Fulton. — Disappearance of New Zealand Birds. 485 



able to accomplish such, recital in stanzas composed of lines 

 of even length, this length being the average of a sentence 

 spoken in a breath, whilst blank verse, the language of action 

 itself, is in overflowing lines, an average length being still gene- 

 rally kept, and that length again the average of a breath ; it 

 has also been shown how the emotions affect such lengths of 

 line, in that they affect the depth and duration of the breath ; 

 and that a breath is almost invariably taken at the ends of 

 what are considered " artificial " lines.) This formulates a 

 new law ; not only so far as New Zealand is concerned, but new 

 to the English-speaking world. The relation between the ballad 

 and the hexameter is a suggestion more than probable ; the 

 origin of all metres from the iambic, and the predominance of 

 that type, is comparatively certain, as is the fact that a pause 

 may form an integral portion of a foot. Should these laws 

 and suggestions become established, we have come absolutely 

 to the bed-rock of verse forms ; and, personally, I have no 

 doubt whatever but that, including the most important, the 

 heart-beat and breath, they will be established. 



Art. XLIII. — The Disappearance of the New Zealand Birds. 



By Dr. Fulton. 



[Read before the Otago Institute, 11th May, 1907.] 



The birds of our islands, largely through the efforts of Sir Walter 

 Buller, Captain Hutton, Mr. Potts, and Mr. Colenso, are well 

 known to the scientific world as interesting, if not in many 

 ways unique ; but, owing to change in environment, alterations 

 in food-supply, disturbance of the balance of nature by ridiculous 

 importations of birds and animals, our beautiful feathered 

 friends are fast going to the wall ; and it is to review the posi- 

 tion fairly and squarely that I am here to-night. 



It is not my intention to speak here of our sea-birds. The 

 advance of civilisation, the spread of cultivation, the increase 

 of population, does not touch them ; their destruction by 

 millions on the outlying islands, cruel and wasteful as it may 

 be, hardly affects them at all. Their migratory habits, their 

 extremely prolific powers, their almost inaccessible nesting- 

 places, seem to protect them, and there is little fear of their 

 disappearance. 



