E«i- PH HARVARD UNIVERSITY OF THE GRAY HERBARIUM Received 5 \^ry. 14 II The Journal of the Midland Union of Natural History Societies WITH WHICH IS INCORPORATED THE ENTIRE TRANSACTIONS OF THE BIRMINGHAM NATURAL History and Microscopical Society. EDITED BY E. W. BADGER & W. HILLHOUSE, M.A., F.L.S Come forth into the light of things, Let Nature be your teacher.” Wordsworth, VOLUME XIV London : Simpkin, Marshall, & Co 4, Stationers’ Hall Court. Birmingham: Cornish Brothers, 37, New Street. PRINTED AND PUBLISHED AT THE HERALD PRESS, UNION STREET, BIRMINGHAM, V/ORTMI NCTON SMITH DEL.ETSC p/lAVf, !A\ ft >■ y \ 1 1: (( <7 < V/i /, f f / 1 tluV • 3/ /?// Gray Herbarium Harvard University PRINTED BY WRIGHT, DAIN, PEYTON, AND CO., AT THE HERALD PRESS, UNION STREET, BIRMINGHAM PREFACE. Although there is no particular merit in mere prolongation of existence, the continuance of a local scientific magazine for a period of thirteen years may be remarked upon as a most unusual circumstance. This is not in the present case due to the amount of support the enterprise has received ; but is simply owing to the determination of the conductors not to discontinue their labours as long as there is the least chance of their work being appreciated and recognised. It is apparently too early to expect any recognition from the general public for a scientific serial which has nothing to commend it to ordinary public favour except an honest endeavour to provide a medium for the publication of such local papers as are likely to be interesting to local scientists. The communi¬ cations made to the “ Midland Naturalist ” are quoted in the scientific literature of the time both in Europe and America, and the Editors cannot but remember that they have published many valuable contributions to science which otherwise would not have been placed on record. As the appreciation of natural science becomes more general, such work as the “ Midland Naturalist ” has done, and hopes to continue doing, will be more and more regarded, and it is the realisation of this fact which accounts for its pro¬ longed existence. Every student of natural science in the Midland Counties ought to be interested in the continued issue of this periodical, which is unique as an organ for the publication of the work of local scientists. PRINCIPAL CONTRIBUTORS TO THIS VOLUME. A. B. Badger, B.A., New College, Oxford. Edward W. Badger, F.R.H.S., Birmingham. J. E. Bagnall, A.L.S., Birmingham. J. G. Baker, F.R.S., Kew. E. W. Burgess. John Cordeaux, Ulesby, Lincolnshire. Mary E. Dalton, Birmingham. W. B. Grove, M.A. , Birmingham. W. J. Harrison, F.G.S., Birmingham. W. Hillhouse, M.A., F.L.S., Birmingham. W. R. Hughes, F.L.S., Birmingham. A. J. Jukes-Biiowne, B.A., F.L.S. Chas. Lapworth, F.R. S., Birmingham. W. Madeley, Dudley. A. Milnes Marshall, M.A., M.D., D.Sc. , F.R. S., Manchester. W. P. Marshall, M.I.C.E., Birmingham. Philip B. Mason, F.L.S. , F.Z.S., Burton-ou-Trent. Wm. Mathews, M.A., Birmingham. Horace Pearce, F.G.S., F.L.S., Stourbridge. 0. Pumphrey, Birmingham. T. H. Waller, B.A., B.Sc. , Birmingham. A. W. Wills, Birmingham. ILLUSTRATIONS IN VOLUME XIV. PLATES. PAGE. The Aran Islands Plates I. to IV., to face 76 J ? J ? J • • Plates V. to VII., 108 m Animal Pedigrees Plate VIII., 121 J A Cottage in the Jungle . . Plate IX., 193 j Claregate, Tongoo Plate X., 226 ^ A Street in Tongoo Plate XI., » J 231 j Dragons of the Prime Plate XII., > * 217 The Queen’s Kyoung Plate XIII., * » 254 «, INDEX Address (President’s to the Midland Union of Natural History Societies, 269-73. Alpine, Boreal, and Arctic Plants, Collec¬ tion of, 120. Anatomy of the Earth-worm, 96. Animal Pedigrees, 97-104, 121-9, 145-52, 169-81. Annual Meeting of the Midland Union of Natural History Societies, 199-200, 223-6, 241-52, 269-73. - Report of the Birmingham Natu¬ ral History and Microscopical Society, 53-7. Aphis, Life History of a>v279. Aran Islands, The, 49-52, 73-6, 104-9. Aristotle, The Ornithology of, 72. Badger (A. B.), An Introduction to the Study of Petrology (Review), 46-7. - (A. B.), Dragons of the Prime, 217-23. - (A. B.), The Darwinian Theory of the Origin of Species {Review), 45-6. Bagnall (J. E.), Catalogue of Canadian Plants (Review), 42-3. - (J. E.), Elementary Botany (Re view), 44-5 - 'J. E.), Illustrations of British Fungi (Review), 139-40. - (J. E.), The Fungi of Warwick¬ shire, 20-4, 63-6, 93-5, 115-7, 135-S, 190-2,209-11, 236-8. Baker ( J. G.), The Flora of Warwickshire (Review), 1-4. Barrier Ranges, New South Wales, Notes on some Ores from, 256-62. Biological Charts, 47. Birds of Oxfordshire, The ( Revieiv ), 4-8, 35-8. Birmingham Natural History and Micro¬ scopical Society, Annual Report of, 53-7. Boring, On a, at Sliillingford, 201-8. British Mountains, Personal Observa¬ tions of Glacial Action among, 77-83. Brittany, Notes on Some Land Shells from, 239-40. Burgess (E. W.), Foraminifera of Ham- merfest, Norway, 153-8. Burma and its People, 193-9, 226-33, 252-6 Botany — - Alpine, Boreal, and Arctic Plants, Collection of, 120. - Botanical Notes from South Beds, 20. - Catalogue of Canadian Plants (Review , 42-3. Botany— - Elementary Botany Revieiv , 44-5. - Highly Specialised Flowers, 167-8 - - History of the County Botany of Worcestershire, 15-19, 3S-41, 90-3, 110-12, 130-4, 186-9, 234-6. - Illustrations of British Fungi 139-40 - - Leaves and their Parasites, 47-8. - Life History of a Moss, 144 - Notes on Natural History, 240. - Notes on Some Plants from North Wales, 71. - The Botany of the Killarney District, 96. - The Flora of Warwickshire (Review), 1-4 - The Fungi of Warwickshire, 20-4, 63-6, 93-5, 115-7, 135-8, 190-2, 209-11, 236-8. - The Plant and the Soil, 72 Canadian Birds, 24. Cape, The North, and Norway, A Visit to, 29-35, 66-70. Catalogue of Canadian Plants (Review) 42-3 Caverns, The Dudley, 248-9. Charles Darwin, 48 Charts, Biological, 47. Climate and Plants of England and Nor¬ way, Effect of the Gulf Stream on, 159-64. Cold, Descent of, into the Ground, 109-10. Constance Naden : A Memoir (Review), 15. Cordeaux (J.), The Birds of Oxfordshire (Review), 4-8, 35-8. County Botany of Worcester, History of, 15-9, 38-41, 90-3, 110-2, 130-4, 186-9, 234-6. Crinoide, 24, 181-5. Dalton (Mary Ed, The Scope of Sociology, 25-8, 5H-63. Darwin (Charles), 48, 277-8. Darwinian Theory of the Origin of Species (Review), 45-6. Derbyshire, Visit to the Peak District of, 212-4. Descent of ^ Id into the Ground, 109-10. Devon, Noi . A Trip to, 211. Diptera, 212. Dragons of the Prime, 217-23. Dudley Caverns, The, 248-9. Dudley, Annual Meeting the Midland Union of Natural History Societies, at, 269-73. Dust, 143. 11. INDEX. Earth-worm, Anatomy of the, 96. Effect of the Gulf Stream upon the Climate and Plants of England and Norway, 159-164. Excursion to Apley Terrace and Badger Dingle, 166-7. - Faringdon and Lecklade, 168. - Lilleshall, 214-6. - Peak District of Derbyshire, 212-4. - Watlington, 192. Flora of Warwickshire (Review), 1-4. Flowers, Highly Specialised, 167-8. Foraminifera of Hammerfest, Norway, 153-8. Frost and Slugs, 134-5. Fungi, British, Illustrations of (Review), 139-40. Fungi of Warwickshire, The, 20-4, 63-6, 93-5, 115-7, 135-8, 190-2, 209-11, 236-8. Geology of the Lilleshall District, 214-6. Glacial Action among British Mountains, Personal Observations of, 77-83. Grove (W. B.), The Fungi of Warwick¬ shire, 20-4, 63-6, 93-5, 115-7, 135-8, 190-2, 209-11, 236-8. Gulf Stream and its Effect upon the Climate and Plants of England and Norway, 159-64. Hammerfest, Norway, Foraminifera of, 153-8. Hand-camera, The, 71. Heredity, 48. Highly Specialised Flowers, 167-8. Hillhouse ( W.), Through Norway with the Vesey Club, 83-90, 113-5. History of the County Botany of Worces¬ ter, 15-9, 38-41, 90-3, 110-2, 130-4, 186-9, 234-6. How slowly Cold descends into the Ground, 109-10. Illustrations of British Fungi \Revieiv), 139-40. Insects, Rarity of, 144. Insects, Ovipositors and Stings of, 277. Introduction to the Study of Petrology : The Igneous Hocks (Review), 46. Islands, The Aran, 49-52, 73-6, 104-9. Isles, Trip to the Orkney and Shetland, Notes on a, 8-14. Jukes-Browne lA. J.), On a Boring at Skillingford, near Wallingford (on Thames), 201-8. Eillarney District, Botany of the, 96. Land Shells from Brittany, Notes on some, 239-40. Lantern Slides, Painting of, 144. Lap worth, Professor, 265-7. Leaves and their Parasites, 47-8. Leaves, Disappearance of Starch from 280. Lepidoptera, Mimicry in, 120. Life History of a Moss, 141. Lilleshall District, Geology of the, 214-6. Madeley iW.), On Crinoids, 181-5. Malverns, The, and their Surroundings, 264. Marshall (A. Milnes', Animal Pedigrees, 97-101, 121-9, 145-52, 169-81. - (W. P. , A Visit to the North Cape and Norway, 29-35, 66-70. - (W. P.), Notes on a Trip to the Orkney and Shetland Isles, 8-14. - lW. P.), On the Gulf Stream, and its Effect upon the Climate and Plants of England and Norway, 159-64. Mason 'Philip BO, The Aran Islands, 49-52, 73-6, 104-9. Mathews (W.1, History of the County Botany of Worcester, 15-19, 38-41, 90-3, 110-12, 130-4, 186-9, 234-6. Memoir of Constance Naden (Review), 15. Microscopy, Practical, 212. Midland Union of Natural History Societies — Annual Meeting, 199-200, 223-6, 241-52. - President’s Address to, 269-73. Mimicry in Lepidoptera, 120. Mountains, British, Personal Observa¬ tions of Glacial Action among, 77-83. Murchison, Sir Roderick, as King of Siluria, 268. Naden, Constance : A. Memoir iRevieiv), 15. Natural History, Notes on, 240 North Cape and Norway, A Visit to the, 29-35, 66-70. North Wales, A Ramble through, 48 - - Notes on Some Plants from, 71 Norway, Foraminifera of Hammerfest 153-8. Note on some Ores from the Barrier Ranges, New South Wales, 256-62. Notes, Botanical, from South Beds, 20 - On a Trip to the Orkney and Shetland Isles, 8-14. - On some Land Shells from Brit¬ tany, 239-40. On a Boring at Skillingford, near Wal¬ lingford (on Thames), 201-8, On Crinoids, 181-5. On the Gulf Stream and its Effect upon the Climate and Plants of England and Norway, 159-64. Ores, Notes on some, from the Barrier Ranges, New South Wales, 256-62. Origin of Species, Darwinian Theory of, (Review), 45-6 Ornithology of Aristotle, The, 72, Orkney and Shetland Isles, Notes on a Trip to, 8-14. Ovipositors and Stings of Insects, 277. Oxfordshire, The Birds of iRevieiv), 4-8, 35-8. INDEX. 111. Painting of Lantern Slides, 144. Pai'asites, Leaves and their, 47-8. Peak District of Derbyshire, Visit to the, 212-4. Pearce i Horace), Personal Observations of Glacial Action among British Mountains, 77-83. Pedigrees, Animal, 97-104, 121-9, 145-52, 169-81. Petrology, An Introduction to : The Igneous Itocks ( Review ), 46. Photo-Survey, Progress of the Warwick¬ shire, 234. Plant, The, and the Soil, 72. Plants and Climate of England and Norway, Effect of the Gulf Stream on the, 159-64. Plants, Catalogue of Canadian (Review), 42-3. Plants from North Wales, Notes on some, 71. Practical Microscopy, 212. Pumphrey iC.) A Visit to the North Cape and Norway, 29-35, 66-70. Ramble through North Wales, 48. Rarity of Insects, 144. Reviews — An Introduction to the Study of Petrology, 46. Catalogue of Canadian Plants, 42-3. Constance Naden : A Memoir, 15. Elementary Botany, 44-5. Illustrations of British Fungi, 139-40. The Birds of Oxfordshire, 4-8, 35-8. The Darwinian Theory of the Origin of Species, 45-6. The Flora of Warwickshire, 1-4. Rocks, The Igneous : An Introduction to the Study of Petrology {Review), 46. Scientific Gleanings, 117-9, 141-3, 164-8. Shells, Land, from Brittany, Notes on some, 239-40. Shetland and Orkney Isles, Notes on a Trip to, 8-14. Shillingford, On a Boring at, 201-8. Siluria, Sir Roderick Murchison as King of, 268. Slugs and Frost, 134-5. Society, Some Thoughts on the Nature of, 278-9. Societies, Reports of — - Birmingham Entomological Society, 168, 212, 240, 264, 279. - Birmingham Microscopists’ and Naturalists’ Union, 47-8, 71, 96, 120, 143-4, 167-8, 211-2, 239-40, 263-4, 277-9 Societies, Reports of — - Birmingham Natural History and Microscopical Society, 24, 47, 70, 95-6, 119-20, 143, 166-7, 192, 211, 238-9, 262-3, 277. - Caradoc Field Club, 212-4. - - Oxford Natural History Society, 71-2, 96, 120, 144, 168, 192, 264, 280. - Severn Valley Field Club, 214-6. Sociology, The Scope of, 25-8, 58-63. Sociological Section of the Birmingham Microscopical and Natural History Society, 273-7. Soil, The, and the Plant, 72. South Beds, Botanical Notes from, 20. Species, Darwinian Theory of the Origin of ( Review ), 45-6. Stings of Insects, 277. Study of Petrology, An Introduction to the : The Igneous Rocks Review ), 46. The Scope of Sociology, 25-8, 58-63 Theory, Darwinian, of the Origin of Species ( Review ), 45-6 Through Norway with the Vesey Club, 83-90, 113-5. Trip to North Devon, 211. Trip to the Orkney and Shetland Isles, Notes on a, 8-14. Union, Midland, of Natural History Societies, 199-200, 223-6, 241-52. Vesey Club, Through Norway with the, 83-90, 113-5. Visit to the North Cape and Norway, 29-35, 66-70. Visual Perception, 168. Wales, New South, Note on some Ores from the Barrier Ranges, 256-62. — - — North, A Ramble through, 48 - Notes on some Plants from, 71. Waller (T. H., B.Sc.), Notes on some Ores from the Barrier Ranges, New South Wales, 256-62. Warwickshire Photo-Survey, Progress of, 234. - The Flora of {Review), 1-4. - The Fungi of, 20-4, 63-6, 93-5, 115-7, 135-8, 190-2, 209-11, 236-8. Wills (A. W.), Burma and its Teople, 193-9, 226-33, 252-6. Worms, 95. Worcester, History of the County Botany of, 15-19, 38-41, 90-3, 110-12, 130-4, 186-9, 234-6. *k *- juivi ivfcnv THE MIDLAND NATURALIST. “ Come forth into the light of things, Let Nature be your teacher.” Wordsworth. THE FLORA OF WARWICKSHIRE.* County floras have to be used and judged from two points of view, the one local and the other general. They are wanted on the spot as a guide to collectors, and to give utility and precision to the work of local societies. They are wanted by the general geographical botanist to give him a summary for ready reference of the facts bearing on his science which a given area yields. To fulfil both these requirements in a satisfactory manner the author of a local flora ought to be well acquainted with every part of the area which his book deals with ; he ought to know fully, and be judicious in using, the material which his predecessors and fellow-workers have gathered ; he ought to be well acquainted not only with plants of easy, but also those of difficult determination ; and he ought to have such a general knowledge of geographical botany as to understand what is important and what is trivial. All these conditions are fulfilled by the author of the present work in a highly satisfactory manner. He has had more than twenty years’ experience of field work in the county, and, in spite of scanty leisure, has explored personally every part of it. He is well-known as one of our best critical British botanists, and he possesses the requisite power of judgment and organisation necessary to arrange in an orderly and readily accessible way the crowd of details he has collected. The result is that he has produced a book which is one of the best county floras that has been written, and which will stand as a permanent memorial of his diligence and ability. The interest of Warwick as a county lies in its being thoroughly typical of Midland England, apart from any dis¬ turbing influence on its flora brought about by proximity to mountains or the sea. The area of the county is under a * “ The Flora of Warwickshire : the Flowering Plants and Ferns,” by J. E. Bagnall, A.L.S. ; the Fungi by W. B. Grove, M.A., and J. E. Bagnall. 8vo, pp. xxxi. and 519, with map. London: Gurney and Jackson ; Birmingham : Cornish Brothers. I K * * ' K \ » 4 f I I I 2 THE FLORA OF WARWICKSHIRE. Jan., 1891. thousand square miles. Although it is in the very centre of England, and is the watershed between Thames, Trent, and Severn, its highest point only attains a height of 855 feet above sea level, so that it all belongs to the warmest (inferagrarian) of the six zones of climate into which the surface of Britain is divided by geographical botanists. Mr. Bagnall gives a map of the county, and, to insure its thorough exploration, has divided it into ten districts founded on the river drainage, and worked each of these as a distinct unit. The short introduction contains a sketch of each of these districts ; a brief but sufficient sketch of its Geology by a promising young resident geologist, Mr. Bernard Badger, B.A. ; and a note upon its Temperature and Rainfall, which latter, of course, present no striking feature of individuality. The great bulk of the book is occupied by an enumeration of the plants, the distribution of which is traced through the ten drainage districts, and abundant detail given about the special localities of the rarities. Rubi are very abundant in Warwickshire, and Mr. Bagnall, who is a pupil of Bloxam, has worked out the local forms very carefully, and sent sets of specimens to the herbaria of Kew and the British Museum. The Flowering Plants and Ferns occupy 328 pages. The eighth edition of the London Catalogue is followed as a standard of nomenclature and species limitation. The Flowering Plants and Vascular Oryptogamia have been worked so thoroughly that it is not likely that many additions will be made to this record in the future. The Mosses occupy forty-eight pages, and 236 species are recorded. Here, again, it is not likely that many novelties remain undiscovered. The Hepaticse have been worked less thoroughly ; forty-four species are recorded, and probably the number might be raised to 100. Very, little has been done in Lichens ; about 100 species are registered, and probably the number might be raised to 500, so that there is abundant work still to be done in this department. In Mr. W. B. Grove the county possesses a very competent resident mycologist. He has co-operated with Mr. Bagnall in the eighty pages of the book devoted to Fungi, and they very judiciously confine their list of stations to the Hymeno- mycetes and Gastromycetes. Then follows a tabular summary of the plants of the county, as traced through the ten drainage districts, and compared with the neighbouring shires of Leicester, Northampton, and Oxford. The book concludes with a very interesting sketch of the progress of botanical work in the county from the time of Ray down to Jan., 1891. THE FLORA OF WARWICKSHIRE. 3 the present day. The best known botanists of past genera¬ tions who have collected within its bounds are Purton, With¬ ering, Perry, Bree, Bloxam, and Baxter. At Rugby School there has been a natural history society since 1867. A War¬ wickshire man, whose name is briefly mentioned in this sketch. Mr. Thomas Kirk, formerly of Coventry, has been for many years the leader of botany in New Zealand, and has accumulated full material for a new flora of that island, which we hope to see published, under Government auspices, before long. The plants of Britain, with very trifling exceptions, all inhabit the European Continent, but they are distributed over the Continent and our own island in a great variety of different ways. Out of the 532 plants which are spread throughout the whole length and breadth of Britain, Mr. Bagnall records for the county 501 ; out of 409 species which have their head quarters in the south of the island there are found in Warwickshire 285 ; out of 127 characteristically eastern species there are found in Warwickshire 31, and out of 90 characteristically western species only 8 ; out of 201 species which are characteristic of Scotland and the moun¬ tains of the North of England and Wales only 19 reach Warwickshire. It is a great convenience to have a full county flora like this printed in legible type, and yet not too thick a volume to be carried about in a great-coat pocket. This has been managed by careful contrivance in the present case, by employing a special kind of paper — firm, but yet so thin that 564 pages occupy a thickness of only about an inch. It will make the mouths water of many of the writers of local floras, past and prospective, to hear that there is a region in England where they form a committee of twelve gentlemen to guarantee the author against pecuniary loss, and where they subscribe for 430 copies out of 500 before the book is printed. This is a state of things very creditable to the kindness and business capability of those who have planned and carried it out. In the way of corrections or criticisms upon points of detail I have very little to say. The numerical summary is not clear ; on page 466 Mr. Bagnall gives the number of Warwickshire plants (flowering plants and ferns) at 852; but on page 467 his natives, colonists, and denizens add up to 905, and the author does not explain how the discrep¬ ancy arises. The Baroarea of cultivated fields on page 18 is probably B. intermedia; B. stricta is always a plant of riversides and ditches. Rubus dumetorum var. concinnus, as described in Lord de Tabley’s paper in the “ Journal of 4 THE BIRDS OF OXFORDSHIRE. Jan., 1891. Botany ” for 1870, is identical with R. tenuiarmatus of Lees, but quite different from R. corylifoliiis var. purpureas of Bab- ington. It is the common bramble about Matlock, and often did duty for R. nemorosus in Bloxam’s Fasciculi. The name of the great German authority on grasses is Hackel, not Haeckel. On page 27 the generic and specific name of the wild Raphanus are both misspelt. The name of the same authority should always be- contracted in the same way, but for Robert Brown Mr. B agnail has three versions, “ R.Br.” “ Brown,” and “ Br.” Under Helianthe- mum , Persoon could not possibly be the founder of a genus in which Miller founded a species, seeing that the former wrote sixty years after the latter. But these and such-like are minor matters of detail, and do not affect the sterling merits of the work. J. G. Baker. Kew, Dec. 18, 1890. THE BIRDS OF OXFORDSHIRE.* Mr. Aplin has given us an excellent and reliable work on the birds of Oxfordshire, each page of which bears evidence of much careful research and preparation. It is, perhaps, a matter of regret that the author’s remarks on the avifauna of a very interesting district have to be restricted to an area of such very irregular outline, and limited to a space of land, near the centre of England, represented by a length of about fifty-two, and a breadth varying from seven to twenty-seven miles. In a work of this class, dealing exclusively with creatures of such rapid movement as birds, we are by no means certain that it is desirable, in each separate case, to confine the notice within what are really purely artificial boundaries, designed for local and political purposes, and that it might not have been as well to have dealt with a somewhat more extended and natural faunal area — like the Upper Thames Valley and surrounding districts, or the Upper Thames and its tributaries, and thus include some portion or other of the neighbouring counties of Warwick, Northampton, Bucks, Berks, Gloucester, and Worcester, which, to a greater or less extent, touch upon the confines of Oxfordshire. Indeed, the author, although adhering with praiseworthy fidelity to the defined limit of his work, appears to be conscious of the dis- * “ The Birds of Oxfordshire.” By O. V. Aplin, M.B.O.U. With a map. Oxford : The Clarendon Press, 1889. Jan., 1891. THE BIRDS OF OXFORDSHIRE. 5 advantages of so narrow a field, and cannot occasionally forbear to comment on occurrences of birds just beyond the border line, which may naturally be judged to belong to one county as much as another, and we heartily commend him for so doing. Mr. Aplin has been able altogether to note the occurrence of 242 species of birds. To these, perhaps, may be added six other, the appearance of which is considered doubtful. Of this number no less than 103 have been known to breed within the county in the present century. Some few, as the Kite, Buzzard, Harriers, Raven, and Bittern, have now become extinct as breeders ; and it is more than probable that the Redshank, Snipe, and Black Tern also bred at one time amongst the swamps of Otmoor, before enclosure and drainage drove them away. Of the purely raptorial birds ten are included in Mr. Aplin’slist. Of these, three, the White-tailed Eagle, Osprey, and Iceland Falcon, must be considered only as chance occurrences, just as likely to be seen in one county as another. The Peregrine Falcon appears to occur regularly as a winter visitor. It is known that a considerable number of Peregrines visit England in the autumn, and take up their quarters in localities which are favourable for a regular supply of food, this appears chiefly to consist near the coast of various waders and ducks, and in the interior of wood pigeons, and sometimes a tame dove from some neighbouring cote ; Mr. Aplin records one killed in the act of striking down a pigeon. It is not improbable that the Hobby nests in Oxfordshire in more than one locality. This most graceful and beautiful little long-winged falcon feeds mainly on insects, a fact which should be recognised by gamekeepers, a body of men, con¬ sidering their opportunities, often the most ignorant of the economy of our native birds, as they are the most ruthless in destroying them. That a bird is a hawk or an owl, or that it has a general resemblance to either, is quite sufficient to justify its destruction ; and thus it is, year by year, England becomes dispeopled of her fair inhabitants in fur and feather — the once beautiful denizens of our woods and forests. We are glad to see that our author in his charming topographical sketch of the county dwells so strongly on this subject, and invokes the protection of landed proprietors in favour of these and other harmless birds. Previous to 1830 the Kite nested regularly in some of the larger woods, but probably became extinct during the next ten years, and Mr. Aplin has collected a considerable amount of evidence, oral and documentary, in connection with its former abundance. 6 THE BIRDS OF OXFORDSHIRE. Jan., 1891. It is not improbable that as late as forty years since the Common Buzzard nested regularly at Stanton Harcourt. Recent notices of this, as well as the Rough-legged Buzzard, are restricted to “trappings and shootings.” In 1888 a pair of Honey Buzzards made an attempt to nest in Wellgrove Wood ; the nest, however, was plundered, and the old ones destroyed by keepers, an unnecessary piece of cruelty, as it is well known these birds during the summer and autumn feed chiefly on the larvae of wild bees and wasps as well as the insects themselves. The Marsh, Hen, and Montagu’s Harriers are now only rare and occasional visitors, although there can be no doubt that the two first were resident and nested fortv to fifty years ago. Of the owls, the Tawny or Wood Owl appears to be by far the most abundant ; its food consisting mainly of rats, moles, mice, shrews, voles, insects, and small birds. Mr. Aplin says it is especially partial to the dor-beetle. The Long-eared Owl is so common a species in the eastern counties, receiving considerable accessions by migration in the autumn, that we are surprised to find it described as a scarce resident. It is pleasant to learn that the useful Barn Owl, notwithstanding constant persecution from the ignorant, is yet fairly common ; the author mentions the miserable fact that he has seen as many as fifteen in the shop of one bird-stuffer in May. No wonder that we hear of plagues of rats and mice in various parts of the country. The grey and rufous races of the Short¬ eared Owl have been recognised in the county, the former of these representing the Arctic, and the latter the more southern form. During the period of migration this rufous- tinted bird appears most to prevail in our eastern counties. Like the other members of its class, this also is destroyed wherever met with, and it cannot be too widely known that it feeds almost exclusively on small mammals, and occasionally little birds, during its stay in this country. The occurrence of the Grey Shrike in Oxfordshire as late as April 7tli is suggestive of it remaining to nest; this is, how¬ ever, we have observed, just the time they appear to approach the coast on their spring migration. It is somewhat remark¬ able that the race known as Pallas’s Shrike [Lanius major), in which there is no white on the secondaries, has so far not been recognised, as on the east coast during the autumn both forms or races appear to be equally common. The Pied Flycatcher is a passing visitor in the spring, on its way to its nesting quarters. On the east coast, at Spurn and Flam- borough Head, it occurs often most abundantly during the first week in May, in company with Redstarts. Jan., 1891. THE BIRDS OF OXFORDSHIRE. 7 That richly coloured bird, the Golden Oriole, has been shot in Mav, under circumstances which leave little doubt of its intention of nesting in the county. It is curious to find a pair of Dippers — birds of the swift-flowing streams of the west and north — nesting in Oxfordshire. In May, 1876, a pair nested at Claydon, and, as a natural consequence of their temerity, were both shot and their eggs taken. The Mistletoe-thrush in Oxfordshire is locally known as the “ Norman Gizer,” or Norman Thrush, a name which the author thinks may have been conferred on the bird from a common belief that it first appeared in this country with the Normans, and his further remarks seem very fairly well to bear out this theory. In Craven, in Yorkshire, this bird is also recognised as the Norman Thrush. The Nightingale seems very partially distributed, Mid Oxon and the Thames Valley being its most favourite districts. The Black Bed- start, is an occasional visitor ; it is now recognised as not of very unfrequent occurrence in the autumn, on migration, occurring about four weeks after the departure of the common Bedstart. Mr. Aplin’s remarks on the Marsh Warbler, a species only recently recognised in Great Britain, are very interesting. In 1886, a nest and eggs, now in the British Museum, was taken near Broughton Grange. The bird’s very close resemblance to the Beed Warbler is such that it might readily be overlooked. Another rare bird is the Dartford Warbler; it has been observed at least on two occasions, and the nest and eggs taken. From its very shy and retiring nature, it might also be easily passed over. There can be little doubt that the now rare and beautiful Bearded Titmouse, or Beedling, once haunted the reed beds along the Thames Valley ; it has occurred as a wanderer as late as in 1888. Of the four species of Wagtail recorded by Mr. Aplin, the white, the Continental representative of our pied bird, has been recently detected in the county. The Grey Wag¬ tail — during the nesting season a bird of the mountain stream — has been seen on several occasions in summer, and the evidence seems quite sufficient as to its remaining occasionally to nest. The Woodlark, as is the case in other counties, is of extremely local distribution. The Grey Crow, Snow Bunting, Twite or Mountain Linnet, so plentiful during the winter in the east coast dis¬ tricts, rarely wander so far westward as Oxfordshire ; in fact, it is doubtful if the Twite has been recognised. We have once seen an example of the Grey Crow shot as far west as the border of Monmouthshire. The Brambling, another winter 8 A TRIP TO ORKNEY AND SHETLAND. Jan., 1891. visitor to the east coast on migration, and of somewhat irregular occurrence, spreads far inland in great flocks ; on the wing they much resemble Bullfinches, and the resem¬ blance is heightened by their white rump. Mr. Aplin remarks that nine-tenths of the birds shot are males, and a very large percentage of these adult birds. This quite bears out our own observation on the east coast of England, where we have seen in the autumn flights from 500 to over 1,000, presumably almost entirely composed of males. The Hawfinch has increased considerably in recent years. It is quite possible our local birds may receive considerable accessions in the autumn from the south-eastern countries on the Continent. It occurs as an irregular migrant at Heli¬ goland. Mr. Aplin has many interesting remarks on the domestic economy of the Hawfinch ; the ease with which it will extract the kernels of stone fruit, at the same time rejecting the pulp, is remarkable. The Lesser Redpole appears to nest rather sparingly and locally in this county. The Arctic or Mealy Redpole, the true Linota linaria of Linnaeus, has so far not been recognised as occurring. We are glad to see that our author has spoken a word in favour of the useful Starling, in connection with its great services rendered to the farmer and gardener. John Cordeaux. (To be continued.) NOTES ON A TRIP TO THE ORKNEY AND SHETLAND ISLES, AND ON SOME SINGULAR WATER-WORN ROCKS IN ORKNEY.* BY W. P. MARSHALL, M.I.C.E. The Orkney and Shetland Isles extend 170 miles beyond the northern extremity of Scotland, and have a distance of 50 miles of open sea intervening between them, each of them consisting of a group of islands. They present, in several points, a striking difference from the mainland ; they have a milder climate, notwithstanding their northern position, on account of being completely immersed in the Gulf Stream, and the temperature is greatly equalised throughout the year by the surrounding water. The climate is considerably warmer in winter than in Scotland, and ice and snow are but little known. These islands are, however, exposed to violent gales from the Atlantic, and very destructive action of the sea upon the coast, especially on the western side. The result is, very *Read before the Birmingham Natural History and Microscopical Society, 15th October, 1889. Jan., 189 J. A TRIP TO ORKNEY AND SHETLAND. 9 bold rock scenery on the coast, which is very picturesque and interesting ; and the islands are remarkably cut up by numerous fiords, like the opposite coast of Norway on a smaller scale. Geologically there is a marked difference between the two groups of islands ; the Orkneys consist principally of Old Red Sandstone, but the Shetlands are almost entirely Silurian slate, with large exposed surfaces of granite. The principal island of the Shetlands, named Pomona or Main Land, is fifty miles in length, but cut up into a most fantastic outline ; and at one part it is only half a mile in width, and a small town, Brae, stands on the narrow neck of land con¬ necting the two portions, having two harbours, one in the Atlantic on the west, and the other in the North Sea, on the east coast. The result of the prevailing high winds is an almost total absence of trees, and there are none at all in Shetland, although there are fuchsias to be seen growing freely out of doors throughout the year. The inhabitants are not Scotch, but have a Norsk element in them, and seem to consider themselves of a race rather superior to the Scotch. Their main occupations seem to be, the men fishing and farming, and the women spinning and knitting. We saw great quan¬ tities of the well-known Shetland wool work going on in the cottages, the wool being grown, spun, and knitted on the premises. Fish is, of course, one of the principal articles of diet, but somewhat curiously the inhabitants do not eat either eels or mackerel ; they do not consider these good for food, and throw away the mackerel when caught. It may be men¬ tioned that the old name Zetland is used by the inhabitants in preference to the more modern spelling, Shetland. The Orkneys and Shetlands are easy of access by coasting steamers, that run regularly, and are very comfortable and convenient, affording a very pleasant and enjoyable trip along the coast and amongst the islands. I sailed from Edinburgh with my son direct to Lerwick, the capital of Shetland, calling on the way at Aberdeen and Wick on the mainland, and at Kirkwall, the capital of Orkney. Then, after a day’s excur¬ sion in a sailing boat to visit some remarkable rocks, we crossed the island to Scalloway, and took a trip by a coasting steamer along the western side of the island, which has the finest rock scenery, calling at several places, including the town of Brae, that stands on the narrow neck of land dividing the island. We then went south by the steamer to Stromness, the second principal town in Orkney, from which some inter¬ esting excursions were taken by land and water, and finally left by steamer direct for Liverpool, calling at Stornoway in 10 A TRIP TO ORKNEY AND SHETLAND. Jan., 1891. the Hebrides and at Oban ; thus sailing all round Scotland from Edinburgh, and on to Liverpool. The whole fortnight’s trip was very pleasantly varied by the several alternations of a couple of days on the sea, with a stay on shore between them. The captains of the steamers complain of the absence of lighthouses along the west coast of Shetland. A reason for this is given in Walter Scott’s “ Pirate,” which is not very creditable if true. It is said there that soon after the light¬ houses were placed on the Pentland Skerries, two small islands lying between Orkney and the mainland, the islanders of the neighbourhood fell off in their rents because there was no longer the spoil from wrecks. It is to be hoped this was a libel ; still it is certain that the ancient Shetlanders looked upon wreckage as legitimate prey, and that there was formerly a superstition that whoever saved a drowning man would suffer a future injury from him. The unfortunate fact remains that to this day there are no lighthouses along that coast. The principal objects of interest in Kirkwall, the capital of Orkney, are St. Magnus Cathedral, parts of which date from the beginning of the twelfth century, and the ruins of the Bishop’s Palace and the Earl’s Palace. The latter was built by the notorious Earl Patrick Stewart, and is well described in the “Pirate.” The older parts of the town are picturesque, the streets are very narrow, and paved all across with flags, with no distinction between the horseway and footway except a narrow track of pitching in the centre only about a yard wide. Kirkwall has a subsidiary port called Scapa on the opposite coast, about a mile and a half distant. From Lerwick, the capital of Shetland, a fine day’s excursion in a sailing boat was made to the eastern extremity of the rocky island Noss, where there are extensive bird rocks, a breeding ground for great swarms of birds. One special rock, the “Holm of Noss,” is detached from the island by a narrow channel, that can be sailed through in very calm weather; with both sides formed of vertical faces of rock rising direct from the sea, and in some parts having the top overhanging the base. One part of the rock face, beyond the Holm, forms a promontory called the “ Noup of Noss this is 600 feet in height from the sea, and we got to the top of it overland. There are several caves in the rocks along the coast ; the largest one “ Orkneyman’s Cave,” we rowed into for a distance of about 250 yards, through a winding passage lighted by a torch ; the cave then becomes too narrow for the boat to enter farther, but a small canoe is said to have been once taken on for a distance of 100 yards further. Jan., 1891. A TRIP TO ORKNEY AND SHETLAND. 11 In reference to the birds breeding on the rocks, the sailors said they had frequently seen the young Guillemots dropped down into the sea on the back of the mother bird for their first sea bath, and the young bird was held securely in its position by the beak of the mother, who turned her head babk over her shoulder to catch hold of the young bird with her beak. There have been shown engravings with the young bird calmly sailing down on the back of the mother without any such hold; but that certainly seems improbable. There was a discrepancy in the accounts of the sailors, as to the time in the young bird’s life when its first plunge was taken ; one account was that this was directly after hatching, as a protection from the depredations of large gulls that prey upon the young birds ; but another account, which seemed more probable, was that the first plunge is some time after hatching, when the young bud is able to fly up again, and repeat the performance on its own account. In reference to this interesting question, Mr. Water ton says (as stated by Macgillivray, Yol. II., page 322), “ The men about Flamborough Head assured him that when the young Guillemot comes to a certain size, it manages to climb upon the back of the old bird, which conveys it down to the ocean.” Macgillivray adds, “ Others say the old Guillemot takes her chick by the neck in her bill, and thus conveys it to the sea.” Yarrell (Yol. IY., page 72), quotes Mr. Maclachlan, “who asserts that the young bird is grasped by the wing, near the shoulder, and is not as a rule, carried down on the back of the parent.” Seebohm (Vol. III., page 398) says, “ That young birds, totally incapable of flight, are seen on the sea is an undis¬ puted fact, but the means by which they get there is the vexed question. Many ornithologists believe that the young bird is conveyed to the water below by its parent ; and the veteran climber, Lowney, positively assured me that he had seen the old bird in the act of conveying her young down to the sea on her back. About half-way down the little creature slipped off ; the mother flew round and round it, screaming as if in alarm ; but the young bird swam away all right, and did not seem injured by the fall.” I am indebted to Mr. Chase for the above interesting quotations ; and he adds that, from his own personal obser¬ vation of the habits of the Guillemots at their breeding sta¬ tions, he “ cannot give credence to these accounts of convey¬ ing the young to the sea ; and it is curious that no naturalist should have witnessed the performance, and that the only 12 A TRIP TO ORKNEY AND SHETLAND. Jan., 1891. foundation for such assertion rests upon accounts furnished by fishermen and climbers, who always take delight in the wonderful. All I can say,” adds Mr. Chase, “is that it is not impossible for the parent to act as stated, but I have never seen the operation.” Bressay, the island facing Lerwick harbour, is the great breeding place of the Shetland ponies, which, by the way, are now getting very scarce, being bought up by the Americans as fast as they can be reared. Scalloway, the ancient capital of Shetland, is picturesquely situated ; it is principally interesting as containing the ruins of the notorious Earl Patrick Stewart’s castle. High up on the castle wall an iron ring is shown, from which the earl used to suspend his victims ; an eminence in the neighbourhood bears the suggestive name of “ Gallows Hill.” Scalloway is a great fish-curing place, and whole stacks of dried and salted fish are seen piled up by the roadside. Stromness is perhaps the most picturesque town in Orkney, and the best centre for excursions. From this place a sailing boat was taken to the “ Old Man of Hoy,” a remarkable and unique detached pinnacle of rock, no less than 450ft. high, standing up direct from the water’s edge. It is a very picturesque object, a jagged obelisk of old red sandstone about 70ft. square at the base and reduced to half the thickness at the top. This remarkable pinnacle bears a close comparison in height with the highest cathedral spires, Strasburg 460ft. and Bouen 490ft., and the Great Pyramid 480ft. high. An interesting land excursion from Stromness was to a large stone circle, about 800ft. in diameter, supposed by some to be Scandinavian, not Druidical ; it is called the “ Standing Stones of S tennis,” and forms a scene in the “ Pirate.” It may be mentioned that nearly all the spots so graphically described in the “ Pirate ” were visited, and with a special interest, and the wild headland was seen that was held by “ Norma of the Fitful Head.” Near Stennis was also seen an interesting tumulus, “ Maeshowe,” which contains a stone chamber that can be entered, and has some Kunic inscriptions on the walls. Near Scail, on the west coast, seven miles north of Stromness, there occur some singular water-worn rocks that are of much interest ; these are at the top of a cliff, about 80ft. in height, rising direct from the sea, and form a portion of a thin stratum on the surface of the ground that extends nearly a mile along the coast. This stratum is at a slight inclination, sloping towards the sea, and shows irregularly for a few hundred feet distance inland from the edge of the Jan., 1891. A TRIP TO ORKNEY AND SHETLAND. 13 cliff, beyond which the ground is covered with grass, and rises gently for a mile or two further inland. The stratum is a light-coloured sandstone, split up at the surface into thin layers of an inch or two thickness, which are broken up and lie scattered as loose shingle in irregular groups over the solid rock. These loose pieces are seen, at some parts, to have a more finished and symmetrical appearance, with moulded edges, and further on an exposed surface of the rock is seen, marked out with irregular crossing lines, ready for splitting up into the loose pieces seen ; and at last a place is met with where these markings become definite moulded grooves, dividing up the surface of the rock into approximately symmetrical figures, and presenting a striking resemblance to a tesselated pavement, with tiles of about four to eight inches in size, and sometimes as large as a foot in length. This resemblance to an artificial pavement is rendered still more striking by the several “ tiles ” being separated by very regular jointing lines of about an inch in width, of a lighter colour than the “ tiles,” and depressed about a quarter of an inch below them, giving so distinct an appearance of a cement joint that it is very difficult at first to conceive the whole is not an artificial pavement of tiles, set in cement. This difficulty is increased by the circumstance that each “tile” is bordered by a really well finished moulding, which is carried uniformly round all the edges of the “ tile,” and in several cases there is a second moulding parallel to the first one, and sometimes a third smaller one. A section shows the lower one with two mouldings, and the upper one with three mouldings ; a marked correspondence is shown between them as regards the two outer mouldings, and the third inner one has the appearance of being formed out of the edge of the main centre portion, suggesting a successive formation of these parallel mouldings from the outside inwards. The more general form of the “ tiles ” approximates to a lozenge shape, most frequently with one of the angles rounded off ; but one example is a nearly perfect lozenge, having sides of from 3 inches to 4J inches in length ; and a general feature of them is that the “tile” is darker coloured than the intervening “ cement ” portion. Some of the “ tiles ” are darker than the others, and in those the darker portion generally stands out more prominent, and has rounded edges, with a deep groove cut in all round, and separating it from the first moulding. Then in other specimens that may be termed further advanced, there is seen a tendency to the dark centre portion becoming undercut at the edges, and at last specimens are found where the centre has become actually detached, and has the appearance of a “nodule of ironstone;” 14 A TRIP TO ORKNEY AND SHETLAND. Jan., 1891. and it is considered that the nucleus of each of the “ tiles ” is really a nodule of ironstone, in various stages of forma¬ tion, or rather of concentration. Some of the specimens are argillaceous at the under side, and siliceous only at the upper face. The whole rock is an iron-coloured sandstone, and it is suggested that in the first place the surface became cracked and cross-jointed by a process of shrinkage, and then each of the so-formed “ tiles” would be subjected to the action of surface water (the surface drainage of the sloping land), trickling down through the little channels of division between the tiles. There is found to be a tendency in such isolated patches of sandstone, uniformly impregnated with oxide of iron, for the iron to become gradually concentrated towards the middle of the patch, by some kind of molecular attraction, deserting the margin, which becomes consequently light coloured, and migrating towards the centre, which becomes dark-coloured and ultimatelv converted into a nodule of iron- 1/ stone. Such is considered to be a frequent process of forma¬ tion of ironstone nodules, although the mode of action and the operating force are not yet understood. I am indebted for these suggestions to Dr. Lapworth, who has kindly examined these specimens, and was much interested with them. The further question of the mode of formation of the mouldings round the nodules, and particularly where there is a succession of two or more mouldings, offers much difficulty, and is one of much interest for consideration. It has to be noticed that in several of the specimens there is an appearance of a succession of layers, in the form of saucer¬ shaped hollows lying one within another, and having the edges of the layers cropping out round the margin in parallel lines, suggesting a possible connection with the parallel mouldings that surround the centre nucleus. Dr. Tilden, who has also kindly examined the specimens chemically, finds 4‘ they all contain carbonate of lime, though in very different proportions ; mere traces appear in the interior, but there is a good deal in the argillaceous material of which the lower part consists in most of the specimens. Under the microscope the shining specks look like bits of mica ; they are iridescent, and apparently weathered.” He suggests that “ possibly the rock originally consisted of a sort of marl containing some sand, that joints were formed in it by contraction or otherwise, and that the upper part of each lozenge- shaped mass thus produced has been deprived of its carbonate of lime and fine particles of clay by weathering action, leaving the sandy particles behind cemented by oxide of iron. The singular double furrow is a point of curious interest.” Jan., 1891. CONSTANCE NADEN : A MEMOIR. 15 CONSTANCE NADEN: A MEMOIR.* Many readers will remember that in our last volume we published an interesting memoir of Miss Constance C. W. Naden, written by her admiring friend, Mr. W. R. Hughes, F.L.S., supplemented by valuable contributions from Pro¬ fessor Tilden, F.R.S., and Dr. Lewins. This memoir has since been almost wholly re-written and largely added to by communications from some of Miss Naden’s most intimate friends, giving many personal reminiscences, the chief of which is a delightfully interesting “ Introduction,” by Professor Lap worth, F.R.S., which adds greatly to the value of this gratifying memorial of a lady whom Birmingham men will always regard as one of the most gifted of its citizens. The thanks of the community are due to Mr. Hughes for the loving pains he has taken to place within every one’s reach an interesting and permanent record of this highly endowed lady, and to Dr. Lewins for having it printed in the dainty volume before us ; for it is entirely to him that the publication of this volume is due. To his generosity we owe the beautiful bust of Miss Naden, the “Constance Naden Medal,” the lately issued volume, “ Induction and Deduction,” and the present “Memoir.” Dr. Lewins also intends to publish another volume of Miss Naden’s Essays. HISTORY OF THE COUNTY BOTANY OF WORCESTER. BY WM. MATHEWS, M.A. (Continued from Vol. XIII., page 259.) The Botany of Worcestershire, by Mr. Edwin Lees, was published at Worcester in 1867. It embodies the labours of the Botanists of the Worcestershire Naturalists’ Club, extending over a period of twenty years, and is the hrst attempt to record all the plants of the county. The book commences with an Introduction, pp. i. to xci., arranged under the following heads: — v. Limitation of species to particular localities, x. Sudden appearance of plants in particular places, xvii. Naturalised and introduced plants, xxiii. Plants of early introduction to England, xxvii. Modern immigrants and garden stragglers. ’Constance Naden : A Memoir. By W. R. Hughes, F.L.S., with an introduction by Professor Lapworth, LL.D., F.R.S., and additions by Professor Tilden, D.Sc., F.R.S.. and Robert Lewins, M.D. London": Bickers and Sou ; Birmingham : Cornish Brothers. 16 HISTORY OF THE COUNTY BOTANY OF WORCESTER. Jan., 1891. xxviii. Plants not truly native, introduced designedly or furtively. xxxii. Plants becoming rare or extinct, xxxiii. Conspicuous vegetation, xxxvii. Old forest trees, xli. Critical plants. liii. Census. Flowering Plants, Ferns, and Characese, 992. lxiv. Physical geography. lxxii. Rainfall and temperature. lxxvi. Rainfall. lxxx. Winds and their effects. lxxxii. Worcestershire compared with Herefordshire, lxxxviii. Worcestershire Botanists and Botanical authors. Under the head of critical plants, p. xli., Mr. Lees describes, inter alia, Valerianella eriocarpa, Desv., gathered by him on the 29th August, 1842, by the side of the road between New Pool and Hanley Turnpike Gate, below Malvern Wells. This plant is noted in the 1st edition of the Botany of the Malvern Hills, 1848, as Fedia mixta, and in the 2nd edition, 1852. as Fedia dentata, var. mixta. The above is the only occasion on which the plant has been seen in Britain. See Bot. Mai. Hills, 3rd edit., p. 44 ; Bab. Man., 5th edit., 1862, p. 165 ; Syme E. Bot., 3rd edit., Yol. IY., 1865. p. 244. The first notice of the plant as V. eriocarpa was probably by Babington in 1862. The second part of the work is entitled “ The Local Distribution of the Plants of Worcestershire,” and occupies the pages from 1 to 147. The author divides the county into four Botanical districts, viz. : — 1. The Severn Valley. 2. The Malvern Hills and Valley of the Teme. 3. The Avon and Lias Country. 4. Bromsgrove Lickey and the intervening district to Birmingham, Halesowen, Stourbridge, and Dudley. The author describes the most interesting Botanical localities in each district, and the rarer plants which occur in them. The third is a tabulated list of all the plants in each Botanical district, with an appendix on the Bubi, pp. 1 to 48. This is followed by three pages of Additions and Corrections. List of the principal plants noted in Lees’s Botany of Worcestershire. District is denoted by the letter D. The four districts are contracted into Avon, Severn, Malvern, and Lickey : — J Anemone Pulsatilla. 104, Avon. Snowshill, Gloucester. Tab. 3. + A. apennina. xxviii. Tab. 3. Not native. ♦ Adonis autumnalis, lviii. Tab. 3. Marked as extinct. Ranunculus caenosus ( Lenormandi ). Tab. 3. Lickey district. No locality given. Not noted elsewhere in volume. Jan., 1891. history of the county botany of Worcester. 17 * R. Lingua. Additions and corrections. Pool at Spetchley. { Eranthis hyemalis, xxviii. Tab. 3. Marked as “occasional” in each district. Not native . * Helleborus viridis. 86, Malvern D. No locality given. 115, Lickey D. ; wood at Frankley. * Helleborus faetidus. 86, 135, Malvern D. No locality given. Tab. 3. * Aquilegia vulgaris. 6, 18, Severn D. ; 67, 86, Malvern D.; 114, 116, Lickey D. Tab. 3. * Delphinium Consolida ( Ajacis ), xxviii. 93, Avon D. ; 93, 116, Lickey D. Tab. 3. Marked as extinct in each district. * Aconitum Napellus, vii. 85, 135, Malvern D. Tab. 3. The reference in each instance to the locality at Eastham , near Tenhury. * Berberis vulgaris. 39, Severn D. Same locality as in Hast. Ill., 160. Also noticed in x., xix., xxxii. I Epimedium alpinum. In shrubberies, near Tewkesbury, xxviii. Tab. 3. Not native. In Gloucester. *1 Nymphaea alba, xxviii. Not native to Worcestershire. * Papaver hybridum. 39, Severn D. In a calcareous cornfield at Tibberton, about three miles on the eastern side of Worcester. Tab. 3. P. Lecoqii. Additions and Corrections. Old limestone wall near the Berrow Church, Malvern. P. somniferum, xxviii. Shore of the Severn at Worcester. Not native. Glaucium luteum, xxviii. Tab. 4. Avon. *X Corydalis solida, xxviii. Tab. 4. Not native. * C. lutea, xxviii. Tab. 4. * C. claviculata. 6, Winterdyne, Bewdley ; 12, Habberley Valley ; near Park Hall, Kidderminster ; 65, Malvern Hills ; 114, Bromsgrove Lickey. Tab. 4. Severn, Malvern, Lickey. * Fumana capreolata. Aggregate. Tab. 4. Severn, Malvern, Lickey. * Cheiranthus Cheiri, xxviii., 124. Tab. 4. In all the districts. * Nasturtium sylvestre, xxxv., 4, 28. Tab. 4. Avon, Severn, Malvern D. * Barbarea praecox, xxviii. 39, Severn D. * Hesperis matronalis, lxxxiv. 86, Malvern D. No locality. 115, Lickey D. No locality. Tab. 4. Severn, Malvern, Lickey, D. * Sisymbrium Sophia, xxvi., lxi., 12, about Kidderminster ; 39, North- wick, near Worcester, T. Westcombe; 59, near Kidderminster and Stourport. Tab. 4. Severn D. only. * Erysimum cheiranthoides. 39, “Banks of Severn, near Hallow ; ” Herb. Worcester Museum, Addit. and Corr. ; near Stone ; Tab. 4. Avon, Malvern, Lickey, D. *X Sinapis alba. 103-5, Snowshill. This locality is in Gloucester. Alyssum calycinum, xxix. Railway embankment, Astwood; near Worcester, Mr. T. Baxter. Tab. 5. Severn. Not native. * Koniga maritima, xxix. Severn shore at Worcester and near Malvern. Tab. 5. Not native. * Armoracia rusticana. Tab. 5. In all the districts. Not native. £ Camelina sativa. Tab. 5. Severn, Malvern, Lickey. Not native. 18 HISTORY OF THE COUNTY BOTANY OF WORCESTER. Jan., 1891. Thlaspi perfoliatum, vi. Has been found actually located at Evenlode, an isolated portion of Worcestershire, 104-5 ; Hvate’s Pits, Snowshill, near Broadway ; Mr. Cheshire. This locality is in Gloucestershire. Evenlode ; Mr. Cheshire. Tab. 5. Avon D. only. * Teesdalia nudicaulis, 12, 60. Tab. 5. Avon, Severn, Malvern. * Iberis nudicaulis, 95. There is some confusion here. Mr. Lees refers to I. nudicaulis in Nash's List. See “ Mid. Nat.," Vol. X., p. 122. But I. nudicaulis , Linn. = Teesdalia nudicaulis, Robt. Brown. 1. nudicaulis is not in Tab. X Iberis amara, xxix. About Malvern, here and there sparingly. Tab. 5. Not native to Worcestershire. * Lepidium Draba, xxix., 20. Powick Bridge, Worcestershire. Tab. 5. Malvern. Not native. * L. ruderale, 36. Droitwich. Tab. 5. Severn. * L. latifolium, 37. Droitwich. Tab. 5. Severn. * Senebiera Coronopus. Tab. 5. In all the districts. X Isatis tinctoria, 28, 61, 137. The Mythe, near Tewkesbury. Tab. 5. Severn. In Gloucestershire. * Raphanus Raphanistrum, 74. Tab. 5. In all the districts. * Reseda lutea, lxi. Noted in Avon D., 98 ; Alderminster, Mr. Cheshire, 100; Bredon Hill, 103; Broadway Hill, 133 ; Dudley Castle. See Ed. Lees, in New Bot. Guide, “Mid. Nat.,” Yol. XI., p. 278. Tab. 5. Avon, Lickey. *X It. suffruticulosa, xxix., 39. Waste ground, Britannia Square, Worcester. Not native. * Helianthemum vulgare. Tab. 5. In all the districts. * Viola nalustris, 11, 12, 60., Severn D. ; 114, 119, 120, 138, Lickey D. Tab. 5. * V. pumila, Fries., V. flavicornis, Sm. = V. canina, L. 12, Hartlebury Common. 67, Malvern. Tab. 5. In all the districts. * Drosera rotundifolia. 12, 60, Severn D. ; 66, Malvern D. ; 114, 119, 120, Lickey, D. Tab. 6. Mr. Lees has omitted to notice Perry's records o f this plant on Falling Sands Common, near Kidderminster , and at the Devil's Spittleful, near Beivdley, published in Loudon's Magazine, 1831. See “ Mid. Nat.," Vol. X.,p. 256. Gathered by the writer in both these localities in 1885. Falling Sands Common is now enclosed , and f onus part of Oldington Plantation. * Polygala vulgaris. Tab. 6. In all the districts. Not differentiated from P. depressa, Wend. * Dianthus prolifer, xxix., lxxxviii. Table 6. Reference to Ballard's record, see “ Mid. Nat.," Vol. X., p. 151. * D. Armeria. Noticed in Severn district at p. 40, yet in Tab. 6 assigned to the Avon, Severn, and Malvern Districts. * D. deltoides. 12, 60, Severn D. ; 119, Lickey D. Tab. 6. * Saponaria officinalis. 6, 22, 40, Severn D. ; 115, Lickey D. Tab. 6. * Silene anglica, xc. Arley, near Stourport. Purton, fide Mrs. Gardner. “Mid. Nat.,” Vol. X., p. 255, 12. Mentioned in Scott’s History of Stourbridge, but not to be found at present. Mr. Lees was mistaken. It is not mentioned in Scott. It was, nevertheless, gathered by the writer in a field at Churchill , in 1879. Sp. ! Tab. 6. Jan., 1891. history of the county botany of Worcester. 19 * S. conica, 12, 15. Tab. 6. “ Now extinct.” This is Scott's record. See “Mid. Nat.,” Yol. XI., p. 17. Sagina ciliata, 12. Severn D. Blakedown. Recently gathered at Hagley Brake. Tab. 6. * S. nodosa, 69. Malvern Hills. Tab. 6. * Alsine tenuifolia, 105. Hyate’s Pits, Mr. Cheshire. Gloucestershire. See Ballard, “Mid. Nat.,” Yol. X., p. 151. 119, Lickey D. ; Yardley, Miss Beilby. An error ? Tab. 6. * Arenaria trinervis. Tab. 7. In all the districts. * A. serpyllifolia. Tab. 7. In all the districts. Not differentiated from A. leptoclados , which occurs in many places. *+ Stellaria nemorum, 59. Severn D. Wyre Forest. No authority ; no exact locality. An error ? 119, Lickey D. Yardley, Miss Beilby. An error ? Tab. 7. [S. glauca. Tab. 7. In none of the districts. Recorded, neverthe¬ less, by Purton, on the authority of Mr. Hickman, in the Appendix to the Midland Flora. See “ Mid. Nat.," Vol X., p. 255. Gathered by the writer in 1890 , near the head of the Ladies' Pool, Blakedown. Probably widely distributed, but much rarer than S. graminea.] * Cerastium aquaticum. 12, Severn D. ; 119, Lickey D. Tab. 7. In all the districts. * C. semidecandrum. 60, Severn D. Hartlebury Common. Tab. 7. In all the districts. * C. arvense, lxi., Severn D. ; 106, Avon D. ; Broadway Hill, Mr. Cheshire. See Purton , “ Mid. Nat.," Vol. X., p.221. The Severn D. locality is not mentioned at p. lxi. Sutton Common, near Kidderminster , is probably the place intended , where this species grew abundantly until 1876, Sp. ! Soon after this date the common was ploughed up. I have specimens from the neighbour¬ hood, gathered by the late Rev. J. H. Thompson in 1883, and by Dr. F. Arnold Lees in the same year. Tab. 7. Severn D. only. Avon D. omitted, I presume, accidentally. * Moenchia erecta. 6, Severn D. ; Spring Grove, Bewdley ; 65, Malvern D. ; Malvern Hills ; 125, Lickey D. ; Clent Hills. Tab. 7. All the districts except the Avon. * Spergularia (Lepigonum, Arenaria, Alsine) rubra. 65, Malvern Hills ; 126, Winwood Heath, now enclosed. Tab. 12. Severn, Malvern, Lickey districts. Frequent in sandy places in the north of the Severn D . ; between Hagley and Kidderminster ; Clent Hills, &c., Sp. ! * S. neglecta, Syme. 33, Severn D. ; Saldon, as Alsine media, should be in Avon D. ; 37, Severn D. ; Droitwich Canal ; 91, Avon D. ; Defford Common. Tab. p. 12. * Montia fontana. 65, Malvern D. Tab. 12. All the districts except the Avon. * Elatine hexandra, ix. Tab. 6. Severn D. * E. Hydropiper, ix. Tab. 6. Severn D. (To be continued.) 20 BOTANICAL NOTES FROM SOUTH BEDS. Jan., 1891. BOTANICAL NOTES FROM SOUTH BEDS, WITH VOUCHER SPECIMENS. The earliest observed dates of the flowering of the species enumerated below are as follows: — Name Date. Aspect. Situation, &c. Corylus Avellana 1889. Dec. 25 Open Hilltop. Pistillate flowers only Ditto ditto . . 1890. Jan. 12 99 Same station. Both male Mercurialis perennis „ 12 N.E. and female plentifully. Shrubbery. Inflorescence only Ditto ditto . . » 26 Open Meadow. Male flowers only. Petasites vulgaris .. 26 99 Meadow. Several plants in Tussilago Farfara >. 26 w. blossom. Railway bank. One blossom. Ditto ditto . . Feb. 1 s.w. G. N. R. bank. Several Ranunculus Ficaria „ 9 Open blossoms. Meadow. One blossom. Prunus spinosa. . „ 23 99 A few poor blossoms. Cardamine hirsuta Mar. 9 W. Brook side. Fairly abundant. Ranunculus Ficaria „ 9 Open Same station as above, and Salix caprea „ 16 ?) only fairly abundant till this date. Coppice. Both sexes in blossom Anemone nemorosa „ 29 * * Plentiful. Yiola Riviniana * „ 29 W. Hill side. Nepeta Glechoma 30 S.W. Bank. Prunus spinosa „ 30 Open Fairly abundant by this date. Caltha palustris 30 99 Meadow. Two blossoms. Equisetum arvense Anr. 20 99 Hill side. Prunus avium . . „ 27 W. Hill side. Plentiful. Scilla nutans . . May 4 Open Meadow. Sisymbrium Alliaria „ 4 W. Railway bank. Plentiful. Ranunculus auricomus „ 4 Open Meadow. Plentiful. Carex glauca . . „ 4 N.W. Hill side. Barbarea vulgaris „ 11 S.W. Brook side. Crataegus monogyna 14 Open Hedge. Sanicula europaea „ 18 »> Spinny. J. Saunders, Luton. •The voucher specimen enclosed was Viola hirta. — Eds. “ Midland Naturalist.” THE FUNGI OF WARWICKSHIRE. BY W. B. GROVE, M.A., AND J. E. BAGNALL, A.L.S. ( Continued from Vol. XIII., page 282.) 442. R. fcetens, Fr. Woods and roadsides. Sometimes fragrant. Oct. Warwick, Perceval . Crackley Wood and The Briars, Kenilworth, Russell, Illustr. Ansty, Adams. School Close, Rugby Sch. Rep. Water’s Wood, Maxstoke; Kingsbury Wood; Trickley Coppice; Solihull: Sutton Park; Berks well ; Fen End; Edgbaston Park; Coleshill Pool; Packington; Stoneleigli Abbey ; Spernall. Jan., 1891. THE FUNGI OF WARWICKSHIRE. 21 448. It. fellea, Fr. Woods. Rare. Borders of Upper Nuthurst, Sutton Park ! Dr. Cooke. Combe, Adams. New Park ; Four Oaks ; Bradnock’s Hayes ; Edgbaston Park. 444. R. Queletii, Fr. Pine woods. Rare. Oct. Pine wood, Marston Green, 1882, named by Dr. Cooke. 445. R. emetica, Fr. Woods. Local. Sept. -Oct. Warwick, Perceval. Crackley Wood ! Russell , lllustr. Combe, Adams. Baddesley Park, Hawkes! Sutton Park ; Trickley Coppice ; New Park ; Shawberries Wood ; Kingsbury Wood; Ironstone Wood, Oldbury; woods, Maxstoke ; Solihull ; Colesliill Heath and Pool ; near Harborough Magna; Old Park Wood, near Alcester ; Chelmsley Wood ; Edgbaston Park, &c. 446. R. ochroleuca, Fr. Fir woods. Oct. Local. Crackley Wood, Kenilworth ! Russell , lllustr. Sutton Park ; Trickley Coppice ; New Park ; pine wood, Colesliill Heath ; Corley ; woods, Maxstoke ; Bradnock’s Hayes ; Marston Green ; Solihull. 447. R. citrina, Gill. Woods. Local. Sept. -Oct. Sutton Park; Trickley Coppice; Water’s Wood, Maxstoke; Edgbaston Park. 448. R. fragilis, Fr. Woods. Sept. -Oct. Birmingham Road, Kenilworth, Russell , lllustr. Combe Woods, Adams. Sutton Park ; Trickley Coppice ; New Park ; Birch Moor Stump ; Maxstoke ; Coleshill Pool and Heath ; Olton Reservoir ; Solihull ; Bradnock’s Hayes. Var. violacea, Trickley Coppice. Yar. alba , Windley Pool, Sutton Park. 449. R. integra, Fr. Woods. August to October. Crackley Wood, Kenilworth, Russell, lllustr. Ansty, Adams. Sutton Park ; Trickley Coppice ; New Park ; Plant’s Brook Reservoir; Parley Park, Atherstone ; Coleshill Pool ; Haywood ; Edgbaston Park ; Berkswell ; Balsall Street ; Packington Park ; Marston Green ; Corley. Var. alba, Sutton Park, 1888, Cooke, lllustr. 1084. 450. R. decolorans. Fr. Woods. Sept. Crackley Lane, Russell, lllustr. (?) High Wood, Combe, Adams. 451. R. aurata, Fr. Ag. auratus , With. Under trees. Rare. Oct. Under a large oak near second stew, Edgbaston Park, With. 194. 452. R. veternosa, Fr. On the ground. Rare. Near Ansty, Adams. 458. R. nitida, Fr. Woods. Rare. Oct. Avenue (Rugby ?) Rugby Sch. Rep. 454. R. claroflava, Grove. Very rare. Sept.-Oct. In the marshy wood at the head of Windley Pool, Sutton Park. See Mid. Nat., 1888, p. 265. 22 THE FUNGI OF WARWICKSHIRE. Jan., 1891. 455. R. alutacea, Fr. Woods. Oct. Warwick, Perceval. Kenilworth ! Russell , List. Ansty, Adams. School Close, Rugby Sch. Rep. Woods, Sutton Park ; New Park; Water’s Wood; Maxstoke ; Wainbody Wood, Kenilworth ; Cornets End, Berkswell ; Fen End, Marston Green. 456. R. lutea, Fr. Ag. integer , var. 6, With. Woods. Rare. Aug. -Sept. Edgbaston Park, With. 192. Crackley Wood, Russell, Illustr. Combe Ridings, Adayns! Trickley Coppice. 457. R. chamseleontina, Fr. Under trees, Hopsford, Adams. Genus X. — CANTHARELLUS, Adams. 458. C. cibarius, Fr. Merulius cantharellus, With., Purt. In woods. Rare. Sept.- Oct. Red Rock Plantation, Edgbaston Park, With. 148. Ragley Woods ! Oversley Hill and Wood, Purt. ii. 621. Warwick, Perceval. Crackley Wood, Kenilworth, Rev. Mr. Knowles. Combe Woods, Adams. Bentley Park, Bloxam. Kingswood, Hawkes ! Coleshill Heath; Shawberries Wood; wood on the Ridgeway, near Coughton Park. 459. C. aurantiacus, Fr. Ag. subcantharellus, Purt. Woods and heathy places. Oct. Studley Common, Purt. iii. 184. Hopsford, near Brinklow, Adams. Pool Hollies Wood, 1881 ; Sutton Park ; Fen End ; Packington Park ; Coughton Park, &c. In Sutton Park whitish forms occur on the heathlands ; the variety nigripes is also common. 460. C. tubaeformis, Fr. Rare. Sept. -Oct. Bentley Park, 1849, Bloxam. The Ridings, Combe, Adams. Sliaw- berries Wood, Shustoke. 461. C. infundibuliformis, Fr. Woods. Rare. Bentley Park, 1849, Bloxam. 462. C. muscigenus, Fr. Merulius muscigenus , var. 2, With. On moss in Packington Park, With. 150. 463. C. lobatus, Fr. Merulius membranaceus, Purt. AtPopliills, growing on moss, Mrs. Rufford in Purt. iii. 181. Genus XI.— NYCTALIS. 464. N. asterophora, Fr. Woods. Rare. Sept. -Oct. The Ridings, Combe, Adams. Wood near Hams Hall, on Russula nigricans. [I do not see in this anything more than N. parasitica , bearing the conidia of Hypomyces asterophorus. — W. B. G.] 465. N. parasitica, Fr. Ag. umbratus , With. Woods. Rare. Aug. to Oct. Red Rock Plantation, Edgbaston, With. 197. Wood, Red Lane, Kenilworth, Russell , Illustr. Combe Woods, Adams. On decaying Russula fcetens in Cut-throat Wood, Solihull ; New Park, Middleton ; Spernall, on R. nigricans. Jan., 1891. THE FUNGI OF WARWICKSHIRE. 23 Genus XII.— MAEASMIUS. Fr. 466. M. urens. Fr. Woods. Aug. to Oct. Warwick, Perceval. Crackley Wood ! Kenilworth, Russell , Illustr. Combe Hidings ! Adams. Sutton Park ; New Park ; Cut-throat Wood, Solihull ; The Spring, Kenilworth. 467. M. peronatus, Fr. Ag. peronatus, Purt, Woods, amongst leaves. Oct. Kagley Woods, Purt. iii. , 207. Crackley Wood ! Kenilworth, Russell, Rlustr. Combe Ridings, Adams. Sutton Park ; New Park ; Trickley Coppice ; Coleshill Heath ; Ironstone Wood, Oldbury ; Bradnock’s Hayes ; Spernall ; Packington Park, &c. 468. M. porreus, Fr. Ag. alliaceus, Purt, In woods, amongst leaves. Sept. -Oct. Maxstoke, Bree in Purt. ii., 650. Abundantly in Oversley Wood, 1818, Purt. iii., 421. Crackley Wood, Kenilworth, Russell, Illustr. Combe Ridings, Adams. 469. M. oreades, Fr. Ag. orcades, With. In pastures, forming rings. Aug. to Oct. Not common. Edgbaston, hedge banks, pastures, in small or large patches, particularly in fairy rings, With. 218. Warwick, Perceval. Dunn’s Pits and Dale House Lanes, Kenilworth ! Russell, Illustr. Ansty, Adams. Oscott ; Sutton Park; Stonebridge ; Maxstoke ; Arrow Lane ; pastures near Milverton, &c. 470. M. erythropus, Fr. Woods. Oct. Warwick, Perceval. Crackley Wood, Kenilworth, Russell, Illustr. Ag. dispar, With. (Batscli., 210), “In the Park at Packington,” p. 273, is a variety of this, if correct. 471. M. archyropus, Fr. Woods. Sept. Crackley Wood, Kenilworth, Russell, Illustr. 472. M. Vaillantii, Fr. Merulius androsaceus, With. On dead wood. Oct. Packington Park, amongst moss, With., 146. [I do not think that Withering’s species was anything more than M. androsaceus, Fr. — W. B. G.] 473. M. fcetidus, Fr. Merulius fcetidus, Purt. “ In my own garden (Alcester), growing between the furrows of the bark,” Purt. ii., 620. 474. M. ramealis, Fr. Hedges and woods. Oct. Burton Green Wood, Kenilworth, 1863, Russell, Illustr. Combe Woods, Adams. Coleshill Pool. 475. M. alliaceus, Fr. Ag. alliaceus, With. Woods. Rare. Sept. “ It has lately been found in woods about Pack¬ ington,” With., 272. 476. M. rotula, Fr. Merulius collariatus, Purt. On woods and twigs. “ Shrubbery in my own garden (Alcester),” Purt. ii., 619. Warwick, Perceval. The Spring, Kenil¬ worth. Russell, Illustr. Hopsford. Adams. Sutton Park ; Shawberries Wood, Shustoke ; Trickley Coppice ; Pack¬ ington Park; Bradnock’s Marsh, &c. 24 REPORTS OF SOCIETIES. Jan., 1891. 477. M. androsaceus, Fr. Merulius androsaceus, Purt. Plan¬ tation at Arrow, Furt. ii. . 619. Combe Woods, Adams. Sutton Park ; Marston Green ; Maxstoke ; Solihull ; Olton; Coleshill Pool; Trickley Coppice. &c. 478. M. epiphyllus, Fr , Merulius squamula, Purt. On leaves, &c. Oct. In the lane from Oversley to the mill ; Arrow, &c., Purt. ii., 620. 479. M saccharinus, Fr. Woods. Bare. Aug. Crackley Wood, Kenilworth, Bussell , Illustr. On dead leaves, &c., Kenilworth Castle, Cooke , Illustr ., 1186. (To be continued.) fltprls of Societies. BIRMINGHAM NATURAL HISTORY AND MICROSCOPICAL SOCIETY. — December 4th. Microscopical Section. — A lecture was delivered in the Biological Theatre, Mason College, to a crowded audience of the above society and its friends, by A. W. Wills, Esq., J.P., on “ Burmah and its People.” The lecture was illustrated by about a hundred lantern views, selected from photographs which he had taken during his recent tour. These were thrown on to the screen by Mr. C. Pumphrey, with the aid of a new apparatus giving a brilliant white light superior to the lime-liglit. Mr. Wills, in intro¬ ducing his subject, referred to the outward trip, briefly describing Aden, Ceylon, and India, which continent he traversed as far as Darjeeling ; then he proceeded to describe his entrance into Burmah by the River Irawady to Rangoon. Here he showed views of its temples, homes of the Buddhist priests, and luxuriant foliage. He then described Toongho, on the River Sitang, and showed views of its bungalows, street scenes, and a number of natives in their picturesque costumes, which, he said, were often gorgeous in colour, but always in good taste. The district en route to Mandalay revealed much tropical scenery — the jungle, the paddy fields, and an area of fifty miles where the cactus, from six feet to thirty feet high, of many curious forms, are the chief objects in the landscape. He brought his most instruc¬ tive and interesting lecture to a close by some splendid photographs of Mandalay and its palaces. — December 9th. Biological Section. — Mr. W. H. Wilkinson in the chair. Mr. J. B. Williams, of Toronto, read a paper on Canadian birds, which he illustrated by an interesting collection of dried skins, fifty-two in number, of his own collecting, from the neighbourhood of Toronto. He also exhibited eggs of the Canadian stick insect, Diapliemora femorata. — December 16th. Geological Section. — Mr. C. Pumphrey in the chair. The chairman called the attention of the members to two photographs, kindly presented to the society by Mr. W. R. Hughes. (1) A photograph of the late Miss Constance Naden. (2) A photograph of the members who joined the Marine Excursion to Falmouth, in 1879. Mr. W. R. Hughes exhibited and described the pedunculate form of Antedon rosaceus (Comattila rosacea ), showing the early stages of the development of the plates and the arms of the rosy feather-star-fish before it becomes free. Mr. Madeley, of the Dudley Geological and Scientific Society and Midland Field Club, read a paper on “ Crinoids,” illustrated by several fine fossil forms from Dudley and elsewhere. A cordial vote of thanks was given to Mr. Madeley, and he was requested to conduct a party to see the Dudley Crinoids in the excursion season. This he promised gladly to do. Feb., 1891. THE SCOPE OF SOCIOLOGY. 25 THE SCOPE OF SOCIOLOGY.* BY MARY E. DALTON. From considering the evolution of Inorganic and Organic organisms, the Synthetic Philosophy passes to that Super- organic Evolution which deals with “ all those processes and products which imply the co-ordinated actions of many indi¬ viduals ” — a study which has, for the general student, a far greater value and more immediately practical aim. Social life, no less than individual, conforms to the general formula of evolution, and passes “ from an indefinite, incoherent homogeneity to a definite, coherent heterogeneity.” There is, obviously, a natural sequence among social actions ; and to find this, that men may avoid evil and secure good as the result of future activity, is the practical aim of the Sociologist. The value of a science of government which should be based upon the application of the immutable laws which govern the universe cannot be over-estimated ; and complex and difficult as the study of Sociology necessarily is, it is amply rewarded by proving the possibilities of such a science. Having as data for our work social units whose nature — physical, emotional, and intellectual — we know, and with whose external conditions of life we are familiar, we proceed to an examination of the nature, origin, and development of all the phenomena resulting from their collective and com¬ bined action — all the varied and multiform phenomena pre¬ sented by present and past social arrangements. We trace our present social unit back to his remote ancestor, and see how natural has been the evolution of the primitive man’s system of thought : the one essential to right understanding is gained when we cease to figure the mental processes of the savage in terms of our own, and see him simply as the almost passive recipient of conclusions forced upon him from with¬ out. Having verified historical inference by existing proofs, we find the old conception of a time when “ free in woods the noble savage ran ” absolutely untrue. Helped by the data of our Sociologic science to see “ distant things as intimately deep as if we touched them,” we see that same savage an almost absolute slave of external circumstance and internal terror. Without reflection or developed knowledge, he could only learn by slow process of repeated trial, and he paid with *A paper read before a meeting of the Sociological Section of the Birmingham Natural History and Microscopical Society, held Jun6 20th, 1890. Communicated by Mr. W. It. Hughes, F.L.S. 26 THE SCOPE OF SOCIOLOGY. Feb., 1891. his blood the penalty of mistake and failure. Among the favourite platform platitudes of modern Socialists are the claim for man of “ natural rights,” and the sentiment that many people have no share in the blessings of our civilisa¬ tion. Every living person — the poorest, the lowest, the most degraded — shares an inheritance of knowledge, doctrines, and ideas, which long ages have gathered as the fruits of civilisation. The “ natural ” rights of man are to struggle and to endure ; but our own great inheritance of established rights is the harvest of long ages of successful experiments. The living gather the fruit of seed sown by the dead, and feed their hope and faith by a knowledge of how great was the chaos from which their order sprang, and how infinite must be the possibilities still latent in humanity. The great moral gain from the study of Sociology is the perception of by what prodigious struggles, not only our material good, but “ gentle¬ ness, virtue, wisdom, and endurance” have been gained — the knowledge that always “ what shall be betters what has been and is ; ” that the unceasing tendency of the ages is towards the final perfection of all things. We find our only revelation of God, or the Great First Cause, in the thought of man ; and the revelation is more divine and beautiful than our old dreams had told us — “ The end of it is love, The heart of it is peace and consummation sweet.” We pass with evolution from the arid realm of orthodox theology and breathe an “ ampler ether, a diviner air.” The conduct of primitive man was in part determined by the feelings with which he regarded the living men around him, and in part by the feelings with which he regarded men who had passed away. Incomprehensible power is the fruitful parent of fear : the fear of the living became the root of the political control ; the fear of the dead, the root of the religious control ; and these, with kindred secondary developments, have resulted in the tangled web of human society as we now know it. In considering our data for the study of Sociology we have necessarily included much of Sociology itself, since in no case can the data of a science be stated before some knowledge of the science has been reached. What are the phenomena included within the scope of Sociology ? The development of the family has first to be con¬ sidered, since this is the primitive society. The associa¬ tion of man and woman, of parent and child, originallv for the satisfaction of purely physical wants, has developed into Feb., 1891. THE SCOPE OF SOCIOLOGY. 27 that mighty system of human intercourse, which now talks of the “ brotherhood ” of man and the federation of the whole world. We must trace the history of the marriage relation from its early incoherent indefiniteness to the present stage of its progress towards the more equal and perfect monogamy which future development will bring. We shall see how this relation affects, and is affected by, all other social relations, more especially the closely allied parental and filial relations. In connection, too, with the mutual relations of men and women we shall trace the gradual growth of that principle of sexual equality, which is, as yet, fully developed only among the highest individuals of the highest type of our latest civilisations. The emancipation of one half of humanity from the servitude to which a greater degree of physical weakness condemned it in the savage life ; the establishment of woman’s right to the full and free development of her whole nature — physical and mental, as well as emotional — suggest problems as to the future which only a knowledge of the past can solve. The tendency of things, visible through all the confusion of modern thought on the subject, seems to be towards the recognition of a perfect equality of worth, based on the essential difference of work and function. To the Sociologist there is no fear that the agitation for securing an improve¬ ment in the present condition of women will prove as disastrous as its opponents claim. The untrained enthusiast may look for an immediate revolution of position ; the scientist, who knows how slowly great and permanent changes in human life are effected, finds a brighter hope and a higher ideal in the gradual evolution of character. Indeed, the attainable ideal to which Sociology points is the development of the whole possibilities latent in humanity. The physical, moral, and intellectual may culminate in the unknown powers whose existence is dimly guessed as the result of hypnotic and kindred experiments ; but the develop¬ ment of old and new is contemporaneous. It is an assurance of progress that the higher powers of human life, called into existence by improved environment and new wants, bear buds of fair promise even before the lower nature has ripened its fruit to perfection. “ The mills of God grind slowly,” but they never cease their grinding, and the result is sure. As a result of the aggregation of allied families we find the tribe, and this we trace until it develops into the state, which presents such varied forms in the different social types — nomadic and settled, military and industrial. Of these 28 THE SCOPE OF SOCIOLOGY. Feb., 1891. types the latest, which is settled and industrial, is the highest. Within a period of time which, to the scientist, is very small, it has passed through many phases ; and the form which it will ultimately take is the most pressing of our modern problems. We have to consider also all the machinery of civil government, and all the work it does, as well as the constantly changing relations between the governing and the governed. We shall trace the slow downward filtration of power from the one to the many ; the gradual change from the despotism of the autocrat to the despotism of the democracy ; and in relation to this development we shall examine the uses and fright limits of all governing institutions, finding the indi¬ vidualistic and socialistic sharply contrasted in the data from which we draw our conclusions. Side by side with these political structures and functions, and often almost indistinguishable from them, there sprang up the ecclesiastical and ceremonial institutions, whose gradual differentiation from the civil government, and separate work and character must be studied. The fear of the living caused them to be propitiated by ceremonies and sacrifices greatly resembling those offered to the dead. Those powerful among the living are naturally believed to be powerful also among the dead; it is only as the “ long result of time” that king and priest, church and state, became ever more divergent and distinct. In addition, we have to consider the way in which the ecclesiastical structure gave rise to a code of religious cere¬ monial, and to a distinct code of morality ; and always whatever may be the phenomena with which we are dealing, we shall consider their relation to the mental nature of our social units, and how the action and reaction of the two mutually modify each other. In this later development we shall find not only that the church and state — the religious and the legal — become more and more distinct, but that morality outgrows the ideals of the religion which claims to be inseparably connected with it, and becomes more and more divorced from orthodox faith. In tracing the development of the idea of divinity, from the untutored ignorance which natural appearances impressed with a belief in duality ; and which knowledge of oppression and tyranny, suffered from the living representatives of power, filled with awe and terror of the unknown dead, to our most advanced knowledge, we see incidentally how man’s physical needs and surroundings have developed conscience and the moral sense. (To be continued.) Feb., 1891. a visit to the north cape and Norway. 29 A VISIT TO THE NORTH CAPE AND NORWAY, ILLUSTRATED BY A SERIES OF 150 LANTERN SLIDES.* BY C. PUMPHREY AND W. P. MARSHALL. In this visit to Norway, Bergen (the capital), was first stopped at ; and we then proceeded northwards by one of the special North Cape tourist steamers, the Olaf Kyrre, stopping on the way at many places of interest, staying a night at Trondhjem, the ancient capital of Norway, and finally landing at the North Cape to see the Midnight Sun from the summit of the rock. We then returned southwards, visiting several other places on the way back, and left the steamer at Molde, one day’s sail short of Bergen ; and from there took an inland trip of three weeks to visit some of the beautiful and grand scenery of the Norwegian “fjords” or creeks, the “dais” or valleys, the “ vands ” or lakes, the “ fos ” or waterfalls, and the “ braes ” or glaciers. The whole distance from here to the North Cape is about 2,000 miles, and the time away from home was six weeks, of which a fortnight was taken in the trip from Bergen to the North Cape and back. The sea passage of about 400 miles from Newcastle to Bergen took one day and two nights ; and in the course of the steamer to the North Cape and back, there were visited on the way, either in going or returning, Molde and Trondhjem, the Torghatten Island Rock, the Svartisen Glacier, the Lofoden Islands, Tromsoe, where a Lapp encampment was seen ; the beautiful Lyngen Fjord, Hammer- fest, the most northern town in the world, being in 70° north latitude ; and the Svaerliolt Bird-rock. On the 6th July the North Cape was reached, which is only 19°, or about 1,800 miles distant from the North Pole, At the Svartisen Glacier, the Arctic circle was passed, and whilst we were within the circle the sun remained continuously above the horizon for six days and five nights, and we were so fortunate as to be able to see it at midnight on four of those nights. At the North Cape the sun never sets for as long as two months and a half in the summer, but then on the other hand it is never seen for two months and a half in the winter. The inland excursion from Molde round to Bergen was first up the celebrated Romsdal Valley, thirty miles in length, and back again, passing between the great Romsdalshorn *Read before the Birmingham Natural History and Microscopical Society, 18th March, 1890. 30 A VISIT TO THE NORTH CAPE AND NORWAY. Feb., 1891. and Trolltindern, that stand one on each side of the valley, towering up to heights of 5,000ft. and 6,000ft. Then to the Geiranger Fjord, and the beautiful Seven Sisters’ Waterfalls, and to the Brixdal Glacier ; then up the great Sogne Fjord, which extends 110 miles inland from the sea, to Laerdalsoren, Jostedal, and the Nigaards Brae Glacier. Then through Naero Fjord and Naerodal to Eide and the great Yoringsfos Waterfall, and on to Odde, Brixdal Glacier, and the Gorsvingane Pass at 8,500ft. elevation, returning by the Hardanger Fjord to Bergen. A remarkable circumstance to be noticed in Norway is the very exceptional mildness of the climate, notwithstanding its extreme northerly position ; all the other countries of the world in the same latitude as the northern portion of Norway, are permanently frozen up all the year with snow-covered glaciers ; but in Norway, the harbour even of Hammerfest, which is close to the North Cape, is never frozen. This is entirely due to the extraordinary warming power of the Gulf Stream, which emerges from the Gulf of Mexico at a tem¬ perature as high as 84°, crosses the Atlantic in a gigantic stream 800 miles wide and near a quarter of a mile in thick¬ ness, flowing at a speed of about two miles an hour, and then strikes upon the coast of Norway, flowing all along the coast past the North Cape, where it discharges itself into the Arctic Ocean ; having given off in its course 52° of heat, the differ¬ ence between 32° in the Arctic Ocean and 84° on leaving the Gulf of Mexico. Description of the Slides. 1. — Norge steamer on landing at Bergen from Newcastle. 2. — Bergen fish market; the fish is sold direct from the boats, which are drawn up alongside the quay. 3. — Another view of Bergen fish market, showing the crowd of people on the quay bargaining with the fishermen. 4. — Bergen harbour warehouses, wooden buildings carried out into the harbour upon piles, so that the boats can get alongside of the warehouses. 5. — The quay, Bergen harbour, showing the row of curious hand cranes, “ Vippebom,” consisting of a light spar slung upon a mast, the short end of the spar projecting over the boat and carrying a sling, and the long outer end having a rope by which it is hauled down by hand, lifting up the goods out of the boat. 6. — Bergen market boats ; at one part of the market is a special quay, with a number of boats lying alongside close together, which have come in from various farms along the coast of the fjord, laden with market produce, vegetables, fruit, poultry, and eggs, and also some with crockery and wood furniture, &c. ; the boats are covered with temporary wood roofs, and converted into regular shops or market stalls, and the customers step on and off from the quay ; a very singular sight. 7. — Trimming cod in Bergen fish market. The sun-dried fish are landed upon the wharf from boats and stacked in sheds, where Feb., 1891. a visit to the north cape and Norway. 31 they are “ trimmed ” by chopping off the heads and tails, and then packed in barrels for export. They are literally as dry as sticks, and the process of trimming is just like chopping wood ; the refuse heads and tails go for manure. There is a large trade in this dried fish for winter food throughout the country, and also to Italy. It looked as if it would need a great deal of stewing. 8. — Hand-dredging in Bergen harbour ; a very primitive apparatus, a scoop and bag at the end of a long pole that is attached about the middle to the side of the dredging boat, and is let down vertically to the bottom of the water, guided by a man who has hold of the pole. A chain attached to the scoop is then hauled up by a windlass worked by a man who climbs up the edge of a large wheel that is fitted with projecting pegs on each side to form steps, like a treadmill wheel in action. 9. — Shows the dredger when the scoop is dragged up to the surface, bringing up a bag full of stones and mud, which is emptied out into a barge alongside by the man who has hold of the pole. There are two dredging scoops and wheels, one on each side of the boat. It was a comical sight to watch the men climbing up the wheels, one of which was worked by two men, one of them climbing up on each face of the wheel. 10. — The Bergen telephone office, a fine building, with a lofty frame¬ work on the roof, carrying a wilderness of wires. The telephone and telegraph are in very extensive use in Norway, and the tele¬ graph is carried into out-of-the-way regions, where it is of great service to the tourist, enabling him to engage in advance “ heste,” horses ; or “ mittag,” dinner ; or “ senge,” beds. 11. — The “ Torvet,” the main quay, and the “ Floien” hill, Bergen, which are beautifully situated in a recess in a large irregular bay, surrounded by hills giving charming picturesque views; at the back of the town is a hill, 800ft. high, with the “ Floien” on the summit, a large iron vane ; and an extensive public promenade is carried in zigzags up the hill called the “ Drammens vei,” or dram road, about which is a curious history. The sale of spirits is strictly limited to a company, under the control of the magis¬ trates ; and the profits, beyond a fixed dividend, are applied to public improvements, and the cost of this public road up the hill has been defrayed from this source, so that it goes by the name of the “ Dram Hoad.” 12. — The Nordnaes Garde, a specimen of the streets of Bergen* with their wooden houses. 13. — The “ Stave Kirke,” or wooden church, near Bergen, an interest¬ ing example of the curious ancient wooden churches of the country, now out of use. This one was brought from a distant secluded spot by the American Consul, who bought it, and set it up in a picturesque situation in his own grounds, a few miles from Bergen, where it is a favourite sight for visitors. 14. — The North Cape steamer, Olaf Kyrre, arrived at Trondhjem, the ancient capital of Norway. 15. — The quay at Trondhjem, with boats lying in front of the warehouses. 16. — Trondhjem Cathedral, an ancient church of much interest, which is now being restored ; the nave has been without a roof for nearly 300 years, service being carried on in the other portion of the church. 16a. — East end of the cathedral. 17. — The north-west angle of the cathedral exterior. 82 A VISIT TO THE NORTH CAPE AND NORWAY. Feb., 1891. 18. — The interior of the cathedral, east end, showing the restoration of the very elegant and unique slender shafts with arched ribs ; these are built in grey stone and white marble. 19. — Thorwalsden’s celebrated colossal figure of Christ. This is a cast from the original marble figure at Copenhagen, and was pre¬ sented by the sculptor to the Trondhjem Cathedral. 20. — The Bridge over the Nid at Trondhjem. 21. — A curious old stone carving over the office of the Mineral Water Co. ; subject, “ Moses striking the Bock,” Moses being repre¬ sented in the costume of the mineral water craft, and the children of Israel hurrying up to drink from the spring of mineral water. 22. — An admiring crowd watching the process of making a sketch of Moses and Co. 23. — Lerfos, a waterfall in the river, near Trondhjem. 24. — First view of the great island rock, Torghatten, a remarkable rock standing up alone in the open sea, about 800ft. in height, and called, from a fancied resemblance to a floating hat, Torghsetta, or market hat. It has a singular natural archway pierced through it, at about two-thirds of the height, which is a special object for tourists to visit. The legend is that the hole was made by the Old Gentleman shooting an arrow through the hat. 25. — Is a view, taken during the ascent to the archway, which presented fine views, and quantities of flowers were found on the way. 26. — The entrance to the archway, which is there 60ft. in height ; the archway is 240ft. in length through the rock, and slopes down steeply to the other end, which is more than 200ft. in height. 27. — The view from the other end, which is very striking and beautiful, looking over an expanse of sea, studded with a number of small islands. 28. — A group of tourists on the steamer, after leaving Torghatten. 29. — One of the Lofoden Islands, “ Ost Yaago ; ” these are an extensive group of islands, standing out to sea at a distance of two hours’ steaming from the mainland, and resembling the Hebrides in position, but with very remarkable bold, jagged, mountain outlines. In calm weather, as was fortunately the case when we were there, the tourist steamer goes out between two of the islands into the open sea beyond, returning through another narrow rocky passage, the Raftsund,” which is specially fine in scenery. 30. — Another view in going round the island of Ost Yaago. 31. — Yiew in passing through the Raftsund. 32. — Photograph from a sketch taken of the most remarkable moun¬ tain outline in the Raftsund, called the “ Shark’s Teeth,” from its very jagged outline. Some farm houses are seen near the shore, and there is an extensive fishing carried on in these islands in the early part of the year. 33. — Photograph from a sketch, taken from the steamer, of the remark¬ able outline of the Lofodens. The upper figure shows the striking outline of one isolated mountain rock, that stands up nearly vertical on one face. 34. — The town of Tromsoe, where we all landed, to go a couple of miles up Tromsoedal, for the purpose of seeing a Lapp encamp¬ ment, with a herd of 200 reindeer. Feb., 1891. a visit to the north cape and Norway. 33 35. — A Lapp hut, “Gamme,”in Tromsoedal, a wretched little hovel, out of which we saw no less than twenty men, women, and children emerge, to stare at the visitors and traffic in rude bone carvings and in skins and furs. 36. — A Lapp skin warehouse. 37. — Some of the reindeer. The herd was confined within a rough fence, and the young ones were being caught, and marked by cutting a notch in the ear ; the whole herd was then let out, trotting off in fine style up the hill side, and presenting a very pretty sight in crossing several patches of snow. 38. — A group of Lapps, taken by Dr. Tempest Anderson ; they are a diminutive, uninteresting race, more remarkable for dirt than for anything else. 39. — Our first sight of the Midnight Sun ; a photograph from a sketch taken at the time. The steamer went specially out of its course to take up a position at midnight where there was a clear view to the north between the islands. 39a. — Photograph from a map showing the spot (marked by a x) from which this view of the Midnight Sun was obtained. This map illustrates the remarkable multitude of islands that fringe the coast of Norway. 40. — Hammerfest, the most northern town in the world, being 70° north latitude, and within half a day’s sail of the North Cape. The situation of this town is very remarkable. From the extra¬ ordinary warming power of the Gulf Stream, the harbour is never frozen, although those in other countries considerably further south are continuously frozen up for many months of the winter. The weather was very warm when we were there in July, and the temperature was as high as 70° in the shade. 41. — Hammerfest harbour. A great manufacture of cod liver oil is carried on here, and there is a long line of factories on the other side of the harbour. 42. — Group on board the steamer after leaving Hammerfest, showing one of the party dressed up in a full Lapp costume of furs, including cap and boots, in which he had invested for taking home. 43. — Svaerholt, the great bird rock, opposite the North Cape — a great precipitous rock, 1,200 feet in height, rising straight out of the sea, that is the breeding ground of an enormous colony of sea birds. On approaching the rock, the birds are seen perched in innumerable rows upon long lines of ledges, extending over the whole face of the rock ; and then, when startled by the firing of a cannon from the steamer, the whole colonv is seen in a few seconds flying overhead in so dense a swarm as to cover the sky with white like a snow storm. 44. — View of the North Cape rocks from the steamer. The North Cape is on an island, with the rocks at the northern extremity rising abruptly from the sea to a height of 900 feet. 45. — Rocks at the landing place, which is on the eastern side of the island, where a steep zigzag path is carried up a ravine from the shore, and a further walk of a mile at the top brings us to the North Cape itself. 46. — The midnight sun and clouds from the North Cape. The sun afterwards came out clear of the clouds and shone brightly, cast¬ ing sharp shadows, and giving as much light at midnight as an average autumn afternoon here. The temperature Was quite mild — 54° at midnight — and the air soft and pleasant; audit 34 A VISIT TO THE NORTH CAPE AND NORWAY. Feb., 1891. was very difficult to realise that we were actually standing within 1,300 miles distance of the North Pole itself. We collected a number of plants in flower on the North Cape. 47. — A ravine on the west side of the North Cape, where the coast is very bold and picturesque in character. This photograph was also taken at midnight ; and it was found by measurement by an actinometer scale that the actinic power of the sun’s rays was as great as one-fiftli of its actinic power at midday in this country, so that the plate only required exposing five times as long to obtain the picture at midnight. 48. — Lyngen Fjord. On the way back from the North Cape the steamer took a two hours’ trip up Lyngen Fjord for the purpose of seeing the bold and striking scenery. The mountains along the fjord are very bold in character, rising straight up from the water ; with numerous glaciers in the ravines, some of them reaching the sea. 49. — Lyngen Fjord. Another ravine, "with snow and glaciers. 50. — Lyngen Fjord. A further view of rocky peaks, with snow. 51. — Lyngen Fjord. A vertical rock face. 52. — Molde,, where we left the steamer, one day’s sail short of Bergen, and started on a three weeks’ tour inland. Molde is a very plea¬ sant place to stay at, charmingly situated in a sheltered bay, and looking out over a number of pretty wooded islands in the fjord towards the fine mountain scenery of the Romsdal. This view is taken from the front of the hotel, the seats and tables in the foreground belonging to the hotel. 53. — Molde. Main street, with the church in the distance. 54. — Furrier’s shop, ornamented with reindeer heads. 55. — Molde church, with a view of the fjord beyond. The church, like the Norwegian churches generally, is built entirely of wood — even the tower and spire are all wood — and the roof is covered with wood shingles for slates. The whole body of the church, with the tower and spire, is painted with a variety of delicate shades of light brown, drab, and grey, with great taste, and presents a very pleasing effect. This applies also, generally, to the Nor¬ wegian churches and larger buildings, excepting in country places, where they are simply painted white.; or, in the smallest places, left plain wood, but very neat and clean. 56. — Molde pier and warehouses. 57. — We then left Molde in a small coasting steamer for the Romsdal, going up Romsdal Fjord, landing at Naes, from which the first view of the great “ Romsdalshorn,” 5,000ft. in height, was obtained. We then started off to drive up the Romsdal, thirty miles in length, staying two nights at different places in this fine valley, which is one of the special sights of Norway. 58. — View of Romsdalshorn, on approaching from Naes, showing the “ horn,” or peak, that makes it so marked an object. The road passes between the Romsdalshorn on the left, and the still higher “ Trolltindern, ” or Goblin Peaks, nearly 6,000ft. in height, on the right. 59. — View of the Romsdalshorn, looking back down the valley, and showing the river in the foreground. 60. — The Trolltindern, with its three peaks, seen looking down the valley, with the foot of the Romsdalshorn on the right. 61. — Another view of part of the Trolltindern, showing in the fore¬ ground one of the large boulders that are strewn in the valley. Feb., 1891. THE BIRDS OF OXFORDSHIRE. 35 62. — Romsdal from Fladmark, where we stopped the first night, with our conveyance standing in the road ; a kind of low gig called “ Stolkjaerre,” of very primitive construction, but decidedly con¬ venient, with space for the driver behind, either sitting upon the luggage or more generally standing up. The harness was of a very simple and primitive make, the reins being only rope, but the pony was excellent, and very satisfactory both in work and looks; a sort of dark cream colour, with- a black line all down his back and running through the centre line of the mane, which is thought much of as a sign of good blood; and the mane is care¬ fully trimmed away on each side, leaving a narrow, black crest or ruff standing up some inches high all along the neck. The collar is made to stand high up, clear of the mane, so as not to damage this precious ruff, and the pony looked quite a little dandy, with even his back hair, that is his tail, parted down the middle. We saw many such ponies afterwards, and they are evidently taken much care of by their owners, who are often the drivers, either the owner or a son or daughter. The tourists frequently drive themselves, but we preferred to be independent, for jumping down whenever desired to photograph, orisketch, or to collect plants. (To be continued.) THE BIRDS OF OXFORDSHIRE. (Concluded from page 8.) Oxfordshire is the only county that can boast of the occurrence of the Alpine Chough, an excellent plate of which is given as a frontispiece. An example was shot in Brough¬ ton Park in April, 1881. Although thus straying far beyond its known range, there is yet nothing improbable in the occurrence, as it is recorded twice in Heligoland. A more unusual bird than even this to turn up accidentally in a Mid¬ land county is the Andalusian Hemipode, an extremely local species in the countries in which it is found, and certainly a most unlikely wanderer to our shores. The Raven has been shot as lately as 1888, but has long ceased to be a resident. The Carrion Crow seems fairly common in the north of the county. That handsome species, the Hoopoe, has several times been noted ; and undoubtedly, if unmolested, would remain to nest. This is indeed the case in a neighbouring county, in a locality where a pair of these birds, which come annually, are well cared for and protected. Mr. Aplin’s remarks on the habit of the Green Wood¬ pecker obtaining its food on the ground throughout the year , especially amongst ant hills, is a fact which appears to have escaped the notice of ornithologists. Both the Greater and Lesser Spotted Woodpeckers nest in the county. The variety of the common Partridge in which the chestnut of the “ horse-shoe” mark on the breast is replaced by white, has not escaped the author’s notice ; he lias, 36 THE BIRDS OF OXFORDSHIRE. Feb., 1891. however, only once seen an example ; this is singular, con¬ sidering it is not uncommon in parts of England, and indeed in some localities on the increase. A few pairs of Stone Curlew continue to haunt one locality, although, with the present rage for egg collecting, it is not unlikely they will shortly have to be numbered with other extinct species once belonging to the county. Considering that Oxfordshire is so far removed from the nearest coast, it is interesting to find so many species of shore birds in the faunal list, including the Grey Plover, Turnstone, Knot, Sanderling, Little Stint, Temmincks’ Stint, Curlew Sandpiper, Purple Sandpiper, Spotted Redshank, Greenshank, Bar-tailed Godwit, and Wliimbrel, all representing species which rarely stray inland during the periods of migration, but are found in greater or less abundance on the sea coast. The Black, Sandwich, Roseate, Common, Arctic, and Lesser Terns, also the Sooty Tern, are all included in Mr. Aplin’s list. Of these the first is an occasional spring and autumn visitor, and there is reliable evidence to show that it at one time remained to nest. A nest with four eggs of the Arctic Tern is said to have been taken on Otmoor in the summer of 1834 — as far as England is concerned, perhaps the only instance of the species breeding in an inland situation. The number of the eggs — four — suggests an error in determining the species, as the Arctic Tern has sometimes three, but usually only two eggs in number. One of the only two authenticated instances of the Sooty Tern obtained in England was an example shot when flying over the Thames, near Wallingford, on the borders of the county. The Kittiwake, an almost purely marine gull, is an occa¬ sional and not an uncommon visitor from autumn to spring. Mr. Aplin has shot it as late as March 24th. A young Iceland Gull, in the first year’s plumage, was obtained in the spring of 1836 on Port Meadow. Storm- driven wanderers like the Skuas, Fulmar, Manx Shearwater, Leach’s and the Stormy Petrel, with the Guillemot, Razor-bill, Puffin, and Little Auk have been obtained, and the Cormorant, Shag, and Gannet are likewise all accidental in their occurrence. Two pair of the Great Crested Grebe nest annually on Clattercote Reservoir, and the Red-necked, Sclavonian, and Eared Grebes have been occasionally seen. The Little Grebe or Dabchick, is a resident, breeding in some numbers in all likely localities. The Heron also is a resident nesting in a few spots. The oldest established heronry is that in Tar Wood, near Stanton Harcourt, but the number of nests in late years appears to Feb., 1891. THE BIRDS OF OXFORDSHIRE. 37 have been much reduced. The water meadows in the larger valleys, the low-lying tract of Otmoor, and sheets of water like Clattercote Reservoir, and the great lake at Blenheim, as well as many other artificial waters in the numerous parks of Oxfordshire, are annually attractive to large numbers of wild fowl. For an inland county, the list of the Annaticbz is indeed a goodly one, and in comparison with the latest British list it is much the readiest to name the omissions. These are the so-called Polish Swan, at the best a doubtful species ; three Arctic geese, namely the Snow Goose, Red-breasted Bernicle, and the Lesser White-fronted Goose ; also the Red- crested Pochard, Harlequin, and King Eider, along with five American ducks. This leaves three swans, eight geese, and eighteen species of ducks as either resident, occasional, or rare and accidental visitors to Oxford waters. No doubt the ornithological richness of Oxfordshire is in a great measure connected with the fact that along much of its south and western boundaries runs the chief river of England — a stream rich in historic lore above all others — in the long days of summer a highway of water, with an ever-shifting panorama of graceful boats and gaily-dressed pleasure seekers, but in the autumn and winter sufficiently quiet and retired to attract numerous passing migrants and inland wanderers whose natural haunts are on the sea coast. River vallevs like the Thames are also peculiarly attractive to summer migrants. The long and deep stretches of reeds and bulrushes skirting the banks, the almost impassable willow-holts, and eyots buried in low shrubs and “ thorough-grown with rank masses of water-loving plants, afford conditions most favourable to various aquatic, warblers. So also the beautiful hanging woods, in a wealth of tinted foliage which almost seems to rival the brighter glories of autumn, are specially attractive to songsters like the Nightingale, Blackcap, and Garden Warbler. Nowhere, perhaps, on our chief English streams will the ornithologist find more charming pastoral and river scenery than along the upper waters of the Thames and Isis — not unmindful in his wanderings, as he marks the bright moving waters slipping and sliding away towards the sea, that it is the same ancient stream, little altered in itself from the dawn of history, on whose banks, through leagues of forest land, skin-clad hunters pursued the auroch, red deer, and wolf; and centuries later Roman legions, intent on fame and con¬ quest, marked out their camping ground, and kindled watch fires on its southern strand. In bringing these remarks on Mr. Aplin's pleasant pages to an end, we think ornithologists and others interested in 38 HISTORY OF THE COUNTY BOTANY OF WORCESTER. Feb., 1891. bird life will tliank him for his excellent book — one which, for careful and conscientious preparation, must take a fore¬ most place amongst the number of works of the same class which have appeared during the last thirty years. There is, unfortunately, one feature in common to all these county and local lists — thev are too much a record of loss and extermina- •/ tion. Let us hope that at no distant future greater regard will be shown in the preservation and encouragement of the many interesting and beautiful forms of life still left in our country, so that our native fauna may be preserved for the benefit and instruction of those who are to come after us. John Cordeaux. HISTORY OF THE COUNTY BOTANY OF WORCESTER. BY WM. MATHEWS, M.A. ( Continued from page 19. ) * Hypericum Androsaemum, perforatum, dubium, tetrapterum, humi- fusum, hirsutum, pulchrum. Tab. 7. In all the districts. H. calycinum, xxix. Malvern D. ; shrubbery at Little Malvern for some years. Tab. 7. Not native. * H. montanum. 6, 12, Severn D. ; 67, 68, 88, Malvern D. Tab. 7. Avon. Severn, Malvern. Nash’s records from the Avon district, “ Mid. Nat.,” Vol. X., p. 122, and Perry’s from various localities, “ Mid. Nat.,” Vol. X., p. 258, are omitted from notice. * H, elodes, xxxii., lxxxviii. 119, Moseley. 135, Lickey ; 139, Tab. 7, Lickey. Extinct. * Malva moschata, sylvestris, rotundifolia. Tab. 7. In all the districts. * Tilia europaea, xxxix. 4, 6. Severn D. 70, Malvern D. Tab. 7. * T. parvifolia, xxi. 4, 16, Severn L>. 70, 81, Malvern D. Tab. 7. * T. grandiflora, xxi., xxix., xxxix. 4, Severn D. Tab. 7. Severn, Malvern. No Lime recorded in the Avon D. * Linum usitatissimum. Tab. 8. In all the districts. * L. catharticum. Tab. 8. In all the districts. * Eadiola millegrana, 11, 12, Hartlebury Common, 60 ; 119, Moseley. Tab. 8. Avon, Severn, Lickey. * Geranium pbaeum. 3, Bedstone Bock, Severn D. Tab. 7. Severn, Malvern, Lickey. * G. striatum. 40, Severn D. Severn Esplanade, Worcester. Not native. Tab. 7. G. nodosum, xxix. Same locality as last. Not native. Query , whether same species intended ? Mr. Towndrow ivrites : — “ Mr. T. E. A. Briggs sent me a specimen of G. nodosum, hearing a label as follows : ' Abundantly naturalised near Malvern, Worcester¬ shire. July, 1877. Coll. J. Cosmo Melville.' 1 have myself never met with either plant.' Feb., 1891. HISTORY OF THE COUNTY BOTANY OF WORCESTER. 39 * G. sylvaticum. 3, 6, 59, Wyre Forest, Severn D. Tab. 8. Severn, Lickey. * G. pratense. 29, Severn D. *+ G. sanguineum. 6, 7, 59, Wyre Forest, Salop side only. Tab. 8. Severn. * G. pyrenaicum, viii. 6, 40, Severn D. Tab. 8. Avon, Severn. * G. pusillum, dissectum, molle, Robertianum. In all the districts. * G. columbinum. 100, only noted at Bredon Hill. Tab. 8. In all the districts. * G. rotundifolium. 95, 137, Avon D. But in Tab. 8 mentioned as growing in one locality in the Severn, Malvern, and Lickey districts. * G. lucidum. 6, 40, Severn D. 65, Malvern ; 124, 134, Lickey D. Tab. 8. All districts except Avon. * Erodium cicutarium. Tab. 8. In all the districts. * E. moschatum. Tab. 8. Avon, Malvern, Lickey, with sign of suspicion. I believe an error in every case. * E. maritimum. 9, Habberley Valley ; 11, Hartlebury Common, 12, 34, 37; 68. near Barnards Green, Malvern. Tab. 8. Severn, Malvern, Lickey. The latter is probably Irvine's locality , and requires confirmation. * Oxalis Acetosella. Tab. 8. In all the districts. * Ilex Aquifolium. 4, Severn D. ; 69, Malvern D. ; 113, Lickey. Tab. 19. In all the districts. * Euonymus europaeus. 40, Severn D. Tab. 8. In all the districts. Not localised in any but the Severn D. * Rhanmus catharticus. 40, Severn D. ; Avon D., 98, Alderminster ; 104, Broadway ; 124, Avon D., Stour, above Halesowen. Tab. 8. In all the districts. * R. Frangula. 40, Severn D. ; 114, 123, Lickey D. Tab. 8. Severn, Lickey. Ulex europaeus. Tab. 8. In all the districts. * U. Gallii. Tab. 8. In all the districts. *f U. nanus, xlvi., 66. Tab. 8. Severn; Malvern; Lickey. Very doubtful records. I believe all to be U. Gallii. *1 Genista pilosa, 73. “ Mr. Borrer is recorded, in Hooker and Arnott's British Flora, to have gathered Genista pilosa at Little Malvern. I suspect some mistake.” See also 144, Tab. 8. An error ? * G. tinctoria. Tab. 8. In all the districts. * G. anglica. 17, Severn D., footnote. Broadlieath, near Worcester. 140, Moseley Green, near Monkswood. Tab. 8. Severn, Malvern, Lickey. * Sarothamnus Scoparius. Tab. 8. In all the districts. * Ononis arvensis. Tab. 8. In all the districts. * 0. spinosa. Tab. 8. In all the districts. * Medicago sativa. Not native. Tab. 8. Avon, Severn, Malvern. * M. xnaculata, xvi. 40, Severn D. Banks of the Salwarp, near Porter’s Mill ; Mr. Smith’s hopyard at Wick, near the Severn. Tab. 8. Severn, Malvern. 40 HISTORY OF THE COUNTY BOTANY OF WORCESTER. Feb., 1891. M. denticulata. Additions, Moseley, near Birmingham, 1866. Tab. 8. Lickey. * Anthyllis vulneraria. 67, 89, Malvern D. ; 93, 100, 103, Avon D. But, Tab. 8, in all the districts. * Melilotus officinalis. Tab. 8. In all the districts. M. arvensis. 12, Severn D. Gathered by the writer at Wolverley in 1853. Tab. 8. * Trifolium pratense, medium, repens, procumbens, filiforme. Tab. 9. In all the districts. * T. ochroleucum. 89, Broadwas. Tab. 9. Severn. T. incarnatum. Tab. 9. Occasional in the Severn district. Not native. First record. * T. arvense. 12, 59, Severn D. Tab. 9. All districts but Lickey. It probably occurs in that. * T. striatum. 12, Severn D. Tab. 9. Avon, Severn, Malvern. * T. fragiferum. 41, Severn D. ; 93, Avon D. ; Cracombe. Tab. 9. In all the districts. * Lotus corniculatus, major. Tab. 9. In all the districts. * L. tenuis. 92, 93, Avon D. But in Tab. 9. In all the districts. * Astragalus hypoglottis. 99, 100, 137, Avon D. Broadway Hill ; Bredon Hill. Tab. 9. Avon. * A. glycyphyllus. 6, 41, Severn D. ; 67, Malvern D. ; 93, Avon D. Tab. 10. All districts except Lickey. * Ornithopus perpusillus. 12, 60, Severn D. ; 66, Malvern D. ; 119, Lickey. Tab. 10. All districts except Avon. * Hippocrepis comosa. 99, Bredon ; 105, Hyate’s Pits ( Gloucester ). The ivriter has gathered it abundantly at Broadway. Tab. 10. Avon. * Onobrychis sativa. 41, Severn D. ; 67, 89, Malvern D. ; 100, 103, Avon D. Tab. 10. All districts but Lickey. * Vicia hirsuta, tetrasperma. Tab. 9. In all the districts. V. gracilis. 41, near Worcester. Tab. 10. Severn, Malvern. First record. * V. syivatica. 6, 18, Severn D. ; 67, 86, Malvern D. ; 100, 106, Avon D. Tab. 9. All districts except Lickey. * V. Cracca, sepium, sativa. Tab. 9. In all the districts. * V. Bithynica, ix. 41, Severn D. ; Cruckbarrow Hill ; 67, Malvern D. Tab. 9. Severn, Malvern. * V. lathyroides, viii. 60, Hartlebury Common; 93, Avon. * Latbyrus Aphaca. 41, Norton Field ; 89, Powick ; 94, Avon D. Tab. 9. All districts except Lickey. * L. Nissolia. 41, Severn D. ; 93, 100, Avon D. Tab. 9. Avon, Severn, Malvern. * L. pratensis. Tab. 9. All the districts. * L. sylvestris. 41, Severn D. ; 68, Malvern D. ; 93, Avon D. Tab. 9. All districts except Lickey. Feb., 1891. history of the county botany of Worcester. 41 * L. palustris. 35, 61, 135, Longdon Marsh. Tab. 9. Malvern D. * Orobus tuberosus. 72. Tab. 10. All the districts. * Var. tenuifolius. 5. Wyre Forest ; 68, Little Malvern. Tab. 10. Severn, Malvern. f Coronilla varia, xxix. Severn side, above Bewdley, Salop. Not native. * Prunus spinosa. Tab. 10. In all the districts. First noticed in “ Bot. Malvern Hills,” 1st Edit. p. 23. Accidentally omitted from notice of that work in “ Mid. Nat.,” Vol. XII. , p. 142. *X P. insititia. 6, Wyre Forest. Tab. 10. Very rare in ail the districts. Probably P. spinosa var. J'ruticans , in some cases, mis¬ taken for it. * P. domestica. 5, Wyre Forest. Tab. 10. In all the districts (?) Not native. * P. Avium, xvi. 6, Wyre Forest; 28, 41, woods opposite Holt Castle, and at Ombersley ; 70, Malvern D. ; 128, Wychburv Wood. Tab. 10. In all the districts. * P. Cerasus. 6, near Bewdley. Tab. 10. Severn, Malvern. f* Spiraea salicifolia, xxix. 6, 8, Dowles Brook, above Bewdley. Tab. . 10. Severn (Salop). Malvern. Extinct in latter district. Not native. S. Ulmaria. Tab. 10. In all the districts. * S. Filipendula. 92, 98, 100, Avon D. Tab. 10. Avon, Severn, Malvern. * Sanguisorba officinalis. Tab. 10. In all the districts. * Poterium Sanguisorba. 93, 100, 104. Tab. 10. In all the districts. (Lickey doubtful.) * P. muricatum, lvi. 74, The Wych ; 93, field near Trench Wood. Tab. 10. Avon, Malvern. * Agrimonia Eupatoria. Tab. 10. In all the districts. A. odorata, lvi. ( Northern limit given as York, but grows as far north as the Isle of Arran.) 93, 94, Tildesley Wood, Pershore ; 123, Hunniugton, near Halesowen. Tab. 10. In all the districts, but not given in text for Severn and Malvern. First record. * Alchemilla vulgaris, arvensis. Tab. 10. In all the districts. * Potentilla Fragariastrum, Tormentilla, reptans, anserina. In all the districts. * P. argentea. 12, 41, Severn D. Tab. 10. Severn, Malvern. * P. verna. 65, 72, Malvern Hills. Tab. 10. Malvern. Also in Add. and Cor. * P. procumbens. xlvi. 135. Tab. 10. Malvern, Lickey. * Comarum palustre, x. 12, Hartlebury Common ; 60, pools between Hagley and Kidderminster ; 120, Moseley. Tab. 10. Severn, Lickey. * Fragaria vesca. 72. Tab. 10. In all the districts. F. elatior, Ixi. 96. Tab. 10. Avon. New record. (To be continued.) 42 REVIEWS. Feb., 1891. JUMcfos. Catalogue of Canadian Plants. Part V., Acrogens. By John Macoun, M.A. , F.L.S., F.R.S.C. Montreal: William Foster Brown and Co. 1890. 25 cents. Pp. iv. — 179. This concludes Yol. II. of this valuable work, the first 45 pages being devoted to an enumeration of the Ferns and Fern Allies, with a full account of their geographical distribution through the Dominion of Canada; and, as in the preceding portions of this work, the treatment throughout is excellent, and characteristic of the scientific acumen and indefatigable zeal of the author. In turning over the pages of the Cata¬ logue the first thing that strikes one is the strong relationship that exists between the flora of Canada and that of Europe. This is more apparent in the higher Cryptogams than in the Flowering plants. The same Ferns, Horse-tails, and Club Mosses make their home there as with us. In the Equisetaceae, or Horse-tails, 13 species and 2 varie¬ ties are recorded, 10 of which are native also of Europe. Many of these are widely spread over the Dominion, but the Great Horse-tail, K. Telmateia, seems to be found only on the Pacific slopes. Of Ferns, 60 species and 10 varieties are recorded, many of which are also European. The Adder’s-tongue, Ophioglossum vulgatum, occurs in grassy meadows, and is widely spread. The Moonwort, Botrychium Lunar ia , ranges from Quebec to British Columbia, and high north¬ ward, with other European species, as B. simplex, B. lanceolatum, and B. virginianum , the latter having a wide range north-east and north¬ ward almost to the Arctic Circle. The common Polypody, Polypodium vulgare, is found from the Atlantic to the Pacific, and far north. The Brake Fern, Pteris aquilina, has a range equally wide; whilst the Hard Fern, Lo maria, spicant , is confined to the coast of British Columbia, being abundant there in rich, cool woods. Of the Spleenworts, Asplenium viride, A. Trichomanes, and A. Filix-Jcemina have a wide range; but the Rue Fern, A. Ruta-muraria, appears to be absent both from Canada and the United States. The Hart’s-tongue, Scolopend- rium vulgare , is one of the rarest of American ferns, only three stations being known in Canada. The Beech Fern, Phegopteris polypo- diodes, and Oak Fern, P. Dryopteris, are both wide in their range ; but the Limestone Fern, P. Robertianum, and the Alpine Lady Fern, P. alpestris, are more rare, the latter ascending to an altitude of 7,000 feet above sea level. Of the Shield Ferns, the Marsh Shield Fern, Aspidium Thelypteris, is common in swamps from Nova Scotia to Lake Winnepeg ; and they also find more or less abundant over a wide area A. Oreopteris, A. cristatum , A. Filix-mas, A. rigidum, A. spinulosum, A. dilatatum, A. Lonchitis, and A. aculeatum. The Bladder Ferns are represented by Cystopteris fragilis, which is universally distributed throughout Canada ; and the beautiful Cystopteris montana , which is a rare fern, found in low, dense woods, usually near creeks, being recorded from Labrador, Quebec, Ontario, and the Rocky Mountains. The beautiful genus Woodsia has three European representatives, Feb., 1891 REVIEWS. 43 W. glabella , JF. hyperborea , and W. Ilvensis, all widely spread, and extending to the Arctic circle, often found in great abundance ; and the noble Flowering Fern, Osmunda regalis, is recorded as of common occurrence in the eastern half of the territory. Of the Club Moss family, 9 species and 6 varieties are recorded. Of European species, Lycopodium Selago is not uncommon on moun¬ tains and northwards ; L. inundatum is found in swamps, mostly east¬ wards ; L. annotinum, L. clavatum, and L. complanatum are spread over a wide extent of the territory ; L. alpinum is doubtfully recorded from the summit of Gold Range, altitude 6,500 feec ; and Selaginella spinosa is widely distributed in wet, grassy places by rivers, and on mountains. Of the Quillworts 7 species are found, the European species, Isoetes lacustris and I. echinospora , having a limited range, mostly in the eastern portion of the territory. The remaining portion of Part V. is devoted to Additions and Corrections to Parts I. — IV., which occupy 103 pages, and record 155’ species added to the flora of Canada since the publication of Part IV., raising the total number of Flowering Plants, Ferns, and Fern Allies found in Canada to 3,209 species ; of these 2,310 are Exogens, 771 are Endogens, and 98 are Acrogens. Part VI., which will be issued during the present year, will include Characeae, Musci, and Hepaticae, upwards of 1,000 species being now recorded. This will be of great interest to all bryologists. The author and his coadjutors are to be congratulated on the excel¬ lent results of their labours. The difficulties with which they have had to contend can scarcely be realised. The vastness of the country they have explored, the inaccessibility of many of the districts, and the difficulties of travel connected with this exploration, are such as to deter any but truly earnest workers ; and no praise can be too high for the energy exerted in the investigation, and the ability displayed in determining the various plants found, and in arranging and classifying the materials obtained. With the above, and also forming part of the Natural History Survey of Canada, is a “ List of Canadian Hepaticae,” by Wm. H. Pearson. The author of this is one of our foremost British authori¬ ties on the Hepaticae, and this list is the result of the microscopical examination of a large collection of Hepaticae made by Prof. Macoun in various parts of Canada. To make this record more complete, Mr. Pearson has added species recorded by Mitten in the “ Proceedings of the Linnean Society,” and other writers. The result is a record occu¬ pying 28 pages of letterpress, giving an account of the distribution of 163 species, several of them new to science, throughout the Dominion of Canada. The new and very rare species are illustrated on twelve beautifully drawn plates, which render the work doubly valuable. This is a very valuable and interesting addition to botanical literature, and will be fully appreciated by all lovers of bryological studies. As Mr. Pearson observes in his preface, “ The striking feature of the flora is its great similarity to that of Northern Europe.” J. E. Bagnall,. 44 REVIEWS. Feb., 1891. Elementary Botany. By Joseph W. Oliver, Lecturer on Botany and Geology at the Midland Institute. Foolscap 8vo, pp. iv. — 208. 1891. Two Shillings. London : Blackie and Son (Limited). A really good elemeutary treatise on Botany is not only of great value in enabling the young student or beginner to understand and appreci¬ ate this beautiful science, but also as serving as a stepping-stone to those more erudite and perfect works of such writers as Sachs, Hofmeister, and others of the great luminaries of botanical science ; and should be written not merely as a means to enable students to pass in the Science and Art Examinations, but also with the hope and intention of inspiring them with a true love for a study pure and beautiful. The work under review, although primarily written for the use of students who are studying under the Science and Art Department, is so far above an ordinary cram-book in its style, fulness, and interest as to render it a pleasing and instructive reading book for anyone who desires to gain an intelligent knowledge of botanical science, and may, without exaggeration, be pronounced to be one of the best of our existing elementary treatises on botany. Its language throughout is simple and intelligible, and the scientific terms requisite in such a work are all explained in the text. The illustrations, which are very numerous, are well chosen, ably drawn, and fully explained> some being taken from standard works, but many of them are drawn by the author from the objects themselves ; and it may be said with confidence that the student who has mastered the contents of this book, need fear no examination in the elementary or even advanced stage, more especially if he has followed the advice of the author, and added to his reading the knowledge to be gained only by a close personal examination of the objects themselves. The work opens with a preface giving advice as to the most serviceable way in which to use the book ; followed by the introduction, in which are defined the terms Botany, Plant, Cryptogam, Phanerogam, &c., and then advice is given to the student as to the appliances required in the study. The general work is divided into five parts, each consisting of two or more chapters. Part I., “General Morphology,” treats of (1) the Plant as a whole ; (2) Seeds : Germination, the bean and wheat being taken as examples ; (8) the Root ; (4) the Stem, a chapter ably written, full of instruc¬ tion, and thoroughly well illustrated; (5) Leaves: Hairs; and (6) Branching: Branch Systems. This part fills 36 pages of letterpress, and is illustrated by 49 figures. Part II., “ The Anatomy of Plants,” commences with an account of (1) the Cell, giving its structure, chemical elements, formation, and contents ; (2) the Tissues of Plants, or cells in combination, occu¬ pying 33 pages, illustrated by 26 figures. Part III., “ The Physiology of Plants,” treats of the life history of plants, and embraces (1) the Food of Plants ; (2) Absorption by Feb., 1891. REVIEWS. 45 Roots: Movement of Water in Plants, Transpiration; (3) Assimila¬ tion ; (4) Respiration of Plants : Absorption of Gases ; (5) Growth of Plants ; (6) the Irritability of Growing and other Motile Organs ; (7) Influence of Light and Heat on the Various Functions of Plants. Part IV., “ Morphology and Physiology of Flowers,” treats of (1) the Inflorescence ; (2) the Flower ; (3) Fertilization : Fruit and Seed. The whole of this part is clearly written and very fully illus¬ trated with well-drawn and well-chosen figures. Part V., “ Classification and Description of Plants.” (1) Classifica¬ tion of Plants ; (2) Natural Orders: a very instructive chapter, with very helpful illustrations ; (3) Description of Plants. In this, excel¬ lent advice is given as to the way in which the student should proceed in describing a plant, followed by five well drawn up descriptions of plants readily obtained. After this follows the syllabus of the Science and Art Department for Botany, with the various examination papers for the last ten years, 1881 to 1890. The work closes with a very full and useful index, con¬ taining nearly 800 references. I have only to add, in conclusion, that the author may be con¬ gratulated upon having produced a book that will be a great help to many a hard worked student, and will, I both hope and anticipate, be the means of instilling a love for botanical science in the hearts of many of the rising generation. J. E. Bagnall. The Darwinian Theory of the Oi'igm of Species. By Francis P. Pascoe, F.L.S. — London : Gurney and Jackson. The author of this little book (who is an ex-president of the Entomo¬ logical Society), while by no means an opponent of the theory of the evolution of organised beings, disbelieves that the principal method of evolution was natural selection as advocated so strongly, and, for the time at least, so successfully, by Charles Darwin. Mr. Pascoe’s object is to bring the theory of the origin of species by natural selection “ face to face with facts,” and “ to test how far it is competent to give even a plausible explanation of the endless peculiarities of the organic world.” This he seeks to achieve by presenting to the reader the principal instances of biological phenomena and animal structures which cannot readily be explained by the theory. Interspersed throughout the pages of the book are criticisms on natural selection drawn from the writings of various eminent naturalists who were or are opposed to the theory as expounded by Darwin. These criticisms are generally quoted with¬ out reference to the context or to the later views of the author ; they, therefore, tend to be somewhat misleading. Mr. Pascoe does not attempt to develop the subject systematically, his various instances of difficulty being cast together in rather a haphazard way ; nor does he draw any general conclusions, but leaves the reader to decide for himself on the question. Thus this work does 46 REVIEWS. Feb.. 1891. not materially contribute to a settlement of the problem of the method of evolution, but at the same time it is distinctly useful as collecting into a small space the principal objections which have been raised against the greatest theory yet enunciated to explain the origin of species. The printing is clear, and the index excellent. A. B. B. An Introduction to the Study of Petrology : The Igneous Rocks. Intro¬ ductory Science Text-Books. By F. H. Hatch, Ph. D., F.G. S. London : Swan, Sonnenschein and Co. Although there are several works in English which treat fully of the Petrology of Igneous Rocks, yet there is none which is sufficiently elementary, and at the same time full and accurate enough, to supply all the needs of the beginner in the subject. This gap in scientific liter¬ ature, Dr. Hatch, so well known for his writings on Petrology, has now adequately filled, for he has produced a book which will be in the hands of all students and teachers of the subject, both because there is no work of just the same kind in English, and because of its admirable character. In the preparation of this book, the author has freely made use of the works of Yon Lasaulx, Rosenbusch, Fouque, Levy, Lacroix, and Teall ; the illustrations are drawn from these and other sources. These names and that of the author are sufficient guarantee of the accuracy of the statements made in this little work, which presumes the reader to possess a certain amount of knowledge of optics and crystallography, but in other respects is elementary in nature, while at the same time it contains the results of the latest and most advanced investigations. The plan of the book is as follows : — First, we have an account of the occurrence of the igneous rocks ; then, their constituent minerals are described. Following these chapters comes one on the structure, chemical composition, and alteration of the igneous rocks, preliminary to a classification and description of the same, which latter subjects take up more than a third of the book. In classifying the igneous rocks, a very difficult task, the author divides them into groups dependent on the proportion of silica present : then each main group is sub-divided into families according to the mode of origin or occurrence, while “ mineralogical composition is, on account of its extreme variability, allowed to play only a subsidiary role.” Two very useful features of the book are : first, the notices of the introduction of the respective petrological names, and, secondly, an account of the geographical distribution in the British Isles of the principal rocks described. The illustrations are in many cases very good, and sure to be of use to the student ; the printing is clear, and the index full and accurate. In conclusion, we must congratulate Dr. Hatch on having produced a work which will be welcomed by every student of geology. A. B. B. Feb., 1891. BIOLOGICAL CHARTS. - REPORTS of societies. 47 Biological Charts. — We have received from the Society for the Promotion of Christian Knowledge two large sheets of pictures in colours (1) of the “ Marten” and “ Badger,” and (2) of the different stages in the life-history of the “ Honey Bee” and “ Oakleaf-gall Wasp.” They are intended for use in schools, and are well adapted for teaching purposes. They are two of an excellent series issued by the Society, of which the drawings have all been made under the imme¬ diate supervision of Professor Engleder, of Munich. The price is very moderate. I’nprts of Satieties. BIRMINGHAM NATURAL HISTORY AND MICROSCOPICAL SOCIETY. — January 18th. Geological Section. — Mr. T. H. Waller, B.A., B.Sc., in the chair. The section congratulated Mr. J. Rabone on his election as an honorary member of the Institute of Journalists. Mr. T. H. Waller, B.A., B.Sc., was unanimously re-elected chairman, and Mr. J. Udall, F.G.S., lion, secretary of the section. Mr. W. R. Hughes, on behalf of Miss Gingell, exhibited specimen of Inferior Oolite, with peculiar markings. Mr. Pumphrev exhibited “ a core of an agate.” Mr. Wilkinson exhibited a Peregrine Falcon, shot near Wellington, Salop. Mr. A. Scruton, New Street, Birmingham, was nominated a member of the society. Mr. R. W. Chase described some curious sights he saw early in the month on and near the River Dee. In some parts of the Dee blocks of ice were piled up by the tide, from fifteen to twenty feet high. In other places, locally called “ gutters,” the gutters were full of solid ice, tier upon tier, apparently composed of finely laminated pieces like talc or mica. He described the results of the frost as producing the most Arctic sight he ever saw. Mr. Hughes gave a note on “ The Giants’ Causeway,” illustrated by speci¬ mens and photographs. A cordial vote of thanks was given to Mr. Hughes. BIRMINGHAM MICROSCOPISTS’ AND NATURALISTS’ UNION. — Nov. 17th. Annual Public Exhibition. — Mr. Cracroft, Vice-president, gave a short address of welcome to the visitors. Tbe following were amongst the more interesting objects : — Mounted ferns and flowering plants, Mr. H. Hawkes ; mosses, Mr. J. Collins ; fossil leaves from Bournemouth, Mr. P. T. Deakin ; fossil shells from Bournemouth, Mr. J. Madison ; fossils from Coalbrookdale, Mr. S. White ; two cases of micro- and macro-lepidoptera, by Mr. J. W. Moore ; a case showing the different orders of insects, by Mr. J. Moore ; British and foreign butterflies and moths, Mr. C. P. Neville; land and freshwater shells, by Mr. Hopkins ; birds’ eggs, gorgonias, and other objects, by Mr. Linton ; peacocks’ tails, by Mr. F. Shrive ; the birds of the district, by the Society ; marine algae mounted as lantern slides, by Mr. H. Hawkes ; a frame of lantern slides, illus¬ trating the “ Wonders of a Pond,” by Mr. J. W. Neville ; lantern-scopes and slides, by Mr. W. Tylar ; and a series of living and other objects under the microscopes. — Nov. 24th. Mr. J. Collins showed the following rare plants from Cork : — Juncus acutus, Saxifraga umbrosa , Euphorbia hiberna, Pinguicula grandijiora, and P. lusitanica. Mr. H. Hawkes then read a paper on “ Leaves and their Parasites.” The writer said he should not speak of insect parasites ; those he should deal with were of fungoid growth, and belonged to one family the Uredinese. In searching for these fungi, plants must be looked for 48 REPORTS OF SOCIETIES. Feb., 1891. of poor, stunted, and deformed appearance. A small space only should be selected for work ; a hundred yards of a railway or canal bank carefully worked will yield more specimens than miles of country carelessly looked over. The different plants and their parasites found in a ramble by water-courses and in fields and woods were described. Having gathered the crop, it remains to take the microscope and work out the specimens. Polymorphism, or the appearance of a fungus under several forms, complicated the subject. The writer gave a description of these forms, and the promycelium- spores, secidiospores, uredospores, and teleutospores. There yet remained much to be done in working out the mysteries of the reproduction of these plants, and there was an abundant harvest for each worker. They do not have the beauty of flowering plants, but are a link in the chain that binds together the attractions of vegetable life. The paper was illustrated by an herbarium, diagrams, and a large series of microscopical preparations. — Dec. 1st. Mr. G. H. Corbett exhibited a large and interesting collection of minerals ; Mr. J. Madison, seven specimens of Helix aspersa, showing various markings, all bred in confinement from a single pair. — Dec. 8th. Mr. Thompson read a paper on “ Charles Darwin.” The writer gave a sketch of the ancestry and early days of this distinguished writer, but the greater part of the paper was devoted to the theories of natural selection, development, and the survival of the fittest, subjects that were brought into general prominence by this illustrious man. — Dec. 15th. Mr. Cracroft gave a lecture on “A Ramble through North Wales.” The lecture was particularly interesting from the manner in which it was illustrated by photographs of the beautiful scenery. The pictures of erratic boulders and glaciated rocks in the neighbour¬ hood of Llanberis were much admired. — Dec. 22nd. Mr. J. Collins exhibited a series of plants collected during the visit of the Yesey Club to Norway. — January oth. Mr. J. Collins exhibited a collection of herbarium specimens of the natural orders Primulacese, Coniferae, and Amentaceae ; Mr. G. H. Corbett, a collection of butterflies from India. Under the microscope, Mr. J. W. Neville, sections through floral organs, showing all the parts in situ. — January 12th. Mr. J. Betteridge presented to the society's cabinet specimens of Red-backed Shrike, Lanius colluris , and Starling, Sturnus vulgaris, the latter in transition plumage. Mr. Matley then read a paper on “Heredity.” The writer said his object in reading this paper was to introduce the views that had been advanced on this subject, in the hope that further attention might be turned to it. The three factors that established the theory of natural selection, variation, heredity, and the struggle for existence, were carefully expounded. The writer said it was difficult to tell whether a parent transmitted to its offspring the character it inherited or the one acquired in life. All organisms begin life as a single cell, a body was a republic of cells. Germ-cells and body-cells were described, and the theory that, by the process of germ- cells breaking away and becoming body-cells, acquired characters were transmitted. The theory of the intimate connection between the two cells and the gemmules supposed to come from the body-cell to the germ-cell explained much vte meet with in heredity, but its difficulty was its complexity. The writer reviewed at some length the con¬ tinuity theory of Professor Weismann, and explained how, through defective division of the ova, monstrosities were formed, and how the heredity of disease was the result of the inoculation of the germ-cell. In conclusion, the writer said the gist of the whole matter is this, that if the competition of life is less keen, we grow more degenerate, as there is no struggle that keeps alive the nobler attributes of humanity. A discussion closed the meeting. Mar.. 1891. THE ARAN ISLANDS. 49 THE ARAN ISLANDS.* BY PHILIP B. MASON, F.L.S., F.Z.S., ETC. With Illustrations from Photographs by Messrs. J. E. Nowers and J. G. Wells. These islands lie off the west coast of Ireland, and are practically in the Atlantic Ocean, although within sight of the coasts of Connemara and Clare. Their nearest point is 28 miles from the quay of Galway, and they lie off the entrance of the fjord which is now called Galway Bay, or Loch Lurgan. Aran is supposed at one time to have been connected on the north with Connemara, on the south-east with Clare, and to have thus formed the boundary of the lake. They are three in number, and it is supposed derived their name from the Irish word ara, “ a kidney,” which the great island remotely resembles in shape. Their names are Ara Mor, the Great Island ; Innis Maan, the Middle Island ; and Innis Heer, the Eastern Island (this is usually called the Southern Island). The length of the great island is nine miles, of the middle three, and of the southern one 2J miles. They contain about 11,288 acres, only 700 of which are produc¬ tive, and support more than 8,000 people, that is, support them with the help of an occasional relief fund, one of which funds was being administered during my last visit there. I said that only 700 acres are productive, and while approaching the islands one wonders how they can support any living thing, for they present the appearance of undulating stone- fields. The islands are entirely composed of metamorphosed lime¬ stone, and the rainfall is excessive from the fact that tliev are the first lands struck by the westerly winds which have swept over the Atlantic, and so become saturated with moisture, the result being that the surface of the limestone is dissolved away with such rapidity that no spore of moss or other green thing can find lodgment for a sufficient time to germinate. This barren appearance is intensified by the fact that the numerous divisions between the fields are loose stone walls, like those of North Derbyshire. On walking over these fields, however, we find that the limestone is extensively fissured, the fissures running more or less in the same direction ; and these fissures having been deepened by the solvent action of water to the depth of several * Extracted from a paper read before the Burton-upon-Trent Archaeological and Natural History Society, November 13th, 1890. 50 THE ARAN ISLANDS. Mar., 1891. feet, contain an abundant flora, of course of lime-loving plants. I have nowhere seen more luxuriant specimens of many ferns, as the Ceterach , S colop endrium, Asplenium Buta- muraria , Trichomanes, Adiantum nigrum and marinum ; and last, but not least, of the true British Maidenhair, Adiantum, Capillus-Veneris. Of the latter fern I should think that there are more plants growing here than in the remainder of the Three Kingdoms altogether. The wind, however, and the cattle between them cut off these plants to the level of the surface of the rock, so that no green shows at a distance. The only parts that can really be cultivated are the slopes where talus can lodge, and the places which have been covered by the drifting sand. I was quite surprised to see a small circular enclosure which had been built on the flat bare rock, near the beach, at the north point of the great island. In this a thick layer of sand and seaweed had been placed, and is now producing a fine crop of grass. Excellent potatoes are grown in this sand manured by seaweed, as is also the case in the Channel Islands. A peculiarity of the stone walls is that no gates or openings are left in them, so that when a cow has to be brought from a field at a distance from the road, five or six walls have to be pulled down and rebuilt. When calcareous rocks are in contact with the sea it is usual to find many caverns excavated by the action of the water, but in Aran there are very few. In many places the lower part of the lofty cliffs has been excavated, leaving ledges on which perch innumerable guillemots, mingled with a few puffins, razorbills, gulls, and choughs, the latter rare bird breeding here. The only place where there is anything in the nature of a cavern is in the south cliff of Ara Mor, where two tunnels have been formed about 150 feet long, the roofs at the inner end of which have fallen in, leaving open¬ ings through which water is driven during gales, gaining for them the local name of puffing-holes. Traces are still left here of one of the glacial epochs, when this part of the world was covered by an ice-sheet, and fine examples are to be found of erratic boulders, or “roclies perches,” of granite, brought from the Connemara district, and left by the retreating ice on the limestone. On the opposite shore, on the slopes of Errisbeg, near Roundstone, I have seen the rocks planed by the action of the ice, and grooved by the stones carried beneath it, as the glacier ground them in its slow advance. Of course in Aran itself all such grooves and scratches have long been dissolved away by the effects of the abundant rainfall on a soluble rock. These boulders are called here Connemara stones. Mar., 1891. THE ARAN ISLANDS. 51 On some parts of the shore are found large accumulations of sand, which are drifted about by the winds, at one time being deposited in fresh places, covering gardens, &c., while at others old accumulations are carried away. Of course, situated as these islands are in the broad Atlantic, they feel the full force of the winds and waves ; and often, when the sea looks as smooth as a millpond, the waters break on the cliffs with such force as to send up showers of spray fully 100 feet in height. In stormy weather the effect is magnificent. I saw great baulks of timber which had been thrown up on cliffs nearly 200 feet high, and here so much seaweed had been thrown up that men were collect¬ ing it for the purpose of burning into kelp. There was enough Laminaria or Tangle to repay their trouble. A place on the middle island was pointed out to me on which the body of a man had been thrown up on the cliffs quite as high as this, and left many yards inland ; and I was shown a place where a few years ago three men had been blown off the cliffs while fishing, and drowned. The most striking example I saw of the power which may be exerted by water driven by the wind was a block of stone, situated about half-tide mark, which, as shown by the grooves in the flat-topped rocks, had been moved between 50 and 100 feet. Here, as elsewhere in limestone formations, the rocks tend to assume the form of flat terraces. I measured this block roughly, and found it to contain about 48 cubic feet of stone. Mr. Nowers, however, measured it more exactly, and calculated that it weighed about 108 tons. The Land Fauna is a scanty one, as might be expected from its insular position and lack of trees and streams. There is one very curious fact in connection with the Fauna. The common banded snails Helix nemoralis and hortensis are of comparatively enormous size and great thick¬ ness, being quite double the size of ordinary specimens, while the flat Helix ericetorum has the shell much thinner than usual, a very remarkable contrast, considering that they both occur on the calcareous rocks. The Marine Fauna is no doubt a very rich one, but owing to the stormy character of the sea, not very easy to investigate. Foraminifera are thrown up on the strand in enormous numbers. The Flora is restricted in number of species, but interesting in many ways. I have already spoken of the ferns ; among other noticeable plants are Oentiana verna, Sea Kale growing among the loose stones of the shingle banks, and the common Ragwort, or Senecio Jacubcea ; this is noticeable from the fact that in the majority of specimens the flowers are without the ordinary bright yellow 52 THE ARAN ISLANDS. Mar., 1891. ray, and it requires a little examination at first to convince oneself that a new and strange species has not been dis¬ covered. Many of the references I have now to make to the earlier history of Aran are taken from an account compiled by Martin Haverty from the reports in the Freeman s Journal of an excursion to Aran by the Ethnological Section of the British Association in the year 1857. The earliest reference to the pre-Christian history of Aran is to be found in the account of the battle of Moyturey, in which the Firbolgs, having been defeated by the Tuatha-de- Danauns, were driven for refuge to the islands off the west coasts of Scotland and Ireland. It is probable that the date of the erection of the Doo Caher, or Black Fort of Aran was shortly after this period. This battle is supposed to have taken place considerably more than 1,000 years before the birth of Christ. At all events, this structure is evidently of much older date than the other forts which I shall presently mention, and the date of which can be fixed pretty definitely as the first century of the Christian era, and which were built by the same sept of Firbolgs, who about this time were driven out of the Scottish islands by the Piets or Chrithmians. The Firbolgs, under their cliieftans Conchovar, iEngus, and Mil, the three sons of Uamore, returned to Ireland, the country of their ancestors, and settled fora time in Leinster. They were, however, compelled to relinquish the land they held there by the exorbitant rent exacted for it by Cairbre, the king of Tara — by the way, this shows how history repeats itself, and that the grievances of to-day were the grievances of twenty centuries ago — and crossed the Shannon into Connaught, where a great part of the population still belonged to their own ancient race. Here they were well received by Queen Maeve, who granted them the Islands of Aran, where they immediately fortified themselves in great stone duns or forts, which must at that time have been almost impregnable, and the remains of which are, at the present day, probably the grandest ruins of the kind to be found in the world. The names of those chieftains are still to be found in the names of Dun iEngus, Dun Conchovar, and Muirveagh Mil, or sea plain of Mil. I need hardly say that the early facts of Irish history are no more to be accepted without the proverbial grain of salt than those of other countries, but there seems to be at all events some foundation for most of the statements which I have now made. The authorities for these statements are to be found in O’Flaherty’s Ogygia and Jar-Connaught, and in an Irish MS. tract, by McFirbis, on the Firbolgs, who refers to the older authorities. ( To be continued.) Mar., 1891. NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY'S REPORT. 53 THIRTY-SECOND ANNUAL REPORT OF THE BIRMINGHAM NATURAL HISTORY AND MICROSCOPICAL SOCIETY, Presented by the Council to the Annual Meeting, February 3rd, 1891. Tlie Council have the pleasure of reporting, respecting the position of the Society, that the number of members has been fully maintained during the past year ; and they have been enabled to pay off all the remainder of the loans that were contracted three years ago, thus making the Society entirely free from debt. The Council refer with special pleasure to the Muybridge Lectures on the “ Motion of Animals,” illustrated by remark¬ ably fine lantern views, that were delivered on March 12th and 14th, in the Town Hall, under the auspices of this Society, the Mayor and Sir Thomas Martineau taking the chair on the two occasions. These lectures not only gave great pleasure and interest to the members and a large attendance of the general public, but by the surplus receipts from them they have enabled the Council to pay off entirely the loans contracted by the Society. For this the members are indebted to the President (Mr. C. Pumphrey), Mr. Grove, and Mr. Wilkinson, and the several members who joined in a voluntary guarantee fund, by means of wdiich the lectures were carried out without any liability being incurred by the Society, the gratifying financial result being specially due to the personal exertions and excellent management of the President and Mr. Grove. The Council tender their thanks to the donors of the various gifts to the Society that are named in the reports of the Sections, and especially to Mr. Hughes for his present of a portrait of Miss Naden, and a photographic group of the members who formed the Falmouth Marine Excursion in 1879; to Dr. Milnes Marshall for the copy of his “ Studies from the Biological Laboratories of Owens College and to Mr. Burgess for his microscope slide of fifty species of Foraminifera from Hammerfest, Norway. The Council are gratified in recording the completion of the great work by Mr. Bagnall, the •* Flora of Warwickshire.” With him it has been a labour of love, but it nevertheless represents years of arduous toil ; and, while it reflects great honour on Mr. Bagnall, the Council feel that the Society which numbers him amongst its active members enjoys a 54 NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY S REPORT. Mar., 1891. share in the credit of his work. The publication of the first complete Flora of the county by one of our members is an important event in the history of the Society ; and this Flora is, in the estimation of competent judges, not inferior to any County Flora that has been published. The Annual Conversazione of the Society was held on October 28th, in the Examination Hall, Mason College, and was largely attended. Mr. Councillor Wallis kindly lent a very interesting and beautiful series of coloured drawings of scenes in India, Ceylon, China, Japan, &c., that had been drawn by himself during a tour round the world. Mr. Chase exhibited his unequalled collection of young birds in the down, most beautifully prepared in separate groups. A fine collec¬ tion of butterflies was shown by Mr. George Kenrick ; two living albino specimens of the song thrush, which had been reared and kept by him for three years, were contributed by Mr. Hague ; a collection of British birds’ eggs by Mr. Hodgson ; living ants’ nests by Mr. Martineau ; a marine aquarium by Mr. Blakemore ; and specimens of remarkable rocks from Norway by Dr. Lapworth. A number of stereoscopic and other photographs by Mr. Watson, and a variety of photographic lantern slides were exhibited ; and a large and interesting collection of objects under microscopes. An excursion was made to Broadway, on Monday, June 7tli. This was joined in by about fifty members and friends, and was successful in every way, thanks to the excellent management of Mr. Levick. The weather was most favour¬ able, the scenery delightful, and, with the pleasant arrange¬ ments at the Lygon Arms, made the visit thoroughly enjoyable. The Treasurer’s annual financial statement shows the receipts of the Society for the past year to have been £181 17s., and the payments £167 5s. Id., including the repayment of the three remaining £10 loans, and leaving a balance in the Treasurer’s hands of £14 11s. lid., in place of a deficiency of £4 9s. Id. at the end of the previous year. The Council specially congratulate the members on this very satisfactory financial position of the Society. The total number of members for the year 1890 is 204, being 2 more than in the previous year ; of this total, 7 are life members, 142 ordinary (guinea) members, 12 family (half - guinea) members, 7 lady (half - guinea) members, 5 honorary vice-presidents, 25 corresponding members, and 6 associates. The thirteenth Annual Meeting and Conversazione of the Midland Union of Natural History Societies was held at Leicester on September 18th and 19th. The President and Mar., 1891. NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY’S REPORT. 55 Mr. Edmonds represented this Society at the meeting. Excursions, botanical and geological, were made to Charn- wood Forest. Microscopical Section. — President, Mr. C. Pumphrey ; Secretary, Mr. W. H. Wilkinson. — During the year nine meet¬ ings of the section have been held, with an average attendance of thirty-one ; and the following communications have been made : — March 4th. — “ On Painting Lantern Slides direct from the Micro¬ scope,” by Mr. H. M. J. Underhill, of Oxford. Read by Mr. W. P. Marshall. April 1st. — “ Optics of the Microscope,” illustrated by drawings and lantern photographs, by Mr. J. Edmonds. The lime-light lantern worked by Mr. G. Pumphrey. April 29th. — Mr. W. B. Grove gave the Retiring President’s Address on the “ Theory of Instinct,” which was listened to with great attention and interest. May 6th. — “ Report on the Foraminifera obtained at Hammerfest by Messrs. Pumphrey and Marshall,” by Mr. E. Burgess. Read by Mr. W. H. Wilkinson ; and a slide, containing fifty species, mounted by Mr. Burgess, was presented to the Society. June 3rd. — “ Corals, Coral Builders, and Coral Islands,” by Mr. W. R. Hughes, illustrated by drawings, and by specimens of coral and of coral builders preserved in spirit. November 4th. — “ Reflectors as used with the Microscope,” illus¬ trated by various mirrors and models, by Mr. W. H. Wilkinson. December 2nd. — “ Burmah and its People,” by Mr. A. W. Wills, illustrated by lime-light views from photographs taken by him¬ self during his recent tour there. At the sectional meetings a large number of specimens have been exhibited, and amongst many members who have helped may be mentioned Mr. J. E. Bagnall, plates of fungi and mosses; Mr. W. B. Grove, minute fungi; Mr. W. R. Hughes, flowers and piants ; Mr. 0. Pumphrey, Alpine and other plants; Mr. G. J. Watson, an interesting collection of plants from Norway ; Mr. G. M. Iliff, glow-worms ; Mr. A. Reading, a scarlet fungus; Mr. Carpenter, fine specimens of corals ; Mr. G. Lavender and Mr. T. E. Bolton, living specimens of pond-life ; Mr. W. H. Wilkinson, lichens from Norway, birds and plants from Wales, &c. Biological Section. — President, Mr. W.B. Grove ; Secre¬ tary, Mr. A. H. Martineau. — During the past year this section has held eight meetings, at three of which papers have been read, and on every evening there has been a good display of specimens. The principal exhibitors were the following : — Messrs. J. E. Bagnall, F. W. Carpenter, J. Edmonds, T. V. Hodgson, W. R. Hughes, J. B. Stone, Herbert Stone, E. H. Wagstaff. C. J. Wainwright, C. J. Watson. W. H. Wilkinson, and A. H. Martineau. The section is also indebted to Miss 56 NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY’S REPORT. Mar., 1891. Gingell, who has forwarded specimens from Dursley, Glouces¬ tershire. The average attendance at each meeting has been seventeen. The following is the list of papers: — May 13th. — “ On the Flora of Sutton Park,” by Mr. J. E. Bagnall. October 14th. — “ On Animal Pedigrees,” by Dr. A. Milnes Mar¬ shall, Professor of Biology at Owens College, Manchester. December 9th. — “ On Canadian Birds,” by Mr. J. B. Williams, jun., of Toronto. Dr. Marshall’s lecture on “Animal Pedigrees” was delivered in the Examination Hall to a large audience, and was of special interest. It was illustrated by an extensive series of very fine diagrams. Geological Section. — President, Mr. T. H. Waller; Secretary, Mr. John Udall. — The meetings have been well attended, and the papers read have been of great interest ; average attendance forty-three. The section has much pleasure in again expressing its indebtedness to the President of the Society, Mr. Charles Pumphrey, for his valuable aid in illustrating several papers read during the year ; to Mr. T. H. Waller for bringing Messrs. J. Swift’s new model microscope for petrological work before their notice, and for his description of its construction and uses ; and to Dr. Lapwortli for his valuable address on the geo¬ logical problems presented by the arrangement of the rocks in Norway. The following papers have been read at the meet¬ ings of the section during the year. January 21st. — “ The Magnesian Limestones of Durham,” by Mr. C. J. Watson. February 18th. — “Some Silver Ores from the Barrier Ranges of New South Wales,” by Mr. T. H. Waller. March 18th. — “ A Trip to Norway and the North Cape,” by Messrs. W. P. Marshall and Chas. Pumphrey. April 15. — “Personal Observations of Glacial Action among British Mountains,” by Mr. Horace Pearce, of Stourbridge. May 20th. — “ A Model Microscope, especially adapted for Petro¬ logical Work,” made by Messrs. J. Swift and Son, by Mr. T. H. Waller. June 17th. — “The Unconformity between the Uriconian and Cam¬ brian Rocks of Shropshire,” by Dr. Chas. Callaway. October 21st. — “ The Bone Bed of Ludlow.” by Mr. J. Udall. November 18th. — “ Rocks of Norway,” by Mr. C. J. Watson. December 16th. — “ Crinoids,” by Mr. Madeley, of Dudley. Sociological Section. — President, Mr. W. K. Hughes; Secretary, Mr. Herbert Stone. — Twenty-two meetings have been held, of which seven were ordinary and fifteen supple¬ mentary. At the ordinary meetings there has been one paper read, viz. : — Mar., 1891 . NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY'S REPORT. 57 March 27th. — “Ideas of Supernatural Agents,” by Mr. W. R. Hughes. At the supplementary meetings the following have been read : — January 23rd. — “ Ideas of the Animate and Inanimate,” by Miss L. A. Goyne. February 13th. — “Ideas of Sleep, Dreams, and Swoon,” by Miss Birt-Davies. February 27th. — “Ideas of Death, Resurrection, Souls, &c. ,” by Mr. Harold W. Buncher. March 20th. — “ Ideas of Another Life and Another World,” by Miss Byett. April 17th. — “ Sacred Places, Altars, Temples, &c. ,” by Mr. E. Hill. April 24th. — “Ancestor Worship, Idol Worship, and Fetich Worship,” by Mr. J. A. Hill. May 8th. — “Animal and Plant Worship,” by Mr. W. B. Grove. May 22nd. — “ Nature Worship,” by Miss Mary Dalton. June 12th. — “ Deities,” by Miss Mary Dalton. June 25tli. — “On Weismann’s Theory of the Continuity of the Germ Plasm,” by Mr. Herbert Stone. November 11th. — “Socialism; the Coming Storm,” by Mr. Herbert Stone. During the past year the members of the section have exhibited a marked preference for the supplementary meet¬ ings, as only one paper has been read on a Tuesday evening. It is regretted that there has been a considerable falling off in the number of papers, there being only eleven, against eighteen during the previous year. On April 27th a memorial, signed by forty-three members and friends interested in the section, was sent to Mr. Herbert Spencer, congratulating him on attaining his seventieth birth¬ day. A kind acknowledgment was received from him. In the absence of the Secretary, through illness, during the greater part of the year, his duties have been discharged by Miss L. A. Goyne. The Library . — The Librarian (Mr. J. E. Bagnall) reports that the library is in about the same condition as when last reported. It is still to be regretted that it receives so little patronage from the members. Only 81 volumes have been taken out, and the number of members borrowing these books has been only 88. The following has been the issue of books for the year : — Botany, 11 ; Entomology, 11 ; Zoology, 15 ; Geology, 7 ; Microscopy, 17 ; miscellaneous, 20. Genet al Property. — The Curators (Messrs. G. M. Iliff and Herbert Miller) report that the necessary repairs mentioned in their last report have been effected, and the instruments are now in working order. 58 THE SCOPE OF SOCIOLOGY. Mae., 1891. THE SCOPE OF SOCIOLOGY. BY MARY E. DALTON. ( Concluded from page 28. ) When the doctrines of Sociology were first formulated, and were found to include ethics, its claim to rank as a science was hotly disputed, because the doctrines of free will and of a moral sense were considered incompatible with complete reduction to the terms of physical science. The objection has been answered during the course of our study of the data of Sociology; we have seen that the moral suscep¬ tibilities of men are ordinary physical facts. We may go further, since, plainly, ethics cannot stand independently of politics. A delicate sympathy beats through every fibre of human association, and we trace the history of morality, not as something imposed by an external superhuman authority, but as the grown ideal which has been formed by humanity itself. The developed thought of the wisest and best of the race, even in primitive times, passed beyond the present, and saw not only what humanity could do and be as it was, but what it could do if all its units were wise and good beyond the measure they had reached ; and as that ideal height of virtue was attained by the mass of mankind, it was raised still higher by the master-spirits of the age. Truth, wisdom, and righteousness came by painstaking, study, and striving, and our primitive ancestors, “ Groping blindly in the darkness, Touched God’s right hand in that darkness, And were lifted up and strengthened ; ” they, too, had “longings, yearnings, strivings, for the good they understood not;” and in their lower degree they, too, “ lived by admiration, hope, and love.” Horrible as Sociology shows the early state of our race to have been, our very com¬ parison between the present and that distant past is full ot the brightest encouragement to our highest hopes, and of the strongest incentives to constant effort in our attempt to help forward the work of the world. The political and religious controls of societies, and the work performed by them, constitute the two most important of the “co-ordinating structures and functions,” as Spencer calls them. In addition to these is a minor system of restraints which regulates the daily activities of the citizens. These restraints, more fitful, but real and lasting in the influence they exert over conduct, are also of the nature of ceremonial observances, and were originally closely allied to Mar., 1891. THE SCOPE OF SOCIOLOGY. 59 the political and religious systems of which they have now become quite independent. They owe their authority and power to the custom which sanctions them. The influence exerted over habits and conduct by codes of etiquette, and over the details of daily life by the dictates of fashion, have to be considered, although much greater in the past than in the present. No influence which helps, in however slight a degree, to mould human life can be ignored by the student of Sociology. Having gone so far, we may fairly claim to have dealt with the governing forces of social phenomena. There remains for us to consider the structures and functions governed. Tor this purpose, Spencer divides all societies into two divisions, the regulative and operative divisions, and notes that the inquiries of highest importance in social science concern the relations between them. We must trace the history of industry, its slow development, and regulation by trade guilds, unions, and so forth ; its relation to the ecclesiastical and political powers, and to the changing and developing nature of the citizens, there being here, as every¬ where, a reciprocity of influence. We seek in Sociology for the keys by which to solve the problems caused by the present great and growing conflict between capital and labour. We find that, whereas labour was actual property, it is now simply an article of commerce, whose value varies, and which sometimes fails to find a purchaser. About the time when equal rights were granted to all men, a change in the methods of pro¬ duction entirely altered the condition of the workers — the capitalist regime began, and brought in its train many of our present social evils. The possession of equal political rights naturally embitters the demand for equality of conditions, and the struggle between capital and the labour which it feeds has reached an acute crisis. In our consideration of these ques¬ tions, narrowly classed as “ Political Economy,” we begin by tracing the separation and subsequent development of the distributive and productive systems of industry, and follow on to consider the growth of the principle of “ division of labour” in each class, and of the mutual co-operation which is the natural corollary of the “ division of labour.” Moreover, we must consider the effects which the many varied industries of civilised life produce on each other ; the advance and improve¬ ment caused by their mutual help and interdependence. Here again we find the strength of unity : — “ All are needed by each one ; Nothing is fair or good alone.” Having considered the organisation and life of each society, as developed by social evolution, there remain to be con- 60 THE SCOPE OF SOCIOLOGY. Mak., 1891. sidered the closely associated developments of language, knowledge, morals, and aesthetics. We trace the development of language from simple sounds expressing sense perceptions, to the complex words by which the most abstract conceptions of human thought are expressed ; of knowledge, from the simple explanations of the action of surrounding life and nature which the primitive savage verified and confirmed by repeated observation, to the reasoned hypo¬ theses of the Synthetic Philosophy itself ; of morals, from the self-respecting instinct of physical man, to the altruistic senti¬ ments of the more developed human being ; of aesthetics, from the play-impulses which led to a simulation of pleasurable activity, in mental faculties which had been too long dormant, to the highest excellence which has been reached in the fine arts. We have now, then, examined the “ scope” of our science of Sociology in detail ; the result is that we find ourselves in infinity. We cannot find the beginning of our knowledge, and we cannot trace its end. The study of Sociology is the coping stone of our palace of Evolution ; the building is insecure if a single stone of knowledge is omitted or misplaced. We are in the habit of looking at society, and especially at the political and religious constitution of things, and their record of a few thousand years ; and the record seems vast, and the society a stable and permanent — even a necessary — part of the cosmos : we look at the same phenomena as subjects for scientific enquiry, and all is changed. We find we are looking at a changing, growing, and developing Jiving organism, the history of whose life is known to us only as the history of hours out of count¬ less ages ; but of which even that limited knowledge enables us to see that the progression has been gradual and orderly, the connection between cause and effect absolute and un¬ changeable. We trace the growth of the present complex conditions of life back to forms of great simplicity, widely modifiable by circumstances, and only acquiring stability and permanence after long and slow process of accommodation to the environment. But the progress has been unceasing, and retrogression has been only apparent. In our study of the Data of Ethics we saw that so great has been the triumph of mind over matter during the last century, that man’s social environment has actually tempo¬ rarily outstripped in its development the capacity of the human organism for adaptability, and so checked progress for the time being ; this has been the case also at preceding stages in the process of Evolution. Many times, even to the primitive savage, the social environment was beyond that to Mar., 1891. THE SCOPE OF SOCIOLOGY. 61 which he was fitted. But we see that the check was only temporary. Arrest of progress may come to a nation, but humanity is ever moving onward. Assyria, Babylon, Egypt, Greece, and Borne, pass away, as did the less civilised nations who preceded them ; but all that they achieved is part of the lasting progress of the world, and that, from the dim past, in which our “ social ” foundations were laid, has been — slow and gradual, but unceasing — a growth towards a perfection whose beginning we do not know and whose end we cannot guess. Biology has taught us that Evolution has already done much in working out the beast in man’s lower physical nature ; Sociology tells us that the same Evolution is still actively energetic in working out his higher perfection too, and in bringing about that perfect social state for which only a perfect human being is fitted A comparison of results suggests the belief that man is even yet only at the dawn of his full day ; and fills us with the faith that, as Tennyson puts it : — “ This fine old world of ours is but A child yet in the go-cart.” Having given us the data and the scope of Sociology. Spencer finishes the introduction to his work by what is really a note of warning against the danger of isolating any one set of phenomena, by reminding us that “the highest achievement in Sociology is so to grasp the vast hetero¬ geneous aggregate, as to see how the character of each group at each stage is determined, partly by its own ante¬ cedents, and partly by the past and present actions of the rest upon it.’' The motto of old science was: “Isolate the phenomena to be studied ; ” the motto of modern science mav well be the direct opposite of this. In proportion as everything is known, any one thing is known better ; all knowledge is relative, and only omniscience could rightly and completely know anything. Until we have taken in all the relations, immediate and remote, into which a thing, actually or potentially, enters, we do not know all about the thing — but for such an exhaustive acquaintance, an acquaintance with every other thing, actual and potential, near and remote, is needed. In the true spirit of our evolutionary science, Tennyson sings : — “ Flower in the crannied wall, I pluck you out of the crannies ; I hold you here, root and all, in my hand, Little flower — hut if I could understand What you are, root and all, and all in all, I should know what God and man is.” 62 THE SCOPE OF SOCIOLOGY. Mar., 1891. Spencer is continually insisting — especially in connection with the study cf Sociology — that this is a world of relations. We are continually reminded of the truth of Aristotle’s «/ famous dictum that “ a hand amputated is not even a hand.” In proceeding to the study of Sociology by inductive and deductive process of reasoning and proof, we must isolate no set of phenomena, we must neglect no fragment of knowledge. No single fact, no single truth, stands alone, and no fact and no truth is unimportant or insignificant. “ There is no great and no small To the soul that maketli all : And where it cometh, all things are. And it cometh everywhere.” “The progress of the intellect,” says Emerson in his essay on History, “ is to the clearer vision of causes which neglects surface differences ; to the poet, to the philosopher, to the saint, all things are friendly and sacred, all events profitable, all days holy, all men divine. For the eye is fastened on the life, and slights the circumstance. Every chemical substance, every plant, every animal in its growth, teaches the unity of cause, the vanity of appearance.” In biologic study “ genius detects through the embryo the constant individual ; through countless individuals the fixed species ; through many species the genus ; through all genera the steadfast type ; through all the kingdoms of organic life the eternal unity.” And so with the great study of Sociology, of which all other knowledge, and all other sciences, are but parts. Beyond all visible phenomena is the Unknown First Cause, and in seeking to understand these we are examining what Goethe well called “ the woven garment of God.” “ The revelation of God,” said a great modern thinker, “ is the continuous thought of man : ” accepting that dictum, we pass to “higher reverence unmixed with fear.” With balanced enthusiasm and sympathetic interest we study the present in the light of the past ; and the past with that care¬ fully constructive imagination which alone enables us to see it as it was. “ The noblest study of mankind ” — we may adapt the hackneyed quotation to our own purpose — is humanity, and to this all other study is rightly subservient. If the sub¬ ject is so vast, and the need for patient thought and endeavour so great that our finite minds falter for a moment at contem¬ plating the work we have undertaken, we may console our¬ selves by remembering that the materials for sociologic study are always with us. Men help as much as, or even more than, books ; and the most trivial action of our daily life is of historic interest as the result of long development. Mar., 1891 . THE FUNGI OF WARWICKSHIRE. 63 The result of our study, too, is full of helpful encourage¬ ment. The pessimist may talk of the world as hopeless, and life as dark and dismal, but the Sociologist recalls his know¬ ledge of what the world has been, contrasts the present with the past, and feels inclined to echo with Homer’s hero, “ We are thankful to Heaven that we are worth infinitely more than those that went before us.” Certainly we know enough of the past and present history of mankind to believe that our highest ideal of human perfection is but the prophecy of the coming man, to whom duty will be instinctive, and whose law will be, in very deed, the law of righteousness. All the facts of Sociology emphasise the truth of what George Eliot says : — “ The faith that life on earth is being shaped To glorious ends ; that order, justice, love, Mean man’s completeness, mean effect as sure As roundness in the dewdrop : that great faith Is but the rushing and expanding stream Of thought and feeling fed by all the Past.” May not the student of Sociology add, with the Poet- Laureate — “ My faith is large in time, and that which Shapes it to some perfect end?” THE FUNGI OF WARWICKSHIRE. BY W. B. GROVE, M.A., AND J. E. BAGNALL, A.L.S. (Continued from page 24.) • - Genus XIII. LENTINUS. Fr. 480. L. tigrinus, Fr. Ag. tigrinus, With., 155. Packington Park, amongst moss, With. 481. L. lepideus, Fr. Fine specimens of this species abundant in a cellar at SellyOak, growing on the rafters of the floor above. Selly Oak is in Worcestershire ; but what is believed to have been a monstrous form occurred in a wine cellar at Edgbaston, and in a manufactory in the heart of Birmingham. 482. L. adhserens, Fr. Ag. adheesivus, With., Purt. Sept. Red Rock Plantation, Edgbaston, With., 158. Ragley Park, Purt. iii. , 187. 483. L. cochleatus, Fr. Ag. cornucopioides, Purt. Sept. -Oct. Ragley Woods, Mrs. Buford in Purt. iii., 190. Trickley Coppice ; New Park, Middleton. 484. L. flabelliformis, Fr. Ag. reniformis , Purt. June. Wixford, Purt. ii., 658. « 64 THE FUNGI OF WARWICKSHIRE. Mar., 1891. Genus XIV. PANUS. Fr. 485. P. conchatus, Fr. Ag. conchcitus, With., Purt. August to November. Edgbaston, on large trees, With. 295. On a lopped poplar at Studley, Purt. ii. 656. Solihull, Hawkes! Driffold Lane, Sutton. 486. P. torulosus, Fr. On stumps. July to October. On a stump, The Briars, Kenilworth, Russell , Illustr. Hops- ford, near Brinklow, Adams ! Gorsy land, Billesley, near Alcester; Packington Park ; Driffold Lane, Sutton. 487. P. stypticus, Fr. Ag. fcoides , With. On stumps. On an alder stump in Edgbaston Park, With. 298. Near Warwick, Perceval. Kenilworth, Russell, Illustr. Hops- ford, near Brinklow, Adams. Driffold Lane, Sutton, abundant. Genus XV. SCHIZOPHYLLUM. Fr. 488. S. commune, Fr. On logs. Very rare. On a felled oak, Shustoke, April, 1888. Certainly indigenous. Genus XVI. LENZITES. Fr. 489. L. betulina, Fr. On felled timber. September to Feb¬ ruary. Hopsford ; Combe, Adams. Near Solihull Rail¬ way Station, 1871 ; Hartsliill Hayes ; Sutton ; Sutton Park ; Marston Green ; Packington Park, &c. 490. L. flaccida, Fr. On stumps. Rare. Near Warwick, March, 1872, Perceval. 491. L. sepiaria, Fr. On fir wood. Rare. Combe Woods, Adams. Sutton, on larch. Ord. II.— POLYPOREI. Genus XVII. BOLETUS. Dill. 492. B. luteus, Linn. Woods. Local. October. Sutton Park; Trickley Coppice ; pine wood near Coleshill Pool ; wood, Maxstoke. 498. B. elegans, Schum. Borders of woods. Rare. October. Pine wood near Coleshill Pool ; Trickley Coppice. 494. B. flavus, With. Woods. Frequent. August to October. Edgbaston Park, With. 814. Oversley Hill ! Ragley Woods ! Purt. ii. 665. Warwick, Perceval. Kenilworth! Russell, Illustr. Hopsford, Adams. Sutton Park ; Trickley Coppice ; Coleshill Pool and Heath ; Ironstone Wood, Oldbury ; Waverley Wood, Stoneleigh ; Bad- desley Clinton; Haywood; Old Park Wood, Arrow; Hampton ; Earlswood ; Bradnock’s Marsh ; Marston Green; Fen End; Umberslade; Corley; railway cutting near Henley-in -Arden ; Solihull. Mar., 1891. THE FUNGI OF WARWICKSHIRE. 65 495. B. granulatus, Linn. B. lactifluus , With. Woods, &c. August to October. Edgbaston Park, With. 314. Asliow, Russell, Tllustr. Trickley Coppice ; Olton Reser¬ voir ; Coleshill Heath. 496. B. bovinus, Linn. Pine woods. September- October. Trickley Coppice, Middleton ; pine plantation, Coleshill Heath. 497. B. badius, Fr. Woods. Not uncommon. September- October. Crackley Wood ! Russell, Ulustr. Sutton Park; Trickley Coppice; New Park; Coleshill Pool and Heath ; Bradnock’s Hayes ; Corley ; Edgbaston Park. 498. B. sanguineus, With. Woods. Rare. October. Edg¬ baston Park, With. 818. Oversley Hill, Purt. ii. 664. Crackley Wood, Russell, Ulustr. The Fields, Ansty, Adams. Packington Park. 499. B. piperatus, Bull. Woods. August- September. Combe Ridings, Adams. Trickley Coppice, Middleton ; Sutton Park ; Berkswell. 500. B. variegatus, Sw. In pine woods. Rare. August. On the borders of Coleshill Pool. 501. B. striaepes, Seer. Woods. Local. October. Near Kenilworth ! Russell, Ulustr. Sutton Park ; New Park. 502. B. chrysenteron, Fr. Woods. Frequent. September - October. Crackley Wood ! Russell, lllustr. Warwick; The Spring, Kenilworth, Perceval. Combe Woods! Adams. Sutton Park ; New Park ; Trickley Coppice ; Bradnock’s Marsh ; Coleshill Heath ; Water Orton ; Corley ; Coughton Park, &c. 503. B. subtomentosus, Linn. B. chrysenteron, With. Woods. Frequent. September-October. Edgbaston, With. 313. Ragley Woods! Oversley Wood, Purt. iii. 241. Lodge Wood, Warwick, Perceval. Kenilworth, Russell, Ulustr. Hopsford, Adams. Sutton Park ; New Park ; Trickley Coppice ; pine plantation, Coleshill Heath and Pool ; Crackley Wood, Kenilworth ; Berkswell ; Brad¬ nock’s Marsh ; Packington Park ; Edgbaston Park, &c. 504. B. rubinus Smith. Rare. Waysides. By Washpit, Brinklow Lane, near Combe, Adams. 505. B. parasiticus, Bull. On Scleroderma. October. New Park, October, 1884 ! Cooke. 506. B. variecolor, B. et Br. Woods. Rare. Combe Woods, Adams. Bank of a field, border of Packington Park, August, 1886. 66 A VISIT TO THE NORTH CAPE AND NORWAY. Mar., 1891. 507. B. calopus, Fr. B. olivaceus , var. 2, With. Packington Park, With. 312. Withering quotes Schceff. t. 315, so that he may possibly have found this species. 508. B. olivaceus. Schaff. Woods, &c. October. Church Lane, Edgbaston, With. 312. (To be continued.) A VISIT TO THE NOETH CAPE AND NOEWAY, ILLUSTEATED BY A SEEIES OF 150 LANTEEN SLIDES. BY C. PUMPHREY AND W. P. MARSHALL. ( Concluded from page 35.) 63. — Is a photograph of some Monkshood ( Aconitum septentrionale) that we saw growing very luxuriantly near Fladmark, the plants 6ft. in height, with leaves 21in. across. 64. — The Linnea borealis , with its lovely little pink flowers, was abundant in several places, and is interesting as the only plant that Linnaeus named after himself. 65. — Sletta Fos, in Romsdal, where the Rauma makes a picturesque waterfall through a narrow passage in the rocks. 66. — Vermes Fos, another waterfall in Romsdal. The waterfalls form a very beautiful feature in Norwegian scenery, and they are very numerous, hundreds being seen in each day’s journey. Norway has been truly called the “ land of waterfalls.” 67. — A. nearer view of Vermes Fos Waterfall. 68. — Romsdal cliffs, at Horgheim, where we stopped the next night, after having been to the summit of the pass, where the road rises to 2,000ft. above the sea. In the front is the hotel, or “ Station,” as it is called, where we stayed. 69. — Soeholt, on the Stor Fjord, where we stopped a night. In the front are two “ Carrioles ” the other kind of vehicle which carries only one passenger each, with the post-boy or “ skydsgut ” hanging on behind. 69a. — Soeholt, from the steamer. 70. — Group at Soeholt, grinding scythe blades. They have two kinds of scythes, a large one, double-handed, like our mowing scythes, and a small one, used with a single hand, having a small sickle blade at the end of a long handle, which is used for mowing the grass in the small rough places where there is not room for the sweep of a scythe ; great pains are taken to grow grass for hay in every possible place, however rough. 71. — The Geiranger Fjord, one of the most favourite places in Nor¬ wegian scenery ; showing the beautiful reflections in the water that are seen on a fine day. 72. — A further view of Geiranger Fjord. 73. — First view of the celebrated Seven Sisters’ Falls in Geiranger Fjord. 74. — Nearer view of the Seven Sisters’ Falls; these fall over a cliff of more than 1,000ft. in height from the water, and the total height is as much as 3,000ft. of the mountain cliffs on each side. These fine views of Geiranger were taken by Dr. Anderson. Mar., 1891. a visit to the north cape and Norway. 67 75. — Hoelkevold Brae Glacier, at the head of the Olden Lake, with a farm cart and peasants in the foreground. 76. — The first sight of the great Brixdal Glacier, which is one of the largest of those flowing from the extensive Jostedal Snowfield, which is nearly fifty miles in length, and has many glaciers flowing from it. 77. — The foot of the glacier, showing the cave from which the stream flows. 78. — Close view of the foot of the glacier. 79. — View at the edge of the glacier. 80. — View across the glacier, showing the upper part. 81. — Fjord near Olden, showing farm building with turf roof and trees growing upon it, The houses are roofed with birch bark, laid on in many layers overlapping one another to a total thick¬ ness of about four inches, and thoroughly water-tight, and then a thick layer of turf is put on to prevent the bark blowing away, and on this turf grows a crop of plants, flowers, and even small trees. In one case, we saw a couple of kids browsing upon the roof of a house. These roofs are very durable, and last out the timber walls of the houses. 82. — A scene in Oldendal, showing the remains of one of the curious little vertical mills. The supply of water power is very abundant throughout the country, and a small stream is led down a shoot upon the oblique vanes of a small water-wheel that is fixed upon a vertical spindle. On the top of this spindle a millstone is fitted, forming the whole machinery of a corn mill ; or a pulley, as in this photograph, for driving a circular saw to cut up timber. 83. — Shows one of the mills, with the water turned off for the time, and flowing over the side of the shoot. These mills for grinding corn and cutting timber are very plentiful throughout the country, as the farmers have generally to grind their own corn, and all the buildings are of wood, for which the timber has to be cut. 84. — Scene on the road to Faleide, with our Stolkjaerre, and a girl or “ pige ” for the driver. 85. — Scene at Faleide, with a group of native tourists from the Hardanger district. The Faleide Hotel, seen at the top, has a fine situation, and is a favourite place for visitors to stay at, and to make a centre for excursions ; the excursion to Brixdal Glacier is made from there. 86. — Utviken, beyond Faleide, showing one of the wattled fences of the country, constructed like basket-work. 87. — View on the pass from Utviken to Bed. 88. — Panorama at the summit of the pass, which is an ascent of 2,200ft. A patch of snow remained in a hollow at the side of the road at the summit, although it was a hot summer day, and the thermometer was at 77° when we left Faleide in the morning. The road is terribly steep in the descent to Bed, from the summit of the pass; we had been down some very steep roads before, that measured 1 in 5 for the inclination, down which the sturdy, sure-footed little ponies trotted without hesitation, but this was actually as steep as 1 in 3^ as we found by measurement, and the pony condescended to walk down, and we walked down also at the worst places. 89. — The “ Norske Hestman,” or Northern Horseman, a striking mountain, seen across a lake. 90. — Lake and mountain scene on the road to Vadheim. 68 A VISIT TO THE NORTH CAPE AND NORWAY. Mar., 1891. 91. — Another view along the shore of the same lake, or “ Vand,” which is one of the inland freshwater lakes. 92. — Road approaching Yadheim. 93. — Distant view of Heldre Fos Waterfall from the road. This shows one of the older fashioned Stolkjaerres without springs; the seat is fixed upon the back end of two wood bars, which are slipped into sockets upon the long, slender shafts, and the com¬ bined effect is a certain amount of springiness, that makes the riding fairly comfortable, although there are no springs. This kind of vehicle takes all to pieces when stowed away. At one station where we had to change vehicle as well as horse, there was at first no fresh vehicle to be seen ; but then a man came bowling along a pair of wheels on their axle ; then he brought out of a shed, on his shoulders, a pair of shafts, with a couple of bars connecting them, dropped them on to the axle, and attached them by two wood pegs through holes in the axle ; finally, he brought the seat and footboard, with the two long bars fixed to them, and slipped these into the sockets upon the shafts — and there was the carriage complete. 91. — Another view of Heldre Fos Waterfall seen across the lake. 95. — Langlands, on the road to Yadheim. We then went by steamer a long distance from Vadheim to Laerdalsoren, up the great Sogne Fjord, the largest of the Norwegian fjords, which extends as far as 100 miles from the sea to the farthest extremity of its numerous branches. Some idea of the Norwegian fjords is given by the Scotch lochs on the west coast of Scotland, such as Loch Long and Loch Fyne ; but the longest of these, Loch Fyne, is only forty miles in length, and the Norwegian fjords are much more lofty in the sides and grander in scenery, and they have the striking addition of the glaciers and tile numerous waterfalls. 96. — The landing at Laerdalsoren from the Hardanger Fjord steamer. 97. — Bridge at Nedre Hoeg, near Laerdalsoren. 98. — Sukem Fos Waterfall, near Laerdalsoren, showing the cloud of spray rising from the fall. We then started on an excursion up the Jostedal Yalley, which was reached by a small coasting steamer from Laerdalsoren. We stayed two nights in the valley, and went to the great Nigaards Brae Glacier, which is one of the numerous glaciers that descend from the Jostedal Snowfield, and is on the opposite side of it’ to the Brixdal Glacier that we had previously visited. 99. — A view in Jostedal. The valley is thirty miles in length to the Nigaards Brae Glacier, and strikingly picturesque in character, with great variety of scenery. It is out of the line of ordinary tourists. The little station or inn near the head contained only two bed rooms (but beautifully clean and neat), and the visitors’ book had only thirty names of visitors in it since the beginning of the year. 100. — Another view in Jostedal, showing one of the steep bits in the road, where it has been squeezed in between the rocky cliff and the torrent below, and the road suddenly pitches down a very steep incline. 101. — A view in one of the more open spaces in the valley, where there are several small farms, with fields of corn and hay. 102. — A view showing the road creeping round a corner of the rock, with the stream below. 103. — View showing the mountains towards the head of the valley. 104. — First sight of the Nigaards Brae Glacier, flowing down a side valley from the great snowfield. 105. — Close view, upon the glacier. Mar., 1891. a VISIT TO THE NORTH CAPE AND NORWAY. 69 106. — Another view upon the glacier. These two photographs were taken upon the glacier, taking the camera on to the glacier, by cutting steps some way up the ice slope. 107. — Naero Fjord. We went by steamer from Laerdalsoren to the Naero Fjord, which winds between lofty, precipitous rocks for eight miles in length, and presents a beautiful variety of scenery. The Naero Fjord, and the Naerodal beyond it, are two of the special attractions in Norwegian scenery. 108. — The landing at Gudvangen, at the head of the Naero Fjord. 109. — View in the Naerodal. 110. — Another view in the valley. 111. — Jordalsnut, a remarkable mountainous rock, 8,600ft. high, that stands isolated in the middle of the valley. 112. — View from the head of the valley, showing Jordalsnut standing up in the centre. 118. — View from Stalheim Hotel, which stands at the head of the valley, and commands a very striking and unique view of a great portion of the valley, which is eight miles total length. Stal- heim Hotel is reached by a very steep, zigzag road, that rises 800ft. up a steep rock forming the head of the valley. It is a large, commodious hotel that is a favourite place for staying at. 114. — View of the side of Stalheim Hotel. 115. — Stalheim Fos Waterfall at the head of the valley. 116. — Matro Fos Waterfall on the road to Eide. 117. — Svinde Fos, another waterfall on the road. 118. — Loenhorgen, a mountain 4,500ft. in height, passed on the road. 119. — Bridge at Voss. 120. — Skjeiven Fos, a remarkable waterfall over the centre of a large semicircular amphitheatre of rocks, forming a grand scene. The road crosses by a bridge above the waterfall, and finds its way to the bottom by a long series of remarkable zigzags, that double back upon themselves in a bewildering way. 121. — View of the waterfall from the foot of the upper fall. 122. — View of the lower and upper falls. 123. — Eide, with a sight of Eide Fjord beyond. Eide is charmingly situated at the head of one of the branches of the great Har- danger Fjord, which extends to a total distance of eighty miles from the sea. 124. — View of Eide, from the steamer. It is a very pleasant and con¬ venient place to stay at for excursions. 124a. — Yik in Eidfjord. 125. — Salmon trap near Vik, made of rough stone dams, wide apart at the lower end and terminating in the rat-trap entrance of a large circular iron cage, out of which there is no escape, and the fisherman takes the fish out at his leisure, and his prey is secured. In another kind of trap that we saw, large white-painted boards are placed at the bottom of the water, and when the fish pass over they are seen by a man stationed on a high scaffolding at the edge of the water, and he has ropes attached to nets, which are then drawn up behind the fish, and the fish are secured. 126. — Voerings Fos Waterfall ; this is one of the most celebrated of the Norwegian waterfalls, and is seen by a day’s excursion from Eide. 127. — View at the foot of the waterfall ; the height of the fall is 500ft. From Eide we went to Odde, at the head of another branch of the Hardauger Fjord, for the purpose of seeing the Buar Brae Glacier, and the Gorsvingane Pass, with the fine water¬ falls on the road. 70 REPORTS OF SOCIETIES. Mar., 1891. 128. — View across Sandven Lake, on the way to Buar Brae. 129. — The glacier in the distance from the lake. 180. — Boat landing from the lake for Buar Brae. 181. — The Jordal route to Buar Brae. 132. — Jordal and the stream from Buar Brae. 133. — View across Jordal. 134. — Buar Brae Glacier. 135. — Foot of the glacier. 136. — Upper part of the glacier. 137. — View of Odde and the Soer Fjord ; this is a beautiful situation, and a convenient place for making excursions. 138. — Back of Odde. 139. — Rocks and wood near Odde. 140. — Boulders in Hildal near Odde. 141. — Hildals Fos Waterfall near Odde. 142. — Bridge and valley near Odde. 143. — Lote Fos Waterfall on road to Gorsvingane ; this is the first of three fine waterfalls near together, and shows the clouds of spray rising from the fall. 144. — Fspilandes Fos Waterfall. 145. — Skars Fos Waterfall. 146. — Winding road and valley near Gorsvingane. 147. — Summit of the Gorsvingane Pass, nineteen miles from Odde, where the road is 3,400ft. in height above the sea, and rises to that extent from Odde, having in its course two very remarkable sets of steep zigzags. 148. — The last slide shows a native of the Hardanger district, with the peculiar head-dress called a “skaut,” which is worn only by married women ; it is an elaborate, pleated and starched structure, that is highly prized by the native ladies. BIRMINGHAM NATURAL HISTORY AND MICROSCOPICAL SOCIETY. — February 10tli. Biological Section. — Mr. John F. Goode (Vice-President) in the chair. Mr. A. H. Martineau exhibited some specimens of the Eyed Hawk-moth (Smerinthus ocellatus), and the Lime Hawk-moth ( S . Tilice). Mr. Charles Pumpbrey then read a most interesting paper, by Mr. Arthur Hunt, of Durban, Natal, entitled “ Natural History Jottings in Natal,” being a graphic description of observations from nature in the South African bush. At the termina¬ tion of the paper a cordial vote of thanks was accorded to Mr. Hunt. — February 17tli. Geological Section. Mr. T. H. Waller, B.A., B.Sc., in the chair. Mr. John Garner, M.R.C.S., L.S.A., was proposed a member of the society. Mr. C. T. Parsons exhibited some beautiful opals from Queensland. One specimen had the ferruginous matrix adhering to it. The opals seem to be found in ferruginous nodules and bands filling either cavities or cracks, and not in volcanic rock, as seems usual in Hungary. Mr. C. J. Watson then showed and described a series of lantern views of Norwegian scenery taken during the excur¬ sion of the Vesey Club last summer. Mar., 1891. REPORTS OF SOCIETIES. 71 BIRMINGHAM MICROSCOPISTS’ AND NATURALISTS’ UNION. — Jan. 19th. The meeting was only of a formal character, the members having been invited to the Entomological Society’s con¬ versazione. — Jan. 26th. Mr. J. Collins read a paper, “ Notes on some Plants from North Wales.” The writer said his intention was to describe some plants found in a ramble extending over a few days in the month of July, and, though the district could not be called remark¬ able for its rare plants, yet few could describe the pleasure it gave a botanist to meet with those he had not seen before. The ramble commenced at Llanfairfechau and was continued along the coast line to Bangor, then inland to the mountains, and back to Conway. The formation worked was mainly Cambrian, the mountain limestone being crossed in a few instances. The country inland was very wild and in its primitive state. The mountains were very rich in bog plants. One of the most remarkable finds was a bed of cultivated musk, far away from any human habitation save a shepherd’s hut ; and, as this is not a native plant, it was interesting to find it so well established. On the ruins at Conway were found plants it was diffi¬ cult to account for, unless they were introduced by the monks centuries ago for medicinal purposes. The plants were handed round during the reading of the paper. — Feb. 2nd. Mr. R. Birbeck exhibited a collection of butterflies, beetles, aud reptiles, from the West Indies. Mr. Linton, a series of objects illustrating the life history of the silk- moth ( Bombyx mori ), also a collection of British birds’ eggs ; Mr. Deakin, fossils from Woolhope limestone, Hay Head, near Walsall ; Mr. J. Moore, burying beetles (Necrophorus ruspator, N. vespillo, and N. humator ) ; Mr. A. Camm, a series of drawings of Myxomycetous fungi ; Mr. J. W. Neville, leaf of an Australian drosera. — Feb. 9th. The President, Professor Hillhouse, M.A., F.L.S., showed a sapling of birch entwined with honeysuckle. Though the stem of the latter was very thin, it had so constricted the stem it climbed as to form a congested spiral growth. Mr. C. P. Neville then gave a lecture on “ The Hand- camera,” with lantern illustrations. After reviewing the strength and weakness of various makes of cameras, a small hand-camera was recommended. It had been tested in many ways and had given good results. A large series of pictures showing its successes and failures were put on the screen. They comprised for the most part views in Wales, and showed breaking waves, morning, evening, and sunshine effects. A discussion followed the views, in which the President, Mr. J. Edmonds, aud Mr. Camm took part. The lecturer said he did not place this camera in competition with more costly ones for the beauty of its work, but rather recommended it for its simplicity and portability. — Feb. 16tli. Special. — Conchology. Mr. J. Madison showed a case of shells, including all the British species of Planorbis, also several species from America and Australia, and some fossil representatives ; Mr. S. White, a collection of marine shells from Blackpool ; Mr. P. T. Deakin, marine shells from Malta ; Mr. Linton, American and West Indian shells ; Mr. J. H. Corbett, fossil shells from oolite and shelly limestone ; Mr. J. Collins, unusual variety of Helix aspersa , from Torquay ; and Limncea stagnalis, from Kew Gardens. OXFORD NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY.— January 23rd. The annual meeting was held in the Large Lecture Theatre at the Museum, when Professor A. H. Green, M.A. , F.R.S., was elected president, in the place of Mr. E. B. Poulton, M.A. , F.R.S., who had most ably held the office since the establishment of the society in 1887. Mr. G. C. Druce, M.A., F. L. S., was unanimously re-elected treasurer. 72 REPORTS OF SOCIETIES. Mar., 1891. His report showed the society to be in a flourishing condition, having a considerable balance in hand. The election of a secretary, to succeed Mr. Underhill, was deferred until the next meeting. At the close of the business, the members adjourned to the corridor, where refresh¬ ments were kindly provided by Mr. Poulton, and a pleasant evening was spent. The Radcliffe Library and the Hope Collection of Insects were open by kind permission of Sir Henry Acland and Professor Westwood. — February 5th. The President in the chair. Mrs. F. H. Peters was elected to the office of secretary, most efficiently filled by Mr. H. M. J. Underhill since the foundation of the society. After the formal business, Mr. W. Warde Fowler, M.A. , read a paper on “ The Ornithology of Aristotle.” He commenced with a brief sketch of Aristotle's life, saying that in his home and surroundings he had great opportunities for observing the habits and migration of birds. Although he lived long before the age of classification (2,000 years before Linnaeus), he named and numbered 178 different birds out of 400, and so described them as to enable ornithologists of the present day to identify many of them ; amongst which are our thrushes, blackbird, pigeon, cuckoo, kingfisher, woodpecker, wryneck, &c. Aristotle thought that some birds hibernated by retiring into caves and holes, and losing their feathers. He does not seem to have thought that all birds moulted, although he speaks of some changing their feathers. At the close of his paper, the lecturer described a swallow’s nest built in a boathouse belonging to Mr. Vernon Harcourt, of Cowley Grange. The nest itself was of the usual kind, but it had a curious appendage in the shape of a terrace, constructed of the same material, extending along the whole length of a beam. A probable explanation of it was : some of the beams in the boathouse had been tarred, and the birds, fearing the one leading to their nest would be treated in the same way, pro¬ ceeded to cover it themselves. Mr. Aplin exhibited a blackcap, which was shot at Bloxliam during the late severe weather. — February 19th. Lecture by Professor Sydney H. Vines, D.Sc., F.R.S., on “ The Plant and the Soil.” The lecturer said he would briefly describe the way in which roots are distributed in the ground, and the way they lay hold of nourishment. The function of roots is to take up nourishment from the soil, which can only be absorbed in a liquid state. A certain por¬ tion of the soil is alive, i.e., alive with germs: the top-soil is living, the sub-soil is dead ; for this reason, in “ trenching,” the gardener always takes care to keep the top-soil on the surface. Germs reduce the organic matter in the soil, and fit it to be taken into the plant as nourishment. The decay of organic matter is due to the presence of bacteria. After explaining the action of “root-hairs” in taking up nourishment from the soil, the lecturer showed how some plants gained the same object in a very different way, viz., by going into “ partnership ” (symbiosis) with certain fungoid growths. For example, the Leguminosse (pea and bean tribe) have curious tubercles on their roots. These are full of a kind of fungoid “germ,” which derive their nitrogen from the air present in the soil, and pass it on to the bean plants. Thus a crop of beans leaves the soil richer in nitro¬ genous compounds than it was before the crop was planted, and yet beans contain more nitrogen than any other plant. Something similar occurs in the roots of trees of the order Cupuliferse, which, instead of root-hairs, have their ends covered with a thick felt of fungus mycelium, which acts as root-hairs do in other plants. This is a case of sym¬ biosis only paralleled by lichens, in which plants, algae and fungi, live together, forming what we call a “lichen.” A discussion, followed by a vote of thanks to the lecturer, closed the meeting. April, 1891. THE ARAN ISLANDS. 73 THE ARAN ISLANDS.* BY PHILIP B. MASON, F.L.S., F.Z.S., ETC. With Illustrations from Photographs by Messrs. J. E. Nowers and J. G. Wells. {Continued from page 52.) This is aconvenient place in which to attempt some descrip¬ tion of the dims or forts. These are more or less circular in outline, and built up of loose stones, laid one on the other. The limestone of which they are constructed weathers and splits in more or less flattened slabs, which are easily piled up. The general plan is that of an inner enclosure with two outer concentric walls, the latter being protected by stone chevaux de frise covering a considerable extent of ground. No two of the duns are planned exactly in the same way, but the largest and most striking specimen is Dun iEngus or Dun Eanes (Plate I., fig. 1). Dun Eanes is built on the brow of the highest precipice in the island, 302 feet above the sea level, and the descent is so sheer, that the islanders are in the habit of fishing from its edge, with the aid of a short stick or rod, not much more than a yard in length. From its position on the edge of a cliff, there is no necessity for the completion of the circle of the wall, which is therefore built in the shape of a horse-slioe, the space enclosed by which is 150 feet in length by 142 feet in width. The circuit of the wall of the inner enclosure is the only one of the walls without any other opening than a doorway. The wall is 13 feet wide, and averages 18 feet in height ; it is built up on the inner and outer faces of regularly shaped stones, the space between being filled with rubble (Plate I., fig. 2). On the inner side, are two stone platforms, reached by flights of stone steps. In this there were originally two doorways, one of which is now closed by the inner wall, while the open one has a width of 3 feet 4 inches at the top, and a little more at the bottom, the top being formed by large flagstones piled one above the other. In the breadth of the wall on the north-west side, there is a passage or chamber. In the enclosure are the remains of stone houses or clogliauns. The outer walls have openings left in them, but the openings in the middle and outer walls are placed at some considerable distance apart, and the whole protected by the sharp stones of the chevaux de frise (Plate II., fig. 3). The whole extent of the sea front between the outer walls is 1,150 feet. Of these duns there are four in the large island, viz., Dun iEngus, which I have just described ; Dun Ogliill, which is placed about 400 feet above the sea level, and not far from the Erratum. — Page 51, line 26, for “ 48 cubic feet,” read “ 48 cubic yards.” 74 THE ARAN ISLANDS. April, 1891. highest point of the island (Plate II., fig. 4). Dim Ogliill and Dun Onacht (Plate III., fig. 5) are in excellent preservation. The walls of the latter dun are 15 feet in thickness, and its longest diameter is 94 feet. Of the fourth dun, Doo Caher (Plate III., fig. 6), or the Black Fort, I have already made some mention when speaking of the first settlement of the Firbolgs, at a date which tradition places about 8,000 years ago. This structure is also placed on the edge of a beetling and lofty cliff, and to all appearance is considerably older than the others, the age of which cannot be much less than 2,000 years. While the stones of Dun fEngus, Dun Ogliill, and Dun Onacht retain their colour and the sharpness of their edges, those of the Black Fort are much blackened, and give the impression of immense antiquity. There is a look of mystery about this struc¬ ture, flanked as it is by the remains of an extensive settlement of stone houses, or Firbolgic city, in its decay, wanting in the other three, which almost look as if they had been built within living memory. On the middle island there are two duns. One, Dun Con¬ nor (Plate IV.. fig. 7), or Conchovar, is very large and perfect. Of the other I know nothing except that I saw it from the sea, as the weather never permitted me to land on this island. On the southern island may be seen the remains of a dun, in the centre of which are the ruins of a mediaeval fortress called Furmina Castle. I have several times mentioned the cloghauns, or stone dwellings, the remains of which are scattered over the island. These are low stone structures of two kinds, the earlier ones being little more than sleeping places roofed by a flat stone, in which it is impossible to stand upright. Of the second, or beehive houses (Plate IV., fig. 8), there is still one perfect specimen to be seen by clambering over a succession of stone walls. This is a circular erection, with a roof constructed of circular layers of stone, laid with their edge projecting on their inner sides, and repeated until the space between them can be closed by a single stone. No doubt the roof was made weather- tight by placing sods of earth on the stones. The height of this is sufficient to allow of an upright position, but the only means of entrance is by creeping on the hands and knees. Near it is still to be seen a heap of broken shells, the contents of which have been used for food, a so-called kitchen midden. It is said that such houses were inhabited here until the commencement of this century. At the present time these venerable relics of antiquity are in a comparatively good state of preservation ; the great danger menacing them is that .of rabbits. Babbits are not very numerous in the islands, and the natives, when digging up their burrows, are apt to be regardless of other considera- April, 1891. THE ARAN ISLANDS. 75 tions ; in fact, I saw in several places holes in the roadway quite six feet deep, which had been made in this way. It is a pity that the provisions of the Act for the Protection of Ancient Monuments have not been extended to Ireland. Before approaching the epoch of the introduction of Christianity into Aran, I have still one other relic to notice, viz., the stump of a Bound Tower, unfortunately now only a stump 4 or 5 feet high with a circumference of 45 feet round the base. Eiglity-eiglit years ago Dr. Petrie was told by an old islander that it was formerly 82 feet high. These mysterious structures called Bound Towers are peculiar to Ireland ; they are cylindrical in shape, from 60 to 90 feet in height, surmounted by a conical cap, and are destitute of any entrance into the interior. The time when they wTere erected is uncertain, but it was evidently long after the period of the duns, as they are built up of dressed blocks of masonry cemented together. Nothing is known with any certainty of the use to which they were devoted, although there are endless theories about them, but there is little doubt that they were connected with religious observances. I now come to a period in the history of Aran possessing an interest of an entirely different kind, although still full of attraction for the archaeologist. This period is that of the introduction of Christianity into the islands by St. Eudeus in the 6tli century. The name of this person is written indifferentlv Endeus or Enda in the old Latin Lives of the Saints, and is called Eaney or Eana in the spoken Erse. He belonged to the royal house of Oriel, a territory comprising the present counties of Louth, Armagh, and Monaghan, and was converted by his sister, St. Fancliea, a nun. He repaired for religious purposes to Italy, where he became the founder or head of a large monastery ; and, returning to Ireland after the lapse of many years with a numerous body of monks, obtained through the solicitation of St. Aible, the first bishop of Cashel, from TEngus, King of Munster, the Island of Aran, which had apparently passed from the Kingdom of Connaught to that of Munster since the time of Queen Maeve. He found it to be inhabited by a few Pagan Firbolgs, who fled in their curraghs without waiting to hear the word of God ; and he founded in Aran before his death, which took place about the year 542, no less than ten religious houses. Ara Mor thus became celebrated among all the anchorites of Western Europe. It was divided into two parishes ; over the eastern parish St. Endeus himself presided, while the western was under the jurisdiction of the most eminent of his disciples, St. Breccan, a son of the Prince of Thomond, and the founder of the old diocese of Ardbreccan in Meath. The names of others of these holy persons are preserved in connection with the 76 THE ARAN ISLANDS April, 1891. religious antiquities of Aran, as St. Benan or Benignus, St. Kronan, St. Caradoc, wlio was a Briton, St. McLongius, St. Eperninus, and others. St. Brendan of Olonfert, the cele¬ brated navigator, visited Aran in the course of his famous Atlantic voyage, and started thence on his supposed trip of discovery to America. In fact, Aran became a great school of asceticism and sanctitv, and was constantlv resorted to from the Continent to study the sacred Scriptures, and to practise the austerities of a hermit’s life. An ancient writer states that “ in one small cemetery here the bodies of 120 saints repose,” and more saints are buried in Aran than are known to anyone but God alone ; in fact, that relics as sacred as those which Catholics travel abroad to venerate in other countries here lie neglected under moss and bramble on our own deserted shores. About 1645, when Colgan was editing a history of the life of St. Endeus for the “Acta Sanctorum Hibernia,” he obtained a MS. compiled by Augustin Magraidan from an authority which seems to be as old as the days of Paganism. This gives a list of the principal churches in these islands, of which there were three in Inislieer, two in Inismaan, and thirteen in Ara Mor ; leaving it to be inferred that there were others of lesser note. No doubt many of these ecclesiastical buildings had fallen into decay before the time of Cromwell, but the work of destruction was completed by his soldiery in the demolition of the great monastery of St. Eany, the stones of which were used to strengthen Arkin Castle, a ruin of which I shall speak later on. The present provision for the religious neces¬ sities of the inhabitants are two churches of the most com¬ monplace character, one Roman Catholic and the other Protestant. Of the latter there are not more than thirty or forty in the three islands, and they are chiefly coastguard- men and their families. However, the religious antiquities which have until now escaped the effacing fingers of time and the ravages of man are of the greatest interest. They consist of bullauns, or baptismal stones ; open air altars , like that of St. Eany ; holy wells, like St. Eany's, which never dries and which never contains more than 4 or 5 inches of water. It is still the custom to put small offerings in these wells. I saw various objects so placed in the Holv Well near the Church of the Four Beautiful Saints. There is no doubt that many of these open air relics were formerly objects of reverence in Pagan days, and that in pro¬ gress of time this reverence has become invested with Christian associations. The other remains are those of monasteries and churches. (To be continued.) PLATE I Fig. 1. DUN AENGUS. ■A&te&f&iiddiilS&filt atiMj HERALD PRESS. LITH.BIKM1 Fig. 2 DUN /E.NGUS INNER SIDE OF WALL AND DOOR . PLATE II Fig. 3. DUN ^NGUS. CHEVAUX DE FRISE, HCRAIO PRESS. LITH Bl*M" Fig. 4 DUN OGHILL. PLATE III. Fig. 5. DUN ONACHT. Ht RALE PRESS. LlTM BlRM? Fig. 6. DOO CAHER. PLATE IV. r— — ■'■V Fig. 7. DUN CONNOR. HERALD PRESS. LIIM BIRHD Fig. 8. CLOGHAUN NA CARRIGA, OR STONE HOUSE OF THE ROCK. April, 1891. glacial action among British mountains. 77 PERSONAL OBSERVATIONS OF GLACIAL ACTION AMONG BRITISH MOUNTAINS.* BY HORACE PEARCE, F.G.S. , F.L.S. (RECENTLY PRESIDENT OF THE DUDLEY AND MIDLAND GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY). Iii bringing before the members of the Birmingham Natural History Society a few evidences of glacial action, observed during brief holidays chiefly in Wales and among the mountains of our beautiful English Lake District, I do so with the object of pointing out some special instances of marked character which arrested my attention, in several cases quite unexpectedly, and in remote glens or wild ravines not so often visited by the general public. And I wish more particularly to dwell upon evidence of distinct ice action rather than now to enter upon the vexed question of causes, or to endeavour to distinguish between any assumed general ice-cap extending far down this northern hemisphere, and the local glaciation more confined to the mountain districts. I should like to convey something of the strong and repeated indications of the local action of small glaciers on most of our highest mountains; a condition which, though geologically quite recent, is yet very remote from the present day if measured by number of years, could this be done ; for we are met here, as elsewhere in geology, by the demand of unlimited time. And here I would remark that these distinct and striking phenomena are the more remarkable, considering how com¬ paratively slight is the altitude of the highest mountains in the British Isles. At the same time, we must bear in mind that they are in most cases, perhaps in all, greatly reduced from their original height ; as we feel when standing on the apex of Snowdon, supported now by ridges that enclose great and profound hollows, or cwms, in the old Welsh language, and realise how, noble as it is, this is but a fragment of the original mountain, though yet so wild, serrated, and grand. But to proceed directly to a few traces of the paths of the old glaciers. A few years ago, when spending a short holiday at Mardale, that little lonely pastoral glen above the head of beautiful Hawes Water, in Westmoreland, I spent some time round the shores of Blea Water, one of the wildest tarns I ever saw, of notable features in crag and precipice, sur¬ rounded closely on three sides by the rugged rocks of High * Read before the Birmingham Natural History and Microscopical Society, April loth, 1890. 78 GLACIAL ACTION AMONG BRITISH MOUNTAINS. APRIL, 1891. Street Mountain. In some positions, and under some lights, its waters are black, and seem very deep ; an impression still further conveyed by the steepness of rocks plunging in on two sides. But across its outlet is a barrier that looks almost artificial, nearly as much so as a railway embankment, and is a great contrast to most of the bare rock surfaces around. The waters are evidently chiefly confined by it, and although we cannot say at what depth in it we might come to the solid rock, it is mainly composed of smaller portions of rocky material, and I have no doubt is a large moraine left by the ice in its later stages. The whole of this recess under High Street and Harter Fell has a singularly worn look — a sort of carved-out appearance — and forms a remarkably bold bit of scenery. On its northern 'side runs a ridge, about east and west, for nearly a mile-and-three-quarters, uncommonly rough and narrow in places, called truly enough Rough Crag, as I found one morning when I scrambled along it part way, and found it to sink profoundly and at a steep angle into this hollow enclosing Blea Water, and on the opposite side into the scarcely less wild and secluded Gflen of Riggin- dale. I mention this, because when you traverse the sky¬ line of High Street you see how some agency in the past, which I feel sure was ice principally, has very nearly cut right through the mountain. But down below, where the end of this Rough Crag curves slightly, and where, on this supposition, there would be a great pressure from the curving glacier, you come upon a long, even, sloping surface of rock, as though planed off in a most remarkably smooth and even manner, which, to my mind, corresponds closely with what one can see would be the result under such con¬ ditions. This smooth, planed surface of its lower slope, where the vallev trends towards Hawes Water, forms a telling contrast to the broken, irregular rocks along the ridge, and to the wild heights about lonely Blea Water. In walking across one afternoon from Mardale to Patter- dale, after passing over Kidsty Pike and High Street, before proceeding into the lower valleys, I turned aside to notice a small lake resting under long green hillsides — remote pastoral Hayes Water. At an elevation of 1,888ft. above the sea, and with only shepherds’ paths near it, the half-mile length of pure water has a very clean untouched appearance. But what drew mv attention most was a number of little mounds, almost bee- hive shaped, near the upper end of the lake, having almost an artificial appearance, distinct one from another, and quite unlike the ordinary slopes of detritus below the rocks. Evidently, to my mind, they are glacial moraines, April, 1891. GLACIAL ACTION AMONG BRITISH MOUNTAINS. 79 slied from the end of a small and slowly retreating glacier that once filled this deep glen, striking back into the heart of the High Street range ; undisturbed and most significant, seen at once to have been caused by no ordinary action of the weather. Here I would remark that such small terminal moraines would probably be numerous, as they are in this instance, because, during the amelioration of the climate, it is likely the glaciers would alternately retire and advance, probably during a long period, before finally leaving the valleys. In such cases frequently we do not readily find any scratched stones in the material, because of the short distance it has travelled. Not far from this spot, and just where two long valleys, coming down on either side the bold height of Red Screes, meet above the little, but interesting, lake of Brothers' Water, I found and counted fifteen or sixteen distinct moraine masses where the ice would converge near the site of the present lake. These numbers are from notes taken at the time, when I was much impressed by the striking assemblage of these relics of a bygone geological period. Directly north of Ambleside and Rydal rises a bold mass of mountain ground, culminating in the lofty Fairfield, so well known to Wordsworth and his charming sister Dorothy, during their residence in these villages. From Fairfield two long spurs come down closelv to the shores of Rvdal Water, one of these ending suddenly in the fine cliff called Nab Scar, often admired on passing along the coach road just below. Instead of running down and ending gradually, like the other spurs of the same group, this one is cut across, causing the bold precipitous cliff just mentioned. Now a glacier filling the Yale of Grasmere, and coming down from the wild hollows above, would meet with a narrow passage just at this place ; and I have no doubt this was the original agency in planing off the lower end of this spur, as the ice ground its course out in proceeding down towards Windermere. I am not aware if the probability of this has been pointed out before, but would like any one travelling that way to observe this Nab Scar in relation to its own and the other spurs coming down from the more central mass of Fairfield. Seen from below, it rather astonishes people, new to that glorious region, to point out that this is merely the end of a long mountain ridge reaching back some three-and-a-half miles. I remember once, after a grand ramble among the mountains just alluded to, and others about Brothers’ Water, I was returning on the western side of the lake and admiring the golden sunshine flooding with light all the opposite side of the 80 GLACIAL ACTION AMONG BRITISH MOUNTAINS. April, 1891. valley, when presently crossing the outlet of Dove Dale Glen my attention was suddenly taken by a block of rock lying detached in a wide green pasture. So off I turned towards it, but evidently the dogs of the district had concluded that none but shepherds should pass unchallenged, or instinctively divined I was no “ gude Dalesman,” for they setup such a roar, five of them, that I felt glad of a good ferrule on my long staff. However, they drew off after a while, and I walked up to the block, to my mind undoubtedly brought down out of the glen by a glacier, because on looking all round and observing the nature of the country, it seemed impos¬ sible any other known motive power could have carried and landed it so far from its parent cliffs. I measured it. and found it approximately 10ft. 8in. by 8ft. lOin. by 7ft. 9in., a nice little waistcoat-pocket specimen ! Passing now to another part of the Lake District, this time in wild, rocky Cumberland, I would call attention to the very strikingly glaciated appearance of the rocks at what may be termed the jaws of Borrowdale, that well-known vale reaching up into the heart of the mountains ; one of the finest bits of scenery in the British Isles. Far up above, a number of wild glens come down from some of the loftiest heights in England, and unite just above the village of Rosth waite, where a wide level strath indicates the site of a former lake not so long ago. At the northern end of this beautiful opening the vale narrows suddenly, and rocks converge closely to dispute the passage of the picturesque Derwent. Now if glaciers formerly came out of these rocky recesses up above, and united as they must have done just above Rostliwaite, what would be the result ? Evidentlv a constricted Dassage here, and great pressure. Accordingly we find almost every surface of rock most remarkably smoothened and planed over, all roughness originally taken off in the direction facing up the Dale, but a few broken surfaces remaining on the northern side of the rocks, just where masses of ice passing over might leave them with less pressure, as the rocks broke down more or less towards the north. Many a time I have left the roads and got on the smoothened rock surfaces to note their wavy curving contours, seen here and there to pass under slight covering of peat or heather, or to gather some of the rarer wild plants abounding there, where vegetation has covered the surface. In few spots that I have studied have I found the glacial indications more distinct over wide spaces of rock than there. They may also be examined again at Grange Bridges just beyond, close to the bed of the swift and beautiful Derwent. April, 1891. GLACIAL ACTION AMONG BRITISH MOUNTAINS. 81 Passing again over another interval of mountain ground, and proceeding more towards the west, there is a mountain called Robinson, curiously enough, which breaks down in some precipices towards the north and west, below which, and partly surrounded by them, lies the head of one of the many rugged glens or ravines of the district. And here again one day, when walking over from Buttermere, I noticed a number of small moraine masses, very distinct looking, untouched for the greater part, or in one or two places cut through by the action of the present stream. These again gave me the impression of having been shed from the end of small and retreating glaciers that once to a great extent covered the mountains of our island, if indeed the land was not enswathed by them, as Greenland is at the present day. Before leaving this most lovely district there is one other spot I wish briefly to allude to — the wild and romantic Deep- dale, which possibly some of you may have visited : a glen exhibiting singularly bold features, where you see the carving- out of these ancient rocks on a grand scale. Nature seems to have left her handiwork lying about in more primitive fashion than usual. It lies mainly enclosed by the mountains of Fair- field and St. Sunday Crag, and one lovely day I descended into it from this latter height ; one of those “ Heavenly days that cannot die,” memorable for a lifetime. I got down carefully, for the slopes are very steep, after prospecting in two or three directions ! But below — how grand the scene ! Wild precipices enclose the head of the glen, whence vast masses of rock are seen to be torn out by some old power ; and far down the glen, where it becomes a valley, I was much attracted by several great moraine masses cut through here and there by the stream, and very emphatic, while several great blocks of enormous size are left here and there far down and distant from the rocks whence they must have been brought, and placed in some cases on knolls in the valley, a long way from the sides, so that I felt sure they could not have fallen from any rocks by ordinary action of the weather ; and for my part can recognise no agency but ice that can be assigned to have left them there. This Deepdale is wonder¬ fully grand in all its details, and I can strongly recommend its study to the geologist and lover of wild, natural scenery. Turning now to North Wales, I would like to call atten¬ tion for a moment to the neighbourhood of Ffestiniog, where the slate and other mountains have a remarkably bold form, and where indications of glacial action are well marked. On one occasion I was very much interested with the strikingly smootliened and rounded surfaces of the rocks of rugged Moel Wyn, at the entrance to the long narrow glen of Cwm Orthin, where this action was seen extending far up the 82 GLACIAL ACTION AMONG BRITISH MOUNTAINS. April, 1891. slopes of the mountain, with here and there large grooves running along in the direction the ice must have taken in being forced by its weight above, through this narrow passage, and poured into the valley below. The features at this spot are most clear, and the height considerable to which you may see the ice must have reached. In the glen just above now extends the narrow but deep rock-bound lake of Llyn Orthin. After noting these indica¬ tions, I was pleased one day to find below, in the more open valley to which Cwm Orthin leads, a well-marked striated rock specimen, which I have brought and placed on the table with a few other glaciated stones. I found it near the site of the present railway station of Blaenau Ffestiniog, at a depth of several feet, where channels had then been recently cut deep into the previously undisturbed bed of the valley, and below a thin layer of peat. Again, when once spending a short holiday at Llanbedr, I found clear and very telling phenomena of the agency of glaciers up in the higher portion of the valley of the little River Artro, near to the rugged and wild mountains on each side the ancient Pass of Drws Ardudwy. There I found one particularly interesting large rock surface, bare of vegetation for a con¬ siderable space, and wearing still an aspect of surface planed off, largely smoothened and grooved. Down below this, not far away, where the valley is wide and flat, I noticed many blocks that seem impossible to have been carried where they are by any other action but ice, which has (it seems to me) let down one unusually large mass on to a bare surface of rock. In search¬ ing below among small stones I met with some distinctly stri¬ ated, although apparently they could not have travelled far. Once in walking down the narrow Pass of Drws-y-Coed, not far from Snowdon, a wild spot, I was fortunate to come across a surface of the original rock (if one may use such a term;, just then recently laid bare in widening the road. It was beautifully planed over and striated in a direc¬ tion down the Pass. One sunny day of a knapsack holiday I came across a large block of rock in the bed of the rapid and picturesque Wye, near Newbridge, when walking in the bed of the stream where it flows wide and shallow over rocks, the water being then very low. It had the same appearance of rounded surfaces and striations on some parts, and I felt no doubt it had been brought out of some far recess of the mountains. It looked too large to have been rolled far bv the river. And here I would remark that this effect of ice action in smoothening rock surfaces causes them to be afterwards less rapidly degraded by ordinary weather action, as leaving fewer projections and angles for rain, frost, or sun to act upon. April, 1891. through Norway with the yesey club. 83 Once at Aberdaron, in the south-west corner of Caernar¬ vonshire, near to the sea shore, I found several finely-striated stones, which I have brought, as the lines are very well shown. The nearest heights are the Rival Mountains, only a few miles distant, and about 1,800ft. of elevation above sea level, but these specimens probably came from a greater distance. Although rather outside the scope of this paper, I have brought a specimen of dark carboniferous limestone, which I got out of the railway cutting at Whitby, on the Whitby and Redcar line. It was at a great depth below the surface in the cutting, and probably came from one of the mountains of limestone in the west of Yorkshire. And I remember, at Sedbergh, seeing similar black or very dark limestone worked into steps and monuments in the church. Anyhow this specimen must have travelled a long distance, and I have placed it on the table because it is a thoroughly characteristic one, having the many fine lines beautifully shown, and also the generally soft smoothened outlines, even until it has become partly polished. In this slight sketch of the subject, I have purposely dwelt upon indications of the ice action, which I have myself observed in some of the less frequented spots, sometimes come across quite unexpectedly, when wandering among the recesses of the hills for health and scenerv. Therefore, I %> have omitted reference to the wild recess of Llyn Idwal, where the clear glacial phenomena were, I believe, first observed by the great Charles Darwin ; also the ice-shaped and now very picturesque Pass of Aberglaslyn, to which attention was called long ago by Buckland, the celebrated geologist ; and for the same reason have refrained from dwelling upon the grand Pass of Llanberis, and more especially the striking features of Cwm Glas, just below the peak of Snowdon, because these have been forcibly illustrated and described by Sir Andrew Ramsay ; but have endeavoured to confine myself strictly to some of my own personal observa¬ tions, which have convinced me of the once extensive glaciation of our British mountains. THROUGH NORWAY WITH THE YESEY CLUB. (Continued from Vol. XIII., p.274.) It will doubtless be remembered that the St. Rognvald, upon whose decks the conjoint Yesey Club party had now assembled (July 13), had sailed from Leith on Wednesday, July 9, and had called en route at Bergen and Molde, arriving at Trondhjem on the morning of the day upon which we 84 THROUGH NORWAY WITH THE VESEY CLUB. APRIL, 1891. joined her. She brought with her a party numbering nearly fifty, including amongst them no less eminent an individual than the President of the Club (Sir Bobert Ball, F.B.S.), who, with Lady and Miss Ball, had joined at Leith. The further members of this section were : — Mr. S. H. Baker (the well- known and genial Secretary of the Eoyal Society of Artists), Mr. S. J. Barnes, Mrs. and Miss Barber (Edgbaston), Mr. and Mrs. Jos. Bullows (Sutton Coldfield), Mr. Cecil Crosskey, Councillor T. S. Fallows, J.P. (Edgbaston), Mr. and Mrs. C. J. Gilbert (Berldiamsted, formerly of Sutton Coldfield), Aider- man Glover, J.P. (Sutton Coldfield), Mrs. Hamilton (Melton Mowbray), Mr. and Mrs. G. H. Haswell (Handsworth), Mr. H. Hobson (Sutton Coldfield), Mr. C. Hodgkinson, Mr. and Mrs. A. G. Hooper (Dudley), Mr. and Mrs. James King (Tyseley), Eev. T. S. Lea, M.A. (Bedstone Delamere), Mrs. and Miss Madeley (Erdington), Mr. and Mrs. Eobt. Mann (Handsworth), Mr. H. J. Palmer (Editor, Birmingham Daily Gazette ), Mr. and Mrs. Henry and Miss Payton (Edgbaston), Mr. and Mrs. W. Pumplirey (Bath), Mr. H. B. Bathborne (Dublin), Mr. W. Bay, F.C.S. (Kidderminster), Mr. Walter and Miss Boberts (Edgbaston), Mr. Hy. Sturmey (Coventry, Editor of the Journal of Photography), Mrs. Bichard, Miss, Miss Elsie, and Mr. A. L. Tangye (Gilbertstone), and Mr. and Mrs. F. J. Walker. In the passage out this large contingent had found the vessel none too big for their purposes, and I am somewhat afraid that from their point of view the overland section were of the nature of intruders. We on our part shed bitter tears for them, but proceeded nevertheless to promptly oust them, or their luggage, from our own berths, a process to which, be it remembered to their credit, thev submitted with most exemplary patience. It was a fine case of submis¬ sion to the moral law, for they outnumbered us by nearly two to one. Possibly, however, they recognised that we were in better “condition” than they; anyway the peace was not broken. To mollify them, and at the same time to promote the fusion into a whole by dropping the distinctive titles of “ overland party ” and “ sea party,” which it was .constantly necessary to use, the testimonial- writer to the expedition dubbed the former the “overlanders” and the latter the “ overseers.” We spent the next day at Trondlijem, some being attracted by the cathedral, some by the big waterfall, the Lerfos, a few miles off, some by the remarkable lines of ancient raised beaches along the river valley. To Englishmen the cathedral is perhaps the most interesting, a building of many ages and many styles, but the earlier part of which (18th century) was constructed by English architects, and strongly suggests more ApEIL, 1891. THROUGH NORWAY WITH THE YESEY CLUB. 85 than one of the English cathedrals of the ornate Gothic type. Most attractive, however, are the internal decorations, lavishly cut in a slate-coloured soapstone, soft to work when fresh, but retaining all the delicacy of its finish well on into a ripe old age. We wound up our stay at Trondhjem by a dinner, to which were invited various local notables — consuls, professors, and the like. The menu was rather English, but described in old Norse. As few readers of the “ Midland Naturalist ” will have set eyes upon •a real Norwegian menu, here it is : — Matarsedill. Manadaginn pann fjortanda July 1890. Kjotsupa med grsenmeti. Lax, nidrlenzk sosa. Uxa-hryggur med sveppum. Kalfamjolk med valhnotum. Kjuklingar. Berjasulta, salat. itjomahraeringur ad sid sendilierra. Is med rjomahraeringi asamt nyjum Imotum. Tvibokur, smjor, ostr. A gistingastad ,,Nordkap.” i Nidarosi.* After dinner a considerable number of our guests and many townsfolk accompanied us to the steamer and cheered our departure, which took place in the bright gloaming just before midnight. Our plan for the next day was a drive through the famous Romsdal and back. The Romsdal commences at Veblungs* naes, at the head of one of the branches of the Molde Fjord, and the terminus of one of the great roads which, as I have already said, join on to the Dovre road at Domaas. It is chiefly remarkable for the extraordinary jaggedness of its cliffs and peaks. Norwegian mountain scenery is, as a rule, somewhat tame ; the summits very rarely take the form of sharp peaks, but in the Romsdalshorn (5,000ft.) we have a veritable aiguille of Matterliorn-like steepness, which for hours we had seen dominating the view as we ascended the wind¬ ings of the fjord. The cliffs and peaks on the southern side of the valley, commonly known as the Trolldtinder (Goblin Peaks), are serrated in the most remarkable fashion ; and in the middle of the valley boils and tumbles the usual Nor¬ wegian stream, the water of which is here, however, of the * Nidarosi is the old Norse name of Trondhjem. 86 THROUGH NORWAY WITH THE VESEY CLUB. APRIL, 1891. most marvellous blue-green colour. Crowning the line of cliffs is a great snowfield, from which in spring fall numerous avalanches, huge relics of which are still visible as we drive along. A few miles up the valley, just opposite to the entrance of another branch from the south, stands the house of an English resident, Mr. H. 0. Wills, one of the well- known firm of tobacco manufacturers, who, like his more famous namesake, Sir Alfred Wills, is passionately fond of snow-clad mountain and glacier stream. The so-called ice cave, at Horgheim, which is the summit* of our drive, is in reality an arch cut by water through the remains of an avalanche under a bit of lofty cliff, from which the snow-slips never fail to come. The arch itself is hardly worth the climb to it, but the views out of it and across the valley are delightful, and the bilberries most luscious. As this was our first excursion as a united party, it will be well here to explain our aims and methods. The west coast of Norway, like that of Scotland and of Ireland, is pierced by a number of long narrow inlets, known as fjords, the largest of which, Sogne Fjord, is more than 110 English miles long. These fjords are all narrow, varying from five or more miles wide at the outlet, to only a few hundred yards at their upper ends, where also they are repeatedly branched. Their shores, or banks, relatively low and water-worn at their mouths, get more and more lofty and precipitous as we go further inland, till ultimately, in the finest of them, such as the Greiranger Fjord, or the Naero Fjord, they are enclosed by vertical cliffs from three to four thousand feet in height, between which the direct rays of the sun, in some cases, never fall. It is amongst these upper arms of the Norwegian fjords that the finest scenery in Northern Europe is to be found ; and, though to the geologist or the botanist some of the inland fjelds are of surpassing interest, to the sightseer these fjords offer attractions compared with which everything else picturesque which the whole of Scandinavia contains is but as “ sounding brass and tinkling cymbal.” To the lover of Nature in her grander moods, to one whose ideal of beauty involves four elements, cliff, sky, snow, and water, I can do no more than strongly recommend that they should spend their whole time on the western fjords. They may, possibly, have from time to time too much of the last of the four elements in question, but betwixt Oddeon the Sor Fjord, a branch of the great Hardanger, on the south, and Veblungs- naes, on the north, they can have a surfeit of them all in the most perfect conceivable combinations. Our present object, then, was to see some of the finest of the upper arms of these fjords, and of the valleys leading April, 1891. through Norway with the vesey club, 87 into them. For this purpose our steamer was rather a con¬ venience than a necessity, since we could use it or leave it at our pleasure ; i.e., it could deposit us at any particular place, and, as in this Romsdal expedition, could await our return to the same place ; or, on the other hand, could move on to some further point, at whicli we could be picked up. The heads of some of the upper branches of Norwegian fjords are occasionally separated from one another by but a few dozen miles of land, while passing round by water might involve a journey of perhaps as many hundreds. On two occasions we were thus deposited by our steamer at the head of one fjord, and, while we made our way across by land to the head of another, our steamer went round by water and met us. Our next expedition illustrated this. Resuming our steamer at Veblungsnaes, while we dined and slept we were carried round a hundred miles or so to Meraak, at the head of the famous Geiranger, a branch of the Stor Fjord. This Geiranger Fjord is one of the culminating glories of the west coast of Norway. The water is a mere wandering streak, generally about a quarter of a mile in width, but bounded by the most magnificent cliffs it is possible to imagine, averaging little short of 4,000 feet in height, and generally a sheer vertical for half that amount. We were roused long before six a.m., so as to miss nothing of this fjord — a grey cheerless morning, with a persevering drizzle, the acquaintance of which we were destined to make at greater length later in the day. I think I have already referred to the weather which accompanied our Norwegian tour, and which gave us but three rainless days during our entire absence from Birmingham. Well, as almost every misfortune possesses some compensating advantage, so with these nearly incessant rains. Next to her fjords and cliffs, nay, rather far ahead of them, Norway is, par excellence, the land of waterfalls. Hardly a day passed without our seeing a fall, the merest fraction of which would make the immediate fortune of any west or central European holiday resort ; and sometimes not one, but a half dozen. Of such a nature is this Geiranger Fjord, for from its stupendous cliffs hang waterfalls by the dozen, varying from this whose loud thunder can be heard long before it itself comes into sight, to that whose thin filmy veil becomes more and more diaphanous in its two thousand feet of descent, until it literally disappears in middle air. Noticeable amongst a middle type are the so-called “ Seven Sisters Waterfalls,” the seven being, how¬ ever, but a figure of speech, for, with the best will in the world, and unlimited materials in the way of rain, we could count but five. Above Meraak is a remarkable level plateau, 88 THROUGH NORWAY WITH THE VESEY CLUB. APRIL, 1891. which, as seen from the steamer, looked much like a former beach, but which, as like as not, is the terminal moraine of the huge glaciers which once came down these deeply-scored valleys. Shortly before midday we landed at Hellesylt, whence we purposed to drive over the dividing ridge to Faleide, on the Nord Fjord, a matter of about thirty miles, while our steamer, with those who shirked the land journey, went round some 150 miles or so by water. Stopping for dinner at G-rodaas (seventeen miles), we arrived ot Faleide at about 9 0. I say we arrived. I ought rather to say what were left of us, for, while a score or more shirked the journey from the outset, more than a dozen others gave it up at Grodaas ; so that, although we had a grand glacier expedition in view for the next day, we reached our journey’s end little more than thirty strong. It is fair to say that nearly half of these were ladies. But Faleide was no resting place for us. The Kaiser, who at Christiania had already ousted our party from one hotel, had secured the only hotel at Faleide for himself and his suite for a fishing expedition which he had in view ; and, though he was on his yacht, lying up the fjord at Olden, whither we were bound, they dared not, or said they dared not, give us admission to the hotel. But for this it is more than doubtful whether the rest of us would not have broken down here, and sent the glacier expedition to — Jericho. As it was, however, there was no help for us. Our boats lay at the landing stage, and we rowed nearly ten miles up the fjord to Olden, arriving there shortly after eleven — a tolerably hard day’s work with such perverse weather — but receiving the warmest possible welcome at Yri’s hotel. In dealing with such a large party as ours normally was, it will be easily seen that a great many arrangements had to be made, and these arrangements had, if possible, to be carried out independently of the weather. This is a great and undoubted disadvantage attaching to a large party. Many of our present arrangements were made a month or more ahead, for it was a matter of no small responsibility to get together conveyances to move a possible seventy people over routes the regular travelling accommodation for which might not be more than a dozen. In making the necessary arrange¬ ments for this western part of our route, Mr. Stone had the invaluable assistance of Mr. Lamb, chief engineer to the North of Scotland Steamship Company (the owners of our ship the St. Rognvald). This gentleman met us at Trondlijem, and accompanied us nearly to the conclusion of our trip, and the whole of the detailed arrangements of this part of our journey April, 1891. through Norway with the vesey club. 89 were made by him with the same wisdom and forethought which had been expended by Mr. Stone upon the route of the “ overlanders.” Horses and vehicles, for instance, had to be collected to time from all over the country side, sometimes from places a good day’s journey from where they were needed, and hence our cavalcade showed a procession of survivals in the matter of vehicles such as probably have rarely come together in Norway. Most “ rare and curious,” to use the collector’s term, of all were the saddles which were unearthed for an expedition which we made a week later on, and which was only possible upon horseback. If I remember rightly, one of the ladies’ saddles then produced bore the date 1740. The ordinary lady’s saddle used in rural Norway is rather an oddity in its way — somewhat like the seat and back of a library chair strapped cn the horse’s back. The uprights which support the back are apt to get weak with age, and, as the rider relies entirely upon their firmness, accidents are by no means infrequent. But gentlemen had to put up with an even wider range in the matter of saddles. Not a few of us had to be satisfied with a few sacks or rugs strapped on the horse’s back, with or without a cushion laid thereon, in some cases quite stirrupless, but in others with what was even worse, viz., a doubled rope slung over the horse’s shoulders, into each end of which a foot was to be placed. This is very well so long as the pressure of the two feet is uniform ; but if the pressure upon one is greater, down it goes and up comes its fellow. Hence in any sudden lateral movement or turn of the horse the stirrups were an actual source of danger, and happy was the man who had learned by experience to hold on by his knees. From Olden we, that is “ the faithfuls,” made a most delightful and interesting excursion to the Brigsdals glacier, one of the ice aprons which come down from the great Joste- dal snowfield. Our way thither is partly driving, partly row¬ ing, partly walking. The water portion is over a long, narrow lake, pinched in between huge mountains towering 5,000 feet or more above its waters, and with snow curtains descending here and there down gulleys in their upper flanks. Away beyond the head of the lake is for miles visible the beautiful Melkevolds glacier, while two hours’ walk up a valley at right angles to the left is the glacier we are in search of. All the way up this valley the smooth, humpy rocks and frequent boggy pools betoken the path of an old glacier, so that, although the glacier is at present apparently advancing, it has probably within comparatively very recent times been far lower than it now is. The lowest end of this glacier is probably about 1,000 90 HISTORY OF THE COUNTY BOTANY OF WORCESTER. APRIL, 1891. feet above sea level. It is cleft and split in a striking fashion, its caverns and crevices with walls of the most glorious and translucent blue. A hunt in these crevices for scratched stones yielded no results. Though the icefields (fonds) of Norway are so huge, the glaciers (braes) all are small — insignificant, indeed, from the point of view of comparison with those met with in Switzer¬ land. This glacier is one of the finest. I do not know the rate at which it is advancing, but its present end is thrust straight into the midst of a dense wood of bircli and alder trees. When I visited the Buar Brae, a glacier from the Folgefond, probably the next largest icefield in Norway, in 1874, it was advancing down the valley at a rate of at least 50 feet per year, and 70 yards was given as its advance in one year shortly before that. The result, of course, is that the glacier has largely overridden its moraines, and these are barely recognisable. Here at the Brigsdalsbrae the terminal moraine is represented by huge mounds of loose, small, rounded, water-worn stones, amidst which the glacier streams make their way ; while just below are huge ledges of bare rock, stretching right across the path of the glacier. A visit to the latter will be specially interesting when it has reached these ridges, unless, indeed, it pushes before it a sufficient mass of the loose pebbles to mask the huge rock steps. Being so small, the present Norwegian glaciers appear to be deficient in eroding power, though signs are everywhere abundant of the mighty sculpturing force they were in earlier ages. Our stay at this glacier was all too short ; we had intended to lunch at it, but the uncertainty of the weather rendered this risky, so we made our way back to the houses at the head of the lake aforementioned, and lunched under cover. I fear that the appliances of civilization ran short ; at any rate, a flash picture of the room would have revealed our guide, counsellor, and friend, Mr. Stone, doling out the delicious pancakes for which Norwegian cookery is famous with his fingers ! And not one of us thought it in the least degree objectionable. How merely skin deep our civilization is ! (To be concluded next month.) HISTORY OF THE COUNTY BOTANY OF WORCESTER. BY WM. MATHEWS, M.A. ( Continued from pane 41. ) The Brambles are treated of in the Appendix at the end of the table, pp. 87-48. The latest synopsis of the British Species is that contained in the 8th edition of the “ London Catalogue,” 1886. It is the work of Professor Babington, April, 1891. history of the county botany of Worcester. 91 and is explained by him in two papers in the “ Journal of Botany,” July and August, 1886, Yol. XXIV., pp. 216-223, and pp. 225-237. The nomenclature is almost revolutionised. I have done mv best to correlate Mr. Lees’s Rubi with the names of modern date, an almost impossible task, in which I have been kindly assisted by my friend, Mr. Bagnall. There are many notes in the “ Journal of Botany,” from which much information may be obtained. Among these may be particularly mentioned two papers by Dr. W. 0. Focke, in the numbers for April and May, 1890, Yol. XXVIII., pp. 97-103, and pp. 129-135. * Rubus Idaeus, L. 48. Throughout the county. * R. suberectus, Anders. 47. R. fissus, Lindl. Mentioned as a var. of suberectus only. 47. * R. plicatus, W. and N. 47. * R. affinis, W. and N. 47. [R. nitidus , TV. and N., and var. R. liamulosus, L. and 21/., not recorded, but certain to be in Worcester .] * R. rhamnifolius, W. and N. * R. Lindleianus, Lees. 46. See Lees, Phyt., iii., 861. Bab. Br. Rubi, p. 75. * R. incurvatus, Bab. 47. Between Cowleigh Park and Worcester. R. thyrsoideus, Wimm. 46. Noiv known as R. pubescens, W. and N. See Bab., J. of B., Vol. XXIV., p. 220. * R. discolor, W. and N. 46. This familiar bramble must noio be known as R. rusticanus, Merc. See Bab. ante. R. discolor, TV. and N., is another form of Rubus. *+ R. argenteus, W. and N. 46. Not British. Br. Rubi, pp. 108, 114. * R. leucostachys, Sm., 44, and var. vestitus. The latter is noio var. conspicuus, P. J. Mull. f R. Grabowskii, Weihe. 44. Mentioned by Mr. Lees as a var. of leucostachys. Now R. montanus, Wirtg. ? R. calvatus, Bloxam, R. Salteri var. calvatus, Bab. 44, 45. First record. * R. carpinifolius, W. and N. 45. This name has been given to many forms of Rubus, and it is not certain that the plant so named by Mr. Lees is the R. carpinifolius of TV. and N. It is probable that Mr. Lees's plant is R. Maasii, Focke. * R. villicaulis, W. and N. 44. R. pampinosus, Lees, 44, is a form of the above. See Bab. Brit. Iiubi, p. 141. J R. macrophyllus, Weihe, 45 (Hereford). * Yar. amplificatus, Lees. R. mucronulatus. Boreau. 42. First record. This must now be called R. mucronatus, Blox. 92 HISTORY OF THE COUNTY BOTANY OF WORCESTER. APRIL, 1891. * R. Sprengelii, Weihe, 45, Br. Lickey, and var. Borreri, Bell Salter. It. Bloxamii, Lees. 42, Wyre Forest. First record. * It. pallidus, W. and N. 42. The plant so named by Mr. Lees appears to be R. rosaceus or R. Hystrix, of Weihe. * It. scaber, W. and N., 48, and var. verrucosus, Lees. Br. Lickey. The latter is R. Babingtonii, Salter. * It. rudis, Weihe. (R. echinatns, Lindl. Loud. Gat., 8th edit., 1886.) * It. Radula, W. and N., 43, and var. Leightonii. * It. Kcehleri, Weihe. 42. * It. fusco-ater, Weihe. 42. It. humifusus, Weihe. 42. R. saxicolus , P. J. Mull. * R. Guntberi, Weihe. 40. R. fiexuosus , M. and L. E. Menkei, 40, W. and N. * Yar. pyramidalis, Bab. R. pyramidalis, Bab., is now R. longithyr- siger, Lees. See Bab. Notes on Rubi, J. B., Vol. XVI., p. 177. 40. * E. Bellardi, Weihe. 41 (R. glandulosus, Bellard), and var. Lejeunii, now considered a distinct species. * E. hirtus, W. and N. 40. * E. dumetorum var. ferox. 40. R. diversifolius, Lindl. * E. tenui-armatus, Lees. 40. A form of R. Balfourianus, Blox. * E. sublustris, Lees. 20. The type of R. corylifolius , Smith. E. deltoideus, P. J. Miill. 39. (R. althceifolius). Probably intended by Mr. Lees under one of the forms of R. nemorosus E. 'scabrosus, P. J. Mull. = It. tuberculatus, Bab. One of the forms of R. nemorosus, according to Mr. Lees. * E. caesius, L. 39. * E. saxatilis, L. 48, Wyre Forest. * Geumurbanum. Table 10. In all the districts. * G. intermedium. 86, Sapey Brook ; 123. woods above Hales¬ owen. Table 11. Malvern, Lickey. * G. rivale. 86, Sapey Brook ; 114, The Lickey ; 123, 124, woods N. of Halesowen. Table 11. Sparingly in all the districts. Eosa cinnamomea, xxix. Tab. 11. Severn. Not native. * E. spinosissima, L. Table 11. In all the districts. * E. Sabini andDoniana. ( Forms of R. involuta, Sin.) 6, 41, Severn D. ; 72, Malvern D. ; 93, Avon; 113, Lickey. Tab. 11. Very rare. Query ivhether first mention of R. Sabini ? * E.villosa (R. mollissima, Fries, R. mollis, Sm). Tab. 11. In all the districts. * E. tomentosa, Sm. Tab. 11. In all the districts. *E. rubiginosa. Tab. 11. In all the districts. * E. micrantha. 67, 72. Malvern. Nevertheless in Tab. 11, Avon, Severn, Malvern. * E.'-inodora. 6, 42, Severn D. ; 72, Malvern ; 114, Lickey ; 123, Uffmoor Wood. Tab. 11. In all the districts. April, 1891. THE FUNGI OF WARWICKSHIRE. 93 * R sepium. 72, 135, Little Malvern. Tab. 11. Malvern only. The last two roses are very doubtful. They are now known , the latter as R. agrestis, Savi ; the former, as a variety of the same. Syme equates R. inodor a , Fries, to Rosa Barren, Woods, and Rosa dumetorum, Sin. E. B., pp., 212 , 214. * R. canina. Tab. 11. In all the districts. * R. systyla (var. of R. stylosa, Desv.), 42, near Powick ; 72, Malvern Wells. Tab. 11. In all the districts. The Powick locality is noted on page 42 in the Severn D., and on page 72 in the Malvern D. * R. arvensis. In all the districts. ( To be continued. ) THE FUNGI OF WARWICKSHIRE. BY W. B. GROVE, M.A., AND J. E. BAGNALL, A.L.S. ( Continued from page 66.) 509. B. pachypus, Fr. Woods. Rare. August to October. Under trees, the Spring, Kenilworth, Russell , Illustr. Trickley Coppice, October, 1884, determined by Dr. Cooke. 510. B. edulis, Bull. B. bovinus, With. Woods and waysides. August to November. In Packington Park ! With. 311. Edgbaston Park, With. 306. Oversley Hill, Burt. ii. 664 ; Crackley Wood, Russell Illustr. Combe Woods ! Adams. Kingswood, Hatches ! Sutton Park ; near the Rectory, Sutton ; Coleshill Heath and Pool; Haywood; New Park ; Langley ; Berkswell ; Coughton Park. Var. elephantinus (With.) September. Red Rock Plantation, Edgbaston Park, With. 311. This may, however, be B. pachypus. 511. B. fragrans, Vitt. Woods. October. Combe Woods, Adams. 512. B. impolitus, Fr. Woods. August to October. Sutton Park ; New Park ; Bradnock's Marsh. 513. B. aestivalis, Fr. Woods. Rare. Combe Ridings. Adams. Fen End. 514. B. Satanas. Benz. Waysides and woods. Rare. August- September. Packington Park ; Fen End. 515. B. luridus, Schceff. B. rubeolarius, With,, Purt. Woods. October. Edgbaston Park, With. 309. Oversley ; Cold Comfort, Purt. ii. 662. The Common, Kenilworth, Russell, Illustr. Combe Woods, Adams. Kingswood, Hatches ! Sutton Park ; Trickley Coppice ; Langley ; Berkswell ; Packington Park ; Ilampton-in- Arden ; Poor’s Wood, Honiley. 94 THE FUNGI OF WARWICKSHIRE. April, 1891. Yar. erythropus, Pers. A form similar to, if not identical with, this has occurred at Coleshill Pool and in Sutton Park : — Stem tall, cylindrical, dotted with red. 516. B. laricinus, Berk. Woods. Rare. September-October. Warwick, Perceval. Hopsford, near Brinklow, Adams. Trickley Coppice. 517. B. scaber, Fr. B. bovinus, vars. 3, 4, With. B. auran- tiacus, Part. Woods. Frequent. September-October. Pastures, Edgbaston, With. 307. Oversley Wood ! Ragley Woods! Part. ii. 661. Warwick, Perceval. Kenilworth ! Bussell, Illustr. Anstv. Adams. Hams ' _ ^ ' Hall, Fawkes. Sutton Park ; Trickley Coppice ; Hamp- ton-in- Arden ; Wood near Bannersley Pool ; Newlands Wood, near Hatton ; Windley Pool ; Coleshill Pool and Heath ; Edgbaston Park ; The Spring, Kenilworth ; Coughton, &c. 518. B. felleus, Bull. Woods. Rare. October. Combe Ridings, Adams. Sutton Park. 519. B. castaneus, Bull. Woods. Rare. September-October. Crackley Wood, Bussell, Illustr. Lodge Wood, Warwick. Perceval. Genus XVIII. FISTULINA. Bull. 520. F. hepatica. Fr. Boletus , Purt. In the crevices of living oaks. Local. July to October. Dunnington ; Alne Hills, Purt. ii. 670. Warwick, Perceval. Abbot’s Oak, near Kenilworth, Bussell, Illustr. Combe Park, Adams. Solihull. Hawkes! Hartshill Hayes, Bloxam. Sutton Park ; Marston Green ; Packington Park. Genus XIX. POLYPORUS. Fr. 521. P. leptocephalus, Fr. On tree trunks. October. Crack- ley Wood, Bussell, Illustr. 522. P. rufescens, Fr. Bol. biennis, Purt. On the ground. Rare. Near Alcester, Buford in Purt. ii. 667. Burton Green Wood, Bussell, Illustr. Solihull Park. Wilkinson! Ansty, Adams. Coleshill Heath ; near Alveston Heath; Wappenbury ; Grove Park. 523. P. squamosus, Fr. Boletus squamosus , With. On trunks of trees, especially ash and elm. Frequent. July to March. Edgbaston, With. 317. Warwick, Perceval. Ansty, Adams. Sutton; Middleton Heath; Plant’s Brook Reservoir ; Sliustoke ; Drayton Bushes ; Stone- leigli Abbey ; Solihull ; Stechford, &c. April, 1891. REPORTS OF SOCIETIES. 95 524. P. varius, Fr. Boletus polyporus, With., Purt. On trunks. Facing the cottage by the Park Grate, Edgbas- ton, With. 305. On an old willow at Alcester Mill, Purt. ii. 667. Hopsford, Adams. Sutton ; Shustoke ; on old willows, Salford Priors. 525. P. elegans, Fr. Boletus calceolus , With., Purt. On trunks. October. Stump of an ash tree, Edgbaston, With. 318. On an old poplar, by the side of the Arrow, at Coughton Mill, Purt. ii. 666. Burton Green Wood, Bussell, lUustr. (To be continued.) leports of Societies. BIRMINGHAM NATURAL HISTORY AND MICROSCOPICAL SOCIETY. — Microscopical Section. — March 3rd. Mr. J. Levick in the chair. Mr. W. P. Marshall exhibited a specimen of loco¬ motive boiler tube fractured by explosion. Mr. T. Y. Hodgson then read a paper on “ Worms.” He began by drawing attention to the structure of the Turbellarians, so common in all fresh waters. Dealing more fully with the parasites, special mention was made of that terrible pest, the liver fluke, Fasciola , and its triple alternation of generations; Bilharzia, the scourge of the Egyptian fellaheen ; and the tapeworms, more particularly Tania echinococcus , the progenitor of the common hydatid. Then passing on to the annelids, he dealt somewhat briefly with the leeches and earthworms ; but pointed out that many of the marine worms might fairly compete with the more highly organised birds and butterflies for beauty and brilliancy of colour. The skilful structure of the protective tubes of many of these worms was alluded to, and a few remarks on the rotifers brought the paper to a close. The paper was illustrated by a series of ten diagrams, and as many living specimens under the microscope and a few others. — Biological Section. — March 10th. Mr. W. B. Grove, M.A., in the chair. Mr. T. Y. Hodgson exhibited a pupa from Brazil, also hair of Sea Mouse, Aphrodite aculeata. Mr. W. P. Marshall exhibited two nests of a Trap-door Spider from Malta. Mr. J. E. Bagnall exhibited for Miss J. R. Gingell, a fine series of mosses, collected from the neighbourhood of Stroud, including Fisddens adiantoides, F. decipiens, and other rare and local species. Messrs. R. W. Chase and A. H. Martineau were elected president and secretary of this section for the ensuing year. Mr. J. E. Bagnall, A.L.S., then exhibited, for Dr. Fraser, a fine series of Norwegian and Arctic plants, with notes on the geographical distribution. Amongst the more noticeable were Ranunculus hyperboreus, R. lapponicus, R. nivalis, R. pygmceus , R. glacialis , Draba nivalis, Arabis alpina, Lychnis alpina, L. apctala, L. ajffinis , Sagina nivalis, Papaver nudicaule, Linnea borealis, Cornus suecica, Primula sibirica, and Pedicular is Sceptrum. An interesting discussion followed, in which Messrs. W. B. Grove, Dr. Lapworth, W. P. Marshall, C. J. Watson, and J. E. Bagnall took part. — Geological Section. — March 17tli. Mr. T. H. Waller, B.A., B.Sc., in the chair. Mrs. Isabella Moyles, The Beeches, Ladywood Road, was unanimously 96 REPORTS OF SOCIETIES April, 1891. elected a member of the society. Mr. F. W. W. Howell gave a most interesting address on “ South Iceland,” and exhibited geological and other specimens. The paper was illustrated by lantern views. A cordial vote of thanks was unanimously given to the lecturer. BIRMINGHAM MICROSCOPISTS’ AND NATURALISTS’ UNION. — February 23rd. Mr. J. Madison exhibited a specimen of Triton variegatum, from the West Indies; Mr. J. W. Neville, specimens of Spatangus, from the North Sea ; Mr. J. Collins, fossil diatoms from a marine deposit in Russia. — March 2nd. Mr. A. W. Haines, B.Sc. , delivered a lecture on “The Anatomy of the Earthworm,” the President (Professor Hillliouse, M.A., F.L.S.), in the chair. The lecturer said it would be necessary to know something of the lower animals to understand properly the one under consideration. Commencing with the amseba, the lecturer passed on to the hydra and actinia. In these there is a double layer of cells in the body wall, an ectoderm and endoderm ; a little higher, in the lower worms, there was a third layer, a mesoderm. In the earthworm we had a cylindrical and typically segmented animal. The structure of the following parts was dealt with in detail — epidermis, muscular structure, alimentary canal, calciferous glands, setae and attached muscles, reproductive and digestive organs, circulatory, excretory, and nervous systems. The lecture was illus¬ trated by diagrams, drawings, microscopical preparations, and three dissections of the creature. On the motion of Mr. S. White, seconded by Mr. J. W. Neville, a hearty vote of thanks was accorded the lecturer. — March 9th. Mr. J. Collins exhibited a collection of the rarer plants of the county of Cork, from the herbarium of Mr. R. A. Phillips; Mr. Deakin, fossils from Wenlock limestone, Aldridge. — March 16th. Special. — Entomology. Mr. J. W. Moore showed speci¬ mens of Banlcia argentuln , from Ely ; Mr. C. P. Neville, Scotch argus, Erebia blandina; Mr. Deakin, insects from British Burmah, caught on board ship ; Mr. J. Collins, brilliant beetles from Ceylon ; Mr. J. W. Neville, slides of types of antennae of butterflies and moths; Mr. Linton, eggs of Cinnabar Moth and other insects. OXFORD NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY.— Feb. 26th. An in¬ teresting lecture was given by Mr. A. F. Stanley Kent, M. A., entitled “ Our eyes and how we use them,” illustrated by numerous diagrams, lantern slides, and specimens. — March 12th. Mr. G. C. Druce, M.A., F.L.S., gave a lecture on “The Botany of the Killarney District.” He described the geology and the climate of the south-west portion of Ireland, remarking that the humid atmosphere was exactly suited to ferns, which were found in great luxuriance and abundance, especially the Osmunda regalis, which grows to the size of a small tree ; as also the Arbutus and the Saxifrages. The luxuriance of the vegetation added much to the beauty of the landscape. But the numbers of species diminished as one travelled westward. Of the 10,000 European species 5,092 were found in Spain, 1,833 in Britain, and 1,019 in Ireland. The lecture was illustrated by lantern slides, showing some of the most lovely scenery, as well as places of historical and botanical interest ; and also by a number of dried specimens which included all the plants peculiar to Ireland, principally collected by the lecturer during a recent visit to that country. Amongst them Fumaria densijlora, an un¬ described species of Rubus new to Ireland, Barbarea arcuata , Fumaria Borcei, Rosa involuta, R. villosa , and R. rubiginosa, new to the south of Ireland, and manv others. May, 1891. ANIMAL PEDIGREES. 97 ANIMAL PEDIGREES.* BY A. MILNES IIARSH ALL, M. A. , M.D., D.SC., F.R.S., BEYER PROFESSOR OF ZOOLOGY IN OWENS COLLEGE, MANCHESTER. There are few things in which men take greater pride, or from which they derive more solid enjoyment, than in tracing out and publishing to the world their pedigrees ; and we must acknowledge that the proceeding itself, and the satisfaction obtained from it, are ..entirely legitimate. For we all have pedigrees ; for two or three generations each one of us could give his descent, trace his pedigree, off hand ; and if we fail in attempting to go further back we know that this is from lack of knowledge, not of facts. Would we learn these facts, we know that there are those whose profession it is to supplement our deficiencies of memory or of information on these points, and who are pre¬ pared, for a sum of half-a-crown, to provide the enquirer with a duly attested pedigree dating from the time of the Conquest. For a guinea a Roman emperor can be obtained ; while the avaricious in such matters, who are prepared to spend a five pound note, may satisfy themselves, and for all we know truthfully, of their descent from a Pharaoh of the 19th dynasty. The mode of constructon of such pedigrees, or genealogical trees, is familiar to us all from our school days. We begin by ruling a series of horizontal lines, which we agree shall represent successive generations. Then, assuming that we are of those whose aspirations are satisfied by a two-and- sixpenny ancestry, we commence with the dawn of respecta¬ bility in the year 1066, and gradually trace upwards from this date the line representing our descent from the selected progenitor. We indicate in capitals, or in italics, any kings, or statesmen, or poets, or other eminent people whose memories we like to think derive renewed lustre from association with ourselves ; and to include a sufficient number of these we trace the side branches of our tree for some distance ; finally, on the topmost twig, and in largest letters, we write — John Smith. * An address delivered before the Birmingham Natural History and Microscopical Society, October 14th, 1890 ; and based upon the Presidential Address to the Biological Section, at the meeting of the British Association for the Advancement of Science, at Leeds, in September, 1890. 98 ANIMAL PEDIGREES. May, 1891. J. S. V K - / \ c V i ! \ 1 V \ \/ V Diagram A. We all have such pedigrees, whether we can declare them or not ; and for the prince and the pauper they are of equal length, dating back, not merely to the Norman Invasion of England, but to the first appearance of man on the earth. A special point with regard to these genealogical trees, and one to which attention may well be directed, is their absolute truthfulness. Suppose, for example, you have three young friends, two of whom, Tom and Dick, are brothers, while Harry, the third, is their first cousin; then the diagram, or genealogical tree, representing their mutual relationships will be as follows, the horizontal lines marking successive generations : — T. D. H. Go back one generation, and Tom and Dick’s lines meet, for they are sons of one father. Before Harry’s line joins in it is necessary to go back one generation further, i.e , to the grandfather of our young friends, who was one and the same person for all three, and who forms the true link or bond of union between them. If once these relationships are deter¬ mined correctly, and the diagram constructed aright then it May, 1891. ANIMAL PEDIGREES. 99 expresses facts, and facts only, andean never be disturbed. It matters not what the occupations or residences of the three may be ; they may never see one another ; never even sus¬ pect one another's existence. It makes no difference how many people may be living contemporaneously, how many may have preceded, how many may be born in after ages ; this little bit of history remains untouched and absolutely true for all time. It is for this reason that genealogy or blood relationship affords the only satisfactory basis for a classification of men ; and we shall find that the same con¬ siderations apply to the lower animals as well. One further matter of a preliminary nature requires mention. It is customary in preparing genealogical tables to construct them as is done above, starting from some one more or less remote ancestor, and following upwards the branches representing his descendants, so that the whole diagram takes the form of an upright tree. It should be noted, however, that in a certain sense the diagram would be more correct if it were inverted. In tracing back human pedigrees there is a marked tendency to follow out one special line of descent, and to concentrate attention on one particular ancestor from whom we desire to make our line arise, ignoring the fact that there were many other contemporary ancestors, from any of whom our path might with equal truth have commenced. A man has two parents, four grandparents, eight great- grandparents ; i.e., in tracing back his pedigree from the present time the number of his ancestors in each generation is double those of the generation that succeeded it in time. This is graphically expressed in the following diagram : — M. 100 ANIMAL PEDIGREES. May, 1891. which takes, as noted above, the form of an inverted, not an erect, tree. If we allow three generations to a century there will have been twenty-five generations between the Norman Invasion and the present time : so that a man now living may be descended not merely from one ancestor who came over to England in 1066, but directly and equally from over sixteen million ancestors who lived at or about that date. I say u may be descended” advisedly; for unless we assume that many of these ancestors were identical individuals, we shall find that the existence of a single man to-day involves the existence, a thousand years ago, of over a thousand millions of ancestors ; and at the commencement of the Christian era of nearly seventy thousand millions of millions of ances¬ tors ; a state of things which would involve serious recon¬ sideration of the dimensions of the earth. Genealogical trees, such as I have described, we are all familiar with. Furthermore, we know that the principles employed in constructing them are not confined to Smith and Jones and the kings and queens of England, but apply to the lower animals as well. The pedigrees of racehorses, and of other artificially bred animals, such as cattle, sheep, pigs, dogs, pigeons, poultry, etc., have for many years past been kept with the most scrupulous care ; and there are men who could tell you in detail the pedigree of the winner of last year’s Derby or Leger, who would be sorely perplexed if asked for their own, and would perhaps prefer that the results of researches on this point should not be made too public. We all recognise that the cats and rabbits and dogs of to-day did not come into existence spontaneously, but are descended from the cats, rabbits, and dogs of preceding generations, decades, or centuries ; and that the same applies to birds, to butterflies, to sea anemones, or to any other animals we like to think of. We have now merely to enlarge our sphere of action, to widen our boundaries with regard to such genealogies, and we find ourselves face to face with the great problem with which naturalists are confronted, and which they are attack¬ ing on every side and by all means in their power. We recognise that Diagram A represents correctly the relation between man and man : and we admit that it is equally true when applied to horses, to cows, to dogs, or to canaries. In other words, we acknowledge that the principle on which the diagram is constructed is true in all cases in which historical or documentary evidence is forthcoming. May, 1891. ANIMAL PEDIGREES. 101 Can we not go further than this ? Is this written testi¬ mony essential ? Would the facts be in any way altered if no documentary evidence were forthcoming ? Do we not agree that all animals have had pedigrees of this kind ; and is it not worth enquiring whether we cannot reconstruct, unravel these pedigrees, even in cases where of necessity documentary evidence cannot be obtained ? Again, to return for a moment to the human argument. So far, our horizontal lines have been used to indicate suc¬ cessive generations, and the relation, admitted by all, has been that each generation has sprung from the preceding generation, and has, in its turn, given birth to the next succeeding one. Supposing now that we widen our boundaries, and agree that the intervals between successive horizontal lines shall indicate, not generations, but longer intervals, say centuries, the relations will remain unaltered. XIX Centurv. %> XVIII Century. XVII Century. XVI Century. XV Century. XIV Century. If, for example, we fix our attention on the sixteenth century, we find that the men of that century did not arise spontaneously, but were the direct descendants of those of the preceding or fifteenth century ; furthermore, we all admit that from the men of the sixteenth centurv those of «/ the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries have all directly sprung. And what holds good with regard to the men of the sixteenth century applies equally well to the horses, the cats, the dogs, the birds, the butterflies, the starfishes of that time. Now widen the intervals still further : let them represent not merely centuries but thousands, tens of thousands, of years ; let them finally indicate the great geologic periods, and the argument will still hold : — 102 ANIMAL PEDIGREES. May, 1891. Quaternary and Recent. Pleiocene. Meiocene. Eocene. Cretaceous. The animals, and for that matter the plants too, of the Meiocene age, did not come into existence irrespective of pre-existing animals and plants, but were the direct lineal descendants of the Eocene animals and plants ; and the forefathers of those of Pleiocene and Recent times. Kainozoic. # # * * Mesozoic. Palaeozoic. So, too, were the animals of Mesozoic times the children of those of the Palaeozoic age, and the parents of the Kainozoic fauna. And so this idea of continuity of life from its earliest dawn on the earth, through age after age, down to the present time, forces itself upon us : an idea involving the further conception of the evolution of existing animals from unlike ancestors of former times : an idea constraining us to admit that animals, like men, have pedigrees, and that between the animals of all ages a kinship, a blood relationship, exists. The recognition of this kinship is the determining feature of the Natural History of to-day. The reconstruction of these pedigrees is the great work of the future : the rewriting of the past histories, not merely of one or two groups for a limited number of generations, but of all animals and for all time : — a formidable, but an entrancing, problem ; and whatever misgivings I may have as to my power of presenting it aright, no apology is needed for asking your attention to a consideration of the means at our disposal for attacking it, of the evidence on which we rely in our attempts to reconstruct the past histories, to determine the pedigrees of animals. May, 1891. ANIMAL PEDIGREES. 103 On the present occasion, it is not with the whole evidence, but with one special side of it, that we shall be con¬ cerned, that, namely, which is derived from a study of the development of existing animals. Everyone knows that animals in the earlier stages of their existence differ greatly in form, in structure, and in habits from the adult condition ; a lung-breathing frog, for example, commencing its life as a gill-breathing tadpole ; and a butterfly passing its infancy and youth as a caterpillar. It is clear that these developmental stages, and the order of their occurrence, can be no mere accidents ; for all the individuals of any particular species of frog, or of butterfly, pass through the same series of changes. It is not, however, until recent vears that naturalists have realised that each animal is constrained to develop along definitely determined lines ; and that the successive stages in its life history are forced on an animal in accordance with a law, the determination of which ranks as one of the greatest achievements of biological science. The doctrine of descent, or of Evolution, teaches us that as individual animals arise, not spontaneously, but by direct descent from pre-existing animals, so also is it with species, with families, and with larger groups of animals, and so also has it been for all time ; that as the animals of succeeding generations are related together, so also are those of succes¬ sive geologic periods ; that all animals, living or that have lived, are united together by blood relationship of varying nearness or remoteness ; and that every animal now in existence has a pedigree stretching back, not merely for ten or a hundred generations, but through all geologic time since the dawn of life on this globe. The study of Development, in its turn, has revealed to us that each animal bears the mark of its ancestry, and is com¬ pelled to discover its parentage in its own development ; that the phases through which an animal passes in its progress from the egg to the adult are no accidental freaks, no mere matters of developmental convenience, but represent more or less closely, in more or less modified manner, the successive ancestral stages through which the present condition has been acquired. Evolution tells us that each animal has had a pedigree in the past. Embryology reveals to us this ancestry, because every animal in its own development repeats its history, climbs up its own genealogical tree. Such is the Recapitulation Theory, hinted at by Agassiz, and suggested more directly in the writings of Von Baer, but first clearly enunciated by Fritz Muller, and since elaborated by many, notably by Balfour and Ernst Haeckel. 104 THE ARAN ISLANDS. May, 1891. A few illustrations from different groups of animals will best explain the practical bearings of the theory, and the aid which it affords to the zoologist in his attempts to reconstruct the pedigrees of animals ; while these will also serve to illus¬ trate certain of the difficulties which have arisen in the attempt to interpret individual development by the light of past history ; difficulties which 1 propose to consider at greater length. (To be continued.) THE ARAN ISLANDS.* BY PHILIP B. MASON, F.L.S., F.Z.S., ETC. With Illustrations from Photographs by Messrs. J. E. Nowers and J. G-. Wells. ( Concluded from page 76.) The most important ruin is that of the Church of St. Benan or Benignus, the gem of early Irish churches (Plate V., fig. 9). In the interior the length is only 10ft. lOin. and the breadth 6ft. lOin. The original height of the gable was 17 feet. It stands nearly N. and S., and is constructed of huge blocks of stone — one block alone forming almost the whole of the western side. This church undoubtedly dates back to the 6th century, and the roof was formed by over-lapping stones. Around it have been other churches, especially one dedicated to the Blessed Virgin ; and near it is the ruin of St. Benan’s humble hermitage, which is partly sunk in the rock. Within a few yards are the ruins of a rude stone cashel, containing several chambers, and also a cluster of clogliauns, while at the bottom of the slope below it is seen the remains of St. Eany’s Monastery. In addition to these, all within an area of less than a quarter of a square mile, are to be found the stump of a round tower, the ruin of an Elizabethan castle, and three curious sepulchral monuments erected about the end of the seventeenth century, making Killeaney a veritable museum of antiquities. The next ruin to which I shall refer (Plate V., fig. 10) is situated in the private grounds of Mr. Johnstone, of Kilmurvey, and is another remarkable example of the cyclopean masonry of the 6th century, some of the stones being 10 feet long and 20 inches thick. The doorway is shaped like that of an Egyptian tomb and certain of the windows are of extreme antiquity, with lintels formed by two leaning stones. This church is dedicated to St. Colman McDuagh, who founded the diocese May, 1891. THE ARAN ISLANDS. 105 of Kilmacduagh ; and is also placed among the ruins of monastic buildings. This photograph of the interior shows work of a much later date, as also do some of the windows. I will not attempt a description of many of the churches, but I must refer in a few words to another ancient Irish peculiarity, viz., the tendency to group churches together. In Aran there are the ruins of a group of seven churches all built in a little rocky glen, and within the walls of a small field, which are also intermingled with monastic ruins. I may say that this is not the only place in Ireland where seven churches are built together. The founder was St. Breccan, the grandson of Carthan Finn, the first King of Thomond. who was baptised by St. Patrick himself. About ninety years ago his grave was opened, and in it was found a well-shaped skull, supposed to be that of the saint ; this was reburied (Plate VI., fig. 11). The ruins of Teampul Breccan now consist of chancel and nave, the chancel being of much more modern date, possibly 12th century work, the chancel arch and lancet window being very fine pieces of masonry, while the nave is built in a ruder manner with cvclopean windows. Here may also be seen a finely engraved terminal cross, various inscribed stones, one marked “VII. Romani,” and near them are the well and bed of St. Breccan, two richly carved crosses which have been broken and put together again, on one of which is a crucifixion and on the other the knots and interlaced work of the usual Irish type, and another prayer-well to the north of the ruins. On the large island the other churches are the beautiful ruin at St. Eany’s grave, the two churches of Kilronan, St. Soomey’s, the Church of the Four Beautiful Saints, and St. Kieran’s, near the large mound which marks the site of the great Connaught Monastery. The east window of this church is the most perfect specimen of church architecture of its kind now to be found in Ireland. Near it are two stone crosses. On the middle island is to be seen the ancient oratory of St. Cananagli (Plate VI., fig. 12). This is also of sixth century date : the doorway is constructed of large stones ; the lintel is only 19 or 20 inches wide, and the roof was formed by over¬ lapping stones. There are also the ruins of a church dedicated to the Holy Virgin, the rudely built and nearly destroyed Church of the Seven Kings, and the Tomb and Holy Well of the Virgin St. Kenerga. On the southern island are the ruins of the Church of St. Grobuet and picturesque remains of the Abbey of St. Kevin of Aran. 106 THE ARAN ISLANDS. May, 1891. The medieval antiquities are not so numerous, the most striking example being Furmina Castle on the south island. There are none on the middle island, and on Ara Mor are to be seen the ancient foundations of a small square castle of the sixteenth or seventeenth centuries, near the Seven Churches, the walls of which are of uncommon thickness ; St. Martin’s Tower, on the south cliff, about which I could get no information ; and finally Arkin Castle, which faces the sea at Killeaney. This requires some notice, as it enjoys the distinction of being the last stronghold which held out for the Boyalist cause during the Parliamentary war; it was not reduced until something like six months after all resistance had ceased elsewhere. Arkin Castle, now a ruin, was originally built in the time of Elizabeth, but was enlarged and strengthened after it fell into the power of the soldiery of Cromwell, at the expense of the material procured by the destruction of the Monastery of St. Eany, the only remains of the latter to be seen at the present day being a handsome cross placed in the middle of a field. This was one of the most important positions in the west of Ireland, giving to its owner the command of the whole trade of Galway, then one of the most important sea¬ ports in the kingdom. An attempt has been made to restore Galway to this position by making it the point of departure for America, instead of Moville and Queenstown, but after the loss of one or two of the steamers the attempt col¬ lapsed. About the 18th century these islands were in the posses¬ sion of the O’Briens, of Tourea, in Thomond, and in subsequent years they were a source of continual warfare between this sept and that of the O’Flaherties of West Connaught ; until, in the time of Queen Elizabeth, Sir Murrougli Q’Flalierty succeeded in expelling the O’Briens and obtained possession of the Great Island, after which the Queen declared both parties to be traitors, and seized Aran as her own. After that time all patents for land in Jar-Connaught were granted to be held as tenants of the Queen’s Manor of Arkyn. I now come to the last subject of archaeological interest on which I shall say a few words, viz., that of sepulture and the memorials of the dead. Of prehistoric burial there is little trace ; all I saw were a few menhirs, or standing stones as they are called in Cornwall, in the vicinity of the Church of the Four Beautiful Saints ; and I believe that no cromlech, kistvaen, or barrow, is known to exist on any of the islands. Of course, when the old churches were in daily use, there May, 1891. THE ARAN ISLANDS. 107 were burial places in connection with them, but the grave had generally to be excavated in the solid rock, as is the case now with interments in the God’s acre of the Protestant church at Kilronan. Practically there are only two places now used for burial in Ara Mor, one at Kilmurvey and the other at St. Eany’s grave. The latter is situated in the sand dunes just above the sea shore ; and, as these sands are moved about by the action of the wind, fragments of coffin boards and whitened bones, especially vertebrae and ribs, are constantly found littered over the adjoining sands. A similar condition of things is also to be seen on the southern island, but at a greater distance from the shore. Although the islanders see no irreverence in stabling their domestic animals in the deserted churches and crunching the bones of their ancestors under foot, any attempt to carry away these bones would be bitterlv resented. The impossibility of erecting permanent memorials of the dead above the graves themselves has led to the singular custom of erecting these structures along the roadsides within the walls of the fields. The monuments are all constructed on the type of the Fitzpatrick memorials (Plate VII., fig. 13), which are the earliest specimens I could find. The inscription on one of them is as follows : — Prav for the so •/ ul of John Fitzp atrick who Dye d the 8 day of February ann o D 1709 On one of these memorials I saw recorded the patriarchal age of 104 years. I found one curious instance in which an inscription had been cut in a stone lying in the middle of a large field and there left in situ. In several places on the island, fields on the roadside have been selected for monu¬ ments of a less pretentious character, the humblest consist¬ ing merely of small cairns of stones (Plate VII., fig. 14). I have no doubt that these fields were originally selected from some religious association, but of what nature I am ignorant. The result of the various immigrations has been the production of a race of people of medium height, but well built and apparently healthy. The men support themselves partly by cultivating the scanty patches where this is possible, and there grow excellent potatoes ; by feeding a few animals on the herbage growing naturally in the fissures and elsewhere, and partly by fishing. Coarse fish is very abundant off the shore, and can readily be caught from the 108 THE ARAN ISLANDS. May, 1891. rocks, and fish of a better character swarm in deeper water. These resources are eked out by the manufacture of kelp from the seaweed. This is collected into heaps and left to dry. It is a picturesque sight to watch, on a dark night, the figures of men feeding the fires as it is burnt on the shore, since it is necessary to give it constant attention until the mass is com¬ pletely calcined. The kelp is a source of iodine, but the price realised now is much less than it was formerly. The islands are badly off in one respect, that is the total absence of bog. The whole of their fuel, peat, has to be brought across in boats from the Connemara shore, the boats, however, carrying back cargoes of limestone, of which that district is destitute. Their boats are very remarkable, being a survival of the ancient curragh or coracle, and are called canoes by the natives. They are 16 or 18 feet in length, and without keel. The woodwork consists of bent narrow strips of wood, both longitudinal and transverse. These are fastened together, and the bottom covered with tarred canvas instead of the hides formerly used. They are propelled by four oars not more than about four feet long and two inches wide in the blade. They are, of course, very easily upset, but if properly managed will ride over the fiercest Atlantic billows. They are so light that they are not left on the beach, but carried up to the cabins. Two men balancing a canoe on their heads can easily run with it. I once saw twenty to thirty starting on a fishing expedition one evening, the effect being most comical. The men’s heads being, of course, concealed, the canoes and men looked like a procession of long-legged crocodiles. The native diet consists almost entirely of fish and potatoes, with a little milk, Indian meal, bacon, and tea. Many of them never taste meat from year’s end to year’s end ; and, although a sheep is occasionally killed on the island, I believe that a very large percentage never have tasted beef in the whole course of their lives. Still they seem to be hale and healthy, and many live to a good old age. The cabins are one- storeyed, and often consist of three rooms. In the living room there is always one corner devoted to the pig, and sometimes another to the fowls ; the flooring consisting of bare earth or the native rock. The pig, how¬ ever, is not like ours, but is highly educated, and knows how to behave himself, so that he does not interfere with the comfort of the other members of the family. The women affect highly-coloured shawls and petticoats, either red or blue. This is the case in the other parts of the west of Ireland, and is supposed to be due to the admixture plate: v, Fig. 9. ST. BENAN. / ! 4 w&d&m 7*.: \ is£' J I ?0j& ' t'.li ■'rO-m wm is mm Fig. 10 ST. COLMAN MCDUAGH PLATE VI Fig. 11. ST. BRECCAN. Fig. 12 ST. CANANAOH PLATE Vlt Fig. 13. FITZPATRICK MONUMENTS Fig. 14 CAMPO SANTO, NEAR KILMURVEY May, 1891. how slowly cold descends into the earth. 109 of Spanish blood, which exists here to a considerable extent. The woollen shawl is of universal utility, serving also for bonnet and umbrella and for the carriage of the baby, a load of peat, &c. The women and children are generally barefooted ; and it is astonishing how they run over sharply-pointed rocks which are painful to our well-shod feet. The men nearly all wear a kind of moccasin made of cowhide, with the hair worn outside ; they are so fashioned that a single string on each side draws them tight and fastens them over the top of the foot. These are called pampoutties, and when removed in the evening are put into a bucket of water to keep them pliable, and enable them to cling closely to the foot. The race is a prolific one, and the population is only kept within bounds by emigration to America, certain districts of which are chiefly peopled by them. The women mostly stay there, but the men frequently return ; they find the streets too wide, and cannot endure the boots ; they want their pampoutties again. We found the people to be, as a rule, both hospitable and obliging, and the begging propensities mostly confined to the children. We were much indebted to Mr. Kilbride, the Protestant rector, and to Mr. Keen, the only doctor on the three islands, for help and information. The people are to some extent superstitious, but my ignorance of Erse, which is the only language spoken by many of them, prevented my gaining much knowledge of the folk-lore. I was, however, shown pools, said to be inhabited by strange monsters ; and told that they very frequently see enchanted lands out in the ocean to the west. Probably this is a remnant of a tradition of the fabled continent of Atlantis. HOW SLOWLY COLD DESCENDS INTO THE GROUND. A most interesting subject has been brought into prominent notice by an article from the pen of Mr. E. J. Lowe, F.R.S., in “ The Concliologist,” from which we make the following extract : — “ The temperature at different depths in the ground, and the time occupied in reaching those depths, is an interesting enquiry, for we find that the cold on the 2nd February. 1888, did not reach the depth of twenty-four feet until June 6th, and that the annual range of temperature, though 4.k,el0 on the ground, is only 8-7° at twenty-four feet. Two distinct examples will suffice to make this clear. “ Example 1. — The temperature in 1888, on February 2nd, at the Royal Observatory, at various depths : — 110 HISTORY OF THE COUNTY BOTANY OF WORCESTER. May, 1891. On the grass (minimum) 10*8° 1 inch in the ground.. 32.0° 3 feet „ „ .. 39-0° 6 feet ,, . . 43-8° 12 feet „ ,, .. 44-7 24 feet „ „ .. 48-1° The minimum not reached till Feb. 4th. Feb. 7th. Apr. 18th. June 6th. > * 5) “The annual range of temperature for 1888 was : — 4 feet above ground in shade . . . . . . . . 69*3° On grass 1 inch in the ground 3 feet ,, ,, 6 feet 12 feet 24 feet * > 9 ? 44-2° 38-6° 23-3° 15-1° 10-2° 3*7° “ Example 2. — Reading of thermometer in 1860 on July 18th, at the commencement and in the centre of the total eclipse of the sun,* showing the amount of cold caused by this eclipse and the length of time that occurred before this cold reached various depths : — Black bulb thermometer, in vacuo in sunshine 130*0°, this fell 65*0° Ditto, not in vacuo 104*0 38*5° On grass 90*5 36*5° Half an inch in the ground 78*5 ,, 8*4° 1 inch in the ground 76*2 5*2° 2 inches ,, 74*4 1*9° 4 inches ,, 73*0 0*4° 6 inches ,, 71*3 0*0 “ The coldest point was experienced on the ground during the total phase, but it was, twenty minutes later, half an inch in the ground ; thirty minutes later, one inch deep ; fifty-five minutes later, at two inches deep ; an hour and a half later, at four inches deep ; and this cold had not reached six inches deep in five hours, showing how slowly cold descends into the ground. Before the eclipse was total Arion ater and Helix pisana were moving about as if it were evening ; the latter was exceedingly common.” HISTORY OF THE COUNTY BOTANY OF WORCESTER. BY WM. MATHEWS, JVf . A . C Continued from page 93. ) The following varieties of Rosa canina Mr. Lees states to have been sent to the Rev. Andrew Bloxam, and determined by him : — Rosa Lutetiana, Leman. R. dumalis, Bechst. * “ These observations were recorded by myself at Fuente del Mar, near Santander, in North Spain, where I had charge of the meteoro¬ logical observations for the Admiralty in the ‘ Himalaya Eclipse Expedition.’ ” May, 1891. histoky of the county botany of Worcester. Ill * R. urbica, Leman ( = Bosa Fosteri). R. andevagensis and R. verticillacantha. To one of these pro¬ bably must my glaucophylla be referred. R. tomentella, Leman. Specimens of a rose which I bad referred to R. inodora Mr. Bloxam says is truly the above. R. Blondeana, Rip. * Crataegus Oxyacantha. Tab. 11. In all the districts. Mespilus germanica. Tab. 11. Severn. Not native. * Pyrus torminalis, communis, Malus. Tab. 11. In all the districts. * P. domestica, (the old Sorb Tree of Wyre Forest ), xci., with plate. Pages 4, 5, with plate. * P. Aucuparia. 4, 70, 113, 127. Tab. 11. Severn, Malvern, Lickey. * P. Aria. 42, Wyre Forest ; 104, 105, Snowshill, Broadway. But these localities are in Gloucester. * Lythrum Salicaria. Tab. 11. In all the districts. * L. hyssopifolia. 95. Avon D. Tab. 11. Avon D. (Extinct?) * Peplis Portula. 65. Malvern Chase. Tab. 11. In all the districts. * Epilobium angustifolium. 6, 24, Severn D., Lickey D. ; 114. — Var. macrocarpum. 6,, Bridewell, Bewdley. Tab. 11. Severn, Malvern, Lickey. Mach extended in recent years, especially on the sides of railways. * E. hirsutum, parviflorum, montanum, tetragonum, palustre. Tab. 11. In all the districts. * E. roseum. 65, 73, Malvern D. But Tab. 11. Severn, Malvern. * E. virgatum. 65, 73, Malvern D. E. obscurum, lvi. Among plants not growing as far as York¬ shire. The two species are the same. E. obscurum, Tab. 11, Malvern only. Probably much more ividely distributed. * (Enothera biennis, xxix. Teme side at Powick, banks of the Arrow. Tab. 11. Avon, Malvern. Not native. * Circaea lutetiana. Tab 11. In all the districts. * Myriophyllum verticillatum. 42, Severn D. Tab. 12. Severn, Malvern. * M. spicatum. 42, Severn D. Tab. 12. Severn, Malvern, Lickey, * M. alterniflorum. 65, 69, 73, Malvern D. Tab. 12. Malvern only. * Hippuris vulgaris, Anders. 6, Wyre Forest ; 35, 61, Longdon Marsh. Tab. 12. Severn, Malvern. * Callitriche verna, L. Tab. 25. In all the districts. There is a confusion here. C. verna, L., G. vernalis, Kutzing, is a compara¬ tively rare plant, although I have frequently found it in shallow, sandy streams in the northern part of Worcestershire. C. stagnalis, Scop., is frequently mistaken for it. G. stagnalis, probably in all the districts, not noted in Table. C. platycarpa, Kiitz. (a slight variety of the preceding). 52. Nortliwick, near Worcester, Mr. T. Westcombe. Tab. 25. Severn. 112 HISTORY OF THE COUNTY BOTANY OF WORCESTER. May, 1891. * C. hamulosa, Kiitz. Not noted in Table. Var. pedunculata men¬ tioned , nevertheless, in Bot. Malvern Hills , 2nd edit., p. 73, as growing on Welland Common. See “ Mid. Nat.” Vol. XIII., p. 185. ( Gathered by the writer, ivith Mr. Towndrow, on Castle Morton Common in 1884.) * Bryonia dioica. Tab. 12. In all the districts. * Spergula arvensis. Tab. 12. In all the districts.* * Scleranthis annuus. Tab. 12. In all the districts.* * Ribes Grossularia. Tab. 12. In all the districts. Doubtfully native. * R. alpinum. 121, Lickey district. Tab. 12. Malvern only. Doubtfully native in these localities. First record. * R. nigrum. 11, 42, Severn D. Tab. 12. Severn, Malvern, Lickey. * R. rubrum. 42, Severn D. Tab. 12. Severn, Malvern, Lickey. R. sanguineum, xxix. Appearing on newly-built, thick, syenitic walls at Malvern, and on hedges near Bromsgrove. Tab. 12. Malvern, Lickey. * Sedum Telephium. 6, 18, 42, Severn D. 65, Malvern. The two forms are separated in the Tab. 12, but not distinguished in the text. * S. album. 65, 72, Malvern Hills. Table 12. Avon, Severn, Malvern. Doubtfully native in first tivo districts, probably so in last. * S. dasyphyllum, 6, 12, Severn D. ; 95, near Evesham. Add. andCorr. Old Storrage Hill. Tab. 12. Avon, Severn, Malvern. * S. acre. Tab. 12. In all the districts. * S. reflexum, xxix. Shrawley. 65. Little Malvern Church. Tab. 12. Avon, Severn, Malvern. S. rupestre, xxix. Planted on walls in numerous spots. Tab. 12. Malvern. Not native. Sempervivum tectorum, xxix. In all the districts. Not native. S. montanum, xxix. Established for a half a century on an old wall in Frog Lane, Worcester. Table 12. Not native. * Cotyledon Umbilicus. 9, 12, Severn D. 65, 81, Malvern D. Tab. 12. Severn, Malvern, Lickey. (The last doubtful). * Saxifraga umbrosa, xxix. Abberley Hill, garden outcast. Tab. 12. Severn. Not native. Should be Malvern district. * S. tridactylites. Tab. 13. In all the districts. * S. granulata. Tab. 13. In all the districts. (On sandstone.) * Chrysosplenium oppositifolium. Tab. 13. All districts except Avon. * C. alternifolium. Tab. 13. All districts except Avon. I suspect the omission in both cases. * Parnassia palustris. 119, 120, 138, 139. Tab. 6. Avon, Severn, Lickey. Almost disappeared from county. Known to the author in one locality only, in the Severn district ! (To be continued.) * Should have appeared ante p. 19. Mat, 1891. THROUGH NORWAY WITH THE VESEY CLUB. 113 THROUGH NORWAY WITH THE VESEY CLUB. ( Concluded from page 90. ) Of! Olden was lying the yacht of the German Emperor, and close by the two gunboats which served as guard of honour. We had purposed when returning to Faleide to take our boats past in close order, and give the Kaiser (or his yacht) a rousing British cheer, with “ oar salute ” the while. But “ The best laid plans of mice and men Gang aft aglee,” and we had to do it piecemeal. And after all we knew that the Kaiser himself was not on board, but we were all too boyish in our spirits to be troubled about such a trifle as that. At Faleide our steamer was lying, and once more we all dined together, while our boat moved again seawards. Norway, as I have said, is par excellence , the land of water¬ falls. Every day we passed them by the score, till, excepting in the case of some one particularly attractive for its pic¬ turesque shape or surroundings, we passed them by almost unnoticed. But late this evening we saw on the precipitous south side of the fjord (Utfjord, a* branch of the Nordfjord), down which we were coming, a sight which held us all en¬ tranced with its beauty. Probably a mile away from us the cliff, for little short of a quarter of a mile in length and a thousand or more feet in height, was one perfect network of silvery water. Not a patch that seemed the size of a hand was free ; right and left the fleecy foam- streaks mingled together, in a position so permanent that their pattern was like lace against the black face of the rock. Oh ! for but five minutes, nay, five seconds, of bright light, for the cameras to do their work ; but it could not be. Our next land expedition was of three days’ duration. From Gudvangen, at the head of the Naero Fjord (vieing with the Geiranger in grandeur), we drove (Friday) up the Naero- dal, best known of all Norwegian valleys, to Vossevangen, where we made two days’ stay. Amongst other things we had arranged here for a ball, to which innumerable invitations had been given, our guests including a large number of the peasantry, in their picturesque dress, for here we are in the heart of the Hardanger district, where the old national cos¬ tume was at its best, and is most tenacious of life. The officers of the regiment quartered here, from the colonel down to the youngest and most flirtatious sub., were also all present, our total number probably exceeding 200. Before this ball we had arranged for a replica of the home-coming ceremonials 114 THROUGH NORWAY WITH THE VESEY CLUB. May, 1891. of a marriage ceremony — a wedded couple of some twelve months’ standing taking the principal parts. A Birmingham paper, responsible for several other picturesque additions to fact, rated us for playing with the marriage ceremony by having it performed for our benefit — about as ridiculous a complaint as if it were directed against the English hosts of some future M. Taine who had arranged for his advantage a replica of a wedding breakfast. The wedding procession, which wound along the road to our hotel, was headed by a burly fiddler in the quaintest costume of many colours, with a pair of stockings with enormous black and white checks, and a top hat of portentous height. The various loving-cups and other domestic ceremonials took place in the saloon of the hotel, and in the dance which followed an endeavour was made to secure a good intermixture of nationalities. As most of the Norsk gentlemen dance a waltz step of the deux-temps style, our ladies found them fatiguing, albeit so pleasant partners. A few of the old Norsk dances, now, alas ! nearly died out, were performed by some of the older folk present, including the once popular “ Springing Dance ” — a sure cure, one would think, for a sluggish liver. Much like our elders at home, the old Norsk peasantry look upon their children as degenerate scions of an agile race. In this expedition we traversed two of those remarkable bits of engineered roads which I referred to in an earlier paper ascending one at Stalheim, where the road zigzags up the face of nearly a thousand feet of cliff, from either side of you tumbling a magnificent waterfall ; and descending another about midway between Vossevangen and Eide, crossing at its mid-height the equally beautiful Skjervefos. In each of these cases the lower valley is narrow, flanked by almost vertical walls of cliff, and ending abruptly with a terminal cliff up which the road zigzags, and down which the waters of the high land above tumultuously pour themselves. Our last expedition (Monday) was to the far-famed Voringfos, one of the largest and loftiest of the Norwegian falls, and providing an expedition the accessories of which are interesting from end to end, not the least interesting being a road which for nearly three miles is blasted on a perfect level out of a wall of live rock, which bounds a lake over which, until a year or two back, it was necessary to row. The rock sections here showing are simply perfection, and illustrate metamorpliism in all its phases, and intruded veins up to not one but several degrees. One of these veins showed a lovely miniature “ fault.” The vein was about three inches in thick¬ ness, inclined at an angle of about 45°, and over a length of two feet or so this vein, with the rock in which it was May, 1891. THE FUNGI OF WARWICKSHIRE. 115 enclosed, had been subject to a downcast of about fifteen inches, the alignment of the continuation of the vein being quite undisturbed. Near the head of the lake we abandon our carrioles, and continue our journey on horseback along a narrow “path” (save the mark!) made by the Norwegian Tourist Club ; but though as a path it is still somewhat sug¬ gestive of the top of a Derbyshire limestone “ hedge,” I am bound to say that it is greatly improved since 1874, when even Norwegian horses were impossible aids to ascending it. Our great enemy, the weather, could not leave us in peace even in this grand climax of our excursion, and the natural spray of the fall was added to by a persistent drizzle, under which, however, we patiently picnicked, since cover there was none. The valley of the Voringfos differs only in degree from the Naero and other valleys, its walls being more nearly vertical and more closely approximated, and instead of ending in a somewhat inclined cliff, up which roadmaking is possible, this valley is closed by a perpendicular amphitheatre of rock, seven to eight hundred feet in height, over one side of which the river tumbles with a fall of probably little short of 600 feet. In our programme still one other day’s excursion was in¬ cluded, but the weather compelled its abandonment, and with the Voringfos our land expeditions closed, and with a rapid and fairly smooth run across the North Sea to Leith the Vesey Club expedition, all too short for the work done, was brought to a close, its last act being the expression of cordial grati¬ tude to Captain Masson, who had, with unvarying kindness, striven to make our crowded home upon the St. Rognvald the abode of peace and plenty. W. Hillhouse. THE FUNGI OF WARWICKSHIRE. BY W. B. GROVE, M.A., AND J. E. BAGNALL, A.L.S. (Continued from page 95.) Var. nummul arius , Fr. Boletus nummularius , With., Purt. On a piece of rotten stick, by the tail of the pool, in Edg- baston Park, With. 810. On a willow stump near Oversley Bridge, in black-lands ; in a plantation at Arrow, Purt. li. 668. 526. P. lucidus, Fr. Boletus lucidus, Purt. At Kenwarton, Bufford in Purt. ii. 665. At the foot of an aged oak, Oversley, Purt. iii. 440. 116 THE FUNGI OF WARWICKSHIRE. May, 1891. 527. P. intybaceus, Fr. Boletus frondosus , Purt. On a stump near Oversley Mill, Purt. ii. 666. Near Tachbrook, Perceval. Kenilworth, Russell, List. Sutton Park, at the foot of an oak. 528. P. cristatus, Fr. Woods. Kenilworth, September, 1870, Russell, Rlustr. 529. P. giganteus, Fr. Dcedalea imbricata , Part. On trunks. Rare. Wixford ; Binton ; Oversley, Purt. iii. 251 (j Eng. Flor. v. 137). Lodge Wood, Warwick, Perceval. Dale- house Lane, Kenilworth, Russell, Rlustr. Brentford, near Rugby ; Sutton ; Edgbaston Park ; Packington Park. 530. P. sulfureus, Fr. Boletus, With., Purt. On trunks. In the cleft of a large cherry tree at Edgbaston, With. 325. In the hollow of a tree at Kingley ; Wixford; Snitter- field, Purt. ii. 672. Oversley, Purt. iii. 446. On an oak in Combe Park, Adams. Sutton Park ; Sutton ; Four Oaks ; Water Orton ; near Slmstoke, on yew. 531. P. heteroclitus, Fr. Boletus, Purt. On the ground, on stumps partly covered with mould. Oversley; King’s Coughton, Purt. iii. 245. 582. P. salignus, Fr. On the foot of an apple tree, Kenil¬ worth, Russell, Rlustr. 533. P. nidulans, Fr. On fallen trees and sticks. April to October, Warwick Castle grounds, April, 1872, Perceval. Crackley Wood! Dr. Cooke. Combe Woods, Adams. New Park ; Water Orton ; Fen End. 534. P. fumosus, Fr. On stumps. Oct. to Feb. Warwick, Per¬ ceval. Penns, Uawlces ! Driffold Lane, Sutton ; Langley. 535. P. adustus, Fr, On stumps. Aug. to April. Near Warwick, Perceval. Hopsford, Adams. Driffold Lane, Sutton Park ; New Park ; Packington Park ; Edgbaston Park, &c, 536. P. adiposus, B. et Br. “Warwickshire, Bloxam,” Berke¬ ley's Outlines, 243. 537. P. hispidus, Fr. Boletus velutinus, With. On trunks of trees. On trees at Edgbaston, October, 1790, With. 326. Near Warwick, July, 1872, Perceval. Kenilworth, Russell, List. Ansty, Adams. Fillongley ; Sutton ; Temple Balsall ; Packington Park. 538. P. cuticularis, Fr. Boletus, With. On a dead alder stump below the cascade, by the side of the brook, Edgbaston Park, With. 322. 539. P. dryadeus, Fr. Boletus pseudo-igniarius, Purt. On stumps or the trunks of decayed living trees. Rare. At the foot of an oak in Ragley Park, Purt. iii. 244. Warwick, Perceval. Stoneleigh Park, Russell, Rlustr. Hams Hall ; Stonebridge ; Maxstoke Castle; Packington Park ; Kingswood ; Burton Green. May, 1891. SCIENTIFIC GLEANINGS. 117 546. P. ulmarius, Fr. Boletus, Purt. On elm trees. August- September. On an elm runnel at Arrow ; old elm stump, Wixford Lane ; Oversley, Purt. iii. 243. Near Warwick, Perceval. 547. P. fraxineus, Fr. On old ash trees near Warwick. Perceval, March, 1872. 548. P. annosus, Fr. On sticks and stumps. August to May. Near Warwick, Perceval. Driffold Lane, Sutton ; Sutton Park, on larch ; Four Oaks ; Coleshill Pool, on larch ; Shirley, on Piosa canina. 549. P. radiatus, Fr. Driffold Lane, Sutton, November, 1883, September, 1884 ; numerous specimens on fallen alders, above Blackroot Pool, Sutton Park, October, 1887. 550. P. versicolor, Fr. On stumps, &c. Common everywhere. Warwick, Perceval. Kenilworth, Russell, Illustr. Ansty, Adams. Sutton ; Middleton ; Coleshill ; Oldbury, &c. A pale substipitate form is not uncommon in shady places. 551. P. Wynnei, B. et Br. Crackley Wood, Bussell, Illustr. 552. P. ferruginosus, Fr. On gate posts. Near Warwick August, 1872, Perceval. Brinklow Lane, Adams. 553. P. medulla-panis, Fr. Boletus, With., Purt. On decaying wood. Edgbaston, With. 319. Oversley, &c., Purt. ii. 669. Kagley Woods, Purt. iii. 444. Sutton (?) Boletus obliquus, Kagley, Oversley Wood, &c., Purt. iii. 247, may be the same, but all these references include the sub- similar species, such as P. vulgaris. P. vaporarius, &c. (To be continued.) Stmtlifit dlaninp. A project is on foot for the establishment of a marine station at Sebastopol. The plan to he followed in its erection will, it is stated, be that of the Zoological Station at Naples, but on a smaller scale. The First Edition of Lord Lilford’s “ Coloured Figures of the Birds of the British Islands,” with the exception of a few of the earlier parts, has all been subscribed for. He is, therefore, making prepara¬ tion for the issue of a second edition in every respect equal to the first. The death is recorded of Mr. Tuffen West, at Furnell House, Frensliam, in his sixty-eighth year. Mr. West will long be remem¬ bered as one of the best illustrators of works on natural history. The United States National Weather Service has hitherto been under the control of the War Department. On the 1st July it will be transferred to the Agricultural Department, which seems a most judicious change. 118 SCIENTIFIC GLEANINGS. May, 1891. The Kew Committee of the Royal Society are prepared to examine, at the Kew Observatory, photographic lenses, for the purpose of testing them and of certifying their performance. On April 3rd the hamlet of Adil-Djevas, in Armenia, was destroyed by an earthquake ; 146 houses were destroyed and 240 other buildings were much injured. Hundreds of lives were lost. The Royal Geographical Society have made the following awards: — To Sir James Hector, M.D., F.R.S. (Director of the Geological Survey, &c.,of New Zealand), Royal Medal; to Dr. Fridtjof Nansen, Royal Medal ; to Mr. William Ogilvie, the Murchison grant ; to Mr. W. J. Steains, the Back grant (one year) ; to Lieut. B. L. Sclater, R.E., the Cutlibert Peck grant ; to Mr. A. E. Pratt, the Gill memorial. Mr. Cottam, F.R.A.S., has issued a smaller edition (15 xl2 inches) of his magnificent “ Charts of the Constellations,” which will be found of great value to beginners in the study of astronomical science. A separate chart is devoted to each constellation, whilst three key maps exhibit the relative positions of the various constellations. There is some valuable introductory matter. Mr. Edward Stanford is the publisher. The Council of the Society of Arts, acting under the provisions of the Benjamin Shaw Trust, have offered two gold medals, or two prizes of £20 each, to the executive committee of the Congress of Hygiene and Demography, for any inventions or discoveries of date subsequent to 1885, exhibited at, or submitted to, the Congress, and coming within the terms of the Trust. Under the conditions laid down by the donor, these prizes are to be offered for new methods of obviating or diminishing risks incidental to industrial occupations. An interesting paper appears in “ Nature ” of April 16th, 1891, on “ The Wheat Harvest in Relation to Weather,” in which the general law of wheat production in England, as stated in the Times some years ago, is most ably discussed. The law referred to is as follows: — “ The yield of wheat is proportional to the summer tem¬ perature, with the modifying conditions of rainfall, prevalence of cloud, character of the weather at blossoming time and during the harvest, and the state of growth at the commencement of the summer.” The article concludes thus : — “ The wheat yield in England follows the summer rainfall inversely. Good wheat years are those of hot, dry summers. Bad wheat years are those of very wet, sunless summers.” A Geological Discovery in the South of England, of apparently great importance, has been made, and ought to be recorded in these pages. Iu the north-east of France, and in the neighbouring Belgian province of Hainault, a pliosphatic chalk is worked, of which probably 40,000 tons are every year imported into this country. Consequent on the preparation of a new edition of the Geological Survey Memoir on the Geology of London, the officers of the Survey have been care¬ fully scrutinising the area to be described. A specimen from the neighbourhood of Taplow attracted the attention of Mr. Strahan on account of its unusual characters. This led to its examination by an expert, Mr. J. Hort Player, formerly a citizen of Birmingham, who ascertained that it was composed of a mixture of phos¬ phate and carbonate of lime in nearly equal proportions, together with a little fluoride of calcium, a common associate with phosphate of lime. The proportion of phosphate of lime ranged from 18 to 35 per cent., and it then became apparent that a phosphatic chalk little, May, 1891. REPORTS OF SOCIETIES. 119 if at all, inferior in richness to the French and Belgian deposits existed in this country. Subsequent comparison of the French chalk with that from Taplow establishes their identity. The deposit in this couutry is probably of local occurrence, but its is very likely that it will be found elsewhere in the broad downs of the South of England, and should this prove to be so it will be of considerable com¬ mercial importance. Mr. Herbert Spencer has recently published a new and revised edition of his “ Essays : Scientific, Political, and Specu¬ lative.” The essays consist of three handsome volumes, royal octavo, and are uniform with his system of “ Synthetic Philosophy.” Formerly the essays were issued in post octavo form, and, curious to say, were mostly printed from American stereotype plates, Mr. Spencer having in the past had more numerous readers in America than in England. The volumes contain all the essays originally published in the old form (including that on “ The Develop¬ ment Hypothesis,” which contained the germs of the Doctrine of Evolution, and appeared in 1852, seven years before “ The Origin of Species”), together with seven new essays written since 1882. Among the latter may be mentioned “Morals and Moral Sentiments,” “ The Factors of Organic Evolution,” “ The Ethics of Kant,” and the famous essay, “ From Freedom to Bondage,” which has just appeared in “A Plea for Liberty,” published by Mr. Murray. Scattered throughout the volumes are several notes which indicate the improved health of the author, and his progress in completing his magnum opus — the “ Synthetic Philosophy.” Mr. Spencer completed his seventy- first year on Monday, the 27th April last. leports o.t Satieties. BIRMINGHAM NATURAL HISTORY AND MICROSCOPICAL SOCIETY. — Microscopical Section, April 7th, Mr. W. H. Wilkinson (Vice-president) in the chair, and fifteen members present. The chairman called the attention of the members to the death of Mr. Burgess (an old member of the society), which took place in December last ; and it was resolved that the secretary be requested to write to the widow and convey the sympathy of the mem¬ bers, and also to state with what high appreciation the work he has done for the society is held. Mr. W. H. Wilkinson exhibited Sparmannia africana from a conservatory at Sutton ; also one of the blossoms under the microscope, which formed a very beautiful object, the white petals showing up the crimson nectaries and golden pollen grains. Mr. Geo. Lavender exhibited Cluster-cup fungus from barberry leaf (Ecidium Berberidis, anther and pollen of mallow, and cuticle of geranium petal. Mr. Edmonds exhibited portion of skin of Synapta inhaerens, showing anchor plates in situ , of which he gave a description. Mr. Carpenter exhibited young oysters, Polycystina , &c. Mr. Bolton exhibited, under two microscopes, Gristatella mucedo , just hatched from the statoblast. — Biological Section, April 14th, Mr. R. W. Chase in the chair. Mr. Geo. Lavender exhibited, under the microscope, the scale insect from an oleander leaf, and Mr. J. F. Goode read some notes on the life-history of the insect. Mr. W. H. Wilkinson exhibited some lepidoptera from Perthshire, collected by Mr. S. T. Ellison, including Grapta G . album , Aryynnis aglaia, Erebia Blandina, Macroglossa fuciformis, Glostera anachoreta, and Bombyx 120 REPORTS OF SOCIETIES. May, 1891. Quercus. Mr. W. P. Marshall exhibited a specimen of Virgularia mirabilis, with stalk complete, collected by Dr. Stacy Wilson from the Frith of Forth. Mr. R. W. Chase exhibited photographs of egg of great auk, young of Pallas’s sand grouse, &c. — Geological Section, April 21st, Mr. T. H. Waller, B. A. , B.Sc., in the chair. It was unanimously resolved that Mr. Howell be requested to repeat his lecture on “ Southern Iceland ” at a convenient date. Mr. Waller exhibited and described a series of rock sections, on behalf of Mr. Reading. Mr. Waller gave an address upon “ A Week in North Wales.” He described the rocks of Penmaenmawr, Aber, Cwm Idwal, Mynydd Mawr, Snowdon, Llan- beris, &o. , and exhibited several fine microscopical sections. A cordial vote of thanks was given to Mr. Waller for his interesting address. BIRMINGHAM MICROSCOPISTS’ AND NATURALISTS’ UNION. — March 23rd. Mr. H. Hawkes showed specimens of Crocus vernus from Nottingham ; Mr. J. Collins, mosses, from the Sidlaw Hills ; Mr. J. Madison, specimens of TJnio pictorum, from Hatton, showing two distinct colours in about equal numbers ; Mr. J. W. Neville, mouth organs of queen wasp. — April 6th. Spring Exhibition. — The President (Professor Hillhouse, M. A., F.L.S.) showed a large collection of Alpine, Boreal, and Arctic plants gathered in Norway last year, also rock specimens, and carefully executed models of Borgund Church, carrioles, &c. ; Mr. H. Hawkes a series of living specimens of marine algae, floating in water, from Llandudno and Weymouth, a collection of zoophytes from the same places, and a number of drawings of buds of various trees as they appear about Christmas, with a series of slides showing sections of the same ; Mr. P. T. Deakin, birds, eggs and nests, of the Birmingham district ; Mr. G. H. Corbett, Indian butterflies from the Punjaub ; Mr. Linton, a case of living molluscs from Gloucestershire ; the Society, birds of the district ; Mr. J. W. Neville, forty magic lantern slides, illustrating insect life ; Mr. J. Madison, a cluster of Helix aspersa , living, as seen in winter. A number of interesting objects were shown under microscopes, notably living zoophytes, shown by Mr. Hawkes. During the evening the President delivered a short address of welcome to the visitors, and referred to some of the objects on exhibition. — April 13th. Mr. H. Hawkes showed specimens of Chalina oculata and Halichondria panicea , sponges, from Weymouth, and, under the microscope, Celeporapunicosa Mr. J. W. Neville, shells from the Gulf of Aden ; Mr. Deakin, fossils from the Lower Lias clay ; Mr. Linton, some of the less common shells from Gloucestershire, living. OXFORD NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY.— April 23rd. The President (Professor Green) in the chair. Present, thirty-six mem¬ bers. Lecture by Colonel C. Swinlioe, on “ Mimicry in Lepidoptera.” The lecturer, after describing the theory of mimicry, followed two species of butterflies, tasteful and good for food, through seven dif¬ ferent countries, viz., India (various parts of), Burmah, Sumatra, the Malaya Archipelago, the East and West Coasts of Africa, the Fiji Islands, and some parts of Australia ; showing how they resembled the distasteful Danais or Euplaea of the district. The bringing together of varieties of the same species from so many countries formed a very striking illustration of the fact that (so-called) mimicry was the only means of self-preservation open to this genus of butter¬ flies. The lecture was illustrated by lantern slides, and cases of lepidoptera were exhibited by the lecturer. Plate 8. •> r'^M' •viirA's^l m&J: bAOC ULINA ■ Tiff 21 ■iLM-M del Animal Pedigrees Hf'JAU) PHMS >.lln £IHU- June, 1891. ANIMAL PEDIGREES. 121 ANIMAL PEDIGREES. BY A. MILNES MARSHALL, M. A. , M.D., D.SC., F.R.S., BEYER PROFESSOR OF ZOOLOGY IN OWENS COLLEGE, MANCHESTER. ( Continued from page 101.) A very simple example of recapitulation is afforded by the eyes of the sole, flounder, plaice, turbot, and their allies. These “ flat fish v have their bodies greatly compressed laterally, and the two surfaces, really the right and left sides of the animal, unlike, one being white or nearly so, and the other coloured. The flat fish has two eyes, but these, in place of being situated, as in other fish, one on each side of the head, are both on the coloured side. The advantage to the fish is clear, for a flat fish when at rest lies on the sea bottom, with its white surface downwards and the coloured one upwards. In such a position an eye situated on the white surface could be of no use to the fish, and might even become a source of danger, owing to its liability to injury from stones or other hard bodies on the sea bottom. No one would maintain that flat fish were specially created as such. The totality of their organisation shows clearly enough that they are true fish, akin to others in which the eyes are symmetrically placed one on each side of the head, in the position they normally hold among vertebrates. We must therefore suppose that flat fish are descended from other fish in which the eyes are normally situated. The Recapitulation Theory supplies a ready test ; and on employing it, i.e., on studying the development of the flat fish, we obtain a conclusive answer. A voung flounder or other flat fish, on leaving the egg, is shaped just as any ordinary fish, and has the two eyes placed symmetrically on the right and left sides of the head. In Plate VIII., Fig. 5, the young- flounder is shown six days after hatching, the eyes being still perfectly symmetrical. As the young fish increases in size, the shape gradually approaches that of the adult ; the body increases in height, and becomes flattened laterally, the median, dorsal, and ventral fins becoming greatly developed at the same time ; and the fish now begins to adopt the habit of the adult of lying on one side on the sea bottom. Another change occurs : the eye of the side on which the fish lies, the left side in a flounder, becomes shifted slightly forwards, then rotated on to the top of the head, and finally twisted com¬ pletely over to the opposite or right side. In Fig. 6, which is drawn to the same scale as Fig. 5, the stage is represented in which the left eye is just appearing on the top of the head ; while in Fig. 7, which shows the adult 122 ANIMAL PEDIGREES. June, 1891. flounder, the left eye is completely twisted over to the right side of the head, and lies immediately above the true right eye, which is displaced downwards, and lies immedi¬ ately behind the angle of the mouth. Crabs differ markedly from their allies, the lobsters, in the small size and rudimentary condition of their abdomen or “ tail.” Development, however, affords abundant evidence of the descent of crabs from macrourous ancestors. A crab leaves the egg in what is termed the zoea condition, Fig. 8, possessing a long and clearly-jointed abdomen ; and through¬ out all the earlier stages of existence the abdomen remains at least as long as the body. At the megalopa stage, repre¬ sented in Fig. 9, the shape and proportions are very similar to those of a lobster or other macrourous decapod. It is only in the last stages of development when the shape, though not the size, of the adult crab is attained, that the abdomen becomes relatively smaller, and is turned forwards out of sight beneath the hinder part of the thorax. Molluscs afford excellent illustrations of recapitulation. The typical gastropod has a large spirally-coiled shell ; the limpet, however, has a large conical shell, which in the adult gives no sign of spiral twisting, although the structure of the animal shows clearly its affinity to forms with spiral shells. Development solves the riddle at once, telling us that in its early stages the limpet embryo has a spiral shell, which is lost on the formation, subsequently, of the conical shell of the adult. Recapitulation is not confined to the higher groups of animals, and the Protozoa themselves yield most instructive examples. A very striking case is that of Orbitolites, one of the most complex of the porcellaneous Foraminifera, in which each individual during its own growth and development passes through the series of stages by which the cyclical or discoidal type of shell was derived from the simpler spiral form. The fully-formed Orbitolite shell is a thin calcareous disc shown full face in Fig. 4 and in profile in Fig. 8. It is hollow, and the central cavity is divided into chambers by concentric partitions or septa, well seen in Fig. 4. These chambers are further subdivided by incomplete radial par¬ titions. The concentric partitions are perforated by numer¬ ous holes, which place the chambers in communication with one another ; and the outermost or marginal chamber communicates with the outer world through a series of holes round the edge or rim of the disc, seen in Fig. 8. During life all the cavities are filled with a slimy protoplasm, very similar to that of which an Amoeba consists; through the perforations in the septa the protoplasm of one chamber June, 1891. ANIMAL PEDIGREES. 123 communicates freely with that of the neighbouring chambers ; and through the marginal apertures at the rim of the shell pseudopodia can be protruded and food captured and ingested. An Orbitolite grows by addition of new chambers round the margin of the shell. The protoplasm, becoming too abundant to be contained within the cavities of the shell, protrudes as a rim all round the margin of the shell, and by deposition of calcareous matter gives rise to a new chamber to the shell. The discoidal shape of shell, so characteristic of Orbito- lites, is very unusual amongst Forammifera, and it is a matter of great interest to determine in what way it has been acquired. Bearing in mind what has just been said as to the mode of growth of the shell, it is clear that the oldest part, i.e., that which alone was present in the young animal, is the central portion, and that the successive concentric rings are younger and younger as we pass outwards towards the circumference, the marginal chamber being the youngest and latest formed of the whole series. Now, if we look at the central or oldest part of an Orbitolite, we find, Fig. 4, that it has not the concentric arrangement of the peripheral part, but is coiled spirally like the majority of Foraminifera. The central, or oldest, turns of this spiral are not chambered; the outer turns are divided by partitions into chambers, and these chambers, as we follow the spiral round, become wider and wider, so as to overlap and wrap round the older part of the shell, at first partially, but ultimately completely ; the first chamber that completely surrounds the shell marking the transition from the spiral to the discoidal type. We thus find that the discoidal Orbitolite shell commences its development as a spiral shell, and acquires the discoidal character merely through an exaggerated mode of growth on the part of the spiral. The Recapitulation Theory tells us that this is to be interpreted as meaning that the discoidal shells are descended from spiral ancestors, and the close agree¬ ment between a young Orbitolite, Fig. 2, and an adult Peneroplis, Fig. 1, suggests that either Peneroplis itself, or forms closely allied to it, were the actual ancestors. The Orbitolite is peculiarly instructive, owing to the fact that the addition of new chambers during growth takes place in such a way as to leave the older parts of the shell unaltered, and fully exposed to view, so that simple inspec¬ tion of an adult shell, as in Fig. 4, reveals the whole course of development, and shows us not merely the anatomy but the embryology as well. It is as though a kitten were to develop into a cat, not by interstitial growth in all its parts, but by the addition of successive lengths to its nose, its ears, 124 ANIMAL PEDIGREES. June, 1891. its legs, and its tail ; the additions being cleverly effected so as to leave the original kitten unaltered in the middle, and fully exposed to view the whole time. The above examples, selected almost haphazard, will suffice to illustrate the Theory of Becapitulation. The proof of the theory depends chiefly on its universal applicability to all animals, whether high or low in the zoological scale, and to all their parts and organs. It derives also strong support from the ready explanation which it gives of many otherwise unintelligible points. Of these latter familiar and most instructive instances are afforded by rudimentary organs, i.e, structures which, like the outer digits of the horse’s leg, or the intrinsic muscles of the ear of a man, are present in the adult in an incom¬ pletely developed form, and in a condition in which they can be of no use to their possessors ; or else structures which are present in the embryo, but disappear completely before the adult condition is attained ; for example, the teeth of whalebone whales or the gill-slits present in the neck during the embryonic phases of all higher vertebrates. Natural selection explains the preservation of useful variations, but will not account for the formation and per¬ petuation of useless organs, and rudiments such as those mentioned above would be unintelligible but for Becapitu¬ lation, which solves the problem at once, showing that these organs, though now useless, must have been of functional value to the ancestors of their present possessors, and that their appearance in the ontogeny of existing forms is due to repetition of ancestral characters. JL. Budimentary organs are extremely common, especially among the higher groups of animals, and their presence and significance are now well understood. Man himself affords numerous and excellent examples, not merely in his bodily structure, but by his speech, dress, and customs. For the silent letter b in the word “ doubt,” the g in “ foreign,” or the w of “ answer,” or the buttons on his elastic-side boots are as true examples of rudiments, unintelligible but for their past history, as are the ear muscles he possesses but cannot use ; or the gill-clefts, which are functional in fishes and tadpoles, and are present, though useless, in the embryos of all higher vertebrates, which in their early stages the hare and the tortoise alike possess, and which are shared with them by cats and by kings. The fossil remains of animals and of plants yield results of the greatest importance when studied in the light of the Becapitulation Theory, I have thought it well to ask special attention to these, even at the risk of repeating what has been June, 1891. ANIMAL PEDIGREES. 125 said elsewhere and by others, for it seems to me that zoologists are too apt nowadays to neglect palaeontology, while palaeon¬ tologists have a tendency to regard embryology as something beyond their own ken, and concerning them but little. Moreover, there are certain points arising from a study of fossils which, I venture to think, may possibly commend themselves to some of our members as suitable subjects for practical investigation. The elder Agassiz was the first to point out, in 1858, the remarkable agreement between the embryonic growth of animals and their palaeontological history. He called atten¬ tion to the resemblance between certain stages in the growth of young fish and their fossil representatives, and attempted to establish, with regard to fish, a correspondence between their palaeontological sequence and the successive stages of embrvonic development. He then extended his observations *' X. to other groups of animals, and stated his conclusions in these words : — “It may therefore be considered as a general fact, very likely to be more fully illustrated as investigations cover a wider ground, that the phases of development of all living animals correspond to the order of succession of their extinct representatives in past geological times.1’ This point of view is of great importance. If the develop¬ ment of an animal is really a repetition or recapitulation of its ancestral history, then it is clear that the agreement or parallelism which Agassiz insists on between the embryo- logical and palaeontological records must hold good ; and a most important field of work is thus opened up to us. It is sometimes urged, however, that such work is neces¬ sarily unfruitful and inconclusive, because of the scantiness of our knowledge concerning life in the earlier geologic periods, or, as it is commonly termed, the imperfection of the geological record. I have elsewhere protested against this objection, and would repeat my protest here. The actual number of fossils already obtained, especially from the more recent formations, is prodigious ; and what we have to do is to make the most of the material already accumulated, rather than to fold our hands and idly lament the absence of forms that perhaps never existed. It is true that with all groups the chances are not equal. But, by judicious selection of groups in which long series of specimens can be obtained, and in which the hard skeletal parts, which alone can be suitably preserved as fossils, afford reliable indications of zoological affinity, it is possible to test directly this alleged correspondence between the palaeonto¬ logical and embryological histories ; while, in some instances, a single lucky specimen may afford us, on a particular point, 126 ANIMAL PEDIGREES. June, 1891. all the evidence we require. Many serious attempts have already been made to work out in detail this comparison between fossils and the developmental stages of living forms, and the results obtained are most promising. Following the lines laid down by his father, Alexander Agassiz has made a detailed comparison between the fossil series and the embryonic phases of recent forms in the case of the Ecliinoids or Sea Urchins, a group peculiarly well adapted for such an investigation, as the fossil representatives are extremely numerous and well preserved, and the existing members well known and comparatively few in number. Agassiz shows that the two records in this case agree remarkably closely ; more especially in the independent evidence they give of the origin of the asymmetrical forms from more regular ancestors. The young Clypeastroid, for example, has an ovoid test, a small number of coronal plates, few and large primary tubercles and spines, simple straight ambulacral areas, and no petaloid ambulacra ; in fact, has none of the characteristic features of the adult Clypeastroid, while the characters it does possess are those of geologically older and preceding forms. So again, in the group of Echinidse, the members of the comparatively recent polyporous group, in which each ambu¬ lacral plate bears more than three pairs of ambulacral pores, commence their existence in the older and more primitive oligo porous condition, and become polyporous through fusion of originally distinct ambulacral plates. Agassiz gives many other examples, and, from a careful consideration of the entire group, arrives at the conclusion that “ comparing the embryonic development with the palaeontological one, we find a remarkable similarity and again, “ the comparison of the Echini which have appeared since the Lias with the young stages of growth of the prin¬ cipal families of recent Echini, shows a most striking coin¬ cidence, amounting almost to identity, between the successive fossil genera and the various stages of growth.” In this connection Agassiz make a suggestion of much interest. We are apt, he says, to assume, and perhaps rightly, that enormous periods of time have elapsed during the conversion of genus to genus, but the fact that these very changes can be repeated before our eyes in a few days’ or even hours’ time, during the development of the indi¬ vidual animal, may, perhaps, afford us a hint that such enormous periods are not really necessary in historical development, but that transformation of one form to a widely different one may, under favourable circumstances, be effected with considerable rapidity. June, 1891. ANIMAL PEDIGREES. 127 The Echinoids, and other groups of Echinoderms as well, have been worked at from the same standpoint, and with the same results, by Neumayr, in whom we have recently lost one of the most gifted and painstaking of palaeontologists. As an example of the extreme value, in certain cases, of a single fossil specimen, the singular fossil bird, Archaeop¬ teryx, may be referred to. In recent birds the metacarpal bones of the wing are firmly fused with one another and with the distal row of carpal or wrist bones, but in develop¬ ment the metacarpals are at first and for some time distinct. The first specimen of Archaeopteryx discovered, which is now in the British Museum, showed that in it this distinct¬ ness was preserved in the adult, i.e., that what is now an embryonic character in recent birds was formerly an adult one. Another very excellent illustration of the parallelism between the palaeontological and the developmental series is afforded by the antlers of deer, which, as is well known, are shed annually, and grow again of increased size and com¬ plexity in each succeeding year. In the case of the red deer, Cervus elaphus, the antlers are shed in the spring, usually between the months of February and April ; during the summer the new antlers sprout out, and, growing rapidly, attain their full size at the pairing season in August or Sep¬ tember : they persist throughout the winter, and are shed in the following spring. The antlers of the first year are small and unbranched ; those of the second year are larger and branched ; in the antlers of the third year three tynes or points are present; in the fourth year four points, and so on until the full size of the antler and the full number of points are attained. The geological history of antlers has been worked out by Professor Gaudrv and by Professor Boyd Dawkins, and is of great interest. In the Lower Meiocene and earlier deposits no antlers have been found. In the genus Procervulus from the Middle Meiocene, a pair of small, erect, branched, but non-deciduous antlers were present, intermediate in many respects between the antlers of deer and the horns of antelopes. From slightly later deposits a stag, Cervus dicroceros, has been found with forked deciduous antlers, which, however, do not appear to have had more that two points. In Upper Meiocene times antlered ruminants were more abundant, and the antlers themselves larger and more complex : while from Pleiocene deposits very numerous fossils have been obtained showing a gradual increase in the size of the antlers and the number of their branches, down to the present time. Antlers therefore are, geologically considered, very recent acquisitions: at their first appearance they were small, and either simple or branched once only ; while in succeeding ages they gradually increased in size and in complexity. 128 ANIMAL PEDIGREES. June, 1891. The palaeontological series thus agrees with the develop¬ mental series of stages through which the antlers of a stag pass at the present day before attaining their full dimensions. There is another point of view from which fossils acquire special interest in connection with the Recapitulation Theory. If the theory is correct, it must apply not merely to the animals now living on the earth, but to all animals that ever have lived ; and it becomes a matter of considerable interest to enquire whether we have any evidence whereby we can test this point, and determine whether or not the fossil animals in their own individual development repeated the characters of their ancestors. At first sight the enquiry does not seem a promising one, for it may well be asked what possibility there is of deter¬ mining the embryology or mode of development of animals which are only known to us through the chance preservation of their bones or shells as fossils. In most cases, it is true that such determination is im¬ possible, but in some groups as, for example, the Trilobites, great numbers of well preserved specimens have been obtained, not merely of adults, but of young forms in various stages of growth ; and the study of these young forms has already yielded results of considerable interest. According to Barrande, to whom our knowledge of these early stages is mainly due, four chief types of development may be recog¬ nised, differing from one another much as existing Crusta¬ ceans do, in the relative size and perfection of the three regions, head, thorax, and tail, into which the body is divided. Evidence of a verv different kind, and often of far greater value, is afforded by the study of shells, whether of Mollusca or of Foraminifera. Such shells, like those of Orbitolites already noticed, have no power of interstitial growth, and increase in size can only be effected by the addi¬ tion of new shelly matter to the part already in existence. In most instances these additions take place in such manner that the older parts of the shell are retained unaltered in the adult ; and examination of the adult or fully formed shell will then reveal the several stages through which the shell passed in its development. In such a shell, for instance, as Nautilus or Ammonites, the central chamber is the oldest or first formed one, to which the remaining chambers are added in succession. If, there¬ fore, the development of the shell is a repetition of ancestral history, the central chamber should represent the palieonto- logically oldest form, and the remaining chambers, in succes¬ sion, forms of more and more recent origin. Ammonite shells present, more especially in their sutures, and in the markings and sculpturing of their surface, charac¬ ters that are easily recognised. Upwards of four thousand June, 1891. ANIMAL PEDIGREES. 129 species are known to us, of many of which large numbers of specimens can be obtained, in excellent preservation. The group consequently is a very suitable one to study from our present standpoint ; and the enquiry gains additional interest from the fact that Ammonites are an entirely extinct group of animals, no single species having survived the cretaceous period, so that our only chance of learning anything about their embryology is to study the fossil shells themselves. Wiirtenberger, who has made a special study of the Jurassic Ammonites, has shown that there is the same correspondence between historic and embryonic development that obtains among living animals. In the middle Jurassic deposits, for instance, the older Ammonites are flattened and disc-like, with numerous ribs ; in later forms the shell bears rows of tubercles near the outer side of the spiral, and later still a second inner row of tubercles as well, while the ribs gradu¬ ally become less conspicuous, and ultimately disappear. In forms from more recent deposits the outer row of tubercles disappears, and then the inner row, the shell becoming smooth, swollen, and almost spherical. On taking one of these smooth, spherical shells, such as Aspidoceras cyclotum, and breaking away the outer turns of the spiral so as to expose the more central and older turns, Wiirtenberger found first an inner and then an outer row of tubercles appearing, which nearer the centre disappeared, and in the oldest part of the shell were replaced by the ribs characteristic of the earlier, and presumably ancestral forms. Results such as these open up to us a new field of enquiry, which, if energetically worked, must yield results of great interest and importance. In order to understand fossils aright, and to derive from them the full amount of information they are capable of yielding us, it is necessary «tliat we should have thorough knowledge of the development of their living descendants ; and more especially that we should be fully acquainted with the several stages of formation of the shells or other hard parts of the recent forms, which, in their fossil representa¬ tives, are, with rare exceptions, the only parts sufficiently well preserved to give trustworthy evidence. Embryologists have too often confined themselves to the earlier stages of development, and have unduly neglected the later stages, and more especially the later stages of the skeletal structures. By so doing they have failed to afford to palaeontologists the aid which they are peculiarly qualified to give, and which to the palaeontologist would be of the utmost value. Fortunately, the mistake is now recognised, and serious efforts are being made to remove the reproach. (To be continued.) 130 HISTORY OF THE COUNTY BOTANY OF WORCESTER. JuNE, 1891. HISTORY OF THE COUNTY BOTANY OF WORCESTER. BY WM. MATHEWS. M . A . ( Continued from page 112. ) * Hydrocotyle vulgaris. 14, Lickey D. Tab. 13. In all the dis¬ tricts. Astrantia major, xxix. “ Between Whitbourne and Malvern.” Mr. Babington, from the late Mr. Borrer’s information ; but the spot is unknown to any Worcestershire botanist. Tab. 13. Malvern. Not native. Eryngium campestre, Add. and Cor. Gathered by the Rev. Phipps Onslow in 1867 between Tedstone Delamere and Upper Sapey. ( Query county.) * Sanicula europaea. 72, Malvern D. 123, Lickey D. Tab. 13. In all the districts. * Apium graveolens. 36, Droitwicli Canal. 61, Longdon Marsh. 92, Avon Valley. Tab. 13. Avon, Severn, Malvern. Petroselinum sativum, xxix. Tab. 13. Severn, Malvern. Not native. * P. segetum. 43, Severn D. 95, 97, Avon D. Tab. 13. Avon, Severn, Malvern. * Helosciadium nodiflorum. Tab. 13. In all the districts. Var. repens. Tab. 13. Avon, Severn, Malvern. Not the true var. repens, R. L. Towndrow. * H. inundatum. 13, Hartlebury Common, 65, Malvern Chace. 119, Moseley. Tab. 13. Severn, Malvern, Lickey. Probably extinct at Moseley. * Sison Amomum. 43, Severn D. 93, 98, Avon D. 114, Lickey. Tab. 13. In all the districts. * CEgopodium Podagraria. Tab. 13. In all the districts. * Carum Carui. 43, Powick. Tab. 13. Malvern. * Bunium flexuosum. Tab. 13. In all the districts. * Pimpinella magna. 6, Wyre Forest. 43, Severn D. 67, Malvern D. 92, Avon D. Tab. 13. Avon, Severn, Malvern. ( Also in Lickey District , near Longbridge.) * Pimpinella Saxifraga. In all the districts. * Sium latifolium. 13, 43, Blakedown Pool. Purton. Extinct. Tab. 13. “ Mid. Nat.” Vol. X., p. 256. * S. angustifolium. 43, Wick, near Powick. Tab. 13. Avon, Severn, Malvern. (Lickey D. also, Win. M.) * Bupleurum rotundifolium. 43, Tibberton, &c. 93, 98, Avon D. Tab. 13. Avon, Severn, Malvern. (Lickey D. also, Win. 31.). * B. tenuissimum. 37, 61, Severn D. 65, Malvern D. 97, near Evesham. Tab. 13. Avon, Severn, Malvern. B. Odontites (aristatum). 94, formerly at Cracombe. Tab. 13. Avon ? * (Enanthe fistulosa. Tab. 13. In all the districts. June, 1891. history of the county botany of Worcester. 131 * (E. pimpiuelloides. 83, 34, 61, Severn, Malvern Ds. Tab. 13. Avon, Severn, Malvern. * (E. Lachenalii. 35, 38, 44, 61, Severn D. 65, Malvern D. 91,95, Avon D. Tab. 13. Avon, Severn, Malvern. * (E. silaifolia (peucedanifolia). 35, 61, Longdon Marsh. 43, Kemp- sey. 65, Malvern Chace. Tab. 13. Severn, Malvern. * (E. crocata. 13, 44, Severn JD. Tab. 13. Severn, Malvern. * >Sxx; 3#fte w.'-.o ■ kV>>>%< CLAREGATE, TONGOO 228 BURMA AND ITS PEOPLE. Oct., 1891. the space beneath being coach-house, conservatory and store-room. A broad verandah affords access to the various rooms, and broad, overhanging eaves give shade throughout the day. The front is covered with creepers, scarlet Ipomoeas and blue Clitorias climbing to the roof and mingling with a much prized English honeysuckle. In the garden are English roses growing side by side with Crotons, Allamandas, Eucharis, and various species of Hibiscus. Annuals such as we cultivate at home, Zinnias and Phloxes, for instance, flourish alongside of Vanda teres , the beautiful V. ccerulea and rare Dendrobes which we nurse with so much care in our stoves. Vegetables, too, such as carrots, beans, parsnips, and cabbages, are grown with success but not without labour, for already four months have passed without rain, and two pani- wallahs are busy from early morn to dewy eve in carrying water to the garden from the River Sittang, which flows a few hundred yards away. In these parts one rises betimes in the morning, for the moment the sun appears above the distant hills his rays smite hard, and before 7 a.m. the thermometer stands in deep shade regularly at from 80° to 82° Fahr. Cliota hazri, light early breakfast (of coffee, bread and butter, and fruit, such as papaws, custard apples, and delicious oranges from the Shan Hills), is soon despatched; and then we turn out for our morning drive, our heads well protected by huge sola topees. Already the roads are alive with people, labourers are on their way to till the fields, or are driving teams of patient white oxen along the streets. At frequent intervals one meets a Hpoongyee in yellow robe, bearing his two alms-bowls of lacquered wood suspended from the ends of a bamboo pole, or accompanied by a boy who carries them. Presently he stops before a cottage, but speaks not a word. Then one of the inmates emerges and deposits in one of the bowls a plate of rice, a bundle of sugar-cane, a fruit or a cake, and retires; the monk receives the gift in silence, and passes on to the next house. Thus do these simple brethren still obey the precept delivered by Gautama to his first disciples twenty-three centuries ago, “ Let your food be broken victuals given as alms.” A sufficiency having been collected, it is carried to the Kyoung, where it serves a treble purpose as food, first, for the Hpoongyees of the brotherhood ; second, for the numerous pupils in their day schools (for they are the national schoolmasters of the country, and this is their only remunera- Oct., 1891. BURMA AND ITS PEOPLE. 229 tion) ; and third, for any wayfarer who may claim shelter for the night at the Zyat or rest-house attached to the monastery. I do not attempt to describe the quaint architecture of these Kyoungs, or the strange conventional dragon and serpent sculptures (cliinthays) which always surround them, because the numerous photographs which I took during my stay in Burma, sufficiently illustrate their peculiarities. Then one meets many a charming group of girls going or coming to or from early market, basket on head and cheroot in mouth (for everyone from five years old and upwards seems to have a weakness for the fragrant weed in this country), their jet-black hair worn in a coil on the top of the head and often decorated with a white or scarlet flower. Daintily coloured robes do not conceal the movement of limbs to which an ungraceful attitude seems impossible, and as they pass along under shadow of palm and bamboo and forest tree, a ripple of merry voices marks their way. Here and there irrigation is being carried on in the fields ; and in the roads, where cottages are scattered about and almost buried in tropical vegetation, trades and handicrafts of a simple kind may be seen in full swing in the open air — the blacksmith at his fire, the potter moulding his vessels or carrying them to his primitive kiln, or women dyeing and spinning silk or weaving it into fabrics. By about 9 a.m. prudence suggests a retreat, for the sun smites hard out of a heaven which is as brass above us, so we turn homeward, always reluctantly enough. Then comes the grateful morning tub, and, at noon, the welcome tiffin ; after which each of our party engages in whatever occupation he wills till afternoon tea is served in the verandah, about which time the languid movement of a leaf here and there proclaims the approach of the evening breeze. From five to seven a drive round the well-kept cantonments, or to the Tongoo lakes, is always delightful. An illustration of a street in Tongoo is given in Plate 11. At such times we often came upon a group of Burmese youths gathered at some open space for the practice of the national game of ball, in which a sphere of wicker-work, about six inches in diameter, is kept going entirely by the feet, the kick being given either from the instep or backward from the heel, with marvellous dexterity, the ball being driven high into the air and often cast from one to another of the players fifty or sixty times before it falls to the ground. As darkness comes on — and there is scant twilight so near the equator — lights begin to twinkle among the trees and groups gather around fires which are kindled outside the PL A TE n A STREET IN TONGOO Oct., 1891. BURMA AND ITS PEOPLE. 231 cottages to chat over the evening cheroot. Little stalls are set up at street corners, on which cooked rice, sugar cane, cigars, and other trifles are exposed for sale to the passer-by, and curious cakes, like magnified pancakes of extreme thinness, are cooked dexterously over wood fires. The streets are alive with people passing to and fro, or sitting on their heels about the stalls, laughing, chatting, and enjoying the coolness of the evening. Every now and again the air is rich with the heavy scent of a Pancratium, or of the Sathapoo, the male flower of the Pandanus or Screw Pine. In one street, inhabited mostly by Chinamen, we always saw lighted lamps burning before quaint representa¬ tions of their deities as we passed the open houses, and their Joss-house stood in close juxtaposition to an Indian temple and to Burmese pagodas, for Buddhism is a liberal creed, and all forms of worship have ever been freely tolerated in this land. Not unfrequently preparations were being made fora Pooe (pronounced Pooey ), or theatrical representation, in which the Burmese take especial delight, the stage being set in some field by the wayside, or even at the junction of three or four roads, the temporary interference with the traffic being accepted as a matter of course. Such performances are given either by some rich individual or by subscription among the inhabitants of some particular part of a town, and in times past fierce faction fights have arisen out of the rivalry of different quarters in regard to the superior quality of this or that theatrical company. We were fortunate enough to see a Pooe of exceptional merit at Tongoo, the performers being specially brought from Mandalay, or I should rather say a portion of one, for the entertainment begins about 8 p.m., and is only brought to an end by returning daylight. In the middle of an open space surrounded by clumps of bamboo and tall cocoa-nut palms, was erected an awning of mats covering an area of perhaps forty or fifty feet square. Beneath was the stage, some twenty feet square, and consisting of a few mats laid on the turf, and in the centre were two rude pillars of stone or brick, each a couple of feet square and three feet high, on the top of which were two earthen bowls in which crude mineral oil was blazing. These served as foot-lights and illumination of the house at the same time, and were replenished from time to time by one or other of the performers out of a reserve tin by means of a wooden ladle. Behind the stage was a large wooden chest, the wardrobe of the company, from which, during the progress of the 232 BURMA AND ITS PEOPLE. Oct., 1891. piece, new costumes were taken at intervals ; and on our right of it, almost lost in the dim and smoky light, stood the orchestra, consisting of numerous drums, arranged round the inside of a circular wicker-work pen and played by a man standing in the centre, fifes and horns, which emitted sounds suggestive of bagpipes, castanets, &c. The front rows of the audience were squatted close round the square space which served for stage, and behind them sat and stood tier upon tier of spectators, men, women, and children, to the number of several thousands, the whole assemblage being girdled round by three or four rows of bullock carts, which had brought their owners in to the play from villages around, the cattle being tethered outside within easy reach. The dramatis persona consisted of two clowns, several princes, a Woon, or Minister of State, and two princesses, and the piece was an elaboration of one of those almost endless Eastern stories in which youthful princes roam the world in search of mates who are to be paragons of beauty and virtue, and encounter manifold adventures byland and water in the process, in which evil spirits, false Hpoongyees, and wild beasts play a prominent part. The greatest attraction in the performance seemed to consist in the dancing of the princesses. These ladies were richly bejewelled, and wore close-fitting silken robes of delicate colours, and of such length that they encompassed the feet in an amount of drapery which would make dancing of any European fashion entirely impossible. Their movements were in fact a series of posturings in which the head was thrown back and the arms and bodv contorted into the largest possible number of angles of which the human frame is capable after long training. Each ballet, if one may use the term, ended by a remarkable performance, the danseuse bending the knees and gyrating rapidly by a succession of quick, pattering steps, and then suddenly springing up to her full height and gliding to the edge of the stage, where she lay down at the feet of the front row of spectators and lighted her cheroot, amid the applause of the audience. The vast crowd made way for us to pass on our arrival at the Pooe, and we were ushered to seats of honour close to the performers. After watching the piece for a couple of hours we rose to leave, and again, as if by magic, a way was opened for us, and we made our exit finallv through the surrounding fringe of carts into the open space. Already this was dotted over with recumbent figures, each wrapped in its long robe. These were spectators who, after watching the play for some Oct., 1891. BURMA AND ITS PEOPLE. 233 hours, were refreshing themselves with a nap previous to returning for another spell of the performance. After the evening drive comes dinner, a good square British meal, served by noiseless Indian “ boys ” in white garments ; thereafter music, conversation and so forth, till bed time, and then, after careful adjustment of the necessary mosquito net, one sleeps soundly with open doors and windows till the rising sun proclaims that another day has dawned. So passed our days at Tongoo, all too swiftly, each bringing nearer the time when we must once more say “ farewell ” to our children — yet by no means without variation. Native musicians, conjurers and snake charmers visited the house from time to time and formed subjects for the camera ; and there was no lack of hospitality or of pleasant society among the civil and military officers, the latter being attached to two wings of British and native regiments quartered in the splendid barracks and cantonments which skirt the fine Maidan, or parade ground, of this important station. Moreover, we had excursions into the jungle, visited the saw mills of Kanvut Gwyn, where we saw elephants stacking the timber logs in greatpiles and, lastly, spent a week in Mandalay, the “ Golden City,” in which Theebaw once reigned, and which is now the capital of our Upper Province annexed in 1886. Fourteen hours are occupied in this journey of 200 miles. The line passes in turn through native villages, English military posts, forest and jungle, dreary wastes where for many miles the arid soil yields nothing but dense growths of cacti and again through tracts of well wooded and highly cultivated country, in which as many as three crops of paddy are harvested in the year. Here, as darkness comes on, you see, by the light of fires flickering among banyan and pipul trees, teams of oxen treading out the grain, just as it was done when the Pharaohs ruled in Egypt or Assyrian monarclis in Nineveh. Through¬ out this region of Upper Burma we noticed with satisfaction that the stockades by which every village was formerly pro¬ tected from sudden attack are being allowed to fall into decay, being now no longer needed. It is true that armed police guards still patrol the railway stations on arrival of the trains, but this is rather a reminder of the settled order which prevails than a necessity, and the number of Sharis and Karens, with an occasional member of some more remote tribe, a Shanthoo, Paloung or Padoung, who mingle with the lowlanders at every roadside station, shows how rapidly the country is being opened up, and how strongly the feeling of general security is taking possession of its inhabitants. (To be continued.) 234 THE WARWICKSHIRE PHOTO-SURVEY. Oct., 1891. PROGRESS OF THE WARWICKSHIRE PHOTO-SURVEY. Since the publication in these pages of Mr. Jerome Harrison’s plan for conducting a local Photographic Survey, good progress has been made on the lines then indicated. The Birmingham Photographic Society has directed the attention of its members mainlv to the Hundred of Hemling- ford, which embraces the northern division of the county. Some hundreds of negatives of points of interest in this area have been secured — churches, manor-houses, cottages, village streets, geological sections, etc. Three processes are now known by which 'permanent prints can be produced from photographic negatives. These are (1) Carbon prints; (2) Platinum prints; and (3) Bromide prints. It has been resolved to accept such prints only for the purposes of the Survey. The work of the Survey has lately received an impetus by the return of Mr. J. B. Stone from his tour in Japan and round the world. Mr. Stone took with him more than one camera, and he has secured a great number of pictures of objects of interest ; his views of volcanic phenomena being especially novel and remarkable. Under his direction the Warwickshire photographs are now being collected by the local committee for the purposes of mounting and arrange¬ ment. It is intended that one complete set shall be placed at the disposal of the municipal authorities, but before this is done we trust that it is possible that they may be publicly exhibited. Every worker for, or on, this Survey deserves great credit for the efforts which are being made to obtain a faithful pictorial record of the state of Warwickshire during the last decade of the nineteenth century. Messrs. S. G. Mason (treasurer), J. H. Pickard (lion, secretary), J. T. Mousley, J. Simkin, E. Underwood, A. J. Leeson, with many others, have worked, and are working, hard at the matter ; and in another- number we hope to give some details of the work done by each contributor of prints to the Survey portfolios, with lists of their subjects, etc. HISTORY OF THE COUNTY BOTANY OF WORCESTER. BY WM. MATHEWS, M.A. ( Continued from page 189. ) * Veronica polita. Tab. 21. Sparingly in all the districts. * V. Buxbaumii. Tab. 21. Not native. Established in all the districts. Oct., 1891. history of the county botany of Worcester. 235 * V. hederaefolia. Tab. 21. In all the districts. * Orobanche Rapum. 6, Warshill ; 18, Shrawley Wood ; 85, Malvern D. ; 115, Lickey D. ; Glent Hill, 1854, Wm. M. Tab. 20. Severn, Malvern, Lickey. }* 0. elatior. 68, 73, clover field at Great Malvern, Miss Moseley; 94, fields of clover, List in May’s “Evesham.” Previously queried. O. elatior is parasitical on Gentaurea Scabiosa. Tab. 20. Avon, Malvern. * 0. minor. Among clover at Lower Wick, 1849. Tab. 20. Avon, Severn, Malvern. * Lathraea squamaria. 6, near Bewdley ; 68, 81, 86, Malvern D. ; 122, 128, Wyclibury Wood. Tab. 20. Severn, Malvern, Lickey. * Verbena officinalis. Tab. 23. In all the districts. * Mentha rotundifolia. 6, near Bewdley, Jorden ; 49, roadside, near Stone, Kidderminster; 86, Malvern D. Tab. 21. Severn, Malvern. * M. sylvestris. 6, 13, 49, Severn D. Tab. 22. Severn, Malvern. * M. viridis. 6, 13, Severn D. ; 86, Malvern D. ; 123, Lickey D. Severn, Malvern, Lickey. Not native. * M. piperita. 6, 49, Severn D. ; 65, Malvern Chase. Tab. 22. Avon, Severn, Malvern. * M. aquatica (hirsuta) and vars. Tab. 22. In all the districts. * M. sativa. Tab. 22. Sparingly in all the districts. * M. rubra. 86, Malvern D. ; 97, Avon D. Not in Tab. * M. gentilis. 6, near Bewdley. Not in Tab. * M. arvensis. Tab. 22. In all the districts. var. agrestis. 6, near Bewdley, Jorden. Not in Tab. * M. Pulegium. 6, 13, Severn D. ; 65, Malvern Chase ; 115, Lickey. Tab. 22. In all the districts. * Lycopus europaeus. Tab. 22. In all the districts. * Salvia verbenaca. 60, on the red marl about Worcester ; 98, Alderminster, Mr. Cheshire. Tab. 22. In all the districts. * Thymus Serpyllum, Fries. 7, Bewdley. Tab. 22. In all the districts. * T. Chaemaedrys. Fries, 7, Bewdley. Tab. 22. Severn, Malvern, Lickey. No doubt also in Avon. First pointed out as a British plant by the late Mr. George Jorden, of Bewdley, in 1848. * Origanum vulgare. 6, Wyre Forest ; 86, Malvern D. ; 93, Cra- combe and Coldknap Hills, near Evesham ; 10, Bredon Hill. Tab. 22. Avon, Severn, Malvern. * Calamintha Clinopodium. Tab. 22. In all the districts. * C. Acinos. 6, 13, 59, Habberley Valley and Blakedown ; sandy spots near Kidderminster and Stourport ; 97, between Evesham and Elmley Castle, Mr. Cheshire; 100, 101, Bredon Hill. Tab. 22. Avon, Severn, Malvern. * C. officinalis (menthifolia). Tab. 22. Avon, Severn, Malvern. 236 THE FUNGI OF WARWICKSHIRE. Oct., 1891. +* C. Nepeta. 97, shrubbery at Fladbury, near Evesham ; H. New, in May’s “Evesham “ Mid. Nat. ,” Vol. XIII., p. 182. Tab. 22. Avon. I suspect an error. f C. sylvatica, Bromfield. 50, gathered by the late Dr. J. M. Streeten, of Worcester, on Abberley Hill, 16tli August, 1844, and referred by him to C. grandiflora, Moench. In the Herb. Wor. Nat. Hist. Soc. Tab. 22. First record. * Melissa officinalis, xxx. Tab. 22. Not native. * Scutellaria galericulata. Tab. 22. In all the districts. * S. minor. 6, 11, 13, 60, Severn D. 119, formerly at Moseley. * Prunella vulgaris. Tab. 22. In all the districts. (To be continued.) THE FUNGI OF WARWICKSHIRE. BY W. B. GROVE, M.A., AND J. E. BAGNALL, A.L.S. ( Concluded from page 211.) ORD. VIII.— TRICHOGASTRES, GEASTER. Mich. 647. G. fornicatus, Fr. Lycoperdon fornicatum, Huds., With. Meadows and pastures. Very rare. October to Jan¬ uary. About Birches Green, near Birmingham, Mrs. Come in With. 368. 648. G. limbatus, Fr. Lycoperdon stellatum, Linn., With., Purt. Hedgebanks and pastures. Rare. September to December. Hedgebank by the side of the great road from Coventry to Birmingham, near Stonebridge ; in Edgbaston Park, With. 367. Rusliford ; Oversley, Purt. ii. 702. Allesley, Bree in Purt. iii. 480. 649. G. fimbriatus, Fr. Fields. Rare. December. Station Fields, Kenilworth, 1871, Russell, List. In a garden Boldmere, near Sutton, 1888. 650. G.rufescens, Fr. Pastures. Rare. Oct. Pasture on the farm of the Earl of Warwick (Ileatlicote Farm), 1872, Perceval. E OVIST A. Bill. 651. B. nigrescens, Pers. Pastures. Not common. In a field near Shustoke, 1888. 652. B. plumbea, Pers. Pastures. Local. Fields near Max- stoke Priory. ‘LYCOPERDON. Tourn. 653. Lycoperdon Bovista, Linn. L. giganteum , Batsch. Pas¬ tures and gardens. Not common. August to October. Ansty, Adams. Olton Reservoir ! Parsons, Edgbaston ! Hillhouse. Sutton ; Wixford ; Castle Bromwich. 654. L. caelatum, Bull. Edible. Pastures. Not common. July to October. Corley, Adams. Packington Park; Oct., 1891. THE FUNOI OF WARWICKSHIRE. 237 Coleskill Heath ; Edgbaston Park. This species is as delicious, when fried in slices, as L. giganteum. 655. L. saccatum, Vahl. Borders of woods. Rare. October. Knowle, 1886, Hatches ! 656. L. gemmatum, Batsch. Meadows and waysides. Common. September to November. Kenilworth, Russell, Illustr. Ansty, Adams. Alveston Pastures ; lane by Crackley Wood; Haywood; pastures near Maxstoke Priory; Colesliill Heath ; Olton Reservoir, &c. 657. L. perlatum, Pers. Roadsides by woods. Common. September-October. Colesliill Pool ; New Park, Middleton ; Corley ; Forge Mills, &c. 658. L. pyriforme, S chaff. On decaying logs or on the ground near them. Frequent. Oct. to Feb. Abbey Fields, Kenil¬ worth, Russell, Illustr. Warwick, Perceval. Ansty; Hops- ford. Adams. The Spring, Kenilworth ; Olton ; Middleton ; Maxstoke ; Shustoke ; Sutton ; Edgbaston Park, &c. 659. L. Cookei, Mass. On the ground. Rare. August- September. Edgbaston Park, 1886 ; a large number growing together, distinguished from L. pusillum by the well-developed cellular sterile base. SCLERODERMA. Pers. 660. S. vulgare, Fr. Woods. Frequent. Autumn. War¬ wick, Perceval. Hopsford ; Combe, Adams. Sutton Park : Kingsbury Wood ; Middleton ; Hartshill Hayes ; Oldbury Woods; Waste Wood, Tile Hill; Haywood; Cut-throat Wood, Solihull; Alveston Pastures; Crackley Wood; Colesliill Pool; Olton, &c. Var. spadiceum, Pers. Tuber solidum, With. Edgbaston, under an oak tree by the pool, With. 365. 661. S. Bovista, Fr. On the ground. Rare. November. Kenilworth, Russell, Illustr. Warwick, Russell, List. (Is not this an error ?) 662. S. verrucosum, Pers. Ly coper don, With. L.defossum, Purt. Hedgebanks. Rare. August to October. Edgbaston, by the little pool dam, With, 372. Oversley ; Kinwarton, Purt. ii. 761. [A few specimens at Sparkliill, just out¬ side the county, October, 1882.] 663. S. Geaster, Fr. On the ground, in woods. Rare. Nov. On marly soils in New Park, Middleton, Nov., 1882. Ord. IX. NIDULARIACEI. CYATHUS. Hall. 664. C. striatus, Hoffm. Nidularia striata, Purt. On sticks and stumps. Rare. July to September. On a hedge- bank in Oversley Lane ; in a wood near Cold 238 REPORTS OF SOCIETIES. Oct., 1891. Comfort, Purt. ii. 693. Banks, Allesley, Bree in Purt. iii. 470. Hopsford, Adams. On a beech stump in Pack- ington Park, July, 1886. 665. C. vernicosus, DC. Nidularia campanulata, With., Purt. Woods, gardens, and fields. Rare. September-October. In the garden of the workhouse atErdington, With. 350. Kinwarton, Purt. ii. 693. In a garden at Sutton, and in Mr. Levick’s garden at Aston. “ Call'd in Worcester¬ shire, Cornbells, where it grows plentifully,” Ray, Syn. n. 20. CRUCXBULUM. Tut. 666. C. vulgare, Tut. Nidularia Icevis , Purt. On ferns, sticks, &c. Rare. Autumn and winter. Near Coleshill, on a decayed fern stalk, Bree in Purt. iii. 267. Warwick, Perceval. Combe Ridings, Adams. Near Erdington, August, 1888. SPHiEROBOLUS. Tode. 667. S. stellatus, Tode. Lycoperdon carpobolus , With. On rotten sticks, &c. Rather rare. June to November. Packington, With. 271. Driffold Lane, Sutton ; New Park, Middleton ; Bradnock’s Hayes ; Edgbaston Park ; Olton Reservoir, &c. BIRMINGHAM NATURAL HISTORY AND MICROSCOPICAL SOCIETY. — Geological Section, August 18th. Mr. Pumphrey (president) in the chair. Mr. W. B. Grove exhibited Oxyria reniformis, Cochlearia Danica, Carduus heterophyllus, from Glencoe, Juniperus nana from Goat Fell, Salix herbacea (Glencoe), Lycopodium selaginoides, and also specimens of rock from summit of Ben Nevis. Mr. W. Hodgson exhibited some fossil specimens from the Wren’s Nest and Open Coal Working obtained during recent excursion to Dudley. — Microscopical Section, September 1st. Mr. C. Pumphrey (president) in the chair. Mr. S. P. Bolton exhibited Leptodora hyalina , Dendro- soma radians, and Ophrydium - ? Mr. T. Y. Hodgson exhibited Limnias ceratophylli, Zootliamnium arbuscula, and other vorticellidse. Mr. W. B. Grove exhibited Lemna polyrhiza and Peronospora infestans. All these were collected on the recent excursion to Solihull. Mr. Grove also exhibited a large number of fungi, among which were Lentinus cochleatus, Agaricus sinuatus, and A. incanus. Mr. J. Levick then gave a brief account of his trip to Ben Nevis and neighbourhood. — Biological Section, September 8th. Mr. C. Pumphrey, president, in the chair. A dish of fungi, Cantharellus cibarius, cooked by Mr. W. B. Grove, was handed round for the members to taste. Mr. Grove also exhibited the following fungi from Kenilworth : — Agaricus acervatus, Ag. fragrans, Ag. ammoniacus, Cortinarius purpurascens , Russula rosacea , Craterellus cornucopioides, Peziza hemispherica , and Sphcerella rumicis. Mr. W. R. Hughes, F.L.S., exhibited the following plants from the Oct., 1891. REPORTS OF SOCIETIES. 239 Cotswolds, gathered in the neighbourhood of Minchinhampton : Campanula glomerata, Gentiana amarella ( a,bnormnl form), Chloraperfoliata , Hypericum calycinum , Lithospermum officinale , Carlina vulgaris, Solidago Virgaurea , Epipactis latifolia, Monotropa liypopitys, Golchicum autumnale, Geranium Robertianum (white variety), Orobanche minor (on clover), Euonymus europceus , and Verbascum nigrum. Mr. T. V. Hodgson exhibited the following fungi, collected on the Society’s excursion to Bewdley : Agaricus rubescens, Ag. arvensis, Ag. procerus, Boletus luridus, Lycoperdon codatum, L. saccatum, Clavaria coralloides , and C. cristata. Mr. C. J. Watson exhibited hairs of Tradescantia virginica, and some photographs of Llanberis and Bridgnorth. — Geological Section, September loth. Mr. Waller in the chair. Mr. Watson exhibited gypsum from Penarth and copper ore from Snowdon. Mr. Grove exhibited Cortinarius collinitus from Barnt Green ; also (for MissGingell) Clavaria pistil! aris and Ag. odorus from Minchinhampton ; also (for Mr. J. E. Bagnall) Pogonatum urnigerum from a quarry near Meriden, new to Warwickshire. BIRMINGHAM MICROSCOPISTS’ AND NATURALISTS’ UNION. — July 20th. Special: Botany. Mr. H. Hawkes showed a series of beautifully prepared microscopical slides to illustrate Bowers and Vine’s “ Practical Botany.” Mr. J. Madison showed a living stickleback from the Corporation water tap in his house. — July 27tli. Mr. Parker exhibited a collection of plants from Northfield, including a fungus, Polyporus squamosus, and leaves of Burnet, showing different stages in the development of Xenodochus carbonarius. Mr. H. Hawkes a collection of echini, starfishes, &c., from Scarborough, also a fungus, Polyporus intybaceus, from Arley. Mr. J. Collins, plants from Arley ; Mr. J. W. Neville, specimens of Sir ex gigas, also a slide of dissections of the ovipositor under the microscope ; Mr. Hawkes, a zoophyte, Campanularia plumosa. — August 10th. Special : Holiday Exhibits. Mr. H. Hawkes exhibited, for Mr. Corbett, specimens of dodder, Cuscuta europcea, and other plants from Gloucestershire ; and, on his own behalf, he showed a collection of plants from the Chesil beach, Weymouth, and regretted the building of a manufactory there on a piece of land noted for the richness of its flora ; Mr. J. W. Neville, a small collection of marine shells, mostly showing young forms; Mr. Linton, the different varieties of pecten found at Tenby ; Mr. Spears, specimens of calcareous tufa from near Halesowen ; Mr. G. H. Corbett described a section of the Keuper marls, with the Rhsetic beds overlapping them, at Westbury-on-Severn, and showed fossils and crystals from the district. Under the microscopes, Mr. Hawkes showed booklets of Cobea scandens and Sphacelaria plumosa ; Mr. W. J. Parker, skeleton wheel-bearer, Dinocharis pocillum. — August 17th. Mr. H. Hawkes exhibited a series of fungi collected in the Rowington district, and remarked on their edible and non-edible qualities, also plants from the same district ; Mr. S. White, a series of plants from Cooper’s Hill; Mr. G. H. Corbett, teeth, &c., of fossil fish, Megalichthys Hibbertii, from the carboniferous limestone, Prestatyn. Mr. P. T. Deakin then read a paper, “ Notes on Some Land Shells from Brit¬ tany.” The writer said the shells of which he should speak were gathered by a friend who was not a concliologist, or he might have collected specimens of more scientific interest. A glance would show that they were almost identical with our own. They were collected on the stone walls, and comprised thirteen species. The different shells were enumerated, and their varieties and distribution enlarged upon. The specimens of Helix aspersa were variable in shape but not 240 REPORTS OF SOCIETIES. Oct., 1891. in colour. The writer said the study of these shells favoured the supposition that this country joined France by way of Cornwall, a strong resemblance being seen in the land shells of central Wales and western France, Spain, and Africa. The shells were exhibited at the meeting. — -August 24bh. Mr. Lilley exhibited a collection of land and freshwater shells recently made in the Towyn district ; Mr. Linton, a collection of marine shells from Tenby ; Mr. P. T. Deakin, specimen of henbane, Hyoscyamus niger ; Mr. J. Moore, a series of nests of ichneumon flies, also nest of Mason wasp, with the wasps and cuckoo- flies that emerged from it ; Mr. G. H. Corbett, specimens of Estheria minuta in slabs of marlstone from the upper Keuper beds, Shrewlev Common. — August 31st. Marine Botany. Mr. H. Hawkes exhibited a series of slides of marine algse, mounted to show fructification, and described their methods of reproduction, also a small herbarium, including some of the rarer plants of the Canterbury district, and a specimen of an orchis, Epipactis latifolia , from Matlock ; Mr. J. Collins, a collection of seaweeds from the south coast ; Mr. Matley, seaweeds from Llanfairfechan ; Mr. P. T. Deakin, a short, thick variety of Glausilia rugosa from Towyn ; Mr. G. H. Corbett, a glaciated boulder from a well-sinking at Spring Hill. — September 7th. Mr. J. Collins showed a collection of plants made during a botanical tour in North Devon ; among many interesting specimens were the follow¬ ing : — Euphorbia paralias , E. hiberna , E. Peplis, E. portlandica, Bartsia viscosa , Juncus acutus, Viola Gurtisii , Rubia peregrina , Scilla autumnalis, Orobanche hederce , Medicago maculata, and a number of ferns. Mr. H. Hawkes, a collection of plants from Matlock, including Epipactis media and Viola lutea, also specimens of sundew from Hartlebury Common ; Mr. J. W. Neville, leaves of Spircea Ulmaria infested with brand ; Mr. Linton, a collection of eggs of the larger sea birds from Tenby. — September 14th. Mr. J. Collins exhibited cleistogamous flowers of Oxalis Acetosella, and pointed out their specialised structure to secure self-fertilisation. Mr. W. J. Parker read a paper, “ Notes on Natural History.” The writer said the importance of taking notes on all subjects that interested us could not be over estimated. The notes read were on various subjects, and made during a number of years. They comprised observations on the time of the falling of the leaf of different trees ; the shedding of bark ; permanent, fugitive, and intermittent fragrance of flowers ; and the age of trees. The notes on bird life dealt with curious nests, the pairing of birds, the bright colours of the males being chiefly confined to polygamous birds. Several notes were read on the mortality among shrew-mice ; it had been attributed to several causes, but the writer thought it resulted from their own pugnacity. A discussion on the various opinions closed the meeting. BIRMINGHAM ENTOMOLOGICAL SOCIETY.— August 17th. Mr. R. C. Bradley in the chair. Mr. G. W. Wynn showed bred series of Bornbyx rubi and B. quercus from Sutton, a single specimen of Ghcerocampa porcellus taken at Sutton last June, a series of Notodonta dictcea, bred from larva) found on Cannock Chase, and a single specimen of Plusia bractea from Bewdley. Mr. P. W. Abbott showed long series of Zygoma fXipendulcc, and Z. trifolii from the Isle of Wight, including yellow varieties of the former species. Of the latter species, quite seventy-five per cent, of the specimens taken were varieties with the spots more or less coalesced. Mr. R. C. Bradley showed Scatophaga scybalaria from Sutton Park. Mr. C. J. Wainwright showed Phytometra cenea from Wyre Forest. Nov., 1891. MIDLAND UNION OF NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETIES. 241 MIDLAND UNION OF NATUBAL HISTORY SOCIETIES. DUDLEY MEETING-. OCTOBER 13th and 14th. The fourteenth Annual Meeting took place at Dudley on Tuesday and Wednesday, the 13th and 14th of October last. The societies in the Union include — The Birmingham Microscopists’ and Naturalists’ Union. The Birmingham Natural History and Microscopical Society. The Birmingham Philosophical Society. The Birmingham and Midland Institute Scientific Society. The Birmingham School Natural History Society. The Caradoc Field Club. The Derbyshire Archasological and Natural History Society. The Dudley and Midland Geological and Scientific Society and Field Club. The Leicester Literary and Philosophical Society. The Malvern Field Club. The Oswestry and Welshpool Naturalists’ Field Club. The Oxfordshire Natural History Society and Field Club. The Rugby School Natural History Society. The Severn Valley Naturalists’ Field Club, and The Tamwortli Natural History, Geological, and Antiquarian Society. TUESDAY, OCTOBER 13th. The only regrettable feature in connection with the meet¬ ing was the wretched weather which prevailed both days. A capital programme as to amusements and places to be visited had been prepared by the local committee of the Dudley and Midland Geological and Scientific Society and Field Club, but, unfortunately, owing to the provoking weather, some interesting excursions had to be abandoned. The same cause had also a marked effect on the attendance of the delegates from the various societies, which was nothing like so large as was expected. The members of the Union were first enter¬ tained at luncheon, provided at the Dudley Arms Hotel, shortly after midday. Following this a Council meet¬ ing was held in the committee room at the Institute, and shortly before two o’clock the annual meeting took place. The President of the Union (Mr. G. H. Claughton) occupied the chair. The various societies were represented at the meeting by the following gentlemen : — Birmingham and Midland 242 MIDLAND UNION OF NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETIES. Nov., 1891. Natural History and Scientific Societies — Professor Hillliouse, Messrs. P. H. Levi, C. Pumphrey, W. R. Hughes, F.L.S., C. R. Rolinson, W. Hudson, C. J. Watson, and N. G. Weaver ; Dudley and Midland Geological and Scientific Society and Field Club — Messrs. G. H. Claughton, E. B. Marten, H. Johnson, W. Madeley and W. Wickham King (secretaries), H. W. Hughes, T. F. Bland, E. Hollier, and the Revs. J. Hodgson (Kinver). and J. B. Lloyd ; Oswestry and Welsh¬ pool Field Club — The Rev. 0. M. Feilden and Mr. J. Dovas- ton ; Birmingham Philosophical Society — Dr. T. Stacey Wilson ; Derby Archaeological and Natural History Society — Mr. H. Arnold Bemrose. The President (Mr. G. H. Claughton) in opening the proceedings, said — As chairman of to-day’s proceedings, it is my most agreeable duty to bid you welcome to Dudley in the name of the Dudley and Midland Geological and Scientific Society. That society, gentlemen, knows well what it is about in inviting you to these parts to-day. It has a selfish design on you. It knows the value of criticism, and it knows the truth of what has been well said, that, though much may be learned from books and lonely investigation, yet it is personal contact and mind meeting mind that causes the mental friction which strikes out ideas. Accordingly, gentlemen, we thank you very much for coming amongst us, and we will endea¬ vour to do our best to render your visit as instructive and pleasant as possible. We have some ground to go over second to none in geological interest ; in fact it is unique — unique in its treasure of the celebrated thirty-foot seam of coal, commonly called the thick coal ; unique in its treasure of Silurian limestone, on the reefs of which the coal measures directly rest, without the usual intermediate old red sandstone rocks, unique as a happy hunting ground for geological students, unique inasmuch as in the limestone caverns a former president of the Dudley society — I refer to Sir Roderick Murchison — was crowned King of Siluria with much pomp and ceremony in 1839. In connection with this date, I may mention that on a recent occasion, being desirous of finding out the correct date of the corona¬ tion service, I asked the following simple question through the telephone : — “ On what date was Sir Roderick Murchison crowned in the caverns?” After some suspense, I was informed that thev were not aware on which dav Sir Roderick was drowned in the caverns. Sic transit gloria mundi! which mav be translated, “ How truly are mundane matters a nine days’ wonder.” It might be expected that you should hear from your chairman to-day something of the geology of the Nov., 1891. MIDLAND UNION OF NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETIES. 243 district, and especially of the places to be visited, but a better fate is in store for you. Professor Lap worth has kindly consented to address us this evening on this subject, chiefly as to Dudley geology as exemplified in the underground and open caverns ; but also briefly as to their bearing on geological results up to the present date ; and in his hands I can promise you a masterly exposition. It will be enough for me to congratulate the members of the Union on the practical use of your knowledge that union is strength ; to point out how much science is advanced by the quiet workers in various societies gathered in union to-day ; to repeat that the world still makes liberal terms with the discoverers of what may turn out practically useful to it; but (to quote Professor Tyndall) to insist that the guiding spirit must be the love of truth for its own sake, and not the greed of gain. Our local society has suffered in the past, as no doubt have some of yours, by losing an important section, viz., its mining engineers, who, finding that the black diamonds were all-engrossing, formed an independent society and now belong to the Federated Institute of Mining Engineers, representatives of which we have just lately had the pleasure of entertaining. Fortunately, though very energetic, they have not had time to run away with all the interesting rocks of the neighbour¬ hood ; so I propose that we make haste and carry out the programme formulated for us by our excellent organising secre¬ tary, Mr. Wickham King, assuring you that although we invite criticism, and have an eye to picking your brains, yet we will do our best, weather permitting, to make your visit to pre¬ historic Dudley as agreeable and interesting as may be in our power. The following report of the Council was adopted : — “ The Council have much pleasure in presenting their fourteenth Annual Beport, and in placing on record that the Midland Union of Natural History Societies maintains a steady and, they believe, a useful existence. It includes, as last year, fifteen Societies, and, whilst the Council express regret that a special circular issued to other Societies not within the Union has not met with the successful response that they had hoped would result from it, yet they are glad to say that the list of Societies included in the Union remains intact, and that the combined number of members within the Union and receiving the ‘ Midland Naturalist 1 remains quite satisfactory. “ They greatly regret that the Darwin Medal this year, as last year, remains unappropriated, and for the reason that 244 MIDLAND UNION OF NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETIES. Nov., 1891. the subject for this present year — Archaeology — did not receive any contribution in the columns of the ‘ Midland Naturalist’ of sufficient importance to justify the award. Considering the wide range of this subject, and the large number of persons engaged in its study in the Midland district, this result cannot but be regarded as unsatisfactory. “ Several very prominent members of the Societies within the Union have fallen from within its ranks by reason of death. Prominently amongst these stands a well-known name deserving of more than passing notice. The Council have to express their deep regret at the death of Dr. George Deane, whose distinguished career, especially as a geologist, received a full notice in several of the journals and newspapers of the day. As a teacher and advanced thinker he achieved a great success, and his death is mourned by large numbers amongst the foremost ranks of science who had the privilege of his close personal acquaintance. “ During the past year Mr. Kineton Parkes, one of the honorary secretaries of the Union, received an appointment at Leek, and on his removal to that town felt obliged to resign his position as honorary secretary. The Council recognised the value of his services by passing a vote of thanks. The Council have elected Dr. T. Stacey Wilson to occupy the position as Mr. Parkes’s successor. “ The following important papers have appeared in the ‘Midland Naturalist’ during the past year: — ‘Animal Pedigrees,’ by A. Milnes Marshall, M. A., M.D., D. Sc., F.R.S. ; ‘Burma and its People,’ by A. W. Wills; ‘The Flora of Warwickshire,’ by J. G. Baker, F.R.S. (of Kew) ; ‘Dragons of the Prime,’ by A. Bernard Badger, B.A. ; continuation of the ‘ County Botany of Worcester,’ by Wm. Mathews, M.A.; the continuation of the ‘Fungi of Warwickshire,’ by W. B. Grove, M.A., and J. E. Bagnall, A.L.S. ; serial articles on ‘ Through Norway with the Yesey Club,’ by W. Hillliouse, M.A., F.L.S.; ‘The Aran Islands,' by Philip B. Mason, F.L.S., F.Z.S.; the ‘Scope of Sociology,’ by Mary E. Dalton ; ‘ A Visit to the North Cape and Norway,’ by C. Pumphrey and W. P, Marshall. Other articles are ‘Organic Death,’ by F. T. Mott; ‘Plant Marches,’ by J. B. Stone, F.G.S., F.L.S.; ‘The Birds of Oxfordshire,’ by J. Cordeaux; ‘ Notes on a Trip to the Orkney and Shetland Islands,’ and ‘ On the Gulf Stream and its Effect upon the Climate and Plants of England and Norway,’ by W. P. Marshall, M.I.C.E. ; ‘ Personal Observations of Glacial Action among British Mountains,’ by Horace Pearce, F.G.S., F.L.S. ; ‘ Foramini- Nov., 1891. MIDLAND UNION OF NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETIES. 245 fera of Hammerfest, Norway/ by E. W. Burgess ; ‘ Oh Crinoids/ by W. Madelev ; and ‘On a Boring at Shiilingford, near Wallingford (on Thames),’ bv A. J. Jukes-Browne, B.A., F.G.S.” Mr. W. B. Hughes, F.L.S., proposed the re-election of Mr. Lawson Tait, L.LD., F.R.C.S.. as secretary to the Union, and that Hr. T. JStacey Wilson (Birmingham Philosophical Society) be appointed as his colleague in place of Mr. Kineton Parlies, resigned. In the course of his remarks he said he thought their thanks were due to the Dudley Society for in¬ viting them there that day, and for the excellent manner in which they had looked after their interests. He was pleased to say that the Birmingham and Dudley Societies had worked together most harmoniously. They would, he thought, all agree with him that Dudley and district was a most interest- ing place both pictorially and historically, as well as geologically — and he might also add socially — and he was confident that during their visit they would find plenty to attract and absorb their attention. Professor Hillliouse (Mason College) seconded the pro¬ position. He remarked that Mr. Lawson Tait was one of the prime founders of the Union, and had done all in his power to promote its interests. As a secretarial colleague to Mr. Lawson Tait they wanted a gentleman with enthusiasm tempered with a wise discretion, and he believed that in Dr. Wilson they had such a person, and that he would prove a most valuable secretary. The resolution was unanimously carried, and Dr. Wilson briefly returned thanks, and expressed his willingness to do all he could to promote the welfare of the Union. On the motion of the Rev. 0. M. Feilden, seconded by Mr. Charles Pumphrey, a hearty vote of thanks was passed to the president (Mr. G. PI. Claugliton), who briefly responded, and the annual meeting closed. It may be added that the locale of next year’s annual meeting was discussed, but it was decided to leave the matter in the hands of the Executive Council. It had been arranged that following the annual meeting the party should be con¬ veyed to Oakham for the purpose of visiting Cox’s Rough quarry, and of hearing a description of the hills by Mr. E. B. Marten, but at the time arranged for the start rain descended in torrents, and, as it continued, this very pleasant trip had to be abandoned. Early in the evening the annual dinner of the Union took 246 MIDLAND UNION OF NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETIES. Nov., 1891. place at the Dudley Arms Hotel. The attendance by this time had slightly increased. Mr. John Amplilett presided, and he was supported by Mr. Lawson Tail. THE CONVERSAZIONE. The attendance on the whole was satisfactory. Amongst the company we noticed Mr. John Amplilett, Mr. Hickey, Mr. Frank Grazebrook and Mrs. Grazebrook, Mr. Lawson Tait, Dr. T. Stacey Wilson, Mr. A. Freer (Stourbridge), Dr. Fraser (Wolverhampton), Professor Lapwortli, Mr. Renaud, Mr. E. B. Marten, Mr. W. H. Hughes, Bev. T. Denham Williams, Rev. J. B. Lloyd, Mr. H. Johnson, Mr. F. North, Mr. Wickham King, Mr. W. Madeley, Mr. J. G. Jones, Mr. T. Jones, &c. One of the main features of the interesting collection was the large number of micro¬ scopes, with all kinds of specimens. These were largely inspected by the visitors. Fossils were numerous (many of them unique) and perfectly representative of the district, rich as it is in geological flora and fauna. Mr. E. Hollier sent some of his famous collection of trilobites, whilst Mr. H. Johnson and Mr. Wickham King also furnished some rare specimens. Mr. Lawson Tait kindly lent a fine fossilised fish from the beds of the Green River Eocene, the Bear River, Wvom- ing. The most attractive exhibits to the majority of visitors were, probably, the beautiful models of the South Staffordshire Coalfield belonging to Mr. Marten, the well-known civil engineer. The large one was unique and valuable. Mr. F. North had a very interesting and instructive collection of South African minerals, including a magnificent diamond in the rough. There were also many other curiosities of African life, and splendid photos of the diamond mines at work. Mr. North added to this interesting result of his travels abroad a huge model of a new section of the Natal Coalfield. The conversazione was particularly rich in pictorial exhibits. The walls all round the hall were covered with sections of the South Staffordshire Coalfield, photographs of various mining operations at home and abroad — including Mr. C. Cochrane’s splendid photos that were in the last Dudley exhibition ; old pictures showing how the great seam of thick coal was worked in olden times, drawings of numerous workings and pit accidents. Mr. H. Evers-Swindell lent some very inter¬ esting archaeological sketches, principally of Shropshire abbeys and churches. Mr. Frank Evers’s cases of butterflies and shells were amongst the most interesting of the exhibits, whilst Mr. Lawson Tait’s valuable Japanese curiosities' excited much admiration. A rather new thing was introduced — a process Nov., 1891. MIDLAND UNION OF NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETIES. 247 bv which impressions of the fingers were taken to be “ used in evidence against you,” as it were. Mr. T. Y. Hodgson took impressions of the fingers, and it appears that the fine lines on the fingers form a ready and infallible means of identification. They are of a definite shape and number, and never alter during life ; an impression of a finger will enable its owner to be identified at any future time, however great the interval. Professor F. Galton, F.R.S., is the sponsor for this interesting discovery, and an article in the “ Nineteenth Century,5’ in August last, exemplified it to a very interesting extent. The National Telephone Company had a number of instruments in an ante-room, and visitors were able to hear music which was being performed at the Savoy Theatre, London, and other places at a distance. During the evening Dr. Lapworth, F.R.S., delivered a most interesting lecture on local geology, of which we hope to give a resume in a future number. Mr. W. Madeley also gave an address on “ Crinoids,” of which there is a very fine collection in the Dudley Society’s Museum. WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 14th. Tuesday night was one of the stormiest and most rainy of the season ; but between six and seven on Wednesday morning the clouds dispersed, and there then seemed to be a prospect of improvement in the weather. It was just a little too bright, however, and about nine o’clock the rain was as heavy and the wind as boisterous as at any time during the previous twenty-four hours. It had, however, cleared again when the members of the Union assembled in the Courtvard of Dudley Castle to begin the proceedings of the day by the inspection of the stately ruins. The number as compared with the previous day was very much increased, and reached the figure of seventy or eighty. Mr. G. H. Claugliton and Mr. E. B. Marten pointed out the most interesting features of the Castle ruins. The Keep was thrown open, and many ascended to the top, which commands a view not easily equalled in the Midlands. Unfortunately black clouds were being driven up before a south-west wind, and a leaden and tempestuous looking sky lowered over many of the most interesting points in the varied scene. From the Castle the party proceeded to the caverns underneath the hill, pausing for a moment at the great landslip about midway. Here Mr. Wickham King explained for the benefit of strangers, that the pillar left to support workings similar to those they were on their way to visit, had given way and so dropped in the surface, which necessitated the making of the road on 248 MIDLAND UNION OF NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETIES. Nov., 1891. which they stood across the chasm. He also called attention to the inclination of the limestone measures, and to the remnants of the pillar which lay in the great hollow beneath. THE DUDLEY CAVERNS. The steep descent to the caverns, whither the party were bound, has been made easy by the construction of a stair of many steps. At the bottom of this the way is still a very steep gradient, and far beneath, through the opening between the supporting pillars, glimpses are obtained of galleries beyond galleries. Lighted candles dotted the rude wall which fenced off the line of route from hollows where either lie “ confusedly hurled huge masses of rock,” or where, black as Acheron, stagnate the remnants of the old canal. Here and there, on some coign of vantage, candles, grouped on a St. Andrew’s cross, illuminated some special spot or feature ; but all through the vast vault the light was ample. The road winds considerably, and here and there, through an opening above, rays of sunlight were thrown athwart the path. The descent of another stair, and the ascent of a steep incline a little beyond, brought the party into the great chamber in which the Bishop of Oxford, in 1839, crowned Sir Roderick Murchison “ King of Siluria.” In an alcove of this chamber shone an illuminated device — the letters Y.R., with a star between. Here, in answer to a call, Mr. Claughton said that the caverns were artificial, and had been made in providing a flux for the blast furnaces of South Staffordshire, at a time when there were more of these about than there were now — 192 against a remnant of 49 only. The canal passed along the lower part of the workings, and the miners, therefore, had only to drop the limestone they quarried into the boats, which were drawn out and passed into the Birmingham Canal. They would note the angle at which the strata lay, and that the pillars left to support the superincumbent mass were at right angles to it. Pillars sometimes gave way as they saw at the landslip ; and these caverns had once extended far beyond the point at which the party now stood. Gradually the extent had been diminished by falls ; but they did not intend to be beaten back from that point. The roof was carefully picked over ; and it was their hope that the caverns would be kept practically intact for many years to come. The Rev. J. Hodgson, by request, said a few words upon the Silurian limestone, particularly noting the many and beauti¬ ful fossils it contained. It had been upheaved as they saw, and this upheaved the carboniferous strata above, as would be shown later on at the Claycroft open workings. He could not conclude without thanking, on behalf of those present, NOV., 1891. MIDLAND UNION OF NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETIES. 249 Mr. Claughton and the Earl of Dudley for the pleasure they had afforded the party by opening and illuminating these caverns. Mr. Claughton briefly replied, saying that he was only doing what the Earl of Dudley himself would have been delighted to do if he had been in the neighbourhood. While the speaking was going on, a figure could be dimly discerned moving about the innermost recesses of the cavern away behind that heap of “fragments of an earlier world,” which constituted the “ throne” of the “ King of Siluria.” “Now, Addenbrooke,” said Mr. Claughton, after Mr. Hodgson had finished. “ Fire away,” shouted Mr. Addenbrooke, and anon the dim figure stood revealed amidst a blaze of coloured light, which threw its reflection on sloping roof and rugged wall. As these coloured lights died down at one point they flamed out at another, and the culmination was reached when the deep hollow against the further side of the opening became suddenly suffused with a rich ruddy glow, kindled by a man hitherto invisible on a raft in the canal. These temporary illuminations over, the party retraced their steps, but stopped at a large opening near the place of exit, to give, on the motion of Mr. John Amphlett, three hearty cheers, as expres¬ sive of their good wishes, for the future health and happiness of Lord and Lady Dudley. All then sought the open air, highly delighted with their visit to what Professor Lapworth on a recent occasion happily described as “ the interior of an old coral reef which stretched eastward as far as St. Peters¬ burg.” THE PRIORY AND WREN’S NEST. From the caverns the party proceeded to the Priory to inspect the mouldering remnants of what was once an important religious house. Its existence was due to the piety of Gervase Paganel, Lord of Dudley, who founded it in order to give effect to an intention of his father, which the intervention of death prevented his carrying into effect. The foundation dates from the year 1161 ; and it was an appanage of the greater monastery of St. Milburga of Wenlock. A Bull of Pope Lucius III., confirming the monks in their possessions and privileges, is in the muniment room at Himley. The Priory was dissolved in 1540, and so put an end to the provision in a deed, dated 1470, which the Rev. J. Hodgson stated he had seen, in which one Thomas Hodgetts provided an endowment to keep a candle burning for ever before the altar in the church. “ There have been many showers since then,” Mr. Hodgson remarked, “ and I’m afraid the candle has gone out.” At the beginning of the century the ruins were much more extensive than tliev r r 250 MIDLAND UNION OF NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETIES. Nov., 1891. are now. An engraving of 1821 shows an octagonal tower, which has since disappeared, indeed a considerable portion of the building was taken down many years ago for the con¬ venience of a manufactory, into which the tenantable remains were converted, and many now alive remember the fender works of Messrs. Marsh, of Burnt Tree, occupying this ground. The chain of fish ponds kept and preserved by the monks, as was common in olden time, can still be discerned. From this point brakes were provided to convey the party to the Wren's Nest. The programme supplied for the party very succinctly described the characteristics of this remarkable eminence. Its form is that of an elliptical dome, and the strata which compose and bind it round, rise on the east side at an angle of sixty degrees, and on the west side of forty- five degrees ; the limestone lies in two beds, the upper, called grey or crystalline, about eight yards in thickness, used as a flux in the blast furnaces of the district, and the lower, known to the miners and those engaged in working it, as blue, about thirteen yards in thickness, used for converting into lime, for building and agricultural purposes, and which is separated from the upper bed by strata of limestone shale, about thirty-three yards in thickness. Ingress is gained to the galleries — tiers of which run from end to end on either side — at the north and south ends where the workings extend to the surface, and on the west side by pits seventy-two yards in depth, the bottom of which is level with the wharves on either side of a canal basin, where the limestone won in the several galleries is loaded into boats for conveyance through a tunnel about two-tliirds of a mile in length driven through the centre of the hill, and showing the double stratification in its entirety. The canal joins the Birmingham system at its outlet at Castle Mill. The earliest reliable information of the quarrying of the limestone is that it was quarried in the outcrop and calcined into lime in kilns, placed for convenience as near as possible to the point quarried ; traces of these kilns being visible in several places on the sides of the Hill. According to rumour, the coal required in the process was conveyed by means of panniers on horses’ backs. Befreshments were provided in that portion known as the Daylight Cavern, by the kindness of the Earl of Dudley. THE OPEN COAL WORKS. The open coal works at Foxyards were afterwards seen. The site of this work occurs at the north end of the glen, stretching away beyond the Castle and the Wren’s Nest Hill, the whole of which ground is in a disturbed and tangled condition as regards its strata, NOV.. 1891. MIDLAND UNION OF NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETIES. 251 and the saddle shape of the coal here bared shows the abrupting effect of the subterranean expansion produced upon the upheaval of the limestone ridges, in a somewhat different manner to that shown near theNetherton Hills unon the other side of the town of Dudley. Upon the west side of the limestone ridges the cropping out of the coal measures may be observed following a long and much more easily defined line. The violence of the obtrusion of the huge dome of limestone was probably unaccompanied by high temperature in the measures immediately subjacent to the surface, for the coal here is very hard and good, and of an average thickness of eleven yards. The Claycroft open works were here seen, where the thick coal, thirty-five feet thick, was being quarried, and the full section was open to the surface. From there the party proceeded to Sedgley Beacon, close to which is the Western Boundary Fault of the South Staffordshire coalfield, which was described by Mr. Henry Johnson, M.E., Dudley, in the programme supplied to the party, as follows : — Up to the present time only one attempt has been made, by sinking, to prove the nature of the strata beyond the fault, whilst the result of numerous lateral explorations from the parent coalfield indicate that it is a clean cut off fault of varying extent, but probably not more exten¬ sive than the so-called Boundary Fault, which brings in the Permians at a point directly opposite on the eastern side of the coalfield. The Eastern Boundary or “ Symon ” Fault of the Shropshire coalfield, which, until quite recently was known only as a slightly inclined ledge of denuded coal measures, led many to the opinion that the Western Boundary Fault of the South Staffordshire coalfield was a highly inclined cliff of coal measures, also the result of denudation, and that the intervening space was once the site of an estuary, the waters of which had carried away the coal¬ bearing strata, and which had become filled up by a subsequent deposition of Triassic and Permian strata. This opinion has, however, quite recently received a complete negative, for the “Symon” Fault has proved to be only a “wash-out” of comparatively limited extent, the coal measures and coals existing intact in the direction of South Staffordshire. This concluded the tour, and votes of thanks were accorded to the Earl of Dudley and Mr. Gr. H. Claughton for their kindness to the party. On the return to Dudley the party partook of tea a la fourchette at the Saracen’s Head Hotel, after which they dispersed. Fortunately the party were under shelter during the BURMA AND ITS PEOPLE. Nov., 1891. 9^9 -i o - 1 occasional heavy showers of rain, and, notwithstanding all drawbacks, there was no lack of hearty enjoyment. The arrangements made were excellent, and the local organising secretary, Mr. Wickham King, seems to have left nothing unforeseen or unprovided for. BURMA AND ITS PEOPLE. BY A. W. WILLS. (Concluded from page 233.) Of Mandalay itself it is difficult to give any adequate idea in the short space of time remaining to me. Anything like a full description of its wonders would occupy hours instead of the few minutes which are left. A battlemented wall, some twenty feet high, encloses a space a mile and a quarter square, within which were gathered, m King Tlieebaw’s time, some 90,000 people, the palaces of the king and of his queens, ministers and officials, being in the centre. This mass of buildings and the gardens and artificial lakes of the palace grounds were further surrounded by a high palisade of huge teak logs, while the outer walls were defended by an enormously broad moat, the waters of which are now covered with pink and white lilies. When the city was captured in 1886 its only scavengers were herds of black pigs, which exercised their functions even within the precincts of the royal palaces; and, for sanitary and military reasons alike, it was found necessary to clear out the entire native population assembled within the walls. This sounds like a high-handed and somewhat unmerciful proceeding ; but it was an absolute necessity and inflicted, moreover, no real hardship. There were no vested rights of tied houses, or otherwise, to be considered ; every house¬ holder received fair compensation ; there was unlimited room among the tamarind and pipul trees outside, and the city was simply and easily transferred to a new quarter. It must be remembered that a Burman builds a new house in three or four days. After consulting an astrologer as to the choice of a lucky day, he begins the work, taking care that one or two of his bamboo posts are left higher than the rest, and that no window opens immediately behind these, so that any evil spirit that happens to be passing may alight outside, and not be tempted to enter the dwelling ; and these important details being settled, the rest of the house is run up in a few Nov., 1891. BURMA AND ITS PEOPLE. 253 days. The bamboo from the jungle affords all the materials that are needed — uprights, wall-plates, roofs and even floors. The Burmese are great believers in spirits and have a firm belief that every passing brefeze is laden writh invisible powers of good or evil. In remoter parts of the country, where English influence and example have not yet penetrated, lamps are hung among the trees at night to entice evil spirits away from the village ; and where contagious disease prevails coloured threads or lattices of bamboo are hung across the paths to intercept the demons who might carry the malady from one hamlet to another. Of the once great city within the walls of Mandalay nothing remains but the palaces of Theebaw and his court, huge masses of teak structures of strange and fantastic architecture, rich with gold and vermilion and profusely decorated with a kind of inlaid work in which small pieces of silvered glass play a prominent part, often rude in design and coarse in execution, but withal producing a general im¬ pression of barbaric splendour. The queen’s palace is now used as the English club, while many of the suites of buildings which were once the abode of the king's wives and ministers are now occupied as public offices and barracks. The king’s and queen's throne rooms are intact, and so is the great carved doorway through which Theebaw was once accustomed to appear in public audience ; but the lofty and handsome hall in front of and below this door, in which princes, ministers, and suitors were wont to grovel before the “ golden feet ” with foreheads touching the ground, has, with singularly bad taste, been converted into the church of the garrison, whose quarters, with the bungalows of the English officials and residents, are scattered over the now park-like expanse where the ancient royal city of Mandalay once stood. On the door of an adjacent chamber we saw the red finger marks which form a bloody record of summary vengeance inflicted by Tlieebaw’s queen on one of the court ladies, whom she suspected of bestowing too tender a glance upon her amiable mate. We wandered among the palm groves and beside the artificial waters of the beautiful palace grounds and gathered ferns and selaginellas in the summer house in which the late king capitulated to our general, dis¬ daining, with a pride which one cannot help admiring, to perform the act of abdication within the walls where he had reigned in undisputed supremacy. These and many other striking things we saw in Mandalay. 254 BURMA AND ITS PEOPLE. Nov., 1891. But the glory of the place is in its ecclesiastical archi¬ tecture, if I may use the word. Time fails me to describe the “ Incomparable Pagoda,” or the “ Four hundred and fifty- one Pagodas,” where, grouped round a central shrine, are four hundred and fifty lesser ones, each containing a large upright slab of stone, on which is engraved a passage from the Buddhist sacred books ; or of the marvellously interesting “Araccan Pagoda,” with its great gilt bronze Gautama, its innumerable votive offerings, its paintings of the Buddhist hells, beside the realism of which the horrors of Dante's word painting seem feeble ; and, above all, the amazing multitude of worshippers — people of a dozen different tribes and races, who all day throng its approaches or kneel before its shrine. No less wonderful and of paramount beauty are the almost innumerable Kyoungs, of which two, the “ Golden” and the “ Queen’s,” stand foremost in excellence of design and elaborate daintiness of workmanship. The Queen’s Kyoung is shown in Plate 13. It is, fortunately, unnecessary for me to attempt the difficult task of describing buildings which admit of no comparison with anything of European origin, because the photographs which I was able to secure speak for themselves. I need only say that, with the exception of the steps by which they are approached, they are built wholly of teak wood, that there is scarcely a square foot of their surfaces which is not enriched with truly admirable carving and that from floor to topmost pinnacle they are covered with pure gold leaf. You may well imagine that their gilded corridors, their many-tiered roofs, fantastic spires and lofty pinnacles, rich with tracery and fretwork, glisten against the cloudless tropical sky with dazzling effect. One word about their inmates, the Hpoongyees. When¬ ever we visited these buildings we were received with that graceful courtesy which seems inborn in the Burman of high or low degree. The Buddhist brethren themselves showed us every part of their establishments : their chapels, with the sacred images of their master and the accessories of their services ; their dormitories and their libraries, in which some of their number were generally engaged in transcribing portions of the sacred literature in delicate characters on to prepared palm leaves, which are afterwards tied together into books. Remembering that the Pagoda and the Kyoung are alike sacred places in the eyes of the Buddhist, it is but simple courtesy in the English visitor to pay the same outward PL A TE 13, THE QUEEN’S KYOUNG, MANDALAY. 256 ORES FROM NEW SOUTH WALES. Nov., 1891. tokens of respect when he enters them as he would expect from a stranger from some far-off land who entered one of our own Christian churches ; and it is a courtesy fully under¬ stood and appreciated in this land, whose inhabitants seem to be Nature’s gentlefolk. Wherever we went we were received with easy grace, and whenever we left we conformed to the custom of the country by asking permission to depart, and invariably heard in reply the simple and courteous words, “ You may go ; come again.” But I must conclude lest you invert this phrase and say, “ Go, but do not come again.” I trust that I have given you some slight idea of this distant land and its pleasing people ; a land where extreme contrasts of riches and poverty are scarcely seen, where Nature is glorious, and where a religion, venerable in its antiquity, can still be studied in almost uncorrupted sim¬ plicity ; a land, too, of abundant promise, for everywhere outrage and dacoity (that form of crime of which we at home hear more than those on the spot) have disappeared or are disappearing before a just administration of the law; inter¬ course between distant regions is advancing by leaps and bounds ; everywhere the people sow their crops, garner their harvests, and ply their handicrafts in peace and security. I regard it as the fairest jewel in the crown of the Empress of India, and believe that it is destined to grow yet fairer and richer, unless we have parted with the energy and resolution which have characterised our race in the past. NOTE ON SOME ORES FROM THE BARRIER RANGES, NEW SOUTH WALES.* BY T. H. WALLER, B.A., B.SC. The most casual reader of the Australian papers cannot fail to remark that our colonial brothers are very much in earnest in two directions, business and pleasure, especially in * Read before .the Birmingham Natural History and Microscopical Society, February 18th, 1890. Nov.. 1891. ORES FROM NEW SOUTH WALES. 257 the respective forms of mining and horse-racing. It may be that the excitement of the former is found to be closely allied to that of the latter, for, of all uncertain speculations, I am informed that mines and mining shares need fear comparison with but few. Still, mines require machinery, and in the course of a visit to the celebrated silver district of Silverton, in the Barrier Ranges, on such business, my brother procured for me a few specimens of ores and rocks, on which I propose to make some remarks this evening. As probably the locality is not familiar to most Englishmen, seeing that it is not more than six or seven years since the mineral wealth of the district brought it prominently into notice, I may be permitted to give a few particulars as to the whereabouts of the mines. They lie on the extreme western boundary of the Colony of New South Wales, in lat. 32° S., and long. 141 E., about 600 miles very slightly N. of W. from Sydney, and about 300 N.E. of Adelaide, and it is strikingly illustrative of the diffi- culties of land communication that the wav to get to the district from Sydney, is through Adelaide. Just as the Riverina country has its natural outlet towards Victoria, so the Barrier Ranges have their chief traffic with South Australia. It was, at the time of my brother’s visit, no light under¬ taking to get there, even from Adelaide. One hundred and forty miles of railway travelling, which can, I am told, be a very uncomfortable experience in a South Australian summer, had to be supplemented by about 200 miles of coach ; and, seeing that these roads have all the heavy traffic to and from the mines passing over them, we may be quite sure that they are not as comfortable to travel over as, say, the wood pave¬ ment of New Street. It is, however, somewhat better off now, as there is railway communication with Port Adelaide and Port Pirie, which, of course, much reduces the expense of sending away the ores. When you arrive, you find that the country is unmistak¬ ably meant for a real desert. The water supply is of the scantiest. At the time of my brother’s visit the precious fluid was selling at so much per gallon, and, although I cannot remember the exact figure, I have the recollection that a wash would cost the greater part of a shilling. The quality is inferior, as the article supplied has about the colour, and nearly the consistency, of pea-soup. Add to this the fact that the ther¬ mometer stands, on occasions, at 120° in the shade, and no one will be inclined to wonder that much of the business of the place is done at night, when the temperature falls very considerably 258 ORES FROM NEW SOUTH WALES. Nov., 1891. on account of the great dryness of the air. The want of water is a very serious drawback to the mining operations. As is well known, ores are usually sorted by a species of washing, the lighter quartzose material being carried further than the heavier ores by a slight stream. Steam engines, again, require water, so that, even with the presence of very rich silver ores, mining in the Barrier Ranges is not entirely unalloyed enjoyment. The author of a paper on the opal-bearing rocks of S.W. Queensland, some 150 miles north of this district, but in about the same longitude, says, that in 1881, at the time of his visit, there had been no rain for twenty-two months, and that there was then no sign of a change. It was just in the region where Burke and Wills and their exploring party perished. He says that the river systems dry up in the droughts to lines of waterholes, called Billabongs, and proceeds, “ Sometimes twenty-five miles separate the waterholes ; in some of these a liquid is seen resembling in colour and consistency thin white paint, and this decoction is imposed on strangers as water. It tastes strongly of cow.'" A series of borings for water has been made between Silverton and Wilcannia, a town on the Darling, 115 miles distant, but they were reported to be useful only for stock purposes. The report for 1884. of the Department of Mines of New South Wales says that “ the permanence, even the very existence, of this field entirely depends upon an adequate supply of water for domestic purposes being provided at all the mining centres,” and goes on to suggest the formation of large tanks. In the report for 1887, it is mentioned that rains had filled the tank, which had just been finished ; but that for 1888 gives 3| inches as the total rainfall for the year, of which two inches fell earlv in February. However, in the beginning of 1889. two more inches had fallen, so that the works which had been stopped had got to work again, I have been unable to get any continuous statistics of the production ; and the fact that much of the ore lias been exported as such adds to the difficulty of presenting the figures in an instructive manner. In 1885 the value of refined silver, silver-lead, and ore sent away from the mines was £108,281. In 1888, silver lead to the value of £863,467, and silver ore to £136,800, was despatched, making a total of £1,000,267, with an additional £1,000 worth of tin ore, £304 Nov., 1891. ORES FROM NEW SOUTH WALES. 259 of copper ore, and £182 of gold quartz, making a total of £1,001,848. This must have been very largely increased in 1889. for the returns in the Sydney papers for the last three weeks of the year amount to £48,293, £47,353, and £38,295 respectively. By the way, the weather is spoken of on December 14th as very warm, the thermometer registering 104° to 108° in the shade. To appreciate the place of these hills in the physiography of Australia, we may remember that the eastern coast of the continent is bordered at a distance varying from forty or fifty to 120 miles by an almost continuous chain of mountains principally composed of granite and allied rocks, which cul¬ minates in the extreme south of New South Wales in Mount Kosciusko, the highest summit known in Australia. The granite is pierced with many dykes and sheets of basalt, and the whole of these ranges are highly metalliferous. In Queensland we have Charters Towers in the north, Gympie in the south, and many others. In New South Wales the Bathurst Gold¬ field, and many others. Diamonds and other gems also occur in fairly considerable quantity, but the difficulties of the country prevent them having, at present, much commercial value. Beyond these ranges we have plateaux and downs in the north, bounded on the west by another midrib of hill ranges which runs southward from the Gulf of Carpentaria for about 250 miles, and there branches off to the east, giving off again ranges which run south, forming the sub¬ ordinate watersheds of the borders of Queensland and New South Wales. South of these are the great rivers the Darling and the Murray, with their affluents, which together dram all the colony of New South Wales west of the Coast Range, and form a river system of first-class magnitude. The Barrier Ranges are the furthest south and west extensions of the watershed ranges mentioned above. The rocks are mostly mica schists, clay slates, and sand¬ stones, with numerous quartz reefs and intrusive masses and dykes of coarse-grained granite and diorite. Nearly all the lodes are in the mica schist, and have been proved over a district seventy miles long by thirty wide. They are very inconstant in thickness and extent : a surface plan resembles the cracks in a dried piece of cross-grained wood, and probably their origin is the shrinkage caused by the intrusion of the crystalline rocks. Borne of the lodes appear to be in joints 260 ORES FROM NEW SOUTH WALES. Nov., 1891. of the rock. In one mine — the “ Umberumberka Silver-lead Mine ” — the lode is described as a true fissure vein, cutting the “ bedding ” of the schists, the ore not seeming to be more plentiful where cutting any particular variety. The ore is worked on the upper or hanging wall of the lode, and varies from a few inches to ten feet in thickness ; it consists of a considerable variety of lead minerals — sulphide, car¬ bonate, sulphate — with occasional specimens of chloride of silver and the native metal. Another mine, “ The Broken Hill Proprietary Company,” raises chloride, bromide, and iodide of silver, with car¬ bonate of lead, all highly ferruginous. Indeed, this appears a regular silicious sinter, with much iron and smaller quan¬ tities of the precious metal. Some of the specimens exhibited in London in 1886 assayed up to 1,460 ounces of silver per ton. This has a very large look, which we scarcely recognise in the shape of 3J per cent, of the ore of iodide of silver and 3f of chloride. The Barrier Ranges Silver Mining Association showed a specimen of “ Oxide of iron in mica schist, with chloride of silver from the Apollyon Silver Mine,” assaying 2,286 ounces of silver per ton of ore. The ore was here about 2 feet thick in a 3 feet lode. Occasional masses may of course be much richer, the chloride and bromide of silver being present in masses of considerable size. These masses are called slugs, and may be almost pure chloride of silver : two analyses gave respec¬ tively (Mining Reports and Professor Liversedge on the Minerals of New South Wales) 72*23 and 81*67 per cent., the latter also containing 10*19 per cent, of bromide of silver. Many of the ores also contain a very minute quantity of gold. It is interesting to note that the same group of minerals recurs in some of the very rich mining districts of the United States. Galena is, of course, very widely distributed, but the asso¬ ciation with cerussite is characteristic of the wonderful Leadville (Colorado) Mines, where “ carbonates,” either hard or soft, are the most coveted ores. These frequently occur in the carbonate, the sulphate, and phosphate, but not in conspicuous quantities. As far as I have been able to test (by the blow-pipe) the specimen of cerussite which I have on the table, there is not much silver contained in it, but no doubt this varies from place to place. Liversedge mentions Nov., 1891. ORES FROM NEW SOUTH WALES. 261 a specimen 56' 96 of carbonate of lead and O’ 8 of iodide of silver. Carbonate Camp, in Lawrence County, Dakota, takes its name from the same mineral, and it is found in Idaho and Montana. The chloride of silver (horn silver) is a soft, very easily fusible substance, which occurs mixed in very varying pro¬ portions with chloride of lead in many of the American mines, notably (and in this case it is almost pure chloride of silver) in the great Comstock Lode in Nevada, two of the mines on which were in 1875 and 1876 each paying dividends of 200,000 dollars a month, fully accounting for the great Bonanza Kings of the States. At Leadville it occurs in small quantities, impregnating a rhyolitic rock, and it is in this locality that the most search¬ ing investigations have been made as to the origin of the precious ore. Very accurate analysis has shown that the minerals of the rock, where it is unaltered, contain minute quantities of silver ; this is notably the case with the augite. It is further found that in the neighbourhood of the lodes the rock is much decomposed and has lost its silver, and the con¬ clusion is arrived at that this has gone to fill up the fissure, and so form the mass of ore. At Leadville also occurs the embolite or chlorobromide of silver and chiefly in a silicious iron ore in cavities and on fissure planes. Now the chlorobromide of silver from Broken Hills occurs in just the same conjunction, as you may see from the specimens before you, and its presence in a mass of kaolin, from which it is easily separated by washing, is a proof of much rock change in its vicinity. The galena from the Pinnacles Tribute Silver Mining Company gave but a very small bead of silver in a blow-pipe test ; but there, again, mine may be a sample of one of the poorer parts of the lode, as I see that the average lode stuff exhibited at the Colonial Exhibition assayed 78oz. per ton. In one or two of the specimens there are clear indications of copper, and small quantities were evident in the course of the blow-pipe testing. In 1886 smelting works were erected, and it is simply a question of the cost of fuel whether it will pay to reduce the ores at the mines. The fuel required is coke, and although I have no knowledge of the price of this at Silver ton. I find 262 REPORTS OF SOCIETIES. Nov., 1891. that it costs £4 per ton at Mitchell’s Creek, in the Bathurst district, some 100 miles W.N.W. from Svdnev over the Blue Mountains, and it would not be likely to be less in price so much further inland. As it requires about one ton to reduce five of ore, the cost becomes considerable. Limestone is used as a flux, which forms a fusible slag with the silica, iron oxide and alumina. This important material has just (December, 1889) been found at a distance of about thirty- six miles from Broken Hill. The chlorides, bromides. &c., of silver require a proportion of lead ores, such as the carbonate, to be mixed with them, so that the ores in the district are mutually useful. The rock specimens are simply such as my brother picked up at Silverton, and do not, therefore, show anything more than the general character of the rocks. You will notice that they are schists, gneisses, and granite. Although these are the richest of the New South Wales Silver and Silver Lead Mines, they are bv no means the only ones, and we may probably reckon that the others together afford about an equal value of ore. Thus this one colony is adding its quota, and that by no means a despicable one, to the enormous output of silver which has so reduced the price of late years, to the advantage of the photographer and the very serious disadvantage of those whose incomes depend on the value of the Indian silver rupee. fhports uf Sncictics. BIRMINGHAM NATURAL HISTORY AND MICROSCOPICAL SOCIETY. — General Meeting. September 29th. Mr. T. E. Bolton exhibited a rotifer, A splanclinopus myrmeles, from Castlemorton Com¬ mon, near Malvern, which was found first at Dundee in 1886 by Mr. John Hood. Mr. W. B. Grove, M.A., exhibited a collection of fungi obtaiued in the Kingswood excursion on the previous Saturday, including Russula Integra , Russula drimeia (very rare), Peziza aurantia , Polyporus dryadeus, and P. fumosus. Also, on behalf of Miss Hall, the laburnum in leaf, flower, and fruit at the same time, from St. Leonards, and Linaria vulgaris , on behalf of Miss McGuire, from the same place (sent per Mr. Hughes). Mr. Martineau gave a report of the Kingswood excursion, and said fourteen attended, and that Leptodora was found in the canal. Mr. C. Pumphrey gave an interesting account of a visit he had recently made to the Giant’s Causeway, on the coast of Antrim, and exhibited a very fine specimen of zeolite crystals from a cavity in basalt from that neighbourhood. — Microscopical Section. October 6th. The President, Mr. C. Nov., 1891. REPORTS OP SOCIETIES. 263 Pumphrey, in the chair. Exhibition of specimens representing the various sections of the society. On behalf of the Microscopical Section, Mr.T.E. Bolton exhibited Melicerta tyro , Lacinularia socialis, and a new rotifer, Asplanchna. Mr. T. V. Hodgson exhibited Gristatella mucedo and Anabcena flos-aquce, both from Barnt Green. On behalf of the Biological Section, Mr. W. B. Grove exhibited and explained the structure of Peziza vesiculosa ; for Miss Gingell, of Mincliinhampton, Agaricus melleus, Maras mius peronatus, and Helvetia crispa. A series of insects were exhibited, chiefly relating to the mosquitoes and fairy flies. Also a series of slides showing the structure of the more important groups of plants. On behalf of the Geological Section, Mr. C. Pumphrey exhibited crystals of zeolite from the Giant’s Causeway, and there were also exhibited a series of slides showing the crystalline structure of the principal metamorphic rocks. — Geological Section. October 20th. Mr. T. H. Waller in the chair. Mr. Grove exhibited Clavaria conden-sata , a very rare fungus, from Hambledon, Hampshire. Mr. Wilkinson exhibited II epialus sylvinus, il liana uderosa , Acidalia scutularia and other common lepidoptera, etc., from Cromer. Mr. Spicer, a live skua, picked up exhausted m Icknield Port Boad. Mr. Chas. Pumphrey, zeolites from basalt of Antrim. Mr. Udal, lion. sec. of the section, on behalf of Mr. W. B. Hughes, read a paper on the “ Severn Bore.” The paper gave much pleasure to the members and a cordial vote of thanks to Mr. Hughes was carried. The members expressed their regret that Mr. Hughes was unable to be present on account of another engage¬ ment. Mr. T. H. Waller exhibited and described several beautiful sections of Obsidian, for which he received the hearty thanks of the section. BIBMINGHAM MICBOSCOPISTb AND NATUBALISTS’ UNION. — September 21st. Mr. Deakin exhibited specimens of bog asphodel, Narthecium ossifragunr, Mr. J. W. Neville, a series of very beautiful slides prepared by Mr. A. Flatters, comprising sections of flower and leaf buds, showing all parts in situ, and deservedly admired; Mr. Linton, shells of Pholas candidus from the wood of a submerged forest, near Tenby ; Mr. Hawkes, under the microscope, Sporendonema inuscce (fly fungus), also Achlya prolifera, its aquatic form ; Mr. J. Moore, gizzard of beetle, Ocypus olens ; Mr. Parker, Carchesium polypinum. — September 28th. Special — Geology. Mr. P. T. Deakin exhibited a number of named varieties of Pleurotoma from the Eocene formation ; Mr. G. H. Corbett, a collection of named minerals, fossils from the coal measures, sections of fossil corals, and various rocks, one showing Oolitic structure in carboniferous limestone, and a collection of fossils from Westbury-on-Severn, also a series of photographs of the rocks of the latter place ; Mr. H. Hawkes, a large collection of fungi from Sutton Park, with remarks on their edible and non-edible qualities, and a series of white moulds shown under the microscope, their structure being illustrated by that of Erysiphe communis ; Mr. W. J. Parker, the swran-necked animalcule, Trachelitis ovum. — October 5th. Mr. G. H. Corbett exhibited a slab of Wenlock limestone with remarkable clusters of Rhy nchonella IVilsonii from Lin ley caverns ; Mr. J. Collins, a collection of dried plants from the Arley district ; Mr. Linton, eggs from nest of house sparrow, showing considerale variation in colour ; Mi\ Parker, under the microscope, a rotifer, Salpinu redunca. — October 12th, Mr, J. Madison gave a lantern exhibition of “Natural History 264 REPORTS OF SOCIETIES. Nov., 1891. Objects.” It comprised a series of photographs, all bearing on natural history, and included most interesting pictures of rural scenery, mostly local, though some were taken in Dovedale and the Cheltenham district ; a maple covered with mistletoe, and old oaks in Packington Park, birds, flowers, fruits, ferns, grasses, hoar-frost effects, shells and other objects. BIRMINGHAM ENTOMOLOGICAL SOCIETY.— September 2lst, 1891. Mr. R. C. Bradley in the chair. Mr. P. W. Abbott showed Tceniocavipa opima and gracilis , and Nyssia zonaria from Wallasey ; also Argynnis paphia v. valesina from the New Forest. Mr. G. W. Wynn showed Sesia culiciformis from Wyre Forest. Mr. W. Harrison showed a bred series of Selidosema ericetaria from the New Forest. Mr. R. C. Bradley showed four specimens of Pteropoecilia lamed from Sutton, which he said Mr. Yerrall had confirmed. Mr. C. J. Wainwright showed Plusia orichalcea and Arctophila mussitans from North Cornwall. Mr. W. Harrison showed a box of beautifully pre¬ served larvae. He had managed to retain the green colours in Saturnia carpini and others by inflating them and allowing them to dry naturally, without heat, which takes only about twenty minutes. — October 5th, 1891. Mr. W. G. Blatch, president, in the chair. Mr. R. C. Bradley showed a long series of Spilographa Zoe from Moseley. This species is usually found singly, but Mr. Bradley succeeded in taking it freely from the undersides of leaves at Moseley. Mr. G. W. Wynn showed a box full of large American Bombyces ; also Xylophasia hepatica , which he had bred from pupae found underneath the bark of poplars at Cleeve Prior. They were in cocoons and situations which exactly resembled those of Acronycta megacephala. Mr. W. Harrison showed Papilio machaon from Wicken. Mr. W. G. Blatch showed the following beetles : — llybius aencscens from Tysoe, Warwickshire ; Homalota crassicornis from Bewdley; Oxytelus fulvipes, Henoticus serratus (a series), Micropeplus tesserula (a series), and Lampronia luzella , all from Knowie. OXFORD NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY.— October 22nd.— The first meeting of the session was held in the Geological Lecture Room, when Professor A. H. Green read a paper on “ The Malverns and their Surroundings.” He described the splendid view obtained of the Malverns on approaching them by rail, especially when nearing Worcester. Looking at them from a distance, an idea of their height is gained ; standing out as they do from the surrounding flat country, the peaks look almost mountainous. The hills are composed of hard rock, crystalline schist, and are probably very old indeed. In the plain eastward are found soft rock, lias. On climbing Bredon Hill, and looking eastward, a lovely view of gentle undulating country is obtained : the vale of the Severn, with its charm of beautiful timber and hedges, and, beyond that, the Cotswolds, which, like the high hills of the Malverns eastward, are capped with Oolite, and are a very good illustration of denudation. Towards Ledbury, looking west, quite another view is obtained of charming country ; the hills there are Silurian, and the May Hill beds are sandstone. The sand is coarse, and in some places almost shingle. As Ledbury is neared, the Silurian rocks end, and the red shale, which stretches nearly all over Wales, commences. Near May Hill is seen the Oolite of the colliery of Dean, and of Dean Forest. Dec., 1891. PROFESSOR LAPWORTH, F.R.S. 265 PROFESSOR LAPWORTH, F.R.S. Midland geologists, and indeed a far wider circle chan they comprise, will read with intense gratification the announcement that one of the two Royal Medals annually at the disposal of the Royal Society has been awarded to Dr. Charles Lapwortli, the accomplished and genial Professor of Geology in the Mason College, Birmingham ; and that Her Majesty the Queen has been pleased to approve the award. As an enthusiastic field worker, Professor Lapworth has gathered around him, since he came to the Midland district, a large circle of devoted students, and to these, who have not merely learned of him how to work, but have been privileged to obtain an insight into the kindly nature of the man, the news that one of the highest honours the Royal Society annually bestows has fallen to the lot of their leader and friend will especially arouse the liveliest feelings of pleasure and pride ; while that far larger number who have a keen interest in the repute of the Midland metropolis will feel an equal degree of pride at the high honour which has fallen to her great scientific college in the person of one of its most popular professors. Some few words as to the history of the Royal Medal may not be out of place in the pages of the “ Midland Naturalist.” It was founded in 1826. The first scientist to whom it was given was John Dalton, the founder of the Atomic Theory of Chemistry. Among others to whom it has since been awarded we may instance Sir Humphrey Davy, Faraday, Herschel, Owen, Lyell, Huxley, Darwin, and Sir William Thompson. Within the last ten years it has been granted to Professor Flower, Lord Rayleigh, Professor Ray Lankester, Professor Moseley, Professor Thorpe, and on the present occasion to Professor Rucker and Professor Lapworth. The Royal Medal does not appear to be very frequently awarded to geologists. The only British geologists who have hitherto received it are Sir Clias. Lyell, Dr. Mantell, Professor Prestwich, Henry Sorby, and Professor Andrew Ramsay. Sir Andrew Ramsay — who was then the head of the British Geological Survey — secured the medal in 1879, and this was the last award to any British geologist. Professor Lapworth’s geological investigations have been as a rule among the oldest and most complicated of the British rock-formations, and principally among those which used to be called the Silurian of Sir Roderick Murchison, and he has published more than thirty original papers, giving accounts of his discoveries and his conclusions. His first geological labours resulted in his discovery of the 266 PROFESSOR LAPWORTH, F.R.S. Dec., 1891. key to the natural arrangement of the rocks of the Southern Uplands of Scotland, and his conclusions were published in his lengthy papers of the “Moffat Series,” the “ Girvan Successions,” “ Ballantrae Rocks,” &c. Although his general conclusions were very different from those previously held, and were not received for many years by all parties, they now appear to be universally accepted. In the most complicated and puzzling country of the North-west Highlands, his accounts of the facts, and his theories of their interpretation, as given in his papers on the “ Secret of the Highlands, &c.,” were at first very heretical and unpopular, but as similar ideas were independently arrived at by the officers of the Geological Survey, they have nowadays found their way into our geological text books, and mark an accepted stage in the development of the study of the geology of that extraordinarily difficult region. The important family of fossils known as the Graptolites used formerly to be almost wholly neglected in working out the ancient rock-formation where they are very abundant and widely distributed. Lapworth shewed, in several papers on the subject, that they could be reduced to order like other groups of the invertebrate animals, and that once properly classified they were of the utmost value for the purposes of the working geologist. His classification of these fossils, and his explanations of their use in geology, will be found employed of late years in the text books and publications dealing with this subject in Britain and abroad. In the West of England Professor Lapworth has for some years been busied in working out the natural arrangement of the older rocks and fossils of Shropshire and elsewhere, and it appears, from such results as have been already pub¬ lished, that the supposed confusion and complication in that district will also disappear when the facts are out and the maps completed. In our own district, Midland geologists will recollect how Lapworth and his geological friends and students discovered Cambrian rocks and fossils at Nuneaton and elsewhere, in rocks which used before that time to be considered to be carboniferous. This led to quite a fresh geological interpre¬ tation of deeper parts of the underground structure of our neighbourhood ; and of late years these discoveries have been confirmed and extended by the Geological Survey, and inserted upon the local geological map. In 1888, Professor Lapworth discovered a new group of fossils in some of the very oldest of the Shropshire rocks, a whole formation below where fossils of such a highly organised character were previously known to occur in Dec., 1891. PROFESSOR LAPWORTH, F.R.S. 267 Britain. This made the greater stir, as similar fossils were detected about the same time in America and Europe. Dr. Lapworth’s work is quite as well known abroad as in England, for his results when published could at once be tested and employed anywhere among the older rocks in any part of the world where they occur ; so that the geological literature of other countries for several years past contains abundant allusions to his results and opinions — the former being found generally adopted, the latter being often strenuously attacked and resisted. Many of the younger geologists in Britain and abroad have enthusiastically worked more or less in company with Professor Lapworth at the unsolved problems of the older rocks and fossils — each in his own sphere — and the results of the common advances made are seen in the fact that several of the old controversies that barred the progress of geological science are fast disappearing. For instance, the old Highland controversy of about thirty years’ standing was practically laughed out of existence when the results quite independently obtained in the North-west of Scotland by Lapworth and by the officers of the Survey proved to be almost identical, shewing that both of the old contending parties were right, and both were wrong. On the Continent of Europe an equally exasperating con¬ troversy on what was called the Theory of Colonies had smouldered for years ; but almost immediately English and foreign geologists employed Lapworth’s facts and results connected with the Graptolites, in studying the question, the old difficulties disappeared, and the controversy has since become practically extinct. In the same way, Dr. Lapworth courageously endeavoured to reconcile the disputants in the famous Sedgwick- Murchison controversy by proposing the title of Ordovician for the old Lower Silurian or Upper Cam¬ brian system in dispute; and, although a few of the older geologists are still reluctant to accept the olive branch, the younger British workers seem all to have adopted the name, and the old controversy is slowly dying a natural death. Professor Lapworth was appointed to the Mason College in 1881, his candidature being supported by some of the chief geologists of Britain and Europe. He had the honorary degree of LL.D. of Aberdeen conferred upon him in 1884 ; in 1887 was awarded the Bigsby Gold Medal of the Geological Society of London ; in 1888 was elected to the Fellowship of the Royal Society, and is an honorary member of several British and Foreign Geological Societies. He has been examiner in Geology to the University of Cambridge, and holds at the present time the like place in the University of London. W. H. 268 SIR R. MURCHISON AS KING OF SILURIA. Dec., 1891. SIR RODERICK MURCHISON AS KING OF SILURIA. Mr. Rabone wishes us to make a correction in the report of the meeting of the Midland Union of Natural History Societies at Dudley, in last month’s “Midland Naturalist.” The report states that in 1889 the Bishop of Oxford crowned Sir Roderick Murchison King of Siluria in the great cavern of Dudley Castle Hill. Much misapprehension, Mr. Rabone says, now exists about this matter. A newspaper corre¬ spondent, in commenting lately upon the circumstance, asked what kind of a crown was used, of what material was it composed, and whether any other regalia were used in the ceremony. The facts were simply these : — At the meeting of the British Association in 1849, Dudley was visited, and Sir Roderick Murchison, in the great cavern of the Castle Hill, briefly explained the system of geological strata to which he had given the name of “ Silurian,” extending over the Alps, over the Ural Mountains, and, indeed, over the whole Continent of Europe. Afterwards, on adjourning to the Wren’s Nest, Sir Roderick further discoursed on the same subject ; and, in proposing a vote of thanks to him, the Bishop of Oxford said that although Caractacus was an old king of part of the Silurian region, yet Sir Roderick had extended the Silurian domain almost inimitably, and it was only just and proper that there, upon a Silurian rock, he should be acknowledged the modern king of Siluria. The Bishop, then taking a gigantic speaking-trumpet, which he had brought with him, called upon all present to repeat after him the words which are given below. He then spoke through the trumpet, giving one word at a time, to enable those present to repeat it all together — Hail — King — of — Siluria. Then after a pause — Hail — King — of — Siluria. And again — Hail — King — of — Siluria. The vast assembly thrice responded with stentorian voices and most hearty hurrahs, and ever afterwards Sir Roderick was proud to be acknowledged “ King of Siluria.” These are the simple facts. In 1889 Dr. Wilberforce was not Bishop of Oxford, nor had Sir Roderick then achieved his full fame for his discoveries. 25,000 persons visited the Dudley Caverns on that day in 1849, though they were not all present at the time the Bishop’s call of acknowledgement was made. Dec., 1891. midland union of natural history societies. 269 MIDLAND UNION OF NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETIES. DUDLEY MEETING. ADDRESS BY PROFESSOR LAPWORTH, F.R.S. [Our readers must bear in mind that this is only a bare resume of Dr. Lapworth’s observations.] THE GEOLOGY OF THE DUDLEY DISTRICT. Professor Lapwortb, who was received with cheers, said he had been invited to address the Midland Union of Natural History Societies upon the geology of the Dudley district, with especial reference to the Dudley Caverns, which were to be visited the next day. He gathered from this that it was his duty to do his best to give such a brief outline as should make the structure and the fossils of the district clear to those present who came there from a distance — to describe to them the geology of the Dudley district in so far as it was related to the Midlands in general. During the last century Dudley had been fertile in geologists of eminence. Professor Beete Jukes lived and worked in the neighbourhood of Dudley, and his work on the geology of the South Staffordshire coalfield was one of the great classics of British science. All Midland men remembered Mr. Henry Johnson, a man eminent both as a geologist and as a mining engineer, and whose son he (Dr. Lapwortli) was proud to number among his friends. Then there was Mr. Madeley, who had done so much good work among the Dudley fossils ; and Mr. E. B. Marten, whose models of the district were perfect marvels of art and accuracy, while there were many others whose names it was impossible to mention. One thing was clear, namely, that the men of Dudley stood second to none in their knowledge of the local geology, and in the keenness and assiduity with which they had worked at the subject. Dudley might be said to be the very centre of Midland geology, the axis, in fact, round which the whole of that geology centred. If they were to climb to the top of the old keep of the Castle they would have before them a complete epitome of that geology. Underneath the ruins rose that old mysterious Silurian formation filled with its exquisite fossils. Surrounding the little disc of Silurian was the broad circle of the Black Country. Beyond that ring, which was from three to six miles in breadth, there was another concentric ring composed of Red Rocks, rising up in such heights as Clent and Barr Beacon, whilst beyond, looking in the direc¬ tion of Oxford, they saw remnants of another and larger ring, 270 MIDLAND UNION OF NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETIES. Dec., 1891. the great ring of the Oolite and Lias, rising np into the heights of Edgeliill, the Cotswolds, &c. Away to the north¬ west of the town there were the Longmynds and the Wrekin, and to the southward the jagged peaks of the Malverns, which were among the most interesting hills in Britain, for thev were formed of those Archaean rocks of which •/ we, as yet, know almost nothing. When they looked at any geological map of England they would see stretching from Hartlepool on the north-east and Blackpool on the north-west, far away to the south, a great band of Bed rocks. These rocks attained a breadth in the Midlands of forty or fifty miles from Leicester to Shrewsbury. Bising out in patches through this band of rocks they found the carboniferous or coal measures ; and these two measures — the red rocks and the coal rocks — made up the main features of the Midland area. He might compare them to two blankets — a red blanket above and a black blanket below ; but the black blanket only showed through where time and weather had worn holes in the red blanket above. Now these two sheets ot rock were once covered up by others, the Oolite and the Lias, but both these had long been swept away in that district. Above these lay, in former times, the great sheet of the Chalk, which once spread from this country as far as Ireland on the west; and over the Chalk again came the blanket of the Tertiaries. The red rocks already spoken of, which fol¬ lowed the coal measures were divided into two, the Permian below and the Trias above. This last was of different thicknesses, varying from about 4,000 feet in Cheshire to less than 750 feet at Leicester and Nuneaton; and consequently in this easterly direction only 700 feet or so had to be passed before the underlying coal measures were reached. Geologists believed that the Trias was laid down in a desert like the Sahara, or in a saline plain like that around the Caspian Sea ; and they would observe that there were salt basins which were naturally accounted for on this theory in our Bed Bock formation, as at Droit wich in Worcestershire, and Nantwich and other places in Cheshire. ThePermians, which came underneath the Trias, were at once of great interest and of great difficulty to Midland geologists. They were known to be older than the Triassic formations, because they were below them ; but geologists had been very uncertain how they were related to the Coal measures on which they in turn reposed, for if they followed the coal in regular successive order, then wherever the Permians existed in force there were 2,000ft. or 3,000ft. to be pierced before the carboniferous measures were reached. On the other hand, if they rested on the edges of the coal measures unconformably, the ease Dec., 1891. midland union of natural history societies. 271 with which the coal could be reached would be very greatly enhanced. Years ago it was thought that here with us they usually followed the coal in regular order ; but evidence had been got in the north of the coalfield and elsewhere that the Permians often rested only on the edges of the coal measures. This discovery had opened up quite a new era in the econo¬ mical geology of the Dudley district, because there was now shown a possibility of winning coal between the nearly worked out old Staffordshire district and Coalbrookdale ; and of course precisely the same thing followed in regard to the Permian districts on the east of the South Staffordshire coalfield, so that now we might presume that from Walsall to Tam worth, and from Tamworth to Ashbv, the chances were that there was a continuous sheet of coal at no great distance from the surface ready to be worked, Of perhaps less economic interest, but of greater scientific interest than anything he had yet referred to, were some points in the Clent and Stourbridge neighbourhood. There, geologists found curious chips of limestone, ashes, lava, &c., forming great sheets of strata. Professor Ramsay held the theory that these curious rocks were carried from Shropshire and Wales on the back of glaciers and dumped down where they now were, whereas Mr. Jukes, the Dudley geologist, was of opinion that the materials were brought down from rocks and hills then close by, and deposited by the ordinary denuding agencies. Within the last few years Jukes’s theory had been all but proved to be correct ; and, among the local geologists who were at work on this sub¬ ject, Mr. Wickham King, the secretary of the Dudley Geological Society, had already distinguished himself by discoveries in that direction. Reverting again to the coalfield of Dudley, Dr. Lapworth said that the local coal measures were simply a portion of the enormous sheet of black rock which underlay the new red sandstone. In the Northern English coalfields, the measures were very much thicker, and they rested upon an enormous thickness of the limestone belonging to the carboniferous. In the Dudley district this limestone, &c., was altogether wanting, and while the lower coal measures were unknown, there were left only the higher measures, in the middle of which occurred our Thick Coal bed, which con¬ stituted the finest seam of coal on this side of the Atlantic. The section, prepared by Mr. H. Johnson, hanging on the wall, was that of the thick coal as it once existed at Parkhead, where it measured about 32ft. The Thick Coal was not found over the whole district, but existed as far northward as Walsall, as far southward as Oldbury, and westward nearly as far as Stour¬ bridge ; but there was very little doubt it once extended under the red sandstone as far eastward as the neighbourhood of 272 MIDLAND UNION OF NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETIES. Dec., 1891. Coventry, and westward, but in split up seams, as far, perhaps, as Coalbrookdale. Its existence to the east of our coalfield had already been proved at Sandwell and at Hamstead, where the Thick Coal had been found under the red rocks at a depth of 1,800 feet, and it was not outside the limits of probability that a continuous coalfield would be found to exist below the red rocks from Flint on the one hand to Leicester on the other. Professor Lapwortli went on next to describe the rocks on which the coal measures rested. It was only within the last few years that they had been able to map these rocks, and they were now divided into Silurian, Ordovician, Cambrian, and Archaean. About the last they knew very little, but he might note Caer Caradoc and the Longmynd as peaks of Archaean rock ; and they rose up again at Malvern and Charn- wood, which gave the direction in which the mountains of the pre- carboniferous continent lay. Cambrian rocks were found at the Lickey, while the Silurian Limestones were prominent at Dudley. These Dudley Silurian limestone rocks stretched westward, and appeared again at Wenlock, while to the east¬ ward they had been traced into France, Germany, and Russia. These limy rocks had doubtless been laid down in very deep water, though not so deep as the present oceans ; and he need not tell them that their presence in proximity to the coal and ironstone of South Staffordshire had doubled the value of these deposits by reason of the usefulness of the limestone as a flux. Hitherto he had been speaking of stratified rocks, but there were other rocks in the neighbourhood of which he might say a word or two. There were the basaltic hills of Rowley, about two miles in length and 200 feet in thickness, underneath which the coal measures lay but little altered. The lava which formed these hills apparently came up through cracks caused by earth movements, and the same material was found here and there injected through the coal. It was greatly to the credit of the Dudley mining engineers that they had had the enterprise to sink shafts through the Rowley Hills in the scientific faith that the coal would be found below. Another interesting class of rocks in the neighbourhood of Dudley was that class of glacial origin. In times not so long ago, reckoned geologically, our district was believed to be covered with glaciers and iceslieets, from Scotland and North Wales, and on these were borne rocks which were exactly of the same kind as those in the South of Scotland, the Lake District, and in North Wales. After a few words on the great western and eastern faults, Dr. Lapworth said he hoped that a few thousands would be risked in the endeavour to find coal beyond them, and that he trusted, if found, it might be at such a depth that future engineering invention would allow of its Dec., 1891. Birmingham natural history society. 278 remunerative working. The Dudley district of Britain was, perhaps, more valuable for its size, from an economical point of view, than any other ; while from a geological point of view there was no district where the problems presented were more interesting or more fascinating to the geologist. Every new discovery made by the men of the Dudley district affected the geology of the whole of the Midlands, and he congratulated the members of that Union on their visit to a district and a town of such great and far-reaching interest. He would urge all present to push onward to the future, proud of the past and its results, helping on the continued progress of the science they loved, and encouraging and stimulating each other to renewed exertions and fresh discoveries. On the motion of Mr. Amphlett, seconded by Mr. E. B. Marten, a hearty vote of thanks was passed to Professor Lapwortli for his address. BIRMINGHAM NATURAL HISTORY AND MICRO¬ SCOPICAL SOCIETY. SOCIOLOGICAL SECTION. During the last half-year seventeen meetings of this section have been held, six ordinary and eleven supplementary, under the presidency of Mr. W. R. Hughes, F.L.S., except on the first meeting, when the chair was taken by Mr. Alfred Browett. The ordinary meetings were held on the following Tuesdays : — January 27th, when Professor Hillhouse read an address on the “ Inductions of Sociology.” In the course of a masterly paper, the Professor made the original contention that the conception of a society was not complete if it took cognisance of the human units alone. He contended that the various means with which mankind supplements its efforts are integral parts of society : without them society could not have arisen and could not exist. He maintained that the adjuncts form a skeleton part, round which the units live and move, as leaves ; the active parts of plants come and go, leaving the framework of the tree much as they found it. Professor Hillhouse based his arguments upon the contention that a scratching stick in the hands of a savage became, as it were, a portion of him, but detachable — “a separable finger-nail similarly a stone became a detachable missile fist. February 24th. — This meeting was held in the Biological Lecture Theatre, about one hundred members and friends 274 BIRMINGHAM NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY. Dec., 1891 being present. Mr. Charles Pumphrey, President of the Society, gave an interesting and instructive photographic display of English scenery, under the happy title of “ Holiday Notes.” The slides thrown on the screen, illustrative of inorganic, organic, and super-organic phenomena, were much appreciated by the audience. March 24th. — Mr. W. Kineton Parkes read a paper on “ Henrik Ibsen and liis Studies in Sociology.” In the discus¬ sion which followed, several members expressed unfavourable opinions of the Norwegian dramatist’s views of life. April 28th. — Miss Goyne,the lion, secretary, read a paper entitled “ Thoughts from Robert Browning,” in which atten¬ tion was drawn to points of agreement between the teachings of the psychological poet and the philosophical conclusions of Mr. Herbert Spencer. May 26tli. — At this meeting sixty-one members and friends were present. Mr. J. Cuming Walters read a paper on “ King Arthur’s Land,” in which ample evidence was afforded of that poetic power and vitality which have made the Arthurian Legends a fruitful source of inspiration to the English muse, affecting in a marked degree the poetry of this century. At the close of the meeting many present testified to the rich literary and poetic treat Mr. Cuming Walter’s kind genius had given them. June 23rd. — Mr. W. B. Grove, M.A., read a paper entitled “ Thoughts on a Plea for Liberty.” In an exhaustive paper, which was received with marked appreciation, Mr. Grove confined his attention to a consideration of the valuable “ Introduction,” written by Mr. Herbert Spencer. At the supplementary meetings, which have been held on the second and fourth Thursdays in every month, the whole of the second, and most of the third part of Mr. Herbert Spencer’s “Principles of Sociology” have been read and discussed by the members. These meetings were held in the following order : — January 8th. — Mr. W. R. Hughes, F.L.S., president of the section, introduced, by a few notes, Chapters I. and II. of Part II., “What is a Society ?” and “Society as an Organism.” In his concluding remarks Mr. Hughes suggested for consideration that, if in respect to the human species society may be regarded as an organism, we ought to find an analogy among the lower animals. Instances of the Beaver, Rooks, Ants, Bees, Wasps, &c., were adduced, which seemed to indicate a polity. Reference was made to Mr. Herbert Spencer’s recent papers, in which he directed attention to the fact that the rudiments of justice appeared in these animals and others. Dec., 1891. BIRMINGHAM NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY. 275 January 22nd. — Miss Bvett read Chanters III. and IV., “ Social Growth” and “ Social Structures.” February 12th. — Mr. P. H. Levi gave an exposition of Chapters V. and VI., !< Social Functions” and “ Systems of Organs.” In conclusion, Mr. Levi made the following deduc¬ tions : — The present increasing tendency towards specialisa¬ tion results in man becoming day by day more dependent upon his fellows. Under these conditions the absence of a due amount of the altruistic sentiments is manifested in socialistic and anarchical views. That a system of politics founded upon a knowledge of the principles of Sociology alone will lead to a more rapid evolution of that which is best for society. That a great bar to an intelligent apprecia¬ tion of the lessons of Sociology is the belief in a special creation. February 26th. — Mr. Alfred Browett read (with notes) Chapters VII. and VIII., “The Sustaining System” and “The Distributing System.” In conclusion, instances were cited of the recent growth and elaboration of the distributing system, resulting from the greater specialisation and co-opera¬ tion of various and remote parts of the industrial system. March 12tli. — Mr. W. B. Grove, M.A., gave an exposition of Chapter IX., “ The Regulating System,” which was followed by an interesting discussion. April 9tli. — Mr. J. A. Hill, F.R.M.S., gave an exposition of Chapter X., “ Social Types and Constitutions.” In his summary, Mr. Hill drew attention to the present tendency of capital to consolidate into large companies with numerous shareholders, whereby the capital of the country becomes more and more spread over the community, while the control becomes more and more centralised, the tendency of this being, Mr. Hill considered, towards the socialistic ideal. April 23rd. — Mr. Edwin Hill gave an exposition of the concluding chapters of Part II., “Social Metamorphoses” and “ Qualifications and Summary.” Mr. Hill pointed out what he regarded as inconsistencies in individualistic teaching, especially in connection with the rearing and education of children, and to the growing difficulty as to the equitable adjustment of property held in land and capital. Mr. Hill saw little prospect of modern society progressing towards the Spencerian ideal, as he regarded the conditions which are modifying it unfavourable to such an evolution. May 28th. — Mr. H. H. Spears opened the study of Part III. of Mr, Herbert Spencer’s “ Principles of Sociology,” “ Domestic Institutions,” with an exposition of the first and second chapters. It was pointed out that the controversy 276 BIRMINGHAM NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY. Dec., 1891. provoked by a recent judicial decision tended to show that the laws relating to marriage were in an unsatisfactory condition, but that, before any decisive steps were taken, the subject required careful study from its scientific aspect. Mr. Spears expressed his belief that greater facilities for divorce were requisite, that the principle of monogamy was certain to be affirmed, as the one most adapted to higher civilisations, and that the moral value of any union was of more importance than the legal tie. Reference was made to the attitude of the Socialists towards the family. May 28th. — Mrs. Browett read an exposition of Chapter III., “ Primitive Relations of the Sexes,” which was followed by a discussion. June 11th. — Mr. W. R. Hughes, F.L.S., President, read an exposition of Chapters IV. and V., “Exogamy and Endogamy ” and “ Promiscuity.” June 26th. — Mr. P. H. Levi read a paper on Chapters VI., VII., and VIII. — “ Polyandry,” “ Polygamy,” and “Monogamy.” These chapters cover the whole evolution of the marriage contract up to its present condition. Mr. Levi concluded his interesting and important paper in the following manner : — “The ultimate object of marriage is to secure a family. This is proved by the frequently expressed desire of the childless to have children, and by the frequent adoption by the childless of the children of others.” Having studied the evolutions of the past, we are better fitted to consider the tendencies of the present with respect to their natural sequence in the future. Bearing in mind the many lives sacrificed yearly through the ignorance of parents, the thousands of children who grow up physically and mentally stunted through the same cause, we believe the sequence of our present rate of progress should be — women prepared for the rearing of a family by a thorough knowledge of physiology — men with a like knowledge. Both having studied the philosophy underlying the formation of a family, altruism should be their guide ; mutual respect and confidence their motto. Both should so understand the rearing of offspring that, instead of expecting gratitude, in which expectation they would probably be disappointed, they should lay a foundation, resulting in love, respect, and admiration. So long as the sequel to marriage is a mutual want of courtesy ; so long as the family is reared to look upon small deceits as venial — so long will it be impossible to rear a race in which altruistic principles duly balance egoistic claims. The chapters we have been studying give evidences of the great evolution of the marriage contract — an evolution which Dec., 1891. REPORTS OF SOCIETIES. 277 connects the rude “ Primitive Relations of the Sexes ” with the fine ideal of married life not infrequently met with in modern times. Anyone who looks round and observes the higher types of men and women which even now exist must see that the evolution of their relationship with each other is making considerable progress, and will be led to believe that, given a favourable environment, this progress will continue until married life gains the height at which it completely fulfils all requirements. The path, however, is still difficult, but, as Emerson says, “ He who aims high must dread an easy home and popular manners.” $teprts of Societies. BIRMINGHAM NATURAL HISTORY AND MICROSCOPICAL SOCIETY. — Microscopical Section, November 3rd. A series of pre¬ parations showing the structure of the ovipositors and stings of insects was exhibited by Mr. A. Reading, and supplemented by Messrs. Car¬ penter and Iliff. The preparations, sixteen in number, related chiefly to the Hymenoptera and Diptera, but the Neuroptera, Orthoptera, and Arachnida were also represented. Mr. Reading gave some notes on the structure of the ovipositors and stings, and was followed by Mr. T. Y. Hodgson, who briefly pointed out the probable line of their development, and who exhibited specimens of Orthoptera and Myria- poda in support of the theory. Mr. Suffleld exhibited a specimen of Sirex gigas, captured near Broad Street, in the neighbourhood of a timber yard. — Biological Section, November 10th. Mr. R. W. Chase in the chair. Mr. W. B. Grove exhibited a fungus, Clavaria stricta , for Mr. Wright Wilson. Mr. W. R. Hughes, F.L. S., read a paper on his recent summer visits to the Marine Biological Laboratory at Plymouth. After giving a description of its external appearance, position, and internal arrangements for all branches of marine biological research, he exhibited and gave notes on a beautiful series of slides illustrating the migration of the eyes in the flat fishes (Pleuronectidse) from a symmetrical to a lateral position ; and also a slide of a species of Myzostoma, an external parasite of the Rosy Feather Star. These slides he had obtained, together with many others, through the courtesy and liberality of the authorities, amongst whose names those of Mr. Calderwood, M.A., the director, and Mi*. J. W. Cunningham, M.A., the naturalist, were foremost. A short discussion, in which Messrs. R. W. Chase, J. F. Goode, C. Pumphrey, and J. Levick took part, and a vote of thanks to Mr. Hughes, terminated the meeting. BIRMINGHAM MICROSCOFISTS’ AND NATURALISTS’ UNION. — October 19th. — Mr. J. Betteridge presented to the society’s cabinet the following specimens: — Red-backed shrike, Lanius collurio ; a pair of stonecliats, Saxicola rubicola ; green sandpiper, Totanus ochropus, and sparrow-hawk, Accipiter nisns. Mr. J. W. Neville pro¬ posed a vote of thanks to the donor, which was seconded by Mr. B. Cracroft, and suitably replied to. Mr. J. Collins then read a paper, “ Remarks on Darwin’s Voyage of the Beagle.” After referring to REPORTS OF SOCIETIES. Dec., 1891. 278 Dr. Darwin’s fortunate and distinguished parentage, the writer gave an account of the origin of the cruise of the Beagle, an event that proved an epoch in this remarkable man’s life. A number of extracts were read dealing with the zoology, botany, and geology of the coun¬ tries visited, with remarks on the numerous observations with which this charming book abounds. — October 26th. Mr. J. Moore exhibited a small collection of local beetles ; Mr. J. W. Neville, parasite of tortoise ; Mr. J. Collins, living diatoms ; Mr. Parker, a rotifer, Monocerca rattus. — November 2nd. Annual Meeting and President’s Address. The following reports were read : — General secretary’s and secretary of committee’s, announcing that the society had made satis¬ factory progress during the year ; the treasurer’s, that he had a balance of £3 4s. lOd. in hand ; the curator’s, that the properties of the society were in good order, and that several additions had been made to them during the year. The reports were approved and duly passed. Mr. W. Dunn then proposed Professor Hillhouse, M.A., F.L.S., as president for the ensuing year, and referred to the advan¬ tages the society had gained under his careful guidance during the last two years. Mr. S. Delicate seconded it, and it was unanimously passed. The President suitably replied. Mr. B. Cracroft proposed Messrs. Linton and, Mulliss as vice-presidents. Mr. W. J. Parker seconded it, and it was passed. The other officers were re-elected. Mr. J. W. Neville proposed a vote of thanks to the president, and spoke of the kind interest he had always shown in the affairs of the society, of the stores of knowledge that had been placed at their service, and of the attention that had been given to their affairs. Mr. B. Cracroft seconded it, and it was duly passed, the President replying in a few words. After votes of thanks to the retiring officers and committee, the President delivered his address on “Some Thoughts on the Nature of Society,” a subject that was suggested by Mr. Herbert Spencer’s great work on Sociology. The writer said since man first began to think, few subjects have influenced him more than the problem of life. We know it is, we are conscious of its many powers, and are able to direct these powers to a common end. The nature and evolution that formed our relations with one another wrere spoken of, and though society consists of units, there is an immense amouut of mutual dependence. The cohesion of society was compared with that of a lecture audience. Bees and ants were founders of societies of the simplest kind. The origin of society was traced from the earliest time. The simplest form of primitive man might use his finger-nails to dig roots for food, and his hands pulled fruits from the trees. After¬ wards a stick and a stone might be used for the same purposes, when the stick became an improved nail and the stone an elongated arm, as when thrown it would knock down fruit that was out of reach, and it thus supplemented his natural gifts. When the fore limbs are used for grasping instead of walking, a functional change is commenced. A hunting spider chases its prey, a web-building spider catches it in a net, and one kind of functional capacity has been reduced and another has been enlarged. At a later time the plough became an improved stick, the bow and arrow an improved thrown knife or spear, and the cannon an improved thrown stone. All the implements of civilised society had their representatives in savage life. The human unit in no way differs from animals. He might generally make a better home, so does the tailor bird ; he might lay up a store of food for winter’s use, so does the squirrel. Man is a bi-lateral and bi-pedal animal ; he has to look out for something to eat, and also to take care he is not eaten. His great care was his family ; if danger came he Dec., 1891. REPORTS OF SOCIETIES. 279 became the defender, and the woman a drudge. In what way does society differ from the life of a primitive pair ? It is like a plant, and obeys the laws of nutrition, protection, and reproduction. These laws were described at considerable length. In the evolution of an organism, division of labour, though sometimes a necessity, is injuri¬ ous to society, when the tool ceases to be an appendage of the man and the man becomes the appendage of the tool. The writer said he had not gone over the ground of the inductive philosophy of Mr. Herbert Spencer, but had introduced the subject to show society to be the grandest work the world has ever achieved. — November 9th. Mr. J. W. Neville read a paper on “ The Life History of an Aphis.” The writer said no insect, not even excepting the migratory locust, had inflicted such ravages on the earth as these insignificant flies. After reviewing aphides generally, and pointing out their places in the insect world, the writer took the rose aphis, Siphonophora. rosce, and traced its life from the egg to the imperfect or viviparous female, and the progeny that were produced at such an enormously rapid rate. The anatomy of the insect was described at considerable length, the pseudovarium and ovarium of the imperfect and perfect females being specially dealt with. The cycle of life was said to be first an egg; this produced a viviparous female that brought forth many young during the summer. In the autumn perfect males and females appeared. These paired, the result being eggs, that remained on the tree during winter to produce imperfect females in the spring. The paper was illustrated by a series of drawings and microscopic preparations. — November 16tli. Mr. G. Corbett exhibited specimens of carboniferous and graptolitic shale with alum crystals, and described the chemistry of their formation ; Mr. J. Collins a collection of some of our rarer plants, including specimens of Coclilearia anglica , Gentiana Amarella , Lagurus ovatus , and Lysimachia ciliata. BIRMINGHAM ENTOMOLOGICAL SOCIETY.— October 19th. Mr. R. C. Bradley in the chair. Rev. C. F. Thornewill showed a number of insects taken on Cannock Chase this year, including a melanic variety of Cymatophora duplaris ; also a collection made in Buckinghamshire this year, including Cleora lichenaria , Boarviia roboraria, Aventia flexula , Phorodesma bajularia , &c. Mr. G. W. Wvnn showed a beautiful series of Geovutra papilionaria, bred from Wyre Forest larvae. Mr. P. W. Abbott showed Setina irrorella, Agrotis lucernea, and A. lunigera, long series, from the Isle of Wight. Mr. R. C. Bradley showed Acidia cognata from Sutton, and Acidia heraclei from Moseley. Rev. C. F. Thornewill read notes on the recent discovery of Stilbia anomala, on Cannock Chase, in abundance. Until last year it was not known to be a Midland insect, and then it was found by Messrs. Thornewill and Freer in such numbers that the latter took 150 specimens ; and this year it was equally common. — November 2nd. Mr. R. C. Bradley in the chair. Mr. Bradley showed Gonyglossum Wiedemanni, from Sutton. Mr. H. J. Sands show7ed Calligenia miniata , from New Forest. Mr. W. Harrison showed a specimen of Epione apiciaria , taken at Harborne on October 3rd this year. Mr. G. W. Wynn showed Nudaria mundana, from Cleeve Prior. Mr. C. J. Wainwright showed insects bought at the Rev. G. H. Raynor’s sale, including fine variable series of Hypsipetes elutata, Cidaria russata, &c. 280 REPORTS OF SOCIETIES. Dec., 1891. OXFORD NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY. — November 3rd. A lecture was given by Dr. Collier on “ Stiffness, Fatigue, Breathlessness : What they are and what they mean.” The lecturer first described the mechanism and functions of the respiratory organs. As most people knew, the air when it entered the lungs gave up some of its oxygen and took out with it a larger proportion of carbonic acid gas than it had when it entered. The explanation of it was that the oxygen of the air absorbed in the blood united with the carbon of the tissues to form carbonic acid gas with the elimination of heat. Violent exercise increases the production of carbonic acid gas, and consequently also the number of the respirations to supply more oxygen and to throw off the carbonic acid gas. To many it was, no doubt, curious that a man was much more exhausted after ascending a steep hill of, say, 200ft. high than after lifting a very heavy weight, but the explanation was very simple. In the first case the man was demanding of his muscles, and a large number of them too, the work required to lift himself — probably from ten to twelve stone in weight — through a vertical height of 200ft., while in the second case he only demanded of a small number of muscles the work required to lift a hundred weight or two through a very few feet. When a muscle, or a set of muscles, were used these did not work alone, but another set immediately began to work in opposition, and it was this opposition which controlled and governed the action of the muscles used. This was one of the reasons why young animals, colts, lambs, &c. , made such grotesque attempts to use their limbs at first — the muscles had not yet learnt to act together. Stiffness was the bruising and rupture of the muscle fibres by sudden and violent exercise. The best remedies for it were bot baths, friction, and moderate exercise. Gradually increasing exercise strengthened the heart greatly, but violent exercise in an untrained state did incalculable barm, producing dilatation of the heart and the thinning of its walls. At the close of the lecture, Mr. G. C. Druce exhibited specimens of the following plants: — lllecebrum verticillatum , L., from Berkshire (collected by Mr. A. Fisher) ; Sagina maritima (Don) var. alpina (Don), from Scotland (G. C Druce) ; Anchusa officinalis, L., Berkshire (G. C. Druce). The Sagina has not been found since 1800, when it was first discovered by Geo. Don on Ben Nevis. — November 19th. Lecture by Professor L. H. Vines, on “ The Disappearance of Starch from Leaves. ” The lecturer explained the way starch is formed in leaves and plants, and remarked that it is very easy to convert starch into sugar, but that the conversion of sugar into starch can only be performed by the plants themselves. He illustrated the lecture by some experiments, showing how ferment found in the salivary glands of animals converts starch into sugar. In malting, a ferment similar to that foundintlie salivary glandis extracted from the barley, called diastase. This diastatic ferment is present whenever starch is converted into sugar. As sugar can be detected in leaves which have been kept in the dark, it is thought that the ferment is present in the leaves, as in the seed. The lecturer exhibited two leaves from a castor oil plant, one of which had been put into boiling water immediately to kill it, and then into spirits of wine to bleach it ; and the other, after being kept for twenty-four hours, was treated in the same way. The first leaf turned blue black, after being treated with iodine, thus showing the presence of starch; the second leaf remained uncoloured. If leaves are placed in chloroform for several hours the conversion of starch into sugar still takes place. An interesting discussion followed, in which the President, Mr. G. C. Druce, and Mr. Peters took part. . ■ / . . . ' ' ' ■ * ■ . 4 " - 5? ■ -1 r . •' ■" . _ ■ • • *