Anniversary Address. xxi. 
The various Museums which are under the charge of the In- 
stitute, and the incorporated Societies, have all been more or less 
enriched during the last year; notably that at Auckland, by the 
beautiful and valuable Pompeian statue presented, amongst other 
works of art, by Mr. Mackelvie. This Museum is also one of the 
many institutions at Auckland which have been so largely benefited 
by the munificence of the late Mr. Costley ; and, although it will not 
actually belong to the Institute, the Auckland members will have the 
additional advantage of the splendid library presented to that city by 
Sir George Grey. 
TRANSACTIONS FOR 1882. 
The large volume of Transactions and Proceedings for 1882 gives 
evidence of the genuine and valuable work that is still being done by 
the Institute. Amongst the essays which are printed at length in 
the volume, I wish especially to refer to Mr. Meyrick’s learned and 
careful account of his examinations concerning the Micro-lepidoptera 
of New Zealand, a comparatively new field for zoological research. 
The object of such inquiries may not at once be obvious, but they are 
nevertheless of great value as being immediately connected with im- 
portant agricultural interests; the minute moths, which form the 
subject of investigation, being amongst the most frequent causes of 
blight in plants. I am glad to observe that Mr. Meyrick intends 
continuing these investigations, and publishing the results through 
the medium of the Institute. Mr. Colenso’s rambles through the 
forest have added materially to our knowledge of the ferns and plants 
indigenous to this country ; and I trust that, although it seems a matter 
of great difficulty, the attention which Mr. Arthur has drawn to 
the question of the disease which is now playing havoc amongst the 
trout in Lake Wakatipu may ultimately lead to the discovery of some 
means whereby it may be overcome. The acclimatization of foreign 
varieties of fish is of such importance as a means of increasing the 
food-supply of this country, that it is a matter for serious concern 
that a disease should have appeared amongst the one variety —English — ..« 
trout—which it was hoped had been successfully introduced. LET 
I am particularly glad to find that the attention of members in — 
both Islands has again been drawn—as it had on several previous 
occasions—to the important, but too often forgotten, subject of forest 
conservation. As was pointed out by Captain Walker, in the inter- 
esting and exhaustive addresses delivered by him in 1876 and 1877, 
which are printed in the 9th volume of the Transactions, silviculture 
is doubly useful : first, on account of the value of the product; and, 
secondly, on account of the change of climate it brings about. | 
