2i The Irish Naturalist. [Jan., 



PROCEEDINGS OF IRISH SOCIETIES. 



RoYAi. ZooivOGiCAi, Society. 



Recent donations comprise a Great Cyclodus from the proprietor of 

 the Irish Field ; a Sparrow-hawk from Mr. W. Russell ; a number of Irish 

 birds from Rev. T. B. Gibson ; a Diamond Snake from Miss E. Fitzgibbon ; 

 a Black Tortoise from Mr. A. E. Jamrach; a Kestrel from Mr. K. M. 

 Dunlop; a Nubian Goat from Master Moloney; a pair of Rabbits from 

 Miss J. Bailey ; a Stoat from Mr. W. W. Despard ; a number of fish from 

 Mr. J. Godden. A Somali Lioness, a Golden Cat, a pair of Wood Storks, 

 a pair of Snow Geese, a Boa Constrictor, three African and three Indian 

 Pythons, six Egyptian Snakes, four Monitors, and eight large Tortoises 

 have been acquired by purchase. 



3,940 persons visited the Gardens during November. 



BEI.FAST NaTURAI, HISTORY AND PhII^OSOPHICAI, SOCIICTY. 



December i. — The President (Professor Everett) presided. 



Mr. Ai^EXANDER Tate first submitted his report of some matters con- 

 sidered at the Brit. Assoc, meeting in Liverpool. He asked the special 

 attention of the Society to two schemes affecting the working of Socie- 

 ties like theirs which were discussed at considerable length at those 

 meetings. The object of the first of those schemes was to promote 

 the formation of district unions of natural history societies. It was 

 drawn up and submitted by Mr. George Abbott, general secretary of the 

 South-Eastern Union of Scientific Societies, and it proposed the division 

 of the United Kingdom into fifteen or twenty districts, in each of which 

 the societies should be grouped together for mutual aid, counsel, and 

 work, any existing unions to be taken advantage of and not disturbed, 

 each union to have an annual congress, held year by year in different 

 towns, and to be attended by delegates and members from the affiliated 

 societies. A further suggestion was that each local society should have 

 a corresponding member in each village in its district to look after its 

 interests and forward in every way its objects. The working of the 

 Yorkshire Naturalists' Union had been very successful, one important 

 result being the training of a number of skilful workers in the various de- 

 partments of natural science. What had been done in regard to the Irish 

 Union of Natural History Societies was clearly stated by Professor Johnson, 

 the delegate from Dublin Naturalists' Field Club, and was corroborated by 

 himself (Mr. Tate). The second proposal was made by Professor Petrie, 

 its object being to provide a federal staff for local museums. He alleged 

 that the main difficulty in the management of local museums was the 

 securing of sufficient work for and means of paying for services of 

 highly-trained and competent men as curators, and he considered that 

 this would be obviated if there was co-operation. The opinion of 

 speakers who took part in the discussion was generally favourable to the 

 scheme. It appeared that a somewhat similar idea had been mooted 

 some years previously, and had been reported on by a sub-committee of 

 the Museums Association, without, however, leading to any definite 



