^"••J'] Obituary Notice. 37 



to students of that interesting family. Dr. Leverkiihn was the 

 author of part of the introduction to the " New Naumann," 

 which was reviewed in this journal last July, and was in corre- 

 spondence with the editors only a short time before he died. He 

 was a corresponding member of the British Ornithological 

 Union. At his funeral two velvet cushions on which rested 

 no less than 21 orders were carried behind his coffin. Dr. 

 Lcverkuhn's interest in the work of the A.O.U. was very great. 

 He had kindly promised to send the editors a list of names of 

 Continental magazines which might be useful to the Union, 

 but was not spared to fulfil that promise. 



Australasian Ornithologists^ Union. 



Rough Minutes of the 37TH Meeting of the Council of the 

 A.O.U. , held at the residence of Dr. C. Ryan, 37 Collins- 

 street, Melbourne, Thursday, 31ST May, 1906. 



Corresponde7ice. — A larg-e amount of correspondence was dealt with, in- 

 cluding a communication from the Department of Lands, New South Wales, 

 in reply to a letter advising the reservation of Oil-tree Lagoon, Goombargona 

 (water reserve No. 2,897), as a sanctuary for waterfowl, stating that, as the 

 lagoon occasionally dried up, it was deemed inexpedient to reserve the 

 locality. Captain Barton, of New Guinea, wrote stating that he was 

 recording notes of the migration of birds between New Guinea and Australia 

 as far as he was able. He also stated that prodigious quantities of gorgeous 

 butterflies flew from Australia to the shores of New Guinea across Torres 

 Strait, and suggested that the flights of these insects were probably due to 

 hereditaiy instinct, and that they followed the course of old land connections. 

 A letter was received from Mr. A. L Campbell, in reply to a communication 

 forwarded to him by the Council of the A.O.U. accepting his voluntary 

 resignation as one of the hon. editors of The Ej>u(, but at the same time 

 requesting him to accept a position as an hon. advisory editor. The Mort- 

 lake Progress Association also wrote requesting the co-operation of the 

 Council of the A.O.U. with a proposition that a swamp, lake, or lagoon in 

 every district of Victoria be reserved as a breeding-place for birds. It was 

 decided to give the Association moral support. Mr. F. P. Godfrey tendered 

 his resignation as hon. treasurer of the A.O.U., stating that owing to 

 circumstances it was impossible for him to attend to the work pertaining 

 satisfactorily. It was decided to accept the resignation with regret, and to 

 appoint Mr. E. B. Nicholls, Victoria-street, North Melbourne, to the vacant 

 post. Col. Legge, in reply to a letter of condolence at the death of his only 

 daughter, mentioned that both Mrs. Legge and himself were deeply touched 

 at the kind expression of sympathy forwarded them by the Council of the 

 A.O.U. 



General Business. — The hon. Secretary stated that he had written a letter 

 to the daily papers with reference to the proposed destruction of the rabbit by 

 inoculation, pointing out that at the last congress held at Sydney, 28th 

 November, 1904,* the members of the A.O.U. gathered together from the 

 different States of the Commonwealth had unanimously passed a resolution 

 that, whereas the introduction into the Commonwealth of " chicken cholera " 

 or any "unknown" or "patent" disease may be fraught with dire con- 

 sequences to our introduced and indigenous fauna, those diseases whose 



* Emu, vol. iv., p. 86. 



