67 



6. From Mr. A. Simson— upwards of ISO specimens, comprising 



about 50 varieties, of Queensland shells, named. 



7. From Mr. J. Dryam, Oatlands — a Wombat ( Phascolmys wombat). 



8. From Mr. Groombridge, per Mr. J. W. Graves, a Pied Cormorant 



( Phalacrocorax melanoleucus), shot at Brown's River. 



9. From the Government of India — " Eecords of the Geological Sur- 



vey of India, vol. 6, parts 1 to 4. " Memoirs" of ditto, vol. 1, 

 part 1, vol. 4, parts 3, 4, vol. 10, part 1. 



10. From Dr. Haast, Christchurch, New Zealand — " Researches and 

 excavations at the Moa Bone Cave, Sumner, N.Z., 1872. 



The Secretary read a letter from Mr. Trappes, Oyster Cove, sug- 

 gesting the advisability of introducing the Falkland Island Tussac 

 Grass into the colony, and referring to an article on the plant in the 

 Penny Magazine (31st May, 1845). Mr. Abbott, Superintendent of the 

 Gardens, informed the meeting that he did not consider the Tussac 

 Grass likely to be of so much value as the Calif ornian "Bunch 

 Grass." Of this he expected a supply very shortly from the Agri- 

 cultural Department of the American Government, and he hoped to 

 have an opportunity of reporting upon it on an early occasion. 



[The Tussac Grass was tried in the Gardens about five years ago, but 

 was not found to succeed. A short but good notice of it appears in 

 Chambers's Encyclopaedia. ] 



The Secretary called the attention of the members to a suggestion 

 which had been made at the last meeting, to the effect that the 

 Gardens might be kept open to a later hour in the evening. The 

 Council had had the matter under consideration, and had obtained 

 from the Superintendent of the Gardens all the information possible 

 on the matter. It was found, however, that no change in the hour 

 could be made, owing to the circumstance that no funds were at the 

 disposal of the Council for payment of the extra attendants who would 

 in that case be required. It was doubtful, too, if it would be prudent 

 to have the Gardens open to a later hour. The Superintendent re- 

 ported that the disgraceful practice of pilfering and destroying flowers 

 had of late considerably increased, and he was certain, unless he had 

 a very large amount of detective force, that these disreputable practices 

 would, be carried on to a much greater extent in the event of later 

 hours being established. In connection with these thefts, it had also 

 been noticed that they had been frequently perpetrated by persons 

 who were well aware of the value of the property they were stealing, as 

 it frequently happened that any particularly choice specimens were 

 the first to suffer. He (the Secretary) might add, however, that the 

 Council were fully alive to the necessity of putting a stop to these 

 thefts, and were quite determined to prosecute in future, as severely 

 as the law would permit, any person found guilty of such mischievous 

 and shamefully dishonest conduct. 



Mr. Morton j^llport read a paper, entitled " Further Notes on the 

 Salmon Experiment." 



Professor Harkness (agreeably to a request from the Council) offered 

 some remarks on the approaching Transit of Venus. He explained the 

 importance of determining the exact distance of the sun as a basis for 

 working out many important calculations in astronomy, and described 

 the general methods adopted for ascertaining this distance as well 

 as certain modifications in some of the minor details which were to be 

 employed by various Governments. By means of diagrams on a black- 

 board he showed how the planes of the orbits of the Earth and Venus 



