ACCOUNT OF THE GENERAL MEETINGS AND ANNUAL MEETING. 57 
circular letter from the President and Hon. Secretary on the occa- 
sion of the Jubilee of the Society states that it is felt that this 
event should be celebrated by a united effort to extend the useful- 
ness of the Society by increasing its membership. So long a 
period of existence tells of the hold that natural history has upon 
successive generations, and certainly with the extensive facilities 
for travel and observation we now possess this interest should not 
diminish at the present time. The Bristol Naturalists' Society 
meets frequently for lectures, for papers on various subjects, and 
for the discussion of exhibits; and sections have been formed for 
the special study of geology, entomology, and botany, under the 
direction of competent leaders. Occasional excursions are 
organised in the summer months. The Society's Natural History 
Library is one of the best in the kingdom. It is housed in a 
suitable room in Berkeley Square, where members may read in 
comfort, or the books may be taken away under certain condi- 
tions. 
' ' The President showed specimens of a moss (Leucobry urn 
glaucum) which usually grows on the ground, but pieces of which, 
becoming detached, flourish independently, and take the shape of 
balls, which are blown about by the wind. Mr. Griffiths showed 
specimens of the chrysalis of the orange-tip butterfly (Anthocharis 
Cardamines), which mimic the stems of the cuckoo flower on 
which the caterpillar feeds, also specimens of the foreign relations 
of the perfect insect. Mr. White, F.L.S., exhibited specimens 
of the yellow gagea (Gagea lutea), a rare British plant flowering 
three weeks earlier than usual. 
"Dr. C. K. Rudge then gave an interesting lecture on 'Food 
of animals, and the stratagems employed in obtaining it.' He 
began by defining the terms 'food' and 'animal,' pointing out 
that by the former is meant anything which is taken into the 
system to maintain life and growth and to repair waste, and 
showing the connection of the latter with the Latin word 
* anima ' or breath, and as denoting a member of the higher of 
the two groups of living beings. The old Scotch writer, Gavin 
Douglas, included under the term mankind, beasts, birds, fishes, 
and serpents, i.e., not only four-footed beasts to which the term 
is often restricted. The amount of food consumed and the fre- 
quency of feeding vary within wide limits. Mr. Woodward, the 
superintendent of the Clifton Zoological Gardens, had supplied 
the lecturer with the following data of the food taken daily by 
some of the animals : 
" Lions and tigers, 10-12 lbs. animal food. 
"Leopards, 5-6 lbs. animal food. 
" Elephants, 1 cwt. of hay and \ cwt. of roots, &c. 
" Camels, \ cwt. of hay. 
" Llamas, 6 lbs. of hay and a small quantity of roots. 
"With regard to bears it was stated that for a period of seven 
or eight weeks, during which the mother is nursing her young, 
