a heap of shingle, on which he now mounted guard. Five times within two hours was the fish unearthed, and as often did the lobster shovel the gravel over it with his huge claws, each time ascending the pile and turning his bold defensive front to his companions. I am not aware that this canine propensity of the lobster has been before recorded.—Ernest E. Barker (Rothesay Aquarium, Bute).
Dr. Bowerbank's Collection of Sponges.—We are glad to hear that the entire collection of Sponges and microscopical preparations left by the late Dr. Bowerbank have been purchased by the Trustees of the British Museum. This collection, which comprises the specimens referred to and described by Dr. Bowerbank in his four important volumes published by the Ray Society, will be most useful and valuable to all who are interested in the examination and study of the Spongiidæ.
PROCEEDINGS OF SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES.
Linnean Society of London.
April 5, 1877.—Prof. Allman, F.R.S., President, in the chair.
Capt. Chimmo, R.N., Westdown, Weymouth; the Rev. J. Constable, M.A., Agricultural College, Cirencester; and Prof. Liversidge, F.G.S., University, Sydney (New South Wales), were elected Fellows of the Society.
Mr. Collett, of Christiania, read a communication "On Myodes lemmus in Norway." This Scandinavian naturalist's observations on the habits and economy of the Lemming had extended over several years, and in 1876 he had published these in a Norwegian scientific periodical. Since then his attention had been called to Mr. Crotch's contributions in the Linnean 'Journal,' and, as in many particulars he differed from that author, the result was his present remarks on the subject. He stated that the number of young at a birth vary from three to eight, and two sets are annually produced. He regards their wandering propensities as a necessary consequence of their temporarily strong vitality, together with an inherent migratory instinct. The tendency, at intervals, to appear in unusually large numbers is not confined to the genus, but is common to all the species of the sub-family Arvicolinæ.[1] The majority of the wanderers are young, and in one instance, observed by himself, were chiefly males. The migration closes with the death of the individuals, generally brought about by an epizootic disease, the result of over-population, for the denser the masses the higher the rate of mortality. The bare patch on the rump, considered by Mr. Crotch to be due to the habit of protecting themselves against stones in resisting attack, Mr. Collett states is the result of a skin
- ↑ See the remarks of Mr. Henry Reeks, "On the Occurrence of the Lemming in Newfoundland," in the February number of 'The Zoologist,' p. 47.
