104 THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. [Vol. XXIV- 



Assuming the Buchan River to be 400 feet high above sea 

 level, the height of the entrance is 530 feet, the lower end of the 

 cave 460 feet, and the top of the hill 710 feet approximately. It 

 is possible other extensive caves or branches may be discovered. 



On the 14th April Mr. Moon and myself were examining the 

 hill over the Wilson's Cave, when Mr. Moon found a small hole, 

 just large enough to get through. We were unable to go far without 

 ropes. It was here that Mr. Moon subsequently discovered some 

 fossil animal remains, which have not yet been fully identified. 



[Each part of the paper was well illustrated by lantern slides. 

 — Ed. Vict. Nat.] 



RoMULEA OR Onion Grass. — In an article in the Victorian 

 Journal of Agriculture for September, Prof. Ewart, D.Sc, Ph.D., 

 Government Botanist, deals with this little introduced irid, which 

 has become a troublesome pest in many parts of the State, more 

 especially around the metropolis. The plant was regarded by 

 Baron von Mueller as B. hulbocodium, L., but Prof. Ewart iden- 

 tifies it as Romulea cruciata, Ker-Gawl, though it is not quite 

 identical in all its characters with that species, and may be an 

 Australian evolved variety. A number of experiments have been 

 conducted with a view to its eradication, but in most cases the 

 cost of treatment would be prohibitive on a large scale, and the 

 only practical plan seems to be to plough the affected land, break 

 up well, and manure heavily. 



Protection of Bird Life in New Zealand. — Concern- 

 ing the Little Barrier Island bird sanctuary, situated at the 

 entrance to Hauraki Gulf, near Auckland, the caretaker of it 

 reports that it is evident from year to year that the bird-life on the 

 island continues to increase. Several of the rarer species, now 

 just about extinct on the mainland, are thriving in a very satis- 

 factory manner. Owing to the warm, early spring, the birds 

 commenced nesting early, so that by December there were 

 numbers of young birds on the flats — Tuis, Bell-birds, Whiteheads, 

 Tits, Fantails, and Wrens all being well represented. There had 

 been a marked increase in Robins and Stitch-birds, while the 

 Rifleman, the smallest of New Zealand birds, had been seen in 

 several places. He speaks of the Long-tailed Cuckoo (Koheperoa) 

 as the worst enemy the other birds have, as he has known it fly 

 off with a newly-hatched bird. 



Victorian Foraminifera. — At the May meeting of the 

 Queckett Microscopical Club, London, a paper on the Recent 

 Foraminifera of Victoria was contributed by Mr. F. Chapman, 

 A.L.S., F.R.M.S., Palseontologist, National Museum, Melbourne. 

 The author dealt with existing literature of the subject, the 

 geology of the localities where found, and gave a list, with dis- 

 tribution tables, of 103 species. 



