THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. 



Eggs of the Red-backed Kingfisher, Halajon jryrrhopygius. 

 Crested Wedge-bill, Sphenostoma cristaticm, Yellow-tinted 

 Smicrornis, S. Jlivesce7is, Black-backed Warbler, Malurus 

 melanosis, Banded Xerophila, A", pectoralis, Large Striated Wren, 

 Amytis macroiirus, Striated Wren, A. striatus, and several others 

 not yet identified, all from Central Australia. By Mrs. W. Martin. 

 — Two extra large old shells (Carris cornuta). 



The meeting terminated with the usual conversazione. 



EXCURSION TO WILSMERE. 



Those members of the Club who had made up their minds to 

 visit the picturescjuely situated pools at Wilsmere Park were 

 much disappointed when Saturday, i6th March, turned out 

 showery. However, the leaders and a small party met at the 

 Kew station at the appointed time, and after a walk of rather 

 more than a mile, during which shelter had to be taken from 

 another shower, the entrance to Wilsmere was reached, and work 

 soon commenced in earnest. Naturally, when banks, grass, 

 shrubs, &c., are wet and sloppy the conditions for pond-life 

 hunting are not the best, and consequently the party soon showed 

 signs of the nature of their occupation. Good spoil, however, 

 was obtained. The ponds abound in Entomostraca, water-mites, 

 water-boatmen, and many kinds of larvae. Amongst these was a 

 remarkable form having six disc-like gills on each side of the body. 

 Numerous quaint, transparent young shrimps attracted attention. 

 Sponges were found in great numbers ; almost every stick yielded 

 several. Many of these showed interesting phases of develop- 

 ment, numerous statoblasts or gemmules being present. Similarly 

 interesting re]iroductive stages were seen in several of the hydras 

 taken. Polyzoa were abundant, and can be obtained in one of 

 the ponds, growing on reeds, in an unusually clean condition, 

 suitable for mounting. A jar of weed and water, taken from the 

 first pond, supplied the greatest variety of microscopic objects. 

 The sessile forms of collared monads were noted, and especially 

 a Rhipidodendron which is very abundant at Wilsmere. It 

 closely resembles, if it is not identical with, the R. Huxleyi of 

 Saville Kent. This remarkable animalcule builds an elaborate 

 brown-coloured structure, branching densely like a tree. Each 

 branch, examined closely, is seen to consist of four parallel 

 tubes ; at the tips of these are the tiny zooids, which require a 

 very high power for their study. Ciliata were comparatively 

 scarce. One noted was the very odd-looking Trachelocerca olor ; 

 this has a neck as long as its name, and so flexible that its owner 

 could without any difficulty tie it in a knot. Many examples of 

 the tube-building Stenlor lioeselii were taken. This is dis- 



