3

E.—7

In 1892 the standard of instruction for the associate diplomas was raised to that of the B.Sc. requirements of the New Zealand University in mining engineering. Prior to that date mining graduates took the ordinary B.Sc. Since that date some take the B.Sc. in mining or metallurgical engineering; but some still prefer the ordinary B.Sc, as the requirements in respect to keeping terms are easier than for the former. The mining graduates who have taken the ordinary and engineering B.Sc. are as follow : Ordinary B.Sc. prior to 1902, 3 ; ordinary B.Sc since 1902, 5 ; engineering B.Sc. since 1902, 3 ; total, 11. Mining School Buildings. —I regret to report that the class-rooms and laboratories, with a single exception, are in a ruinous and dilapidated condition, thereby adding considerably to the discomfort which must always attend lecturings and laboratory work in a corrugated-iron building—at bes a mere shell—in a rigorous climate like this. The roof of the main building is not weatherproof, with the result ;hat during heavy rain pools of water collect on the floor, on the drawing-tables and weighing-balances. Streams of storm-water pour down the walls in places ; through this cause the scrim in the large lectureroom has become rotten, permitting the wall-paper to hang down in long strips. The need of a new up-to-date and commodious building has now become a matter of common necessity. The attendance and results last year formed a record in the history of the school. No faculty connected with the University of New Zealand has provided through its diplomas the same lucrative employment for its graduates, and none is so badly housed ; none could be worse. Conclusion. —My acknowledgments are due to Dr. Marshall, Mr. Waters, Mr. Armstrong (lecturers), and Mr. Algernon Spencer (demonstrator in surveying) for the zeal they displayed in carrying out their 'uties during 1904.

Otago University Museum : Report of the Curator (Dr. W. B. Benham, D.Sc). have to report that during the year 1904 the work that has been carried out in the Museum is small in amount as compared with that detailed in my last report (for 1903). During that year I had made special efforts to effect some extensive and long-needed rearrangements and relabellings of the New Zealand collections, in view of the meeting of the Australian Association for the Advancement of Science in Dunedin in January of 1904. During the last summer I held a special class for honours students in zoology, so that the time at which my attention is usually directed to Museum work was fully occupied ; and, further, the taxidermist was absent for three months, as with your approval he was permitted to go to Wellington to assist the Director of the Colonial Museum. The only work of importance that I was able to undertake has been in connection with an attempt to render the collection of mammals somewhat more interesting to the general public To this end I have added a number of cards bearing a brief written account of the habits, or structural peculiarities, or the geographical distributions, &c, of the more striking and interesting specimens. I have also written concise diagnoses of the orders of mammals, using popular language as far as possible. About a hundred and twenty of these labels—some large, others small—have been placed in the cases, together with thirty small maps, in addition to those already exhibited, showing, by means of colours, the geographical range and geological history of as many genera. This work has necessitated some rearrangement of the specimens, so as to allow the labels to be properly displayed I have in preparation a new case to illustrate the characteristic features of the class Mammalia, which I hope to complete during the present year ; and, later, I intend to add similar cases and labels in explanation of the birds, reptiles, and other groups of vertebrates. In this way I hope to make our Museum more interesting to the general public and to students, for it is the experience of museum curators that something more than the mere name of the animal is needed to attract the more intelligent visitor. The exhibition of a great number of specimens has little or no scientific value (except in the case of local faunistic collections), and no interest to the general public; whereas a few picked specimens, with explanatory or descriptive labels, couched in carefully chosen language, is believed to stimulate the interest of visitors. This I hope to carry out gradually, but necessarily it requires a good deal of time not only to select suitable specimens but to write out neat labels; and, as my whole time during six months of the year is occupied in teaching, progress must be slow. New Exhibits. The following few additions to the collections have been placed on exhibition : — A. New Zealand Zoology. —Only ten specimens have been added, including an interesting f oraminiferan (Ramulina globulifera), obtained from a depth of 110 fathoms off the coast of the North Island, and a small shell (Philobrya costata) from the same depth ; also a new species of fresh-water bivalve (Unio websteri). B. Foreign Zoology. — Seven additions, including a fine skeleton of a wallaby from a specimen presented by Mr. Studholme, a skull of the crab-eating seal, and a stuffed emperor penguin (the largest of its race) from the Antarctic regions, and a specimen of Nautilus umbilicatus from New Caledonia. A cast of the Cro-magnon skull, presented by Dr. Scott, makes a valuable addition to the small series of casts illustrating the history of man. C. Ethnology, &c. —A pair of Norwegian " skis " used by a member of the " Discovery " Expedition to the Antarctic regions, and one or two small articles from elsewhere. Remounts, Repairs, &c. The skeletons of all the ratite birds (ostrich, rhea, emu, cassowary), including the nine fine moas, have been remounted on firm supports. They had previously been set up on a clumsy framework too weak to hold the bones properly, so that the parts got displaced during dusting.