Hawke's Bay Philosophical Institute.

Transactions and Proceedings of the Royal Society of New Zealand, Volume 22, 1889, Unnumbered Page

Hawke's Bay Philosophical Institute. First Meeting: 13th May, 1889. Papers.—1. Inaugural address by the President, Dr. W. I. Spencer.

Second Meeting: 1st June, 1889.

Third Meeting: 8th July, 1889. Papers.—1. “Shadow-pictures,” by Taylor White. (Transactions, p. 108.) Mr. Harding remarked, in the discussion which followed, that moonlight, passing through any irregularly-shaped small aperture, always produced a circular patch of light.

2. “A Description of Two Newly-discovered Indigenous Cryptogamic Plants.” by W. Colenso, F.R.S., F.L.S., &c. (Transactions, p. 449.) Several specimens of those two plants were exhibited by Mr. Colenso; and also fine specimens of the following indigenous and rare fungi collected by him, in very good preservation: Hydnum novœ-zealandiœ, Col., sp. nov.;* “Trans. N.Z. Inst.,” vol. xxi., p. 79. Hirneola polytricha, Mont.; Aseroe corrugata, Col., sp. nov.;† “Trans. N.Z. Inst.,” vol. xvi., p. 362. Ileodictyon cibarium, Tulasne; Secotium erythrocephalum, Tulasne. 3. “On the Large Meteor of the 4th May, 1888,” by Taylor White. (Transactions, p. 105.) Mr. H. Hill then brought before the meeting the desirability of forming a small Field Naturalists' Club or Society in connection with this branch of the Institute, and pointed out the desirability of promoting active and intelligent observation of the natural history of our country, and the use such a society might be to the Institute. The Secretary exhibited several trays of small but beautiful corals of various forms and colours, including the precious red coral of commerce, from his private collections. Fourth Meeting: 12th August, 1889. Papers.—1. “On the Wild Dogs of New Zealand,” by Taylor White. (Transactions, p. 327.) In the discussion which followed, Mr. J. T. Large, of the Wairoa, said that from all he had heard of the dog from the natives he believed that the animal was a small one, and extremely docile, not to say spiritless, which might be accounted for by the fact that the animal lived almost exclusively on fish and vegetable diet. The dog was reared by the natives for its hair and for food; and he did not agree with the writer in thinking that the animals killed by him were Maori dogs. Mr. Hamilton said that he had seen several wild dogs shot on the high bush-lands at the back of Horokiwi, near Wellington, which agreed very well with Mr. White's description of those shot by him in the South; but he had never considered them other than dogs escaped from domestication, or the descendants of such. He thought that, as the pig introduced by Europeans got plentiful, the dog, used till then as a kinaki or relish to the ordinary vegetable diet of the natives, was allowed to die out and eventually to disappear.

Fifth Meeting: 9th September, 1889.

Sixth Meeting: 7th October, 1889. Papers.—1. “The Artesian-well System of Hawke's Bay,” by H. Hill, F.G.S. (Transactions, p. 429.) 2. “A Description of some Newly-discovered Indigenous Phænogamic Plants, being a Further Contribution towards the making-known the Botany of New Zealand,” by W. Colenso, F.R.S., F.L.S. (Transactions, p. 459.) 3. “A Description of some Newly-discovered Indigenous Cryptogamic Plants,” by W. Colenso, F.R.S., F.L.S. (Transactions, p. 452.) Specimens of these plants were at the same time exhibited by the describer. 4. “Descriptive Geology of the District between Napier and Ruapehu Mountain via Kuripapanga and Erehwon,” by H. Hill, B.A. (Transactions, p. 422.)

Annual Meeting: February, 1890. Dr. Spencer, President, in the chair.