

SOlENTlFIC SOCIETIES. 155 



nearly destroyed the Ohi, or Mutton-bird, have been exterminated, and 

 there are no Weka Rails to destroy the ground-birds' eggs. Mr. Wright 

 makes a statement with regard to the presence of bees which appears 

 difficult to understand. He says : — " In Hauturu there are no bees, and 

 the natives assert that Hauturu is the only island in the Hauraki Gulf with 

 large timber where the native birds still exist in great numbers, and that 

 this is owing to the absence of bees, which do not fly so far across the 

 water, and which they have not permitted to be introduced. They instance 

 the Great Barrier and other islands, equally suitable for birds, whence they 

 have almost disappeared since the bees came." In what manner the bees 

 cause the disappearance of the birds is not evident, but doubtless there is 

 a reason for the statement made by Mr. Wright and the natives. The 

 advantages of Hauturu over Resolution Island, which was proposed for the 

 reception and preservation of the native birds, are stated by Mr. Wright to 

 be its greater distance from the mainland, so that birds of short flight could 

 not migrate; its mountains, which give a considerable range of climate, 

 forming a favourable habitat for birds from the southern parts of the 

 colony ; and its size, which would enable a resident to efficiently supervise 

 aud protect it from intruders. It has also the recommendation of possessing 

 no boat harbour, the whole island being encircled by dangerous boulder 

 beaches, and only having a safe landing-place on the southern end. He 

 thinks, also, that Hauturu would be admirably adapted for the experi- 

 mental acclimatisation of profitable trees, such as the orange, tea, coffee, 

 cinchona, &c. At present the island is magnificently timbered, the soil is 

 fertile, and he looks forward to the time when the beauty of its scenery will 

 cause it to be the show place in the North Island, where the last of the 

 native birds and specimens of the noble Kauri pine, native palms, and 

 ferns will flourish in their loveliness, when the primeval forest will have 

 long since been cleared away from the mainland. — The Field. 



SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES. 



Linnean Society of London. 



March 2, 1893. — Prof. Stewart, President, in the chair. 



Messrs. W. Ridewood, L. Ough, K. R. Kirtikar, and Rev. J. Lamont 

 were elected Fellows. 



Mr. Miller Christy exhibited some photographs of the American Bison, 

 taken from living wild animals, and gave some account of the present 

 restricted distribution of the species. Mr. A. G. Reushaw and Mr. W. 

 Carruthers detailed what they had been able to learn respecting it while 

 travelling in its former haunts. 



