Dublin Natural-History Society. 307 
the Committee appointed for the purpose of Exploring the Coasts of 
the Hebrides by means of the Dredge,” in almost every instance 
gives the habitat of the new genera and species described as “ Shet- 
land Isles!” a lapsus certainly calculated seriously to mislead those 
who do not refer to the original paper. We notice also, in this 
report on the Crustacea, constant references in cases where, on turn- 
ing to the original (e. g. to the papers of Goés, Heller, Sars, &c.), we 
find no information beyond that given by the Recorder, viz. the 
name and locality. Such references to the commonest of species, 
as “ Cancer pagurus (L.), Sars, 1. ¢. p. 10,” or-** Pagurus bernhardus 
(L.), Sars, J. c.; Sp. B., Brit. Assoc. Rep. 1865, p.52, and Ann. Nat. 
Hist. vol. xvii. p. 25,” are worse than useless, when, on turning to 
the original papers, we find nothing but the name. In dealing with 
catalogues it is surely the better plan to give a short abstract of 
results in a note following the title of the paper, mentioning the total 
number of species recorded, and adding the names of such as seem 
peculiarly interesting from the fact of our knowledge of their geo- 
graphical range being thus materially extended, or other circum- 
stances. In one case, “ Corophium bonell (Edw.), Heller, 0. c. p. 51,” 
we cannot find even the name; the species is not mentioned by 
Heller either on that page or in any other part of his work. 
PROCEEDINGS OF LEARNED SOCIETIES. 
DUBLIN NATURAL-HISTORY SOCIETY. 
The monthly meeting of this Society was held at the Royal Irish 
Academy, on Thursday the 5th of February, the Rev. Prof.O«Mahony, 
A.M., in the Chair. : 
Mr. Bradshaw read a paper “On the Habits of some Irish Birds.” 
Dr. Macalister read a paper ‘‘On the Myology of the Otter (Lutra 
vulgaris).” 
Mr. W. Andrews, M.R.I.A., Chairman of the Natural-History 
- Committee of the Royal Dublin Society, stated that he was anxious 
to have placed on record several species of rare Irish Sponges that had 
been noticed at the early meetings of the Society, but which had not 
been mentioned as Irish in Dr. Bowerbank’s recent work on British 
Spongiade. Very fine specimens of Grantia nivea of Johnston 
(Leuconia nivea, Bowerbank) were exhibited by Dr. Scouler, in May 
1844, obtained from Roundstone Bay, Connemara. The singularity 
of the species from that coast does not appear to have been noticed 
by Bowerbank, who gives no record of any Irish locality; by 
Thompson the name is merely given, “‘ west coast of Ireland, M‘Calla.” 
Dr. Scouler, at a meeting early in 1846, gave the characteristics of 
Halichondria hispida. This rare species had not been obtained since 
it was recorded by Montagu, in the Wernerian Transactions, as met 
with on the south coast of England,—this discovery being its first 
record as Irish, it not having been until then found since the time of 
