VI 



her Miul the be°r trndes. The T.ismaiiian 

 hlue gum (Eucalypuis globulus) and the 

 stringy hark (Eucalyptus obliqiia) are 

 amongst the must valuable luiidwoofl tim- 

 fieis of the world, and. even iu the teeth 

 of all almost prohibitive tariff, a certam 

 quantity was always exjiorted to the luain- 

 land. rhietly owing to the tad that the 

 timber cotintry is iti (.-lose pioximity to 

 water carriage, and the liandiiiij;' and 

 transport were, in con-equence. compara- 

 tively economical. Now, with the aboli- 

 tiou of the tariff, the deiuaiid must enor- 

 mously increase, and whtn on<'e a proper 

 system (jf re-afforestatiou is introduced, 

 Tasmania must gain enormou.-^iy and per- 

 manently from her wealth ot iorest land^. 

 Lastly, it has been found that, owing to 

 the temperate character of the climate 

 and the excellence ot the water suj ply. the 

 beer which is brewed iu Ta-mania is very 

 superior to the article piodiued on the 

 mainland. Even before rederation there 

 was a considerable export; and now that 

 the wliole of Australia is open to the Tas- 

 manian brewer, there seems every reason 

 to believe that the brewing industry ef 

 Australasia will inevitably gravitate to 

 the place where the climatic and gene- 

 ral conditions are favourable to 

 the production of the most superior ar- 

 ticle. In a brief sketch of this descrip- 

 tion it is impossible to do more tlian out- 

 line the new commercial tendencies which 

 are at work in this part of Australasia, 

 but enough has, perhaps been said to 

 show that, under fedeiatlou, the island 

 State of Tasmania is well woith the at- 

 tention of the British manufacturer and 

 the British capitalist. 



Discussion on the paper "was deferred 

 till the 12101 May. 



Notes on a New Tasmanian Eish. 



By Mr. K. M. .Johnston, E.S.S. 



^\v. Eodway, who takes a keen in- 

 terest iu all branches of the nataral 

 history of Tasmania, besides that of 

 his loved science of botany, of which 

 he is now our chief local authority, has 

 recently submitted for my examina- 

 tiou a small fish, preserved in spir- 

 its. Unfortunateh', there was ouly 

 one specimen obtained, and it is 

 so shrivelled up that some of the ray 

 characters cannot be very exactly deter- 

 mined. This specially appues to the an- 

 terior portion of the dorsal rays, which 

 for nearly half the length of this fin are 

 rudimentary or uudeveiOped, and closely 

 enveloped in a somewLiat thick and (nowi 

 opaque skin. However, tue principal 

 dental, scale, and other characters leave 

 no doubt in my mind as to its true generic 

 position, viz.. the genus Pseudochromis 

 of the family Tiachinidae. The follow- 

 ing contains a fuller description: — Family 

 Trachinidae. Genus Pseudochromis. 



JiUpp. llf'ad and body rather compress- 

 ed, more or leys elongate; cleft of the 

 mouth sligntiy oblique, with the lower 

 jaw longest; eye lateral. Scales of 

 moderate size, ciliated; lateral line in- 

 terrupted. One dorsal with a few spine:^ 

 anteriorly; ventrals thoracic; the lower 

 pectoral raj's branched; jaws with cardi- 

 form teeth, anterior with canines; vomer 

 and palatine bones toothed. Praeopercu- 

 ium entire. Six bianclnostegals; the 

 gili-membrane<; joined inferiorly; pseudo- 

 oranchiae and air bladder pre- 

 *«eut; pyloric appendages none. In- 

 dian Seas. Poit Darwin, Mac- 

 quarie Harbour, Ta?.mania. Pspudo- 

 chromi* lod'wavi K. M. .fohnston. D.3;26 — 

 27. A. 3; 17. P. f7. L. lat. 50? L. tr. 11. Tlie 

 heigiii of the body is nearly five 

 times in the total length; the 

 length of the head four and 

 a half. In front of both jaws there are 

 markedly curved canine teeth, the three 

 in the lower jaw the stronger; theie are, 

 besides narrow bands of small canine^ 

 reetii on jaws, vomer and palatine bones; 

 no spines on the operculum. Dorsal and 

 anal produced posteriorly; half of the 

 anterior portion of the former undevelop- 

 ed or rudimentary, and enveloped for the 

 most part in a somewhat thick (now) 

 opaque, skinn,y integument. The number 

 of spines on dorsal probably three, but 

 not detei mined satisfactorily. Diameter 

 Oi the ej'e nearly equal to width of inter- 

 orbital space, and greater than th© 

 length of the snout. Colour in spirits a 

 uniform darkish brown. This interesting 

 little fish is only about 3 6-8in. in 

 length, and is somewhat of thfr 

 general appearance of one of 



our common shore blennies. Mr. 

 Bodway informs me that the fish was cap- 

 tured by Mr. Hinsby, an enthusiastic col- 

 lector, in. or near Macquarie Harbour. It is 

 to be hoped that he naay soon obtain a. few 

 more specimens, in order to settle a few 

 doubtful points in some of the characters. 

 It is remarkable that, with the exception 

 of a single member of the genus (P muel- 

 leri). described by K"lunz:nger from Port 

 Darwin), this is the first miember of the 

 genus caught in Ausf^raiian waters. The 

 v^peclfic name is given by me in honour of 

 our own distinguished botanist, Mr. L. 

 B.odway. 



Yores of Thanks. 



The Hon. Adye Don§»las (President of 

 the Legislative Coancil) moved, and the 

 Hon. N. E. Lewii (Premier) seconded, a 

 vote of thanks to the president, which 

 Avas cordially passed. 



The President moved a vote of thanks 

 to the leaders of the three papers, which 

 was also agreed to. 



Members and the ladies present then, 

 adjourned to the large room, where re- 

 freshments were partaken of. 



