T90O'] Pi'oceedings of Irish Societies, 77 



"By the process of artificial selection which has been carried on in 

 Dublin, the size of the lion, and also the height of the hind-quarters, 

 has been considerably increased ; but there has been a loss in the depth 

 of the chest, and in the strength of the forequarters.'' 



The young Camel born on ihe 6th March, after a gestation of 386 days 

 (the first event of the kind in Ireland) unfortunately died when six days 

 old, and the mother also succumbed a few months later. Great regret 

 is expressed at the death of the Chimpanzee, "Tom," and the rare 

 Hainan Gibbon— which had both lived nearl}' five years in the gardens. 

 We may mention that the latter specimen may now be seen stuffed in 

 the Dublin Museum, while the dead Chimpanzee has been exported to 

 Cambridge. 



Limerick Fiei.d Ci^ub. 



January 9.— Annuai, Meeting and Conversazione.— The Seventh 

 Annual Meeting of the Limerick F'ield Club was held in the Athenaeum. 

 There was a large attendance of members. A collection of botanical, 

 geological, and entomological specimens, photographs, and scientific 

 apparatus were shown. The Rev. J. Dowd, K.A., in the absence of the 

 President, Dr. W. Fogerty, took the chair. Mr. F. Neale, Hon. Secretary, 

 read the annual report, of which the following is an abstract: — "The 

 Committee, at the close of another year, are again able to state that much 

 interest has been taken in the Club, its winter meetings and summer 

 excursions having been very well attended. They have also, however, 

 again to draw attention to the continued scarcity of workers, and 

 seriously ask members to identify themselves as students with some 

 section of the Club. Your Committee, after full and careful consideration, 

 have decided to recommend that Rule 6 be altered, so as to provide that 

 each year shall end with the month of September, and that each 

 member shall contribute a subscription of five shillings per annum. 

 On the larger but still very moderate fee, your Committee hope it may 

 be possible to increase the usefulness and activity of the Club, and to 

 arrange for the better, if gradual, furnishing of its room with accom- 

 modation for specimens and photographs, as well as the hire or purchase 

 of diagrams, &c., for lectures. It is also desirable that some books of 

 reference should be available in connection with the Club, as well as 

 magazines and periodicals bearing on the objects of its various sections. 

 Your Committee have pleasure in reporting the completion of arrange- 

 ments with G. H. Carpenter, B.Sc. (London), of the Science and Art 

 Museum, Dublin, for the delivery by him of a course of six lectures on 

 zoology, in March next. The membership of the Club on the 30th 

 September, 1898, was 243, the number to same date in 1899 being 270. 



" Several botanical specimens have been added to the Club Herbarium 

 during 1899, more especially from amongst the plants characteristic of 

 the Burren district of County Clare, of which several examples are on 

 view this evening. 



"An interesting addition has been made to the fauna of this locality — 

 a cave-dwelling spider (^Meta Menardii), of which nests and specimens 

 yrerc taken during the year near Kildimo, Co- Limerick, and nests with 



