THE Victorian Naturalist THE JOURNAL AND MAGAZINE of the FIELD NATURALISTS' CLUB OF VICTORIA VOL. 61 MAY, 1944. TO' APRIL, 1945 Hon. Editor: A. H. CHISHOLM, F.R.Z.S. The Author of each Article is responsible for the facts and opinions recorded Melbourne : Brown, Prior, Anderson Pty. Ltd., 430 Little Bourke Street 1945 Boo. Trmumt Mr, S. S, tJM^t99i6dck^S&ti^iRmAW(i^Q:, jfefira - Hoi* UJwartim: llr, p. *EJ CT£J^Woai)H 85^Gr&T^^^GroVp,^^^^ Hcil AflfiisU'iU LOrffttba:-"Mat/:*. SUfikl^T ChaiftsMbtSt MSta^SSE — — — • The Victorian Naturalist VoL 61.—No. i ._ May 4, 1944 No. 725 PROCEEDINGS The monthly meeting of the Club was held on Monday, April 10, 1944, at the Royal Society's Hail. Mr, Tvo C Ilammet, vice-presideit, presided in the absence of the president, and some 80 members and friends attended. Reports of excursions were given a* follows; Queen's Park, Miss Wigan (who reported noting five species of ducks, including die Musk Duck, as well as Moor liens, Grebes, Coots, etc.) ; Willis. Seaholme, Mr. J. H. The following were elected as ordinaiy members: Mr. and Mrs. .Burgess, Mrs. C\ W. Connery, Miss Nellie Stewart, Mr. Albert P. Dunn; as country members; Mr. A. Teesc and Mr. S* C- Nicul; and as associate member: Miss Valda Ralcy, NATURE PROBLEMS Hie subject for the evening was "Quest Night/* wherein members were invited to submit queries that: were passed by the Chair for discussion and reply by other members. Following are the items (with rep/tes) that came before the meeting; BOTANICAL QUESTIONS 1. Have any subterranean orchids like the West Australian Rhimnlkella Gardneri been discovered in Victoria, or, if not, arc they likely to occur here? Answer (Mr. W. H. Nicholls) ; None has been found to date, but it is quite likely that the New South Wales Crypianlhemis Slateri (first unearthed m J931 at Rulladelah, 150 miles N. of Sydney) may occur In soils favoured by the Hyacinth Orchid, Dipodium punctatum. 2. Friends from England state rhat the Australian Acacias seem to resemble very closely the Mimosas that lliey know in Europe. What is the difference, if any, between an Acacia and a Mimosa? Answer (Mr. J- H. Willis): Atocio and Mimosa are two superficially very similar genera of pod bearing plants belonging to the Mimosoidtut section of the family Lcrjummosae. Litmartis called them both "Mimosa," but modern botanists distinguish the former by its nuwicmus .<tamen.i (in each minute floret), and by the almost invariable occurrence of glands on the leaf-stalk or midrib; a true Mnnosa has 10 or less stamens, and rarely shows any leaf glands. Early colonists 01 lied many of our Acacia species "mimosa' from Iheir resemblance to that tropical genus, one of which has become naturalised in Queensland (M — —: 1 FL>td Naturalists' Club ProKtdbfit Lytf.t? pudica. the "sensitive plant"), and "Prickly Moses" for the common Ac&eta veriicillata is said to be a corruption of Prickly 3. The New Zealand Looking-Glass Plant (Cofircsma repens) has small pils ia the undersurface of its leaves, at the junction Oi mid- rib and liit^ral nerves. What ts the explanation? Answer (Mr. J, H. Willis): Apparently no one can explain the nature of the little "pockets" or rjnmatia which occur in several f species of Coprosma. J1ie late Professor A. T. Ewart frankly admitted that he did not know, and W. R. B. Oliver, in his exhaustive monograph of the genus (1935) made no attempt to account for Che leaf pits. Even the much larger and commoner glands in Acacia are still very imperfectly understood. Mr, Ivo Hammct reported having- noticed ants about the glands of Acacias,, where they were apparently feeding on some sugary excretion 4. The family CafttifoHacecJ includes- elder-berries, guelder roses, honey-suckles, cinchona -bark, etc.. and is derived from the Latin caper, n. "he-goat./' .ind folium, a •leaf" What is the origin of the I1&M3 "goat-leaf"?—Answer (Mr. j. H. Willis) : The fannly name has been adopted from Tourneiort s old prc-Linnaean genu's C<tprijo!iuin which Linnaeus others after t (1753) and him included in Lonicera — the large assemblage of "honeysuckles," now numbering" nearly 200 species, Tournefon/s name (published in 1700) is a straight-out translation into Latin of the vulgar Erench ehcvre-feuxUc, by which "honeysuckles" had been known in France for centuries, the German equivalent being gdss-blatt, with precisely tWe same meaning. Strangely enough, no available French dictionary, encyclopedia, or botanical text-book attempts lo explain the term, but Loudon's English Encyclopaedia of Plants, 1855, says, "poetical name, signifying ... a leaf which dimbs like a goat." Nevertheless, Tourncfort's diagnosis contains the Latin equivalent of "with stinking seeds," thus alluding to a had odour in some parts of the honeysuckle plant r and as dried foliage of the related Viburnum species is truly offensive (even in old herbarium specimens), it is more than possible that ''goat- leaf" was originally associated with an objectionable goat-like odour. 5. Schomburgk, a prominent naturalist-explorer in South America during (he earlier part of last century, was afterwards director of the Adelaide Botanic Gardens. Did he accomplish any outstanding work in Australia? Akswer (Mr. J H. Willis) Dr- Richard Scliomburgk held the directorship of the Adelaide Gardens for 25 years until his death in 1890, and was therefore contemporary with Guilfoyle of Melbourne; the present fine lay-out owes much to his energy and foresight. He d»d not concern himself with pure botany, and the only noteworthy inuil AVrf/if- Maturfllix&r' Club PnwcedhlQ-s 3 contribution m that direction was a Flora of South Australia, 1875, being .a 64-pagc essay with list of species known to inhabit the Colony. In tfus 1870's be wrote many smaller papers on tobacco cnlture, grasses, (odder plants, and such-like economic subjects,, but nunc of them can be compared with the voluminous writings of the colonial botanists (Mueller, Maiden and Bailey). OSNITTIOLOGICAJ. QUK-STTONS 0. What are the latest theories regarding- bird migration?— Mr. A. H. Chisholm summarised the various types of movements among Australian birds, including' overseas, interstate, inlet-' tropical, altitudinal, and gipsy migrants and gave brief details regarding each uf the sections. -The subject was also discussed by Messj.s. Hammer, Medtingley, Colhvcr, Miller, and Mitfs Watson, 7. What peculiarities has thu Lyre-bird that it should have a Natural Family almost to itself?—Mr. Chisholrn said that osteological study of the Lyre-bird had been intenuptcd by the war, and so it was not yui possible to "place" Hie group on a srrucUnaf basis, However^ sufficient regarding the nature of the bird's "make-up" was learned long ago to make clear thai it had very distinctive characteristics. 6. What are the differences in the tree habits of Tree-runners and Tree-creepers, and how* can they be recognised ?—Mr Clmholm replied iliat the clearest superficial point* of diffeience was that Tree-creepers worked upward on the trunks of trees, and Tree-runners worked downward. The Tree-creepers were k good deal larger than 1be other group, Mr, A, K. Mattinglcy remarked that there were also differences in voice and nesting habits. P&w£kH irootoov 9. What are the reptilian characteristics which ttnk the Platypus with the lower orders from an anatomical point of vfewf—Mr. Colliver stated that as far as he knew, the egg- laying habit would be the only trait. Mr. Chisholm stated that Prof. S. Sunderland, working on the brains* of monntrcmes and marsupials, found that the. impression previously held that both these forms were somewhat allied io the reptiles is now incorrect, and that the Monotreines arc much more closely related to the Eutheria. It bus thus been shown that the concept of marsupials being an advanced stage of the mono lxernes is wrong, and actually there is no direct connection between ihem. A further question regarding differences between the Platypus and the Echidna, was answered by Mr. Colliver, and a question whether both these animals hibernated was answered by Mr. Chishobu, who stated that a short period of hibernation was common to both forms. — — 4 FieU Naturalists CUtb PfiK<edi*$* Vv**ti 10. We are told that ihe Koala has an appendix some 6 feet in length. Seeing that the appendix in man, a very muck larger animal, is only an inch or two long and can very well be done without, what is the function of such a long one in the Koala? Mrs. Pioches suggested that it was probably due to The small Amount of nourishment in the large amount of food taken, stating further that Ambrose Pratt gave this as a leason in his book on the Koala. Mr. Chisholm said that Sir Colin Mackenzie Was so engrossed by this appendix problem that he studied the Koala io apply the lessons learnt to humanity, but up until the lime he left for Canberra he had not reached any definite cXMiolusion.s. Mr r Colliver understood that Sir Colin had at least proved the organ to be functional. 11. Miss Watson stated she had been told of a large turtle being seen dose into the shore at Portland, and asked whaf gfltfl it would be?—Mr. Mattingley stated it was the sort thai was occasionally found in Bass Strait. Mr. Colliver stated that several records of the large leather-back turtle occurring in Victorian waters were known, and that just prk>r ro the war ho had seen a very large specimen that had landed alive on the beach near the mouth of the GleneJg River at Nelson, Victoria.