258 PROCEEDINGS OF THE 



meetings and excursions of the season — chiefly botanical — and 

 giving summaries of the various papers read. 



At the second meetiDg, also in October, Mr. R. J. Bennett gave 

 us his annual "Apiarian Notes," for 1880, and Mr. A. S. Wilson 

 read a paper " On Mimicry, or Protective Resemblances among 

 Animals," a subject of vast interest, as has been abundantly shewn 

 by the writings of the greatest naturalist of the age — the late Dr. 

 Charles Darwin. 



At the November meeting, Mr. C. W. Arnott Stewart con- 

 tributed an interesting account of the habits of the Australian 

 Lyre-bird. Prof. J. Cleland described a collection of Human 

 Skulls from Calcutta, while our valued Secretary, Mr. J. M. 

 Campbell, gave us a record of the occurrence of the White-beaked 

 Dolphin, near the Bell Rock, in September, 1880. 



At the December meeting, the exhibition of the Indian Human 

 Skulls at the previous meeting was now supplemented by an 

 elaborate paper on the subject by Prof. Cleland. 



At the January (1881) meeting, Mr. John Young read a paper 

 upon the genus Synocladia, a Carboniferous polyzoon, and described 

 a new species ; Mr. D. M'Lellan gave us his Annual Report on the 

 state of the Public Parks, with Meteorological Observations for 

 1880 ; and Mr. Thomas King gave a practical exposition of the 

 Structure of an Orange. Mr. Thomas Southwell, F.Z.S., correspond- 

 ing member, contributed a paper " On the Natural History of the 

 Cetacea," while I, myself, read " Ornithological Notes for 1880-81." 



At the February Meeting, Mr. T. Southwell gave us a record of 

 the occurrence of the Atlantic Right- Whale on the east coast of 

 Scotland. 



At the March meeting the papers read were " On some of the 

 rarer plants found in the neighbourhood of Greenock," by Mr. 

 Thos. Scott; "A contribution to the study of the British Carbo- 

 niferous Chitonidae," by our valued corresponding member, Mr. 

 Robert Etheridge, jun., and an amusing essay, "On the Study 

 of Ornithology," by Mr. James C. Christie, which gave occasion 

 for a somewhat animated discussion on cruelty to animals. 



At the last meeting of this, the thirtieth session, in April, papers 

 read were " On St. Abbs Head and its Bird Life," by myself ; "On 

 the Birds of the East of Sutherland," by our newly-elected Life 

 Member, and well-known ornithologist - Mr. T. E. Buckley; and 

 " On the Mammalia of North-west Perthshire," by Mr. Wm. Horn. 



