130 THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. 



and exhibited a large number of specimens of the various 

 types. 



Some interesting notes on the recent locust plague from 

 country correspondents were read by Mr. F. G. A. Barnard, who 

 exhibited specimens of the female locusts and their eggs, 

 together with young locusts recently hatched, which were only 

 about an eighth of an inch long. 



Mr. Lucas commiented on the season as one remarkably favour- 

 able to insect life, as, in addition to the locust plague, the 

 common sorts of moths and beetles had appeared in much 

 larger numbers than usual, w^hile the larvae of some of the moths 

 (the silver Y and carpet moths, according to Mr. Spry) had 

 been a great nuisance in the gardens, attacking even the flowers 

 of pelargoniums, dahlias, etc. 



The following were the principal exhibits of the evening: — 

 By Mr. F. G. A. Barnard, Victorian coleoptera recently collected; 

 by Mr. D. Best, coleoptera recently collected at Yarragon ; by 

 Mr. A. J. Campbell, egg of Queen Victoria's rifle-bird (F/iloris 

 Victoria) — the first authenticated specimen yet discovered — a pair 

 of the wdiite-faced storm petrel's {Procellaria frigata) eggs from 

 the north-west coast of Tasmania — the first recorded instance 

 of that bird having been found in Tasmania — and a pair of 

 diving petrel's {Pelecanoides urenatrix) eggs from Bass' Straits,, 

 new to science ; by Mr. G. Coghill, thirty-two specimens of 

 dried plants, grasses, etc., collected during the Phillip Island 

 excursion ; by Mr. A. Coles, a pair of silvery-backed butcher- 

 birds ; by Mr. E. M. Cornwall, a pair of red-tailed tropic-birds 

 {Ph(2ton riihricunda) ; by Mr. E. A. Dombrain, twelve species 

 of Australian birds, also specimens of dried quandong fruits and 

 seeds ; by Mr. T. A. Forbes-Leith, a female satin bower-bird 

 {^Ptilonorhynchiis holosericeus) with singular plumage — viz., green 

 crown, and red patch on back of neck — tongues of the New 

 Zealand parson-bird and of the porcupine ant-eater i by Mr. C. 

 French, F.L.S., a copper-headed snake {Hoplocephalus superbus) 

 from Phillip Island ; by Master H. C. Grover, a New Zealand 

 rail ; by Mr. E. H. Hennell, small green caterpillars at present 

 very destructive in gardens, with pupa and imago of same ; by 

 Masters G. and H. Hill, beetles, butterflies, and birds' eggs ; by 

 Mr. H. W. Hunt, nests in illustration of paper; by Mr. H. 

 Kennon, thirty mineralogical specimens ; by Mr. S. Lamble, 

 sandstone, with impressions of fossils, from Heathcote ; by Mr. 

 D. Le Souef, three lowan's eggs, and a live stump-tailed lizard ; 

 by Baron von Mueller, K.C.M G., a rare Victorian orchid (Biuris 

 alba) from Upper Murray District ; by Master H. F. Soward, 

 a whip-snake and centipede ; by Mr. F. Wisewould, agate 

 cornelian, from Lake Sorrell, Tasmania. 



After the usual conversazione the meeting terminated. 



