The meeting was well attended by 45 members of the society, and we gained much information from the forty-minute talk. R. Grafton's lecture was also on birds but this time Breeding Habits of South African Birds were discussed. He told us of the strange manner of courting of the males of some species of birds,dancing around flapping their wings,screeching at the tops of their voices or merely strutting in front of their lady friends displaying their plumage. A long time was spent describing nests of various birds. The Hammerhead's nest is the largest in the world, being about three feet across and two feet deep. The hornbill makes its nest in a hole in a tree, and seals the female in the tree, with only a small hole through which to pass food. The Cuckoo lays its eggs in other birdsn'estsand shows a certain amount >of intelligence in that it chooses the nests of birds whose eggs are of the same colour as its own. He also explained why birds that lay their eggs on the ground lay from 10-20 eggs so as to make sure that they are not all destroyed by their natural enemies. The smallest eggs, we were informed, are laid by Warblers and Waxbills, and may be as short as IS mm. The largest eggs are laid by the ostrich, although the kiwi lays the largest in the world for its size. This lecture was also quite well attended,about thirty members being present. Next term two more lectures by boys are to be given, and the society will be entertained by a couple of nature trips and visits by natural history authorities. P. J. REECE CHESS CLUB So far, this year, there has been a very good attendance at the Chess Club meetings held at 8 o'clock on Thursday evenings. We are pleased to be able to say that we now have enough chess sets to enable all members to play simultaneously. Mr. R. Ward, a resident of Botha's Hill and a very welcome visitor to the Chess Club meetings, has promisedus a shield. This shield will go to the winner of an annual chess competition. We hope to arrange a match against D.H.S. this term. Our sincere thanks go to Mr. H. Viljoen for his co-operation and the interest he has shown in running our Chess Club. Beside keeping an eye on the members,he spends mostof his time during the meetings teaching the members how to play chess. L. H. FISHER 227
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