14 - PROCEEDINGS OF THE 



"British Fossil Brachiopoda," for determination. He, being like- 

 wise satisfied as to its punctate structure, sent on the specimen to 

 Professor King, who writes that it is undoubtedly a new and 

 second species of his genus Rhynchopora, and that he considers 

 the Carboniferous species as an interesting discovery, confirming 

 all that he had already written as to the structure of the Permian 

 shell. It is proposed by Mr. Davidson, who will figure and 

 describe Mr. Young's specimen, to name the species Rhynchopora 

 Youngii, in honour of the discoverer. 



II. — On Apteryx oivenii of Neiv Zealand and its Eggs. By Mr. 

 John A. Harvie-Brown, F.Z.S., M.B.O.U., Vice-President. 



Regarding these specimens of this rare species, my friend, Mr. 

 A. J. Grant, writes under date 22nd June, 1878, from London: — 

 " I will now tell you of a pleasant surprise I have in store for 

 you. I have succeeded in securing for you one of the rarest eggs 

 in the world, through my brother-in-law, Rev. H. Rutherford. He 

 has been living on the "West Coast of New Zealand for some time, 

 where his parish is, and he succeeded in obtaining through the 

 diggers specimens of the bird and egg of the Small Apteryx of 

 the South Island. The egg is one of the first found, there being 

 not more than one, I think, in the various museums of New 

 Zealand. At any rate, both bird and egg are very rare, and I am 

 sure you will value them. There was another egg in the nest, but 

 the dog which found it broke it to pieces." 



In reply to a letter asking for further particulars, Mr. Grant 

 obtained from the Rev. H. Rutherford an account of how the egg 

 was found, which I transcribe here : — 



"Sept., 1877.— I got the Kiwi's egg from Michael P. French. 

 He told me that he had gone some distance up Soldiers' Gully — 

 which is situated close to Reef ton, west coast of Nelson Province, 

 N.Z., about a mile from that town. He was walking along the 

 track early in last September, when he heard his dog barking a 

 little way up on the side of the low range, which is densely covered 

 with birch bush. Arriving, guided by the sound of the barking, 

 he found the dog scratching at the root of a birch tree, the hole at 

 which he was working being about the size of an ordinary rabbit's 

 burrow. He put his arm in and found that the bird was sitting 

 upon two large eggs. He drew one forth, but as he was getting 



