15

H.—22

In other branches the zoological collections have scarcely been added to. Two specimens of ihe rare New Zealand long-tailed bat were purchased. Tiiatara lizards were brought from an island in the Jiay of Plenty, and some were liberated on a rocky islet off Somes Island. It will be interesting to observe if they re-establish themselves on this convenient island. Mr. A. C. O'Connor, of Wellington, has deposited in the Museum an exceptionally fine head of the extinct Irish elk. Marine Verlebrnta . Mr. W. J. BtaUßFi reports on theeetacea and lislies as follows:— Xcw Zi'aliind Cetacea. —An index has been compiled under specific titles and authors' names on the work dealing with (.lie subject of seals, whales, and dolphins recorded from New Zealand coasts. The index also includes most of the recent, literature on the subject in various'parts of the world. A large part of the Museum collection of skeletons of these animals which were gathered together by the late Sir James Hector has been indexed, rcelassified, and placed in (lie cases for exhibition. Trout ■'fisheries Investigation,. 'I , he pursuance of the work on a, scientific investigation into qjiestions rel&tive to the trout in the thermal district has occupied a considerable amount of time during the past year. 1 have been much hampered by lack of many of tin , most important recent works dealing with the subject ; and mostly references which 1 am able to consult are out of date and very often misleading. Comparatively few scientific men care to undertake the problem of dealing with these species, which exhibit more divergent characteristics inside any given group than ilo any other fishes. For the mosi part I have had to rely solely on close personal observation of given sets of individual trout and a study of the prevailing conditions. A condensed report on the results of my observations has been furnished to the Undor-Seeretary, Department of Internal Affairs. Foreign Fishes. —The case containing the Museum collection of foreign lislies has been overhauled. Where necessary new spirit has been added to the specimens' in jars, and the greater part reelassified anil indexed. The majority of the labels had been lost or destroyed, and doubtful or duplicate species have been transferred to the reference collection. M-ollusca, Miss MusTAYuii reports as follows: — The reference collection of New Zealand Mollusea is being gradually increased, perhaps the most interesting addition being several specimens of a tiny bivalve. They were obtained last March from Ihe holes of the rock-boring mollusea Barnea xiniifix (Gray), and may prove to be a new variety of a species of Lascea described by the late Mr. Suter. The Museum is indebted to Mr. A. E. Brookes, of Matamata, for the generous gift of his best specimen of a new Chiton belonging to the genus Lorica, which will be described this year in the " Transactions of the New Zealand Institute." Dr. Thomson has obtained a large number of fossil Jtrarhiopoda from Weka Pass, and niolluscan fossils from that and neighbouring localities. He also collected limpets at Nelson; and Mrs. W. Paine, of Kekerangu, has sent several good gatherings of Chiton and limpets from there, Two small marine acquaria have been established, and are proving very useful for studying the habits of several molluscs, some of which have been in them for nearly six months. With regard to the show collection, the chief departure has been the installing of a, case containing live habitat groups. In these the aim is to give an idea of the associations of some of the commonest New Zealand shells, so they are grouped as—Rock and seaweed dwellers; sand and mini dwellers between tides; dwellers below low-tide mark; deep-sea dwellers; and a camouflage group. In the composition of these groups rocks and sand were freely used, and most of tin' seaweed was modelled in the permodelle wax. In the deep-sea group an attempt has been made to model in the wax the animals of the three species shown. This case has attracted a good deal of attention, and greatly interests young visitors. An interesting collection of Australian shells was presented by Mrs. H. M. Taylor, which contains some good specimens of Trigonia, also two tine eehinoilerms with rather thick spines. Two collections of Sanioan Mollusea have been presented by Colonel K. W. Tate, which contain some nice examples of the genera Conus; Gyprcea, Olira, and several others. Mr. A. C. O'Connor also presented a collection of shells, most of which came from the Pacific islands. Insects. Mr. H, Hamilton reports on the &ntomol(Jgical , 'colleotions as follows: — Since the production of the last annual report the collections as a whole have received few additions. Practically no field-work has been undertaken, as the summer season was poor for collect] ng. Owing to the lack of proper accommodation the extensive collections of insects require more attention than would be necessary if better facilities for work were available. At a conservative estimate there are at least fifty thousand mounted insects housed in one room, and all requiring attention from time to time. Many of these could be made available for public exhibition were the room for extension provided. Many hundreds of visitors have been shown the exotic collections of butterflies, and appreciations of their merits have been freely expressed. Tin- collection of New Zealand Micro-lepidoptera has now been finally arranged, and fieldwork will be necessary to till in many blank spaces. Work on the Coleoptera has been temporarily suspended pending tin , ultimate destination of the TCrounian Collection. The routine work of labelling and mounting has occupied much time. Donations have been received from collectors in other parts of the Dominion. Among those specially to be thanked are Mr, G, V. Hudson, Mr. A. C. O'Connor, Mr. (i. V. Howes, Mr. J. Myers, Mr. li. Harris, Mr. ,1. W. Campbell, Mr. 11. W. Simmonds, and Mr. Styche. Mr. Styehe presented many duplicates from a collection of butterflies made in Central Africa. Mr. H, W. Simmonds collected extensively in Fiji, and added to our collections in many branches. Mr. li. Allan, of Nelson, has promised to collect for the Museum on a tour of the East Indies. Colonel li. W. Tate, Administrator of Samoa, donated specimens of the rhinoceros-beetle from that island, and is making extensive collections of Lepidoptera for the Museum.