THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. 59 



OBITUARIT NOTICE. 



We deeply regret to hare to record the death of Mr. James 

 F. Bailey, our librarian, and one of the most prominent 

 members of the Field Club, at the comparatiyely early age of 

 43. The loss to the colony of such an enthusiastic and 

 successful naturalist has been lamented in the public journals, 

 and a fitting tribute paid to his memory. The sciences to 

 which he devoted himself more particularly were palaeontology 

 and conehology. These he followed with an eagerness and 

 energy all his own, and with signal success. He had probably 

 a more complete practical knowlege of the Victorian Mollusca 

 — both inland and marine — than any other worker in the 

 colony. Many of the fine fossil specimens in our ITational 

 Museum were obtained by him, and Professor M'Coy, in recog- 

 nition of his services, has dedicated to him a species of whale 

 whose ear and other bones Mr. Bailey discovered near Mordi- 

 alloc. He maintained an extensive correspondence with 

 naturalists of note in Sydney and Adelaide, and his work was 

 recognised not only in the Australian colonies, but also in 

 England and on the continent. His death was doubtless 

 caused by the effects of exp'>sure whilst recently working a 

 newly discovered fossiliferous deposit on the coast near 

 Frankston. The members of the Club will especially feel the 

 loss of so diligent a worker, who was able and willing to 

 exhibit so' liberally objects of interest at our conversaziones, 

 and at all times ready to afford valuable information on shells 

 and fossils. 



ORCHIDE^ OF VICTORIA. 



By C. Fkench, Government Botanist's Department. (4th Paper. 



Thelymitra (Forster.) 



Sepals and pet-als all nearly equal and spreading, column 

 ■erect, rather short, very broadly winged, anther erect or bent 

 forward between the lateral lobes, or under the hootl, pollen masses 

 •graimlar, without any, or with a small caudicle, terrestrial herbs 

 glabrous, or very rarely pubescent on the leaf sheaths, with ovoid 

 iinderground tulsers, leaf solitary, usually with rather long sheath, 

 the lamina linear, lanceolate; or rarely almost ovate, often thick, 

 ■empty bracts 1 or 2 along the stem, flowers usually several in a 

 terminal raceme, sometimes reduced to 1 or 2, blue, purple, red or 

 yellow, occasionally with white vaz'ietics. 



