66 Field Naturalists' Club — Proceedings [voVxxjciii 



and on the slopes of the valley visited by the excursionists was 

 due to the efforts of the late Dr. Biittner to establish a planta- 

 tion there with the view of extracting tannic acid from the 

 bark, which is extremely rich in that constituent. 



ELECTION OF .MEMBERS. 



On a ballot being taken, Miss M. Rowaitree, 55 Sutherland- 

 road, Armadale, and Mrs. W. Sache, 66 High-street, St. Kilda, 

 were unanimously elected as ordinary members of the Club. 



GENERAL BUSINESS. 



Annual Exhibition of Wild-Flowers. — The president 

 said that he had pleasure in annoimcing that the committee 

 had engaged the Town Hall, at a cost of ;^i6. for the Club's 

 annual exhibition of wild-flowers on Tuesday, 3rd October. 

 To ensure the show being worthy of the Club, and the object 

 for which it .was undertaken, it would be necessary for members 

 to accord the committee their whole-hearted support. As the 

 hall was a very large one, it would require a vast quantity of 

 wild-flowers for display purposes ; hence he would appeal to 

 members, collectively and individually, to interest themselves, 

 and their friends in the country districts, in securing as large 

 and varied collections of our flora as possible. To make pro- 

 vision for, and to deal with the floral tributes as they arrived, 

 in the few hours that were available before the opening of the 

 show, would be .a task of some magnitude. He would ask 

 all who could possibly give their services for the whole day on 

 the 3rd of October to hand in their names to the hon. secretary. 



Space would be provided for the display of specimens of 

 interest, and members desirous of contributing in this respect 

 would oblige by furnishing particulars of their exhibit and 

 the probable area it would occupy. 



LECTURETTE. 



By Mr. Chas. Daley, B.A., F.L.S., entitled " Alpine (iij^ps- 

 land." 



By means of a sketch map, the author briefly pointed out 

 the area of Gippsland, its physical features, geological struc- 

 ture, and some of the chief incidents relative to its exploration. 

 By reason of the ruggedness of its mountain ranges, the 

 exuberance of its vegetation, and the ab.sence of seaports, 

 Gippsland, in so far as settlement was concerned, was for many 

 years the Cinderella portion of the State. Of the pioneers 

 who toiled arduously and suffered privation in their efforts to 

 fathom the secrets of its remote recesses, two men stood out 

 with marked prominence. These were the late Dr. A. W. 

 Howitt, one of the greatest workers in the interests of science 



