142 Field Naturalists' Club — Proceedings. [v^'""xxxi. 



producing new growths of foliage was retarded and modified 

 by the absence of moisture in winter and early spring, and that 

 the energy of the plants became more fully developed later in 

 the flowering time. The early summer rains, too, may have 

 assisted materially in the present fine results. 



POSTPONEMENT OF PAPER. 



Owing to the report on the National Park (Wilson's Prom- 

 ontory) excursion, and the resulting discussion thereon, 

 occupying practically the whole of the evening, Mr. F. Chap- 

 man's paper, " Note on a Large Specimen of Conns dennanti," 

 was held over till the February meeting. 



NATURAL HISTORY NOTE. 



Mr. F. Wisewould stated that a pair of White-shafted Fan- 

 tails had constructed a nest and reared a brood in the im- 

 mediate vicinity of his residence at Upper Pakenham. The 

 birds were not molested in any way, and were always treated 

 with kindness and consideration. The resulting consequence 

 is that the two generations have now become perfect pests in 

 and about the house. The young are escorted into the 

 kitchen by the parent birds, placed on some convenient perch, 

 and there regaled with flies and other food, collected, very 

 often, at times most inconvenient to the inmates of the house. 

 It is absolutely impossible to read beside an open window, by 

 reason of the habit acquired by the birds of perching on one's 

 head or other convenient portion of the body. A short 

 time ago, whilst giving instructions to one of his employes 

 respectifig repairs to a portion of the front verandah, one of 

 the birds liad the bad taste to perch upon that worthy's 

 ui)turned nose. Recently his daughter, when preparing a 

 pudding in a basin, had to push one of the birds off the rim 

 to prevent it becoming mixed up in the batter. 



EXHIBITS. 



By Mr. J. W. Audas, F.L.S. — A hving specimen of the native 

 black snail, Paryphanta atramentaria, collected by the exhibitor 

 at Beenak, 31/12/14. 



By Mr. F. G. A. Barnard. — Specimens of flowers and fruit of 

 Banksia scrrata, L., from Wilson's Promontory. 



By Mr. F. Pitcher, on behalf of the Curator of the Melbourne 

 Botanic Gardens. — Flowering branchlets of A cacia elata, 

 Cunningham, Cedar Acacia, Acacia linearis, Sims, Narrow- 

 leaved Acacia, and Acacia prninosa, Cunningham. Frosty 

 Acacia. 



By Mr. A. L. Scott. — Specimens of copper ore, &c.. from Mount 

 Lyell, Tasmania. 



After the usual conversazione the meeting terminated. 



