WELLINGTON PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY.

Wellington Independent, Volume XXVII, Issue 3356, 27 November 1871, Page 2

WELLINGTON PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY.

Tlio last meeting for tho year was hold on Saturday, Dr Hector being in tho chair. After some formal business, the chairman announced several valuable presentations to tho Museum and Library. Among theso are copies of Professor Owen's latest works on tho tuoa, and tho Transactions of the Zoological Society of London. We observed also a piece of obsidian, and several ferns from the Island of St. Paul, presented by au officer of H.M.S. Blanche, who was cno of the castaways from tho ill-fated Megoera ; also, some skulls of seals brought by the officers of tho Blanche from Iho Auckland Islands. Dr Hector reported the successful introduction, for the first timo, of English trout into the streams of tho North Island, and made somo remarks on tho enormous quantity of fish that was cast up on the sea lino by the late S.E. galo. Among thorn was hardly any of tho kinds usually obtainod by tho fishermen. Of eleven species collected, throe are now to science, and six others had never formerly been found in tho seas round New Zealand. Ho hoped that a small work, which is at pro3onfc in course of publication from tho Museum, will assist in extending our knowledge of the fishes, as it gives a scientific description of each species and figures of about forty species that aro used as food. Tho first paper was by Mr Darnell, of Nelson, on flint flakes he had found at the Cape of Good Hope, specimens of which were exhibited to tho meeting. The chief object of the communication was to point out tho similarity of tho conditions under which theso flukes were formed to tho chisfc flako deposits of New Zonlard, which contain raoa bones: Unlike tho Maoris, howover, the aborigines at the Capo are nob known to havo used atone implements within historical times. Some discussion ensued aa to the manner in which these flakes were formed, Dr Hector

maintaining that they must have frequently been formed accidentally, where masses of chert were used in the cooking ovens; and from flakes thus formed, the beat would be selected for knives. Mr Mantell stated that he had never Been stone of a kind that woul/* " fly" when heated and quenched with water, used by the natives for their ovens, and th&t in the ancient ovens he bad examined, the chert only was found in flakes. Oaptain Hutton read a paper on the chitons of New Zealand, in which he described the anatomy of these curious shell fish, and pointed out that New Zealand is very rich in them, there being twenty-one epeoies, three of which are new. Mounted specimens of all but one species was on the table. Four papers, by Mr Skey, were then read in abstract. One of them described a method of purifying turbid water by tho addition of a small quantity of saline solution, and another one being on a new plan for a magnetic siesmograph for registering alight earthquakes. Dr Knoi presented some farther dissections of the New Zealand bats, and read some descriptive notes. Dr Hector drew attention to the skliful manner in which these delicate preparations had been made, and stated that the Museum is indebted to Dr Knox for a large number of similarspecimens, which require a great amount of accurate knowledge and long practice for their production. """"""'"S^ The meeting was then adjourne<rtill the period for the annual meeting in January.