966 Transactions.— Zoology. 
pit No. 2 with a thickness of six feet. The deposit of bones was from one 
to two feet in thickness. All the more porous bones of Dinornis, such as 
the pelves, sterna, ribs, and vertebre, were, with the exception of a few 
vertebre, in an advanced state of decay. I should judge that there were 
double the amount of bones in this pit that there were in the first. The 
bones of Cnemiornis appeared to have resisted decay better than those of 
Dinornis. I do not think that it would be far from the mark to say that 
fully one-third of the birds in this pit were Cnemiornis, one-third adult 
Dinornis, chiefly of the smaller species, and one-third young Moas. Ionly 
saw one long metatarsus, and that belonged to a young bird. 
The bones were deposited in peat and silt, the same as in the first pit. 
Both pits are now washed away by the diggers, and during the progress of 
washing I kept an eye to the affair. I traced the gutter from which the 
spring water rose in the first pit, to pit No. 2, and the same red shingly 
gutter continues on up the flat. This establishes, beyond a doubt, in my 
mind, that the first pit was a spring; and further, that pit No. 2 had at 
some far remoter period been also a spring fed from the same source, A 
like discovery may never be made again. 
ArT. XLVII.—On Insects injurious to the Kauri Pine (Dammara australis.) 
By Captain Broun. 
[Read before the Auckland Institute, July 3rd, 1876.) 
Ir has often occurred to me that if entomologists were to communicate their 
knowledge of the insect fauna of New Zealand by the publication of papers 
descriptive of the habits of some of the more important groups, the subject 
would be treated in a manner more attractive to the members of the Insti- 
tute, as well as other readers of its “Transactions,” than could be done by 
the mere record of the number of species inhabiting these islands. More- 
over, the perusal of even the best classified list would afford but little infor- 
mation respecting the modes of life of numbers of insects which play an 
important part in the economy of nature; and which, it is desirable, should 
be fully understood by those most concerned. 
I am well aware that certain prejudices exist with reference to this 
subject, and that there are many who rather affect to despise that branch 
of natural history from which entomologists derive their chief delight; but 
if such were to have the matter presented to them so as to demonstrate the 
necessity of acquiring some knowledge of the functions of certain tribes of 
insects which materially affect their interests, I rather think their indif- 
ference might be changed to deep concern, 
