110 MEETINGS. 



the rarest of British Spiders, and the only British represen- 

 tative of the tropical Trap-door Spiders. The specimen in 

 question was captured by Mr. Marquand early in March in 

 Fermain Valley. 



Mr. W. M. Cooper, of St. Martin's, was proposed for 

 election as member of the Society. 



A point of discussion was raised as to whether the 

 Hedgehog is an animal indigenous to Guernsey. Evidence 

 was forthcoming that it was known in Guernsey more than 

 fifty years ago, but that they are far more numerous now 

 than formerly in spite of the relentless war waged upon them 

 by ignorant and superstitious country people who have yet to 

 learn that the herisson is the farmer's friend. 



No formal paper having been prepared for this meeting, 

 Mr. Collenette kindly supplied matter for consideration 

 by stating his views on the " Formation of the Valleys of 

 the Island." A very animated discussion of the question 

 followed, and several interesting points were raised in con- 

 nection with the ancient configuration of the island. When 

 the hour for closing had arrived the subject was still under 

 consideration. Mr. Collenette proposes to treat this subject 

 more fully on a future occasion. 



Monthly Meeting held llfih April, 1891, Mr. J. Whitehead, 

 President, in the chair. 



There was a large attendance of members and visitors. 

 Mr. W. M. Cooper was elected a member of the Society. 



Mr. Derrick read a paper on " The Clays, and other 

 superficial deposits of Guernsey," which will be found printed 

 in full in the following pages. 



Some interesting remarks by the geological members 

 followed the reading of this paper. 



Mr. E. D. Marquand then followed with a paper on " The 

 Flora of Guernsey, compared with that of West Cornwall." 

 Taking his own finds as a basis for calculation, the author 

 pointed out how Guernsey, with a little over 600 flowering 

 plants and 18 ferns, stood almost exactly midway numerically 

 between the western half of the county of Cornwall (with 788 

 flowering plants and 25 ferns), and the Scilly Isles (with 435 

 flowering plants and 16 ferns). Moreover the flora of Guernsey 

 seemed in many respects to approach that of western Cornwall 

 more nearly than any other part of the kingdom, and yet was 

 quite distinct. A number of quite common Cornish plants 

 are absent in Guernsey, and of these many were specified, 



