PROCEEDINGS OP THE NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY OF GLASGOW VOL. III. 1875-1878. GLASGOW: PUBLISHED BY THE SOCIETY AT THEIR ROOMS IN ANDERSON'S COLLEGE BUILDINGS 1878. CONTENTS. Vol. III.— Sept. 1875 to May 1878. Paqb Accounts, Abstract Statement of, 1875-6, 1876-7, . . . 216, 360 Address, President's. By Prof. John Young, M.D., .... 123 Albino Varieties of several species of Birds, Mr David Robertson, jun., on, 330 Algae, Marine, Mounting slides of, for the Microscope, Mr David Eobertson, F.L.S., F.G.S., on, 85 Annelids, Notes on a few of the Tube-building. By Mr David Robertson, 31 Apiarian Notes for 1877. By Mr R. J. Bennett, 256 Archaeology of Donegal, On the. By Mr James A. Mahony, . . 152 Ardnamurchan, Argyllshire, List of the Birds which have been observed in the district of. By Mr John J. Dalgleish, M.B.O.U., . . 259 Asphondyliae, On the, of the Glasgow district. By Mr F. G-. Binnie, . Ill Athalia, Notes on the Old World species of. By Mr P. Cameron, . 128 Avi-fauna of the Ural (The), translated from the Russian, of Leonida Sabanaeff, by Mr F. C. Craemers, and communicated by Mr John A. Harvie-Brown, F.Z.S., M.B.O.U., 282 Bee, On the Honey. By Mr R. J. Bennett, ... 75, 192, 256 Biscacha (Lagostonius trichodactylus), a South American Rodent, On the. By Mr Ernest Gibson, Buenos Ayres, ..... 136 Biscacha, Mr John M. Campbell on the, 197 Birds which are found on the Fern Islands, On the. By Mr J. H. Gumey, jun., F.Z.S., 268 Birds which have been observed in the district of Ardnamurchan, Argyll- shire, List of the, by Mr John J. Dalgleish, M.B.O.U., . . 259 Birds found breeding in Sutherland, Supplementary Notes on the. By Mr John A. Harvie-Brown, F.Z.S., M.B.O.U 226 Birds of Loch Lomond and neighbourhood, Sketch paper on the. By Mr James Lumsden, F.Z.S., 58 Bittern, American {Botaurus lentiginosus), Note regarding the occurrence of the, in Islay. By Mr James Lumsden, F.Z.S., ... 43 Blackcap Warbler (Sylvia atricapilla), On the occurrence of the, in Scotland during winter. By Mr Robert Gray, F.R.S.E., . . 349 39785 IV CONTENTS. Blennocampa, On a new species af [B. alchemillae), with remarks on the species allied thereto. By Mr Peter Cameron, Bos longifrons, Mr John Kirsop on, Boulder of Carbonif eroiis Limestone Shale, its probable G-eological horizon and contained Fossils, On a weathered. By Mr John Young, F.G.S Brazil, various Natural History specimens from, Mr D. C. Glen on, British Association Meeting in Glasgow in September, 1876, Mr John Young, F.G.S., on, Buzzard, Honey [Pernis ajnvorus), in Scotland, Mr R, Gray on. Buzzard, the Eough-legged (Archibuteo lagopus). Note on the recent occiu-rence of, in various parts of Scotland. By Mr James Lums den, F.Z.S.j .......... PAcfas 107 168 224 197 101 31 29 Calamary or Squid {Loligo vulgaHs), Dr Francis P. Flemyng, F.R.G.S., on, 1 Canada, a collection of Plants from, Mr Robert Mason on, . . .321 Capercailhe (Tetrao urogallus) in Scotland, On the, with special reference to damage done to Pine Forests. By Mr J. A. Harvie-Brown, F.Z.S., 348 Capercailhe, Hybrid between the Black Grouse and the, ]\ir James Lumsden, F.Z.S., on, 127 Cecidomyia trifolii and its Gall, Notes on. By Mr F. G. Binnie, . . 114 Cecidomyidae, Further Notes on the, with description of three New Species. By Mr F. G. Binnie, 178 Cetoniae from the West Coast of Africa, Mr Thomas Chapman on, . 196 Challenger Expedition, the Geological Bearings of the. Prof. J. Young on, 123 Chitonellus, recent and fossil. On. By Mr John Young, F.G.S., . . 322 Cirropsilus, On a peculiarity in the habits of a species of. By Mr P. Cameron, ........... 99 Cladius, A Monograph of the British species of. By Mr P. Cameron, . 15 Copahte, a Fossil resin from Zanzibar, Mr James Coutts on, . . 318 Coral, Brain, {Meandrina labyrinthica), from Belize, Mr John Kirsop on, ........... 319 Corals, small turbinated, from Cunningham-Baidland, Mr John Young on, 169 Crake, Spotted, from Auchinleck, Ayrshire, On the. By Mr James Lumsden, F.Z.S., 196 Crinoids, specimens of, from Fifeshire, Mr Arthur Pratt on, . . . 279 Crinoids, Notes and observations on Injured or Diseased, . . 91, 333 Cuttle-fish (Sepia octopodla) at Dunoon, Dr F. P. Flemyng, F.R.G.S., on, 85 Cynipidae, On some points in the Natural History of the. By Mr P. Cameron (Title only), ..... .... 84 Disco Island, a collection of plants from, forwarded by Capt. Feilden, C.M.Z.S., Mr Robert Mason on, 280 Dewar, Dr Donald, Note on the Death of, 80 Diver, Black-throated (Colymbus arcticus), from Loch Awe, Mr David Robertson, jun., on, ......... 279 Donegal, On the Natural History of, with some account of its Archaeology. By Mr James A. Mahony, 152 /" CONTENTS. V Page Duck, Long-tailed {Harelda glacialls), Notes on the food of the. By Mr David Robertson, jun., ........ 332 Eagle, White-tailed {Haliaetus albicilla), from Skye, Mr David Robertson, jun., on, ......... 330 Entomostraca and Foraminifera, from Yokohama, Japan, Mr David Robertson, F.L.S., F.G.S., on, 84 Falcon, Iceland {Falco islandicus), On the occurrence in Islay of the. By Mr James Lumsden, F.Z.S., ....... 86 Fenestella, and other Polyzoa, from Gillfoot, Lanarkshire, Mr John Young, F.G.S., on, 82 Fern Islands, Notes on the, and some of the Birds which are found there. By Mr J. H. Gurney, jun., F.Z.S., 268 Fossils from the Calciferous Sandstone series near the Heads of Ayr, forwarded by Mr E. Denholm Young, M.A., Mr John Young, F.G.S., on, 328 Fossils, Short Notes on, 833 Gall-Fly, the American (Cynipa spongifica), Mr P, Cameron on, . . 110 Gall, on a remarkable Lepidopterous, from South America. By Mr P. Cameron, ........... 201 Gar-fish [Esox belone), from Dunoon, Dr F. P. Flemyng on, . , . 318 Geology of Donegal, On the. By Mr James A. Mahony, . . .152 Grant, Mr A. J., of New Zealand, Wreck of, Mr J. A. Harvie-Brown on, 317 Honey Bee, On the. By Mr R. J. Bennett, .... 75, 192, 256 Hoopoe ( Upupa epops), Note on the recent occurrence of the, in Arran. By Mr James Lumsden, F.Z.S., ...... Hutcheson, Mr Thomas S., Notice of the Death of, . . . Hybrid between the Black Grouse and the Capercaillie, Mr James Lumsden, F.Z.S., on a, . Hymenoptera, British, New or Kttle known, Mr P. Cameron on, Hymenoptera, Notes on Clydesdale, By Mr P. Cameron, Hymenoptera of Kingussie, On the. By Mr P. Cameron, Hymenoptera of Sutherlandshire, A contribution to the. By Mr P, Cameron, .......... Hymenoptera, Phytophagous, Observations on the study of the. By Mr P. Cameron, .......... Hymenoptera, Phytophagous, On the British. By Mr P. Cameron, 255 331 127 104 202 86 248 141 320 Keddie, Mr William, Note on the Death of, 223 Leaves of various Trees and Shrubs, On the results of some experiments on the. By Mr James Napier, . . . . . . .105 Lepidodendron obovatum from Robroyston, Mr D. C. Glen, F.G.S., on, . 56 Leptoceridae of the Glasgow District, On the. By Mr Francis G. Binnie, 57 VI CONTENTS. Page Leptothorax acervorum from Ben Lawers, Mr P. Cameron on, . . 105 Library, additions to, 1875-6, 1876-7, 1877-8, .... 217, 357 Loch Lomond and Neighbourhood, Sketch Paper on the Birds of. By Mr James Lumsden, F.Z.S., ........ 58 Loch Lomond, The Mammals of the Neighbourhood of. By Mr James Lumsden, F.Z.S., .......... 186 Malloch, Mr Charles, Notice of the Death of, 317 Mammals of the Neighbourhood of Loch Lomond, The. By Mr James Lumsden, F.Z.S., .......... 186 Mantis, The Praying (Mantis religiosa), Mr Thomas Chapman on, . . 56 Members, List of, 1876-7, 211 Merlin (Falco aesalon), nesting in a Tree, Mr James Lumsden, F.Z.S., on, 255 Meteorological Record kept at Queen's Park for 1875-6-7, . . . 326 Migration of Birds in N.E. Russia. By Mr J. A. Harvie-Brown, F.Z.S., 46 Millerite, a sulphide of Nickel, from Dockra, Beith, Mr James Coutts on, 178 Natural History, Miscellaneous Notes in. By Mr James Napier, . 194 Nutria {Myoptomus coy pus), a South American species of Rodent, On the. By Mr Ernest Gibson, Buenos Ayres, Cor. Mem., . , 344 Osprey (Pandion haliaetus), Mr James Lumsden, F.Z.S., on, . . 3 Otter {Lutra vulgaris) captured in the Botanic Gardens, Dr John Young, M.D., on an, 327 Partridge, Common (Perdix cinerea), On some varieties of the, with remarks on the Causes of Variation in Species. By Mr John A. Harvie-Brown, F.Z.S., 132 Pearson, Mr James, Notice of the Death of, ..... 35 Petchora, Sketch of the Ornithology of the Lower, with some account of a Journey to the Delta of that river and to the Tundras of N.E. Russia; with remarks on the migratory movements of the species observed. By Mr John A. Harvie-Brown, F.Z.S., M.B.O.U., . 44 Phaenusa, A Monograph of the British species of. By Mr P. Cameron, 5, 95 Phi'yganea, the species of, found in the district, Mr Francis G. Binnie on, 27 Pigeon, Cro^vned {Goura alhertissi), from New Guinea, Mr John Young, F.G.S., on, 289 Pisidium fontinale and Planorhis complanatus, two freshwater shells new to Scotland, and Helix villosa, a land shell new to Britain. By Mr David Robertson, F.L.S., F.G.S., 172 Plants from Canada, a Collection of, Mr Robert Mason on, . . .321 Plants from Western Africa, Mr James Coutts on some, ... 81 Plants from Disco Island, forwarded by Capt. Feilden, C.M.Z.S., Mr R. Mason on 280 Plants rare in the West of Scotland, observed during last summer. On some. By Mr James Ramsay, V.P., 41 Polyzoa, Carboniferous, from High Blantyre, Mr John Young, F.G.S., on, 2 CONTENTS. Vii Pagb Polyzoa, Carboniferous, Three new species of, Dr John Young on, . 253 Polyzoa, Carboniferous, On two new species of. By Prof. John Young and Mr John Young, F.G.S., 353 Polyzoa, Notes on a new method of fixing Carboniferous, on a layer of Asphalt, to show the celluliferous face. By Mr John Young, F.G-.S., 207 Productus, Notes on an adherent form of. By Mr John Young, F.G.S., 175 Proteus anguinus, from Adelsberg, Mr James Lumsden, F.Z.S., on, . 327 Rail, Little, {Ortygometra affinis), from New Zealand, Mr John A. Harvie-Brown, F.Z.S., on, 126 Rissoa striata, On Injured Specimens of. By Mr David Robertson, F.L.S., F.G.S., .......... 278 Sand, Coloiired, from raised beach near Rutherglen, Mr D. C. Glen, F.G.S., on, 320 Sandpiper, Green {Helodromas ochropus), Mr George E. Paterson on, . 224 Saxicava rugosa, a bivalve mollusc: showing an unusual mode of re- pair. On. By Mr D. Robertson, F.L.S., F.G.S., .... 198 Sea-urchin, the Test of a large flexible, Mr John Young, F.G.S., on, . 253 Shrike, Great Grey {Lanius excuhitor), from Sutherlandshire, Mr John A. Harvie-Brown, F.Z.S., on, 43 Societies to which copies of the Proceedings are sent, . . . 219, 359 Spiders collected in the West of Scotland in 1876, Notes on some. By Mr Henry C. Young, 170 Spiders, with some additions to the Scottish lists. On. By Mr Henry C. Young, 351 Spider, Trap-door, the nest of the, Mr George Donaldson on, . . 4, 37 Sjpirifera trigonalis and its varieties in the Limestone strata of the Coal- fields of the West of Scotland, Notes on the occurrence and distribu- tion of. By Mr John Young, F.G.S., 37 Sponge, Glass-rope [Hyalonema Sieholdi), from Japan, Mr John Young, F.G.S., on, 177 Sponge, reticulated, remains of a, from Cunningham-Baidland, Mr John Young, F.G.S., on, 125 Sponge Spicules from Cunningham-Baidland, Mr John Young, F.G.S., on, 102 Sponges, etc., from the Firth of Tay, Rev. James Sommerville on some, 178 Sting-ray (Raia pastinaca), Mr George Donaldson on the, ... 4 Sulcoretepora, A new species of. By Dr Young and Mr J. Young, F.G.S., (with a plate), 166 Sutherlandshire, A contribution to the Hymenoptera of. By Mr P. Cameron, ........... 248 Sutherland, Supplementary Notes on the Birds found breeding in. By Mr John A. Harvie-Brown, F.Z.S., M.B.O.U., . . .226 Tenthredinidae new to the British Fauna, Mr P. Cameron on, . . 198 Tenthredinidae, On the larvae of the, with special reference to Protective Resemblance. By Mr P. Cameron, ...,,. 352 Vm CONTENTS. Page Thomson, Mr James, Curator of the City Industrial Museum, Notice of the Death of, 36 Tern, Black (Sterna fissipcs), from Fossil Marsh, Mr James Lumsden, F.Z.S., on, ........... 104 Trees and Shrubs, On the results of some Experiments on the Leaves of various. By Mr James Napier, 105 Trichoptera, Scottish species of. By Mr Francis G. Binnie, 28, 42, 57, 141, 258 Uniformity of Method in recording Natural History observations, especially as regards Distribution and Migration, with specimen Tables of a plan proposed, On. By Mr J. A. Harvie-Brown, F.Z.S., 115 Ural, The Avi-fauna of the, translated from the Russian, of Leonida Sabanaeff, 282 Variation in species (of birds), Kemarks on the causes of. By Mr John A. Harvie-Brown, F.Z.S., M.B.O.U., . • 132 Vegetation in the PubUc Parks, Notes on the state of. By Mr Duncan M'Lellan, Superintendent of Parks, . . 79, 100, 176, 324 Vegetation, Notes on the effect of smoke on, with a list of Trees and Shrubs specially adapted for planting in the neighbourhood of large towns. By Mr Duncan M'Lellan, 340 Weaver Bird, Nest of the, Mr James Coutts on, ..... 82 Wild Cat {Felis catus), Living Specimens of, exhibited by Dr Dewar, . 43 PROCEEDINGS OF THE MTURAL HISTORY SOCIETY OF GLASGOW. SESSIOIsT 1875-76, THE TWENTY-FOURTH ANNUAL (GENERAL MEETING, ANDER- SON'S UNIVERSITY BUILDINGS, SEPTEMBER 26th, 1875. . Professor John Young, M.D., F.E.S.E., President, in the chair. The Treasurer submitted his Annual Financial Statement, which showed a balance in favour of the Society of £104 17s. Id. The Secretary read the report of the Council on the business of last session, and the Librarian reported on the state of the Library. The reports were considered satisfactory. The following gentlemen were elected office-bearers for the session : — Professor John Young M.D., F.RS.E., President; James Stirton, M.D., F.L.S., James Eamsay, and Thomas Chap- man, Vice-Presidents; Eobert Mason, Secretary; Thomas S. Hutcheson, Treasurer; Peter Cameron, Librarian; J. Barclay Murdoch, D. Corse Glen, F.G.S., Archibald Gilchrist, James Coutts, Hugh M'Bean, John Kirsop, Donald Dewar, M.D., James Lumsden, and Duncan M'Lellan, Members of Council. Messrs Stephen Cooke and Joseph Eobertson were elected ordinary members of the Society. SPECIMENS EXHIBITED. Dr F. P. Flemyng, F.E.G.S., exhibited a fine specimen of the Calamary or Squid {Loligo vulgaris), which had been thrown up on the beach at Dunoon in March last. Dr Flemyng stated that this species belongs to the family of cuttle-fishes, and is believed to be the food of the porpoise, and remarked that it is not often met with on the western, although frequently seen on the eastern VOL. III. A 2 PROCEEDINGS OF THE coasts. He shortly described the appearance it presented when found, and contrasted its small size with the huge examples of the same family he had often seen at St Vincent and the Canary Isles. Professor Young then made a few remarks descriptive of the habits and structure of the cuttle-fish family. The specimen, which was in fine condition and had been well preserved, was presented by Dr Flemyng to the Hunterian Museum. Mr John Young, F.G.S., exhibited some portions of the edible . bird's-nest, and prepared fins of sharks, both of which are used by the Chinese in the preparation of certain soups, the specimens being sent for exhibition by Mr Alexander M'Gregor of the Clydesdale Bank, Glasgow. Mr Young stated that the edible bird's-nests are formed by a species of swallow belonging to the family Cypselidae, which have the power of secreting in their salivary glands the glutinous material of which the nests are composed. The sharks' fins, he stated, are prepared for the market by being subjected to a process of maceration in water. Mr Young also exhibited some specimens of finely-preserved Carboniferous Polyzoa from Dykehead pit, High Blantyre. Two of the species belong to the genus Ceriopora, viz., C. similis and C. interporosa. Shrub-like fronds of the latter occur in the shale, from three to four inches in length, and show their habit of growth more clearly than any that have hitherto been met with in our limestone strata. One of the other Polyzoons belongs to a newly described species, Hyphasmopora Baskii. This beautiful form is rather rare. Specimens from the Blantyre shale show that it grew in little plant like fronds, the branches bifurcating from the main stem at intervals. It has hitherto been only met with in fragments in the washings of the limestone shale. Mr Peter Cameron exhibited a number of insects captured during the excursions of the Society this season. The collection comprised examples of Naucoris ciinicoides, a water-bug new to the Scottish list, taken in the Clyde, opposite Carmyle ; two species of Nematus, new to the British fauna, viz., N. apicalis, Hartig., taken on 5th May in Cadder Wilderness, and N. dorsatus, Cam., bred from a l)irch-feeding larva got last July at Bishopton ; Cladius Brullaei, Dahlbom, bred from larvae found feeding on the raspberry at Cadder ; Femisa albipes, Cam., beaten out of a rose- bush at Cadder; and Hemichroa rufa. The last-named specimen was very small, and was bred from a larva got at Bishopton. It NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY OF GLASGOW. 3 had been completely neglected, and not supplied witli food, but managed to retain sufficient vitality to bore into the cork of the bottle in which it was kept, and there passed into the perfect state. Lophyrus 2}ini, a very distinct variety of the larva of this species, was also taken at Bishopton, where it fed in company with the typical form. It had the upper part of the body deep black, and was considerably smaller than is usual with the larvae of this species. It was not so active and lively as the normal type, so that probably the difference in colour might be owing to disease. Mr Cameron then made a few remarks on some of the parasites of Humble Bees, and showed some living larvae of Antherophagus glaher, feeding on the cells of a nest of Bombus muscorum, discovered last week near Cambuslang. October 26th, 1875. Mr Thomas Chapman, Vice-President, in the chair. Mr James Marshall was elected a life member of the Society. SPECIMENS EXHIBITED. Mr James Lumsden, F.Z.S., exhibited a living specimen of the Osprey (Pandion haliaehis), captured on the 16th of this month on board the s.s. Ethiopia, about 200 miles from the coast of Ireland. It had alighted on one of the yards of the ship during a gale from the S.E., and was taken by one of the sailors at night when it was asleep. Mr Lumsden also drew the atten- tion of the meeting to a notice in the Field of the previous week, which stated that a bird of this species had been shot near the village of Drumore, County Waterford, in the end of September. The specimen exhibited had since its capture been forcibly fed upon fish, which it refused to take voluntarily. The Osprey at one time bred on the islets of Lochlomond and the lake of Men- teith, but it has long since deserted these localities, and, like most of our large Raptores, is now rare, and seldom met with in this country, except in instances like the present, when driven by storms from its usual haunts. A conversation ensued, in which Dr F. P. Flemyng, F.R.G.S., Mr John Young, F.G.S., and others took part. Mr John Kirsop exhibited two cases of insects from Berbice, 4 PROCEEDINGS OF THE which had been sent by Mr Eobert Hill, resident there. The collection, which was much admired for its variety, consisted of butterflies, beetles, spiders, and dragonflies, and contained several rare species, which were pointed out and described by the chairman. Mr George Donaldson described the beautifidly-formed nest, with its ingenious entrance, of the Tarantula or Trap-door SjDider, which he had often seen in the State of Kentucky; and Dr riemyng gave some interesting particulars regarding it and some of the species which he had frequently observed in South Africa. The chairman exhibited a case of fine butterflies from Western Africa. Several of the specimens were of rare species, among which were Papilio hespenis, P. latreillianus, Charaxes ameliae, and C. eupale — two of these Mr Chapman liad not seen before. Mr George Donaldson exhibited several objects of interest which he had obtained during a residence in the United States of America, and in visits to the Polynesian Islands. Among these were — I. A series of specimens of the remarkable stony operculum of the Rebton shell-fish, Twho petholatus, from the Samoa Islands. II. The skin of a Turkey Snake, about four feet in length. This snake, which is common in the central States, is quite harmless, and receives its name from the habit of feeding on the eggs of the Wild Turkey. The specimen exhibited was obtained in the nest of a Turkey, where it had swallowed three of the four eggs which the nest contained; the fourth was found at the bottom of the nest, covered with saliva, and ready for swallowing, which it no doubt would have been had the reptile not been disturbed during its repast. III. A spine of the Sting-ray (Raia pastinacci), the serrated booklets of which are very dangerous, a wound from them often proving fatal. Mr Donaldson had himself experience of the serious eff'ects they produce, having received from one of them a slight wound on the hand. It had produced excessive sickness, with severe spasms, which continued for some time. Mr John Young stated that spines nearly identical with that now shown were from time to time found in the Carboniferous strata of the district, from which it would seem that fishes similar to the Sting-ray had existed during that period, although the species had not been determined. Mr Peter Cameron exhibited a number of insects from diff'erent localities in Scotland, amongst which there were, of Tenthredinidae, NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY OF GLASGOW, :") two new species of Nematus, — N. flavipennis and N. baccarum, Cam, ; the latter probably the smallest species of this genus, and bred from hairy pea-shaped galls sent from Dunkeld by Dr Buchanan White ; an Eriocampa, reared from yellow larvae, feeding on the upper surface of rose leaves, which is either a new species or the true Tenthredo aethiops of Fabricius, and appears to be quite unknown on the Continent. Of Ichneumonidae, a new species of Bassus, bred from the larvae of Nematus cad- derensis, Cam.; a species of Ichneutes, bred from the larvae of Nematus viminalis; a specimen of Ichneutes reunitor, reared from the larvae of Cladius padi, and the male of the rare Eumeslus crassicornis, from Kingussie. This is the first indication of the life history of Ichneutes, and as there are only four species, it is probable that they are all attached as parasites to the Tenthre- dinidae. Both the species of Ichneutes, as well as the Bassus, were found in Cadder Wilderness. Mr Cameron also enumerated several other interesting species from stations in the neighbour- hood, and showed the cast-off skins of the larvae of Phaenusa pygmaea, retaining completely their forms and markings, a very unusual occurrence with larvae of saw-flies, and perhaps in this instance owing to disease, as the larvae died shortly after moultinsr. PAPERS READ. I. — A Monograjjh of the British species of Phaenusa. By Mr Peter Cameron. In continuation of my paper on the British leaf-mining saw- flies. Vol. ii., pp. 315-321, I propose here to monograph the more obscure and perplexing species of Phaenusa. The species belong- ing to this genus are amongst the smallest of the family ; they have short thick bodies, generally of a deep black colour, with the feet more or less relieved with testaceous or white. The antennae are 9-jointed (in P. hortulana according to Hartig they are apparently 10-jointed); the maxillary palpi 7-jointed; the eyes touch the base of the mandibles; the wines have 2 marginal and 3 sub-marginal cellules, the first and second of the latter receiving each a recurrent nervure : the lanceolate cellule is petiolate; the posterior wings have no middle cellule; and the feet have no patellae. The larvae resemble those of Phyllotoma, and the ^description given at pages 315, 31 G {I.e.) will appb^ here, the only 6 PROCEEDINGS OF THE difference being a slight one in the markings and in the manner of pupation : as already remarked, they do not pupate in the mine. I have had great trouble in differentiating the species. Un- fortunately the descriptions of Klug and Hartig are not very explicit, as these authors relied mainly on colour for their specific distinctions, and colour alone will not serve to properly elucidate such obscure forms. The excellent work of Thomson, depending as that author does upon structural as well as colour distinctions, is a great step in advance upon that of the German authorities, and I have derived much assistance from the " Hymenoptera Scandinaviae." I have to acknowledge my indebtedness to Mr C. Healy for types of the species described by him in " Newman's Entomologist," or otherwise I would not have been able to satisfactorily determine them — or at any rate some of them — from the descriptions alone. Prof. Zaddach of Konigsberg has given me types of P. immila and pygmaea. A. Frontal sutures distinct ; head pilose; marginal nervnre received a good piece beyond the second sub-marginal. Antennae short, pilose. Feet more or less black. Antennae not thickened towards the apex, 3d joint more than double the length of the 4th — melanopoda. Antennae perceptibly thickened towards the apex, 3d joint not more than double the length of the 4th — pumila. 1. Phaenusa melanopoda, Cameron. Fenusa^ nigricans, Thoms., Hymen. Scand., i., 184, 1. Glossy-black ; antennae shortly pilose, a little curved, as long, if not longer than the thorax; the 1st joint large, globose, with a pedicle at the base; the 2d nearly as long as the 1st, not so globose; 3d more than double the length of the 4th; the rest to the 8th getting a little shorter ; 9th conical, thinner and longer than the 8th. Head scarcely narrower than the thorax, smooth, covered with a fuscous black pubescence; sutures distinct, moderately deep; labrum and mandibles piceous ; palpi fuscous. Thorax shining, smooth, scarcely pubescent ; sutures very distinct; cenchri obscure. Breast smooth, shining. Feet : all the knees, and four anterior tibiae and tarsi obscure yellowish-white, verging to testaceous ; tarsi sliglitly darker; spurs short. Abdomen short; apex truncated obliquely ; sheaths of saw glabrous, a little * forrectly, J^hacnusa. NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY OF GLASGOW. / projecting; blotch broad. Wings blackish, with deep black costa, stigma, and nervures; costa dilated towards the stigma; 1st marginal cellule much broader and longer than the 2nd ; 1st sub- marginal longer than the second, which is twice wider at the apex than at the base, and angled where it receives the 2nd recurrent nervure. Marginal nervure curved, received a good piece past the 2d sub-maruinal ; 1st recurrent received in the middle of the 1st sub-marginal cellule ; the 2d about a fourth of the length of the cellule from the 1st sub marginal nervure. Length If lines. The male I have not been able to distinguish. The distinct frontal sutures, deep smoky black wings, pilose antennae with the 3d joint more than double the length of the 4th, will serve to distinguish this species. Apparently not common. Taken near Glasgow, and in the London district (J. G. Marsh). June. The larva is not known with certainty. Zaddach (Besch. neuer oder wenig bekant. Blattw., f. 12, p. 29) states that the larva of P. immila mines the leaves of the alder; but as immila in this country is a birch miner, it seems probable that Zaddach's observations refer to melanopoda rather than to jj'w^m'/rt. The alder miner, as figured by Zaddach, does not differ apparently from that of the true pumila. The P. nigricans of Klug and Hartig seems to be a different species from the above, as will be seen from King's description (Blattw., No. 188), which is as follows: — "Brownish-black: antennae as long as the abdomen; labrum and tips of the mandibles testaceous ; legs pale testaceous, with dusky trochanters ; wing scales yellowish; wings hyaline, with the nervures and stigma brownish." Length 2 lines (Hab., Sweden). No one has yet re-discovered it, and Thomson thinks that the original type may have been a Blennocampa, with 3 sub marginal cellules, and he adopts King's name for melanopoda; but we have no evidence that the original nigricans was not a true Phaemisa, and in default of this information, it seems to me better to regard it as belonging to that genus, and to rename the species first described by Thomson, which I have accordingly done. 2. Phaenusa pumila. Tenthredo pumila, Klug, Blattw., 120, 190. Tenthredo pygmaea, Zetterstedt, Ins. Lapp., 340, 11. Fenusa pv.mila, Stephens, 111., 8 PROCEEDINGS OF THE vii., 41, 1; Hartig, Blattw. u., Holzw. 259, 3; (1) Zaddach, Besclir. neuer oder wenig, &c., Blattw., 29, f. 12 ; Thomson, Opus. Ent, 272,2; Hymen. Scand., 186, 2. Feuiisa fuliginosa, Healy, Ent., iii., 225. Black, shining ; knees, tibiae, and tarsi pale testaceous. Antennae short, slightly thickened towards the apex. Male similar, but with thicker antennae, sometimes a little paler underneath, with the posterior tibiae suffused with black. Length 1 J lines. Smaller than the preceding; the head scarcely so pilose; the wings of a lighter tint ; posterior tibiae rarely black ; tarsi paler ; antennae shorter, thickened towards the apex ; the 3d joint not more than double the length of the 4:th; the joints rather more globose, not so sharply cut off from one another; and the frontal sutures scarcely so deep. Common in birch woods in May and June, and again in the autumn. The larva, when young, has the body white, with a greenish tinge on the back, caused by the contents of the food canal shining through; the head pale brown. On the ventral surface of the 2d segment is a black dumb-bell shaped mark, and in the centre of the 3d and 4th is a round black dot. The feet are encircled with brown ; the abdominal feet white. Before the third moult the head is darker coloured ; on the dorsal surface of the 2d segment is an oblong black mark, usually divided in two by a pale band in the centre ; on the ventral surface of the 2d segment is an irregular black plate, and on the 3d, 4th, 5th, and 6th there is in the centre a black dot, these dots being, however, frequently absent from the two last-mentioned segments. At the last moLdt the body loses the markings, and becomes of a yellowish- white colour, with a pale-brown head. Length about 5 lines. It mines the leaves of the birch, preferring, as IVIr Healy has remarked, a variety with woolly leaves. There are usually from four to eight or ten in a single leaf, each mine being at first separate, but in course of time becoming united. There are two broods; the first in June and July, the second in August and the other autumn months. The pupa state is passed in the earth without the protection of a cocoon. The pupa is white. NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY OF GLASGOW. 9 A A. Body form of A, but marginal nervure received immediately before the apex of 2d sub-marginal cellule, almost touching the 2d sub- marginal nervure. 3. Phaenusa ulmi. Fenusa ulmi, Sundivall, Forliandl. red de Skandin. Naturforsk. in Christiania (1847), 240, 241; Healy, Eiit. v., 297; Kalten- bach, Pflanzenfeinde, 539. F. intermedia, Thoms. (I.e.), 18G, 3. Black, shining. Antennae short, stout, covered with a stiff pile; two first joints together equal in length to the third, which is twice longer than the fourth, the remaining joints to the eighth shorter, 9th joint conical, longer than the preceding. Head a little narrower than the thorax, scarcely pubescent, shining, smooth, sutures moderately distinct: labrum and man- dibles piceous; palpi dark testaceous. Tliorax shining, smooth, not pubescent; tegulae black. Abdomen short, thick, smooth, semi- truncate at apex; blotch large, sheaths of saw exserted. Feet: femora, with coxae and trochanters, black; apical half of the two anterior femora, knees, tibiae and tarsi, dark testaceous. Wings faintly smoky ; first marginal cellule a little smaller than the second ; second sub-marginal cellule more than double the width of the base at the apex, angled where it receives the recurrent nervure. Male similar, but with thicker and longer antennae, the joints from the fourth being perceptibly thicker than the basal ones. Length 1^ lines. Var. Four posterior tibiae and tarsi black. Ulmi is not unlike the two preceding species, but has the frontal sutures less distinct, the wings a good deal clearer, and otherwise is easily separated by the alar cell-structure. Common in England and Scotland. The larva is white, with the head pale brown, darker at the sides ; mouth reddish brown ; feet encircled with brown. Be- neath, on the second segment, is a black oblong plate, sometimes with a dot on each side ; there is a small black central dot on each of the following segments, but the dots are often absent on the posterior segments. When full-fed it is yellowish-white. Length 5 lines. It mines the leaves of Ulmus campestris and U. montana, and several larvae live in one leaf. According to Mr Healy there is but one brood in the year, viz., in May and June ; but I have 10 PROCEEDINGS OF THE captured the flies in August, so it is possible that there may be sometimes two broods. Brischke (Sch. Phys. oko Ges. zu Konig, xi., p. 71), records having hred Perilissus j^ict His, Holmgr.,from larvae of Fhaenusa, on elm leaves. B. Frontal sutures invisible ; marginal uervure received not far from the middle of the second sub-marginal cellule. Antennae longish. Tegulae white ; tibiae and tarsi -white— jjyf/maea. Tegulae black ; feet entirely white— alhipes. Feet testaceous ; wings hyaline at the apex — pumilio. 4. Phaenusa pygmaea. Tenthredo ptjgmaea, Klug, I.e., 121; Zetterstedt, /.c.,340, 11 (male). Fenusa 'pygmaea, Stephens, I.e., 41, 3; Hartig, I.e., 259, 4; Thomson, Opus. Ent., 272, 3 ; Hymen. Scand., i., 186, 4. Black. Antennae nearly as long as the abdomen ; the two first joints large, the third scarcely double the length of the fourth, the remainder gradually, but slightly, decreasing in length ; covered with a stiff" microscopic down. Head very smooth, shining ; face covered with a sparse scattered pubescence, frontal sutures invisible ; eyes greenish. Thorax smooth, shining, with a faint scattered down ; tegulae white. Abdomen a little longer than the head and thorax, apex rounded, saw considerably exserted. Feet : coxae, trochanters and the greater part of the femora black; knees, tibiae and tarsi, clear white. Wings half smoky, clearer at the apex ; first marginal cellule a little shorter than second ; first sub marginal shorter than second ; second double the width at the apex that it is at the base ; angled where the recurrent nervure is received. Marginal nervure received about a fourth of the length of the second cellule in front of the second sub-marginal nervure. Length 1^ lines. The male is unknown to me. Pygmaea closely resembles albijjes, but is distinguished from it by the black femora, white tegulae, shorter antennae, and longer 2d sub-marginal cellule. Apparently not common. " Forest Hill " (Stephens); Darenth (Rev. T. A. Marshall) ; London District (Healy) ; Dairy (Dr Sharp). Larva white. Head liglit brown, darker at the sides, eyespots black, moutli reddish brown. On the ventral side there is on NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY OF' GLASGOW. 1 1 the 2d segment a large black plate, occupying the whole segment, except a small portion at the edges and apex ; on the 3d segment there is across the centre a large black band, and on the 4th there is a small band, somewhat spindle-shaped. On the back the 2d segment is black, with the exception of the edges; sometimes the black portion is divided down the centre by a faint white line. Length about 4 lines. It blotches the leaves of the oak in the autumn. The larvae (for which I am indebted to their discoverer, Mr C. Healy), with me cast off their skins so compact, that they retained the shape and all the markings which were on them when enclosing the larvae. Gi-ijpocentrus incisulus, Ruthe, is a parasite on an oak-leaf-mining Phaenusa, ^voh^ihly ijygmoMi {cf. Brischke, I.e., 89). 5. Phaenusa albipes. Phaenusa albipes, Cameron, Ent. M. M., xii., 131 (1875). Black, shining, covered sparsely with a very short pile, only visible in certain lights. Antennae a little shorter than the body, slightly pilose; the 3d joint longer than the 4th. Feet entirely white ; posterior tarsi and tips of anterior faintly fuscous. Wings smoky ; costa, nervures, and stigma black ; marginal nervure received a little past the middle of the 2d sub-marginal cellule. Sheaths of saw and saw itself largely exserted. Length scarcely IJ lines. Easily known by the almost entirely white legs. One specimen taken in Gadder Wilderness, near Glasgow, on 20th August, 1875. The larva is unknown. 6. Phaenusa pumilio. Fenusa immilio, Hartig, I.e., 259, 5; Thomson, I.e., 187, 5. Femisa pumila, Wailes, Zoologist (1856), 5074; Westwood, Ent., Annual (1862), 129; Healy, Ent., v., 211-212. F. rubi, Boie, Ent. Zeit. Stett. (1848), 340. Black, shining, scarcely pubescent. Antennae longer than the abdomen, moderately thick, and covered with a short pile; pale fuscous underneath. Head narrower than the thorax, very smooth, shining and glabrous ; labrum piceous ; palpi testaceous. Thorax smooth, shining, covered with a microscopic pile seen only side- ways. Tegulae black. Abdomen about the length of head and 12 PROCEEDINGS OF THE thorax, apex more or less truncate, slightly pointed ; sheaths of saw hairy, exserted ; blotch very large. Feet whitish testaceous ; base of coxae black ; aj)ex of coxae, trochanters, and basal half of femora more or less obscured with black or fuscous ; apex of tarsi fuscous. Wings smoky, apex hyaline ; nervures deep black, stigma large; 1st marginal cellule triangular, smaller than the 2d; marginal nervure received a little past the middle of 2d sub- marginal cellule; 1st sub-marginal cellule nearly double the length of 2d, and near its apex there is a conspicuous round black horny point; 2d sub-marginal cellule not much longer than broad, anded where the recurrent nervure is received. The male is similar as regards coloration ; the antennae are a good deal thicker, slightly compressed; the 3d joint scarcely longer than the 4th (in the female it is perceptibly longer), and the femora have usually more black on them. Length If lines. Pumilio can only be confounded with hetidae, and from that species it can easily be known by its shorter antennae, perfectly smooth head, the position of the marginal nervure, and the smoky wings with hyaline apex. From the descriptions of Hartig and Thomson it seems to vary considerably in the coloration of the body. The former author describes it as having the mouth, antennae, abdomen, and feet dark brown, with the knees, tibiae, and tarsi pale brownish-yellow; while Thomson states that the antennae are fuscous beneath, and the palpi, knees, tibiae, and tarsi whitish-testaceous. A British specimen in my collection has a dark brown splash across the mesonotum. Common, and generally distributed. The larva is sordid white ; the head pale brown, darker at the sides; mouth dark brown; eyespots black. The thoracic feet are banded with brown, the abdominal are marked posteriorly Avith a semi-circular black mark, and the anal pair are surrounded with black. On the back the 2d segment is black or brownish-black, and sometimes on the 3d and 4th there is a narrow band ; beneath the 2d segment is dark brown ; there is an irregular band on the 3d and 4th, and on the 5th and Gth a round dot, but these are frequently absent. When full-fed the markings are cast off. Length from 9 to 10 lines. They mine the leaves of lluhus frucUcosus and IL idaeus, and to the raspberry they often do so much damage that, according NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY OF GLASGOW. 13 to Prof. Westwood, the bushes, after having been devastated by these larvae, do not produce a proper supply of fruit for two or three years. There is a brood in July and August, and a second is met with from September to tlie end of October. Zaddach mentions that they mine the leaves of Geum urhanum, and Kalten- bach (Pflanzenfeinde, p. 582) that " the larva lives in the green, hard, projecting leaf-galls on Salix capreo^,'^ where it passes the winter, emerging as a fly in July. There is surely some mistake about this last observation. C Frontal sutures deep. Antennae long; marginal nervure almost joined to 2d sub-marginal. Terebra exserted. Feet yellowish-testaceous. 7. Phaenusa betulae. Fenusa hetulae, Zaddach, Besclir. neuer oder wenig bekannter Blattwespen, 29 (1859). Phyllotoma mellita, Newman, Healy, Ent., v., 1-7. Black, shining, covered with a fuscous pile, especially on the head and thorax. Antennae longer than the head and thorax, covered with a microscopic down ; the joints thicker at the apex than at the base; distinctly separated from one another; the 1st with a conspicuous petiole at the base, globular, considerably larger than the 2d, which is thin at the base, truncated at the apex; 3d longer than the 4th; the rest shorter; the 9th conical, thinner and longer than 8th. Head scarcely narrower than the thorax ; face densely covered with fuscous pubescence ; sutures on the vertex distinct ; frontal foveae large, and moderately deep ; the central round, the lateral longer and thinner ; labrum testaceous ; palpi pale testaceous. Thorax black, shining; tegulae testaceous. Abdo- men shining, as long as the head and thorax, covered with a fuscous pile, shorter than that on the head and thorax; apex truncate; the blotch invisible ; saw projecting, sheath very hairy. Wings faintly fulvous-coloured, if anything clearer at the apex; 1st marginal cellule longer than 2d ; marginal nervure nearly, if not quite, interstitial, i.e., joined to 2d sub-marginal; 2d sub-marginal cellule not much shorter than the 1st, the sides above straight, not curved, in length much longer than broad ; at the lower end of the 1st sub-marginal cellule is a small black dot. Legs yellowish- testaceous ; coxae, trochanters, and base of femora black; posterior tarsi fuscous. Length 2 lines. 14 PROCEEDINGS OF THE The male has the antennae longer, otherwise it does not differ from the female. This is the largest of the European species. It is easily- recognised by the colour of the feet and wings, alar cell-structure, and deep frontal sutures. A common species, occurring from the London district to Strath Glass in Inverness-shire. Larva white ; the head pale-brown, darker at the sides ; mouth reddish-brown ; eyespots black. The 2d segment above bears a shield-like black plate ; beneath there is a large black plate on the same segment, and on each of the 3d, 4th, 5th, and 6th, a smaller dot ; along the sides are arranged a number of black dots, a large one on the 2d, three on the 3d, and four on the others, the latter being smaller than those in front. The thoracic feet are banded with black ; the abdominal ones have, above, a small black band ; and the anal pair are broadly marked with the same colour. The penultimate segment sometimes bears in the centre two small black dots. The number of dots varies a good deal ; they are often absent from the 5th, 6th, and penultimate, and along the sides some individuals have more and others less than usual. When full fed the markings are cast off. Length 9 to 11 lines. The pupa is yellowish-white. The larvae live gregariously — often to the number of seven or eight in a single leaf —in the leaves of the birch, appearing in May and June, and again in the autumn. Brischke {I.e., 71) mentions as parasites of this species, Perilissus macrojjijgus, Holmgr., P. soleatus, Holmgr., and P. verticalis, Brischke. These are all the species that I can record with certainty as British. Leach formed his genus Messa on an insect which he referred to hortulana, Klug. He, however, stated that it had one marginal and four sub-marginal cellules, while Hartig says that the true hortulana is a true Fhaenusa. I suspect, then, that Messa was formed on some small species of Nematus. Stephens also describes (111. Brit. Ent., vii., 40) Messa hortulana, but Mr F. Smith has examined for me his types; and, from the account which Mr Smith sends, it is clear that Stephens' hortulana is neither a Messa nor a Fhaenusa, it having two marginal and four sub-marginal cellules : it is probably a Blennoeamjm. In the meantime, therefore, hortulana must be deleted from our lists ; NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY OF GLASGOW. 15 but to render this paper more complete, I subjoin Hartig's diagnosis : — Black; m.outh, sides of the breast and feet, reddish-yellow. Length 1 J lines ; alar exp., 4 lines (German). In gardens— rare. The very dubious P. nigricans is described by Stephens as an Eviphytiis (111. vii., 93), but no such species exists in his collection, as Mr Smith informs me. It had better be relegated to the Hst of uncertain synonyms. With regard to Fenella, it seems to me that two different species are confounded under the name of F. nigrita ; at any rate, it is difficult to see how the two following descriptions can refer to the same species : — F. nigrita. West. (Int. ii., App., F. nigrita. Thorns., Hymen, p. 54). l»Jigra, femorumapiee, tibiis Scand., i. Nigra, nitida, glabricula; tarsisque obscure hiteis; alls nigri- antennis moniliformibus, 12-articu- cantibus. (Antennis 11 -articulatis). latis ; subtus fuscis pilosulis ; genubus, tibiis tarsisque albidis ; alis subhyalinis. If my views are correct, the synonymy will then stand thus : — Fenella nigrita, Westwood, I.e., supra (non Thomson). Fenella tormentillae, Healy, Ent. iv., 140, 141. Fenusa jpygmaea, Healy {non King), Ent. v., 300 ; Kaltenbach, Pflanzenfeinde, 225 and 227. Fenella nigrita, Thomson {non West.), Opus. Ent., 270, 2 ; Hymen. Scand., i., 180, 1. P. tormentillae mines the leaves of Tormentilla reptans and Agrimonia riijMtoria. I know nothing about Fenella nigrita. I have a species that I got among birch at Bishopton, which agrees in colour with Phaenusa melanopoda, but it is larger, and has the antennae 10-jointed. It may be truly melanopoda, or it may be a new species of Fenella. If I had males I should probably be able to decide this. II. — A Monograph of the British species of Cladius, Illiger. By Mr Peter Cameron. The genera belonging to the sub-family Nematides may be separated as follows : — Section i. Lanceolate cellule contracted. A. Anterior wing with one marginal cellule, a. 2d sub-marginal cellule receiving one recurrent nervure — Cladius. 1 G PROCEEDINGS OF THE b. 2d sub-marginal cellule receiving two recurrent nervures — Camponisciis.^ B. Anterior wings with two marginal cellules — Ilemichroa. Section ii. Lanceolate cellule petiolate. a. Anterior wings with two marginal cellules — Dineura (partim.) h. Anterior wdngs with 1 marginal, and three or four sub-marginal cellules; if three, the first receiving two recurrent nervures — Nematus. c. As in h, but with three sub marginal cellules, the second receiv- ing two recurrent nervures. — Cryptocampus. Genus Cladius, Illiger. Wings with one marginal and four sub-marginal cellules; the first sub-marginal is very small, and its dividing nervure is, in all the species, often absent, and when present is usually A^'ery faint ; the second rather broad and long, forming a large angle at the bottom, and receiving one recurrent nervure near the centre, at the apex of the angle ; the third a little longer than the half of the second, longer than broad, angled beneath, and receiving one recurrent nervure in the middle ; the fourth is the largest, very broad at the apex, and bounded by the margin of the wing. The lanceolate cellule is contracted ; the costal is divided by a nervure near its apex. In some species the nervures run parallel or nearly so. In the second sub-marginal cellule, in most of the species, there is a well-marked horny point. Antennae nine-jointed : in the female filiform, attenuate at the apex, nearly bare or with only a short pile ; the first joint small, the second of the same size as the first; the third and fourth are the longest and -^qual, the third being often curved underneath ; the remaining joints become gradually shorter and thinner. The apices of the joints are well developed. In the male, with one section, there are longish pro- jections from the base of the third, fourth, and fifth joints; in another there is a small projection from the base of the third ; and with the third section the joints are plain. With all they are more or less pilose. * In the recently issued fourth part of Brischke and Zaddach's " Beobach- tungen ueber die Arten der Blatt-u. Holzwespen," the authors have adopted Hartig's sections Leptocercus and Leptopus as distinct genera. I have already pointed out (Ent. M. Mag. x., 84), that Leptocercus (1837) = Ilemichroa (1835), and the latter name having the priority, must, of course, be used ; while, as regards Leptopus, that name cannot be used either, as it is long pre-occupied in Hemiptera, if not in other orders. There being no other name available, that of CamponiscuSy given to it by Mr Newman (Ent. 18G9, p. 215), must, I suppose, be adopted. NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY OF GLASGOW. 17 The head is broader than long by about a half: the ocelli are moderately large and usually dull brown coloured ; the front projecting ; a little below the antennae there are two small depressions. The clypeus is small, emarginated in front, and in one species (C. viminalis) minutely toothed ; the labrum is small, usually semi-circular, and hairy at the apex. In the male the clypeus is considerably more of an angustate form ; and the labrum is smaller. The mandibles are armed with a projecting, somewhat bluntly pointed, apical tooth, and on the lateral surface of the anterior part there are a number of minute teeth. In C. viminalis, instead of these minute teeth there are two slightly larger, at the base of the large terminal one. The labial palpi are 4-jointed ; the first is about \ shorter than the 2d, which is the longest ; the 3d is about the size of the 1st ; the 4th is a little shorter than the 2d, and bluntly pointed. The ligula has its middle division short, a very little longer than broad ; the lateral portions are small and similarly shaped. In the maxillary palpus the 1st joint is stumpy and minute, almost as broad as long; the second is a little longer and considerably thinner; the third about three and a half times longer than the 2d, it being especially thick in the centre, tapering towards the base and apex ; the 4th thin at the base, thicker at the apex, and a very little shorter than the 2d ; the 5th, somewhat longer than the 3d, increasing in thickness towards the top ; the terminal joint is not so thick at the apex as the 5th, and is about the same length. The inner lobe of the maxilla ends in a blunt, slightly- curved point, the outer in a roundish, flat, disc-like projection. In the body form Cladius does not differ essentially from Hylotoma and Lophyrus ; the abdomen is more cylindrical, more elongated, with the apex more sharply pointed. The scutellum is flat ; the cerci are longish. In the male the abdomen is longer, thinner, and more acute ; the blotch is usually conspicuous. The saw is well developed, nearly a line long, and of considerable breadth and elevation, with the sides beset with seven or more rows of jagged, irregular teeth. The feet are slim, with the calcaria moderately long, the inner one beino; one fourth lono;er than the outer. The middle tooth of the claw is bifid ; the tarsal laminae large. The egg is oval, white, and as a rule is deposited in the leaf- stalk. VOL. III. B 18 PROCEEDINGS OF THE Larva twenty-footed, the 5th and 12th segments footless, cylindrical, with roundish head ; the skin beset all over with tubercles, which are usually arranged in a definite order, each ending in a long sharp-pointed hair. The head is distinctly separated from the body, roundish, always covered with short stiff hairs. The clypeus large and, usually, irregularly heart-shaped. The mandibles are strongly developed, of a horny consistence, and double-toothed at the point. The maxillae have 5-jointed conical palpi. The inner lobe of the maxilla has on its side seven to twelve bristle-like teeth, the whole having the appearance of a brush, the two at the apex being separated by a space from the others ; the outer lobe is stumpy and crooked. The spinning vessels are situated close to the labium, which is provided with 3-jointed palpi. The feet are slightly haired ; the claws are sharp, horny, and crooked ; the second last joint, at its apex, projects outwards and forwards over the preceding joint into an oval ball- like mass. The claspers do not differ from those of the other genera. The usual colour of the larvae is green, or some modification of it, and without markings, except in the case of one species which has the body orange, with black dots. They always frequent the under surface of the leaves of the food-plants (usually species of Eosaceae: with one species, poplar, and with another, Salix pentan- dra). They eat out the parenchyma at first, and then proceed to make holes in the leaves. The larvae are attacked parasitically by various species of Iclmeumonidae, and I have also found Gordiidae in them. The pupa offers no striking peculiarity. The cocoon is thin, double, irregular, and almost transparent, and is spun in the earth. So far as is known, the species of this genus are confined to temperate climates. A. In the male the two basal joints are short and thick, the 2u being a little smaller than the first; on the underside of the 3d, at the base, there is a small knob-like projection; at the apex, on the upper side of the same joint, there is a branch-like prolongation, nearly as long as the segment itself; on the 4th, 5th, and 6th joints there are similar processes, each gradually decreasing in length ; the 7th is a little pointed upwards at the apex; the terminal joint is almost awl-shaped. In the female the basal joint is nearly globose, and about double the size of the 2d, which is very small; the following joints become gradually shorter and thinner; the 3d is arched beneath ; it and the 4th, 5th, and 6th have their apices obliquely NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY OF GLASGOAV. 19 truncated, and the superior edges produced into sharp spine-hke projec- tions. In the male the joints and processes are densely covered with hairs; in the female the antennae are only slightly hairy, Cerci long; posterior calcaria a little shorter. Head densely covered with a fuscous pile — Cladius 1. Cladius difformis. Tenthredo difformis, Panz. F. G-. 62, 10. Lophyrus difformis, Spinola, Ins. Lig. fasc. iii., T. 2. 153; Fallen Acta Holm. 1808, 41, 5-6; Mon. Tenth. 18, 9. Cladius difformis. Leach, Zool. Mis. iii., 130; Lepelletier, Mon. Tenth. bS, 165; Fauna Fr., pi. 12, f. 4; Brulle An. Soc. Ent. Fr. i., 308, pi. xi. f. 10-12 (lar.); Dahlbom, Consp., Tenth., 34; Prod. Hymen., 100, 35, pi. 2. f. 81-85; Hart., Blatt. 11. IIolzw. 175, 1, Taf. ii. f. 20; Stephens, 111. Brit. Ent., vii., 23, 1. Thomson, Hymen. Scand., i., 71, 1; v. Vollen- hoven, Tidjr. Ent., iii., 202-205, pi. 9; Ent. No. 139, 26-29; Kaltenbach, Pflanzenfeinde, 222; Brischke, Beschr. 10, Taf. ii. f. 3. Cladius Geoff royi, Lep. Mon. Tenth. 58, 166. Black, shining, covered with scattered grey pubescence ; knees, tibiae and tarsi yellowish white ; last two or three joints of tarsi (especially the posterior) pale brown ; cerci long ; epistoma slightly convex. Wings faintly smoky, apex clearer, nervures at base and costa brownish white, or pale reddish ; nervures at apex blackish, stigma obscure black. Tegulae grey or white. Length 4 to 5 lines. The male is easily known by the form of the antennae ; smaller and thinner than the female. Beyond slight colour aberrations, I have not noted any varieties of this species in Britain. Hartig mentions a very small form with the sheaths of the saw and the last abdominal segment milk-white — G. ladeus, sibi. C. Geoffroyi differs merely in having the prolongation of the 3d antennal joint white, a peculiarity probably owing — as van Vollenhoven has suggested — to want of development. The larva lives on the underside of the leaves of various roses, both cultivated and wild, in which it devours irregular holes ; at first these are small, but by degrees they become larger, and occasionally the edge of the leaf is eaten. The mid-rib is never touched and the other nerves rarely, if ever. Two generations occur in a year, the first in May and the early part of June, the second in August and September. From the summer brood the 20 PROCEEDINGS OF THE imago appears two or three weeks after pupation ; from the autumnal one the larvae remain unchanged during the winter till the following spring. The cocoon in confinement is spun between the leaves ; in a state of nature, in the earth. It is double ; the outer covering, which is transparent and thin, is separated by a small space from the inner one, which is much finer and of a more compact texture. Both coverings are of a dull grey colour. According to Brischke (loc. cit. supra) the cocoon is simple, but certainly as a rule it is double. The larva is flat, moderately narrow at the 2d segment, and from that increasing in breadth until past the middle, from Avhich it again slightly decreases towards the anus. The head is small, shining, covered sparingly with longish hairs ; the ground colour is green, but obscured with numerous small brown dots, closely packed together ; across the face there is a semi-circular brown mark of a deeper colour than the other dots on the vertex ; the eyes deep black, the mouth brown. The body is entirely deep green, sometimes having a yellowish tinge. On each segment there are three rows of tubercles, from each of which projects a long black hair; the feet are glassy green with brown claws. The colour of the head varies ; when the creature is young, it is browner than when full fed, at which time the whole body assumes a much brighter green colour. Length 7-8 lines. The pupa I have not noticed when very young; when I did see one, it was of a grey colour. The egg-laying I have not observed, nor have I bred any parasites from the larvae. This species is tolerably common in Britain, appearing often in gardens. It has occurred from the south of England to Strath- glass, in Inverness-shire. Its distribution extends all over the continent. B Male with the antennae as long as the body, covered with a longish pile ; the 3d joint at the base produced into a knob; the 4th, 5th, and 6th joints not produced into a spine above. Cerci short — {Trichiocampus). a. Labrum, apice emarginated. Ejnstoma keeled. 3d antennal joint in the female scarcely curved. Patellae of tarsi large. Abdomen ochreous. 2. C. VIMINALIS. Tenthredo viminalis, Fallen, Acta Holm., 1808, 117, 59. Nematus grandis, Lep. Mon., 61, 179; F. Fr., pi. 10, f. 1. Cladius luteiventris, Dahlb. Consp., 69 ; Prod., 103, 3. C. luteicornis, Ste., 111., vii., NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY OF GLASGOW. 21 24, 7, pi. 38, f. 1. C. eucera, Hart., Blattw., 177, 4. C. viminalis, V. Voll., Tidjr., i., p. 176, pi. 10; Zool., 7721; Boiich6, Natur. Ins., 100; Ratz., Forst., iii., p. 129, Taf., 9; Brischke, Beschr., 9, pi. ii., f. 1 ; Thorns., Hym. Scand., i., 74, 5. Luteous ; head, middle of the breast, pronotum in front above, meso- and meta-notum for the greater part shining black. Antennae longish, black above, beneath deep ochreous. Apice of tarsi fnscous-black. Palpi and tegulae pale luteous. Wings j'-ellowish-hyaline, slightly clearer at the apex ; nervures and costa dark reddish-brown ; stigma at base dark fuscous. The 1st sub-marginal nervure is sometimes present, as often absent. Length 3 to 3^ lines. The male has longer antennae, of a dark luteous colour, except the two basal joints, which are black. The luteous colour of this insect serves at once to distinguish it from the other species. The larva has the head compressed in front, shining black ; mouth pale yellow ; mandibles black. Feet white ; claws brown, with a black line over them ; claspers white. The 2d, 3d, and the two last body segments, orange, the rest of the body green, sometimes with a faint orange tinge. On each side, close to the top, are twelve large oval or roundish black marks; directly over each clasper is a small black mark ; over these, and close to the large dots, are two small ones, also black ; over the anal segment is a large oval black mark. When full-fed, the body is entirely orange, with the exception of the legs and the above- mentioned black marks. The body is cylindrical, rather flat, broader anteriorly than posteriorly ; the skin beset with tubercles, from each of which proceeds a longish hair ; the segments are well marked. Length nearly 12 lines. The eggs, according to van Vollenhoven, are deposited in the leaf-stalk of the poplar, the petiole thereby being swollen on both sides, bending over, and to a certain extent, covering the eggs. In one case ten eggs were laid on one, and eight on the other side of the stalk. When young the larvae are green, with black heads, and it is not till the second moult that the orange colour begins to show itself. They feed in company, on the underside of the leaves of the poplar, in a row of three to five on a leaf, each larva touching its neighbour. They eat only the epidermis, according to my 22 PROCEEDINGS OF THE experience, never eating holes in the leaf like the other species. Apparently there is only one brood in a year, and it is met with during August and September. The cocoon is double, thin, and yellow, and in confinement is spun between the leaves, or outside in the earth, or between loose scales of bark. I am not sure but that the larvae go down to the earth during the heat of the day ; at any rate, I have only found them during the evening, never during the day, and once or twice at dusk I have seen them marching up the trunks. The pupa is orange. C. viminalis is distributed all over Britain, the imago appearing in June. I have met with it as far north as Kingussie. Its distribution extends over all Europe. As parasites, Brischke (Ges. Konig., xi.) records Mesolius rufus, Gr., Polyhlastus sanguinctornis, Eatz., and Acrotomus lucidulus, Gr. h. Apice of labrum rounded. 3d antennal joint in female curved ; beneath slightly produced. Epistoma not keeled. Colour of abdomen black. Feet yellowish-red — rnjipes. Femora totally black — eradiatus. Femora nearly all white; wings not clearer at the apex than at the base — Drewseni. 3. Cladius rufipes. Cladlus mfipes, Lep., Mon., 58, 167 ; F. Fr., pi. 12, f. 5 ; Dahlb., Consp., 35; Prod., 102, 36, pi. 2, f. 86-87; Ste. Ilk, vii., 23, 2; Thoms., Hym. Scand., i., 72, 2. Cladius uncinatus, Hart., Blattw., 176; Voll Tidjr., 4, 84-87, pk 4; Zook, 9833-35; Kalt., PH., 539. Antennae about the length of the body, pilose, deep black, the joints distinctly separated; the two basal joints large, the 3d and 4th equal ; the 3d curved underneath ; the remaining joints decreasing gradually in length, and very noticeably in thickness towards the apex. Head very broad, projecting in front between the antennae, shining, seen in certain lights to be covered witli a fuscous down ; labrum and mandibles pale ; palpi pale-fuscous. Thorax black ; sutures distinct, shining, smooth, covered with a fuscous pubescence ; cenchri large, pale-white. Abdomen short, thick, black ; anus piceous ; cerci short. Feet reddish-yellow ; coxae, trochanters, and anterior femora at base black ; apex of tarsi fuscous. Wings smoky, the apical third almost hyaline ; NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY OF GLASGOW. 23 tegulae testaceous ; costa and stigma dark-fuscous. Near the base of the second sub-marginal cellule is a small dark spot. Length 2J to 3 lines. The male is similarly coloured, but with the antennae deeply pilose, and with the usual process on the 3d joint. Larva green, thinly haired, with the sides raggedly indented. Head yellow, with the eyes and a spot on the vertex black. Young individuals bear a brown cross-band on the front. Length 8 to 9 lines (Kaltenbach). It lives on high elms, eating smaller and larger holes in the leaves, and resting usually on their under surface. It spins a clear, transparent cocoon, which is either fastened to a leaf or a branch. There are two generations in a year. Brischke records MesoliiLS impressiis, Brischke, as its parasite. C. riifipes is common in the midland and southern counties of England, but I have not yet found it in Scotland. It is met with all over Europe. 4. Cladius eradiatus. Cladius eradiatus, Hart., Blattw., 176, 2; Thoms., Hym. Scand., i., 72, 3; Kalt., Pfl., 288. Antennae moderately long, densely pilose, black, the third joint curved. Head black, covered with a fuscous pile ; clypeus some- what emarginated, labrum and palpi piceous. Thorax black, shining, covered with a fuscous pile ; tegulae black ; abdomen black, also covered with a fuscous pile ; membrane at the base large; cenchri white; cerci short. Wings almost hyaline, stigma fuscous. Feet : femora, coxae, and trochanters black ; knees, tibiae, and tarsi fuscous-white, paler in front, and covered with a pale pile. Length 2 J lines. The male does not differ in colour from the female, and is easily known by the form of the antennae. Hartig describes the wings of eradiatus as " dunkel-rauch-grau ;" and Thomson, as " hyalinis ;" and hence there may be two species described under this name. British specimens have the wings almost hyaline, slightly suffused with grey. From the female of dlfformis, eradiatus is known by its more attenuate antennae, uniformly coloured wings, and fuscous-white tibiae and tarsi ; from BriUlaei, the colour of the wings will serve to distinguish it. 24 PROCEEDINGS OF THE This species is not very common. In Scotland I have taken it in Eannoch, and I have seen English specimens taken by Mr K. M'Lachlan and the Eev. T. A. Marshall. The larva has not been described. It is stated by Kaltenbach to have been reared from the stem of Anthriscus sylvestris, by Herr Boie of Kiel, and from it was bred an ichneumon, Remiteles trichocampi^ Boie. 5. Cladius Drewseni. Cladius Drewseni, Thorns., Hym. Scand,, i., 73-4. Black ; antennae a little longer than the body, very slightly pilose ; the third joint a very little shorter than the fourth, and a little curved beneath, the other joints getting gradually shorter and thinner. Head covered with a grey pubescence, smooth, shining; epistoma somewhat convex; on the front, directly above the antennae, is a very distinct round depression, and below the antennae are two comparatively large pits ; mandibles and apex of labrum reddish; palpi pale. Thorax shining, pronotum minutely punctured; tegulae black; cenchri oval, white. Abdomen broadest in the middle, greyish pilose, apex especially; cerci short. AYings sub-hyaline, costa pale, stigma fuscous ; second sub-marginal cellule without a distinct horny point. Feet white, femora inclining to yellow, marked with black in the middle, anterior coxae almost wholly, posterior at base, and posterior tarsi at the apex, fuscous ; claws and calcaria short. Length 2 J lines. Male with long pilose antennae, the knob at the base of the third joint small. Femora with more black than in the female ; anus testaceous! The colour of the feet separates this species from the rest of the section. It is very like the white-footed variety of j^cidi, but may be known from that species by the epistoma being convex, instead of keeled, and by the shorter cerci and calcaria. In 2)(idi, also, there is a distinct black dot in the second sub-marginal cellule, which is absent in Drewseni. The larva is unknown. In Britain it has been found in England and Scotland, but not very abundantly. On the Con- tinent it is only known as a native of Sweden. C. Antennae in the male simple, compi'essed, without any process on the thii'd joint. Cerci longish. Epistoma almost keeled. {Priophorus). Apex of coxae and trochanters white — padi. Coxae and trochanters black — Bridlaei. NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY OF GLASGOW. 25 6. Cladius PADI. Tenthredo ]J0.di, Linn6, Fauna Sv., No. 1544; Fallen, Acta Holm, 1808, 110, 47. PriopJwrus alhipes, Dahlb. Prod., 104, 38, pi. 2, f. 88, 89. Cladius paUijMS, Lep. Mon., 59, 169; F. Fr., pi. 12, f. 6. Ste. Ill, vii., 23, 3. C. immunis, Ste., I.e., 24, 5. C. pili- cornis, Curtis, Brit. Ent., pi. 457; Ste., I.e., 24-6. Cladius alhipes, Hart. Blattw., 175-8, pi. 2, f. 3, 10, 16, 17, 19, 25, 26, 29 ; Voll. Ticljr, 6, 72-75, pi. 5; Brischke, I.e., 10, pi. 2, f. 2 ; Kalt. Pfi., 174. Cladius padi. Thorns., Hym. Scand., i., 75, 5. Black ; antennae longish, pilose, setaceous, nearly as long as the body. Head covered with a fuscous down, frontal tubercle very distinct, epistoma keeled, mandibles reddish, palpi pale testaceous. Thorax shining, covered with a scattered greyish down ; cenchri large, dull white ; tegulae piceous, rarely pale. Abdomen covered with a scattered pubescence ; cerci longish. Wings sub-hyaline, having a smoky tinge (varying in different individuals); costa pale, stigma fuscous. Feet white, the base of the coxae, femora in the middle, and often the posterior tarsi, with the apex of the tibiae, black. Calcaria long. Length 2 to 2 J lines. The male has the antennae strongly compressed and pilose, and a little shorter than the body. G. padi is easily recognised, by having always the trochanters white, the keeled epistoma, and longish cerci and calcaria, and pilose antennae. In the coloration of the legs four aberrations occur : — a. femora quite white; h. femora with a fuscous splash in the middle; c. femora nearly all black ; d. posterior tarsi, and apex of tibiae, black; also, in many individuals the colour is testaceous, and even inclined to yellow. The wings vary in the amount of smoky colour with which they are suffused ; and the tegulae and palpi vary from black through testaceous to white. Larva : head covered with longish hairs, light orange-brown, spotted over with small orange dots ; eyespots black, with a black, roundish mark on the vertex, extending to the extreme back of the head; mouth reddish-brown, with black mandibles. Feet white, claws brown. The ground-colour of the body is usually green, varying to grey ; the sides are clearer, almost white, and 26 PROCEEDINGS OF THE the last two segments are also white. The skin is beset all over with tubercles, each ending in a long hair. When young the larva has not the colour so deep, and the body often has a reddish tinge. With old larvae the colour of the head varies very much : sometimes it is quite orange, at other times almost black, and often the black mark on the vertex is absent. The eggs are laid about the beginning of May, on the under surface of the leaves of the wild rose, bramble, mountain ash, pear, plum, and birch. When very young the larvae merely devour the epidermis ; but, as they get older, eat large holes all over the leaves, and frequently do very considerable damage to pear and plum trees. From the spring brood the imagos come forth in about five weeks after the laying of the eggs, the pupal state lasting nine to ten days ; the second brood occurs in the autumn, often as late as October.'^ Its manner of pupation does not differ from the other species. When not feeding the larvae remain rolled up into a ball on the under side of the leaf, and if touched they drop at once to the ground. The pupa is greyish-white. Tryphon lucidulus and Ichneuies reunitor, Nees, are parasites on the larvae. I have also found them infested with a Gord'ms. This is the most common of the British species of Cladius. It occurs from the south of England to Sutherland. Northern speci- mens are darker coloured than those from the south. I have very rarely captured the aberration with white legs in Scotland. In mountainous districts I have taken the species at an elevation of about 2300 feet. Its distribution extends all over the European Continent. 7. Cladius brullaei. Cladius Brullei, Dahlb. Consp., 39 ; Thomson, Hym. Scand., i., 75-7; Cameron, Ent. M. M., xii., 42. Friorpliorus gcniculatus, Dahlb. Consp., 38. Cladius tristis, Zadd., Beschr., 11. Black; antennae a little longer than the abdomen, slightly compressed, diminishing very noticeably in thickness towards the apex, scarcely pilose, the third joint a little longer than the fourth. Head shining, clothed with a fuscous pile ; epistoma * According to van VoUenhovoii there are fS'. trlgo7ialis and S. Usulcata, frou;i both the lower and upper limestone series of the west of Scotland; the species, as I formerly stated, ranging upwards into the millstone grit, being- found in the sandstone and shales of that group to the north-east of Glasgow. One of the largest and finest varieties of Sjnrifera hisulcata obtained in the west of Scotland, is that found in the shales overlying the cement limestone at Orchard, near GifFnock, on the Busby railway. The strata belong to the upper limestone series, and this form, so far as yet known, seems to be peculiar to that horizon. It is very deep between the valves, and comes very near to Spirifera onosqiiensis, a species not hitherto recognised from Scotland, being only distinguislied from it by its fewer ribs. It is very probable that all these varieties of Spirifera trigonalis are only varieties produced by descent from one original type, which seems to have been very variable, the variations probably being /■ NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY OF GLASGOW. 41 caused by the conditions of the sea bottom on which it lived. Mr Davidson states, that at the time when he commenced his investigations amongst the British Carboniferous Sjnrifera, there were about one hundred and seventeen described species. After a long and searching investigation, he came to the conchision that eiglity-six of these so-called species were mere synonyms and varieties, and out of the thirty-one species admitted to his lists, only some twenty-three have been satisfactorily determined. All this variation, therefore, favours the view that many of the closely- allied forms once ranked as species, are only varieties of one original type. One point in connection with the distribution of Sinrifera trigonaUs and its varieties in our strata I wish to refer to before I have done, and that is its disappearance throughout a consider- able thickness of strata, represented by the fresh-water beds of our middle coals and ironstones of the Possil and Govan group. The absence of decidedly marine remains from this group of strata, points to physical conditions that once more shut out the sea from the space occupied by their area, and during which the strata accumulated w^ere such as had either grown upon land, or had been deposited in lake bottoms of fresh water origin. Witli the return of the sea, during the upper limestone period, returned also Sjmifera trigonaUs, and some of its varieties, as well as many other of the older forms of Carboniferous marine life. These maintained for a period a sort of shifting existence, until they finally disappeared, by the shutting out of the sea during nearly the whole time of the deposition of the upper Carboniferous coal measures. Evidences of these physical changes are derived from the study of the groups of fossils found in the various strata, these affording the only true key to the history and conditions of the fossiliferous sedimentary deposits of every geological period. II. — On some Plants rare in the West of Scotland, ohserved during last Summer. By Mr Jaimes Eamsay, Vice-President. Mr Eamsay stated that on 3d July, 1875, along with Prof. A. Dickson, he had visited the island of Cumbrae, and while passing along the margin of a field of oats, just coming into ear, they discovered among the corn a great many plants of the Night- flowering Catch-fly (Silene noctiflora), an annual species, confined in Scotland entirely to the eastern counties. This was the only 42 PROCEEDINGS OF THE time lie liad ever seen the plant growing, and he had no doubt it had been introduced with seed corn, and would likely establish itself in Cumbrae, for in a neighbouring field they found the Penny cress (Thlasjn arvensis), also a denizen of the east, but which is seldom seen in the west, excepting occasionally on ballast or rubbish heaps. On the 10th of the month they visited Benlomond, but neither in ascending nor descending the mountain was anything met with that they had not seen there before. One of the party, however, who in coming down had taken a different route from the others, succeeded in picking up specimens of three plants worthy of notice. The Holly fern (Polystichum loncldtis), is chiefly found on the highest mountains of Scotland and Wales. It was last summer reported as having been got on Benvoirlich, but it has not hitherto been recorded as found on Benlomond. The next to be noticed, Potentllla aljiestris, is a very attractive species, with deep rich, golden yellow flowers, and the only stations given for it in the " British Flora " are the Clova and Breadalbane mountains. The third noticeable species was Arenaria veriia, which is quite common in the east, growing plentifully on Arthur's Seat and the Corstorphine hills, but not recorded hitherto as found in the west. It is noticeable that neither of these plants, nor Sihhaldia inocumhcns, which grows abundantly on the mountain, are mentioned in Kennedy's ^' Clydesdale Flora," although Ben- lomond comes within the range of its stations. January 25tii, 187G. Professor John Young, ]\I.D., F.P.S.E., President, in the chair. Messrs Alexander Hill, Daniel Wilson, George Rennie, and William Baxter, were elected ordinary members of the Society. SPECIMENS EXHIBITED. Mr Francis G. Binnie exhibited two specimens of Trichoptera, united by authors under the llalesiis digitatiis of Schrank, and remarked that three species arc confused under this name, two of which — viz., those exhibited — seem to be British. The first, H. radiaius, Curt., is not uncommon by the Clyde at Carmyle, and by the Allander, also in the vicinity of the Cloch. The second, •/■ NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY OF GLASGOW. 43 11. digitatus, Sclir., is a larger insect, more yellow in colour, and has the longitudinal grey streaks in the apical cells of anterior wings more or less broken up, giving a freckled appearance to that portion of the wings. The inferior abdominal appendices of the male are widely furcate ; these parts in //. radiatus being simj^le, with the apex excised. It occurs along with the last, by the Clyde and the Allander. Both species are mixed under digitatus in Stephen's collection. For the nomenclature I am indebted to Mr E. M'Lachlan, the first living authority on the group, who is at present engaged upon a monographic revision of the European Trichoptera. 31r John A. Harvie-Brown, M.B.O.U., corresponding member, exhibited a fine specimen of the Great Grey Shrike, Lanius excuhitor, which had been killed at Tongue, Sutherlandshire, on 7th Dec, 1875, and was sent to him in the flesh by Mr John Crawford. Mr Peter Cameron exhibited specimens oiMacropliya albijmnctata, Fallen, from Perthshire and Aberdeenshire. It is a species new to the British fauna, and has been recorded hitherto only froni Scandinavia, but he had also specimens of it from eastern Germany, where it is in all probability confounded with M. alUcinda. Dr Dewar exhibited a pair of live "Wild Cats, Felis catus, Linn., which had been obligingly lent by Mr Henry Martin, Buchanan Street, and remarked that this species was frecjuently met with in Inverness-shire. He said he knew of one gamekeeper who had obtained a dozen specimens in a short time. He had no doubt that the pair exhibited were the real Wild Cat, and not merely specimens of the Domestic Cat run wild. Mr Harvie-Brown corroborated Dr Dewar's remarks. He had seen Wild Cats among the bircli woods of Sutherlandshire, where they are not uncommon, and considered that the markings of the fur and the conformation of the head and tail were sufficient to distinguish them from the domestic animal. PAPERS READ. I. — Note regarding the occurrcncG of the American Bittern, Botaurus lentiginosu.% in May. By I\Ir Jai\ies Lui\isden, F.Z.S. At the November meeting of the Society Mr Lumsden placed upon the table a Bittern, which had been killed in Islay in the previous month. At that time he could not confidently state to which species the bird belonged, not having had an opportunity 44 PROCEEDINGS OF THE before the meeting of comparing it with other specimens, or of consulting any work on the subject. Since tlien, however, he had carefully examined the bird, and he could now state that it is a specimen of the American Bittern. Mr Harvie-Brown and Dr Dewar also identified the sjoecimen. It was killed about the last week of October on the shore at Islay, and is the fifth or sixth specimen recorded from Scotland. II. — Shtch of the Ornithology of the Loicer Petchora, tclth some account of a Journey to the Delta of that river, and to the Tundras of N. E. liussia ; with remarks on the migratory movements of the species olserved. By Mr John A. Hara^ie-Brown, M.B.O.U., corre- sponding member. This journey was undertaken by Mr Henry Seebohm, F.Z.S., and Mr Harvie-Brown, during the spring and summer of 1875. After describing shortly their route from London to Archangel, — 2d to 19th March, — and sojourn at the latter place, the writer entered into details regarding the incidents of travel and scenery along their way through the less known' country between Arch- angel and Ust Zylma on the great river Petchora, — Gth to IStli April, — specially noting the scenery of the Kuloi Eiver, a tributary of the Mezen, and referring his hearers to a fuller description in Eae's " Land of the North Wind." He also casually made mention of the migrating bands of Samoyedes who inhabit in summer the dreary tundras northward and eastward of the town of Mezen, and with whom the travellers, later on their journey, had abundant opportunity of becoming acquainted. They passed to the eastward of Mezen through almost uninterrupted forests for GOO miles, travelling day and night, and only stopping at the stations, which are from 14 to 33 A^ersts apart (3 versts are equal to 2 English miles), for the purposes of changing horses or taking a hurried meal. A great stretch of this forest country, containing about 14,000,000 acres, and about 400 miles in length, is held by Mr KusanofF, of Mezen, in grant from the Crown, for the purpose of felling and exporting the timber. The vastness of this great country more and more impressed the travellers as they passed onwards on their journey through the deep pine woods, the wild cries of the yemstschik or driver, and the constant crunching and thumping of the hard frozen snow against the sides of the sledge, being the only sounds to disturb the otherwise silent forests. The NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY OF GLASGOW. 45 curiosity of the inhabitants at the villages or stations was also more noticeable from day to day; and, as they reached farther to the eastward, the native love of rude ornamentation and carving on the road-side crosses was also observed. After six days and nights of sledge-travel, they arrived at Ust Zylma on the loth April. Here they remained until the 10th June, waiting for the summer, and for the breaking up and clearing away of the ice on the great river, which took place on the 22d May and ten succeeding days. During this time much interesting information regarding the Samoyedes was gathered, and a collection of imple- ments, dresses, and harness for deer formed, which is destined for the Christy Ethnological Museum in London. After describing Ust Zylma, a long straggling town of about 2000 inhabitants, on the east bank of the great river Petchora, which rises far to the southward, in the government of Perm, and after a course of over 1000 miles, flows into the Arctic Ocean, in about 68 Jo north latitude; and having described in general terms the willow-covered banks and islands between Ust Zylma and a place called Alexievka, the port of the timber-trading company, situated near the river, Mr Harvie-Brown enumerated the species of birds which they met with, a hundred in number, between the two places named. At Alexievka the travellers remained from the 19th June, the day of their arrival, till the 2d August, during which time they added about another dozen of birds to their list. They then embarked on their voyage home, round the North Cape, in a small schooner, 149 tons register, the "Triad" of Campbeltown, Captain Charles Taylor ; and, after a five weeks' voyage, landed at Elsinore, reaching England on the 10th September, having been absent six months. They met with and identified in all 113 species of birds, and brought home over 1000 skins and 1000 eggs. An examination of these specimens, and of the travellers' journals, resulted in the following papers, which it is recommended should be read in connection with the present : — " ]N"otes on the Birds of the Lower Petchora " (" The Ibis " for January, April, July, and October, 187G),byHenry Seebohm, F.Z.S., and John A. Harvie-Brown. " Notes of a Journey to, and Ornithological Observations on, the Lower Petchora in 1875," by J. A. Harvie-Brown; part of which is printed in Proc. Eoy. Phys. Soc, Edin., 18 70, p. 8L 46 PROCEEDINGS OF THE Various articles on the rarer and more interesting species, in Mr Dresser's "Birds of Europe," Parts xlii., et seqq. " On tlie migration of Birds in IST. E. Russia," by H. Seebohm, in Eowley's "Ornithological Miscellany," Part iv., May, 1876, p. 239. BemarJcs on Migration. In the introductory portion of the first of the papers above noted, Mr Seebohm and I have indicated, in a general waj?", the duration of the migratory season of 1875 for birds in the district in which our observations were made, and have taken notice of the numbers of species added to our list from day to day. Further, under each species we have recorded our first recognition of it, along with other particulars, including distribution, habits, and nidification, which matters will also be found treated of at greater length in Seebohm's articles in the "Birds of Europe." In the second of the papers above noted, I have given a list of fifteen of the rarer and more interesting species met with, along with references ; and in the last, Seebohm has already treated of the subject of migration. In preparing the following list of species and table of migratory movements, I have desired to confine myself to remarks upon the latter subject. I am aware of the difficulties of the subject and of the imperfection of this table, an imperfection which can only be partially rectified by further and repeated observations in diff'erent localities, in diff*erent years, and by a large staff of observant naturalists, who will tabulate their records so that they can be used for comparison. My desire now is to supply a link, necessarily incomplete though it be, in this long chain of facts and comparisons ; and I hope that some interest may be found to attach to it, and some results, however small, be gleaned from it. Our head-quarters for observations during the time of migration in 1875, were at Ust Zylma, 300 miles from the mouth of the Petchora (G5° 2G' N. lat.), and at Ilabariki, a few versts further north, or lower down the river, and the time was between the 15th April and the lltli June. "We believe that we were stationed rather too far to the west- Ward to meet the main body or direct tide of migrants, and that a large proportion of the species which we afterwards met with, at their more northerly breeding stations, in summer, must have reached these breeding stations by some more direct route, and NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY OF GLASGOW. 47 ■without passing our points of observation. There can be little doubt, we think, that the valley of the great Petchora river, in conjunction with that of the Volga, forms one of the great channels along which the vernal migrants pour in a great wave from south-west to north-east,* but that many species, when they reach Ust Ussa, — at the junction of the rivers Ussa and Petchora, GOO miles from the junction of the latter with the sea, — do not go out of their course by following down the river past Ust Zylma, ]Dut continue their journey to the northward, spreading, like the rays of a fan, over the northern tundras and forests, or flying direct to their breeding haunts on the shores of the Arctic sea. In some seasons, no doubt, this movement may be ruled by prevailing winds on their arrival at Ust Ussa, in conjunction with cold or heat or want of food, lateness or earliness of the Arctic summer ; and therefore, while in some seasons they thus pursue their northerly course, as in 1875, in others they may be compelled to pass Ust Zylma. In illustration of a parallel case, I may instance what the authors of a Eussian work, treating of the birds of the Volga, say. They tell us that the Grey Plover is seen both in May and in September, i.e., on their vernal and autumnal migrations, in small flocks, at Kasan, hut not every year. (Fide " Ibis," April, 1876). It is also possible that we missed some of the other migrants by leaving as early as the 11th of June. Thus, at Ust Zylma, before that date, we only saw two Wigeons, which we afterwards found to be the most abundant species of duck down the river and on the delta ; and we were told by the sportsmen at Ust Zylma, that they generally arrive en masse, some time after the Pintail ducks put in an appearance. On the other hand, however, we found these two species breeding at Ilabariki at the same date, — the beginning of June, — and only a few days after the arrival of the latter, which was first noticed by us on the 18th May. I do not think, however, that we can have missed many species in this way. I now proceed to tabulate the species met with. Under the heading " Eemarks " in the following columns, C. stands for common ; R, rare ; A., abundant. * Vide "Encyclopedia Brltannica," Ninth Edition, Vol. ii., 1S76, p. 75S, where Professor Newton, in his article " Birds," quotes Von Middendorff*s *' Die isepiptesen Ensslands, Grundlagen zur Erfoschung der Zugzeiten und Zugrichtungen der Vogel Ensslands. St. Petersburg, 1855." 48 PROCEEDINGS OF THE o d o -t-3 o da d a» o o xfi 111 m >= t>» O o M ferH w, I— t o w Ul o en C rt cS * pq S^ "I ^ * * * ft ^ CO O O m o CO o > >-t ^>> > > > > CO CO • ,^* -H CM CO * 5jC *j? ?jC ^^ ^j^ ^p ?j^ ^p ?]^ ^f* 5j^ * * >f= >f< * * * * >}< ;fj CO d :c> M ^ w --^ to O zn c '^ ^ d rt : cj *-" a> d^ o yj w m := d to a; p J^ 3 d d o o O d !=! d ^ v: 8 fcD o i^ O 3 o d O C/J ^ s O o Sjc d fcr d o . ■ — ■ r^ -^— xn VI m Ul ..-....-- '^.d ::; CO s s- .15. i^ d o o o o Ct_c d d o cMcoTjiocor^cccsOi— toico'^ocDi^oociOf-iCMco r-(i— It— (i— Ir— IrHr— lr-lr-lr- o o PS o o CO o PS c o . g c3 t* S C ss o S G (1) <0 P5 o O ^ ^ >, i-H ic .S CO oi o o oi CM j^ CO • '^i t^ CO r-H K^r-t CMl-<^CMr-fc -Cv-iisH^sS^sJjJJiO.. ;};>)(>{;>(;;|<::jc:f;;Jc;jc^;jj>(s>|i;f; CO o cc J; !3 O o fc!_ b !S --^ fl ^ a3 O rCl <:^ »j O c3 ?< 1^ rt r3 o c3 a; Ci Qi !-< M :0 Ph o o o o -1-2 P EC . , § -C •- ^ S ^ " .3 -^3 -i-3 O • I— I .-^ p^ CO Tt t^ c3 in o VOL. IIL D 50 PROCEEDINGS OF THE I w H '^^ > o o CO W w o H U ^ c o . O 2 c3 c« « > C 11 1^- ft u o o CP5 CO to O Ph . o o s ^ O O o o -U -1-3 o o o -^' Iz; d ki c5 o d 6 ^ tzi d p^' p4 d 6 d ^ ^ d d p4 d ^- * ^ * >H ^ * ^ * • • > f* p» > 1^ 0? o1 —I ' > > > -z^ o oi oi • CM ri CM • CM ^ CM ^> > > • : > 1— 1 • CM *? "« s :i<>Ji;f«5|«5|c;t;;fi5lt>is * >fs H« :|^ ^ :}: >!; ijs ^ ^|c ^ o !2; c5 ?2 c ^ § ^ s, rt O o ,.::; cj !» •- o d "= ' CAipLnPH I-* CXJ Ci O r— I CM CC Tj< T^ -^ O lO »c o H» :; r> o • (—< O c 0^ O) :=: o C/J '-1 Ph r-; if> o 1 a -tj ►^ rJ OPc; d rt in 'a o cq . ^ 1': fcX) CO • <— ' I o I— t O s a Oh • .-H o tc-P 2 ^ 1—1 r-H O ^H O) CO .r-C O p, O O cfl g ■ /— , ci ci rt £JJ -i tv, ;h ^^ jh 2 ;i ci rQ C o a P-^ CO 5 O w o r^ cx> o c -— I 'M ?o -t '-t O O lO o o o o o o w w t^ GO ;::; C3 o NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY OF GLASGOW. 51 a 'A w > o pi O PS o w o El c/2 -1^ CO c3 C r—^ • a ^ fl •^ CJ s d -!J ci H d S • • d d • -tj -1-3 >-^ fl a n a> tn -a Ph >> rH c -t-a -1-3 d Ol .0 . -.0 . w o c o S3 C 03 CD ^ O ;2; ft :: a! 2 in c -^ "to o P3 s « o H <; P4 o p 02 Ph Q o O p^!2;Qd^Q.c4dnHd^<5ldii • * * * 5{! * ^ t- >i^ ;fc ^ •?^ • O .0 • O X G > :.^-.^>i>> : ''^ '^ CM * ^-: --• 00 i-H r-i . CM :0 r-H CM r-H '. 1 — 1 • ^ CM >!<:^:^^^^>[<:^;f::^^;i<4:i}::^^^^ if; if; >[;>}:>;< d O) M 'CO s^T rd '— ; ^ c^ o o >^.2 J£ ^ -1-3 d d C/J^ 2 --! rt 2 d .;4 d « d , '^d d i5 "^ <=> 5 ^ fcc P- (5 o M o c3 i:^ d S c r- (X) rt 1-1 -M ., o -^ d ^ :0 d ce •-' o ^ to • o " -^ 5 tj o fcJD d M >^ X .3 ■^ O O g :n ^ ^r^ O O r- r' ^ o o ^it *;:! 2 :d sill M CO M '71 •-' ? ?-l d d Qj '^ cncD-^fMco-tiCwr^GOC^o^cMro-t^i-ocoi^cooO'— I or-.l-^i:^i-^l^l^l:-r^I>.Jt^00C000(XicZ)00(X)CX)00c»C5C35 a c o 13 O to in 'o &. CO to o s F — I CO eS Pi cS O u Cm 52 PROCEEDINGS OF THE ■^ <» 6 52; Pi o P5 c kr-l c O Zfl o P5 EH • r-t r-i ^- rt i (U CS rt o <1^ a> o ■73 ^ o o : t SM c5 ,>3 -1^ c3 CO a £-1 o M 52i W ^ -< Ph K ^ «2 M O o . o . o . [25 d d Q Ph O tz; <1 5^; o c o . o c * * * * * * * * * * ? S c3 -to o In' • • • • • • • « • * * 5|< . :Js . >}; >|< >{< i|s * tC k ;> ;> cc CO* d I— ( 1—1 CM CO »0 lO ?0 s to ^;fc>f<>f;>fi^:ji5}i;f:;fs^>|c5f;:f;>|;^jf:>f!5(!jf;>f: O) ID cc; o O '^ CM cci 1^ ir: CO 1^ CO Oi c C5C5CiOC5Ci'CiCJO ^ CM fO -f >.0 CO J^ CC 05 O c o o o o o o c c ^ (M CO NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY OF GLASGOW. 53 An examination of tlie above table gives the following re- sults, 60 far as we are able to judge from the data at command. Of the 113 species mentioned (PhyUoscopiis neglectus (Hume), true to its name, having been inadvertently left out in the num- bering), we find only 16 species which are undoubtedly resident, and two others — the Bullfinch and Yellow-hammer, to which I have attached queries (?) — though I believe they may be con- sidered as very early migrants, along with the Snow Bunting, Lesser and Mealy Eedpoles. Of these 1 6 Residents, however, the Hooded Crow, though resi- dent at Ust Zylma, is said by the natives to be migratory between that and Gorodok (or Pustozersk), arriving at Gorodok about the lOth May and quitting it in the dead of winter. On the other hand, the Magpie is said to remain there all winter, appearing, therefore, to be more hardy than its convener. Of the remainder, which, for convenience, we may class under Migrants — 95 in number— the Snow Bunting, Lesser and Mealy Redpoles, would appear to be the earliest to arrive, if we put aside the two species I have marked as doubtful, viz., the Bull- finch and the Yellow-hammer. The House-sparrow appeared to gain additions to its numbers in May; but I feel also some- what doubtful about its being really a migrant, as suspicions of its presence as early as the 15th April — the day after our arrival at Ust Zylma — w^ere so strong as almost to amount to a certainty, although we did not succeed in procuring specimens until the 18th May, after which time they rapidly became more plentiful. Of the other undoubted Migrants, 25 species were not observed to pass or visit Ust Zylma or Habariki up to the time we left, viz., the 11th June. These were Nos. 4, 39, 53, 54^, 57, 6G, G7, 71, 75, 77, 79, 80, 81, 83, 95, 96, 98, 99, 103, 104, 107, 108, 109, 110, and 111 of the above list. Of these 20 species we may, I think, reasonably suppose that the following really did not pass Ust Zylma or Habariki, but reached their breeding grounds by a more direct route or routes : some probably striking north from Ust Ussa, as before suggested; others reaching their breeding stations by following the coast line — as, for instance, Lams 54 PROCEEDINGS OF THE glaucus^ and L. marhmis. I say reasonably suppose, because it was not until very long afterwards that we met with these species. They are Nos. 66, 67, 77, 79, 80, 81, 83, 90, 107, 108, 109, 110, 111, and also 39, 71, 75, 95, 96, 98, 103, 104. The first 13 of these we afterwards met with only on the tundra and the far-out islands of the Petchora Gulf; and the other 8 were found on the river and its islands, but considerably to the north. Of each of Nos. 4, 53, 54^, we got only one specimen; and they may or may not have passed Ust Zylma. If we consider, however, that Phylloscopiis tristis, an eastern species and of the same group as 53 and 54^, was not uncommon at Ust Zylma, then there is a probability that these latter also would find their way north by a not very different route. No. 57 we did not see on migration, because we had no opportunity of visiting suitable ground at the right time ; but very soon after leaving Habariki, we found it in full song amongst the willow thickets. No doubt, could we have reached the west shore of the Petchora, opposite Ust Zylma, between the 22d May and the 10th June, we would also have been able to add it sooner to our list. We were prevented from doing this by the flooding of the river and the stream of ice. For convenience of comparison of the dates of arrival of migratory species at Ust Zylma and in Egypt, I append the following table : — A comparative Tahle of the arrivals of Birds in Egypt, and in the district around Ust Zylma and Habarild, in N.E. Ilussia. Name of SrEciEs. Egypt. Say 30° N. Lat. U. Zylma. 05' 30' N. Lat. Time. Rand Martin Feb. 21st IMarch 8th „ 14th „ 31st April 5 th „ Tth „ 23d June 10th May 21st „ ■2(;th 12th June 12th 3d ]\Iay 22d 112 days. 84 „ 53 „ 42 „ ()8 „ 58 „ 30 „ Wlipatcar Swallow Redstart Sedf>e Warbku' Cuckoo Tree Pipit * Upon an examination of such papers as I have access to upon the Birds of the countries bordcrini,^ the coasts of the east of tlie Mediterranean, I can find no record of the occurrence of Lams rjlaucns, and very few records of its occurrence in the Mediterranean at all. Salvador! sa^s that L. fjlaucus NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY OF GLASGOW. 55 The dates of arrival in Egypt are copied from my friend Mr J. H. Gurney's " Eambles of a Naturalist in Egypt," 187G, p. 112. The comparison, I believe, will be found in some degree useful, as there is an extreme probability that many even of the individual birds, not to mention species, which pass down the Nile, continue their flight northward through the plains and valleys of Southern Eussia and descend the valley of the Petcliora. Corresponding with me on the subject of migration, J\lr J. H. Gurney writes as follows : "The comparison of your dates and my Egyptian ones on the one hand, and of my Algerian ones with English ones on the other, must in a measure show the rates at which they travel ; and, if they take longer in travelling in the East than in the West, the greater number of observers in England must be taken into consideration." An additional cause for greater time spent in migration in the East, appears to me to be found in the longer continuance of winter, and consequent scarcity of food, deterring the birds from reaching their far northern breeding limits. I might here quote at greater length from Mr Gurney's interesting correspondence, but I refrain for two reasons — first, because by doing so, I would get beyond the bounds of this connection; and, secondly, because I understand that Mr Gurney intends treating of the subject in a future paper. Of course the foregoing table must be ofi"ered for the present in its incompleteness, as there is a great want of tabulated records between Egypt and Ust Zylma, and the time cannot be considered to have arrived in which to generalize more fully, until these records are supplied, or at least until the chain more nearly approaches completion. Those who desire to pursue the subject further — and a very interesting, if intricate one, it is— would do well to consult the following papers : — " Die isepiptesen Eusslands. Grundlagen zur Erforschung der Zugzeiten und Zugrichtungen der Vogel Eusslands," by Dr von Middendorff, St Petersburg, 1855 ; and Professor Newton's is an occasional visitant in Liguria and Venice; and two specimens are in the Genoa Museum, said to have been killed in Liguria. Lieut.-Col. Irby notices it as having occurred once on the coast of Tangiers ("Ornithology of the Straits of Gibraltar," p. 215). Its absence there would seem a good reason for excluding it from the list of such as would migrate down the Petchora; and I believe that the large gulls seen passing over Ust Zylma (' Ibis,' Jan., 1876), must have belonged to some other species. 5G rPvOCEEDINCrS OF THE remarks on the same, in the ninth edition of The Encyclopedia Britannica, under the article 'Birds/ p. 768. For a complete list also of the principal works treating of migration of Birds, see the Foot Note No. 3, on the same page. The Chairman proposed a vote of thanks to ^Ir Harvie-Brown for his interesting paper, which he was sure the meeting had highly appreciated, and made a few remarks on the large and fine collection of specimens with which it had been illustrated, many of the species being very rare and little known. The motion was cordially responded to ; and several donations to the library having been announced, the Society adjourned till the last Tuesday of February. February 29th, 187G. Professor John Young, M.D., F.R.S.E., President, in the chair. SPECIMENS EXHIBITED. Mr D. C. Glen, F.G.S., exhibited a specimen of Lepidodendron ohovatiim in clay-band ironstone, from the Possil ironstone series near Robroyston, which Avas remarkable for the large size and bold sculpturing of the leaf scars. Mr John Young made some remarks on the specimen, and stated that few would believe tliat Lejndodendron was ornamented in the bold manner indicated in this specimen, except those who were acquainted with the plants in their uncrushed condition, the great majority of the specimens found in our coal-fields having their leaf scars much flattened by pressure. Mr Glen presented the specimen to the Hunterian Museum plant collection. Mr Thomas Chapman exhibited a living specimen of the Praying jMantis, Mantis religiosa, in the pupa state, the wings being undeveloped, and stated it had been brought from the banks of the Nile in January of this year. The insect excited considerable interest amongst the members, from its singular attitude. The long body is rested on tlie four hinder legs, witli the head and neck thrown back, and the two fore legs raised upwards and crossed over each other. To this strange posture, NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY OF GLASGOW. 57 which it assumes when watching for the insects which are its prey, it is indebted for its name ; and during the Middle Ages it was regarded with very superstitious feelings. It is very ferocious ; and if a number are placed together in a box a free fight imme- diately commences ; in a short time the weakest have to succumb, and are frequently devoured by the survivors. PAPERS READ. L — On the LejJioceridae of the Glasgow District By Mr Francis G. Binnie. The writer stated that he had been engaged for the last two years in collecting and studying the Trichoptera or Caddis flies of Scotland, his attention being chiefly directed to those occurring in this district. Having no observations of former workers to form a basis, he had to a large extent to work single-handed j but he begged to acknowledge his obligations to students of other branches of entomology, and more especially to Messrs Cameron and King, who had kindly secured for him any specimens that came in their way. There was yet much to be done before anything like a complete list for this district could be given ; but what had been obtained probably fairly represented the species likely to occur in this vicinity. The Leptoceridae is the third largest in the group, which is divided into seven families. M'Lachlan, in his monograph of the British Caddis flies, pub- lished in 1868, describes twenty-four species distributed among six genera, and to this nothing has been added in the more recent catalogue published by the Entomological Society of London in 1870. Mr Binnie then enumerated the British species seriatim, described the local species as they occurred, with brief notices of the absent ones, and pointed out such as are yet likely to be found. Excluding Setodes, of which genus he had not seen any representatives in this district,''' there remained seventeen species, of which eleven had been identified as occurring in this quarter, and of the remaining six, four seemed scarce and local, but he hoped that the other two would yet be found in the Hogganfield and Frankfield districts, which had not been thoroughly explored. * Since the date of the paper, Setodes testacca (Curtis) has been captured near Mihigavie. — F. G. B, 58 PROCEEDINGS OF THE IL — Sketch Palmer on the Birds of Loch Lomond and Neighbourhood. By Mr James Lumsden, F.Z.S. Those parts of the counties of Dumbarton and Stirling which are drained by the streams flowing into Loch Lomond, are rivalled by few places in Scotland as a varied ornithological field. There are not many districts of the same extent which can boast of such a long list of species, some of which have been met with in no other part of Scotland. Yet, with the exception of a list of the birds of the parish of Luss in the " Statistical Account of Scotland," 1790, and Mr Eobert Gray's excellent list of the more interesting birds of Loch Lomond,* little or nothing has been written on the bird life of the district. The Golden Eagle may still, although rarely, be seen in the district, and in 1872 it nested within ten miles of the loch. Not very many years since the Osprey used to nest in tlie old castle of Inch Galbraith, and the Kite in Kenmore Wood. The high rocks of Inch Tavannach are now the nesting place of Kestrels and Jackdaws, and often a pair of Barn Owls j while in the woods on the border of the loch and neighbouring hills, the Sparrow-hawk builds in considerable numbers, their old nests being often occupied the second year by the Long-eared Owl. All the streams and mountain burns are enlivened by the Dipper — or " Water Craw," as it is called in the district — that bird of perpetual motion. The wooding round the loch is a favourite resort of many of the warblers. The Grasshopper Warbler has been taken in Kenmore Wood ; and the Sedge Warbler, AVhitc-throat, Wood Warbler, and Willow Warbler, are not uncommon. The common Jay is met with here also ; the banks of Loch Lomond being one of the few places wdicre the species can still be called plentiful in Scotland, t Among the heather and ferns on some of the hills, the Night-jar, Goat-sucker, or Fern Owl — by any of which names it is known — is sometimes observed ; but its nest is not easily found, the eggs being laid on the ground without any proper nest. * Zoology of the Banks of Loch Lomond .and its vicinity, by Eobert Gray, contained in Maclure and Macdonald's " Guide to the Trossachs and Loch Lomond." Glasgow, 1864. t " Scottish Naturalist." Vol. iii., p. 236. NATURAL IIISTOllY SOCIETY OF GLASGOW. 59 On the higher hills Snow Buntings are got in severe weather during winter ; and Ptarmigan breed on Ben Lomond every year in limited numbers. The flat shore at the mouth of the Endrick has proved a rich field for all kinds of waders. Here have been killed the Green- shank, Wood Sandpiper, Little Stint, and the Black-tailed God- wit in breeding plumage. In this "district the Common and Jack Snipe are abundant, and the Freshwater Sandpiper and Dunlin are far from rare. In winter the loch is a harbour for many kinds of ducks, and occasionally geese and wild swans. The Shoveller has been obtained, and also the Pin-tail and Long-tailed Duck. The Smew has once or twice been shot, and the Goosander is included in Mr Gray's list of Loch Lomond birds. Bernicle, Brent, Canada, and Egyptian Geese have all been shot on the loch -, and both Bewick's Swan and the Whooper have been obtained in severe winters. But there is perhaps no spot in the district so full of interest to the naturalist as Inch Moan, or the Peat Island, which is the breeding place of many gulls, terns, and ducks. The island is a long flat piece of ground, covered in some places with bog myrtle and rank grass mixed with heather. At the west end of the island is a clump of small Scotch fir trees, in the middle of which stands an old cottage, in the ruined chimneys of which Jackdaws breed every year. The nests of the Wild Duck, Teal, and Eed- breasted Merganser, are got amongst the undergrowth and below furze bushes, on the drier parts of the ground. Of the Gulls, the Black-headed is the first to arrive and take up its abode in the most marshy places; some of the nests being built on tussocks of grass or rushes, in the midst of pools and bogs. The Lesser Black-backed Gull is the next to come, and along with it a few pairs of the Great Black-backed. The Black-backs choose drier grass than the former species, and place their nests among the heather or other cover, and sometimes among the stones on the shore ; the larger species especially choosing this position, and often building their clumsy nests close to the water's edge. After the gulls are all settled, the terns arrive, and usually breed on a part of the island where the ground is harder and the under growth not so rank. I do not know a finer sight than the low island on a summer day. The Great Black-backed Gulls, with their hoarse, loud croak, 60 PROCEEDINGS OF THE flying overhead; while the terns, with their sharper cry, dash backwards and forwards in their swallow-Hke flight; and from the beach is heard the trilling v/histle of the Freshwater Sand- piper, or the single note of the Dunlin ; the whole forming a scene which gladdens the heart of the lover of bird life. And the pleasure is increased from the knowledge that on Inch Moan the birds can rear their young in safety, as the owner preserves it strictly during the breeding season. The following is a list of the species which have occurred in the Loch Lomond district.* Order i, HAP TOMES. Fam. FALCON IDA E. Golden Eagle, Aqiiila clmjsathis (Linnaeus). Rare; but sometimes seen in the vicinity. White-tailed Eagle, IlaUactns alUcilla (Linnaeus). Has been observed. OSPREY, Pandion halia'diis (Linnaeus). Used to breed on Inch Galbraith,t but none have been seen for some years. Peregrine Falcon, Falco j^eregrinus. Gmelin. Not very common, but breeds in the neighbourhood. HoLF.Y, Fako siibhuteo, Linnaeus. Once an inhabitant of the district, but never met with now. It is included in the Ptcv. John Stewart's list of the birds of the parish of Luss.J JNIerlin, Fako acsaloii. Gmelin. Not uncommon, but more rare than the Sparrow-ha^vk or Kestrel. * The nomenclature and arrangement followed is that of Harting's " Hand- book of British Birds," London, 1872. t " Sporting Days," by John Colquhoun, p. 105. X " Statistical Account of Scotland," vol. xvii , p. 247. NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY OF GLASGOW. 61 Kestrel, Falco tinnnnculus. Linnaeus. Common; breeds on some of the islands. Sparrow-hawk, Accipiter nisus (Linnaeus). Very common, and breeds in all the woods. Kite, Milmis ictinus. Savigny. Used to breed in Kenmore Wood, near Tarbert.* Common Buzzard, Bideo vulgaris. Leach. Not uncommon ; breeds in the neighbourhood. EouGH-LEGGED BuzzARD, Buteo Icigojms (Gmelin.). Has occurred in the district. Marsh Harrier, Circiis aeruginosiis (Linnaeus.) Licluded in Mr Stewart's list of the birds of Luss. Hen Harrier, Circus cyaneus (Linnaeus). Rare, but has bred in the neighbourhood. Fam. STRIGIDAE. White Owl, Strlc flammea. Linnaeus. Not uncommon ; breeds on some of the islands. Tawny Owl, Syrnimn aluco (Linnaeus). Common. Nests early in March. Long-eared Owl, Otus vulgaris. Fleming. Very common in many of the woods on the loch side. Short-eared Owl, Otus hrachyotus (Forster). Rare. Order a, INSESSORES. Fam. LAN I ID AE. Great Grey Shrike, Lanitis cxcubUov. Linnaeus. Has been obtained once or twice on the borders of the lake. * "Birds of the West of Scotland," by Robert Gray, 1871, p. 42. G2 PROCEEDINGS OF THE Fam. MUSCICAPIDAE. Spotted Fly-catcher, MnsckaiKt grisola. Linnaeus. A very common summer migrant. A favourite place for the nest of this species is on fruit trees on garden walls. Fam. CINCLIDAE. Dipper, Cinchis aqimticus. Beclistein. Common on all the streams, where it breeds early in spring. Fam. TURD I DAE. MissELTOE Thrush, Tnrdiis viscivoms. Linnaeus. Very common. Song Thrush, Ttinlus miismis. Linnaeus. Exceedingly plentiful throughout the district. Field-fare, Tiirdns inhris. Linnaeus. Common in autumn and winter. Kedwing, Ttinlus iliacus. Linnaeus. Like the last, a winter visitant. Blackbird, Turdus menda. Linnaeus. Very common. Ring Ovzel, Turdtis forqiKdus. Linnaeus. Breeds on most of the hills in the neighbourhood. Fam. SYLVIIDAE. Hedge Sparrow, Accentor modularis (Linnaeus). Very common. Eedbreast, Enjlltaca nilccida (Linnaeus), Very common. Redstart, BidicUla ]?hoeniciim (Linnaeus). A few arc met with every yean NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY OF GLASGOW. G^ Stonechat, Saxicola nibkola (Liniicaeus). Rather an uncommon species. Whixchat, Saxicola ruheira (Linnaeus). Like the preceding, not very common. "Wheatear, Saxicola oenanihe (Linnaeus). Not nearly so common as in many other parts of Scotland. Grasshopper Warbler, Salicaria locustella (Latham). Has been obtained. Sedge Warbler, Salicaria phragmitis (Bechstein). Not uncommon. Blackcap, Sijhia atricainlla (Linnaeus). Very rare. White-throat, Sylvia cinerea. Latham. Common. Lesser Wiiite-tiiroat, Sylvia sykicUa, Latham. Very rare. Wood Wren, Phylhimeusie sihilatrix (Bechstein), Common.* X^^^-'^^/^ /■■ Willow Wren, Phyllopneuste trochihi^. Common. - k'^' r x/- CiiiFJ Chafe, Phyllopneusie nifa (Latham). y Rare. V. - its course sixteen members had been admitted. Five had died during the same period, several of whom had been active and useful associates. Notwithstanding the losses by death, removals, etc., some progress had been made during the year, the roll standing at present at 135 as against 131 reported last year. Eight meetings had been held during the session, and these had been generally well attended. The business was of the usual varied character. The exhibition of specimens embraced all departments of natural science ; and the papers read were of an interesting character. These are in course of publication, and will shortly be in the hands of members. A number of excursions to places of interest in the neighbourhood had been arranged for the summer months, but from various causes, were not so largely taken advantage of as had been expected. The Council hopes that an effort will be made to carry out during the session now commencing, what is one of the primary objects of the Society, and one so well calculated to promote its interest and usefulness. The Lil)rarian reported tliat the boohs were all in excellent order, and the use of them largely taken advantage of by the members. The exchange of pul^lications with kindred Societies NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY OF GLASGOW. 99 had been considerably increased, and was still capable of larger extension. The following gentlemen were elected office-bearers for the session : — Professor John Young, M.D., F.G.S.,F.E.S.E., President; James Eamsay, Thomas Chapman, and James Barclay Murdoch, Vice-Presidents ; Kobert Mason, Secretary ; R J. Bennett, Treasurer ; Peter Cameron, Librarian ; Hugh M'Bean, John Kirsop, James Coutts, James Lumsden, F.Z.S,, Duncan M'Lellan, Henry C. Young, David Corse Glen, C.E., F.G.S., John Young, F.G.S., and Francis G. Binnie, Members of Council. Messrs John Eobertson, James Paton, Joseph Somerville, and James T. M'Callum, were elected ordinary members of the Society. SPECIMENS EXHIBITED. Mr Thomas Chapman exhibited specimens of Papilio antlmacJms from Western Africa, the largest butterfly, and one of the rarest species, known ; also, from Cape Coast Castle, specimens of the large beetle GoUathus clrurii, on which he made a few remarks. PAPERS READ. I. — On a iMCuliarity in the habits of a species of Cinopsilus. By Mr Peter Cameron. Mr Cameron said — The Chalcididae exhibit in their manner of pupation two forms. In the one case the i)upa has each limb enveloped in a separate thin, transparent white pellicle, which does not enfold the organ in a very compact fashion, and when these skins are cast off they do not retain the shape of the creature whose body they covered. In the other type the skin of the pupa is hard and thick, and remains of the same shape after the insect has left it, as it did before. It, moreover, closely envelopes the limbs of the pupa, so as to give it the appearance of the obtected pupa of the lepidoptera, and in no other hymenopterous family do we find pupae of this nature. It seems to be the case also that these two forms are correlated with differences in the habits of the insects, for those of the first class are parasites on gall flies, or on wood boring insects, and they pass the pupa state enclosed in the galls, etc., in which they lived ; while the other tribe are attached to free feeding larvae, and they pass the period of quiescence in a position more or less exposed. The Euloj^hides 100 PROCEEDINGS OF THE belong to this latter class, and many of them have been recorded as parasites of lepidopterous larvae, as also the fact that their pupae are attached by silk threads to the undersides of the leaves upon which their hosts had fed. I now wish to direct attention to the peculiar way in which the pupae of a species of Cirropsihis arrange themselves after leaving the body of the larvae which they had eaten. As a rule, ten to twelve of the chalcids are found in a larva, which they devour almost entirely, the head, forefeet, and a portion of the skin being all that is left, and around these the parasites arrange themselves in a definite circular order, lying on their backs, the head directed to the edges of the leaf, with the other end of the body pointing to the remains of the larva in the centre ; in a word, they are arranged like the spokes of a carriage wheel, the axis being represented by the exuviae in the centre. When they emerge from the caterpillar they are quite soft and white, but in a day or two they become black and hard. As I have seen nine different batches of larvae arranged in this regular way, I think it may be concluded that this is their normal custom. On the other hand, the species of Eulophus pupate without distributing themselves in any definite manner. So far as I can make out, the species is C. lamius, Walk., Mon. Chalc. i., 327, 152 ; but I must confess my utter inability to make anything of Walker's descriptions. IT. — Observations on the progress of Vegetation in the Public Parks, (luring the spring and summer months of 1876. By Mr Duncan M'Lellan, Superintendent of Parks. Mr M'Lellan stated that during the month of January the weather was exceptionally mild, the mean temperature being 361°. The following months of February, March, and April were un- usually cold, wet, and changeable. The lowest point the thermometer reached was on 11th February, when it reached 16° of frost, and 6.77 inches of rain fell during these three months, the mean temperature being 35°. On the 1st of May vegetation was three weeks later than usual, and on the 2d the thermometer indicated 2° of frost, but owing to the extreme lateness of the season no material injury was done to the growth of trees or shrubs, and by the middle of the month they were all proceeding favourably. The oak was in full leaf about the 18th and the ash about the 30th. The ash is generally the earliest of these trees, NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY OF GLASGOW. 101 but this year the reverse was the case ; and this is usually believed to be indicative of a fine summer, as really turned out to be the case. The early part of June was cold and dry, but towards the middle of the month summer fairly set in, and on the 20th the thermometer stood at 84° in the shade. The weather from this date up to the end of August was all that could be desired for growing and maturing the crops and fruit. The highest tempera- ture reached during the season was on 16th July, when 85° was registered in the shade ; and the lowest during the last three months was on 25th August, when the thermometer stood at 34°, being two degrees above the freezing point. The foliage of the trees and shrubs in all the parks was in great perfection this season ; and the finer sorts of flowers, such as geraniums, calceolarias, etc., were in better bloom than usual. The following table shows the maximum and minimum temperature, and the rainfall during seven months of this and last year : — 1875. 1876. Max. Min. Rain Max. Min. Rain. February, 41 32 1.42 inches 32 29 3.11 inches March, 46 35 1.75 35 29 5.00 „ April, 55 36 1.28 52 36 1.66 „ May, 61 44 1.57 61 38 .44 „ June, 62 45 2.54 66 45 2.35 „ July, 70 48 1.40 75 49 2.58 „ August, 67 57 2.62 69 49 2.68 „ The snow-fall was— February 15th, 2 inches; 24th and 25th, 9 ; March 9th and 11th, IJ; 12th and 13th, 2 ; 16th, 3i ; 17th, IJ : 21st and 22d, i ; April 10th and 11th, 2. Total, 22f inches. Mr John Young, F.G.S., made some remarks upon the meeting of the British Association in Glasgow, and said that it must be gratifying to the members of the societies who had taken a part in contributing to the various exhibitions which were then opened, to learn that their efforts had been eminently successful, and had been much appreciated by the visitors. The illustrations of the fauna and flora of the West of Scotland in the Queen's Rooms and in the Kelvingrove Museum, the display of rock specimens, minerals, and of fossils in the Corporation Galleries, and the natural history collection and magnificent suite of minerals in the Hunterian Museum, wliich also contained several 102 PROCEEDINGS OF THE cabinets of Silurian, Carboniferous, and Post-tertiary fossils, had been examined by a large number of visitors, who had expressed the great pleasure these exhibitions had afforded them. He had been assured by many of the distinguished foreigners who had been present that they had never seen collections in which the specimens were so perfect, and where the mountings, whether for the microscope or cabinet, were so well executed, and the arrangement so admirable. He trusted that the workers would not rest contented with what they had accomplished, but that, as every day was bringing to light some new discoveries, either in living or extinct forms, they would continue their investigations and collections, so that, when another opportunity offered, they might be found to surpass any former exhibition. 3 1st October, 1876. Mr Thomas Chapman, Vice-President, in the chair. Mr James Grahame was elected an ordinary member of the Society. SPECIMENS EXHIBITED. Mr John Young, F.G.S., exhibited a series of slides of mounted specimens of Carboniferous silicious sponge spicules found in the fissures of the limestone strata at Cunningham Bedland, near Dairy, Ayrshire. The discovery of the sponge spicules in this deposit is due to the researches of Mr John Smith of Eglinton Iron Works, Kilwinning, he having submitted specimens of the organisms to Mr Young for determination during the course of last summer. Previous to this discovery by Mr Smith, no remains of silicious sponges had been noted from the Carboniferous strata of the British Isles, so that their abundant occurrence in the limestone of the above district is a point of great interest. The bed of limestone in which they are found lies in the lower division of the Carboniferous series of Western Scotland, and crops out on the west bank of the glen at Cunningham Bedland, where it has been worked in former years. The limestone is traversed at intervals by thin bands of silica, and many of the organisms it contains are found in a silicified condition. A narrow trap dyke NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY OF GLASGOW. 103 runs through the limestone strata at this place, the direction being from N.N.W. to S.S.E. This dyke has not caused much displace- ment of the strata ; but the faces of the vertical joints of the limestone in the quarry are seen to be beautifully marked with slickensides, the striae of the polished surfaces running in horizontal directions. By the percolation of water impregnated with carbonic acid along the faces of these joints, the limestone has been curiously eroded into narrow gutters or fissures of a few inches in depth, and it is from the decomposed material filling these fissures that the sponge spicules are to be obtained in excellent preservation. Besides these, other organisms which the limestone contains are to be found in the deposit, many of the species of Productus having their spines still attached to the shell, and weathered quite free from the matrix. The sponge spicules, which are of various sizes, from one-twelfth to three-eighths of an inch, are of tri-radiate and quadri-radiate forms, a few being stellate, while more rarely others are fluke — or anchor-shaped. The rays of the various spicules generally terminate in points, but certain of them terminate in rounded knobs. They agree in general form with many of the silicious spicules found in sponges which still live in our present seas. ]\Ir Young stated that the Carboniferous spicules from Dairy are being investigated by Professor Young and himself. They had provisionally placed them in the genus AcantJwsjiongia of M'Coy, naming the species after the discoverer, Mr Smith. In the same deposit is found an abundance of another organism termed Serjnila parallela of M'Coy. These consistof bundles of tubular silicious rods, varjdng in diameter from the size of fine hairs to one-sixteenth of an inch. This organism, which is not uncommon in other localities in the lower limestone strata of Scotland, is now believed not to be a species of Serimla, but to be somewhat closely, if not generically, related to the recent Hyalonema, one of the glass rod sponges. In strata, where all the other organisms exist in a calcareous condition, Serpula imrallela is always made up of brush-like silicious bundles. This being the case, Dr Young and himself had provisionally placed it in the genus Hyalonema, naming it H. imrallelum. It has been thought probable that this glass rod sponge and the spicules of the Acanthospongia may belong to the same organism, but they had failed as yet in finding any specimens that showed the organic connection of the two forms. 104 PROCEEDINGS OF THE Mr James Lumsden, F.Z.S., exhibited a specimen of the Black Tern, Sterna fissipes, Linn., which had been obtained in Possil Marsh in the beginning of October, and remarked that it was an immature specimen, being evidently a bird of this year. The Black Tern is rare in the West of Scotland ; and although more frequently observed in the east, it cannot be called common in any part of the country, while, so far as is known, no authentic instance of its breeding in Scotland is on record. In England it still breeds in some of the eastern counties, but not in such numbers as it did at one time. In Ireland it is now and then observed, but only as a straggler, and, as in other places where it occurs in the same way, most of the specimens obtained have been in immature plumage. Mr H. Saunders, in his recent paper read before the Zoological Society of London (P.Z.S., 1876, p. 643), gives the distribution of this species as "found throughout Europe, Palestine, and North Africa to the Nile; to South Africa it appears to go only as a winter and somewhat rare visitant." Mr Peter Cameron exhibited a number of new or little known British Hymenoptera, these being — 1. Nematus ivestermanni, Thorns., a species very like, and perhaps only a variety of, N. vesicator, found among osiers on the banks of the Severn, below Gloucester. It is stated to be a gall maker by Thomson, but no precise details of its habits have been published. 2. Nematus vesicator, Bremi., which had been bred from large bladder- shaped galls found in Rannoch last year. 3. Nematus longiserra, Thoms., a species very like N'. histrio, St. Farg., but differing in having the last abdominal segment considerably produced. It was bred from larvae found in Inverness-shire, which had been collected in the belief that they were those of N. histrio, so that the larva of longiserra cannot differ much from tliat of the other. 4. Blennocamim hipimctata, Klug, from Kingussie. This species has been recorded by Stephens as British, but in error, so that the capture of the species in Scotland enables it to be re-introduced as a native of Britain. 5. Blennocamjja Uneolata, Klug ; like the last, this species was erroneously introduced as British by Stephens. It has, how- ever, been bred by Mr J. E. Fletcher of Worcester, so that it is truly British. 6. Pentacrita nigra, Thorns., found at Dairy during the excursion of the Society to that place in August last. 7. Tori/- mi(s hihernans, Mayr, bred from the galls of Neuroter^is lenticidaris, from Cadder Wilderness. There were also shown the undescribed / NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY OF GLASGOW. 105 male of Neniahis imllescens, Hartig, and the chalcid, Calypso com- pressiis, Foerster, from Milngavie. Mr Cameron also exhibited some male individuals of an ant (Leptoihorax acervonnn), which he had found on the top of Ben Lawers during the Society's excursion to that place last July, this being a strange habitat for the species, which is generally found making its nest under the bark of pine stumps. No females or workers were found, nor any indication of a nest on the mountain, where there were certainly no tree stumps, and it was suggested that they had been blown up to the situation in which they were found by a gust of wind. He at the same time mentioned having caught a hive bee on the top of Ben Lawers, and on a neighbour- ing mountain in Eannoch under a stone in June, two specimens of Zicrona coendea, at an elevation of 1500 feet — this being also an agrestal species. ("Taken flying in woods in the spring," "in moss in winter," " among heather in April, May, and October." Douglas and Scott, Brit. Hemip., I., p. 88). Mr Robert Hill, corresponding member, exhibited a number of objects of interest from Berbice, British Guiana, including several species of fungi, specimens of a very large frog, and of the great beetle, Scamhaeus herciiles, which has a proboscis of nearly three inches in length. Mr John Young made a few remarks on the specimens. Mr Archibald Robertson showed a specimen of limestone from Odessa, containing a large number of small organisms, which Mr Young stated was of Eocene age, and corresponded with the nummulitic limestone so widely distributed over the East. Mr T. S. Hutcheson brought forward the nest of a species of pipet from Calcutta, which was of a large size, being composed of dry grass, and substantially put together. They are found hanging from trees, with an opening in the bottom, through which the bird enters to reach the interior. PAPERS READ. I. — On the results of some Experiments on the Leaves of various Trees and Shrubs. By Mr James Napier. A few years ago, when examining some newly-developed leaves of trees, I was much impressed with the fine soft velvety feel they had compared with leaves in autumn. Thinking it probable the cause was in some difference in their composition at these two 106 PROCEEDINGS OF THE periods of their growth, I gathered a number of leaves from different trees and shrubs upon the 1st of June, keeping them in a water bath at a heat of 212° Fah,, until they ceased to lose weight, and I set down the loss by this means as moisture. T then burned off the dry solid organic matter, and obtained the ash. On the 1st of September I took leaves from the same trees, before the leaves had began to change their colour, and submitted them to the same operation ; the results are given in the follow- ing table, reduced to 100 parts for comparison. And although taken from a chemical standpoint, the results may not be without interest to the Natural History Society. 1st June. 1st September. KIND OF TREE OR SHRUB. Solid Solid Moist- Carbon. Ash. Moist- Carbon. Ash ure. matter. ure. matter. Plane, .... 73.54 24.40 2.06 66.50 29.68 3.83 Apple, 61.33 37.31 1.36 54.80 41.20 3.00 Pear, 61.30 36.70 2.00 32.50 64.78 3.72 Lilac, 83.00 15.64 1.35 66.90 30.27 2.83 Laburnum, 73.30 24.50 2.20 59.44 37.31 3.25 Rowan, . 61.15 36.14 2.71 51.65 44.20 4.15 Horse Chestnut, 76.61 21.05 2.34 66.90 30.26 2.84 Willow, . 72.50 26.16 1.34 64.82 31.57 3.61 Hawthorn, 62.85 35.15 2.00 51.63 43.39 5.00 Bay Laurel, 74.00 25.29 0.71 56.80 41.51 1.69 Holly, . . 73.84 25.21 0.95 58.93 38.18 2.89 Gooseberry, 63.35 34.15 2.50 63.06 32.41 4.53 Currant, 16.80 27.80 2.40 60.10 36.10 3.80 It would be unwise to draw conclusions from one course of experiments under the same circumstances, but they are sugges- tive. One thing is evident, that, independent of the important functions which leaves play in the life of the plant, they also accumulate and remove from it a large c^uantity of earthy matter, that might otherwise clog up its life system. And they show the necessity, when experiments are made for determining the quantity of ash which different plants absorb and fix in their system, of paying particular attention to the age of the jDlant, for if, like the leaves, a young plant contains much less earthy matter than an old plant, it may lead vegetable physiologists astray in making their deductions. NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY OF GLASGOW. 107 11. — On a new species of Blennoccmfa (B. alchemillae), with remarhs on the species allied thereto. By Mr Peter Cameron. Blennocampa alchemillae, sp. n. Antennae filiform, longer than the abdomen, the first joint globular, much longer than the 2d, the 3d and 4th nearly equal, the remaining joints a little shorter. Head a little narrower than the thorax, smooth, shining, covered with a fine grey pile. Frontal sutures distinct. Tegulae and basal edge of pronotum white ; scutellum flattish on the top, very smooth and shining; cenchri small, dull white. Abdomen a very little longer than the head and thorax, the apex projecting above, narrow, the sheath of the saws largely projecting and hairy at the apex; sides of abdomen covered sparsely with a white pile. Legs : base of coxae, femora for the greater part, and the extreme apex of posterior tibiae and apical joints of tarsi black ; trochanters, apex of coxae and femora, knees, tibiae and base of tarsi testaceous white. Wings clear hyaline, costa at base and base of stigma whitish testaceous, rest of costa, stigma and nervures black. Marginal nervure joined to 3d submarginal or received in the 4th submarginal cellule ; 2d recurrent nervure received a very little in front of submarginal cellule ; 2d sub- marginal cellule longer and thinner than 3d, angled where it receives the re-current nervure ; 3d submarginal cellule expanded at the apex ; 2d submarginal nervure straight and bent slightly downwards in the direction of the base of the wing ; 2d runs nearly parallel with the 1st ; 3d curved in the middle and running in the direction of the apex of the wing, i.e., in a contrary direction to the other two. The male has the antennae a little longer than the body, covered with a short stiff" pile, the joints thicker and more flattened than in the female, their general form being as in Priophorus; the anal lobes pale testaceous. Length 2-J-2J lines. The species of Blennocampa with the tegulae and pronotum wdiite are diidsible into three groups, arranged according to the neuration of the posterior wings ; in one group there is a middle cellule in both sexes ; it belongs, therefore, to the section Monophadnus of Hartig, e.g., B. hipunctata ; in the 2d, there is a middle cellule in the female, but none in the male (and this circumstance renders impossible the raising of Monophadnus to generic rank, as has been done by some authors, for if so, the sexes would be separated into diff'erent divisions), e.g., B. lineolata, 108 PROCEEDINGS OF THE alU]}ennis, etc.; in the 3d case in both sexes there is no middle cellule, so that this division belongs to Blennocarripa proper, and to it the species here described belongs. It comes near to B. uncta, Klug, a species not known to me, but described by Thomson (Hymen. Scand., i. 219) as having the antennae " longis, abdomine fere longioribus " in both sexes, and by Hartig, (Blatt. u. Holzwespen, p. 269) as having the same organ in the male " etwas Kiirzerals der Hinterleib") but differs in having the antennae much longer than the abdomen in both sexes (in the male they are nearly as long as the body); from B. jnihescens, Zaddach, it is also distinguished by the length of the antennae (and it may be also mentioned that imhescens belongs to the 2d group described above) by the position of the marginal nervure, which in Zaddach's species is received near the middle of the 3d submarginal cellule ; from B. alUpennis^ Zaddach, it is at once distinguished by that species having the 3d antennal joint double the length of the 4th (to say nothing of the length and the different neuration in posterior wing); lineolata is also easily separated by the same peculiarity. B. alchemillae has been taken in the Glasgow districts and in Rannoch, and I found some specimens in Stephens' collection in the British Museum under the name of B. uncta. I have like- wise bred it from a green spiny larva (which did not differ from that of B. lineolata) found on Alchemilla vulgaris in Cadder Wilder- ness. This larva was full fed when I got it; it cast off the skin, with the spines, and became of a pale green colour, without any spines or other projections, immediately after I brought it home. and before a detailed description of it could be taken. There can, however, be no reasonable doubt that it is the same larva as that described by Eeaumur (Mem. Tom. v., pp. 94, 95, pi. 12, fig. 13, 14), and by De Geer (Mem., p. 969, No. 9, pi. 35, fig. 19-23); but these authors had not been able to rear the fly, nor am I aware of any one else having done so. Mr J. E. Fletcher of Worcester has sent me a Blennocampa, which appears to be B. suhserrata, Thomson, Opus. Ent., 285, 22 ; Hymen. Scand., i., 220, 25. It is very like the above species, but the legs are quite black at the base, the pronotum has scarcely any white, the antennae are not much longer than the abdomen, the 3rd joint being distinctly longer than 4th, and the submarginal cellules are much broader, but otherwise the NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY OF GLASGOW. 109 neuration agrees closely enough. Thomson quotes lineolata doubtfully as a synonym, but this is certainly not the case, for suhsermta has no middle cellule in posterior wings, the marginal nervure is joined to the submarginal ; the pronotum is differently coloured; the head is narrower and smaller; the antennae are, if anything, longer, and have a longer pubescence; the joints are more distinctly separated, and project at the apices under- neath; the marginal nervure is joined to 3d submarginal; the 1st submarginal cellule is nearly square (in lineolata it is nearly a parallelogram); the 2d is broader and very little shorter, con- siderably angled where it receives the recurrent nervure (near the middle of the cellule), while in lineolata it is received near the base, and is scarcely angled ; the apex of abdomen is more rounded ; the sheath of saw is longer and more projecting, and the cerci are distinctly visible ; the base of the tarsi are more broadly banded with white; finally, the wings are clearer, and altogether it is a more slender and longer insect. In some observations on the spinose larvae of the oak-feeding BUnnocampae (Ann. Soc. Ent. France (5), i., pp. 380-386), Giraud says that B. lineolata is in all probability only a synonym of B. hipundata. Such, however, is not the fact; the latter species is larger; the antennae are shorter and thicker; the 3d joint is longer in proportion to the length of the 4th ; the 3d sub- marginal cell is shorter, and the 3d submarginal nervure does not slope so much ; while there are the punctures behind the eyes, and both sexes have a middle cellule in posterior wings. The male of hipunctata has the antennae shorter, thicker, and more com- pressed than mlineolata,?a\^ the femora are reddish, lined with black. The British species of Blennocannpa with the tegulae and pro- notum more or less white may then be diagnosed as follows : — A. Posterior wings %vith a middle cellule in both sexes, and a deep puncture behind the eye. bipunctata, Klug. B. Posterior wings with a middle cellule in the female, none in male; no puncture behind the eye. lineolata, Klug. C. Posterior wings without middle cellide in both sexes. 3d and 4th joints of antennae almost equal; edge of pronotum broadly white, base of legs white, abdomen as long as body in male; in female longer than abdomen. akhemillae, n. sp. 3d joint of antennae distinctly longer than 4th; edge of pronotum scarcely white, legs black at base, antennae shorter than abdomen. suhserrata, Thoms. 110 PROCEEDINGS OF THE I do not know anything definite about the early life history of B. hipundata. It is clear that the larva described by Giraud (Ann. Soc. Ent. Fr. (4) viii., p. 55), refers to B. lineolata, while according to Dours (Cat. Syn. des Hymen, de France, p. 18) "la larve vit sur les rosiers a basse tige," but this requires confirma- tion. I have taken it on the alder several times. Mr D. C. Glen, F.G.S., in name of the Local Executive Com- mittee of the British Association, presented to the Library copies of the several guide-books issued during the recent meeting in Glasgow. Mr Glen w^as requested to convey to the Committee the best thanks of the Society for this donation. It was also resolved to render the thanks of the Society to those of its members who had provided the collections of birds, insects, and sea-weeds, for the exhibition in the Queen's Eooms, which had been organised by the Zoological and Botanical sub-section of the Museum Committee of the British Association. 28th November, 1876. Mr James Barclay Murdoch, Vice-President, in the chair. Mr William Hamilton, Yokohama, Japan, was elected a corresponding member, and Messrs Eowley Jex Long, John F. Millar, and David Robertson, jun., ordinary members of the Society. SPECIMENS EXHIBITED. Mr Peter Cameron exhibited specimens (1) of Ceroptres cerri, Mayr, an inquiline gall insect, new to the British fauna, from the banks of the Clyde, near Newton. The occurrence of this species in this country is of interest, as on the Continent it frequents galls which have not been found here, these galls being attached to Qnercus cerrus, which is not a British plant. (2) Mesoleius marginahis, Brischke, an ichneumon hitherto unrecorded as British. It was bred from larvae of Lophjrus pini, got in a wood at Lambhill. The ichneumon was first described from the neighbourhood of Konigsberg. (3) There was also shown a specimen of the American gall-fly, Cynips spongifica, a species remarkable (as has been stated by Walsh), from its possessing NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY OF GLASGOW. Ill two very distinct forms, differing very considerably from each other; one form being met with in the spring, this brood occasionally producing males, although in the proportion of one or two males to hundreds of females ; the second form occurring in the autumn, and exclusively composed of females. Without offering any opinion as to the other dimorphic form, Mr Cameron remarked that the specimen which he exhibited could not be placed in any of the modern genera, and that a new genus would require to be formed for its reception — this, indeed, having been already done by Reinhard, without that naturalist having seen the insect. He likewise stated his conviction that it was ex- tremely doubtful if the two so-called dimorphic forms described by Walsh pertained to the same species. PAPERS READ. I. — On the AsjjJiondyliae of the Glasgow district. By Mr Francis G-. Binnie. Those abnormal swellings and outgrowths found upon plants of all orders, and familiarly known as " galls," present one of the most interesting fields for study that it is possible to select. The majority of these diseased growths are the work of insects, among which two families stand pre-eminent as gall-makers — viz., the Cynipidae among the Hymenoptera, and the Cecidomyidae among the Diptera. The productions and habits of the latter family — the Ceci- domyidae, or Gall-midges — I have made it my object to investigate, and have already got together a considerable amount of material, which I trust may furnish matter for various papers before this Society, and which will probably embrace several new species. I have selected the genus AsjyJioiidi/lia, not because I have much that is new to advance, but from the very interesting habits of the species composing it, and from the well-marked characters which distinguish it from the other genera of the family — ^'iz., the absence of distinct whorls of hairs on the pubescent, cylindric, and sessile joints of the antennae. Some of the largest species of the group are to be found in this genus. The pupa is provided with two projecting tooth-like processes at its anterior end, to assist it in forcing its way through the tissues of the enclosing cell when about to assume the perfect state. 112 PROCEEDINGS OF THE In the Glasgow district I have observed the following species : — A, sarothamni, Lw. — This species is characterised by its size, and by having 15-jointed antennae in the male, 14-jointed in the female, with the terminal joint markedly shorter than the preceding one. This species forms galls on the common broom {Cytisus scoparius, Link) of three well-defined kinds. 1. Axillary, and having the appearance of a large swollen bud. The gall is smooth, with indications of ribs, pointed at the apex, one-celled and thin-walled, length, 3-3J lines. It makes its ap- pearance in early spring, each gall containing a single larva, which goes through its transformations within the gall, emerging by a somewhat ragged hole near the apex. The perfect insect begins to appear towards the end of May. This seems to be the form of gall described by Winnertz (Linnaea Entom., viii., 283), and Kaltenbach (Die Pflanzenfeinde, p. 107). 2. Also axillary, but usually crowded together in some numbers on the apical portions of the twigs. It is elongate and cylindric, length, 3-G lines ; open at the apex, which is usually two-lipped, from which a passage, filled with dense interlocking white hairs, leads into the thin-walled cell at the base, containing a single larva, one line and a qucirter long, bright orange or reddish orange, and minutely tubercled. The gall makes its appearance at the end of summer, and continues through the autumn. The larva leaves the gall to pupate in the earth, the perfect insect emerging probably the following spring. I have never bred the imago from this gall, and feel somewhat doubtful whether it may be referred to A. sarothamni. 3. A galled pod. The part affected becomes inflated, is oval or round in shape, circular in transverse section, and projecting equally on both sides of pod. It is thin-walled, forming an internal cavity which contains a single larva, and the galled portion retains its green colour after the rest of the pod has become black. The perfect insect emerges by a hole in the side. The gall is found during the summer, and the present species has been bred from it by Mr Traill. Gall No. 1 is pretty common, No. 2 is abundant, and both are generally distributed in the district. No. 3 I have seen only in one locality, near Milngavie, and have failed to find it elsewhere where No. 2 is abundant. NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY OF GLASGOW. 113 A. uUcis, Vcrr. — This species was first recorded and named by Mr J. W. H. Traill, M.A., F.L.S. ('Scottish Naturalist,' ii., 172), and Mr Verrall afterwards gave a full description of the perfect insect from dried specimens (Ent. Mo. Mag., xi., 224). It is readily distinguished from its congeners, by its 13-jointed antennae in both sexes, with the two apical joints globular and abruptly shorter than the preceding joint, which equals the two taken together. It is also a large species, having an alar expanse of 5 lines. According to Mr Verrall, the small transverse veinlet near the base of the wing is seemingly absent. I cannot see any indication of it in my specimens, but I might observe that Winnertz describes this veinlet in saroihamni as being very pale. In his description Mr Yerrall omits to mention the two longitudinal furrows on the thorax. The species does not seem to be known on the Continent, being probably overlooked. The gall is found on the furze (Ulex eiiropaeus, L.), and consists of the two sepals of the flower, the inner whorls having entirely disappeared. It is somewhat inflated, but is not very noticeable until the flower is past, when, from retaining the form of an unopened flower-bud, it is very conspicuous. The larva goes through its transformations within the gall, and the perfect insect emerges in July and August by a hole near the apex, leaving the empty pupa case in the opening. The pupa is at first uniform reddish-brown, paler beneath; afterwards, middle dorsal region of abdomen becomes darker, then head and thorax darker brown, dorsal portion of abdomen assuming a blackish shade ; antennae, wing, and leg-cases appear almost jet-black. The thorax is glossy, with the exception of a medial dorsal line. There is no cocoon. It seems generally distributed in the district, as I have taken it on the moors near Milngavie, on the Kilpatrick hills, and in Kilsyth glen. A. ^;imjMW/6X « ••• ••• ••• ••• ••• Once, twice, or thrice — seen, shot, identified ; or occurred, recorded, added to the fauna. Common, Very common. Very abundant, Locally distributed. Generally distributed. a blank space • • • • 1 ... •It \ ^ ^ II tf O Besides the above, there must be an additional symbol for absence, for using in combination, thus : — Once absent, now present, ... . . , ... .... I <^^ ' I Vies versa, ... ... ... ... ... ... ... |. orj- If it be desired to record the breeding of the species, add the following symbols or letters : — J— 'X \rv/V,Lo« ••• ••• ••• ••• ••• ••• ••• O Did breed, but does not now, ... ... ... ... ^ Additional symbols may be made use of to express the following meanings in connection with vertical distribution, but they are not likely to be so generally useful as the others : — In the mountains, or high up, ... ... ... ... A or A In the valleys, or low down, ... ... ... ... V or V Directions of the compass can be indicated, of course, by unfeathered arrows : — In the North, I In the South, 4' ,j xijasu, ... ... ' y ,, i\ est, ... ... K ' J> North-East, . • /" >) North-West, ... \ J) South-East, • "S*. >> South- West, .. j^ The Seasons — Spring, ... Sp. Summer, ... Su. Autumn, ... A. Winter, ... W. Spec: MEN Table (Nq. i 2) iH. a pro posed new List of (European) Birds. i Desigined ajlike fpr use in t Field land in the Study— as printed on this cross-ruled paper. .16 Vultur monachus Otog )rps nujjjcus. 4. Gyps fulvus^ Neoiihron p i ercnopterus. Explanatory, 02:)posite each species there ought to be one or two rows of squares — 31 in each row— for daily records for one or two months, or for full scope for other tabulated records. Gypaetus barbatus, No black lines ruled, but simply red cross-ruling, with wide margins at top and bottom of list of Sj ecies for headings of tables and foot notes, and also at left side for references. Aquila chrysaetua. Aquila impprialis, ] ^.B. — llie Squares might "je a degree smaller, Proc. Nat. Hist, ^oc, G km.^ Vol, IIU V. .121. : ■ Sprcj ATEN Tabt.p (^0. n. T)iRf rilMiti rm of tbft Eirds of Nr rf-,b T?nssia,. Tiortb of 64° 30 ' N. 1 at. 1 ■ W. C. E. Aquila chrys aetus, N 1 ^ - S Aquila albicilla. N II II R \ Pandion halijietus. N 1 \ i S 1 Buteq vulgai ■is, N r ' S EXPLA] ^ATORY • Bute( desert orum, N \l Th but ; corde B black lines U'e added af i: as required. kre no^ ;erwarc ; to be Is by ruled, ;he re- S Ha Distr (N-), Divis ving ab yet ■! .bution, of th vorked e Nori out 01 hern 1 ily the ) if is ion Butec 1 lao^opi IS. N 1 1 s I leav( \on (S.) ! the sp blank aces fo r the S outhern S Butec 1 ferox . N S • Milvi IS migijans, N R f ■* / 1 NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY OF GLASGOW. 121 MigTcant passing north in spring (by a feathered arrow), „ south in autumn, „ ... W We now come to consider the question : — How are we to apply the above proposed method practically 1 Lately I have had occasion to work up the Distribution of the Birds of North Russia, and I have found note books on the following plan of the greatest service. A quarto note-book, faintly cross-ruled with red ink, having squares about the size shown in the specimens, (see Tables 1 and 2). The paper should be ruled thus throughout, and additional necessary ruling may be done in black as required. Such a note-book may be made available for many useful purposes where tabular arrangement is required; as, for instance, tabulating measurements of a number of specimens, records of thermometric and barometric readings, tides, indexes, records of successive authors in any given country. It might even be useful in drawing a map to scale, or indicating the course of a river or positions of the islands of an archipelago. Tt has an infinite number of advantages over a plain or simply ruled note-book. Further, I would suggest that a new List of Birds — say those of Europe — be printed upon this cross-ruled paper (Table 2), leaving a wide margin on the left and at top for headings, and at bottom for foot notes. I am convinced that such would, when fully known, be invaluable either for daily records in the field, by a system of symbols, or in the cabinet for working out the records of previous authors. I can speak so far from personal experience of it, that, though not having the lists actually printed, I have found the method to answer admirably and prove a very great saving of time. Almost any form of tabular arrangement can be applied in such cross-ruled note-books, of which the specimen sheets, above referred to, illustrate some of the uses to which they can be put. Specimen Table 1 shows the Distribution of Birds in North Eussia, divided into two primary Divisions — northern and southern; and each of these Divisions into three Districts — north- west, north-central, and north-east, — and south-west, south-central, and south-east. For further particulars of this I would refer you to a paper I have for some time past been engaged upon, viz., 122 PROCEEDINGS OF THE " The Distribution of the Birds of North Russia/' Parts L, IL, and III. (Annals and Mag. Nat. History, 1877); Part I., "The latitudinal Distribution of Birds of North-east Russia, north of 64° 30' N. lat." Specimen Table 2 is intended to show the plan of a " New list of European Birds," upon the principle explained above. Such, then, is my method as it at present stands ; and should any member of this Society, or other naturalist, have any sugges- tions to give for its improvement, modification or elaboration, I would be glad if they would bring them forward for discussion. I have just received, through the courtesy of H.H. Dr E. Rey and Hellwig of Leipzig, a new list of European Birds,"^ by Dr E. Rey, bearing date, 1875. , Upon opening it, I found with pleasure that it was arranged upon almost the exact plan which I have proposed above as regards the ruling; the horizontal lines, however, being dotted lines, and the perpendicular only, continuous lines. Ten columns are placed opposite the names of the species, f Might I suggest to Dr Rey that, in the next edition of his most useful list, he should increase the number of columns, to admit of the list being used as a daily register in the field, for say one month (31 columns), and also that the horizontal lines and the names of the species be printed a good deal wider (quite double as wide as at present), to admit of more daily notes being entered by symbols. If this be done, the 8vo form can still be retained, the linear arrangement being made continuous across two pages, and the list of species being printed only on the left hand side. It is not my intention here to enter into any criticism of Dr Rey's list, beyond the single remark, that I think the rules of nomenclature of the British Association do not appear to have been strictly adhered to, especially as regards the insertion and use of brackets with the names of authorities, and the " rule of priority " appears also to have been disregarded. Thus, " Passer domesticus, Koch," should stand as Passer domestictts (L.) * *' Verzeichniss der Europilischen Briitvogel und Gliste, nach den neuesten Ermittelungen, Zusammengestellt von Dr E. Rey." Leipzig, 1875. + It is only due to myself to state that this is the first I have seen of Dr Ilej^'s list, and I cannot be charged with not having sooner acknowledged it, as the idea of the cross-ruling occurred to me quite independently of any other person's suggestions. NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY OF GLASGOW. 123 A discussion took place on various results of recent explorations, when some interesting statements were made by several members on points bearing on natural history which had been established by the Arctic and Antarctic expeditions. Mr Harvie-Brown mentioned that the nesting-place of the Knot — Tringa canuhis — had now been discovered, and although its latitudinal range is restricted, its longitudinal range may be widely extended. The Knot is perhaps more generally distributed than any other species, but hitherto its breeding haunts could not be fixed with any certainty. He also stated in evidence of the rise of the land in the Arctic zone, at a comparatively recent date, that in Northern Russia — the shores of the Petchora Gulf being thickly strewn with piles of drift wood carried down by the great rivers — he had observed that where the tundras approached the margin of the Arctic sea, and formed banks of a considerable height, they were strewn for some distance inland with drift wood, which must have lain there for a very long period, and which must have been deposited when the tundras were almost on a level with the water. SPECIAL MEETING. NATURAL HISTORY CLASS ROOM, GLASGOW UNIVERSITY. December 2 1st, 1876. Professor John Young, M.D., F.G.S., F.RS.E., President, in the chair. ADDRESS BY THE PRESIDENT. Professor Young proceeded to discuss the geological bearings of some of the results arrived at by the Challenger and other exploratory expeditions. He showed an enlargement of the map prepared by Mr John Murray of the Challenger staff, and on it pointed out the distribution of the various deposits referred to in Mr Murray's paper, read in section D of the Glasgow meeting of the British Association. The red clay suggested reference to Professor Ramsay's theory as to the origin of the red rocks in the stratigraphical series. Professor Ramsay founded on the improbability of peroxide of iron tinging deposits in the open sea, whereas peroxide of iron and manganese were found to be the 124 PROCEEDINGS OF THE colouring nucleus of the red clays. But while this part of the theory did not admit of general application, the conclusions arrived at regarding the conditions under which the old red sandstone and pernio-triasic strata were laid down remained untouched, since these latter were sandy deposits, shale being very subordinate. The occurrence of a non-calcareous accumulation in the deepest waters was next discussed, as bearing on Professor Hull's views regarding calcareous rocks. After stating the still debated issue as to the decalcification of the Globigerina ooze and the conversion of the non-calcareous part into red ooze, Dr Young suggested that perhaps we have not yet recognised the deepest water accumulations, which, if the events .of the remote past are identical with those of the present, must have corresponded to the mountain limestone or the chalk. Again, the area over which the calcareous material might be spread was shown by the distribution of the coral mud at the present to be far greater than that occupied by the animals whose skeletons went to make up the deposit. Moreover, oscillations of the ocean floor might bring into seeming succession to each other accumulations which were in reality contemporaneous, and Dr Young dwelt on this as helping to bear out the suggestions contained in his British Association address, to the extent, that the thickness of the stratified deposits, and, as a consequence, the time required for their deposition, might be over-rated. The uniformity of aspect presented by the deep sea fauna has an important bearing on the views of Salter and others, who regard the wide distribution of mountain limestone fossils as evidence of the greater uniformity and consequently smaller number of types of animals in the earlier period. If we have to do with the inhabitants of deep waters in these limestone fossils, there might have been, and probably was, at these early times, as great a diversity as now. After glancing at the controversy regarding ocean circulation, and pointing out wherein the data were as yet incomplete, on Avhich a satisfactory judgment could be based, Dr Young referred to the question of the possible increased salinity of the existing seas, and asked if Mr Buchanan's results, when fully wrought out, might not support, by the constancy of high specific gravity below certain depths, the notion that the ocean might be, as has been suspected on theoretical ground, Salter than it once was; in f\ict, that NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY OF GLASGOW. 125 the ocean might prove to be on a large scale what the Dead Sea was on a small one. Dr Young next referred to the occurrence of coal of cretaceous age in the far north, and the bearing of this fact on the possible change of the earth's axis of rotation. He spoke of Nordenskiold's and Judd's objections to the current doctrine of a glacial epoch and polar ice-caps, and of Professor Ramsay's caution against exaggerating the importance of glacial deposits and treating them as of equal value with the Silurian or Carboni- ferous strata ; lastly, he referred to the distribution of the man- ganiferous deposits as sliown by Mr Murray, but left it to Mr Young to discuss this point in reference to the limestone at Cunningham Bedland, which Mr Young had got analyzed. SPECIMENS EXHIBITED. Dr Young exhibited the type specimens of Ellis and Solander's corals, which, to the number of nineteen, he had identified in the Hunterian Museum ; also a case of Bohemian trilobites received from Dr A. Fritsch. Mr John Young, F.G.S., exhibited specimens of a small re- ticulated sponge found by Mr James Armstrong, of the Glasgow Geological Society, in the same deposit of rotted Carboniferous limestone at Cunningham Bedland, near Dairy, in which the sponge spicules, Acanfhosjyongia Smithii, exhibited at a former meeting, were obtained. Mr Young stated that it was of interest to know that, besides the occurrence of siliceous sponges in this deposit, there was the evidence of the presence of sponges belong- ing to other groups in the same family. Mr Young also exhibited a sample of the peculiar reddish-brown mud in which the sponges and other organisms are found. This mud is the inorganic residue of the limestone left in the eroded fissures of the rock through the action of water charged with carbonic acid. From its resemblance in colour to the manganiferous mud found by the Challenger expedition over certain of the deeper parts of the sea bottom, it had occurred to Mr Young that this residue of the rotted limestone might also contain manganese, and he therefore had a small quantity tested at the laboratory of Glasgow University, when it was found that the mud, when fused with carbonate of soda, gave a decided greenish tinge, forming a manganite of soda. No quantitive analysis of the amount of manganese in the mud had been made, but it was thought that there could not be less than 126 PROCEEDINGS OF THE 2 to 3 per cent, present. Mr Young stated that it would be interesting to determine whether the manganese had entered into organic combination with any of the numerous organisms found in this bed of limestone, or had been chemically precipitated as a deposit from the sea water. From what he had read of the man- ganiferous mud found by the Challenger, he was inclined to hold to the opinion already exj^ressed, that it was the result of decalci- fication of the Globigerina ooze, the manganese having been extracted from the sea water and entering into the composition of the animal shell structure of these minute organisms. He there- fore did not agree with the other expressed view that it had been floated to these dee]) tracts of the sea bottom in company with other inorganic elements. If the former view should prove to be the correct one, we might naturally expect that manganese would be present to a small extent in many of the limestones of organic origin in all the formations. In the Carboniferous limestones of the West of Scotland he knew of limestones that yielded a reddish mud on erosion by carbonic acid. It would therefore be interest- ing, as bearing on the red mud found by the Challenger, to prove to what extent they also are manganiferous. ANDERSON'S UNIVEESITY BUILDINGS. January 9th, 1877. Mr James Eamsay, V.P., in the chair. Messrs. Alexander B, Stewart and Charles Malloch were elected life members; and the Eev. H. B. Tristram, LL.D,, F.R.S., C.M.Z.S., Canon of Durham ; Messrs. Andrew Malloch Bayne, Peter Marshall, A. D. Newlands, James Lyle, Eobert Marshall, and Thomas Scott Forrest, ordinary members. SPECIMENS EXHIBiTED. Mr John A. Harvie-Brown, F.Z.S., exhibited a rare Little Rail, Orti/gometra affinis, Grey, from New Zealand, and remarked that Buller (" Birds of New Zealand," page 183) describes, but does not figure this bird. He tells us that it " closely resembles the Australian 0. palustris, but is distinguishable by its somewhat larger size, and the absence of white markings on the primaries." y NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY OF GLASGOW. 127 He tells us, also, that " This handsome little crake is found in both islands ; but it is everywhere extremely rare and difficult to obtain. It frequents the sedgy banks of creeks and rivers, and the reed- covered lagoons near the coast Very little is at present known of its breeding habits." This specimen was shot by Mr J. E. Cook, in Canterbury province. New Zealand. Mr Cook stated that it was the only one he had shot during a residence in New Zealand of twelve years. As this bird is so rare, Mr Harvie-Brown said that he thought it well to give a description of this specimen, which is appended. Oriijgometza affinis, Grey. ''Voyage of the Erebus and Terror," 14. Buller, 'page 183. Measurements — Bill at front, yj inch ; middle toe and claw, If inches; wing, from carpal joint, 3^%^ inches; length GJ inches. Buller gives as total length, 7 '5 inches. The difference may result from the specimen described by him having been measured in the flesh. Description — Bill bluish-black, faded apparently from dark green or olive. Crown, and neck above, dark yellowish-brown, with blackish centres to the feathers. Back, scapulars and wing coverts, yellowish-brown, tinged with faint olive, many feathers being laterally marked with blackish, and some having one or two irregular white spots on the outer webs. Cheeks, and breast down the centre and under parts, bluish-grey. Throat greyish- white. The yellowish-brown of the upper parts extends down the sides of the breast and flanks. Sides of the abdomen blackish- brown, broadly but irregularly barred with white, as are also the under tail coverts. Tail feathers same as longer bastard wing feathers, but without the white spots. Primaries smoky brown. Mr James Lumsden, F.Z.S., exhibited a specimen of a hybrid between the Black Grouse, Tetrao tetrix, and the Capercailie, Tetrao urogalliis, and on the table had placed examples in illustration of these two species. He said that at the November meeting of the Society in 1872, he had the pleasure of exhibiting a very fine female of this kind. The one he now showed was a male, and he had little to add to the remarks which were made on the occasion referred to. These hybrids have been long known in Sweden, but some years ago Russian and German naturalists, thinking they had made a discovery, elevated the bird into a 128 PROCEEDINGS OF THE separate species, calling it at first Tetrao intermedius, and afterwards Tetrao medius. Further particulars will be found in Mr Lloyd's " Game Birds and Wild Fowl of Sweden and Norway." Mr Lumsden also exhibited a Hare, hybrid between Lepus timidus and Lepus variabilis, w^hich was shot last month near Dumbarton moor, where blue hares were turned out a few years ago. It is somewhat curious that the editors of the new edition of ''Bell's British Quadrupeds " do not seem to have been at all sure of hares of this description occurring in this country, and say that hybrids are reported to be known in Switzerland, but that the statement requires further confirmation. It is reported that they are not uncommon in some places in Perthshire. Mr James Coutts exhibited examples of ancient pottery from Peru, of which he gave a full description. They were formed of fine clay, and in appearance resembled bronze. Of various patterns, they were highly ornamented, the designs being ingenious and sometimes grotesque. They are supposed to belong to the period of the Incas, and after the Spanish Conquest were found in large numbers in the burying places. They are still found in ancient graves along Avith human remains, and various implements, such as chisels, and hatchets, formed of highly tempered copper. PAPERS READ. I. — Notes on the Old World sjyecies of Athalia. By Mr Peter Ca]meron. On examining lately my specimens of Athalia, I have become aware of the existence of a species new to the British fauna ; and an examination of Stephens' collection has shown me that one of the reputed British species must, for the present at least, be deleted from our lists. It may then be of advantage to say a few words regarding our native species, as well as the other old world forms. Athalia is rather a peculiar genus, and its systematic position has been by no means decided, none of the authors who have studied the Tenthredinidae having placed it in the same position. For instance, it is placed by Hartig between Selandria, sensu str., and Allantus, sensu str.; by Stephens between Femisa and Selandria; by Dahlbom between Amasis and Eylotoma; by West wood between Schizocenis and Scio})teryx; and by Thomson between Cryptocam^Jus and Phyllotoma. There can be no doubt NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY OF GLASGOW. 129 that it has likenesses and affinities with various widely separated genera, and the authors above named have apparently been guided in their conclusions by relying upon the relative importance of one organ more than another, or it may be through mere superficial resemblances. It is, indeed, highly probable that it is a very ancient genus. The general resemblance, in form and coloration, of the species to such very different forms as Hylotoma rosae, etc., is very curious. Another interesting fact is the very wide distribution of the species over the old world. Looking at the matter in all its aspects, and taking also into account the form and habits of the larva, I cannot help thinking that Hartig has put the genus in a more natural position than the other authorities. The species may be separated as follows : — A. Mesonotum smooth, shining, glabrous; breast rufous, glahricollis. B. Mesonotum densely pubescent. a. Mesonotum more or less luteous. Apex of tibiae and tarsi annulated with black. spinarum. Tibiae partly, and tarsi totally black. tibialis. h. Mesonotum black. 1. Tarsi annulated with black. a. Mouth white. Pronotum and tegulae luteous. rosae. Pronotum and tegulae black. haematopus. b. Mouth luteous. anmdata. 2. Tarsi not annulated. Tibiae partly, and tarsi quite black, higens, 1. Glabricollis, Thomson.* This species differs from sjnnarum, by the black, smooth, almost glabrous mesonotum ; from rosae, by the non-pubescent mesonotum, larger size, and by the breast being always luteous. I have hitherto confounded it with rosae, and it was its larva, and not that of rosae, which I described under the last mentioned name in the " Scottish Naturalist," vol. ii., p. 197-199. The larva does not differ from that of sjnnarum, and like it feeds on cruciferous plants, but does not, so far as I know, frequent the turnip. It has occurred in Clydesdale, Berwickshire (Hardy), and Aberdeen (Trail). From England I have seen a specimen, taken by Mr J. G. Marsh (captured in the London districts, I believe), and this specimen offers the peculiarity of having the scutellum luteous. * Hymen. Scand. i., 171. VOL. IIL I 130 PROCEEDINGS OF THE With glahicollis the antennae are generally pale luteoiis on the under side. According to Thomson, it is met with as far north as Lapland. 2. Spinarum, Fab. This is the insect formerly too well known under the name of "nigger," "black Jack," "black canker," or the saw-fly of the turnip, and whose anatomy has been so well described by Newport in his classical prize essay. Its ravages on the turnip appear to have been first noticed in Britain about 1788, and between that and 1840 it committed very great damage, but of late years scarcely anything has been heard of it; indeed, it now seems to be very rare, and I have never seen a recently captured specimen. I know not if it was ever injurious to the turnip in Scotland, or if it has been met with in Scotland at all. Mr James Hardy tells me that he recollects seeing the larvae in Berwickshire, but they may possibly have been those of glahricollis. Sjnnarum has a very wide distribution. It extends very far north, and eastwards to Japan and India, the Oriental specimens differing from the European in having less black on the mesonotum. 3. Tibialis, Cameron. A common East Indian species, easily recongised by the more or less luteous mesonotum and blackish tibiae and tarsi. 4. RosAE, Linn., is the commonest form, and is very prone to vary, especially in the coloration of the breast and pleurae, and to a less extent in the markings on the tarsi. Dours says that the larva feeds on roses, but this is doubtful. It is fond of frequenting various flowers. Mr James Hardy writes me that he has noticed that it has a great partiality for the flowers of Ajuga reptans. In the British Museum there is a specimen from the west coast of Africa ; which has the breast and pleurae quite black, and the wings rather yellower than is usual, but otherwise is scarcely to be dis- tinguished. 5. Haematopus, Klug. This is a Soutli African species. It is easily separated from rosne by the totally black thorax and tegulae, and is also consider- NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY OF GLASGOW. 131 ably larger. Klug does not mention the colour of the mouth, but in some specimens in my collection (agreeing otherwise with the description) that is white. In an example in my collection there are still, firmly attached to one of the fore tarsi, two pollinia of an orchid ; they point straight out, and afford clear evidence that this Athalia aids in the fertilization of these curious plants. 6. LUGENS, Klug, is a commonly distributed species. I have taken it near Gloucester, Manchester, and in our neighbourhood at Kilsyth Glen, and Mr Morris Young has captured it on the Gleniffer braes. Under the name of Athalia ahdo?ninalis, Fab. (which is a synonym of higens), Kaltenbach (quoting Bouche, Stett. Ent. Zeits. xii., p. 290), describes a larva which may refer to higens. He states that the female bores into the young branches and leaf-buds of Clematis erecta, and deposits her eggs therein ; and in course of time a bladder-like swelling is formed, wherein the brown-headed larvae live until they are about half-fed, a period extending from 14 to 20 days ; after this they become external feeders, assume a brownish-green colour, and devour the edges of the leaves for 14 to 20 days more, when they drop down to the earth, where they pass the winter. Supposing this to refer to Ingens, it is certain that it must have some other food-plant besides Clematis, since it is found in places where no Clematis is native, or grows at all — in Clydesdale, for example. There is probably some confusion about the matter. 7. Annulata, Fab., is apparently the rarest of the species. It is described as British by Stephens, but there are no specimens of it in his collection in the British Museum, those under the name of annulata being rosae. I think the species is certain to be British, but it must at present be erased from our lists. Kaltenbach says that he found the larva in July, and again in September and October, on Veronica beccahinga, whose leaves it eats on the under side. The larva is dull black, whitish on the sides, and spins a cocoon in the earth. According to the same author, the fly appears in the Spring and during the Summer on flowers, especially those of Heracleum. I may add that I have found a similar larva on Veronica, but 132 PROCEEDINGS OF THE did not rear the insect. Dalilbom figures a larva, wliich he got from Drewsen in spirit, as that of annulata ; it was of a glaucous colour, and covered with distinct tubercles, which are well shown in the figure (Prod. Hymen. Scand., pi. ii., fig. 44). Dours (Cat. Syn. Hymen, de France, p. 19), records Athalia graelsii, Dufour, as feeding on Fastinaca saliva, one of the Umbelli- ferae, but I have not been able to find out where this species is described, if described at all. It inhabits the south of France. ■ Postscript. — Since writing the above, I have seen an English specimen of annulata, taken by the Eev. T. A. Marshall, F.L.S., so that this species may again be included in our catalogues. ]\Ir Marshall's specimen differs from a Continental one I possess, in the four posterior tarsi being distinctly annulated with black, and the clypeus luteous, while in the European example the tarsal joints are scarcely annulated and the clypeus only very faintly luteous. There is a form of rosae which resembles annulata in having the pleurae and sternum black, but it is easily to be dis- tinguished by the mouth being white. Other distinguishing points are that annulata has the first abdominal segment black, the coxae black at the base, and the anterior tarsi scarcely annulated. II. — On some Varielies of the Common Fa7iridge (Perdix cinerea), ivith remarls on the Causes of Variation in Species. By Mr John A. Harvie-Brown, F.Z.S. I have brought for exhibition this evening two extremely handsome birds, varieties of the Common Partridge, which have been obligingly forwarded by Mr George Sim, Naturalist, Aber- deen; also tliree others of a commoner variety, which were given to me by my friend Mr A. Burn Murdoch. The two former — the stuffed specimens — were shot by General Shaw on the estate of Glasshaugh, near Portsoy, along with four others. One of this fine variety, wliich was killed about the end of November, was sent to the Banff Museum, and other four, which were shot in the beginning of October, were sent to Mr Sim, to be preserved for the owner. Mr Sim writes me that they had been seen in different coveys for some weeks before being shot. Since these have been killed, the peoi)le in the neighbour- hood have reported to General Shaw that similar birds have been seen in previous years about the same place. Mr Sim also NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY OF GLASGOW. 133 informs me that the females, of which there were four, are all alike in plumage, being brown on the breast, while the upper parts are beautifully marked with transverse bars of light brown over a ground colour of drab, the brown being of greater density in some individuals than in others. The males differ markedly from the females, having a preponderance of the rich grouse-like chestnut-brown on the back as well as on the breast. Mr Sim had previously compared these birds with Sir William Jardine's description and plate of his Perdix cinerea, var. montana (Nat. Lib., Ornith., vol. iv., plate 2), and found them to agree with that variety.^ Mr Robert Gray mentions ('Birds of the West of Scotland,' p. 242), a pair of birds which he tells us "agreed precisely " with Sir William Jardine's bird, and which he saw in Dundee. These had been killed on the higher grounds of Forfar- shire, and the keeper distinguished them by name as hill par- tridges. As I have heard the term applied in various districts, hill partridges are simply smaller and darker birds, living generally on the higher ground bordering the moors, and often found amongst the heather itself. Still, in the present instance, it would almost appear as if this variety had been induced b}^ food and locality, if we look at the almost perfect grouse-colour, especially of the male. Actual melanism is, as we know, caused in some species in confinement by an over-diet — or an exclusive diet — of oily hemp- seed, and I believe this will also be found to cause melanism in wild species, as for instance in this Yellow-hammer; or, as I am inclined to imagine, may be the cause in this North Russian Sand Martin. Is it not possible also that some peculiar food may have in like manner affected these and other partridges, (obtained, be it remarked, in the same locality) '? Might not a continuous diet of this food, whatever it may have been, influence the colour, reaching through the pores of the skin, extending down the feathers, or affecting the growth and colour of the new feathers during the moulting season? Or again, if in course of time the blood became impregnated by some subtle poison or property of the food, might not these birds in breeding perpetuate the new stock? I believe the causes of variation in wild species are not fully worked out, and that there is room for inquiry and careful * The Editorial criticism in this connection (Zool. 1877, p. 229), applies to the incomplete newspaper report of this paper. I have explained the inaccu- racy in a note to the June No. of the Zoologist. — J. A. H. B., May 19th, 1877. 134 PROCEEDINGS OF THE investigation here. As all particulars connected with such varie- ties are, I beheve, worth recording; and as naturalists are, I think, rather apt to attach too little importance to what are considered "mere varieties," without attempting to account for the cause, I w^ould suggest to members of this Society that, always, particularly careful notes be taken by them of all varieties of our common species which may come under their notice, such as, contents of stomach, weight, measurements, nature of locality where found, especially if the bird or other animal has been known to frequent it for any length of time. Mr Sim, with his usual care in all matters of importance, has done this as regards these partridges, and sends me full notes. These two birds weighed 13J and 15 ounces respectively. Extent of wings 19 J inches, and length from bill to the point of tail 12| inches, in each specimen. I now come to mention the other birds, of which specimens are before you. Two are males and one is a female. This variety — having the white horse-shoe on the breast — does not appear to maintain distinctions with regard to sex as the other variety appears to do, as here we have a male and a female precisely the same, and another male, while it attains the white horse-shoe, differs from the others in having the neck and chin buff, the others having these parts white. These three partridges were shot out of the same covey by Mr A. Burn Murdoch at Gartencaber, in the south of Perthshire, in October, 1875. They are all young, well-grown birds; but, as Mr Burn Murdoch remarks, must have been late hatched, and would have been too small to shoot in the beginning of September. He writes concerning them as follows : — " I also killed one old bird of ordinary plumage, which I believe belonged to the same covey, hut as it was a driven bird, and as there were others in the vicinity, it is not a certainty that it really belonged to the original lot. There were, I think, eight birds in all. I have had a good many thousand birds off that district through my hands in the last twenty years, and never had one with such peculiarity of plumage as to attract notice, except in the case of one covey many years ago, the birds of which were distinctly lighter in general colour than ordinary, but retained the usual chestnut of the head and breast." It is not so easy in the case of albinism to suggest a cause for the departure from the type, but possibly it might NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY OF GLASGOW. 135 be found in the absence of a proper supply of the usual food, and a consequent constitutional change; a want of the usual colouring principle, or from sickness, or wounds ; in such instances, it would increase with age, and become hereditary, as it un- doubtedly is. Since the above was written, I have heard of another covey of these birds showing the same variety, with the horse-shoe white. Mr Arthur Dundas told me that this winter he shot three of these birds on Carronhall estate, near Falkirk, one of which was an old bird. All, both old and young, had brown or buff chins and throats, and white horse -shoes on the breasts, like specimen No. 3. AVhen on the subject of variation in species, I may make a few remarks upon this unusually dark form of our common sand martin, which I believe has every bit as much right to be con- sidered a good species as dozens of other constant varieties have. This bird was shot by me on the Petchora River, in north-east Russia, in 1875. All the sand martins observed by us either at Archangel or eastward have this dark phase of plumage, and at Archangel there are legions of them nesting in every suitable situation. Now what is remarkable about these sand martins is, that in them the reverse of the following general rule is exemplified: ''Continental forms of birds are usually brighter and lighter coloured than insular ones, and eastern European forms are almost invariably lighter than their western representa- tives." I may here instance one or two of many cases which occur to me of the above rule, so as to put the case of the sand martins of North Russia from a stronger point of view. Our English marsh tit, Parus ixdustris, when compared with the more northern Norwegian form, Parus borealis, will be found to be very much darker. When compared again with the Siberian marsh tit, Parus kamschatkensis, which we found in the Pet- chora, the difference becomes marked indeed, the latter being very much lighter — mealier — than our bird. Parus cinctus — the Lap tit — of northern Scandinavia is darker than Parus griscescens of Dresser from Siberia, while the form we procured on the Petchora shows an intermediate phase. PraUncola rubicola, our stonechat, has the rump spotted. The eastern brighter form, PraUncola inclica, has the rump unspotted j we found this also on the Petchora. 136 PROCEEDINGS OF THE These examples will illustrate the general rule, and make the case of the striking exception in the sand martin more patent. I do not pretend to be able to account for this curious departure from the rule, but again merely suggest, that possibly food may have something to do with it. Nor can I say what this food actually is, but I cannot divest myself of the idea that the poisonous and innumerable mosquitoes form a large part of their- food supply. Unfortunately our friend Piothich did not examine the contents of this bird's stomach, and so put this question of its food beyond doubt; but what are all these pests created for if it is not to supply food for the legions of birds that haunt the tundras and river banks in summer 1 Is it not possible that if the sand martins feed mainly upon mosquitoes^— I wont say entirely— that the effects of the quantity of the poison which they swallow may affect their colour 1 In other words, is it not possible that there is a property in the said poison capable of affecting the blood without injury to the bird, and yet, through the blood, causing this marked variety of plumage"? Professor Thomson of London once asked me to catch and bottle as many Persian bugs as I could (at that time I con templated a visit to Persia), these bugs being so venomous that their bites are sometimes almost fatal. He wished to express the poison afterwards, and discover its properties and composition, if possible. If mosquito poison could be treated in a similar way, possibly it might be proved to contain some property which might have the effects I suggested, and if it could be analyzed, no doubt an antidote to the poison might also be discovered, which to poor humanity exposed to its tortures would be an unspeakable relief. But there is no need to go further into what after all is mere hypothesis, and what may just as likely as not prove to be altogether wrong. Still I think the subject is worthy of some attention from this point of view. III. — 071 the Biscacha ( Larjostoiims trichodadijhis, Brookes), a South American Rodent. By Mr Ernest Gibson, Buenos Ayres. Communicated by Mr IIarvie-Brown, F.Z.S. The biscacha cannot be regarded merely as an interesting subject for observation by the naturalist, or as affording some moonlight sport for gun and revolver; for, in the province of Buenos Ayres, it ranks with the thistle and the " Tuco-tuco " NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY OF GLASGOW. 137 {Ctenomijs hrasiliensis ?) in its wide distribution and abundance, and is equally detested by all camp (country) people. The landowner reckons up his loss in pasturage, and the common Gaucho gets a " cropper " as he is running some animal, so poor biscacha is pretty equally anathematized by all parties. What the rabbit has proved in Tasmania the biscacha is in the provinces of Cordoba, Santa Fe, and Buenos Ayres, with the sole difference that Lagostomus trkliodadylus is indigenous. In the Sierra of Cordoba or Tandel, or in the great plains of Buenos Ayres, down as far south as Bahia Blanca, it is equally at home; and, except where vigorous means are taken to put it down, always increasing. The damage it does consists in the ground occupied by each " Biscachero " or biscacha warren, the destruction of all pasture for a radius of several yards, and the invariability of nothing but weeds, thistles, etc., ever growing on the site of an old biscachero. In some places, where the biscacheros are particularly numerous and close together, three or four acres of ground would not afford sustenance for a single sheep; to use a Spanish phrase, the ground is " pelado " — bare, naked. Five biscachas are reckoned to one sheep, in the consumption of pasture, and it is astonishing to find how much pasturage is lost on any " estancia " (stock farm) where biscachas are abundant. As a case in point, I may cite one of some 64,000 acres, where the lowest estimation of the biscachas is 60,000, — or rather less than one to each acre; and they occupy the room of 12,000 sheep ! All these are of course rough estimates, and based upon observations in one district alone, but I believe they are applicable to nearly the whole province. Various are the means used to extirpate this pest, but only two may be said to be both practicable and thorough. Among the ineffectual methods may be classed shooting, drowning out, and smoking out ; — the latter operation being performed Avith a machine which forces the fumes of burning sulphur, Chili pepper, old boots, etc., etc., through the burrows. But where their thorough eradication is desired, digging out is the plan resorted to. Gangs of Basque or Italian labourers are engaged, the biscacheros counted, and the price per biscachero agreed upon; the payment not to be made until a fixed time after the work is finished, to guard against any reappearance of biscachas. In one estancia where they were thus exterminated, furrows had to be run with a plough across the land, in order to get the biscacheros properly counted; and the total 138 PROCEEDINGS OF THE cost of the work was about <£1000. What also have been tried — with perfect success — on this estancia, are traps, similar to the fox-traps used at home, tliough not quite so large or strong. These are inspected once or twice every night and once again in the morning. At first, some nights will give a biscacha for every trap, but as they diminish all except two or three of the runs are closed, and the superfluous traps carried on to the next biscachero. The number of burrows in a biscachero rarely exceeds forty or fifty, and one of that size occupies about three or four hundred square yards; but their usual dimensions are about one-third of that area. On averaging twenty biscacheros in one locality, I found they contained thirty -five denizens each; and yet of these twenty only four were large ones, while some two or three consisted of only one or two burrows each. But as for giving an idea of the ramifications of an old biscachero, it can only be done by comparing it to a labyrinth, — such are the number and extent of its excavations. Where the ground permits of it (i.e., where the elevation of the land above the sea exceeds six feet), there are sometimes three tiers of burrows in the subterranean colony. It is said they always dig down to water, but as yet I have failed to verify the statement. Where three or four passages meet, there is generally a large excavation, known as a "sala" (Spanish hall), and in these " salas " the biscachas congregate in event of any drowning or digging out. Their most curious habit is the collection of sticks, bones, dry thistle stalks, bois de vaclie, etc., etc.; which debris is scattered over the biscachero, never taken into the burrows. Naturally, there are many stories extant of lost watches, pocket-books, and other valuable articles having been recovered by examining all the biscacheros in the vicinity; but practically speaking, such cases can but be unusual, for it is only when the loss occurs in the immediate neighbourhood of a biscachero that it is worth while looking for it there. An old native who had watched their method of collecting all this rubbish, described it as being done in a very desultory manner. A biscacha would find a stick or a bone at some yards distance, and after dragging it a short way towards the biscachero would tire of it and leave it, till another repeated the operation — gambolling and jumping about with it; so sometimes two or three nights would elapse before the article reached its destination. NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY OF GLASGOW. 139 The biscacha breeds twice in the year, in Marcli or April, and in August or September, — corresponding to autumn and spring, — and the litter is two or three in number. The young do not seem to leave the burrows till they are about six weeks old ; at least I premise so from never having shot or trapped them under that age. Their cry is almost indescribable, consisting of the most extraordinary combination of squealing, grunting, and braying conceivable, and is uttered in a most ludicrous tone of vehement indignation and execration. I have known of natives belonging to the upper provinces, who, in travelling south, had passed a night in the vicinity of a biscachero, and consequently were kept on the alert by these diabolical sounds. Jaguars they knew, and pumas also, but from what unknown wild animals proceeded such portentous sounds as these ! All biscachas will bite savagely when laid hold of, but an old buck will also attack any one who impedes its road, following him up in quick jumps ; and from the size of its incisors and muscular configuration of its head, its bite is bad to contemplate and worse to receive. I have also noticed that — in common with most rodents — the wound is slow to heal, the teeth probably not being clean. Their appearance through the day is of very rare occurrence. Where they are seldom disturbed, they emerge shortly before sun- down, but in other cases not till dark. They see well at night, but have not much power of vision through the day. They swim pretty well, taking readily to the water if pursued. Notwithstanding the disproportionate length of its fore and hind legs, a full-sized biscacha will run very rapidly for two or three hundred yards, but after that it gives in all at once. Their sense of smell is very small. They are very tenacious of life, and it requires no light blow to fracture the thick cranium they possess. In this respect they present a strong contrast to the "Nutria," {Lutra brasiliensis, Linn.?), for the skull of the latter is as fragile as that of the former is massive. Taking them on the whole, biscachas may be regarded as rather stupid animals. No amount of trapping puts them on their guard against the traps. When drowned out, it is true. 140 PROCEEDINGS OF THE they will bolt for the nearest biscachero, but if foiled there, they either run about at random, or stop and look stupidly at their pursuer till he hits them over the head. Their flesh, unless when old, is excellent, closely resembling that of the rabbit. But most people have a repugnance to try it, probably prejudiced by the forbidding aspect of the animal. Their skins are almost worthless, and very difficult to separate from the body ; so that their marketable value is no incentive to their destruction. Associated with the biscacha, we find the Brazilian or rabbit owl (Pholeoptynx cimicularia), while the burrowing ground woodpecker {Geositta cimicularia?) confidently digs its habitation in the brow of one of the burrows. Foxes and wild dogs frequently take up their abode in a biscachero, enlarging one of the burrows for that purpose. I have also found tiger cats (Fells tigrina, Linn.?), ''peludos" or armadilloes {Dasijpus villosus?), two species of "comadrejas" or opossums {Didelphi?), polecats {Viverra me})hitis, Linn.?), and various species of rats and mice, but never yet a snake, under any circumstances. Li some parts of the province a species of small wild melon, pretty indeed, but bitter to the taste, is common, growing frequently upon the biscacheros, but the biscachas do not seem to eat it, nor yet is there any association to be found between them, as that half inferred by Proctor. Their staple food indeed con- sists of succulent grasses and a trefoil called '' carretilla," but when they can get at maize or wheat, they commit great devastation among it. In conclusion, though the biscacha is a very interesting rodent, no landowner seems to appreciate it properly ; and I am afraid that even the naturalist, whose horse has come down with a sudden crash and shot the unwary rider over its head, sums up his observations on it in a manner more emphatic and concise than instructive ! 30th January, 1877. Mr James Barclay Murdoch, Vice-President, in the chair. Mr James Smith was elected an ordinary member. NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY OF GLASGOW. 141 SPECIMENS EXHIBITED. Mr Francis G. Biiinie exlnbited specimens of Chaetopteryxvillosaj Fab., from the river Allander, near Milngavie. This is an addition to the list of Trichoptera- given in the "Fauna and Flora of the West of Scotland," Glasgow, 1876. It seems to be the only British representative of the genus, which numbers eight species in Europe, according to the recent mono- graphic revision of M'Lachlan. This species is strictly autumnal in its habits, but individuals have been captured as late as November. PAPERS READ. I. — Observations on the Study of the Phytophagous Hymenoi^tera. By Mr Peter Cameron. Having often been asked privately for information regarding the methods of studying the plant-feeding Hymenoptera, I have thought that it might not be entirely useless to describe to the members the instruments for capturing, manner of preserving and rearing, as well as the books required for the study of these tribes. I may, however, add, that I do not intend to go very minutely into the general methods of collecting, etc, for information on this subject is to be had in such works as Knaggs' " Lepidopterist's Guide," but only to give some practical hints that will be of use to the commencing Hymenopterist. First, then, with regard to their capture. The instruments required for this purpose, consist of (1) a sweeping net, such as is used by Coleopterists, with which the herbage, etc., is swept back- wards and forwards, and in this way those species which are more particularly attached to herbaceous plants may be obtained; (2) a good stout alpaca umbrella of the " Sarah Gamp " order, to hold inverted beneath trees and bushes, which are beaten over it, a good sharp rap on a branch being sufficient. The insects are thus collected in the open umbrella, the contents of which are examined after a sufficient number of trees have been gone over, and desirable specimens caught and placed in a collecting bottle. (3) A light muslin net, such as is used by butterfly collectors, may sometimes — and especially in very sunny weather — be advantageously carried, but as a rule, the two articles just mentioned will be found sufficient, for, generally speaking, any 142 PROCEEDINGS OF THE species seen flying (and it is very seldom that individual species can be recognised on the wing) may be caught with the sweeping net, unless it be made too heavy, or even with the hand or hat, for the insects do not fly fast nor very far ; they usually alight after a flight of 10 or 12 feet, and their movements can be followed without much trouble. Many species frequent flowers, especially Umbelliferae, Compositae, and Eanunculaceae, this being more particularly the case with the species of Tenthredo, Allantus, and Cephus, as well as with the parasitic Cynipidae (the latter attaching themselves to Umbelliferae) but the Tenthredos and AUanti do not frequent the flowers for the purpose of eating pollen (although I believe they do eat it), but rather to prey on other insects, some of them, e.g., Allantus notlms, Tenthredo mesomela, being very carniverous, so that the collector must be careful not to place them alive in a non-killing bottle or box along with other insects. Beating is most productive in the evening or during a dull day, for if the weather is very bright, the creatures are continually on the alert, never resting long in one place, and fly at once out of the umbrella, unless the collector is very sharp. In the sunshine, therefore, there is more chance of their capture with the sweep- ing net, because it can be used with greater freedom, and the flies cannot so readily make their escape. Many of the smaller species — Blennocamjm, Phaenusa, among the sawflies, and most of the Cynipidae, have a habit of tucking the wings, antennae, and legs close to the body when disturbed, and of fallhig to the ground as if dead, in which position they are very difficult to see. The best time for collecting sawflies in Scotland is during May, June, and the early part of July. For the Cynipidae autumn is most productive for the parasitic and inquiline species. Some of the gall-makers appear very early, thus I have found species of AphilotUrix in January, others in June and July, e.g., Trigonaspis megaptera, SpcUkogaster haccaruni. It may be added that the species of both families live but a very short time in the perfect state, and hence the collector has always to be upon the move should he aspire to have a good collection. The best collecting places are around the edges of woods where brushwood is plentiful ; or in open clearings in woods ; along the sides of fields and hedges, and in marshes among rushes and horse- NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY OF GLASGOW. 143 tails, where the species of Dolervs are mainly to be found. The mountains yield a few species, but unless one happens to be on them on a very calm day, and when the insects have just emerged, there is not much chance of anything being found. Having caught the specimens, the next business is to have them killed and brought home, and it is obvious that if these, two processes can be combined, some trouble will be saved. This I contrive to do in the following manner : — when caught, I place at once the flies in a " killing bottle " formed of a wide-mouthed bottle of strong glass, into which is placed half an ounce of cyanide of potassium, over this is sprinkled some dry plaster of Paris, and over that again a layer of wet plaster of Paris ; whenever this has dried, and all superfluous moisture has been wiped away, the bottle is ready for use. When properly prepared, it will last for a couple of years, and this mode of killing will, I think, be found one of the most convenient to use. But care must be taken to keep it in the dark as much as possible, never in the direct rays of the sun, or moisture will accumulate, and then the insects will get spoiled. If kept quite dry it will not require anything else inside, but if moist, small pieces of blotting paper, or sawdust from which all fine dust has been removed, may be placed in it. Furthermore, the insects must never be left beyond a few hours in this bottle, or otherwise their colours are apt to alter, yellow being changed to vermilion. I have never seen this take place with wasps or sawflies, but it occurs very readily with ichneumons, e.g., Bassus, more especially if they have only recently been disclosed. And of course care must be taken that the bottle will not fall into the hands of any ignorant person who might injure himself with this deadly poison, although it is difficult to see how this could be done unless it were used as a drinking cup ! It will also be found of advantage to have a small muslin bag attached to the cork of the bottle, for the purpose of containing small Cynipidae, Chalcididae, etc., which are introduced into the bag by means of a glass tube, or a quill inserted into the cork, the quill or tube being also provided with a separate stopper. By this method small insects are not so readily lost (by becoming attached to the hairy bodies of bees, or otherwise damaged), nor do they get wetted should the bottle contain moisture; while the larger and commoner species are put into the bottle itself. By 144 PROCEEDINGS OF THE following this plan we get all the advantages of two bottles out of one. In addition to carrying this bottle it will be as well to have a few pill boxes or glass tubes for the purpose of holding any- choice or rare specimens. Besides having a tendency to discolour yellows if the specimens are kept too long in it, cyanide tends to stiffen the limbs, and this makes the " setting " of the insects a little troublesome, but I avoid this by removing them at once into a damping dish (I use a wide-mouthed glass) containing moistened sand, the specimens being put upon this in a smaller glass or shell (a mussel will do), and the whole covered in with a cork or damp cloth; by next morning all the limbs, etc., are relaxed, and the insects are in beautiful condition for setting. Some prefer to bring home all their captures in tubes or pill boxes, (and I admit that this is best in the case of bees), or in a bottle with bruised laurel leaves, though small insects are very apt to get lost among the pieces of laurel; or in a box saturated wdth ammonia. Each of these methods has its advocates, and the tyro must just find out by experience which is the best ; after all, it is a matter of little moment which plan is followed, provided that the specimens are obtained in a state fit for examination. It must, however, be stated that cyanide is not a good medium for killing aculeate Hymenoptcra, as it renders them too stiff; they are best killed with sulphur. Having at length got the specimens killed and relaxed, the next process is to prepare them for the cabinet. For this purpose two methods may be followed : the flies may be pinned or set out with gum tragacanth on card-board. Each of these plans has its advantages and disadvantages; but there is this peculiarity between them, that so far as the mere question of facility of studying the specimens is concerned, it is a matter of little con- sequence with the pinning process whether the specimens are *'set" or not, i.e., whether the wings and legs are stretched out by means of braces on a setting board, and allowed to remain there until they have thoroughly dried in that position, or whether the limbs are allowed to hang any way, there being merely a pin stuck through the thorax, and nothing further attempted. With either way all the parts can be examined ; and it is obvious that if they are not set much time will be NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY OF GLASGOW. 145 saved the student, but on the other hand they do not look very well ; there is no uniformity among them — they have in many cases an unnatural appearance, and the peculiar fades of the individual species is not so readily seized by the eye, so that if it were only from an aesthetic point of view, proper setting is to be recommended ; indeed, it is almost universally followed in this country, and it may be added as universally neglected on the Continent. But if the flies are to be carded, it is absolutely necessary that the antennae, legs, wings, etc., be properly dis- played, or the species in many cases cannot be identified. Besides, it is not always easy to display on cardboard all the specific characters, especially those on the underside ; but if they be set a little on their sides, with only one wing gummed down — if care be taken to show the mouth so that its colour, form of the cly- peus, etc., may be visible; if one of the antennae be left loose (in some species the underside differs in colour from the upper); if one of the tarsi be left loose, so that the form of the claws can be noted; and lastly, if properly prepared gum be used, and if it be not too lavishly employed, there can be no difficulty experienced in scrutinizing the species, while if these matters are neglected, proportionate trouble will be met with. Carding possesses advantages over pinning in so far that the specimens are not so readily damaged ; they can be handled with greater freedom and security; they do not become troubled with verdigris (and pinned specimens are much aff'ected with it, and if so, can hardly be cleaned); should they become dirty it is a simple matter to re- card them, while it is almost impossible to repin a pinned specimen without leaving an ugly hole in the thorax. As regards speed there is not much diff'erence to choose between carding and pinning ; with practice, forty or fifty may be set in an hour either way; but in one respect carding has the advantage, viz. : — that the specimens are ready for the cabinet in a day or two after being arranged, while with the other method the specimens must remain on the setting board from four to six weeks, according to the species and state of the atmosphere. It is obvious that if the smaller Braconidae, Chalcididae, Oxyura, and Cynipidae are to be pinned, it is utterly impossible that the limbs can be stretched out, and with some of the groups, unless great care be taken, the structure and form of the thorax (an im- portant part with Oxyura and Cynipidae) will be distorted, if not VOL. III. K 146 PROCEEDINGS OF THE obliterated entirely. These, then, must be pinned with fine wire from beneath (not above), and if it can be avoided, the point should not project above the mesonotum at all. The wire is then stuck into a piece of pith (that from the stalk of Jerusalem artichokes will do), and through this pith an ordinary pin is driven, by means of which it is placed in the cabinet. I possess a collection of Continental Chalcididae and Cynipidae set on this plan, and I am not quite sure but that for general study it is better for the Micro-Hymenoptera than carding; it also saves time, for it is not easy to spread out the organs of insects less than a line in length, while if not properly carded the specimens are worthless. For want of tliis care the type collections of Chalcididae, etc., made and described by the late Francis Walker are an eyesore, and scarcely of any value. Should the student prefer to use pins, he ought to get long ones, and place the specimens well up, as by this they are rendered safe from the attacks of Psocidae, while also they can be better examined. There can be no doubt that a collection of insects set on long pins will last three times as long as one set on short ones. It may be added that the plan, advocated by the Rev. T. A. Marshall, of washing over the card-board with a weak solution of carbolic acid, is an effectual preventive from mites, etc., attacking the insects mounted on the cards treated in this way; and it is also a wise plan to wash over the cabinet and store boxes with the same fluid. Having said so much on the preparation of the perfect insects, let us now say something regarding the larvae, a branch which, notwithstanding its great interest, has been too much neglected. It ought never to be forgotten that the mere naming of species and the formation of a collection are but the A B C of entomology leading on to the development and anatomy, without a knowledge of which the student may truly be said to know nothing, no matter how many species he may be able to name. The study of the larvae of the Phytophagous Hymenoi)tera is, however, by no means easy, for it is not at all a simple matter to rear them, this being a good deal owing to the fact that they hibernate over the winter. It is true that this does not apply to those species which are double brooded, but still the first brood is, as a rule, much smaller than the autumnal one, and in Scotland at least, there are NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY OF GLASGOW. 147 very few double brooded species. It seems, however, to be the universal opinion that the larvae of Tenthredinidae and Cynipidae are much more troublesome to rear than those of Lepidoptera ; and it need scarcely be said that when their rearing is carried on •in a large city, the difficulties of the investigation are enormously increased. For instance, look how hard it is to get fresh food for the larvae. Tree or bush-feeding larvae may be obtained by beating the foliage ove;* an umbrella. For those feeding on ground plants a sweeping net is requisite, but it must be handled cautiously, for they do not bear much rough handling, and more success will be had with larvae picked off the plants by the hand than with those obtained by the net. Of course, before this can be done success- fully, a knowledge must be gained, in the first place, of the food plant; and in the second place, of the peculiar habits of the larvae, which can only be acquired through observation and experience. For example, some larvae, can only be found during the night, never during the day time ; others have a peculiar habit of resting curled up in a ring on the underside of the leaf, scarcely visible at all from above; and whenever any thing comes near, down they drop at once to the ground, where they are lost among the herbage. With such species the only plan is to place the open hand cautiously beneath the leaf and gently tap it, when the creature will at once drop down. Searching by hand is not always tedious work, for most larvae are more or less gregarious, and wherever one is discovered more will without doubt be found. Inter alia it may be noted that sawfly larvae devour the leaves differently from those of Lepidoptera. They eat in a cleaner manner, either making an oval or oblong cut in the edge, or in the centre, and they cut through most of the nerves, while cater- pillars eat the leaves in a ragged, irregular fashion, generally leaving the nerves standing. By watching for these indications of their presence, I have often been enabled to detect larvae hitherto unknown to me. In attempting to rear larvae at home, the methods recommended in such works as that of Knaggs, already referred to, will do. The great secret is to keep the creatures in as natural conditions as possible, but of course this is not always easy. Whether they be kept in flower pots, jam pots, or bottles, they should not be U8 PROCEEDINGS OF THE kept too dry nor too moist ; if the former, they do not eat readily, and appear not to be able to secrete sufficient silk to make the cocoons ; if the latter, they suffer from diarrhoea. If the right conditions are obtained, it is generally possible to get them to spin up, so here it is that a knowledge of their habits becomes of use, and fortunately the various divisions follow more or less the same manner of pupation. To commence with the larger species, the Cimhicides, whose larvae are readily known by their large size (generally over one inch), the colour greenish, with or without green or bluish stripes, and dusted over with a white powdery substance. They fasten their cocoons to the bark of the trees which they frequent, and hence no mould is required in their breeding cages ; they spin them readily enough to the sides, or to the cocoons already formed. Abia, however, pupates in the earth. So also with the Hylotomides, which will spin on the sides of the cages or in moss. The Nematides are the easiest of all to rear. They are easily recognised by having only fourteen ventral legs, slender forms, and generally they feed more or less gregariously along the edge of a leaf. They will spin in mould, moss, or cocoa-nut fibre, the last to be preferred as the cleanest, and not so liable to mould. To the larger species (Croesus, etc.) it is desirable to give roomy cages, as they have a habit of throwing the after part of the body about in all directions, and often as many as eight to ten feed on a single leaf. Willow, birch, gooseberry, hawthoru, grasses, are the commonest food j^lants. To this group belong most of the gallmakers, which are not difficult to rear if the galls be kept fresh as long as the inhabitants are feeding. Some of the Nematides change colour at the last moult, throwing oft' all mark- ings, hairs, tubercles, and becoming of a uniform colour. The Blennocamjndes are very small, mostly slimy and slug- like, or covered with spines. They aftect willows, oaks, roses, and fruit trees. They spin in the ground. The larvae of Emphjius, Taxonus, Poecilosoma, etc., have long slender bodies, 2 2 -footed, and when at rest {Emj^hytus at least) remain sitting rolled up on the under surface of the leaf, with the tail turned up from the centre of the ball. They feed on rosaceous plants as a rule, and it is to be noted that they do not spin cocoons nor go down to the earth to spin, but bore into the jjith of the plant which they frequent, as with EnijjhT/fus cindiis, or if they be NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY OF GLASGOW. 149 feeders on herbaceous plants they bore into various other plants with stems thick enough to contain them. If nothing else is supplied they will form a neatly rolled cell in the earth, but it is better to provide them with cut bramble stems, or what will do equally well, with corks into which they will bore. Those of Tenthredo, AUantus, and Dokrus, require mould. They feed on willows, birches, or herbaceous plants (ScrojjJmlaria, Umbelliferae, etc.) They are very difficult to rear, and com- paratively few of their histories are known. The Lydides either live solitarily in rolled up leaves, or spin leaves together in company. They are not easy to breed, and pupate in the earth. The best time for larvae is during the autumn, from August to October. Some species occur early (e.g., Blennocampa Uneolata in June), more particularly those which are double brooded, and these should be especially sought after, for they are easily reared, the whole j)eriod of their transformations only lasting five or six weeks, while the autumnal broods remain as larvae over the winter till the spring, and it is during this time that havoc is made in their numbers ; it may be owing to too much dryness, too much moisture, mould, or want of vitality in the creatures themselves. If possible, a collection of the larvae should be made, and this is not difficult, as the only method available is to preserve them in spirit or some other fluid, for they cannot be inflated and dried like some of the Lepidoptera. I have tried various fluids, and have no hesitation in recommending Goadby's fluid as one of the best and least expensive. If this be used, care must be taken to put good corks in the bottles or tubes employed, or otherwise the salt will evaporate and accumulate in a crust round the cork ; should this happen the fluid of course gets deteriorated. A mixture of glycerine and alcohol will also do, but I have not much experience of it. We pass now to the gallmaking Cynipidae. In order to rear these with any success, it is absolutely necessary that the galls should only be gathered after they have become fully developed, when most of the moisture and sap has disappeared, and the enclosed larvae have ceased feeding. It is to be remarked that the gallmaking Cynipidae feed only on the juice (which seems to contain a good deal of starch) while the sawfly gallmakers feed on 150 PROCEEDINGS OF THE the cellular substance. If this rule be neglected, there is no chance of any of the tenants being reared. The galls may be kept either in wide-mouthed glass bottles, or in jam-pots covered with glass (the top of the pot having been ground down so as to allow the glass to fit closely) ; great care must be taken to see, before placing the galls in the pots, that all superfluous moisture has evaporated, or otherwise they will turn mouldy; but, on the other hand, if they be kept too dry the creatures will perish, so that between the one extreme and the other it is not easy to hit the happy medium. With very succulent galls, it is necessary to expose them to the air of a room before placing them in the breeding jar, or otherwise they are sure to turn mouldy, and even after they have been put into the receptacle it is as well to take off its lid now and again. In rearing gallflies I have succeeded well by following the plan here described : I take a pickle bottle, put the galls at the bottom, securing them there by some contrivance, cover the mouth with a piece of muslin, and then place the bottle mouth downwards in earth, which is moistened regularly; by this method I reared Neurotenis lenticularis from galls plucked in July long before they were developed. Or this plan may be reversed by placing mould at the bottom and the galls at the top, the mould being moistened occasionally. It may be added, however, that the galls of Neurotenis are found in abundance developed beneath oaks in the spring, and they need not be collected till then. In breeding from galls one word of caution is required; it is that the greatest care must be taken that every gall is kept in a distinct bottle, and that all unnecessary leaves, twigs, etc., be re- moved, or confusion is certain to arise, not only among the gall- makers themselves, but erroneous observations may be made on the innumerable parasites and inquilines ; for, fortunately or un- fortunately, all galls are infested with them to an astonishing degree, and they form one of the most interesting chapters in the history of the gallmakers. The dried galls are best mounted on stiff cardboard, or they may be kept separately in pill boxes. There is little to be said about the parasitic Cynipidae, for the very good reason that very little is known about them, and they offer a wide field for the observing naturalist. They seem to be attached mostly to Diptera and Aphidae. NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY OF GLASGOW. 151 To guide the student, I have drawn up the following list of the food plants of the Tenthredinidae and Cynipidae. In this list, those having gallmakers are marked* leaf miners*^, and those frequented by unknown species t: — Clematis Vitalba erecta Ranunculus bulbosus 0- t- * :^ repens Ficaria Aquilegia vulgaris Berberis vulgaris Papaver Ehaeas dubium Daucus Carota Brassica campestris, var. Napus and Rapa Sinapis arvensis Sisymbrium officinale t Cardamine pratensis Hypericum perforatum t Viola palustris Tilia parvifolia and Europaea Geranium Robertianum Impatiens Noli-me-tangere * o Acer pseudo-platanus o campestre t Sarothamnus scoparius t Trifolium pratense and t repens t Lotus corniculatus Robinia pseudo-acacia Prunus communis, etc. — padus o Rubus idaeus — fruticosus, etc. Pyrus Aucuparia, communis, etc. Crataegus Oxyacantha if o - Cotoneaster vulgaris fComarum palustre * t Rosa canina, etc. * — Eglanteria — centifolia * spinosissima Agrimonia Eupatoria '^ Potentilla reptans t Fragaria vesca Geum urbanum Spiraea Ulmaria t Alchemilla vulgaris Circaea lutetiana Ribes Grossularia montana Pastinaca sativum Aegopodium Podagraria Bupleurum falcatum Heracleum Sphondylium Anthriscus sylvestris Sambucus nigra and racemosa Viburnum Opulus Lonicera Xylosteum Symphoricarpus racemosus t Valeriana officinalis Scabiosa succisa tPetasites vulgaris t Solidago Virgaurea * Centaurea Scabiosa and Jacea Achillea Millefolium * Hieracium sylvaticum * Campanula Trachelium * Rhododendron * Vaccinium Vitis-Idaea t Myrtillus 152 PROCEEDINGS OF THE Lysimachia vulgaris Fraxinus exelsior Syringa vulgaris Ligustrum vulgare Jasmin um * * Vinca minor '^ Verbascum nigrum * Scorzonera humilis Scrophularia nodosa t Veronica Beccabunga, offici- nalis and chamaedrys * t Nepeta Glechoma Stachys erecta fPlantago major, media, etc. t Chenopodium album t Polygonum Bistorta, Avicu- lare, etc. t Rumex Acetosella, acutus, etc. t Euphorbia tUrtica dioica o Ulmus campestris and mon- tana * Populus trcmula and nigra * Salix — most of the species Betula alba Alnus glutinosa and alba t Myrica Gale Fagus sylvatica Corylus Avellana Carpinus Betulus 1 Quercus — most of the species + Juniperus communis + Pinus sylvestris Abies communis t Taxus baccata t Iris Pseud-acorus t Agraphis nutans t Asparagus officinalis Convallaria multiflora t Narthecium ossifragum Carex — various species t Triticum repens, etc. tFestuca pratensis, etc. t Poa — various species Bromus — various species Phragmites communis t Aspidium Filix mas t Asplenium Filix-foemina ^ Pteris aquilina t Equisetum limosum Eucalyptus II. — On the Natural History of Donegal, tvlth some account of its Archaeology. By Mr James A. Mahony, Corresponding Member. A glance at a map of Donegal will show that it is a county of considerable extent, generally very hilly, and with a coast line of the most irregular character. Lough Swilly, Mulroy bay, and Sheephaven, are arms of the sea penetrating southwards from the Atlantic for 12 to 16 miles, and which modify the climate so much that when snow falls, as it does only rarely, it never lies, but disappears in a very short time. These deep fiords with their marine fauna and flora ; the coast outside beaten by the Atlantic surge ; the numerous fresh water NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY OF GLASGOW. 153 loughs, many of them of considerable size ; the bogs, mountains, woods, marshes, sands, and cultivated ground, all together present a variety of conditions most favourable to the student of natural history. , I propose now briefly to describe the general Natural History of the county, giving some account of the Geology, Botany, Zoology, and Archaeology of the districts, but reserving more special references to points of interest for some future occasion. Geology. — The distribution of the primary and metamorphic rocks composing the "back-bone" of county Donegal, calls for no special remark. In very local patches and in very small quantities the more valuable minerals and metals occur, but although companies have been formed to develop the so-called mineral wealth, smokeless chimneys and unsightly ruins are all the results which mark the site of conspicuous failure. Lead, copper, and silver have been at various times sought for, but though found to exist, they were not in such quantities as would pay. Occasional specimens of gold are found in the quartz, and Mr Harte, county surveyor, has obtained numerous garnets from Gweedore district. The post-tertiary deposits are everywhere met with, and are often full of interest. The boulder clay is general over the county, but, unlike its equivalent near Glasgow, is usually an agglomeration of sand and hunch-backed pebbles and large stones ; tough, stony clay, like the " till " of the West of Scotland, does not exist, so far as I know. It is largely developed on the northern coast at Bloody Foreland, where it forms the sea-cliff 100 feet in height, the matrix being a drab-coloured clay. Overlying the boulder-clay in many places can be seen a coarse gravel, highly charged with peroxide of iron, and, where this is overlaid by turf, the stratum of gravel in contact with the turf is seen to be white instead of a reddish colour like the rest. This appears to be caused by the deoxidation of the iron by the organic matter of the turf. I may here mention that bog iron ore is to be found wherever the land is most bleak and barren. Hundreds of tons of this bos ore are shipped annually from Donegal, mostly to Liverpool and London, where it is used for the purification of gas instead of lime, than which it is reported to be more effectual in removing ammonia and sulphur. 154 PROCEEDINGS OF THE Along the shores of Lough Swilly a light blue clay is found about forty feet above the present sea level. It contains numerous fragments of shells, mostly recent species, and seems to mark the old sea-beach. In one bed, a mile from Ramelton, where the clay is used for brickmaking, I got a part of a deer's horn, which is very completely fossilized, and from the evidence the specimen itself presents, I have no doubt it was used at one time as a small pick These post-glacial and recent clays require working up in the north of Ireland. Bog is the surface deposit over a large portion of the county. In some places I have found it as much as twenty feet deep, and trees occur abundantly, the fir being more frequent than the oak. I was surprised on visiting, some time ago, Inniskeragh (an island in the Eosses district, west of Torry), to find the sea beating against a seven-feet cliff of bog. I could trace patches of it, too, below the water, and each wave had a peaty fringe — the debris torn from shore and sea bottom. In different places round these Eosses islands the stumps of trees can be seen sub- merged, and further west, the structures known as "smelting pots," and which were used some centuries ago for reducing iron, have been seen from a boat on a calm day in three fathoms of water. There can be no doubt that these facts point to a comparatively recent depression of the land, and from all I have observed, the depression is still going on, although at no place have I found the phenomena so marked as in the Eosses district. Botany. — The influence of plant life in modifying geological conditions is not so often referred to nor so well understood as its influence in modifying climate. An instance of the former came under my notice last summer, in Fannctt, thirteen miles north of Eamelton. The shores of that district are very sandy, and no part of them more so than Glassagh, so that the kelp made from the seaweed cast in there brought only a low price. However, some years ago the Earl of Leitrim planted all the bare sand above high water mark with "bent," and ever since then the sand of the shore has been gradually disappearing, till now it consists of clean stretches of granite rock and beautiful pebbly strands, enabling the cottars to secure the weed free from sand, and get the highest price for their produce. The rationale of the change is this : — The small river which flows into , the NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY OF GLASGOW. 155 Atlantic there was constantly detaching the sand from its banks and carrying it, as also the clouds of sand blown into it by every breeze, down to the sea. The sea, thus perennially fed, cast up the sand all along the shore. The bent now holds the sand together, and already has provided enough vegetable soil by its decay to permit of the growth of a sort of sward composed of Viola tricolor, Anthyllis vulneraria, Erqdium cicutariurriy some coarse grasses, and some of the arenaceous mosses. The consequence is that the stream, even in winter, comes down uncontaminated, and the sea — no longer fed as of yore — has washed the Glassagh shore down to its rocky base. On this same Fannett coast the marine algae may be studied "without much effort, as every tide washes in very perfect speci- mens of many of the deep sea species ; while the rock pools are brilliant with CladopJwrae, Chyloclacliae, and PohjsipJioniae. I never saw anywhere such an abundance of Coclium tomentosum ; and Laurencia pinnaUfida is also to be found in every pool. The economic uses of the algae, decried as useless by old Virgil, is well illustrated here in early summer. In May the old frond of Laminaria digitata becomes constricted, and is pushed off by the new frond, and the first storm drives in masses of this weed, forming often a bank four or five feet in depth. The natives call this, in Erse, the scie weagli, meaning the "May fleece," and when it is coming in, the scene along shore is an animated one. In one bay I have counted seventy carts, the horses up to the girths in the sea, and men and girls round about forking up the precious crop, which is then spread out above high water mark and dried, and thereafter burned into kelp. About 400 tons of kelp are made in this Fannett district, which has a coast line of only six miles; and these 400 tons imply the gathering and saving of 8,500 tons of wet seaweed. 2,000 tons more are secured for manure — the farmers coming seven or eight miles for it when the scie iveagh is in. There is another busy time when the " harvest weed " comes ashore. This may arrive any time from the beginning of August till the end of September, but the weed then consists of the variety stenophylla of Laminaria digitata. I think this variety should be elevated to the rank of a species, for, apart from its structural differences, it ripens at a different season ; it sheds not only its frond but also a portion of the stipes in- 156 PROCEEDINGS OF THE variably ; and its chemical constitution is entirely different from the true L. digitata. Many tons of Chondrus crisjnis and Gigartina mammillosa are also collected on this shore. After being bleached and dried they form the article of commerce called " Carrageen moss," used largely in stiffening cloth, and as an article of food. It is sometimes the principal ingredient in so called " calves'-foot jelly." Leaving the shore, and going further west to Cloghaneely and Rosses, one cannot but be struck by the abundance of the Eoyal Fern, Osmunda regalis. Instead of being the nearly extirpated rarity it is in the Clyde valley, it is here a common weed, fringing with its beautiful fronds the wayside ditches, and in marshy grounds growing in clumps, like a little forest. It is not beloved of farmers, for in their system it is classed with rushes, "fog" (mosses), and Marsh Marygold, which are all to be banished by drainage " when the times mend." Ferns, generally, are not so sjpecifically numerous as in Scotland. One looks in vain for Allosorus crispus, Polyj^odium dryopteris, Aspidium loncliitis, Opliio- glossum vidgatum, etc., but within fifteen minutes' walk of Ramelton can be seen Ceterach qfficinarum, Asplenium ruta-muraria, Osmunda regalis, Scolopendrium vulgare, Hymenophyllum wilsoni, and H. tanhridgense, while Polypodium phegopteris and Aspidkmi oreopteris occur near Mulroy bay. Asplenium marinum is found here and there near the shore, but is not common. The Holly (Ilex aguifolium) is in remarkable profusion all about Ramelton, and this, with the luxuriant clothing of ivy over the trunks of old oaks, makes bits of fresh colour which the eye delights to rest on all the year round. All this holly, I am convinced, is natural, growing, as it does, on nearly every spot of rough land, on the rocky river-banks, and in all the woods; but it is noticeable that only the plants growing in the open bear berries, those in the woods being, mth a very rare exception, infertile. In the vicinity of this village is a good example of a natural wood, called " Drumonaghan planting," though the substantive is a misnomer. None but truly indigenous trees are to be found, and many of the oaks and elms are evidently very old. In another natural wood at Ballyconly, three miles northwards, grows that rare orchid, the Aceras antliropopliora or Green Man-orchis. In all the rivers and lochs one cannot fail to meet the yellow and white water-lilies, and the splendid spikes of the cat's-tail {Typlia latifolia) /• NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY OF GLASGOW. 157 adorn the marshy shallows. The mosses would well repay working np, but I have not looked into them yet. Meantime I append a list of the rarer flowering plants and ferns occurring near Ramelton. Zoology. — A sail to Torry island on a calm day in summer would delight the heart of the student of marine zoology. On leaving the shore, the boat glides over a stretch of laminaria- covered bottom, only a few fathoms deep, and through the clear water can be seen the large sea-urchin, Echinus sphaera, prowling over the brown seaweed in the society of numerous star-fishes. Further on you may pass through a shoal of thousands of Medusae, and out in the deep water of the vSound of Torry you are almost sure to meet a shoal of Dog-fish (Spinax acanthias) if the weather is fine. On one occasion we were able to strike them with oars, so numerously were they swimming on the surface, with half of the back out of the water as they sported in hundreds round about. On that same trip, when near the Torry shore, I saw for the first time the beautiful zoophyte, Cyclippe inleus. As these little creatures extended and drew up their long tendril- like tentacles, glowing all the while in bright colours in the evening sunlight, they seemed far more beautiful in the great ocean aquarium than when within the limits of a glass case. The estuarine shores of Lough Swilly yield numerous species of mollusca, and which have been well wrought out by the Rev. Mr Falconer of Rathmullan. In some places, as at Fort-Stewart and Ballgreen, the whole littoral zone is covered with the shells of Anomia epMpinum and Fecten striatus, locally called '' Leitrigans," while thousands of valves of the oyster, Ostrea eduUs, recall the days when that succulent bivalve could be bought here for threepence per hundred ! In the river Leannan, which flows into Lough Swilly, the salmon-fishing is prolific enough to justify a local merchant in papng <£500 a year for the privilege of netting. The fishing lasts from February till August, this being what is called an early river. I took the temperature of the water for a season, and found it to be a few degrees higher, on an average, than that of some other Irish rivers where the salmon is later. As for Mammalia, the Otter (Lutra milgaris) is too common in the river Leannan, preying on the salmon, of which it eats only a mouthful or two from the back. The Squirrel (Sciuriis 158 PROCEEDINGS OF THE vulgaris) is not recorded as occurring in the North of Ireland, but I saw it twice in Drumonaghan wood in 1875. I have heard that Lord George Hill of Ballyarr kept some in confinement some time ago, and it may be that those I saw were " escapes" from his place, but I have not been able to confirm the truth of this. We have the Stoat {Mustela ermmea), and also a smaller member of the genus, lighter in colour, and with no black tuft on the end of the tail. A specimen of the latter will be submitted to the Society shortly, to determine whether it is the M. vulgaris or not. The Pine Marten (Maries abietum) is sometimes spoken of as the "Ferret," and is seen now and again. Mr Samuel Stewart of the Eooghan followed one for a considerable distance not long ago, but had no means of capturing it. He says they are in the habit of taking possession of nests abandoned by the Magpie. He saw, he informs me, a pair of Badgers (Meles taxus) in the gap of Barnes — a rocky pass, ten miles from this — and one at Lough Salt, about the same distance in a more easterly direction. It seems to be true, so far as my experience goes, that there are no moles, toads, nor snakes in Ireland. Captain Pepper, now of Castlebar, informs me that he got specimens of the old British or Black Rat {Mus rattus) in an island in Mulroy bay, about four miles from Eamelton. I purpose endeavouring to confirm this during the summer. Donegal can give a good account of birds, from the lordly Eagle downwards. The Golden Eagle (Aquila chrysaetus) has been shot often; one was captured alive near Dunfanagby, and is now in the possession of Mr Alford of Falcaragh. Mr Hill of Eamel- ton has had a Peregrine Falcon (Falco i)eregrinus) in a cage for many months, and it seems hearty and contented; the Merlin (Falco aesalon) I have been able to keep living for four months in confinement, feeding it on raw beef, and some of my neighbours have succeeded in making tolerable j^cts of the Barn Owl {Strix flammea), and of another species which agreed best with the description of the Tawny Owl (Sgrnium aluco) ; it was neither the Barn Owl nor the Long-eared Owl. The Eaven (Corvus corax) builds near Malinhcad, and an occasional pair of these birds are seen at Innistrahull and the coast round about. Some years ago they were frequent visitors here, and Mr Eobert Greer of Aughnish NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY OF GLASGOW. 159 shot one after he had seen it, he says, lift an egg in its bill which had been dropped by a duck, and hide it some distance off in a " cow-track," — that is, a depression in the ground caused by the cow's feet. This bird used to be seen about Ramelton, but not since 1858, when one was well known for its capturing stray fowls, but always escaped the gun. As for the birds near at hand, there is a sufficient variety to maintain one's interest in these charming neighbours. The Song Thrush {Turdus musicus) makes musical the dawn and the gloam- ing, from February on till the middle of April. One particularly fine performer sings from a horse-chesnut in the garden, and with such effect that the village folk will come over sometimes, specially to hear what they call " the Irish nightingale," though in other parts of Ireland that title is given only to the Sedge Warbler {Salicaria ]jhmcjinitis). The Magpie {Pica caiidata) is constantly with us, and a colony of Jackdaws (Corviis monedida) builds in some of the old chimneys. The Wren (Troglodytes vul- garis), Bullfinch (Pyrrhula vulgaris), and Swallow {Rirundo nistica) build about the place, and we are infested with Blackbirds {Turdus menda). In the winter you may see any day on the river behind my house the Common Heron (Ardea cinerea), the Water-hen {Gallinula chloropus), and the Cormorant {Phalocrocorax carlo) ; while in early summer, or sometimes even on a winter's day, one may mark the gleam of the Kingfisher (Alcedo isjnda) in his swift flight up the stream. Widgeon (Anas penelope), Teal (Anas crecca), and Bernicle geese (under which name are known both Anser torquatus and A. leucopsis) frequent the muddy flats of the Swilly in winter, and are shot in numbers by those enthusiastic enough to lie out all night in a flat-bottomed boat. Archaeology. — By the student of antiquity this county of Donegal is held in reverence, as the birthplace of Saint Columb, and numerous are the legends connecting him with every hill and island and lough. The island of Torry is said to have been the scene of his mis- sionary labours and miraculous exploits ; but be that as it may, it is full of interest to the antiquary. Besides two old crosses — one of them of limestone, which must have been brought from a great distance — and the ruins of a preaching station, it contains a round tower in fair preservation. This round tower is of small dimensions — the height not exceed- IGO PROCEEDINGS OF THE ing 51 feet, while the diameter is 17 feet 2 inches. It is built of red granite boulders, seemingly untouched by chisel or hammer, and every little crevice is most carefully built in with smaller stones and chips, so that even without the shelly lime, which has been used only in small quantity, the structure would be most substantial and firm. Irish round towers are all, indeed, so carefully built, and resist so effectually climatic influences, that the poet speaks of them as "the conquerors of time; " and when one was blown down a few years ago, it lay unbroken at length and entire on the ground like a huge cannon. In the districts of Fannett and EossguU shell-mounds can be counted by the score ; the most typical being in the latter quarter. To reach them you start from' the village of Carrigart, the journey then being over a sandy waste about two miles broad, on which the landlord has considerately placed finger posts to guide the traveller. After other two miles of rocky land are got over you arrive at Dundoan, and here the shell mounds are frequent. They are invariably near the shore and above high water mark, being readily recognisable even some distance away by their rising in rounded outline eight or nine feet above the level of the sandy shore. They all contain heaps of rough stones, which may be the remains of the hut, but the bulk of the mound is composed of the shells of such edible molluscs as Littorina littorea, Patella vulgaris, Buccimmi undatum, Ca,rdium edule, and Cardium echinatum. Bones also of horse, cow, sheep, and pig are common, and almost always split up, an entire bone being rare. Fragments of stone bearing the marks of fire are the only other remains indicative of man's presence. These shell mounds are less rich in remains than those of the Hebrides, some of which I described in a paper read before the Society on March 29th, 1870. As to the age of these Donegal kitchen-middens, I would not be disposed to claim for them a high antiquity. That they are not of yesterday, however, is clear from the fact that on the shore adjacent neither periwinkles nor limpets can now be ^ot, and the oldest inhabitant has no tradition even of the origin of the mounds. They probably mark the site of the summer residence of Donegal folk of the fifteenth or sixteenth century, who annually left their mountain pastures to eke out their scanty food supply by laying under contribution the shell-fish of Mulroy water. NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY OF GLASGOW. IGl Of greater age, generally, are the lake dwellings or " cranno- ges," of which there are a few examples in this neighbourhood. Owing to the extensive drainage which has being going on during the last few years in Ireland, the level of the lakes has been lowered, and thus have been revealed some of these old dwellings long lost to sight. These crannoges are small islands, built upon piles, entirel}^ in the water, and surrounded by a stockade driven into the bed of the lake, and bound together by horizontal beams of oak, which were morticed to the piles, and on them seem to have been erected the dwellings and other buildings of the inhabitants. One such has recently been exposed in Portlough, on the other side of Fort-Stewart, four miles from Eamelton. The island in the centre of this lough rests on piles, and several objects connecting it with man have been discovered. In the crannoges there are generally found a few large slabs of stone, which seem to have been used as hearth-stones. They would indicate that there was only one kitchen for the island, for here are found the bones of sheep, oxen, deer, and fish. In Lough Columbkille, near Milford, there is a small island which may be an example of the lake dwelling, as there are apparent signs of a causeway out to the island, and the stones which are heaped on it have evidently been placed there by man. The Swiss lake dwellings are certainly much more ancient than these Irish crannoges, for flint arrow heads and stone celts form a notable proportion of the remains found in them, but the imple- ments associated with the Irish lake dwellings are mostly of iron. Moreover, there is documentary evidence of the occupation of lake fortresses in the time of Elizabeth, and of some at an even later date. The following passage is from a letter, dated 1567, in answer to an enquiry from the English Government as to what castles or forts O'Neill had, and " of what strength they be " : — "For castles I think it be not unknown to y"^ honours he trusteth no point thereunto for his safety, as appeareth by the raising of the strongest castles of all his countreys, and that fortifications he only dependeth upon is in sartin fresh icater loghes in his countrey, which from the sea there cometh neither shippe nor boat to approache them. It is thought then in the said fortified islands lyeth all his plate, which is much, and many prisoners. The islands hath in war before been attemptid, and VOL. IIL L 1G2 PROCEEDINGS OF THE now of late again by the L*' deputy Sir Harry Sydney, which for want of means for safe conduct upon the water it hath not prevailed." This district is rich in paleolithic remains. Three miles hence, near to Milford, are two cromlechs; on a hill in the townland of Gortnavern, overlooking Kerrykeel, is an excellent example, spoken of by the country people as "the giant stones;" near Cranford, six miles away, there are three cromlechs ; half a mile from Gortahork is another, which I stumbled on quite by accident. Their general character is the same throughout. On two, or sometimes three, large boulders rests a massive slab, often four or five tons in weight, but generally of the same geological character as the smaller supporting stones, whether grey granite or gneiss. It is difficult to conceive how these early people lifted and placed such ponderous stones, and difficult, too, to determine the purpose to which they were devoted. In some cases fragments of what appeared to be a funeral urn was found in the soil adjacent, which would indicate that the cromlechs were intended to mark the last resting place for the ashes of some hero, but they probably were also used for sacrifice as altar stones. I hope to return to the more minute discussion of some of the subjects referred to in this general sketch at some future time. I. — The Birds of County Donegal.* (Some on the authority of Mr Hill of Ramelton), Golden Eagle, . . . Aquila chrysaetus (Linnaeus). Captured near Dunfanaghy. Peregrine Falcon, . . Falco peregrinus, Gmelin. Captured near Creeslough. Kestrel, .... Falco tinnunculus, Lin. Woods at Eamelton. Merlin, .... Falco acsalon, Gmelin. Chiragh. Sparrow Hawk, . . Accipter nisus (Linnaeus). Moyle Hill. White or Barn Owl, . Strix flammea, Linnaeus. Tawny Owl, . . . Syrinum aluco (Linnaeus). Pied Flycatcher, . . Muscicapa atricapilla, Linnaeus. Dipper, .... Cinclus aqiiaticuSj Bechstein. Common on river Leannan. * The nomenclature followed is that of Harting's Handbook of British Birds, London, 1872. NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY OF GLASGOW. 163 O". Songthrush, . Fieldfare, Blackbird, Eing Ouzel, Hedge Sparrow, Redbreast, Stonechat, Wheatear, Garden Warbler, Chiff Chaff, . Common Wren, Blue Titmouse, Long-tailed Titmouse Pied Wagtail, Grey Wagtail, Ray's Wagtail Tree Pipit, Sky Lark, Shore Lark, Yellow Buntin Chaffinch, Goldfinch, Linnet, . Twite, House Sparrow Greenfinch, Bullfinch, Starling, . Raven, . Carrion Crow, Rook, Jackdaw, Magpie, . Jay, Green Woodpecker, Cuckoo, . Kingfisher, Swallow, . Martin, . Sand Martin, Swift, . Ringdove or Woodpigeon, Turdiis musicus, Linnaeus. Turdus pilaris, Linnaeus. Very common. Turdus merula, Linnaeus. Turdus torquatus, Linnaeus. On river Leannan. Accentor modularis (Linnaeus). Erythaca rubecula (Linnaeus). Saxicola ruhicola (Linnaeus). Saxicola aenanthe (Linnaeus). Sylvia- hortensis (Gmelin). Phyllopneuste rufa (Latham). Troglodytes parvulus, Koch. Parus meruleus, Linnaeus. Acredula rosea (Blyth). Motacilla yarelli, Gould. Motacilla hoarula, Latham. Motacilla rayi, Bonaparte^ Anthus arboreus, Bechstein. Alauda arvensis, Linnaeus. Alauda alpestris, Linnaeus. Emheriza citrinella, Linnaeus. Fringilla coelehs, Linnaeus. Fringilla carduelis, Linnaeus. Linota cannahina (Linnaeus). Linota fiavirostris (Linnaeus). Passer domesticus (Linnaeus), Coccothraustes chloris (Linnaeus). Pyrrhula vulgaris, Temminck. Sturnus vulgaris, Linnaeus. Corvus corax, Linnaeus. Corvus corone, Linnaeus. Corvus frugilegus, Linnaeus. Corvus monedula, Linnaeus. Pica caudata, Fleming. Garrulus glandarius (Linnaeus). Seen twice at Kilmacrenan. Picus viridis, Linnaeus. Cuculus canorus, Linnaeus. Alcedo ispida, Linnaeus. Hirundo rustica, Linnaeus. Eirundo urhica, Linnaeus. Hirundo riparia, Linnaeus. Cyselus apus, Linnaeus. Columha yalumhus, Linnaeus. 164 PROCEEDINGS OF THE Pheasant, Red Grouse, . Grey Partridge, Quail, Golden Plover, Lapwing, Common Eedshank, Common Sandpiper, Sanderling, Woodcock, Great Snipe, . Common Snipe, Jack Snipe, Curlew, . Whimbrel, Common Heron, Common Bittern, Water Rail, Land Rail or Corn Craik Moorhen, Coot, Wild Swan or Whooper,"* Grey Lag Goose, Bernicle Goose, Sheldrake, Wild Duck, Wigeon, . Teal, Golden Eye, Eider Duck, Goosander, Great Northern Diver, Black-throated Diver, Great-crested Grebe, Red-necked Grebe, Guillemot, Little Grebe, Cormorant, Shag, Gannet, . Arctic Tern, Little Gull, Phasianus colchicus, Linnaeus, Tetrao scoticus, Latham. Perdix cinerea, Latham. Coturnix vulgaris, Fleming. Charadrius pluvialis, Linnaeus, Vanellus cristatus, Meyer. TotoMUS calidris (Linnaeus). Tringoides hypoleucus (Linnaeus). Calidris arenaria (Linnaeus). Scolopax rusticola, Linnaeus. Gallinago major (Gmelin). Gallinago media, Leach. Gallinago gallinula (Linnaeus). Numenius arquatus (Linnaeus). Nurtienius phaeopus (Linnaeus). Ardea cinerea, Linnaeus. Botaurus stellaris (Linnaeus). Rallus aquaticus, Linnaeus. Crex pratensis, Bechstein. Gallinula chloropus (Linnaeus). Fulica atra, Linnaeus. Cygnus musicus, Bechstein. Anser ferns (Gmelin). Anser leucopsis, Bechstein. Tadorna vulpanser^ Fleming. Anas boschas, Linnaeus. Anas penelope, Linnaeus. Querquedula crecca (Linnaeus). Clangula glaucion (Linnaeus). Somateria mollissima (Lin.). Seen in Mulroy. Mergus merganser, Linnaeus. Colymhus glacialis, Linnaeus. Colymbus arcticus, Linnaeus. Podiceps cristatus (Linnaeus). Podiccps rid)icollis (Gmelin). Uria troille (Linnaeus). Podiceps minor (Gmelin). Graculus carho (Linnaeus), Graculus cristatus (Faber). Sula bassana (Linnaeus). Sterna hirundo, Linnaeus. Lams minutus, Pallas. * The Black Swan, Cygnus atratus, Latham, has been seen three times on Loch Fern since 18G8. NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY OF GLASGOW. 165 Black-headed Gull, . Kittiwake, Common Gull, Great black-backed Gull, Storm Petrel, . Larus ridibunchis, Linnaeus. Larus tridactylus, Linnaeus. Larus canus, Linnaeus. Lams maririus, Linnaeus. Procellaria pelagica, Linnaeus. IL— Some of the Earer Phanerogamous Plants and Ferns FOUND IN County Donegal. Phanerogams. Celery leaved Crowfoot, Globe flower, Hairy Rock-cress, Common Whitlow-grass, Thyme-leaved Flax-seed, Tutsan, St. Marsh John's Wort, Meadow Crane's-bill, Musky Stork's-bill, Common Agrimony, Mare's-tail, Water Purslane, . Rose-root, . Biting Stonecrop, London-Pride, Starry-Saxifrage, Sea-Holly, . Wild Celery, Lamb's Lettuce . Nodding Bur-Marigold Water Lobelia, . Cow-berry, . Black Bear-berry, Intermediate Winter-green Common Gromwell, Common Comfrey, Mountain Speedwell, Marsh Speedwell, Water Fig-wort, . Gipsy-wort, . Variegated Hemp-Nettle, Pale Butter-wort, Sea-blite, . Pale-flowered Polygonum Water Pepper, . Ranunculus sceleratus. Trollius Europaeus. Arabis hirsuta. Drdba verna. Radiola millegrana. Hypericum A ndrosaemum, elodes. Geranium prateuse. Erodiuni moschatum. Agrimonia Eupatoria. Hippuris vulgaris. Feplis Portula. Sedum Bhodiola. acre. Saxifraga umbrosa. stellaris. Eryngium maritimum. Apium graveolens. Fedia olitoria. Bidens cernua. Lobelia Dortmanna. Vaccinum Vitis-Idaea. Arctostapliylos Uva-Ursi. Pyrola media. Lithospernium offi,cinale. Symphytum officinale. Veronica montana. - scutellata. Scrophularia aquatica, Lycopus Europaeus. Oaleopsis versicolor. Pinguicula Lusitanica. Suaeda maritima. Polygonum lapathifoliiLm. Hydropiper, 166 PROCEEDINGS OF THE Crowberry, . Dwarf-Spurge, Wall-Pellitory, . Least-Willow, Common Juniper, . Common Yew, Common T way-blade, Heart-leaved Tway-blade, Green Man-orchis, Broad-leaved Garlic, Lesser Water-Plantain, Great Eeed-mace, . Floating Bur- weed, Grassy Pond-weed, Spreading Millet-grass, Water Whorl-grass, Common Quaking-grass, Common Ceterach, Pale Mountain Polypody, Heath Shield-fern, Sea Spleen-wort, . Scottish Filmy-fern, Tunbridge Filmy-fern, Common Osmond royal, Common Moon-wort, Lesser Alpine Club moss, European Quill- wort, . Fer ns, etc. Empetrum nigrum. Euphorbia exigua. Parietaria officinalis. Salix herhacea. Juniperus communis. Taxus baccata. Listera ovata. cordata. Aceras anthropophora. Allium ursinum. Alisma ranunculoides. Typha latifolia. Sparganium natans. Potamogeton gramineus. Milium effusum. Catabrosa aquatica. Brim media. Ceterach officinarum, Polypodium Phegoi^teris. Aspidium Oreopteris. Asplenium marinum. Hymenophyllum Wilsoni. Tunbridgense. Osmunda regalis. Botrychium Lunaria. Lycopodium selaginoides. Isoetes lacustris. in. — A New Sj^ecies of Sulcoretejjora. By Dr Young and Mr John Young, F.G.S. With a Plate. Stilcoretepora Eobertsoni, Y. & Y. Polyzoary erect, cylindrical, branching dichotomously ; branches J to J of an inch apart, nearly circular in section ; diameter about ^ a line, the greater thickness at the points of bifurcation ; the angle of divergence about 45°. Cells oval, dej^ressed, usually arranged round the stems in 8 to 10 parallel rows, each row containing 18 cells in J of an inch, the cells being about their own length apart. Irregular tuberculated ridges sej^arate the rows of cells, giving the stem and branches an angular cross section. NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY OF GLASGOW. 167 Between each pair of cells, in a longitudinal series, 1 to 3 pores occur, normally above each cell aperture, and in well preserved specimens tubercules surround each cell-area more or less completely. The genus Sidcoretepora was founded by D'Orbigny in 1847, with the following definition : — " Cells in series in furrows on one side of simple depressed branches." In the genus thus defined have been included, since 1847, species having the cells dispersed all round the stems. To this genus are referred the following species found in the Glasgow district, viz. : — S. parallela, Phil., S. raricosta, M'Coy. The species above described differs from all those previously recorded, by its small size, circular section, dichotomy, and surface ornamentation. We have pleasure in naming it after Mr David Eobertson, F.L.S., F.G.S., to whom we owe the loan of some of the specimens figured. The cells are not always equally distributed round the stem ; thus stems, usually the thicker ones, may have the cells on one face fewer and smaller, and even reduced, as in fig. 1, to orifices not larger than those already referred to as pores. Again, as in fig. 8, the cells may be of unequal size, the pores remaining equal. This is most frequent near the points of bifurcation where new rows become intercalated between those of the stem. We have already described and figured Carboniferous Polyzoa ^ in which pores occur in the longitudinal series, as in Glaucoiiome stellijjora and Actinostoma fenestratum. The present species seems to render more probable the avicularian character of these orifices, every gradation of aperture being seen, from the cell slightly smaller than usual, down to pore-like openings. Further, the tubercular ridges which bound the cells are, as in figs. 3, 5, and 11, seen to surround small cell apertures and also the intercellular pores. No ovicells are to be recognised. S. Bohertsoni is moderately common in a thin bed of light-grey shale (Lower Limestone series) at Trearne, near Beitb, but the specimens are somewhat worn. Fragments have been found in shale at Brockley near Lesmahagow, and at Auchenskeoch near Dairy, but at both these localities the species seems to be rare. * Quart. Journ. Geol. Soc. Lond., Vol. xxx., p. 681. 168 PROCEEDINGS OF THE Explanation of the Plate. All the Fifjures were drawn idth the Camera lucida. Fig. 1. — Stem showing (obverse ?) face with cells of various sizes, some no larger than pores. X 40. Fig. 2. — Portion of stem showing cell without pores; groups of pores without cells; and an intercalated row of cells. X 40. Fig. 3. — Well preserved fragment showing tubercular ridges surrounding cells, pores, and (aborted ?) cells. At one point in the left hand row a space is enclosed between two transverse tubercular ridges, but no cell nor pore is visible in it. X 120. Fig. 4. — Transverse division of cell aperture, the upper chamber seeming to replace pores. Fig. 5 shows cells of various sizes, and pores, surrounded by tubercular ridges. In the middle row one cell is transversely divided, while immediately below it two cells are associated with one group of pores. Fig. 6 shov/s numerous tubercular ridges, some without intervening cells. Fig. 7. — Single cell, from worn specimen, with two pairs of pores. Fig. 8. — Bifurcating stem, showing confluence of intercalated rows, irregular arrangement of pores, and abortion (?) of cells at angle of bifurcation. X 60. Fig. 9. — Branch '028 in diameter, showing, in left hand row, transverse division of a cell, while in each of the two upper cells of the same row, the lowest of the three pores is included by a A shaped ridge within the same area as the cell aperture. Figs. 10 and 11. — Fragments showing irregularity in number, size, and position of pores. February 27th, 1877. Mr James Ramsay, Vice-President, in the chair. SPECIMENS EXHIBITED. Mr John Kirsop exhibited a horn and portion of the skull of the extinct ox Bos longifrons, found at Pollokshaws Road in sandy clay six feet below the surface. It had been forwarded by Mr Gillespie, inspector to the Water Commissioners, and is the second recorded specimen found in the West of Scotland. Mr Kirsop also showed a collection of fishes from the river Amazon, and from Rio Grande do Sul, South America. The collection embraced examples of a flying fish of the gurnard family Frionotus; a trunk fish, Ostracion; a skate or ray, Eaia; a spinous globe fish, Diodon; a sucking fish, Echineis, 21 inches in length; a speat fish, Loricaria; and two species of lobsters. These had been forwarded by Mr James Albert Smith, and with Trans. ]). 184 PROCEEDINGS OF THE found that among the more recent contributions of Dr F. Loew is a detailed description of it (1. c, 1875, p. 26). Upon collating his description with my own, I find an exact agreement in all except the following points : — He states the number of antennal joints as 19; in my description I note 18, which a careful re-examination of my dried specimens bears out. There may, as in some other species, be a slight variability in the number. In my notes I describe the apical tarsi of the legs as yellow ;* Dr Loew is silent on this point, simply stating, " Beine . . . fahlbraun." The rearing of the male places this species definitely into the genus Hormomyia, where it was doubtfully collocated by Schiner (Fauna aust. Dipt. ii.,p. 380). The compressed and sunken head, arched and laterally compressed thorax, and the long abdomen, taken in connection with the characters of the wings and antennae, leave no room for doubt ; these characters, as Dr Loew states, being not nearly so marked in the female. For a minute account of these points, I would refer you to Dr Loew's article (1. c, supra). In the same Transactions (1874, Taf. ii., fig. 3) is an excellent figure of the gall in its mature form. Galls of Unknown Species. r I conclude this paper with descriptions of two galls, whose makers, so far, I have not succeeded in rearing to the perfect state. Lychnis diurna, Sibth. — The gall consists in the calyx becoming more or less inflated at the base. Sometimes the calyx never opens, at others the petals project more or less. It becomes more or less tinged, especially towards the apex, with pink, and the calyx-ribs are usually picked out with darker pink. A number of larvae inhabit the inflation between calyx and petal. They are barely a line and a half long, shining, and vary in colour from white to bright orange-yellow. This malformation is not uncommon at Kenmuir Bank and near Milngavie during the autumn months. Mr C. G. Barrett (Ent. Mo. Mag. viii., p. 205), in a note on the earlier stages of a hactle, Ilyperaj^olygoni, — the larvae of which occur in the shoots of Lychnis vespertina, which are prevented from * In the dried insect tliey are conspicuously pale yello\vish-wliite. NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY OF GLASGOW. 185 growing, and form into pseudo-galls, resembling great buds, three or four inches long, — states, that happening to open one of these galls, he saw plenty of the minute orange-coloured larvae of a Cecidomyia. The larvae of a Continental species, C. lycJinidis, Heyd., live gregariously in deformed, woolly, leaf and terminal buds oi Lychnis dioica, and we may possibly find the above two forms are to be referred to it. Angelica sylvestris, Lin. — About the middle of September, I observed, among the umbels of this plant in Mugdock Wood, numerous flowers conspicuously larger than the rest. Closer inspection showed that the carpels were swollen and pinkish in colour j the petals were somewhat fleshy, and had not unfolded ; stamens were present, but the styles of the pistil seemed aborted. The length of the galled flower was scarcely two lines. In each galled flower was a single larva, colour bright orange- yellow, length three-quarters of a line to nearly one line, last seg- ment emarginate, on each projection a number of bristles seated on tubercles, similarly to others on different parts of the body. The larva inhabits the cup of the flower, and not the carpel, as I ascertained by very careful examination. I made a slight reference to this gall in a previous paper on the genus Aspliondylia ; and as I stated, it will probably turn out to be the work of A. imnijinellae, Fr. Lw., which forms galls resembling these on Fimpinella saxifraga, Lin., and the galls of which species Mr Traill (Scot. Nat., i, p. 125) has recorded for Scotland. Similar malformations of the flower have been observed in various other umbelliferous plants, as Pastinaca sativa, Lin., Daucus carota, Lin., and others, all most likely to be referred to the same insect. But in all these forms, so far as known, the larva seems to inhabit the carpel and not the flower-cup. Having this fact before me, I was careful to assure myself of its true position in the examples I have met with on Angelica. In the discussion which followed the reading of this Paper, Mr Peter Cameron stated that he had first found the larvae of Cecidomyia quercik on the banks of the Clyde, near Newton, in abortive acorns, in wliich several lived in company, and their presence caused the cup to become split and twisted. It seems 186 PROCEEDINGS OF THE very probable that it is the same species which inhabits the leaf buds and the acorns, for they occur on the same tree. Although he had bred specimens in the autumn, he was inclined to believe that this was owing to their having been reared in a room, for at present he had a considerable number collected in autumn which have not yet become mature. He had sent specimens to Dr Franz Loew, who stated that they were undoubtedly a new form. The acorns in which they were found were only about the size of a small pea. II. — The Mammals of the Neighbourhood of Loch Lomond, By Mr Jajmes Lumsden, F.Z.S. In the country which borders on Loch Lomond there has been found a large proportion of the land mammals of Britain j but as in other districts, several species which were at one time common are now rarely or never met with, the advance of agriculture and the greater attention paid to the preservation of game having been most destructive to many of our wild animals, as well as to our rapacious birds. Within late years a great change has taken place in the mam- malian fauna of this district. At one time Wild Cats were well known, and Martens, if not often seen, betrayed their presence by their thieving habits ; Polecats were not uncommon : Eats, except a few of the harmless Mus Llattus, Rabbits, and Squirrels were unknown, and mountain Hares seldom met with. How changed is it now ! The Wild Cat, Marten, and Polecat extinct, the Brown Rat swarming in and around all farm steadings, Rabbits plentiful on hill and low country alike, and the Mountain Hare numerous on all the higher ranges. Squirrels are also common in all the plantations, and are extending their distribution. The nature of the ground round Loch Lomond renders the district peculiarly suited for all kind of mammals. In the agricultural land at the southern end of the loch are found Moles, Shrews, Mice, and Voles, while the more rugged ground at the northern end gives shelter to the wilder animals and Mountain Hares. So far as we know, no complete list of the mammals found throughout the Loch Lomond district has ever been drawn up, although the subject has not been neglected by naturalists and NATURAL HISTOllY SOCIETY OF GLASGOW. 187 others. The Eev. ]\Ir Stewart published a list of the mammals of the parish of Luss in the " Statistical Account of Scotland," 1790. The works of ]\Ir John Colquhoun are full of most interesting notes on the habits and natural history of the wild animals of the Dumbartonshire woods and moors ; and Mr Robert Gray has given information about some of the more interesting mammals of the district, in his sketch of the Zoology of Loch Lomond, in Messrs. Maclure and Macdonald's " Guide to the Trossachs and Loch Lomond." In the " Fauna and Flora of the West of Scotland," Glasgow, 1876, Mr E. R. Alston has given, in detail, a sketch of the mammals, which of course includes those of the Loch Lomond district. In the notes to the following list I have not therefore attempted fully to describe the habits of any of the existing species, as that has already been ably done by other pens, but have only endeavoured to record the present as compared with the past state of the mammalian fauna of the neighbourhood of Loch Lomond. CHEIROPTERA. ' VESPERTILIONIDAE. Common Bat, Vesperugo jnjyistrellus (Schreb.). Very common. Long-eared Bat, Plecotus auritus (Linn.). Not uncommon, but not so numerous as the last named species. INSECTIVORA. ERINACEIDAE. Hedgehog, Erinaceus europaeus. Linn. Common, and in many places would be numerous were it not killed clown by gamekeepers, who all wage war against it. I have found young ones, with their eyes not yet open, as late as 28th of September, which I think is almost a proof of the hedgehog occasionally breeding twice in the year. INSECTIVORA. TALPIDAE. Mole, Talpa europaea. Linn. Very common. Although trapped on all the arable land in the district, this species still holds its own, as the numerous woods and plantations offer it a secure retreat. 188 PROCEEDINGS OF THE INSECTIVORA . SORICIDA E. Common Shrew, Sorex tetragonurus (Herm.). Not uncommon; often found lying dead on roads and foot- paths. CARNIVORA. MUSTELIDAE. Badger, Meles taxus (Schreb.). The " Brock " is still a native of some parts of our district, and is, I am glad to say, strictly preserved on some of the estates in the neighbourhood. Common Otter, Lutra vulgaris. Erx. Although much reduced in numbers since Mr Stewart included it in his list of the quadrupeds of the parish of Luss, the Otter is still found on a few of the streams which flow into the loch. Common Weasel, Mustela vulgaris. Linn. Common ; the variation in size of this species is very marked. Ermine Weasel or Stoat, Mustela erminea. Linn. Found on all the hills in the neighbourhood of the loch. The time of changing from winter to summer fur seems to be very variable. I have obtained specimens in winter dress on the 8th of February, and on the 11th of the same month have found others in full summer fur, except a slight ring of white on the tail, just above the black tip. Polecat, Mustela putorius. Linn. At one time common, the " Foumart " is now quite unknown, except by name, on the hills round Loch Lomond. Pine Martin, Maries dbietum, Eay. This species has also been banished from our district. I have not heard of one being seen or trapped for many years. It was, however, at one time well known in the neighbourhood, but has been killed down, as in most other parts of Scotland. It is very doubtful if the Beech Martin, M. foina, has ever occurred in Scotland. Mr E. R. Alston states that all the specimens shown NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY OF GLASGOW. 189 him as Beech Martins have proved to be only light coloured specimens of the present species. CARNIVORA. ' FELIDAE. Wild Cat, Felis catus. Linn. The " British Tiger," as Pennant calls it, is now also a thing of the past on the banks of Loch Lomond. At one time it was well known, and specimens have at no very distant date been taken, both on the Luss estates on the west side of the loch, and on the Duke of Montrose's property on the east. A fine pair from the latter district are now in the Hunterian Museum, Glasgow, presented by the late Duke. CA RNI VORA. CA NIDAE. Common Fox, Canis vulpes. Linn. A few are sometimes killed on Ben Lomond and some of the other hills, but their numbers have been much reduced witliin the last twenty or thirty years. RODENTIA. SCIURIDAE, Common Squirrel, Sciurus vulgaris. Linn. Very common in all the woods round the loch. According to Mr John Colquhoun,* the first squirrel ever seen in the district was "in the autumn of 1830," when the " strange beast" paid for its enterprise with its life, after being chased from tree to tree by the boys of the neighbourhood. The species is gradually extending its range over Scotland. In some places an occasional raid is made against them, on account of the damage they do to larch and spruce plantations by nipping off the tops of the young shoots. Squirrels seem to be fond of a variety of food, — young shoots of trees, acorns, beech and hazel nuts, and I have observed them eating fungi, and can vouch for their liking for cherries. RODENTIA. MURIDAE. Long-tailed Field Mouse, Mas sylvaticus. Linn. A very common species ; often caught in considerable numbers * " Lecture on the Ferae Naturae of the British Isles," by John Colquhoun, Edin., 1873. 190 PROCEEDINGS OF THE in gardens, where they do much damage to newly sown peaa and to bulbous roots. Common Mouse, Mus musculus. Linn. A pest in nearly every house ; troublesome while they live, but more so when they die below the floors, where the decay of their fat little bodies causes a most objectionable smell. Black Eat, Mus raitus. Linn. This, the only species of rat at one time known in Britain, is now nearly, if not entirely, extinct all over the country. In our district it was common, but is now quite unknown, the Brown Eat having proved too strong for it. Mr William Colquhoun informs me that the Black Eat kept entirely to houses or buildings, and seldom, if ever, was found in the fields. Brown Eat, Mus decumanus. Pall. This species (by a strange mistake called the Norway Eat, for when the name was given it was not known in Norway), is now the common rat of this country. Mr William Colquhoun says it was first introduced into the Loch Lomond district by "Gabbarts,"* from sixty to sixty-five years ago; and in a very short time it over-ran the whole district, fields and houses alike, completely driving out its less pugnacious relation the Black Eat. Water Vole, Arvicola amphibius (Linn.). Both the Brown and Black varieties of this species are common on the banks of the streams and rivers of our neighbourhood, and on some of the islands of the Loch. Common Field Vole, Arvicola agrestis. De Selys. This species, known as the Short-tailed Field Mouse, is common, although it has never increased to the same extent as in some other counties of Scotland. * Gabbarts : boats of from 30 to 40 tons, wliich, before the railway was opened to Balloch, carried coals, etc., from the Clyde, up the Leven, to various places on the banks of the Loch, taldng back return cargoes of slates or timber. NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY OF GLASGOW. 191 Eed Field Yole or Bank Vole, Arvicola glareolus (Schreb.). I cannot speak of this species from personal observation, never having identified a specimen with certainty ; but as I am informed by Mr E. R. Alston that the late Dr Dewar obtained it on the shores of Loch Katrine, I think it may be safely included as occurring within the district. RODENTIA. LEPORIDAE. Common Hare, Leims europaeus. Pall. Very common. Mountain Hare, Lepus variaUUs. Pall. Common on all the higher hills. Mr John Colquhoun states * that when he was a boy there were no Mountain Hares in the district. The first he ever saw was on Ben Voirla in 1822. Hybrids between this species and L. timidus have been got in the district. Eabbit, Lejms cuniculus. Linn. Very numerous all round the loch. Fifty or sixty years ago it was quite unknown in the district, and has increased very much in numbers within recent years. RUMINANTIA. CERVIDAE. Red Deer, Cervus elaphus. Linn. An occasional straggler sometimes ajDpears on the hills. Roe Deer, Capreolus cajjrea. Gray. Common in all the woods, but not so numerous as at one time. An albino was some years ago taken near Luss. Ohs. — Reindeer, Cervus tarandus. Linn. Dr J. A. Smith (Proc. Soc. Ant. Scot., 1871) states that bones of this species have been found underlying boulder-clay at Croftamie, in the Endrick valley. * « Ferae Naturae of the British Isles," p. 28. 192 PROCEEDINGS OF THE TIT. — On Bees : the origin, treatment, and cure of Foul Brood. By Mr R. J. Bennett. About three years ago I was made acquainted with this dire calamity in the manner that it most affects a beekeej^er, viz., an attack upon my own apiary, and in the space of three months I lost four strong hives. Fearing the death of my whole stock, I immediately began a correspondence on the subject with my fellow- beekeepers. A former member of this Society, now a Doctor of Medicine in England, wrote : — " Have not made its acquaint- ance, and don't want to " j and a Stirlingshire beekeeper said, " Give them a glass of whisky, mixed with 2 lbs. of sugar and 1 pint of water, and take my word for it, you will stimulate your bees to double work, and have stronger colonies than ever." That advice I thought at the time to be a good practical joke, and did not follow it ; but in the " Journal of Horticulture " of the 15th March, I find an English apiarian recommending for spring stimulating feeding a continual administration of syrup with a dash of brandy in it. The origin of foul brood may be said to be threefold : — First : From fermented honey or food. Second : From exposure of the hive to cold. Third : From infection. First : From fermented honey or food. — As nothing will more readily induce foul brood in a hive having unsealed honey than overheating, combs in this state should never be kept over the winter, as moisture or vapour is deposited on the comb and mixes with the unsealed honey, which thereby ferments. Fungi are then propagated, and are spread when this honey is used by the nurses for feeding the larvae, in which stage of the life of a bee the infection and destruction begins. After the cell is sealed or capped over, the bees have no means of knowing that decay and rottenness are going on within. If we take a piece of comb thus infected and withdraw the dead pupae, tliere appears in the bottom of the cells a small white fungoid substance, which is the germ of the disease, and in course of time turns the larvae first into a milky-like substance, and later into a dark brown glutinous jelly, which emits a very offensive smell. If you stir it with a pin at this stage, it can be drawn out in long elastic threads, almost like India-rubber. Second : From exposure. — Frequent examination of the hive NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY OF GLASGOW. 193 during the spring months is apt to lower the temperature, and thus compel the bees to cluster together in order to raise the necessary warmth. As at this season they are by no means so active as in the heat of summer, it sometimes happens that the larvae perish before the warm weather sets in. This is termed chilled brood ; for although the bees very often succeed in clearing out the dead larvae, yet the spores having been deposited at the bottom of the cells get scattered through the hive, cause decom- position to set in, and the foundation for future unhealthy colonies is thereby laid. Third : From infection. — I find this by far the most frequent cause of disease, as an infected hive soon becomes an easy prey to robber bees. They in turn, while stealing the honey, take with them the seeds of infection, and thus innoculate their own hives. Many beekeepers say that foul brood is not infectious, because sometimes a natural swarm from an infected hive does not carry it with them when put into a clean hive ; but it is well known that bees, when leaving, carry two or three days' consumption with them, and when a swarm is housed in a clean empty hive, by far the greatest amount of the honey they bring with them goes to the production of wax for the new combs. By the time the queen lays eggs and the larvae require to be fed, there can be no doubt that they are supplied by fresh stores brought from the fields. But as a proof of infection, it may be stated that foul brood has been known to rage for years in certain districts, and while some beekeepers used every means to get rid of it, they found that, so long as their neighbours' hives were infected, it was almost impossible. The deduction from this seems clearly to be, that strong stocks should be kept ; and that the only safe cure for all infected comb is to cut out, bury, or destroy it, but on no account to allow the bees to get the honey from infected stocks ; also to avoid importing any bees from a distance, as through excitement and confinement the germs of disease are sown. Many beekeepers may take a difi'erent view of this subject from that I have stated, but if my remarks lead to investigation being thoroughly and honestly made, and turn the train of thought to an unoccupied field, it may in course of time bring forth an abundant harvest of practical knowledge. VOL. III. N 194 PROCEEDINGS OF THE lY. — Miscellaneous Notes in Natural History. By- Mr James Napier. Spiders. A few years ago I found that at the corner of our veranda a garden spider, Ejfeira diadema, had spread out its net, and was posted in the centre of it earnestly watching for prey. I took a fragment of a leaf and dropped it upon the lower edge of the web, when the insect made a sudden rush to it, but when half-way stopped and fled to a dark corner out of sight. After a few minutes it approached cautiously, and having gone round the leaf several times, carefully lifted it by passing under and getting the leaf on its back, and having travelled, with it to the top, pitched it over. This operation was repeated several times with the same result. I then treated it to a fly, which was killed and consumed on the spot in a few minutes. I next put an ant, to which the spider ran with great force till within an inch, when it suddenly stopped, and then made several circles round ; the ant wriggled round so as to face the spider, with its mandibles open and snapping, but the spider refused to go nearer, and retired to its watch-tower. On examination, I found that the ant was tied to the web by threads thrown over it. A Bluebottle fly was next given, which the spider attacked without fear, and consumed. A wasp was then entangled in the web, on seeing which it set off to its dark corner with great speed, and nearly half-an-hour elapsed before it ventured out, and then cautiously making two or three circuits. I found that the wasp was also tied down. I supplied more flies, which were killed but not eaten. Next morning the web was clean and mended, and the spider in the centre. On examining the den, I found the wasp, ant, and flies carefully bagged and laid up, possibly for future use. It appeared, however, that all spiders are not so cautious, for I tried another sometime afterwards with a wasp. The spider rushed at it without a pause, but evidently got a sting, for it fled with great precipitation to its den, then swung itself to tlie ground and disappeared, and the web stood for days without a tenant. To show the strength of the thread of tlie spider's web, I may state that one morning in August a spider's thread, made visible by vapour condensed upon it, might have been seen stretching from the corner of Union Street to the corner of Jamaica Street, NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY OF GLASGOW. 195 thus crossing Argyll Street. The weight of the condensed dew upon this line must have been considerable. Dogs. Fraud. — In a public work west of Glasgow, two dogs, a New- foundland and a Terrier, were kept. The latter was a famed ratter, and when he killed a rat, he carried it into the house to show his mistress, who ordered him out, but always followed with a large piece of oat-cake, which Tartar first ate, then taking the rat and burying it in the garden. One day he and the Newfound- land were playing together in a field, when Tartar was observed to proceed into the garden accompanied by his friend, unearth the last rat he had buried, and carry it into the house. When the usual reward was given to him, he shared it with his companion, and then took away the rat and reburied it. Conspiracy. — A dog in the village, near the works in question, was a nuisance to the inhabitants, and with it Tartar had often fought, but had always been driven off" by the dog's master. One day the Newfoundland, Tartar, and another little dog were playing together, when Tartar's enemy appeared in the distance. The three at once separated. Tartar lay down on one side of the road, and the Newfoundland at the root of a tree on the other side, while the small dog ran to meet the enemy, and sportingly led him on to the place where the two others were in waiting. Whenever they came up, Tartar and the Newfoundland sprang out, the three fastened upon the one, and before aid arrived the poor dog was killed. "A Shower of Frogs." At the end of August, a few years ago, after a long drought, a copious shower fell during the night. On going out about seven next morning the road was literally swarming with young frogs ; also in a neighbouring field, so numerous were they that only with great care could I walk without treading upon them. Nothing could better account for this swarm than a "shower" of them. My house and garden were surrounded by a high wall ; I thought that, if the frogs had fallen from the clouds, they would be in the garden as well as outside, but upon examination, not one was there to be seen. A large pond in a clayfield at about 200 yards distance, was undoubtedly the place whence came the so- called " shower of frogs." 196 proceedings of the April 24th, 1877. Mr Thomas Chapman, Vice-President, in the chair. Mr James Thomson, LA., was elected a life member; and Messrs. John Buchanan, Walter Burns, Scipio M. Kennedy, and Robert Smith, ordinary members. Mr Peter Cameron submitted a report from the Committee appointed last Session to prepare Catalogues of the Fauna of the West of Scotland, and more particularly the Fauna of the Clyde Valley. The report stated that arrangements had been made with several Zoologists, who had undertaken to frame lists of species in various departments of Natural History, so that the first part might appear during this year. The Catalogues would be paged separately from the Proceedings, so that when completed they would form a separate volume. The report was approved of, and the Committee instructed to proceed with the issue of the lists. SPECIMENS EXHIBITED. The Chairman exhibited specimens of several species of Cetoniae, including examples, in both sexes, of Goliathus iJolypliemus, from the west coast of Africa, and remarked that this family of lanielli- corn beetles forms an extensive and brilliant group of insects. In a perfect state they frequent flowers, upon the juices of which they feed, the structure of the maxillary lobes enabling them to lap up the sweets. Some species are found on the trunks of trees, where they feed on the sap, especially of such as are wounded. Dr Savage, who has collected these large Cetonias at the Gold Coast, states that they are roasted and eaten by the natives, who find them to be fat and sweet. G. pohjphemus, he says, feeds upon a vine climbing up very lofty trees, and full of a fluid as tasteless and limpid as water, and so plentiful that the natives, in travelling through the woods, tap it and drink the juice, when water cannot be easily found. The Rosechafer, Cetonia aurata, is common in the south of England on roses, and on the flowers of the privet. In the larval state they are found in rotten timber. The larvae and pupae are often found in ants' nests, where it is probable the larvae feed on the fragments of wood of which the nests are often largely formed. Mr James Lumsden, F.Z.S., exhibited a specimen of the Spotted Crake, Crex jporzana, which was shot at Aird's Moss, Cronberry Farm, in the parish of Auchinleck, Ayrshire, on 3d November, NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY OF GLASGOW. 197 1875. He stated that this species is one of our least observed migrants, and is seldom met with in Scotland. Like many other marsh birds, it is decreasing, as its haunts — the fenny and marshy lands — are being gradually drained. At one time it bred regularly in some parts of England, in considerable numbers, but now rarely, and in Scotland its nest has been taken only on one or two occasions. According to Jerdon, in his " Birds of India," it is found over all India in the cold season, frequenting marshes, rice fields, and moist meadows, near rivers and tanks. It is also found throughout Europe, Asia, and Africa, breeding in temperate regions. Jerdon also states that it is said to make a floating nest of rushes ; but this seems to be very doubtful, and is not mentiond by some of the other authorities. Mr John M. Campbell exhibited a specimen of the Biscacha, (Lagostomus trkhodadylus, Brookes), from South America, and made some remarks on its distribution in the Argentine Provinces, which it has overrun to a large extent, penetrating to a considerable distance southwards. It has not, however, been found in the Banda Oriental or in Paraguay, although, being a good swimmer and taking readily to the water, the Parana need not have been an obstacle to its progress. In a paper read before the Society at the December meeting, a full account was given of the habits and depredations of this rodent, which has become a thorough pest in the countries where it prevails. Mr Campbell mentioned that its skin is now imported as an article of commerce, and is taking the place of more expensive furs. Mr D. C. Glen, F.G-.S., exhibited a number of specimens from Brazil, recently brought to this country by Mr A. Smith, C.E.,. Glasgow. In the collection were — the carapace of an Armadillo ; the bony palate of a species of Cat-fish, the mouth of which is paved, in a sort of tesselated manner, with a series of roundish-shaped crushing teeth ; the legs and wings of the Horned Screamer, Palamedea cornuta, a bird about the size of a goose, whose wings are each armed with a pair of strong bony spurs, which it uses for defensive purposes ; a Blue Crow, Corvus azureus, and a Red-breasted Eoller, Coracias scutata ; a specimen of one of the Lace Lizards, about four feet in length ; also several other objects of interest. On these he made a few verbal remarks, concluding by presenting the Blue Crow and Red-breasted Roller to the Hunterian Museum. 198 PROCEEDINGS OF THE Mr Peter Cameron exhibited various specimens of Tenth re- dinidae, new to the British Fauna, taken by Mr Joseph Chappell in the Manchester district. (1) A new species of Dolerus, dis- tinguished from all the other black and red species by having the abdomen entirely red, otherwise nearly approaching D. lateritkis, Klug; (2) Blennocampa micans, Klugj (3) Lyda fulvipenniSy Zaddach, a species described in 1863, when only two specimens were known in the Berlin Museum, Mr Chappell's example being thus the third. Mr Cameron also showed Athalia annulata, Fab., taken in England by the Rev. T. A. Marshall. This species was erroneously inserted in our lists, but as we have now this authentic specimen, it may again be included in the British fauna. PAPERS READ. I. — On Saxicava rugosa, a Bivalve Mollusc; showing an unusual mode of repair. By Mr David Robertson, F.L.S., F.Gr.S. It is a common occurrence to see shells which have been repaired by the animal after accidental injuries of various kinds. These repairs, it is well known, are accomplished by a calcareous secretion applied to the points of injury, whether a fracture, a bruise, or displacement of parts, which are often mended even when the fractured edges do not come into proper contact ; and in such cases, the shell frequently assumes a more or less contorted appearance. This calcareous secretion is also used by the animal to cover any irritating substance which happens to get inside the valves of the shell ; and when this occurs with any of the pearl- bearing molluscs, the foreign objects get covered, layer after layer, with nacreous or pearly matter, and in this way pearls are formed. This property is said to be taken advantage of by the Chinese, who place little figures of their gods within tlie valves of such shells, where they allow them to remain a sufficient time to be coated over with a pearly covering. Here is an injury to the shell of a mollusc, Saxicava rugosa, — an injury of a different kind, — not accidental, but purposely inflicted by a carnivorous univalve mollusc, which has the power of drilling through the covering of hard shell to reach the animal -wdthin, and with much skill, if we may so call it, in selecting the most vulnerable point of attack. It will be seen by the perforations of these boring molluscs, in the numerous examples before us, that they have been done by no random aim, but so directed as to NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY OF GLASGOW. 199 reach the most vital part of the animal, and at a point from which escape is hopeless. It will also be noticed that the holes are never made on a thick part of the shell if a thinner part affords the same advantage. On this group of Trophons may be seen how the punctures are made in almost every case on the body whorl, and at one particular point, and with scarcely an exception they are on the ventral side, which evidently implies a vantage gained by getting to this part beneath the shell. On looking at this valve, we find three holes pierced a little apart, near the umbo, and which are covered over on the inner side by a thin layer of calcareous matter. Each patch, it will be noticed, is just a little larger than the hole it covers, and there can be no doubt that these repairs were made by the occupant of the shell. But what I wish to draw attention to is, that although repairs of accidental injuries are common, as before mentioned, yet, with this exception, I have never seen a trace of the least attempt having been made to close up one of these bored holes ; they are always open, and it is all the more unlikely that any attempt at resistance could be made, when we consider the character of the shell borers. They appear to pierce the shell with ease, and it is not to be supposed that they have the least difficulty in making their assault without giving either time or opportunity for resistance when they have once pierced the shell. This singular case of an apparent efi'ort to shut out an invincible enemy cannot be easily accounted for, except by supposing some untoward accident happening to the aggressor or aggressors just at the moment they had pierced the shell and touched the prey, the damage having been repaired afterwards, in the same manner as if caused by accident. I may further call your attention to a little sand procured from the root of a sponge, kindly sent me by Mr John Kirsop ; as also some given by Mr John Young, from the tubes of a beautiful group of annelids, also presented to the Hunterian Museum by Mr Kirsop. Both the annelids and sponge came from Australia ; the former from the shores of Kangaroo Island, and the latter from the banks of the river Cygnet, where they had been thrown up by storms and tides, together with many other beautiful specimens of various kinds which were exhibited by Mr Kirsop at our last meeting. Here are also the contents of a little mud from the Bay of Gibraltar, and those of a small parcel from off St Helena, 200 PROCEEDINGS OF THE for wliich I am indebted to the kindness of Professor Young ; and those of another, from my friend Mr Dugald Bell, procured from soundings taken by Captain White off Mocha, in 22 fathoms water, on their way to India ; and the contents of another parcel, from Mr D. 0. Glen, from the Brazilian coast. In all these cases the quantity of material is small, yet they all reveal the remains of abundant life, which not only represent Microzoa, but the remains of larger forms, as plates and spines of Echinoderms, otolites of fish, spicules of sponges, etc., and give unmistakable proof of the presence of such forms in these localities, and often of the particular species to which they belong. Although in these instances only a small number of species of those that inhabit a particular region may have been secured, yet we may be sure that we have a portion of the prevailing forms which at all times give character to the locality. In most cases Foraminifera predominate over Ostracoda, and more so in the greater depths of water. But in the sample from the Brazilian coast, sent by Mr Glen, one species of an Ostracod is in great abundance, while scarcely another organism is seen. Such facts come to be of great importance, when the results from different parts of the sea bottom, at the same or different depths, can be compared ; and although small gatherings seldom fail to be of interest, and often of much scientific value, it will be understood that larger gatherings will be of more than propor- tionate value when they can be had. There has at all times been no lack of voyagers bringing home novelties from distant countries, and often at great trouble to them- selves. There are many who, doubtless, would have a pleasure in helping science, were it better known what particular kind of objects or material are wanted. There is generally a tendency in those collecting for others to give most attention to things that please the eye. In a scientific point of view, this is not at all times necessary, as every group of animal life is invested with a history brimful of interest, and the chances of a prize, in most cases, are greater among the obscure forms than among those that are more conspicuous. In regard to material for the microscope, beauty or pleasant appearance does not come into account. It may be the black slimy mud from the sea-shore, or margin of a lagoon, or from the bottom of the sea, attached to the grease of the sounding- lead, or brought up on the fluke of an anchor. All of these may NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY OF GLASGOW. 201 be at times easily procurable, and require no further preservation than to be secured in a parcel or bag, with the indispensable precaution of being accurately labelled with the locality and conditions under which they were found, whether in fresh, brackish, or salt water, and at what depth. Such gatherings seldom fail to be of great interest, and I need not say how proud I am when I happen to be the fortunate recipient. II. — On a remarkable Lepidopteroiis Gall from South America. By Mr Peter Cameron. Mr J. M. Campbell has shown me some galls which he found on a thorny plant near Watchman's Cape, Patagonia, and which merit notice. Outwardly, in form and colour, these galls are almost identical with the common oak-gall of Cynips Jcollari, but are slightly smaller, have no tubercles, but have the outer skin quite smooth, and, like our species, are formed on the leaf-buds. Internally, however, the structure is very different, there being no spongy mass as in C. kollari, the central cavity being very large, occupying the greater part of the gall, and the outer rim is only about a line thick, while its substance is of a firmer consistency, not spongy as in our species. But the most curious thing in connection with this gall is in the way by which the insect escapes. In the Hymenopterous galls the flies simply eat out a round hole in the side for their passage, and the substance eaten out falls away in fine dust ; while the South American species takes out of one side a circular piece of the same diameter as the outer rim, this piece being thinner on the inner than on the outer side, and it remains intact, so that it can be fitted accurately into the hole again. These pieces are not all of the same shape, some being oval, others oblong, while, more or less in all, the outer edge has small indentations. It is further to be noted that the holes are not all in the same position, some being on the side, others in the apex. Internally, the surface is smooth. Mr Campbell, unfortunately, has only pupae of the maker of these galls, and they prove to be Lepidopterous. Several moths have been reported as gall makers ; but the galls which they raise are mere swellings, scarcely comparable to that just described, which is as well formed as those of any of the Cynipidae. 202 PROCEEDINGS OF THE III. — Notes on Clydesdale Hymenoptera. By Mr P. Cai^ieron. In the following paper I purpose detailing a number of additions to the Clydesdale Hymenoptera, and giving additional localities for species already recorded in the "Fauna and Flora of the West of Scotland," Glasgow, 1876. Tenthredinidae. Lophyrus virens, Klug. Kannoch. Lophyrus rufiis, Kl., is possibly Scotch (Oban), as the specimens in Stephen's collection in the British Museum are L. rufus, and not L. iKtllidus. Mr C. W. Dale, of Glanville's Wooton, tells me that he has Scotch specimens of L. imlUdus from the late John Curtis. Croesus lati'pes, Vill., perhaps occurs in the district. In Septem- ber, I found in Clober Wood a larva on birch, that appeared to belong to this species ; it was, however, very young. Nematus longiserra, Thomson. Kintail. June. Larva on sallows. Nematus xanthogaster, Foerster. In giving an account of the life history of Nematus crassulus (Proc. Nat. Hist. Soc. Glas., Vol. ii., p. 313), I expressed some doubt as to the identity of that insect with N. xanthogaster, Foer., and N. leucostictus, H. In that doubt I now find I was quite justified. Brischke and Zaddach have figured the larvae (Schr. Phys.-okon. Ges. zu Konig. ix. ; the letterpress has not yet appeared) of both species, and it is certain that they are distinct from A^. crassulus. I am glad to be able to record N. xanthogaster as British, Prof. Zaddach having identified for me an insect taken at Possil Marsh as Foerster's species, it having stood previously in my collection as N. ])iliserra, Thomson, which name must now sink as a synonym. N. leucostictus is stated to roll down the leaves of Salix aurita. Possibly it is also British, as similar larvae on that plant are not uncommon in Scotland and England. Nematus rumicis, Fall. Houston. August. Athalia glahricollis, Thoms. Generally distributed. (See antea, p. 129). Athalia lugens, Kl. Kilsyth; Gleniffer Braes. (Mr Morris Young). Emphytus tibialis, Kl. Clober (Mr King). Cadder. Emphytus serotinus, Kl. Clober. Imago in September. NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY OF GLASGOW. 203 Hoplocampa iHctoralis, Tlioms. Cannisburn. Allantus S-cinctus, Fab. Clober. Macrophya alUcincta, Schr. Eannoch ; Clober. June. Lyda arbustomm, Fab. Rannoch. June. Cynipidae. ^ Dryophanta scutellaris, 01. Common near Tarbert, Loch Lomond. D. longiventris, H. Common in the same place, and at Clober. Aijhilotlirix callidoma, H. One gall at Clober. August. Cynips marginalis, Schl. Galls agreeing with the descriptions of Von Schlechtendal and Mayr are not uncommon in many places in the West of Scotland. Like Mayr, I could find no radical distinction between these galls and the catkin galls of Andricus ^-lineatus ; and further evidence of the identity of the two forms is found in their having the same inquilines and parasites, and their being found on the same tree, although I have observed the leaf gall on a tree which had no catkins. But it now appears, from the observations of Dr F. Endow (Die Pflanzen gallen ISTord- deutschland's und ihre Erzeuger, p. 35 and p. 59), that the true niargincdis is an Aphilothrix, and not an Andricus. It remains then to be proved whether the leaf galls found in this country pertain to A. J/.-lineatus or to Aph. marginalis, and it is to be hoped that those interested in the subject will endeavour to elucidate this point. Appended is Rudow's description of the gall maker. Colour black, head and thorax distinctly shining, finely punctured, slightly pubescent; scutellum slightly raised, black, smooth, covered with grey hairs. Abdomen short, quite black, strongly shining. Antennae 14-jointed, brownish at base. Legs brownish-red, femora black, knees very clear. Wings hyaline, nervures yellowish, not much thickened. Length 2 lines. Bred in August. Ceroptres cerri, Mayr. Cambuslang. MekmijJS loiigitarsis, H. Cadder. Cleditoma nigra, Thorns. Dairy. Eucoela ciliaris, Dahl. Clyde, near Newton. FycJiotrichia urticarum has been met with at Bishopton, and at the Clyde near Newton. Fsilodora Boienii, H. Bishopton. Psilodora maculata, H. Bishopton. 204 PROCEEDINGS OF THE Allotria cursor, H. Possil ; Clober; Baldernock, Pezophyda hrachijiotera, H. Dairy. Microstilha heterogena, Gir. One specimen at Milngavie on 7th August. Various Notes. In the " Fauna and Flora " I have indicated an " Eiicoela aljnna," this being a totally black species, which I got on the top of " Gyrvel," Eannoch, under a stone, near some Tipula larvae. It belongs to Giraud's 3d Horde, having the 4th joint of the antennae longer or thicker than the following ; or, as the species are now restricted by Foerster, to that author's genus Rhoptromeris, which is thus defined : — Malar furrow slight, facial grooves broad but not deep; antennae — male 15-jointed, the 2d joint of funiculus more or less (sometimes strongly) thickened and elongate, always longer than 1st; female 13-jointed, with distinct 7-jointed club, scutellar cup small ; 2d abdominal segment crowned with hairs at base ; wings hairy, rounded at apex, and hair fringed ; radial cell closed at fore margin, narrow, the 1st and 2d sections of the radius almost equal in length, the inner angle with a straight or oblique continuation. When I first examined the above specimen, I could not identify it with any of the described species ; but since then I have taken further specimens of Bhoptromeris, and more especially a male or two from the hills above Dairy, an examination of which has convinced me that the Eannoch insect was only a melanic variety of the male of Eucoela parvula, Thoms., and that E. biscarims and nodosa, Gir., and E. eucera, H., are also synonyms : the last name should be adopted. Trichiosoma lucorurri; L. In all the manuals this species is described as having the abdomen quite black, while vitellinae is stated to have the same part, either at the sides or on the ventral surface, or both combined, testaceous. But when I commenced to draw up the descriptions of these insects for my monograph for the Ray Society, I soon found that the coloration of the abdomen could not be depended upon as a mark of specific distinction between T. lucorum and vitellinae, since in the former the abdomen has the sides, and occasionally the belly, testaceous. In the excellent monograph of Brischke and Zaddach, lucorum is stated to feed on birch ; the larva is both figured and described, and NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY OF GLASGOW. 205 both agree perfectly with the larva of luconim, so common every- where in our birch woods ; but these authors make no mention of the imago varying in the manner I have indicated. Van Vollenhoven has described a birch-feeding larva as that of lateralis, Leach, and this larva seems to be the same as that of lucorum ; or if it is not, then there must be two species attached to birch, with similar larvae, namely, lateralis and lucorum. But lateralis has always been regarded as synonymous with vitellinaey and that is, so far as we know, confined to willows. It was well described by De Geer (Mem. ii., 232, pi. xxxiii., f. 17-22), and there are excellent figures of the larva in Brischke and Zaddach's work, their observations and descriptions being quite in accordance with mine ; that is to say, that vitellinae is purely a willow-feeder. Van Vollenhoven, again, has described the true lucorum as a birch-feeder. We must, then, either suppose that the Dutch Hymenopterologist has described the same larva under two different names (in his plate he does not give an original figure of lateralis, but copies that of Curtis), or that vitellinae feeds both on birch and willow, and that the birch-feeder, as a larva, difters considerably from that attached to Salix. The latter seems to be Van Vollenhoven's own opinion, for he quotes De Geer's descriptions as referring to vitellinae. The matter, however, requires confirmation; at any rate, I am certain that, in the perfect state, lucorum has frequently (more especially in bred specimens) the abdomen more or less coloured as in vitellinae, and our descriptions of it must be modified accordingly. The subject being thus a little confused, I give descriptions of the larvae of our four species of Trichiosoma : — Sorbi, Htg. — Head small, ochreous-yellow, with two dark reddish marks on the vertex, which are frequently almost, if not quite, joined together; mouth brownish, mandibles blackish. Body yellowish-green; the skin beset with numerous tubercles, which are white with a yellowish tinge, and are much larger over the legs and along the dorsal vessel than over the rest of the body ; there are none on the anal segment. Legs white, with dark brown claws, abdominal legs glassy green. Spiracles eliptical, pinkish-red. The clypeus and the part immediately above it is whitish, without the ochreous colour. "When young it is whitish green, with white tubercles ; the skin deeply powdered. The head is pale ochreous-yellow. 206 PROCEEDINGS OF THE Found during August and September, rolled up on the under surface of the leaves of Pynis aucuparia. Vitellinae. — Head white, with a fuscous cloud on the vertex, not touching the eye spots, which are black ; the lower part of clypeus black in the centre. The body is light green, with the folds of the skin whitish; along each side of the dorsal vessel is a row of Vv'hite tubercles, and another row is over the legs. The dorsal vessel is pale green. The spiracles dark reddish, and above each is one or more small red marks. Legs clear white, claws blackish. The anal segment bears no tubercles. The above description is from some larvae taken in July at Eannoch. Brischke bred the species from two different larvae. The one was found on Salix caprea, in August and September. It was clear yellowish-green, with numerous white tubercles ; the head shining, granular, yellowish, and black eye spots. The spiracles eliptical, reddish; the claws brown. The other larva was found in July, on Salix viminalis and ^S'. caprea. It was smaller than the autumnal form, the ground colour was bluish- green, the dorsal line (which was free from the white warts) was of a darker green, and the whole body (except the last segment) was beset with raised, often confluent, tubercles and dots. The spiracles were reddish-brown, and over each (except the first and last) stood a small dot of the same colour, which was not present with the other larva. The claws are brown, and upon the yellow shining head is, between the eyes, a brownish spot. LiLConim. — Head light brownish-yellow, the mouth part brown- ish, eye spots black. Across the vertex is a large dark brownish mark, occupying the greater part of the vertex, and extending down to the front of the head. The legs are white, the claws black, the clasps light glassy-green. The eliptical spiracles are dark brownish-black. The body is bright, rarely bluish, green, the skin wrinkled and beset with white tubercles over the lees and along the back, in the former part consisting of a large with a smaller one beneath it ; they are absent from the anal segment. There can scarcely be said to be a dorsal stripe, but when the food canal is filled, it is noticable as a slightly darker green line enclosed by the white dorsal tubercles. AYhcn young the body is greyish- white, tlie head blackish, and obscured by a whitish exudation ; the body is dusted all over with a white powder, which varies in quantity. NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY OF GLASGOW. 207 Betuleti, Kl. (crataegi, Zadd.). — After the last moult, the larva of this species is bright greenish-yellow, with a darker green line running down the back. On the vertex is a large brownish- orange spot, the legs pale whitish-green, with brown claws ; the spiracles are reddish. The skin is covered with minute tubercles, and sparsely covered over with a white powder. When young it is green, but dusted over with a white powder ; the head is black, obscured mth a white exudation ; the region of the mouth is white. So far as is definitely^ known, heiuleti is confined to the haw- thorn for its food. Taschenberg, in his Entomologie fiir Garten, describes the larvae of BlennocamiJa biimnctata, and of Athalia rosae ; so to make my remarks {antea, p. 110 and p. 130) on these insects complete, I give here his observations : — The 22-footed larva of B. hipunctata is whitish, yellowish on the head, except the mouth and eye spots, which are darker. It lives, boring into the pith of the rose branches, during the second half of May, June, and sometimes on to the first half of July. Towards the middle of April, or the commencement of May, the fly appears, and lays her eggs singly in the point of the young branch. The larva soon bores into the pith, whereby the leaves become withered. It eats about an inch and a half into the branch, and when it reaches maturity, bores a round hole in the side of its habitation and drops to the ground, where it pupates. Of the larva of A. rosae he says that it is dark green above, at the sides and belly clearer, and the head is reddish-yellow. There are two generations in the year, the first appearing at the end of June and beginning of July, the second is found in September and October. The fly lays her eggs in the mid-rib of the rose leaves, and when the larvae emerge they proceed to devour the upper epidermis, so that the Ipwer becomes as transparent as gauze. They spin a cocoon in the earth. The larvae are stated by J. Schefiier to feed also on Sedum album. lY. — Notes on a new method of fixing fronds of Carhoniferous Polyzoa on a layer of Asphalt, to show the celUdiferous face. By Mr John Young, F.G.S. Those who like myself have collected the Polyzoa of our Car- boniferous limestone shales, may have often expressed regret that 208 PROCEEDINGS OF THE the fronds of the fenestrated species should be found, in almost every instance, with the celluliferous face adherent to the stone in which they are embedded. The reason for the fronds being so persistently adherent by this face, is that the pores on the celluli- ferous face have often raised margins, and are more or less slightly projecting beyond the surface of the frond, giving it a rougher aspect, while the non-celluliferous face is comparatively smooth, being only faintly striated or granulated in most instances. This smoother face is consequently much less adherent to the matrix than the celluliferous face, and is therefore that which is most constantly exposed. In some of the harder limestone shales, such as those of Hairmyres, East Kilbride, and of the Beith and Dairy districts in Ayrshire, we sometimes find the fronds of the Polyzoa showing the celluliferous face, but this is owing to the circumstance that there the fronds have been fixed down by one or other face upon a layer of harder shale or limestone, and have been covered by a layer of softer shale, so that when the rock comes to be split up, the parting is in the line of the soft shale; so those specimens that chance to have their celluliferous faces next to the soft layer are now and again exposed. On the other hand, where the Polyzoa are embedded in soft shales that yield readily to the influence of the weather, like those of Dikehead, High Blantyre, or Gillfoot, Carluke, the tendency in them is for the celluliferous face to adhere to the matrix. However beautiful fronds of Polyzoa showing only the reverse face may be, they are much more beautiful, and become more valuable to palaeontologists as specimens, when the celluliferous face can be examined, for it is only by the number and form of the cells in the fenestrules that the several species belonging to the various fenestrated genera can be correctly determined. Recently Dr Eankin of Carluke, when examining the Polyzoa of the Gillfoot shale, was led to try the experiment of fixing small portions of the fronds of Polyzoa by their non-celluliferous face to a bit of melted black sealing-wax, which adhered firmly to the frond. On the shale being placed in water, the wax brought away the bit of Polyzoa w4th its celluliferous face exposed, which on being cleaned, by washing with a brush in w\ater, allowed the cells to be clearly examined. To Dr Rankin, therefore, am I indebted for the hint that first led me to try the same experiment on large fronds of Polyzoa, but using instead of the black sealing-wax, a NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY OF GLASGOW. 209 melted layer of common asphalt, free from sand, such as is used for street pavements. By this method, as you will see from the series of specimens exhibited, I have been successful, beyond my expectation, in transferring to the layer of melted asphalt the largest fronds of Polyzoa preserved in our shales, in all their entirety, and showing the celluliferous face in a manner which is hardly excelled in recent sj^ecimens. The method adopted may be briefly explained as follows : — After selecting the specimens, — it being only those preserved in soft shales that can be successfully treated by the asphalt process, as those fronds embedded in hard shale or limestone cannot be lifted by this method, — let them be well dried at the fire, or in the sun's rays, to free them from moisture ; and before applying the layer of asphalt, heat the specimens at the fire, this making the asphalt adhere much more firmly than when they are cold and damp. The asphalt may be melted and spread over the face of the frond by a piece of iron, or a kitchen poker, heated nearly to redness, having at the same time a bit of tough brown paper lying ready to cover the layer of asphalt while it is still warm. The paper must be pressed on the asphalt with the fingers, and spread smoothly over the surface j and in order that the frond may adhere firmly to the asphalt, see that no gum or other mucilage is allowed to touch the specimen. The layer of paper strengthens the asphalt, and forms a better surface for afterwards fixing the specimens to the tablets on which they are mounted. For large fronds of Polyzoa, it is better to use two or three alternate layers of asj)halt and paper ; which make a thin firm cake, not liable to break or crack across when being cleaned. Having applied the asphalt, j)lace the shale in water, letting it lie for a time. Some shales part from the fronds of the Polyzoa in a few minutes, while others will take an hour or two, or even a day ; the process may be hastened, however, by placing the shale in a saucer filled with water, and as it softens, picking it away with the point of a knife, until the face of the frond appears. Then w^ash the face of the frond in clean water, until the whole of the cell-pores appear quite clean, using a hard nail-brush or tooth-brush for the purpose. If the frond has been well fixed to the asphalt, it may be washed without fear of its removal. When the frond is properly cleaned, the surplus asphalt and paper can be cut away from around it by a pair VOL. IIL o 210 PROCEEDINGS OF THE of sharp scissors; and when this is done, the specimen may be considered finished. The fronds of the Polyzoa being generally of a greyish-white colour, they contrast very favourably with the black ground of the asphalt ; and the manner in which the surface of the celluliferous faces of the fronds can be examined over their whole extent, renders this method of treating them very satisfactory. The genera from our soft shales that I have had an opportunity of operating upon, are the several species of FenesteUa, Actinostoma, Synodadia, and Glaziconome, and these have all turned out well. I have also used this method for exposing the outer surface of some of the Aviculopectens, and other shells which were adherent by their rough faces to the stone, and I find it answers very well. Before the discovery of treating the larger fronds of the Polyzoa by the asphalt process, when we wanted to examine the celluliferous faces of the various species, we were content with the fragments of the broken up fronds from the soft weathered shales. When these fragments were collected, they were found to be often coated by a thin layer of clay. In order to remove this, I have adopted the following plan : — I pick out of the shale all the fragments to be examined ; I then take a glass slide, and coat it with a layer of thin gum ; next, with the forceps, lifting the fragments of the Polyzoa and placing them on the gum, with the celluliferous face uppermost. When this is finished, I allow the gum on the slide to dry slowly for a day or two, until it is quite hard ; I then place the slide in a saucer filled with water, brushing the specimens gently and quickly with a tooth-brush until they are quite clean, the gum holding the specimens securely, while the washing improves the appearance of the cells. The slide may then be left in the water until the fragments are melted ofi", when they can be easily collected with a soft hair pencil, and dried on blotting paper, after which they are ready for mounting on slides for microscopic examination. I have found this to be a good method for cleaning fragments of Polyzoa only to be had as weathered specimens in the shales, and they form beautiful and interesting cabinet objects for microscopic investigation. NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY OF GLASGOW. 211 fifet0iM ^mktn $t €t&pw. w SESSION 1876-77. President — Professor John Young, M.D., F.G.S., F.R.S.E., Glasgow University. Fice-Presidents — James Kamsay, 159 Eglinton Street. Thomas Chapman, 56 Buchanan Street. James B. Murdoch, Hamilton Place, Langside. Secretary — KoBERT Mason, 6 Albion Crescent, Dowanhill. Treasurer — R. J. Bennett, 50 Gordon Street. Librarian — Peter Cameron, 23 Exchange Square. Members of Council — Hugh M'Bean. John Kirsop. James Coutts. James Lumsden, F.Z.S. Duncan M'Lellan. Henry C. Young. D. Corse Glen, C.E., F.G.S. John Young, F.G.S. Francis G. Binnie. LIST OF MEMBERS. HONORARY. 1851 Hugh Colquhoun, M.D., Anchorage, Bothwell. 1851 William Ferguson, F.L.S., F.G.S., &c., of Kiumundy, Aberdeen- shire. 1856 Robert Hislop, Blair Lodge, Polmont. 1866 Dr. W. P. Schimper, Professor of Geology, University of Strasbourg. CORRESPONDING. 1851 Robert Gray, F.R.S.E., 13 luverleith Row, Edinburgh. 1852 T. B. Griersou, M.D., Thornhill, Dumfriesshire. 1861 John Shaw, Ph.D., Principal of the Gymnasium, Colesbur, South Africa. 1863 Rev. James Dewar, Arrochar. 212 PIIOCEEDINGS OF THE 1863 Rev. H. W. Crosskey, F.G.S., Birminghara. 1863 Edward R. Alston, F.Z.S., F.L.S., F.G.S., Arts Club, Hanover Square, London. 1866 Right Hon. The Earl of Haddington, Tyninghame, Prestonkirk. 1866 James A. Mahony, Ramelton, Donegal, Ireland. 1866 Robert Macdowal, Surgeon, Panama Steam Navigation Company, Panama. 1866 Rev. James E. Somerville, B.D., Broughty-Ferry. 1867 Thomas Edward, A.L.S., Banff. 1867 John Buchanan, of the Government Survey, Wellington, N.Z. 1867 Thomas Anderson, Girvan. 1867 George Thomson, Victoria, Africa. 1868 Rev. Dr. Gloag, Galashiels. 1869 George S. Brady, C.M.Z.S., Sunderland. 1869 Capt. H. W. Feilden, C.M.Z.S., Junior United Service Club, London. 1869 Rev. John Ferguson, New Pitsligo. 1870 James Hardy, Old Cambus, Berwickshire. 1871 Alexander Gray, Chartered Bank of India, Batavia. 1871 Edwin Lees, F.L.S., F.G.S., Greenhill Summit, Worcester. 1873 Sir George Hector Leith, Bart., Ross Priory, Dumbartonshire. 1875 Robert Hill, Berbice, British Guiana. 1876 William Hamilton, Yokohama, Japan. 1877 H. B. Bailey, Newton, Mass., U.S. ORDINARY. Those marked * are Life Members. 1872 Aitken, David, 14 Robertson Street. 1863 Alexander, John, Menstriebank, Dowanhill Gardens. 1868 Angus, William Craibe, 159 Queen Street. 1872 Arrol, Archibald T., Millgrove House, Alloa. 1862 Bain, James, F.R.S.E., 3 Park Terrace. 1863 Balloch, Robert, 88 Union Street. 1876 Barclay, Thomas, 121 West Regent Street. 1875 Baxter, William, 16 Gibson Street, Hillhead. 1876 Bayne, Andrew Malloch, 32 India Street. 1872 Beckett, John, 11 Windsor Terrace, West. 1869 Bell, John, 12 Jamaica Street. 1869 Bennett, Robert J., 50 Gordon Street. 1874 Biunie, Francis G., 83 Bath Street. 1872 Blackie, Alfred, Lilybank, Hillhead. 1868 Bott, Frank, 93 Renfield Street. 1863 Brodie, Robert, 16 Kew Terrace. 1876 Bruce, James, 26 West Nile Street. NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY OF GLASGOW. 213 1877 Buchanan, John, 230 Duke Street. 1873 Buchanan, Thomas D., M.D., 24 Westminster Terrace. 1877 Burns, Walter, 17 Garden Street. 1871 Cameron, Peter, 23 Exchange Square. 1870 Campbell, John M., Kelvingrove Museum. 1873 Chalmers, John, 25 St. George's Eoad. 1852 Chapman, Thomas, 56 Buchanan Street. 1870 Clark, Henry E., 9 Elmbauk Street. 1863 Clark, Peter, 3 Northumberland Street, Crosshill. 1866 Combe, George J., 59 Cathedral Street. 1851 Connal, Michael, 43 Virginia Street. 1875 Cooke, Stephen, F.C.S., Veterinary College, Buccleuch Street. 1866 Coutts, James, 44 Dorset Street. 1874 Crosby, John, 106 North Frederick Street. 1865 Dairon, James, 4 Garden Street. 1864 Dennistoun, Alexander, Roselea, Helensburgh. 1871 Dickson, Donald W., Victoria Place, Maryhill. 1868 Dixon, James S., 19 Elmbank Crescent. 1866 Donaldson, Alexander^ 27 Blythswood Square. 1868 Dougall, James D., 39 Gordon Street. 1869 Drew, Alexander, jun., Lower House, near Burnley, Lancashire. 1874 Duncan, James, 65 Hamilton Drive. *1873 Fleming, James Nicol, Keile, by Campbelton. 1872 Fleming, John, 83 Jamaica Street. *1875 Flemyng, Francis P., LL.D., F.R.G.S., Sgor Bheann, Dunoon. 1876 Forrest, Thomas S., Holmwood, Langside. 1864 Gait, Walter, 498 St. Vincent Street. 1858 Gardner, Robert, 38 Queen Street. 1872 Gibson, Walter, Glendaruel, Cove. 1872 Gilchrist, Archibald, 11 Sandyford Place. 1871 Girvan, James Graham, 186 West George Street. 1870 Glen, David C, C.E., F.G.S., 14 Annfield Place. 1876 Grahame, James, 12 St. Vincent Place. 1875 Grieve, Henry, 10 Willowbank Crescent. 1856 Grieve, John, M.D., W. L. Buchanan's, 48 Gordon Street. 1876 Gurney, J. A., jun., F.Z.S,, Northrepps Hall, Norwich. 1872 Hadaway, Thomas S., 122 Wellington Street. 1867 Hamilton, James, 111 West Regent Street. 1866 Harvie-Brown, John A., F.Z.S., Dunipace House, Larbert. 1875 Hill, Alexander, Queen's Park. 1858 Hutcheson, Thomas S., 10 Great Wellington Street. 214 PROCEEDINGS OF THE 1877 Kennedy, Scipio M., 2 Carnarvon Street. 1872 Kidston, David, 233 St. Vincent Street. 1871 Kirsop, John, 6 Queen's Crescent. 1872 Knox, David N., M.A., M.B., 8 Bellgrave Terrace. 1858 Knox, John, 5 Park Quadrant. 1872 Leek, Henry, Woodend, Partick Hilh 1876 Long, Eowley Jex, 727 Duke Street. 1870 Lumsden, James, jun., F.Z.S., 20 Queen Street. 1876 Lyle, James, 39 Scott Street, Garnethill, 1872 Lyle, John, 7 Broompark Terrace, Denuistoun. 1876 Macdonald, Alexander, 150 Nile Street. *1876 Malloch, Charles, 7 Blythswood Square. 1860 Manford, John, 27 West George Street. 1859 Manford, Stuart, 5 Dixon Street. *1875 Marshall, James, 8 Somerset Place. 1876 Marshall, Peter, 6 Park Grove Terrace. 1874 Marshall, Eichard A., 170 Hope Street. 1876 Marshall, Robert, 214 Kent Road. 1872 Martin, Donald T., 142 St. Vincent Street. 1863 Mason, Robert, 6 Albion Crescent, Dowanhill. 1858 Miller, Gavin, 10 Windsor Terrace, West. 1866 Millar, James, Strathclyde Print Works, Dalmarnock. 1876 Miller, John F., 1 Wellesley Place, Sandyford. 1859 Morton, James, M.D., 199 Bath Street. 1863 Mossman, John, 21 Elmbank Crescent. 1851 Murdoch, James Barclay, Hamilton Place, Langside. 1873 M'Bean, Hugh, 24 Woodside Place. 1876 M'Callum, James T., 66 Buchanan Street. 1869 M'Ewan, William, M.D., CM., 5 Ure Place. 1875 M'Farlane, John H., Auchenfroe House, Dumbartonshire. 1868 M'Kay, John, 10 Great Hamilton Street. 1871 M'Kerrow, James, 461 St. Vincent Street. 1854 M'Kinlay, David, 6 Great Western Terrace, Western Road. 1872 McLaren, John, M.D., CM., 21 Canning Place. 1875 M'Lean, John A., Union Bank, Doune. 1863 M'Lellan, Duncan, 42 Kelvingrove Street. 1874 M'Lellan, David D., 42 Kelvingrove Street. 1863 M'Pherson, James, M.D., 115 Bath Street. 1860 Napier, Alexander, Albert Cottage, Langside Road. 1851 Napier, James, F.CS., Mary field, Both well. 1876 Nelson, Daniel M., 48 Gordon Street. 1876 Nevvlands, A. D., 7 Camden Place, Govan Road. NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY OF GLASGOW. 215 1871 Okell, Arthur, 115 St. Vincent Street. 1871 Park, James, 115 St. Vincent Street. 1872 Paterson, George E., 82 St. Vincent Street. 1869 Paterson, William S., 226 West George Street. 1876 Paton, James, F.L.S., 35 Kelvingrove Street. 1875 Pratt, Arthur, 225a West George Street. 1866 Eae, John, 106 Union Street. 1863 Eainy, George W., 12 St. Vincent Place. 1861 Eamsay, James, 159 Eglinton Street. 1853 Eannie, Henry Alexander, 103 St. Vincent Street. 1858 Eeid, John Eaton, 10 Newton Terrace. 1875 Eennie, George, 11 Nelson Terrace, Hillhead. 1871 Eobertson, Archibald, 33 Granville Street, Newton Terrace. 1852 Eobertson, David, F.G.S., F.L.S., 42 Kelvingrove Street. ' 1876 Eobertson, David, jun., 329 Sauchiehall Street. 1865 Eobertson, James, 91 St. Vincent Street. 1876 Eobertson, John, Normal Seminary, New City Eoad. 1875 Eobertson, Joseph, 110 High John Street. 1875 Eobb, John, 74 Gordon Street. 1859 Eussell, Thomas, 14 India Street. 1875 Schuman, Sigismund, 7 Eoyal Bank Place. 1872 Scott, James, 6 Wilton Crescent. 1872 Scott, John G., Fairyknowe, Bothwell. 1861 Sinclair, William, City of Glasgow Bank. 1867 Small, Eev. Eobert, Caddonfoot Manse, Galashiels. 1877 Smith, James, Copeland Villa, Kelviuside Gardens. 1873 Smith, Eobert, Ay ton Villa, Langside. 1877 Smith, Eobert, 230 Duke Street. 1876 Somerville, Joseph, 343 St. George's Eoad. 1866 Stevenson, Eobert, 40 Abbotsford Place. ■^1864 Stewart, Alexander B., EawclifFe Lodge, Langside. 1868 Stewart, James, Williamwood, Cathcart. 1865 Stirton, James, M.D., F.L.S., 15 Newton Street. 1859 Sutherland, Alexander, 97 Buchanan Street. 1860 Thomson, James, F.G.S., 3 Abbotsford Place. •^1877 Thomson, James, I.A., 88 Bath Street. 1869 Thomson, William, Annfield House, Dennistoun. 1876 Tristram, H. B., LL.D., F.E.S., C.M.Z.S., Canon of Durham. 1868 Turnbull, John, 50 West Eegent Street. 1866 Walker, Theodore C, Eoseneath, St. James' Eoad, Leicester. 216 PROCEEDINGS OF THE 1871 Watson, Alexander James, 10 Kew Terrace. 1868 Watson, James, 2 Florentine Gardens, Hillhead. 1874 Watson, James R, 22 West Nile Street. 1875 Wilson, Daniel, 85 Wellington Street. 1863 Wilson, W. T., 88 St. Vincent Street. 1863 Wingate, James, 4 Koyal Exchange Buildings. 1863 Wingate, John B., 7 Crown Terrace, Dowanhill. 1863 Wiinsch, Edward A., F.G.S., 88 St. Vincent Street. 1872 Yoimg, Henry C, Forth Street, Port-Dundas. *1852 Young, John, F.G.S., Hunterian Museum. 1866 Young, John, M.D,, F.G.S., F.E.S.E., Glasgow University. 186^ Young, Thomas Charles, M.A., 4 Great Kelvin Terrace. NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY OF GLASGOW. Abstract Statement of Accounts — Session 1875-76. To Balance per last Account- Cash in Bank, £104 8 4 „ in hand, 8 9 £104 17 1 , , 110 Annual Members' Subscrip- tions at 5/, - - - - 27 10 „ IG New Members' Entry-Money at 10/, 8 „ 1 Life Member, - - - 5 5 „ 8 Members' Arrears, - - 2 ,, "Proceedings" sold, - - 2 2 4 „ Interest from Bank, - - 2 9 £152 3 11 To Balance— Cash in Bank at this date as per Book, By )> >> )) )> Anderson's University, for Rent and Attendance, - Printing " Proceedings," Two Parts, Circulars, &c., - Postages of Circulars, &c. , Magazines, Books, and Bind- ing for Library, - - - Two Tin Boxes, Balance, carried down, - per Book, - - £39 1 £3 99 10 4 18 8 19 1 14 39 1 9 2 8 4 as £152 4 3 11 Glasgow, ^Oth Sept., 2S7C.— Compared with Vouchers, and found correct. (Signed) ' ARCHIBALD ROBERTSON. JOHN MANFORD. NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY OF GLASGOW. 217 ADDITIONS TO THE LIBRARY. SESSIONS 1875-76, 1876-77. FEOM SOCIETIES. Bath Natural History and Antiquarian Field Club. Proceedings. Vol. III. Parts II. to IV. 1876-77. 8vo. Belfast Naturalists' Field Club. Proceedings. 1874-75, 1875-76. Berwickshire Naturalists' Club. Proceedings. Vol. VII. Part III. 1875-76. Vol. VIII. Part I. 1877. 8vo. Boston (U.S.) Society of Natural History. Proceedings. Vol. XVIII. Parts I. to IV. 1877. Memoirs. Vol. II. Part IV. No. 5. 4to. Brighton and Sussex Natural History Society. Annual Reports. 1874-75, 1875-76. 8vo. Bristol Naturalists' Society. Proceedings. Vol. I. Part III. Brussels. Societe Malacologique de Belgique. Proces Verbal. January to June, 1876. Chester Society of Natural Science. Annual Reports. 1875-76 and 1876-77. 8vo. Christiania. J. W. MuUer (Prof.) Transfusion und Plethora, eine Physiologische Studie. 1875. 8vo. From the Royal Norwegian University of Christiania. C. P. Caspari. — Quellen zur Geschichte des Taufsymbols und der Glaubensregel. 8vo. lb. J. Lieblein. — Die Aegyptischen Denkmaler. 8vo. lb. J. Collett. — Norvpge Carte zoo-geographique. 4to. lb. Eastbourne Natural History Society. Papers. 1872-77. 4to. Edinburgh. Transactions of the Scottish Arboricultural Society. Vol. XIII. Part II. 1877. 8vo. Edinburgh. Transactions of the Edinburgh Geological Society. Vol. II. and Vol. III. Part I. ^c^wiSitr^/i Botanical Society. Transactions. Vols. XI. and XII. 1870-76. Glasgow. Proceedings of the Glasgow Philosophical Society. Vol. X. Parts I. and II. 1876-77. Glasgow. British Association Guides. 3 Parts. From the Local Committee. VOL. III. P 218 PROCEEDINGS OF THE Leeds Naturalists' Club and Scientific Association. Sixth Annual Report. 1875-76. London. Journal of the Royal Geographical Society. Vol. XLV., 1875. Vol. XLVL, 1876. Proceedings of the Royal Geographical Society. Quarterly. Ibid. — Charter and Regulations. 1877. London. Journal of the Quekett Microscopical Club. Nos. 1 to 33. 1876-77. 8vo. London Geologists' Association. Transactions. Vols. I.-IV. London (Ontario). The Canadian Entomologist. Monthly. From the Entomological Society of the Province of Ontario. Lyons. Bulletin de la Societe d'Etudes Scientifiques de Lyon. No. 1, 1874. No. 2, 1877. 8vo. Manchester Geological Society. Transactions. Vols. XIII. and XIV. Parts I.-XIII. 8vo. Manchester Literary and Philosophical Society. Proceedings. 1875 and 1876. Manchester Scientific Students' Association. Annual Report. 1874-75. Norfolk and Norivich Naturalists' Society. Transactions. Vols. I. and II. Parts I.-III. 8vo. North Staffordshire Naturalists' Field Club and Archaeological Society. Annual Reports. 1875-77. 8vo. Paris. Bulletin de la Societe Zoologique de France. Parts I. to VI., 1876; and Parts I. to III., 1877. 8vo. Toronto (Ontario). Annual Report of the Entomological Society of the Province of Ontario. 1877. 4to. United States Geological Survey, per F. V. Hayden. Preliminary Report of the U.S. Geological Survey of Wyoming and portions of contiguous Territories. 8vo. 1871. First, Second, and Third Annual Reports of the U.S. Geological Survey of the Territories, for the years 1867, 1868, and 1869. 1 Vol. 8vo. 1873. Watford Natural History Society. Transactions. Vol. I. Parts I.-V. BY PURCHASE. Annals and Magazine of Natural History. Monthly. Entomologists' Monthly Magazine. Monthly. Grevillea. Quarterly. Ibis. Quarterly. Scottish Naturalist. Quarterly. Zoological Record. Yearly. NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY OF GLASGOW. 219 LIST or SOCIETIES, ETC., TO WHICH THE PROCEEDINGS ARE SENT. GEEAT BEITAIN AND IRELAND. Aberdeen Natural History Society. Bath Natural History and Antiquarian Society. Belfast Naturalists' Field Club. Berwickshire Naturalists' Field Club. Brighton and Sussex Natural History Society. Bristol Naturalists' Society. British Museum. Chester Society of Natural Science. Eastbourne Natural History Society. Edinburgh Botanical Society. Edinburgh Geological Society. Entomologists' Monthly Magazine. Editors. Glasgow Geological Society. Glasgow Philosophical Society. London Geologists' Association. London Quekett Miscroscopical Club. London Royal Geographical Society. Manchester Geological Society. Manchester Literary and Philosophical Society. Manchester Scientific Students' Association. Norfolk and Norwich Naturalists' Society. North Staffordshire Naturalists' Field Club. Paisley Free Library. Scottish Naturalist. Editor. Watford Natural History Society. CONTINENT OF EUROPE. Brussels. — Soci^te Malacologique de Belgique. Christiania. — Royal Norwegian University. Liege. — Societe Royal des Sciences. Lyons. — Societe d'Etudes Scientifiques. Paris.— Societe Zoologique de France. 220 PROCEEDINGS OF NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY. AMEEICA. Boston Natural History Society. Buffalo Society of Natural Science. Portland Natural History Society. Saint Louis Academy of Science. Salem. — Essex Institute. Toronto. — Entomological Society of the Province of Ontario. Washington. — Smithsonian Institution. Washington. — U.S. Survey of the Territories, per Prof. Hay den. PEOCEEDINGS OF THE NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY OF GLASGOW. SESSIOIsr 1877-78. THE TWENTY-EIGHTH ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING, ANDERSON'S UNIVERSITY BUILDINGS, September 25th, 1877. Mr James Barclay Murdoch, Vice-President, in the chair. The Treasurer submitted his Annual Financial Statement, which showed a balance in favour of the Society of £4=2 17s. Id. The Secretary read the report of the Council on the business of last session. During its progress 18 new entrants had been admitted, 3 of whom were life members. The roll now numbered 150, as against 135 reported at last annual meeting; being an increase of 15. Nine meetings were held during the session, extending from September to April, eight being ordinary monthly meetings, and one — a special meeting — in the Natural History class-room of the University, when the Society was addressed by the President, on the geological bearings of some of the results of the Challenger and other exploratory expeditions. The meetings were generally well attended, the interest of the proceedings having been maintained up to the close of the session. The exhibition of specimens, which tends to promote discussion, and is the means of conveying valuable information, was varied and interesting, while many of the papers read were of an important character. The printing of the Proceedings of last session was continued during the recess, and is now on the eve of completion, so that they will be in the hands of members by next meeting. The VOL, III. Q 222 PROCEEDINGS OF THE Society will thus be in a position not previously attained — that of having its work published up to date ; and the Council trusts that the system of a yearly issue will now be maintained, as tending greatly to promote the prosperity of the Society, while rendering the printed Proceedings of more value. The excursions arranged before the close of the session have not been very successful. The early months of the year proved very ungenial, Spring being several weeks later than usual, so that the fields consequently had few attractions for students of Natural History, while the Summer months were cold and stormy through- out. Owing to this cause, some of the excursions did not take place; and when the day fixed proved at all favourable, the attendance was small and the results disappointing. The formation of lists of the Fauna and Flora of a district is generally considered to be one of the chief objects of a Natural History Society, and in many parts of Great Britain this design has been successfully carried out. Soon after the starting of this Society this object engaged its attention, and from time to time lists were prepared, and arrangements were made for carrying out the work ; but, from one cause or another, the result has never been attained. At the close of last session a resolution was come to by the Council, that the compilation of lists of the Faruna of the Clyde valley should be taken up without further delay, the Flora of the district having been efficiently catalogued by Mr R. Hennedy and other botanists. The Council hope the matter will now be carried forward to completion, several members having engaged to give help, and some of the lists being already in a state of forwardness. The Librarian reported that during the session the Library was taken advantage of by 17 members, who borrowed 61 volumes. The Proceedings were distributed to 24 British, 5 Continental, and 8 American Societies. In exchange there have been received 27 diff*erent publications, some of them of considerable value. The sale of the Society's Proceedings is decidedly on the increase, several sets having been disposed of during tlie session ; the amount realised from this source being nearly sufficient to meet the outlay for books purchased and for binding. The above reports were all approved of and adopted. The following gentlemen were elected office-bearers for the session : — Professor John Yuuu^', M.D., F.li.S.E., etc., President; l^ATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY OF GLASGOW. 223 Thomas Chapman, James Barclay Murdoch, and John Young, F.G.S,, Vice-Presidents; Eobert Mason, Secretary; Kobert J. Bennett, Treasurer ; Henry C. Young, Librarian ; James Lumsden, F.Z.S., Duncan M'Lellan, George E. Paterson, David Corse Glen, C.E., F.G.S., George J. Combe, Francis G. Binnie, John A. Harvie- Brown, F.Z.S., Archibald Robertson, and David Robertson, jun., Members of Council. Mr Robert Gray, F.R.S.E., Edinburgh, was elected an honorary member; Mr Robert Etheridge, jun., F.G.S., etc., Edinburgh, a corresponding member ; and Messrs. James Bayne, jun., George Bell, jun., James Armstrong, Thomas N. Hill, Thomas M. Camp- bell, and Thomas M. Campbell, jun., ordinary members of the Society. Before proceeding with the remaining business, the Chairman called the attention of the meeting to the sudden death at Oban, on 25th July last, of Mr William Keddie, Lecturer on Natural Science, and Secretary to the Philosophical Society of Glasgow. Mr Keddie was one of the original promoters of this Society, having attended the first meeting, on 9th July 1851 ; and for a time he continued to take a part in the proceedings, his name frequently appearing on the record as engaged in promoting the interests of the Society, and his connection with it only ceasing when his engagements as Secretary to the Philosophical Society occupied all the leisure time at his disposal ; but to the end he continued to take an interest in the Society's progress, and was pleased to hear of its success. Mr Keddie at an early period imbibed a taste for natural history pursuits, and did much, by his example and instructions, to promote among all classes the prosecution of those studies to which he was attached. He was extensively known and highly esteemed by all who had the pleasure of his acquaintance, being ever ready to communicate to others the information and knowledge which he possessed, and to assist by his advice all engaged in the same pursuits. He commended himself to his friends by his genial disposition and engaging qualities, and all who knew him will long continue to cherish his memory. The meeting cordially sympathized with the sentiments expressed by the Chairman, and instructed the Secretary to enter a notice in accordance with them in the record, and to furnish an extract from the minutes to the relatives of the deceased, with an expression 224 PROCEEDINGS OF THE of the sincere sympathy of the members in the bereavement which they have sustained. SPECIMENS EXHIBITED. Mr Thomas Chapman, V.P., exhibited specimens of Papilio adamastor and P. agamedes (West.), two species of rare butterflies from Cape Coast Castle, Western Africa, and stated that although these had been figured and described by Westwood as distinct species, the variation was so slight that he thought they might properly be combined in one. Mr George E. Paterson exhibited a specimen of the Green Sandpiper, Helodromas ochropus (L.) He said that the Green Sandpiper has a very wide range, being found from the Arctic circle to Africa, and in Asia, as far east as China. Like most other waders it breeds in the north, and only migrates south to pass the winter in warmer countries. It is not uncommon in England, especially in the Southern counties. In Scotland it is more rare, but has occurred oftener on the east coast than on the west. This seems to be the case with many of our rarer waders ; the east coast is more in the line of their spring and autumn migrations, which makes it only natural that more stragglers should turn up there than on the west. This species has now occurred three times on the Carron, in Stirlingshire. Mr Harvie- Brown procured a specimen in August 1870, and in the autumn of the following year again identified the species. This bird is sometimes confused with the very closely allied species, the Wood Sandpiper, by those who have not carefully examined the two birds. They are, however, very easily distinguished by remember- ing the very simple fact, that the Green Sandpiper has the shaft of the first quill feather in the wing black, while in the Wood Sandpiper it is white. PAPERS READ. I. — On a weathered Boulder of Carboniferous Limestone Shale: its probable Geological horizon and contained Fossils. By Mr John Young, F.GS., Vice-President. Mr Young stated, that on the recent excursion of members of the Society to the Houston clay-field near Paisley, which contains the remains of Arctic shells, he found embedded in the clay in its upper portion, under the surface soil, a boulder of limestone shale, which, NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY OF GLASGOW. 225 from the long percolation of water charged with carbonic acid, had been softened, so that it could be crushed with the hand. As it was apparently filled with organisms, he had selected a small portion for examination. After washing this, he was interested to find that the material contained several rare fossils characteristic of the horizon of the Campsie Craigenglen beds, in the lower Carboniferous limestone series of the valley of the Clyde, and these occurred in it in greater abundance than he had yet met with in any other locality. One of them was a Foraminifer, forming the type of a new genus, which Dr H. B. Brady has named Archcedisciis Karreii, and which he (Mr Young) first discovered in the shales of Craigenglen and afterwards at Brockley, near Lesmahagow. It is rather rare in most localities, but in this particular boulder it may be counted by hundreds, and of a larger size and in finer preservation than previously known. Another notable fossil which the boulder contained was the plates of an American genus of Echinoderms, named MeloniteSj of which two species have been recognised in British Carboniferous strata — M. Etheridgeii and M. Youngii (Keeping), the plates of the latter species having first been detected in Craigenglen, and after- wards in one or two other localities, though rare in all. In the material of the rotted boulder, however, they are abundant and well preserved. Two other characteristic Craigenglen fossils were also found in the material, viz., Kirkhija Eichwaldiana, an Ento- mostracan, and Trochus hiserratiis, a small univalve. In the very small quantity of the shale Mr Young had examined, and which represented a layer of the Carboniferous old sea bottom only a few inches in extent, he had found 26 species of fossils, all of which he knew to occur in the Craigenglen beds. Mr Young then pointed out the value of Palaeontology as a guide to the proper determination of the geological horizon of strata, and stated, that although this boulder could not be said to represent all the varied forms of life that existed over the tract of the sea bottom of which it had formed a part, yet it clearly indicated what was the general character of the organisms that there prevailed, and the horizon of strata to which it belonged, the boulder having been drifted by ice, probably, from the Campsie district, or from some other tract in the valley of the Clyde where strata of the Craigenglen series occur. 226 PROCEEDINGS OF THE II. — Supplementary Notes on the Birds fouiul breeding in Sutherland.^ By Mr John A. Harvie-Brown, F.Z.S., Member of the British Ornithologists' Union. Since I wrote and read my original notes on this subject in 1871, and since they were revised in 1874, and printed in the Society's Proceedings in 1875, it can hardly be expected that any very marked changes have taken place in the summer avi-fauna of the county ; still it is not uninteresting to trace the gradual progress of the changes, such as they are, the increase of certain species and the decrease of others, brought about, in the one case, generally by the extension of agricultural land improvements and the planting and growth of wood in certain districts, and in the other by the influence of game-preservers or by the backwardness of the seasons of late years. Since the date of my last personal observations in the county (1869) eight years have elapsed, but during that time I have obtained much interesting information from my kind and obliging correspondents, especially Mr Thomas Mackenzie of Dornoch, Mr J. Crawford of Tongue, and from Dr James M. Joass of Golspie,t which has enabled me not altogether to lose sight of the subject, and which has helped me to form some idea of the present fauna of the north and east. The results, however, of a visit made during the past summer to many of the old localities in the west, besides giving me a personal insight into such little changes as have occurred, enable me at this time to bring the subject more fully up to date than I could otherwise have done. As change in distribution, and increase or decrease in numbers of certain species, however slight, and within however small an area — if such can be traced with a fair amount of * Vide Proc. Nat, Hist. Soc. of Glasgow, Vol. ii., p. 69. t When this paper was read in September 1877, I said that I hoped to be able to add a list of the species in the Dunrobin Museum. I have now received a catalogue of the species at present represented in the collection, along with particulars of date and eapture, localities, etc., of the specimens. It is, how- ever, only intended for private use, not beiug as yet considered complete enough to warrant publication. We may hope, however, that before long the collection will attain more complete proportions, as becomes the representa- tive museum of one of our most interesting counties. As it stands at present, it is far from being really incomplete, there being 181 specimens, representing 138 species of birds ; and 89, out of a total of 115 species which are found breeding in the county, have their eggs represented in the collection. NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY OF GLASGOW. 227 accuracy — are always subjects of interest to naturalists, I offer no apology for reading to the Society the following brief notes, which it is hoped will serve in some measure as a comparison of the fauna of the present time with that of eight years ago. Before giving a list of the species upon which I have made fresh observations, it may not be out of place generally to indicate some of the changes brought about by the influences of the seasons, land improvements, or other causes. Thus, as I have indicated in my original paper, certain species have extended their breeding range, notably amongst which may be mentioned the following : — The Missel Thrush, Song Thrush, Starling, Chaffinch. These, and many other species, are now found, where formerly they were scarce or altogether absent. Other species again have in like manner attempted to occupy fresh stations, the Rook being the most striking example; offshoots from the Cama Loch rookery in the west, having endeavoured to establish a new colony at Loch Beannoch, in Stoir, as I ventured to predict they would in my former communication. Thanks, however, to the blackness of their character as well as habit, they were easily detected in the first instance, and shot down by the keepers, so that this, their first attempt to extend their habitations to the northward along the west of Sutherland, was promptly checked. This was in the spring of the present year (1877). When on a visit to Loch Beannoch in June, I observed a very great difference in the numbers of the Herons upon the birch-clad islands of the loch, only a few pairs being visible, where, in 1869 and years previous, I used to find from 20 to 30 pairs breeding at the same tim.e of year. Whether the short visits made by the " black invaders " in spring can have had any influence I cannot say, but the fact of their apparent decrease is at least worth noting in this connection. Some of the summer migrants are decidedly scarcer, such as the Common Swallow and House Martin. This change can, I think, only have been brought about by the inclemency of the springs and lateness of the summers of recent years j at least it seems difficult to account for it otherwise. The same reason will undoubtedly, in part, account for the great falling off" in the numbers of the grouse, the late frosts and backward, wet springs and summers killing many young birds, and inducing tape-worm and disease, where in former years such were scarcely known. 228 PROCEEDINGS OF THE Many birds of prey are on the decrease, such as the Buzzard, Hen Harrier, and even the bold little Merlin, while the Sparrow- Hawkj as I am informed by Mr Crawford, is holding its own, if not increasing, in the northern districts. The decrease is owing entirely to the direct intervention of man in most cases, and the increase of the latter species, to the growth and extension of woods and plantations. I am glad to say that Eagles and Peregrines still appear to hold their own in some of the wilder districts, and even to have increased in numbers. It is not perhaps difficult to find the cause in the great tracts of country devoted to deer forests, where their lives are usually respected, and where they generally find a sanctuary undisturbed by all who take a proper view of their usefulness.^ In other species again, there appears to be little alteration in numbers, and in some cases it was interesting to me to mark how persistently some old remembered spot has been frequented by this pair of Dippers, or that pair of Ring-Ouzels or Grey Wag- tails, probably the same that frequented it eight years ago. It is, I think, unnecessary to say more in this place concerning these changes. Under each species in the following list, such changes as I have myself noticed, or which have been reported to me upon what I consider good authority and sufficiently authentic, as well as other matters, will be found duly recorded. Before proceeding with a list of the species of birds upon which I have made fresh observations, it may not be considered out of place to say a few words regarding the mammals. There is not sufficient new material at hand to make it worth while to treat of them separately, and indeed they can be dismissed in very few words. The Otter and Polecat are both rare now in the interior of the county, as compared with a few years back, but they are still found not uncommonly on the Stoir peninsula, near the shores. The "Wild Cat is also much rarer now, if not indeed extinct, in Assynt ; so also is the Marten (Martes ahiehcm, Flem.). In the Reay country, however, as we are informed by Mr H. M. Wallis (Zool., 1877, p. 292), one of the keepers had 15 skins awaiting the annual visit of the furrier's traveller in 1876. Mr Thomas Mackenzie of Dornoch Castle tells me that Fallow * Possibly the decrease of the Peregrine Falcon in certain districts may, however, in some degree be caused by the decrease of its favourite food — the grouse, thus forming an exception to the above rule (vide further on page 231). NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY OF GLASGOW. 229 Deer, for some years back, have been frequenting the woods about Dornoch in a wild state. Mr Tennant of Eosehall has formed a park for them at Eosehall, and it holds at present about 270 head. Squirrels are becoming more abundant in the wooded parts of the east, and are rapidly extending and increasing towards the north, but have not as yet penetrated westward. That squirrels boldly swim across rivers is well known to naturalists ; nevertheless, I have the statements of several people in Sutherland, that it was not until some little time after the railway bridge spanned the Kyle between Koss-shire and Sutherland, near Invershin, that the numbers of this animal appeared markedly on the increase. Squirrels are always fond of running along roads or rides in forests, and even in comparatively open country, and I think the iron road spanning the Kyle is one very probable agent in, and reason of, their increase in the east and north of Sutherland.* The black variety of the Water- Vole frequents the rapid burns running through the limestone district of Assynt, where this year I saw a specimen, and nearly secured it with my trout-flies, as it sat trimming its whiskers at the side of a stream. On being disturbed it dived into the water, and I shortly afterwards saw it make good its retreat into a hole in the limestone debris on the river bank. Eabbits are perhaps a little commoner in some localities in the west where they were formerly comparatively scarce, but these are only in sheltered and wooded parts, as, for instance, around Loch Inver ; or upon certain islands, such as Handa ; in which latter locality, however, they were always tolerably abundant. The hard rocky nature of the ground in the interior of Assynt seems efi'ectually to bar their progress, and, combined with the severity of the winters, to prevent their increase to any appreciable extent. Blue and Brown Hares continue to be scarce. This year I only saw a few of the former in one or two localities. Concerning the other species of mammals mentioned in the former list (Proc. Nat. Hist. Soc. Glas., Vol. ii., p. 138) I have nothing of fresh interest to relate. I beg here to thank those who have assisted me with their * As stated in my former communication and elsewhere (Scot. Nat., Vol. i., p. 82), the Squirrel first appeared in Sutherland in 1869. 230 PROCEEDINGS OF THE frank and kind correspondence, as well as others who have con- tributed many interesting scraps of information during my visit to my old quarters in the west. It was no small pleasure to me to find that tiie changes there — in other matters besides distribu- tion of birds — were few, and that these few were only what might have been expected in the ordinary course of things. I found the same hospitable roof and well-remembered faces ready to welcome me, and I at once felt assured of the continuance of the old regime. In the following list, the numbers affixed to the names of the species indicate the pages of my former communication, and are intended to facilitate a comparison of the observations made at the different periods. THE GOLDEN EAGLE. AQUILA OHRYSAETUS {L.) 72. The Golden Eagle is still common, and is said to be even com- moner in the west than formerly. The old eyries are still occupied, and one new locality has been taken up, where young were reared this year. But Mr Crawford, Tongue, seems to consider that they have decreased in numbers in the north, and thinks that the cause must be found in the extravagant prices offered for specimens by collectors. I heard, however, that in the Eeay forest, orders had lately been given to kill down the Eagles, owing to damage done, or supposed to be done, of late, to the fawns of the roe-deer. The probability is, that if damage be done in this way, the blame should lie with some one particular pair of Eagles, and not with the whole tribe. There will be, doubtless, fawn-stealing Eagles, as there are occasionally lamb-stealing Eagles, and when these are discovered, no doubt they should be destroyed, but it seems hard to punish the whole race for the misdemeanours of perhaps a single pair. Let us hope that, if such an order has been issued, it may §re long be withdrawn. The good that Eagles do in a deer forest can, I think, scarcely be counterbalanced by the evil they do ; and the harm they do, as a tribe, to either the interests of the game-preserver or sheep-farmer, is more imaginary than real^ though I do not deny that sometimes a certain pair of Eagles will do considerable damage to the latter's flocks, just as a man-eating tiger will spread terror and death in an Indian village. NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY OF GLASGOW. 231 WHITE-TAILED EAGLE. IIALIAETUS ALBICILLA, L. 73. I have