90 
The Queensland Naturalist 
July, 1931. 
ed on these, stating that as far as he had observed the 
Long-necked Tortoise always laid her eggs soon after rain. 
A series of stereoscopic photographs were tabled by Mr. J. 
Nebe. Dr. E. 0. Marks reported that a meeting of sub- 
scribers to the Skertchly Memorial Fund had been held, 
and that it was decided that the balance of the fund be 
handed over to the Institute of Surveyors to help defray 
the cost of publishing the late Professor Skertchly ’s 
“Birribon, or The Valley of the Nerang. " 
EVENING MEETING, Monday, 17th November, 
1930. — The President (Mr. C. T. White) occupied the 
chair, and twenty-eight members were present. Mr. T. 
Lawton was elected a member of the Club. Mrs. Comrie- 
Smith gave an interesting account of the recent visit of 
the members of the R.A.O.U. to Biggenden and Fraser 
Island. Mr. J. E. Young exhibited fruits of the Burdekin 
Plum (Pleiogynium Solandri) from a tree in his garden 
at Sherwood, and several natural history photographs. 
The President tabled a collection of plants made on the 
Club's Spring Excursion to Tugun. A couple of Pipe 
Fish were exhibited by Mr. Tilse. 
ANNUAL MEETING, Monday, 16th February, 1931. 
— The retiring President (Mr. C. T. White) delivered an 
address on the Acacias or Wattles, of the Brisbane Dis- 
trict. The flowering plants of Australia, the lecturer said, 
number approximately 10.000 species, divided, into 
numerous families, by far the largest of which is the 
Leguminosae, with about 1,100 species. To this family 
belong the Wattles and many other beautiful Australian 
flowering shrubs. Wattles are not confined to Australia, 
but find their greatest development in this country. Of 
the 500 species known from various parts of the world 
about 400 are found here. 
The Wattle has been taken as the national flower of 
Australia, firstly, as it is emblematic of Australian sun- 
shine; secondly, as various Wattles are found in all the 
Australian States; and thirdly, as probably no month of 
the year is without at least one or two species being in 
flower. 
In the immediate neighbourhood of Brisbane about 
twenty species are found. The lecturer dealt with these 
in detail, giving the differences between the species. 
Mr. F. N. Ratcliffe, who had been in Australia for 
some time past studying the flying fox problem on behalf 
of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, 
showed a few cinema films of his journeys in North 
Queensland. In addition to a film of flying fox camps, 
