OTAGO INSTITUTE.

Otago Witness, Issue 2840, 19 August 1908, Page 17

OTAGO INSTITUTE.

The regular meeting- of the Otago Iristr* tute, which was held on the 11th inst., was very largely attended, and was presided otcj; by Dr Hocken.

The first matter of interest brought under; the notice of those present was the bird-liftf of New Zealand, a brief paper on i£ei subject being read by Dr Fulton. In it thel fact thai at one time 'New Zealand was; $ group of birdless islaijde was referred-, toy and now birds from ike' abrtli^had gra4«i ally spread over the islands was commented!' upon. Dr Pulton mentioned- that for»'a? very long time the Nopth leland birds -.Kadi j been separated from those , of the South! Island, and that many found in tfoe ujgHsth; were strange to the south, and vice versa* He then proceeded to point out the differences existing between .various- species founds north and south, and deplored jjie fact ty&tf, the Dunediji Museum .did not contain epecif] xnen3; of "some" of the.ibircfe to be met vyjta in .llie North., Islaiid.-. *. ' .--,-.. ' 4- «uggesjtion"iyfis thrown but ,by a geiitle-' man "among ■ the audience that specimens., ofi these :birds should, and , could j .be obtainec?:. Dr-Benham said that- was not. so easy, as* it appeared. Birds 'were protected, and^ there -was a penalty of £50 if anyone found -with them in Jbis possession a^idf could not give a satisfactory explanation' pB now he eamo by them. ■ i.

Mr H. Skey next engaged the attention/ of those present with some remarks aixt M decim&J aygtetfi of" coinage. He said "wort •had now 11 different coins in our tjurrencifl where ©even, would give us -a decimal sys-^ tern. He pi'oceeded by 1 the aid of thd blackboard to explain the relative values? of these- seven coins, and how their uses would simplify exchange and calculation^ and be of infinite advantage in commercialr matters. Such a system* as he advocated^ -would also bs benefioial in the teaching oft children, as it would be simpler than tha present method, and would leave the children more time to study higher matters of wisdom and knowledge. It would not, hef contended, take' a lon# time to get initiated! into the system, and Australia might join* in it and the system become an Australasian one.

Dr P. Marshall was then called upon by the chairman to deliver his address on the " Campbell island." Dr Marshall eaid the? remarks he had to maks were on the! results of the expedition organised by th£ Canterbury Philosophical Institute. Government had paid tho passages and' defrayed all expenses in connection with the tour, and it was to I>e hoped it was an earnest! of the future intentions of the Government',, aixl that it would subsidise private effort, and make scientifio work, if not moro remunerative, at anyrate less of a drain upon; the persons engaging in it. Dr Mars-hall' then went on to refer to Campbell Island, which, ho said, was almost 500 miles south! of Dunedin, and it was only natural to should imagine it had a climate much morei severe thaai that of Dunedin. Campbell Island was discovered by Captain Hazel< berg, of the brig Perse%"erance, and both, q/ tragedy and an act of heroism had attended that discovery. He went on to de-* scribe the drowning of Captain Hazelborg, and the gal'ant attempt to rescue by on© of the occupants of the boat which was capsized. That was in 1810. Since then aa observatory had boon erected on the island "and a depot established for shipwrecked crews. Coming to the temperature ofi Campbell Island, he said it was only odegi colder than that experienced here. la' Dunedin we had 143 days' rainfall in. tile; year, and in Campbell Island there wero 280 days', the respective rainfalls being 32in< and 56in. There was a misconception! about Campbell Island. Wo were hicjind to regard it as a place tormented byboisterous south-west winds, but the climate; was more congenial than one might expect,' the prevailing winds being from the north' and north-east. The temperature of tier sea was 44deg, tho same as the atmosphere, • while about Dunedin it was 52.9dcg. The; currents round Campbell Island alwayrf came from tho south-west, and the party had hoped to see icebergs, but did not do so. Dr ilarshall went on to epeak of the depth of the sea at and near Campbell ' Island, and said the surface of the island was distinctly hilly, the highest mountain, being Mount Honey, which was 1866 ft all the high country was formed' of volcanic rock, and practically all round fcho island the cliffs were extremely etecp and high*. A number of pictures of Campbell Island weie then 6hown by the aid of tho lantern, and Dr Marshall subsequently briefly touched upon the geology of the island, at the conclusion of which tea, .was handed round.

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