650 
Canada, nor would the telegram have been wired back from Montreal 
to London, and from London to Australia, because, although the old 
naturalists thought that the animals referred to were oviparous, their 
belief has now been universally given up, and a statement of its inac- 
curacy would not have caused any surprise. 
Now it is a rather singular coincidence that in the very number 
of the »Register« that contained the above telegram my recent discovery 
of the oviparity of Echidna should have been published. In your report 
of the last meeting of our Royal Society, which took place on Tues- 
day, September 2. you say — »Dr. Haacke laid a number of spe- 
cimens on the table, including an egg found in the pouch of a female 
Echidna, in support of the theory that the Echidna, although a milk- 
giving animal, lays eggs, which are hatched in the pouch.« In addition 
to this I may say here that I found the egg on the 25th of August last 
in the mammary pouch (not the uterus) of a living Echidna hystrix, 
received about the 3rd ot the same month from Kangaroo Island 
through the kindness of Mr. A. Molineux. The egg was unfortu- 
nately decomposed inside, but the circumstance of the mother having 
been worried by being captured and kept in captivity easily accounts 
for this. 
Whether the priority of our independent discoveries belongs to 
Mr. Caldwell or to myself cannot be decided at present. 
I am, Sir, etc. i 
J. W. Haacke, Ph.D., Museum Director. 
S.A. Museum, September 5 « 
Am sechsten September brachte auch der »Advertiser« folgendes 
Londoner Telegramm: 
»The British Association at Montreal. 
London, September 5. 
A sensation has been caused at Montreal where the British Asso- 
ciation are sitting, in consequence of intelligence having been received 
from the Australian naturalists, Mr. Caldw ell and Mr. Liversedge, 
indicating important discoveries with regard to the habits and nature 
of Australian mammals. As these discoveries are regarded as.of the 
highest importance from a scientific point of view the association have 
passed a hearty vote of thanks to Messrs. Caldwell and Liver- 
sedge.« 
Nach allem Obigen unterliegt es bei mir nun keinem Zweifel, daß 
die Herren Caldwell und Liversidge (dieses ist die richtige 
Schreibweise) unabhängig von mir eine ähnliche Entdeckung gemacht 
haben, wie ich; ob früher oder später, ob bei Echidna oder Ornitho- 
