1923. Irish Societies. 5 



BELFAST NATURALISTS' FIELD CLUB. 



October 24. — The President (Rev. W. R. Megaw, 13. A.) gave his 

 inaugural address, the title of his subject being '^ In the Heart of the 

 Country." The average countryman's ignorance of common wild flowers 

 and birds was shown by examples of the confusion which reigns in his 

 mind concerning the commonest denizens of the field. Only a very few 

 of our resident birds are named accurately, and the native flora, with 

 a few exceptions, are weeds without any attempt at distinction. Little 

 more than one-third of our native grasses receive the scant attention 

 of a local name ; to say that there are over sixty species in our three 

 north-east counties is to run the risk of being thought a fool. The forty 

 sedges of the same area are either not seen at all or relegated to the 

 obscurity of unknown grasses. The lecturer mentioned some peculiar 

 and amusing theories found in the heart of the country regarding sex 

 differences in plants, and the turning of certain plants into others more 

 or less similar in appearance. Medicinal uses of herbs was discussed, 

 and the modus operandi explained. Nature's strange moods, her freaks, 

 her fancies, her kindness and severity were commented upon and illustrated. 

 Extracts from the diary of an amateur naturalist were read, pourtraying 

 wild life in strange and varied circumstances. The lecturer concluded 

 by giving examples of country superstitions regarding plants and their 

 potent properties. The address was freely illustrated by a series of 

 fine lantern views, especially a set of twenty showing the four seasons of 

 the year. In the subsequent discussion the following members took 

 part : — N. H. Foster ; R. J. Welch, and S. A. Bennett. Two junior 

 and thirteen ordinary members were elected. 



November 21. — W. A. Green read a paper entitled " The Kingdom 

 of Mourne," which dealt fully with the history, archaeology, and geology 

 of the Mourne [Mountains and their vicinity. In the discussion which 

 ensued, R. J. Welch, J. Holness, and J. A. S. Stendall took part. Three 

 ordinary meml^ers and one junior member were elected. 



December 19. — Prof. Gregg Wilson, M.A.. D.Sc, lectured on " The 

 Life-history of a Fish." 



The lecturer said it was extraordinary that so little is known of the 

 Hfe of the fishes that abound in the waters all round us. It was not 

 till as late as 1864 that the great fact was discovered that most of our 

 fishes produce eggs that drift about in the surface waters. Even yet 

 there is much to be made out as to the wanderings of some of our most 

 important types. For long it was generally beheved that fishes spawned 

 in waters close to the shore, and that the spawn was actually secured to 

 weeds or gravel at the bottom of the sea. It is now known that spawning 

 is largely offshore, and that the eggs and larvae may drift many miles 

 before the young fishes are able to care for themselves. The number 

 of eggs produced by fishes is often enormous, amounting in some cases 

 to ten or even twenty milhons. But those fishes that take most care 

 of their eggs seem to require to produce fewer than their neighbours. 



