46 RECORDS OF THE AUSTRALIAN MUSEFM. 



" The l)iitl will Ije set np iit once, and I liope to tind a coi'ner 

 for it in tlie now overci'owded Museum." 



Kreft't's version of Wall's oiiginal description of the first 

 Australian Cassowary obtained is somewhat misleading' for he 

 quotes only a part of what th<^ latter really did record in tlie 

 ' Sydney Illustrated News' (not " Herald " as has so persistently 

 been used by every writer giving a reference to the original 

 description, from Gould downwai'ds), of Saturday, June 3rd, 

 1854, p. S8. As to Krefft's statement that Wall's description 

 of L'ti.-tiKi rills Kitsfnilif! was published in " a (now) defunct Syd- 

 ney newspaper " let me here quote a letter received by me from 

 Mr. H. Wright, then Acting Principal Librarian of the I'ublic 

 Library of New South Wales, under date, 26th April, 1911 : — 

 " In reply to your letter of yesterday's date, I beg to infoi-m you 

 that ' The Illustrated Sydney News ' was first issued in 

 October, 1853, and the last issue is dated February, 1894." 



On turning u]) the oi'iginal descri[)tion of ('ustiKn'/is rn/,s7/-<///.s-, 

 at the Public Library, Sydney, published nearly fifty-nine 

 years ago, 1 was astonished to find that Wall accompanied his 

 description ol' ( 'usiiuri us luixt mlis, with unmistakable figures 

 (wood-cuts) of a Cassowai'v, one bii'd standing u]), the other 

 crouched down. 'I'his fact has not been previously recorded. 

 Following on aftei' his desci'iption is this jiaragraph : — "Tlie 

 above discovery of the Australian Cassowary, was logether 

 with the description taken from rougli sketches and notes be- 

 longing to the late Mr. Thomas Wall, the discoverer of the 

 bii'd, and kindly forwarded bv his brother, Mr. A\'illiani Sliori- 

 den Wall, Cui-ator of the Australian Museum." 



Little knowledge can be gainetl fi'om tlii' "Austi'alian 

 Museum Repoi't " for 1867, of the type of ('usiinr'nis jvJnisoiii, 

 beyond the fact that Mr. Johnson presented the specimen in 

 that yeai', Init in the minutes of the Board Meeting ol' tlic 

 Trustees for February, 18(57, the Curatoi' has found that it 

 was I'eceived dui'ing the j)revious month. No llegisters were 

 kept in those days, neithei' lias any conMiuinication from Mr. 

 ilolinson been preserved icspcrting it. The accom])anying 

 figure has been reproduced from the (n-iginal ]>hotogi'apli ol 

 the tvpe taken by the late Mr. Henry T^arnes. and whidi is 

 still in t he Museum. 



