80 Proceedings. 



as the appruxiniate total nuiiibei- nf visitois dming tlif whole yeai-. This is onlv 

 very slightly under the estimated attendance for the previous year, whieh was 75, 95^. 



The progress made by the Museum during the year must be considered as satis- 

 factory. Many important additions have been recei\ed, and most of these have been 

 placed on exhibition. Much time and labour have been devoted to the task of 

 preparing and mounting the specimens intended for public view ; and through the 

 efforts of Mr. Griffin, who has charge of this branch of the society's work, the 

 general appearance of the collections, and their vahie for educational })urposes, have 

 been much enhanced. 



In last year's report it was stated that a coinmenceinent had been made in 

 the formation of a collection of New Zealand food-fishes. This object has been 

 kept steadily in view, and, in order to obtain material, special expeditions have been 

 made to the Bay of Islands, the Great Barrier Island, and to various parts of the 

 Hauraki Gulf. Altogether sixty-eight specimens have been carefully mounted and 

 painted from life, and it is intended to materially extend the collection during the 

 coming autumn Another novel addition consists in the pieparation of a series of 

 gelatine casts of the tuatara lizard and other New Zealand Reptilia. Among other 

 work performed during the year may be mentioned the cotnplete rearrangement of 

 the collection of New Zealand biids. and the addition thereto of several freshly 

 prepared specimens. 



Other noteworthy additions are as folk»\vs : A fine specimen of the rare Haast's 

 kiwi, obtained through the good offices of the Tourist Department ; a very fair ex- 

 ample of the white crane, now nearly extinct in New Zealand, purchased from Mr. 

 W. Townson ; a specimen of Siila fiis -a, shot at the Bay of Islands ,: and an example 

 of the Vv'idely spread water-snake Hydra.': plnturu^. stranded on the ocean-beach 

 west of Helens ville. This last specimen came ashore alive, and was promptly for- 

 warded to the Museum by the finder, Mr. E. Smith. Mention must also be made of 

 three fine specimens of the robber-crab {Biryiis lofro), obtained on Caroline Island, 

 north of Tahiti, and presented by Mr. -1. L. Young. These have been mounted so 

 as to show the tree-climbing habits of the species, a peculiarity hardly known in 

 other forms of the Crustacea. 



Another important addition cH)nsists of a large and varied collection of butter- 

 flies, presented by Mr. H. Dobbie. The greater portion of the collection was 

 formed by Mr. Dobbie during a lengthened visit made to tropical South Africa a 

 few years ago ; another part consists of species forwarded by the British Museum 

 to Mr. Dobbie in exchange for specimens from South Africa. To these have been 

 added a considerable number of species obtained by the Museum from various 

 sources during the last eight or ten years, including species from China, Indo- 

 Malaya, New Guinea, &c. It should be mentioned that the show-case in which the 

 coUec'tion is displayed has been presented to the Museum by the subscriptions of 

 several Auckland gentlemen. 



A considerable number of improvements have been made in the arrangement of 

 the Maori collections. Among the objects which have been altogether rearranged 

 are those which can be described as fishing-materials, such as fish-hooks, fishing- 

 lines, fishing-weights, nets, mussel-dredges, eel-baskets, &c. The collection of 

 canoe-balers has been remounted, as also a good series of bird-snares, &c. Among 

 the new additions the following may be particularized : A large river-canoe, ob- 

 tained by purchase in the Upper Thames district ; two canoe-memorials from the 

 Lower Waikato ; a series of carvings in pumice-stone found near the north end of 

 Lake Eotoehu, presented by Mr. V. J. Blake; two remarkable carvings in pumic('. 

 presented by Mr. W. J. Benner and Mr. J. Griffin respectively: a large and highly 

 polished stone axe found near Ngaruawahia, forwarded by Mr. H. Tarver : an 

 elaborately carved step of a ko or spade, some wooden flax-beaters, a carved fork, 

 and various other articles presented by Mr. G. Graham ; a very interesting series of 

 seventeen articles in greenstone, ordinary stone, and bone, pmx>hased from Mr. W. 

 Townson. 



In foreign ethnology by far the most valuable addition is a series of over five 

 hundred articles from Japan, including a few from China, deposited by Mr. H. S. 

 , Dadley. The collection includes many fine bronzes, swords, daggers, and other 

 articles in metal; numerous carvings in wood and ivory; many varied specimens 

 of pottery^, porcelain, and cloisonne ; specimens of lacquei-work ; of silks em- 

 bi'oi'dered with gold and silver ; and other articles too numerous to mention: This 

 collection is the result of Mr. Dadley's personal efforts during three visits to 

 Japan, and the specimens have been carefully and judiciously selected. The 

 Museum was so poorly supplied with ethnographical material from China and 

 Japan that Mr. Dadley's deposit was a most weh-ome addition, and its presence in 

 the Muse\mi lias attracted gieat numbers of visitors. 



