The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1885-06-30 00:00:00

WEYMOUTH TOWN SOCIETY.

In connection with the Field Club and natural
history owtion .4 this society, a paper entitled
N. 44. •n till• I.tanY Werlo.lllh. Was read to a
fairly large audience, at the Working Niels's Club,
Nlitelielbstreet, lOn Tuesday evening, by Mr. W.
Bowles Itamit, F.L.S. Alderman Eliot presided
Tlwre were also present : I /r. Childs, the Rev. Mr
Rausley ; Messrs. T. B. Groves, Sylvester, A.
E. Carruthers, N. Disney, M.A. Dem. see.), .1
Batchelor, A. A. Clarke, T. Fuller, and C. Falkner:
Mrs. Sylvester, Miss Samson, dec. Mr. Barrett
explained the richness of the Mora .1 the southern
counties of England. and .4 the neighbourhood of
Wevinouth awl nwtlatul i,, partieillar, as colilliared
witfl that of the midland and northern countins. He
gave a very able and interesting historical sketch of
the ;mgr...., of botanical invest igati 111 l in South Dorset
tip to the present time, mai remarked on the many
• referelass. to he f. I, in the older writers British
Swany, to tile plants 11.1' INwset, and es; wcially to those
.1 Weymouth awl Portland. Ti,. visits of cele-
brated botanists to the nrighbourhwsl of Wey-
mouth. and their disc. ...irks then-. were dealt with
in: and nterences Were Made to recent
es,aiiiiiiations of the more critical genera. This
ts.rtion of the paper wa.s illustrated by tn-sli
awns of a large her of the ranw plants .1
Weymouth and Portland. These speCitliells Were
distributed Among the members of the club, and
sow were referred to by Mr. Barrett Mil being plants
of southern type, awl of great rarity. Interesting
remarks were made n sie geographical range of
',wit. in smith Ihirset The toper was followed by
is dismission, in which Mr. Itamlt gave tonne good
hints to field botanists. and referred to a new speCiea
which, within the last few weeks, he had added to the
I hirset Horn.
The CitaitinaN sal this was, not the first time Mr
Barrett had stood before a Weymouth audience to
illustrate and elucidate some of the antiquities of the
place. In his paper Mr. Ilam•tt bad thrown out
some hints as to the practical direction which the elnh
should take, and in this respect his obsemations
foam ,s 1 nII4 "Ty twirls the lines of tin eseellowit paper
reid a -bort time mro hy the ilei. D. I'. Cambridge
at the opeiiiii! meeting id the society. I tlwise hints
I front mon Ilc. Were so well titialdiml to give them
were acted mmit, the chils thongli it was small in
her, and its distriet somewhat limited, would.
I lie (Mr. Eliot) had iso doubt, he :dole to do sonic.
PraCtiCal Wiwk. If he might lw istr.l.lll4-.1 for
making a pens mal observation on the paper, he would
remark that it was gratifying to him to iiwl that
hankers had not been backward in rescarchen in
the floral world ; Mr. Itarrett had mentioned two or
three nwoutbers 41 that profession who had aided the
cause of botany to a not inconsiderable extent in
former times.
A vote of thanks having been passed to Mr. Barrett
for his paper.
Dr. Ciiiims made reference to the dredging excur-
sion in Weyniouth Bay which it is proposed
to hold in einnection with the y towards the
latter ciel io•vt month. The idea in the
was to pepidarise and make kmevii the capabilities of
the Bay in the matter. Invitations to attend had
sent In a
in the subject, and it was hoped that in one or Iwo
installs,. at least those invitations %nail.' be an:lmA
Ti,. meeting Ilion terminates,.