iv Journal of Proceedings. 



all the \'illages round. It is a shy bird, and does not appear until forced 

 by hunger." 



Mr. English said that, in his opinion, the great habitat of the Hawfinch 

 in Essex was Epping Forest. He had seen flocks of two hundred to 

 three hundred at one time. They fed principally upon the seeds of the 

 hornbeam {Carpinm), and in winters hke the present, when hornbeam- 

 seeds were scanty and the weather very severe, they spread over the 

 country to villages and gardens in search of food. 



Mr. H. J. Barnes said that a friend of his had a living specimen of the 

 Hawfinch caught during the late frost, in Victoria Park, South Haclmey. 



Mr. W. White read a paper entitled, " Is Vanessa polycMows the 

 prototype of V. JJrticm ? A query suggested by the aberrant form of a 

 specimen of V. UrticcB oi polychloros type" [Transactions, ii., 1]. Mr. 

 V/hite exhibited specimens in illustration of his paper, and the President 

 also brought up some British and foreign species of the genus Vanessa, 

 for the purpose of emphasizing some critical and extended observations 

 upon Mr. White's essay. 



Professor Boulger gave a careful and lengthy exposition of his views on 

 that difficult question, "The Evolution of Fruits" [Transactions, ii., 8], 

 illustrating his observations by specimens and drawings on the black- 

 board. 



Hearty votes of thanks were passed to Mr. White and to Prof. Boulger 

 for their communications. 



At the Conversazione Mr. C. Oldham exhibited a series of crag-fossils 

 from Walton-on-the-Naze, Essex, and a white aberration of the Hedge- 

 Sparrow {Accentor modularis) from Wlsbeach St. Mary's, Cambridgeshire. 



Saturday, March 26th, 1881. — Ordinary Meeting. 



The fourteenth Ordinary Meeting was held at the head- quarters at 

 seven o'clock, the President in the chair. 



Donations of books and pamiDlilets (exclusive of exchanges with various 

 Societies) were announced from Mr. B. G. Cole (2 vols.), Mr. W. H. Dalton, 

 and Miss E. A. Ormerod, and thanks voted to the donors. 



Mr. A. Lockyer announced that the Library and Museum had been 

 furnished, and that various gifts and aid had been afforded by Messrs. 

 P. Copland, A. Lockyer, and H. A. Cole. 



The following persons were elected members of the Club : — G. H. 

 Baxter, W. H. Biixl, F. Cory, M.D., L.K.C.P., F.R.G.S., &c., A.G.Challis, 

 W. H. Edinger, F. G. Harrison, Clermont Livingston, M.E.S., George 

 Perry, Mrs. Perry, Henry Spring, and A. J. Yorston. 



The President exhibited some specimens of the small destructive beetle, 

 Hylurgus piniperda, which had been sent to him for identification. They 

 had been confined in a glass tube fitted with a cork, and they had eaten 

 their way out into the open air, completely destroying the corlc. 



