THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. 79 



A Rare Victorian Orchid. — Some twelve years ago I was 

 fortunate enough to find near Oakleigh an orchid which, on 

 examination by the late Baron von Mueller, proved to be new, 

 and which he named Prasophyllum dixoni {Vict. Nat., ix., 44) in 

 honour of my companion, Mr. J. E. Dixon, a well-known member 

 of our Club. Only two specimens were found at the time, and I 

 have searched for this orchid every year since without success 

 until last month, when I again found it, in the district between 

 Oakleigh and Cheltenham. No other records for this orchid 

 seem to exist. — C. French, jun. 19th June, 1906. 



The Superb Warbler. — The question as to whether the 

 Superb Warbler, more often called the Blue Wren, Malurus 

 cyaneus, Ellis, changes its plumage twice a year has been 

 frequently discussed at our Club. Some contend that the gay 

 plumage is only the nuptial dress, and that, as soon as the breed- 

 ing season is past, it reverts to the modest brown garb of the 

 female. Others, myself included, have maintained that bright- 

 coloured males may be found throughout the year. During the 

 past two months a number of Blue Wrens have made my garden 

 their home, and amongst them are two beautiful males in full 

 livery, which we see nearly every day, displaying their colours on 

 the tops of the bushes. On Saturday last, 23rd June, ray 

 daughter saw several others at Bundoora, so this is not an 

 isolated case. — G, A. Keartland. Preston, 25th June, 1906. 



The National Museum. — In "The Book of the 'Public 

 Library, Museums, and National Gallery of Victoria," by Mr. E. 

 L. Armstrong, M.A., LL.B., Chief Librarian, recently issued in 

 connection with the jubilee of the foundation of the Melbourne 

 Public Library, will be found some interesting notes of the early 

 history of the National Museum. In speaking of the late Sir 

 Frederick M'Coy as the first Director of the Museum, Mr. Arm- 

 strong relates that in 1856 the members of the Philosophical 

 Institute (now Royal Society) asked that they might be allowed 

 to hold their meetings at the Library, and that the specimens 

 belonging to the National Museum, then in the Government 

 Assay Office, might be moved to the Public Library instead of to 

 the University, as had been proposed. The Trustees agreed to 

 the latter suggestion, and instructed their architect to prepare 

 plans for the southern portion of the Swanston-street front, in 

 order to house them. In the meantime, however, Prof M'Coy 

 had been appointed Palaeontologist to the Geological Survey, the 

 head of which. Sir Andrew Clarke, had got together the specimens 

 forming the so-called National Museum. The then Governor, 

 Sir Charles Hotham, looked upon the collection of stuffed beasts 

 and birds as a useless fad, and its dispersal was seriously con- 

 sidered. The Philosophical Society, as we have seen, advocated 



