252 The Iiish Nahiralisf. December, 



IRISH SOCIETIES. 



ROYAL ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 



Recent gifts include a young male Chimpanzee from Dr. R. H. Kenuan, 

 a Green Monkey from IMiss A. Peyton, a Leopard cub from Mr. G. W. B. 

 Weir, a Badger from INIr. O. Murphy, and a Corn Bunting from Mr. W. 

 J. Williams. The pair of West African Lions "Niger" and "Nigeria" 

 have a litter of four fine cubs, all strong and healthy. The new 

 Chimpanzee, '• IMendiboy " by name, arrived in rather poor health and 

 spirits, though it was hoped that he would soon be as well and cheerful 

 as his companions, " Mr. James" and ''Jenny," he died after a residence 

 of only a few weeks in Dublin. 



BELFAST NATURALISTS' FIELD CLUB. 



October 28. — Annuat^ Conversazione.— The forty-eighth winter 

 session was inaugurated by a conversazione in the Assembly Llall. The 

 company, which numbered three hundred, included the Lord Mayor and 

 part}'. A large number of exhibits were displayed on tables in the 

 body of the hall, the various exhibitors giving informal lecturettes to 

 those interested. By permission of the Lord Mayor of Belfast the 

 insignia of the city of Belfast were en exhibition, and proved a source 

 of much interest. 



In the zoological section Y. Balfour Browne showed a new and 

 ingenious method of storing a working collection of in.sects. 

 George Donaldson's exhibit of British lepidoptera included Gonct>ieryx 

 thatnni and living caterpillars of Fox Moth. N. H. Foster exhibited 

 Metoponorthiis nielaimnis and Elni/ia purpurascens, two survivors of the 

 ancient Lusitanian fauna, which have only been found in the British 

 Islands at Howth, County Dublin ; also maps showing the progress of 

 distributional records of woodlice in Ireland for the past five years. 

 W. A. Green showed a collection of land and fresh-water mollusca ; 

 W. F. M-Kinney, Spanish and Australian shells and leaf insects from 

 Ceylon ; and H. Lament Orr, wasps' nests combined. R. Patterson 

 exhibited a stuffed specimen of the Kea, a sheep-killing parrot from 

 New Zealand, a Grass Snake from Yorkshire, and cases illustrating the 

 development of butterflies and moths. Professor Symington and Dr. 

 Rankin showed photographs and skiagraphs of the jaws and teeth of 

 an Orang, and R. J. Welch exhibited laud and fresh-water mollusca 

 collected during the Rosapenna Conference in July, 1910. 



In the botanical section N. Carrothers had a series of types of Irish 

 plants, W. F. M'Kinney, "Wooden pears" from New South Wales and a 

 " vegetable caterpillar " from New Zealand ; W. H. Phillips, dried 

 specimens of British Ferns ; Rev. C. H. Waddell, some rare plants 

 from Antrim and Down. W.J. C. Tomlinson exhibited juiounted plants 

 from South Kent and South Hants. G. O. Sherrard (Dublin), showed 

 microscopic slides exhibiting American gooseberry mildew and black 

 scab of potatoes, and a slide of living eel- worms. 



