﻿110 



numerous species of Eucalyptus, Banksia, and Casitarina have 

 a dried-up appearance, contrasting unfavourably with the rich 

 green of the leaves of the plants and trees from the temperate 

 regions of Europe, Asia, and North America. 



The visit to the Cactus House, which contains the finest 

 collection of these plants in the world, and exhibits every 

 form of the grotesque shapes characteristic of this peculiarly 

 American group, brought to a close a most instructive and 

 entertaining afternoon, and to Mr. Jenner Weir is due the 

 very best thanks of the Society for the kind and unselfish 

 manner in which he placed himself at our disposal, leaving 

 no object of interest unobserved. 



The Annual Fungus Foray was held on October 26th, at 

 Esher and Claremont ; but Mr. Step, who undertook to con- 

 duct us, informs me that it was an almost total failure, very 

 few of the members meeting on the occasion, and that those 

 who did go met with but little success. This was no doubt 

 owing to the lateness of the season, and the unfavourable 

 meteorological conditions of the previous week, several very 

 severe frosts having taken place, followed by heavy rains. 

 This was especially to be regretted as the Council purposely 

 appointed the meeting a fortnight later than it would other- 

 wise have been in hopes of having a fine show at our Exhi- 

 bition. The Hackney Microscopical Society held their hunt 

 on September 8th, and were rewarded with no less than 130 

 species. This, I think, clearly points to an error on our part, 

 and I would suggest that in future, if our Executive finds it 

 necessary to hold the Annual Exhibition as late as the last 

 day in October, it would be wise to have our hunt early in 

 September, and hold a Cryptogamic Exhibition by itself It 

 would then be possible for others of our members, whose 

 hands as well as heads are busily engaged in making our 

 Annual Exhibition a success, to join our mycological botanists 

 in the search for specimens. 



I do wish that it were possible to arouse more interest in 

 these field meetings. I fear that many of our members think 

 that we go out as mere holiday makers. I should like to 

 undeceive them on that point. We go as students of Nature, 

 anxious to penetrate deeply into the many and varied branches 

 of Natural History. Even our specialists who accompany 



