148 JOURNAL OF SCIENCE. 
bush at Ravensbourne, near Dunedin, and sold to a local taxi- 
dermist as a very large “ More-pork”; while a trustworthy 
informant tells us that it is commonly heard—though rarely seen 
—in the Strath-Taieri and adjoining country. It is to be hoped 
that this is the case, as the type is an interesting one. 
Only one short paper descriptive of some new fishes is 
contributed by Dr. Hector. We can only express our regret, 
which must be shared in by everyone who knows him, that such 
an amount of departmental work is thrust on the Director of the 
N Z. Institute by the Government, that no time is left him for 
origina! research. The present Government certainly deserve 
the thanks of the country for their economical management ; 
but in many cases—as in the one in point—they sacrifice heads 
of departments by their economical tendencies. 
The botanical papers in this volume are very unequal in value. 
The first, entitled “A further Contribution towards making known 
the Botany of New Zealand,’ is by Mr. W. Colenso, We pro- 
bably only express the opinion of every botanist in the colony 
when we say that Mr. Colenso’s contributions lose most of their 
value from the utterly unnecessary detail into which he goes. 
With a keenness of observation which must commend itself to 
everyone, he yet seems utterly to fail in grasping the prominent 
features which serve to distinguish species from one another. 
The writer of this note was once before under the necessity, 
when treating of New Zealand ferns, of ignoring a number of 
Mr. Colenso’s species, and this chiefly because the descriptions 
given by him of new species were so vague that it was next to 
impossible to detect their distinguishing features. In the volume 
before us more than twenty species of flowering plants, and over 
thirty cryptogams are described for the first time ; but when an 
author describes a new species, and says it has affinities with 
such and such species, but differs from them all and possesses 
characters which those species have not—+¢hat are better seen 
than described in words—(the italics are our own), we mistake 
much if botanists will not refuse their assent to these new crea- 
tions of the author. It is perhaps worthy of note that in all his 
papers contributed to the last four volumes of “ Transactions,” 
Mr. Colenso has never recorded the occurrence of new genera in 
the New Zealand flora, but he has added numerous species of 
already known genera, founded on characters (apparently largely 
of habit) such as systematists attach little or no importance to. 
We regret to have to speak thus plainly and disparaginegly of 
one who is a veteran in our little scientific world ; but it is just 
in scientific matters, above all others, that we should speak out 
our minds, and we have been somewhat long-suffering in this 
matter of new species of plants. 
Mr. Kirk has several short papers containing descriptions of 
new plants; and, in connection with what has just been said, it 
is to be noted that his diagnoses are brief and concise, so that 
where error occurs it is rendered comparatively easy of detec- 
tion, At the same time Mr. Kirk’s species have hitherto stood 
