Ipswich Museum. 147 
the plant a very peculiar aspect. This variety was originally intro- 
duced from Inverness-shire, and has been cultivated many years in 
the Garden at Lochar. 
A letter was read from Mr. Hailstone, mentioning that he had 
gathered specimens of Cynosurus echinatus near Thorpe Arch, York- 
shire. 
Mr. J. T. Syme exhibited a specimen of Melilotus arvensis picked 
between Inverkeithing and Limekilns. This plant has been observed 
in several spots near Edinburgh, more especially at St. David’s and 
other parts of Fife. 
Dr. Balfour exhibited a specimen of Eriophorum alpinum picked 
by him in Durness, Sutherlandshire, 21st August 1827, when accom- 
panying the late Professor Graham on a botanical trip. Dr. Balfour 
stated that, at that time, he had just commenced the study of botany, 
and that the plant was put by him among specimens of Scirpus ce- 
spitosus. 
IPSWICH MUSEUM. 
«On the Gigantic Birds of New Zealand, and on the Geographical 
Distribution of Animals :’’ the substance ofa Lecture delivered at the 
Anniversary Meeting of the Ipswich Museum, by Professor Owen. 
After some appropriate introductory remarks, Professor Owen en- 
tered upon the subject of his discourse by narrating the circum- 
stances which first brought to his knowledge the fact of the exist- 
ence, at some former period, if not at the present time, of gigantic 
birds, incapable of flight, in the islands of New Zealand. He exhi- 
bited a single fragment of bone, which had been submitted to him 
in 1839, which was affirmed to have been found in New Zealand, and 
he defined the steps in the series of comparisons which led to the con- 
clusion that it must have formed part of a bird as large as the Ostrich, 
but of a heavier and less agile species. He next gave an account of 
the different species of wingless or struthious birds which were known 
to science at that time; he more especially described the Apteryx of 
New Zealand, and the Dodo of the Mauritius; and pointed out the 
remarkable character of their geographical position. The progressive 
steps in the restoration of the probably extinct wingless birds of New 
Zealand were then explained and illustrated by the plates of the works 
which Professor Owen had published on the subject, and by enlarged 
diagrams. The importance attached to the first fragment of bone 
stimulating the colonists to special researches, the remains of these 
extraordinary birds, which had escaped the notice of Banks and 
Solander, and successive naturalists, up to the year 1839, were soon 
obtained, and in unexpected abundance and perfection. The bones 
of the leg were first transmitted in October 1843, by the Rev. Mr. 
Williams, a church missionary, now Archdeacon of the Diocese of 
New Zealand. Casts and figures of some of the most remarkable of 
these bones were exhibited and explained. They indicated at least 
five distinct species, varying in height from three feet to eleven feet. 
The average stature of the Ostrich is six feet. The absence of air- 
cells in these bones, and their dense structure, confirmed the original 
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