THE AUSTRALIAN MUSEUM MAGAZINE 



213 



not appear to have been very success- 

 ful, we shall be pleased to give them to 

 you." 



Before we parted, we received an 

 invitation to visit the ship, and on the 

 appointed day we went on board. 

 Professor Moseley, Dr. Suhm, Dr. 

 Crosbie, and others were there, and we 

 spent a very pleasant afternoon. All 

 on board were eager to have Trigonias, 

 and before the ship left Sydney I had 

 parted with all my duplicates. 



Prior to the departure of the Chal- 

 Irnger for New Zealand, Captain Nares 

 and his officers and the scientific staft' 

 invited a number of Sydney residents, 

 including myself, to accompany the 

 ship on a trip outside the Heads to 

 witness dredging and trawling opera- 

 tions. Captain Nares consulted me as 

 to the best place to cast the dredge, and 

 I advised him to wait until we were six 

 or seven miles outside the Heads, as, 

 nearer in, it would probably bring up 

 some of the silt dumped by the punts. 

 However, on the advice of Dr. J. C. 

 Cox, who was later Crown Trustee and 

 President of this Museum, the dredge 

 was lowered when we were but two and 

 a half miles out. The following extract 

 from the Evening News describes the 

 result : — 



As soon as the donkey winch commenced 

 to heave away, an anxious crowd gatliered 

 on the bridge, and, as the rope came in, the 

 eager throng held their breath in expectation. 

 When the chain attached to the dredge 

 appeared in view, the interest heightened. 



There stood the scicntisfs. like bldodhoinuls 

 on the leash. J'rofessor Thompson - ti-icd to 

 look as dignified as a man of his experience in 

 such matters should look. Drs. Cox and 

 Bennett strained their necks and eyes. 

 Jlessrs. Hargraves and Brazier, the pos- 

 sessors of every known shell on our coasts, 

 wore a look of painful anxiety. P^ven those 

 not immediately interestetl in Conchology, 

 or any other science, were infected. The 

 Reverend W. B. Clarke was excited and 

 uneasy. The eager crowd was not kept long 

 in suspense. First a{)peared the shackles 

 and chain, then the arms of the dredge, and 

 then the object of all their hopes itself — 

 emp y and hare ; not a specimen was visible. 

 The lengthening of jaws was perceptible, and 

 even groans escaped fi'om the enthusiasts. 

 Silently and sadly they laid it down on the 

 deck of the bridge. 



When we were about four miles out 

 the trawl was cast and some rare fish 

 were obtained. Six miles out the 

 dredge was again let down in much 

 deeper water and brought up a number 

 of interesting specimens, including 

 Valuta undulata, a new species of Murex, 

 three species of Trigonia, a new Coma- 

 tula, crabs, and other rare animals. 



After lunch we lost one dredge off 

 Long Bay and another between Coogee 

 and Bondi, in consequence of the rocky 

 nature of the bottom ; before this the 

 Challenger had lost only one dredge on 

 the whole voyage. 



Just before dark the ship returned to 

 her moorings off Fort Denison, everyone 

 having spent a most delightful day. 



2 Professor C. Wyville Thomson, leader of 

 the scientific staf? of the Challenger. 



Mr. J. F. G. Stokes, Ethnologist of 

 the Bernice Bishop Pauahi Museum, 

 Honolulu, worked for some time at 

 this Museum recently. He is specially 

 interested in Polynesian peoples and 

 their culture. 



Lieutenant-Colonel L. Hore, Dis- 

 trict-Officer, Kokopo, New Guinea 

 Territory, is at present on holiday in 

 Australia, and took the opportunity to 

 examine our entomological collection. 

 He hopes to do a good deal of natural 

 history collecting when he returns to 

 New Guinea. 



Mrs. Wilson, widow of Dr. E. A. 

 Wilson, who perished with Captain 

 Scott's last Antarctic Expedition, re- 

 cently called at the Museum to examine 

 our collection of Australian bats, a 

 group to which she has devoted con- 

 siderable attention. Mrs. Wilson is an 

 accomplished naturalist and a skilful 

 collector. 



The coral pool group is now installed 

 and makes a striking and beautiful 

 exhibit. We hope to publish a descrip- 

 tion of the group and its construction 

 in our next number. 



