^°'™"^-] Field Naturalists' Cluh— Proceedings. 215 



Hedley had recently described a Victorian land-shell from 

 Smythe's Creek, Otway Ranges, as a new species, under the 

 name of Paryphanta compacta, and called attention to his 

 exhibit of specimens of the shell, together with the well-known 

 form P. atramentaria, Shuttleworth, for comparison. 



EXHIBITS. 



By Mr. F. G. A. Barnard. — Living specimen of Native Beech, 

 Fagus Cnnninghami, collected on Donna Buang excursion. 



By Mr. C. J. Gabriel. — A rare exotic cowry shell, Cyprcea 

 hidalgoi, Shaw = C. leiicostoma, Gask. ; also a new Victorian land- 

 shell, Paryphanta compacta, from Otway Ranges. 



By Professor Ewart, D.Sc. — Dried specimen of Calycotome 

 spinosa. Link., Spiny Broom, collected by Mr. C. French, jun., 

 on the cliffs at Mornington. A native of Spain, but now 

 apparently establishing itself in Victoria. 



By Mr. J. Searle. — Insects collected on Pakenham excursion. 



By Mr. P. R. H. St. John. — Carpological collection of Victorian 

 eucalypts (containing 64 species and varieties). 



By Mr. J. R. Tovey. — A variegated form of the Dense Rice- 

 flower, Pimelea phylicoides, Meiss., from Cheltenham. 



After the usual conversazione the meeting terminated. 



Little Water-Crake. — During the last Christmas holidays 

 numbers of the Little Water-Crake, Porzana palustris, Gld., 

 were breeding on a swamp near Lilydale. Years ago these 

 birds bred in the clumps of rushes at the St. Kilda end of the 

 Albert Park Lake, which was probably their nearest breeding- 

 ground to Melbourne since its occupation by white men. — 

 C. French, Jun. 19th January, 1912. 



A Plague of Beetles. — While on a visit to Somerville 

 during the recent spell of hot weather, I was surprised to see 

 the beetle Lagra grandis flying about simply in thousands. 

 They caused no end of annoyance by flying on your clothes 

 and crawling down your neck as you walked through the bush. 

 At the bases of the eucalypts there were masses of these beetles. 

 It was certainly the most wonderful sight I have ever seen in 

 the entomological line. My friend, Mr. George Shepherd, the 

 well-known ornithologist of Somerville, writing later, says : — 

 " The insects are always common here, but not in myriads 

 like this season. They were flying before the north wind in 

 swarms like bees, and lodging on the tree-trunks and then 

 clustering on the shady sides of the forest trees, where they 

 could be shovelled up. They have disappeared since the weather 

 changed." — C, French, Jun. 14th February, 1912. 



