igiy- Waddell — Rare Plants of Co. Down Coast. 13 



*Z. nana Roth. — The Dwarf Sea-grass has not been found hitherto in 

 Co. Down. I was glad therefore to find it growing with Riippia 

 maritima L. on muddy sand in pools between the Mid Island, Grey 

 Abbey, and the mainland. It was not in flower, but the leaves cannot 

 easily be mistaken. It is covered by 2 or 3 feet of water at high tide. 



Greyabbey, Co. Down. 



IRISH SOCIETIES. 



ROYAL ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 



November 29. — A public lecture was delivered in the Royal Dublin 

 Society's Theatre (by permission of the Council), by Prof. J. Arthur 

 Thomson, LL.D., of Aberdeen, who took for his subject " The Beauty 

 of Animal Life," analysing the conception of beauty as appreciated by 

 the naturalist, and illustrating his remarks by an admirable series of 

 lantern slides. Sir Walter Boyd presided, and the theatre was crowded. 



Recent gifts include a Red-eared Waxbill from Major Douglas, and 

 a Cockatoo from Lady Errington. A female Woolly Monkey and a 

 Mandrill have been received on deposit ; a Hamadryas and a Yellow 

 Baboon have been purchased. Four Lion-cubs have been born in the 

 Roberts House, " Conn " and " Maive " being the parents. 



DUBLIN MICROSCOPICAL CLUB. 



October ii.— The Club met at Leinster House. N. Colgan, M.R.I. A., 

 was elected President and took the chair, W. F. GUNN being appointed 

 Vice-President. 



H. A. Lafferty exhibited microscopic preparaticns of and pure 

 cultures of a fungus which he had obtained from wheat ears. The 

 fungus was identified as Gihherella Sauhinetii (Mont.) Sacc. ; a species 

 described as parasitic on various hosts in America and on the Continent, 

 but hitherto not recorded from Ireland. 



November 8 — The Club met at Leinster House, the President in the 

 chair. 



H. A. Lafferty exhibited a specimen of Ash on which was present 

 the fruiting bodies of the common wood destroying fungus Polyporiis 

 squamosus. Microscopic preparations of wood infested with the mycelium 

 of this fungus were also shown, which clearly demonstrated its enzymic 

 action on the cellulose, especially in the region of the spring wood. 



W. F. GuNN showed two slides of the myxomycete Trichia affinis 

 De Bary, obtained at Killakee in October. One of these showed the ripe 

 sporangia as opaque objects, and the other the elaters and spores in a 

 transparent mount. The species is said to be common on rotting logs, 

 and has been recorded from Leinster and Munster but not from the other 



