16 



NOVEMBER, 1879. 



The monthly evening meeting of the Society was held on Tuesday, 

 November 11. John Swan, Esq., in the chair. 



The Secretary (Dr. Agnew) brought under notice the usual returns for 

 the past month, viz. : — 



1. Number of Visitors to Museum.— On Sundays, 798 ; on week days, 



859. Total, 1657. 



2. Do. to Gardens.— Total, 5356. 



3. Books and periodicals received. 



4. Presentations to Museum. 

 Meteorological Returns. 



1. Hobart Town, from F. Abbott, Esq.— Table for October. 



2. Mount Nelson and Bruni Island, from the Marine Board — Tables for 



October. 



3. Melbourne, from R. J. L. Ellery, Esq. — Printed report for July, 1879. 



The presentations to the Museum were as follows : — 



1. From Mr. W. Legrand, Specimen of a Crinoid (probably Pentacriiius 



Caput- Medusce), from the West . Indies, [In reference to this 

 presentation the Secretary read the following extract from Nichol- 

 son's Manual of Zoology : — " Of the living stalked Crinoids the 

 best known is the Pentacrinus Caput- Medusce of the Carribean 

 Sea. More recently a stalked Crinoid has been discovered in the 

 Atlantic and North Sea, and has been described under the name of 

 Rhizocrinus Lofotensis. The chief interest of this form is the fact 

 that it belongs to a group of the Crinoido3, hitherto believed to be 

 exclusively confined to the Mesozoic rocks, viz., the Apiocrinidce, or 

 " Pear-encrinites." In fact, Rhizocrinus is very closely allied to the 

 Cretaceous genus Bourgueticrinus, and it may even be doubted if 

 it is generally separable from it. The late remarkable researches 

 into the life of the deeper parts of the ocean have brought to light 

 several new Crinoids, which will doubtless, when fully investigated, 

 still further fill up the interval between the living and extinct 

 Crinoidea."] 



2. From Mr. A. K, Johnson, Etheridge Paver, Queensland. — A net Head 



Dress, and a Bag, made by the aboriginal women of the Gilbert 

 Piver District, North Queensland. [In reference to the " Bag," the 

 donor states, in a note accompanying the presentation, that it is 

 made of wool " evidently from an old traveller's scarf, pulled to 

 pieces and twisted up again."] 



3. From Mr. R. Hill.— A Sample of Coal from Port Cygnet. 



4. From the Rev. T. McDowell. — Three Specimens of Auriferous Quartz, 



from the " New Chum " claim, Beaconsfield. 



5. From H. M. Hull, Esq.— The Minute Book of " The Society of Van 



Diemen's Land," 1841. This was the original minute book of the 

 old Tasmanian Society, which flourished under the auspices of Sir 

 John Franklin, and from which the present Royal Society had its 

 origin. 



6. From E. D. Swan, BIsq.— A Complete Suit of Japanese Armour. 



This presentation was examined with much interest. The helmet is 

 of iron, artistically constructed, and with its appendages weighs not 

 less than seven pounds. The other defensive armour, which is con- 

 fined to the chest, arms, and thighs, consists chiefly of thin plates of 

 metal, covered with lacquer and fastened to strong woven material. 



