122 Spencer, Land and Fresh-Wafer Fauna. [v.^'xxxvii 



or more particular forms of animal life, collecting them and 

 noting (as far as possible) their habits, either personally 

 identifying and describing them or forwarding them to some 

 central authority. How essential it is that this work should 

 be undertaken immediately may be realized from a report 

 just issued, which states that last season, in Tasmania alone, 

 98,186 kangaroos, 93,103 wallabies, 16,244 black opossums, 

 40,041 grey opossums, and 274,534 ring-tailed opossums were 

 destroyed. This ruthless extermination of the most inter- 

 esting fauna in the world is simply appalling. 



I would like to enter a strong protest against the sending 

 to Europe of collections that can well be descrilied out here. 

 It has meant, for example — and most unfortunately so in the 

 case of many Western Australian mammals — that the type 

 specimens arc in London instead of Perth. We are quite as 

 competent to describe and take care of Austrahan type speci- 

 mens in our National Museums as are our colleagues in Europe, 

 and I trust the time may soon come when it will be recognized 

 that this is so, and that their natural home is in the museums 

 of Austraha. 



Meanwhile we need some organization to provide for the 

 systematic working out of our fauna and flora, and with this 

 object in view the Biological Section of the Science Association, 

 at its recent meeting, recommended the formation of an 

 Inter-State Committee composed of representatives of all the 

 various societies concerned with the study of natural history 

 and the preservation of our flora and fauna, whose duty it would 

 be to organize, each in its own State or locality, the carrying 

 out of special investigations. In addition to those who have 

 had a strictly scientific training, there are scores of able and 

 enthusiastic field naturalists who could ably undertake some 

 special study, confined, perhaps, but none the less valuable 

 because of this, to some locality with which he or she is 

 especially acquainted. 



National Museum, Melbourne, joth January, lyji. 



The " Austral Avian Record." — In the double number of 

 this journal (vol. iv., Nos. 4 and 5, issued i6th December) 

 thirtv-fivc pages are devoted to the completion of the " Name- 

 list of Australii'n lairds " already noticed in the December 

 Naturalist. The list offers many oppcn'tunities to i)ird-lovers to 

 relearn both specific and vernacular names for their favourites, 

 some of which will hardly be recognized in their latest christen- 

 ings. An article is devoted to some early paintings of Australian 

 birds by forgotten artists, and reference is made to General 

 Davies, (ividcntly one of the earliest students of AustraliaTi 

 ornithologv. A re-arrangement of the snipe and sandpipers will 

 alsft afforrl points for discussion to the systematist. 



