230 The Irish Naturalist . [vSeptember, 



PROCKEDINGS OF IRISH SOCIKTIKS. 



ROYAI, ZooT^oaiCAi, SOCIKTV. 



Recent gifts include a Corn-crake from Mr. G. V. I^ovell, a Sparrow- 

 hawk from Mr. A. B. Leeper, a pair of Kingfishers from Mr. R. Edwards, 

 a Puffin from Mr. R. Kennedy, a Cockatoo from Miss O'Donnel, and a 

 Sanderling from Dr. C. J. Patten. A Bactrian Camel, a White-tailed 

 Gnu, a Python, and four INIonkeys have been bought, 



17,042 persons visited the Gardens in July. 



Bei^fast Natur.\i,ists' F1EI.D Cl^UB. 



August 4. Gi,Kna\'Y and IvOUGH Neagh. —A large party left Belfast, 

 and w^ere joined by members from Lisburn and Antrim. Deviating from 

 the county road, the party entered Glenconwa}', and for some distance 

 traced the banks of Glenavy River. Here the photographers made some 

 records, and the entomologist some captures, while the botanists were 

 by no means idle. The eastern margin of Lough Neagh, wuth its sandy 

 borders, possesses a varied and very interesting land flora. The lake-shore 

 yielded the Yellow Loosestrife, Lysi/nac/u'a vii/i;aris^ one of the rarer pond- 

 weeds (/'^/rt///^^t/t7;^ //6V6V-^//^j////i), and the Cow-wheat, Mchinipynim pratensc. 

 An otherwise unattractive roadside wall furnished the best plant of the 

 day. This was Poa comprcssa, a species which until recently was only 

 recorded for two stations in the North of Ireland, as it is not a conspicuous 

 plant; it has probably been overlooked, and may ])OSsibly be found 

 elsewhere. The well-known fossil w ood or '' petrified wood " of Lough 

 Neagh was collected along the shore near Sandy Bay. Good cabinel 

 specimens were selected, which illustrated stages in the process of 

 silicification, one part being soft lignite and part solid stone. Solid 

 blocks of ferruginous clay or ironstone were also obtained, which, when 

 split open, were found to contain beautiful inij^ressions of leaves, 

 Similar plant-remains occur in the iron-ore beds of lUdlypalady, Glenarni; 

 and elsew here in Co. Antrim. 



BKI^EAST and DU Jil^IN NaTURAUvSTS* PlEl.1) ClyUBS. 



J LiyV 1 1-J3. Joint K^xcuksiox to Navan and the Bovne VaIvI^ev.— 

 The parties from Belfast and Dublin, numbering altogether 36, met at 

 Drogheda on the morning of the nth, and took train to Beauparc, a few 

 ])roceeding to Navan direct. By kind permission of Mr. Lambert, the 

 members passed through the demesne of Beauparc, and across the 

 Boyne, where the fine foldings of the Carboniferous limestone were 

 photographed, and some good plants collected, including Poa palustris, 



