KA]n,Y llIST(il!Y (IF TIIK ATSTItAMAX ("ASS( (WAIJY — -NdKTII. 4') 



soiit Ml'. .loliiisoirs (k'sci'ipt ion nt' the Cyassovvai'v to "The 

 Australasian."^ Moreover, the latter is foHowed by a |>Hj)ei' 

 by Professor McCoy, entitled : " On a new Victf)riaii species 

 of Diamond-bii'd," VnnJnlotits .iinif/iDjHjijc (.i-Kiit/idjii/iiiHsj. 

 Pi'ofessor M<'('oy could have told Di'. Mueller at once that tlie 

 bird bad been already described, and thus prevented the 

 creation of a synonym. On j-efei-i-iufi' to " The Australasian " 

 of December 29th, 186(i, not the 15th December as recorded 

 by Gould, Salvadoi'i, Hothschild and otliers, I find Dr. Mueller's 

 letter on jiajje 1221 under the lieadino- "Discovery of a True 

 Cassowary in North-east Austi-alia." It consists of a letter 

 over a column in length, and clearly shows that Dr. Mueller 

 did not wish to appropi'iate the credit of Mr. Johnson's de- 

 scription, for the latter, placed between inverted commas, is 

 wedofed in the middle of Dr. Mueller's remarks, from which 

 the following extracts are made. " Fi-om these notes and a 

 sketch simultaneously received it is obvious that CitsHurins 

 J (i]i 11x011 ii must rank as a separate species. The size of the 

 bird may be the same as that of the Indian ('(iximn'iif! (jdleatus 



Farther disci'epancies between the two species 



will unquestionably be pointed out by our learned professor 

 of natural history, whenever that solitary specimen, which I 

 intend to present to the Melbourne Zoological Museum shall 

 have arrived." It was destined, however, never to reach Mel- 

 bourne, nor Dr. Mueller to even see this specimen, for in "The 

 Sydney Morning Herald," February 8th, 1867, p. H, Mr. G. 

 Krefft refers to the same specimen under tlie title of "The new 

 Casuary — Casuai-ius Johnsonii," and anuing others, makes the 

 following remarks : — "In the last December number of 'The 

 Australasian,' Di-. Mueller announced the discovery of a new 

 Casuary, which Mr. G. Randall Johnson shot at Gowrie 

 Creek, Rockingliam Bay. The excellent description by the 

 discoverer, which Dr. Mueller quotes in his letter enabled me 

 to see at once tliat this could not be the Casuarv mentioned 

 by the late Mr. T. Wall 



"The discovei'er has presented this intei'esting noveltv to the 

 Trustees oi the Austi-alian Museum, on whf>se l)ehalf I beg to 

 thank Mr. Jolinson for his valuable erift. 



» "'The Austiulasian," Dec. 15th, 1866, p. 1170. 



