96 THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. 



PiMELEA SPATHULATA, Lab. — SoiTie Specimens of a Pimelea, 

 collected recently at Canadian, near Ballarat, seem to differ from 

 the normal form of P. spathiUata, and particulars may be of 

 interest. The white specimens differ in robustness of growth, 

 and though the relative hairiness of the calyx is used in the 

 " Key " to separate P. spathulata from P. collina and P. lini/olia, 

 their characters as a whole seem to refer them all to P. spathulata. 

 In the slenderer form there is a tendency to an increased number 

 of bracts, or a transition from the ordinary form of leaves to that 

 of the involucral bracts with the highest leaves closely appressed 

 to the bracts. This is also seen in the pink specimen. The 

 pink-flowered specimens seem almost without stamens, but traces 

 of imperfectly developed stamens can be found. — Thomas S. 

 Hart, School of Mines, Ballarat. loth October, 1903. 



The Butterfly Una agricola. — I notice that at the August 

 meeting of the Club there was some little discussion as to the 

 dates of appearance of the small blue butterfly, U'7ia agricola. As 

 Mr. Waterhouse consulted me on this point before the publication 

 of his " Revision," it is but right I sliould have something to say 

 on the subject. In Sydney I have found this species occur very 

 abundantly in October and November, but although I have 

 collected there for several years in March and April, I have never 

 come across it at that time of the year. This experience agrees 

 with that of Mr. Waterhouse — who has searched carefully for it 

 in the autumn in the same localities where he has captured 

 hundreds of specimens in the spring — and leads us to conclude 

 that, so far as Sydney is concerned, there is certainly no autumn 

 brood. I have taken U. agricola at Gisborne in November and 

 December, and at Oakleigh in November. It has been sent me 

 from Wandin (Nov.), Longford (30th Dec.) and Hobart, 

 Tasmania (Dec.) I have eighteen Victorian specimens in my 

 collection, each with its date label attached, and the latest is 

 30th December. I regard Mr. Kershaw's record of 30th 

 January as a late specimen of an especially late season, and until 

 specimens with autumn date labels attached are forthcoming I 

 think we may safely conclude that U. agricola is single-brooded 

 in Victoria as well as in New South Wales. The opportunity 

 should not be lost of impressing upon young collectors the 

 immense importance of attaching locality and date labels to each 

 insect at time of capture. Only so can one be certain of his 

 facts — if he trusts to memory he is sure to be sometimes misled ; 

 and moreover the value of a properly labelled collection is increased 

 fourfold. This discussion will, I hope, lead to careful watch 

 being kept in the field this season for the first and last appearance 

 of the butterfly in question. — Geo. Lyell. Gisborne, 29th 

 September, 1903. 



