Proceedings of the Royal Society for October, 1872

The monthly evening meeting of the Society was held on Tuesday, the 8th October, M. Allport, Esq., in the chair.-The Secretary read a letter from the principal librarian of the British Museum, intimating that the trustees of that institution had presented to the library of the Royal Society of Tasmania, a valuable series of Natural History publications, comprising about sixty- five volumes and parts.-A letter from Mr. H. V, Barclay, of Spring Hill, was read, relative to the origin of the so-called tidal wave which caused so much destruction on the west coast of South America on the 13th August, 1868, and the effects of which were felt on these coasts on the 15th of the same month.-The Chairman stated that the flowers of the Hydrangea, grown in the part of the colony referred to, invariably turned blue, probably from the presence of iron in the soil, and it might be that the blossom of the potato was changed to blue by the same cause.-A second letter from Mr. Johnston was read, being a very favourable report of the sugar beet from seed supplied from the Society's Gardens.-The chairman read a letter from Edward Chapaman in regards to a large animal seen in the pools of the River Jordan and Lake Tiberias.
-Mr. M. Allport read an interesting paper on the "Irregularity in the growth of the young salmon."