i<S97-] 307 



PROCEEDINGS OF IRISH SOCIETIES. 



RoYAi, ZooLOGiCAi, Society. 



Recent gifts include a Guillemot from Mr. B. N. Blood, an eagle 

 from Dr. R Garland, and a monkey from Mrs. St. George. Three 

 I/ion-cubs have been born in the Gardens, and six monkeys and two 

 Ivion-cubs have been bought. 



10,200 persons visited the Gardens in September. 



BEI.FAST NaTURAUSTS' FlELD C1.UB. 



BoTANiCAi, Section — October i6.— The winter session of the 

 Botanical Section was inaugurated by a meeting held in the Museum 

 on the evening of the i6th October. After tea, kindly prepared and 

 presided over by two lady members of the Section, Mr. J. H. Davies, of 

 Glenmore, was called on to preside. Mr. Davies stated that the first 

 business would be to present the Chairman of the Section, Rev. C. H. 

 Waddell, with a small token of their appreciation of his kindly interest 

 in the work of the Section, and their sense of the value of his teaching. 

 Kerner's Natural History of Plants was the volume selected, a work which 

 presents the latest results of botanical investigation in the happiest 

 manner. After a few genial remarks from Mr. Davies the presentation 

 was made to Mr. Waddell, who expressed the pleasure which it gave 

 him to receive from them such a token of their regard, and his willing- 

 ness to further as much as possible their progress in botanical knowledge. 

 The meeting concluded with suggestions for the winter work, and how 

 botany cauld be best represented at the approaching Conversazione of 

 the Club. 



Dubinin Naturai^ists' Fiei<d Ci,ub. 



September i8 — A party of twenty-four took part in the annual 

 Fungus Foray. The party took train from Harcourt-street Station, 

 arriving at Rathdrum at 11. 31. A walk of one and a half miles brought 

 them to the entrance of the Avondale Demesne which was kindly 

 thrown open to the Club for the day's collecting by Mr. J H. Parnell, 

 M.P. ; a field to the right of the entrance gate proved very rich in the 

 larger fungi, nearly thirty species being found. After a visit to the 

 house, and lunch beside a fallen tree, the party dispersed for col- 

 lecting purposes to meet at 4 o'clock for a refreshing tea at the 

 Meeting of the Waters. The mail train for Dublin was caught at 

 Rathdrum at 6.5. Mr. Greenwood Pim, M.A., and Dr. McWeeney took 

 part in the excursion and undertook the identification of the fungi 

 collected. Want of time and of a larger number of workers prevented 

 identification of many of the smaller forms. 



