j 8 The Irish Naturalist. March, 



DUBLIN NATURALISTS' FIELD CLUB. 



December iS, 1900. — The chair was taken by Mr. Praeger, in the 

 absence of the President. Forty members and visitors were present. 

 Mr. A. L. Otway read a paper entitled " Notes on Irish Red Deer," 

 illustrating his remarks by diagrams which he drew on the blackboard. 

 Photographs of the head and antlers of the Red Deer were exhibited, 

 and handed to the members for inspection. The paper will be 

 published in full in an early number of the Irish Naturalist. 



Mr. Shackei/TOn remarked that the term " Elk" is not a correct one 

 to apply to the ancient Giant Deer of Ireland. This animal had 

 affinities with the modern forms of true deer (Fallow deer, &c), 

 whilst its relationship to the Blk proper were very remote. 



Mr. Edward Wieeiams described the boglands in the Dublin Hills 

 where he had excavated the remains of the Irish " Elk. " He also gave an 

 account of the way in which these great animals lost their lives, and 

 became immersed in the mud. Mr. Williams brought down to the 

 meeting many bones of the fossil " Elk," which he described one 

 by one, and demonstrated to the members the differences between these 

 bones and those of the Red Deer. 



Mr. Praeger described the deposits underlying Belfast, where *' Elk" 

 and Red Deer remains were found. 



Dr. C. J. Patten (Hon. Sec.) suggested that, owing to the depth at 

 which the Red Deer remains were placed, it might be difficult to obtain 

 them. These bones have seldom been obtained by excavation, whereas 

 those of the " Elk" have been frequently secured. Still the Red Deer in 

 past times was probably as common an animal as the Irish Elk. Dr. 

 Patten asked Mr. Otway if he thought that lime salts or other chemicals 

 present in the soil ever split the bones from which apparently the marrow 

 had disappeared ? 



Colonel Pi^uNKETT, and Messrs. Seymour, Nicholson, and Hinch 

 also spoke on the paper. 



Mr. Edward Wieeiams regretted he could not exhibit his, 

 Pectoral Sandpiper, as on the agenda paper, as the specimen had not 

 arrived from London, where it had been sent to Mr. H. Saunders for 

 identification. He promised to exhibit the bird at a subsequent meeting. 



Colonel Peunkett read a short communication relative to the 

 influence of latitude on the time of flowering of plants, which will be 

 found on p. 75. 



Mr. Praeger and Miss Bernard spoke on this subject. 



The following members were elected ;— Caryl T. W. Fiennes, Alex. 

 Williams. Three nominations for membership of the Club, and the 

 Committee's suggestions as to nominations for officers, &c, for 1901, 

 were announced. 



