Auckland Institute. 41 



6. " The Comparative Sanity f)f the Immigrant and Native-born," by Professor 

 H. W. Segar. 



7. ■' On the Trisection of an Angle,"' by Professor H. W. Segar. 



8. " The ^letalhirgy of Gold and its Recent Improvements." by Professor A. Jar- 

 man. 



9. " The :\laori Migration to New Zealand," by E. B. d. iloss. 



10. '• Maori Forest Lore." by Elsdon Best. 



11. ■■ Captain Dumont D'Urville's Visit to Tolago Bay," translated fiom the French 

 by S. Percy Smith. 



12. " Notice of the Discovery of a Species of Burm.nnniace(B m New Zealand," by 

 T. F. Cheeseman. 



13. " Description of a New Species of Epilobium," by D. Petrie. 



14. " Notes on Coleoptera from the Chatham Islands." by ilajor T. Broun. 



15. " Revision of the New Zealand Cossonidoe." by Major T. Bronn. 



Most of the above papers have been forwarded to the New Zealand Institute with 

 the view of publication in the forthcoming volume of Transactions. Volume XL of the 

 Transactions, containing the papers read before the Institute during the year 1907, 

 was not received for distribution until the end of October, although bearing the date 

 " June, 1908." on the title-page. It is much to be regretted that the delay in the ap- 

 pearance of the annual volume has apparently become of regular occurrence. Authors 

 will Tiltimately hesitate to submit important memoirs to a society which retains them 

 for nearly two years before publication. 



For many years the meetings of the Institute have been held in the libiary ; but 

 the alterations made therein, alluded to in last year's report, have compelled the Council 

 to hold them either in the statue-hall or in the Maori house. Neither of these rooms 

 can be considered at all suitable, but the arrangement is the best that can be made 

 until the funds of the Institute permit of the erection of a properly equipped lecture- 

 room. 



Museum. — With the exception of a few days devoted to cleaning and reaiTangement, 

 the Museum has been open to the public throughout the year. The hours of admission 

 have remained, as before, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on week-days, and from 2 to 5 p.m. 

 on Sundays. The attendance shows a considerable increase on that for the previous 

 year, and is the largest yet recorded. The register kept by the janitor on Sundays 

 ])rovcs that 20,896 people entered the Museum on that day, being an average of 

 402 for each Sunday. The largest attendance was 1,897, on the 9th August, being 

 the Sunday of the arrival of the American fleet ; the smallest, 51, on the 8th March. 

 On the nine chief holidays of the year the number of visitors was 3,271, being an 

 average of 363. During the stay of the American fleet there was an extraordinarily 

 large attendance, the total for the week being 11,081, or an average of 1,582 for 

 each day. On Monday, the 10th .\ugust, 2,797 visitors entered the Museum, being by 

 far the largest number yet recorded. On ordinary week-days the visitors can only 

 be counted occasionally, but the daily average is believed to be not less than 150. De- 

 ducting this frojn the attendance on holidays and during " fleet week," this would make 

 a total of 44,700, or of 78,051 for the whole year. Last year's estimate was 68,055. 



In last year's report it was stated that the Council had decided to expend the greater 

 portion of the balance remaining from the last Government grant, about £500, in pro- 

 viding a new workroom, a necessary adjunct to any Museum, and the want of which 

 has long been felt. The room, which is situated in the basement under the Maori house, 

 is 50 ft. by 30 ft., and is very conveniently placed for the purposes of the Museum. It 

 was completed early in the year, the total cost being a little under £400. The remainder 

 of the grant has been utilised in erecting a range of showcases in the foreign ethnological 

 room, ])resently to be alludetl to. and in providing a new staircase to the basement 

 rooms. 



('onsideiable progress has been made in the Museum during the year. The whole 

 of the alcoholic specimens have been remounted and placed on new shelving erected 

 between the pillars of the gallery of the main hall, a situation in which they are much 

 better inspected than before. Tiie collection of foreign shells, formerly on the floor 

 of the main hall, has also been moved to the gallery, the specimens having been cleaned 

 and rearranged. As foreshadowed in last year's report, a large amount of time and 

 trouble has lieen spent in arranging, mounting, and labelling the foreign ethnological 

 collection. It has been placed in the small hall adjoining the Maori House, and is now 

 ready for public inspection. As the collection is an excellent one, and as a large part 

 of it has never been previously exhibited, it will doubtless prove an attractive addition 

 to the Museum. 



A complete list of all additions and donations will be found in the appendix to the 

 report, but special mention may be made of the foliowins; : In the .Alaori department, 



