120 Proceedings. 



Meetings. — Nine meetings have been held during the year, at which the following 

 papers were read and discussed : — 



1. Presidential address : " George Meredith." by Professor C. W. Egerton, M.A. 



2. " The Paston Letters : English Life in the Fifteenth Century," by Professor 

 H. S. Dettmanu. 



3. " Epochs of English Geological History." by F. Heaton. B.Sc. 



4. " Comets," by Professor H. W. Segar.^M.A. 



5. " Colour," by Professor F. D. Brown, M.A. 



6. " The Romance of Portuguese Exi:)ansion," by the Rev. Gray Dixon, M.A. 



7. " The Schoolmaster in Fiction," by H. A. Milnes, B.Sc. 



8. " The Heart of the Southern Alps,"" by Dr. J. 31. Bell, M.X. 



Also sixteen pajiers on various scientific siibjects (see Proceedings of Ninth Meeting, 

 22nd November, 1909, p. 119). 



As stated in last yeai's report, the recent alterr.tions in the library have made it 

 impracticable to hold the larger meetings of the Institute therein. During the past 

 session the Maori house was used for the purpose ; but it proved to be in many I'espects 

 unsuitable, to say nothing of the risk of injury which its employment for such a purpose 

 involved. As the Institute is not in a position to erect a lectiue-room of its own, it 

 appears probable that temporary arrangements will have to be made for the use of a 

 hall outside the Museiun buildings. 



Volume XLI of the " Transactions of the New Zealand Institute " has been printed 

 during the year and distributed among the members. The Proceedings were issued in 

 parts in advance of the Transactions, no doubt with the very desirable object of 

 sup]ilying inforniation to members respecting the cin'rent work of the various branches 

 of the InstitTite. Objections were raised, however, to the exclusion of the Pi-oceedings 

 from the amiual volume, and at the suggestion of this Society an arrangement has lieen 

 made under which a sufiicient stock will be printed to allow of their incorjioration with 

 the Transactions, as well as their separate issue. 



Museum. — The attendance of visitors to the Museum continues to be satisfactory. 

 The register kept by the attenda.nt on Sund?..ys shows that a total number of 19,399 

 entered the building oa that day, being an average of 373 for each Sunday. The 

 greatest attendance was 847, on tlie 26th December, the smallest fifty-three, on tlie 

 1st August. On the six chief holidays of the year the attendance was 2,833, or an 

 average of 472. The number of visitors on ordinary week-days can be safely estimated 

 a,t 175 per day, which would make a total of 53.72.5. Adding to this number the Sunday 

 and holiday attendance, we have 75.957 as the total number of visitors for the whole 

 year. This is only very slightly imder the figures for last year (78,051), which were 

 considerably swollen through the special attractions offered by the visit of the American 

 fleet. 



Many changes of importance have been made in the Museum during the year, and 

 the Consequent advance must be looked upon as most satisfactory. In last years 

 re]3ort the Comicil mentioned the engagement of Mr. Gritfiii as assistant and preparator 

 of specimens, and his services have led to a considerable improvement in the zoological 

 department. The whole of the exhibited series of birds and mammals, both New Zea- 

 land and foreign, has been thoroughly cleaned and renova,ted, and remounted in a more 

 modeiTX style. With resiDect to the New Zealand portion, many inferior and faded 

 specimens have been replaced by better and more artistically mounted examjjles, and a 

 start has been made towards the prejiaration of special gi'oups illustrating the life-history 

 of certain sjiecies. A commencement has also been made in the form.ation of a collection 

 of New Zealand food fishes. This it is intended to press on as rapidly as possible during 

 the present autumn. Arrangements are also in progress for the remounting of a portion 

 of the alcoholic specimens in rectangiilar glass jars recently obtained from London, and 

 for the gradual collection and preparation of a series of New Zealand marine inverte- 

 brata. 



Among the more interesting additions to the natural-history collections may be 

 mentioned a fine specimen of the Emperor penguin {Aptenodytes forsteri). from Victoria 

 Land, kindly forwarded by Sir Ernest Shackleton : a stuffed crocodile. ])resented by 

 Mr. J. Kirker ; and some New Zealand birds, contributed by Mr. R. (^ibbs and others. 



The new foreign ethnology room, the arrangement of which had just been completed 

 at the time of the last annual meeting, has been opened to the public during the year, 

 and has attracted considerable attention. Several additions of importance have been 

 made to the Maori collections, the most intei-esting being a number of articles presented 

 by Mr. John Webster, of Hokianga. and some others contributed by the Hon. E. Mit- 

 chelson. The last-mentioned gentleman has also jn-ovided a new show-case for his 

 collection of kauri-gum, and has had it entirely rearranged. It now forms one of the 

 most attractive exhibits in tlie Mu.seum. 



