Wakefield. — On the Coleoptera of Canterbury. 295 



those who have commenced to study any branch of zoological science in a new- 

 country. I allude to the extreme difficulty, nay, almost impossibility, of 

 ascertaining with precision what has been wfitten upon its fauna, and which 

 of its species have been described by European authors. Anyone who 

 attempts to describe those animals which he conceives to be new without 

 possessing this knowledge is certain not only to fall into many errors, but, by 

 the creation of unnecessary synonyms, to cause much confusion and to 

 obstruct rather than forward the cause of science. 



All those who are acquainted with the uncertainty which already exists 

 in scientific nomenclature, must be aware that persistence in such a course 

 would speedily reduce zoological literature to a perfect chaos. Mr. M'Lachlan, 

 the eminent neuropterist, in alluding to this subject says, in substance, as 

 follows : — " I conceive anyone to be guilty of a high crime against science 

 who describes a species as new without first endeavouring, by every possible 

 means, to ascertain whether it has already been described or not." In 

 Canterbury, however, our museums and libraries are, or were till very 

 recently, so miserably provided that it has been impossible for a collector 

 whose business confined him to the province to acquire this necessary infor- 

 mation. When we reflect upon the number of our colonists who have been so 

 fortunate as to revisit Europe, when we consider that many of them have 

 been men of wealth and influence, and, what is more to the purpose, when we 

 recollect that many of them have been sent home at the public expense and 

 have drawn liberal salaries from the public purse whilst in England, it must 

 be a matter of astonishment that scarcely any one of them should have 

 devoted a very small portion of his money and leisure to the purpose of 

 providing the naturalists of this province with the necessary means for 

 pursuing their studies. Miscellaneous contributions of all kinds are arriving 

 at our museum, and I fully admit their beauty and value, but what the 

 practical naturalist requires is a small collection^ consisting of d.uplicates of all 

 the New Zealand species existing in the museums of Europe. I fear it will be 

 some time before we possess this desideratum. Indeed, it was only about two 

 months ago that we heard that a copy of the " Zoology of the Yoyage of 

 H.M.S. ^Erebus' and 'Terror'" was at length on its way to Christchurch. 

 As this work may be considered the foundation stone of New Zealand natural 

 history I shall venture to make a short digression concerning it. 



When the " Erebus " and "Terror" returned home, about 1843, Parliament 

 voted, I believe, .£4,000 towards the publication of the results of the voyage. 

 Of this sum, <£2,000 was devoted to botany, and a like sum to zoology. In 

 due course Dr. Hooker produced the portion assigned to him in the shape of 

 that excellent work upon the flora of New Zealand, with which we have been 

 long familiar, and with which our libraries are pretty well provided. For 



