THE 



Victorian naturalist* 



Vol. VII.— No. 5. SEPTEMBER, 1890. No. 81. 



FIELD NATURALISTS' CLUB OF VICTORIA. 



The monthly meeting of the Club was held at the Royal 

 Society's Hall on Monday evening, nth August. 



In the absence of the President, Professor Spencer, one of the 

 vice-presidents, took the chair, and about fifty members and 

 visitors were present. 



The hon. librarian reported the following additions to the 

 library : — " Proceedings of the Royal Society of New South 

 Wales," vol. xxiii., part 2, from the society ; " Transactions of the 

 Royal Society of South Australia," vol. xiii., part 1, from the 

 society; "Journal of Pharmacy," July, 1890, from the society; 

 " Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences," Philadelphia, 

 1890, part 1, from the society ;" Transactions of the New Zea- 

 land Institute," vols. xxi. and xxii., from the society ; " Pro- 

 dromus of the Zoology of Victoria," decade xx., from the 

 Government ; " Wattles and Wattle Bark," by J. H. Maiden, 

 F.L.S., from the Government of New South Wales ; "Australian 

 Fungi," by M. C. Cooke, from Baron von Mueller. 



On a ballot being taken, Mr. J. W. Begg was elected a member 

 of the Club. 



The hon. secretary, Mr. D. Le Souef, read a report of the sub- 

 committee on the proposed excursion to the islands in Bass 

 Straits. 



Mr. F. G. A. Barnard drew attention to a letter in the August 

 number of the Victorian Naturalist, signed " Dacelo," and pointed 

 out that members had been invited to make suggestions as to the 

 programme of excursions, but had not taken advantage of the 

 invitation. 



A paper by Mr. T. S. Hall, M.A., entitled " Notes on the 

 Geology of the Moonee Ponds District," was then read. It dealt 

 principally with the physical geology of the district between the 

 Moonee Ponds racecourse and the Royal Park, and particularly 

 of a section in the railway cutting near the latter place, a diagram 

 of which was exhibited in illustration of the paper. 



Some discussion followed on the origin of the pliocene fossil- 

 iferous beds and the gold drifts of the same age, in which the 

 Rev. A. W. Cresswell, Mr. Dennant, and other members took 

 part. 



Mr. J. Shephard read a paper on " Pond Life," in which he 

 described captures made in an afternoon's pond hunting near 



