The Otago University Museum.

By F. B. Allen.

The following is an extract from a guide-book to the Museum, printed in 1878:—" The collection was commenced by Dr. Hector, for the Dunedin Exhibition of 1865. "When this was over, the specimens were packed in boxes and stowed away. Subsequently in 1868, some rooms were allotted to it in the old buildings of the University in Princes street; but as only £100 a year was voted for keeping it up, no great improvement could be expected. In 1878, however, the Provincial Council made an annual grant of £500 for its support, and this was increased in 1875 to £600 a year. It was also resolved to place the now growing collection in a separate building. A site was selected in Great King street, and the foundation was laid in December, 1874, In July, 1877, the building and fittings were completed at a cost of about £12,500, and it was opened to the public on August 11th, 1877. In 1877 also, a Bill was passed by the General Assembly, handing the management and control over to the Council of the University of Otago.

"The building is arranged so that a wing may be added at any time on either side. The south wing is intended for the New Zealand collection, with an aquarium in the basement; the north wing for a Technological Museum of Arts, Manufactures and Ethnology, with the Geological and Mineralogical collections in the basement. This will leave the present hall for foreign Natural History collections."

The Museum is fitted up with class-rooms and Laboratory, and has a valuable library, supplied with most of the important scientific magazines of the day. Although nothing has been done since 1877, towards the completion of the building, the collections have been steadily increasing, and are now demanding more room.

In a museum, instruction as well as amusement should be aimed at, and museums on a comparatively small scale, by taking page 95up some special branch, and illustrating it by a fairly complete and representative group of objects, may provide much useful information in a very agreeable form. The exhibits should be so arranged that the visitor glancing over them, should, as it were, be forced to unconsciously acquire some general, although perhaps not very profound, knowledge of objects exhibited. This is secured by orderly arrangement, without which the relation of any one object to another is obscured, the connecting links are lost, and the Museum is liable to degenerate into a mere collection of curios, which however interesting they may be individually, are, as a whole, well-nigh meaningless.

The Otago Museum, exhibiting the principal types of the animal kingdom, is essentially a zoological museum, and as such, and for neat and scientific arrangement, it probably takes the premier position in New Zealand. The method here adopted consists in arranging the members of the animal kingdom in order of their complexity and differentiation from an original structure less mass. The arrangement is according to nature; animals which are similar in structure are grouped together, and groups representative of successive degrees of development are placed in order as far as practicable.

To follow out this arrangement a start should be made on the desk cases of the upper gallery, commencing at the eastern side. Here will be found specimens of the lowest forms of animal life. The very lowest, being microscopic, are necessarily unrepresented by real exhibits; but instead, there are numerous enlarged models, which show, in an admirable manner, what complex and diverse forms these unicellular organisms assume. Many of the models represent for a mini feral, which by the accumulation of ages have formed the large chalk deposits now existing in England and elsewhere. But though these are by no means uninteresting, a far prettier sight is afforded by Yenus's Flower Basket, its interwoven fibres forming an extremely delicate network, which at one end terminates in long shreds. This pure white closed tube is nothing but a skeleton, and though apparently very frail, its finely woven meshes, being formed of silica, are strong and firm to an astonishing degree, and well-nigh indestructible.

Close to this is another skeleton formed of long strips of silica—the glass-rope. One end of the bundle is the resting-place of the organism whose skeleton it is, while the other is embedded in the mud at the bottom of the sea; but the Japanese used to fix it in a piece of rock and affirm that the glass-rope-grew there, reminding one forcibly of the story which declared that the birds of paradise were destitute of legs. These organisms are sponges, which name, however, is ept to convey to the uninformed an erroneous impression. The ordinary bath-sponge, for instance, is simply the calcareous skeleton of a colony of animals called sponges, from which all the soft parts have-disappeared, and the fact is often forgotten that it was formerly a portion of a living animal. There are spirit specimens of sponges, with the soft parts preserved, and it is interesting to-notice the great difference in appearance between these and the simple skeletons sold in shops.

Many of the sponges picked up on the beaches about Dunedin, are hard and not at all elastic. This is owing to their skeletons being composed of a horny substance containing silica, and, consequently, they are unfit for ordinary use.

Next come the jelly-fish, which, besides their attractive appearance, are noteworthy, in being about the first organisms in the animal kingdom, which have nerves by which to regulate their movements. Experiments have been performed, which show conclusively, that the muscular contractions of the swimming-bell by which the jelly-fish is propelled are due to nerves, for when these nerves, or the structures said to be such, are cut away, the animal is totally unable to originate or direct its movements. Jelly-fish also possess the rudiments of eyes and ears.

Closely allied to the jelly-fish is the Portuguese man-of-war, found occasionally on the sea-shore about Dunedin. Underneath its large hollow float are very numerous tentacles, of all colours, and capable of inflicting a sharp sting on anyone who inadvertently comes in contact with them. Owing to the perishable nature of this animal and the jelly-fish, which are chiefly water, they are represented in the museum by models and spirit specimens only.

The next cases contain the star-fish, sea-urchins, and kindred species, as well as a series of models representing the various stages in the development of a star-fish, from the primordial egg, with its circular bands of cilia, and large brush-like appendage at one end, up to the final stage where a portion of the larva becomes differentiated to form a five-rayed star-fish. In the last model, the young star-fish, attached to the now useless remaining portion of the larva, is shown just ready to float away.

In the sea-urchin, the spines which give it such a forbidding appearance are more for defence than offence. Being attached by a ball-and-socket joint, they are movable and may be readily stripped off, the sea-urchin then presenting to view a hard calcareous case, dotted with five double rows of holes, through which in life, the tube-feet project. The habitation of this animal is chiefly in crevices of rocks, the spines projecting on every side, prevent it from falling, and when the sea-urchin wishes to move forward, the tube-feet are thrust out between the spines and fastened to the rock, then by contracting they draw the shell along.

Star-fish and sea-urchins appear to be quite dissimilar in structure, but a little examination and a comparison with allied species will show that there exists between them a close connection. The ordinary star-fish has the grooves along which its tube-feet project entirely oh the under surface, but there are other star-fish, shown in the museum, in which the arms are very much shortened, and have a tendency to turn upwards, showing the grooves on a side view as well as underneath. This is carried one degree further in the sea-urchin, which by the way is roughly pentagonal, and therefore represents the five rays of the star. The grooves, represented by five distinct dotted lines, are continued across the upper surface so as nearly to meet at the top. The external structure of the two animals is also very similar.

The class "Worms" follows next, and includes many well-known varieties, and among the rest some very good illustrations of parasitism.

As a general rule, parasitic animals are degenerated types, and simple in structure. Many of them have no mouth, or alimentary organs of any description, but simply absorb through page 98the tissues of their bodies the partly digested food of their hosts.

There is in the museum a good spirit specimen of the-bladder-worm of the rabbit, which, like many parasites requires two hosts in which to complete its life-history.

It occurs as a bladder about the size of an egg, and although perhaps never directly producing death, it certainly causes the rabbit great inconvenience. Attached to the inside walls of the specimen forming the exhibit are small white structures which, viewed under the microscope, are seen to be provided with suckers and a circle of hooks at their free extremity. When a rabbit having this disease is eaten by a dog, these little structures fasten on to the walls of the intestine, and develop into a tapeworm, which in time deposits its eggs. The rabbits running about eating the grass here and there, get these eggs into their system, where they develop into bladder-worms. "Were it not for the dog no tape-worms would be produced, and the bladder-worms could not possibly get into the system of any rabbit not infected with them.

After worms come Crustacea, and to trace the connection between these two groups is not so difficult as it would appear. The segmentation of the body, which first occurs in the higher worms, is the most obvious point of resemblance between them, and this is the first step towards the formation of such appendages as legs found in marine-worms. Crustacea have these appendages developed into fully formed limbs.

Crustacea are very well represented by specimens of all kinds, many of the crabs so simulating the surroundings in which they live as to be easily mistaken for stones or pieces of sea-weed. The king-crab, however, is one of the strangest forms. A strong, hemispherical dorsal shield covers the head, and to it is articulated a smaller abdominal plate, with a long-caudal spine. The king-crab is an old water-breathing type, which, from the presence of a compound eye, and numerous-smaller ones, together with various other characteristics, such as breathing by gills which resemble a series of parallel plates arranged like the leaves of a book, is probably more nearly allied to scorpions and spiders than to crabs and Crustacea in general. Close to the crabs is the peculiar, caterpillar-like Peripatus, exhibiting scarcely any external signs of segmentation, page 99and possessing some twenty pairs of imperfectly-jointed limbs, to each of which, two claws are attached. Resembling worms in some respects, it has several features peculiarly characteristic of insects. Such are the respiratory organs, consisting of branched air-canals called trachea, ramifying through the whole extent of its body, and a pair of salivary glands for digestive purposes. It has, moreover, a pair of slime-glands, secreting a sticky substance resembling bird-lime. Thus Peripatus is the first animal in the ascending scale which has organs specially adapted for breathing air, and it stands midway between worms and insects. It is found at the Cape of Good Hope, Sumatra, Australia, and New Zealand, so that its distribution is widespread, but it is nevertheless local, or in other words the animal is confined to a small area in each of these places. In all probability it was originally widely distributed, but just as at the present day the native rat of New Zealand is being driven out by the common household rat, so Peripatus became supplanted by some stronger form, and was left in the isolated patches in which it is now found. Such distribution as this is generally found in the case of old generalized types, which represent the ancestors of existing species, and do not with any degree of nicety fit into the higher types of the present day.

Attention may here be drawn to the small maps placed near each group of animals, which give, clearly and effectively, by means of coloured patches, the regions occupied by the different species.

After Peripatus, follow in order spiders, locusts, flies, bees, and butterflies, affording many excellent examples of adaptation to the surroundings both in colouring and in form. Witness the walking-stick spider, which, by the way, is really not a spider but an insect. Its body, like a dried yellowish stick, and its legs like six spiny branches, cause it to be scarcely distinguishable from the blackberry bushes and manuka scrub, in which in New Zealand it is commonly found.

Many insects are very brilliantly coloured, others scarcely at all, while some butterflies, for example, although strikingly marked, and in a museum presenting a conspicuous appearance, are coloured and marked so completely in harmony with the leaves on which they settle, as to be with difficulty recognizable page 100among the surrounding foliage. An extreme case of this principle is seen in an Indian butterfly (Hallima). Besides the markings corresponding with those of the leaf, the wings themselves, when folded, trace out the exact contour of a leaf, the head of the butterfly forming the petiole attaching it to the branch. The protection to be derived from this imitation of surroundings is obvious. As an additional means of safety, in many species of butterflies the female has a more subdued colouring than the male, and, in some, so much so, that the male and female are mistaken for distinct species. More uncommon than the above imitation of surroundings, is the case where an insect affects a brilliant colouring for the sake of protection, a signal of danger, as it were, to birds and other enemies. An instance of this may be given, In South America there is a brilliantly coloured butterfly, which, probably on account of some poisonous or unpalatable quality is entirely safe from birds. Another butterfly, of quite a different species, apparently aware of this, has copied the gay colouring of the first butterfly so accurately as to deceive the birds themselves, and so is, in its tarn, safe.

The remainder of this row of cases is occupied by the beetles, among which is conspicuous the destructive Colorado beetle, by the great variety of moths, and 'by specimens of lamp-shells, so-called from their resemblance to the old Roman lamps.

The next grade in the ascending series is furnished by the molluscs or soft-bodied animals, the greater number of which are known as shell-fish. Extending round the east and north sides of the lower gallery, and round a large portion of the west side, they form a large and valuable collection. Some of the shells are so small that the microscope has to lend its aid to discover the brilliant and intricate markings many of them possess. But leaving these to enthusiasts, a few of the larger ones may be noticed. The single valve of the Haliotis or mutton-fish, bright with almost every colour of the rainbow, a native of New Zealand, and common in all Maori pahs, needs no description. Perhaps the prettiest shell of all is that of the Paper Nautilus. It occurs in the female only, and differs in structure from the shell of all other molluscs in being secreted page break

Scene in Nicol's Creek.

page 101from the inner surface of two greatly expanded arms which are reflected back across the body. This delicate shell is a pure pearly white and greatly convoluted.

Close to this is a glass model of the squid. Differing considerably from the snail, the typical mollusc, it possesses several peculiarities worth noticing. One portion of the original foot of the mollusc forms the long tentacle-like bodies, the arms, which are provided with suckers for fastening on to its prey. It is in the midst of these arms that the mouth is placed, so that the mouth may be said to be in the middle of the foot. Another portion of the foot forms the syphon, a tubular structure on the under side of the body; and from this the squid is able to project a quantity of inky black fluid, sufficient to cloud all the surrounding water, and cover the animal's retreat from more powerful enemies. Having no external skeleton, the living squid is soft and limp, but on dissection there is found extending along the back and just below the surface, a long thin horny substance, the pen. From the presence of this, and the inky fluid above mentioned, the squid is known as the "pen-and-ink" fish.

There is another curious internal skeleton here exhibited, belonging to a different species of sepia, found on Australian coasts, which is utilised for making tooth-powder. It is formed of a thick layer of soft calcareous matter, and being oval-shaped and somewhat in the form of an ordinary valve, this cuttle-bone is at times mistaken for the external skeleton of some unknown mollusc. Of essentially the same structure as the squid is the octopus, the dread of sea-bathers. In its skin are numerous pigment spots, by contracting and expanding which, it can change its colour in accordance with the region over which it passes. This, no doubt, is a means of safeguard against enemies, as well as affording a cover under which to attack its prey. A very large specimen of octopus, formerly in the Museum, was sent to the Indo-Colonial Exhibition, and thence to the Dublin Museum.

The visitor has now looked through the inner desk-cases of the upper and lower galleries. To continue, let him retrace his steps, this time, however, examining the wall-cases. First of all, he will see on the western side the New Zealand invertebrata, the foreign specimens of which he has already page 102examined. Then follow on the northern side, the New Zealand fishes. Among the spirit specimens may be noticed the ribbon-fish, like a long and slender band of silver, and the originally transparent glass-fish, which has unfortunately become opaque in the spirit.

Attention should be directed to the fact that the skeleton in the skate and lower fishes is cartilaginous. The skeleton in fish, however, as we ascend the scale becomes a bony one, and as in all the higher animals, forms the main support of the body. In the shark will be seen the five gill-slits, with a small hole just behind the eye. In higher fishes, these become covered by a bony plate, the operculum, which hides from view the gills beneath it. Then again, a further development is seen in the respiratory organs, in the Australian mud-fish, which in winter breathes by gills in the ordinary way, but in summer when the rivers are low, breathes air by means of lungs.

In the wall-cases along the eastern side of this gallery are some good fossil remains of fish, showing the skeleton almost intact.

Besides the ordinary collection of animals, the Museum possesses an excellent assortment of skeletons, both natural and disarticulated. The disarticulated skeleton of the New Zealandling illustrates what a difficult task it is to thus arrange and preserve all the separated bones in their correct relative positions.

Amphibia, represented by frogs, are the next advance on fishes, and living as their name implies, part of their life above, and part under water, have necessarily more fully-developed respiratory organs.

The next exhibits of special interest are sets of models showing the development of the chief types of animals, and of the eye and skull in vertebrata. Those illustrative of the frog, show first the undivided egg-cell, then as it appears divided into two, into four, into eight parts, and so on into an innumerable mass of cells. This mass next develops cavities, and gradually shapes itself into a tadpole with external gills. The tadpole is a water-breather, and exists chiefly on vegetable food. After living for a time in the water its external gills disappear, and respiration is carried on by internal gills; but then comes a further change, which is illustrated in the models. The opercu-page 103lum grows over the aperture of the gills, closing it, and the tadpole becomes a frog, breathing air by means of lungs. The tail, moreover, has disappeared and limbs are developed.

This is a new mode of progression, and excepting in the snake and whale, the hind limbs in all animals above fish, are employed as a means of locomotion. In the frog and the majority of the other vertebrates the fore limbs serve the same function, but in the whale they are modified to flippers, in birds to wings, and in man to arms.

Reptiles are represented at the southern end by alligators and crocodiles. Above these exhibits is a very instructive set of longitudinal sections of the skulls of different animals, showing the development of the brain. It will be seen that the brain, coming forward, causes the jaw-bones to be less prominent in man than in any other animal.

At the top of the staircase is a very rare specimen, the great ribbon-fish, an inhabitant of the deep sea, and like the frost-fish, only obtainable when by some extraordinary circumstance, it is cast up upon the shore. The skeleton has been removed from the body, and is shown above it in a good state of preservation. The skin has been stuffed, and its delicate markings and colouring have been renovated and rendered permanent. This was necessary, as fish which live deep down under a high pressure, are very liable, on coming to the surface, to fall to pieces, and lose their brilliancy in a remarkably short time.

In the upper gallery, the wall-cases are occupied by the very large class of birds, which undoubtedly form a fine display. Nests containing eggs are exhibited in many instances, and offer an additional attraction.

Birds are the best marked group of vertebrata; they have no intimate connection with other groups, and are readily recognisable. The presence of feathers, together with the fact that by means of the large air-sacs in connection with the lungs, and the porous nature of the bones, the ah in respiration finds easy access to all parts of the body, causes the blood supplied by a very large heart, to be maintained at a temperature higher than in any other animal. This, with the peculiar differentiation of the fore-limbs into wings, enables the bird to support itself in flight.

Along the western side of this gallery are the foreign birds, among which may be noticed that enemy of snakes, the secretary-bird, so-called from its pen-like tuft of feathers on each side of the head, the brilliant, if not very elegant, trogon of Central America, and the horn-bills. The huge bills of these birds, although composed of bone, are very light, owing to the presence of extensive air cavities.

Conspicuous among these foreign specimens are the little humming-birds of South America, which, sporting in the sunshine of their native land, rejoice in a hundred such fanciful yet suggestive names as "sunbeam," and "golden light."

At the end of this row of cases is a cast of the now extinct dodo, and near it, its nearest living ally, a pigeon found only in Samoa.

Then come the New Zealand birds. Strangers will be struck at the majestic appearance of the large albatrosses, and near these are some fine specimens of shags. One of them, the Imperial shag, is especially brilliant.

New Zealand possesses a surprisingly large number of birds capable of flight, but many of the ground-feeders, having no natural enemies from which to escape by flying, have lost this power, and hence such examples as the weka and the kakapo. Although the latter has large wings, it has scarcely any keel to the breast-bone. This shows the absence of large muscles capable of moving the wings and supporting the bird in flight. It is a matter of regret that many of the fine birds of New Zealand, handicapped by the loss of the power of flight, are in all probability doomed to early extinction, owing to the introduction of enemies from which they are unable to escape. A skeleton is shown of an extinct goose, which, judging from its small wings, and the absence of keel, must have been incapable of flight; and there is also a skeleton of an extinct duck found near Alexandra. Close by is, perhaps, the most interesting of this class of birds, the takahe, or notornis, which, if not quite extinct, is very nearly so. Only a few specimens of it have been obtained, and these at widely distant periods, and the skeleton shown, although imperfect, must be regarded as a treasure. This bird also could not fly. There are two paintings repre-page 105senting this bird's appearance in life, placed above the desk-cases.

Coming to the eastern side, the argus pheasant at once catches the eye, with its fine display of fan-like feathers. The markings on these, called ocelli, are very beautiful, and exactly, resemble balls placed in cups. The head is concealed behind one of the wings, as if the bird were aware of what a remarkable contrast to its splendid plumage this unadorned member presents. Here, too, are the different varieties of the domestic fowl, which illustrate how different species may be formed from the same ancestors. The jungle-fowl of India, a bird something like a game-fowl, and a little bigger than a bantam, becoming domesticated has given rise to all the domestic fowls, and it is remarkable how some of these, for example, the Cochin-China, and the Polish, differ from each other.

Passing over the rest of the birds on the side of this gallery, the New Zealand species of the Ratitae, or true flightless birds are met with in the cases at the south end.

The Ratitae are the lowest among birds, and originally widely spread, are now disappearing, and with one exception—the ostrich—are confined to the southern hemisphere. One species of the ostrich is found in Africa and Arabia, another in South America, the emu in Australia, the cassowary in North Australia and New Guinea. Attached to these, and to many of the specimens throughout the museum are detailed descriptions, giving an interesting account of the chief characters and peculiarities.

New Zealand possesses the only other existing genus of Ratitae, the kiwi, the most remarkable among living birds. It has a most peculiar walk, its feathers are hair-like, its wings vestigial and apparently absent, its eggs are large out of all proportion, its habits are nocturnal, and it is the only bird which has its nostrils at the extremity of its beak. The kiwi is dying out, and of the four known species, one, Haast's kiwi, is represented by only two skins (in the Christchurch museum), and a solitary but very perfect skeleton in the Otago museum. Penguins, showing the enormous mass of down on the young birds, are well represented. Although not able to fly, they do not belong to Ratitae. Being sea-birds, their wings have become page 106modified to form powerful swimming paddles, on which the-small scale-like feathers lie remarkably close. At the head of the stairs are remains of the now extinct moa, the largest and most curious of the Ratitae, or flightless birds. Some of the throat bones are in an excellent state of preservation; other bones are charred, showing that, in all probability, the moa was killed and used by the Maoris as food, and that, at any rate, it was contemporaneous with man.

In the same cases may be noticed the casts of the enormous eggs, a footprint, and several series of the bony rings of the trachea. Some of the exhibits illustrate peculiarities in the skeleton, about which doubt formerly existed. Some feathers and a leg and throat, to which skin and flesh still adhere, form unique and valuable specimens, but the fact that the flesh has not decayed and disappeared does not necessarily prove that this particular moa was of more recent date than those of which skeletons alone have been found. The skeletons of these-gigantic birds are commonly found, several together, in swampy ground, and the bones are so intermingled that it is rarely that an "individual" and perfect skeleton is obtainable. On the ground floor are shown skeletons of seven out of the fourteen species of moa, and all but two of these have been made up.

In connection with birds and the position they occupy in the animal kingdom, the cast of the extinct bird, Archœopteryx, may be noticed. It is well known that although the tail feathers of birds are often very long, the tail itself is quite a short structure. In fact, it is composed of a short, compressed bone turned up, from the end of the back-bone. But the tail of Archœopteryx, is, like the lizard's, very long and tapering. It is composed of many separate vertebrae, from each end of which a pair of tail feathers arise. Then, again, in the lower gallery is a cast of an extinct reptile, Compsognathus, which in appearance must have been remarkably like a bird. Besides its long tail, it had a very long neck and a small head; its hind legs were strong, and similar in structure to those of a bird, while its fore-limbs were short; and it is probable that the reptile hopped along, in a semi-erect attitude, upon its hind-legs. It would thus appear that Huxley had grounds for saying "birds are glorified reptiles."

On the ground-floor, at the western side, are the duck-mole and the spiny ant-eater, the first representatives of mammals. They differ greatly from the rest of mammalia, and in many respects resemble reptiles. They lay eggs, and are destitute of teeth. In many ways they differ more from the next highest sub-class of mammals, the marsupials, than any other two do from each other.

In one of the cases at the north end, is a curious example of the canine tooth, or tusk of the pig. It has grown round and entered the cheek, piercing the lower jaw just below the teeth and even entering the tongue. Such instances of teeth with persistent pulps, growing to an abnormal length, are not infrequently seen in rats and rabbits, where the teeth in one jaw have been lost, and nothing is left to wear away those in the other.

Along the eastern side are lions, tigers, and such-like animals, after which come many varieties of monkeys. The series ends with two skeletons, the one of the powerful orangutan, the other of a man, and these are worthy of comparison. The orang usually assumes a semi-erect position, and its long arms then rest with the knuckles upon the ground.

The great majority of mammals are land animals, the bat alone is aerial. A membrane stretched between its greatly elongated fingers enables it to fly, and another curious fact about it is, that when asleep it hangs by its two hind limbs, head downwards. The few mammals which live in the sea, are represented by seals, whales, and a few others. These are shown in the enclosures, and among them, the crested seal, and gigantic sea-elephant may be noticed. The lower jaw of a whale, in the same enclosure, contains teeth, whereas in other species of whales, as in the large one suspended from the top gallery, teeth are replaced by numerous plates of baleen or whalebone.

In the other enclosures are many typical skeletons, the New Zealand skeletons forming a distinct group.

At the south end is an interesting model called an index-collection. It consists of an upright stem, from which rods branch off at different heights. Along the stem and branches are placed various animals representative of groups. Most-of page 108the rods tend upwards, while those pointing downwards denote degeneration in the animals upon them. The model endeavours to graphically represent the mutual relations of the several groups of the animal kingdom, and to give their degrees of development; and to each specimen are attached labels stating the scientific classification, and giving the position in the museum where similar examples may be round.

Beneath the staircase are specimens of the New Zealand woods. Out into blocks and polished, some of them show very pretty markings, and although, it is unnecessary to go into the value of these woods, many of them make useful and durable building materials. The kauri, for example, is for many purposes one of the finest woods in the world.

Just here, too, are specimens illustrating the process of manufacture of the native flax, which also has proved itself a valuable product of the soil.

Along the wall-cases are many interesting Maori relics, which testify to the artistic taste of the natives of New Zealand. Many of the greenstone images and implements must have required an immense amount of time and labour to fashion.

The exhibits of the volcanic dust, deposited during the recent eruption in the North Island, should prove of interest, and near at hand are some twigs and the skin of a bird encrusted a silvery white, with silica.

The little glass cubes containing wash-dirt from the Otago goldfields, also attract attention, and are no doubt, of value in showing the nature of the ground in which gold is most likely to be found. Near this stand is another, on which are specimens of the chief building stones obtainable in the colony.

Coming to the minerals, a case containing specimens of the stone, and illustrating the mode of extraction of the tin at the Bischoff mines in Tasmania, is now of special interest in view of the late discoveries at Stewart Island.

The other cases contain examples of the principal groups of minerals, to fully describe which would occupy too much space; suffice it to say, that many of the crystals are very pretty, and attractive to even those who know little of their scientific nature and value.

Thus it will be seen that, as far as possible, the exhibits in the museum have been arranged in their natural order, and pains have been taken to render the specimens more interesting and instructive by placing by the side of the most peculiar animals, descriptions and maps of distribution.

The reader is, however, recommended to visit the museum, and judge of these matters for himself.