54G Proceedings. 



Institute, a great deal of trouble would have to be taken by the writer in the 

 preparation of his paper. This feeling deterred many who could supply 

 valuable information from contributing the result of their observations. It 

 could not be too widely made known throughout the province that the 

 Institute was prepared to receive statements of facts not only concerning the 

 subject which had been dealt with in the paper just read, but regarding 

 natural history objects and other matters of interest. The time would 

 undoubtedly come when the observations of the early settlers of the province, 

 however meagre and apparently unimportant at present, would be regarded as 

 of great value by scientific men. He hoped, therefore, soon to hear of many 

 of the up-country settlers following the example of Mr. Booth. 



Captain Hutton fully endorsed the remarks made by Mr. Murison as to the 

 great value of Mr. Booth's paper. He would be very glad to see other papers 

 written in the same style. The question of the extinction of the moa was one 

 thing, and the time it had lived was another. At the previous meeting he had 

 brought forward a paper to show that the moa had lived in the present 

 century, but how far back it lived was quite another question. He might say 

 that it had existed in New Zealand ever since it had been an island. He 

 should not be at all surprised in the brown coal series to come across the bones 

 of birds from which the moa had proceeded. He did not agree with Mr. 

 Booth's theories, and thought they would not bear much investigation. In the 

 first place, the difference of climate contended for could not be greater than 

 Hamilton as it is now and the sea-coast. He (Captain Hutton) thought that 

 would not be sufficient to warrant Mr. Booth's assumption. Secondly, Mr. 

 Booth seemed to lay great stress upon the question as to the moa not being able 

 to hatch its eggs. He (Captain Hutton) thought that was a mistake, and 

 referred to what history had stated of the ostrich not hatching its eggs. If he 

 had time he would be able to show that Mr. Booth's argument, that there were 

 no moas since the Lake period, had but little foundation. "With regard to the 

 absence of egg shells, that was a remarkable fact ; but there were numbers of 

 bones of little chicks or birds, not certainly more than a year old. He could 

 say that he had seen Glenmark on the Canterbury plains, but would not say 

 much about it, for fear he might get into a row. (Laughter.) The bones 

 were only found round springs similar to that at Hamilton. He was not 

 going to start any theory, but he freely acknowledged the good sense which 

 Mr. Booth had brought to bear upon the question. 



Mr. Thomson wished to know if the moa bones were diseased, and whether 

 the cold caused such a disease. 



Captain Hutton quite forgot that. Many 



Hocken 



Dr. 



also 



