president's address. 
423 
At the October meeting Mr. Patterson again read his monthly 
notes, and some account was given of the ilight of Crossbills in 
August, and the Scaup Ducks which appeared at the beginning of 
October, chiefly near the coast ( vide ‘Zoologist,’ pp. 122, 125). 
Mr. H. E. Harris of Leighton Buzzard, also sent us a series of 
photographs of birds from life, some taken in Norfolk, and others 
at llavenglass in Cumberland. Those representing Terns and 
Ringed Dotterel on their eggs were the most appreciated, as such 
birds are seldom tame enough to be caught with the camera when 
in the act of incubating. 
In November, Mr. Burrell’s paper on Mycetozoa brought a good 
audience, and the subject was rendered doubly attractive by lantern 
slides of the Slime Funguses, shown on the screen by Mr. Bid well. 
Mr. Nicholson produced some rootlets of liobinia and Sweet Pea, 
which showed tubercles, and gave an account of what is known of 
the connection between the tubercles and the absorption of nitro- 
genous compounds by the plant; and 1 gave a dissertation on the 
bill of the Great Auk, which is shown to vary considerably in 
different specimens, exhibiting a model of the specimen in Durham 
Museum. 
Our January meeting was rendered additionally agreeable by the 
presence of Mr. Caton llaigh, who brought with him the, at present, 
only known specimen of Kadde’s Bush Warbler which has occurred 
in Europe, while Mr. Heard of Norwich exhibited a chestnut- 
coloured Partridge, a variety which has received the name of 
Perdix montana, and of which some account is given in ‘ The 
Zoologist,’ and a specimen of which has been presented to the 
Museum by Mr. d’Arcy. 
Mr. Geldart’s valuable contribution to our knowledge of the 
Mistletoe was listened to with particular interest, while Mr. Bidwell 
had for inspection a section of a Beech tree, felled near Norwich, 
which some inches beneath its surface showed some initials and 
other carving executed many years ago and grown over afterwards. 
Mr. Nicholson read a note on Luminous Wood, samples of which, 
locally obtained, had been lately brought to notice by Mr. Bidwell. 
In February, we had highly valuable papers from Mr. A. Bennett, 
G G 2 
