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and described. Next is a half-skull of an adult horse with the bones around the bases of the teeth removed to show the roots, and a similar preparation of the skull of a foal, showing the milk-teeth, with the permanent teeth ready to take their place. This serves to illustrate the fundamental peculiarities of the mammalian dentition. Each tooth in the specimen is labelled, and a brief explanation of the preparation is given. Other skulls, such as that of dog, sheep, pig, dolphin, illustrate the chief modifications in dentition adapted to different kinds of food, while the teeth of a cow and a calf and others serve to exhibit certain other matters of interest This series will be continued as time, space, and opportunity permit. The ethnological department was enriched by the handsome gift of Mr. and Mrs. J. Mills, wdiich consisted of some fifty articles, mostly weapons, collected about twenty-five years ago, chiefly from the islands of Polynesia. In order to exhibit these to advantage, I determined to group all our weapons together, instead of following the usual geographical arrangement. I therefore overhauled our small collection of spears, clubs, &c Many more or less interesting ones were fastened to the walls high above the cases, so that not only was their beauty invisible, but they were spoilt by the dirt accumulating upon them. These were all taken down, cleaned, and identified, and suitable articles selected for exhibition. Two long, shallow cases were ordered, so that all these weapons—some of them valuable and beautiful specimens of savage workmanship —might be shown together—spears and lances in one case, clubs, paddles, &c, in the second. In another piece of work I received the invaluable aid of Dr. P. Marshall, who most kindly gave his time to the rearrangement and identification of the specimens of New Zealand rocks, which had remained as they w r ere left by Captain Hutton years ago. Dr. Marshall presented a considerable number of additional specimens, chipped them into a form and size suitable for exhibition, and arranged them in their proper order. Many more specimens are required to complete the series, but this can only be done by reducing the number of specimens of foreign materials. In order to accommodate the additional rock-specimens I removed from exhibition a miscellaneous collection of rocks (many unnamed) from various parts of the world, and to provide space for the dentition series I emptied a case containing relics of the Tarawera eruption, which have now lost most of their interest. During the Christmas holidays I took the opportunity of rearranging the general collection of minerals, originally arranged and labelled, and many of them presented, by the late Professor Ulrich for the use of the students of the Mining School, by whom they had become a good deal disarranged. As the school of Mines now possesses a teaching-collection of its own, our collection may be considerably reduced, and the superfluous specimens handed over to the school, so as to admit of an extension of our collection of New Zealand minerals and rocks. It will be seen from the above that a considerable amount of work has been done by myself and the taxidermist, who, of course, can in such matters only act under my immediate direction and supervision. Additions to the Collections on Exhibition. In addition to work described above, the following specimens have been added to those already on exhibition : — New Zealand Zoology. —The fifty species of- birds' eggs referred to above as part of Dr. Fulton's collection, and including the kea's egg from Mrs. McLean. An extremely rare, if not extinct, wren (Traversia) from Stephen Island has been purchased and placed in the case containing the Notornis, stitch-bird, and quail. An additional specimen of tuatara, excellently set up by the taxidermist in a very lifelike attitude, is worthy of note. I have also placed a few invertebrates in the Museum cases —namely, a particularly large specimen of the pelagic mollusc (Firoloides coronata) —the first of its kind to be found on our shores—which was presented by Mr. W. Fels, and forms the subject of a short article by myself in the forthcoming volume of the Transactions, New Zealand Institute; an interesting sea-slug (Notarchus glaucus) ; a land nemertine (Geonemertes novai-zealand-iaf) ; a rare crab (Ommatocartinus macgillivray), received from Mr. G. M. Thomson; and a pair, male and female, of gigantic wetas (Hemideina broughi), from the West Coast, which have been mounted in a novel fashion in alcohol. Disarticulated specimens of several of our native cerripedes have also been added. Foreign Zoology. —A cast of the skull and feet of Phenacodus —an extinct animal, which is the representative of the ancestral group of mammals from which many of the existing orders are descended. A cast of the skull of an ancient horse (Mesohippus) is placed alongside a skull of an existing horse, in order to show the changes that have occurred in the evolution of the latter; also casts of the teeth of a series of horse-ancestors. I have also placed in the cases the stuffed feet of cow, pig, tapir, horse, elephant, to illustrate the classificatory terms used on the labels of these cases; a pair of specimens of a pouched rat (Thomomys), so set up as to exhibit the characteristic cheek-pouches; and the smallest mammal known, a shrew (Sorex alpinus), from Europe. Geology, Mineralogy, &c. —A small, but interesting collection of some twenty minerals and metallic ores from New Caledonia was presented by Mr. W. Manning, and has been temporarily placed in a case in the first gallery; some of these will later be incorporated in the general collection of minerals. A few other minerals have also been added to the New Zealand series and to the general collection. Ethnology. —l have already referred to Mr. Mills's collection. It consists of some fifty articles, including some rare forms of clubs and spears from Fiji, spears from New Ireland, Solomon Islands, and elsewhere; a few personal ornaments, such as a necklace of cachalot's teeth, from Fiji, Malay hats, &c, and other articles. Sum,rnary of Acquisitions during 1905. Local Zoology. —About a hundred and forty entries occur in the register, but in the case of Dr. Fulton's collection of eggs each entry often includes several specimens. The great majority of