850 



Ordinary Meeting, September 9, 1915. 



Walter Howchin, F.G.S., Member of Council, in the 

 chair. 



Nomination. — Alan P. Dodd, Kuranda, Northern 

 Queensland, was nominated as a Fellow. 



Exhibits. — Mr. Edwin Ashby exhibited the following 

 birds, collected by himself on June 12 last, at Woodford, in 

 the Blue Mountains, New South Wales : — Fycnoftilus f. 

 fioccosus, Gld. (Pilot Bird) ; a species keeping to the deep 

 gullies, running about amongst the ferns like a mouse, and 

 seldom using its wings. Pachycephala y. pectoralis, Lath. 

 (White-throated Thickhead) ; no males being seen, it is just 

 possible that this species in winter keeps lower down the 

 range. Eopsaltria a. australis, White (Yellow-breasted 

 Robin) ; these lovely birds, with their brilliant yellow breasts, 

 were very numerous and tame, especially on the tops of the 

 ridges, where it was more open. Origma solitaria, Lewin 

 (Rock Warbler) ; several of these interesting little birds were 

 seen running over the rocks ; they are confined to New South 

 Wales. Acanthorista t. tenuirostris, Lath. (Spinebill) ; the 

 commonest birds in the locality, gathering honey by means of 

 their long bills from the tubular flowers of Epacris and 

 Styphelias ; they have a very sweet song; for purpose of com- 

 parison specimens of the various subspecies from Tasmania,. 

 Victoria, South Australia, and Western Australia were 

 shown; also Acanthiza pusilla and Acanthiza lineata from the 

 same locality. He also exhibited two species of ferns in pots, 

 ■viz., Ofhioylossum lusitanicum, not vulgatum as recorded in 

 Tate's handbook; the frond with fructification resembles the 

 tongue of a serpent, whence its name, ''Adder's Tongue" ; the 

 other was an allied species, Botrychium ternatum (Moon-wort), 

 from near Sydney. Professor Osborn exhibited living speci- 

 mens of the fern Ophioglossum lusitanicum , collected at Mount 

 Breckan, Victor Harbour, and drew attention to its method 

 of vegetative reproduction, as shown in a series of specimens 

 with the root buds in various stages. Dr. Pulleine showed 

 benams (polished axes of greenstone used in the purchase of 

 canoes), adzes of Tridachna shell, and stone club-heads from 

 Papua ; a primitive stone axe from the Darling district ; a 

 supposed axe of quartzite from near Petersburg, South Aus- 

 tralia ; a late neolithic axe from Sweden ; a stone axe from 

 lake dw.elling, Zurich ; a small axe from the Amazon district ; 

 a tiny axe or chisel from Jena, Germany ; and one of nephrite 

 from New Zealand, worn as an earring when not in use. 

 Mr. A. P. Riddle showed a so-called "coal apple" from the 

 Burwood seam of the Newcastle collieries, New South Wales,, 

 stated by Mr. Howchin to be a segregation of a hydro-carbont 



