xiii. ABSTRACT OF PROCEEDINGS. 
the mosquito’s proboscis. These observations are most 
valuable, for by analogy they are referable also to Filaria 
Banerofti, a parasite, which causes untold misery and great 
suffering to the human race throughout the world. 
Some remarks were made by Dr. Walter Spencer. 
2. Mr. J. H. MAIDEN initiated a discussion on ‘‘Some 
Lessons of the Drought.”’ 
He divided his remarks into three heads, all interde- 
pendent, viz.:—(1) The facts. (2) What are we to do? 
(3) The insurance idea. | 
Under (1) he brought under notice the monetary cost 
and remarked on— 
(a) The cash outlay for fodder in a drought. 
(b) The cutting up of the roads by fodder-waggons. 
(c) The suffering of draught animals, of cattle and of 
sheep. 
(d) Destruction of sheep by dingoes and other animals 
made desperate by starvation. 
(ce) Financial worries and even bankruptcy, and atten- 
dant suffering. 
Then he dealt with certain items under the comprehen- 
sive heading of *‘ Pests ’’— 
(a) Weeds.* These have made great headway during the 
present favourable spring, but it must be remembered that 
their presence, in many cases, is directly traceable to the 
drought. A number of weeds have been shown to be new 
1 Mr. Maiden exhibited four bad weeds, not hitherto recorded for the 
State, which had come under his notice during the previous fortnight, 
viz.:—(1) Amsinckia intermedia, Fisch and Meyer, a yellow-flcwered mem- _ 
ber of the Forget-me-not family, from Blayney. It is also a pest in 
California. (2) Adonis autumnalis, Linn., the Autumn Pheasant’s Eye or 
Red Chamomile, a pretty plant belonging to the Buttercup family. It is 
a European plant, and comes from the Berrigal district. (3) Lactuca 
scariola, Linn., ‘‘ Prickly Lettuce,” from Barraba, a weed difficult to cope 
with because of its feathery seeds, and which he had already received 
from Aberdeen and Woollongbar in 1899. (4) Sisymbrium orientale, Linn., 
a weed belonging to the Mustard family and native of South pen 
This also hails from Barraba. 
