y SNe Ms Hoek ya . bi AUN ae eve ne aN .* ay ay ONS a ane a) oe ENA a ‘ 4 ua nS * i VAD k} nis % NEA i ae aN Cars : . ay SAN Ni a ry ‘ aK a ei Na} RAD ‘f RUE i. Oe aha ay _ ELOY Ba fy AVA RUA Ww AeA Ny se) : aN we ie A) Nt ay RUIN Pe AVEO Ses ae PENTA He SURAT co o | Be Fe TNA rf i a aS K ACNE tS ‘ Sak Ah A ‘ Ras i * Rn a : ; Bw ae a ae its ts EY4 NR Q * Buh sexi SUS xe oe = a econo) ane a rey MS i an He CAS Ha Us NAY RSS 5 x SEER Senne ee bis 5} as ae oY a ee oy y | . /, a ' sree Od Sa - li i, i N77 ¢) at AS i = i LE ‘ 4 S [ er e THE JOURNAL OF THE ASSOCIATED NATURAL History, PHILOSOPHICAL, AND ARCHAOLOGICAL SOCIETIES AND FiELD CLuss OF THE MIDLAND Counties. EDITED BY E. W. BADGER & W. J. HARRISON, F.G.S. ‘*Come forth into the light of things, Let Nature be your teacher.” Wordsworth. ,oOLUM Ee Ir 1879. London: David Bogue, 3, St. Martin’s Place, Trafalgar Square, W.C. Birmingham : Cornish Brothers, 37, New Street. PRINTED AT THE HERALD OFFICE, UNION STREET, BIRMINGHAM. As iJZU se JAN 19 PREFACE. The completion of the second volume of the ‘‘ Midland Naturalist ” affords the opportunity for reviewing what purposes its publication has served ; and the Editors feel satisfied that they will not be accused of mis-statement when they say that the monthly publication of this magazine has given an appreciable stimulus to Natural History studies in the Midland Counties. Some valuable papers on Fresh-water Life published in it show that one of the Societies in the Midland Union, at least, has been busily occupied in the study of a very fascinating and interesting branch of Natural History, and with results of a most satisfac- tory character. The discovery for the first time in this country of Leptodora hyalina and of Daphnia Kahlbergensis (or Bairdii as was at first suggested) are some of these results. The practical papers on Entomology which have been published will, it is hoped and believed, lead to a more general ‘study of the Insect world, especially among the younger members. A sort of reproach seems to have hung over the Midland Counties as being a district unable to afford any reward to the investigations of the Entomologist: how ungrounded PREFACE, this, and how truly rich the field is, has been already conclusively shown in these pages by several valued contributors, (particularly Mr. W. G. Blatch,) to whom we express our gratitude, not only for what they have already done, but also (in the anticipatory sense of a well-known adage) for favours yet to come, on which we rest well assured both we and our readers may confidently rely. In the admirable address delivered by the President at the annual meeting of the members of the Midland Union, at Leicester, in May last, (pp. 187-141,) some most suggestive remarks were made on the subject of noting down observations on points of natural science, and regularly communicatmg them for publication in the pages of this magazine. As we have frequently pointed out, it would be well if every one of our subscribers would consider him or herself as commissioned to observe and report on all occurrences of scientific interest which may happen within their knowledge. The present volume contains many interesting and valuable communications of this character, and we sincerely hope that in the coming year their number may be very largely increased. We have again the pleasant duty of acknowledging our indebtedness to our large band of Meteorological observers for the valuable assistance we have received from them; to Mr. W. B. Grove, B.A., who has rendered us and our readers invaluable help in various ways ; and to Mr. Chas. E. Scarse for assistance in the preparation of a carefully compiled Index. PRINCIPAL CONTRIBUTORS TO THIS VOLUME. ~ §. Anzrort, F.G.S., Birmingham. O. VY. Arun, Bodicote, Banbury. Epwarp W. Banczr, F.R.H.S., Birmingham. James EH. Baenauu, Birmingham. W. G. Buarcu, Birmingham. C. Bratz, C.E., Sedgley. F. A. Bepwett, M.A., F.R.M.S., Bridlington Quay. Henry Birp, M.D., Bath. C. Canuaway, M.A., D.Sc. Lond., F.G.S., &c., Wellington, Salop. T. Spencer Cospoxp, M.D., F.R.S., London. G. OC. Drucz, F.L.S., Oxford. H. J. Exwes, F.Z.S., F.L.S., &c., Cirencester. H. E. Forrest, Birmingham. Rey. W. W. Fowxzer, M.A., Repton. Water Granam, F.R.M.S., Birmingham. Pumie Henry Gosst, F.R.S., Torquay. W. B. Groves, B.A., Birmingham. JoHN Guuson, Coventry. W. Jerome Harrison, F.G.S., Leicester. W. R. Hueuss, F.L.S., Birmingham. J. Gwyn Jerrreys, LL.D., F.R.S., &c., Ware, Herts. Rey. J. D. La Toucuz, B.A., Stokesay. -Joun Levick, Birmingham. H. J. Lows, F.R.S., Nottingham. Tomas Macautay, M.R.C.S., Kibworth. F. T. Mort, F.R.G.S., Leicester. C. T. Musson, Nottingham. W. Pures, Shrewsbury. G. Rogson, Leicester. JAmEes Suipman, Nottingham. Lawson Tarr, F.R.C.8S., Birmingham. C. U. Tripp, M.A., Burton-on-Trent. G. H. Twice, Birmingham. G. SHerRirr Tyz, Birmingham. W. Sournatt, F.L.S., Birmingham. Rey. J. E. Vizze, M.A., Forden, Welshpool. W. Warraxer, F.G.S., H.M. Geological Survey. Wricut Witson, M.R.C.S., F.L.S., Birmingham. H. B. Woopwarp, F.G.S., H.M. Geological Survey. ILLUSTRATIONS IN VOLUME II. PLATES. On the Development of the Vorticellide. . Crystallisation of Water—Ice Plumes Daphnia Bairdii (D. Kahlbergensis) Leptodora hyalina Anurea longispina and Ceratium longicorne Structures of Pitcher Plants, &c. WOODCUTS. Rheetic Fossils The Weber Slide PAGE. Plate I. to face 85 Plate II. . Plate ITI. Plate IV. Plate V. Plate VI. Plates VIL. and VIII. ” ” 109 96 217 225 241 265 Figs. 1 to16, 14 98 INDEX. Acanthocephala, 112 Acherontia atrepos, 83 Age of the Earth, 163 : Agency, Mr. Marsden’s Natural History, 261 Aleyonidium hirsutum, 26 , Allman, (G. J.,) Address at Annual Meeting of British Association, 236 Allport, (S.) and the Wooliaston Fund, 80 Allport (S.) and W. J. Harrison on the Rocks of Brazil Wood, 243 Alton, Excursion to, 248 American Predictions of Storms, 261 @parterly Microscopical Journal, Ameceba, 237 Anderson, (J.,) A Lepidopterist’s Notes on the Season of 1878, 65 Anemone fulgens, 304 Anemones, Sea, 79 Animals and Plants, Geographical Dis- tribution of, 9 Answers to Correspondents, 28, 264 Ant, Natural History of the, 55 — Protecting Beetles, 144 qoearetic Ice, Thickness of, 103 pples and Pears, Exhibition of, 260 Aquaria, 1, 53, 78, 79, 100, 151, 163, 246 Aquarium, Marine, 1 Arachnida, 113 Arran, Marine Zoology at, 182 = sy a a Artificial Sea-water for, Audiometer, 202 aren Animals, Geological History or, Autumn, Gardening Hints for, 301 Badcer, (EH. W.,) Suburban Gardening, 273, Bagnall, (J. E.,) Moss Habitats, 36, 89 Bagnall, (J. E.,) Cryptogamie Flora of Warwickshire, 220, 253, 278 Bagnall, (J. E.,) Excursion of the Bir- mingham Natural History Society to Falmouth, 228, 285 Bagnall, (J. E.,) On Microscopical Pre- parations by Rey. J. E. Vize, 73 Barmouth, Excursion to, 192 Bathybius Heckelii, 236 Beale, (C.,) Examination of Drift, 226 Bedford Natural History Society, 213 Bee-eater, 188, 210, 235, 258 Bees in November, (1878,) 19 — Starving in July, 234 Beetles, Predaceous Water, of Leicester- shire, 57 Protected by Ants, 144 —— Bembidium adustum, 212. Bewdley Forest, Entomological Rambles in, 193, 229 Birds—Age of, 25 and their Habits, 83 Blackbirds, Peculiar, 101 Hawtinch, Notes on, 122, 123 Jackdaw, a Venerable, 25 Migratory, 23,158, 159, 160 Mortality amongst, 52, 74, 98, 101 Nest in a Letter Box, 211 Rare in South Leicestershire, 94 Thrush Singing at Night, 101 Unusual Departure of, 76 (see also Ornithology.) Birmingham Natural History Society: Excursion to Falmouth, 228 Excursion to Arran, 182 Museum for, 285 Reference Library, Fire at the, 55 — Restoration Fund, 81 Bittern Shot, near Leicester, 53 Blackbirds, 74, 77, 98, 101, 124, 159, 187 Black Cap, 128, 159, 160 Bladderworts and their Bladders, 12 Blatch, (W. G.,) Bewdley Forest, 193, 229 Blateh, (W. G.) Cannock Chase, 291 Blatch, (W. G.,) Midland Entomology, 30 Bolton, (Thos.,) Microscopists’ and Natu- paliste’ Agency, 50, 76, 97, 127, 162, 213, Books, Scientific, 28, 213, 310 Borings, (Deep,) 161 Boston Microscopical &. Society, 25 Botanical Locality Record Club, Report of, (Review,) 69 Botany—Bladderworts, 12 Bulbs, Flowering, When to Plant, Calendar of Nature, 1878, 152 Cause of Hardiness in Plants, 58, HUTT Chey eoanleuaaes alternifolium, 158, Placa of Hhguiatel 175 ryptogamic Flora of Warwick- shire, 220, 253 ii Defoliation of Trees, 308 Diphtheria Fungus, 289 Fertilisation of Orchids, 21 Ferns of Northants, 44 Fungi, on the Study of, 145 Hanes in Plants, Cause of, 53, Insectivorous Plants, 12, 265, 295 Lichens, 81, 84, 129, 206 Lichen-Flora of Great Britain, Ireland, and Channel Islands, 81, (Review,) 206 (See also Natural History Notes) Miero-fungi, 73, 84 TE TTA il INDEX. — OO ese ee SCO Oo — Botany—Mogs Habitats, 36, 89 Moss Flora, 221 of Falmouth, 228, 285 — Pollen of the Hazel, 128 — Pollen, 129 — Ripening of Fruits, 308 —— Spring Flowers, 125, 158, 161, 162 Structure of Pitcher Plants, 265,295 Scarlet Runners, 284 Botaurus stellaris, 53 Brazil Wood, Rocks of, 243 Brent Tor and Neighbourhood, Eruptive _ Rocks of, (Review,) 17 Bristol Coal Fields, (Review,) 67 British Association, Meeting of the, (1879,) 236, (1880) 237 Fresh-water Fishes, (Review,) 205 Buckley, ,(Arabella B.,) Fairyland of Science, (Review,) 46 Burnet Moth and Orchis pyramidalis, 21 Burton -upon- Trent Natural History Society, Calendar of Nature, 152 Butterflies, (British,) Bijou List of, 24 Buzzard, (Honey,) 22, 235 in North Notts, 128 Caldon Low, Excursion to, 248 Calendar of Nature, 1878, 152 Callaway, (C.,) The Quartzites of Shrop- eRe shire, 39 Callaway, (C.,) on Pre-Cambrian Rocks, 81 Callaway, (C.,) Government Grant to, 103 Cambridgeshire, Post Tertiary Deposits of, (Review,) 155 Camera Obscura, Microscopie, 78 Cannock Chase, Entomology of, 291 Caradoc Sandstone, 39 Carchesium polypinum, 88 - spectabile, 204 Cardiff Naturalists’ Society, Transactions, (Review,) 205 Cat, Journey of a, 212 Caterpillars: How to Find and How to Rear Them, 177 Cells, 237 Ceratodus, Teeth of the, 21 Chaffinches, 98, 101, 153 Charnwood Rocks, Garnets in, 77, 245 Forest, 139, 168, 243 Excursion to, 104,117, 173 Chester Society of Natural Proceedings of, (Review,) 156 Chiff-chaff, 124, 129, 168, 159, 160 Chrysosplenium alternifolium, 158, 188 Coal Fields of Bristol, 67 — History of, 129 eobuela, (T. 8.,) Parasites of Man, 7, 61, Cobbola, (T. §.,) Parasites of Man and Animals, 162 Coccothraustes vulgaris, 77, 122, 123 Coleoptera, 26, 32, 57, 92, 100, 108, 142, 212, 216, 229 Coleoptera, Notes on Collecting, &c., 92, 142 Colours of Flowers, by F. T'. Mott, 175 Compost for Flower Beds, 302 Conchologist, A Query for a, 53 Conchology, 21, 197 Conversazione of the “ Midland Union,” 171 Corn-crake, 187, 210 Correspondence, 21, 52, 76, 100, 127, 158, 188, 210, 284, 258, 283, 307 Correspondents, Answers to, 28, 264 History, Cotteswolds, Ancient Inhabitants of the,77 Creswell Caves and Crags, 239 Cryptogamic Botany, 72, 143, 145 Flora of Warwickshire, 220, 253, 278 Crystals, Spherical Projection of, 82 Crystallisation of Water, by W. B. Grove,96 Cuckoo, 128, 158, 158, 159, 161, 210 Curlews, 234 Dale Abbey, 105, 239 Dallinger, (Rev. W.H.,) Lecture by, 310 Daphnia Bairdii, (illust.,) 217, 284 Defoliation of Trees, 308 Derby, Ornithological Notes from, 101, 159 Dick, (Robert,) Life of, by §. Smiles, (Review,) 207 Diphtheria fungus, 289 Distribution, Geographical, of Plants and Animals, 9 Drege Objects under the Microscope, 18, ‘ Pi Drift, Black Band in the, 127, 159, 189, 211 Examination of, 201, 226 of the West Midlands, 238 Fossiliferous Bunter Pebbles in,283 Druce, (G. C.,) Ferns of Northants, 44 Ducks, Wild, 102 Dudley and Midland Geological and Scientific Society, Proceedings, (illust.,) (Review,) 14, 21 Ear, Human, 25 Earth, Age of the, 163 Edison’s Phonograph, 79 Education in France, 132 Hel, (Paste,) 129 Eggs, 102, 129, 259 ; Elwes, (H. J.,) Geographical Distribution of Animals and Plants, 9 Endowment of Research, 103 Enock, (F.,) Insects Mounted Without Pressure, 97 Entomology, 19, 24, 26, 30, 55, 57, 65, 76, 81, 83, 92, 100, 130, 134, 142, 152, 161, 177, 187, 193, 210, 212, 215, 229, 934, 247, 256, 258, 283, 285, 291 Midland, 30, 193, 229, 291 Entomological Rambles in the Midlands, 193, 229, 291 Entomostracon, A New, (illust.,) 217 Note on, 284 Epistylis leucoa, 89 Ethnology, 77 _ Htwall, Excursion to, 287 Evesham, Vale of, Glacial Deposits, 106 Exchange, 56, 84, 108, 216, 264, 312 Excursions (see Societies—Reports of) Fairyland of Scienee, by Arabella B. Buckley, (Review,) 46 Falmouth, Excursion to, 228, 311 : Fauna of the Quartzites of Shropshire, 44 Ferns of Northants, by G. C. Druce, 44 Fertilisation of Orchids, 21 Festival of Gnaits, 247 Fieldfares, 23, 76, 98, 128, 159 Fire at the Birmingham Reference, Library, 55 Fishes, History of British, (Review,) 205 Fish, Double-headed Salmon, 100 Query Artificial Food for, 53; Answered, 78, 100 INDEX. 130] Fishes, Geographical Distribution of in India, 12 Flower Gardening in Autumn, 301 Flowers, Spring, 125, 158 Colours of, 175 Flycatcher, 187, 188, 210 Foraminifera, British, ‘80 Foreign Books, 28 Forrest, (H. E.,) on Drawing Objects under the Microscope, 18 Forrest, (H. E.,) The Natural History and Development of the Vorticellide, (illust.,) 85, 109 Forrest, (H. E.,) On Carchesium Specta- bile, 204 Forrest, (H. E.,) A New Entomostracon, (illust.,) 217 Fossils, 161, 189, 283, 310 » Rheetic, (illust.,) 14, 22 Ceratodus, 21 Fresh-water Tortoise, 189 Fowl, Wild, 102 saner (W. W.,) Notes on Coleoptera, 92 Fresh-water Life, 85, 109, 127, 162, 204, 213, 217, 225, 241, 258, 280, 283, 284 Tortoise Fossil, 139 Shells, 197 Froghall, Excursion to, 132, 248 Frost of December, 1878, 50 Phenomena, 22, 53 Fruits, Ripening of, 308 Fungi, 73, 145, 221, 289 Gall-making Plant Lice, 130 Gardening, Suburban, 273, 301 Garden Warbler, 158, 159 Garnets in Charnwood Rocks, 77, 245 Geese, Canada, 102 Geese, (Wild,) 52, 102 Genesis, Real Character of the Early Records of, (Review,) 71 Geographical Distribution of Plants and Animals, 9 of Fishes in India, 12 Geological acces: The Woollaston Fund, Survey, Memoir, (Review,) 17 Survey, 55 Geologists, a Note for, 21 Geology at the Crystal Palace, 162 Black Band in the Drift, 127, 159, 189, 211 Ceratodus, 21 Dudley Geological Society’s Pro- ceedings, (Review,) 14, 21 Eruptive Rocks of Brent Tor and its Neighbourhood, (Review,) 17 Examination of Drift, 201, 226 Excursion to Froghall, Caldon Low, and Alton, 248 Fossil Anstralian Ahimals, 134 Fossil Fresh-water Tortoise, 189 Fossiliferous Bunter Pebbles in the Drift, 283 Sones in Charnwood Rocks, 77, Geological Record for 1876, 48 Geological Survey, 55 Glacial Deposits, 24, 106, 201, 226 Gypsum Beds, near Burton-upon- Trent, 26 History of Coal, 129 Lyell’s Students’ Hlements of, 24 WHEE TET Geology—Necroscilla Wilsoni, 310 New Formations, 104 Norwich Geological Society, 95 —— of Hast Somerset and the Bristol Coalfields, (Review,) 67 —— of Shropshire, 158 — of Shropshire,by Charles Callaway, 39, 81 Pitchstone, Microscopical Struc- ture of, 107 Post-Tertiary Deposits of Cam- bridgeshire, (Review,) 155 — Practical, (Review,)16 —— Pre-Cambrian Rocks, 103, 104 —— Rambles with a Hammer, 117 — Rocks of Brazil Wood, 243 — tere Discharge of Rivers, 18 Study of Rocks, (Review,) 155 Tablets to Mount Specimens on, 25 The Quartzites of Shropshire, 39 Two Pre-Cambrian Groups in Shropshire, 158 Geological, (New,) Formation, 104 Record for 1876, (Review,) 48 (Norwich) Society, 55 Geologists’ Association of London, 80 Gilchrist Lectures, 260 Glacial Deposits, 24, 106, 201, 226 Glass, Roman, 130 Gleanings, 24, 54, 79, 103, 129, 161, 213, 236, 260,'310 Gnats, a Festival of, 247 Goldfinches, 187 Gosse, (P. H.,) A Marine Aauarium, 1 Grain, (W.,) Leptodora hyalina, (illust.,) Grasshopper Warbler, 159 Grebe, 22, 211 Grebe, (Crested,) 22 Greylags, 102 Grove, (W. B.,) Crystallisation of Water, (illust.,) 96 Grove, (W. B.,) Scientific Names. II, Pro- nunciation, 268, 298 Grove, (W. B.,) Review of Report of Botanical Locality Record Club for 1877, 69 Gull, (Glaucous,) 23 Gypsum Beds near Burton-upon-Trent, 26 Hardiness in Plants, Cause of,'53, 63 Hardy Spring Flowers, 162 Harrison, (W. J.,) Practical Geology, (Review,) 16 HiRISE, (W.J.,)Rambles with a Hammer, 1 Harrison (W. J.) and §. Allport on the Rocks of Brazil Wood, Charnwood Forest, 243 Harrison, (W. J.,) Meteorology of the Midlands, 19, 50, 74, 98, 124, 157, 186, 208, 233, 256, 282, 306 Harrison, (W. J.) Rutley’s Eruptive Rocks of Brent Tor, (Review,) 17 Hart, (G. W.,) On Drawing Objects under the Microscope, 78 Hawfinches, 77, 122, 123, 160 Hazel Pollen, 128 Heat, Mechanical Equivalent of, 107 Hedge Fauvet, 98 Hedgehog, 54 Helix cantiana, 21 Hen’s Eggs, Abnormal, 102, 129, 269 1v INDEX. Heslop (Dr.) on Lucretius, 286 Hicks, (H.,) On New Geological Foima- tions, 104 Hoarfrost, 22 Houghton, (W.,) History of British Fresh- water Fishes, (Review,) 205 as (W. R.,) Marine Zoology at Arran, Huxley, Professor, 24, 46 Hydradephaga of Leicestershire, 57 Ice, (Antarctic,) Thickness of the, 103 Crystals, 96 Ichthyology, 205 Illustrations of Rheetice Fossils, 14 Immersion, (Oil,) Zeiss, 18 Tepapiiants, Ancient, of the Cotteswolds, Insecta, 114 Insects Mounted without Pressure, 97 Injurious, 258 Unsymmetrical, 258 Insectivorus Plants, 12, 265 Instinct or Reason, 212 Jackdaw, Age of, 25 Jeffrey's (Gwyn) on Pronunciation of Scientific Names, 308 Jukes-Browne’s, (A. J.,) Post-Tertiary posite of Cambridgeshire, (Review,) Jungermannis, 73 Larks, 102 La Touche, (J. D.,) On the Measurement of me Sedimentary Discharge of Rivers, cieceter, Midland Union Meeting at, 137 165 Leicestershire, Water Beetles of, 57 South, Rare Birds in, 94 Delgnton, (W.A.,) Lichen Flora, (Review,) Lepidoptera, 21, 24, 31, 65, 161, 210, 234, 258 Leptodora hyalina, (illust.,) 225, 238, 258, 260, 263, 283, 307, 310 Levick, (J.,) A New Rotifer, (illust.,) 241 Levick, (J.,) A Tube-dwelling Stentor, 280 Lewes, (George Henry,) Studentship, 261 Library, Fire at the Birmingham Refer- ence, 55 Lice, Gall-making, 130 Lichens, 78, 81, 129, 206 Lichen-Flora of Great Buitain, 81, 206 Life, 29, 236, 310 — Duration of, 129 Liverpool, Learned Societies of, Scientific Soiree, 80 Lloyd, (R. M.,)Artificial Sea- water, 151 Lowe (HK. J.) and Musson (C. T.,) Notting- pespetire Land andFresh-waterShells, 1 Lubbock (Sir J.) on Leptodora hyalina, 260 Lucretius and his Philosophy, 286 Lyell’s Student’s Elements of Geology, 24 Macaulay, (Thos.,) Rare Ornithological Occurrences in South Leicestershire, 94 Mackintosh, (D.,) on Glacial Deposits, 24 Magpie, 153 Man, Parasites of, 7, 61, 112 Ancient, 77 Manures for Gardens, 276 Marine Aquarium, A, 1 Zoology at Arran, 182 Zoology at Falmouth, 228 Marsden’s Bijou List of British Butter- flies, 24 ge ca (H. W.,) Natural History Agency, Martins, 159, 161, 187, 188, 256 Melicerta ringens, 18 tubicolaria, 80 tyro, 80, 163 Menu Card, a Curious, 214 Merops apiaster, 188,210, 235, 258 Meteorology Text Book, 125, 310 of the Midlands, 19, 50, 74, 98, 124, 157, 186, 208, 233, 256,282 . Symons British Rainfall for 1878, Remarkable Rainfall, 259 American Predictions of Coming Storms, 261 Micro-F ungi, 73, 84 Micro-spectroscope, (the,) 215 Microscope, Method of Drawing Objects under, 18, 78 Camera Obscura for, 78 Enock’s Insect Slides, 97 For Petrology, 213 Living Objects for, 97, 127 Mounting Specimens, 25, 52, 76 Objectives for, 18, 19 Sharpus’s Method of Mounting Slides, 126 Slides, 73,97, 108 Snow Crystals under, 76 Swift’s College, 19, 213 Weber’s Slide, (illust.,) 98 Microscopical Society at Boston, 25 4 Postal, 49 Royal Society’s Journal, 80 : Journal, American Quarterly, 103 Preparations, 73, 97, 126 Micioscopist’s Agency, 50 Microscopy, 18, 19, 49, 73, 97, 126 Midland Entomology, by W. G. Blatch, 30, 193, 229 100 Midland Naturalist, (the,) 24, 53 Midland Union of Natural History Socie- ties, 53, 81, 103, 104, 136, 137, 141, 161, 165, 213 —— Annual Meeting at Leicester, 81, 104, 136, 187, 141, 165 — Conversazione, 136, 171 —— Report of Council, 167 —— Excursion to Charnwood Forest, 136, 173 — President’s Address, 137 — List of Societies in, 168 —— Annual Meeting for 1880 —— Andthe Bedford Nutural History Society, 213 And the Nottingham High School Natural History Society, 103 Migratory Birds, 158, 159 Minutest Forms of Life, 310 Mock Sun, 161 Mollusea, 21, 164, 197 Molluscan Threads, 54 Monads, 310 Moss Flora, 221 TTT INDEX. Vv Moss Habitats, by Jas. E. Bagnall, 36, 89 Mosses, 73, 220 Moth, (Puss,) 234 Mott, (F. T.,) The Scale of Being, 29 Mott, (F. T.,) Hardiness in Plants, 63 Mott, (F. T.,) The Colours of Flowers, 175 Mott, (Ff. T.,) A Festival of Gnats, 247 Mois, (F. T.,) on Frost Phenomena, 22 Musson (C. T.) and Lowe (EH. J.) Land and Fresh-water Shells of Nottingham- shire, 197 Mounting Specimens for the Microscope, 25, 52, 76, 97, 126 Names, Scientific, Pronunciation of, 268, 298, 308, 310 Natural History Agency, 261 Natural History Notes, 74, 98, 124, 152, 158, 187, 210, 234, 256, 283, 307 Book Circular, 213 Natural History and Development of the Vorticellidee, 85, 109 of the Ant, 55 Nature, Calendar of, 152 Naturalists’ Union, Yorkshire, 29 Necroscilla Wilsoni, 310 Nematoda, 7, 61 Nest, a Strange Place for a, 211 Nets for Collecting Coleoptera, 142 Nightingale, 158, 159, 161, 187, 188, 211 Nightjar, 210 Northampton Castle, Excavations at, 54 Northampton Natural History Society, 24 Northants, Ferns of, 44 Norwich Geological Society, 55 Nottingham High School Natural History Soeiety, 103 Nottinghamshire Land and Fresh-water Shells, 197 Object Glasses for Mioroscope, 18, 19 Gicistes umbella, 80 Oil Immersion Lens, 18 Olton Reservoir, 241 Ophiocoma, 126 Ophiolepis Damesii, 22 Orchids, Fertilisation of, 21 Orchis pyramidalis, 21 Ornithological Society, New, 213 Ornithology, 19, 22, 23, 25, 52, 63, 54, 74, 76, 83, 94, 98, 101, 102, 122, 124, 128, 129, 133, 152, 158, 159, 160, 161, 187, 188, 210, 211, 213, 235, 256, 258, 261, 309, 310 Ousel, Water, 23 Owl, 102 Paleontographical Society, 79, 214 Palzxontology, 14, 16, 22, 44, 161, 189, 283 Parasites, 162 of Man, 7, 61, 112 Partridges, Scarcity of, 253 Passages from Popular Lectures, by F. T. Mott. II. The Scale of Being, 29 Paste-eel, 129 Pears and Apples, Exhibition of, 260 Pebbles, Fossiliferous Bunter, in Drift, 283 Pemis Apivorus, 22, 235 Penarth, Ceratodus at, 21 Petrology, a Book on, 55 Microscope for, 213 Phalarope, Grey, 259 Phonograph, 79 Phosphorescent Sea Weed, 260 Photography, 54 Autotype Process of, 26 Pitcher Plants, On the Structures of, (illust.,) 265, 295 Pitchstone, Microscopic Structure of, 107 Plants and Animals, Geographical Distri- bution of, 9 Plant Lice, Gall-making, 180 Plants, What ae ee Cause of Hardiness in? Podiceps Cristatus, 22 Answered by F. T. Mott, 68 Pollen, 129 of the Hazel, 128 Polyzoa, (Fresh-water,) 26, 52, 76 Mounting of, 76 Popular Lectures, Passages from, 29 Pools. Productive, 284 Post-Tertiary Deposits of Cambridgeshire, (Review,) 155 Postal Microscopical Society, 49 Potato Disease, 149 Pre-Cambrian Rocks, 103 Groups in Shropshire, 158 Predaceous Water Beetles of Leicester- shire, 57 Fre gonous, American, of Coming Storms, Prionus coriarius, 26 Prism, Rectangular, 18, 76 Pronunciation of Scientific Names, 268, 298, 308, 310 Protamceba primitiva, 237 Prothobathybius, 237 Protoplasm, 236 Puss Moth, 234 Quail, 188 Rails, (Water,) 102 (Land,) 187, 188 Rambles with a Hammer, 117 Railway Cuttings, 127, 159, 489 near Walsall, 201, 226 Rainfall, (Remarkable;) 259 1865—1879, 212 —— 1878, 52, 213 : of November, 1878, 20; December, 51; January, 1879, 75; February, 99; March, 125; April, 157; May, 186; June, 208; July, 233; August, 256; September, 282; October, 306. Rambles, Entomological, Forest, 193, 229 Ray Society, 214 Razorbill, 102 Reason or Instinct, 212 Redstart, 158, 188 Redwings, 23, 76, 98, 128 Reports of Societies, see Societies. Repton, Pre-Norman History of, 82 Revivification, 129 Reviews : Locality Record Club in Bewdley Botanical Report, 69 Cardiff Naturalists’ Society’s Transac- tions, 205 Geological Record for 1876, by W. Whitaker, 48 Geology of East Somerset and the Bristol Coal Fields, 67 vi INDEX. Reviews : History of British Fresh-water Fishes, by Rev. W. Houghton, 205 Lichen-Flora of Great Britain, Ireland, &e., by Rev. W. A. Leighton, 206 On the Real Character of the Early Records of Genesis, 71 Post-Tertiary Deposits of Cambridge- shire, by A. J. Jukes-Browne, 155 Peni Geology, by W. J. Harrison, 1 Proceedings of the Chester Society of Natural History, No. 2, 156 Proceedings of the Dudley and Midland Geological and Scientific Society, No. 5, Vol. 3, (illust.,) 14 Robert Dick, Geologist and Botanist, by S. Smiles, 207 Small Heath Literary Magazine, 48 Study of Rocks, by F. Rutley, 155 The Eruptive Rocks of Brent Tor, &c., by F. Rutley, 17 : The Fairy-Land of Science, by Arabella Buckley, 46 Rheetic pera, (illust.,) 14, 21, 22 Beds, 16 Starfish, 22 Rivers, Sedimentary Discharge of, 218 Robins, 98, 101, 259 Robson, (G.,) Preduceous Water Beetles of Leicestershire, 57 Rocks, Pre-Cambrian, 103, 104, 158 The Study of, (Review,) 155 Eruptive, of Brent Tor, &c., (Review,) 17 Charnwood, Garnets in, 77 Roman Glass, 130 Villa at Chedworth, 216 Rooks, 74, 101, 102, 124, 159, 160, 161, 211 Rotifer, a New, (illust.,) 241 Rotifers, 52, 76, 80, 82, 241 Mounting of, 76 Rutley, (F.,) The Eruptive Rocks of Brent Tor, (Review,) 17 Rutley, (F.,) Study of Rocks, (Review,) 155 Salmon, Double-headed, 100 Sandpiper, 258 Sarcode, 236 Scale of Being, 29 Scarlet Runners, Scarcity of, 284 Scientific Book Circular, 213 Names, Pronunciation of, 268, 299, 308, 310 Scriptograph, The, 235 Sea Birds in Birmingham, 211 Sea: water, Artificial, 151, 246 Seaweed Phosphorescent, 260 Seasonable Observations, 161, 188, 189 Sedimentary Discharge of Rivers, 218 Sedge Warbler, 159 Sharpus’s Method of Mounting Micro- scopic Objects, 126 Shells of Snails, How are they Formed, 53 Land and Fresh-water, 197 Societies—Reports of: Bedfordshire Natural History, 215 Birmingham and Midland Institute Scientific, 25, 56, 82, 105, 132, 164 189, 215, 263, 284, 310 Birmingham Natural History and Microscopical, 26, 56, 81,104, 131,163, 190, 214, 238, 263, 284, 310 Birmingham Philosophical, 82, 286 Societies—Reports of Birmingham School Natural History, 82, 105, 190, 310 Burton Natural History and Archeeo- logical, 26, 82, 105, 287, 310 Caradoc Field Club, 106, 216, 238, 288 Cheltenham Natural Science, 27, 56, 83, 132,164, 190, 288, 310 Dudley ‘and Midland Geological and Scientific, 106, 132, 191 Dudley and Midland Geological and Scientific, (Review,) 14 Evesham Field Naturalists’ Club, 106, 164, 310 Nori tank Dyan. Natural History, 83, 133, Nottingham High School Natural History, 84 Nottingham Neto 27, 108, 134, 191, 239, 263, 288, 310 Nottingham Literary and Philoso- phinel 27, 56, 84, 107, 134, 164, 191, 239, Oswestry and Welshpool Naturalists’ Field Club, 240, 263, 288 Peterborough Natural History and Scientific, 27, 192 Rugby School Natural History, 28, 84 Severn Valley Naturalists’ Field Club, 108, 192, 216 Binal Heath Literary and Scientific, 28, 56 Stroud Natural History and Philoso- phical, 28, 84, 135, 216, 246, 310 Woolhope Naturalists’ Field Club, 135, 240, 264 Shipman, (J.,) An Excursion to Froghall, Caldon Low, and Alton, 248 Shropshire, the Quartzites of, 39 Pre Cambrian Groups in, 158 Siskins, 161 Sina a Long, 234 Heath Literary Magazine, (Review,) Smiles, (S.,) Life of Robert Dick, (Review,) Smith, (Fredk.,) Obituary Notice, 103 Snails, How are the Shells of Formed ? 53 Snipe, 102, 258 Snow Buntings, 77 Snow Crystals, 52, 71 Flakes, 127 in May on Snowdon, 161 Soiree of Learned Societies at Liverpool, 80 Somerset, (East,) Geology of the, 67 Southall, (W.,) Bladderworts and their Bladders, 12 Southall, (W.,) on Artificial Sea-water, 246 Sparrows, 152 Specimens, Mounting, 25, 52, 76, 97, 126 Sporidiifera, 150 Sporifera, 150 Spring Gardening, hints, 301 Spring, Early Signs of, 76 Hardy Flowers, 162 Starlings, 23, 74, 98, 101, 128, 301 Stentor, A Tube-dwelling, 280 Stephenson, (G.,) Presidential Address to the Midland Union of Natural History Societies, 137 Stiper Stones, 44 Stock Dove, 102 Stonehenge, 77 Storms, American Predictions of, 261 Strix stridula, 102 “ INDEX. vil Studentship, (G. H. Lewes,) 261 Structures of Pitcher Plants, (illust.,) 265 Suburban Gardening, 272 Suctoria, 113 Sun, (Mock,) 161 “etal 23,101, 153, 158, 159, 160, 161, 187, ‘Swifts, 161, 187 Swilt’s Microscopes, 1°, 213 Symon’s British Rainfall for 1878, 213 Tablets for Mounting Specimens, 25, 52 Tait, (Lawson,) On the Structures of Pitcher Plants, (illust.,) 265, 295 Teal, 102 Telephone, 203 Temperature, November, 1878, 20, Decem- ber, 51; January, 1879. 75 ; February, 99; March, 125; April, 157; May, 186; June, 206; July, 233; August, 256; September, 282; October, 306 Thistles, 100 Thornewill, (Rey. C. F.,) On Caterpillars: How to Find and Rear, 177 Thrushes, 74.:76, 98, 101, 152, 187, 259 Higgs, 188, 210, 211 Tit, Greater, 211 Tomlinson (H. G.) on Birds and their Habits, 83 Tortoise, Fossil Fresh-water, 189 Trochosphere of Polyzoon, 26 Trout, (Embryo of,) Circulation in, 76 Tube-dwelling Stentor, 280 Turtle Dove, 188, 210 Twigg, (G. H.,) Examination of Drift, Rail- way Cutting, near Walsall, 201 Utricularia intermedia, 12 Utricularia Minor, 12. Viper, (Common,) Viperis hornis, 23 Vivisection, 190 Vize, (J. E.,) Introduction to the Study of Fungi, 145 Vize, (J. E.,) Microscopic Preparations of Fungi, &c., 73 Vize, (J. E.,) on the Diphtheria Fungus, 289 Volvox Globator, Life History of, 311 Vorticella nebulifera, 86 Vorticellidze,Natural History and Develop- ment of, (illust.,) 85, 109 Wagtail, 188, 258 Walsall, Railway Cutting near, 201, 226 Warbler, (Garden,) 158, 159 (Sedge,) 159 (Grasshopper,) 159 Weael, Cryptogamic Flora of, 220, By Washwood Heath, Black Band in the Drift, 127 Water, (Sea,) Artificial, 151, 246 Water, Crystallisation of, 96 Rails, 102, 160 Beetles, Predaceous, of Leicester- shire, 57 Wax-wing, 101 Weather of November, 1878, 19; Decem- ber, 1878, 50; January, 1879, 74; Feb- ruary, 98; March,125; April,157; May, 186; June, 208; July, 233; August, 256; September, 282; October, 306 Webevr’s Slide for Microscopic Objects, 98 Wheat-ears, First Appearance of, 212, 234 Whinchat, 188, 210 Whitaker, (W.,) Geological Record, 1876, (Review,) 48 Whitaker, (W.,) On Dudley Geological, &c., Society’s Proceedings, 21 Whitethroats, 159, 160 Wigeon, 102 Wills, (A.W.,) on Volvox Globator, 311 Wilson, (Wright,) On the Audiometer, 202 Winter, (Severe,) of 1878-9, 55 Winterbotham, (R.,) On the Real Character of the Early Records of Genesis, (Review,) 71 Woodpeckers, 101, 160 Woodward, C. J.,) on Spherical Projection, applied to Crystallography, 82 Woodward, (H. B.,) Geology of Hast Somerset, &c., (Review,) 67 Woodward, (H. B.,) Review of Harrison’s Practical Geology, 16 Woollaston Fund, the, 80 Wrekin, Church Stretton Area, 39 Wren, 159, 160 Wryneck, 102, 128, 160, 188 Yellow Ammers, 102 Yorkshire Naturalists’ Union, 129 Zeiss Oil Immersion Lens for Micro- scopical Work, 18 Zoology, Marine, at Arran, 182 Marine, at Falmouth, 228 Zoothamnium arbuscula, 109 1879. BIRMINGHAM : PRINTED AT THE MIDLAND COUNTIES HERALD OFFICES, ~~. + at bei AN) We Gh bai ye ee wT kl “ ait - meats | uate} et yee, Bae oe , iy n iC fey Lied setpad cpl wey ni rhe ~~ G6 AY a sc ra .* r ? "VE ’ wy . 7h Ag. i Va . en "ar A tad baht Mea Le | io ‘ -_* saig <4 4 7 sik Lae ' Ps * is nv ‘ ais oe eve eG : ’ \ cmt 4 i ; ay 1 f - | ‘i -5 cy ny ae : i ‘ ( ne ; ‘ vt rane. ‘ ‘ 1) A : ths, » J > .. > VAT t : ; * , ,2.¢ te a ‘ i. | 7 7 ] H Cory z fit =) if + Ott : wee i ay. e A ' " } be cae E . t2ue ’ - ie re) Ls ; x vats + A ‘ i att 5 wa ‘ 7 : . } i ; ah a ; i pe ee ee OF | 2 a.’ 4 7 : as awelaey ff ay y ~ fi t f4 ‘4 ’ . ‘ 5 , 33 ¢ = j ri . ‘ 6 wn hi mi | a . stitaue yet vei - Sy pit WA ead Bs eh Qs. ARR EARLE tent ae Ree oe aay @ae THE MIDLAND NATURALIST. “Come forth into the light of things, Let Nature be your teacher.” A MARINE AQUARIUM.* BY PHILIP HENRY GOSSE, F.R.S. Since you wish to know some details of the construction and working of my new Marine Tank, I send you the following notes. In the spring of 1876, I determined to erect an Aquarium, the water of which should be in constant circulation ; and I decided to adopt the plan of the Crystal Palace Aquarium, viz., that in which the ratio of the water in the show-tank to the water in reserve unseen, is as 1 to 5. My old kind friend, Mr. W. Alford Lloyd, contemporary and fellow labourer from the first in aquarian development, gave me the invaluable aid of his counsel in every step of the work; ever suggesting and improving, as it went on, with a zeal which could not have been exceeded if the scheme had been hisown. The mechanical contrivances and fittings were supplied by the eminent engineers, Messrs. Leete, Edwards, and Norman, to whose courtesy, skill, and thoroughness of work, I bear willing witness. The Tanks were made and put together, and the whole erected and set a-going, by mechanics of the place. In the servants’ front of my house was an apartment used as a lumber room, whose floor was about 12 feet from the ground, with a window looking N.W. ‘This window I took out, and enlarged, for the reception of the show-tank (henceforth to be distinctively the ‘“‘ Tank”) ; and the room itself was dubbed the “‘ Aquarium.” The window looked upon a yard, across which was an out-house used as a coal-cellar. The farther corner of this house I excavated, for the reception of a strong slate tank (the ‘ Reservoir”), which was sunk so that its top was level with the ground. Another slate tank (the ‘“‘Cistern”) was placed within the roof, immediately over the Tank, resting partly on the summit of the stone wall of the house, and partly on the rafters, which were strengthened for the purpose. * In a letter to Mr. William R. Hughes, F.L.S., Birmingham. These three vessels were made of squared slabs of best slate, varying in thickness from lin. (base) to lin. (sides), which were bolted together with iron rods, tightened by screws and nuts at the ends. All the internal angles were filled with Portland cement. The Tank had that side which faced the interior of the room, made of din. plate-glass. J) A MARINE AQUARIUM. The dimensions and capacities of these vessels were as follows :— Tank 42in. long, 18in. wide, 18in. deep, in the clear; each inch of depth equal to 2°73 gallons; 49 gallons in total. Reservoir 623in. long, 35}in. wide, 26}in. deep, each inch equal to 8 gallons; 210 gallons in total. Cistern 34in. long, 34in. wide, 27in. deep, holding 112 gallons. The Reservoir in the cellar was first put together, sunk in place, proved water tight, and the earth rammed around it, in May. Harly in June a water cart, viz., a hogshead on wheels, was filled thrice with the crystal water of Oddicombe shingle-beach, and emptied by a hose into it, giving me 210 gallons of pure sea-water in my Reservoir, which was protected from dust by a strong and tight cover of wood, divided and hinged in the middle for convenience of examination. Early in September the whole apparatus of pump, pipes, valves, &c., arrived from the engineers, to be described in detail ; and immediately the masonry of the house was opened to receive the Cistern and the Tank. A large opening having been made in the gable above the window, two cross-joists of 4in. square deal were inserted in the ceiling from the gable-wall to the centre beam. The base of the Cistern was got up, and laid in situ, square and level, save a din. inclination to §.W., that it might be emptyable to the last drop. A hole was now drilled in this S.W. part of the base, for insertion of the jet pipe, over the Tank; and another on the N.E. side, for insertion of the warning pipe. The sides of the Cistern were then set-up in Portland cement, bolted together, and smoothed within and without. The base and sides of the Tank were put into place, first tentatively, until the Cistern, and the pump with its pipes, were adjusted ; and then finally, cemented and bolted ; and the plate-glass front was bedded in lead putty in its grooves, well worked in, and smoothed off. Before this last, however, the siphonal apparatus was prepared and affixed, which will presently be described. Thus, then, the three continent vessels were in place, and appeared perfect. But these alone were of little avail. A large volume of sea- water, indeed, had been lying for more than three months quiescent in the lowest, dark and cool below the earth-level, and still brilliantly pure, as a tumblerful dipped out proved. But we wanted to lift this water out of the Reservoir into the Cistern in the roof, to transmit it thence into the Tank, and thence again into the Reservoir; and to do this perpetually, without an instant’s intermission, day and night, by a constant circular current. The apparatus by which this was effected I must now proceed to describe. 1.—The Pump. This was an ordinary lift-pump, of great strength, and great accuracy of workmanship, the materials of which were steel, A MARINE AQUARIUM. 3 vulcanite and glass. The last-named material was strongly reeommended to me by Mr. Lloyd, for the pump barrel; a cylinder of plate-glass turned and polished within and without, so as to be mathematically true, with turned and polished balls of glass to act as valves. These can be obtained only from one house in England, that of Chedgey, in the Borough, maker and patentee. They are in demand for vinegar and other acid-works, for the same reason that made one valuable to me. Mr. Lloyd first procured one from the maker, with much personal trouble and difficulty, so greatly does the demand exceed the supply ;— and then, with characteristic kindness, compelled me to accept it as his gift. It is 3in.in diameter internally, and 8in. high; has a capacity of 13 pint, when making its available stroke of 6in., after allowing for the thickness of the piston; and it weighs 4lbs.120z. For this the engineers made two metal caps, one above and one below; which were then joined by. two metal rods parallel to the barrel, screwed and nutted to the caps. To avoid oscillation in pumping, the fulcrum was fixed, independent of the barrel, to the stout wooden plank which carried the pump; and a “ fork and cradle” motion insured parallelism of the piston-rod by means of a “guide,” also fixed independently to the plank. This relieves the barrel from all side strains, which might break it. The piston-rod was of polished steel; the fulcrum (handle) and loop of iron. This pump, firmly affixed to a stout plank, we set upright against the wall of the Aquarium, immediately on the right hand of the Tank; and at such a height that the surface of the full Tank was level with the mid-height of the barrel. Then we firmly bolted the plank to one of the rafters of the house. 2.—The Supply-pipes. But the pump was to be a forcing pump (‘* lift and drive”), and not merely a lifting pump. Therefore, the valve ball, descending by the up-stroke of the fulcrum, opens a chamber, in which there is a second ball. This is so far lifted, by the in-forced water from the barrel, as to open a pipe (the Cistern supply-pipe), which proceeding up through the ceiling delivers it into the Cistern above. The Pump supply-pipe, a stout tube of vulcanite, commencing 6in. from the bottom of the Reservoir, passing over its edge, under the surface of the soil, across the yard, through the foundation of the house, up the interior of the wall, through the ceiling of the ground-floor, joins the bottom of the pump-barrel; and, at every down-stroke of the handle, delivers one and a-half pint of water from the reservoir into the glass barrel; which water is, the very next moment, by the up-stroke, poured into the Cistern above. Into the perforate bottom of the Cistern, another tube (the jet- pipe) is screwed; which, proceeding vertically downward to within close proximity to the surface of the Tank, allows the water to descend by its own gravity, and fill the Tank. The force and rapidity, with which this descending column of water shall enter, are regulated by a series of jets, or thimbles of vulcanite, in all which a screw is cut with one common thread, to screw on the extremity of the jet-pipe. These are pierced with a minute hole, very truly drilled, whose bore is different in each, according to the special requirement of the Tank. 4 A MARINE AQUARIUM. —_—— 3.—The Waste-pipe. A vulcanite pipe leaves the right side of the Tank near the front, and carries away the spare water to the Reservoir, passing down alongside of the Pump-supply-pipe. The position of its exit, about 2in. from the margin, of course determines the level at which the water always stands in the Tank. It was at first proposed that this should be a simple pipe, screwed into a hole in the side; but this would have carried off only the surface-water. To make the circulation com- plete, I chose to take it from a point very near the bottom. To ayoid the uncouth appearance of a pipe, however, Mr. Lloyd deyised the following contrivance. A slab of slate, 24in. wide, lin. thick, and as high as the Tank, has a semi-cylindrical groove gouged out of one face, but not reaching quite so far as either end. Its upper end meets the hole in the side of the Tank at the surface, while its lower end meets a similar hole bored through the slab itself. The slab being firmly cemented in place, the water in the Tank, entering through the horizontal hole, rises in the hidden groove (now become a tube) till it reaches the exit-hole in the Tank, when it begins, and continues, to trickle out through the waste-pipe. Thus the Tank can never overflow, unless the inflow be more copious than the bore of the waste-pipe can carry off, or this pipe become choked. To meet the latter peril, a strainer was cemented around the interior orifice, in this form: suppose a shallow box of vulcanite, to which there is no cover; the bottom drilled with a number of holes tin. wide. This is set up on one of its sides, on the Tank-bottom, with its lidless top in contact with the lower part of the slab, the perforated bottom (now become the side) facing the interior of the Tank. It is not cemented, but merely kept in position by a heavy piece of the rock-work ; because I need sometimes to remove it, in order to cleanse the straining-holes. By this contrivance (while the water can freely percolate and escape), since nothing larger than the pin-holes can pass, the waste-pipe, which is of lin. bore, clear, can never become choked. 4.—The Siphon. It was judged desirable to have the power of lowering the surface in the Tank, and even of emptying it of water, at pleasure, without dipping. For this object the waste-pipe was cleverly turned into a Siphon, in this wise. The waste-pipe, after leaving the Tank, runs horizontally for a foot, before it reaches the pump-plank, and turns to the perpendicular. In the midst of this space a stop-cock of vulcanite is inserted, which ordinarily is left open, and serves as an air- vent. But, if I wish to draw off the water from the Tank, I take the tip of the stop-cock into my mouth, and suck strongly, till the salt water comes rushing up. This should be sufficient; but in practice I find it needful to suck such a mouthful thrice at least, before the up-current of water is strong enough to pour continuously, which is manifest to the \ ear, as it roars down the perpendicular waste-pipe. I have carefully to close the stop-cock with my fingers at each suck, before I withdraw my mouth; or the vacuum, in part formed, would be again destroyed. The water sucked into my mouth I instantly discharge into the Tank at each effort. When the current is set up, the surface in the Tank is seen rapidly to descend, until it is as low asI wish; when, the opening of A MARINE AQUARIUM. 5 the stop-cock destroying the vacuum, the outflow instantly ceases; and the jet-pipe in due course refills it. 5 &—The Warning-pipe. In pumping, the Cistern which we are fill- ing is out of sight in the roof above. In order to know when it is full, that we may not allow it to overflow, a small pipe is inserted into the side of the Cistern, an inch below the brim; which, leading down through the ceiling, ends at a few inches over the surface of the Tank. This is in sight of the person who is pumping, who cannot help hearing the babble of the stream, and seeing its sparkle, as it comes suddenly pouring down the warning-pipe; and he makes not a single stroke more. These were, I think, all the essentials to the working of the scheme ; but one or two additions were subsequently made, which I will describe. The jet thimbles could never be removed or replaced, without causing an annoying splash of water all around one’s person and the furniture. To obviate this I had a vulcanite stop-cock inserted into the jet pipe, just above the jet. ThusI could close the pipe, before I unscrewed the jet; and I had now no more splashing. I have found this stop-cock useful in another way. When I siphon-off the water with the object of getting rid of the impalpable organic mud and humus, which commonly accumulates on the bottom, I remove the jet, and allow the jet-pipe to pour down its vertical torrent in full force. Thus all the moveable matters held in suspension, are whirled about; and very many of them are carried, in the siphon, down the waste-pipe to the Reservoir; where they settle quietly on the bottom, the organic parts dissolve, and the in- organic slowly accumulate in a thin pellicle on the bottom, requiring to be cleaned out, perhaps in a dozen years hence. Although the sea-water originally put into the Reservoir was brilliantly clear and pure, and the wooden lid was made to fit close, we yet thought it prudent to guard against the possibility of extraneous matters being drawn into the supply-pipe, during the pumping, and so choking it. Accordingly a tight bell-shaped box of vulcanite was made to screw on to the bottom of the supply-pipe, about 6in. from the floor of the Reservoir. The bottom and sides of this box were drilled with many 4in. holes; so that it serves as a strainer, like that at the bottom of the waste-pipe. The pipes were all made in lengths, with the requisite angles and connections ; and were sent from London, carefully numbered, according to copious working-drawings. No bend can in the least degree be changed, vulcanite being inflexible and brittle. Every piece was fitted and screwed to its fellow, and ‘‘payed” with red-lead; some of the joints being also “served” with muslin. The lengths beneath the surface of the yard were carefully rammed with earth; and those which passed up the house- wall were secured to the joist by semi-circles of iron; and then inclosed in a narrow box of board, for facility of examination in case of need. The new window sash was now hung on hinges from the upper frame, and opened outward, to different degrees, by graduated metal quadrants, above the Tank ; the area, much wider than originally, was made a bay- form recess, which allowed of a little useful angle on each side of the Tank. The pump, the pipes, the slate of the tank, were all painted 6 A MARINE AQUARIUM. black; an ornamental rim of polished Spanish mahogany was made to sit on the edge of the tank; acurtain was hung to conceal the pump; and the room generally made presentable. By the end of September the whole was in place, and water was admitted into the Tank. Not till the last of October, however, were organisms admitted, in the forms of growing Algsw and Fishes. For it must not be supposed that all went quite smooth. The pump would not draw at first ; we found that the pipes leaked, and would not deliver, till we had had much labour. Then the pump would “go back ;” the water retiring from the barrel sooner or later, after the pumping had ceased; so that sometimes it required more than a hundred strokes of the handle, before the water would rise. This difficulty still continues, in a mitigated form; itis the only one which we have never quite overcome. Then the siphon would not act at all for some time ; but, after several months, one day, quite suddenly and unexpectedly, it acted perfectly, and has gone well ever since. As soon as we were in regular work, I found that my supply of water was inadequate. Some had been wasted, too; some had leaked in the imperfect fitting of the pipes’ joints. Accordingly a further quantity was brought up, which made my stock as follows:—Reservoir, 180 gallons; Cistern, 60; Tank, 40; equal to 280 gallonsin all. And this quantity has never since needed to be replenished. Its quality seems to have steadily improved. Clear and bright as it was at first, and faultless as it seemed for the sustentation of animal life; it is very perceptibly better now. However it be explained, many creatures that would not live more than a few weeks, or even days, a year ago, now continue without difficulty, often coming into sight months after their introduction, in full health and beauty. The manipulation is as regular as clock-work. On Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday evenings, my servant pumps till the warning- pipe streams, averaging some 675 strokes. If the larger-bored jets are on, there must be supplementary pumping in the intercalated days, to a varying amount. For Fishes and the higher Crustacea, &c., we find the fuller supply of jet No. 1 requisite, and this profusion takes at least 250 strokes on each of the intercalated days. The total of 675 strokes is performed in about half an hour. The jets I use are four; of which the orifices, perfectly true and round, graduate from the thickness of a lady’s medium pin (No. 1) to that of a cambric needle, (No. 4). With No.1, 18 pump strokes deliver an hour’s supply of water into the Tank; with No. 2, about 10 strokes; with No. 3, 5 strokes; and with No. 4, about 34 strokes. The orifice of each jet is just an inch from the surface of the Tank. A white cloud of dust-like air-bubbles is driven perpendicularly downward (about a foot with No. 1), after which they can still be followed, with a lens, careering to every part of the Tank. This communication has already reached a length, which I greatly fear will be considered tedious. I will not then attempt to narrate my experience, as a Naturalist, in the use of the Aquarium for upwards of two years. Suffice it to say, it has been a great success; and has amply proved the value of the principle of its construction, viz., perpetual circulation, with a large reserve of water. One point I will add, which may interest some :—The total cost was covered by £60. Sandhurst, Torquay, Noy. 20, 1878. PARASITES OF MAN. 7 Pah Sl Dy sin OF MAaNGt BY T. SPENCER COBBOLD, M.D., F.R.S., ETC. (Continued from Vol. I., page 328.) Five more human nematodes remain to be noticed. Of these, two are excessively common in man, anda third, though rare asa human parasite, is very abundant in carnivorous animals. The three entozoa thus particularised are popularly known as the threadworm, the lumbricus, and the cat’s worm. In the present communication I shall deal only with the first of these three common species, adding a brief notice of the Cochin China anguillules. The threadworm is just one of those species about which one does not like to say very much in public ; and even that which is whispered about these entozoa in consulting rooms has to be conveyed to the victim’s ears with tact and delicacy. As I have no professional motives in declaring my meaning I will mention an illustrative case, leaving it to the judgment of the Society whether the facts be published or not. An unmarried gentleman, the happiness of whose immediate future was intimately bound up with his speedy restoration to health, freely communicated to me the painful nature of his sufferings due to the presence of these little parasites. Thesymptoms cannot be stated in detail. Let it suffice me to say that the obnoxious guests had invaded the host by myriads, bringing their victim down to anemaciated und otherwise pitiable condition. Knowing the essential conditions of infection, I ventured to hint that the victim must in some way or other have swallowed one or more entire female parasites of this species (Oxyuris vermicularis). The suggestion was a hard though ' happy hit; for it speedily brought the confession that in times of great distress the victim had, en revanche, seized hold of the living parasites and crushed them between his teeth. As, without doubt, most, if not all of the entozoa thus bitten in halves, were female worms, and as, moreover, each female parasite encloses myriads of eggs—whose contained embryos do not require a change of hosts—it is certain that thousands, not to say tens of thousands, of living germs were thus directly conveyed to the human territory. In this way the victim, originally seeking to revenge himself on the sexually mature parasites, could only have produced momentary pangs in the worms themselves, but for himself, he had thus unwittingly prepared that far more terrible and prolonged revenge which was afterwards exercised, unconsciously, by the progenies of the parent worms he had thus mutilated. NEMATODA CONTINUED. 37.—Oxyuris vermicularis, Bremser. Synonymy.—Ascaris vermicularis, Linneus. Larve.—Only generally known in the embryonic state. Whilst within the egg they are at first tadpole-shaped, but under suitable conditions of heat and moisture they rapidly assume a vermiform character. * Read to the Microscopical Section of the Birmingham Natural eo and Microscopical Society, December 17th, 1878. On Dr. Cobbold’s behalf M vets Hughes, F.L.S., exhibited specimens both of human and equine preriee (Oxyuris vermicularis and O. cur vula). The latter species is better known as the hacia of the horse; female examples sometimes attaining a length of nearly five inches. 8 PARASITES OF MAN. Intermediate host.—Not required. Experiments.—Leuckart reared intra-ovular vermiform embryos by placing the eggs in moistened paper envelopes and exposing them to the action of the sun’s rays. Heller reared them in glass tubes filled with saliva and carried about under the arm-pits. Hellerand Zenker possessed themselves of specimens of the higher larves from the small intestines (post mortem) in a case where the patient had swallowed the eggs some days previous to his death. I caused a monkey to swallow a quantity of eggs in the hope of rearing the adult parasites, but the the result proved negative. Possibly at the post mortem examination I overlooked the existence of larvee, but I do not think any were present. Lest some persons should suppose this kind of experimentation to be unwarrantable, I may remark that it had for its object the alleviation of human suffering. Others have experimented upon themselves with the same benevolent purpose. Thus, Professor Leuckart and three of his pupils infested themselves by courage- ously swallowing a quantity of the ova. They certainly enjoyed the satisfaction of subsequently supplying ocular proof of the success of their worm-feedings. Remarks.—The common notion that these parasites breed within the human body is an error, and it is equally incorrect to say that they reside in the lowermost part of the intestinal canal. Their head-quarters are the cecum and upper part of the colon. It is true that Vix and Leuckart have noticed embryos within the large intestine; but Leuckart, Heller, and myself alike regard this intestinal hatching as an unusual occurrence. For the purposes of infection it is alone necessary that the eggs of the worm be conveyed to the mouth and swallowed. Their previous immersion in water for any length of time secures their destruction, by the bursting of the egg-shells consequent upon endosmosis. The eggs are conveyed to the mouth in various ways. Ordinarily, children become infested by biting their nails, beneath the margins of which the eggs lie concealed. Professors Heller, Zenker, and myself have, all mort or less, frequently had occasion to demonstrate this fact to our patients. Occa- sionally, the eggs are swallowed by accident during sleep. Still more rarely whole parasites may be conveyed to the mouth in a similar manner. In whatever manner they may have been conveyed to the bearer, when once the eggs have gained access to the stomach, their shells are dissolved by the action of the gastric juice, and the larvae are liberated. Inthe upper intestine the larve grow rapidly. Here they undergoone or more changes of skin ; acquiring sexualmaturity within a period of less than a month. Literature.—All standard works. See also my lectures on Helminthology, (‘‘Worms,”) and more particularly the very admirable article (Darmschmarotzer) by Heller, in Yon Ziemssen’s ‘Handbuch,’ or the recently issued American edition of the same work. 38.—Leptodera stercoralis, Bavay. Syn.—Anguillula (Rhabitis) stercoralis, Bavay. Larve.—These are at first known as minute embryos, measuring only ;4, of an inch in length. Subsequently, in the condition of immature rehabitiform larve, they acquire alength of about , of aninch. All their changes of size and shape, accompanied by ecdysis, are undergone within the human intestine. Under , PARASITES OF MAN. 9 favourable circumstances, five days are fully sufficient for the complete development and maturation of the parasite. Int. Host.—Not necessary. Experiments.—None. Remarks.—In the full grown state this little nematode is stated to be only the »; of an inch in length. It was discovered by Dr. Normand in excrementitious matters passed by French soldiers suffering from the so-called Cochin China diarrhea, and who had been sent home as invalids. This entozoon, by its injurious action, supplies another remarkable instance of para- sitism as a cause of endemic disease. Drs. Normand and Bavay state that the victims are infested to such an extent that the number of little worms present in severe cases can only be adequately estimated at many hundreds of thousands. Their extreme rapidity of growth and maturation readily accounts for this excessive degree of infection, which is maintained with much persistence, in spite of the dysenteric action which daily expels myriads of the parasites in every stage of development. I may add that post mortem inspection has shown that the anguillules not only occupy all parts of the alimentary canal, from the stomach downwards, but that they also find their way into the pancreatic and biliary ducts, and even into the gall bladder. , Lit.—Normand (Dr. A.) ; Memoire sur la diarrhée dite de Cochin- chine, in Archives de Médicine Navale, for Jan., 1877, and especially his recent article “Du Role Etiologique del’Anguillule, Ibid., Sept., 1878, Bavay ; in Comptes Rendus, for October, 1876. 39.—Leptodera intestinalis, Bavay. Syn.—Anguillula (Rhabditis) intestinalis, Bavay. Larvee.—Similar to those of Leptodera stercoralis, but relatively larger, and possessing a remarkably long cesophagus, together with a blunt instead of a sharply pointed tail. Int. Host.—Not necessary. Exper.—None. Remarks.—The full grown worm is almost three-times the length of the preceding species. In the Cochin China victims, it is frequently, though by no means invariably, associated with its smaller and far more abundant congener. In consequence of its occurring in comparatively small numbers, it is not easy to state to what extent this worm is concerned in the production of disease. Were it as abundant as Leptodera stercoralis, it would doubtless prove more destructive to the human bearer. Lit.—Bavay; Note sur lAnguillule intestinale ; in the Archives de Méd. Navale for July, 1877. [vo BE CONTINUED. | THE GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION OF PLANTS AND ANIMALS. ABSTRACT OF AN ADDRESS DELIVERED TO THE CHELTENHAM NATURAL SCIENCE SOCIETY, BY H. J. ELWES, ESQ., F.Z.S., F.L.S., &C., ON Nov. 21, 1878, anp THE DISCUSSION THEREON. Mr. Elwes remarked that the geographical distribution of animals and plants is a subject which, until a few years since, was scarcely thought of by Naturalists, but has recently received much attention . c 10 GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION OF PLANTS, ETO. - from several of our most eminent scientific men. Nor is this surprising, when we consider the many points of the greatest interest, whether to the geographer, geologist, or others, which are brought under considera- tion, and how much light is thrown upon the history of the changes which have passed over our globe. After reviewing the various authors who have been most instrumental in ascertaining and explaining the various facts which have been observed, he continued that time would not permit his entering upon minute details, but proposed confining his remarks to a sketch of the most characteristic features of distribution, the reasons for which he would not touch upon, as, however ingenious and even probable might be the hypotheses which had been suggested as explanations, the majority of them were incapable of proof. From a zoological point of view, the great divisions of the world were as follows: —I. Palearctic, divided into four sub-regions: (1) Huropean, (2) Mediterranean or Mediterraneo-Persic, (3) Siberian, and (4)° Mant- churian or Mongolian. The boundaries of each of the foregoing and following regions were defined, it being especially noticed that deserts and seas form the most natural ones; Il. Ethiopian region, subdivided into (1) East African, (2) West African, (3) South African, and (4) Madagascar; III. Oriental region, subdivided into (1) Indian, (2) Ceylonese, (3) Indo-Chinese or Himalayo-Chinese, and (4) Indo-Malay or Malay; IV. Australian, subdivided into (1) Austro-Malayan, (2) Australian, (3) Polynesian, (4) New Zealand; V. Neotropical, sub- divided into (1) Chilian, (2) Brazilian, (3) Mexican, and (4) Antillean; VI. Nearctic, subdivided into (1) Californian, (2) Rocky Mountains and Plains, (3) Alleghanies and Eastern United States, and (4) Canada. The foregoing divisions are made more upon zoological than botanical considerations, but in the main apply to both. The Paleearctic region, though of immense extent, does not contain through- out its northern and largest portion anything approaching to the same variety or number of species that are found in other regions of much less extent. Warblers, buntings, thrushes, grouse, waders, and water- fowl, are the most abundant and conspicuous families of birds. Deer, wild goats, sheep, and rodents, are the most characteristic animals. Coniferee and hard-wooded timber trees, fruit trees, and herbaceous plants and grasses, are the most remarkable and useful among the vegetable forms. About 900 species of birds only are found in the entire region, of which not more than 200 or 250 at the most are resident in any oue district; but we see in the Himalayas, and in some parts of Central and South America 600 or 700 species existing within a radius of fifty miles. Insects, butterflies, and beetles, are fairly represented; but in Europe these appear to increase in numbers and variety as we proceed from N.W. to §.E. In the Mediterranean, the number and variety of the plants become proportionately much greater, especially in the bulbous forms. The Mantchurian sub-region is characterised by the presence of many remarkable forms, as the wild camel on the steppes of the N.W. Tibet, and the yak, the saiga antelope, the great wild sheep of the Pamir plateau, and among birds especially by the pheasants. Its flora (except on the coast of China and Japan) is marked by the absence rather than the presence of peculiar or remarkable plants; that of the plateaus and ty GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION OF PLANTS, ETC. 11 highlands of Central Asia being poor and stunted, as might be expected from the severity of the climate. There is an intimate connection between physical geography and distribution of animals and plants which enables one to predict with tolerable certainty the character of the fauna and flora of any newly explored tracts. The oriental region having been already alluded to, it was necessary to offer a few remarks upon its subdivisions, and first of all on that of Ceylon. This sub-region (which includes the western parts of India) possesses some forms of animal life which are not present in the Indian sub-region, such as some mammals, as lemurs, tupaia and monkeys, as well as reptiles. Thus the Uropeltide and other genera of snakes and lizards are peculiar to it. The insects are more akin to those of Malayana than of India. The fishes of the Malay sub-region confirm the justice of its separation from the Australian region, for the fresh water forms of Siluroids and Cyprinoids, consisting of thirteen genera of the former and twenty-three _ of the latter, range to Java and Borneo, but do not extend further. The Ethiopian region shows a great variety and abundance of large mammals with an absence of bears, deer, goats, and sheep. The Hast African sub-region is the least peculiar portion of Africa, and is perhaps not so well marked as the West, which latter is the home of the anthropoid apes, in fact this sub-region has a Malayan affinity. The South African sub-region is the most peculiar and interesting of the three, especially as regards its botany. It has great numbers of heaths, bulbous and succulent plants, composites, &c., and an abundance of large game. The Madagascar sub-region is very peculiar; it is the land of the lemurs, and in fact if we received a curious bird, having very slight affinities to anything known, we should at once suspect that its native home must be Madagascar. The Australian region is very well marked: amongst mammals it is deficient in the orders present in the other regions, except bats and some rodents, while the great family of marsupials is almost restricted to it, the ornithorhynchus and echidna are peculiar to it. The birds are not quite so restricted to this region as the mammals, but we find the lyre birds, parrots, megapodes, emus, casso- waries, birds of paradise, and some curious pigeons. The Polynesian birds are very few in numbers, while mammals are absent. The New Zealand fauna is likewise very peculiar, among its birds is or was the moa; while species of another wingless family, Apteryx, still linger; there are, likewise, peculiar parrots, as the nestor and the stringops, the curious notornis among the rails, and the unique anarhynchus among the Charadriidz. We find a great poverty of insects, only eleven species of butterflies and no snakes. Itis curious what a deficiency of hardiness exists in Australian plants as compared with those of some other regions; - rapidly succumbing before introduced species, many of them are with great difficulty, if at all, raised in other climes. Mr. Symonds congratulated Mr. Elwes on the interesting address which he had just delivered, wherein he had illustrated point after point with great clearness. Mr. Longe, Rev. W. Boyce, and Major Barnard made observations upon the failure of New Zealand plants in this climate. 12 GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION OF PLANTS, ETC. Sir William Guise remarked upon the utility of such investigations as those of Mr. Elwes, wherein facts were being investigated with reference to what they tell us of the past history of the globe. Theorists had accounted for some phenomena by suggesting the existence of submerged continents or islands that appeared to be constantly dipping up and down, but the Challenger had shown that where one of these - continents was supposed to exist the depth of the sea is such that it would cover the highest mountains now extant. Some facts had not been explained, for instance the peculiar flora of St. Helena, or the large tortoises of the Galapagos islands, and we required more workers such as the author of the present paper, to continue their investigations, for we wish to know how these animals and plants got there, and what relationship they have with other lands. Mr. Day remarked that he had been investigating the geographical distribution of the fresh water fishes of India, and his conclusion as to the sub-divisions of the Indian region coincided with Mr. Elwes’, that there were three separate fish-faunas—the first on the primary hills of the western Ghauts, extending into Ceylon, and on the Malay Archipelago, by way of the Andaman Islands, and also identical with some Himalayan forms; secondly, an African element, which had entered India by way of Syria, along with some palzarctic genera; and, lastly, a Malayan form, which had been derived by way of Burmah and Siam; and that these last two met in the Hindustan sub-region, where the land was of tertiary formation, with here and there secondary rocks cropping out. Dr. Wright congratulated the meeting on the observations on the geographical distribution of animals and plants they had heard that evening. The subject was almost a new one, and was only a fragment of the truth, the last condition of the earth’s surface presented to the investigation of man. The geological evidence tells us of a Mediterranean fauna which existed in the Arctic regions. In Australia we find an old race of fossil kangaroos, to which those existing are mere pigmies. The same with the South American armadillo. Facts still require to be collected, and in time we may obtain sufficient evidence to work out the problem we are now seeking to discover. Mr. Elwes having replied, the meeting adjourned. THE BLADDERWORTS AND THEIR BLADDERS. BY W. SOUTHALL, F.L.S. A notice of a habitat of Utricularia intermedia may be of sufficient interest to merit record. I found the plant this autumn near a little tarn on the left of the road from Coniston to Hawkshead, Lancashire, a little below the water-shed on the Coniston side. The tarn itself has a boggy margin, and is girdled with a more abundant vegetation than is usual around thetarns of the {Lake district; various sedges, the white water lily, and the buckbean, forming the larger portion of it. The season was too late for most flowering plants, but a few, as Sparganium minimum, & somewhat rare plant, were still in flower. Around the larger pool were some small pits of peaty water, and in several of those grew U. intermedia, and in others U. minor ; but, as far as my observation went, the two species were not intermingled. It is stated in Darwin’s BLADDERWORTS AND THEIR BLADDERS. 13 * Insectivorous Plants ” that they (the Utricularias) ‘commonly inhabit remarkably foul ditches.” Here, the water was bright, as was also the case in the only other place in which I have seen a Bladderwort growing, namely, in Connemara. It is also stated in the same work, on the authority of Warming, that ‘‘ they are quite destitute of roots even from the earliest period of growth, and float near the surface of the water.” These plants were certainly attached to the bottom. As to the presence of true roots I cannot speak with certainty, ~as I had not read the above at the time, and did not pay sufficient note; but I brought away from the most shallow pool a piece of the turfy bottom undisturbed, on which two young plants were growing. They continued to grow when placed at the bottom of a glass vessel, about a foot below the surface, and never evinced any d sposition to float to the surface. But the Bladderworts seem more amenable to the attacks of both mollusks and confervee than any others of the small water plants in the same vessel, and the plants are consequently at present in a poor condition. Their gemme evidently have powers of resistance beyond the other portions of the plant, and will, I trust, grow next year. I should add, the observations recorded in ‘‘ Insectivorous Plants” have mostly reference to the species neglecta and vulgaris. An after-examination of the contents of the bladders by the microscope afforded a particularly interesting series of objects, the number and variety packed within some of them causing me to wonder how they could have got inside. HEntomostraca are prying and lively enough to penetrate into any odd corner; but in many of the other captives the power of loco- motion is at all events very slow and obscure. ‘There are, it is true, two long bristles or antenne that spring from either side of the valvular opening of each bladder, and these may act as guides to it, whilst the numerous short bristles surrounding the entrance prevent escape. The long antennee in some bladders project directly forward from the bladder, and in others are bent round underneath. There were bubbles of air in many of the bladders. The foreign contents were largely living, but also dead and decomposed in the state of a sort of muddy pabulum. . With the assistance of my friend, Mr. J. HK. Bagnall, the following list of the contents has been drawn up :— VEGETABLE Forms.—Motile forms of a unicellular alga very like Protococcus. A unicellular alga like Pleurococcus in series of four cells, the inner portion green, the outer part of the cells hyaline. Amongst Desmids: Cosmarium in conjugation, three species of Closterium—some of the bladders contained a large number of these; Penium, Euastrum, Ankistrodesmus, Micrasterias frequent. Of Diatoms: Meridion cireulare, species of Naviculare and others. Cells of algae, Tyndaridea, and others. Aynimat Forms.—Of Rhizopods: Difflugia abundant in one bladder, Arcella, and a peculiar bowl-shaped species. Of Entomostraca: Alonaovata, numerous and lively ; Cypris, Cyclops, Daphnia. Rotifers: R. vulgaris, and other species. Infusoria: Chilodon and Paramecium. Ofthesmaller algse, and Desmids particularly, various stages of growth were represented. Probably more time and research would have resulted in a yet larger list of prisoners. The bladders of U. minor, not only from being most numerous, yielded the best results. I was surprised at the large propor- tion of animals in a living, or at all events undecayed condition. Some of the Crustaceans must have lived inside the bladders for many days if not a week or more. For instance, the Alona ovata, which as far as my knowledge went did not exist in the water in which the plants were placed away from other plants. I may add that perhaps a month afterwards I examined three bladders that had been detached and remained at the bottom of the bottle. The walls had become very thin, but had retained 14 BLADDERWORTS AND THEIR BLADDERS. their shape. Within there was abundance of debris, but no muddy solution. All traces of Entomostraca, except a few plates, jaws, &c., had disappeared, though Cyclops was living in the water; the Desmids were in full vigour, and alge had grown withinthe bladders, one bladder being almost full of Tyndaridea closely coiled. Archielos, Proceedings of the Dudley and Midland Geological and Scientific Society and Field Club. No. 5, Vol. IlI., December, 1877. Dudley: Samuel Mills. Tuis part brings down the proceedings of the Dudley Society to the end of 1877. Itis full of most excellent matter; and other societies may learn much from it how to chronicle their proceedings in a satisfactory and useful manner. - Judging the Society by this record of its work, it is evidently interesting its members in local geology, and placing on record facts which will be of use to future geologists. The present part contains accounts of the Field Meetings in 1877, which included visits to the neighbourhood of Walsall, to Droitwich, where the Rhetic Beds at Dunhampstead were examined, the neighbourhood of Dudley, following the walk described by Hugh Miller in his ‘‘ First Impressions of- England,” to the Stiperstones and the Snailsbeach Lead Mines, to Ludlow, to Ross, Chepstow and the Wye, and to Cannock, where they were joined by the North Staffordshire Naturalists’ Club. There are papers on “A Railway Cutting at Daw End, near Walsall,” by Mr. J. W. Oliver; on “A Photograph of a Section of Wenlock Shale from the Wren’s - Nest, taken from a sketch under the microscope,” by Mr. Terry; ‘‘ Analyses of various Limestones,” ‘‘On the Rhetic Section at Dun- hampstead Cutting, near Droitwich, and its correlation with the same strata elsewhere,” by Mr. W. J. Harrison, F.G.S.; ‘*On Salt,” by the Rev. J. H. Thompson; ‘On the Parkfield Fossil Forest,” “On an Ink Photograph of the Fossil dAétosaurus Ferratus,’ Fraas, ‘‘On the Botany of the neighbourhood of Ross and the lower portion of the Wye Valley,” by Mr. Hy. Southall; ‘‘ On the Contents of a Hyena’s Den on the Great Doward, Whitchurch, Ross,” by the Rey. W. 8. Symonds, F.G.8.; ‘The Bunter Conglomerates of Cannock Chase,’ by Mr. W. Molyneux, F.G.S.; and “ Registers of Rainfall in 1876-7, at Pedmore,” by Mr. EK. B. Marten, the painstaking secretary of the Society. These Proceedings are well illustrated. We subjoin, as a specimen of the illustrations, woodcuts of the following Rheetic fossils :— Fig. 1.—Microlestes Rheticus, Owen. Fig. 10.—Axinus cloacinus, Oppel. Fig. 2.—Hy bodus reticulatus, Agassiz. Fig. 11.—Cardium Rheticum, Merian, Fig. 3.—Hybodus minor, Ag. Fig. 12.—Anoplophora musculoides, Fig. 4—Gyrolepis Alberti, Agassiz. Schlotheim. . Fig. 5.—Acrodus minimus, Ag. Fig 13.—Avicula contorta, Portlock, Fig. 6.—Sargodon tomicus, Quenstedt. Fig. 14.—Monotis decussata, Goldfuss. Fig. 7.—Nemacanthus monilijer, Ag. Fig. 15.—Pecten Valoniensis, Defr. Fig. 8.—Saurichthys apicalis, Ag. Fig. 16.—Ophiolepis Damesu, Wright. Fig. 9.—Saurichthys acuminatus, Ag. In our correspondence will be found an interesting note on these Proceedings from the pen of Mr. W. Whitaker, F.G.S. E. Wa 8: 16 REVIEW—PRACTICAL GEOLOGY. Practical Geology. By W. Jnrome Harrison, F.G.S. London: W. Stewart and Co. Pp. 157, forty-two illustrations. Price 2s. Amone the many text-books of Geology it is a difficult, and in some cases a delicate task to recommend to the student which particular works to read. He cannot commence with too simple a work, one which interests the reader and conveys to him a general idea of the principles of geology; and once gaining the interest, he will be tempted to undertake the reading of some more advanced volume. There isa danger, however, to the student when pushing on his enquiries into the larger manuals, of becoming to some extent wearied with details, which observation will not enable him to enliven. Hence the great value of some practical experience in the field. Indeed, Mr. Harrison tells us how he attributes the success of his geological classes to a constant insistance on the necessity for field work, combined with the close examination, sketching, &c., of models and specimens; for an acquaintance with a few facts will enable the young student to appreciate the many. In the same way, even a hurried visit to a previously unseen tract of country will enable the more advanced student to read with interest and intelligence memoirs that previously seemed dry and uninviting. In the little work before us, Mr. Harrison has furnished the young student who is ready and anxious to go out in the field with a guide and companion, who tells him what and how to observe. Commencing with an account of the apparatus necessary, the author gives instructions how to set to work, and then takes his readers over all the British formations; pointing out their leading characters and fossils. So that the student who is possessed of a geological map, and will read the descriptions here furnished, with the map before him, and who will use every, opportunity of taking both into the field, may soon expect to become a good observer. The work is full of useful suggestions; and, besides the purely descriptive portions, Mr. Harrison takes care to combine many explana- tions of facts, as well as notes on the physical history of the deposits and on foreign strata. If some of the formations with which he is more intimately acquainted receive an apparently undue share of attention, as, for instance, the chapter on the Rhetic Beds, compared with that on the Silurian Rocks ; this is a very pardonable favouritism, rather than offence. The work has been most carefully prepared and edited, and contains references to all the more important researches made known up to the time of publication; and the way in which the subject is treated, giving evidence of much personal observation and thought, and of much heartiness and enthusiasm in the cause of geology, give us great pleasure in recommending it to all desirous of becoming practically acquainted with the geology of their country. H. B. Woopwarp. REVIEW—ERUPTIVE ROCKS OF BRENT TOR. 17 The Eruptive Rocks of Brent Tor and its Neighbourhood. By Franx Ruttey, F.G.8., Geological Survey Memoir. Price 15s. 6d. 1878. Surety the memoirs of the Geological Survey must be of a very bashful and retiring nature, for the amount of ‘imtroduction” which they require on making their appearance in public is something remarkable. Here we have a small pamphlet of fifty-five pages in a paper cover. The first page, in large print, is occupied by Professor Ramsay, the Director- General of the Survey, with some general introductory remarks. Then, in smaller letters, Mr. Bristow, the Senior Director, paraphrases Professor Ramsay—or, perhaps, we ought rather to say the matter is vice versa, as Mr. Bristow’s ‘‘ Notice” is dated a week the earlier of the two. lLastly,in still smaller type, as becomes his junior official condition, the author’s ‘‘ Preface” appears. The first chapter consists of some very useful introductory remarks on the use of the microscope in petrographical research. In connection with this matter, it is greatly to be wished that some competent worker, such as Mr. Rutley himself or Mr. Sorby, Mr. Allport or Professor Bonney, would write us an English text-book on the subject. At present we are mainly dependent on the Germans, Rosenbusch and Zirkel. The next chapter gives us a description of Brent Tor and its neighbourhood. It is situated on the west of Dartmoor, between the Rivers Tamar and Tavy. This district was geologically mapped by the founder of the survey, the late Sir Henry de la Beche, in 1839. One would have thought that a fresh map of the district on the 6-inch scale would have been undertaken prior to the publication of this Memoir ; and there can be no doubt that, if Mr. Rutley had had such a map to aid him, his labours would have gained greatly in precision and certainty. In Part II. we find the result of the microscopic examination of twenty-seven rock specimens, thirteen of which are illustrated by very carefully executed coloured figures; this is decidedly a valuable contri- bution to tbe subject. Finaily, the author states the ‘ deductions” which, in his opinion, are to be drawn from the mode of occurrence of the rocks in the field, together with the evidence they yield under the microscope. He agrees with De la Beche in considering Brent Tor a fragment of the nucleus of an old volcano, while the schistose ash beds of the neighbourhood possibly emanated from it, both being of carbon- iferous age. These beds owe their preservation to their being on the downthrow side of a fault ranging from N.W. to S.E., along the eastern edge of the Tor. From a reference on page 78, this work appears to have been written nearly three years ago, although only now published; and this delay of publication also applies to most of the other Memoirs of the Geologica] Survey, a delay which is neither just to the authors nor to the public. Mr. Rutley’s abilities with the pencil are well known, and this book is illustrated with six plates and ten woodcuts, which deserve much better paper than that upon which they are printed. The four plates of chromolithographs of microscopic sections we have already referred to. W. J. H. D 18 MICROSCOPY. Microscopy. i Having lately had the privilege of using one of the new Oil Immersion 4th, made by Zeiss, of Jena, from calculations of Professor Abbe, and on a design of Mr. Stephenson, F.R.M.S., [See Vol. I. (1878) Journal of R.M.S8., p. 51,] I would strongly urge on all who can afford to buy one to order a glass forthwith. Ihave been engaged during part of this year in examining slides of the mastax of Melicerta ringens, sent to me by the Rev. Lord Sydney G. Osborne, and have written a paper on them, which has been published in the current transactions of the Royal Microscopical Society ; but, unfortunately, I had not had, before writing my paper, the privilege of viewing the slides through this Oil Immersion ath. I have since had that privilege, and I must almost re-write the paper, It is simply a magical instrument for bringing out structure for a laminated surface, which, under an ordinary ith, looks not merely trans- parent, but empty of superficies, like a window-frame with the glass out, becomes under this glass one mass of fine lines. Parts of the mastax of Melicerta, which I had treated like unoccupied frames, are seen under this power to be “ full of matter ”—that is to say, solid areas of transparent texture. The glass will not supersede the ordinary ith, because it is useless for such intermediate fluids as water; but for all objects immersed in the ordinary fluids used in mounting objects for the microscope, it will be found to be a great addition to our instruments. This specimen glass was lent me by Mr. Frank Crisp, Secretary R.M.S., who, I believe, has been amongst the first observers who have realised the value of the new power. ‘To gentlemen engaged in the study of tissue and minerals, or, indeed, of any transparent objects which will bear immersion in balsam, this glass will prove of great importance.—F. A. BepwrLu At a recent meeting of the Birmingham Natural History and Microscopical Society, Mr. H. E. Forrest exhibited and described a simple and easy method of drawing objects under the Microscope. The apparatus consists of a three-sided prism, fitted to slide on to the eye- piece of the Microscope, and capable of being adjusted to any angle. The Microscope is put in a horizontal position, and the light thrown by a condenser straight up the tube. The lamp is enclosed in a box or cylinder, with a hole on one side the size of the condenser, in order to shut off all unnecessary light. The room being darkened, the image of the object is seen thrown on to the paper placed underneath, and has merely to be traced over with a pencil. The size of the drawing is governed by its distance from the prism; the rays diverge, consequently the further the paper from the prism, the larger is the picture; and by placing the paper on the floor, an image may be drawn 4ft. or 5ft. in diameter. The advantages claimed for this little instrument by Mr. Forrest are simplicity, cheapness, and superiority to the camera or neutral tint glass, in that it really throws the image on to the paper instead of only apparently doing so. As seen in operation at the meeting, one disadvantage was apparent. The loss of light was so great that it was MICROSCOPY. 19 impossible to use the prism with high powers. Subsequently, Mr. Forrest has made a great improvement, suggested to him by Mr. T.Waller. He now uses a rectangular prism, instead of the equi-angular one exhibited at the meeting, and he informs us that the light both enters and leaves the prism perpendicularly ; by this means the loss of light is inconsiderable, and even diatoms may be drawn with a1 objective. The position of the prism in relation to the eye-piece is as follows :—The base is parallel to the horizon, the other equal side being parallel and close to the eye-piece ; the hypothenuse thus making an angle of 45° with both the horizon and eye-piece. A valued correspondent sends the following note on ‘“ Microscopic Objectives.” He says ‘‘ That well-known optician, Mr. Swift, of London, informs me that ‘at the beginning of the new year I am going to cut the price of my objectives down to those of the best continental makers ; quality at same time will be guaranteed.’ I have seen and worked with paeey of Hartnack’s instruments, but have no hesitation in declaring that a ‘ College Microscope’ I have lately had from Mr. Switt is superior to any Continental model.” METEOROLOGY OF THE MIDLANDS. THE WEATHER OF NOVEMBER, 1878. BY W. JEROME HARRISON, F.G.S. The month opened with a few days of fine weather. Of this time the Rey. J. 5. Barber (Spondon) says: ‘‘ Bees were exceedingly active, and could be heard at considerable distances from their hives. They were busy upon all flowers, especially those of mignonette.” But this was not to last; soon the traditional fogs set in, the thermometer fell with cold northerly winds and snow, and so continued to the end of the month. Rainfall was about an average. At the westerly stations the 9th was almost without exception the day of maximum fall, which in several places exceeded one inch, and produced slight floods. A storm on the 15th produced the maximum fall in the central counties, while the 24th gave a similar result in the Hast Midlands. On the morning of the 12th snow covered the ground generally to a depth of three or four inches, and there was another pretty general fall on the 24th. The nights were cold and frosts numerous. At Stoney Middleton ‘the minimum thermometer recorded below 32° every night during month.” Dense fogs prevailed from the 18th to the 21st. Gales from the North occurred on the 9th (when barometer fell -882in. in twelve hours at Chel- tenham) and 15th. Lightning was seen at Oxford on the 18th, and lunar halos on the 6th and 11th. A lunar rainbow was seen by Mr. Griffiths at Bishop’s Castle on the 10th, and a solar halo at Loughborough (Mr. Berridge) on the 23rd. At Tamworth, “‘an immense quantity of cobweb was noticed on the grass on the 20th.” Winter birds, as the Fieldafre and Redwing, seem very numerous, and at Nottingham Mr. Johnson states that they have taken a great number of the holly-berries. 20 THE WEATHER OF NOVEMBER. | RAINFALL. TEMPERATURE. Es Greatest fall). |Greatest ht. Great’st cold. " STATION. OBSERVER. S = in 24 hours. 3 ca Tn In.) Date. |@ 4 Deg| Date. |Deg} Date. GLOUCESTERSHIRE. Gainscross, Stroud ..........|W. B. Baker, Esq. ........| 2°88] °74 9 10 | 56°0 1 240} +29 (Otel iee piainiatoraiats o-o(R. Tyrer, Esq. ...0-eseee..|3 00) “64, 10 16 | 512) 10 20:0} 29 SHROPSHIRE. Haughton Hall, Shifnal ....|/Rev. J. Brooke ...........-| 3°60) “7 10 13 | 47°0 9 |240) 27 Witchorah kis ccc cose. ccs|Ac 1. GOOrge, TAO.