period, the conditions of which he endeavoured to explain by a consideration of the proportions of the species and the natural habitats of the shells found in the drifts.-"Note on a deposit of Middle Pleistocene Gravel near Leyland, Lancashire," by Mr. R. D. Darbishire. The bed of gravel, about forty feet thick, and about 240 feet above the level of the sea, is covered by yellow brick clay, and overlies an untried bed of fine sea-sand. The shells and fragments occur chiefly at the base of the gravel. The author considered the Leyland deposit, like those on the west of the Derbyshire hills, to be more probably littoral and truly climatic than that of the Liverpool clays, the subject of Mr. Reade's paper, and hazarded the conjecture that the latter were sea-bottom beds, into which, during some process of degradation and redistribution, the specimens found and enumerated by Mr. Reade had been carried down from the former more ancient retreating coast-lines.

Geologists' Association, Nov. 7.-Mr. Henry Woodward, F.R.S., president, in the chair.-At this, the first meeting of the session 1873-74, the president delivered the opening address of the new session, in which he gave a review of the progress of geological science during the past year. Mr. Woodward referred to the progress made in the acceptance by botanists and zoologists of the doctrine of evolution. "Darwin's theory has already passed through the fire like crude ore, it has been roasted, crushed, sifted, washed, and after all the pure metal remains. Our speculations, however, bring us no nearer to the discovery of the origin of life itself."

Meteorological Society, Nov. 19.-Dr. R. J. Mann, president, in the chair.-The following papers were read:-The thunderstorm at Brighton on Oct. 8, 1873, and its effects, by F. E. Sawyer, and some considerations suggested by the depressions which passed over the British Islands during September 1873, by F. Gaster.-A discussion took place on the best form of thermometer stand. It was resolved that the following conditions should be fulfilled :-(1) The contained thermometers must at all times be shielded from the direct rays of the sun; (2) The stand must be so arranged that even when its own external temperature is raised, the thermometers shall not be thereby affected; (3) As reflected heat must diminish the accuracy with which thermometers indicate air or shade temperature, these disturbing causes should be excluded; (4) The temperature of the air alone being desired, it is necessary that the readings of the thermometers be not affected by radiation to the sky; (5) It being desirable that one pattern of stand be used in all loca ities, it follows that it should be absolutely independent of all surrounding objects; (6) There must be free access of air round the thermometers; (7) No rain should ever reach the dry-bulb thermometers, for if it does, it improperly lowers their temperature, making them read even lower than the wet bulb; (8) The stand must also be unaffected by snow, both as a direct fall or from obstructed circulation of air; (9) It is very desirable that the stand require no attention between the hours of observation; (10) It is desirable, but not absolutely necessary, that room be provided for a duplicate set of instruments; (11) The stand should not be costly; (12) It should be capable of easy transmission by rail or otherwise. Mr. Prince gave an account of some experiments he had made, and was of opinion that the true temperature of the air could be obtained without a stand. | Mr. Symons thought that a stand constructed on the Kew and Stevenson pattern combined, but smaller than the former and larger than the latter would be the best form of stand to adopt. The meeting not having the results of the comparison of the observations made with the different stands at Strathfield Tungiss, the discussion was adjourned till after these are published.

Anthropological Institute, Nov. 25.-Prof. Busk, F.R.S., president, in the chair.-Mr. F. W. Rudler read a report on Anthropology at the meeting of the British Association at Bradford.--Dr. G. W. Leitner, Principal of the Government College of Lahore, gave an account of the Siah Posh Kafirs, a race of people inhabiting Kafiristan, on the south-eastern slope on the Hindu Kush. Kafiristan may be said to form a triangular tract of country lying between 35 and 36° N. lat., and 70 and 72° E. long., and is bounded on its sides by Kabul, Badakshan, and Kashmir. The name of Siah Posh Kafirs was given to them by the Mohammedans, "Siah" meaning "black," "Posh clothing, and Kafir "infidel; for in fact a Kafir, according to the Mohammedans, was any one who did not follow the teaching of Mahomet. The Kafirs claimed to be a sort of country cousins of the British. Slavery existed within their own country, and also within five miles of Peshawur, where the Kafirs were sold in

ور

the open

market. The consequence was that the Kafirs in retaliation, kept the road leading to Central Asia in a state of insecurity, and murdered all travellers coming within their reach. Dr. Leitner, referring to the asserted Macedonian origin of the Kafirs, said that that supposition was founded on very loose and vague data, and that they themselves knew nothing of Alexander. The Tunganis, another of those races, claimed direct descent fron Alexander's soldiers. Another theory was that the Siah Posh Kafirs were Zoroastrians, who were supposed to have been forced into the hills by the Arabs, and the existing customs among the Kafirs certainly seemed to support the idea that they were ethnologically connected with the Parsees. He inclined to the opinion that they were Aborigines; and if they were not descended from the same stock as the "Arian race, they were certainly, as far as language was concerned, equally related to the Sanscrit.

Entomological Society, Nov. 17.-Prof. Westwood, president, in the chair.-Mr. Higgins exhibited Deilephila euphorbia and Sphinx pinastri, bred from larvæ taken in June 1872, near Harwich.-Mr. Champion exhibited several rare Coleoptera taken at Braemar and other places during the past season. -Mr. Boyd exhibited a Trichopterous insect, Brachycentrus subnubilus, a species which constructs quadrangular cases, which had been reared from the egg state. -Mr. Müller remarked on some galls found by Dr. Masters on the roots of Deodara, which he considered identical with the galls of Biorhiza aptera, Fab., usually occurring on the roots of oak.-Mr. Bird exhib tel Chilo gigantellus from Horning Fen, and Mr. Vaughan Pempelia daviselus reared from Furze. -Mr. Stevens exhibited some rare Lepidoptera taken on the South Coast.-A paper was read, entitled "Notes on the Habits of Papilio merope Auct., with a Description of its Larva and Pupa," by J. P. Mansel Weale, B.A. Also a paper entitled "Observations on Papilio merope Auct., with an account of the various known Forms of that Butterfly," by Roland Trimen, F. L.S., &c.-Some remarks were communicated by Mr. Miskin, of Brisbane in Queensland, respecting Mynes guerini of Wallace, which he considered identical with M. geoffroyi Guerin, and directing attention to the singular habit of the pupe, which were suspended in groups of three or four individuals, united at the tails.

Royal Horticultural Society, Nov. 12.-Scientific Committee. A. Grote, F.R.S., in the chair.-The Rev. M. J. Berkeley sent a Capsicum from Transylvania with two small fruits produced from the placenta.-Mr. Anderson Henry sent fruit of Tacsonia quitensis, produced in a cool greenhouse.-Mr. Wheble sent wood and bark of Sequoia sempervirens, the latter being extremely similar to that of the large tree exhibited at the Crystal Palace.-Prof. Thiselton Dyer exhibited preparations of the buds upon the leaves of Malaxis, prepared by Prof. Dickie.

General Meeting.-H. Little in the chair.-Prof. Thiselton Dyer called the attention of the meeting to the fine plant of Vanda cærulea with four panicles; a plant of the recently introduced Batemania Burtii from Costa Rica; specimens of a species of Stylidium (probably S. ciliatum), an Australian genus with the radical leaves in a Crassula-like tuft; flowering specimus of Cunonia capensis from Syon House; and a "grape-rail," a contrivance by which grapes could be preserved through the winter. The pieces of cane to which the grapes were attached were inserted into holes in long zinc rod-like boxes which contained a mixture of fuller's earth, starch, sugar, charcoal, and water. It was remarked by Mr. Jennings that Vanda cærulea was fast disappearing from its native localities. At the present rate the ruthless removal of the plant must determine its extermination at any rate in the Khasia hills.

Anthropological Society, Nov. 18.—Dr. R. S. Charnock, president, in the chair. Extracts from letters from foreign correspondents were read, one of which announced an alleged discovery of a Phoenician inscription of the 4th century, B.C., near Rio de Janeiro, and one from Captain Burton, mentioning the discovery at Maeshowe, in Orkney, of Scandinavian inscriptions, in Arabic letters. - Personal observations of the Sae-lies or Flathead Indians of North America, by J. Simms, M.D., of New York The discourse treated of the manner of fashioning or deforming the head, the customs, dress, diet, disposition of the dead, &c. Dr. Simms also gave a brief description of the Quatsino Indians, who inhabit the north-western coast of Vancouver Island, the mode of fashioning their peculiar, sugar-loaf form of heads, their superstitions, food, &c. He also gave a very interesting account of the Digger Indians of California, the ircolour, form,

dress, manner of living, general habits, including badges of mourning, food, &c. The Snakes, Utes, Piutes, Foxes, Siouxs, and other tribes were briefly described.

CAMBRIDGE

Philosophical Society, Nov. 17.-"On a suspected forgery in the Vatican Manuscript Record of the Trial of Galileo before the Inquisition," by Mr. Sedley Taylor, late Fellow of Trinity College. The object of the paper was to show, in accordance with the views of recent German and Italian authorities, that the sentence pronounced against Galileo in 1633 was based on a spurious document fabricated for the express purpose of securing his condemnation. The evidence adduced to support this conclusion was taken partly from the works and letters of Galileo, and partly from the contemporary records of the trial preserved in the Archives of the Inquisition, portions of which have been lately published for the first time. The result of the paper was to exonerate Galileo completely from the charge of contumacy which all his biographers have hitherto either advanced or tacitly

admitted.

MANCHESTER

Literary and Philosophical Society, Nov. 4-R. Angus Smith, F.R.S, vice-president, in the chair.-"On the Bursting of Trees and Objects struck by Lightning," by Prof. Osborne Reynolds, M.A. The results of the experiments referred to in this paper were exhibited to the meeting. The suggestion thrown out by Mr. Baxendell at the last meetingthat the explosive effect of lightning is due to the conversion of moisture into steam-seemed to him to be so very probable, that he was induced to try if he could not produce a similar effect experimentally. He tried various experiments by sending a discharge through pieces of damped wood, and through glass tubes with and without water. The pieces of wood, whieh varied in size, yielded various results, and the glass tubes, which also were of various sizes, were shivered to pieces.-The Rev. W. N. Molesworth, M.A., brought under the notice of the Society some Roman and Celtic antiquities, to which he thought that sufficient attention had not been given in this country.

Nov. 18.-E. W. Binney, F. R.S., vice-president, in the chair. -"On the Bursting of Trees and Objects struck by Lightning," by Prof. Osborne Reynolds, M.A. In a paper on this subject read at the last meeting I stated that the tube which was burst by a discharge from a jar would probably withstand an internal pressure of from 2 to 5 tons on the square inch; and I made use of the expression the tube might be fired like a gun without bursting. These statements were based on the calculated strength of the tube, and with a view to show that there was no mistake, I have since tried it in the following manner.—I made 3 guns of the same tube. No. 1, which was 6 inches long, had its end stopped with a brass plug containing the fuze hole. No. 2 and No. 3 were 5 inches long and had their breeches drawn down so as only to leave a fuse hole. These tubes were loaded with gunpowder and shotted with slugs of wire which fitted them, and which were all inch long. No. I was first fired with inch of powder, the shot penetrated inch into a deal board, and the gun was uninjured. No. 2 was then fired with 1 inches of powder, and the shot went through the 1-inch deal board and inch into some mahogany behind, thus penetrating altogether I inches; the tube, however, was burst to fragments. Some of these were recovered, and although they were small they did not show cracks and signs of crushing like those from the electrical fracture. No. 3 was then fired with inch of powder, and the shot penetrated inch into the deal board. It was again fired with I inch of powder, and the shot penetrated 1 inch into the deal. Again it was a third time fired with 1 inches of powder, when it burst, and the shot only just dented the wood. experiments seem to me to prove conclusively the great strength of the tube and the enormous bursting force of the electrical discharge. On the colour of Nankin cotton by Edward Schunck, Ph.D., F.R.S.-An improved method for preparing Marsh Gas, by C. Schorlemmer, F.R.S. The author found that by heating an intimate mixture of anhydrous sodium acetate with more than twice its weight of lime and sodium carbonate, a very regular and quiet evolution of marsh gas took place. The gas thus obtained always contains some acetone, which is easily removed by shaking it with water, or, better still, with a solution of acid sodium sulphite.

DUBLIN

These

Royal Geological Society of Ireland, Nov. 12.-Prof. E. Hull, F.R.S., president, in the chair.-Mr. J. E. Gore, C.E.,

read a note on a bed of fossiliferous kunkar in the Punjab-The president read a series of notes on the Microscopic Structure o Irish Granites:-1, Granite of Aillemore, Co. Mayo; 2, Granitos, Quartz Porphyry of Attithomasreagh, Co. Galway; 3, Granite a Ballynockan, Co. Wicklow.-Prof. Reynolds exhibited specmens of the new minerals Uranotine and Walpurgine.-Prof. Traquair exhibited specimens for the Rev. J. Emerson, of surecoal fossils from the Jarrow Colliery, Co. Kilkenny, among which were noticed portions of the skeletons of Urecordylus wasdesjordii and Ichthyerpeton bradleyi described some time since as from a neighbouring colliery, by Huxley and Wright; alo the palate tooth of Ctenodon cristatus, patches of scales of Ve lichthys hibberti, and some vertebræ and scales of a Rhizodop

Royal Irish Academy, Nov. 10.-Rev. Prof. Jellett, presdent, in the chair.-A paper was read by Messrs. Draper a62 Moss on some forms of Selenium, and on the influence of light on the electrical conductivity of this element.-Prof. Macalister read a paper on the anatomy of a species of Aonyx from the Upper Indus. The species had been sent by the late Earl of Mayo to the Royal Zoological Society of Ireland, but differed in no marked degree from the one described by Horsfield as A. uptonyx.-Mr. H. W. Macintosh read a paper on the myology of Arctopithecus blainvillii.

EDINBURGH

Royal Society of Edinburgh, Dec. 1.-Sir Robert Christison, vice-president, in the chair.

The following communications were read :

I. Laboratory Notes, by Prof. Tait.—(1) First Approximation to a Thermo-electric Diagram. (2) On the Flow of Water through Fine Tubes.

2. Note on the use of in Curvilinear Co-ordinates, and on the Transformation of Double and Triple Integrals, by Prof. Tait.

2. On the Physiological Action of Ozone, by James Dewar and Dr. M'Kendrick.

4. On a Compound formed by the addition of Bromacetic Acid to Sulphide of Methyl, and on some of its Derivatives, by Prof. Crum Brown.

5. Note on the Expression for the Action of one Currentelement on another, by Prof. Tait.

GLASGOW

that

Geological Society, Nov. 13.-Mr. E. A. Wünsch, viceA paper on the Post-tertiary Bels president, in the chair. (Kyles of Bute), by the Rev. H. W. Crosskey and David Robertson, was read to the meeting. The succession of beds, as found at various parts of the Kyles, in proceeding from high to low water mark, is as follows:-(1) Boulderclay, hard, compact, unfossiliferous, and red in colour; (2) A highly laminated clay, precisely similar to which occupies the same position at Paisley and many other localities, has been found to contain the remains of some species of Foraminifera; (3) A bed of clay and sand, exceed. ingly rich in characteristic Arctic shells; (4) The Pecten maXIMUS bed, has been fonnd cropping out in various localities.—Mr. Jas. Armstrong read a paper on the Fossils found in the Carbonife rous Shales of Gare and Westerhouse, illustrated by a series of finely-preserved specimens collected from these localities, about three miles to the north-east of Carluke.-The Chairman exhibited some interesting specimens of the junction of granite and slate from the island of Arran, and made some remarks on the various theories which had been propounded regarding its origin.

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 11, 1873

THE AKCTIC EXPEDITION

WE WE were able to announce, in our last number, that the version of the reply of the Govern ment with regard to the despatch of an Arctic Expedition, which had appeared in the daily newspapers, was inaccurate, and that the subject was still under consideration. But the grounds for abandoning Arctic discovery, which were attributed to the Government, have no doubt cccurred to the official mind; and they involve fallacies which would be so fatal to the best interests of this country, that we cannot allow them to pass without remark.

It was said that the Government hold that survey operations have a stronger claim than those of discovery; and that if Ministers were inclined to augment charges for such purposes, they would incline to do so for survey, rather than for a new voyage of discovery.

We have here an attempt to separate scientific expeditions into two branches, survey and discovery. The originator of this fallacy does not appear to be aware that all surveying voyages are voyages of discovery in the strictest sense. Their operations are intended to explore, and accurately lay down, unknown or little known coasts or harbours. Captain Cook's voyages were surveying operations, and it will scarcely be denied that they were also voyages of discovery. The Arctic voyages of Ross and Parry included surveys which have been of the utmost value to the whaling fleets

ever since.

Arctic discovery is now advocated by naval and scientific men for the very reason that it will include marine surveys and hydrographical investigations of the most undoubted importance. Few operations have "benefited com merce and promoted international intercourse" more than Arctic voyages of discovery. One of our earliest Arctic expeditions discovered the White Sea route to Russia, and opened a flourishing trade. The Spitzbergen voyages led to the establishment of a fishery which added millions to the wealth of these islands. The discovery of Davis's Straits did the same. Ross's first voyage showed the way for the whalers into Baffin's Bay. Parry's voyages pointed out new ground in Prince Regent's Inlet. The handling of steamers by Osborn and Cator, as Capt. Penny declared at the time, caused a revolution in the system of ice navigation by whalers. Arctic voyages are surveying operations, and they have benefited commerce as much as any other surveying work whatever. As to promoting international intercourse, Arctic achievements have always excited friendly sympathy and interest throughout the civilised world.

We must also notice the shocking insincerity of the reply that is imputed to the Government. An Arctic Expedition cannot be undertaken, we are told, because Ministers are anxious to provide funds for ordinary surveys. Now it is a fact that no Government has ever more persistently neglected the surveying branch of the service; which has been so starved and pared down as to cause anxiety to those acquainted with the subject. If the Hydrographer's official position did not seal his lips, he could give an account of the way VOL, IX.-No. 215

in which the surveying department has been treated of late years, which would excite indignation throughout the country. Some idea may, however, be obtained of the way in which surveys are neglected, from the following figures. From the year 1849 to 1853, the proportion of each 1000l. of naval expenditure spent on surveying averaged 157. 5s. It is now 97. In 1871-72 the total effective naval expenditure was 7,807,946/., and the expenditure on the surveying branch was 70,456. The total tonnage of the British mercantile marine in 1871–72, was 7,142,894, so that the total naval expenditure per ton of British naval shipping, was 17. IS. 11d.; and the proportion of expenditure for surveying and discovery, by far the most useful and important work of the navy in time of peace, was 2d. Not only has surveying and Arctic work been rendered inefficient by extreme parsimony, or wholly neglected; but, while the wealth of the country has enormously increased, the expenditure on the best work of the navy has been cut down to a third less than it was twenty years ago.

It may be that the official notion of surveying is confined to the revision of work on comparatively well-known coasts. Even such work is done inefficiently; and its renewed efficiency would be no argument for the neglect of Arctic exploration. At the time when Arctic expeditions of discovery were despatched, the more ordinary surveying operations were not neglected Officers were surveying the coasts of these islands, Capt. Graves was at work in the Mediterranean, Collinson in China, Kellett in the Pacific, and their vessels were properly equipped. Assuredly the Government are bound to restore the Surveying Department to efficiency; and such a reformation would include the despatch of a thoroughly well-equipped Arctic Expedition for survey and discovery. We understand that a further most able and carefully-considered letter has been addressed to Mr. Gladstone on this subject; and we earnestly trust that, after further consideration, the Prime Minister will see that his plain duty points in the same direction as political expediency. The country feels strongly on the subject; and the resolution to despatch an Arctic Expedition of discovery in 1874, will meet with the hearty approval of all classes of the community.

IN

LOCAL SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES *
III.

N the ten years succeeding 1860 the number of local scientific societies formed throughout the country was more than double that of the previous decade, amounting altogether to fifty-six, of which no less than forty-five are field-clubs. Many of these are well known for producing excellent work, but we must refer our readers to the list at p. 521 of vol. viii. for details. The Quekett Club of London was formed during this period, as were also a number of clubs in the Severn Valley, the Eastbourne Natural History Society, and others which have done good work, but which are far too numerous to mention. Two or three very excellent societies were formed in North Britain during this decade, including the Perthshire Society of Natural History, which, at any rate as represented by a few of its members, is one of the hardest* Continued from p.40.

G

working societies in the kingdom. Under its auspices the Scottish Naturalist is published, and a Flora and Fauna of the extensive and varied county of Perthshire is being brought out; recently we noticed a proposal issuing from one of the members for the establishment of a British Naturalists' Agency. A very laudable though somewhat Scotch appendage has just been added to the Society, in the shape of a "Perthshire Mountain Club" for the exploration of the Perthshire mountains, more especially those that have been neglected by naturalists, with the following officebearers :—A cairn-master, a scribe and naturalist, a geometer, a bard, and, to crown all, a quaigh-bearer, a quaigh being a two-eared drinking-cup from which to quaff the "mountain-dew" withal.

Another Scottish club that we deem worthy of special mention is the Alva Society of Natural Science and Archæology, whose history has been one of continued success. There can be no doubt, the secretary informs us, that this Society has tended to foster a taste for natural history in the neighbourhood, and encouraged the observation of local phenomena. It was founded in 1862, and now numbers 110 members belonging to all classes of society; the patron being the Earl of Kellie, the president the sheriff-substitute of the county, the vice-presidents a medical practitioner, a grocer, and a wine-merchant; the councillors a clergyman, a bank agent, a hairdresser, an architect, and an ironmonger; the treasurer a druggist, the secretary a medical practitioner, the curator a blacksmith, and the librarian the governor of the prison. The object of the Society is the study of natural science and archæology by the exhibition and preservation of specimens, the reading of communications, by lectures, excursions, and the formation of a library and museum. number of members has become so large, and the collections of the Society have so accumulated, that their present place of meeting has become too small, and the Society has therefore contracted to have a special building erected for its own use, at a cost of about 1,600/., raised by subscription from among the members and the noblemen and gentlemen of the neighbourhood. The papers read at the monthly meeting are printed in one of the local papers, the type being afterwards broken into pages, and a small volume of transactions thus published for each year. One of these volumes we have before us, and its contents are varied and exceedingly creditable, though we miss a list of the fauna and flora of the small county of Clackmannan, in the county town of which the Society has its head-quarters. We hope this excellent Society will make the compilation of such lists part of its work in the future.

The

Our space only permits us to name the Largo Field Naturalists' Society, on the north shore of the Frith of Forth, a society founded in 1863, and which, to judge from the papers read and the secretary's report to us, is doing excellent service in connection with the natural history of the county of Fife; it appears to have a valuable collection of specimens. We mention these three societies because, in some respects, they are worthy of imitation by other similar associations, and because, we regret to say, Scotland is not represented in the list of field-clubs in anything like the proportion, even considering its size, that England is; very large districts, which we are sure would yield abundant fruit of a rare and interesting

We

kind, being entirely unworked by any club. hope in the course of a very few years to see this defect remedied.

In the three years 1871-2-3, at least twenty-seven new societies have been formed; there may have been more of which we have not heard. Fourteen of these have had their origin during the present year; and if field clubs continue to multiply during the remaining years of the decade in the same proportion, we may expect to see very few districts in England and Scotland at least, without its local field-club. We had hoped that the inquiries of the British Association Committee on this subject might have given an additional impetus to the spread, as well as to the usefulness, of such societies; but we fear that hitherto this committee has done absolutely nothing.

We cannot conclude this part of the subject without referring to the field-clubs of Lancashire and the west of Yorkshire. In Lancashire there are a number of fieldclubs composed almost exclusively of working-men, some of which have been in existence for many years, and all of them, we believe, in excellent working condition In Lancashire there are at least eleven of such clubs, one of which is among the most efficient field-clubs in the kingdom. This is the Todmorden Botanical Society, which may be taken as a specimen of these Lancashire clubs, and of which Sir Walter Elliot thus speaks :

"One of the most successful of the above is the Todmorden Botanical Society, established in 1852, principally through the exertions of Mr. Stansfield, who has always been its president. The bulk of the 185 members are working-men, who pay a subscription of 6s. a year, meet on the first Monday of every month, and in the winter, on the intermediate fortnights, for lectures and papers; and make six field excursions, four within ten miles, and two longer ones, extending into neighbouring counties, and even as far as Scotland. They have a good herbarium, and have prepared a flora embracing a space of six miles round Todmorden. They have also acquired a library of 600 volumes, chiefly botanical."

We can only briefly refer to the West Riding Consolidated Naturalists' Society, which at present, as will be seen from our list, consists of an amalgamation of twelve local clubs, belonging to various towns in the West Riding, and all of them, like the Lancashire Societies, composed mainly of working-men. Each of these societies has, we understand, its own district in which to carry on its field-work, and the united societies have stated meetings, but so far as we have ascertained, they have not yet decided upon a satisfactory modus operandi. The amalgamated societies have, however, a journal in common, "The Yorkshire Naturalists' Recorder," in which their proceedings are published, we believe monthly. There is no doubt that if their united societies could devise a satisfactory organisation in which to carry on their work in co-operation, great good would be the result. Their example might, we think, be followed with advantage by other contiguous small societies, which we fear are often apt to get disheartened from the paucity of working members, and a feeling of isolation. This is

* We regret that these were omitted from our list, as we got no information from them, and Sir W. Elliot does not give them in his list, only referring to them for some reason in his address.