PKOCEEDINGS. O 



Dr. Rkid mentioned that the Skunk (Mephitis chinga) was very nunaerous in the 

 Red River and Lake Winnipeg valleys, and in the vicinity of the town of Winnipeg- 

 The Indians used it as food, and the camps smelt strongly of the animal, as the skins 

 were hung about the wigwams, and the meat often boiling in the pots. He related an 

 incident in connection with the habits of the Skunk, which took place at an encamp- 

 ment where he was staying. One of these animals, during night, came into the camp, 

 and being suddenly surprised, voided its offensive fluid into one of the cooking pots in 

 which was a mess of pork and beans ready for the next day's meal, which was thereby 

 rendered uneatable, and he and his friends had to fast in consequence. The Indians 

 did not consider the fluid poisonous. The skunk frequented the traps set for minks, 

 and ate the bait. He had not observed the Raccoon in the Red River or Winnipeg dis- 

 tricts, and thought its existence there was doubtful. 



The President read a short paper " On some of the rarer birds of Nova Scotia," 

 giving notices of the occurrence of the Great American White Egret (Ardea alba), King 

 Eider {Anas spectabilis), Curlew Sandpiper ( Tringa subarquata), Pectoral Sandpiper ( T. 

 peetoralis), Schinzs Sandpiper (T. Schinzi), and others. (See Transactions.) 



Dr. Reid remarked that from observations he had made in regard to the migration 

 of birds in North America, he was inclined to believe that the birds arriving from the 

 south in Spring followed the receding snow to the northward, and so worked their way 

 up to their usual breeding places. He considered that currents of wind in mid-air, in 

 which migratory birds were occasionally caught, conveyed them with a rapidity far 

 greater than that of their usual flight, and instanced the case of a balloon voyage that 

 had been made a few years ago between St. Louis, on the Mississippi, and Canada, 

 when, although there was no gale on the surface of the country, the voyagers had been 

 blown on a current at the rate of 60 miles an hour. 



Mr. W. C SiLVEK had noticed, at the time of the autumnal migration, that at least 

 three or four distinct species of birds intermixed and travelled in company. 



Okdinakt Meeting, May 11, 1868. 

 J. M. Jones, President, in the Chair. 



Mr. F. Allison read a paper entitled " Meteorological Observations and Periodic 

 Phenomena for 1867." {See Transactions.) 



The Rev. J. Ambrose read a paper, which was a continuation of his " Observations 

 on the Fishes of St. Margaret's Bay." (See Transactions.) 



At the close of the proceedings. Dr. J. B. Gilpin moved a Resolution expressive of 

 the regret of the members of the Institute generally at the departure from the Province 

 of Mr. Andrew Downs, whose name as an ornithologist was not only familiar to all 

 Nova Scotians, but likewise favorably known to science abroad. It was seconded by 

 the President, who, in congratulating Mr. Downs upon his well-deserved and suit- 

 able appointment in the United States, expressed a hope, that although the Province 

 and the Institute would greatly feel his loss, he would gain in his new home that respect 

 and esteem to which his well-known talent as a naturalist, and his kindly disposition as 

 a man, so well entitled him. 



