NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY OF (JLASGOW. Ixxxv 



In I860 he was elected an Ordinary Member of the Natural 

 History Society of Glasgow; and in November, 1883, he was 

 appointed a Member of Council. From October, 1885, till April, 

 1888, he held the office of Vice-President, and frequently occupied 

 the chair at Meetings of the Society. Dinnng these five years Mr. 

 Dairon took an active interest in the affairs of the Society, and 

 rendered many important services to the Council. He was also 

 a Fellow of the Geological Society of London, and a Member of 

 the Geological Society of Glasgow. 



Of late years he had been accustomed to spend some months 

 annually at his country residence at Moffat ; and, in spite of 

 advancing age, he was in the habit of making long excursions 

 among the Dumfriesshire hills in the pursuit of his favourite 

 study. His temperament was essentially active, and this, com- 

 bined with a habit of steady perseverance, enabled him to over- 

 come apparent obstacles and attain well-merited success in almost 

 everything he undertook. His manner was distinguished by 

 plain simple honesty and kindness, which inspired the confidence 

 and respect of all who were acquainted with him. He is survived 

 by a family of two sons and two daughters. 



Mr. Steel also referred to the death of Mr. Archibald Robertson, 

 a former Member and Office-bearer of the Society. 



Mr. Hemy M'Cvilloch showed a Female Golden Eagle [Aquila 

 cJwysaetus, L.), recently shot in the Lochaber district, and kindly 

 lent by Mr. David Rennie, Commercial Bank, Gordon Street, for 

 exhibition to the Society. 



Mr. A. Somerville, B.Sc, F.L.S., exhibited specimens of 

 Isocardia cor, L., ti-awled off the coast of Aberdeenshire. 



Mr. D. A. Boyd showed specimens of MolUsia (Pseudopeziza) 

 cerastiorum (Wallr.) Phil., a Discomycete recently found by him 

 near Seamill, Ayrshire, and apparently new to the West of 

 Scotland. It grows on the leaves of Cerastlum triviale, Link, 

 and has been found by Mr. C. B. Plowright at King's Lynn, 

 and by Professor Trail at Udny, Aberdeenshire. 



A paper was read by Mr. Boyd on "The Vertical Distribution 

 of Plants in relation to Local Records." After referring to some 

 of the advantages of a systematic registration of localities for 

 plants, he stated that the two systems at pi'esent adopted foi" 

 that purpose were defective, in so far as they uid not make 

 any adequate provision for ascertaining the levels at which 

 plants appear or disappear in different parts of the countrj-, or 

 for observing the natural conditions i(soil, exposure, geological 

 formation, etc.) which influence the growth of plants in different 

 localities. Directions were given by which a veitical survey of 

 Scottish plants might be carried out on the basis of ])arallel 

 zones of altitude, ranging from sea-level to the tops of the highest 

 mountains. 



