518 



NOTES AND EXHIBITS. 



Mr. D. G. Stead reported that during a recent visit to the 

 head- waters of the Jenolan River, within five miles of Jenolan, 

 he had found Lyre-birds to be plentiful, and holding their own, 

 in spite of the menace of the fox; and he considered that they 

 may be expected to continue to do so, provided they are pro- 

 tected from being shot. Scrub-wallabies and wombats were also 

 found to be plentiful; and from information received from resi- 

 dents, he had reason to think these interesting animals were on 

 the increase; and it was to be hoped that they would not be 

 unduly interfered with. 



Mr. R. Grant showed, and explained the method of using a 

 simple form of apparatus for the rapid filling of capillary tubes 

 with calf-lymph, devised by Mr. A. B. Duffy and himself, and 

 now in use in the Microbiological Laboratory of the Department 

 of Health. With this apparatus, one person can easily fill over 

 600 capillary tubes in an hour, and all tubes are uniformly filled, 

 — specimen-tubes. It can easily be made by any laboratory 

 assistant, is very readily cleaned, and its cost is merely nominal. 

 All that is required is a thistle-funnel, a piece of rubber pressure- 

 tubing, with a series of holes pierced on the upper surface, three 

 pinchcocks, a screw-clamp, and two or three pieces of glass 

 tubing, one piece of which must be of fairly large calibre, with 

 the ends drawn, and a side-tube blown into it. The method of 

 filling tubes by means of the exhaust is— Fill funnel A with 

 lymph. Open clamp D to allow a small flow of lymph to displace 

 any air that may be caught in the tubing, between the funnel 

 and the first capillary tube. As soon as the lymph is seen to 

 ooze through the opening, close D. Insert the capillary tubes, 

 the upper ends of which are sealed. Then start the exhaust, the 

 screw-clamp controlling it being open. The exhaust is obtained 



