312 The Irish Natn7'alist. [Dec, 



the most part escape uninjured the knives of the lawn-mower, 

 so that this fragrant and most beautiful of British Plantains 

 may survive. Mr. Praeger some years ago met with it on the 

 Curran of Larne, where it has since been sought for, but it 

 seems entirely to have disappeared from that locality. 



PROCEEDINGS OF IRISH SOCIETIES. 



ROYAI, ZoOIvOGICAI^ SOCIE'TY. 



Recent donatioUvS include five crocodiles, a lizard, and a tortoise from 

 Dr. E. G. Fenton ; a hawk from R. H. M. Orpen, Esq. ; a pair of Japanese 

 Doves from J. B. O'Callaghan, Esq. ; a Muscov}^ Duck from Mrs. Harford ; 

 three lylamas from J. Nelson, Esq. ; a Hedgehog from W. C, Pim-Evans, 

 Esq. ; an Otter from J. Clibborn, Esq. ; and a pair of Fantail Pigeons 

 from Miss O'Farrell. 



7,623 persons visited the Gardens in October, 



DUBI,IN MlCROSCOPIC.\I.Cl.UB. 



October 15.— The Club met at the house of Dr. R. F. Scharff. 



Prof G. A. J. C01.F exhibited sections, accompanied by specimens, of 

 the junctions of diverse igneous rocks at Oritor Quarry, Co. Tyrone. 

 Considerable mingling of highly silicated and basic rocks seems to have 

 occurred, but it is difficult to determine what the original types were. The 

 highly silicated rock consists, when found in clean veins, almost entirely 

 of a felspar, sometimes showing microcline-twinning, and these veins 

 graduate into a true granite. 



Prof T. Johnson exhibited preparations oi Prasiola stipitata, Suhr., a 

 green alga which is of interest in that it is generally regarded as a 

 connecting link between the green algse ( ^^/■t/ac^^, &c.) and the Bangiacece, 

 a group of red algae. Reference to the tetraspores, oospheres and 

 spermatia of various authors was made. The material was gathered in 

 March last, by a sea- weed party of the Dublin Naturalists' Field Club, at 

 half-tide on the coast north of Skerries- The only previous record of 

 the species as Irish is in Jessen's monograph of Pi-asiula : — ' Specimina 

 Hibernica nominis Ulvae furfuraceae inscripta in collectione Binderi 

 asservantur.' The preparations and illustrations shown were due to 

 Miss Knowles. 



Mr. C H. Carpenter showed Onesinda viimitissima, Cb., a spider of the 

 family TheridiidcE, discovered at Ardara, Co. Donegal, by Rev. W. J. 

 Johnson, and new to the Irish fauna. It does not seem to have yet been 

 observed out of the British Islands, but has occurred both in England 

 (Dorset), and in Scotland (Balmoral). It is perhaps the smallest spider 



