110 ROYAL SOCIETY FKOM THE YEAR 1840 TO 1900. 



An article bj Dr. Hooker on the fossil wood found at 

 Macquarie Plains reminds us that the eminent surgeon was 

 even then pi-eparing to give the world the results of his 

 examination of the Flora of Tasmania. 



The catalogue of edible fruits and routs, compiled by 

 Mr. James Backhouse, finds its place here, considerably added 

 to by Mr. Ronald Gunn, whose work has left scarcely any- 

 thing to be done in this direction. There are descriptions of 

 the birds and some of the fish of Tasmania, an article or two on 

 the advantages of irrigation in the colony, and a list of native 

 words compiled from documents in the Colonial Secretary's 

 office by that i-emarkable adventurer, Jorgen Jorgenson, the 

 Convict King. 



A battle between the observers of the Ornithorhyncus as 

 to whether that extraordinary specimen were to be classed 

 as oviparous or viviparous was then at its height, and a 

 careful paper in this journal gives all the reasons for pr-e- 

 ferring to believe it viviparous, but no dawn of belief that 

 it might yet be found to have some of the characteristics of 

 both seemed to have visited the mind of anyone. A 

 legendary tale of the Australian Blacks, one of those collected 

 by Mrs. Parker, shows that the Aborigines, untroubled by 

 scientific considerations, had decided that it was a cross 

 between the kangaroo rat and the duck, laying its eggs like 

 the duck, and then caring for them like a kangaroo rat. 



Perhaps of even gi-eater interest to us at the present 

 time is the fact that the return of the ships Erebus and 

 Terror from their expedition to the Antarctic regions is 

 recorded in this volume, with a report of the work done by 

 Captains Ross and Crozier and those associated with them. 

 Lieut. Kay, of the Terror, remained here in charge of the 

 meteorological station, and did a great deal of work in 

 connection with the magnetic siu'vey of Tasmania. Both 

 subjects— that of Antarctic exploration and the magnetic 

 survey of Tasmania — have been very much shelved subjects 

 from that time until the last year or two. 



The late Mr. James Barnard was one of the earliest 

 members of the Society, and though, perhaps not a specialist 

 in any particular subject, was devoted to furthering the aims 

 of all the workers, and continued his interest in this Society 

 \intil its dissolution, and was a member of the Royal Society 

 until bis death. 



The Rev. T. J. Ewing early made a list of the birds of 

 Tasmania, and was one of the most useful members. 



Dr. Richardson began the classification of the fishes in 

 Tasmauiaii waters, which has since been carried on by other 

 ■workers, and completed by Mr. R. M. Johnston. 



