21 



Reigate, and Mr. A. S. Reid is still our delegate to the British i ssociation, but ovriDg to the lateness of 

 the meeting of deleprates this year, his report will be held over until next year. 



This year the excursions have again been almost a total failure. Scarcely anyone joined them, 

 and no meetings were held in the Beaney Institute on the following Tuesday eveniDgs. An exception, 

 however, was the excursion to Dover Colliery on August 31, when nearly thirty members met Captain 

 McDakin at Dover Harbour, and were conducted by him over Shakespeare's OifF to the Colliery Works. 

 On the way several interesting botanical sppcimens were secured and the special "geological features of 

 the strata were deecribed. At the Colliery the party was met by some of the officials, who conducted 

 the members over all the surface works, etc., and many were interested in watching the huge buckets 

 being hauled to the surface and emptied. The party returned by train to Dover and were most 

 hospitably entertained to tea at 12 Pencester Road by Mrs. McDakin, to whom, and to Captain Mc 

 Dakin. the thanks of the Society are due for a most enjoyable afternoon. 



Many of our members have again done good syptematic work, some of which is recorded iu this 

 volume. Mr. C Buckingham has again sent to the British Association a number of platinum photo- 

 graphs of the E.K. Nailbournes and also five prints showing the landslip at St. Marerarpt's Bay on 

 January 10, 1905; Mr F. C. Snell has written and published a very interesting book on natural history 

 photography and kindly presented a copy to our library. 



We are glad to be able to report that Mr. R Kearton's lecture at St. George's HaU on Dpcember 7 

 was a great *«uccess. The HaU was packed with a very interested audience, who listened with much 

 attention to Mr. Kearton, and your Committee feel justified in again engaging him to lecture daring 

 the coming session in a larger hall. 



We regret that even yet there are no facilities in Canterbury for evening classes in scientific 

 subjects. 



The Committee tender their warm thanks to ail those who kindly helped in any way to make the 

 evening meetings a success, and they trust that all members will exert themselves during the coming 

 winter for the general improvement and progress of the Society, and especially for ensuring a good 

 attendance at the public lectures, so that the lecturers may feel repaid and the Society gain additional 

 members. 



A. LANDER, Hon. Secretary. 



NOTES ON LEPIDOPTERA. 



It may be remembered by some of the readers of last year's report that the late Mr. A. U Battley 

 took a single specimen of Myelnphila cribella on the occasion of the Hothfield excursion in July, 1904, 

 which he recorded in his last note, observing that the !■ cality was a strantje one f-r this coast- 

 frequenting sppcies. He had just captured it when I tott him for the first time, which I am sorry to 

 say was to be the last, hearing with great regret of his death last April. 



Failing to find more of the moth on two or three subsequent visits to the Common, I began 

 searching tor the larva early in the epring. In this I was soon succepsful, and was on the point of 

 writing to Mr. Battley to let him know, when the sad information reached me that h** was no more. 

 A particular interest attaches to this insect, as having no Onopordun acanthium (vhich the larva 

 usually feeds on) growing near here, it seemed uselnes to look for it, especially as the m»th had not 

 been seen in the di&trict before. Now we can find the larva in several places round thp town, indeed 

 almost anywhere on drift sand, if the common spear thistles {Cnicus lanceolatus) arp \- ft undisturbed, 

 for it is in the stems of this that the larva feeds and paf ses the winter, in this neighbourhcd. They 

 are already mere than half-grown, as I noticed a few days since. The furthest west it has been met 

 with so far, was a little beyond Lenham, and probably it could be found much further up the county 

 in likely places. 



Noticing some fine growing plants of Litho sperm um officinale on a bank near Westwell in June, 

 a note was made to search the plant in August for the laiva of Anesychia decemguttella. This was 

 done, and a number of the gaily -coloured larvse were found and foi warded to a friend who does not 

 get the plant in his neighbourhood. The much larger and handsome moth Plvsia moneta s*>ems to be 

 getting commoner in Kent. Mr. C. Vigyers, of this town, had over twenty cococ-ns gent him by a 

 friend, from Wrotham, this summer, found as usual on the leaves of Aconitum napeUus. 



Of plants met with this year, the most interesting to me was Dentaria b-ulhfera found near 

 Goudburst, 



The late Mr. John Marten (another whose loss we have to chronicle) recorded in the last report 

 the finding of Polygala austriaca at Bredhurst in May 1904. This year I found it in an unrecorded 

 locality near WesEwtU. 



W. R. JEFFREY (Ashford). 



September, 1905. 



