266 The Irish Natwalist. October, 



drawers of birds' eggs have been classified and mounted on the modern 

 system by Messrs. Nevin H. Foster and John Cottney. Many clutches 

 of eggs, hitherto absent or imperfectly represented, have been added, and 

 there is now a complete series of the eggs of Irish nesting birds. The 

 Rev. W. F. Johnson and ]\Ir. H. Lamout Orrhave done much work in 

 supplying, arranging, classifj-iug, and mounting the collections of native 

 insects. There have been many valuable recent additions to the Museum 

 collections. The specimen of Golden Fagle from County Donegal, pre- 

 sented by Sir James Musgrave, is noteworthy by reason of the ever- 

 increasing scarcity of this bird in Ireland. Two cases of Salmon, 

 pictorially mounted, presented by Mr. Robert Patterson, are also specially 

 attractive additions. 



The following members were elected to the Council of Management 

 for the ensuing year : — Rev. Dr. Hamilton (President of Queen's College), 

 Professor Symington, Professor Gregg Wilson, R. M. Young, J. P. ; 

 and T. F. Shillington, J. P. 



The following officers of the Society for the year 1903-4 were elected at 

 the subsequent meeting of the Council : — President — Professor J. 

 Symington, F.R.S. ; Vice-Presidents — Sir Robert Woyd Patterson, D.L,.^ 

 J,P. ; Wm Swanston, F.G.S. ; Rev. T. Hamilton, D.D., LL.D., M.A., 

 (President of Queen's College) ; and Robert Young, J.P., C.B. Hon. 

 Treasurer — W. H. F. Patterson. Hon. Librarian— J. H. Davies. Hon. 

 Secretary — Robert M. Young. 



BELFAST NATURALISTS' FIELD CLUB. 



JuivY 1 1 -14. —Excursion to North Donegai,.— On July 11 forty- 

 four members and visitors started for Rosapenna, travelling by the 

 Northern Counties railway to Londonderry, and thence to Creeslough 

 by the Lough S willy railway. Here brakes were waiting to convey the 

 party to Doe Castle, picturesquely situated on a rock projecting into an 

 arm of Sheephaven, whence they proceeded to Rosapenna, which was 

 reached in time for dinner. Daylight still remained for an evening walk 

 over the sandhills and headlands. Next day (Sunday) there was no fixed 

 programme. Many members visited the ruined churches of the district, 

 the inscribed stones of Newgrange type, the kitchen-middens, &c. On 

 Monday morning an interesting visit was paid to the Congested Districts 

 Board's herring fishery station at Downing's Bay, where they were met 

 by Mr. Duthie, the Board's instructor, who fully explained the system on 

 which the station is worked. The afternoon was devoted to work about 

 the lonely Bay of Tranarossan and the many kitchen-middens with the 

 land-shell deposits there. 



These are all on a great dead-level sand plain, stretching across the 

 peninsula from Sheephaven to Mulroy, and composed very largely of 

 comminuted marine shells — those little areas which are ponds in winter 

 forming thin beds of calcareous sandstone by the deposition in summer 

 of linie in solution. The old land- shell deposits are almost gone, like 



