Sept., 1908.] 



THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. 



87 



Amytis gigantura (megahirus). 



Mr. Milligan describes this as 

 having rusty-red shoulder-patches as 

 in textilis^ and further on as having 

 " a bright chestnut patch on each side 

 of spring" (sic) *'but in front of 

 thigh." 



" Whole of the upper surface, ex- 

 tending from the forehead to and 

 including the wings and tail, a uni- 

 form dull brown. 



Rictal bristles six, the sixth being 

 rudimentary. [Apparently all are 

 small, as a powerful lens had to be 

 used to make them out. — T.C.] 



[There is no mention of bars on 

 tail feathers.] Shafts of tail feathers 

 lighter than webs. 



Length 

 7.25 



Wing 

 2.75 



Tail 



3-75 



Tarsus 

 0.95 



Culmen 

 0.5 



A. varia. 



No chestnut patches on body or 

 shoulders. 



Upper surface in three distinct 

 shades, the dark head and neck being 

 very pronounced. 



All six bristles well developed, and 

 visible to average eyesight. 



Bars on tail feathers very distinct, 

 and shafts above much darker than 

 webs. 



Soft parts different in colour. 

 Length Wing Tail Tarsus Culmen 

 7.50 3.0 4.20 1.20 0.4 



As I have only seen this bird on three occasions, and each 

 time in a patch of " Marlock " scrub, I propose the vernacular 

 name of Marlock Grass-Wren. 



Scenery Preservation. — The beautifully ilhistrated report for 

 1907-8 of the Scenery Preservation Board of New Zealand is an 

 example which might well be followed by the Australian States. 

 New Zealand has grasped the fact that much beautiful scenery is 

 quickly destroyed by the opening up of the country by railways, 

 &c. — witness the many picturesque gullies which were visible 

 when our Gembrook line was first opened, now tenanted by 

 rung timber and burnt tree ferns. The report for 1907-8 deals 

 mainly with the scenery of the Wanganui River, well known as 

 one of the beauty spots of the world. This river, which is 

 havigable for small passenger steamers to 143 miles from its 

 mouth, has been carefully examined, and it is proposed to make 

 no less than 54 reservations along its banks, varying from 30 to 

 9,000 acres, amounting in all to 46,500 acres. These reservations, 

 while leaving plenty of places for settlement, will include all the 

 most picturesque bluffs, bends, &c., and prevent the river 

 being robbed of its beauty by the advance of settlement. Up 

 to 31st March last 117 reservations have been made in 

 various parts of New Zealand, amounting to 34,000 

 acres. Much of this land had to be repurchased, having 

 been previously sold or selected, at a cost of about ^15,500. 

 A brief resume is given of what has been done in Australia in the 

 same direction, but it is very insignificant compared with what 

 is being done in the Argentine Republic, where extensive areas 



