June, 

 1913 



] Southern Nigeria : its Natural History, (syc. 39 



of Africa of their stone quarries and stone implements in large 

 numbers. Attention was drawn to the remarkable resemblance 

 of these implements to those of the AustraHan aborigines. 

 Many of the tribes are very musical, and some have more than 

 crude artistic abihty, as shown by their modelHngs, carvings, 

 drawings, &c. Though the Yorubas and some other tribes 

 are now peaceful, others are not. The Ibo, a hot-tempered 

 but fine tribe, is troubled with internal warfare of various kinds, 

 and the disputes have often to be finally settled by Government 

 troops. Travelling in a tropical country such as Southern 

 Nigeria, where the annual rainfall varies from 35 to more than 

 170 inches, is necessarily of diverse character, as was shown 

 by the different modes of transport by land and water. The 

 mineral resources of the country comprise gold, silver, tin, 

 lead, zinc, iron, autunite, monazite, and the commoner gem- 

 stones, but chiefly in unpayable quantities as yet known. Vast 

 deposits of valuable brown coal, however, occur, and among 

 the important discoveries made by Mr. Kitson and his colleague, 

 Mr. E. O. Thiele, B.Sc, was that of a valuable black coalfield 

 in the Udi highlands. In conclusion, the lecturer expressed 

 his firm conviction of the future greatness of the colony, and 

 stated that its revenue in igio of £2,000,000 had nearly trebled 

 in seven years. He also spoke highly of the assistance given 

 him for two years by his colleague and old friend, Mr. Thiele, 

 another member of the Field Naturahsts' Club of Victoria, 

 who is now in charge of a mineral survey in Portuguese East 

 Africa. 



The lecture was illustrated by upwards of 140 lantern sHdes, 

 which showed the different features specially mentioned. 



On the motion of Mr. A. D. Hardy, F.L.S., and Mr. W. F. 

 Gates, M.A., a hearty vote of thanks was accorded to the 

 lecturer. 



[Further particulars regarding Southern Nigeria will be 

 found in a paper by Mr. Kitson published in the Journal of 

 the Geographical Society of London for January last. Mr. Kitson, 

 having completed his engagement in Nigeria, returns to West 

 Africa as Director of the Geological Survey of the Gold Coast. — 

 Ed. Vict. Nat.] 



About Members.— Mr. T. S. Hart, M.A., for many years 

 Lecturer on Geology and Botany at the School of Mines, 

 Ballarat, has been appointed Principal of the new School of 

 Forestry, established at the State Forest Nursery, Creswick. 



We have to congratulate Mr. E. Brooke Nicholls, well known 

 as an enthusiastic bird-lover, on his attainment of the degree of 

 Doctor of Dental Surgery (D.D.S.) 



