10 



[In reference to this presentation, Mr. Stephens observed that there 

 had hitherto been some doubt as to the species of Athrotaxis which 

 furnished the timber known on the North Coast under the name of " pencil 

 cedar," as cUstinguished from other " red pine,"'but it now appeared tolerably 

 certain that it was obtained from A. cupressiformis, the smaller of the 

 two trees. The logs from which these specimens were cut were from the 

 neighbourhood of Middlesex Plains, and both trees are sparingly distributed 

 in other parts of the North at an elevation of from 1,000 to 3,000 feet. 

 Mr. Ronald Gunn had kindly furnished specimens of the foliage of both 

 species. The red pine of Port Davey had been shown by Mr. J. R. Scott 

 to be Athrotaxis sdaginoides.^ 



13. From the Rev. J. E. Tenison Woods, F.L.S. — Specimens of Crabs from 



Bruni Island. 



14. From R. C. Gunn, Esq., F.R.S., F.L.S. — An extensive Herbarium, 



principally Tasmanian. 



[The meeting was informed by the Secretary that this great Herbanium, 

 the result of forty years collecting by Mr. R. C. Gunn, was presented 

 to the Museum by the owner with the sole proviso that duplicates should 

 be returned to him. The labour of arranging, re-papering, and classifying 

 euch a vast collection would be enormous ; but the Rev. W. W. Spicer 

 and Mr. J. R. Scott had kindly undertaken it, and were engaged daily on 

 the task. When this was finished, the presentation, in its perfect state, 

 would again be brought under the notice of the Fellows. Mr. Grant, in 

 the most liberal manner, had bi'ought the several large cases containing 

 the collection, free of cost, from Launceston by the railway. (Applause.)] 



His Excellency remarked that the collection of Alg£E (presentation No. 7) 

 by Mrs. Meredith was an exact illustration of a subject he had referred to in 

 his inaugural address, to wit the aid which may be rendered to science by 

 careful collectors. Mrs. Meredith had lately informed him that she had no 

 special knowledge of Algaj, and yet the first scientist in this branch in 

 Europe acknowledges the great obligations he is under to her for new 

 specimen.?. 



The presentations to the Library were as follows : — 



1. From the Surgeon General, United States Army, " Report of Cholera 



Epidemic of 1873, in United States."— 1 Vol. 4to, pp. 1025. 



2. From C. M. Maxwell, Esq. — First part of a work on the Australian 



Orchids, published for the Government of New South Wales. 



3. From the Linnean Society of New South Wales — Proceedings of the 



Society, vol. I., part 1. 



4. P^rom Dr. Agnew — Publications of the Historical and Archaeological 



Association of Ireland, 1874-5. 

 6. From Government of Victoria — "Index of Victorian Patents and 



Patentees" vol. 8. 



6. From His Excellency the Governor — A copy of a work entitled 



"Natural History of Insects, Serpents, and Dragons." By John 



Johnston, M.D., Frankfort, 1652. 



Also a " Brief account of Bushman Folk-lore, and other texts," By 



. W. H. J. Bleek, Ph.D. Presented to the House of Parliament, Cape 



of Good Hope. 



His Excellency, the President, in reference to observations made by 



tim in the inaugural address he had delivered at last meeting, desired to 



state that Mr. Abbott had been so good as to jjoint out to him that he had 



been mistaken in supposing that the seeds of iufericjr varieties of Eucalypti 



were likely to be passed off on seedsmen or buyers as the seeds of the 



Blue Gum, Eucalyptus globulus. Mr. Abbott had thoroughly investigated 



the matter, and had convinced him he had sj^oken luider a misapprehension. 



At the same time he had not s[)okeu either without authority or without 



seemingly good grounds. It was only on that morning Sir James Wilson 



