I04 The Irish Naturalist. May, 1907. 



BELFAST NATURALISTS' FIELD CLUB. 



January 29. — Botantcai. vSection.— Ai^exander Mii^ligen read a 

 paper on " The Lo\\er Forms of Plant Life, and the Phenomena of Repro- 

 duction." The lecturer drew attention to the remarkable progress that 

 had been made in our knowledge of the so-called "lower" forms of plant 

 life. He directed attention to the various phases of the reproductory 

 process, (a) by simple cell division, {b) by sexual spores, and (r) by various 

 modes of the sexual method. A distinguished member of the Bristol 

 Naturalists' Society, Mr. James W. White, F.L S , was present as a visitor, 

 and took part in the discussion. 



February 12. — Arch^oi^ogicai. Section. — Miss B. Andrews read 

 a paper on " Folk Lore connected with the Ulster Raths and Souterrains." 

 There was a large attendance of members of the section, with the Presi- 

 dent in the chair. 



February 18. — The President (Robert Patterson, F.L.S) in the chair, 

 Mr. Thomas Dewhurst, A.R.C.Sc. (Lond.) read a paper on "Volcanoes 

 and Volcanic Action."' Before calling on the lecturer, the President re- 

 ferred to the loss the Club had sustained by the death of Mr. Richard 

 Hanna, an old member, who had been very active in the Botanical Sec- 

 tion. He also referred to the success which had attended Mr. Nevin H. 

 Foster's investigations into land isopods, he having recently discovered 

 a species new to Ireland. Mr. Dewhvirst gave a most interesting account 

 of celebrated volcanic outbursts of recent years, illustrated with numerous 

 lantern slides. The portion of the lecture dealing with intrusive masses 

 of lava was illustrated by slides showing these features at Cave Hill, 

 Scrabo Hill, and other localities near Belfast. The following members 

 took part in the discussion :— The President, R. Welch, M.R.I. A., Thomas 

 Anderson, and William Gray, M.R.I. A. 



February 26.— Zooi.ogicai, Section. — The Vice-President (N. H. 

 Foster, M.B.O.U.)in the chair. Robert Patterson, F.L.S. , read a short 

 paper on " The Markings of Nestling Birds." After dealing fully with 

 the various types of nestling birds and describing the curious tongue- 

 marks that are found in many species, the lecturer asked the members 

 to assist in the investigations that were going to be carried on in the 

 coming season. Very careful notes should be taken of the kind of bird, 

 the nature of the nesting site, and the relative amount of light which 

 reached the interior of the nest. The paper was illustrated by specimens 

 of young Coots just out of the &gg, and by a drawing of the tongue-marks 

 of nestling birds. The following members spoke to the paper at the 

 close :— N. H. Foster, R. Welch, W. J. Fennell, William Carson, and 

 William Gray. 



March 4.— Arch^oi.oGicai, Section.— Three papers were read— 

 "Notes on Palaeolithic Deposits," by RobrrT Bei^L ; "Conjectures 

 regarding recent Sand-dune Finds at Dundrum," by ROBERT May; and 

 "Colours and Superficial Appearances of Flint Implements," by James 

 Strachan. The papers gave rise to a spirited discussion, in which Mrs. 

 Hobson, William Gray, W. A. Green, Miss Andrews, A. Milligan, J. 

 Carson, and H. L- Orr took part. 



