THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. 175 



lathami, had recently been hatched out at the Zoological 

 Gardens, Melbourne. 



Mr. T. S. Hart, M.A., mentioned that he had found this season 

 a plant of Clematis aristata with both white and coloured 

 flowers. 



EXHIBITS. 



By Mr. A. Coles. — European Hedgehog. 



By Mr. C. French, jun. — Specimens of wood of Eucalyptus 

 melliodora, showing ravages caused by longicorn beetles, 

 Phoracantha fallax, from Gembrook, Victoria. 



By Mr. C. J. Gabriel. — Shells, Magilus antiquus, from 

 Mauritius. 



By Mr. R. Hall. — Birds in illustration of his paper. 



By Mr. T. S. Hart, M.A. — Mineralogical specimens in 

 illustration of his paper. 



By Mr. H. W. Whitney. — Wild fruits and seeds from Nyassa 

 and Angoni Land, British Central Africa. 



After the usual conversazione the meeting terminated. 



EXCURSION TO FRANKSTON. 

 The morning of Cup Day, Tuesday, 6th November, was not at 

 all promising, as there had been a considerable amount of rain 

 during the previous night, so that the small attendance on this 

 excursion was perhaps excusable. However, on arrival at 

 Frankston the weather improved, and an enjoyable outing 

 resulted. Striking across the recreation ground towards Mt. 

 Eliza the whole country was found to be a perfect flower garden, 

 in which Leptospermum scoparium and Ricinocarpus pinifolius 

 were conspicuous by their dazzling white flowers, while Melaleuca 

 squarrosa scented the air with its rich honey-like perfume. A few 

 insects of the commoner kinds were obtained by shaking. 

 Crossing over some low-lying ground towards the cemetery the 

 pretty Utricularia dichotoma, Candollea calcaratum, Comesperma 

 ericinum, and other plants were seen at their best. Many years 

 ago the beautiful pink orchid Spiranthes australis was to be 

 found in this locality, but improvements have resulted in its 

 disappearance. The singular plant Drosera binata grows here- 

 abouts, along with that curious fern Schizea fistulosa. Polypom- 

 pholyx tenella, Sebcea albidijlora, Drosera pygmcea, and D. 

 glanduligera grew in abundance wherever there was permanent 

 moisture. As the clouds dispersed and the sun increased its 

 warmth many Lepidoptera and other insects made their appear- 

 ance on the wing, and proved difficult of capture. The cemetery 

 contains a good variety of trees and shrubs, and we expected to 

 find several good things there, but were disappointed. However, 

 a number of larvse, spiders, &c, were shaken from the bushes. 



