Wellington PTiilosopMcal Society. 443 



pumice was of great age, as it must have been deposited by tbe rivers wben 

 they ran at a much greater height than at present. Mr. Crawford did not 

 prove by his paper that the sea had not been relatively lower, or, in other 

 words, that the land had not been undergoing submergence. The sea could 

 never have been at a much higher level, or the pumice would have been 

 drifted up, but there is every reason to believe that the country was much 

 higher formerly, and, in the -interior, contained larger lakes by which the 

 pumice would be drifted up at great heights above the sea. 



Mr. Hart thought that indications of sea level, by deposits of pumice, 

 could not be relied upon as a measure of time, and instanced cases of sudden 

 elevations or depressions in this province. 



Mr. Travers said there were other indications of an alteration in the 

 elevation of the coast line ; for instance, the raised sea beach on the Hutt road. 



On the motion of Mr. Mantell, the discussion of Mr. Crawford's paper 

 was deferred until the first meeting after it should have been printed. 



3. " On Hybridization with reference to Yariation in Plants," by 

 "W. T. L. Travers, P.L.S. {Transactions, p. 31.) 



Dr. Hector remarked that it was highly satisfactory that a gentleman 

 who was a member of that Society had, by close observation of nature in 

 this colony, arrived at conclusions on this subject, Vt^hich were almost 

 identical with some of the views now advocated by Darwin, and he under- 

 stood from Mr. Travers that the substance of his paper was communicated 

 to Dr. Hooker, in a letter, some years ago. 



4. A paper by Mr. Buchanan, botanist and draughtsman to the Museum, 

 on "Variation in the New Zealand Plora" (reserved), was read by Dr. 

 Hector ; but as it was thought desirable to consider these two papers 

 together, the discussion was postponed until next meeting. 



Mr. Mantell suggested that the discussion would be rendered more 

 interesting and intelligible if specimens of the plants referred to by the 

 essayists were laid on the table. 



Resolved, " That the ordinary meetings of the Society should, in future, 

 be held at half -past seven for business, and that the reading of papers should 

 commence at eight o'clock." 



EouRTH Meeting. 25t]i August, 1868. 



W. T. L. Teatebs, F.L.S., in the chair. 



1. Mr. Crawford read the following notes by Mr. E. Baker, " On the 

 Appearance of a Meteor which had been recently observed by several 

 persons in the IS'eighbourhood of Wellington." 



