﻿352 
  Scientific 
  Intelligence. 
  

  

  Another 
  characteristic 
  of 
  all 
  the 
  Australasian 
  museums 
  is 
  

   highly 
  commendable, 
  namely 
  the 
  tenacity 
  with 
  which 
  they 
  all 
  

   cling 
  to 
  rare 
  specimens 
  of 
  archaeological 
  and 
  ethnographical 
  in- 
  

   terest, 
  instead 
  of 
  utilizing 
  them 
  for 
  exchange. 
  Those 
  of 
  us 
  who 
  

   deplore 
  the 
  disintegration 
  of 
  collections 
  will 
  sympathize 
  heartily 
  

   with 
  the 
  policy 
  adopted 
  in 
  the 
  South. 
  

  

  By 
  and 
  by, 
  the 
  time 
  will 
  doubtless 
  come 
  when, 
  under 
  some 
  

   system 
  of 
  federation, 
  a 
  capital 
  city 
  for 
  all 
  the 
  colonies 
  will 
  be 
  

   selected, 
  in 
  which 
  a 
  central 
  museum 
  may 
  gather 
  for 
  comparison 
  

   all 
  the 
  rarer 
  of 
  these 
  now 
  scattered 
  treasures, 
  but 
  it 
  is 
  to 
  be 
  hoped 
  

   that 
  none 
  of 
  these 
  which 
  are 
  unreplaceable 
  will 
  be 
  suffered 
  to 
  

   leave 
  the 
  country, 
  at 
  least 
  until 
  the 
  fragmentary 
  history 
  of 
  the 
  fast 
  

   vanishing 
  races 
  is 
  secured. 
  This 
  was 
  impressed 
  upon 
  the 
  writer 
  

   on 
  his 
  visit 
  to 
  one 
  of 
  the 
  museums 
  before 
  alluded 
  to, 
  in 
  which 
  

   there 
  was 
  a 
  fairly 
  large 
  collection 
  of 
  ceremonial 
  knives 
  and 
  

   weapons. 
  The 
  curator 
  pointed 
  out 
  the 
  slight 
  differences 
  existing 
  

   between 
  the 
  allied 
  groups 
  and 
  stated 
  that 
  some 
  of 
  the 
  types 
  of 
  

   manufacture 
  are 
  no 
  longer 
  to 
  be 
  met 
  with, 
  in 
  a 
  genuine 
  form. 
  It 
  

   is 
  worthy 
  of 
  note 
  that 
  excellent 
  imitations 
  of 
  some 
  of 
  the 
  rarer 
  

   types 
  are 
  to 
  be 
  obtained 
  of 
  dealers, 
  but 
  it 
  is 
  seldom 
  that 
  genuine- 
  

   ness 
  is 
  claimed 
  even 
  for 
  the 
  cleverest 
  of 
  the 
  copies. 
  

  

  Frequent 
  reference 
  has 
  been 
  made 
  in 
  these 
  papers 
  to 
  the 
  very 
  

   general 
  interest 
  felt 
  by 
  the 
  Australasian 
  public 
  in 
  matters 
  pertain- 
  

   ing 
  to 
  applied 
  science. 
  It 
  is 
  because 
  of 
  this 
  widespread 
  interest 
  

   that 
  the 
  botanic 
  gardens 
  and 
  museums 
  are 
  so 
  well 
  sustained. 
  

   Further, 
  it 
  is 
  on 
  this 
  account 
  that 
  the 
  various 
  institutions 
  which 
  

   deal 
  with 
  technology, 
  as 
  in 
  Adelaide, 
  Melbourne, 
  and 
  Sydney, 
  are 
  

   generously 
  supported. 
  There 
  are 
  certain 
  social 
  and 
  economic 
  

   factors 
  Avhich 
  render 
  it 
  less 
  easy 
  than 
  might 
  be 
  supposed, 
  to 
  give 
  

   to 
  these 
  and 
  kindred 
  institutions 
  all 
  the 
  aid 
  they 
  need 
  ; 
  taking 
  

   these 
  factors 
  into 
  consideration, 
  it 
  must 
  be 
  confessed 
  that 
  practi- 
  

   cal 
  scientific 
  education 
  receives 
  in 
  the 
  southern 
  hemisphere 
  a 
  

   greater 
  degree 
  of 
  attention 
  than 
  it 
  does 
  in 
  the 
  northern 
  : 
  far 
  

   greater 
  when 
  we 
  take 
  into 
  account 
  the 
  comparatively 
  small 
  pop- 
  

   ulation 
  of 
  Australasia. 
  

  

  Before 
  leaving 
  the 
  subject 
  of 
  the 
  gardens 
  of 
  the 
  South, 
  it 
  will 
  

   not 
  be 
  deemed 
  out 
  of 
  place 
  to 
  refer 
  to 
  the 
  excellent 
  private 
  gar- 
  

   dens 
  found 
  in 
  all 
  the 
  larger 
  towns. 
  The 
  writer 
  enjoyed 
  the 
  privi- 
  

   lege 
  of 
  visiting 
  some 
  of 
  the 
  finer 
  of 
  these 
  collections, 
  a 
  few 
  of 
  

   which 
  contained 
  specimens 
  which 
  would 
  be 
  considered 
  real 
  acqui- 
  

   sitions 
  by 
  any 
  amateur 
  horticulturist 
  in 
  the 
  world. 
  

  

  A 
  sketch 
  of 
  the 
  Queensland 
  Coast 
  will 
  come 
  most 
  conveniently 
  

   in 
  the 
  fourth 
  paper 
  of 
  this 
  series. 
  «;. 
  L. 
  <;. 
  

  

  IV. 
  Miscellaneous 
  Scientific 
  Intelligence 
  

  

  1. 
  American 
  Association 
  for 
  the 
  Advancement 
  of 
  Science. 
  

   Fortieth 
  Meeting, 
  at 
  Washington. 
  — 
  The 
  meeting 
  was 
  opened 
  on 
  

   the 
  10th 
  of 
  August^ 
  under 
  the 
  Presidency 
  of 
  Prof. 
  Albert 
  B. 
  

   Prescott, 
  of 
  Ann 
  Arbor, 
  Michigan. 
  The 
  valuable 
  address 
  of 
  the 
  

  

  