86 JOURNAL OF SCIENCE. 
It is a pity, when such fine work was introduced into the volume, 
that the bulky diagrams illustrating Mr. Russell’s paper on 
“ Tropical Rains,” and the meteorological chartsof the Sydney OE- 
servatory had not been reduced by photo-lithography to a more 
elegant size. Asitis, they disfigure the book by their unwieldi! 
ness, and besides run a great risk of being torn to rags if often 
consulted. 
Mr. Manning’s paper entitled “Notes on the Aborigines of 
New Holland” has been already referred to ; but we notice for 
the first time a paper on the same subject by Mr. John Fraser, of 
West Maitland. The author seems to have studied the native 
habits and characters to some purpose, and his facts probably 
form a valuable contribution to the literature relating to the 
Australian aborigines. The preface is however a singular pro- 
duction. Mr. Fraser is evidently a firm believer in the story of 
Ham and his son Caanan, and after comfortably locating their 
descendants in the plains of Mesopotamia and Egypt, he informs 
us that ‘a time of disaster came which carried them into the re- 
motest parts of the earth—into Central. Africa, into the mountains 
of Southern India, whence, after a while, another impulse sent 
them onwards towards our own island-continent, &c. &c.” A 
man who quotes his Bible in support of scientific theories, and 
refers his readers to the pyramids, should send his theoretical 
contributions to some British-Israelite papers, and leave only his 
facts to the Proceedings of the Royal Society of New South 
Wales.—Ed. 
SCELOGLAUX ALBIFACIES (LAUGHING OWL).—Thehistory of 
this bird remained, for many years, a desideratum to naturalists, 
and fears were entertained that the species would become ex- 
tinct before such was known; but within the last two years a 
perfect knowledge of its habits, food, and nidification has been 
obtained. The reason why so little of its history was known 
until lately, is that the species lives in the fissures of high 
rocks, where perhaps field naturalists would not risk life 
or limb in securing specimens, Be this as it may, the fis- 
sures of high rocks form the stronghold of the Sceloglaux, where it 
lives during the day, and where in the months of. October and 
November it rears its youny. 
I lived for several years on the Albany Estate near Timaru, 
where the magnificent limestone rocks on the estate afforded 
me a favourable opportunity of studying the complete history of 
this bird. Here I succeeded in capturing a splendid series of 
specimens, and also procured their eggs and young. To give 
anything like a history of this beautiful owl would occupy more 
space than is at my disposal here, but I will briefly record what 
I consider the most important items relative to the species. 
The suggestion of Dr. Buller, that the Kiori Maori (native rat) 
before itsextermination, mayhave constituted the principal food of 
this owl, is an important one ; and my researches among the racks 
