58 THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. 



the representations of Mr. French, supported by the Council of 

 the Zoological Society. Mr. French also contributed two general 

 papers describing plants and insects met with in excursions near 

 Melbourne — a subject he is well able to deal with. A paper of a 

 similar character, relating to the district around Pyramid Hill, 

 contributed by the Mr. E. H. Hennell, appeared in the October 

 number of the Naturalist. Four papers have been read on ento- 

 mological subjects — one by Mr. Frost, on the bite of Latro- 

 dectus scelio ; one by Mr. G. Steele, on the Vegetable Caterpillar 

 of New Zealand ; one by Mr. James Lidgett, on the sagacity of 

 insects ; one by Mr. C. French, on the geographical distribution of 

 some Australian Buprestidfe. 



The botanical papers have not been so numerous as usual. 

 Mr. Tisdall has described Victorian fungs new to science. Mr. 

 G. P. Eckert has contributed an interesting note on spontaneous 

 periodic oscillation of Pterostylis mitchelli, var. rufa. The paper, 

 though short, is highly suggestive, and seems to open up a field 

 for further investigation. 



It is a matter, I think, for regret that geology still continues in 

 the background. One interesting paper on the geology of the 

 Moonee Ponds district was, however, read by Mr. T. S. Hall. 



New ground — if the expression be allowable — is broken in Mr. 

 J. Shephard's " An Afternoon's Pond Hunting," in which some 

 free-swimming and tube-building Rotifers are described. 



Baron von Mueller has continued to publish in the journal 

 descriptions of new Australian plants; these include two new 

 genera from tropical Australia, from Mt. Bartle Frere (the one 

 Haplostichanthus, of the order Anonacese, the other Schisto- 

 carpoea, of the order Rhamnacese); a new eucalypt (jE. bauerleni) 

 from the Sugarloaf Mt. ; a Thismia {rodioayi) from the Derwent 

 (Tasmania), remarkable as the only extra-tropical species of the 

 order (Burmaniacese) in the Eastern Hemisphere. 



Our annual wild flower show was held on the 6th October, and 

 the collections were so large that the table space was scarcely 

 adequate for their proper exhibition, and they formed, I think, a 

 completer exhibition of spring flowers, from all parts of the 

 colony, than has yet been shown, collections having been sent 

 from Gippsland, from the Wimraera, from the neighbourhood of 

 the Murray, and from the North-East, in addition to those from 

 the vicinity of Melbourne. No less than 115 genera were repre- 

 sented, comprising about 185 species. 



Turning now from the doings of the Club, I will very briefly 

 draw attention to a few other matters and publications of interest 

 to members as connected with Australian natural history. I 

 mentioned last year that our distinguished patron, Baron von 

 Mueller, had commenced the pubHcation of a series of descrip- 

 tive plates on the Salsolacese of Australia. Six numbers have now 



