REVIEW.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 3634, 27 September 1873, Page 5 (Supplement)

REVIEW.

Transactions and Proceedings of the JVew Zetland Institute, Vol. F.,1872. Edited and published under the authority of the Board of Governors of the Institute, by James Hector, M.D., F.R.S. Issued May, 1873.

FIRST NOTICE.

It ia a source of high satisfaction to all who have taken an interest in the New" Zealand Institute to observe that the work which is being done under its wing ia bo steadily maintained both in quantity and in quality at a thoroughly creditable standard. As the volumes of itß Transactions appear year by year, we hear one and another give a preference to the latest or some former one as "the best that has appeared," according to the special bent of : his own studies* But for our own part we hold the opinion decidedly that each year kts hitherto produced a volume exceeding that of its predecessor in the sterling value of the work it records and preserves. The first volitate) had adventitious aid from the binding tip with it of valuable papers, produced Jit connection with the New Zealand Exhibition of 1865, aud by this aid no doubt still maintains its pre-eminence. Subsequenb volumes have been the work of the Institute itself, and bear ample testimony to the wisdom which has been displayed both in the conception of its organisation and the liberality with which it has been supported by public and private funds. The latest volume of Transactions furnishes us with another proof that the effort which brought into existence the group of societies which collectively form the Institute, was no mere spasnl of en-» thusiasm. . It has been followed up by steady and well sustained work on thd part of many of our best men, work in which they have been encouraged by the sympathy and thanks of their fellow members, and by the generous rivalry of others, who have perhaps only done less than they because their opportunities and their leisure have been less. The volume before us—the latest published results o£ this work—is full of interest; not merely for the students of a few specialties o£ Bcience, but for all men of culture, whether reuidents in the Colony or not. At the same time it has a thoroughly local colouring. It iB of New Zealand that ife treats—of its Fauna, itß Flora, its present and former inhabitants, its history and its geology, its resources and the method by which they may be developed.

Of the manner in which this book had been edited and got up, we need not sayany thing. No one who has not himself engaged in a similar task can form any idea of the labour and worry which the editing of such a book involves, in addition to the work of perusing selections from, and making abstracts of, the heterogeneous mass of papers which it contains. Too much praise cannot be accorded to the Editor for work which, though it falls within the routine of official duties, is evidently carried through as a "labour of love." This volume is about one-fourth larger than that of the previous year, and is illustrated by no less than twenty-two plates, some of which are very beautifully engraved.

The contents of the volume are so varied that we shall not attempt to do more than indicate them in a general manner, confining our attention to those which are' the most important, or moat likely to interest our readers. As usual, the papers which form the Transactions are divided into departments, according to the nature of their contents. Zoological, botanical, chemical, and geological papers are ranged under separate heads, and the remainder are grouped together as "Miscellaneous." As in former years, the whole of the chemical papers are by Mr W. Skey. The number of contributors to the Natural History section of the volume is on the increase, and we hope that Mr Skey will not long be left alone in, his department. The laboratory at Dunedin will, we trust, some day become as celebrated tor its contributions to chemical science, for the ardor of its students, and the skill and wide learning of its Professors, as are any of those whose names are now familiar to us. That day may yet be far distant, but we have a right to expect from it in the meantime some contributions to future volumes of the Institute's Transactions, and the sooner some one breaks the ice and invades the field in which Mr Skey has so long reigned alone the better we shall be pleased. We are glad to note that the papers which have been thought worthy of a place in the Transactions thi3 year-are by thirtythree different authors, whilst last year the number of coutributors -was only twenty-seven. This is a healthy and encouraging sign, one which will, we hope, be repeated year by year, until the task of selection amongst so many competitors shall put the Editor to hia wita' end. . Of the Natural History papers, that on the " Geographical' Relations of the New Zealand Faun* nty q aD $, gpfctpn^ is %

most interesting and important. In it we have presented to us a careful exposition of almost all that is known of the zoology of New Zealand so far as was necessary for the purposes of the paper. The paper would have been valuable if for this alone. The comparisons which Capt. Hutton has made of our fauna with those of other countries lead him to highly j interesting deductions as to the distribution of land and water in the Southern Hemisphere in bygone ages. We are as yet a long way from possessing all the information . that is necesssary to establish such deductions on a firm basis —a fact which Captain Hutton acknowledges in his concluding remarks, whilst claiming that sufficient is known to warrant him in putting forward his hypothesis, and leading it to be proved, disproved, or modified, as further information is accumulated. He even ventures to think this the best time for hypothesis, when salient points are easily seized upon which might be " obscured by the mass of facts which will" be hereafter gathered together. On this point we venture.to differ from him, because his subject is one which " massed of facts" must always, as their masses increase, make more clear to those who have eyes to see them. Nevertheless Captain Hutton is none too early with his generalisations, in support of which he has ably grasped the facts at his disposal. Future investigations will be all the better made for the aid which his hypotheses will afford to the student as guides or " leading lights," even if they should 'in the end lead to the entire abandonment of the hypotheses themselves. 'The history of every science is full of records of such methods of progression. What Capt. Hutton's theories are will be best understood if we quote his own summary (p. 251) which, omitting some details, Srnns as follows :—

, The geographical distribution of the New Zealand fauna points to the following conclusions— . '

.LA 'continental period during which S. America, New Zealand, Australia,' and South Africa were all connected, although it is hot necessary that all should have been 'connected at the same time, but N. Z. must foave been isolated from all before the •spread of the mammals, and from that time to the present never been completely, submerged. This Continent was inhabited by istruthious birds*

2. Subsidence folio wed, and the evidence 'then points to a second continent stretching from JSTew Zealand to Lord Howe Island and £fe\v Caledonia, and extending for an unknown distance into Polynesia, but, certainly not so far as the Sandwich Islands.

3. Subsidence" again followed, and New Zealand was-again reduced for a long time to a number o? islands, .upon many of which the moa lived. This was followed by 4. Elevation j these islands were conhected, and a large island existed disconnected from Polynesia. This was once more followed by •

5. Subsidence, and the geography of this part of the world assumed somewhat of its present form. . ■■■■■.

■ These being made in a legitimate manner from the zoological facts he recapitulates—a little strained perhaps here-and there, but on the whole fair and logical—he next endeavours to show that they have the support of geological evidence. After recapitulating this, he claims that it demonstrates " that since the Jurassic period there have been three principal upheavals in New Zealand . . .

and that these were-divided by two insular periods." He then combats an objection which may be raised that the flora of Uie country does not afford corroborative evidence. He points out tliat his theory is not without support-even" here, and claims. that" the flora of New Zealand "still £ urnishes an indistinct copy of the ■bolder outline sketched by the fauna." tfntil some*one: has taken" the 'same pains to work out the geographical relations of our flora, as Captain Hutton has taken with his subject, we are not disposed to lay much stress on the apparent absence of corroborative evidence from this quarter. 3:he bold sketch of the remote past history of these islands which Captain Hutton has deduced from the data :before him may be far from correct, but;as a, preliminary hypothesis it Will be a valuable starting point for future workers in the same field of abstruse research. .'■ To provide such a starting point is the author's professed object, and he deserves great praise for the care with which he has worked out his theory, some of the main features of which-will, we fancy, stand the test of time, and be all the more clearly seen to be correct in the increased light of facts to be yet accumulated-.

.Mr Potts continues in this volume his ;alwoys interesting contributions to the 'Ornithology of New Zealand. Besides many discussions interesting chiefly to the professed: ornithologist, we have amongst these some descriptions of the habits of bur birds, drawn from the life, which will delight all lovers of Nature. Prominent amongst these are his articles on the kingfisher, the green wren, the thrush (Pio-pio), the saddle, back, the-various species, of., kiwi,- and the Spbtted shag. We. regret that our space tides not permit ua to give sundry extracts ifroftl these charming descriptions of birdlife. Animportant paper in the eyes of naturalists is that on the whales and dolphins of the New.Zealand seas,.by Dr ■Hector. This is amply illustrated, and Will bo a useful guide to future investigators of a department of our fauna as°to whbh much has yet to be learnt. The, number of different speciea classed by Dr Hector as indigenous to our seas will astonish those who have not given the subject previous study. Many of these have however, been determined from imperfect specimens, or from parts of th& skeleton only. We therefore draw attention to the request of Dr Hector, that, those who have the good fortune to see any of these animals, especially those of large size, which can never be preserved, will use the opportunity to supply him with sketches, " however rough," and " exact measurements, showing proportions, position of fins," &c. As a guide to collectors, Dr Hector states that "the bones most important to preserve are the skull and ear bones, vertebrae of the neck, shoulder blade, first two ribs, and a few segments" from the spine. Besides that offMr Potts, there are five papers on New Zealand ■■■ birds, two of which are on those of the Chatham Islands. For the first time our entomologists make a fair show in the Transactions. A paper, by Mr E. W. Fereday, of Ohristchurch, "On direct injuries to vegetation in New Zealand by various insects," ought to be followed up by those who have the requisite knowledge and opportunities of observation in other Provinces. The subject of this paper is one which is. becoming increasingly important to the cultivator every year, and a great deal has yet to be learnt about it. As cultivation extends, one after another of our indigenous insects is brought into circumstances exceedingly favourable to the increase of its numbers, and becomes a pest. Up to the present time very little lips been done to counteract this. The indigenous insect-eating birds, never apparently very numerous, have been decreasing in numbers, and all that has yet been done to supply their places by the acclimatisation of others, has

gone but a little way to remedy this evil j wliilst^ against the sudden, development of various insect plagues it has been entirely ineffectual. We commend Mr Fereday's example to our local naturalists, aa one well worthy of their imitation. There are three papers on the Moa— all very interesting. We do not know why those, in common with similar papers in former Volumes, are printed amongst the miscellaneous contributions, instead of being classed together or with those on geological subjects. Palaeontology and Geology are sister departments of Natural History. As-the learned editor is at issue with Dr Haast, and those who with him attribute the final extinction of the Moa to a race of men long past into oblivion, and believes that it is not long since some at least of these extraordinary birds, whose remains we speak of under the general name of moa-bones, were alive, affording food to the immediate ancestors of the present generation of Maoris, he may hesitate to place these papers under the head of " Paleontology." If so, we would- advise him boldly to class them with other Geological papers. When we took up this volume and turned first to the table of contents, we came to tlie conclusion that there was nothing about the Moa nr the Transactions this year. Amongst these papers is one by Captain Eraser, giving a description of the Earnscleugh Moa Cave, from which it may be remembered the neck of a moa with the skin intact upon it was some time ago rescued. His visit to thia curious cave, and the cave itself, are pleasantly described by Capt. Fraser. The floor of the cave, he tells us, i 3 covered with an impalpable dust, groping among which, he found several bones and rolls of what he imagined to be the inner bark of a tree, but which proved to be " reddish brown Moa skin." When he and his companion were on the bottom of the cave, the latter, "who was fossicking about with a piece of totara, which he picked .up in the cave, suddenly exclaimed, "I have found a nest," and from under a ledge, he drew out grass, and the remains of the eggs and birds." The other papers on the Moas relate to the first discovery of the relics of these birds by European colonists, and are by Mr Mantell and the Rev. \R. Taylor, the former of whom promises a more extended relation of his discoveries, and of the localities in which they were made.