48 Proceedings. 



and a large amount of valuable work has been done in all branches of science, the results 

 of which are to be published in a separate volume, not in the " Transactions of the New 

 Zealand Institute." Other important works are being carried out in the Canterbury 

 District by the Canterbury Philosophical Institute. 



I should not forget to mention the expedition made by four young men from the . 

 South Island to the Kermadec Islands, where they remained for ten months ; and I 

 look forward with great pleasure to seeing the result of their labours. The Museum is 

 indebted to Mr. Oliver for a set of plants collected during their stay. 



Towards the end of last year this branch proposed to organize a party to undertake 

 a further examination of the Chatham Islands, an area which is of considerable extent, 

 and where there is still much to do. Unfortunately, it was found that most of those 

 whose co-operation was invited were unable to go. It is to be hoped, however, that 

 circumstances will be more favourable at the end of this year or in the coming February. 



During the last few months I have been several times asked to name specimens of 

 insects, &c., from our outlying possessions in the Cook Islands, and I think it is quite 

 time that some steps were taken to have collections made of the natural history of the 

 various islands of the Group ; and I think this Society might very well move in the 

 matter. The only work done so far has been the botany, by Mr. Cheeseman. In eth- 

 nology and natural history much work is still to be done. One very important work that 

 could be done by some member of the Institute is the gathering-together of the various 

 items that have been ]iublished on the zoology of the Cook Group. Theje are various 

 fish described in papers by Gunther, and other incidental notices in widely scattered 

 papers. The ethnology of the Cook Islands has rather a larger literatuie, but it is not 

 easily available, and needs collecting and arranging. In entomology there is a good 

 deal of practical work that needs doing, as our principal trade with tliese islands will 

 always be in fruit, and it is now recognised that a full knowledge of insect foes and friends 

 is necessary for the proper cultivation of fniit. and the study of the various groups of 

 insects, to be of service, must be done systematically. 



I will take this opportunity to thank several members of the Institute and the 

 friends m all parts of New Zealand who during the last two years have assisted me in 

 forming a collection of the New Zealand Lepidoptera in the Dominion Museum. During 

 the past season the Museum has been able to employ two collectors in the alpine regions 

 of Otago, and the results have been, notwithstanding the exceptionally broken weather 

 experienced by them, most satisfactory. 



Mr. Hudson, in a paper read before the Society in 1893. pointed out the importance 

 of New Zealand biological collections, and urged the necessity of a collection of New 

 Zealand insects ; and I am sure that he will be glad that even at this somewliat remote 

 date a beginning has been made of a national collection in a subject in which lie has done 

 so much pioneer work. I am glad to say that a number of persons in various parts of 

 the Dominion liave commenced collecting insects, and I trust that some will pass in 

 time from the collecting stage to make a serious study of the subject. That section of 

 entomology which is devoted to the study of the swarms of insect pests is of great eco- 

 nomic importance, and is now recognised as such in all countries. The rearing of insects 

 can be carried on by almost any intelligent person who can afford the necessary time 

 and patience, and if studied with method, and proper records are obtained, tlie infor- 

 mation may prove of considerable im]iortance, and of assistance to those charged with 

 carrying out the laws and regulations affecting agi'iculture and fruit-growers. In these, 

 as in all scientific matters, a proper method is absohrtely essential, if tlie work is to be 

 of any use. There is plenty of room for research in the various groups gererallj^ known 

 as insects, and there are plenty of short manuals and instructions which give full par- 

 ticulars for the study of any group that you may select by the most recent and ai)proved 

 methods. 



One very wide field for inquiry is open to those who collect the Macro-lepidoptera 

 of New Zealand. The variation iir the specimens is very remarkable, and. as I Ixope 

 to be able to show you later in the session, raises many questions not easily answered. 

 There is a mass of literature on all phases of the subject in other countries, but Mr. 

 Hudson and Mr. ]\Icyrick are the only ones wlio have wiitten much on the variation of 

 the New Zealand species. To deal fully with this matter of variation it is necessary to 

 have much larger series of specimens than is usual in collections. 



Several of our members are interested in the study of botany, but few peo]>le in 

 Wellington have realised what splendid opportunities they have for short botanical 

 excursions on the uplands of tlie Tararua Ranges and even on the neighbouring hills. 

 We have among us some enthusiastic botanists who have explored as pioneers the hill- 

 tops and wild places where the native flora still holds its own. and I think that our 

 Society might consider the question of establisliiiig a sm^all weatherproof structure in a 

 suitable spot on the Tararua Range for the use of members. Mr. Aston, who has made 



