54 Field Naturalists' Cluh — Proceedings. [y^ 



Vict. Nat. 

 XXXVI. 



were seen, the most abundant being Sterna inelanophrys. 

 Calling at Sierra Leone, he found it full of interest, the streets 

 and parks being gay with gorgeous butterflies. In England 

 he had met Mr. Gregory Mathews, who has, for some ten years 

 past, been making an exhaustive study of Australian birds. 

 He mentioned also that, in his opinion at least, Australian 

 birds compare favourably with those of the old world in the 

 matter of song, in s^ite of the poetic protestations of English 

 writers. In concluding, he thanked the members for their 

 kind welcome. 



Mr. G. A. Keartland mentioned that a new park was in course 

 of preparation at Preston, near Reservoir station, and that it 

 would be a splendid opportunity for the creation of a bird 

 sanctuary, as game was sure to seek the lake which is now being 

 constructed, and would afford excellent material for study if 

 unmolested. Mr. Keartland said that he believed that the 

 shire council was favourable to the proposal, and moved that it 

 be urged by the Club to have the park declared a sanctuary. 



In seconding the motion, which was carried unanimously, 

 Mr. F. G. A. Barnard mentioned the part the Club had taken 

 in having Wattle Park, near Burwood, declared a sanctuary, 

 as a precedent for action in the present instance. 



REMARKS ON EXHIBITS. 



Mr. C. L. Plumridge exhibited fronds of a tree-fern, Dicksonia 

 antarctica, garden grown, showing abnormal frondage, stating 

 that when planted it was wholly normal, and remained so until 

 its fourth year, when a slight crimping manifested itself on one 

 of the fronds. This crimping has become more pronounced 

 in successive seasons, until now some of the fronds are wholly 

 crimped, while in very few is it wholly absent. From this 

 specimen he hoped to be able to propagate a new tree-fern, 

 wholly crimped. He also showed a tailed spider which had 

 not come under his notice before. It builds a cylindrical nest 

 or shelter, from which it appears never to emerge, but lives 

 therein permanently, with its head just projecting from the 

 front of the shelter. On being disturbed it spins rapidly round, 

 apparently hoping thereby to escape detection. The specimen 

 was identified by Mr. F. Spry as Arachnura higginsi, L. Koch. 



Mr. G. A. Keartland called attention to a very old male 

 Grey-backed Goshawk, Astiir clams, which had lost the barred 

 markings on the breast. This specimen was difficult to identify 

 on account of this fact, which is not recorded by either Gould 

 or Mathews, but is stated by North. 



PAPER READ. 



By Mr. J. Searle, entitled " Gleanings of a City Naturalist." 

 The paper, which dealt with the various insects, &c., which 



