JO JOURNAL OF SCIENCE. 



lizard died, but was not noticed by the attendant in charge. On my 

 return I found that it had contained twelve fully formed eggs; they 

 had, however, began to putrefy. A second female laid ten eggs, which 

 proved infertile. A third, which promised well, died from inability to 

 lay its eggs. It was closely watched, and dissected within an hour of 

 its death. The oviducts contained four and five eggs respectively, fully 

 formed and ready for laying. From these eggs were obtained a number 

 of embryos at various stages of development, from a stage equal to a 

 two days' chick up to a stage shortly before hatching. This year I 

 hoped to obtain a further supply of embryos, but only one female has 

 laid, and her eggs were infertile. 



The eggs of the tuatara are oval in form, both ends being of equal 

 diameter, and vary in length from 2 - 5 to 3 '35 cm. The egg-shell is 

 probably much like that of other oviparous lizards, being tough, flexible, 

 and very elastic; it contains a varying amount of carbonate of lime. 

 The eggs dry and shrivel with great readiness when exposed to the 

 air, and must, therefore, be kept in damp surroundings. On the other 

 hand, excess of moisture encourages the growth cf micro-organisms in 

 the mucus with which the eggs are frequently covered when laid, and 

 such foreign growths tend to the destruction of the contents. 



On the whole, the general features of the development are closely 

 similar to those in other lizards ; I propose, therefore, to reserve the 

 details until a complete account can be given. I may, however, mention 

 that the pineal eye becomes a promint feature at an early stage. When 

 pigment is deposited in the skin, an oval spot is left free from it over' 

 the eye, and thi'ough this the dark pigment of the retina shows clearly. 

 Spencer has stated that there is in Sphenodon very little external trace 

 of the pineal eye. This is true of the adult, but in the recently hatched 

 tuatara the pineal eye still shows as a dai-k spot through the translucent 

 skin over the parietal foramen. This I have been able to observe even 

 in a tuatara 8 inches in length. But as the tuatara grows older the 

 skin over the pineal eye becomes more opaque, and though in some 

 individuals the scantier development of the pigment over the parietal 

 foiamen affords a feeble indication of the position of the eye, yet in 

 others the pigment is deposited there as elsewhere, so that all external 

 trace of the eye is finally lost. 



GENERAL NOTES. 



"The Birds of New Zealand." — Lovers of books will regret to 

 learn that two shipments of Sir Walter Buller's " Birds of New 

 Zealand " have been lost at sea. In the early part of last year over a 

 hundred copies of this work destined for Auckland subscribers went 

 down in the ill-fated steamer " Maitai," when she struck on a rock off 

 Mercury Island; and now, by the mysterious loss of the barque 

 "Assaye," on her voyage from London, one hundred and forty more 

 subscribers' copies have disappeared. The edition having been strictly 

 limited to one thousand, and the colour stones having been destroyed 

 (so as to keep faith with the subscribers), the commercial value of the 

 copies that remain ought to be considerably enhanced ; indeed, we are 

 informed that Messrs. E. A. Petherick & Co., the well known Sydney 

 booksellers, sold their last copy for £16, being five pounds in excess of 



