^jg^/^"'] Field Naturalists' Club — Proceedings. 83 



GENERAL BUSINESS. 



Mr. D. Best said he was pleased to see in the daily papers 

 that the Government had consented to support a Bird Protection 

 Court at the forthcoming exhibition, and asked if the Club 

 intended to assist in any way. 



The chairman said the Bird Observers' Club is organizing a 

 court, in order to show what birds should be protected, and 

 proposed distributing pamphlets illustrating the usefulness of 

 the various species. He thought the matter of financial assist- 

 ance might be left in the hands of the committee. 



PAPERS READ. 



1. By Mr. A. J. Kershaw, F.E.S., entitled ''Additions to the 

 Fish Fauna of Victoria " (No 4). 



The author recorded the recent capture in Corner Basin of a 

 large example of a pelagic fish, known as the Opah, Lampris 

 luna, Gmel., a rare species, which, he beheved, had not previously 

 been recorded from AustraHan waters. A description of the 

 specimen was given, which showed that it measured about 3 feet 

 4 inches in length and 2 feet 2 inches in its greatest depth. 

 The Opah, the author stated, is remarkable for its brilliant 

 colouration, rendering it, according to many authorities, one of 

 the most beautiful of the pelagic fishes. It attains a large size, 

 reaching to at least a total length of 4 feet, and its flesh, which 

 is stated to be red in colour, is considered excellent eating. The 

 species is widely distributed, being recorded from the British 

 coast, Mediterranean, and the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. 



2. By Mr. R. T. Baker, F.L.S. (communicated by Mr. P. R. 

 H. St. John), '' On a New Variety of Eucalyphis globulus 

 (E. globulus, var. St. Jolmi)." 



The paper, being a technical one, was taken as read. 



Mr. P. R. H. St. John said that he first discovered the tree 

 on the banks of the Lerderderg River, in the Bacchus Marsh 

 district, on 5th November, 1903, and had since visited the locality 

 several times, collecting material and making notes. There 

 were nine other species of eucalypts growing within a square 

 mile of the tree, and at least 100 trees of the new variety are 

 growing in the vicinity. 



3. By Mr. R. Kelly, entitled " Observations on the Functions 

 of Acacia Leaf-glands." 



The author referred to the paper by Mr. A. D. Hardy, F.L.S. , 

 on "The Distribution of the Leaf -glands in Some Victorian 

 Acacias," published in the Victorian Naturalist for June, 1912, 

 reading which had led him to seek some reasons for the presence 

 of the glands. He had, however, been unable to find any 

 authoritative reference to the so-called glands, and it seemed to 



