CDc Uictorian n aturalist 



Vol. XXXVII.— No. 9. JANUARY 13, 1921. No. 445. 



FIELD NATURALISTS' CLUB OF VICTORIA. 



The ordinary monthly meeting was held at the Royal Society's 

 Hall on Monday evening, 13th December, 1920. 



The president, ]\Ir. J. (iabriel, occupied the chair, and about 

 sixty-five memliers and \nsitors were present. 



CORRESPONDENCE. 



From Mr. O. Romcke invating the president and members 

 to meet at his residence, " Norway," Woodstock-street, Canter- 

 bury, on Saturday afternoon, i8th inst., in order to inspect 

 (under the guidance of Mr. P. R. H. St. John) the Camberwell 

 City Council's plantation of Australian trees in an adjacent 

 reserve. The president said that, as time was short, the com- 

 mittee had already accepted the invitation, and he trusted 

 there would be good response to Mr. Romcke's invitation. 



F"rom Mrs. Helen Watts, thanking the Club for its expression 

 of sympathy in her bereavement, and inviting members to 

 inspect her late husband's collections of ferns, mosses, lichens, 

 &c. 



REPORTS. 



.\ report of th(> excursion to the Fitzroy Gardens on Satur- 

 day, ijth November, was given by the leader, Mr. J. Stick- 

 land, who stated that a number of pond-life enthusiasts had 

 spent a very interesting afternoon there. Thanks were due to 

 the curator for the facilities granted to investigate the ponds in 

 the different enclosures. The results showed that micro-fauna 

 and flora abounded, over fifty genera being represented. Special 

 mention might be made of Phacus longicaiidus, the spii'al form, 

 Eiiglcna s pi I'Ogyr a, and Ophrydiiim sessile. Mr. J. Searle, who 

 was interested principal!}' in the micro-fauna, noted the Crus- 

 taceans Bivckella asymdrica, B. oblonga, Cyclops australis, C. 

 leuckarti, Daphnia carinata, and CypHdopsis minna ; also an 

 uncommon capture, the cecaria stage of a fluke, probably of a 

 bird. The results of this excursion, and the one last year, 

 reported in the Naturalist for February last (xxxvi., p. 136), 

 show that the gardens can provide plenty of material for the 

 most ardent pond-hunter, while naturalists with other tastes 

 can also find items of interest in the exotic trees and plants 

 growing there. For instance, the fine specimen of the Maiden- 

 hair Tree, Gingko biloha, the sole representative of its genus, 

 family, and order, and the relic of a by-gone flora, is well worthy 

 of inspection. 



