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Vol. XIII.— No. 5. AUGUST, 1896. No. 153. 



(PUBLISHED SEPTEMBER 10, 1S96.) 



FIELD NATURALISTS' CLUB OF VICTORIA. 



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

 Society's Hall on Monday evening, ioth August, 1896. The 

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

 and some 60 members and visitors were present. 



REPORTS. 



A report of the excursion to Sandringham on Saturday, 18th 

 July, was read by the leader, Mr. C. French, jun., who stated that 

 a fairly successful outing was experienced, the most notable plants 

 found in flower being Pterostylis vittata, P. longifolia, and 

 Eriochilus autumnalis (the usual flowering season of this orchid 

 being April and May). The curious little plant, Phylloglossviii 

 Drummondi, was noted in fruit. 



The lion, secretary read a report of the practical meeting held 

 on Monday evening, 27th July, when Mr. J. Shephard gave a 

 demonstration of botanical section cutting and staining to a 

 fair attendance of members. Sections of stems of the Wattle, 

 Sheoak, and other native plants were prepared and stained, 

 attention being drawn to the interesting differential staining 

 effects produced. 



PAPERS. 



1. By Mr. H. T. Tisdall, entitled " Under Eastern Baw-Baw." 

 The author gave an interesting account of a recent collecting 



trip in the Walhalla district. His search was principally directed 

 to the cryptogamic flora, and a large number of species of 

 fungi were obtained. The paper was illustrated with coloured 

 drawings by the author. 



Some remarks on the paper were made by Messrs. J. G. 

 Luehmann and D. Best. 



2. By Mr. R. Hall, entitled " Box Hill Birds in July, 1896." 

 The author, in a series of interesting notes, dealt principally 



with the effect of an early spring on the avi-fauna of the district. 

 Some reference was made to the question of the transitional 

 changes of plumage in the male of the Superb Warbler (Blue 

 Wren), Malurus cyaneus, Lath., and a series of skins obtained in 

 different seasons during several years was exhibited. 



The president, Messrs. C. Frost, A. Coles, G. Coghill, and 

 others took part in the discussion which ensued. 



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