THE WOMBAT. 



Closely connected with the subject of affiliation, dis- 

 cussed below by " The Wombat," is that of mutual aid that 

 can be rendered among the various societies attached to an 

 institution. This is treated of below in one aspect by Mr. D. 

 Le Souef, and we would be glad to receive correspondence on 

 the subject. 



We have much pleasure in offering our congratulations 

 to Mr. A. J. Campbell on the occasion of his collection having 

 entered upon its sixth hundred species of Australian eggs, 

 and upon the success of the entertainment which he gave to 

 brother collectors in celebration of that event. We hope 

 that the son may do as well in the branch of science he has 

 chosen as the father has done in his. 



Writing in " The Mining Journal " upon the subject of 

 the " Wild West of Tasmania,'* Mr. F. E. Harris calls 

 attention to the practice of substituting for the native names 

 of localities, those of some distinguished personage. He 

 says — " The township at Mount Lyell is named Gormanston, 

 and with all due deference to the noble owner of that name, 

 it is not a euphonious one. Why, I often wonder, will our 

 Governments not adhere more to the native names which, as 

 a rule, are exceedingly pretty, and mostly have some meaning 

 relative to the place on which they are bestowed. Take, for 

 instance, ' Teepookana,' the name of the settlement at which 

 the Mt. Lyell railway terminates on the King River. It is at 

 once pleasing to the ear and appropriate to the place, as it is 

 the native name for the kingfisher, which bird is found on 

 this river." We heartily endorse the sentiments of Mr. Harris 

 in this respect, for not only are the native names more striking 

 and original, but the custom of adopting these manufactured 

 names, or names of some other English localities is often very 

 confusing. In Victoria we have many examples of this wherein 

 the appropriate native names have been discarded in favour 

 of pet names adopted by some recently arrived potentate who 

 for obvious reasons perhaps, cannot appreciate the descriptive 

 names given by the original occupiers. 



The Bendigo Amateur Photo Association has transferred 

 its quarters to the local school of mines, where its meetings 

 are now held. 



The announcement of the death of Baron Sir Ferdinand 

 Von Mueller, K.C.M.G., Ph.D., F.R.S., at the advanced age 

 of 71 years, was received with very general regret. Although 

 he had been unwell for some time, and his age reminded us 

 that he could not be much longer with us, still the fact of his 

 demise on the 10th of October, compels us to realise that 



