MAY, 1879. 



A monthly evening meeting of the Society was held on Monday, May 

 12. His Excellency the Governor in the chair. 



William Henry Burgess, Esq., Mayor of Hobart Town, who had pre- 

 viously been nominated by the Council, was balloted for and declared 

 duly elected as a Fellow of the Society. 



The Hon. Secretary, Dr. Agnew, drew attention to the following re- 

 turns received since last meeting, viz : — 



No. of visitors to Museum, April. On Sundays, 794, on week-days 

 929 : Total 1723. 



2. Ditto to Botanic Gardens, 4262. 



3. Plants sent from Gardens. For grounds of Industrial School, 



Harrington Street, 100 Plants. 



4. Seeds received at Gardens :— From Mr. H. M. Hull :^ Nine kinds_ of 



seeds of forest trees sent by the Exhibition Commissioners, Phila- 

 delphia. From Mrs. C. Meredith : 10 packets of seeds from Cash- 

 mere, including Nelumhlum speciosum. From Baron Ferd. von 

 Mueller: 14 packets seeds (various). 



5. Periodicals received. 



6. Presentations to Museum and Library. 

 Meteorological Returns : — 



1. Hobart Town, from F. Abbott, Esq., Table for April. 



2. New Norfolk, from W. E. Shoobridge, Esq., Table for April (abstract) 



— Monthly means of Observations taken during the year 1878. 



3. South Bruni, tables for March and April, and Mt. Nelson for April. 



From the Marine Board. 



4. New Zealand, from Dr. Hector, F.R S., etc. : Printed tables June 



to December, inclusive, 1878. 



5. Adelaide, from C. Todd, Esq., C.M.G. : Printed tables for May, 1878. 

 The presentations to the Museum and Library were as follows : — 



1. From J. Alun Jones, Esq. : A collection of ornaments made and worn 



by the KafBr women, viz., necklaces, girdles, an apron, etc. Also 

 a head ornament worn by the fighting men. 



2. From — Atkinson, Esq., Latrobe, per the hon. D. Lewis : A sample 



of coarse gold. The following extract from a note from Mr. Lewis, 

 in reference to this presentation was read: — "I have been re- 

 quested by Mr. Atkinson, of Latrobe, to forward you for pre- 

 sentation to Royal Society's Museum, Hobart Town, a small 

 sample of gold dust, obtained from land on the Kentish Plains, 

 near the foot of Mount Roland, and about seven miles from the 

 Mersey and Deloraine tramway. The gold is very similar to 

 quantities I saw at Brandy Creek, and I was told was found nearly 

 in the grass at the surface, and without any difficulty." 



2. From Mrs. Stokell. Skull of a New Zealand Native. 



4. From Mr. George Wilson, Huntsworth. A Specimen of Tartarean 

 Oat. Dr. Agnew explained that the stalks— 26 in number — of 

 this splendid specimen were the produce cf a single grain, and the 

 number of grains in the head was considerably above a thousand. 

 Of this oat Mr. Wilson had frequently grown, at Mount Seymour, 

 as much as 100 bushels to the acre. 



Library. 1. "Historical Records of Port Phillip." By J.J. Shilling- 

 law. From Government of Victoria. 



2. "The Aborigines of Victoria." By R. Brough Smyth. From- ditto. 



The original contributions submitted to the meeting were numerous and 

 nteresting. The Secretary read a long and valuable paper, by Mr. R. M. 

 Johnston, entitled "Observations on the Distribution and Variability of 

 Tasmanian Land Shells." 



Mr. T. Stephens read a paper, "On recent additions to the Flora of 



