l6 Field Ndtiini/ts/s' Cluh—Proceclinox [voi'xxx 



Vict. Nat. 

 IV. 



By Mr. J. Stickland. — Specimen of a laii' freshwatt i alfja. 

 Monostroma, sj).. from Burnley Quarries. 



By Mr. P. R. H. St. John. — Herbarium specimens of Tas- 

 manian trees and plants, collected by Mr. O. Romcke and 

 exhibited April, iqiy, including £Mcyy/)/fw Billardien', Spach., 

 I^atherwoocl, Hellior Gorge ; Aristoteliu pedtincularis. Hook.. 

 Cyathodes acerosa, R. Br.. Crimson-berried Heath. HyinenopJiyllum 

 rantm. R. Rr.. Rare Filmy Fern. Olcaria stelliilatn, De Cancl., 

 Phvllocludus rhovihoidalis. Rich.. Olery-topped Pine ; also 

 sjiecimen of timber. Trochocarpu disticha, S])reng., from ("luild- 

 ford Junction ; Eucalyptus amygdnlina, ha Billard.. Black 

 Pepj)ermint, typical form, from Burnie ; E. phlehophylla. Mignet, 

 Drooping or Weeping Gum. from Shefheld ; and. collected by 

 Mr. J. Overall. Sul])hur Creek, near Burnie. Blechnmn {Loniaria) 

 discolor, Forster, var. cristatum (var. no v.). Crested Fishbone 

 Fern, and Microcachrys tetraoona. Hook., Strawberry-fruited 

 Cypress. 



After the usual conversazione the meeting terminated. 



EXCURSION TO ALTOXA RAY. 

 To this excursion the Fates were kind. The afternoon of 

 Saturday, 20th January, was all that could be desired — cool 

 and pleasant, following a hot spell and thunderstorm. lVh)re- 

 over, the tide was favourable, for when, after the rather long 

 and tedious walk from North Williamstown. the party of 

 eleven members — field naturalists and Melbourne microscoi)ists 

 — reached the shore at Altona Bay. the tide was well on the 

 ebb. Conchologists and seekers after smaller fry were soon 

 busy, and several bottles of sand \\on\ the shallows, which 

 gave some promise of living foraminifera, were taken for home 

 examination. As far as the leader's results went these wen- 

 disappointing, as all the foraminifera — and they were numerous 

 — were apparently dead, probably through the collecting being 

 done amongst the too shallow pools, where the sun's rays liad 

 killed them. However, the sam])les of the sea water taken 

 yielded one of the most interesting sights i)ossible for the micro- 

 scopist to witness, for the water was crowded with the well- 

 named diatom. Bucillaria paradoxa, whose Inmches of rod-like 

 frustulcs were ever on the move, sliding over one another, first 

 towards one end and then to the other, and again folding u]) 

 into a bunch curvily twisted out of plane so as to resemble a 

 fan i)ivoted from near one end, with its ribs gliding out from 

 a centre. Samples of the tidal or brackish water taken from 

 the Kororoit Creek showed the same Bacillaria, but having 

 the tendency to "slow down." However, this featiu'e may 

 1)6 overlookerl in a imicellular body, though reprehensible in 

 higher life. We may ask, by the way. whether this peculiarity 



