no confirmation of the correctness of the observation, the matter was allowed to pass. During my prolonged absence from town last autumn, a letter arrived from Dr. C. A. McMunn, of Clarence House, Waterloo Road, near Wolverhampton, describing something very similar. Writing on the 6th of August, 1879, Dr. McMunn records the following incident :—‘‘ As I was returning home from the country yesterday I noticed a toad slowly crawling across the road, and on taking it up I found two holes in the front of its head, evidently the nostrils, very much increased in size. They were filled with moving bodies. To-day the animal died. The two holes have coalesced into one, and the cavity formed by this coalescence is filled with the same parasites I saw yesterday. Ienclose the toad, as I know you are interested in such matters.” For the reasons above particularised, it was not until the expiration of three months that I had opportunity to read Dr. McMunn’s letter and to open the paper-box containing the toad. After explaining this by _ * Communicated to the meeting of the Entomological Club held at Dr. E. H. Vinen’s house, Bayswater, on the 17th of Marca, 1880. 100 CURIOUS INSTANCES OF PARASITISM IN THE TOAD. letter, my correspondent was kind enough to furnish me with some addi- tional particulars. Writing at the close of the year, he observes:— On examining the toad more carefully, I found each nostril filled with whitish small worm-like bodies, which would amount, I should say, to fifty or more in each nostril. They kept appearing at the outside of the nostrils, and then receding, these movements being probably due to the respiratory efforts of the toad. They also had a rolling motion, indi- vidually. After some hours the septum between the nostrils was quite eaten away, and a large hole appeared in the animal’s head, the toad being then quite dead.” Dr. McMunn did not observe any rings or hooks, but in a postscript he expresses the opinion that the parasites represented ‘‘ the larve of some insect.” I must here mention that the envelope and box had arrived in a torn state. When I examined the contents of the box, there was nothing but the skeleton of the toad, the remains of numerous pup#, from which the perfect insects had escaped, and the wool and notepaper in which the toad was packed. The surface of the writing paper was plainly marked with impressions of the smooth-skinned pups. These are distinctly ringed, and when magn‘fied about 4) diamet>rs show a large number of minute spines. From a sketch supplied by Dr. McMunn, the living larva would appear to have been fully a quarter of an inch in length. I found that one of the dried, shrivelled, and empty pup skins measured exactly one-fifth of an inch in length. The remains of a rather small beetle that had evidently gained access to the box were found lodged in the skeleton. This had certainly nothing to do with the parasitism, about which not a shadow of doubt could exist. In determining the species, I stood in need of the assistance of learned Entomologists; and it was this which induced me to submit the facts and specimens to the notice of the club. Appendiz.—During the discussion which followed the reading of this short paper, (in which discussion Messrs. Sheppard, Lowne, Dallas, Pascoe, and the Rev. G. Henslow took part,) Mr. Robert McLachlan, F.R.S., drew attention to recent notices in the ‘‘ Zoological Record” for 1877-78, and he stated that not improbably the larve® in question would be found to belong to the genus Batrachomyia of MacLeay. In the reports in question I find that reference is made by Mr. E. C, Rye to a note by Herr Boie, on the larve of a Dipteron attacking the soft parts of the mouths of toads in Bohemia. M. Girard also gives ‘instances of Batrachians attacked in a similar manner.” Mr. Rye quotes also the opinion of MM. Colin de Plancy and E. Taton, that ‘‘ the flies (Butrachomyia) attack only sores already existing.” It appears that M. Moniez had previously referred some dipterous insects, possessing these habits, to the genus Lucilia, one species of which (L. hominivorax) proves, as everybody knows, so terrible to the convicts at Cayenne. The new fly, L. bufonivora, Mon., lays its eggs ‘‘in the eyes of frogs, and the larve eat into the living batrachian.” Mons. Leliévre refers it to L. regalis or L. illustris, Meig., but the opinion is disputed by CURIOUS INSTANCES OF PARASITISM IN THE TOAD. 101 M. Girard. It is also stated that ‘‘larve of this species have been discovered in the head of a toad, near Maurenne;” and also, in another instance, near Paris. From these observations it appears that the instances of dipterous parasitism in the nasal chambers of toads, as recently witnessed by Dr. McMunn, and by myself some forty years back, are perfectly genuine. NOTES ON MARINE INFUSORIA. BY W. SAVILLE KENT, F.L.S., F.R.M.S., ETC. (Continued from page 76.) 4.—Zoothamnium alternans, C. and L., (Plate IV., Fig. 5.)—This very beautiful type, identical with the Zoothamnium plumosum of Dr. Strethill Wright, the Z. spirale of P. H. Gosse, (‘‘ Tenby,” Plate IV., Fig. b,) and, possibly, the Zoothamnium niveum of C. G. Ehrenberg, (in which case this last-named specific title must take precedence of the others,) was obtained in considerable abundance attached to Sertularie and other Hydroid Zoophytes brought up with the dredge, from various depths. Some of these colonies were remarkable for their size and luxuriance of growth, those obtained from deeper water, fifty fathoms, being most notable in this respect. Compared with the more familiar fresh-water species, Zoothamnium arbuscula, (sometimes found in sea-water,) Z. alternans may be immediately distinguished by the mode in which the secondary branches are disposed with relation to the main or axial stem of the compound colony. In the present instance, these secondary branches are given off alternately, sometimes from opposite sides, and sometimes in a spiral manner, producing, in this latter instance, an exceedingly elegant, tall, plumose colonial stock, or ‘“‘ Zoodendrium,” which may Le indefinitely prolonged. Not unfrequently, and more especially in examples obtained near the shore line, the height of the entire colony does not much exceed the breadth, and, the branches originating at regular intervals on opposite sides of the main stem, the zoodendrium, as a whole, presents a flabelliform or espalier-like contour. In Zootham- nium arbuscula, on the other hand, all the secondary branches diverge radially or close to one another from the apex or distal termination of the main, or axial stem, which latter, being once produced, does not increase in length. 5.—Zoothamnium dichotomum, St. W., (Plate IV., Fig. 6.}\—One or two colonies of a type that, so far as it is possible to predicate, appears to be identical with the form very briefly described in ‘‘ Pritchard’s Infusoria” under the above title, were obtained from the lower depth of fifty fathoms. The zoodendrium, in this instance, is built up by the more or less regular dichotomous division of a somewhat slender primary, or axial stem, the ultimate divisions, or pedicles, which support the associated zooids being of considerable length. In no other species of 102 MARINE INFUSORIA. Zoothamnium, as yet described, does the supporting stem exhibit such a well-marked dichotomous plan of growth. The Z. Cienkowskii, of Wrzesniowski, and Z. elegans of De Udekim, present the nearest approach to the same, but in both of these there exists a considerable distinction in the proportionate length and thickness of the axial stem and supporting pedicles. In every instance, two or three larger repro- ductive zooids (Plate IV., Fig. 6a) were found attached towards the bases of the main branches, which were conspicuously distinct from the ordinary or alimentary zooids by their ovate instead of campanulate contour, and the coarse transverse striation of their cuticula. Dr. Strethill Wright’s original comparison of the contour of the zooids of this species to that of the fruit of the Wild Rose (Rosa canina) would appear to apply only to these more conspicuous reproductive units. 6.—Follicularia ampulla, Mull. sp., (Plate IV., Figs. 7 to 9.)—Among the shell débris brought up from a depth of fifty fathoms, the valve of a Pecten was encountered, whose inner surface was thickly sprinkled with what appeared to the unassisted vision as mere dark-greenish specks. Examined with the microscope, it was found that each of these latter represented an animalcule of bottle-green colour, contained in a decum- bent flask-shaped lorica, permeated with a fainter shade of the same tint, and corresponding with the type originally described by O. F. Muller in the year 1786, under the title of Vorticella ampulla. Although recognised by Lamarck in the year 1816 as the type of a new genus, upon which he conferred the title of Follicularia, itis only within a comparatively recent date that this same animalcule has been almost simultaneously redis- covered and renamed; Dr. Strethill Wright, on the one hand, and MM. Claperéde and Lachmann on the other, encountering and con- ferring upon it the respective titles of Lagotia and Freia. The Genevan Naturalists possess, by an interval of two years, the prior claim, and their title of Freia is most generally adopted. There can be no doubt, however, that both these names must give place to the still older one that originated with Lamarck. To the titles of Freia and Lagotia alike several presumed distinct and well substantiated specific varieties have been relegated. Instances referable to the first-named category are afforded by the several types described by Dr. Strethill Wright under the respective names of Lagotia viridis, L. hyalina, L. atropurpurea, and L. producta, all of which, however, are shown by Stein in lis Monograph of the Heterotricha to pass, by almost imperceptible gradations, into one another. Stein’s decision in this connection has been amply borne out by an examination of the Falmouth examples, among which, on the same Pecten shell, both the simpler ovate and comparatively neckless, and the long annulated necked types were encountered, with every inter- mediate variation. Morphologically the animalcule of Follicularia may be compared to a Stentor, having its characteristic trumpet-shaped oral region produced into two lateral ear-like lobes, round which, as in the sub-circular disc of Stentor, the strong rhythmically vibratile adoral cilia are produced, and bring food material to the oral aperture, situated at the base of these two lobes. Although the representatives MARINE INFUSORIA. 108 of the genus Follicularia are almost exclusively marine, I have for some time been familiar with a frosh-water type, discovered in the neighbour- hood of Stourbridge, by Mr. Thomas Bolton, upon which I have conferred the title of Follicularia ( Freia) Boltonii. 7.—Hemiophrya (Podophrya) gemmipara, Hertwig, (Plate IV., Figs. 10 and 11.)—This and the type next referred to belongs to that remarkable group of the infusoria known by the title of the Suctoria or Tentaculifera, typified by the genus Acineta, and distinguished by the possession of tubular tentacle-like appendages, each of which usually terminates in a sucker-like and slightly expandel disc. With these suctorial organs other animalcules are seized, and their protoplasmic contents sucked out and transferred to their own bodies. Many of these Acinetida during a considerable part of their existence lead an endoparasitic life within the body substance of larger Ciliate Infusoria, such as Vorticella and Paramecium, a circumstance which led Stein to infer that the Acinetidz were not independent organisms, but developmental phases of their selected hosts. This hypothesis, however, is now entirely abandoned, and Acinzta and its allies recognised as representing an entirely independent, extensive, and highly interesting Protozoic group. Hemiophrya gemmipara was first described by Dr. Hertwigin the year 1875, ‘‘ Morphologisches Jahrbuch,” Band I.,) as a species of Podophrya, and has been adopted as the type of an independent genus by mysel”, (“ Mavnual of the Infusoria,” now going to press,) with reference to the peculiar character of the tentacular appendages first pointed out by its discoverer, and frequently confirmel by my own personal observation. These append ges are, in fact, of two sorts, consisting partly of the ordinary tubular and suctorial organs, and partly of non-tubular ones, which are simply prehensile, thus resembling pseudopodia, and which, extending peripherally toa considerable distance, seize and bring food material within reach of the suckers. The specific name of gemmipara has been conferred by Hertwig on this type with relation to its conspicuous, gemmiparous mode of reproduction. Large bud-like processes, varying from one or two to as many as six or eight in number, are developed at the distal extremity of the body; within each of these a diverticulum of the branching endoplast or nucleus is produced, and the entire bud or buds are ultimately constricted off and set free in the form of free-swimming ciliated embryos. Examples of this interesting type were encountered in the polypidoms of Buyula, Crisia, and other Polyzoa obtained from various depths, and with the aid of osmic acid specimens were success- fully mounted exhibiting the tentacles in a condition of full expansion, as also with the characteristic embryos attached. 8.—Ophryodendron pedicellatum, Hincks, (Plate IV., Figs. 12 to 14.)— This singular form, figured and described at length by the Rev. Thomas Hincks in the “Quarterly Journal of Microscop:cal Science” for January, 1873, and obtain:d by him at Ilfracombe, North Devon, was sparingly encountered, andon one occasion only, attached to a species of Plumularia, brought up with the deeper dredgings. In their normal condition the 104 MARINE INFUSORIA. animalcules of this species are separable into zooids of two denomina- tions. Both are seated on short pedicles, and possess, in the one instance, a simple vermiform contour, with a more attenuated distal termination, and in the other have a cup-shaped basal region or body-mass, from the centre of which is produced an attenuate highly extensile and retractile proboscidiform organ, the apex of the samesupporting a fascicle of minute tentacle-like processes, which, when the proboscis is exerted, are maintained in a state of active motion. Among the examples obtained at Falmouth, proboscidiform zooids were alone encountered, and the illustration of the vermiform zooid here given is reproduced from Mr. Hincks’s figures. In two other species of this remarkable genus, obtained and examined by myself in the Channel Islands, O. sertularie, St. W., and O. multicapitatum, 8. K., both proboscidiform and vermiform zooids occurred in abundance, and are temporarily united in the same animalcale. The last-named type, Ophryodendron multicapitatum, 0. sp.,is especially noteworthy, inasmuch as a single zooid may possess as many as three or even four proboscidiform appendages.* Although the various species of Ophryodendron are usually assigned to the section of the Tentaculifera, the singular proboscis-like organs being presumed to represent a modification of the tentacula of the ordinary Acineta, the true significance and morphological position of these very remarkable beings has yet to be elucidated. So far as speculation is assisted by the facts of embryological development, the evidence is certainly in favour of their Acinete affinities, the internally produced embryos in the case of Ophryodendron abietinum being shown by Claperéde and Lachmann to accord essentially with those of many normal representatives of the genera Acineta and Podophrya, and to exhibit in common with the same an Hypotrichous plan of ciliation. SEEDS AND THEIR GERMINATION DYNAMICALLY CONSIDERED. BY F. T. MOTT, F.R.G.S. The normal life-history of a phanerogamous plant is the history of the development of a seed, through the phases of stem, leaf, and flower, returning finally to the seed again. The seed which terminates that epoch always differs from the seed which began it, since it must inevit- ably bear in its constitution some record of the active life of the plant. When in its turn it develops into active life again, the new life-history will be differentiated from the previous one by whatever of its own special experiences it left behind it in that minute storehouse of energy. *« A delineation of this remarkable species is added for the purpose of comparison. See Plate IV., Figs. 15 and 16. SEEDS AND THEIR GERMINATION. 105 If the species be an advancing one, the record written in the seed will show some infinitesimal step forward in that advance, or if the species be dying out it will bear some trace of retrogression. A ripe seed is, to all appearance, as quiescent and lifeless as a stone. This appearance, however, does not represent the truth. It is plain that some continuous action goes on in the substance of the seed, and that this action exhausts itself in process of time, for if the seed be kept dry beyond acertain period it perishes. Much has been written upon the chemical and morphological changes which take place during the germination of seed and the growth of the plant, but very little upon the relation of these changes to the physical or vital energy which is the cause of them. What is the dynamical meaning of ‘growth?’ Of the differentiation of leaf from stem, of flower from leaf, of seed from flower? When is a seed properly “ ripe?” and what is its molecular condition when germination begins? We can follow the transformations of energy in the inorganic world from chemical affinity into heat, from heat into mechanical work, from work into light or electricity, and from these into heat once more; can we not trace a similar dynamical cycle in the changes of the living plant? Theoretically a body in motion might, under certain conditions, continue to move in a straight line with uniform velocity for ever. Practically, however, this does not happen. All moving bodies encounter resistance, and all velocities are perpetually changing. The result is that all motions assume the character of the wave; thatis to say, they have two points of minimum velocity or intensity, and an intermediate point at which the velocity or intensity is at its maximum. There are two principal forms of wave-motion, the undulatory and the concentric. A living organism is the expression of a more or less complex concentric wave of motion. In the dry, ripe seed, which lies for months or years without visible motion, without sensible change of weight or temperature, the energy which constitutes its life probably exists as atomic motion only, and is concealed from our human senses because the movements of atoms within the limits of their respective molecules do not affect the ether in any way of which we are able to take cognisance. The seed is ripe when this atomic motion has reached its maximum, and from that moment it begins to be reconverted into molecular motion, and dissipated by radiation. This conversion may be very slow, but it must terminate within a definite time; and, ifthe whole atomic energy is converted and dissipated before the necessary conditions of germination are provided, the seed perishes, and its molecules having lost the amount of energy required for independent existence as an organic unit, are taken up by surrounding attractions and dispersed. But if, on the contrary, a supply of energy is furnished to the seed externally before the exhaustion of its internal store; if heat is communicated to it, and such material as it can 106 SEEDS AND THEIR GERMINATION. chemically assimilate—which in its earliest stages is mostly water—then begins the process of germination or vegetable growth, which consists of a constant aggregation of matter and concentration of energy. From this point of view it would seem that germination must be most vigorous, if the necessary conditions are supplied soon after the seed becomes truly ripe, which, in a general way, accords with actual experience, although the moment of true ripeness cannot be accurately ascertained. The aggregation of matter brings under the concentric influence of the organic wave a stream of molecules having diverse characters and capacities, which combine in the most complex manner, but always with a tendency to sort themselves according to certain definite affinities, rhythmic as well as chemical. The original wave generated by the conversion of the atomic energy in the seed is simple, and its field of action small; but, as growth proceeds, the original wave, still main- taining its primary influence, becomes complicated with secondary waves, and these with others, in receding ranks. Every branch of the main stem expresses the divergence of a subsidiary wave, as does also every twig, and every leaf, and every hair, while all are controlled by the general direction and character of the primary. In every wave of every rank the same process is carried on, the aggregation of matter, the concentration of energy, and the sorting of molecules according to their rhythmic affinities. The process only terminates when the maximum conceutration of molecular energy is reached in the blossom. After this comes the inevitable re-action. Growth ceases, heat is radiatel instead of being employed, energy is dissipated, and the plant dies, either entirely when that organic wave is broken up altogether, or partially when it passes into a season of rest or leaves behind it seeds in which some of the molecular motion instead of being communicated to the ether has passed into atomic motion and so become insensible. The production of seed is not an essential part of the life-history of any individual plant, nor is it of any benefit to the individual. The climax of the organic wave is reached in the blossom not in the seed, which isthe anti-climax; and if the blossom should be unfruitful either from failure of fertilisation or from being double, so that no reproductive organs are produced, the life of that individual plant isin no way less ~ perfect or complete. It is to the species that the seed is valuable. If a plant leaves seeds behind it a specific wave is generated which has most of the characters of the individual wave on an extended scale. The succession of generations is to the species what the succession of annual seasons is to the perennial plant. The vital energy of an individual perennial plant increases from yeur to year up to a certain limit. That limit may be contracted or enlarg2d by adverse or propitious seasons to some extent but not very far. On the average a tree of any particular species will live a certain number of years and no longer. It reaches at last a year of maximum energy, and from that point it declines. Its vigour wanes, the dissipation of energy is more rapid than the supply, SEEDS AND THEIR GERMINATION 107 ard death ensues. So with the species. Each generation adds some- thing to the energy of the specific wave until a maximum is reached, re-action sets in, and ultimate extinction follows. In like manner the generic wave includes within its larger grasp a number of specific waves, and is itself included in one of the great ordinal waves, these being but phases of that vast concentrating impulse which originated organic life, and is carrying it forward through ages of progress to a climax yet far distant. THE CHANGES OF CLIMATE DURING GEOLOGICAL PERIODS. BY THE REV. J. WILSON COOMBS, B.A. (Continued from page 80.) At present, the distance of the earth from the sun during winter, when nearest to the sun, is nearly 90,000,000 miles. But when the eccentricity is at its superior limit, the distance is 984 million miles. Now, the northern hemisphere is nearest the sunin winter. This makes the winter both milder and shorter than it would otherwise be. But about every 10,500 years this state of thingsis reversed. If, according to the precession of the equinoxes, winter in our northern hemisphere should happen when the earth is in the aphelion of its orbit, at the time when the orbit is at its greatest eccentricity, it would be 84 million miles further from the sun than it is at present, and the winter would be thirty-six days longer than the summer. Then, as the quantity of heat received from the sun is in inverse proportion to the square of its distance, the heat of the sun would be one-fifth less during the winter season, and one-fifth more during the summer. But, if winter should, at this time of extreme eccentricity, happen when the earth is in the perihelion of its orbit, the earth would then be more than 14,000,000 miles nearer the sun in winter than in summer. In this case, while the one hemisphere would be enduring the greatest extremes of summer heat and winter cold, the other would be enjoying a perpetual summer. The eccentricity is at present diminishing, and will continue to do so during about 24,000 years. It has been small for the last 60,000 years, and no considerable change of climate has occurred during that time. There was a period of high eccentricity of 200,000 years, commencing about 24 million years ago, to which, probably, the glacial epoch of the Eocene age may be referred. A second period in which the eccentricity was very high (still higher than the preceding) may be taken as commencing 850,000 years ago. It extended over a period of nearly 300,000 years, and to it may be referred the glacial epoch of the Miocene age. A third period began about 240,000 years ago, and extended over 160,000 years, i.e. to about 80,000 years ago. To this may be referred the last glacial epoch—the time of the till and boulder clays. At the time of greatest eccentricity during the first (Eocene) epoch, the excess of winter over summer was 33°6 days, the mid- winter intensity of the sun’s heat (1,000) = 841. The number of degrees 108 CHANGES OF CLIMATE DURING GEOLOGICAL PERIODS. by which the midwinter temperature was lowered = 44:3. Midwinter temperature of Great Britain — 5:3. In the second (Miocene), these figures were 34:7; 837; 45°3; — 63; andin the third (Glacial), 26-7; 864; 37:7; and 1:3 respectively. It must be borne in mind that change of climate is not caused by difference in the mean annual amount of heat received from the sun, but by the increase or decrease in the difference between summer and winter temperature. Astronomically, the summers at those periods were as much warmer than they are at present, as the winters were then colder than now. Physically, however, they were in reality much colder, notwithstanding the great increase in the intensity of the sun’s heat resulting from the diminished distance of the sun. In the circumstances under consideration the winters would not only be much colder than now, but they would be considerably longer. ‘The moisture of the air would be all precipitated in the form of snow, and the presence of so much snow would lower the summer temperature, and prevent, to a large extent, the melting of the ice. This lowering of the summer temperature by a great accumula- tion of snow and ice would be produced—first, by means of direct radia- tion; second, by the reflection by the snow of the rays of the sun; third, by chilling the air and condensing the vapour into thick fogs. It will readily be seen, therefore, that the greater heat of a comparatively short summer will by no means compensate for the greater cold of the longer winter. Cover India with an ice sheet, and its summers would be colder than those of England. But there is another agency brought into operation by the foregoing condition of things, far more powerful than those hitherto noticed, viz., the deflection of ocean currents. It has, I think, been proved that the winds are the impelling cause of currents, and that the direction of the current depends on the direction of the prevailing winds of the globe, and on the conformation of land and sea. The ocean alone can convey the equatorial heat to distant shores, and the heat thus conveyed is distributed over the land by aérial currents. Trade winds owe their existence to the great difference between the tempera- ture of the equator and the poles. This difference is now greatest between the South Pole and the Equator. Therefore, the south-eastern trades are stronger than the north-eastern. But if the northern hemis- phere were the cold one, as was the case at the period of the glacial epoch, the north-east trade winds on it would far exceed in strength the south-east trade winds of the southern hemisshere. The effect of this would undoubtedly be that the great equatorial currents would be shifted southwards. The shifting of the equatorial current of the Atlantic only a few degrees to the south of its present position would turn the entire current away from the Gulf of Mexico into the Southern Ocean, and the Gulf Stream would conseyuently be stopped. This, combined with other causes, would place Europe under glacial conditions. The Gulf Stream (I quote from Mr. Croll) heats our island indirectly, by heating the winds which blow over it to our shores. They are heated in two ways— CHANGES OF CLIMATE DURING GEOLOGICAL PERIODS. 109 first, by radiation from the water; and, second, by contact with the water. The south-west winds, to which we owe our heat, derive their temperature from the south-east portion, which flows away in the direction of the Azores. The north-east portion of the stream, which flows past our shores up into the Arctic seas, protects us from the ice of Greenland by warming the north-west winds which come to us thence. The strong under-current of air from the north implies an equally strong upper-current to the north. This would carry northwards the aqueous vapour formed at the Equator, which would be deposited in the form of snow, an enormous quantity of which would fall in the northern regions. These various agencies re-act on one another, and so as to strengthen each other. The accumulation of snow and ice tends to cool the air, and produce fogs. This diminishes the melting power of the sun, and increases the accumulation, the rate of which continually increases. As the snow and ice accumulate on the one hemisphere, they diminish on the other. This tends to increase the strength of the trade winds on the cold hemisphere, and to weaken those on the other. The effect of this is to impel the warm wind of the tropics more to the warm hemisphere than to the cold. As the snow and ice accumulate, the ocean currents decrease; and, on the other hand, as the ocean currents diminish, snow and ice accumulate, the two effects mutually strengthening each other. As the eccentricity increases century by century, the temperate regions become more and more covered with snow and ice, and this state of things goes on increasing until the solstice point arrives at the aphelion. Then, a contrary process commences, which continues for ten or twelve thousand years, until the winter solstice reaches the perihelion. The transference of the ice from one hemisphere to the other continues as long as the eccentricity remains at a high value. To meet a possible objection, it may be stated that this theory not only comports with the fact that the mean temperature of the whole earth is somewhat greater when it is in aphelion than in perihelion, but requires it. It is greater, because then the sun is over the hemisphere which is comparatively free from ice, while in perihelion it is over the hemisphere nearly covered with snow and ice, and the heat is spent in melting these. The argument, then, is this: There is ample evidence to prove changes in the earth’s relation to the sun, which, to some extent directly, by increasing or decreasing the summer and winter temperature, and to a much larger extent indirectly, by altering the direction of the winds and currents, would effect, at longer or shorter intervals, alterations of climate, inducing, in succession, periods of great cold and of great heat in the two hemispheres alternately. Corresponding with these changes of eccentricity, there is very ample evidence of the existence of a glacial age in the northern hemisphere, and of a temperate or sub- tropical age in the southern, while there is scantier, but still sufficient evidence of interglacial periods—alternating with temperate and tropical ones—the dates of which, as far as these can be estimated, are in accord with the known dates of these astronomical changes. 110 SUMMER BIRDS OF PASSAGE. SUMMER BIRDS OF PASSAGE. The following list of migratory birds noticed by me in this neigh- bourhood is sent for publication, in the hope that it may induce other — observers to communicate similar lists. My observations have extended over the last eight years. The dates given are the earliest and latest the birds have been seen by me during that time :— Appears. Last seen. Chiffchaff (Phyllopneusta loquaz) .. -- March18 .. September 21 Yellow Wagtail (Motacilla i ia -. March28 .. September 23 Wryneck (Yunz torquilla) . : -- March20 .. June Sand Martin (Hirundo r iparia) vis -- March a .. November 22 Tree Pipit (Anthus arboreus) - +. April Martin (Hirundo urbica) April 3 .. October 19 Willow Wren (Phyllopneusta tr ochilus) . April 9 .. September 15 Whinchat (Sazxicola rubetra) ac -. April 10 .. December 28 Cuckoo (Cuculus canorus) .. .. April 15 .. August 30 Wood Wren (Phyllopneusta sibilatria) .. April 15 .. September 6 Swallow (Hirundo rustica) .. .- April 19 .. November 24 Wheatear (Saxicola cenanthe) vs -. April 18 .. October 20 Blackeap (Sylvia atricapilla) se -. April 20 Whitethroat (Sylvia cinere 1) .. April 21 .. September 6 Lesser Whitethroat (Sylvia garrula) 0) April 21 Grasshopper Warbler (Salicaria locustella) April 22 Landrail (Crex pratensis) . ts -- April 25 .. November 4 Redstart (Sylvia phenicurus ) : .. April 29 .. September 6 Sedge Warbler (Salicaria phr agmitis -- May 5 .. September 2 Swift (Cypselus murarius) .. May 12 .. September 25 Common Flycatcher (Muscicapa gr isola) May 20 .. July 21 Turtle Dove (Columba Turtur) .. -. May 22 .. September 6 In addition to the birds mentioned above, I have noticed a few spéecimers of the Nightingale, (Philomela luscinia,) Reed Warbler, (Sali- caria arundinacea,) Stonechat, (Saxicola rubicola,) Red-backed Shrike, or Butcher Bird, (Lanius collurio,) Goat Sucker or Fern Owl, (Caprimulgus europeus) and the Common Sandpiper, (Tringoides hypoleucos,) but I think these birds had arrived some weeks before the time when I observed them. Joun Hazarp, Nottingham. METEOROLOGY OF THE MIDLANDS. THE WEATHER OF MARCH, 1880. BY W. JEROME HARRISON, F.G.S. At the commencement of the month we had three or four rainy days, with south-westerly gales, and a low barometer. The wind then shifted to the north-east, and, with the exception of a slight fall on the 9th, there was no more rain until the last day of the month, (81st.) This long period of dry weather was accompanied by much sunshine, the fogs which prevailed in the early morning being soon dissipated, ? THE WEATHER OF MARCH, 111 p . and altogether nothing could be more favourable for agricultural opera- tious generally. The cold easterly winds and frosty nights somewhat retarded the progress of vegetation, and, on the whole, the season cannot be described as an early one, although it compares favourably with the q _ spring of 1879. Thunderstorms are reported from Spondon on the 3rd, and Northampton on the 9th; solar halo at Oxford on the 29th; and aurora at Waltham on the 11th. RAINFALL. | TEMPERAT ‘ATURE. Greatest fall'S-3 Greatest ht. Great’ stcold ~_ STATION. OBSERVER. 22 in 24 hours, | > ——- ab Peal In. | Date. oe a Deg} Date. |Deg} Date. GLOUCESTERSHIRE. Cheltenham 4s} 31 6 | 62°2) 25 23°83; 2) . Strond ..... “70) 8 8/590) 81 260} 26 SHROPSHIRE. Hanghton Hall. Shifnal ....|Rev. J. Brooke ............ 111] ‘82 2 10 | 68°0) 5 260) 20 & 29 MMEIMEGREOM, cacesccencasecss Mey. Be Ui Catt ccscsencses 153) °73 2 18 | 61:0] 29 & 80/25°0} 24 Leaton Vicarage, Shr’wsbury|Rev. FE. V. Pigvtt.......... *88} ‘39 2 9 | 626} 29 23'4| 920 More Rectory, Bishop's Castle| Rev. A. Male ...........00- 178) *65 2 12 |59°0|} 80 | 240/19 20, 24 Larden Hall ...........+ ..-|Miss F. R. Boughton ...... 156) °60) 2 10 Adderley Rectory ........+- Rev. A. Corbett...........+ 140) *87 1 11 HEREFORDSHIRE. Stoke Bliss ..........++ nana Rev. G. KE. Alexander...... 134) 65) 81 8 |59°0) 25 29°0} 19 WORCESTERSHIRE. Orleton, Tenbury........++++ I EX. DA Vi8, O6Q) .cin.0'sin0 500 162) °60) 81 9 |64°5) 29 |25°8] 99 West Malvern i.....{A. H. Hartland Esq. . 103) °45 8 8/620} 25 |28-0) 93 Le Sin E. B. Marten. Esq. ........ 131) °67) 81 7 | 63°0) 25 & 30) 24°0| 22 & 28 Longlands, Stourbridge...... J Jeffries, Hsq .....cseeees 121) 68} 31 5 | 69°0)5, 25, 30)27°0} 98 Dennis, Stourbridge ........ Min! CO. WEbDs ss cinstacisaee's 112) 58} 381 7 |63°0) 29 |2965) 28 . PMU piacere ceccccosscs T.J Slatter, ESQ opine on aetst 1°22) -41) 31 9 | 600} 5 & 25 | 27-0] 24 STAFFORDSHIRE. ete aot benecaee ene walt. 0. MNGDOL ssh co omececaac 95] -b5| 81 3/680} 380 | 30:0] 19 & 26 MIME eter i Wangenrecctssces Rey. .W. H. Bolton..:..... 127| 63) 81 6 | 580) 5 & 30 |260) 28 Walsall....... (3 es MYON nhl. SORE “osu ae cup te’ 1°19) *54) 81 5 690} 5&7 | 27°0 Grammar School, Burton... G20 Tripp, Hegy.....4.+ 1°25) °53) 31 8 }660) 29 27° | 20 & 29 Weston- under-Lyziard R’ tory Hon.and Rev.J Erigenay 1°22) °33 1 8/590) 3O |2™ 2 Wrottesley ... K. Simpson, Fsq. ...... 4 2 81 4/6598) 30 |260] 20 Heath Honse, J.C. Philips. Esq... 96] «81 8/50} 29 24:0} 20 Alstonfield Vicarage . Rey. W. H. Purchas ee 31 7 \612! 29 |200] 20 Farley, near Cheadle ..|C L Wragge oS Seuenee 2°25 31 8 58°0/ 29 {27:0} 20 Oakamoor ......... .|E. Kettle, Esq. . 81 7 {596} 29 |23°0] 2c WARWICKSHIRE. DRUMMER T eewenasniedesesvssace ins 4 "8: 81 6/590) 80 | 25:0! 20 & 29 Coundon. Coventry .. 3 *72' °92} 81 6) 190) 6 20] 19 Bickenhill Vicarage 0, 3 5 |5-0 BT St. Mary’s College, Oscott... Ser Whitty ACA Game ae ; ‘ a1 6/621; 29 1/96 20 Henley-in-Ardin .......s0005 TH. © Newton. Esq...... 170, 62} 381 6 /65°0| 25 |250) 29 MED PSCUON. o. ccc ceo e cess Rey. f. N. Hutchinson ....}1°6)| 79) 30 6|652)} 29 |94:0) 90 Snitterfield, Stratf'd-on-Avon.'J. Goodacre, Esq. .......... 1°44] °30) 981 6 |6u'2} 2 23°9) 22 & 28 DERRYSHIRE. Stoney Middleton............ Rev: Op. Smithi oc .cc<cecscs 3°07| 1°25 1 & | 580) 2° & 29) 28-0] 24 Fernslope, Belver... -.[J.G. Jackson, Esq......... 2°67; -90) 81 8 [580] 29 29°0} 20 & 24 Linacre Reservolr . sGL! Jones; Hsq) c.sccccces 1°88} *& 2 8 Snondon ........00-+ ..|J. T. Barber, Esq.. 81 7 | 56°6 25 28°5 PACETERERU Ug hials'sials sic.cicis,s ccc. ++ ./W. Bland, Esq. ........ iste 2 9 NOTTINGHAMSHIRE. Hodsoek Priory, Worksop ..)/H Mellish, Esq. .......... 2° 2) °73 2 9 | 59°9 5 288] 19 & 21 Park Hill, Nottingham...... H. F. Johnson, Esq........ 2:25] °85) 2 5 |580} 29 LEICESTERSHIRE, Longhborongh .........s.008 W. Berridge, Esq..........| 1°79} *88) 31 6 1620} 29 260) . 20 Ashby Magna................ Rev. KE. Willes .... ...|150| “69) 31 6 |69°0} 29 {23-0} 24 NTN Salad sicciveie cies viac'e T Macaulay,Esq 4°90) 83) 31 8 °9'0} 19 & 23 Belmont Villas, Leicester....|H. Rillson, Esq.. 147) °66 (i) 5 |60°S} 380 | 26" 20 Town Museum, Leicester..../W. J. Harrison, Esq. 1°42) °64) 81 7 |612) 929 218] 20 RMBUOT he canive cscs cere J. Heames, jun, Esq 142) 68} 31 6 |65°0} 26 29:0; 29 Walthsm-le-Wold..... KE. Ball, Esq. ...... 1°82) -75) 81 6 | 560 5 |25°0) 19 Coston Rectory, Melto: .|Rev. A. M. Rendell 1°57| *66) 31 7|695) 29 | a 29 Dalby Halls... 2.2.2.0. ...|/Mr G. Jones ...... apo | M44 S79) BE 5 |660) 29 24 Market Harborough ........ BW OOXL URC s cnccie vce cals 183} 81] 81 6 | 60°0} 29 & 80 3 0} 24 NORTHAMPTONSHIRE. Towcester Brewery.......... eye GOD HIS) walaiejaals|uiefais a1 s/s 169} 48 3 6 Castle Ashby .......scesseees R. G. Scriven, Esq. ........ 144) :37) 31 6/580; 95 29:0; 11 Kettering... meialeiiaaieeistatela) WBA: TUS | cisiajaccieiieiwic.ere 117| 62° 81 9 | 59°) 7 80%) 21 & 24 Althorne .. Ge S..Groom- WEG! oss. cc ccs. 1:32) °42) S81 5 }470 6 250} 28 Pitsford C A Markham, Esq. ...... 138} *41) 81 9 | 66°0) 25 & 29) 17°0 5 RUTLAND. Northfields,Stamford ......)W.T. Ryder, Esq..........| °85} ‘29° 31 4 | 60°0 6 970) 50 a ad | Power, M.A......+..| 2°50] ‘80) 8 18 | 650} 81 | 23:0) 23 & 24 Peet eerpccsasccscencees ce Hic 0» StONG, HAG: oo... eoee L401 “60! 2 51622) 95 '!a69' 19 112 THE WEATHER OF MARCH. Naturat History Notes sy Osservers.—Cheltenham.—March 6th, Viola canina in flower ; 8th, frogspawn deposited; 9th, Apricot in bloom, (wall S.W.;) 10th, Peach blossom and Nectarine ditto; 13th, Bombus terrestris flying; 14th, Gooseberry in fair leaf; 17th; Currant ditto; 18th, Walnut budding, Robins pairing; 19th, Bats (large and small) flying seven P.m., (calm and cloudless ;) 21st, Apis mellifica on flowers, Saliz (palm willow) in full flower ; 28th, Vanessa urtice on Peach blossom ; 29th, Pieris rape or napi flying. Shifnal.—Gooseberry buds burst on 3rd; Willows blossom on 23rd ; Lesser Celandine flowers, Hawthorn bursts, and Coltsfoot flowers on 28th; yellow-tipped humble bee out 8th; Stock Dove heard on 14th; Chiffchaff on 26th; and first white Butterfly on 30th. More Rectory.—Blackbird, Thrush, Skylark, and Hedge Sparrow have been in full song throughout month. Coventry.—Chiffchaff and Wryneck heard on 14th. This is at least a week or ten days before their usual time of arrival. Burton-on-Trent. —White Hawthorn lf. on 19th; 27th, Swallows reported at Bretby; 28th, Wasp in open air; T. instabilis emerged from pupa March 27th; 7. stabilis emerged from pupa April 3rd ; Wood Anemone (Anemone nemorosa) Bretby, March 29th ; four Swallows seen, Newton, near Burton-on-Trent, 27th; Larve of N. santhographa 19th. Waltham.—Snowdrop in bloom on March 7th ; Aconite on 13th; Draba muralis, 14th; Viola odorata, 21st; Anemone nemorosa, 27th. Stratford-on-Avon.—Saw ‘“‘ Common Cabbage” Butterfly on March 25th; and ‘Small Tortoise-shell” April 3rd. Stroud.—April 3rd, Celandine (Ranunculus Ficaria) ; 10th, Viola odorata, Cinquefoil, Viola canina ; 14th, Sazifraga oppositifolia ; 18th, Daffodil, Anemone nemorosa, | Wood Sorrel ; 23rd, Caltha Palustris ; 25th, Adoxa moschatellina, Saxifraga alternifolia, Carex precox; 27th, Lamium album, Viola hirta, Common Bugle, Ranunculus bulbosus. Acbietws. The Physical Geology and Geography of Great Britain. By A. C. Ramsay, LL.D., F.R.S., &c. Fifth Edition. 639 pp., 114 woodcuts, and coloured map. Price 15s. E. Stanford, publisher. Tus is a new edition of Professor Ramsay’s well-known book. It has been doubled in size (and price,) mainly by the incorporation of an account of the British Formations, originally written for Black’s Cyclopedia. Much of the matter is new and valuable, and could only have been written by one who has such extensive facilities for observa- tion as the Director-General of the British Geological Survey. The account of the British Miocene strata is very useful, and in his descrip- tion of each epoch the author gives most interesting notes on the Physical Geography of the time. The following paragraph is well worthy of note by those geologists whose peace of mind is seriously disturbed if they find a fossil but a few feet out of the “zone” which it is considered to characterise :— REVIEWS—PHYSICAL GEOLOGY, ETC. 1s “It would be a great comfort to a proportion of the geological popu- lation, if the different formations were as clearly distinguishable on the ground as they often are on a map, by different colours, aided by numbers or letters, for the use of the colour-blind. If to this, in the economy of Nature, it had so happenedthat no species had been permitted to stray from its own formation into the next in succession, the benefit would have been much enhanced, for to those with keen eyes for form, the finding of any single fossil would be sufficient to mark the place in the geological scale of any given formation. Then weshould havea perfect and orderly symmetrical accuracy of detail, so that he who runs may read. But it so happens that this is not the case, for Nature loves variety, and performs her functions in various ways, and thus it happens that in certain cases the dividing lines between two formations, if we follow them far enough, are sometimes difficult to determine.” The Author has alsoincorporated in this edition some of the illus- trations and the main points of the matter of his charming little book on the “Glaciers of North Wales.” Of other new plates, the most useful are those of the characteristic fossils of the British strata, arranged by Mr. Etheridge, and drawn by Mr. Sharman. W sa) Hi, Cassell’s Natural History. Edited by P. Martin Duncan, M.B., (Lond.,) F.R.S., F.G.S., &c., Vol. I., small 4to. Cassell, Petter, and Galpin, London, Paris, and New York. Frw publishers in these times have done more to advance the cause of popular education and recreation than the Messrs. Cassell, and the important work of which the above is a splendid instalment bids fair, when completed, to be one of the most valuable contributions of its kind. The Naturalists under whose care it has been produced are all men of established reputation, and while the subject has been treated popularly it has not in any way suffered scientifically. The volume before us is devoted to the higher vertebrates, ‘‘ Apes and Monkeys ” being done by the accomplished editor, ‘‘ Lemurs” by the same, in conjunction with Dr. Murie, F.L.S., F.G.S., &c., and ‘‘Chiroptera and Insectivora” by Mr. W.S. Dallas, F.L.8. Adopting a principle similar to that laid down by Mr. Herbert Spencer, in his famous Essay on Education, that “as grammar was made after language, 8» ought it to be taught after language ; an inference which all who recognize the relationship between the evolution of the race and that of the individual will see to be unavoidable,” the editor, in his preface, thus describes the method pursued: —‘‘ The plan of this work is not to open with a classification of animals, the majority of whose names and shapes are entirely unknown to the reader, but to describe the shape, nature, and habits of groups of crea- tures, and then, when they have become familiar, to arrange and classify them. For the same reason an introduction, dealing with the nature and importance of natural history studies, with the abstract ideas of classification, and with the explanation of the necessity of dividing P 114 REVIEW—GEOLOGY OF NOTTINGHAMSHIRE, ETC. the animal kingdom according to the principles of comparative anatomy, is not given until the work is tolerably advanced ; but an arrangement has been made so that this important part can be subsequently introduced in its usual place. The facts of the Natural History of Animals and their explanations will thus be placed prominently, and will precede the classification.” The volume is beautifully printed and copiously and graphically illus- trated, and will be alike acceptable to the young Naturalist and the more advanced student in Biology. We congratulate all concerned in its production, and shall look forward with pleasure to the issue of future divisions of this charming addition to the study of living animals. W. R. H. The Geology of parts of Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire. By W. Tatsor AvELINE, F.G.S. Twenty-two pages, price 6d. AxtHovueH described as a second edition, the present issue is practically a reprint of the memoir published in 1861, soon after the ground was surveyed, the alterations being merely verbal. The district described comprises an area of about 164 square miles, by far the larger portion of which is in that part of Nottinghamshire that formed the heart of the ancient forest of Sherwood, the north-west corner being in Derbyshire The chief town included by the map is Mansfield, and it is round this place that the more interesting geological features of the district cluster. The formations represented are the Coal Measures—one or two very small tongues of the Derbyshire coal-field; the Permian Lower and Upper Magnesian Limestone, with the intervening marls and. sandstones forming the Middle Division ; and the Lower Mottled Sandstone, Bunter Pebble Beds, ‘‘ Waterstones,” and Upper Keuper Marl, of the Trias. The Bunter Pebble Beds, which form the ground known as the “forest lands ’’—the soil being gravelly and poor for agricultural purposes—cover a broad area running up the middle of the district, and rise going west till they attain an elevation at a point on Coxmoor of 634 feet above the sea—the highest ground in the district. The Permian rocks form a broad band along the west ; while on the east, the Keuper sweeps up rapidly into a bold swelling escarpment. The Permian being the most important as well as the most interesting of the formations in the district, the greater part of the memoir is devoted to a detailed description of the lithological features, the fossils, and the remarkable local variations of the Magnesian Limestone as traceable in the large quarries around Mansfield. The bottom beds of the Magnesian Limestone, which are exposed in the quarries on the south side of the town, consist of a white calcareous sandstone, which makes an excellent building stone, and is also much used for paving, for cisterns, &c. Another variety, the red dolomitic sandstone, is described in a passage quoted from Sedgwick as about fifty feet thick, and of a ‘dull red colour, and might, without close examina- tion, be mistaken for New Red Sandstone.” The red sandstone is surmounted by a band of clay, above which come some striped slaty REVIEWS—GEOLOGY OF NOTTINGHAMSHIRE, ETC. 115 ferruginous beds, which gradually pass into a coarse yellow Magnesian Limestone. Professor Sedgwick thus continues :—‘‘ This red dolomitic sandstone rises and falls in long sweeping undulations, and may be traced to a quarry on the side of the Chesterfield Road, where it preserves nearly the same colours and external characters, and is worked for the same purposes. In the whole range of the Magnesian Limestone I know of no deposit which can be compared with that which is here described ; and itis more remarkable, as it is found in the heart of the formation, and nearly in a line with the finest specimens of crystalline dolomite.” Mr. Aveline believes, though he could get no certain proof, that these beds are the same (altered in colour by an excess of iron and slightly varying in structure) as the white sandstone of Mansfield. It is this continual change of character, the various kinds of limestone being found to extend over very limited areas, that constitutes the most remarkable circumstance connected wtih the Magnesian Limestone of this district. Although the ravine called Creswell Crags is described, we miss any reference, except in a foot-note, to the recent remarkable discovery in the caves there, by the Rey. J. M. Mello, of a valuable collection of mammalian and of pre-historic human remains. In other respects the memoir is admirably written, and is of far greater importance than might be inferred from the number of pages it contains. J. 5. On the Manufacture of Gun-flints, the Methods of Excavating for Flint, the Age of Paleolithic Man, and the Connection between Neolithic Art and the Gun-flint Trade. (Geological Survey Memoir.) By Sypnry B. J. Sxerrcuty, F.G.S. 80 pp., 71 woodcuts. Price 17s. 6d. ‘Tuts is a very valuable and interesting account of an industry which will probably soon become extinct. Gun-flints are now only made (in the British Isles) at Brandon, a small town in Suffolk, on the Little Ouse, about six miles west of Thetford. There are now engaged in the trade thirty-six men and boys. The manufactured flints are chiefly purchased by Birmingham and Sheffield merchants for export to Africa, &c., although for horse pistols and large duck guns they are still used in this country. The exact date of the introduction of flint for fire-arms is unknown, and it seems to have been preceded for this purpose by pyrites, for we find that “in 1586 Julius, Duke of Brunswick, had pyrites collected for his fire-arms, near Seefen, and even worked it into shape himself.” Gun-flints were superseded in England by percussion caps about the year 1835, and so complete was the change that flint-locks ceased to be manufactured for home use soon afterwards. By experi- ment Mr. Skertchly found that a flint was used up after about thirty shots. The flints used by the Brandon knappers are extracted from the Upper Chalk of Lingheath, about a mile distant from the town. The digging or ‘‘ getting” of the flint is quite a distinct branch from that of its manufacture. In Grimes’s Graves, about three miles north-east of Brandon, it seems probable that we have old pits excavated by Neolithic 116 REVIEW—MANUFACTURE OF GUN-FLINTS. flint-workers, and Mr. Skertchly believes that the manufacture of flint has been carried on continuously in this district since that period. When the flint has been raised to the surface it is broken up into pieces of a convenient size by means of a ‘‘ quartering hammer ;” from these masses long narrow double-backed flakes are struck with another “flaking” hammer. The lump remaining, from which no more flakes. can be struck, is termed a “core,” and is used for building. From 7,000’ to 12,000 flakes can be struck by one man in a day. Next the flakes have to be cut up into gun-flints; this is called knapping. The knapper sits in front of a round block of wood, into which is driven a short iron “stake.” Resting the flake on the stake at a certain angle, he lightly strikes it with his knapping hammer, making three to five flints from each flake, and about 3,000 per day. With the thoroughness which distinguishes the work of the officers of the Survey, Mr. Skertchly himself donned the leather apron, and became an expert ‘‘flaker” and ‘‘ knapper,” so that we may fairly admit his claim (see preface) ‘‘to have produced a work as free as possible from all errors of description.” His remarks on the fracture of flint, and on the impossi- bility of the argument that the Paleolithic flint implements might have been produced by natural means, are both original and conclusive... Finally, Mr. Skertchly gives us a glimpse into the nature of the important evidence which he has obtained, proving the pre-glacial existence of man. In beds of loam, sand, and gravel (Brandon Beds he terms them) which clearly underlie the Great Chalky Boulder Clay at Botany Bay, near Brandon, at Mildenhall Brickyard, High Lodge, Mildenhall, Bury St. Edmunds, West Stow, and Culford, Mr. Skertchly has found many flint implements which are clear proof of the existence of the human race in this district before the maximum period of cold. Professor Ramsay has examined the evidence, and writes: ‘* That man lived in this district in inter-glacial times I have no doubt, and I also believe it to. be most probable that he even inhabited our region in pre-glacial times, and, perhaps, never fairly left it, but only retired south during the general increase of cold and the gradual advance of the glaciers, and still survived in what is now the south of England.” This should lend a new interest to the work which our Union has taken up—the examination of the drift deposits of the Midlands. W. J, o. Correspondence, Se Sxeteron Lraves.—Information as to the best means of preparing and bleaching skeleton leaves will much oblige.—J. W. Bopcrr, Peter- borough. Hen’s Eaa.—This morning I had the opportunity of examining an egg, laid by a Spangled Hamburg hen, measuring an inch long and three- quarters in diameter.—H. Sronz, Handsworth. Mile | v3 , = = CORRESPONDENCE. 117 Morxs.—I have noticed in many parts of the country during the past winter and spring an unusual number of mole-hills. In some grass fields they were so numerous as nearly to cover the herbage. I should be glad if some naturalist, familiar with the habits of the mole would, if possible, explain why these little creatures have been so unusually busy of late in throwing up their hills ?—EnquireEr. Metror.—Many readers of the ‘‘ Midland Naturalist” must have seen and noticed a most magnificent meteor that I and several others who were with me on Easter Monday last saw when near St. Alban’s, Herts. It was exceedingly bright, and of a bluish and red colour, lighting up the road brilliantly. It seemed to shoot from north to south, was large, and seemed to have a luminous tail, and was visible for quite three seconds, I should think. If some astronomical reader will kindly give an account of it, I and others will be obliged.—F. W. H. Earty Witp Frowers.—March 6th, Wild Laurel, Daphne laureola ; 7th, Lesser Celandine and Coltsfoot; 9th, Elm; 17th, Viola odorata, Violet; 28th, Dandelion; 30th, Anemone nemorosa. April 7th, Ground Ivy, Glechoma hederacea; 8th, White Dead Nettle; Cowslip, Primula veris; 11th, Larch.—A.H.I., Hatton Rectory, Lincolnshire. Frorat Notses.—Dates of flowering, &c., at Nottingham :—April 3rd, Primula veris, Cowslip, Viola canina, Plum Blossom (west aspect ;) 12th, Caltha palustris, Cherry Blossom (west aspect ;) 13th, Pear Blossom (west aspect ;) 17th, Lamium album, L. purpurewm, Nepeta Glechoma, Black- thorn, P. communis, Alliaria officinalis, Hedge-sparrow’s eggs, Blackbird’s eggs, Veronica agrestis. The Sycamores began to show foliage at the beginning of the month.—H. F. Jounson, Nottingham. Frorat Nores.—March 1st, Hazelnut in flower. 5th, Daisy; first Crocus out in garden. 6th, Daisies; Marsh Marigold; staminate flowers of Larch. 7th, Dog’s Mercury, only one plant really out ; Coltsfoot fully out. 8th, Elm fully out; Larch pistillate flowers; Chickweed ; Shep- herd’s Purse ; and a blue and white Veronica. 18th, Adoxa moschatellina, Viola odorata; Lesser Celandine. 20th, Red Dead Nettle. 21st, Potentilla Ffragariastrum.—A. 8. L., Stapenhill, Burton-on-Trent. Fuorat Nores.—Dates of flowering near Wimborne, Dorset :—March 1st, Viola odorata; 3rd, Primula vulgaris ; 7th, Anemone nemorosa; 15th, Lamium purpureum; 17th, Viola sylvatica; 19th, Veronica Chamedrys, Adoxa moschatellina, Mercurialis perennis (male,) Stellaria media, Tussilago Farfara, Bellis perennis ; 20th, Caltha palustris, Veronica hederifolia, Lychnis diurna, Taraxacum officinale, Myosotis arvensis, Euphorbia helioscopia ; 21st, Lamium album; 25th, Leucojum estivum; 10th, Salix (species doubtful probably caprea,) male flower. The whole month, with the exception of about seven days (e.g., 15th, 16th, 22nd, and 23rd,) was decidedly warm ; very little rain or wind, considering the month.—H. W. Trort, Wimborne. Frorat Notes.—Arum maculatum and Chelidonium majus in leaf at Duddington ; Bellis perennis in flower at Wakerley on February 17th and on the 18th, Vicia sepium (?) in hedge-row facing east, near Sudbury, between two and three feet high, growing luxuriantly, with immature seed vessels, but no flowers, it appeared to have blossomed in the winter ; part of the plant I have preserved, the other I left, hoping to see more of itin May. March 8th, Ulmus campestris in full flower at Huntingdon, and Ranunculus Ficaria at Brampton ; between the two places, in sheltered Q 118 CORRESPONDENCE. ne UU E UnE In USIE I SRE SDAIN SESS ERE spots ; Hawthorn in full leaf; Ranunculus Ficaria in flower at Frampton, near Boston; 9th, Viola odorata in flower at Milton; 19th, Nepeta Glechoma in full flower at Fletton, cluster cups abundant on Ranunculus Ficaria leaves; 29th, cluster cups on Ranunculus bulbosus at Frampton ; April 2nd, Cheiranthus cheiri on Cathedral walls, Tussilago Farfara, Lamium album, L. purpureum, Nepeta Glechoma in full flower at Peter- borough; 9th, Caltha palustris and Cardamine pratensis in flower at Thorney, Tussilago Farfara in flower and leaf, Narcissus pseudonarcissus in flower in abundance near Croyland; 12th, Alliaria officinalis in flower at Horsey, Matricaria inodora, Cardamine hirsuta in flower near Stanground, and fruiting stems of Equisetwm arvense near Whittlesea.—J. W. Bonerr, Peterborough. Boranican Norses.—February 17th, Snowdrops plentiful in Foremark Wood. March 5th, a few flowers of Viola odorata on Askew Hill; Colts- foot Tussilago Farfara, in full bloom in several places; Ground Ivy, Nepeta Glechoma, many patches in flower ; Marsh Marigold, Caltha palus- tris, one or two flowers in an osier bed; the Daisy, sparingly, on a bank facing the south. March 17th, Lesser Celandine, Ranunculus Ficaria, in a small plantation; Dog’s Mercury, M. perennis, in bud. March 25th, Draba verna in flower near Ticknall; Wood Anemone and Primrose in flower at Bretby Wood. April 5th, Sawifraga tridactylites in flower on an old wall; and White Dead Nettle, Lamiwm album, on hedge banks. April 12th, Cardamine hirsuta in flower; and C. pratensis not quite out, but showing clearly the lilac colour of the petals.—J. H., Repton. Bortanican Notes rrom SoutH Brps :— Name. Date. |Aspect Situation, &. Anemone pulsatilla ...... March 27th | S.E. |Chiltern Hills on chalk PPM Ay VETISG «3. 5 cee < ve =! by ss a Carex precox.........20- Pi A at y Adoxa moschatellina ....| March 20th} §S. |At the edge of a wood. Wiola canna 25 s..d.ci.stevee March 18th | ,, 3 i Cardamine pratensis ....| April 7th », |Moist meadows. Ranunculus auricomus .. + S.W. |Hedge bank. Ps bulbosus ....| April 10th mr Railway bank. Lamium galeobdolon .... a » |Hedge bank. Cardamine hirsuta ...... March 23rd | ,, |River bank. Cerastium semidecandrum| April 2nd » \Hedge bank. Eriophorum polystachyon| April 18th | open |Marsh. Luzula campestris ...... 5, », |Moist meadow; protero- gynous —the stigmas had ripened and the an- thers were developed. Myosotis arvensis ........ ag ,, |Fallow field. Paris quadrifolia ........ April 17th In an old clay pit in a wood. Prunus spinosa.......... April 18th | N.E. |Hedge. On an old* wall with Cardamine hirsuta, 1878..| March 1st re N.E. aspect. In1880 33 » 1879..| April 15th 7 the plants are 3 » 1880..| April 5th a3 dwarfed ; in 1878 they were vigorous. Equisetum arvense ...... April 19th | open |Moist'meadow. J. SaunpErs, Luton. ~ —o ~ CORRESPONDENCE. 119 Nores From Oscott Contiece.—The cold of the last fortnight has somewhat checked the opening buds, and it will be some time before the trees are fully out. The Larch, Chestnut, and Lime show signs of returning summer; but the Beech, Oak, and Ash are very backward, and it will be some weeks before they are fully out. The following are the notes recorded for the month:—March 21st, Thrush’s nest with eggs, Humble Bee seen, Daffodil and Jonquil in flower; 23rd, Honey and Sand Bees seen, Willow and Furze in flower; 26th, Shepherd’s Purse in flower, Vanessa urtice seen; 29th, Dandelion, Strawberry-leaved Cinque- foil, White and Purple Dead-Nettle, Musk Ivy, Lesser Celandine, Marsh Marigold, Whitlow Grass, Golden Saxifrage, Ivy-leaved Veronica and Osier in flower, Chiff-chaff singing; 30th, several Vanessa, common White, and Brimstone Butterflies seen; April 5th, Pansy and Lady’s Mantle in flower, Swallow first seen ; 8th, two Swifts seen; 18th, Sand Martins seen; 20th, Garden Warbler seen and heard singing, House Martin seen, Cuckoo heard; 24th, Cerastiwn arvense and Prunus avium in flower.—J. CaswELu. PHENOLOGICAL AND GENERAL OBSERVATIONS, taken in the vicinity of Farley, near Cheadle, Staffordshire, during March, 1880:—Fringilla celebs in full song early in month. 11th, Cry of Vanellus cristatus heard ; bird evidently seeking nesting-ground. 13th, Daisy in bloom; wild rose, elder, and wild gooseberry bursting into young leaf. 17th, Nest of Turdus musicus found ready for eggs. 18th, Corvus frugilegus building. 20th, Nest of Twrdus musicus, above referred to, contained three eggs, first found this season, as far as I know. 2nd, First lambs seen. 19th, Strix aluco on nest, but no eggs; eggs taken from this same nest March 20th last year; Currant fruit tree bursting into young leaf. 21st, Narcissus pseudonarcissus in full bud, and Lilac bursting into young leaf; Potentilla fragariastrum now in flower; Corylus Avellana bursting; and Ranunculus Ficaria first seen in flower on bank facing south; Mercurialis perennis only just and slightly in bloom; plants of fine growth and leafage, but flowering considered very backward. 23rd, Ribes Grossularia in full young leaf. 24th, Tussilago Farfara now in flower generally ; said to have been seen first 7th inst. 25th, Turdus musicus just com- menced tosit; Luzula pilosa in bud in Churnet valley. 26th, Cardamine hirsuta in flower; also Veronica polita on wall facing §.S.W., and open position. 28th, Ribes Grossularia in flower ; also Adoxa moschatellina; and Narcissus (under cultivation.) 29th, Examples of fertile Salix caprea in full flower. 30th, Horse Chestnut and Larch in full young leaf. Catkins of Corylus Avellana said to have been seen first 15th inst. 31st, Flowers of Owalis acetosella first seen.—Cuemr. L. Wraccsr, F.R.G.S., F.M.S. Cuirr-cHarr.—Mr. J. S. Hedderley, of Bulcote, near Nottingham, one of our best ornithologists, informs us that he heard the Chiff- chaff so early as the 13th of March this year.—L. Ler, Nottingham. OrnirHotocican Norges From LE£IcESTERSHIRE.—A _ rough-legged Buzzard was shot in this county near Ashby-de-la-Zouch in February. On March 10th, I saw a male Goosander on Saddington Reservoir. The bird remained for several days. On March 19th, the ever-welcome note of the Chiffchaff, first arrival of summer migrants, was heard. This is the earliest record of the arrival of this bird that I have, the average date of its appearance being 25th, but, as the bird was seen as well as heard, there can be no doubt about it. On 25th March, I noticed the Wheatear ; this also is the earliest record I have. On 30th, I heard the Blackeap, of all our warblers pre-eminently the sweetest. April 6th, the Willow Wren appeared. April 13th, the Wryneck’s note was heard. On 120 CORRESPONDENCE. 15th of this month I saw a tolerably large flock of Fieldfares outward bound. This is not an unusually late date. At the time of writing, none of the Hirundinide have put in an appearance, nor has the Cuckoo or the Nightingale been heard, but doubtless they will all be noted in a few more days.—THomas Macaunay, M.R.C.8.L., Kibworth, April 16th, 1880. OrnitHotocicaL Nores.—I have at present only four summer migrants to record as having arrived here. Chiff-chaff, March 30th ; Yellow Wagtail, on the 5th; Willow Wren, on the 17th; and Swallow, on the 21st inst. Young Rooks were calling from the nests on the 8th of this month, eight days earlier than last year. We have a few Wild Ducks staying to breed this season, but not so many as last year. On the 3rd instant, I was surprised to see a pair of Teal rise from an osier bed on the banks of one of our streams. Iam sorry to have to record the occurrence of another Peregrine Falcon, which was killed at Marston St. Lawrence, on March 17th. A man had placed a stuffed Ring Dove on the ground as a decoy, and whilst waiting for pigeons, saw the Falcon strike the decoy, when he shot it. I had the pleasure of examining the bird, and found it to be a female, in good condition. It measured 3ft. 7jin. in alar expanse. Some young Song Thrushes were hatched out here on the 12th instant.—O. V. Aputin, Bodicote, Oxon, April 22nd, 1880. SUBTERRANEAN Funei.—In reference to a note on this subject, by R. G., page 93, I would suggest that careful search be made for the more developed and perfect state of the plant alluded to as Rhizomorpha medullaris, which is in fact only the mycelium of a fungus, and hence Rhizomorpha has long since been discarded as a genus. The distance to which the mycelium of some fungi will penetrate into wood and earth is very striking, as is also the power it exerts in forcing a passage for itself; and any fact bearing on this subject, when the species giving rise to it can be accurately determined, will be of much interest to mycologists. The mycelium alone affords but a very imperfect clue to a species, but if the fruit-bearing surface (the hymenium) of the plant can be found, the species may be determined. The plant R. G. alludes to as “ possibly an Alga,” of an orange colour, is probably Ozonium auricomum, Link., figared in Greville’s ‘‘ Scottish Cryptogamic Flora,” plate 260, which is not uncommon on dead wood exposed to dripping water. The timber observed to be phosphorescent would most likely owe that quality, not to the presence of the hymenium of a fungus, but the mycelium. I am not aware that phosphorescence in wood has ever been traced to the presence of the hymenium of a fungus. Any observations on these points alluded to by your correspondent as occurring in the midland district, will be deserving of record in your valuable columns.—W. Puuuips. Glewnings. oe Mipuanp Union Mrrtinc.—The arrangements for the Northampton Meeting, so far as settled, will be found on the second page of the cover of this month’s magazine. Some interesting particulars of the Botanical Excursion will be found at page 97. Next month similar details of the Geological Excursion will be given. As early as possible the Hon. Secs. of the Union will send out the official programme for circulation among the members of all the Societies in the Union. GLEANINGS. 121 ~ Prorrssor Huxtry, LL.D., F.R.S., has been unanimously elected an Honorary Vice-president of the Birmingham Natural History and Microscopical Society, in recognition of his distinguished services to Biological Science. Gerotocicat SurvEy.—The corrected maps of the Nottingham district (Quarter-sheets 71 N.-E. and S.-E.) are now ready. In addition to correc- tions in the Triassic rocks, they contain the latest colliery information as to underground faults, the sites of bore-holes, &c. They are the work of Mr. W. T. Aveline, F.G.S. Cuartx Fossms.—In almost every collection of organic remains from the chalk may be seen ‘‘an elongated more or less undulating body, composed of the scales and bones of fishes confusedly mingled.” Dr. Mantell considered this to be a long cylindrical fish, identical with the Dercetis elongatus of Agassiz, and this was generally accepted, though some collectors referred the remains to coprolites, and others to intestines of fishes. In the Geological Magazine for 1879, p. 145, Mr. W. Davies, of the British Museum, states his reasons for considering these curious bodies to be ‘the remains of membranous tubes of large soft-bodied Annelides, of solitary habits, that collected and agglutinated, either for protection or disguise, the scales and bones of fishes to the exterior surface of their tubes,” just as some living annelides do; he names them Terebella Lewesiensis. Tuer Rocks or Brazit Woop, CHARrnwoop Forrest.— With reference to the remarkable exposure of the contact between granite and slate, discovered at this point by Messrs. Allportand Harrison, and first described in our pages (Vol. II., p. 243), a brisk controversyh as taken place in the Geological Magazine between Prof. Bonney and Mr. Allport, as to the correct name to be given to the altered rock; it has hitherto been called gneiss, and Prof. Bonney would retain this term for it, while his adversary designates it asa micaceous schist. The rock ismainly acompound of two micas, and as it has ‘“‘neither the chemical composition, mineral constitution, internal structure, nor even the external appearance of gneiss,” Mr. Allport’s name would seem to be the better one. Roman Oysters.—During the excavations for the new Corporation Baths, in Leicester, a few months ago, some strongly built walls and concrete floors, evidently of Roman work, were met with. Underneath the old masonry large numbers of oyster shells, many in very perfect preservation, were met with, and similar specimens with shells of the whelk have been found associated with Roman pottery in several parts of the old town. Considering the position of Leicester in the very centre of England, and the consequent expense of carriage, the discovery of these marine delicacies here would seem to afford another proof of the high estimation in which they were held by the early conquerors of our island. ayy x Ady Aevorts of Societies, = —————— : BIRMINGHAM NATURAL HISTORY AND MICROSCOPICAL SOCIETY.—Geronocican Srcrron.-—March 23rd.—The section resolved to visit the exposure of coal in the excavations at Rubery Hill, on Saturday, the 3rd of April —Mr. J. Levick exhibited Floscularia cornuta and Podophrya quadripartita, two interesting infusoria. A reprint of a paper on the Precambrian Geology of Anglesey, by Dr. Callaway, of Wellington, was presented by the author.—-Miss 122 REPORTS. Hadley exhibited some specimens from the sinking for coal at Hamstead.—Mr. Cotterell read an interesting paper on the mineralogy of Cornwall, and exhibited a large number of beautiful specimens.—On Easter Monday, March 29th, about forty members of the Society made a very pleasant excursion to Evesham, where they were met by Mr. T. J. Slatter and Mr. J. T. Burgess, under whose guidance they visited the banks of the river Avon, Wood Norton, the grounds of the Due D’Aumale, and other places in the vicinity. On the roots of the willows, grow- ‘ing in the first mentioned locality, many interesting microscopic specimens were found. GENERAL Mrrtinc.—March 30th.—Mr. W. Phillips, F.L.S., of Shrewsbury, was elected a corresponding member of the Society; and the concluding portions of his paper on the study of Lichens were read by Mr. Bagnall and Mr. Badger. The paper will be published in future numbers. —Mr. H. W. Jones exhibited a female Arctic Stone Crab, Lithodes arctica, from Aston Aquarium.—Mr. H. E. Forrest exhibited, on behalf of Mr. Doeg, of Evesham, a cluster of flies about three inches in diameter, which when first found was much larger. It was discovered at Blockley, near Evesham, in a hawthorn bush, about four feet from the ground, but the cause of its formation was unknown. Mr. Forrest suggested that they might have been drawn together by some attractive, but poisonous food, which had killed them on the spot. Mr. W. G. Biatch said that the hawthorn was covered with the web of the larva of one of the ermine moths, and thought that the cluster of flies was artificially produced by their getting entangled in the web.—GrnreraL MrretiInc.—April 6th.—Mr. W. R. Hughes read a letter from Mr. H. J. Carter, F.R.S., promising to give the Society a report on the sponges dredged during the Falmouth expedition last year. Mr. Montagu Browne gave a short description of the whale now being exhibited in Birmingham. The species is the common Rorqual, and it measures nearly 70ft. in length. He also exhibited the stomach of an Owl, which had been shot on account of the destruction it was supposed to have wrought among some pigeons kept in a loft. When opened, however, it was found to contain, not feathers, but the skulls, &c., of several mice and rats, which were, no doubt, the perpetrators of the crimes for which the Owl had paid the penalty. Mr. W. Graham presented to the Society a new Microscope Lamp, by Parkes ; and a cordial vote of thanks to the donor was passed unanimously. Mr. H. E. Forrest exhibited living specimens of the beautiful little Gonophores, or Medusiform larve of a species of Obelia, (plicata?) growing attached to the Arctic Crabs (Lithodes arctica) in the Aston Aquarium. They hatched out in a bottle after he had removed the colony from the Crab. Specimens of the polypidom of the same Obelia were exhibited by Mr. Bolton, with a Folli- cularia attached of a different species from that figured by Mr. Saville Kent opposite page 73. He also showed a very rich gathering of Rotifers, com- prising several members of the genera Asplanchna, Anurza, Brachionus, and Polyarthra. Mr. Forrest also exhibited spawn of the common Perch. The embryos were in active motion, and the albuminous sheath was full of curious radial markings. Mr. J. E. Bagnall exhibited Pellia calycina, Riecardia multifida, ditto var. ambrosioides, and R. sinuata, all new to Warwickshire; a very rare moss, Mniwm rostratum; and a Confervoid Alga, Vaucheria geminata, showing formation of the spores. Mr. W. G. Blatch exhibited a beetle, Coccinella ocellata, new to the district, found at Colesbill. Mr. R. W. Chase read an interesting paper on ‘‘ The Changes of Plumage in some of the British Birds,” with special reference to the Plovers and Sandpipers, of which he showed many beautiful specimens in various states of plumage. After describing the changes which they undergo periodically, he said that many theories had been advanced to account for these changes, but none of them would stand thorough investigation. As a rule, birds assume their brightest coloured plumage at the commencement of the breeding season, and this disappears very rapidly, owing to the partial or entire moulting of these feathers. His own idea was that the brightness of the colours was owing to the fact that, at the season in question all the vital functions of the bird were performed more vigorously than at other times. The paper was listened to with great interest and attention, and at the conclusion elicited from Mr. Montagu Browne a promise that he would shortly give a paper in continuation of and answer to Mr. Chase’s. ApsoURNED ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING.— April 12th.—The retiring President, Mr. Walter Graham, delivered his address REPORTS. 123 to the members of the Society. The Address was chiefly devoted to a review of-our past and present knowledge of Archebiosis, or spontaneous generation, with particular allusion to the researches of Dallinger and Drysdale. It also gave several valuable suggestions for the future conduct of the Society. On the motion of Mr. Wills, seconded by Mr. Levick, a resolution was unani- mously passed thanking Mr. Graham for his able address, and for the uniform kindness and ability with which he had discharged the duties of his office during the past year. Mr. Montagu Browne exhibited three young squirrels, just taken from the nest. This is very early in the year for them to be found. BIRMINGHAM AND MIDLAND INSTITUTE SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY.— April 7th.—_Mr. G. H. Twigg read a paper on “‘ The Oolitic Formation on the Borders of Warwickshire.” After noticing the character of the formation asa whole, he referred to some localities in detail, selecting principally those within easy distance from Birmingham, describing the fine exposures in the Lias to be seen at Wilmcote, Harbury, and Birdingbury, as well as those in the Inferior Oolite, at Leckhampton, and other localities in the Cotswolds, around Banbury and Northampton. The paper was illustrated by a variety of fossils, collected .n the district referred to, and concluded by an allusion to the enormous Jdenudation which must have resulted since the first deposit of the calcareous rocks of the formation, as rendered manifest by the outliers, of which Bredon Hill is a notable example. April 10th.—The members visited the new sinking at Hamstead. Upon arrival Mr. F. Meacham exhibited the various rocks passed through during the sinking for coal. Attention was then given to the spoil banks, and many specimeus of carboniferous plants were obtained. The thick coal, of excellent quality, has since been found at a depth of 615 yards. This, it need scarcely be added, is a valuable find. April 14th—Mr. W. P. Wynne read a paper on “ Water Analysis,” Drs. Frankland and Armstrong’s process being described. BURTON-ON-TRENT ARCHAHOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY.—March 30th.—The annual meeting was held in the Wesleyan School Room, Station Street. the Rev. C, F. Thornewill, V.P., presiding.— From the statement of accounts for the past year it appeared that the receipts had been £74 7s. 10d., and the disbursements nearly the same sum. The report was adopted, and the Committee’s report was taken as read. Prizes To JuNIOR MemBers.—The Chairman said no mosses had been sent in; the only collections were moths and butterflies —Mr. Baker was asked to examine these collections, and make a report on them, and he reported that there had been five collections sent in, and he had awarded the prizes as follows :—1st, 126 species, J. E. Nowers; 2nd, 86 species, Miss M. E. Day; 3rd, 64 species, Miss Gibbs. The election of Mr. W. Molyneux, F.G.8., to the office of President was carried unanimously. The following gentlemen were appointed Vice-Presidents for the year :—Mr. S. Evershed, Mr. J. C. Grinling, Mr. H. G. Tomlinson, Mr. Robert Thornewill, and the Rev. C. F. Thornewill. Mr. Partridge was re-elected Treasurer. Mr. T. C. Martin and Mr. C. U. Tripp were re-elected Secretaries. Mr. W. G. Blatch, of Birmingham, was elected an Honorary Member of the Society. The following excursions have been arranged :— Cannock and Stone; Breedon and Melbourne, leader, Mr. Ford; Dudley and Wren’s Nest, leader, Mr. Molyneux ; Chatsworth, leader, Mr. Boden; Morley, leader, Mr. R. Thornewill; Wirksworth, leader, Lott. NORTHAMPTON NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY.—March 18th.— —Annuat Mertinc.—The reports of the Treasurer and Committee were presented, both of which were eminently satisfactory. Four gentlemen were elected as members of the Society, and eleven others nominated. The officers and committee for the ensuing year were elected, Sir Herewald Wake, Bart., being chosen as one of the Vice-presidents, in the place of Rev. Wm. Thornton, F.G.S., resigned. NOTTINGHAM LITERARY AND PHILOSOPHICAT, SOCIETY.—The following meetings were heid during April:—8th—The Rey. C. Hargrove, 124 REPORTS. M.A., lectured on ‘‘ Coedman, the First English Poet.” 15th.—Dr. Seaton gaye a lecture on ‘‘ Kpidemics.”—Hrratum in the April number of ‘“ Midland Naturalist.” Mr. Teall’s lecture on ‘‘ The Structure of Molecules” was delivered on the 17th March, and not on the 17th February. PETERBOROUGH NATURAL HISTORY AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. —A most pleasing incident in connection with this society deserves record. The Dowager Marchioness of Huntly recently invited the members to pay her a visit at Orton Hall. About fifty availed themselves of the invitation, and were received by the Marchioness, who had for the occasion converted the large dining room into a temporary museum of scientific objects, of which she possesses a valuable collection. After examining these, the party proceeded to the grounds, where they saw much tointerest them. On returning to the dining room the Dowager Marc hioness of Huntly said:—‘‘ I must thank you for having so kindly met me here to-day, especially at this busy time, and I take it not only as a compliment to myself, but as a proof of your interest in the future success of the Peterborough Natural History and Scientific Society. I have thought it would be a great pity that this society, begun originally under such good auspices, should fall to the ground, because I believe it is caleulated to exercise a beneficial influence. Peterborough is now a rising place, with a largely increas- ing population, and we could wish that the young especially should be imbued with tastes which would lead them to healthy and improving pursuits. The business of the society will be discussed at a meeting which I hope will soon be convened, but I just wish to say that we are anxious to secure a room for the members, and to obtain books of reference, and cases in which specimens can be exhibited and preserved, and which may become the nucleus of a local museum. Mr. Peckover has sent me an account of the rise and progress of a similar institution at Wisbech, which began in a small way, but gradually received encouragement, and is now rich in grants of money, and contributions of objects of art and natural history. Mr. Peckover has done more. He has generously entrusted me with ten guineas for the purposes of the society. Canon Argles has given three guineas. I hope we may receive further donations, and if funds are still wanted, we might perhaps organise a local exhibition, and devote the proceeds to our undertaking. I understand that 150 pictures have been left to the city of Peterborough on the condition of finding a room in which to place them. Thisisa good beginning, and augurs well for our future prospects. I will just add that I propose offering to my young friends a book on Natural History, as a prize for the most complete list, with dried specimens if possible, of the plants growing on the fen lands, and the clay, geologically termed the Oxford clay of this county, with a view to ascertaining what families of plants are most likely to flourish on these soils. I would also recommend to our young people a collection of the land and freshwater shells of this neighbourhood, which are especially interesting. Also, that they should look out for the flint celts, the weapons and implements of the ancient inhabitants of the earth, which I believe are to be found in the gravel deposits, and of which you will see a specimen here.” Addresses were also given by Mr. Skertchly, Mr. A. Tyler, the Dean of Peterborough, the Rev. Canon Argles, and Mr. Bentley. Subsequently the party adjourned to the drawing room, where “five o’clock tea” was served, and after- wards returned to Peterborough, having heartily enjoyed a most pleasant afternoon. A large number of new members have since joined the society. WOOLHOPE NATURALISTS’ FIELD CLUB.—The Annual Meeting was held at Hereford, on Thursday, April 15th. The financial statement for the year 1879 was read, the dates and places of the Field Meetings for the present year fixed, and the Meteorological Tables, with the Rainfall, and Register of Flood Water on the Wye for 1879 laid on the table. A report on the Hereford- shire Pomona was read, together with the Financial Statement for Part II.; the first proofs of the ten plates prepared for Part III., giving oloured drawings of forty different varieties of fruit, were exhibited; and the usual annual grant for the production of Part IV., in 1881, asked for. The members dined together at the Mitre Hotel afterwards. The President subsequently delivered his Retiring Address, and a paper on ‘* The Crab Apple, its Characteristics and Associations,” by Edwin Lees, Esq., F.L.8., F.G.S., was read. Vv. Piatea We PAMips. clel. ae British Lichens. BRITISH LICHENS. 125 BRITISH LICHENS: HINTS HOW TO STUDY THEM.* BY W. PHILLIPS, F.L.S. The group of plants classed as Lichens, though for the most part minute in stature, offer a highly interesting field of study to the lover of nature, and will well repay the labour bestowed upon them by presenting before the mind much beauty of form and curiosity of structure. Tohim who wants an inducement to seek the country lane, the wooded park, or the breezy hill side, no better one can be found than in the pursuit of these attractive little plants, which need no care in drying, and little space for storing. The thousands of species that lie scattered on the surface of old trees, the face of weathered rocks, and on heathy pastures, will supply an exhaustless source of pleasure to the man who is capable of appreciating the wisdom of the great Creator, displayed in the lower forms of vegetable life; nor is there that difficulty in their study which some people have imagined. Asin other departments of botany, as indeed in every branch of human knowledge, there are certain initial difficulties— those which stand on the threshold of the subject—which give some trouble, but when these are surmounted the course becomes easy and REFERENCES To Puate Y. Fig. 1.—Cetraria Islandica, a single frond, natural size. Fig. 2—Spherophoron coralloides, natural size, a, apothecium. Fig. 3.—Usnea barbata, natural size; a, apotheciwm. Fig. 4.—Physcia parietina, natural size on wood; a, apothecia. Fig, 5.—Placodium callopismum, a portion of a specimen, natural sise. Fig. 6.—Squamaria crassa, natural size. Fig, 7.—Lecidea geographica, natural size. Fig, 8.—Graphis elegans, natural size. Fig, 9.—Perpendicular section of the thallus of Physcia partetina, much magnified; showing the three strata,a cortical layer, b gonidial layer, c medullary layer. Fig 10.—Perpendicular section of the thallus of a Leptogiwm, much magnified ; showing the intermixed hyphz and gonidial necklaces. Figs.11 &12.—Perpendicular sections of apothecia of Physcia parietina, ery atte magnified; the first a young, the second an older indi- vidual. Fig. 13.—A perpendicular section of the same, more highly magnified; a asci with sporidia, b paraphyses, c hypothecium. Fig. 14.—Perpendicular section of a spermagonium immersed in the thalius, highly magnified; a ostiolum, b and c different forms ’ of sterigmata, showing the spermatia in situ. Fig. 15.—Perpendicular section of a pycnidium seated on the thallus, highly magnified ; a ostiolum, b basidia and spores, c detached spores more highly magnified. : Fig. 16.—Spores of Physcia parietina, highiy magnified. Fig. 17.—Perpendicular section of a lecideine apothecium, slightly magnified, Fig. 18.—Perpendicular section of a dimidiate peridium of a Verrucaria, ; slightly magnified. Fig. 19.—Perpendicular section of a peridium of a Graphis, showing the . dimidiate form, slightly magnified. Fig. 20.—Perpendicular section of an entire peridium of an Opegrapha, F slightly magnified. Fig. 21,—. peer eubeilar section of an apothecium immersed in the thallus, ghtly magnified. * Read before the Birmingham Natural Histo Microscopical Society on March 9th and 30th, 1880, ny ‘and, Micropeopten) oeies R 126 BRITISH LICHENS. pleasant. It is with the view of helping the student over these initial difficulties that the present paper has been written. The vegetable kingdom is divided into two great sections, the Phanerogamia and the Cryptogamia, the former possessing flowers con- taining male and female organs, the latter being destitute of flowers, and having their male and female organs less conspicuous or. altogether con- cealed within special receptacles. Lichens* belong to the section Cryptogamia. They are closely related to other sub-divisions in this section, viz., Fungi and Alge, the line of separation on either side being so indistinct that it isnot always easy to say where it runs. Nature, indeed, has drawn no definite line even between the animal and vegetable kingdoms, much less between the sub-divisions of the vegetable kingdom. Notwithstanding this near approach of Lichens to Alge on the one hand, and Fungi on the other, the students of each have, by mutual consent, agreed to certain limitations which serve all practical purposes. Lichens are distinguished from certain Fungi to which they have a resemblance by possessing in their structure the green bodies called gonidia, of which we shall have to speak at length hereafter; from Alge they are dis- tinguished by bearing reproductive spores in asci. Other points of difference can only be understood by the student as he becomes more fully acquainted with the subject, hence these must suffice for the present. A perfect Lichen consists of the vegetative part called the Thallus ;t and the fruit-bearing receptacles, the Apothecia,{ considered to be the female organs, seated on the thallus; with which are found associated the Spermagonia§ and the Pycnides,|| considered to be the male organs, Although every Lichen should, theoretically, have these parts all present, it must be understood that the thallus is often so imperfectly developed that it is scarcely discernible, or, as in parasitic species, is absent, while in others, though the thallus is perfectly developed, the apothecia are— hardly ever to be seen, and the spermagonia and pycnidia are still more rarely to be found. We will proceed to notice these various parts more in detail, beginning with THE THALLUS, I.—The thallus differs much, according to the species, in form, size, colour, and texture. Having regard to the surface on which a Lichen grows, the thallus may be upright or prostrate, i.e., vertical or horizontal. * This word, which is pronounced Likens, the ch being hard, is said to be derived from the Greek word AetXnv a wart. + From $adXés a frond or green leaf. t From @7o upon, and 97K7 a sack. § From orépya a seed, and you) generation, in allusion to their function. || From vuxvérys, indicating many things pressed one against the othe#, probably on account of their close growth, BRITISH LICHENS. 127 The upright thallus may assume one of two forms known as the fruticulose* and filamentous forms. 1st.—The fruticulose form is so named because of its general resemblance to a miniature shrub. It is attached at the base, from which it ascends in one or more stems, with or without branches, which are flat or cylindrical. The most familiar illustration of this form is that of the Iceland moss of commerce (Cetraria Islandica,) (Plate V., Fig. 1,) imported and sold in every chemist’s shop. 2nd.—The filamentous form is that in which the stems arise from a small base of attachment, and consist of thread-like, rigid, or flaccid, upright, prostrate, or pendulous filaments, often repeatedly branched. The Beard Moss (Usnea barbata) (Plate V., Fig. 3,) so frequently to bo seen on old trees, is an example of this form. The prostrate thallus may be either attached to its support by a small space only, or by the whole of its under surface. As this division includes the major part of Lichens it has been sub-divided into, 1st, the foliaceous, and 2nd, the crustaceous forms. Ist.—The foliaceous thallus.—This consists of leaf-like expansions, spreading horizontally, attached by one or more points on the under surface to the substance on whichit grows. It is often cut or torn at the margin into more or less irregular lobes, which at times overlap each other. In some species having a foliaceous thallus the attachment beneath is by numerous small filaments, which, though suggesting the idea of rootlets, serve no such purpose; they are called rhizine.+ Parmelia saxatilis, one of the commonest British species on rocks and trees, presents these rhizine in abundance. 2nd.—The crustaceous thallus.—As the name implies, this forms a more or less thick crust, generally attached by the whole of its under side, but often free at the margin. Some of the chief forms of this must be particularised. It begins to depart from those already men- tioned by the Squamuloset thallus.—This is formed of small scales, either detached or united to each other by the margin, and affixed to the substance on which it grows by its under surface. The outline is very variable, affording important characters in the distinction of species. Squamaria crassa, & common species on the earth in limestone districts, will illustrate this form of thallus. (Plate V., Fig. 6.) Granulose thallus.—This is formed by a thin layer of irregularly sized granules, each granule separated from the other, or united into a continuous surface. It prevails largely in the genus Lecidea. * From jrutex, Latin for shrub, fruéiculose—diminutive. + From pif a root. t From squama, Latin for the scale of a fish, 128 BRITISH LICHENS. Scurfy thallus.—In this form the surface is torn up into minute flat scales, thickly distributed, giving it the scurfy aspect implied by the name as ordinarily understood. Areolate* thallus.—In this form the crust of the thallus is divided into minute spaces, which are either depressed, flat, orconvex. These spaces are sometimes rendered more conspicuous by having a border round each, formed by a fissure in the crust. This occurs abundantly in the genus Lecidea. (Plate V., Fig. 7.) Pulverulent{ thallus.—This is the granulose thallus, having the granules more minutely divided, appearing under a pocket lens as if dusted over the surface with a fine dry powder. This is one of the least developed forms of a Lichen thallus. Besides these more marked forms of the thallus there are many variations, the terms for describing which will be found in an admirable glossary in ‘‘ Leighton’s Lichen Flora.” There are two terms of frequent use in describing the thallus which it may be well to explain here. When a thallus presents a definite outline, clearly marking how far it extends on the rock or bark, it is said to be determinate. When there is no distinct or clearly defined outline, but it dies away in patches, it is said to be effused or indeterminate. The size of the thallus varies from a minute point only to be seen by the aid of a magnifying glass up to one or even two square feet in super- ficial extent. We refer exclusively to British Lichens. The genera which contain the largest species are Sticta, Stictina, Peltigera, Parmelia, Usnea, and Ramalina. Occasionally species belonging to other genera than these named, will, under particularly favourable circumstances, extend their thallus to an unusual size. The colour of the thallus includes all shades of green, varying to yellow in one direction, to brown in another, and to blue in another.. It may be black, or gray, or white ; it may be pale yellow, citron yellow, or orange yellow; never blue or red, except modified very much by other tints. Asa rule, the gonidia contribute largely to the colour of the thallus, and become more conspicuous when moistened by water, hence the predominance of green. The texture of the thallus may be soft and gelatinous, as in Collema; spongy, asin Peltigera; fragile, as in Stereocaulon; tough, as in Cetraria ; firm and hard as in Roccella; tartarious and brittle, as in many of the Lecidee. In fact, the variations are infinite. Having thus briefly glanced at the external characters of the Lichen thallus that are mostly perceptible to the unaided vision, we shall next proceed to point out the main features of the microscopic structure of the thallus. [TO BE CONTINUED. | * From areola, Latin for a little bed, o# quarter, in a garden. } From pulvis, Latin for dust, | ry GEOLOGICAL EXCURSION. 129 ~ MIDLAND UNION OF NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETIES. NORTHAMPTON MEETING, JUNE, 1880. GEOLOGICAL EXCURSION. On the route settled for the Geological Excursion on Friday, June 18th, the following formations will be encountered :—Qlacial Gravel; Great Oolite Limestone ; Great Oolite, Upper Estuarine Clay ; Inferior Oolite, Lower Estuarine series and Ironstone, Northampton Sands ; Upper Lias, Middle and Lower Lias. I.—Leave Northampton and proceed in a north-easterly direction to the boring by the Water Company, near to the petrifying spring on the Kettering Road. The well-sinking commences at the surface of the Upper Lias Clay, which it penetrates througha thickness of about 150ft. It then passes through 37ft. of Middle Lias, and then through about 25ft. of Lower Lias ; to a total depth of 213ft. From the bottom of the well a boring was carried down a further depth of 157ft. 6in. in the Lower Lias ; no water, works abandoned for some time. The Company are now proceeding with a 15in. or 16in. bore, and have passed through the Lower Lias, the object being to penetrate to the water stones of the Lower Keuper. From here by the Racecourse to II.—Bass’s Pit.—The section is here based by the Upper Lias Clay. This passes up into the ironstone beds of the Northampton Sand, and is surrounded by the white sand of the Lower Estuarine. IIlI.—Kinestuoree Brick Pit.—If the section be in a favourable condition the junction of the Lias and Inferior Oolite will be well shown. IV.—SuHitrLeweLt Quarry.— Lower Estuarine of Northampton Sand. —The section here is a continuation upwards of that in the brick pit, with rock beis more calcareous than ferruginous. False bedding to be observed, and action of water charged with carbonic acid. The white sand of the Lower Estuarine comes in at the top of this section. Then through the village of Kingsthorpe to Y.—KinestHorre Sanp AND Sanpstone Pirs.—Ironstone is here observable at the base, the main section consisting of Lower Estuarine Sand or Sandstone. Plant bed ‘Oolitic Coal.” -Here will be read the sectional remarks upon coal of Samuel Sharpe, Esq., F.G.S., (from his g°cond edition of ‘‘ Rudiments of Geology,”) as revised and approved by the greatest living authority upon that subject. Then towards VI. and VII.—Boveuren Green to Movutton Parx Pits anp Banx’s Pir.—Exhibiting Upper Estuarine Clay and Limestone, (Great Oolite,) and Glacial Gravel. Then back through Northampton to VIII.—Duston Ironstons Qouarrizrs.—Here on the south-west side of the Weedon Road is a brick pit in the Upper Lias Clay. In the Ironstone Quarry the base-bed consists of a dense dark- green arenaceous bed, deposited under the same conditions as those above them, but unaltered by oxidation, containing less 130 GEOLOGICAL EXOURSION. iron but more phosphoric acid. Fossils in this bed have usually their tests preserved, and are frequently of a pure white colour. Higher up the beds are more ferruginous, but with some green cores ; above they vary in condition, but are red throughout. From a bed in this quarry Mr. Sharpe obtained a beautiful Star-fish, Stellaster Sharpii, now in the British Museum. Specimens of casts of corals are numerous, frequently with the crypts of the little boring Mollusc, Lithodomus inclusus ; Ammo- nites (Murchisona, corrugatus, &c.,) Nautilus obesus, and numerous fossils of the Inferior Oolite have been collected. There is a band almost made up of Astarte elegans, which band occurring in other quarries to the west marks an horizon over a considerable area. IX.—Dusron Otp Quarry.—Red building stone, Inferior Oolite. At the base of this section is a green-hearted stone. In the bed above are also some green-hearted stones and the band of Astarte elegans, which, however, in the last quarry was much higher up. At the top the white sand of the Lower Estuarine comes in. The same general series of fossils as those of the Duston Ironstone Quarry have been procured from these beds, and in addition wave-rippled slabs. Tooth of Megalosaurus. X.—Warkin’s Brick Pir.—Lower Estuarine, (Inferior Oolite,) Upper Estuarine (Great Oolite) junction with limestone. The upper part of the white sand of the Lower Estuarine may be noted here, above which the only section of the Upper Estuarine Clay exposed in the area traversed is to be seen. The junction of this clay with the Great Oolite Limestone may be seen near the top of the section. XI.—Warrmw’s Lrurestonse Pir.—Great Oolite.—This is a shallow pit, the beds of which are less marly than those at Kingsthorpe, but yield the same series of fossils. WM. HULL. BOTANICAL NOTES. I have been requested to give a few notes on the plants likely to be met with near Northampton by the members who attend the Annual Meeting. Visitors entering the county by Market Harboro’, and taking the London and North-Western Railway to Northampton, will pass through pretty scenery, following the course of that branch of the Nene which riseson Naseby Field ; to the right of the line, on the same side, is Maidwell Dales, the most easterly habitat of Polystichwm aculeatum. In the sandy fields of the adjoining village of Spratton, the Rev. J. M. Berkeley has gathered the rare Arnoseris pusilla; on the left hand, eight miles from Northampton, is Lamport Hall, the seat of Sir Charles Isham, the garden containing some good Alpine plants, while in the rectory pond Acorus calamus still grows. From Lamport to Northampton the Colchicum occurs plentifully in the meadows, although a continual war is waged against it by farmers, who from time to time lose cattle from eating the capsules and leaves. Near Kingsthorpe, by the rail side, occurs a Lepidium, which was at first referred to Smithii, but having yellow anthers, shorter styles, and greener foliage, it considerably differs, and may eventually prove to be some other species, coming nearer to L. heterophyllum as it certainly does, ee eT ee) fee a ee a BOTANICAL NOTES. 181 The old London and North-Western railway line from Rugby, via Blisworth, passes just before reaching Weedon the old habitat at Brockhall for Eryngium campestre; nearly opposite the ground rises to Borough Hill, 800ft. above the sea level, on the sandy slopes of which occur Jasione montana, Hieracium boreale, Serratula tinctoria, Solidago Virga aurea, Rosa pimpinellifolia, Rosa implexa, &c. The marshy ground about Dodford yields Parnassia and Polygonum Bistorta. Weedon has been decided to be the central point of England. Between Weedon and Blisworth Mr. Borrer once thought he saw Barbarea stricta, but the record has never been confirmed; the high hedges just before reaching Blisworth, however, contain Rosa coriifolia, Reuteri, verticillacantha, tomentella, spherica, Rubus diversifolius, rudis, &c. The elevated ground above Blisworth, worked for iron ore and limestone, yields Rosa mollis and scabriuscula, Campanula latifolia, &c.: and farther on, near the entrance to-the park of our President, Sir Herewald Wake, Bart., Gagea lutea, Viola permixta, Campanula Trachelium, and Lamiwm galeobdolon have been found. Those members who combine Botany and Geology may find Artemisia absinthium and vulgaris, Epilobium brachycarpum, Astragalus glycyphyllos, Atriplex deltoides, Rubus diversifolius, &c. At the Duston pits and at Watkin’s brick pits, Crepis taraxacifolia; the roadside between there and Northampton yielding Rumex pulcher and Calamintha menthifolia. A short walk by the canal side towards Hunsbury Hill might add Tris Pseudacorus vera, Stellarta glauca, Nasturtium amphibium, Montia rivularis, Butomus umbellatus, with its lovely flowers, and in the canal and river @nanthe fluviatilis, Potamogeton mucronatus, and possibly P. prelongus. A short distance below Northampton are the sewage works, and mal-odorous as is the locality, that will prove no insur- mountable obstacle to the enthusiastic botanist who wants to add Lepidium Draba, Sisymbrium Sophia, Chenopodium olidum, rubrum, viride, paganum, Atriplex Smithii, angustifolia, hastata, Datura stramonium, Polypogon monspeliensis, Schleroschloa distans, or Melilotus officinalis and alba to his collection. In addition to the list of plants given in Mr. Scriven’s interesting paper on Yardley Chase may be mentioned as likely to be found: Pedicularis sylvatica, Carex remota, sylvatica, glauca, possibly Strigosa, Potentilla procumbens, Helleborus fetidus, Lathyrus sylvestris, Monotropa, Neottia nidus avis, Habenaria chlorantha, Spirea~ jilipendula, Pyrus communis and aria, Scirpus sylvaticus, &c., and in Castle Ashby ponds Myriophyllum spicatum, Ceratophyllum submersum, &c. The ponds between Northampton and Hardingstone should be visited by microscopists, as they are singularly rich in Desmids, &c. IT can only wish that each visitor may as much enjoy his or her Northamptonshire rambles as the writer has, and should the weather prove favourable, there is little doubt that the meeting will be thoroughly enjoyed, and prove remunerative to students of all branches of Natural History. G. C. DRUCH, F.L.8, 182 CRYPTOGAMIC FLORA OF WARWICKSHIRE. THE CRYPTOGAMIC FLORA OF WARWICKSHIRE. BY JAMES E. BAGNALL. (Continued from page 83.) 492.—Rhynchostegium tenellum Dicks. Hypnum tenellum Dicks., Wils., Berk., Hobk. On walls and wall tops, rare. On stone coping and brick work of the railway bridge between Sheldon and Marston Green ! December. 494.—R. confertum Dicks. Hypnum confertum Sm., Wils., Berk., Hobk. Shady banks, roots of trees, woods, &c., not unfrequent. Sutton Park, in many places! Copt Heath! Solihull! road from Warwick to Stratford ! Acocks Green! October. I find a form of this species with complanate foliage on a bank in the lane from Olton station to Shirley, which I think is var. Db. serrulatum Turn. 496.—R. murale Hedw. Hypnum murale Hedw., Wils., Hobk. On walls and bridges, local. Bridge over Canal near Acocks Green! Sutton Park, on Hartopp’s Park wall! Stone wail near New Fillongley Hall! &c. November. 497.—R. rusciforme Weis. Hypnum ruscifolium Dill., Wils., Berk., Hobk. Stones near streams and water-falls, walls, damp walls, &c., frequent. Sutton Park, water-fall at Bracebridge Pool! Arbury Park! Near Holywell! Curdworth! Solihull, &c. November. 499.—Plagiothecium latebricola Wils. Leskea latebricola Wils. (Wils.) Hypnum latebricola Hobk. Philoscia latebricola Berk. On decayed stems of Valeriana officinalis, very rare. Windley Pool Coppice 1868! not abundant. Abundant in Waters Wood, Shustoke, 1880. By the kindness of Dr. Braithwaite I have recently had the oppor- tunity of comparing my plant with specimens named by Dr. Lind- berg, and find my plant identical with them. 502.—P. denticulatum L. Hypnum denticulatum Dill., Wils., Berk., Hobk. In damp woods and on damp banks. Frequent, July. Sutton Park! New Park! Middleton Park, Solihull! &c. 503.—P. elegans Hook. Hypnum elegans Hook., Wils., Berk., Hobk. On dry banks in woods, very local. Sutton Park in several places! This I have also carefully compared with specimens from Dr. Lindberg. 504.—P. sylvaticum L. Hypnum sylvaticum L., Wils., Berk., Hobk. On moist banks and tree roots near water, local. Marsh above Powell’s Pool, Sutton Park, in good fruit 1870! Shirley! Bearley! Hartshill Hayes! September. 505.—P. undulatum L. Hypnum undulatum Wils., Berk., Hobk. Ondamp banks, in woods, and heath lands, ‘ Coleshill, Allesley, Rev. W. T. Bree,” Purt., local. Sutton Park! Hartshill Hayes! Trickley Coppice! Not found in fruit. 510.—Amblystegium serpens L. Hypnum serpens L., Wils., Berk., Hobk. Banks, roots of trees, damp walls, &c., very common. Sutton Park ! Olton! Acocks Green! Yarningale Common! &c. May. 511.—A. radicale P. Beauv. Hypnum radicale Wils., Berk., Hobk. On the roots of trees near water, very rare. On the roots of alders in coppice by Windley Pool, in fruit! 1876. May. 512.—A. irriguum Wils. Hypnum irriguum Hook et Wils., Wils., Berk., Hobk. On damp stone and brickwork near water, rare. Keeper’s Pool, Sutton Park! April. 513.—A. fluviatile Swartz. Hypnum flviatile, Sw. Very rare. On a water-wheel in Sutton Park! January, 1877, fairly abundant. 514.—A. riparium L. Hypnum riparium L., Wils., Berk., Hobk. On damp wood and stone work in pools, canals, &c., June, frequent. Brinklow! Canal bank, Olton! Sutton Park, Acocks Green! CRYPTOGAMIC FLORA OF WARWICKSHIRE. 133 Var. longifolium Brid. On the brickwork of a well near Sutton Park, _ and in Windley Pool Coppice, Sutton Park. A very peculiar form, having the habit of Fontinalis. 515.—Hypnum aduncum Hedw. H. Kneifii B.and S., Wils., Berk,, Hobk. Marshes and marshy meadows, rare. Sutton Park! Recorded by Purton from Bidford Grange, (Bree,) butfrom his remarks it seems evident that he did not understand this species. Found by Webb in fruit, Sutton Park. 516.—H. exannulatum Giimb. Bogs and marshes, local. Keeper’s Pool, Sutton Park! Long Moor Mill Pool! In a marsh by Blythe Bridge ! Bog near Packington Park! H. aduncum Wils., Bry., Brit. 517.—H. vernicosum Lindb. 4H. pellucidum Wils. MSS. In deep marshes, rare. With fertile flowers by Windley Pool and Bracebridge Pool, Sutton Park! 518.—H. Cossoni Schpr. H. intermediuwm Lindb. Marshes,rare. Keeper’s Pool, and other pools at Sutton Park. I have recently had an opportunity of comparing this plant with an authentic specimen of H. intermedium from Dr. Lindberg, and find the two plants identical. Fruiting, May, 1878. 519.—H. Sendtneri Schp. Marshes, rare. Long Moor Mill Pool! 522.—H. fluitans L. Pools and slow streams frequent, rare in fruit. Sutton Park in many places! Marston Green! Blythe Bridge! A more rigid form than type, with sub-erect capsules, occurs on the border of the stream above Long Moor Mill Pool, Sutton Park! Aprili—June. 523.—[H. uncinatum Hedw. I have a specimen of this moss, found by H. Webb at Moseley, on walls; it may possibly occur in the Lias districts of Warwickshire. ] 524.—H. jilicinum L. Marshes, drains, and damp banks in a marly soil, rare in fruit. In good fruit, Keeper’s Pool, Sutton Park! and Canal Bank, near Rowington! Arley! Coleshill Pool! near Stratford-on Avon. April—May. 525.—H. commutatum Hedw. Marshes, and near streams, local. Near most of the pools in Sutton Park, but very rarely fruiting! Canal bank, near Rowington ! April. 526.—H. falcatum Bridel. Marshes, and near streams, rare in fruit, very local, In fruit April, 1869, at Long Moor Mill Pool! Occurring at most of the other poolsin Sutton Park! A variety, probably H. sulcatum Schpr., occurs at Bracebridge Pool, Sutton Park ! 535.—H. cupressiforme L. ‘Trees, stones, heaths, woods, &e. Winter. A frequent and very variable species. Type frequent. Var. minus. Sutton Park! Var. lacunosum. Hofim. Churchyard wall, Milverton! Var. filiforme. On trees, Marston Green! Var. elatum. Bracebridge Pool, Sutton Park! H. resupinatum Wils. H. cupressiforme var., Berk. Local. On trees. Marston Green! Sutton Park, Olton! &c. This is a distinct variety, quite unlike type in habit. Winter. H. Lindbergii Mitt. H. pratense var. b, Wils., Berk. Damp heathy wayside, rare. Lane, near Sharman’s Cross, Shirley! Sutton Park, by Bracebridge Pool! Near Berkswell Railway Station. Lane from Four Ashes to Hockley! 538.—H. molluscum Hedw. Banks in amarly soil. Local. Sutton Park, near Long Moor Mill Pool! Marl Cliff! Bearley! Near Stratford- on-Avon! In fruit near Wixford, December, 1875! Near Arley! 540.—H. palustre L. Rare. On stone and brickwork, near water. Ina drain, canal bank, near Holywell! On brickwork of dam, Brace- bridge Pool, Sutton Park! Barren. 134 CRYPTOGAMIO FLORA OF WARWICKSHIRE. 548.—[H. Sommerfeltt Myr. On calcareous banks. This moss I have found on the calcareous banks of canal near Hay- head, Staffordshire, and it will probably be found in like habitats in Warwickshire. | 550.—H. chrysophyllum Brid. On marly heath lands, rare. Yarningale Peramon, near Claverdon! Marly banks of Rowington Canal! arren. 552.—H. stellatum Schreb. Marshes and damp marly banks. Local. Several of the marshes in Sutton Park! Marshy heathland, Ballard’s Green, near Arley Wood! Marly bank, Wixford, on the way for Exhall! July. 551.—H. polygamum B. and §. Tree roots near water, rare. Side of stream above Blackroot Pool, Sutton Park! Marsh, near Tythall Lane, Solihull! Var. b, stagnatum Wils. In a pond near Stratford-on-Avon, in the Alcester Road ! 553.—H. cordifolium Hedw. Marshes and bogs, rare. Sutton Park near Bracebridge Pool! Windley and Long Moor Mill Pool, in fine fruit ! May. 554.—H. giganteum Schpr. Marshes and pools, rare. Long Moor Mill, Bracebridge and Keepers’ Pools, Sutton Park! Marsh near rail- way station, Acocks Green ! 556.—H. cuspidatum L. Marshes, bogs, and wet places, frequent. Fruiting abundantly in most of the marshes in Sutton Park. Blythe Bridge! Arbury Park! &c. April. 557.—H. Schreberi Ehrh. Banks, heaths, woods, local. Abundant in Sutton Park, always barren! Near Solihull! Haywoods ! 558.—H. purum L. Heaths, woods, banks, &c., frequent, rare in fruit. In good fruit on a bank near Bentley Heath, January, 1871! Sutton Park! &c. December. 559.—H. stramineum Dicks. Marshes and bogs, rare. Near Long Moor Mill, Bracebridge, and Blackroot Pools, Sutton Park! 561.—[H. scorpioides L. Was found by H. Webb at Moseley, near Birming- ham, in a marsh near where the College now stands. I have never found it in Warwickshire. | 562.—Hylocomium splendens Dill., Hedw. Hypnum splendens Hedw., Wils., Berk., Hobk. Banks and woods, Local. Banks near Blythe Bridge, Solihull! Canal banks near Olton! Rowington! Shrewley Heath! Spring Wood! and Chalcot Wood, near Hockley! 565.—H. brevirostre Ehrh. Hypnum brevirostre Ehrh., Wils., Hobk., Berk. Hypnum triquetrum, var. b minus. Purt. ‘‘ Wood abundant. Woods, Allesley and Meriden, (Bree.)” I have not seen this in Warwitkshire. 566.—H. squarrosum L. Hypnum squarrosum L. Wils., Berk., Hobk. Woods, banks, pastures, in damp places, frequent, rarein fruit. In fruit above Blackroot Pool, Sutton Park, November, 1868! and in Arbury Park, with old capsules, near the Hall! 567.—H. loreum L. Hypnum loreum L. Wils., Hobk., Purt. ‘* Woods and on heaths among bushes in dry mountainous countries,common ; woods, Allesley (Bree.)” 568.—H. triquetrum L. Aypnum triquetrum L. Wils., Berk., Hobk. Banks and woods in a marly soil. Local. Canal bank, near Olton! Middleton Wood! Wood near Moor Hall! Bearley Bushes! &e. November. The following additions have been made during the present year, viz. :— 455.—Pylaisia polyantha Schreb. Leskea polyantha Wils., Hobk. On trees, rare, Frogmore Wood, Temple Balsall, ee ae ee CRYPTOGAMIO FLORA OF WARWICKSHIRE. 135 521.—_Hypnum revolvens Swartz. In marshes, rare. Abundant at Earl’s Wood, near Reservoir. May. T have also found Campylopus flexuosus abundant in Sutton Park, thus confirming Purton’s observation of its occurrence in Warwickshire; and Mnium rostratum, Shustoke, in fine fruit, April, 1880, recorded by Purton from Oversley Hill, but thought to be doubtful as 2 Warwickshire plant. A VISIT TO THE CRESWELL CAVES. BY JAMES SHIPMAN. During the latter years of the late Duke of Portland it was a rare thing to be permitted to visit Welbeck. Not so much, perhaps, because the old duke had any great objection to sightseers themselves as from a strong desire to let the outside world know as little as possible of what was going on in the way of alterations and improvements on the estate, until such time as his plans were completed. When, therefore, the Nottingham Naturalists’ Society obtained permission to visit the princely halls of Welbeck and the pre-historic caves at Creswell Crags, the event was looked forward to with unusual interest. The annual excursion of the Society in July last year was devoted to this classic ground, but the weather proving unpropitious, arrangements were made for this, the second visit, a week or two afterwards. The stretch of country it was felt desirable to traverse necessitated an early start for those who meant to go over the whole of the ground. Accordingly, the party set out while the mist of approaching rain was as yet undistinguishable from the gray light of dawn, reaching the quiet, straggling hamlet of Creswell at about half-past seven. Physical needs had not been forgotten, and a very refreshing breakfast awaited the visitors at Mr. Woodhead’s cottage. There is nothing very remarkable about the country as seen from the village, which is nestled in a small valley worn out of the Lower Magnesian Limestone of the Permian. It is in the ravines, or ‘‘grips ” as they are called, formed by the streamlets eating their way through the limestone rocks, where the most charming scenery is met with. Even to the non-scientific the pleasure derived from a stroll along these glens is almost enough to induce them to become geologists. The most interesting of these ravines seemed to lie among the gentle hills away to the north-west of Creswell. Leaving Creswell, therefore, and tracing the brisk Wolland in the direction of its source, the excursionists soon found themselves descend- ing into one of those glens, called Hollin Hill Grip, where the thin-bedded lilac-weathered limestone rocks rose into wall-like cliffs on each side. Occasionally the winding cliffs assumed the appearance of small dismantled turrets or bastions, now grass-grown, with here and there a fissure or a recess, partly concealed by young trees and creepers, while the gnarled oak (Quercus pedwnculata) was observed curiously adapting its stem to the geometrical lines of bedding and of joint-planes in the limestone rocks. Another of these picturesque glens was Markland Grip, if anything even prettier than Hollin Hill, while the ground 136 THE CRESWELL CAVES. between the two cliffs was a level lawn of long grass. The streamlet which had formed this charming rock-work was almost lost to sight as it hurried along at the foot of the cliff on our left. It furnished a good illustration of the work capable of being performed by a tiny rivulet in a hilly district; indeed, to anyone but a geologist it must have seemed as if the ravine was formed for the streamlet, and not that the latter had scooped out the ravine. Once more threading country lanes for about a mile, we came to a narrow dale, fringed with young trees on each side. This was Markland Hollow. As we descended, water could be heard trick- ling deep iv the recesses hidden by the foliage on our right, and presently we saw the stream emerging from among huge masses of fallen rock. Returning to Creswell, after a circuit of about four miles, the excur- sionists were joined by a contingent who had come up by a later train, the party now numbering something like eighty, including a good sprink- ling of ladies. A move was then made towards Creswell Crags, which, through the labours of the Rev. J. M. Mello and Prof. Boyd Dawkins, have recently proved so rich in the remains of Post-Pliocene animals and of Paleolithic man.* But what, and where, are Creswell Crags? Just on the brow of the gentle ridge of limestone that hems in the vale of Creswell on the east, and at a spot about half a mile from the village, a patch of dark green could be seen, while in the interstices of the clustering foliage could be disc2rned the bluish-gray limestone that formed the walls of aravine. This was Creswell Crags. The ravine in which the caves are situated runs east and wet, and was evidently formed by the stream which flows through it, but which has of late years been damm d up and converted into a lake stretching from cliff to cliff—the lake being abont four hundred fest wide. This ravine is about one-third of a mile in length, and is bounded by beautifully wooded cliffs, in places fifty or sixty feet high. The limestone is very hard and massive here, with an easterly dip rather difficult to trace; and on either side of the ravine the crags are much fissured, now and then forming tolerably-sized caverns, which open some fifteen feet above the level of the lake. Altogether the scene presented by Creswell Crags is extremely pretty, and reminds one of the more majestic, though perhaps not more picturesque scenery of the Derbyshire Carboniferous Limestone. The caves are all, save one, on the the north or Derbyshire side of the ravine, this ravine being the boundary between that county and Notts. The difficulty of clambering up the talus to the caves, saturated as the ground was with the almost continuous rain, did not at all deter the ladies from making the attempt, and they explored the caves with characteristic curiosity. The first cave entered was the ‘Pin Hole,” which penetrates horizontally some forty or fifty yards into the hill. The deposits which formed the floor of this cave (to quote the authors above-mentioned) consisted of a few inches of surface soil, in which a fine flint flake was found. Below this came red sand, rich in bones, many having evidently *Quarterly Journal Geological Society, Vol. XXXI-II-III, — ee. ae THE CRESWELL CAVES. 137 met. with. The bones were in various stages of preservation, though lying side by side. Besides the remains of the larger animals, great quantities of the teeth and bones of small rodents (Arvicola, &c.,) were disseminated through the sand, which also contained cycloid fish scales been gnawed by hyenas, of which numerous teeth and lower jaws were and other fish remains. This deposit rested on a highly calcareous sand cemented into semi-concretionary-looking masses, but containing no bones. The next cave, called ‘‘ Robin Hood’s Parlour,” was about a hundred yards further on. This cave contained five or six chambers, and was lighted with candles. The excavations carried out here disclosed the following interesting succession of deposits :— (a) Dark surface soil, (two to five inches,) containing fragments of Roman and Medieval pottery, a human incisor, and some bones of sheep, hare, hog, goat, dog, and the Celtic shorthorn. (b) Very hard limestone-breccia, (a few inches to three feet,) cemented with masses of stalagmite, and containing a large number of bones of hare, fox, horse, woolly rhinoceros, wild boar, Irish elk, bison, reindeer, wolf, numerous flint flakes and chips, as well as one or two flint cores, and a few quartzite implements. (c) Cave-earth —light-coloured calcareous sand, (a few inches to three feet,) containing flint implements, split or chipped quartzite pebbles, evidently fashioned by man, some decidedly Paleolithic, as wellus remains of the lion, spotted hyena, fox, wolf, grizzly bear, Trish elk, reindeer, bison, horse, woolly rhinoceros, and mammoth. (d) Red sand, containing comparatively few bones, but many worked quartzite pebbles, and having near its base patches of highly laminated red clay. The bones were of the same kinds as those in the cave-earth, with the addition of the hare. The most important of all the discoveries in Robin Hood’s Parlour, however, was a small fragment of a rib-bone, on which was a rude incised picture of the fore part of a horse, exactly similar to the Palmolithic figures that have been found in some of the Continental caves. At the far end of the same chamber, in the same cave-earth, at a depth of about one foot, was found a canine of Machairodus latidens, *‘ a formidable animal, with teeth not unlike sabres, with serrated edge,” whose remains have only twice before been found in England. According to Professor Dawkins, this cave furnished evidence of having been inhabited by the same kind of Palwolithic men as the caves of the South of England, of France, Belgium, and Switzerland. A com- parison of the bones and implements showed that the great majority of the animals in this cave were killed and eaten by hyenas; while the smoothed and rounded surfaces of many of the teeth and bones indicated that this occupation was occasionally interrupted by floods. While the red loam (d) so abundant in the caves in the South of England was accumulating, the hyenas which inhabited the cave were disturbed by the visits of Paleolithic hunters, who left behind them implements of 138 THE CRESWELL CAVES. quartzite, ironstone, greenstone, and flint.* The numerous flint-flakes and fragments of charcoal in the breccia above the cave-earth seem to indicate that man was then the normal inhabitant of the cave; while the broken bones of that animal prove that he fed on hares. Although the remains of the dog were found in the deposit, the associated appear- ances lead to the belief that it was not then the companion of man. Passing round to the opposite side of the lake, the visitors entered what is called ‘‘ The Church Hole,” a fissure-cave in the cliff about five feet wide, and about fifteen feet above the level of the water. It runs horizontally into the limestone for155 feet, and thenrises at a considerable angle for another forty-one feet, where it ends in a choked-up crack. A passage had been cut through the deposits which formed