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CONCERNING VARIOUS MEANS OF ENCOURAGINa 

 THE STUDY OF NATURAL HISTORY IN TASMANIA. 



[By James R. McCltmont, M.A.] 



When consulting, recently, the British Museum Catalogue 

 of Lizards, I found that about eighteen species or varieties 

 were attributed to Tasmania, whereas only about five speeies 

 are admitted by local authorities. This impressed on me the 

 fact which I had previously seen stated, that our natural 

 history collections are, in some respects, still very incomplete. 

 Possibly some of the British Museum specimens of lizards are 

 wrongly allocated, but, allowing for errors in this direction, it 

 would still appear that the collection of Tasmanian lizard.s in 

 London is more complete than any in Tasmani:^. However, 

 I quote the instance as typical, not as exceptional. The same 

 is true of the MoUusca. "Nearly half," says Mr. R. M. 

 Johnston, " of the number of the principal type species (of 

 shells) are deposited in foreign museums, and are therefore 

 inaccessible for purposes of reference to local students " (R. 

 S. Tas. Proc, IS90,'p. 57). 



I am afraid the dispersal of these specimens shows that 

 very little patriotic interest is taken in this matter, and I 

 purpose, briefly, to enquire how such an interest can be 

 awakened and sustained. I shall deal with three only of the 

 most evident means to this end. 



(1) The establishment of district museums. 



(2) The compilation of cheap scientific manuals, having 

 special reference to the natural history of Tasmania. 



(3) The establishment of a lectureship in biology in con- 

 nection with the Tasmanian University. 



(1) My idea of a district museum is a local depository of 

 specimens of the fauna and flora of some well-defined geo- 

 graphical area, such as a group of islands, or a peninsula, or 

 a portion of coast to a given distance inland, or a table-land, 

 or a mountain chain. From a strictly scientific standpoint, 

 such an area would be limited by the homogeneity of its flora 

 or fauna, or by the individu ility of its geological features. 

 But as one object of looal museums in a new country would 

 be to discover such boundaries, not to ratify them ; the 

 definition of a museum area must, in the first instance, result 

 from convenience and practicability. 



If we had Field Naturalists Clubs in Tasmania there would 

 be no difiiculty about opening local museums. These clubs 

 make it part of their work to form collections of natural 

 objects, and we can imagine wdiat healthy rivalry must be 

 created between clubs in different districts, each striving to 



