NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY OF GLASGOW. Iv 



Mr. W. Craibe Angus exhibited a partial albino example of 

 the Blackbird, Turdiis ruerula, L., having the head and neck 

 white. He also showed a beautiful specimen of the Albatross, 

 Diomedea exulans, which had been brought to this country pre- 

 served in ice, and had therefore the appearance of having only- 

 very recently been killed. Although stuffed specimens are 

 common enough, this is probably the first time the bird has 

 been seen here in the flesh. The wings measured from tip to 

 tip nine feet, but the plumage seemed to indicate that the bird 

 was not quite fully grown. 



Dr. James Stirton, F.L.S., President, exhibited specimens of 

 Ruscus racemosus from Algiers, and remarked that the shrub 

 is said to have furnished the laurel -wreaths of ancient Rome. 



Mr. James Barrie Low, M.A., exhibited a specimen of Tooth- 

 wort, Lathrcea squamaria, from Cotherstone, near Darlington. 



Mr. Thomas King showed a portion of a root of an elm-tree 

 from the banks of a stream near Glasgow. The soil having 

 been washed away by the water, the exposed root ultimately 

 developed leaf-buds, like a branch — a remarkable instance 

 of functional change under altered conditions. 



Mr. James J. F. X. King exhibited specimens of Bactra 

 furfurana, Haw., which he had found in great abundance near 

 Kilchurn Castle, Loch Awe; and Pmdisca ophthalinicana\ 

 Hub., from Cadder Wilderness, showing considerable departure 

 from the typical markings of the species. The ground colour 

 of the fore-wings was white, with a sprinkling of black and 

 ochre scales along the costal margin, which left in prominence 

 the spot on the dorsal margin near the base, and the ochre 

 spot near the anal angle. 



9th June, 1885. 



Mr. Thomas King in the Chair. 



Mr. D. A. Boyd reported on an excursion made to Dairy on 

 6th inst. The day was all that could be desired ; and as the 

 district was new to most of the members present, the excursion 

 proved most enjoyable. Under the able leadership of Mr. John 

 Smith, Kilwinning, Corresponding Member, the party proceeded 

 along the old road from Dairy to Fairlie for several miles, 

 returning by the valley of the Caaf. Vegetation was found to 

 have made great progress since last excursion, and the mild 

 weather had brought many of the summer flowers into full 

 bloom. The highly fossiliferous limestone, for which the district 

 is so well known to geologists, afforded some interest to the 

 party; and visits were made to several exposed faces of the 

 rock where an examination could more easily be made of the 

 records of old-world life which the rocks so amply display. 



