So The Irish Naiuralut, April, 



IRISH SOCIETIES. 



ROYAL ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 



Recent gifts include five Raccoons from the Right Hon. J, Hogg, a 

 Chough and a Raven from Mr, W. Trcnowath, a Naked -footed Owlet from 

 Professor C. J. Patten, Pochards from Messrs. R. J. Usshcr and C. J. 

 Carroll, Formosa Teal from Messrs. R. M. Barrington and W. J. Williams, 

 live pair of Mandarin Ducks from Mr. J. W. Lentaigne, Widgeon from 

 Messrs. H. B. Rathborne and W. J. Williams, and a Redshank from Mr, 

 Mead and a Shag from Mr. W, J, Williams. 



An American Opossum, live Cordon Bleu Waxbills and three Pintail 

 Ducks have also been acquired. Six Dingo Puppies have been born in 

 the Gardens, 



BELFAST NATURAL HISTORY AND PHILOSOPHICAL 



SOCIETY. 



March 5. — Professor J. A. Lindsay (President) in the chair. Dr. R, 

 F, ScHARFF, of the National Museum, Dublin, lectured to a large audience 

 on " The Aims and Scope of a Provincial Museum." The lecture, which 

 dealt with the ideals of a modern museum, and the nature of the exhibits 

 that might be especially suitable in such a centre as Belfast, will be shortly 

 published in abstract in our pages. In view of the proposed new Public 

 Museum to be established in the Botanic Garden Park, Belfast, the lecture 

 evoked much interest. W, Gray, Dr. A, Trimble, James Corr, R. Welch, 

 Alec Wilson, Professor Symington, F.R.S, ; R. M. Young, Sir Otto Jaffe, 

 and Professor Gregg Wilson took part in the discussion. 



At a meeting of the Technical Instruction Committee two days later, 

 it was resolved that the address be issued in full by the Curator of the 

 Public Museum in his " Quarterly Notes," 



BELFAST NATURALISTS' FIELD CLUB. 



February 20, — R, J. Welch (President) in the chair. Professor G. 

 H. Carpenter lectured to a large audience on " Recent Advances in the 

 Evolution Theory." Referring to the Darwin Centenary Meetings m 

 1909, he pointed out that while the general principle of evolution is, on 

 almost all hands, accepted, the value of natural selection is still, and is 

 likely to remain, a matter of dispute. As an example of the many pieces 

 of recent evidence afforded by palaeontological research, the discovery by 

 Dr. C, W\ Andrews in the Eocene of Upper Egypt of primitive probos- 

 cidean genera was mentioned. Morphological research, though now 

 somewhat unfashionable, has been proved fruitful by the establishment 

 of relationship between primitive insects and crustaceans. The discussion 

 as to the relative importance of the Darwinian factor of natural selection 



