19101 The Ottawa Naturalist. 6l 



their swimmerets; and, as there was among the crayfish shown 

 at Billing's Bridge a female heavily laden with eggs, he was able 

 to verify his previous statement from the living specimen. 

 Mr. Halkett also showed a living Brook Stickleback (Eucalia 

 i}icoiJstaiis) which was caught in the stream, also the eggs of a 

 moUusk, presumably Physa, embedded in a jelly mass which 

 was attached to a stone. The tiny shells could be seen through 

 the egg membranes. 



Mr. Groh exhibited one of the first Amelanchiers (June 

 berries) of the season taken from a small tree on the bank of the 

 stream near by. The date was considered early as compared with 

 last year when these were found in bloom a month later. He 

 also showed some of the stems of the Climbing Bitter Sweet 

 which, as he pointed out, had become so twisted and coiled as 

 to choke the stems beneath its coils. The White Trillium was 

 found in abundance in one woods near by. Other specimens 

 exhibited were: Bishop's Cap, Squirrel Corn, Baneberry, Red 

 Trillium, a stemless blue violet (probably V. septentrional is) 

 and many others collected on a previous excursion. 



Mr. Brown distributed specimens of Beech nuts in various 

 stages of germination and drew attention to the fine flavor of 

 the cotvledons in the first stages of growth, a fact which first 

 came to his notice when but a lad on his way to and from school 

 in a beech country. He also distributed specimens of the Dog's- 

 tooth Violet, showing the first year's growth, which consisted 

 of a single leaf, a small bulb and a shoot penetrating downwards 

 from this bulb, and the second year's growth which consisted of 

 a pair of leaves, a flower and a much larger bulb which had formed 

 several inches below the former small bulb. 



Mr. J. W. Gibson referred to the advantages offered by such 

 a locality for the study of geography and especially from the 

 standpoint of river systems and the great work of erosion. Many 

 of the tributaries of this stream may be traced to their beginnings 

 some distance away in the more open country. He also pointed 

 out the effect of the forest trees along the banks of the stream in 

 preventing the erosion of the soil. The various species of trees 

 found in this locality were also mentioned, attention being called 

 especially to the American Yew Tree (Taxus canadensis), this 

 being one of the few places about Ottawa where it is found. 



Mr. Nichols spoke for the leaders of the geological branch 

 and stated that the rocks exposed in the banks of the brook 

 were of the Utica formation and were c jmposed of black bitumin- 

 ous shale. One layer about three inches thick was much harder 

 than the rest and contained an abundance of graptolites ap- 

 parently of one species, and also beautifully preser\ed specimens 

 of a small brachiopod, Leptobolus insignis. There were also 



