Lmtotf dm limestone knolls and 

 mmI k»'d* 1,1 •c n, -" i,rial '"finds. 



g*JK ii,c., wt wuks ... ;) ,..c. 



jS irct-l'fi in New Guinea and they 

 «L huh On mountain slopes and in 



Si swftwpy ureas. BwWas ril:, y <? row 

 Ixls reel aud their stems frsrvti many 

 "jsjy tVtieiny . wulcr conduits :uul walei 



"(liic ih-i'i'iinp photo showed a crowd 

 I [austtinfl Wahgl schooihovs who 

 ",„, v ,\ down upon UM viMioi to have 



fSS photo taken, hiowirvo e>mpk&- 



WWI | is meh a pfoNcfll in Iftc BlgTl- 

 ■nils thai there docs not seem to be 

 ll.wh future foi tbeSe hright hoys when 

 they leave school 



Atwlhet slide ul Ml. Ilavi.i1 showed 

 i -hum! ot natives with dabarStt hcad- 

 iMOJH LTnupcd around A dab- on which 

 Mi c kit ton tWoJt thu was taken a te« 



lid suddenness iind fctouiy of lhal 

 jjmuic It look only a$ many rnome.nrs 

 fa a]| tpertatdn to vanish, as the deluge 

 „i ,.,in WOttld have ruined their previous 

 neddl«t- 



the Bffiyer KiVW 8WUrtUKS< various 

 mammals are kepi in eae.es. e.g.-. cus- 

 OIS, uce kangaroos and possum.', Visi- 

 on Ma enter the eat.es and feed Ihe 

 „n„nHlv n>€ hciimfin Hue euura 

 , m on has a fanned head-piece ol hlue 

 ad while feathers hut. unlorliiiialelv. 

 it it regarded as gOOtl eatiu.e i<\ Ihc 

 twtives 



Mans intore-sting rhododendrons occur 

 ..fo.md Ml llaucil district, including 

 H oAleti which has large blooms ol 

 aliflOtl and folJ A', rjhfiw with nar- 

 row leaves and small scarlet flowers, 

 and yellow-flowered K. mm grmoritn 

 «tiuh is widely dispersed through the 

 H.fhlaroK 



The native womenfolk work extremely 

 fun) and arc quite old ;u 50: they dig 

 | -nJinv cnrcyfns heavy produce Bttil 

 Ml W the children auJ pigs. Old 

 milk arc usually delighted to sec visitors 

 jnJ ciccl them most warmly. 



s*ecl potatoes I "kau-kau" I is Ihe 

 (USIl bind ol workmen and SCVcrol 



pounds per man per day must be taken 

 * pan ttf" Ihe baggage on anv ptuject 

 i-iuiUini' n^tivi- lui>i>iu 



Cismniim ttUftttitUti is widely used 

 Icq building limber and luel. Oil its 

 trunks m.iV sometimes be seen the 

 V'ir»o<» «ninuuM! planLs wilh tgfi&ii 



July, 1971 



bollle-shapcd stems to <<" w ide h m? ny 

 oti the host ttec by surface root* 

 Myriads of little ants occupy a labyr- 

 inth of caverns within these "bottles" 

 and s VVl ,Hn out if their icady-niade house- 

 is disturbed. 



Ihe importance ol pics in the eco- 

 nomy cannot be ignored. They arc 

 currency, -and they can make oi break 

 fiiendships. Pip* roam everywhere and 

 the killing of one by a motorist may 

 brine a -very angry reaction from local 

 villagers. On special occasions, at 

 iniirvals of from three to ten years. 

 pie> are killed and ihe feastine goes 

 on lor days. 



Mi (iiltiwe. 13,600 ft hirh i, just 

 across the Papuan border. I'p there it 

 i> wei. often Willi an icy wind and 

 ■wttline mists that or*curc Ihe volcanic 

 tups. All rhododendrons {.-rowing above 

 ton ihplMSM 'eel seem to have bril- 

 liantly red flowers. K. sutiftaealdiM « 

 a curious rc'isette plant found It sUbal- 

 pme hoes; the sinule scarlet flowers turn 

 lo one side from j sialk Up to h ' lone. 

 The muss forests of Ml QituWE sup- 

 port fascinating orchids, includine a 

 elarel hued utetnhood (PtvrmtS<1iit) 



Mr. Willis's Lvinre was iiU.struicd 

 Ihioiiehoiil In a deliehtfal collection of 

 slides showing elose-ups of plants, 

 mcsvs ol maeriihVenl scenery, local mar- 

 kets, inieresiint native bttildines. vine 

 bridues and -cants but otlen elaboralc 

 cosnimes. 



Me. Willis was (hanked warmly kn 

 the scsoml talk covenne his recent 

 vkit to New Guinea. 



V Junr, 1971 



A summary of the talk uivtn by Mr. 

 RoKtI Withers on the subject "The 

 Lfft nf ihe Badger". 



A newcomer to Australia and to the 

 I M.r.V. is Mr. K. Withers, and tins 

 young man wa.s mitoduccd bv Mr. Lec 

 as one who had made a thorough study 

 of the Badger in FneJand. 



Wc heard a most interesting talk, 

 which yave not only a clear and care- 

 fully detailed picture of this animal, but 

 also an indication of how much one 

 person c.»n achieve by tenacity and 

 rngenuily. without having prior train- 

 ing or experience. 



The*e noclnmal animals build inter 

 connecting lunneU which ihU extend 

 one hundred and filly feel, and open- 

 ings appear in fields and thickets. Soil 

 preferences are sand pockets In clay- 

 soil nr else ..fulk. but the lane, arc 



205 



