NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY OF GLASGOW. 37 



croceipes, and distinguished by having a black body, with bright 

 yellow coxae, tibae, and tarsi, and black femora; also Bassiis flavo- 

 Uneatus, Gr., found in Cadder Wilderness. Of Tenthredinidae 

 Mr Cameron showed Nematiis horfensis, Hartig, from the London 

 district, the larva feeding on the acacia ; also Cladius Drewseni, 

 Thorns., from England and Scotland, the latter species being an 

 addition to our list. 



Mr George Donaldson exhibited the nest of the Trap-door 

 Spider from California, which country he considered to be the 

 head-quarters of the species, as it is there met with in large 

 numbers. He described the mode in which these nests are 

 constructed. A well of five or more inches in depth is sunk in 

 the ground, and inside of this the nest is formed of red clay, and 

 lined with a fine silk-like material obtained from the secretions of 

 the s^Dider. The door or trap is a marvel of ingenuity; it 

 cannot be opened from the outside, and serves not only for 

 catching the prey of the animal, but aff'ords a secure refuge from 

 the attacks of more powerful enemies. 



Mr Donaldson also exhibited a piece of a clay-like substance 

 which is largely eaten by the Indians, and of which they are so 

 fond that a supply is invariably carried with them when journey- 

 ing. It appears to be a fresh-water deposit, and to be largely 

 composed of diatoms. He also showed a number of objects of 

 interest from Figi, among which w^as a necklace worn by the 

 natives, and made up of the teeth of the sperm whale, which they 

 obtain from the whaling vessels in exchange for palm oil and 

 other native produce. 



PAPERS READ. 



I. — Notes on the occurrence and distribution of Sjnrifera trigonalis, 

 and its varieties in the Limestone Strata of the Coal-fields of the 

 West of Scotland. By Mr JoHX Young, F.G.S. 



During the very long period represented by the Old Eed Sand- 

 stone series of Scotland, no evidence of purely marine conditions 

 has yet been discovered over the area of country now covered by 

 rocks of that formation. Throughout a thickness of several 

 thousand feet of strata, the characteristic organisms met with 

 are fishes, of which the greater number belong to the ganoid 

 order, a group finding its nearest living representatives in 

 the rivers and fresh-water lakes of the 2;lobe. Besides fishes, the 



