THE 



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Vol. XII.— No. 7. OCTOBER, 1895. No. 143. 



FIELD NATURALISTS' CLUB OF VICTORIA. 



The ordinary monthly meeting of the Club was held at the Royal 

 Society's Hall on Monday evening, T4th October, 1895. The 

 president. Professor W. Baldwin Spencer, M.A., occupied the chair, 

 and about 80 members and visitors were present. 



REPORTS. 



The hon. secretary reported that the first meeting of a course 

 of practical meetings for systematic botany had been held on 

 Monday evening, 23rd September, when there was a good at- 

 tendance. Mr. C. A. Topp, M.A., LL.B., F.L.S., who had kindly 

 undertaken the duties of demonstrator, briefly pointed out the 

 main divisions of flowering plants, and then the distinguishing 

 features of several orders, such as Ranunculaceoe, Dilleniaceae, 

 Tremandrese, Myrtaceae, Leguminosae, specimens of each being 

 dissected by those present. 



A report of the excursion to Sandringham on 14th September 

 was received from the leader, Mr. C. French, F.L.S., who reported 

 a good attendance of members and an interesting afternoon spent 

 on the heath ground towards Cheltenham, which was almost a 

 mass of wild flowers, some 60 species of plants in flower being 

 collected, though nothing of any great rarity was obtained. 



ELECTION OP MEMBERS. 



On a ballot being taken, Messrs. S. VV. Jackson, G. Mowling, 

 D. Le Souiif, and Webb were duly elected members of the Club. 



PAPERS. 



I. By Mrs. W. Martin, entitled " Notes on Fertilizers." 



This paper referred to the parts played by fungi and earth- 

 worms in fertilizing or otherwise improving the soil for agricul- 

 tural purposes. 



In the discussion which followed. Professor Spencer, in referring 

 to the influence of earthworms in opening up the soil, questioned 

 whether, for example, the Giant Earthworm of Gippsland was of 

 especial use in this respect. He was rather of opinion that, as 

 had been suggested to be the case in Africa by Professor Drura- 

 mond, so in Australia, ants were of greater service than earth- 

 worms for the purpose. 



Mr. D. M'Alpine complimented the authoress on a very sugges- 



