38 



grows freely in Queensland, where, however, sorao difficulty has hitherto 

 been experii-ncod in tho soparMtion of the libro for commercial purposes.] 



Dr. Hall brouc;ht under tho consideration of the meetin*:? tho desira- 

 bility of procuring direct from Japan a quantity of the scods of the Um- 

 brella Pine, which Fortune, the Botanist, describes as such a magnificent 

 tree for shade and tho ornamentation of parks, &c. He says : — " A whole 

 company of soldiers could bivouac under a full grown tree safe from rain 

 and sunshine." The Society obtained some plants frorn England at great 

 cost some years ago, but only one has survived. Dr. Hall had no doubt 

 the seeds would grow better hero even than in England, and stated that 

 Mr. Assistant Commissary General Castray had informed him he could 

 procure them for the .Society direct from Japan. Mr. Custray kindly 

 undertook to do so, as it was the wish of tho meeting. 



Mr. Gould read a paper on " The habits of the large crayfish ( /ifttaciix 

 sp. ?) of the northern rivers of Tasmania." The principal points adverted 

 to were the local character of its distribution, a comparison with the same 

 of the blackfish, a discussion upon tho nature of its food in regard to the 

 supply of the latter regulating the distribution of the species, a comparison 

 with allied forms in the Northern Hemisphere, and a citation of a few 

 other examples of allied, identical, or representative species, found in the 

 two hemispheres, and impressing the conviction that such species had not 

 originated in independent centres, but mutated under equal conditions, con- 

 cluding with a reference to examples of species, tending to show that Tas- 

 mania had been connected with the main land, within a late geological 

 period, even within the term ot life of existing species. 



JNIr. Allport observed, as to the food of this Astacus, that although 

 large quantities of dead wood might be consumed, as noticed by Mr. 

 Gould, he thought some animal food must also be taken. 



Mr. Gould, in reply, quite agreed with Mr. Allport in supposing that they 

 ate animal food when they could get it, but this was much seldomer than 

 generally imagined ; that in regard to the Unio, which had been supposed 

 to be the staple article of their food, it was his belief that it was entirely 

 absent from many of the rivers inhabited by the Astacus. Neither did he 

 think that the crayfish was by any means so destructive to the blackfish 

 as imagined ; they must have great difiiculties in capturing them, and the 

 blackfish did not seem to exhibit any of that fear and avoidance of these 

 crustaceans, which would naturally be induced if they had been habitually 

 preyed on by them. 



In reply to Mr. Stephens, who wished to know if the crayfish was found 

 in rivers east of the Tamar, Mr. Gould mentioned the Piper and Forres- 

 ter Kivers, being from his own personal observation well stocked with 

 them. 



Mr. T. Giblin stated that he had brought, about four j^ears ago, from 

 the North several living specimens of these era} fish, much larger than 

 that now before the meeting, and had liberated them in the Derwent, about 

 three miles above the falls at New Norfolk, but from that time he had 

 never heard of them, and it was not possible to say with certainty whether 

 they had succeeded or not. 



Conversation having taken place as to the range of habitat of some of 

 our fish, Mr. Giblin mentioned that the so-called cucumber fish {Proto- 

 troctes imircena), of New Norfolk was at one time, and probably still is, 

 plentiful in the Yarra. Mr. Gould observed that the presence of these and 

 other fish in the rivers on opposite sides of Bass's Straits, was another 

 proof that at some former period Tasmania and the Australian mainland 

 had formed one continent. 



A vote of thanks to Mr. Gould, Dr. .Milligan, the other donors of pre- 

 sentations closed the proceedings. 



