Dec, 1908.] THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. 135 



but C. Patersoni was quite scarce. A few specimens of the 

 usual form of Caladenia carnea were seen, but the variety 

 possessing the musky odour occurred rather plentifully in 

 two forms — the one slender and single-flowered, the other more 

 robust, with, in some cases, as many as five flowers ; among 

 both forms were several with pure white flowers. Belated 

 specimens of Glossodia majoi\ Pterostylis cucullata, Diuris macu- 

 lata, and Thelymitra longifolia were also seen. Passing round 

 the reservoir Mazus pumilio, Rammculus 7'ivularis, and very 

 robust plants of Ejnlohlum glahellum were met with. During a 

 hurried visit to the lower part of the Jack's Creek valley Come- 

 sperma ericinum, Pultenoia Gunnii, Pimelea linifolia, and 

 Dampiera stricta were found, all in very good condition, and 

 there is no doubt that we would have fared much better had we 

 confined our attentions to this creek rather than the one we had 

 just before left. However, the Jack's Creek district is easier to 

 get at, and can be readily worked on some future occasion. 

 Altogether nearly loo species of plants were noted in bloom. All 

 of the dozen species of ferns seen were ordinary species, and do 

 not call for special mention." 



Notwithstanding the miserable train service on the Whittlesea 

 line, it is to be hoped another excursion will be put down at no 

 distant date for the Toorourrong district, for, having learned 

 something of the geography of the locality, and with *' Wildwood " 

 so convenient for headquarters, we feel sure there yet must be 

 some interesting collecting to be done on the southern slopes of 

 Mt. Disappointment. — J. A. Kershaw. 



[Some interesting notes on the geology of the Whittlesea district, 

 with a map, will be found in a paper read by Mr. J. T. Jutson before 

 the Royal Society of Victoria, and recently published in its proceed- 

 ings (vol. xxi. (new series), part i., page 211). — Ed. Vict. Nat.^ 



A New Protozoon ? — The protozoon shown at the October 

 meeting of the Club alive under the microscope on the branchiae 

 of a living specimen of the crustacean Koonunga cursor, Sayce, 

 is one of the Tentaculifera or Suctoria. The Suctoria are 

 characterized by the possession of suckers or tentacles which 

 have the power of stunning or paralyzing and then holding fast 

 comparatively large infusorians which come in contact with them. 

 The protoplasmic contents of the prey then pass in a liquid 

 stream through the suckers into the body of the suctorian. These 

 minute creatures live epizoically on various marine and fresh- 

 water organisms. Lankester states that very frequently a 

 particular species is found on only one genus of host. It is 

 possible that the suctorian exhibited, which seems on examina- 

 tion to have affinities with both the genera Trichophrya and 

 Solenophrya, may be new to science. — R, W. Araiitage. 



