FIELD CLUB

Evening Star, Issue 16086, 11 April 1916, Page 7

FIELD CLUB

Following is the annual retjort of the Dunedin Naturalists' Field Club : In presenting the annual report and statement of accounts for the past year your committee have to congratulate members on the success which has attended the operations of the club during the past year and the interest displayed in the work of the club, which was reconstituted on April 15, 1915, after being quiescent sines September, 1307. The membership for the past year was 28, which is about up to the average membership of the club when previously in existence; but ' when it is considered that Dunedin is probably the most advantageously-situated of_ any of the larger towns of the Dominion for the study of natural history in all its branches, it is a. matter for surprise that, with such a wealth of materia] at our very doors, more interest is not taken in the subject. Fortnightly outings have been held on Saturday afternoons throughout the year, and indoor meetings were held fortnightly during the winter', and both, as a rule, have been well attended. Lectures were given at the indoor meetings during th« winter by Professor Marshall, on * The Physiography of Dunedin '; by G. Howes, on ' Butterflies and Moths''; and by Mr G. M. Thomson, on 'The Alpine Wild Flowers,' illustrated by colored lantern slides. All of these were much appreciated by the members, and the best thanks of the club are due to the gentlemen for their kind assistance. The other meetings were occupied by discussions and by short talks by members on subjects of interest. The outdoor meetings have proved very profitable and enjoyable. The ' Catalogue of Indigenous and Introduced Plants Occurring in the. District.' which was issued by the old club in 1896, was found verv useful. Two ferns which are not included in that list were discovered by members during the yvar—viz., Trichomanes Colensaij 3 at Mount Cargill, and Hvmenophyllum montanum, at Morrison's Creek. In conclusion, the committee hone that the coming year will be a successful one in every way, and that the membershio whl be largely increased.