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to my esteemed colleague the Keeper of that department, and received from him the 
following note :— 
“ Dar Prorssor Owen, ‘“« Department of Antiquities, Dec. 26, 1876. 
“The paragraph which you have shown me from a New-Zealand paper is 
singularly inaccurate. 
“ First as to Capt. Cook’s collection: that portion that was sent to the Museum (a 
very small one, I suspect) was exhibited in old Montagu House, and removed to 
the present Ethnographic Room before I came to the Museum in 1851. I have never 
found any cases containing specimens from the collection not unpacked ; and, in fact, 
in a great rummage I made through our stores when I came, I did not discover any 
cases of ethnological specimens, 
“The specimens from New Zealand to which the paragraph refers are not, as you 
are aware, at the British Museum at all, but form part of the ‘ Christy Collection,’ 
deposited at 105 Victoria Street. I donot know where Mr. Christy obtained them, 
or whether they were brought back by Capt. Cook. 
** Dr. Hector was looking over the collection of New-Zealand objects, and kindly 
giving me information about them, when he saw the iron fish-hook with the black 
feathers, and I then called his attention to the Aani similarly ornamented, 
** As to whether the feathers are Moa or not I will not venture to say, but leave it 
to those better qualified to give an opinion. 
“ Yours sincerely, 
* Aucustus W. FRANKs, 
“ Neither of the Christy specimens were packed away, but exhibited in the glass 
cases.” 
I have critically examined every feather in these dateless New-Zealand implements, 
and I subjoin a description of one of the feathers, which, by their size, had best claim 
to be deemed of a Moa. It is from the ‘ hani’ examined by Dr. Hector. 
This feather is 5 inches 2 lines in length, 2 inches in breadth at its broadest part 
midway between the quill and tip of the vane. An extent of quill of 4 lines is pre- 
served, including rather more than 1 line of the transparent hollow inserted portion. 
After two lines extent of the solid opake portion of the * quill’ or ‘ barrel,’ where it 
assumes the structure of the ‘shaft, the * vane’ commences by lateral series of white 
‘ down-barbs ;’ the first pair are half a line in length, increasing at the sixth pair to 
3 lines in length, and at the tenth suddenly lengthening to 5 lines; the tip of this 
barb assumes the greyish-brown tint which prevails ever more and more of the length- 
ening barbs, until the basal whitish downy character disappears at about an inch from 
the beginning of the series of barbs. These, at first rapidly, then gradually, gain in 
length to near the mid-length of the feather, where the barb attains 1 inch 3 lines in 
length. ‘The breadth of the feather there is reduced by the oblique and wavy dis- 
