246 The N.Z. Journal of Science and Technology. [July 
more profitably or more for the benefit of the people themselves than 
that which has produced these fifty volumes. 
If an analysis be made of the contents of the fifty volumes, using the 
same classification of subjects as in the index to the first forty volumes, 
except that the two headings “ Trade ” and 54 Economics ” are united 
under the latter name, the following is the result, the number after each 
subject denoting the number of published contributions : Zoology, 1,143 ; 
botany, 654 ; geology, 503 anthropology, 204 ; physics, including astro¬ 
nomy and meteorology, 152 ; chemistry, 135 ; engineering, 76 ; mathe¬ 
matics, 40 ; economics, 37 ; history, 34; presidential addresses, 29 ; 
metaphysics, 22 ; medicine, 20 ; literature, 15 ; education, statistics, and 
obituary notices, 12 each. 
Certain of the above numbers do not reflect accurately the scientific 
output of members of the Institute. At times specially important papers 
have been published in scientific journals of Great Britain. Geology since 
the very early days of the colony has had State assistance, and much 
research has found its way into Government publications. So, too, the 
Departments of Agriculture and Lands have published a good deal which 
otherwise would have found its way into our Transactions . In the case 
of anthropology, the excellent Polynesian Journal has published much 
which otherwise would have come before our Institute. 
A consideration of the statistics given above shows clearly that natural 
history, using that term in a broad sense, fills the greater part of the 
volumes. This was to be expected in a new land with both the fauna and 
the flora so little investigated and containing so much that is endemic. 
Also, if the papers on zoology and botany be referred to, it will be seen 
that by far the greater part are devoted to classification. This must have 
been so ; it is the natural evolutionary process in the history of biological 
research the world over. But even in New Zealand this stage is passing 
away, and in botany the ecological study of the vegetation as opposed to 
the floristic study of the species is making headway, and is even being 
applied to economic ends—another step in the evolution of a science. So, 
too, in zoology, animal ecology, a more difficult stud}q is also coming to 
the fore. Botany with its 654 papers apparently makes a poor showing 
alongside zoology with its 1,143 contributions. It must be remembered, 
however, that there are many groups of animals, and frequently a worker 
confines himself to one group. Also, a considerable number of papers deal 
with birds, a subject in which so many people take an interest who really 
care little for science as a whole. As for chemistry and physics, which 
make but a poor showing in the work of the New Zealand Institute, it must 
be pointed out that little progress can be made in these sciences without 
well-equipped chemical and physical laboratories and men specially trained 
in such. Laboratories of this class are now attached to the various 
University colleges, and chemical and physical contributions—the work of 
trained students—are slowly but surely finding a place in the Transactions . 
The Transactions have not been the sole publication of the Institute, 
by any means. Thus there are the magnificent volumes of Hamilton’s 
Maori Art ; Major Broun’s Manual of the Coleoytera and his three bulletins 
on the same group ; H. N. Dixon’s Studies in the Bryology of New Zealand 
—an important revision of our moss-flora ; and Tregear’s Mangareva 
Dictionary . Then, the Canterbury Branch of the Institute has published 
the Index Faunae Novae-Zealandiae, and the admirable Suhantarctic Islands 
of New Zealand, a work in two quarto volumes with many beautiful 
illustrations. 
