6S The Irish Naturalist. April, 191 S. 



Council. The Society's sih'cr medal was presented to Rev. J, A. Walker, 

 of the Christian Brothers' Schools, North Richmond Street, Dublin, in 

 recognition of an excellent set of photographs taken in the Lion House 

 Prof. J. .\. Scott delivered a lecture on the Horse family and allied 

 beasts, witli a beautiful series of lantern illustrations. 



DUBLIN MICROSCOPICAL CLUB. 



February 13. — The Club met at Leinster House, N. Colgan (Pre- 

 sident), in the Chair. 



E. J. Sheehy exhibited a culture of soil Protozoa consisting chiefly of 

 small Amoebae. The culture had been prepared by inoculating saline 

 egg albumen with soil from flower-pots. 



Dr. G. H. Pethybridge showed a piece of wood (said to be a portion 

 of the " true cross ") preserved in the Domnach Airgid Shrine, which has 

 recently been described in the Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy 

 by E. C. R. Armstrong. The section showed that the wood was probably 

 part of a small twig or young branch of a tree or shrub, and that it be- 

 longed to the region next to the pith. The portion of wood was too 

 fragmentary to enable the species of plant from which it came to be 

 identified. 



BELFAST NATURALISTS' FIELD CLUB. 



February 19. — ^J. A. S. Stendall delivered an address on " Allotments 

 and Allotment Economics." The Vice-President (Mr. Cleland) referred to 

 the death of Mr. W. H. Patterson, one of the original members of the 

 Club, he having been the first secretary and also the first president of the 

 society. A vote of condolence was passed by the members. Mr. Stendall's 

 address dealt with the composition of soils and the use and abuse of water ; 

 the lecturer emphasised the necessity of taking precautions against allot- 

 ment manure heaps becoming the nurseries for countless potential disease- 

 carrying house-flies. Mr. Stendall called attention to the all-important 

 subject of food values, and all holders were urged to study this matter for 

 themselves. It was possible to largely increase the food value of the 

 yield from any garden by growing just those vegetables which give good 

 value and eliminating such an article of diet as the vegetable marrow, 

 which is lacking greatly in food constituents, at the same time taking 

 up a large amount of space which might be more profitably used. Arti- 

 chokes and parsnips were strongly recommended in place of so man}' 

 turnips, which cannot compare with the former from a nutritive stand- 

 point. In conclusion, garden friends and foes were dealt with, reference 

 being made to the exhibits of interest to the war-time gardener now 

 displayed in the Municij)al Mu.seum, 



