262 The Irish Nahu-alist. l^ecember, 



Wicklow. Out of about 300 young trees, it was difficult to fiud ex- 

 amples without the funirus ou them, and mau y have already been killed. 

 Whether the others will throw the disease off or not remains to be 

 seen. Saccardo records it on twigs of Buckthorn, Klder, and Oak in 

 France, Italy, and Great Britain, but not on Kim, and apparently not as 

 a parasite. The fungus has, in all probability, been introduced with 

 the young trees which, although purchased from an Irish firm, probably 

 came from France. 



Prof. G. ir CarpknteR showed a new species of Pallenopsis from 

 the Indian Ocean, dredged off the coast of British East Africa by Mr 

 Charles Croslaud. The species, which is remarkable for a series of 

 beautifully-pinnate sensory bristles on the legs, will shortly be des- 

 cribed in a paper to be communicated to the Linnean Society. 



R. Southern exhibited a pol3'chaet worm, Autolyttis pictus (Ehlers), 

 belonging to the family Syllidye. This species is coloured iu a very 

 regular and striking way. and is also noteworthy for its life-histor}', 

 which shows periods of budding, alternating with normal sexual repro - 

 duction. The specimen shown was the asexual nurse-stock. It was 

 dredged in two fathoms in Malahide Inlet, by the Dublin Ba}' Marine 

 Biological Committee. It has not previously been recorded from 

 Ireland, but occurs round Great Britain, in the Mediterranean, &c. 



W. F. GUNN showed a specimen of an Aphis, Lachmib viviinalis [(Pass.), 

 which was found feeding in large numbers on the bark ot a Weeping 

 Willow at Blackrock. The species is fairly common in Britain, and 

 sometimes proves ver}- harmful to willows and osiers. It is a compara- 

 tively large Aphis, and has a peculiar horn-like eminence on the centre 

 of the dorsum, the use of which is not certainly known. Buckton, in 

 his monograph of the genera, says that " although the apex is furnished 

 W'ith several minute pores, the organ may be regarded as blind, or im- 

 perforate. It has not the function of a nectary, but probably that of an 

 odoriferous gland.'" 



BELFAST NATURALISTS' FIELD CLUB. 



Jui^v 11-14. BuNCRANA AND DISTRICT. — Forty-scveu members and 

 friends joined this excursion, which proved to be of a most enjoyable 

 character. The weather was not all that could have been desired, but 

 the long day that was .spent in the open air turned out quite fine. The 

 party left Belfast at 8 25 a.m. on vSaturday, July 11, and just caught the 

 12 o'clock train for Buncraua at the Lough Swilly Railway. The Lough 

 Swilly Hotel, Buncraua, was the headquarters, and here lunch was 

 served immediately on arrival. After lunch, the drive to Duuree Head 

 was commenced in heavy rain, but, in spite of thi.s, the whole programme 

 for the afternoon was carried out. On arrival at the head, the naturalists 

 explored the river and the mountain, while the other members were 

 taken over the modern fort by kind permission of the Colonel in charge. 

 At 6 o'clock the return drive to Buncrana was begun. 



