Proceedings, &c., for 1887. 189 



Naturalists' Club. The Council of the Royal Society had taken 

 evidence on the subject, and unanimously passed a resolution in 

 favour of the project. The reasons for it were, that though 

 Victoria has small local reserves, it has no National Parks like 

 those lately reserved in the United States and New South Wales. 

 The Promontory is specially fitted for the purpose, by its natural 

 definite boundaries, its diversified scenery, its accessibility by 

 railway, the absence of vested interests, and its comparative 

 isolation, on account of the narrow and barren sandy isthmus 

 which constituted the approach by land to it. It was said on 

 good authority to be adapted for the growth of kauri pine. Its 

 reservation would give facilities for the development and protection 

 of the fisheries. The trustees should have the power of licensing 

 residences there. 



The President said that Victoria should have a National Park. 

 New South Wales had one in which the scenery was of a striking 

 character. The Promontory included mountains 2300 feet higli, 

 and immense valleys almost impassable from the dense vegetation. 



On the motion of Mr. Lucas and Mr. Griffiths, it was resolved 

 " That it is desirable that this Society should combine with the 

 Field Naturalists' Club and the Society of Artists, in taking stej)s 

 to secure the vesting of Wilson's Promontory, and the islands and 

 waters adjacent, in a Board of Trustees, for the purposes of a 

 National Park and Reserve, for the preservation of the flora and 

 fauna, for the conservation of fisheries, and for public recreation." 



The motion was carried unanimously. 



The President said that the next paper was on "The Structure 

 and Classificatory Position of Megascolides Australis," the giant 

 earth-worm of Gippsland. In the absence of Professor Spencer, 

 at King's Island, he invited Mr. Lucas, with whom he had left the 

 paper, to read it. 



Mr. Lucas said the paper was of a technical nature, and that he 

 would read such parts as were likely to be of general interest, and 

 leave further details to be gathered from the monograph which 

 Professor Spencer proposed to publish on the subject. He then 

 read portions of the paper. 



The President said it was gratifying to find that so new and 

 interesting a biological problem had been thoroughly worked out. 

 The worm was one of the most curious creatures in the world, and 

 has at last been fully described. 



Dr. Wild said that it was remarkable that giant earth-worms 

 were found only at the extremities of three Continents, viz., the 

 Cape, at Ceylon, and in Victoria. He asked if this resembled the 

 others 1 



Mr. Lucas thought that those found at the Cape and Ceylon 

 were not as large as Megascolides Australis, and they dififered 

 generically. 



