68 Field Naturalists' Club— Proceedings . [^Aug^t'' 



Owl and Bright Light. — Mr. F. Wisewould told of an owl 

 which had flown with considerable force against a mosquito- 

 netted window at his country house, and remained fluttering 

 there for some time, and asked whether it was not an unusual 

 occurrence. Mr. G. A. Keartland said that the bird was 

 probably a Podargus or a White-throated Nightjar in pursuit 

 of moths, and had thus been led to the light, which it would 

 otherwise have avoided. He had often seen these birds pursue 

 moths close to a camp-fire in the bush. 



Mr. J. S. Kitson, by way of recording the recent excursion 

 to the Clifton Hill Quarry, drew attention to his exhibit of a 

 large series of specimens collected in the quarry at various 

 times. He said that on the recent visit the members had been 

 particularly interested in the bed of water-worn sand and gravel 

 exposed under a thickness of some ninety feet of basalt, in- 

 dicating that the molten material had filled up the bed of an 

 ancient river, and also in the pieces of charred wood found, 

 showing that trees had been growing on the river-banks at 

 the time. The quarry had been so fully described in other 

 excursion reports that it was not necessary to enter into 

 further details. 



The President called the attention of members to the forth- 

 coming conversazione and exhibition of wild flowers, fixed for 

 26th and 27th September, and said that, to make the display 

 a success, members should give early notice to the secretary 

 of what they proposed to exhibit, and commence at once on the 

 preparation of their exhibits. 



EXHIBITS. 



By Mr. R. W. Armitage, M.Sc. — Specimen of the twisted- 

 box; shell. Area tortuosa, from Townsville, North Queensland. 



By Mr. C. J. Gabriel. — Marine shells, Voluta ftdgetrum, from 

 South Australia, and V. rossiniana, from New Caledonia. 



By Mr. J. S. Kitson. — Minerals, &c., from Clifton Hill 

 Quarry, in illustration of excursion report. 



By Mr. P. R. H. St. John. — Dried specimens of Eucalyptus 

 amvgdalina, E. dives, and E. radia'a, in various stages, in 

 illustration of paper. 



After the usual conversazione the meeting terminated. 



CuT-woRM Moths. — In the Journal of Agriculture of Victoria 

 for July Mr. C. French, jun.. Acting Government Entomologist, 

 has an interesting article, entitled, " Insects Destructive to 

 Crops — Cut-worms," illustrated by coloured figures of seven 

 species, including the Bogong Moth, Agrotis spina, which in 

 some seasons appears in countless numbers. The life-histories 

 are traced, and remedies given for the destruction of the 

 caterpillars. 



