34 The Irish Naturalist. February, 



shown on a separate slide. The species is evenly distributed in Ireland, 

 nowhere common, widely distributed in England, reported from the 

 Continent through the tropics and New Zealand. 



BELFAST NATURALISTS' FIELD CLUB. 



November 15. — The Prcsiticnt of the Club (R. J. Welch, M.R.I. A.) 

 read an address on " Facts about the Distribution of some Plants and 

 Animals." After some preliminary remarks, Mr. Welch said he felt he 

 could not do better than select for his subject some facts connected with 

 geographical distribution, with special reference to animals and plants 

 found in their own country. He would not confine himself, however, 

 entirely to the latter, but show some results obtained also abroad, and 

 here he might mention the fact that Ireland now was the most thoroughly 

 organised country in the world for scientific research in the field. To this 

 was due the fact that Irish workers had been enabled in recent years to 

 carry out such a number of carefully-conducted surveys in the less-known 

 corners of the coimtry, and were at present at work at the most complete 

 survey of an island area that had ever been attempted anywhere. He 

 referred to the survey of Clare Island, and the reports on that work were 

 mostly now well advanced. Some would be presented to the Royal Irish 

 Academy this winter, though a number of groups would not be finished 

 till next autumn. In this survey eight or nine of their members were 

 taking an active part, as some of them did in the Lambay survey, and 

 in all of the Triennial Conference work since 1895. Zoologists and 

 botanists making a special study of distribution now recognised that 

 island faunas and floras, especially large islands like Ireland, that had 

 been long detached from Continental areas, were especially useful in that 

 they were not so subject to keen competition as the Continent itself. 

 On the island areas the primitive characters lasted much longer, and 

 nowhere in recent years had this fact given rise to more discussion than 

 in connection with certain elements of the Irish fauna. Points had arisen 

 from time to time over specimens sent to specialists to report on as to 

 whether these were species not hitherto described or merely races differing 

 in a more or less marked way from those of Great Britain and the 

 Continent. A number of groups were under revision in Ireland at the 

 present time in connection with up-to-date geographical lists. In addition 

 to many published in recent years by the Royal Irish Academy, Irish 

 N aturalist, or in their own Proceedings, Mr. Balfour-Browne had in 

 hands a list of the Water-beetles ; Mr. Foster, the Woodlice ; Mr. Orr, 

 the Wasps and Wild Bees ; and Mr. Stelfox, a census of the Land and 

 Fresh- water Mollusca. It was from lists such as these that deep students 

 of geographical distribution, like Darwin or Wallace, got the detailed 

 information necessary for the preparation of such maps of distribution 

 as he would show them that night. It was, too, in such work, 

 steadily and accurately carried out, that a Club like theirs, though mainly 

 composed of amateur workers, could best help along the greater and 

 more complete work of the British Association, with which they had 

 long been in close connection, or the more national Irish work of the 

 Royal Irish Academy. In the slides which he was about to show them 



