8 



beyond a doubt that these birds breed in the colony, they having previously 

 been looked upon as mere casual visitors. 



Eeferring to the crustaceans presented (Nos. 9 and 10), Mr. M. AUport 

 stated that his specimen was picked up alive on the beach at Adventure 

 Bay. At first the animal kept itself so pertinaciously within the clear 

 gelatinous cylinder (resembling in shape a small barrel with the ends 

 knocked out), through which it could be distinctly seen moving about, 

 that he took this cylinder to be a part of the animal, probably some exten- 

 sion of the carapace, analagous to that found in the entomostraca, but 

 further observation showed that the enclosed crustacean was quite free 

 of its beautiful envelope, and that it readily protruded its head and 

 anterior limbs from either aperture. The envelope might be the empty 

 case of one of the Salpse, a family of floating molluscs, many genera of 

 which are common round our coast, and the crustacean either took up its 

 temporary residence in the already empty case or, as is most probable, had 

 first devoured the softer parts of the mollusc and was on the look out for 

 a second victim. Having preserved the specimen, Mr. Allport showed it 

 some time after to a lady (Miss Edwards), who immediately recognised 

 it as identical with one caught by her in a floating dredge on the voyage 

 from England several years before, and which she had preserved. In 

 order to demonstrate that the crustacean in the first specimen had not 

 chosen its crystal-like home by mere chance, but as a part of the regular 

 economy of this curious animal. Miss Edwards had kindly presented her 

 duplicate specimen to the Museum. 



Mr. Allport incidentally remarked that many of the Salpae from the 

 diaphanous nature of their outer covering, would form beautiful living 

 objects for low powers at one of the Society's microscopic meetings. 



Mr. Stephens, in bringing under special notice the fossils from Table 

 Cape, collected and presented to the Society by Mr. Hainsworth, gave a 

 lucid sketch of the geological formation of the portion of the northern 

 seaboard of the island, extending from the Tamar to Circular Head. He 

 then noticed in detail several of the specimens, and pointed out their 

 value in a pal^eontological point of view. Mr. Stephens also referred to 

 the great value which a more complete series would be to the Museum, 

 and was sanguine that Mr. Hainsworth would still pursue his labours in 

 the cause, and enrich the collection with specimens yet to be discovered. 



Mr. M. Allport called attention to a branch of Grum {Eucalyptus sp.), 

 kindly forwarded by Lady Dry, the leaves of which were coated with a 

 purple powder, resolving itself, under the microscope,into myriads of eggs 

 of some insect, now rapidly hatching, and probably belonging to the 

 Aphides. Under the low powers of the instrument the brilliant colours 

 of the egg-cases elicited much admiration. 



The Chairman (Mr. Allport) after the proposal of the vote of thanks 

 to the donors of presentations, and to Mr. Stephens, for his able remarks 

 on the geology of the North Coast, called the attention of the meeting to 

 one fact, that fixed the geological age of the raised beaches at Table Cape 

 at about the same as the Travertine of Geilston Bay, though one was of 

 marine, and the other of fresh- water origin, viz., the presence in each of 

 bones of existing animals, as evinced by the Wallaby skeleton obtained 

 from the coast formation by Mr. Wm. Archer, and the bones of the 

 Dasyuri, Phalangistae, and Permales, obtained by himself from Geilston. 



After some conversational discussion, the thanks of the meeticg were 

 accorded to the donors of presentations, specially to Mr. Hainsworth for 

 his valuable contribution, and to Mr. Stephens for his interesting address. 



The meeting then terminated. 



