Wellington Philosophical Society. 371 
The enumeration of our Whales and Dolphins, which I communicated to 
this Society, has already called forth critical remarks from the veteran zoologist 
in this branch, Dr. Gray, and these, with several other communications which 
have appeared in home publications relative to this class and most 
interesting to the New Zealand reader, have been placed in the library of the 
Society. I would specially refer to the elaborate description, by Professor 
Flower, of the skeleton of the Berardius arnouxti, which was sent home by 
Dr. Haast, and is now in the Museum of the Royal College of Surgeons. 
With reference to the Seals which inhabit our coast, I may state that the 
examination of a large number of young and old skulls, on my recent visit to the 
west coast of Otago, confirms me in the opinion that our present Fur Seals 
belong to one species, Arctocephalus cinereus, which is distinct from the Fur 
Seal of the island groups lying further to the south, such as the Auckland 
and Campbell Islands. However, in Dr. Haast’s collection of bones from 
Sumner Cave, which is perhaps one of the most ancient kitchen-middens 
that has been examined, I found the skull of this more southern species, which 
resembles Arctocephalus lobatus. 
The discovery of a second specimen of a skull of the great Elephant 
Seal among the sand-hills south of Hokitika—the first specimen having been 
obtained in Otago—is another instance of the modern extinction of a southern 
form of seal in these latitudes. 
In our ichthyology several very important additions have been made. 
The valuable communication by Captain Hutton added many new species of 
fish to the fauna, and already material for a still further addition has been 
obtained for the Museum. 
The successful introduction of Salmon during the past year is a subject of 
great importance, although the experiment was not successful on so large a 
scale as was anticipated. Still, it bas been proved that the ova can be brought 
out uninjured, even when submitted to hardships and delays that are quite 
unnecessary under a properly-organized system. For my own part, as I urged 
many years ago, I should prefer to see the experiment tried of obtaining the 
ova, not only of salmon, but of trout, white fish (Coregonus), and other 
species that inhabit the inland waters of British Columbia, in preference to 
shipments from Britain. The argument that the flavour of the West 
American salmon is inferior should not have any weight, when we remember 
that the salmon of every river has its peculiarity in this respect, and that 
nothing is more easily affected than the flavour of a fish according to the food 
upon which it lives. 
The catalogues of the Marine Mollusea and the Star-fish of our coasts, 
prepared by Captain Hutton, will be found invaluable to collectors ; but the 
most interesting contribution to the zoology of New Zealand is Captain 
