276 October, 1903. 



Mistle Thrush building on the ground. 



In the August number of the Zoologist Mr. G. H. Pentland mentions a 

 Mistle Thrush's nest built in a tuft of bent-grass at the mouth of the 

 Boyne. 



GEOLOGY. 



Coastal Drift of Pebbles. 



At Achill Sound, on July 16, on a calm day, with a nearly full tide, I 

 was struck with the way pebbles were drifting by attached to the sea- 

 weed Chorda filicm. The hot sun had partially dried the weed at ebb, 

 and as the tide rose the long stems rose with it. The lowest couple of 

 feet hung down into the water, each weighted with a pebble, the 

 remainder of the stem floating on the surface. These pebbles were up 

 to one pound in weight, and they were drifting southward to the num- 

 ber of about one per minute, at a speed of about two miles per hour. 

 The frequent occurrence of such a phenomenon would go far to explain 

 the accumulation of gravel at certain points, as well as the distribution 



of small erratics of local rock. 



R. Li<OYD PraKG^r 

 Dublin. 



NEWS GLEANINGS. 



The Belfast Club's Excursions. 



The excursions of the B. N. F. C. for the season just closed were among 

 the most successful on record in point of attendance of members, which 

 works out as an average of 50 for each of the seven excursions. The 

 published programme was carried out to the letter, and the President 

 and both Secretaries attended every excursion — which could not have 

 been said of recent years. Thirty new members have been elected since 

 May, and with the opening of the new Club-room in the Museum a 

 brisk winter's work is being looked forward to by the many active 

 members. 



A' 



The Lame Laboratory. K 



During the second week in August, Professor G. S. Brady, M.D., F.R.S., 

 paid a visit to the I^aboratory of the Ulster Fisheries and Biology 

 Association at Larne Harbour, and spent several days dredging and 

 shore-collecting there. Prof Brady expressed himself as greatly pleased 

 with all the arrangements in Larne, and anticipates good results from 

 the work of the Association. Several good finds have been made already ; 

 but it is thought advisable not to publish these results in haste. The 

 work is steadily and systematically going on. 



