Wellington Philosophical Society. 729 



Mr. Harding said that we sliould certainly endeavour to protect our 

 rare species of birds. He would suggest that the ^Maoris be asked to 

 supply notes of the life-liistory of those creatures that are soon likely 

 to pass away. A native chief lately described how native birds are cap- 

 tured, and gave very good drawings, and tin; Maoris were well able to sup- 

 ply valuable information about the native birds. He might mention, in 

 passing, that Mr. Colenso was quite recently searching for some mineral 

 specimens at his house in Napier and came on a box of botanical speci- 

 mens collected fifty years ago, and until now quite forgotten. Among 

 them are three native ferns never met with since by himself or other 

 observers. No doubt we shall hear about them soon from iMr. Colenso. 



The President said he heartily indorsed Sir Walter BuUer's protest 

 against the trinomial nomenclature which was now becoming fashionable 

 amongst zoologists. He considered it to be useless for any good purpose, 

 while it must inevitably catise confusion. He was glad to thiuk that it 

 was not likely to be adopted in New Zealaiad. 



Sir W. BuUer, in reply, said he was glad to find that one occupy- 

 ing the position of our President, and actively engaged in scientific work, 

 was so strong an advocate of the binomial system of nomenclature. As 

 to Mr. Travers's remarks about the supposed extinction of the island-wren, 

 he thought that the cat that had done so much for science, in having 

 brought in uninjured all the known specimens of this interesting bird, 

 verily deserved an apotheosis ; although, in his opinion, it would have been 

 better to have kept cats out of the island altogether. It was satisfactory, 

 however, to learn that jNIr. H. Travers's seven specimens had all been se- 

 cured by Mr. W. Rothschild, because he would make good use of them in 

 the interest of science, and because the Tring Museum was already famous 

 for its New Zealand rarities. For all that, he still urged the permanent 

 importance of compiling a type-collection of rare birds for the Colonial 

 Museum before their final extinction had rendered it impossible. Of 

 almost equal importance with this was the completion of their history ; 

 and he quite agreed with Mr. Harding that it would be well to encourage 

 intelligent Maoris to record tlieir observations. He had seen the paper 

 by Tamati Kanapiri on the ancient modes of snaring wild birds, which 

 had been contributed to the Polynesian Society. It was most interesting 

 from every point of view ; and the pen-and ink sketches by the writer 

 with which it was illustrated were very creditable productions. So- 

 called savages were known to be good observers of nature, and it would 

 be quite a step in the right direction to invite contributions of this kind 

 for our Transactions. 



The President exhibited specimens of the true edelweiss 

 {Leontopodium alpinum, Cass.), from the Alps ; also of the 

 so-called New Zealand edelweiss (Helichrysum leontopodium, 

 Hook, f.), froiB Hikurangi, East Cape district ; and Heli- 

 chrysum grandiceps, Hook. £., from Mount Rolleston, in the 

 South Island. He stated that the former was the Gnai^halium 

 colensoi, Hook, f., of the " Handbook of the New Zealand 

 Flora," and drew attention to the fact that HelicJu-ysimi 

 paucijiorum — a new species described in the last volume of the 

 Transactions — difi'ered from H. grandiceps only in the absence 

 of the large woolly bracts and in certain minor characters. 



