XV 



mania. The writer said that consider- 

 able interest invariably attached to the 

 discovery of meteoric substances, and he 

 therefore assumed that a few remarks 

 concerning the recent acquisition of a 

 small but reliable meteoric stone, fully 

 authenticated as having been unearthed 

 in this State, would be of interest. The 

 specimen, of which a lantern slide was 

 snown on the screen, displayed the se- 

 cond of these stones which have been 

 ■discovered in Tasmania, bringing the 

 total number recorded up to date as hav- 

 ing been found in Australasia to about 

 33 examples. Tho.ie recorded from Aus- 

 tralasia weighed from three to four tons, 

 to that novr described, which was the 

 smallest so far obtained. Mr. Petterd 

 i5aid it was beyond doubt that many had 

 been overlooked. To the average ob- 

 server they were very unattractive, and 

 it was only when they fell into the hands 

 of mineralogists that their nature was 

 revealed. The description of the Cas- 

 tra.y meteorite was: — Type, siderite ; < 

 weight, 51 grains ; size, length, 18 

 m.m. ; greatest breadth, 10 m.m. ; lo- 

 cality, Castray River. N.W. Tas- 

 mania. It was originally obtained, 

 with two others of like size and charac- 

 ter, by a miner in 1899, when ground- 

 sluicing the auriferous drift on the 

 Thanks of the Castray, and afterwards, 

 direct from the discoverer, came into 

 the possession of Mr. T. Birkett, the 

 well-known mine manager, by whom it 

 ivas presented to the mineral collection 

 of Mr. Petterd. 



Mr. Heyn, before reading his paper, 

 thanked the Administrator (Sir John 

 T)odds) and the Premier (Hon. M. E. 

 Lewis) for the help afforded him in his 

 work here, and forgave Mr. Alex. Mor- 

 ton for his indefatigable importunity to 

 induce him (Mr. Heyn) to come before 

 them that night. The people of Hobart, 

 possessing one of, if not the finest har- 

 houT in the world, could scarcely con- 

 ceive what the want of it meant in the 

 English Channel. It was to find the 

 piles necessary for the temporary stag- 

 ing used at Dover (England) harbour 

 construction, to enable the laying of 42- 

 ton concrete blocks, that he had come 

 to Tasmania, where he had succeeded in 

 getting magnificent blue gum piles, 

 Tanging up to 100ft. in length, and 20 

 inches square, at Norfolk Bay and Port 

 Esperance. Oregon timber of the same 

 dimensions could have been procured, 



but the best blue gum suited the sub 

 marine works at Dover better, on ac- 

 count of its greater specific gravity, du- 

 rability, and comparative impervious- 

 ness to ravages of the "terrida navalis," 

 or common sea-worm. From a cargo 

 sent them by Messrs. Gray Bros, they 

 had seen at Dover that this was the 

 most suitable. The process of utilising 

 the logs was illustrated by lantern 

 slides, prepared by Mr. Beattie. Mr. 

 Heyn congratulated Tasmania on having 

 thus additionally contributed towards 

 the defences of the Mother-Country. He 

 s^trongly recommended the use of 

 blue gum or stringly bark to pave a 

 street as a specimen of what could be 

 done with it. He emphasised the ne- 

 cessity of all timber being cut at the 

 proper time of the year, and properly 

 seasoned, before exportation or use, as 

 he preferred natural to artificial season- 

 ing. He doubted whether our black- 

 wood and Huon pine could be profitably 

 exported to England, as equally good 

 wood in black walnut or bird's-eye 

 maple could be purchased there at very 

 much lower prices. On entering the 

 bush here he had felt indignation and 

 sorrow at the wanton waste and ruin 

 which ignorance and recklessness had 

 caused in destroying thousands of splen- 

 did trees. He attributed this to ignor- 

 ance of the first principles of forestry, 

 and his remedy for that would be a 

 School of Forestry and Agriculture, 

 modelled on the plan of the most success- 

 ful ones on the Continent. Our youth 

 could attend them at the same time as 

 the ordinary schools. He dwelt upon 

 the necessity of reserving Crown lands, 

 and, where young trees were coming up^ 

 the desirability of planting firs, and 

 finally insisted upon the urgent neces- 

 sity of acting at once. Otherwise, in a 

 few years, our timber would be exhaust- 

 ed, and our fruit trade perhaps lost. 

 Norwegian timber which he saw was 

 being imported into Tasmania would 

 grow to perfection in its own soil. When 

 back in England it would always be a 

 pleasure to him to do anything he could 

 in the interests of Tasmania. (Ap- 

 plause.) 



In the discussion that followed^ 

 Hon. E. Muloahy remarked that Mr. 

 Heyn seemed to know more about our 

 local timber than many of our local men 

 did. Tasmania bad bad to face the fact 

 of the important market of Victoria 



