64 



THE AUSTEALIAN MUSEUM MAGAZINE. 



is now proposed to instal electric light- 

 ing in tliese rooms, and also in the Lec- 

 ture Hall, where its introduction wall be 

 a great boon. At the same time the 

 lion group and the Antarctic tableau 

 will be electrically liglited, with, it is 

 hoped, a gi-eat increase in effectiveness. 



Collecting. 



Recognising that closer settlement is 

 slowly but surely depleting our native 

 fauna, and that our collections are still 

 sadly deficient in material suitable for 

 modern study, the trustees have wisely 

 decided that the Museum should take a 

 more active interest in field collecting- 

 In furtherance of this policy Messrs. E. 

 Le G. Troughton and J. H. Wright 

 have been sent to South and Western 

 Australia to obtain specimens of some 

 of the rarer Australian mammals and 

 birds, and Messrs. H. S. Grant and J. 

 II. Wright will subsequently proceed 

 to the Keclierche Archipelago, south of 

 Esperance. Western Australia, with an 

 expedition led by Mr. A. F. Basset Hull, 

 who is collecting and observing on be- 

 half of Mr. H. L. White, of Belltrees, 

 >icw South Wales. It is a pleasing 

 duty to express our appreciation of the 

 public-spirited action of Mr. Anthony 

 Hordern, who has kindly made avail- 

 able part of the Hordern and Le Souef 

 Research Fund to help in defraying the 

 expenses of our officers while collecting 

 in Central Australia, and of Mr. White, 

 who generously invited the trustees to 

 send two collectors to accompany the 

 Recherclie Expedition. 



Nearer home some field work has also 

 been done within the last few months. 

 Mr. A. Musgrave spent some days at 

 Upper Chicliester, near Dungog, col- 

 lecting mammals and insects, and 

 Messrs. C. Hedloy and J. R. Kinghorn 

 •joined the Roj-al Australasian Ornitholo- 

 gists' Union in their annual "camp out" 

 at Wallis Lake, near Tuncurry. 



By the kindness of Mr. E. B. Hark- 

 ness, UnderrSecretary Cliief Secretarj^'s 

 Department, and Mr. A. P. Summer- 

 greene, manager of the State Trawling 

 Industry, Messrs. F. McNeill, A. Liv- 

 ing'stone. and H. 0. Fletcher, have at 

 different times accompanied one of the 

 State , trawlers on its cruise, and have 



thus been able to secure valuable ma- 

 terial for our collections. 



Museum Groups. 



The Museum staff have been busily 

 engaged for some time past in prepar- 

 ing groups for exhibition. A flying fox 

 group is Hearing completion; a large 

 number of these bats will be shown 

 clinging in characteristic attitudes to the 

 branches of a tree. 



Another interesting exhibit will be a 

 pool showing the celebrated lung fish 

 {Xeoceratodns) of Central Queensland; 

 a number of casts of this interesting fish 

 liave already been prepared by Mr. C. 

 Clutton, and these will be coloured from 

 studies made on living specimens. 



Early in January some members of 

 the staff will proceed to Lord Howe Is- 

 land to obtain the materials and make 

 the necessary sketches for a coral reef 

 group, and a cliff scene with nesting 

 boatswain birds and wide-a-wake terns. 

 Mr. A. E; Phillips has generously jjro- 

 mised a donation of £20 towards the 

 expenses of this expedition, if four 

 others will present a like amount; Sir 

 James Burns, trustee, has, with charac- 

 teristic generosity, agreed to make one 

 of tlie four. 



Need of Funds. 



It is with peculiar pleasure that I 

 liave referred to the generosity of these 

 \arit)us donors, for, though we are in- 

 debted to many kind friends for valu- 

 able donations of specimens, notably the 

 Hargraves collection of shells presented 

 by Mr. Thomas Walker in 1877, never 

 before have we received any private 

 benefactions for collecting, which is the 

 very life of a museum. In America, 

 where they do tliese tilings inucli better, 

 the expenses of collecting expeditions 

 are almost invariably borne by private 

 benefactors, and at the present time two 

 American museums have experienced 

 collectors in Australia, who are doing 

 remarlvably good work. Tlie Australian 

 Museum is embarking on new enter- 

 prises, of which tliis magazine is one, 

 and increased activity in collecting is 

 another; for these purposes funds are 

 -required, and we confidently look to 

 Australian citizens of means for help. 



