THE VICTORIxVN NATURALIST. B7 



furnished me with the results of the meetings and excursions of 

 the club, and these results will form the main portion of what I 

 have to say. But before saying it I have to tell you, with a regret 

 which will be felt by all, that Mr. Best finds it impossible to give 

 lis his services as secretary any longer. Although we have been 

 able to secure a worthy successor in Mr. Barnard, I think we ought 

 not to part with Mr. Best in his capacity of secretary without 

 telling him that we have highly appreciated his services, and thank 

 him for them. Mr. Best tells us that — " During the past year 33 

 new members have been added, making a total, after allowing for 

 resignation^!, of about 170 members. The papers read have com- 

 prised nearly every branch of natural history. Botany has been 

 well represented by Messrs. W. R. Guilfoyle, director of the 

 Melhourne Botanic Gardens ; H. Watts, H. T. Tisdall, C. French, 

 D. Sullivan, and F. G. Barnard. Mr. Gujlfoyle has given a 

 pleasant account of a trip to the South Sea Islands, and of the 

 heautiful plants he there saw, especially of the ornamental foliaged 

 kinds, such as crotons, dracisnas, palms, &c. Mr. Watts, who is 

 so well known as a collector of algge, or more commonly known as 

 sea-weeds, and freshwater weeds, has described the results of trips 

 ho made to Macedon and Berwick in search of his favourites, of 

 which he found many species, at the first named being fortunate in 

 securing some oscillaria and gomphonema. He has also given the 

 results of a personal microscopical examination of the silt of the 

 River Yarra,' in Avhich he found specimens of Cristellai'ia, Rotalia, 

 and diatomacte, also one of campyiodiscus, this last being only 

 twice previously found near Melbourne — viz., by Dr. Coates, of 

 South Yarra — and then considered a new species ; and more 

 recently, when digging the drain for the West Melbourne swamp. 

 Mr Tisdall, whose residence is at Walhalla, has given an account 

 of the flora to be found in his district, and Mr. French, who has 

 so ably described the ferns of the colony, is now doing a like 

 pleasant and useful duty for that beautiful class of plants, the 

 ■ orchids . Mr. D. Sullivan., of Moyston, a frequent contributor to 

 the club, has furnished two additional papers, one being a supple- 

 ineutary list of the plants of his district, amongst them being a 

 new orchid found by him near the summit of Mount Difficult, and 

 named by Baron Von Mueller after the finder Caleva Sullivan i. and 

 the second a description of the Ranunculacea? of the Grampians . 

 Mr. F. G. Barnard has contributed a pleasant little paper entitled 

 " A Collecting Trip to the Dandenong Ranges," in which he 

 describes some of the plants and insects he there met with. 

 Oology has been done ample justice to by Mr. A. J. Campbell, 

 who has completed his description of Australian birds' eggs, and 

 has just published same in a separate volume, which may be con- 

 sidered the most complete extaiLt work on such a subject. Mr. 

 Campbell has also given an account of a collecting trip he made to 

 Tasmania, where he succeeded in securing a specimen of the rare 

 bird Acanthiza major. Entomology has also been well represented 



