174 THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. 



Rene Martin, a French entomologist, for determination. A list 

 of the species was given, together with brief descriptions of the 

 habits and natural colours of many of the species, which will be 

 found very useful to future workers in this group. 



The president and Messrs. F. G. A. Barnard, A. D. Hardy, 

 and J. A. Kershaw discussed the paper. 



2. By Mr. J. A. Kershaw, F.E.S., entitled " Notes on the Paper 

 Argonauts." 



The author gave a rather lengthy account of the two species of 

 Argonauts which occur in Victorian waters, dealing more particu- 

 larly, however, with Argonauta nodosa, the species which has 

 recently appeared in large numbers in Port Phillip Bay. A 

 detailed account of their habits, distribution, &c., was given, 

 together with their principal distinguishing characters, and some 

 debatable points were mentioned, with a view to encouraging 

 further research. A brief description of the structure and distri- 

 bution of the Pearly Nautilus was also given. 



In the discussion which followed Mr. E. T. Stevens mentioned 

 an instance in which an animal, while confined in a small vessel 

 of water, deserted her shell and re-entered it again. 



The president and Messrs. F. G. A. Barnard, A. Coles, O. A. 

 Sayce, D. Le Souef and others also discussed the paper. 



3. By Messrs. S. A. Le Souef and H. BuUen, entitled " De- 

 scriptions of Some New Mallophaga from Marsupials " (communi- 

 cated by Mr. D. Le Souef, C.M.Z.S.) 



The authors described three species belonging to the genus 

 Boopia, while for a fourth species found on wallabies a new 

 genus, Latumcephalura, was founded. 



NATURAL HISTORY NOTES. 



Mr. H. E. Gatliff read some notes relating to some South 

 African birds' eggs which he had collected in the Transvaal, and 

 which he exhibited. Messrs. G. A. Keartland and R. Hall 

 discussed some of the points mentioned. 



The president, Mr. T. S. Hall, M.A., gave an interesting account 

 of his visit to Tasmania to attend the meeting of the Australasian 

 Association for the Advancement of Science. The meeting was a 

 successful one, though the number of papers read, especially in 

 biology, was much below the average. Members of the geo- 

 logical section made several short trips from Hobart, a large party 

 went to Port Cygnet, and after the session closed nearly thirty 

 members set out for the West Coast to see the scenery and inspect 

 the mines. Some of the party were, however, content to stay at 

 Wynyard to collect fossils at the Table Cape beds. The nature 

 of the country through which the excursionists passed was briefly 

 described, and the opposing shores of Tasmania and Victoria 

 were compared. 



