president's address. 545 



sense of taste or colour, the length of their tongues, their way of 

 movement and their dexterity, have produced various odours, 

 colours, and forms of flowers ; and insects and flowers have 



progressed together towards perfection The forms, 



colours, and odours of the flowers in a particular region must 

 depend in the closest manner upon the insect fauna of the region, 

 and especially upon the relative abundance in it of the various 

 classes of insects." 



I am informed by Dr. J. C. Cox, President of the Fisheries 

 Commission, that soon after the loth August, 1882, the Com- 

 mission wrote to the Trustees of the Australian Museum, asking 

 them to co-operate in preparing a collection of fish fauna for the 

 Fisheries Exhibition intended to be held in London. A large 

 number of exhibits were collected and prepared, but with the 

 exception of one case of exhibits, which were at Mr. Macleay's 

 Museum, all were destroyed with the Garden Palace. The Com- 

 missioners then commenced de novo, and got together a collection 

 of fishes of all kinds, tinned fish and oysters, smoked fish, and fish 

 products as oils, &c. ; a fresh set of paintings of fish were also 

 prepared, together with fishing nets and models of boats. 



The Australian Museum also prepared a very large and compre- 

 hensive collection of food fishes, &c, in spirits and stuffed ; also 

 exhibits of seals and dugong. 



The Curator, Mr. E. P. Ramsay, was appointed by the Govern- 

 ment to proceed to London to take charge of and arrange the New 

 South Wales Courts ; and we must congratulate him upon the 

 result of his efforts ; for the exhibits of fish fauna in the New 

 South Wales Court obtained a larger percentage of first and 

 second class awards than those of any other Court, viz. : — 13 

 gold, 10 silver, and three bronze medals, and one diploma of 

 merit. 



During Mr. Ramsay's absence Mr. W. A. Has well, M.A., 

 B.Sc, has been the Acting Curator of the Australian Museum. 

 Besides numerous additions to the collections the following publi- 

 cations have been issued from this institution : — Catalogue of 

 Library ; Catalogue oj the Hydroid Zoophytes, by W. M. Bale ; 



