Wellington Philosophical Society. 655 



weighing 201b. He described the habits of these birds, and 

 said it was a pity that a few could not be caught and sent to 

 Europe or elsewhere for exhibition. They were disappearing, 

 and soon would be most difficult to obtain. Stoats and weasels 

 were destroying all New Zealand ground-game. 



Sir J. Hector said it was Apteryx maxima. 



In answer to Mr. Maskell, Mr. Canavan stated that stoats and 

 weasels were found in tlie bush, forty miles distant from where they were 

 first turned out to destroy the rabbits. 



Mr. Travers said they were doing good work in destroying rats, but 

 when the rats were gone they would go for the lambs and fowls. 



5. " Skeleton revealed by Dew," by General Schaw. 

 {Transactions, p. 544.) 



Mr. Hulke had seen the same phenomenon on wooden houses and 

 iron roofs. 



Mr. Harding had also observed it. 



Mr. Hudson exhibited drawings of moths, &c., which he 

 intended publishing with a new w^ork he was at present en- 

 gaged on, 



A large grasshopper from Manawatu Gorge was exhibited 

 by Mr. Werry. 



A curious-shaped lemon, from Sydney, was exhibited by 

 Mr. Cohen. 



Fucoidal impressions from hydraulic limestone at Wha- 

 ngarei were exhibited by General Schaw. 



Fourth Meeting : 9th August, 1893. 

 Major-General Schaw, President, in the chair. 



Papers. — 1. "On the Importance of New Zealand Bio- 

 logical Collections," by G. V. Hudson, F.B.S. {Transactions, 

 p. 199.) 



Sir James Hector was surprised that Mr. Hudson, as shown by his 

 paper, was so ignorant as to what had really been done by scientific 

 workers in New Zealand. It was impossible for any museum to keep 

 a staff of experts in all branches of science to provide collections in 

 natural history such as ]\lr. Hudson required ; but we had ia the 

 various museums sufficient material to assist collectors in most subjects. 

 Of course, such collections as botanical and entomological it was impos- 

 sible to keep up without great expenditure, and most of the best collec- 

 tions in those branches were in the hands of the collectors themselves, 

 and would no doubt some day be handed over to our museums. Such 

 collectors as Mr. Hudson himself, Mr. Maskell, Sir W. Buller, Mr. 

 Colenso, Captain Broun, Mr. Fereday, and others had done much to assist 

 workers in science in this country. As regarded minerals, shells, &c., there 

 was no difficulty in identifying specimens from the type-collections in this 

 and other museums. New Zealand was more advanced in local knowledge 

 of geology, zoology, and botany than they were in England sixty years ago. 

 Mr. Hudson was quite at fault in regard to his remarks about fossils. The 

 geologist collected fossils for the identification of the structural formation 



