FORTHE PEOPLE FOR EDVCATION FOR SCIENCE LIBRARY OF THE AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST VOL. XXXV., 1918-19. THE Victorian Naturalist: THE JOURNAL & MAGAZINE OF THE Jffyld $atot|»lfet*' $hb of ijfeiowa. MAY, 1918, TO APRIL, 1919. t>0ll. BDitOr : MR. F. Q. A. BARNARD. The Author of each Article is responsible for the facts and opinions recorded. Melbourne: WALKER, MAY & 00., PRINTERS, 429-431 BOURKE-STREET 1919. \q-So«t^- fed.iM-. THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. vol, 2£2£:k:-v. MAY, 1918, to APRIL, 1919. CONTENTS. Field Naturalists'' Club of Victoria : — page Annual Report - - - - - 34 Exhibition of Wild-flowers - - 103, 124, 157 Proceedings 1, 17, 33, 57, 73, 85, 101, 121, 133, 145, 157, 165 Reports of Excursions 1, 4, 5, 17, 18, 22, 33, 57, 73, 74, 85, 86, 87, 101, 121, 122, 133, 135, 145, 157, 165 ORIGINAL PAPERS. Audas, J. W., F.L.S., F.R.M.S.— Nature in the Serra Range, Grampians - 171 Audas, J. W., F.L.S., F.R.M.S.— Notes on the Character- istic Vegetation of the Yarram District - 62 Chapman, F., A.L.S., F.R.M.S.— A Sketch of the Geo- logical History of Australian Plants : The Mesozoic Flora - 148 Dodd, F. P.— A Naturalist in New Guinea - 127, 137 Gabriel, Joseph — On the Destruction of Mutton-birds and Penguins at Phillip Island - - 178 Hardy, A. D., F.L.S. — The Tall Trees of Australia - 46 Kershaw, J. A., F.E.S. — Two Snakes New to Victoria - 30 Shephard, J., Searle, J., and Stickland, J. — One Year's Collecting Micro-Fauna, Botanic Gardens Lake, Melbourne (with graph) - 79 Spencer, Sir Baldwin, K.C.M.G., F.R.S., D.Sc— What is Nardoo ? - - - - - 8 Spencer, Sir Baldwin, K.C.M.G., F.R.S., D.Sc— Kitchen Middens and Native Ovens (with two plates) - - - - 113 Steel, T., F.L.S.— Tracks of the Garden Snail - - 91 Wilson, F. E. — An Ornithological Trip to the Nhill District - - - - 93, 111 INDEX. INDEX. Agriculture, Department of, Visit to - -73 Alphington, Excursion to 101 Altona Bay, Excursion to 17 Antarctica, Science in - 123 Armistice, Signing of - 121 Audas, J. W., F.L.S.— Characteristic Vegeta- tion at Yarram - 62 Audas, J. W., F.L.S.— Nature in the Serra Range - - - 171 Australian Birds, Re- naming - - - 84 Australian Forest League 4 Australian Tall Trees - 46 Balwyn and Bulleen, Ex- cursion to - 165 Barnard, F. G. A.— Notes of Visit to Western Australia - - - 168 Barnard, Mr. F. G. A., Presentation to - 42 Bayswater, Excursion to- 85 Bendigo, Excursion to - 107 Berwick Quarry, Excur- sion to - - 4 Bird Life at Macquarie I. - 59 Birds of Nhill District - 111 Black Rock, Excursion to 87 Botanical Gardens, Visit to 57 Botanic Gardens Lake, Micro-Fauna of - 79 Botany at Lake Coranga- mite - 29 Brittlebank, The late Private C. C. - - 21 Buchan Caves, The - - 132 Burnley Quarries, Excur- sion to - - 18, 78 Butterflies, Prevalence of 144 Caladenia angustata, Lindl. 123 Calochilus cupreus, Rogers 123 Caves, The Buchan - 132 Chapman, F., A.L.S. — Sketch of Geological History of Australian Plants : The Mesozoic Flora - - - 148 Clayton, Excursion to - 86 Crustacea of Lake Colac, &c. - - - - 26 Denisonia nigrostriata, Krefft 31 Destruction of Mutton- birds - - 167, 178 Dodd, F. P.— A Naturalist in New Guinea - 124, 137 Elephant, A New - - 45 Eucalyptus platyphylla - 77 Evelyn, Excursion to - 34 Ferns, Mutilation of Tree 134 Field Naturalists' Club of Victoria — Annual Report - - 34 Excursions — Alphington - - 101 Altona Bay - - 17 Balwyn and Bulleen - 165 Bayswater - - 85 Bendigo - - - 107 Berwick Quarry - 4 Black Rock - - 87 Botanic Gardens 57, 166 Burnley Quarries 18, 78 Clayton - - - 86 Corangamite, Lake - 22 Department of Agri- culture - - - 73 Evelyn - - - 34 Heyington - - 57 Korkuperrimul Creek (Bacchus Marsh) - 5 Labertouche - - 122 Marysville - - 157 National Museum - 33 Oakleigh Golf Links - 101 Portarlington - - 165 Richmond Quarries - 167 Ringwood - - 135 Riversdale - - 17 South Morang - - 121 Warrandyte - - 74 Zoological Gardens - 133 Exhibition of Wild-flowers 103, 124, 157 Financial Statement - 38 Honour Roll - 40 Office-bearers - - 39 INDEX. Presentation - -42 Proceedings, 1, 17, 33, 57, 73, 85, 101, 121, 133, 145, 157, 165 Fish, Shower of - - 3 Fossils at Bald Hill - 7 Fungus, Cytharia Gunnii - 160 Gabriel, J. — On the De- struction of Mutton- birds and Penguins at Phillip Island - - 178 Geological History of Aus- tralian Plants - - 148 Grampians, Nature in - 171 Hardy, A. D., F.L.S.— The Tall Trees of Australia 46 Hatch, J.— Bird-Life of Macquarie Island - 59 Heteronympha merope, Fab. 144 Heyington, Excursion to - 57 Honour Roll, Unveiling of 40 Household Pests 7 Kangaroo Island - - 122 Kershaw, J. E., F.E.S. — Two Snakes New to Victoria - 30 King Parrots - - - 43 Kitchen Middens and Native Ovens - - 113 Kitson, Mr. A. E„ C.B.E. 32 Korkuperrimul Creek, Ex- cursion to 5 Labertouche, Excursion to 122 Lake Corangamite Dis- trict, Excursion to - 22 Lizard, The Blue-tongued 15 Lyre-Birds - - - 164 Macquarie Island, Bird Life of - - - 59 Maps, Commonwealth Mili- tary - - - - 119 Marys ville, Excursion to - 157 Melbourne District, Physi- ography of - - 180 Micro-Fauna of Botanic Gardens Lake - - 79 Moth, Porina fusco-macu- lata - - - - 106 Mutton-birds, Destruction of - 168, 178 Nardoo, What is ? - - 8 National Museum, Visit to 33 Nature in Serra Range - 171 New Guinea, A Naturalist in 124, 137 Nhill District, Ornith- ology of - - 93, 111 Oakleigh Golf Links, Ex- cursion to - - 101 Orchids in the North-East 177 Orchids, Reproduction of Terrestrial - - 56 Ornithology of Nhill Dis- trict - - - 93, 111 Ovens, Native, and Kit- chen Middens - - 113 Park, The Tasmanian National - - - 120 Penguin Oil Industry 60, 88 Phillip Island, Destruction of Mutton-birds at 167, 178 Physiography of Mel- bourne District - - 180 Place Names, Victorian - 119 Plants, Rare Victorian 169, 170 Plants, Useful Vic- torian - - 112, 147 PlesiastvcBa uvvillei - - 166 Pitcher, The late Driver E. A. - - - 100 Plants, Geological History of Australian - - 148 Rhynchelaps australis, Krefft - 30 Richmond Quarries, Ex- cursion to - - 167 Ringwood, Excursion to - 135 Riversdale, Excursion to - 17 Scenery Preservation - 180 Searle, J. — Micro-Fauna of Botanic Gardens Lake 79 Seeds of Native Plants, &c. 136 Serra Range, Nature in - 171 Shephard, J., Searle, J., and Stickland, J. — One Year's Collecting Micro-Fauna, Botanic Gardens Lake - - 79 Shower of Fish - 3 Snail, Tracks of Garden - 91 Snakes New to Victoria, Two - - - - 30 viii INDEX. PAGE PAGE Somers, The Late Private " The Australian Environ- G. E. 119 ment " 170 South Morang, Excursion " The Gum Tree " - 144 to - 121 Trees of Australia, Tall - 46 Spencer, Sir Baldwin, Vegetation at Yarram 62 F.R.S.— Kitchen Mid- Victoria, Snakes New to - 30 dens and Native Victorian Place Names - 119 Ovens - 113 Victorian Plants, Rare 1693 170 Spencer, Sir Baldwin, Victorian Plants, Use- F.R.S. — What is ful - - - 112, 147 Nardoo ? - 8 Victorian Snakes, List of 31 Springtails, Raining 15 War Casualties 21, 100, 119 Steel, T., F.L.S.— Tracks Warrandyte, Excursion to 74 of Garden Snail 91 Water-beetles, Migration oi 90 Stickland, J. — Micro- Western Australia, Notes Fauna of Botanic of Visit to 168 Gardens Lake - 79 Wild-flowers, Exhibition Sugar Gum, Rapid Growth of - - 103, 124, 157 of - 106 Wilson, F. E.— Ornith- Swallows, White 120 ological Trip to Nhill Swans, Colour of Young - 134 District - - 93, 111 Tall Trees 78 Wilson's Promontory, Min- Tasmanian National Park 120 ing at - 75, 88, 104 Taylor, Dr. Griffith- Wood-lice, Migration of - 76 Science in Antarc- Yarram, Vegetation at - 62 tica - 123 Zoological Gardens, Ex- cursion to 133 ILLUSTRATIONS. Colac District, Map of - Kitchen Middens, Wilson's Promontory - Micro-Fauna, Botanic Gardens Lake, Prevalence (graph) ----- Native Ovens, Koondrook - oi PAGE 22 112 79 113 ERRATA. Page 11, in note — For "entomological'- read " ethnological. "- Page 20, line 21 — For " Rose-breasted Cockatoos ■•- read " King Parrots.'1 CD* Uictorian Pat|raji$t_ Vol. XXXV.— No. 1. MAY 9, 1918. No. 413. FIELD NATURALISTS' CLUB OF VICTORIA. The ordinary monthly meeting of the Club was held in the Royal Society's Hall on Monday evening, 8th April, iqiS. The president, Mr. F. Pitcher, occupied the chair, and about fifty members and visitors were present. CORRESPONDENCE. From Mr. F. P. Dodd, Sydney, intimating that he would shortly have on view in Melbourne an extensive collection of Queensland and New Guinea insects, principally butterflies, together with some large photographs of scenery. REPORTS. A report of the excursion to Korkuperrimul Creek (Bacchus Marsh) on Saturday, 23rd March, was given by the leader, Mr. R. E. Luher, B.A., who reported a fair attendance of members. The excursion was devoted to geology and physi- ography, and the members had been successful in securing some of the characteristic fossils of the district, and, notwithstanding the somewhat warm day, had been greatly interested in the extensive views obtained from several points on the walk. A report of the excursion to Lake Corangamite and the Colac district at Easter was given by the leaders, Messrs. J. Shephard and J. Searle. The former gave a general account of the outing, which he said had been very successful, and referred to the rotifers obtained, while Mr. Searle gave some account of the micro-crustaceans collected. Further notes were given by Mr. A. D. Hardy, F.L.S., on the algae met with, and Mr. F. G. A. Barnard on the salt industry connected with Lake Beeac. ELECTION OF MEMBER. On a ballot being taken, Miss E. Perry, High School, Geelong, was duly elected a country member of the Club. REMARKS ON EXHIBITS. Mr. J. Shephard made some remarks on a probable new species of Pedalion from Lake Corangamite, where it existed in large numbers. Mr. F. Chapman, A.L.S., referred to some specimens of a Springtail (Collembola) which appeared recently in countless numbers after a storm. The insects, however, appeared to differ in some respects from the recognized species. 2 Field Naturalists' Club— Proceedings. [vi '■." vi '1. xiii., 1 • ♦ D1.1t \ ol Herman Beckler's journey to relieve Lyons and Macphei trom 2181 l , 1 8O0, to 5th January, 1861. MS. *f*3] Spencer, What is Nardoo. 13 return journey to Menindie. Writing on 27th December, i860, he says : — " At about 6J o'clock a.m. we met with numerous tracks of the natives. . . All at once Peter called out, 1 Hye ! hye ! ' and sure enough there was Macpherson at a short distance from us, apparently searching for something on the ground. . . Lyons was at the camp engaged in baking cakes when we came up to him. The seeds of which they pre- pared a warn (?) meal, and out of that either cakes or porridge, is not properly a seed, but the sporangium and the spores of a small plant, the leaves of which are very like clover. It is, I believe, a Marsileana, and everywhere to be met with where water stagnates for a time. . . The plant which saved Macpherson and Lyons's lives is called by the natives Gnadunnea." It is important to note that this is clearly distinguished from other seeds, &c, used for food, because Dr. Beckler adds : — " Here I may as well say that the Portulac * abounds . . . and just now ... it begins to blossom. They (the natives) call it ' dungerow,' and they use the seeds in the same way as the sporangiums of the Marsileaceous plant to make flour." In Wills's journal we read (I am quoting from his manuscript) — " Camp No. 9, Thursday, 7th May, 1861. — On our arrival at the camp they (the natives) led us to a spot to camp on, and soon afterwards brought a lot of fish and bread, which they call nardoo." Later on, whilst still at the same camp, he says : — " Mr. Burke and King employed in jerking the camel's flesh, whilst I went out to look for the nardoo seed for making bread. In this I was unsuccessful, not being able to find a single tree of it in the neighbourhood of the camp. I, however, tried boiling the large kind of bean whicli the blacks call padla." This may be taken as evidence that leguminous seeds were not called nardoo by the natives. Whilst still at the same camp, Wills writes : — "On approach- ing the foot of the first sand-hill King caught sight in the flat of some nardoo seeds, and we soon found that the flat was covered with them." Lastly, at a later date, Thursday, 20th June, 1861, he writes : — " I cannot understand this nardoo at all — it certainly will not agree with me in any form. We are now reduced to it alone, and we manage to consume from four to five pounds per day between us. It appears to be quite indigestible, and cannot possibly be sufficiently nutritious to sustain life by itself." In John King's narrative f he says :-" We had not gone far before we came on a flat, where I saw a plant growing that * Claytonia balonnensis and other species. f Report of the Commission (Appendix L.) presented to Parliament, Victoria, 1 861-2. I4 Spencer, What is Nardoo. Vict. Nat. Vol. XXXV. I took to be clover, and, on looking closer, saw the seed, and called out that I had found ' the nardoo ' ; they were very glad when I found it." It may be noted also that the explorers, in addition to the bean called padla, already referred to, were well acquainted with at all events one other vegetable food quite distinct from nardoo, as will be seen by the following questions put to and answered by the survivor King when giving evidence before the Parliamentary Commission : — " No. 899. And about that time the provisions began to get short ? — Very short. " No. 900. And the allowance was on a very small scale to match ? — On a very small scale ; our prin- cipal ration was the portulac. " No. 901. Which is a kind of vegetable ? — Yes, a kind of vegetable. " No. 902. A leafy vegetable ? — Very leafy. " No. 921. How did you cook the vegetable ? — Boiled it." Dr. Howitt is perfectly clear on the matter. In his journal,* on 2nd September, Camp 20, he writes : — "On some of the flats I observed quantities of the plant growing from the seeds of which the natives make their bread. It appears to choose a loose, blistered, clayey soil, subject to be flooded, such as is generally found in polygonum ground. The leaves resemble clover, but with a silvery down, which is also found on the seeds when fresh ; these grow on short stems springing from the roots, and are flat and rather oval. In places where the plant has died down, these seeds quite cover the ground ; they are gathered by the native women, and, after being cleaned from the sand, are pounded between two stones and baked as cakes." The above evidence at first hand from Dr. Beckler, Wills, King, and Dr. Howitt is surely conclusive, and, moreover, as I write this I have in front of me, amongst the records of the expedition, two little packets, described as nardoo, and both containing a few sporocarps of Marsilea quadrifolia. One contains nardoo actually brought down by King from Cooper's Creek ; the other | is accompanied by a copy of a note made by Dr. Howitt, as follows : — " Nardoo collected by Burke and Wills and King at Cooper's Creek, found by A. W. Howitt at their camp." * "Diary of Burke and Wills, Howitt's Journal and Despatches, King's Narrative, &c," Melbourne, published at the Age office, 1861. I I am indebted to Miss Mary E. B. Howitt for this. Miss Howitt writes : " I have a small quantity of the actual seeds found in a little heap, as gathered by one of the fated party, somewhere near the remains of one of them." ■Jjjjj ] Spencer, What is Nardoo. 1 5 To sum up the evidence in regard generally to nardoo, it may be said that — (1) Nardoo or gnardu is the native name in the Yantruwanta tribe for the plant Marsilea quadrifolia and the food product derived from it. (2) The name nardoo is applied to this plant and its product only. There is no real evidence of its ever having been applied by the natives to any other plant or its product. (3) The nardoo referred to in connection with the Burke and Wills Expedition is the plant Marsilea quadrifolia, its sporo- carps, and the product derived from these, on which the sur- vivor King lived until he was rescued by Dr. Howitt at Cooper's Creek in 1861. The Blue-Tongued Lizard.— A friend, Mr. G. A. Heumann, of Sydney, who has kept Blue-tongued Lizards in captivity for years, was fortunate not long ago in seeing some young born. He says within an hour and a half the female dropped seventeen young. Supporting the front part of the body on the ground, she raised her back legs and body above the ground, and dropped the young at short intervals. These were encased in an oval- shaped skin bag, the tail being bent along the body towards the head. After a few moments the young lizard pushed its head out of the bag, halted, evidently to take its first breath and a view of the world, and then wriggled right out. The skin bag being attached to the abdomen, the young made short work of getting rid of it by eating it ; this was their first feed. Still many of them were not satisfied, and at once ate three or four meal- worms in addition. Then they walked straight away under cover, and took not the slightest notice of the mother, or she of them. On several occasions young Blue-tongued Lizards have been born in the Melbourne Zoo, but fewer in number at a time. Mr. Heumann's interesting account agrees with what I have seen here. — D. Le Souef, Parkville. Raining Springtails.— On the morning after the storm of Saturday, 2nd March, 1918, my attention was arrested by a black deposit in the tile gutters at the side of the garden path at my house at Balwyn. At first sight it looked like menac- canite or iron-sand ; but, probing it with the finger, it yielded, and not only yielded, but began to jump in all directions. An examination with a lens showed it to be composed of myriads of tiny insects, measuring about .7 mm. in length, since found to be related to the order Collembola, Lubbock, of which Lipura is a well-known genus. Mr. F. Spry informs me that ta Not?* r Vict- ^at xxxv. this particular species is unknown to him, and is probably new. There being no lack of specimens, I collected a tubeful, some of which are in the National Museum collection. To gain an idea of their excessive abundance, the cubic contents of one patch (out of three or four within a length of ten yards of gutter) worked out at one million and twenty-five thousand individuals. The morning was dull, but after the sun came out for a few hours there was a marked stampede of the little insects, probably to the bases of the grass tufts, from whence they seem to have been washed, the expanse of grass being only a few inches above the level of the gutter. This particular form is shaped like an elongated wood-louse, with three pairs of thoracic legs, six body segments, a pair of short, unequally- segmented antennae, and two short, stout appendages near the hinder extremity, used for jumping. No sucking disc was visible on the under side of the body. The feet are terminated by a sharp, curved claw. The last abdominal segment carries either a pair of elongate, triangular cerci surrounded by long, curved bristles, or a pair of sharp, backward-curving claws. Scattered bristles are seen covering the general surface of the body and appendages, and these seem to serve in an efficient way to entrap air so that in flood waters the insects float calmly on the surface buoyed up by a silvery film. To a palae- ontologist this little creature is of especial interest, as it shows many features of an archaic type, which, so to speak, haw been borrowed from more than one extinct group of arthropods. Such are the terminal joints of the antennae, which end in pad- like structures suggestive of the swimming paddles of the sixth pair of feet in the extinct water-scorpions, Eurypterus, and probably used for the same purpose. The specimens somewhat resemble Lipura ambttlans, Linn., but differ in having a tapering rather than broadly-rounded extremity to the abdomen. Lubbock, however, states that in the family Lipuridae there is no saltatory appendage and the body is cylindrical, so that it is probable that the present form repre- sents an entirely new group of family rank. Mr. F. G. A. Barnard has drawn my attention to the determination of one of our Collembolas by Lubbock (now Lord Avebury) from specimens sent to him by the late Mr. H. Watts {Vict. Nat., vol. hi., 1887, p. 135) as a Degeeria, but the present form is not of that genus, which lias a cylindrical body, club-shaped hairs, long saltatory appendages, and fairly long antennae. — F. Chapman, Balwyn. Erratum. — In vol. xxxiw, page 123, line 14, for Thrasymene read Trachymene. Che Victorian naturalist. Vol. XXXV.— No. 2. JUNE 6, 1918. No. 414. FIELD NATURALISTS' CLUB OF VICTORIA. The ordinary monthly meeting of the Club was held at the Royal Society's Hall on Monday evening, 13th May, 1918. The president, Mr. F. Pitcher, occupied the chair, and about sixty members- and visitors were present. The president introduced to the meeting Miss D. Philpott, a member who had volunteered to take shorthand notes of the proceedings by means of the stenotype machine. A report of the excursion to Altona Bay on Saturday, 13th April, was given by the leader, Mr. E. S. Anthony, who stated that there had been a good attendance of members. A visit was first made to the aboriginal shell-mounds, usually known as kitchen middens, situated near the shore-line to the east of the station. An examination of these revealed quantities of broken shells of mollusca of kinds still common in the locality. Several of the mounds showed signs of fire having been used in preparing the feasts, and some fragments of the bones of birds were also noted. Some pieces of ochre used by the aboriginals for decorative purposes were also obtained. Returning to the western side of the jetty and traversing the hollows between the sand-dunes, search was made for further signs of the former inhabitants of the place. Here members were rewarded by finding numbers of quartzite flakes of various shapes and sizes, also some of the cores from which the flakes had been struck. These flakes were the primitive instruments which the aboriginals used for cutting, preparing animal skins, &c. The botany of the district is not remarkable, but a number of introduced plants seem to thrive there, about which Mr. H. B. Williamson would say a few words. Mr. Williamson remarked that the most interesting of the endemic plants were the useful sand- binding grasses, Spinifex hirsutus, Hairy Spinifex, and Cynodon dactylon, Couch-Grass. The Rosy Stork' s-bill, Pelargonium Rodney anum, was blooming in many places. The principal introduced plants were Solarium Sodomceum, Apple of Sodom, Glaucium luteum, Horned Poppy, Atriplex patula, Common Arache, and Silene cucubatus, Bladder Campion ; the latter, though a troublesome weed in some places, was showing a mass of thick roots, holding the sandy soil together and preventing erosion. A report of the excursion to Wattle Park, Riversdale, on Saturday, 27th April, was given by the leader, Mr. F. G. A. Barnard, who said that the excursion had been well attended. The afternoon proved very enjoyable, though the park is not 1 8 Field Naturalists' Club — Proceedings. [vjict'xxxv a prolific hunting-ground. A visit was first paid to the wattle plantation formed last June, where it was gratifying to see that nearly every tree was doing well. Some had made fine growth, while Acacia retinodes and A. discolor could each boast of a few flowers. Rambling through the wooded portion of the park towards the eastern boundary, few plants were seen in bloom, Styphelia (Astroloma) humifusa being perhaps the most uncommon. Diligent search was made for the little orchid Eriochilus autumnalis, so abundant on the previous visit in March of last year, but not one could be seen. A few birds of the commoner kinds were seen or heard, and, in addition, some quail were disturbed by our presence, and quickly made for cover. Members who devoted themselves to microscopic life were successful in finding a fair variety of aquatic objects in a small creek in the south-eastern corner of the park. Another object collected was the larva of the syrphid fly, Microdon daveyi, which, atthough not an un- common insect, is interesting from the fact that it selects the nests of ants under the bark of trees as the place in which to live and pupate. Little is known of the reasons for this way of living, or whether its presence is of any benefit to the ants, or the ants to it. Among some fungi collected a polyporus was found to be infested with some minute insects, apparently of the springtail group (Collembola). A report of the excursion to the Burnley Quarries on Satur- day, nth May, was given by the leader of the pond-life section, Mr. J. Stickland, who said that most of the excursionists had followed Dr. Pritchard, and devoted themselves to geology. The recent rain had somewhat interfered with the pools in the quarries ; still, a number of interesting forms were met with, among which were some fine colonies of the infusorian, Zoothamnium (?) dichotomum. In the absence of Dr. Pritchard, Mr. A. L. Scott said that the geologists, after the general character of the basalt flow in which the quarries are situated had been explained, crossed the river by the Heyington bridge, where the principal features of Silurian formation were pointed out. The time, however, proved to be too short, and Dr. Pritchard offered to repeat the excursion on a date to be arranged. [An extra excursion to Heyington, under Dr. Pritchard, has been arranged for Saturday, 15th June.] ELECTION OF MEMBERS. On a ballot being taken, Mr. Percy H. Bond, Scotch College, Hawthorn, was duly elected an ordinary member ; and Messrs. Walter Mann, Rockmount, Narracan, and Thos. Smith Savige, Narracan East, as country members of the Club, "xoxl'j Field Naturalists' Club — Proceedings. 19 GENERAL BUSINESS. Nominations were made for office-bearers for 1918-iQ, and Messrs. F. Keep and F. Wisewould were elected to audit the accounts for the current year. REMARKS ON EXHIBITS. Dr. Sutton called attention to his exhibit of the fruits of Eucalyptus pyriformis, one of the largest fruits of the genus, collected by Mr. H. Deane, M.I.C.E., near the track of the East- West railway in South Australia. Mr. F. Pitcher called attention to his exhibit of flowering branches of Alyxia ruscifolia, R. Br., Ruscus-leaved Brushland Box, a native of New South Wales and Queensland, a useful garden shrub, having pleasing foliage and bright berries ; also to Plectranthus parviflorus, Willd., Small Cockspur Flower, a Victorian plant, useful as a trailer for hanging baskets, &g. PAPER READ. By Professor Sir Baldwin Spencer, K.C.M.G., F.R.S., D.Sc, entitled " Notes on Certain Kitchen Middens on Wilson's Promontory." The author said that great interest is attached to the kitchen middens, or shell-heaps of the aboriginals, the investigation of which helps to throw light on the life and customs of the former inhabitants of our State. During a recent visit to the National Park he had taken the opportunity to make a thorough examination of a number of shell-mounds which had been laid bare by some heavy gales, and exhibited a large col- lection of marine shells, flint and bone implements, &c, as the result. Portions of a human skeleton had also been collected, but he did not consider it any proof of the existence of cannibalism among the natives at any time, as it was the custom in some parts to bury the dead in old shell-mounds or " ovens," as they are termed in the northern districts. A number of stone implements were also exhibited, which must have been brought from considerable distances, as no stones of similar kinds are to be found within many miles of the Promontory. In the discussion which followed, the president, Messrs. Keep, Daley, Keble, Anthony, Keartland, and Chapman took part. Mr. G. A. Keartland said that the natives carry articles of use to them for vast distances. He had found a large marine shell at a native well in North- West Australia, four hundred miles from the sea. At one place he knew of there were several drayloads of fresh-water mussel shells, showing that the natives had used the place for many years. 20 Field Naturalists' Club — Proceedings. [vofIct"xxxv Professor Spencer said that, with regard to the question of cannibalism, the Australian aboriginals could not be accused of cannibalism as usually understood. They did sometimes eat human flesh, but it was purely in a ceremonial way. Owing to the lateness of the hour, the paper by Mr. T. Steel, F.L.S., " Tracks of the Garden Snail," was postponed until next meeting. NATURAL HISTORY NOTES. Mr. J. Searle said that he had kept several of the larvae of the flies referred to in the Wattle Park report, along with ants, until they turned into the perfect insect, but he had been unable to determine anything as to their food. Mr. F. Spry said that similar flies are found in different parts of the world, but their life-histories are as yet unknown. He had tried on several occasions to discover what the larvae live on, but with- out success. Mr. F. Keep read an extract from the Scientific Australian, stating that a kangaroo had kept up a pace of forty miles per hour for at least two miles against a motor-car. Mr. G. A. Keartland said that recently large numbers of Rose-breasted Cockatoos had visited the Preston district, where they had not been seen for years.. Mr. F. G. A. Barnard said that he had seen a few days before a female " Imperial White " butterfly, Delias harpalyce, Don., flying at Kew. This, he thought, was an unusual occurrence for May, but Mr. F. Spry said it had also been recorded as having been seen in June. EXHIBITS. By Mr. J. W. Audas, F.L.S. — Thirty species of flowering plants collected at Yarram, South Gippsland, October, 1917, including Boronia anemonifolia, Cyathodes acerosa, Pultencea paleacea, P. juniperina, Choretrum laterifolium, Helichrysum oracteatum, H. rosmarini folium, Acacia Howittii, Leptocarpos Brownii, L. tenax, Caustis pentandra, Epacris lanuginosa, SccBVola hispida, and Gompholobium latifolium. These should have been recorded for the April meeting, having been ex- hibited then in illustration of paper on plants of Yarram district. By Mr. F. G. A. Barnard. — Growing fern, Asplenium flaccidum, collected at Wilson's Promontory, December, 1914. By Mr. C. Daley, F.L.S. — Stibnite, antimony ore from Coster- field, Victoria, and Numeaite, nickel ore, from New Caledonia. By Miss A. Fuller. — Papuan butterflies. By Mr. J. A. Kershaw, F.E.S. — Large specimen of marine shell, Voluta mammilla, found on beach, National Park, Wilson's Promontory, by Mr. W. J. Cripps, JUI^'1 Field Naturalists1 Club — Proceedings. 21 By Mr. F. Pitcher. — Flowering specimens of Acacia discolor, Willd., Sunshine Wattle, Victoria, New South Wales, and Tasmania ; Alyxia ruscifolia, R. Br., Ruscus-leaved Brushland Box, New South Wales and Queensland ; Hakea cristata, R. Br., Crested Hakea, Western Australia ; H. verrucosa, F. v. M., Warty-fruited Hakea, Western Australia ; and Plcctranthus parviflorus, Willd., Small Cockspur Flower, Vic- toria, New South Wales, and Queensland, from Melbourne Botanic Gardens. By Miss Rollo. — Mineralogical specimens from Trans- Continental Railway, including manganese, barytes, oxide of copper, carbonate of copper, and crude salt ; also bean of African tree, Afzelia africana. By Mr. A. L. Scott. — Granite under microscope — (a) in ordinary light, {b) between crossed nicols. By Sir Baldwin Spencer, K.C.M.G. — Portions of aboriginal skeleton, two bone awls, and collection of marine shells, flint, and other stone implements, from aboriginal kitchen middens, Wilson's Promontory ; photographs of middens, and of the middens or " native ovens," near Koondrook, Murray River. By Mr. J. Searle. — Salpa, a pelagic tunicate, showing alterna- tion of generations. By Mr. P. R. H. St. John. — Herbarium specimens, in bloom, of Paler sonia glabrata, R. Br. (Iridacese), Victoria, New South Wales, and Queensland ; Mitrasacme montana, J. Hooker (Loganiacese), Victoria and Tasmania, collected by exhibitor at foot of Mount Riddell, Healesville, 5th May, 1918 ; also specimen of Panax sambucifolius with variegated foliage, collected by exhibitor at Warburton, 20th April, 1918 ; sample of crude oil of Eucalyptus Sieberiana, Silver-top Gum, Vic- toria and New South Wales, prepared at the Botanic Gardens laboratory by exhibitor from tree cultivated in the Gardens. By Mr. H. Whitmore. — Ladybirds, Orcus australasice, hiber- nating under bark of wattle tree : specimen of Thorn Apple, Datura stramonium, an introduced noxious plant, common at East Malvern. By Mr. H. B. Williamson.— Dried specimens of the intro- duced plants, Glaucium luleum, Scop., Horned Poppy, and A triplex patula, Common Arache, from Altona Bay. After the usual conversazione the meeting terminated. The Great War. — Another of our members, Mr. C. C. Brittlebank, Vegetable Pathologist, Department of Agriculture, Victoria, has suffered bereavement by the death of his only son, Private Cyril C. Brittlebank. He had seen over three years' service in the Field Ambulance Brigade, and his death in hospital in France has just been reported. 22 Excursion to Lake Corangamite and District. [v4 feet o inches in girth at a height of 8 feet, and that the same surveyor measured a prostrate Mountain Ash in the same parish, the latter being 3,29 feet to a point at which the top was broken o\'i by the fail ; the diameter 4 feet at 16 feet from the base end: and the girth 3 feet 6 inches at a height of 255 feet, and 2 feet 3 inches at 328 feet. (2) Mr. ti. W. Robinson, civil engineer and surveyor, was engaged in the Dandenong forest over 60 years ago. Even then! he says, the tallest and straightest trees had been taken out by the shingle-splitter. \'\w present writer's father (the late John Hardy, Government Surveyor) said a few years ago that he never measured a 400-foot tree, and, though trees of 300 feet were common enough, and up to 350 feet not in- frequent, the bigger trees had already been felled and removed by the paling-splitter. "Mr. Robinson, however, records as his best big tier measured one which was " 342 feet to the com- J1'1^] Hardy, Tall Trees of Australia. 51 mencement of the ' die-hack ' portion of the tree," and, as the stem there was from 6 to 7 inches in diameter, he estimated the " die-back " portion to have been from 15 to 25 feet, thus giving an approximate length of 360 feet. " The last of the big trees in that district," he says, " were cut down in 1862." (3) The third is our best measurement, by a legally-qualified measurer. I sent out many inquiries drawing attention to Mr. Robinson's contribution to the Victorian Naturalist, seeking evidence as to a taller tree. The replies were, with one excep- tion, in the negative, and the exception was that from Mr. G. Cornthwaite, licensed surveyor, Colac. In response to my further inquiry, I received a letter from Mr. Cornthwaite, and of which, with his permission, I am recording the part appro- priate to the subject in hand : — " Colac, 12th June, 1916. " Dear Sir,— In reply to yours of the 6th inst., in reference to the big tree measured by me in Gippsland, I beg to say that 1 cannot find the old notes taken at the time, but I am quite sure as to the measurement of the length. The tree was growing on allotment No. 1, parish of Xarracan South, about 2 miles from Thorpdale, and was in a dense forest of tall trees, but this one was manifestly taller than the surrounding trees. The measurements were taken during the Christmas holidays of 1880. I measured the tree as it was standing by means of a clinometer and chain, and made it 370 feet. Afterwards, when it was chopped down, I measured it — 375 feet, allowing for the stump. The tree was a Victorian Mountain Ash or ' Blackbutt,' and, where it was spring-boarded, about 12 feet from the ground, was about 6 feet in diameter. About 240 feet length of the barrel was worked up into palings, &c, and all the material for a six-roomed house was obtained from it. My brother also worked a paling tree in the same locality after- wards, which was regarded as the champion paling tree of Gippsland. The palings were worth £100 at the stump. . . My brother had the stack of timber photographed. " (Signed) G. Cornthwaite." The greatest recorded girth of a eucalypt is that given by the Conservator of Forests (Mr. Hugh Mackay), with photo- graph, in the " Handbook to Victoria," prepared for the information of the British Association meeting at Melbourne in 1914. The tree pictured is " King Edward VII.," and is an imperfect specimen of E. regnans growing near Marysville, on a slope of the main Dividing Range. The girth of 80 feet was measured at about 10 feet from the ground, thus avoiding the greater spread of the buttresses. But the old fire-scarred stumps of larger stems exist in the Otway region. " King 52 Hardy, Tall Trees of Australia. [vX^XXXV. Edward VII." measures about 112 feet round at the ground line ; present height of the tree is only 200 feet. The general slimness of our trees has been animadverted on by at least one American writer, which reminds me of having, with Dr. Eames and Mr. Synnott, M.A., of Harvard University, visited the forest on the slopes of Donna Buang during an official visit for the Forests Department. There (the American visitors assisting) I measured E. regnans, of average sawmilling girth, in the locality. One was 242 feet high (by clinometer and tape) and innocent of buttresses, with a diameter of only 4 feet 6 inches at 5 feet from the ground. Another, which I personally measured with clinometer and tape, in the Beenak Ranges, was 290 feet, with girth of only 18 feet at 5 feet from the ground. This tree had very slight buttresses. Near the source of the Bunyip another tree had only 4 feet diameter and a height of 260 feet. Usually old trees are buttressed. American Tree Records. In California there are two species of Sequoia. There is the Big Tree, Sequoia gigantea (also called 5. Wellingtonia), and the Redwood, 5. sempervirens. Both are evergreens, with persistent, rough, thick bark, conforming to the flutings of the stems. The Big Tree is the bulkier of the two. Redwood is the taller, and, while the former has stiff greyish-green foliage something like that of a Cypress or Araucaria, the latter has its small linear leaves flattened out, and the general appearance of a twig is like that of a Yew. Big Tree grows at higher altitudes — 5,000- 8,000 feet — and remote from the sea ; Redwood grows nearer the coast, and below the zone favoured by the Big Trees. Sargent states that Sequoia Wellingtonia reaches, at maturity, 275 feet, with trunk diameter of 20 feet near ground, occasion- ally becoming 320 feet high, with diameter 35 feet. For Sequoia sempervirens the same authority records 300-340 feet, with a slightly tapering and irregularly-lobed trunk rarely 28 feet in diameter at the much-buttressed base, and with bark 6 inches to 12 inches thick. In " Silva of North America" Sargent gives 325 feet for a Big Tree as the tallest of two measured, and of Redwood says : — " 20 to 28 feet at the much-buttressed base and 350 feet tall. The Redwood, which is the tallest American tree, probably occasionally reaches a height of 400 feet or more. The' tallest specimen I have measured was 340 feet high." According to the Southern Pacific Railway Guide, the Big Tree (there called 5. gigantea) has specimens that tower nearly 400 feet to the sky, and one is said slightly to exceed this, while many measure from 70 to 90 feet round. The largest, recently discovered, has a base circumference of 109 feet. ■vjjjg] Hardy, Tall Trees of Australia. 5^ " The trees," says the writer, " are not mere poles or slender shafts, such as the eucalypts of Australia, but proportionate and symmetrical in girth and height. The bark varies from 11 to 40 inches in thickness. . . The beauty of the tree is enhanced by its flutings, which traverse the trunk from base to apex." Several trees are specified as being 300 feet high, and one with a girth of 90 feet. The Department of the Interior (U.S.A.), in " The Sequoia National Park," tells of 5. gigantea only, and in this park trees of dimensions as follow exist : — Height. Diameter. General Sherman . . . . 279.9 *eet • • 36-5 feet General Grant . . . . . . 264 ,, 35 Abraham Lincoln . . . . 270 ,, . . 31 California . . . . . . 260 ,, 30 The American Museum of Natural History (from a publication of which was selected the quotation that introduces this article) says of the Big Tree, Sequoia gigantea, after belittling the eucalypt, that the Kauri Pine of New Zealand, so far as size goes, is a really dangerous rival, and two examples are on record having respective diameters of 24 feet and 22 feet. In a list of fourteen specimens particularized by the Museum are two worthy of special note — viz., specimen " C," of King's River Grove, has a height of 276 feet and a circumference (near the ground) of 116 feet, while specimen " G," of Calaveras Grove (dead, without bark), has diameter 23 feet 2 inches at 3 feet from the ground, and height to present top 365 feet (estimated former height, 400 feet). Other heights mentioned are 302, 321, 325, 319, 315, 311, and 270 feet, the diameters running up to 96 feet. By the courtesy of the Conservator of Forests I am enabled to quote from the Department's copy of American Forestry (June, 1916), wherein Sequoia is described, but in this case it is not the Big Tree, but the tall tree — the Redwood, S. semper- virens. The writer of the article (S. B. Detwiler) says : — " There are a few trees in the world that have attained greater diameters and some that grow to greater heights, but no other tree with a trunk of huge size rises so gracefully to the majestic height of the Sequoias." He quotes from John Muir as follows : — " Trees from 10 to 15 feet in diameter and 500 feet [a misprint for 300, obviously. — A. D. H.] high are not uncommon, and a few attain a height of 350, or even 400, with a diameter (at the base) of 15 to 20 feet or more, while the ground beneath them is a garden of fresh, exuberant ferns, lilies, Gaultheria, and Rhododendron. This grand tree, Sequoia sempervirens, is sur- passed in size only by its near relative Sequoia gigantea, or Big Tree, of the Sierra Nevada, if, indeed, it is surpassed. The 54 Hardy, Tall Trees of Australia. [v^xxxv. sempervirens is certainly the taller of the two. . . The greatest size of the Big Trees is 300 to 330 feet in height, and a diameter (10 feet above the base) of 30 to 37 feet. Excep- tionally large specimens of the Redwood are 325 to 350 feet high and 18 to 20 feet in diameter 10 feet above the base. Ordinarily the Big Tree does not exceed a height of 250 to 280 feet and a diameter above the swollen base of 12 to 17 feet. The usual size attained by the Redwood is 8 to 12 feet in diameter and 190 to 280 feet in height." Sequoia sempervirens and Eucalyptus regnans have some points in common, however, and a few may be stated. They are the tallest trees in their respective countries. They are valuable timber trees — each, perhaps, the most useful its country produces. They are both evergreens, the old leaves remaining more than one season. The greater part of the seed is infertile. The seed is exceptionally small for such large trees — in E. regnans less than that of a gooseberry. They both rejoice in climatic conditions wherein the temperature rarely falls below 150 F. (300 for Eucalyptus), or rises above ioo° F. (900 F. for this Eucalypt), with a rainfall of 20-60 inches. Their woods are fissile. Having stated their points of agreement, a few differences may be mentioned. The Redwood is immune from fungoid and insect pests. E. regnans is subject to longicorn and other borers, termites ("ants"), and fungoid disease such as the bracket-like Xylostroma, witli mycelium like a sheet of chamois leather conforming concentrically to the heartwood rings. The wood of Redwood is non-porous, and easily seasoned ; that of E. regnans has large pores visible to the naked eye, and requires careful seasoning and filling before final dressing. Redwood is a soft, brownish-red colour, and light ; /:. regnans is a pale straw colour, hard as oak almost, and com- paratively heavy. The former resists decay in contact with the ground ; the latter has not such endurance. Redwood is a conifer ; E. regnans is of the " Myrtle blooms," to use Lindley's old term. The former has rough, persistent bark, and the latter decorticates annually, leaving the greater part of the trunk smooth ; and finally — not to make too long a tale— this point of difference, important in forestry : Sequoia semper- virens suckers freely, while Eucalyptus regnans reproduces by seed only, so far as I am aware. Both Sequoia gigantca and sempervirens arc cultivated as ornamental trees in parks and gardens of south-east Australia, especially in the belt between the summit of the Dividing Range and the sea, in Victoria. At Ballarat the Big Tree is doing well, many trees being planted in the park near Lake Wehdouree ; and fine young specimens about ion feet high are on Mount July uly.-l 19. sj Hardy, Tall Trees of Australia. 55 Macedon, at 2,250 feet altitude. The Redwood may be seen in Melbourne Botanic Gardens, with the Big Tree (both small), and also at Macedon and Daylesford. BIBLIOGRAPHY. Bentham, G., F.R.S. Caire, J. Chamier, G., M.Inst.C.E. Cooper, Ellwood Ewart, A. J., D.Sc, Ph.D. Guilfoyle, W. R., F.L.S. .. Hardy, A. D. ... Harris, W. K. ... Howitt, A. W., F.G.S. .. Kerner, A. [trans. Oliver].. Mackay, H. Maiden, J. II., F.L.S. F.R.S. Mueller, Baron F. von Perrin, George Pierce, J. D., C.E., Cunningham, C. R. Robinson, G. W., C.E. Rod way, L., F.L.S. and " Flora Australiensis," 1866. In the Victorian Naturalist, January, 1905. " Australian Timber — Karri " " Forest Culture and Eucalyptus Trees." San Francisco, 1896. In " Report of Department of Agriculture," 1907-10. In " Phil. Trans. Royal Society, London," 1908. " Australian Botany," 1884. An. Rep. State Forests Department. Vict., 1910-11. In the Lone I/and, 191 1. In "Trans Royal Society of Victoria," 1890. " Natural History of Plants," 1894. In "Handbook Vict. B.A.A.S." " A Critical Revision of the Genus Eucalyptus." 1905. " Useful Native Plants of Australia," 1889. " The Forost Flora of New South Wales," 1905. " Eucalyptographia," 1879-84. " Second Census of Australian Plants." Gardener s Chronicle, 1862. Journal of Botany (Seemans), 1862. " Select Extra-Tropical Plants," 1885. " Introduction to Botanic Teachings," 1S77. " Fragmenta Phytographiae Australia?," 1858-81. In the Australian Builder and Contractor's News, 1893. " The Giant Trees of Victoria," 1888. In the Victorian Naturalist, June, 191 1. " Tasmanian Flora," 1903. Royal Commission on State Forests and Timber Reserves, Fifth Progress Report, 1899. Sargent, Charles S. ' ... " Silva of North America," 1896. Semon, Richard ... ... In " The Australian Bush," 1899. Smith, A. ... ... In " Treasury of Botany," 1866. Warren, W. H., Wh. Sc, " Australian Timbers," 1892. M.I.C.E., &c... Woolls, W., Ph.D., F.L.S. " The Plants of New South Wales," 1885. Australian Meteorology and Geography. — A series of lectures on this subject, by Dr. Griffith Taylor, Physiographer in the Commonwealth Weather Service, especially for the benefit of teachers, was commenced at the University on 21st June. Particulars can be obtained from the Registrar. 56 Correspondence. [V(^ ict. Nat. . XXXV THE REPRODUCTION OF TERRESTRIAL ORCHIDS. To the Editor Victorian Naturalist. Sir, — In the Victorian Naturalist for February and March last (vol. xxxiv., pp. 160 and 176) is a paper on the above subject by Mr. E. E. Pescott, F.L.S., F.R.H.S. Being interested in the cultivation of orchids, and having had some experience in their growth from seed, I would like to make a few remarks on Mr. Pescott's paper. There are few terrestrial species of the genera dealt with by Mr. Pescott that are worth growing except from a purely scientific point of view. In my collection, beside half a dozen or more exotics, I have three Australian — Phaius grandifolius, Calanthe veratrifolia, and Spathoglottis Souteri. The Phaius and Calanthe are referred to in Mr. Pescott's paper. Undoubtedly terrestrial orchids — and in this all others may be included — very rarely grow from seed in a state of nature. Personally, I think this is a wise provision, considering the immense number of seeds ordinarily produced. I cannot endorse the following statements : — " Little is known regarding the seeds of these plants. . . Whether they are germinable ... or whether they are all abortive is not known. Apparently there is no necessity for the pro- duction of seed, owing to the tuberous increase, and apparently the elaborate apparatus or arrangement of the organs is to some extent but a survival of the pollination and fertilization operations of other days." It was Darwin's work on orchids that so fascinated me many years since that when I had the opportunity I commenced to grow a few, and since then have largely added to my stock. Though I have not been able to devote as much attention to the subject as I would have liked, I have, however, been successful in raising three varieties of terrestrial orchids from seed, the only ones tried. As a matter of fact, a good deal is known about the seeds of orchids — how to raise them, that they are germinable, and that there is a distinct necessity in the economy of the plants for the production of fertile seed. The first orchids raised arti- ficially from seed were terrestrial ones. That orchids are very largely reproduced by tubers below the ground (or by stems or bulbs above ground) is perfectly correct ; but that will not account for the wide distribution of the same species where it is not possible, in the course of nature, for the tubers to reach. Then they must grow from seed dis- tributed by natural agencies. — Yours, &c, HUGH DIXSON. " Abergeldie," Summer Hill, N.S.W., 4th June, 1918. the Oictoriait naturalist « , — . Vol. XXXV.— No. 4. AUGUST 8, 1918. No. 416. FIELD NATURALISTS' CLUB OF VICTORIA. The ordinary monthly meeting was held at the Royal Society's Hall on Monday evening, 8th July, 1918. The president, Mr. A. D. Hardy, F.L.S., occupied the chair, and about eighty members and visitors were present. CORRESPONDENCE. From Dr. G. Sweet, University, stating that she had inquiries from America for articles on Australian polyzoa, and asking any member who could spare reprints to forward them to her. REPORTS. A report of the extra excursion to Heyington on Saturday, 15th June, was, in the absence of the leader, Dr. G. B. Pritchard, F.G.S., given by Mr. F. G. A. Barnard, who said that there had been a good attendance of members, and an instructive afternoon had been spent. Meeting at Burnley station, the party walked through Richmond Park, where the changes which have taken place in the position of the Yarra in the course of time were pointed out and explained. The river was then crossed, and the geological features of Heyington cutting were demonstrated in an interesting manner. The cutting contains some fine examples of altered bedding ; one particularly fine example was figured in the Naturalist for September, 1910 (Vict. Nat., xxvii., p. 80), also intrusive dykes, &c. The characteristics of the valley of Gardiner's or Kooyongkoot Creek were then pointed out, and the party separated on reaching the Riversdale-road tram. A report of the visit to the Economic Museum, &c, at the Botanic Gardens on Saturday, 22nd June, was given by the leader, Mr. F. Pitcher, who reported a good attendance . of members. The museum was inaugurated during the regime of the late Mr. W. R. Guilfoyle as director of the Garden's, and he (the leader) had had the principal part in its planning and arrangement during the director's absence in England. The value of such a collection was pointed out, and atten- tion directed to the numerous examples of timbers, fibres, food products, fruits, gums, resins, oils, perfumes, &c, all of plant origin. The carpological collection, which occupies a series of show-cases in the centre of the building, was mentioned as being unique ; it comprises about 2,500 species of seeds and seed-vessels arranged in botanical sequence, each fully labelled. Those of the eucalypts, acacias, and pines are 58 Field Naturalists' Club — Proceedings. [v 1 ♦ ! i , i L 1 0 t j ft 8" J i i i 5a 1 it Lit 1 Dj 11 t[ f 5(0 J j T I iI-Hl- i ii 1 1 ', i ■ | Is 1 ■ I * I *«8 ■3 li s ■ 1 > • » c 4 l 3 ^'-3 <• s v,' 3 s "J ? £ fc >J lUiiL : •5 * IS £ < S ^ "? v $h- |.|. a. 1 1 w » MM s: SI -5 VMS ■3 ■*{ a! n M * \ yjy&j