^

FOR THE PEOPLE

FOK EDVCATION

FOR SCIENCE

LIBRARY

OF

THE AMERICAN MUSEUM

OF

NATURAL HISTORY

N.

Papers and Proceedings

OF THE

ROYAL SOCIETY

OF TASMANIA

FOR THE YEAR

1911

TASMANIA :

Printed at "The Mercury" Office, Macquarie Street, Hobart.

The responsibility of the Statements and Opinions
given in the following Papers and Discussions rests with
the individual authors or speakers ; the Society merely
places them on record.

Royal Society of Tasmania

LIST OF OFFICERS

^airou :
HIS MAJESTY THE KING.

Picslticnt :
HIS EXCELLENCY SIR HARRY BARRON, K.C.M.G., C.V.O.

R. M. JOHNSTON, F.L.S., I.S.O.
HON. a. H. BUTLER, M.R.C.S., M.E.C.

(JToundl :

HON. G. H. BUTLER, M R.C.S., M.E.C.

A. L. BUTLER.

A. H. CLARKE, M.R.C.S.

S. CLEMES.

Prof. T. T. FLYNN, B.i>c.

J. A. JOHNSON, M.A.

A. M. LEA, F.E.S.

FRITZ NOETLING, M.A, Ph.D.

E. L. PIESSE, B.Sc, LL.B.

L. ROD\VAY.

T. STEELE.

A. D, WATCHORN.

Cl)duman of tl)c (!Ioundl:
HON. G. H. BUTLER, M.R.C.S., M.E.C.

^onoraru STrtasiuier :
E. L. PIESSE, B.Sc, LL.B.

Honorary ^ccictari) :
FRITZ NOETLING, M.A., Ph.D.

.^ccrctaiD to tijc (Touncil :
ROBERT HALL, C.M.Z.S., Col. Memb. B.O.U.

Iluilitoi-:
H. W. W. ECHLIN.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

PAPERS.

Page.

1. Notes on the Mjvrks of Percussion on Siliceous Rocks

(PI. I. & II.), by Fritz Noetling, M.A., Ph.D. . . 1

2. The HvniLMiofrastracete of Tasmania (PI. III.), Ijy

Leonard Rodv\ay 21

'.i. Note on Trachinops taeniatus, by Robert Hall, C.M.Z.S. 32

4. Tlie F'eathev-Tracts of Splienura bioadbenti : McCoy

(PI. IV.). by Robert Hall, C.M.Z.S 33

5. The Manufacture of the Tero-watta. (PI. V., VI., VII.,

VIII.), by Fritz Noeilinp, M.A. Ph.D :W

f). Notes on Treubia insignis, (joebel, by Leonard Rod way ()2

7. Notes on the Hunting Sticks (Lughrana), Spears

(Perenna), and Baskets (Tughbrana) of the Tas-
nianian Aborigines, (PI. IX., X., XL, XIL, XIIL,
XIV., XV.), by Fritz Noetling, M.A., Ph.D. ... 64

8. On the Connection of Swifts with Weather, by H.

Stuart Dove, F.Z.S 99

9. Further Notes on the nal)its of the Tnsmanian Abori-

gines (PI. XVI., XVII., XVIIL, XIX., XX.). by
Fritz Noetling, M.A., Ph.D., 102

l(t. Notes on the Marsupialian Anatomy — 1. On the condi-
tion of Median Septum in the Trichosurida', (PI.
XXL), by T. Thomson Flynn, B.Sc 120

11. Til*' Occurrence of Gigantic Marsupials in Tasmania,

by Fritz Noetling, M..\.. PhD 124

IJ. Notes on Dnterrau's Iteconciliation Picture (PI. XXII. ),

by Fritz Noetling, M.A., Ph.D 134

v.*,. Notes on the Anatomy of Pefaurua we8«H=»HK (PI. XXIII. .
XXIV., XXV., XXVL, XXVII.^, by T. Thomson
Flynn, B.Sc 144

LIST OF MEMBERS AND FELLOWS

OF TilE

KOYAL SOCIETY OF TASMANIA.

■'Fellows who have contributed Papers read before the Society.

tLife Members.

(The addresses of Members residing in Hobart are omitted.)

Honorary Members.
David, Prof. T. Edgeworth, C.M.G., B.A., F.K.S., Sydney.
Speucer, Prof. W. Baldwin., C.M.G.. M.A., F.R.S.. Meld.
Shackleton, Sir Ernest H., C.V.O., R.KR., London.

^Corresponding Members.
Aruold-Wall, Prof., M.A., Canterbury, New Zealand.
Bailey, P.M., Brisbane, Queensland.

Beuham, Prof. W.B., M.A.. D.Sc, D une din, Ne^v Zealand.
Bragg, Prof. W., M.A., Addaide, South Aust>alia.
Chapman, R.W., M.A., B.C.E., Adelaide, South Australia.
Dendv, Prof. A., D.Sc, P. R. S., London, England.
Greig-Smith, W.R., D.Sc, Sydney, Neiu South Wales.
Hail, T.S., M.A., D.Sc, Melbourfie, Victoria.
Haswell, Prof. W.A., D.Sc, M A., F.R.S., Sydney, N.S. IF.
Hooker, Sir Joseph D., K.C.S.I., C.B., M.I)., London, Eng.
Jack, R.L., D.Sc, F.G.S., Brisbane, Queensland.
Liversidge, Prof. A., M.A., LL.D., F.R.S., F.G.S., London.
Mica-Smitli, Prof., B.Sc, Ballarat, Victoria.
Shirlev, John. B.Sc, Brisbane, Queejisland.
Thomson, G.M., F.L.S., Dunedin, New Zealatid.
Woodward, B.H., F.G.S., Perth, West Australia.

^Corresponding Members whose names are inadvertently
omitted will kindly communicate with the Secretary.

Fei.lows.
Afjnew, L.E., Mrs.
AUwork, F., L.S.A., Ne7v Norfolk.
Archer, Wm. Henry Davies, Longford.
Auderson, Gr.M., M.B., CM., Franklin.
Armstrong, Hugh, F.R.C.S.
Arundel, A.S.D.
Ash, Percy.

t Baker, Henry D.

Barclay, David.
fBaring, Rev. F. H., M.A., F.R.G.S., Spring Bay
*Beaitie, J. W.

Benaett, William Henry, Ross.

Beiinison, Thomas.

Bidencope, Joseph.
*Blackmau, A. E.. Franklin.

Brain, Rev. Alfred, M.A.

Brooks, G. V.

Brownell, F. Les i".

Burgess, Hon. AVm. H-nry.

Butler, Arthur.

Butler, Francis.

Butler, Han. Gamaliel Henry, M.R.C.S., M.L.C.

Burbury, Fredk. E., Launceston.

Butler, W. F. D., M.Sc.

Campbell, R. D., M. B.
*Ciarke, Arthur H., M.K.C.S.
Clemes, Samuel.
Clemes, William H.
Counsel, Edward Alberf.
Crouch, Ernest J., M.R.C.S.
Cruick.siiaiik, James H., Lt. Col. R.E., Glenorchy

Davies, Sir John George, K.C.M.G.
Davies, Bon. Charles Ellis, M.L.C.
Dechaineaux, Lucien.
Delany, His Gr;iee Archbishop.
Dickenson, R. S., M.A.
*Dobson, Hon. Henry.
Donovan. T. Matthpw, L.R.C.P., L.K.C.S., Sorell.

*Dove, H. Stewart, IVesi Devonport.
Dunbabin, Thos., M.A.

Ernst-Carroll, F. J., M.Sc, Neuchatel, Switzerland.
Evans, Thomas May, Col.

Fereday, Mrs. R. W.
t Foster, Henry, Major, Merton Vale, Campbell Town.
fFoster, John D, I'airfield, Epping.

Finlay, W. A.
*Flynn, T. Thomson, B.Sc.

fGrant, C. W.

Gibson, G.H., M.B.

Giblin, Lyudhurst F., B.A.

Giblin, Wilfrid, M.B.

Gonld, Robert, Longford.
*Green, A. O.

Gould, H. T.

Gower, E. L, B.A.
*Hall, Robert, C.M.Z S.

Harrisson, E. J., Bellerivc.

Harri.sou, Malcolm.

Harvey, Walter A., M.R.G.S., M.B.

Hogg, G. H., M.D., Launceston.

Home, William.

Hntcliison, Hermann.

*Ireland, E. W. J., M.B., CM.

*Johnson, J. A., M.A.

*Jolu)ston, Robert M., F.L.S.. I.S.O. ■ •

Kerr, George.

Kirk, A.

Keene, E. H. D., M.A., Tarleton.

Knight, H. W. "

Lea, A. M., F.E.S., Adelaide.
*Legge, Vincent W., Col., K.A., Cullenswood.
Lewis, Lient-CoJ., R.C.

Lewis, Hon. Sir Neil Elliott, D C.L., M A., K.C.M.G.
Lines, D. H. E., M B

VIU.

Mason, M.

Miller, K. O., B.Sc.
tMitchell, J. G., [ericJio.
*May, VV. L., Sandford.

Mercer, E. J., Dr. (Bishop of Tasmania

Miller, Lindsay S., M.B., Cn.B.

Millen, J. D., Waratah.
*Moore, Greorge Brettingliain, C.E.

Montgomery, R. B.

McCoy, W. T., B.A.
fMcClymont, J. R., M.A.
*McAulay, Professsor Alexander, M.A.

M<-"fi:iroy, J. A.

Macfarlane, Hon. Tames.

Macgowan, E. T., M.B., B.S.
*Macleoa, P. J., B.A.

Nicholas, George C, Ouse.
♦Noetling, Fritz, M.A., Ph.D.
Norman, Keith, LL.B.
Nicholls, H. Minchiu.

Parker, Major A. C.
Parnell, Col., Brisbane.
Parsons, Miss S. R.
Payler, Rev. Morgan.
Pearce, E. H., J.P.
Pedder, Alfred.
*Piesse, E. L.. B.Sc, LL.B.
Pilliuger, James.
Pratt, A. W. Courtney.
Purdy, J. S., M.D., D.P.H.

*Ritz, H. B., M.A.

Roberts, E. J., M.B.

Roberts, Henry Lleivellyn.

Robinson, J. Moore.
*Rodway, Leonard.

fSprott, Gregory, M.D.

Steele, Thomas J.
fSticht, Robert, B.Sc, E.M, QueensJmvn.

Sc>tt., H. H., Latincesion.

Scott, R .bert G. M.f3., CM.

Slio()^)ridiie, K^^v. Cmiiou Gporg.'.

Shool)i-idc;e, W. K., Glenora.

Sich, Hu!?Ii H., Mah'em. Victoria.

Simmons, Matthew W.
*Simson, Augustus, Launceston.
♦Stephens, Thomas, M.A., F.a.S.

Stephens, Aithur C, B.A.

Tarleton, John W.
*Taylor, A. J.

Toovey, C. E.

Tucker, A. R.
*Twelvetrees, W. H., F.G.S., Launceston.

Wnlch, Chnrles.
*Wa"d, L. Keith, B.A., B.E., Lainiceston.

Witson, Horacr.

Watchoru, Arthur Deniscu.

Watchorn, E. T., Lieut.-Col.

Welister, Alexander George.

Webster, C. Ernest.
*Weynaout]), W. A,

Wise, H. J.

Wolfhagen, Waldemar.

Young, Russell, junior.

Note — Fellows are requesied to notily any errors in their
names, titles, or addresses. List closed December ist, 191 1.

%omi c^otietj] of (f asm ant a.

ABSTRACT OF PROCEEDINGS.
APRIL 10th, 1911.

The first monthly general meeting, of the Society was held
at the Museum on Monday evening, April 10th, 1911. Mr. R.
M. Johnston occupied the chair.

Mr. L. Rodway read a paper on "The Hymenogastracese of
Tasmania." It was stated in Cooke's work on Australian fungi
that Tasmania was poor in fungi of this kind, but it was realty
the richest country in the world in them. He had personally
discovered 40 or 50 new species, besides others which were
common to other countries as well. A description was then
given of the characters of this family of fungi, and the various
species which it contained.

Dr. Fritz Noetling read a paper on "Percussion Marks on
Siliceous Rockc;," describing the methods by which stone im-
plements were detached from the parent boulders of which
they originally formed part, and pointing out how, from the
character of the markings upon them, they must be due to
human agencies.

The Chairman said that Dr. Noetling had done masterly
work in regard to our native flints, but he did not think that
they shoula be prepared to accept all the markings that had
been described as due to human agency. Whjle supporting Dr.
Noetling in the main, he was not prepared to follow him to the
full conclusions he had arrived at.

Dr. Noetling explained that the appearances he had de-
scribed in stone implements could Tje produced in any homoge-
neous substances by a smart blow.

Mr. R. Hall read a paper in regard to the feather tracts
of Sphenura, a bird found only in South-West and South-East
Australia. Two species wers found in each place, and the
position of the birds scientificixlly was somewhat uncertain. It
was hoped that a study of the feather tracts would enable
their relationships to be better understood.

Amongst the specimens exhibited was a fine piece of agate
from Broadmarsh, and a small fish, which is occasionally found
round the Hobart wharves. Locally it is kno\vn as the "blue-
eye." It has been identified as Trachynops teniata, hitherto
regarded as a N.S.W. species.

Xll.

MAY 8th, 1911.

The general monthly meeting of the Society was held at
the Museum on Monday evening. May 8th, 1911, Hon. G. H.
Butler, a vice-president, in the chair.

Mr. R. Hall read a letter from Professor Orme Masson, of
the Melbourne University, president of the Australasian Asso-
ciation for the Advancement of Science, requesting him to take
steps to form a Tasmanian sub-committee to assist in the collec-
tion of funds for the Antarctic expedition to be undertaken by
Dr. Douglas Mawson.

Mr. T. Stephens moved tliat a committee be appointeil foi tiie
purpose named.

Professor Flynn seconded the motion, which was carried
without discussion.

The appointment of the committee was allowed to stand
over until next meeting, the secretary stating that he would be
glad to receive subscriptions in the meantime.

Mr. J. A. Johnson moved that there be added to riije 42
a sub-section E^Psych()loii;_v and Education. He did not think
it necessarj' to weary the Fellows present b.v explainin*^ that
psychology and education, cither separately or together, formed
a science coming within the objects of the Royal Society. In
his opinion, the greatest revolution which had taken place in
the last 20 years in any department of scientific work was
that which had taken place in regard to education. It was at-
great as that which took place in regard to physical science,
when we learnt that this world of ours was not the centre of
the solar system. In arguing on behalf of ps.ycholog^- he wished
his hearers to understand that he was not arguing on behalf of
metaphysics, but for the study of the simpler facts of mental
phenomena on which all were agreed, and facts bearing on the
work of education. That, he proposed, should be the work of
the new sub-section. He knew several engaged in the work of
education who would be glad to take part in the work of the
society if subjects such as these were included.

Mr. Herman Ritz supnorted the motion. He considered
it too late in the day now to deny that the training of the
human mind was scientific work, and for that reason it came
well within the .scope of the society.

Mr. T. Stephens said that lie had the fullest sympathy with
the objects of the mover, but he thought thoy should consider
whether such subjects as education and psychology came within
the original scope of the Rnyal Society. The original founders
of the socirtv contemplated as its .scone phvsical science and
natural philosophy, and it was many years before any attempt
was made to introduce innovations. As a member of the
profession of education for over half a century, he agreed with
everything that Mr. John.son had said, but he considere<l that
education and psychology were big enough subjects to have a
society of their own. Tliere was a good denl to be said in

their favour, however, if the majority of Fellows desired them
to be introduced as the subjects for a new section of the Royal
Society. At the same time, he thought they should be regular.
No individual member had the right to propose such a motion
as this; it must come from the Council.

The Chairman : It has been before the Council, and the
Council brought it up to-night.

Mr. T. Stephens said he would move as an amendment
that the proposed new section be given a trial for the current
year. If it proved beneficial to the society, it would then
be «asy to move for its continuance.

Mr. A. 0. Green thought that some better reason should
be found than the one that these subjects were outside the
scope of the society. If they were, they should be included
within it as soon as possible.

Mr. L. E. Piesse said that the nresent constitution of the
society was dated 1907, and in it the objects of the society were
defined as the study of science in all its various branches. It
could not be denied that education was a science nowadays. He
would suniDort the proposal, as he thought the influence of the
society would be very much increased by the inclusion ot these
subjects, and that it would benefit by an increase of members.

The Chairman said that he thought that any good attempt
to broaden the work of the society was one that they should
support. They must broaden their work, and take in all
sciences, so increasing the interest of the people in their doings,
or else they would go into extinction altogether. He could not
see any object in limiting the new sub-section to the current
year, as the Fellows could always stop it if they wished to.

Mr. J. A. Johnson : If we cannot keep the section going
it will die a natural death, and drop out.

Mr. T. A. Stephens : Then I will not move any amendment,
but will support the motion as it stands.

The motion was carried.

The reading of Dr. Fritz Noetling's paper on "The Manu-
facture of the Tero-Watta" was postponed until a future
meeting.

MAY 22nd, 1911. .

A special meeting of the Royal Society was held at the
Museum on Monday evening, May 22, 1911/ for the purpose of
considering the new rules drawn up by the committee appointed
for the purpose at the last annual general meeting. Hon. Dr.
Butler occupied the chair.

The rules were taken seriatim.

On rule 4, "The society shall consLst of ordinary members,
honorary members, and corresponding members, "

Mr. T. Stephens said that it was proposed to do away with
the title of 'associate," and he had not heard any good reason
advanced in the committee for doing so. AssnciattJS had only
been admitted for three years, and there had only been one
during that time, but it did not follow that there would not be
many more in the future. He would object to the omission
of the word "associate."

Mr. E. L. Piesse said that it was proposed to reduce the
annual subscription to one guinea. The subscription now was
£1 10s., and associates were admitted at one guinea. If the
subscription was reduced to one guinea there would be no need
to have associates.

Mr. T. Stephens said that it was also proposed to do awav
with the title "Fellow," and substitute "member." He was
quite in accord with that, as there was no qualification for
Fellows, but he did not think it could be done without the
repeal or amendment of the Rdyal Society Act.

The consideration of the clause was postponed until the
amount of the annual subscription was decided.

Rule 8, fixing the annual subscription at one guinea, wa»
agreed to without discussion.

On rule 22, that the Council should consist of nine ordinary
memlvers, to be elected at the annual general meeting,

Mr. T. Stephens said that there whs ox)nsiderabIe differ-
ence of opinion in the committee in regard to this rule. He
did not care whether the Council consisted of 12 members, as
at present, or nine, as proposed, but he objected toi the whole
Council having to be elected at each annual meeting, as a
number of men might be elected who knew notliing about the
business of the society.

Dr. Crouch: Wliat wa<5 this committee?

The Chairman: It was a committee annointed by the
Fellows at the last annual meeting for the purpose of revising
the rules.

The provision that the Council should consist of nine
members was agreed to.

On the proposal that the Council should \ye elected annually,
the meeting divided, with the following result: — Ayes, 15:
Noes, 10.

The Chairman state<i that several proxies had been re-
ceived.

Mr. L. Rodvvay raised tlie question as to the legality of the
proxies, as he did not think they had been laid before the
Council as the rules required.

The Chairman said that two of the proxies had been
irregularly made out, and he did not think that the others
could be received, as they had not been considered by the
Council.

After some discussion, it was decided that the proxies
which had been handed in prior to the meeting should be
received, as there had not been a meeting of the Council be-
tween the calling of the meeting and that evening.

When the proxies were added to the other votes, the rule
was declared agreed to by a majority of one.

On rule 50, which proposed to do away with voting by
proxies at any meeting of the society,

Mr. Rodway moved as an amendment that country members
or others who were unable to attend* should be allowed to vote
by post. If only those who attended the meetings were allowed
to vote it would tend to destroj' the national character of the
society.

After discussion, the proposed amendment was agreed to.

Mr. T. Stephens moved as a further amendment that
Fellows resident not less than 10 miles from Hobart should be
allowed to vote by proxy at special general meetings.

The amendment was negatived, and the rule as amended
agreed to.

Postponed rule 4 was agreed to.

It was decided that the new rules should come into force
on January 1, 1912, and that in the meantime they should be
referred back to the drafting committee for arrangement in
suitable sequence.

The meeting then terminated.

JUNE 12th, 1911.

The general monthly meeting of the Soeiety was held at
the Museum on Monday evening, June 12th, 1911.

His Excellency Sir Harry Barron, K.C.M.G., occupied the
chair.

Messrs. G. V. Brooks, R. S. Dickenson, M.A., E. I. Gow^r.
B.A., Rohert Hall, C.M.Z.S., E. H. D. Keene, M.A., R.
O. Miller, B. Sc, were elected Fellows of the Society.

The formation of a Biology Section was announced, which
would hold its first meeting, to appoint office-hearers, during
the month.

Mr. 1{. Hull amiounceil that, in connection with the Mawson
Antarctic Kx|)c<iiti<in, a cninmittee of twelve iiad been formed to
represent the Ktiyal S<icie*y, the Anstrala.sian Science Asbociation,
and the Field Naturalists' CMiib. Four members to represent the
citizens would be aihled later.

Mr. T. Stepheiib, .M.A., exhibited a specimen of Alyxia
buxilolia, sometimes called native sandalwood. Mr. A. M.
Lea, F..<J.S., tshowed a case of beetles belonging to the genus
Bactocera.

Mr. J. W. Beattie road a paper on 'Early History of the
Islands of Bass Strait.'' The paper was illu.strated by lantern
slides prepared from pliotograph-s made on a recent tour witli
His Excellency the Governor, and Ministers.

The paper dealt generally with the jjhvf^iography of the
groups of islands, as well as with the early settlers and voyagers.

Hie Excellency, at the conclusion of the lecture, said that
the half-castes should never have been nut down in the islands,
like a flock of sheep, without l>einff taught how to make n
living, or being given some object in life. There were about
250 of them, and they were a respectable, quiet people, and he
believwl they would be willing to work, if they could only be
shown what to work for. They had now a school, with a
schoolmafiter and his wife, who had taken up the work in a
strong missionary spirit, determined to help them and show
them what they had to live for. He hope<l to see a great
change in the half-castes before long. Flinder.s Island was
now being taken up, and there was a prospect of the islands
going ahead. During his visit to the Straits he landed at
13 or 14 ir-laiids, and he was perfectly certain that no one who
had not visited them could realise the conditions under which
the people lived, and the simplicity of their surroundings.
Flinders Island had a population of 300, and there was not "
doctor, a nurse, or a chemist's shop upon it.

•»

Mr. Rodway's paper on "A New Lichen," and Dr. Noe^
ling's paper on 'The Tero-Watta," were taken as read.

JULY 10th, 1911.

The general monthly meeting of the Society was held at the
Muf^eum on Monday evening, July 10, 1911.

Hon. G. H. Butler, a vice-president, occupied the chair.

Mr. E. L. Pies.se moved, "That the Attorney-General be
asked to introduce a bill to incorporate the society, and confer
upon it power.s as to holding property, litigation, and to make
and alter rules." He explained that the present Act was an
old one, and difficult to under.stand. There were two small
pieces of land in which the society was interested, and there
might be others. He had prepared a draft bill containing
four operative clauses.

Mj. a. O. Green seconded the motion.

XVII.

Dr. Noetling moved, and Mr. Ritz seconded, an amend-
ment, that the original Act of 1853 be retained. This was
negatived, and Mr. Piesse's motion carried.

The following papers were read: —

(1.) 'Notes on Treubia Insignis," by L. Rodway. The
author reported that it had rot been foixnd liitberto in Aus-
tralia. Its habitat is upon the slopes of Mount Wellington.

(2.) "Notes on the Hunting Sticks, Spears, and Baskets of
the Tasmanian Ai>originals," by Fritz Noetling, M.A., Ph.D.
The author exhibited specimens, and dwelt on the throwing
sticks of the aboriginals, which, he said, were not curved like
the boomerang. The sticks were chiefly used in hunting
expeditions. their spears were of great length, and it was
extraordinary that accounts stated that the natives could throw
tlieee spears as much as 60 yards. The speaker exhibited two
baskets, made of some plant fibres by aboriginals, and men-
tioned the interesting fact that they were identical with the
rude sedge baskets made by the lake dwellers of Europe in the
middle glacial period.

Dr. Clarke mentioned that he once knew an old man who
was wounded by one of those speare. He was 102 years of
age when he (Dr. Clarke) knew him, and he stated that in 1827
he was out in the Tower Hill district with a survey party, when
a party of hlackfellows sneaked up, and one of them flung
a spear at him, which wounded him in the fleshy part of the
arm. The old man died at the age of 102 years.

Messrs. A. J. Taylor and L Rodway took part in the
discussion.

The reading of a pajier by Mr. H. Stuart Dove "On the
Connection of Swifts with the Weather'' was postponetl, and
the meeting terminated.

JULY 31, 1911.

A special general meeting of the society was held at thfo
Museum at 8 p.m.

His Excellency Sir Harry Barron, K.C.M.G., presided.

The meeting was convened with the purpose of hearing a
lecture by Comte de Fleurieu, a member of the French Geo-
graphical Society, on the early geography of Tasmania.

The visiting lecturer said that in the days of the old French
navigators, D'Entrecasteaux, Baudin, and Peron, his great
nncle, Chevalier de Fleurieu, had been high in the Marine
Department of France, and his name had been given to several
of the discoveries made in Australian waters. When he (the
lecturer) first came out to Australia he was disappointed to
find that none of the names so given had been retained.

rieurieu Bay was now called Ov-stoi- Bay, Fleurieu I.sland was
Capo Barren Island, and when ho went to Port Cygnet to see
tlie Flt/urieu River of tlie old tliarts he found that it was called
tlie Agnes iiiviilet. He then gave a description of the cx-
pe<lition.s sent out by Frante. and of the work done by Flinders
up to the time of fiLs arriviil at the Lsle of France, when; he
was deta ned a niisoiiei- for six years. He defended the
French from the charges which had been made against them
of having copied Flinders's uliarts, and pointed out that the
French charts, in t^ome ca.ses, dealt with portions of the coast,
especially on the north and wevst of Australia, that Flinders
had never visited. In regard to nomenclature, he pointed out
the necessity of adhering, as far as po.s.sible, to the original
names, especially thofie that bore a hi.storic signification. A
number of the early charts of Tasmania were then shown by
means of an optical lantern. Commencing with the charts of
Tasman, the lecturer explained them, and, following on, dealt
with those of Marion, Fnrne^uix, D'Entrecasteanx, Hayes, and
Flindei-s. He al.?o compared the French charts with 'tho<^e of
Flinders, showing the differences that exi.sted between them.
In concluding, the lecturer spoke of the necessity of jjreserving
the names given by the early explorers. If there was a section
of the Royal Society devoted to history and geography, he
hoped they would take the matter up. If they did so. he
believed that the Frencli Government would be glad to send
them copies of maps and documents dealing with the matter.
If they put back in Tasmanian nomenclature certain names
given by the early French and English explorers, they would
be adding to the ties which drew the French toward<= Tas-
mania, and foster the feelings of sympathy that there were
between them.

His Excellency said that the lecture was hardly one that
opened up discu.ssion. He was in sympathy with the Comte de
rieurieu, however, in hie suggestion that the names given
by the grand old explorers should not be allowed to die out,
and he thought that they also sympathised with him uixm his
own historical name having been omitted from our maps. If
it was possible to restore the old names, he hoped it would be
done. He asked that a vote of thanks to the lecturer might
be carried by acclamation, which was done.

The proceedings then terminated.

SEPTEMBER 11, 1911.

The general monthly meeting of the society was held at
the Museum in the evening, at 8 o'clock.

Hon. G. H. Butler, a vice-president, occupied the chair.

The Secretary to the Cotiricil announced the receipt of eleven
handsome volumes detading the work of the Harilnian Alaskan
expedition.

The Chairman explained that two offers had been made to
the society for a portfolio of <lrawings in their posses.sion. The
meeting decido<l it should be sold, and fixed the price at CI 00,
the proceeds of sale to be invested as the Council may deem
fit, and the interest used as the Council may decide.

The following paper was read: —

"The Counection of Swifts with Weatliei," by Stuart Dove,
F.Z.S. The writer detailed a number of observations wliich
tended to show that the swifts appeared immediately before
atmospheric disturbances. Ants in the winged state formed
a large part of the food of the swift in this country, anil tht)
writer had noticed that the winged ants issued from theii
nests more particularly during the damp and close weathei
which precedes weather changes. It had occurred to him that
the frequent appearance of the swifts shortly before or after
atmospheric disturbances might be due t-o their winged food
occurring more plentifully at those times.

Mr. T. Stephens exhibited a piece of bone which had l>een
found by his son when engaged in laying out the route of
the Stanley-Balfour railway near Circular Head. The bone
had been found m the same district as the large bones of the
extinct animal which had been discovered in Mowbray Swamp.
He had sent the bone, which was very hard and polished, to
Dr. Hall, of the biological department of the Melbourne
University, but the species of animal to which it belonged could
not be determined.

Mr. Stephens further drew attention to the discovery on
the Australian AIds of a grass, Poa saxicola, which had pre-
viously only been found on Mount Wellington. The discovery
was reported in the proceedings of the Linnean Society of New
South Wales.

Mr. L. Rodway said that he had been over nearly all the
mountains in Tasmania, but he had only found Poa saxicola in
one small area on Mount Wellington. The discovery was,
therefore, a very interesting one, provided mat the grass had
been correctly identified.

Professor Fljom exhibited dissections of the reproductive
organs of certain marsupials, and gave a short address on the
manner in which the embryos were borne.

A fish's egg was also exhibited which Professor Flynn
identified as that of Callorynchus antarcticus, sometimes called
the elephant fish.

Mr. Robert Hall exhibited a number of swallows and swifts
to illustrate Mr. Dove's paper. Mr. Hall also exhibited a, fish
(Optonurus denticulatus, Rich.) closely resembling the "whiptail,"
which had been dredged in 800 fathoms of water off" the coast of
New South Wales. It was now safe to record this deep water
species as new to the list of the Tasinanian fauna.

OCTOBER 9th, 1911.

The general monthly meeting of the society wa^^ held al
the Museum on Monday evening, October 9th. 1911.

Dr. Fritz Xootling occupied the chair.

XX.

Messrs. G. H. Gibson. M.B.. CM . V. Dunbnhin. .M.A..
R. B. ^Jontfj;oii!ery, A. K. Tucker. ;iii(l .) . .Mooro IJobiiison were
elected l'Vll()\v>.

The ( hairniiin infoinied the nieoting that Bishop Mniit-
gonieiy had ]jrescuted thus portfolio to the Society, autl with
that knowicflgc it would be unwise to dispose of it. Thits waa
approved by the Fellows.

The following papers were read: —

"Further Notes on the Habits of the Tasmanian Ab-
origines," by Fritz Noetling, M.A., Ph.D.

" NoLes on tlie Sei)tiuii nt" Tiichosurus canina," by Prof.
T. T. Flynn, B.So.

Mr. L. Rodway exhibited a specimen of a fungus new to
Tasniiiiiia. It was known as Geoglossum hirsutum. and
tlioiigh it had been described from Australia, it had never
proviou.sly been found in Tasmania. He also showed a bpeci-
men of a plant named Thismia rodwayi, which he had hi'st
found in 1890 on Mount Wellington. It lived in the ground,
running along in the humus, and subsisted on the decaying
vegetable matter in the soil. There were nine members of
the genus, but they were all inhabitants of the tropics. TTiis
plant had never l>een found in Au.stralia or Northern Tasmania,
and it was very curious that a jilant which belonged to an
essentially tropical genu.s should ho found in Southern Tas-
mania, and nowhere else in Australia. He expected, liow-
evei', that careful research would «show that the plajit existed
in, Australia. Ft belongs to the family Burmanniaceae, which
adjoins the Orchidefe.

Mr. G. Jjrettinghani-Moore exhibited a hollowed .stone,
which he thought showed trace.s of human handiwork. He had
found it on Maria Island.

Dr. Noetling said that he thought the stone showed traces
of human workmanship, and lie did not think ;t could have
been due to Europeans. He could not, however, suggest any
use, from what was known of' the natives, to which it could
have l>ecn put.

Mr. L. Rodway said that he did not know of any edible
seed.s which the natives were likely to use for food, and he
did not know of any article of their food which would be likely
to he pounded in the stone, unless it wa^ fern roots.

Professor Flynn considered that the stone was purely a
natural phenomenon, and was not due to human agency.

Dr. Noetlinsi exhibited a number of stones which showed
traces of glacial action. it had been found in South
Australia that there were indications of a glacial period
at an age wiien life in any form had not yet appeared
on the globe. The boulder clays in which these .stones
were found showed signs of having undergone great changes
due to lateral pre.ssure. Many stones or pebbles were
embedded in glacial ice, and when that ice travelled over hard
surfaces these pebbles became marked with utria?, which were
uamistakablt". I'liere was no other agency known whicli could

produce marks of this nature. Tho theory had been put for-
ward that the poles were continually altering their positioiis,
and that at one time the South Pole was in the neighbourhood
of where Sydney now stood. The fact that traces of a very
ancient ice-age "could be found in Australia was not known
when the theory was formed, but the jireseut discovery was a
very curious confirmation of it. Whether the theory was true
or not, geologists had greatly altered their views of late as to
climatic conditions in ancient times. The traces of the ancient
ice-age in South Australia extended from South Adelaide to
Hergott Springs, and liad a thickness of 1,."('0 feet.

Dr. Noetling also exhibited a very curious specimen, in
which the cast of a fossd brachiopod shell hatl been replaced by
gypsum.

NOVEMBER 14th

The ordinary monthly meeting of the Royal Society of
Tasmania was held at the Museum last night. The chair was
occupied by the President (His Excellency Sir Harry Barron).

Messrs. W. T, McCoy, B.A., and A. C. Stephens, B.A.,
were elected Fellows of the Society.

Application was made by the Field Naturalists' Club for
the use of a room at the Museum. Several members were
not in favour of rescinding the rule relating to the letting of
rooms, which, it was said, would be necessary before the per-
mission could be granted. Some discussion took place on this
question. Ultimately it was postponed, on the ground that
no proper notice had been given of an intention to discuss the
mattei".

Dr. Fritz Noetling read a paper on "Gigantic Marsupials
in Tasmania." He contended that until quite recently Tas-
mania was connected with the mainland, and that there was a
relation between fossil marsupials found in Tasmania and those
lately unearthed in Queensland. Existing species of mollusca
specimens, obtainable at the present time, bearing relation
to the gigantic marsupial which is now extinct, showed that
the latter were creatures of recent ages.

Mr. Thomas Stephens agreed generally with Dr. Noetling's
views; his theory was ingenious, and probably correct. Hio
hoped that the construction of the Stanley-Balfour railway,
which was now going on, would, through the agency of the
deep cuttings to be made, give a lot of information concerning
the geology of the North-West Coast.

Professor T. T. Flynn was to lecture on the "Anatomy of
Petanrus soinreus." He had been al)le to secure an animal
from IVIrs. Roberts, of Beaumaris, and made an examination.
The result was purely of a scientific nature, and ii.< it referred
only to the anatomy of the animal, would not be very in
teres ting.

A paper entitled "Notes on Duterran's Reconciliation Pic
ture" was read by Dr. Noetling, who said that nobody knev»f

what lias be<.-ome of the pictuie. As it was a leconciiiaiioii
between the blacks and wliites, it was hti extremely ntercstiiij;
one, and of some scientitic value.

1 am iiulebled lu Mis. i^uieii/o Jiinlge, who was on \c'r\ iiiliiioilt'
term-i witii the DiUeneaus, for the follow inj^ informaliou : —
" Beiijainin Duiern'aii was ileseended from a Kiencli family, who
iiad taken r<'fu;,'e in Kn;;land on account of iuli;.'ions iioulile.
He was liorn in liondcm in I7<J7, where his jii t iMiucatioii was
acquired He learned iht art of steel eni;raviii<,'. and practised it
as a business there, .\ttracted by accounts of the Swan Kiver
colony (\V..A.), lie left liomlon with the intention of ^ettlinj; in
the colony, and arrived there in is:i2. At that time jilowin;:
accounts of X'an Diemen's Lund were in iMrculation, an<l liearin;;
tliese, Mr. Duterreaii chanj^eii his purpose of settlin-.,' at Swan
Kiver, and came on to Holiarl Town, accompanied by ids
daughter and .sister-in law. They resided in the old white house
at the corner of Campbell and I'atrick streets, ami there Mr.
Dulerreau practised portrait paintinj,' principally, and had a well-
known reputation in Hobart Town as a portiait painter. Colonel
Arthur took a <,'reat ileal of interest in Mr. Duterrean. Miss
Duterreau became governess to the familj', and, no tloubt. he
induced Mr. I), to undertake the portrayal of the altorifrinals,
and encouraged and ai<led him in the work. He fie([nently visited
the studio during the progress of the work. As tne ab;<riginal<
were brought in )>y llobinson — camping in the yard of his house
at the corner of Kli/abeth ami Warwick streets— he u.><ed to
supply Duterreau with subjects, bringing them down to him per-
sonally to the Campbell-street house, antl the lesults of those
visits are to be seen in the numerous painting.s, copperjilate engrav-
ings and plaster casts now iu the Museum here. A few years
before his death he removed to the stone house in Hathurst
street, at present occupied by Mr. Lucas, next King's Hall, and
he died there in 1851, at the age of 84 years. His daughter
married Mr. Bogle, of the firm of Kerr and Mogle, merchants, of
Hobart, and ultimately returned and settled in hngland. Most
of Duterreau's best work was sent, by request of Mrs. Bogle, to
England after her fathers death."

Mr. J. W. lieattie said that a Mrs. Lodge informed him
that she recollected such a picture. There were two, a small
one and a very large one. In reply to a que.stion, she iutormed
him that the large one was given to the Government, and wai.
now probably in the "vaults of the Legislative Council. Upon
inquiry, he ascertained that the small one was I'ramed by
Hood's, of Hobart, for Mr. J. Walker, and .sold by that gentle-
man in 1841 for £oO. The large one, painted by Bock, was
framed by the same firm in 1843, and was said to be also in
the Legislative Council vaults.

Specimens of various descriptions were exhibited and ex-
plained by member.?.

His Excellency referred to the lecture to be given by I)i
Maw.son at the Town-hall, and asked niemberi, present to
uttead. It would deal with Antarctica and the expedition.

1,_N0TES ^N THE MARKS OF PERCUSSION ON
SILICEOUS ROCKS.

PL I. and II.

By Fritz Noetling, M.A., Ph.D., Etc.

(Read April 10, 1911.)

1. INTRODUCTION.

When a solid body suffers a blow, it is obvious that
that portion of the energy of the blow that is not converted
into heat, naust give rise to vibrations radiating from the
point of impact in all directions. It is further apparent
that these vibrations may not only result in detaching a
flake, but if the energy was large enough, there may be
& surplus, resulting in vibrations which must give rise to
accessoiT marks, not only on the parent block, but also on
the detached flake. On the other hand, the energy may
not be sufficient to achieve these results, yet it must leave
some traces behind at that point of the surface where the
blow struck, that is to say, the point of impact. We will
thus have a wide range, beginning with the inefficient blow,
that is to say, a blow which was not sufficient to detach
a flake, and ending with a blow of such energy not only
to detach a flake, but to give rise to numerous accessory
marks of percussion. Between these two extremes there
must be various stages, according to the force of energy
applied and the result achieved.

It goes without further saying that the ■•-'ermanent
effects of ai blow must largely depend on the teinacity
of the substance. The more ductile it is, the larger will be
the energy required to detach a flake, and the more of it
will be spent in the pi'oduction of useless vibrations. The
more brittle it is, the less energy will be required, and the
larger is the amount of energy available for the production
of accessory effects. The resistance to the transmission
of oscillations created by the blow is another factor which
is of great importance. The whole jDroblem is, in fact, a
physical one which ought in the first instance be treated
on a mathematical basis, but I am afraid that it would
be of little use to the Archaeologist if dealt with in an ab-
stract sense. From his point of view it is better to study
ihe effects, the cause being known.

2 MARKS OK PERCUSSION ON SILICEOUS KOCKS,

It is certain that these ciTects must be a function of
the composition of the matter, supposing the energy being
the same. The effects of a blow striking with the energy
of 100 foot pounds, must be quite different if the substance
be lead or antimony, a hornblende rock, jadite, nephrite,
or flint. It would be outside the scope of this paper
to investigate into the effects of blows on Horablende
rocks or Nephrite and other allied substances largely used
in the manufacture of stone implements. I propose to
deal here only with the effects of blows on that substance
of which most of the stone implements are produced, viz.,
siliceous rocks.

In its purest form the siliceous minerals are repre-
sented by crystallised quartz, having 46.67 per cent, of
silicon. Through the admixture of other substances, a
large variety of minerals are produced, but in all of them
the percentage of silicon is considerably smaller than in
crystallised quartz. The mineral most commonly used in
the manufacture of stone implements is flint in Europe,
the various siliceous rocks resulting from the metamorphism
of permian rocks, which ars called chert or hornstone and
porcellanite in Tasmania. (1)

However different in composition these minerals and
rocks may be, they have one feature in common, viz.. an
exceedingly fine conchoidal fracture.

But even the casual obsei-ver cannot fail to notice that
the nature of the fracture greatly varies in the different
kinds of siliceous rocks. I have no data fcr determining
what causes produce the most suitable fracture for the manu-
facture of implements. Pure rock-crystal and its nearest
relation, chalcedony, have not, particularlv not the latter,
the same fine fracture, as, for instance, the impurcr flint,
and it seems certain that the quality of fracture does not
depend on the pui'eness of the silica. In fact, the in-
stance here quoted proves that the less purer mineral has a
better fracture than the purer one. Natural and artificial
glasses have an exceedingly good fracture, and it almost
seems as if the quality of fracture were dependent on
the presence of iron. I advance this theorv with all re-
serve, as long and tedious chemical and physical examina-
tions would, be necessary to establish it.

In manuals and text-books of Mineralogy the frac-
ture of siliceous rocks is described as "conchoidal," the sur-
face produced bv fracture having elevations and depressions
in form like one-half of a bivalve shell.

1) Noetli"(j, I'rfliminnry Note on the Rocks used in the manufacture of the
Tionattii. — Pap. and Proceed. Roy. Soc, Tas., 19I»9, page ».i.

BY FKITZ NOETLING, M.A., PHD., ETC 3

2. HISTORICAL SUMMARY.

As far as niv knowledge goes, the first who studied
the mechanics of the fracture of flint was a Frencliman,
M. Jules Thore, who published in 1878 a paper in the Bull,
de la Soc. de Bord., JJax. on this subject. Unfortunately
this journal is not available in Hobart, and it may be that
much of what I am saying here has already been ex-
pounded in this paper.

Many authors, particularly Mortillet (1), Skertchly (2),
and Sir John Evans (3), have given essays on the manu-
facture of gun flints, and the connection between this craft
and the manufacture of stone implements. However vahi-
able these observations may be, there is a great diflference
between the equipment of a modeim gun flint manufacturer,
and that of neolithic or palaeolithic man, and it is more
than probable that implements of the gun flint maker con-
siderably differed from that of a Tasmanian, for instance.
With regard to the latter, we know that his
only implement for detaching a flake from a parent block
was another stone, and even the more delicate wox'k of
marginal chipping was done by means of a stone, as the
invention of pressing off small flakes by means of a piece
of bone or stag s horn had not been made by the Tas-
manians. The most important fact we can glean from all
these accounts is the statement (-4) "that success de-
pends a great deal upon the condition of the flint as re-
gards the moisture which it contains, those which have been
too long exposed upon the surface becoming intractable,
and there being also a difficulty in working these that are
too moist. I can fully confinn this from my own ob-

sovations and experiments. A pebble of chert taken from
the gravel deposits, which still retains its mois-
ture, flakes much better than the same kind of rock
when found on the surface of an old camp. The next
important observation is the statement that the surface
must be struck at an angle of about 45deg., and that a
spherically-ended hammer was used. All these accounts
deal, however, more with the art of manufacture than with
the mechanical effects of percussion, and even Sir John
Evans has devoted only a few lines to this important sub-
ject. (5)

(1) Musee Prehistorique, pi. II.

(2) Memoir, Geologica.l Survey of England, 1879.
(S) Ancient Stone Implements of Great Britain.

(4) Ancient Stone Implements of Great Britain, page IS.

(5) Ancient Stone Implements of Great Britain, pages 273-274.

4 MARKS OF I'KKcUSSloN UN MLlOKdl S 1:<K Ks,

Apart from a diagram en the back of the cover of Prof.
Schwemfurth s publication (\ ) I know cnly of one pub-
lication that more explicitly deals with tli.s matter.
Prof. M. Verworn, in his most interesting and 'm-
poi'tant memoir en . the archaeolithic implements of
the Cantalian (2) gives a complete description
cf the various marks produced by percussion. Pre-
viously G. and A. de Mortillet had drawn attention to
certain features observable en flint flakes, which he took to-
be the most characteristic signs of an artificial nature of
.^luh flake. Prof. Verworn adds a considerable number
cf other marks which had hitherto been entirely over-
looked, in particular he draws attention to the Strahlen
spruenge (star-cracks).

Though very exhaustive, I do not think Prof. Verwom's
study is quite complete, and my studies on the Tasmanian
tero-watta (3) have affoi'dcd important additions on this
subject. Though a good deal of what I have to say here
will neb be new to the student in Europe, it will be of the
greatest interest to the Australian student. In particular
I shall be able to prove that the "thumb mark " of the
amateur collector is not an intentional, but quite an acci-
dental feature.

3. THE MARKS OF PERCUSSION.

Wc will begin our studies ab ovc ; that is to say, we
will assume that an Abori^in:' ftund a boulder or pebble
cf such kind of rock as was suitable for the manufacture
of a tero-watta. As I pointed out the nature of these
recks in a previous paper ('4) 1 need not go here
into further details. We will further assume that
he obtained the boulder from a gravel deposit, and took it
to his camping ground in order te break it at his leisure.

In most cases, particularly when me boulder was ob-
tained from the diluvial gravel beds, its surface was
covered with a crust due to weatherins- This crust must

(1) Deutsch-Franzo.sisclie.s Wilrterverzeichiiiss der die Steinzeit betreffemlen
Literatur, lOfHl.

(•J) Dip arrh.volithische rultur in den Hippiiiiiinschichten von Aurillnc
(Canlal) Abhatid. <l K. G. d. Wi.s.s. Oteltingen. .Miilli. Nat. Classe, N.F., Vol. IV.,
No. 4. UK).-., pMjlH 21.

(3 Aci-ordiPK to W. Schmidt (Zeitsih. f. Kthi'olojjie. 1910, Heft. VI., |ui«p 91.1)
eitbiT tero-na or tero-watta (tt-ro-na-watta'.') is the correct designation of the
Tasmanian archa>olithic implement.

(4) See thi>; joiirnal, 1900, i)afre n'.

BY FRITZ NOETLINC;. .M.A.. PHD, ETC •)

be distinguished frcm the patina, which formed later en
the surfaces produced by flaking, though the original crust
and the later patina are in fact only different stages cf
one and the same process, viz., chemical decomposition of
the original matrix.

This boulder could be broken in two ways, eith3r
it was dashed against a hard object, or it was struck with
another stone. It is obvious that the first method was
very uncertain, and though it may have occasionally bean
resorted to (1), it is prettv certain that usually the boulder
was broken by means of another stone, which served as a
hammer, and which fraquently must have been wielded with
great force. >Such hammer stones are by no means un-
coiamou, particularly in cjuarries and it is a remarkable
fact that, with very few exceptions, chiefly Diabas pebbles
were used as hammer stones.

Whether other stones were used as anvils is not quite
certain. A priori it is veiy probable that such stones were
used, because it is easier to break a stone resting on a
hard than on a soft, non-resisting surface. The nucleus
from Kempton does not indicate that it rested on some
hard material when it was broken, and so far I have not
found any stones which I could definitely identifv as
anvil stones. It is, however, pretty certain that during the
finishing process the tero-watta was held in the hand, and
did not rest on an anvil. This is. howev?r.a different question
altogether, though it is of some importance because the
marks; of a blow on the stone held by the hand ars probably
quite different from those on a stone resting on a hard
support.

We will now a.ssume that the Aborigine, having pro-
vided himself with a hammer stone, struck the boulder
with a strong, smart blow. It will be useful to explain a.
few teims before proceeding further. We mav call the
original boulder the "parent block,' and ever}- fragment
that was struck off. however big or small it mav have been,
a 'flake.' What remained of the parent block after one
or more flakes had been struck off is called "nucleus" or
"core.

The parent block is. therefore, divided by a blow into
flake and nucleus, the flake being the desired object, the
nucleus the useless residue. It need hardly to be men-
tioned that more than one fl.ake can be, and has been,

(1) Linp Ilotli, .A!)origiiies oi T;tsin;ini;i, -Ind ed., page l.'il.

(■) MARKS OF rERCUSRION ON SILKEOL'S ROCKS,

struck oflf a parent block before the desired one was ob-
tained. We have therefore

.Flake

T, X 1 1 1 / Plane of

I'arent block r ,

\. nacture

"^ Nucleus

We will now study the effects of this blow on the
parent block; there are only two alternatives: either a
llake was detached, or it was not. If the blow was effec-
tive, a flake of smaller or larger size was detached ; but if
it was not effective, the result must be a. shattering of tne
surface into countless splinters at that point where the ham-
mer struck the parent block, viz., the "point of impact." It
IS further obvious that in order to detach a flake, the
hammer must not penetrate into the matrix of the parent
block. If it does, a good deal of the energy will be spent
in shattering and jDulverising the matrix, and the re-
mainder of the force is probably not sufficient to detach a
suitable flake. The hammer must also strike the surface in
one point only, and for this reason a spherical hammer or a
pebble is the most suitable implement. A flat or pointed
liammer will either shatter the surface or penetrate into
the matrix.

If the blew did not detach a flake, that is to say, if it
wag ineffective, such I'esult may have been due to insuf-
ficient energy, or the penetration of the hammer into the
matrix, or both causes. The result will, however, always be
the same, viz., a shattering of the surface, and its intensity
is determined by the energy of the blow and the resistance
of the parent block.

A.— MARKS OF INEFFECTIVE BLOWS.

Traces of ineffective blows are frequently observed ;
thev are ])articularly common on rejects in the quarries,
and Plate I. gives a very good idea of the effects of an in-
effective blow.

The principal result of an inffective blow is the px'a
duction of a fairly deep impression or indentation whose
surface is broken by numerous fine fissures running more
or less parallel ; the fine lamellse of rock thus produced
are intensively splintered liy cross fissures, thus producing

Roy. Soc. Tas. 1911.

Pl. I.

REJECT FROM NICHOLS'S CJUARRY WEST, MELTON MOWBR.W, SHOWINO THE TRACES OF
TWO INEFFECTIVE BLOWS.

BY FRITZ NOETLING, M,A., I'lI.D., ETC. i

a zone of intense destruction amounting almost to pul-
verisation of tlie matrix. It is impossible to mistake the
marks of an inejffective blow; they are toO' characteristic.

Professor Verworn was the first who drew attention
to this feature, which he calls "Splitterbrueche" (splinter-
fractures), and he is of the opinion that tliey were the re-
sult of" several blows administered to one and the same
spot if the first blow was not sufficient to detach a flake.

This may be so with regard to the flint implements of
Europe, but it certainly does not apply to the tero-watta
of Tasmania. So far 1 have not found a single specimen
which would corroborate Prof. Verwoi-n's view. If the
blow did not detach a flake, but prodviced splinter fractures
only, the second blow was never administered to the same
spot, but directed a little away from it. This may have
had the desired effect or not, and another specimen from the
same locality proves that at least three ineffective blows
were placed side by side without detaching a flake.

B.— MARKS OF EFFECTIVE BLOWS.
(a) The Production of Flakes.

We will now examine the results of an effective blow,
viz., one that detached a flake from the parent block. It
is obvious that in order to be effective the blow must be
administered with sufficient energy to overcome the re-
sistance of the parent block, and the hammer must not
penetrate into the matrix, and it must strike its surface
at one point only.

It is further obvious that when a flake was
detached from the parent block, that point of
the surfa,ce which was struck by the hammer was
on top, or nearest to the hand holding the ham-
mer stone. The plane of fracture along which the
flake was detached from the parent block must be nearer
to its centre than its surface. The position of the parent
block with reference to the workman, and the position of
the flake with reference to the parent block enables us thus
to distinguish five sides which must occur in eveiy flake,
viz.,

1. External face. \

2. Internal face ^^ ^^^^^ j„ pj^^^ jj
6. Proximal end or edge. >

4. Distal end or edge. j C')

5. Lateral edges /

(1) It must be understood that Fig. 1 to Fin. 9, Plate II., are diagrams only.

MAKKs OF I'KUCL'.SSION UN 81L1( KuL.S UOCKS,

1. EXTERNAL FACE (Indical Face). (E.F.)

It is obvious thai the original crust or surface of the
parent block must represent the eyternal face of tne first
llake that was struck off. This flake may remain as it is,
and It may be taken in use just as -i fell off. or else it may
be considerably altered by chipping, to such an extent
that sometimes hardly any trace of the original surface is
left.

The external face. or. as I prefer to call it the Indical
lace, is always mere or less convex, only in rare instances
it is flat. (See later. Internal Flakes). The tenn "ex-
ternal flake" may appropriately be used for all flakes, whose
indical or external face is formed by the original surface of
the pai'cnt block.

2. INTERNAL FACE (Pollical Face). (I.F.)

It is obvious that the internal face, or. as I prefer to
call it, Pollical face, is opposite the external one, and must
represent the plane of fracture along which the flake was
detached from the parent block. it is, therefore, unques-
tionable that if there are any marks of any kind on it, the
negatives of such marks must appear on that part of the
nucleus where the Hake became detached.

The internal or Pollical face is usually flat, sometimes
slightly convex towards the proximal end, but it never
attains the convexity of the external face. The accessory
marks of percussion must always appear en the internal
fa.ce (1).

3. THE PROXIMAL END OR EDGE (p.e.)

That portion of the flake which was stiaick by the
hammer stone may be called the proximal end or edge.
It is obvious that the proximal end must bear the strongest
effects of percussion, having sustained the first impact.

4. THE DISTAL END OR EDGE (d.e.)

That portion of the flake opposite to the point of im-
pact or proximal edge may be called distal end or edge.

(1) It is Imnlly necess.'iry for me to expliiin that it is tlie cnse of ;in externc-il
flake just as it fell off, and not of one whose exlernal or iniliial fiice \v;is suh-
sequently wrought.

BY FUITZ NOpyPLIKC, M.A., PH.D., ETC. ft

Being furthest away from the point of impact, the marks
of percussion must decrease in intensity from the proximal
towards the distal edge.

5. THE LATEKAL EDGES.

Strictly speaking we should also distinguish between
the lateral edge=^ but it is clear that the terms "right" and
"left" will be misleading, because the right edge of the
Indical face is the left of the Pollical face, and vice versa,
with regard to its left edge.

In my descriptions, and unless space or other reasons
do not permit it in the illustrations, 1 always place a flake
in such a way that its proximal end represents the top, the
Pollical face being looked upon. In this position I apply,
for want of any better ones, two nautical terms.
1 call the loft side or edge, port side or port
edge, and the right side, starboard side or edge
(1). Thus, if we speak of the port side or edge of the
Indical face, we know it is exactly opposite of the port side
or edge of the Pollical face, while if we were to speak of
the left edge of the Inciical face, we were always obliged to
add "which represents the right edge of the Pollical face."

The two faces are of necessity always well defined, but
as the intersection of the plane of fracture with the svir'ace
of the parent block, the line of fracture must form a
closed curve, the lateral edges are frequently not so distinct-
ly set off against the distal edge. This is particularly shown
in the semi-crescent flakes whose distal and lateral edges
merge into one semi-hmar curve.

Thei above features are characteristic of the external
flake, but they must be somewhat modified with regard to
the external Indical face, should there subsequently more
flakes be struck off the same parent block.

The Tasmanian Aborigines had two ways of further
treatment of the narent block after the first external flake
had been struck off. We will assume that Plate II., Fig. 2
be the first external flake that was struck off. As already
stated, the negatives of all marks en its Pollical (internal)
face must appear on the nucleius.

We will now assume that the next flake (Plate II., Fig.
4) was detached from the parent block by a. plane of fracture
that was approximately parallel to that which separated the

(1) If anybody can suggest better tenns than these two whi' h avoid the mis-
leading words "left" and "right," I ain only too pleased. For the present 1
cannot find anything better.

10 AlAKKS (iK I'KKCUSSION ON SILICKOUS KOCKS,

first one. Tn ether words, that the parent block was turned
and the hainui'rr struck again the suifiice. The flake
thus detached cannot strictly be called an external flake,
though some portion of the original crust is still present
in it. We notice, however, that it is in a different posi-
tion ; instead of being present on the external face, it is now
on the proximal end of the flake. The external (Indical)
face of this flake i? really the counterpart (negative) of the
first flake that was detached from the same block.

Flakes of this type may be called internal flakes, and
the nucleus of Kempton, with its 43 flakes, affords an ex-
cellent illustration of this type. The external (Indical)
face of the last flake that was sti'uck cff is formed by the
negatives of the internal faces of the two previous flakes,
their planes of fracture intersecting at an angle, and thus
producing a ridge extending more or less medially from
the proximal to the distal end. (Fig. 4h.)

All flakes having one or more ridges extending from
the proximal to the distal edge, which are usually called
"knives^" are interna! flakes, because it is indubitable
that long and flat planes cannot be produced by subsequent
trimming or marginal chipping, but they must represent
the planes of fracture of previous flakes ; in other words, the
negatives of the Pollical (internal) face of such flakes (1).

To the European mind the above seems to be the most
sensible method of striking off flakes. The mind of
archseolithic man, including the Aborigines, hit. however,
on still another one.

Though I have not found, so far, a core and flakes illus-
trating this other method, the proofs are ample enough in
the shape of implements. Theoretically the external flake
should have sharp edges all round, because the plane of
fracture intersects the surface of the parent block in a line.
Specimens of this type are not very common, most of them
I found at Devonport. If. however, a larger number of
terc-watta is examined it will be not-icud that though they
are unquestionably external flakes, the proximal end, in-
stead of forming an edge, is truncated by a plane, which I
call "Percussion Face, P.F.,"' for reasons explained further
on, which always forms an obtuse angle with the Pollical
(internal) face. If the implement is, as is usually done,

(1) Tlie f;iiii()iM .\uri(niae kniws appi'iir to me to l>e internal flake.«, anil their
peculiar form is, in my opinion, not the result of ;i tielilierate intention, but more
probai)ly <lue to the tiianner l>v whirh the Hakes were iletaeheil from »he parent
block. (See also the figure in Sir .lohn Kvans" hook illustrating the manufacture of
};un flints.)

BY FRITZ NOETLINO, M.A., PH.D., ETC. 11

placed in such a way that the pollical (internal) face forms
a right angle with me horizontal, this plane is always in-
clined towards the Pollical face.

I have made a few measurements to determine the
angle formed by these two planes, and find the following
angles : —

Tero-watta from Pontville (Shene) 123deg.

Rose Dale 124deg.

Merton Vale 127deg.

Winton 129deg.

Mary vale ISOdeg.

Hutton-park 133deg.

Old Beach 135deg.

Tiie size of this angle is significant, and its importance
will be explained later on.

The Percussion face exhibits a very characteristic
feature; its "radial" diameter, that is to say, the distance
from the external to the internal edge is always smaller than
the distance from side to side, the "peripheral" diameter.
As both edges are convex, the internal one usually less
than the external, the outline of the plane of percussion is
that of a spherical bi-angle, the two points being at the
port and starboard side respectively.

Of course, this lenticular shape is not always well prei-
served, and more often than not, only traces remain, par-
ticiilarly when there is marginal chipping along its external
edge.

There cannot be the slightest doubt that the Percus-
sion face is the remainder of an old plane of fracture which
v/as formed when a former flake, whose internal (Pollical)
face now forms an angle of about 135deg., with the internal
(Pollical) face of the second flake was struck off the parent
block.

In order to understand this fully we must revert to
the first external flake, and Plate II., Fig, ^a.,
will further illustrate this. Let us assume that the first
external flake (No. 1) was struck off the
parent block, the remaining nucleus then exhibited
on one side a more or less level or flat plane re^
presenting the plane of fracture. This plane must of neces-
sity be the negative of the external (Pollical) face of the
external flake (No. 1) struck off, and if we were to- proceed
according to the first method, it would form the external
(Indical) face of the next flake, i.e., the internal flake, 1st
order (No. 2.) The Tasmanian Aboriginal, as well as

J:.' MAltKS ol' I'KIM rssloN CN si l.I(.K( US UdCKS,

archc-colilliic man in Europe, treated such a nucleus dif-
ferently : he turned the ])arent block round till the plane
cJ' fracture was fairly level, and then struck it with a suiarc,
sharp blow at an angle of about 45deg. If the blow was
effective, the flake became detached, and it is easv to see
that if the blow fell under an angle of 45deg.. the new
plane of fracture, that is to say, the Internal or Pollical
face of the new Hake must form an angle of 135deg. with
the old one. (See Fig, 2a.) Hence the significance of
the angle formed by the Percussion face and the Internal
(Pollioal) face, because we can gauge from it the angle
under which the hammer stone struck the parent block.
In the specimens mentioned above it would be.

Tcro-watta from Pontvillo (Shene) 57deg.

Kosedale 56deg.

„ Mcrton Vale 53deg.

„ Winton 51dcg.

„ Mary vale 50deg.

,, Hutton-park 47deg.

Old Beach 45deg.

These figures pi'ove conclusively the statement which,
if I am not mistaken, was ilrst promulgated by Sir John
Evans, that in order to be effective the critical angle under
which the hammer must strike the parent block is approxi-
mately 45deg.

It is now also clear why this plane of fracture is called
the Percussion face

Wc might call flakes thus detach?G oxt.ernal flakes of
the second order, and such a flake v/ould exhibit three
faces, viz. : —

(2)
Percussion Face.

^

The External face being the okbst. the Percuss-on
face the next, and the Tut M'nal face the voungcst in order

BY FRITZ NOETLIN(;, 31. A., PH.D., ETC 13

of succession. The last two representing planes of frac-
ture, the first the original surface of the parent block.

It must, however, be understood that these features
ai'e generally not as simple as here described ; frequently
the external (Indieal) face is considerably changed by strik-
ing off small Hakes in order to reduce the thickness of the
implement. Equally often the Percussion face has en-
tirely disappeared, or is greatly reduced in size by mar-
ginal chipping along its external (indieal j edge. This is
particularly the case in tero-watta that are carefully worked
all round by marginal chipping. It is, however, always
possible to locate from the marks of nercussion exhibited on
the internal (Pollical) face the position of the Percussion
face, and it is very seldom, even in the most highly finished
tero'-watta, that net a trace of the Percussion face can be
discovered.

It is, of course, quite feasible to strike cff several ex-
ternal flakes of the second ordei from one and the samo
parent block, after a good working jolane of percussion had
been produced by the detachment of the external flake of
the first order. No doubt this has been frequently done,
but it is also probable that internal flakes were struck off.
Such internal flakes should show a portion of the original
crust at the distal end (unless it was removed by subse-
'cjuent chipping), besides a percussion plane, which may,
however, also have been removed by marginal chipping, ^^is
fine knife-like tero-watta figured in my paper, "Notes on
1113 Tasmanian Amorpholithes ' (Fig 23, 23a, 23b), most
probably represents a flake of this type.

It will be easily seen how these flakes, which we may
call Internal flakes of the second order (Fiir. -^-a), differ from
these of the first order. In the latter there is no real
Percussion face, the plane ci' percussicn being formed by
the original surface of the parent block. Unless removed
bv chipping the internal flake of the first order should
have a fragment of the original crust adhering at the
proximal end, and there may also be some of it at the
distal end. The last flake struck off the nucleus from
KeniDton is a typical example of an internal flake, of the
second order.

The above characters, distinguishing the different kind
of flakes, are summarised in the following table: —

External (Indieal)
Face foniierl Ijy
the orim'nal
crust of the
paient Mock :
t. ]'3xternal
Flakes.

'1. External and Internal Face onlj^l External Flakes
(>rip;inal crust forms plane of - of 1st order,
Percussion. J Fig. 2.

2. E.xternal, Internal, and Percus-^ External Flakes
sion FacH, plane of Percussion |_ of 2nd order,
represents a former plane of I Fig. 2a.

{ fi-aoture. J

External and Internal Face only, ^ Internal Flakes,
original crust forms i>lane of |^ Ist order,

Percussion and i' ' '
at proximal end.

Percussion and is if preserved! Fig. 4 and 4a.

External, Internal, and Percus-"! Internal Flakes,
sion Face, original crust is if r 2ud order,
preserved at distal end. J Fig f). and 5a.

14 MAKKS OF I'KUCUSSIOX ON SILICEOUS liOCKS,

External (Iiidical)
Face formed Ijy
the plane of
fracture of for-
mer flakes :
II. Inteuxai.
Flakks.
(Usually distin-
guished by one or
two longitudinal
ridges on the in-
dical face.)

External flakes of the first order are not very com-
mon; of this class are the most primitive types of
human implements produced from the fracture of siliceous
rocks. External flakes of the second order form the
great majority of the tero-watta, and they frequently
show a most elaborate finish of the Indical (external) face.

Internal flakes are apparently rarer than the former ;
the last flake struck off the Kempton nucleus forms an ex-
ceedingly good type of the first order ; the second order is
apparently more common than the first, and all the tero-
■watta, generally called knives belong to this group.

C— ACCESSORY MARKS OF PERCUSSION ON THE
INTERNAL (POLLICAL) FACE.

The accessorv marks of percussion are strictly limited
to the internal (PoUical) face, where they extend from the
internal edge of the Percussion face all over the surface up
to the distal edge. These are: —

1 . The process of percussion.

2. The cone or bulb of percussion.

3. The concentric wrinkles of percussion.

4. The scar of percussion.

5. The radiating fissures of percussion.

1. THE PROCESS OF PERCUSSION (P.P.)

PI. II., Fig. 3.

The process of percussion does not often occur ; if it
does, it invariably forms a kind of projection of the pollical
edge of the percussion face, as will be seen from Plate II.,
Fi^. 3.

BY FKITZ NOETLINd, M.A., PH.D., ETC. 15-

I cannot find any reference to this peculiar effect of per-
cussion, but it is unquestionable that it represents nothing
but the top of an abortive cone of percussion.

Professor Verworn mentions certain featiires which he
calls "conical fissvu-es " occurring on the percussion face.
These conical fissures turn their convexity towards the
indical face, while the convexity of the process of percus-
sion is directed towards the pollical face.

There is no doubt that both features are closely con-
nected, probably re23resenting a more or less imperfect cone
of percussion.

I never observed conical fissures in the Tasmanian
tero-watta, while it seems that the process of percussion haa
not been observed in European archseolithes. This may
probably be due to the difference in the nature of horn-
stone and flint, though it requires further obesrvatious be-
fore this view can be considered as certain.

2. THE CONE OR BULB OF PERCUSSION (C.P.)
PI. II., Fijr. 6.

Perhaps the most characterisitc feature is the cone, or,,
as it is frequently called, the bulb of percussion (1). It is
always situated at the proximal end of the Pollical face,
and its point merges into the Percussion face. (Plate II.,
Fig. () )

The occnrrence of this cone in the Tasmaniaji tero-watta
is rather peculiar. In the first instance, it represents
always a truncated cone, the point being cut oflF by the
Percussion face; secondly, it is always composite, being com-
posed of several cones showing difforent angles of sides,
the top portion showing invariably a more acute angle than
lower portion. Generally two cones, separated by a sharp
edge, are formed. The top or proximal cone showing au.
angle of about SOdeg., the lower, or distal cone, having an
angle of about 60deg. In rarer instances the lower por-
tion IS composed of two cones, whose angles, however, differ
very little. So far I never observed that the top cone \vas
divided into two portions.

Sir John Evans has given a very ingenious explanation
of the origin of the cone of percussion. The only question
wo mipht ask is. how is it, that if this purely m8cha.nical ex-
planation be correct, that the cone of percussion is only
produced in siliceous rocks and minerals ?

(1) The term bulb of percussion was acconliiis to .Sir Jolin Evan.s first used
by the late Dr. Hugh Falcmer.

16 MAKKS OF I'KUCU.SSION ON SlLKIiOUS KOCKS,

3. CONCENTRIC WRINKLES OF PERCUSSION

(W.P.)

PI. II., Fi^'. U.

The vibrations of the molecviles which gave rise to the
cone of percussion at tlie point cf impact must necessarily
decrease in strength with the distance from this point.
Instead of a cone, curious concentric wrinkles are produced,
exactly like those caused by a stone throw^n into water.
Plate II.. Fig. i>, illustrates this feature: —

Professor Verworn has already observed that these
wrinkles form an invaluable a.ssistance in determining the
oroximal end of an archa;olithic implement, their concavity
being invariably turned towards the point cf impact. This
is a matter of course, because the point of impact forms
the centre from which the vibrations radiate, and the
wrinkles produced on the Pollical face must naturally re-
present concentric circles.

It sometimes happens that one of these wrinkles coin-
cidss with the line cf fracture. In that case the edge is
not sharp, but rounded off, and, therefore, useless for cut-
ling puropses. It requires sharpening by marginal chip-
ping (rctcuches). I have several fine specimens in my col-
lection, showing the partly sharpened edge, while another
portion still preserves its original rounded-oflF shape. Ccn-
sidoring that the curvature cf the wrinkles is turned to-
wards the Indical or External faro, it is rather difficult to
undeiitand why the marginal sharpening was produced by
blows directed from the Pollical towards the Indical face,
and net vice versa. v>hich seems so much easier and more
e.Tcctiv^. This is again rne of those problems which
puzzle the modern mind, and which I have frequently met
with in the course cf mv researches. The only explana-
tion I can offer is, that the archseolithic Tasmanian
could not possibly thhrk of any other way cf sharpening
'he edges than by blows directed from the Pollical face
■ owards the Indical face ; it was apparently impossible for
him to conceive any ether methcd, and if ever he happened
'rJ make a mistake, he promptly corrected it by reverting
to the time-honoured methcd.

4. THE SCAR OF PERCUSSION (S.P.)

Pi. II . Fie 7.

Frequently there appears on the Pollical face, instead
of either cone or wrinkles of percussion, an ellipsoidal mark.

BY FRITZ NOETLIKG, M.A., PH.D., ETC. 17

separal-ed by a sliarj) edge from the remainder of the sur-
face; it visually represents the highest part, of the Pollical
face, and inside the edge it is slightly concave.

The longitudinal axis generally runs in the direction
of the blow, i.e., from the proximal to the distal end, and
the top coincides with the Pollical edge of the plane of per-
cussion.

Inside the sharp edge there are sometimes faint con-
centric wrinkles, but they never extend beyond the edge.

This is the "thumb mark" of the amateur collector,
and though there is no doubt that the thumb rested on the
fiat Pollical or Internal face, the scar of percussion is not
an intentional, but purely accidental feature.

A combination of cone and scar of jjercussion is often
observed ; in that case the scar commences some distance
below the point of the cone, and the concentric wrinkles
run diagonally.

5. RADIATING FilACTUKES OF PERCUSSION (R.P.)

PL II , Fig. 8.

On either side of the marks above described there ap-
pear frequently, though not always, short, closely set,
splintery fractures, radiating from the point of impact.
Sometimes they may also appear on the top cone, but they
are generally limited to both sides. It often hapjoens that
these radiating fractures ai"e the only signs of percussion on
the Pollical face, and then they are just as valuable in
determining the point of impact, and therefore the proximal
end, as any of the other marks. Professor Verworn was
the first who noticed these "Strahlen-spiiienge," as he calls
them, but a comparison of his figvire with a Tasmanian
tero-wattai seems to indicate that though due to the same
cause, the "ray fissures" are not quite identical with the
' radiating fractures." Verworn's "ray fissures" are true
fissures radiating fi-om the point of impact apparently all
over the Pollical face; the "radiating fractures" of the
tero-watta are certainly not fissures ; on either side of the
cone, scar or wrinkles of percussion, close to the point of
impact, the surface does not flake smoothly, but the force
apparently produces a number of thin lamellae, which, by
breaking off, produce this peculiar feature.

B

l!^ .MAHK.S OF rEIJCLSSluN <>N SlLICKoU.S KtuKS,

It is mere than probable that the different chemical
compositioii of flint and hornstone produces th?se some-
what different features, of what must be considered one
and Ihc same effect cf percussion.

CONCLUSION.

The accessory marks above described represent tho
five principal mechanical effects of percussion, but it must
not be supposed that they always occur together in one and
the same specimen. In fact, so far. not a single specimen has
come under my notice which exhibits all of them simul-
taneously. The production of accessoi'y marks of per-
cussion is unqestionably influenced to some degree by the
mineralogical natui'e of the rock. The cone of percu.ssion
is more frequent in the porphyritic breccia and porcel-
lanite than in chert^ or hornstone rock; while, on the other
hand, the concentric wrinkles cf percussion are always well
defined in chert or hornstone, while hardly noticeable in
porcellanite or porphyritic breccia.

The shattering of the surface is also always much
better shown in chert or hornstone than in any of the other
rocks.

It is therefore certain that the nature of the reck
influences the character of the marks cf percussion. The
different composition must produce a different resistance
to the transmission of vibrations, and as a result we mav
anticipate the production of certain marks in preference to
others in certain rocks.

But though this may be so, it is impossible to say at
this stage, what amount of energy was reqviired to produce
a certain effect. So far, all we know is that a flake, how-
ever large its size, was detached by a simple blow only from
tne parent rock. It is further very probable that failure
was not chielly due to insufficient energy, but probably
more to the hammer stone not striking the surface at the
critical angle of about 45deg. The intense shattering of
the surface which denotes the ineffective blow proves con-
clusivelv that the blow was admini.sterod with great force,
yet no flake was detached. InsuflTicient energy can, there-
fore, not have been the sole reason of failure ; it might be
argued that the ineffective blow was administered by in-
experienced hands ; for instance, of children. This may be
so or not, it only proves that these hands had not leanit to
direct the blow at such an angle towards the surface that
the energy was utilised in detaching a iiakc, and not shat-
tering the surface. The same may also frequently have
happened to older and more experienced hands.

BY FKITZ NUKTLlNCi, M.A., PH.D., ETC. 19

Tliough we can, therefore, to some extent account for
the marks cf the iiaeffective blow, it is impossible to say
what caused the accessory marks of the effective blow. If
wc take it that the sole object of the effective blow was the
detaching of a flake, any mai'ks accidentally produced dur-
ing this process must represent wasted energy. In other
words, if a certain amount of energy had not been wasted,
m the production of these marks a much smaller force
would have been sufficient to- detach a flake. The dis-
tinctiveness of the accessory marks of percussion may, in
some way, be a measure of the quantity of misspent energy,
but this does not explain why either cone, scar, wrinkles,
or a combination of these three prominent marks were pro-
duced. It is, perhaps, jDrobable that the angle under
which the hammer struck the parent block has something
to do with the production of these marks. It is certain
that the best effect was produced when the hammer struck
.it an angle of 45deg. ; if the hammer struck the surface at
an angle of 90deg., the result was most probably intensive
shattering, but no detachment of a flake. It is, therefore,
veiT probable that the accidental marks of percussion are a
function of the angle under which the hammer struck the
surface of the parent block. In all probability they are
the results of blows that struck the surface at an angle of
mere than 45deg. and less than 90deg. This view ia
greatly supported by the evidence of the tero-watta above
mentioned; in the tero-watta from Old Beach, which was de-
tached by a blow that struck the percussion face under an
angle of 45deg., there are hardly any accessory percussion
marks, while all the others show them to a great extent.
It is obvious that the smaller the angle was under which
the hammer struck, the less was the effect, and it is more
than doubtful that a blow directed at an angle of less than
30deg. will have any other effect except just grazing the
surface.

Sir John Eva,ns's observation further seems to confirm
this view. He says (1) : — "If a bloav from a sphericaJ-
ended hammer be delivered at right angles on a large flat
surface of flint," the result will be the cone of percussion.
If this view be correct, the cone of percussion would repre-
sent one extreme, the neatly detached flake without any
accidental marks, the other extreme of the line extending
from 45deg. to 90deg., and all other marks would be pro-
duced by blows striking the surface between these two ex-
tremes.

(1) I.e., page 273,

20 MAKKS OF I'KKCUSSION ON SILICEOUS ROCKS,

I am, unfortunately, not in the position to verify this
theory by experiments, which can only be carried out in a
laboratory well equipped for such purposes. It would,
however, be of the greatest interest if such experiments
were made, if for no other purpose than to prove or disprove
the view that such marks can be produced by other than
human agency.

During the early part in the controversy that was
going on about the origin of the Eolithes, or, as I prefer to
call them, Archaiclithes, it has been frequently held that
natural agencies could produce such marks of percussion
av> here described, and even Prof. Verworn assumes that
natural processes could produce them. If a siliceous rock
falls from a great height on a hard surface, it is vei-y
probably broken if the energy developed be sufficient. If
the pebbles moved by the energy of a torrent strike against
each other, flakes may probably become detached ; even if
the force of the surf hurls the pebbles of the shingle against
hard objects it is possible that they may be broken, but
vv-ill all this result in tlie marks of percussion here de-
scribed? I certainly doubt it; never have I noticed among
the shingle broken pebbles showing marks of percussion,
nor did I notice them anywhere else.

I maintain that any of the marks of percussion here
described, including those of the ineffective blows, cannot
be produced accidentally by natural agencies, but only by
the agency of a hammer held by a human hand inten-
tionally striking a stone. And. furthemiore. in order
to produce them it must be a spherically-ended hammer,
that is to say. a pebble, which hits the surface in one
j)oint only. Even if this view were considered to go too
far. it is absolutely certain that all specimens showing a
Percussion face, and on whose Pollical face the accessory
marks of percussion appear, must be produced by human
agencv, because it is impossible to assume that a boulder
was first divided by any kind of natural agency and after-
wards a similar agency acted on the plane of fracture de-
taching thereby a flake.

My studies have led me to believe that, nert to the
Percussion face, the five accessory marks of percussion are
the surest signs of human agency. Retouches or rough
marginal chipping may be pi-oduccd by natural agencies,
tending to press or brcaTc off small snlinters. but the marks
here described can only be pi'oduced by a hammer striking
one point of the surface, and not penetrating into the
matri^t.

Rny Soc. TaS 191

Figs. 4 AND 4/t.

»^ ^/ -fy

RP. / j,. S>

21

2.— THE HYMENOGASTRACE^ OF TASMANIA.
PI. III.

By Leonard Kodway, Government Botanist.
(Read April 10, 1911.)

The researches of systematic botanists in Avistralia
have been chiefly directed to elucidate the members of the
more conspicuoiis phyla. Inquiry into' the Flowering
plants, Gymnosperms. Pterydophyta, Biyophyta, and the
larger marine Algse has steadily progressed, though many
forms belonging to most of these groups yet remain to be
discovered and described. But when we come to the im-
portant gi'oups of the freshwater AlgcC and the Fungi'
we find information still in a very backward condition.
There have been few workers in these groups a^nd of these
very few who have really specialised them. Most of the
v/ork has been done by students of the higher plants, who
could nob resist the temptation of collecting peculiar fungi
they met with a^id sending them to Europe, whei'e from
time to time they have been recorded. The only works
available to Australian students where a, general review of
the fungi has been attempted ha.ve been Hooker's "Flora
Tasmanise" and Cooke's "Australian Fungi." Besides
these, McAlpine has. published a, classified list of Australiari
Fungi, and in the Royal Society's .proceedings for 1897
appears a classified list of Tasmanian Fungi by myself.
The freshwater Algae of Australia have not yet had the
advantage of even a classified list.

The publication of Cooke's "Australian Fungi'' is
really the first and only general account of the group, and
stands as a base from which we could make further ad-
Vance. There was no pretence that this book included
even the majority of Australian species. It was published
a-s a compilation of species known to date, with a full re-
cognition of its incompleteness as a Handbook of Australian
Fungi. Numbers of new species have been published
since its appearance, and everyone who has made a study
of this interesting group is well aware that the number of
species yet to be described will probably run into thou-
sands.

22 IHK lIV.MKMXJASTKAtK.K (>1- TASMANIA,

Cooke points out in his introduction to the Handbook
that Australia is peculiarly rich in the Sub-class Gastro-
mycet'js. He says, after quoting figures: — "From this we
conclude that Gastromycetes ai-e unusually strong in Aus-
tralia, certainly including some interesting genera not
hitherto discovered elsewhere, but weak in subterrauean
species.'

Discoveries since the publication of Cooke's work still
bear out the general statement, but quite upset his con-
clusion that there is a paucity of underground Gastro-
niycetes ; so far from this being the case, Tasmania at^
least is so rich in these forms that if no more species are
in future added from the mainland, it would still place
the underground species for the Australian region as very
high. Lea.ving the partially submerged groups, as Sclero-
derma and Sccotium, on one side, ana referring tc what is
generaliv kntiwn as underground forms, which is the sense
intended by Cooke, we have in Tasmania twenty-one species,
of which nineteen belong to the family of Hymenogas-
traccse. This is in a described fungus-ilora of under seven
hundred species. In England, at the time of the publica-
tion of Massees "Fungus Flora" (1892), there were 4.895
species, and the Hymenogastraceae contained only twenty-
three species.

Judging from these figures, we may' conclude that in
Tasmania at least, however backward may be the know-
ledge of other groups, we have described nearly, if not all,
of our members of the Hymenogaster family ; were it other-
wise, we must possess a most astonishing number. The
object of the present paper is to bring together our know-
ledge of this interesting family, information that is not at
present at the service of local students. At the end of
the paper a record will be included of the genus Secotium,
because otherwise some of that group might be easily taken
to be Hymenogasters. also because it is directly continuous
with it.

For the information of those not acquainted with the
systematic position of the family, isome general statements
mav be pemiitted. There arc many classes of fungi, but
of these two stand out from tho rest by containing all the
species that attain a conspicuous size. These two classes
are the Ascomycetes and the Basidiomycetes. In the first
class the spores are borne in closed sacks or a.sci ; in the
second, the spores are borne upon basidia. A basidium
is an enlarged cell upon which four, rarely fewer, or more,
spicules are formed, upon the apex of each of which a spore

liV LEONARD liODWAV, GOVKUNMENT BOTANIST. T.l

is developed. T)ie Ascomycetes contain the little elf-cups
so common everywhere; Cyttaria found on our Beech,
Morels, the white mould of Roses, some underground
species, and other forms which need not be considered fur-
tlier. In the Basidionivcetes the basidia are nearly always
very numerous and closely packed upon the surface of gills,
tubes, spines, or other apparatus for enconomically enlarg-
ing the surface, and, therefore, the spore output, but yet
in some genera the surface is plain. We are familiar with
gill-bearing forms in such Agaries as Mushroom and most
Toadstools, with spinous forms in the Urchin, tube-bearing
forais in Punk. In all thes? the layer of basidia forms a
superficial membrane, and on accovxnt of this they are
grouped together into a sub-class named Hymenomycetes.

But there is a large group of Basidiomycetes in which
the basidia are not formed upon an exposed surface, but
line convoluted tubes or spaces within the substance of the
fungus, and the spores can only escape after maturity by
the rupture or rotting of tha outer case. This sub-class
from the spore development taking place in a body that is
enclosed within a coat of barren tissue is called Gastro-
mycetes. We are all familiar with such forms in tha
P.uffballs.

There is much variety amongst members of the Gastro-
mycetes, and consecjuently they are divided into many
families and genera. Most of the forms are superficial at
maturity, and a common habit with these and some of the
underground genera is for the spore-bearing portion to be-
come dry and dusty at maturity, as in Puffball.

The family which is the subject of this paper consists
of irregvilarly spherical, underground fungi, whose basidia
line irregular chambers or convoluted tubes. The substance
does not break down at maturity, and no provision is made
for the exit of the spores. Dispersal takes jDlace by rotting
or more often subsequently to being eaten by small mar-
supials. Four parts of a tuber will be named. The
outer barren coat is the peridium ; the spore-bearing sub-
stance is the gleba; and there may be a sterile base; also,
when the fungus is ripe, the barren part of the gleba be-
tween the spore spaces is the trama. The size of these
fungi ranges from one to three centimetres diameter. The
measurement of the spores is given in micromillimetres.
A miciomillimetre is xoVu of a millimetre, or, roughly,
"a 5^0 0 <^f ^^ inch. Students may note that we have
two underground tubers belonging to the Ascomycetes that
may at first be mistaken for Hymencgasters. They are

'24 TllK HYMKNOCiASTKACK.*: OF TASMANIA,

Genabea tajsiiianica. Mass. ot Rod. and Stephensia varia,
Rod. The very evident spore production within asci will
at onre indicate where they belong. It will also be evident
that classification is very aitificial ; this in our present
knowledge of fungi is unavoidable.

The Hynienogastracere, therefore, ai'e subspherical
bodies, underground, or accidentally superficial at ma-
turity, whose spores are produced on basidia which line the
surface of irregular spaces in the substance of the gleba.
The barren tissue of the gleba does not liquify or become
in any way broken down at maturity. No special orifice
is formed for the escape of spores, nor does the pcridium
burst at maturity, Init the fungus depends for the dispersal
of the contained spores vipon rotting, or, more commonly,
upon consumption by animals.

We have six genera of the family, and the following
key will assist in their recognition : —

Spoies spherical, nodulose or echinulate.

Pcridium well developed. 1. Hydnangium.
Peridiuni, thin or none. 2. Gymnomyces.

Spores oblong, or if nearly globose, they are smooth.

Sterile base, none. Spores oblong, smooth.
Gleba gelatinous. 3. Hysterangium.
Gleba normal. 4. Rhizopogon.

Sterile base present. Spores seldom smooth. 5.
Hymenogaster.

1. HYDNANGIUM, Wallr.

Pcridium fleshy, sometimes thin, and membranous
continuous with the trama. Gleba fleshy, crowded with
irregular or tortuous spaces. Spores spherical, rough or
echinulate. bi'own or pale. Sterile base well developed to
quite obsolete.

Forms with a sterile base are sometimes placed in a
separate genus, Octaviana, but this chai'acter is not always
constant m individuals of the same species.

HYDNANGIUM TASMANICUM Kalchbe.,

Subglobosp. palo, 1-2 cm. diameter. Pcridium thick,
continufuis with th ■ iclativclv thick trama. Spaces large,

BY LEONARD RODWAY, GOVERNMENT BOTANIST. 25

1-3 m.m., irregular, dark brown, giving a marbled appear-
ance in section. Spores brown, covered with very coai'se
nodules, 13 micron. Sterile base absent.

HYDNANGIUM AUSTRALIENSE, B. et Br.

Subglobose, pale, 1-2 cm. diameter. Peridiuni thin.
Gleba pale, and exuding white fluid on section at least till
old, becoming red-brown. Spaces numerous, small, tortuous,
the trama thin. Sterile base sometimes slight in other
specimens piercing the tuber to the apex. Spores pale
jellow, coarsely warted, 10-12 mici'on.

HYDNANGIUM CARNEUM, Wallr.

An irregular tuber, 2-3 cm. diaineter, pale pink. Peri-
diuni very thin and delicate. Gleba friable, pink, hyme-
nial spaces very crowded, rather large contorted, trama
very thin. Sterile base present. Spores white, finely
echinulate, 13-18 micron.

HYDNANGIUM ARCHERI, Berk.

''Obovate, small with a lai'ge sterile base, without
febrils ; gleba compact; spores globose, echinulate. 21-22
micron, diameter" (Cooke.) I have not met with this
species.

2. GYMNOMYCES, Mass. et Rod.

Peridium none or rudimentary. Gleba fleshy ; hy-
menial spaces numerous, not much contorted, trama thin.
Stgrile base absent, except in a few isolated tubers. Spores
hyaline, globose, I'ough, or echinulate.

GYMNOMYCES PALLIDUS, Mass. et Rod.
("Kew Bulletin," June, 1898.)

Irregularly spherical, 2-3 cm. diameter, nearly white,
very fragile, with no apparent peridium. Gleba very
pale; hymenial spaces about 1 m.m. diametei*. Spores
iiiinutely warted, 9-10 micron.

26 IHK HVMKNiMiA.STKAC'K.K (»K TAKMAMA,

In one specimen only amongst a considerable number
was any sign. of a sterile base found, and then it took the
form of a slender process emerging from a depression.

GYMNOMYCES SEMINUDUS, Mass. et Rod.
("Kcw Bulletin," June. 1898.)

Very similar in form, size, and colour to the last, but
of firmer consistency. Peridium thin, delicate, and silky.
Gleba not very fragile, spaces small and irregular. Spores
ccliinulate. 11-12 micron.

3. HYSTERANGIUM, Vitt.

Peridium distinct, and not continuous with the trama.
Gleba gelatinous, developing contorted hymenial cavities.
Spores smooth, elliptical. Sterile base seldom present.

HYSTERANGIUM FUSISPORUM, Mass. et Rod.

("Kew Bulletin, ■ June, 1898.)

Subglobose, irregular, pale straw coloured, 1.5-2 cm.
Peridium very thin, membranous. A small sterile base is
sometimes present. Gleba rather dense, pale, densely
packed when mature with minute convoluted spaces. Spores
smooth, broadlv fusiform, with narrow acute ends, hvaline,
20-22 y. 8 micron.

HYSTERAl^GIUM MEMBRANACEUM, Vitt.

Irregularly spherical, white but readily marking with
indigo if touched when young, very delicate consistency
when fresh. Peridium thin, dry. white almost floccose.
Gleba white when young, marking with indigo where cut.
becoming pale brown when old. Spaces ver\' small and
nuniprous. convoluted. Sterile base present, and extend-
ing l)elow into a root-like process. Spores elliptic, smooth,
sometimes rather pointed at one end, 12x5 micron.

Roy. Soc. Tas. 1911.

PL, III.

Figs. 1 and 2,

Figs. 5 and 5a.

Fig. 9c.

Fl(i. 1 - 4 — SlXOTIUM GUNNll. FiG. 5 - 7— IlYMENOOASTER ViOLACEUS.

Fig. s - sb.-HysteraiNgium Visciuum Fig. 9 - 9c— Hysterangium Affine.

BY LKONARD RODWAY, UOVERNMENT BOTANIST. 27"

HYSTERANGIUM NEGLECTUM, Mass. et Rod.
("Kew Bulletin," Sept. 1899.)

Irregular, 2-4 cm. Peridium thick, smooth, fleshy
sooty-brown. Gleba dense, dark rich brown, the spaces,
numerous, tortuovis not as minute as in most species. Spores
oblong, obtuse, smooth or obscurely rugulose, pale brown,
12-15 X 8 micron.

HYSTERANGIUM AFFINE, Mass. et Rod.

C'Kew Bulletin," June, 1898.)

More globose than most species, with the longer
diameter erect and a root-like process from below, fi'om
under one to nearly two centimetres diameter. Peridium
rather thick, fleshy pale brown. Gleba dense, somewhat
greenish, spaces minute, tortuous, with generally much
bluish gelatinous trama intervening. Sterile base very
small. Spores pale, bluish green, oblong, not very obtuse,
11-13 X 5-6 micron.

VAR. IRREGULARE, Mass.— Less regular in form;
peridium thinner ; gleba brownish ; spores very obtuse,
10 X 4 micron.

VAR. TENUISPORA, Rod.— Differs from the type-
in the thinner peridivim, gleba darker, nearly black, and m
the more slender spores, 12-14 x 2.5-3 micron.

HYSTERANGIUM CLATHROIDES, Vitt.

Vei-y irregular in shape, about 2 cm. diamter. Peri-
dium thin, floccose continuous, with surrounding mycelium.
Gleba grey-hyaline, soft, almost waxy. Spaces not very
toi-tuous nor crowded, narrow, pale brown. Spoi'es oblong,
pointed at both ends, smooth, pale brown, lo x 5 micron.

HYSTERANGIUM VISCIDUM, Mass. et Rod.
("Kew Bulletin.")

An irregailar tuber, 3 x 1.5 cm. Chocolate brown,
with a viscid surface. Peridium gelatinous, rather thin.
Gleba pale but dotted with the minute hymenial spaces,
which are brown from the contained spores. Spores ob-
long, obtuse, papillate, yellowish brown, 14-15 x 10 micron.

'2^ Tin; IIVMEMxiAsTUACK-K OK TASMANIA,

4. RHIZOPOGON, Tul.

Peridiuni thick or thin, continuous with strands of
mycelium which partially envelope the surface. Gleba
dense, hymenial cavities very numerous, small, and con-
torted. Trama very thin subgelatinous. Spores oblong,
smooth. Sterile base not developed. The genus is only
separated from Ilysterangium by the mycelial strands aris-
ing from the surface.

RHIZOPOGON RUFESCENS, Tul.

Irregularly globose, 2-4 cm. diameter. Sm-face pale
at fii-st, then pinkish brown. Peridiura vei'y thin, con-
tinuous with the trama. and the suiTounding mycelium, not
generally apparent at maturity. Gleba white, sometimes
cinerous, or brown when beyond maturity. Spores oblong,
obtuse, smooth, 11x5 micron.

A common European species, found up to the jjresent
in Tasmania only beneath Austrian Pines. Probably in-
troduced with that plant, and symbiotically associated with
it.

5. PIYMENOGASTER, Tul.

Peridium fleshy, generally thin. Gleba fleshy, the
hymenial cavities small and irregular, trama thin, formed
of elongated cells, not floccose nor gelatinous. Spores
generally elliptic or fusiform, rarely nearly globose, gene,
rally rough, papillate, or sulcate, rarely smooth. Sterile
base present, sometimes piercing the greater part of the
gleba.

Like most genera of this family, not marked by any
positive character. Distinguished by the consistence of
the trama, sterile base, and elongated rough spores, with
which are associated forms that appear to have a closer
afiinity here than elsewhere.

HYMENOGASTER ALBELLUS, Mass. et Rod.
("Kew Bulletin," June, 1898.)

Irregularly globose, pale, 2-3 cm. diameter. Peridium
thin, cellular, distinct. Gleba pale brown, Arm, the spaces
not minute. Sterile base reduced to a flat cushion. Spores
elliptic, obtuse, or with one or both ends narrow, yellowish
brown, minutelv warted, 16-17 x 8-9 micron.

BY LEONARD RODWAY, GOVKRNMENT BOTANIST. 29-

HYMENOGASTER NANUS, Mass, et Rod.
("Kew Bulletin," June, 1898.)

Irregularly globose, 1-3 cm. Sooty brown, with a.
mucilaginous surface. Periclium rather thick, fleshy, the
outer portion gelatinous, separable from the gleba. Gleba
firm, light orown, spaces rather lax-ge. Sterile base well
deareloped. Spores eilliptie, subobtusef, Ibrown, warted,,
14-15 X 8 micron.

HYMENOGASTER RODWAYI, Mass.

("Kew Bulletin,'' June, 1898.)

Ii'regularly globpse generally, 2-3 cm. diameter, pale..
Peridium very distinct, fleshy. Gleba dark brown, sjiaces
small and irregular, showing an indistinct tendency to)
radiate from the sterile base towards the periphei-y. Sterile
base usually conspicuous and giving off branching veins
penetrating the gleba. Spores elliptic or lemon-shaped
apiculate at one end, longitudinal^" ribbed, ribs simple, or
forked and anastomosinsr, strone:, converging at the ends,
20 X 10-12 micron.

HYMENOGASTER ALBIDUS, Mass. et Rod
C'Kew Bulletin," Sept. 1901.)

Irregularly globose, dirty white, 1-2 cm. Peridium
very thin floccose, continuous with the surrounding
mycelium. Sterile base rudimentary or absent. Gleba
pinkish Avhite, turning light brown when diy, spaces tortu-
ous, larger than in H. Rodwayi. Spores elliptic, pointed
at one end, the other very obtuse ; longitudinally ribbed or
coarsely rugose, pale brown, 21-28 x 14-18 micron.

HYMENOGASTER VIOLACEUS, Mass. et Rod.
(Kew Bulletin," June, 1898.)

Subglobose, violet and viscid, 2-3 cm. Peridium thim
but distinct. Gleba rather firm, brown. Spaces numer-
ous, tortuous, about 1 m.m. diameter. Sterile base ob-
solete to very distinct in some specimens, a sterile vein
i-unning right through the gleba to the apex. Spores
globcso-elliptic, brown, minutely warted, 7x9 micron.

30 THK HYMKNOCiASTRACEK OK TASMANIA,

HYMENOGASTER LEVISPORUS, Mass. et Eod.
("Kew Bulletin.'")

Trr'jgularly g!obcso, white, 2-3 cin. l\'ridiuni very
thin, subfloccose, continuous Avith the surrounding mycelium.
•Gleba rather den.se. pale brown, spaces small. Spores pale
brown, spherical, or nearly so, smooth, 10-11 micron.

o. SECOTIUM.

In Cooke's "Handbook of Australian Fungi " Secotium
as placed in Lycoperclaceae, a family characterised by apical
dehiscence and a disint<;grated gleba at matui'ity. In
Secotium the trama is persistent, arranged in crumpled
plates, radiating from the columella and dehiscence occurs
by a basal cleft round the stem. A typical Secotium haa
a well-developed stem, which pierces the gleba to the apex,
and there expands, and is continuous with the peridium,
In the lower part the surface of the peridium assiimcs the
character of an arachnoid volva covering the groove. In
some Tasmanian forms the stem is almost reduced to the
sterile base of Hvmcnogaster, and then the fungus is sel-
dom exposed above ground, except by accident. S. Gunnii
•often has the appearance of a deformed Agaric, and the
natural positicn of the genus appears to be intermediate
between the Gastromvcetes and the Agaric family of
Hymenomyc?tes.

From Tasmania four species have been described.

SECOTIUM ERYTHROCEPHALUM, Tul.

"Gregarious, rather long stemmed ; stem erect, smooth,
naked, white, narrowly fistulose ; peridium innate, simple,
•even, smooth, carmine-red ; cells imequal, large, septa thin,
distinct, destitute of fiocci, basidia arising from the walls
bearing 2-4 spores; spores elliptic, even, brown on long
storigmata, 10-11 x 5 micron. " — Cooke's "Handbook. " I
liave seen no specimen.

SECOTIUM GUNNII. Bkhk.

Irregularlv globose, pale, smooth. 2-4 cm. diameter ;
■stem solid, short, tliick. continuous with the peridium

BY LEONARD RoDWAY, GOVERNMENT BOTANIST. 81

above. Gleba pale brown, the tramal plates thin, radiate
ing, and very distorted. Basidia clavate, tetrasporous.
iS pores brown, smooth, elliptic apiculate at one end, 7x4
micron.

SECOTIUM RODWAYI, .Mass.

('•Kew Bulletin,' Sept., 1901.)

Subglobose, fleshy, cream-coloured, smooth or tomen-
tose deeply excavated below. Stem vei'y short, usually
piercing the gleba to the apex, where it is continuous with
the thin peridium, in some specimens much reduced above.
Gleba rather dense, pale cream-coloured. Cystidia and
Basidia pyrifcrm about the same size. Spores globose,
colourless, verruculcse, 7-8 micron.

SECOTIUM SESSILE, Mass. et Eod.

("Kew Bulletin.")

Subglobose, 2-3 cm. diameter, pure white, and delicate.
Peridium very thin. Stem short, usvially vanishing in the
gleba. Cystidia fusiform, much exceeding the basidia.
Spores globose, colourless, minutely verrviculose, 7-8 micron.

32

NOTE ON TRACHINOPS TAENIATUS.
Robert Hall.

(Read April 1(>, 1011.)

This perc'iforin fish ap|i;ireiitly has uot been recorded
from Tasmania, our specialist, Mr. R. M. Johnston, being
unfamiliar with it.

Hitherto only two species have been described, one from
New Soutli AVales, the other tVom Victoria.

The Tasmaniau form appears to agree with T. taejiiatns
of New South Wales.

The ^ideographical distribution should be au interestinsf
one, judging iVom the fact that this conspicuous little form
is not contained in tlie collections of the Australian Museum.
Evidently it is local and uncommon. Although Boulenger
speaks of the four British Museum specimens of T.
taeniatns as having been found in New South Wales and
Australia, and of their reference to T. caudimaculaius as
being found on the Victorian coast. Their localities are more
likelj to agree with McCoy's Port Jackson for T. taeniatns,
and Port Phillip for T. caudimaculaius. MacLeay speaka
only of T. taeniatus and gives no exact habitat. No men-
tion is made of Tasmania. The s[>ecimeu referred to in this
note I found in August, 1909, among the piles in the old
pier adjacent to Argyle-street, Hobart.

A shoal was observed bj Mr. A. Kirk opposite the
abattoirs, up the Derwent, during the spring of last y^ar.
I know of no other records, and it would be interesting ta
learn if it is found in the Kent and Flinders Groups. This
would indicate a broken or continuous distribution, and a
part of the fauna of the Bassian coast. If it were found on
King Island and not tn the Kent or Flinders Groups it
would appear as more properly belonging to the Eyrean
coast. This will depend on the specimens yet to be collected.
The Derwent fish has its middle caudal tin much produced,
the canines cons])icuous, and has the light longitudinal line
along the base of the di>r.«!al fin. Although neither of the
mainland species are here for reference, these characters are
inclined to weave them. It apjujars to be sluggish in habit
judging partly from the fact, that it remained among the
mussels of the pile until the pile was hauled up clear of the
water.

McCoy, in his "Prodromus of the Zoology of Victoria,"
figures very faithfully this fish, and 1 am indebted to Mr. H.
M. Nicholls for drawinu mv attention to it.

33

4. THE FEATHER-ixvACiS OF SPHENURA BROAD-

BENTT: McCOY.

PI. IV.

By Robert Hall, CM.Z.S.
(Read April 10, 1911.)

The genus Sphenura is represented only in South-East
Australia and in "South-West Australia, and in each area by
two species. It is a disappearing genus.

The species occupy a similar type of country, and
point to an old and closer connection between the two
faunas: a land bridge suitably wooded.

At the present time the genus is placed in the syl-
viidre with a heterogeneous collection of genera. To com-
pare the pterylosis of these genera would probably throw
further light upon their relationship.

The specimens* under review represent four phases :

(A) Approximately four days old.

(B) Seven days later, with the eyes open.

(C) One of two nearly ready to leave the nest.

(D) An adult male for comparison of markings.

Phase A (fig. 1) may be considered as absolutely naked
until the third day. If there are any neossoptiles of more
than one kind they are vestigial, being represented by
rictal bristles, and those probably closely related to filo-
plumes-

In the earliest stage, as well as in the later ones, the
only representation is that of prepennae on the defined
tracts, the quills, and the bristle type about' the mouth.
Preplumulse are absent.

*Locality, Otway Forest, Victoria, Oct.-Nov., 1910, by the favour of
Mr. Geo. Graham.

34 Tin: KK\'iiiKi:-Ti; MPS nv sriii N ii;.\ i!i;n ah I'.KNTi.

There should be a moult in spec. A to provide the
single rhachis prepennte of spec. B : not considering the
after shaft, which is present. A section of a follicle of
spec. A would probably show this down-like feather mak-
ing way for the succeeding prcpennae. This view is favour-
ed by the presence of odd specimens of fig. 1 among the
more fully developed priponnje of stages B and C.

Looking at the youngest phase (figs. l-'J), those general-
ly known as downs are absent. The feathers still in the
follicles of the tracts of figs. 1-2 are down-like, and with the
brown pigment of the true feather- This leads one to
believe the first generation has been suppressed. They
occupv the same areas that the feathers of fig. 3 will do.
These latter (second stage) compare with those of the newly-
hatched megapodiust.

Downs are said to be absent in Atrichornis, a second
remnant genus also represented in the south-west and south-
east of the continent by a single species in each area.

Tlie colour of stage A is uniform bluish gi'ey, except-
ing the lower mandible, the prorimal edge of the iippt-r
mandible, the inside of the mouth and the tcugue,
which are strong lemon yellow.

Figs. 1 and 2 show the fealher tracts of the dorsal and
ventral surfaces.

Pteryla vcntralis. It forms a single tract that is not
divisible into the usual short outer and long inner branches.
It forms a band of great breadth extending from the
shoulder a considerable distance backward, and then nar-
rowing down, but not to meet, thus leaving a distinct and
broad apt mesogastrei.

Pt. Spinalis — A. Rami, all arising from a common
base.

B. Two types, one without rami, from

a common base, the other hav-
ing a central rhachis.

C. Two types : one as in A, the other

showing a well-developed ramus.
with a long rhachis.

D. Contour feathers, as in the latter

of C, being much longer. There
are few booklets when comjjai-
ed with the normal quantity in
Cracticus and Collyriocincla.

t W. p. Py craft (WHley's Zool Results, New Britain, etc., Plate
XLIX., fig. 6, 1910), kindly lent by Prof. T. T. Flynn.

15Y ROBERT HALL, C.M.Z S. 35

The tract is oval, tapering off in the lumber region,
and becoming attenuated, though not junctioning with the
oil gland, and remaining free from other pterylae.

Pt. Capitis — Beginning at the anterior nares, it is
forked along the culmen, and passes over the
frontal parietal and occipital region, bulgin^ cTown-
wards, immediately over the apertures of the ears,
and later joining the pteryla colli dorsalis, ear-
coverts breaking from their follicles.

Pt. Colli Dorsalis. This tract blends with the pt.
spinalis and pt. capitis.

Pt. Caudalis. — Ten rectrices in B and C, with the ten
coverts well developed, two-thirds the length of
the former, while in A ther© distinctly appears to
be twelve rectrices, with ten upper coverts just
showing their follicles. Uropygium not tufted.

Pt. Femoralis — Made up of two sets, a strong outer
series and a short feeble inner series at the an-
terior end. This inner series does not yet show
in specimen A (fig. 1). The posterior portion is
abnormally long, indicating the habitat as wet and
scrubby. This tract is free from any other.

Pt. Cruralis. — The tract does not encompass the leg.
In B the whole length of the inner surface is' bare,
broken by an oblique line of a single row of well-
developed yet unbvirst follicles. There are a few
additional feathers in specimen C, the upper part
of the tibial area of the leg being bare.

Pt. Huineralis. — Well developed.

Pt. Alans. — Metacarpo'-digitalis 10, subequal to A, B,
C, D, the 9th and 10th being a little shorter; veins
not emarginated as in the contours, the 11th re-
niex wanting.

Cubitals 10, 1-8 being subequal, the 9th being much
smaller, the lOth still much reduced, and scarcely distin-
guishable from its covert. There is an 11th quill that does
not indicate whether it is a cubital or a covert, either in
jDosition or its form.

While there is no sign of primary coverts in the left

3«i THK FEATHKK-TUACTS OF SPIIKNURA BUOAD-BKNTI,

wing ^f specimen A, there is a sign of them in the right
wing, being sufficiently distinct to be counted.

The wing is eutaxic.

Tectrices. — In spec. A the t. majores of the cubitals are
10, and well indicated, the t. mediae being 6. and
well marked, a lens being needed to see the t-
minores, t. marginales being not yet visible.

The coverts of the under surface of the wing do not
yet show any sign of appearing. Tlie dorsal major coverts
of the primaries are not yet visible.

There is no appearance of pt. spuria. In spec. B the
veins of pt. spuria are breaking from their sheaths, though
not so advanced as the covoi-ts, the major coverts of the
secondaries being more advanced than those of the primar-
ies. Only the innermost of the t. mediae is exposing its
vein.

The pt. marginales are just showing- The four rows of
tectrices upon the under surface are well developed, but
just breaking from their slieaths.

The carpal covert is equal to the t. minores of the cubi-
tals, being much further ahead of the primai-y medium
coverts in their development.

In pt. spuria five strong feathers tak:^ part in the for-
mation.

Parapteron is naked in spec A and B , in C there arc
two rows, each four feathers.

Fig. 3 gives a lateral view of phase B. The veins
breaking from the follicles indicate the pale rufous and
grey colours that are in C and D. The plumage of C is
already rufous-tinted, as in the adult D, being brighter
upon the ear coverts than upon the head. The under-
surface is devoid of the lunations of the adult, and the
throat has a pale cream-coloured band across it. extending
outwards to the region below the eye- This prominent
mark does not appear on the adult D, its mark of the past.

At this stage the tail coverts are well developed, and
more than half the length of the rectrices. In colour they
are almost as intense as in the adult. The broad outer

Roy. Soc Tas. 1911.

PL. IV.

bl-.ccU.cioT4.

Tk^.i . 5pa<.R . Venl-,

Y(d- b<-o>'5)'//

Pio^ 5v>cc.6:yV;c<*)p aV?:

bhf'Cm

ri

Oj, 3 . Side view OP 5]><2.c.B.

BY ROBERT HALL, C.M.Z.S. 37

margins of the wing-quills and the tail are not so rufous as
in the adult. The contour feathers have the same loose
appearance as in the adult stage, the hooklets being reduc-
ed, and only in part junctioning. On the left side only
two rictal bristles are developed, the usual three being upon
the other.

The cause of the distinctive markings of the under
surface in the adult D is due to the terminal portion of
each of the barbs of the feathers being deep brown, and the
subterminal portion white in crescentic and imbricate posi-
tion.

The same locality feathers on C are uniform grey, with
the tips of each barb showing a dark hue, but not sufficient-
ly strong to get any other effect than grey upon the breast
and chest.

38 THK MANUFACTUKK OF TllK TKHO-W ATTA,

5. THE MANUFACTURE OF THE TERO-WATTA.

By Fritz Noetling, M.A., Ph-D.

PI. v., VI., VII., VIII.

(Read June 12. 1911.)

1. GENERAL AND HISTORICAL REMARKS.

Recent investigations have proved that the aborigines
obtained the siliceous rocks used in the manufacture of
their stone implements from two sources, viz. : —

J From certain localities where such kinds of recks
occur in situ (1).

2. From the gravel deposits of pleistocene and modern
age, in the shape of watenvorn boulders.

The former localities have very aptly been termed
''native quari'ies,'" but it appears that, though these quarries
were extensively worked, the material obtained from this
source was not of the same importance as that obtained
from the gravel beds. Among the specimens collected at
Melton Mowbray only 6.1 per cent, could with certainty be
identified with the rock occurring in Johnstons quarrv', and
about 8 per cent, were maniifactured from rock found in
Nichols's quarry, west. The total of tero-watta made from
locally occurring rock, therefore, does not exceed 14 or 15
per cr-nt. Amone the Mona Vale specimens 11.3 per cent.,
and among those from !Mount Morriston-Trefusis 7 per cent,
were made from rock occurring at TTiitchison's quarrv. I
have been very careful in identifying the nature cf the rock,
yet there may be mistakes, biit on the whole I consider
these figures rather above than below the mark-

We, therefore, see that at the outside 15 per cent, of
the tero watta were manufactured from rock obtained in

(1) Noetling.— The native quarry on Conl Hill, noar Molton Mowbray,
Tasman. Naturalist, vol. I., No. 2 Pept.. 1907.

Noetllna:.— The native niinrry of .Syndal. iipar lto=s. Paper and
Pioceed. Koy. Soc, Tas.. 1908.

BY FKITZ NOETLING, MA., PH D. 39

quarries, wliile 85 per cent, were manufactured from
rocks otherwise obtained. It is very difficult to account
for this peculiarity. Johnston's and Nichols's quarries ai'e
very convenientb- situated near the camping ground of
Melton Mowbray, and the same applies to Hutchison's
quarry with regard to the camping ground, Mona Vale.
Therefore, it cannot be distance that prevented a more ex-
tensive use of the quarry rock. We also know that the
quaiTies were intensively worked, as hundreds of thousands
cf broken fi-agments conclusively prove. As all the frag-
ments now found at the quarries must be considered as un-
suitable rejects, we must assume that the rock obtained
in situ was not very suitable for the manufacture of stone
implements, otherwise there would not have been such an
enormous amount of refuse. To me it seems that the rock
obtained from gravel beds possessed certain qualities which
the rock obtained from quarries lacked to a great extent.
As the most essential quality is a good, smooth fracture,
it appears probable that the same kind of rock when obtain-
ed from gravel beds had a better fracture than if obtained
in situ from a quarry.

The second source from which suitable rocks -.vere ob-
tained are the numerous gravel beds either in the modern
rivers, or of earlier geological age. The examination of
thousands of tero-watta has conclusively proved that by far
the greater majority represent flakes struck off from watei*-
worn pebbles. Such pebbles have been found in all stages
of operation- We find pebbles from which one or perhaps
two flakes were struck off, tentatively, as it would seem,
v^hile dozens or more flakes were struck off from others. For
ii'stance, not less than 13 flakes were struck off a portion
of a pebble now weighing 14j: ounces, found near Eokeby,
and more than 41 from the Kempton nucleus. My inves-
tigations have conclusively proved that the aborigines pre-
ferred the rock obtained in the shape of a water-worn
pebble to that found in quarries, even if such quarries were
situated closs to a camping ground. As above stated, I
believe that the reason for this preference was the better,
cleaner fracture of the water-worn pebbles. We might ex-,
pcet that a piece of rock which has been subjected to the
process of being rolled and worn by a torrential current
must be of good quality to withstand all this wearing down
process. It would appear probable that such a pebble
yielded better flakes than a piece of rock picked up in a
quarry, whose strength had net been previously submitted
to severe tests.

However that may be. the main fact, viz., that the abori-

40 THK M.ANUKAITUUK ol" THK TKI!l)-\VAITA,

gines chiefly obtained the material for the manufarlure of
the tero-watta in the shape of water-worn boulders and
pebbles from the gravel beds of the island remains undis-
putablc. It would be of the greatest interest to know
whether archseolithic man of Europe preferred in a similar
way flint pebbles found in gravel deposits, to ilint obtained
directly from the chalk. This question is, however, some-
what complicated, considering the nature of the flint no-
dules, and I refrain from expressing an opinion.

Now, how were the tero-watta manufactured? The
answer to this question is more difhcult than it appears,
and we will first see whether the hi.storical accounts help
to solve the problem. I can only find two references bwir-
ing on this question. Scott (1). to whom we arc indebted
for a great number of important observations, states that
he watched an aborigine for over an hour "chipping one
flint with another, so as to give them the peculiar cutting
shan^ edges-"

A further observation is contained in Walkers (2) ac-
count of the quarry at Plenty. One of the early colonists
by the name of Rayner met between 1813 and 1818 a
"mob" of aborigines who wei-e busily engaged breaking
stones at Walkers quarry. "They were breaking the
stones into fragments either bv dashing them on the rock
Of bv striking them with other stones, and picking up the
sharp-edged ones for use. ' One old fellow he describes as
dashing his stone upon another one on the gx'ound, and
leaping up and .spreading his legs out at the sani-^ time,
to avoid as much as possible being struck by the splinters.

This is all I could find concerning the manufacture of
the tero-watta, and little enough it is. That a tei-o-watta
was wrought by striking the raw material with another
stone is a priori very probable, and tho only point of in-
terest in Scott "s statement is the length of time. For an
hour or so, Scott says, the aborigine was striking the flint,
and we may presume, one and the same specimen. Ravner's
statement, interesting as it is, does not contain much in-
formation either, larger pieces can probably be reduced in
size by dashing them against a rock, and if convenient
spalls came off they were picked up with the view of shap-
ing them afterwards. The breakage of larger blocks, by
dashing them against a hard surface is, therefore, not an

(U Monthly Notes of Pnp. and Proi-f^d Kov. Soc. Tas., .lulv 1873.
page 24.

<2) Ling Roth, aborigines of Trfinnnia, 2nd edition, pegp 119.

BY FKITZ NOETLINO, M.A., TH-D. 41

essential feature in the manufacture of tero-watta, but
merely a preliminary one, to obtain suitable pieces.

We have, therefore, no other means of finding out how
the tero-watta were manufactured than the study of the
traces 'the process of manufacture left behind. These are
numerous enough, but it required a large number of tero-
watta to collect sufficient evidence, and to sort it. From
the account of an actual eye-witness (1), we know that two
stones were required for the manufacture of a tero-watta,
viz. :

1. A piece of (siliceous) rock which was to be turned

into an implement-

2. Another stone to strike the former with.

In other words, a hammer-stone and an object-stone. The
hammer-stone was activelv employed, that is to say, it was
u&ed to deliver the blows; the object-stone was passively
employed, that is to say, it was subjected to the blows de-
livered with the hammer-stone.

The object-stone may be of two kinds; it was either
a natural pebble, or boulder of siliceous rock, which we
may term the parent block, or it represented a flake strxick
oiff the parent block. Primarily we may take it that the
object-stone was represented by a natural block or boulder,
and the effect of a well-directed blow was to divide the
parent block into flake and nucleus. (2)-

All this appears to be very plain and simple, yet if
we come to examine a larger number of tero-watta we at
once observe specimens, which are difficult to classify. Are
they hammer-stones, or do they represent nuclei? Are
they to be considered as unfinished rejects, or as nuclei ?
It is obvious that it makes a great difference whether I
consider a specimen as an actively used hainmer-stone or as
a passively used nucleus, and yet in many instances it is.
almost impossible to say which is which. Furthei-more, if
we consider that it is often enough impossible to discern
ai true hammer-stone from a, sacred stone, or the latter from
an anvil-stone, the great difficulties are obvious.

I will here attempt to solve these problems by study-
ing the evidence handed over to us on the actively and pas-
sively used objects, that is to say, hammer-stone and object-
stone.

(1) Scott I.e.

(2) See also : The effe"ts of percussion on siliceous rocl?s

42 THE MAMKACTUKK oK IIIK TKKoWATTA,

2. EVIDENCE OF THE HAMMER-STONES.

It seems easy enough to discern a hammer-stone- Rutot
has so well described the marks produced by blows that
it seems almost ridiculous to be in doubt whether a stone
is a hammer-atone or not. Yeb, if we collect a large num-
ber of specimens considered to be hammer-stones, we per-
ceive at once that the matter is by no means so easy. The
definition of the hammer-stone requires that it should be
actively used, but we. find specimens which show, from the
position of the marks of blows, that they could not possibly
have been used actively, but that they were subjected to
blows, in other words, used passively, and that they, there-
fore, cannot represent hammer-stones. Marks of blows
alone do not characterise a stone as a hammer-stone, a fact
that has been conclusively proved by the study of a large
number of specimens.

A stone showing marks of blows may be —

(1) A true hammer-stone.

(2) A tested pseudo-nucleus.

(3) A sacred stone.

(4) An anvil-stone.

The great difference between these four groups is obvious,
yet it is not always possible to say to which group a cer-
tain specimen belongs, so imperceptibly are they merging
into each other. It may, perhaps, be possible to discern
in future between the marks of active and passive blows,
that is, to know whether a specimen showing marks of
blows was activelv used as a hammer stone, or passively
subjected to blows as an object stone, but for the present
there is no criterion to discern these marks.

There are, however, other features which will assist
us to discern tmc hammer-stones. It is almost pretty
certain that in order to break a larger boulder of siliceous
rock, no other than diabase pebbles were employed. This
seems a priori very probable- Diabase is a tough rock,
chert, hornstone. or the other siilceous rocks' used in the
manufacture of tero-watt? .ire brittle, and break easilv.
If, therefore, a siliceous rock were used as hammer, in order
to break another siliceous rock, it might happen t)ir\t tli?
hammer, but not the object-stone broke.

It is. therefore, more than probable that all those

BY FillTZ NUETLING, M.A., PH.D. 43

stones of that kind from which the tcro-watta were manu-
factured, VIZ., chert, hornstone, porcellanite, breccia, show-
ing marks of blows, cannot be considered as hammer-stones,
but must be considered as tested and rejected parent blocks
(pseudo^nuclei).

This limits our field of reseai'ch to some extent, as we
have to consider the diabase boulders or pebbles only. Now,
among this class there are a certain number which form a
most conspicuous group- These are generally very regular,
oval, fiat pebbles, showing in the centre of either both or
one face only a rough indentation or mark. The edge
shows either marks of blows all round, or else at the two
polesi only, or at the two' poles and in the middle ol the two
longitudinal sides. Frequently the formerly rounded edge
is flattened by grinding. These stones have been consider-
ed as typical hammer-stones, a view with which I cannot
agree. It would lead too far to discuss here ray reasons,
and I must refer the reader to a preliminary paper on this
subject. (1).

It is certainly very remarkable that onb; a few speci-
mens oif this type have been found which are not made of
diabase, but of a very hard splintery quartzite- It is fur-
ther noteworth}' that not one of these stones has been
found in a quarry, while ordinary hammer-stones are very
common. Now, if these stones were hammer-stones, why
were they not used in the quarries where they were certain-
ly urgently required? Whv are they only found on camp-
ing grounds?

If we exclvide this group, there remains only a small
group of stones which must be considered as hammer-
stones. Yet even among these there are a number, particu
larlv when found on camping grounds, which appear very
doubtful as tot their true character. They may be hammer-
stones, yet there is a probability that they either represent
unfinished sacred stones or a special group of the latter.
A further discussion of this question must form the subject
of another paper-
Here I will deal onlv with those specimens of which
I am certain that they were used as hammer-stones. These
are the diabase pebbles found amone the rejects i" ^he na-
tive quarries (2). There cannot be the slightest doubt that

(1^ Noetlin?.— Some imi)lements of the T.'i<=mnnian fiborlsines, the
magic stones. Tasman. Naturalist, vol. T., No. 3, DecernlDPr. 1907. page 1.

^21 See also .T. B. Walker, the Tasmanlan Alinrigines, Hohart, 1900
Pfge 8.

44 THE MANUFACrUllI'; UK THK TKKo- \V AlTA,

these diabase boulders were used as hammer-stones. In
the first instance they are very battered, and almost every
one is in a fragmentary, broken condition. The presence
of such diabase boulders among thousands of broken frag-
ments of hornstone is the surest sign that they were carried
to their present resting place by human agency. Their
battered condition proves that they wei-e used for some
heavy work, and the only conclusion we can draw from their
nature is that they were used as hammer-stones. I weighed
17 specimens of these hammer-stones, which I collected at
Nichols s quarry, the weights ranging from 5] ounces to
lib- 5oz. As all the specimens lost considerably during
use, their original weight must have been higher, but it is
rather difficult to say anything about the loss. Only six
out of the 1 7 exceeded one pound in weight, but as seven
more weigh fi'om 12 to 15 ounces, it is pretty safe to say
that in their original state these stones weighed from J!l
to 21b.

Now. if we examine these hammer-stones we find that
they all show a more or less spherical or globulai' shajje-
Not in a single instance laave I found one of the flattened,
oval type, showing rough indentations in the centre of
either or one side only. We might well ask why is it that
if this last-named group of stones were hammer-stones, they
were used at the camping grounds only, and not at the
quarries? The hammer-stones had io be brought to tlie
quarry, and the evidence of the specimens proves that they
were globular diabase boulders, probablv water-worn
pebbles. Now, if it was found necessary to provide the so
called hammer-stones with a mark for the insertion of the
thumb and another finger, why were the unquestionable
hammer-stones of the quarries never provided with these
marks?

The evidence of those specimens whose use as hammer-
stones is beyond doubt, goes to prove the following facts : —

1. Diabase pebbles only, and no other kind of rock,
were used as hammcrz-stones.

2. It appears that the essential feature of such a
pebble to serve as hammer-stones was its spherical or globu-
lar form. (1). Compressed or flattened pebbles were ap-
parently never used as hammer-stones.

3. The great majority of the hammer-stones weighed
from lib. to 21b-, though, of course, there may be heavier

(1) See also an tea, page 43.

BY FKITZ NOETLING, M.A., PH.D. 45

and ligliter ones, but boulders of that weight were ap-
parently the most serviceable.

4. These boulders were used witnout any previous
treatment ; in fact, they ma,y be considered as true
'"eolithes."

5. The compressed diabase pebble of oval shape, show-
ing various marks of blows along the edge, and a central
rough indentation on either one or two sides, cannot be con-
sidered as hammer-stones, whatever else their use or mean-
ing may have been.

3. WERE ANVIL-STONES USED IN THE MANU-
FACTURE OF THE TERO-WATTA?

iDr. Rutot, in his important paper, "Un Grave
Probleme" (1) thinks that he can distinguish anvil-stones
among the collection of specimens I sent him, but I am
afraid tliat, as fai* as the specimen so designated is con-
cerned, I cannot agree with him. I have not found a single
flake which I could declare as an anvil-stone, and it will,
therefore, be useful to discuss the question whether anvil-
stones were ever used at some length.

The accounts of eye-witnesses are silent on this point.
Scott does not state that the "flint" which was chipped with
another rested on another stone, viz-, an anvil. In fact,
his statement almost seems to imply that the flint which
was chipped, was held by one hand, while the other wielded
the hammer. We are, therefore, obliged to study the tero-
watta in order to ascertain whether they bear traces of hav-
ing rested on an anvil-stone or not. It is pretty certain
that if a piece of hornstone rests on a hard support, while
it is hammered at. those portions of its surface that have
been in contact with the hard support, must become some-
what dulled. Now, as we know that the tero-watta were
wrought by blows that were directed from the Pollicai face
towards the Indical face, a flake must have rested on its
Indical face while the process of trimming it was performed,
if an anvil-stone was used. The traces of having rested on
a hard support should, therefore, be found on the Indical
face, but the result of such an examination is absolutely
negative. Among the thousands of specimens I examined,
there is not one whose Indical face shows marks of having
rested on a hard support. All edges are exceedingly sharp ,

il) Bull. Soc. Beige de Geol, Palaeont et Hydr, vol. XXI., 1907.

4(j THE MA.NUfACTUUK Ul- THE TEUU-WATTA,

in fact, it is diflicult to imagine how some of the specimens
could exhibit and preserve such a fine Indical face, unless
the flake was held in the free hand, while the other wielded
the hammer-

The evidence of the tero-watta themselves, therefore,
goes to negative the assumption that an anvil-stone was
used when they were made.

As far as the evidence of the Kemptcn nucleus and its
spalls goes, it seems to indicate that it did not rest on an-
other stpne or hard support while it was broken, but was
probabiV mostiy imbedded in the soft sand of the camping
place. The Kemnton nucleus does not support the theory
of the use of anvil-stones, and the arguments in favour of
its use at all are not very strong. It would oe ludicrous to
assume that the Kempton boulder was broken at some
other place affording a hard natural surface as support, and
that afterwards the core and all the flakes, even the small-
est, were brought to the camping ground simply to be left
there. If anything appears to be cei'tain it is that the
Kempton boulder was 'broken at the place where its frag-
ments were subsequently found, but there is no proof that
it rested on a hard support-
Now, if any supports whatever were used — and if we
admit the praemisse we must assume that they were habi-
tually used — where ai'e they? If they existed they must
be recognisable, because if a hai'd boulder is broken on a
hard surface, the effect of the bloAvs which broke it must
also leave some marks on the support when the boulder re-
bounded under the effect of the heavy blows.

I have pcissed the whole inventory list of the specimens
found on the camping grounds and elsewhere, and the only
objects that could possibly come in consideration are those
I have described as "magic stones."' The flatness of these
pebbles would render them very suitable as a support. The
queer central indentations could be considered as the result
of the rebounding of the block to be broken (1) and the
peripheral hammering would result from the hammer-stone
striking or touching the anvil-stone.

This theory would in some way explain the great va-
riety of these remarkable stones, and also why they are

(1) When tlie stone was turned over tlie Indentation on tlie opposite
s'de would be produced.

BY Fi;i'JZ >=UKTLING, iM.A., I'lll). 4(

never found in quarries, where the natural surface afforded
a good hard support. Yet there are such a number of very
vtnghty arguments against this view that I am not inclineci
to accept it, unless convincing evidence is forthcoming. In
the first instance, it seems to me, that if a hard boulder is
broken on anothei', the mai'ks which the former left on the
latter ought to be spread all over the surface, and not to
be concentrated m a central space of a few millimetres in
diameter (])• Further, if the peripheral marks are those of
the hammer, how is it that they so frequently occur only on
four opposite points, and why are they, particularly those
on the longitudinal side, frequently flattened, just as if the
edge had been ground ? It is true that specimens occur
whose edge is hammered, or even flattened all round, but
often enough these specimens are without contral marks.
Aiiother important point is the comparative smallness of
these boulders. I cannot well imagine how a boulder of
the size of the Kempton one rested on one of these small,
flat pebbles while it was broken. Further, why should
these anvil-stones so frequently be polished, even actually
ground, like the specimen from the Old Beach? Is it jDro-
bable to assume that the aborigines bestowed more labour
on their anvil-stones than on the implements themselves,
which were in the last instance the desired object of all the
hard labour applied ? All these are such weighty argu-
ments against the theoiy of the indented pebbles to be
iokeii as anvil-stones that I do not feel inclined to accept
it Yet, if anvil-stones were used at all, there are no other
objects known but those stones that could have served for
such H purpose-
However that may be, if anvil-stones were used at all,
they w(.ro not reoresented by flakes of hornstone split off
from a parent block, as Dr. Rutot assumes. In Eur)p?
such flat pieces or slabs of flint may have served as anvil-
stones, but not in Tasmania. We have here no similar
pieces of hcrnttone, and the anvil-stone such as mentioutid
by Dr. Pait'ot would first have to be manufactured. Fur the
present there it little or no evidence to show that anvil-
stones were used in the manufacture of the tero-watta. 'Ilie
only evidence, viz-, that of the implements themselves, goe.s
to prove the contrary, and I, personally, feel inclined to
discredit the alleged use of anvil-stones altogether.

a) There are no doubt some specimens which show the marks of
blows all over the surface, but I cannot understand how the central
indentation could originate while the surrounding surface remained
perfectly smooth.

48 THK MAM'KAt I I |:K cK TMK TKKU-W ATTA,

4. THE EVIDENCE OF THE NUCLEI OR CORES.

What constitutes a nucleus or core? The answer seems
simple enough : any piece of rock that remains after one or
more flakes were struck off represents a nucleus or core.
The study of the toro-watta has, however, shown that it is
not always easy to distinguish between a nucleus and an
unfinished reject, that is to say, a flake that was struck off
a parent block, but was not finished- Further, other speci-
mens have been found which conclusively prove that though
one or even more flakes were struck off, they cannot strictly
be considered as cores. These specimens were apparently
only tested as to the suitability of the rock. At Droughty
Point I found a siilendid specimen of tbis type, and a large
number of these remarkable specimens were found at De-
vonport, but the most interesting of all came from Shene. -

There is no sharp, well-defined limit between nucleus,
pseudo nucleus, and unfinished, reject. They pass so imper-
ceptiblv into each other that it is often absolutely impos-
sible to decide which type a certain specimen represents.
On the other hand, if a large number is collected, there will
always be a few specimens which leave no doubt as to their
nature.

I will, therefore, deal with the evidence of such speci-
mens only which leave no doubt as to their character, tak-
ins the nuclei or cores first-

(A) NUCLEI.

Though a number of specimens have come under my
notice which must unquestionably be considered as nuclei,
none is so convincing and absolutely certain as the Kemp-
ton nucleus (1).

I found this specimen on the eastern slope of a hill
north of Kcmpton known as the Sistei'S, and I first dis-
covered, what we may now term the core, representing, ap-
parently, about half of a large water- worn pebble. I also
found 41 flakes which could all be fitted to the core, and
the most interesting of all was the last flake that was struck
off the core, of which I had previously made a cast. The

il) Notes on a chlppod boulder found near Kenipton. Pn]). and
Proceed. Koy. Soc, Tas., 1908.

BY FRITZ NOETLIN(i, M.A., PH.D. 49

core weighs 51b. lOoz , the total of the 41 flakes is 21b.
15oz. ; core and flakes weigh, therefore, 81b 9oz. m the ag-
gregate, but as the top portion is still missing, the weight
of the original boulder was probably not less than 101b.

The spalls that were struck off this bo'ulder exceed
more than 41, and vary considerably in size and weight.
We can distinguish external and internal flakes, and the
last one that was struck off a typical internal flake of the
1st order weighs almost 4 ounces. All further work was
stopped after this flake had been struck off, and we must,
therefore, consider it as the desireu object- This view is
further borne out by the fact that many of the flakes pre-
viously struck off seem by the sharpness of their edges emi-
nently suitable as implements, yet they were disregarded.

Unless we believe the very improbable theory that an
aborigine amused himself by striking off about half a hun-
dred of spalls from a parent block with no object at all, we
must take it that the object of all this hard work was the
production of a flake of either certain weight or shape, or of
both. So far no evidence has been found that the shape of
a flake was material, and we must, therefore, assume that it
was desired to produce a tero-watta of a certain weight,
and as weight is dependent on the size, we might also say
of a certain size.

It may seem somewhat rash to generalise from one
specimen only, but the Kempton nucleus seems to- Throve
that whenever a pebble of suitable rock was broken, it was
with the view of obtaining a flake of a desired weight (and
size). All others were disregarded, no matter how suitable
they may appear to us. This view is borne out by the evi-
dence of the quarries. I have repeatedly pointed out that
it appears unintelligible that such a number of apparently
eminently suitable flakes were rejected, while others that
seem to us much less suitable were used- There is only one
explanation for this fact, viz., that the primary object was
to obtain a flake of a certain weight (or size). Sometimes a
larger, sometimes a smaller, flake may have been wanted,
but, however suitable the other flakes that fell off may have
been, they were disregarded.

(B) THE TESTED REJECTS (pseudo-nuclei).

As stated above, there is another group of pebbles and
boulders which has been subjected to a certain amount of

D

50 THK M \M'KACl'l i;k ok TIIK TKK<i-\VATTA,

hammering, whitli caiuidt be tonsidorod as hainnier-stones,
or as nuclei, strictly speaking.

Mostly one, sonietinie=, two, and in very rare cases more
flakes were struck off such a pebble, but the remainder was
left intact. It is certainly by no means .accidental that,
with very few exceptions, all these pebbles consist of a more
or less saccharine quartzite of varying colour- Fine speci-
mens of this type were found at Devonport. the Arthur
River, at Shene. and Droughty Point.

These specimens always show at the point where the
flake was struck off a peculiar percussion mark. Tliis is
usually a small semi-circular indentation of about 5 mm.
in diameter, which deeply penetrates into the matrix of the
pebble. Within the area of percussion the matrix is so in-
tensely pulverised, that the surface, assumes a whitish colour.
Almost in all cases a flake of greater or smaller size became
detached, though in one specimen from Devonpoii: the re-
sult of the blow was a deep roundish hole only. As already
stated, there are usually one or two, but very seldom more
than two. of these percussion marks.

Now, the question would arise, are these pebbles to
be considered as hammer-stones or not; in other words,
were they actively used or passively subjected to blows?
I do not think that they can have served as hammer-stones.
The evidence of the true hammer-stones shows that they
were used till they broke into fragments. Now, if these
stones were used as hammei's, why was there only one. per-
haps two, points used, while the remainder of the edge re-
mained perfectly intact? To me it .seems cxtremelv im-
probable that one or, perhaps, two, blows were executed
with such a stone, which was aftenvards thrown away,
though it wa.s perfectly intact along the greater portion of
its edge. Further, I cannot believe that the deep ])ercus-
•sion mai'k, .showing an intensely pulverised surface, is the
result of an active blow. Such a mark ran only be produc-
ed if a pebble is passively subjected to a blow, and I. there-
fore come to' the conclusion that it is impossible t^j suppose
that pebbles of this type served as hammer-stones.

Neither do 1 think that these pebbles can be considered
a? nuclei s-s. If they were such, why should onlv one or
two flakes have been struck off, if the rock was suitable for
the manufacture of implements? I rather think that they
must be considered as material that was tested as to its
suitability, and on being found unsuitable, were rejected.

15Y FRl'lZ NOETLING, M.A., PH.D. 51

When material was required boulders from thei gravel
beds were collected, and it is more than probable that
among a number of them there were a certain number,
which, though seemingly hard and suitable, were really
unsuitable. These boulders were tested by striking off one
or two flakes, and if they were found lacking that essential
quality for the production of a tero-watl^, viz., a good con-
choidal fracture, they wore rejected. It is by no means
surprising that almost all of these rejects are pebbles of
saccharine quartzite, which does not fracture like the homo-
geneous hornstone-

The astonishing part, however, is that the aborigines
ever did collect such quartzite pebbles. One ought to as-
sume that long experience taught them to distinguish a
quartzitci boulder from a hornstone boulder. But what is
more, one detached flake ought to have been sufficient to
prove the suitability of the material or not. Yet frcquent--
ly two, three, or as in the instance of the Shene pebble,
some six tests were made before it was finally rejected. This
is again one of those psychological problems that we so fre-
quently meet in our studies of the civilisation of the Tas-
manian aborigines.

A modern mind would soon learn to distinguish quartz-
ite from other pebbles siiitable for the manufacture of a
tero-watta. But even if in special cases somewhat doubt-
ful, a single test would be sufficient to prove whether the
material is suitable or not-
Having proved that these specimens must be considered
as tested rejects, we will now examine the percussion marks
somewhat more closcl}^, because none of the nuclei of finish-
ed tero-watta presents similar marks, except in cases of an
ineffective blow. Even in that case there is a slight differ-
once between the marks of an ineffective blow produced on
hornstone and those of the effective blows on the pseudo-
nuclei.

Exactly the same percussion mark can be produced if
a well-tempered nail is placed on the surface of a quartzite
pebble and a shar}> blow is administei"ed on its head. Of
course it is absurd to assume that the aborigines used a
nail or other sharply-pointed iron chisel to split the pebbles,
but it may be probable that they placed the sharp point of
? piece of rock on the pebble, and administered a sharp
blow to this chisel.

52 Till-: MAMKAl TUKK oK TUK TKKO-WATTA,

Howevei' tempting it may bo to assume, that the abori-
gines had learnt to split pebbles by means of a kind of
chisel, I do not think that such a theory is in harmony with
all the other facts we know as to their state of civilisation.
I rather feel inclined to think that these peculiar deeply
penetrating marks of percussion showing axi intensive pul-
verising of the nu»trix are in some way connected with the
physical constitution of the rock. With all reserve I may
advance the view that the homogeneous hornstone is less
elastic than the .saccharine quartzite. and that while the
former readily fractured when subjected to a blow coming
under the effective angle, the latter resisted more strongly
to the fracturing energy, and this resistance resulted, in a
deeper penetration of hammer into the matrix than would
have taken place had the rock readily yielded to fracture.

(C) THE UNFINISHED REJECTS.

The evidence deduced from these specimens will come
under the following heading, as it is essentially the IndicaJ
face that shows mai'ks of being wrought.

5. EVIDENCE OF THE INDICAL FACE.

If we examine a large number of tero-watta we always
find a number of specimens whose Indical face isi more
elaborately worked than that of others- We also perceive
that these specimens are distinguished bv a smooth, level
Pollical face. So far I have not found a single specimen
which ha."? an elaborately wrought Indical, and a rough, un-
even Pollical face. We may find specimens having a nice
smooth Pollical face, whose Indical face shows hardlv an
traces of being trimmed, but we will never find a rough
Pollical face combined with an elaborately chipped Indical
face.

This fact proves conclusively that the production of a
good, smooth, level, Pollical face was an essential feature
in the manufacture of a tero-watta. Only such flakes that
possessed this quality were further wrought, should they
otherwise be considered as suitable.

It is obvious that the trimming of the Indical face
was only necessary when the flake showed considerable

BY FRITZ NOKTLINU, M.A., PH.D. -5

thickness, and was, therefore, unhandy- In most cases the
external flakes will have been submitted to this process,
fvhile the internal flakes, which were mostly ot smaller
thickness, did not require further reduction.

The trimming of the Indical face was invariably car-
ried out in such a wav that the blows were directed from
the Pollical towards the Indical face, but never m the r^
verse way. This is another essential feature m the manu-
facture of the tero-watta, and R. M. Johnston (1) was the
first who drew attention to this fact. There is no doubt
that a good deal of unnecessary controversy in discussing
the nature of the European archpeolithes would ha.ve been
avoided had Johnston's observation not been entirely over-
looked. The fact he established as far back as 1888 had to
be' rediscovered, so to say, by Verworn (2) in 1908-

When the Indical face was trimmed it apparently hap-
pened cot unfrequently that the blows did not have the
desired effect. If it became impossible to reduce the thick-
ness, the flake was rejected, no matter how much work had
already been spent on it. One of the finest instances of
this type that has come to my notice is the magnificent
specimen found at Mona Vale. Its large thickness, 78
mm., and its weight of 3Mb., make it a most unwieldly tool,
and it would require a giant's hand to grip and handle
it (3).

Now, I observed that every time, when a tero-watta
showed great thickness, the sides of the Indical face formed
an angle of SOdeg. to 90deg. with the Pollical face, while in
those whose Indical face was well wrought the sides formed
an angle of 45des'. to 60deg. with the Pollical face. This
observation further confirms the view expounded in a previ
ous paper that the effective angle under which the blow
must strike the rock must be about 45deg. If it was impos-
■sible to direct the blows at this anffle. it was also impossible
to detach further flakes, thus reducing the thickness of the
tero-watta, and the specimen was rejected as useless- G-ener-
ally speaking, these( unused rejects can be recognised by a
saw-like edge, showing noi marks of use.

(1) Geology of Tasmania, 334.

(2) Ein objectives Kriterium fuer die Beurtellung der Manufactnatur
geschlagener Feuersteine, Zeitscli, f. Ethnol, Heft. 4, 1908, pags 548 (page
555).

'3) The weiglit of this specimen appears more striking still if we
hear in mind that 74.6 per cent, of tero-watta weigh under 8 ounces,
while only 1.3 per cent, weigh more than 31b.

TUK MAMFACTLKK oV THK Tl-i:" WATTA,

6. EVIDENCE OF THE MARGINAL CHIPPING.

In a previous paper I pointed out that the origin of
sliai-penmg the edges of a flake was probably due to the
peculiarity of hoiuogeneous siliceous rocks, to produce some-
times a rounded instead of a sharp, cutting edge when the
fJake was struck off the parent block (1).

Now, though it is pretty certain that the flakes were
struck off from the parent block by means of a spherical
or globular hammer-stone, sometimes of considerable
weight, it is very difficult to assume that the delicate and
regular marginal trimming was done with such an imple-
ment. When I find a flake of 70 mm- in length, having a
thickness of 2.3 mm. only, whose edge is most carefully and
delicately worked by chipping o£f small regular flakes. I
wonder whether this work can be done by means of a
clumsy, globular stone ?

If it was done in this way, the Tasmanian aborigines
must have been exceedingly dexterous in wielding the
hammer-stones, because the marginal flakes have often been
struck off in such a regular" manner that it required the
greatest accuracy to direct the blow. To^ a modern mind
it seems almost incredible that such regular delicate work
could be done by means of a rough, clumsy hammer ; yet,
as we will presently see, it was done in such a way. We
know that in the higher palaeolithic stages the finer trim-
ming of the implements was done by means of a special
instrument, made of bone, by which thin flakes were press-
ed off As the use of bone for implements was unknown
to the Tasmanians, it is highly improbable that they ap-
plied such an instrument for the finer trimming of the tero-
watta (2). We may. therefore, dismiss this theory at once-

Another theory, which is strongly supported by Dr.
Kutot, assumes that the marginal chipping of the European
archasolithes was done by means of a sharp-edged hammer,
which he calls "tranchet" or "retouchoir." This mav have

'1) This feature Is. I may Fay, not .Imliod to the Tasmanian horn-
stonr-s, etc., but seeins to ho rommon to all homogeneous siliceous rocks
huviiiR a ponrhoidal fracture. Among tlie specimens from Chelles which
nr. Jtutot klndlv sent me. I found a filiit flake wlio)=e edge was rounded
off exactly in the same way as exhibited by some tero-watta.

'2* I may add tliat if the aborigines liad used sucli an instrument,
it would not have escai)ed such nn acute observer as the late Mr.
Scott, and we certainly would have found pieces of bone indicating that
they were used for siicli a purpose.

' BY FRITZ XOETLllvLi, M.A., PH.D. 55

been so or not ; I am not in a position to decide one way
or other. Probably Dr. Kutot is quite right, but, unfor-
tunately, we cannot say with certainty whether such an
implement was used by the Tasmanians or not-

We have it from an eye-witness that they were "chip-
ping one flint with another." We know that in certain in-
stances the "flint" used as a hammei was a spherical dia
base pebble, but, unfortunately, we do not know whether
Scott's "flinf which was used as a hammer was such a dia-
base pebble, or whether it can be interpreted as a tero-watta
made of hornstone, serving as a "retouchoir."

As already stated, it seems very improbable^ — at least
to the modern mind — that a clumsy diabase pebble was
used for the delicate marginal chipping and a priori it
would seem more probable that another implement which
could be handled with greater accuracy than a pebble was
used.' We will noAv iiivestigate whether there is evidence
to show that this was the case.

There is a certain group of tero-Avatta which are dis-
tinguished by a curious jagged saw-like edge. As the
implement known as "saw" was unknown to the aborigines,
though they unquesitionably executed sawing movements
when cutting a stick or a spear, we may dismiss the view
that these tero-watta represent saws. What is more, they
do not show any traces of use, the "teeth" of the edge being
quite sharp and pointed. A closer examination provets
that the blows which detached the flakes between the teeth
were not placed quite close to each ether, but at certain
intervals. This view is fully borne out by a specimen from
Brighton, which distinctly shows the traces of three blows
placed in the way here described. Now, it is unquestion-
able that a number of blows, which are not close to each
other, can be executed by means of a. spherical hammer, as
1 have convinced myself by experiment. If, then, a second
series of blows is directed against the same edge, by which
the jagged points are removed — and it will be noticed that
again these blows are not placed close to each other — the
edge became perfectly sharjD, and the flakes appear tc be
struck oif with that regularity which appears so astonish-
ing to us.

We see, therefore, that it is not necessary to use a
sharp-edged hammer for marginal trimming, and that this
can bo done equally well by meaus of a spherical hammer
in the way here described. The specimens showing a saw-
like "d^H have, theret'orr, to l)e consider.'d sis unfinished re-

56 THE MAM KAfTriU: t)K Til K TKKO-WATTA,

jects, aud I feel obliged to withdraw the view first promul-
gated by me in a previous paper that sharply-edged stones
were used for marginal trimming (!)•

It is greatly to be regretted that Scott never inquired
into the nature of the "flint" used as a hammer ; if he had
all the above speculations would not have been necessary.

7. EVIDENCE OF WEIGHT AND SIZE.

1 weighed and measured 75 tero-watta which I selected
at random from a large collection. All snecimens were per-
fect, but it is more than probable that some of the lai-gest
specimens, patricularly the Mona Vale specimen, represent
unfinished rejects, which should not properly be included
among the implements actually used. I further took great
care that none but tero-watta that had actually been used
were examined. I admit that 75 specimens is a small. num-
ber only, but I do not think that much would have been
gained by weighing and measuring a larger number-

A.— WEIGHT.

The heaviest specimen weighed 31b. 8oz.. but this must
in all probability be considered as an unfinished reject. The
lightest specimen weighed not more than 96 grains, vet it
showed distinct marginal chipping. The results are sum-
marised in the following table : —

2 ounces and under : 20 specimens, equal to 26.6 per
cent.

2 ounces to 4 ounces : 24 specimens, equal to 32 per
cent.

4 ounces to 8 ounces : 12 specimens, equal to 16 per
cent.

8 ounces to lib. : 8 specimens, equal to 10.6 psr cent-
lib, to 21b. : 7 specimens, equal to 9.3 per cent
21b. to 31b- : 3 specimens, equal to 4.0 per cent.
More than 31b. : 1 specimen, equal to 1.3 per cent-

il) stud, neb d. Terhnik der tasiii. Tronatta Arcli. f. Antliroinpl. \.F.,
Vol. VIII. Heft 3, page 204.

BY FRITZ NOETLINt;, M.A., PH. J). 57

Tliis table presents some striking features ; 56 tero-
watta (74.6 per cent.) weigh under eight ounces ; only 19
(25.2 per cent.) are above that weight, and even in that
small number there are included specimens which, strictly
speaking, should not have been mentioned. However
that may be, these figures prove conclusively that the tero-
watta was an implement of light weight, and as such it
was not particulai'ly suitable for any heavy work This
view is still more emphasised if we consider that 44 speci-
mens (58.6 per cent.), that is to say, considerably over one-
half, weigh under 4 ounces.

The above figures make it appear that the largest
number, viz-, 24, equal to 32 per cent., weigh from 2 to 4
ounces, the lighter, but particularly the heavier weights,
declining rapidly in number- Now, if we assume that the
most suitable weight was from 2 to 8 ounces, we have: —

(a) 2 ounces and under : 20 specimens, equal to 26.6
per cent.

(b) 2 ounces to 8 ounces : 36 specimens, equal to 48.0
per cent.

(c) More than 8 ounces : 19 specimens, equal to^ 25.2
per cent.

The proportion of these three classes is rather remark-
able, as we have : —

a : b : c equal to 1 : 2 : 1.

And I do not think that it is purel}^ accidental. As I
Btated above, I selected the specimens at random, and if
we find the examination of 75 specimens proves that out of
4 tero-watta 2 weigh between 2 and S ounces, while one is
above and one below that weight, we must conclude that
this really represents the true proportion.

B.— SIZE.

The largest specimen I found measures 206 mm. in
length, while the smallest measures not more than 24 mm.
Specimens measuring over 100 mm. (4-inch) represent only
30.6 per cent., while 69.4 per cent, remain under that size.
Onlv 6 specimens that are under 100 mm. in length weigh
more than 4 ounces, but none of them weigh more than
7 ounces. We have, therefore: —

Length more than 100 mm. : 22 specimens, equal to
30.6 per cent-, weighing all more than 4 ounces-

i)S llli; .MANLlAlTUllK t)l' THi; TKKn- W ATTA,

Length loss than 100 mm. : 53 specimens, equal to
69.4 per cent., almost all weighing under 4 ounces.

We can, therefore, say, with a great amount of ac-
curacy, that in round figures half of all the tero-watta
■weighed from 2 to 8 ovmces, and, with very few exceptions,
remained under 100 mm. (4-inch) in length. One-quarter
weighed more than 8 ounces and exceeded 100 mm. in
length, while those that weighed less than 2 ounces never
exceeded 75 mm. in length-

The above figures have conclusively demonstrated that
the average tero-watta is a light implement of small size-
Of course, there are exceptions, but they are few, and do
not materially alter this view. The inference we can.
therefore, draw is that the tero-watta was not an imple-
ment meant for iieavy work. It was fit for light work
only, and its size confirms, therefore, the view that it was
used for chiefly in the manufacture of the wooden speai's
and throwing-sticks. A few other light manipulations,
such as cutting the hair, the pi'oduction of ornamental
scars, scraping the red ochre, could be performed with it.
and occasionally it was used as a knife to cut up animals.
Heavier work, for instance, the splitting of fern trees, the
cutting of notches into the bark of trees to be ascendP'-^.
was probably done with columnar pieces of diabase, though
it is probable that the heavier tero-watta may have also
come in use for this kind of work.

Another very probable inference is that the hand
which wielded the tero-watta was small, and that, there-
fore, the bodv to which this hand belonged was not of
gigantic px'oportions.

8. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS.

The above observations and farts ran be summarised
as follows : —

1- The raw material required for the inanufacture of
tero-watta waA for the greater part obtained in the sliape
of water-worn pebbles from the gravel beds, for the smaller
part from so-called quarries.

2. The raw material used in the manufacture of tero-

BY FRITZ NOKTLINC, M.A., PHD. 59

watta consisted exclusively of siliceous rocks of lioinogeu-
eous nature possessing a good conchoidal fracture.

3. The parent block was broken by means of a ham-
mer-stone; there is no definite evidence to show that the
parent block rested on a hard support (anvil-stone) while
being broken, but it is practically certain that the flakes
were held in the band when being trimmed.

4. The hammei'-stones consisted chiefly of spherical
or globular diabase boulders or pebbles, weighing from lib.
to 21b. in the a.verage, thoiugh lighter, as well as heavier,
ones, may have been occasionally used. The view that
sharp-edged hammers of hornstone were employed, though
not impossible, is not supported by actual evidence.

5- If anvil-stones wei'e used — a theory which is more
than doubtful — it is not probable that flakes of the same
material from which the ter-o-watta were manufactured
were employed. The only objects that could have served
as anvil-stones are some of the indented stones described as
"magic-stones," but the arguments against this view are so
weighty that stronger evidence would be required before it
could be accepted- In fact, all the evidence rathe-r goes to
disprove the use of anvil-stones than tO' pro've it.

6. The blow of the hammer divides the parent block
into nucleus (core) and flake (flakes, spalls).

7. Besides the true nuclei, i.e., pieces of stone which
were left behind after the flake (flakes) had been detached,
there are pseudo-nuclei, that is to say, boulders which were
merely tested as to their quality, and rejected as unsuit-
able.

8. The marks of percussion on the pseudo-nucleus — a
rather deep hole and intense shattering of the matrix —
make it appear as if a sharply-pointed hammer hud been
used- This is not very likely, and the peculiarity of the
marks is in all probability due to the physical constitution
of the rock.

9- The flakes can be divided into external and in-
ternal flakes, and each group is again divided into two sub-
groups.

10. In the external flakes the original crust of the
parent block (or yjart thereof) forms the Indical-face.

60 THK MANlJKACTl'Ur. oK THK TKKO-WATTA,

11. In the internal flakes one or more previous planes
of fracture form the Indical face.

12. External and inLernal flakes of the first order have
no special percussion face; the latter is formed by the
original surface of the parent block.

13. External and internal flakes of the second order
have a special percussion face (a former plane of fracture)
which, though sometimes greatly reduced by marginal
trimming, foi-ms an angle, of about 135deg. with the Pol-
lical face.

14- The production of a flat, smooth Pollical face waa
the essential feature in striking ofi" a flake from the parent
block. This condition could only be fulfllled if the ham-
mer struck the parent block at an angle of about 45deg.

15. The future shape of the tero-watta was primarily
determined by the shapo of the orginal flake.

16. A flake detached from a parent block may have
been used without further trimming or not. If it was
the Indical face only was worked, but never the Pollical
face. (N.B. — There are certain exceptions of this rule,
mostly in such instances when in the case of an internal
flake there was little difference between Indical and Pol-
lical face.)

17. Invariably the trimming of the Indical face or
the edges was done by blows fx-om the Pollical towards the
Indical face, and never vice versa. (N.B. — There are cer-
tain exceptions, but they do not materially afifect this
rule.)

18. The trimming of the Indical face or the edges was
in all probability done by means of a spherical hammer.
In marginal trimn.ing the blows were not set close, but at
regular intervals, the saw-like edge thus resulting was sub-
sequently straightened by striking of tlie "teeth-"

19. In round figures 75 per cent, of the finished tero-
watta weighed under 8 ounces, while only 25 pc cent,
weighed more than 8 ounces- The largest number, 32 per
cent., weighed between 2 and 4 ounces, while only 14 per
cent., a good number of which arc perhaps unfinished re-
jects, weighed more than lib.

Roy. Soc. Ta?. 1911.

PL. V

Roy. Soc. Tas. 1911.

PL. VI

TESTED REJECT.

PL. VII

TESTED REJECT.

)Y. Soc. Tas. 1911.

PL. VIII.

HAMMER STONE (?)

BY FRITZ NOETLING, M.A , PH.D. 61

20. Thei'L! is reasoii to believe that there was a desire
to produce a flake of a certain weight and size, irrespective
of shape, when a parent block was broken, no matter how
suitable the other flakc3 that fell off may have been, but
the Indical face, particularly of external flakes, may have
been subsequently trimmed. The inability to trim the
Indical face probaLly accounts for the large number of un-
finished rejects.

21. The accidental marks of percussion resulting when
the flake was struck off the parent block appeax on the
Pollical face only, and their negatives can be seen on the
core. (Any marks of percussion appearing on the Indical
face are either the negatives! of an earlier flake, or clue to
subsequent trimiiDng.) These marks are : cone of percus-
sion, scar of percussion, radiating fissure of percusssion,
concentric v/rinkles of percussion. The three first appear
at the proximal end, while the last may spread over the
whole surface. The process of percussion appears at the
edge between Peixussion and Pollical face, and marks the
point, wh-^re the blow fell.

22. If a wrinkle of pei-cussion coincides with the edge
of a flake, the edge is rounded instead of sharp, and this
gave probably rise to marginal sharpening by striking off
small fl.i.kes along the edge.

23. Thovigh the essential character of the tero-watta
is its unsymmetry in two directions, there is good reason
to believe that pertain specimeiis show an intentional out-
line, produced by marginal trimming.

24. There is no evidence to show that the tero-watta
were manufactured in advance of their use; in all proba-
bility they were only manufactured when required, and
imnediatel)^ discarded afterwards-

25. It appears that sometimes attempts were made to re-
chip a previously discarded tero-watt.a., but there is no evi-
dence to show that these attempts were completed.

26. The tero-watta was a universal instrument, adapt-
ed for all purposes alike, but never used as a weapon.

27. The reasons given under 24 and 26 explain the
enormous frequency of the tero-watta.

02

6. NOTES ON TREUIUA INSIGNIS, GOEBEL.

By L. Rodway, Government Botanist.

(Read July 10, 1911.)

This hepatic was discovered by Goebel in Java, and
described by him as recently as 1891- It was subsequently
recorded from Tahiti, Samoa, and New Zealand, and now I
have gathered it in dense woods on the southern slopes of
Mt. Wellington, near the end of Strickland Avenue, and
also near Forked Creek. Specimens have been forwarded
to Stephani, who ccnfirmsi tlie identification.

The plant is bright green when fresh, grows flat on the
ground, and bears few lateral branches; it is about one
centimetre diameter, and about five centimetres long, but
it has been recorded from Java of a length of sixteen centi
metres- The stem is broad and flat, and bordered on each
side by oblong, leafy expansions which, at least in the an-
terior portions, are arranged in a succubous manner. Ihai
is, the anterior margin of each leaf is depressed and over-
lapped by the posterior mai'gin of the one in front of it.
On the dorsal surfaces there are two rows of suborect, trans-
verse, green bracts, one near the anterior margin of each
leaf. These bracts in the Tasmanian form are subquadrate,
and about 2 mm. long; in the Javan specimens they are
shorter. In the species ITcpaticarum, Stephani refers the
New Zealand form to a distinct species, T. bracteata, prin-
cipally on account of the bracts being subquadrate, longer
than broad, and appressed. On the under surface the plant
bears a quantity of thick pellucid mucilage that affords
protection to the growing apex, provides moisture in dry
periods, and assists in anchoring the plant- This mucilage
is secreted by glandular ti.ssue formed on the lower poi-tion
of the anterior margins of the leaves. Treubia is generally
classed with Aneura, Metzgcria, and Symphyogyna, and like
♦^hem it has a complete absence of perianth ; the work of
that organ is undertaken by the enlarged fleshy calyptra.
The archcgonia are formed under the bracts. After fertili-
sation the calyptra enlarges enormously, becomes clavate,
erect, and about one centimetre long- The seta is long,
often as much as 5 cm. ; the capsule is spherical, and
bursts to the base into four valves.

BY LEONARD lloDWAY, GOVERNMENT BOTANIST. 63

Treubia is of great interest to the Bryologist, for it
combines reproductive and frtiiting characters of Aneur-
aceae with the leafy morphology of the Acrogyneae. Many
authorities try to avoid the breaking down of established
systems by treating the lateral expansions as lobed portions
of lateral wings. This seems a distorted description of the
apparent structure, and does not tend to a clear under-
standing of the evolution of the hepatics. The leaves of
this group of plants have without doubt arisen independ-
ently along many lines of descent, and also^ have arisen by
the transformation of very different primary structures- In
some instances they have arisen by the gradual modifica-
tion of protective scales or from mucilage-secreting organs ;
or again as lateral expansions which have from, the first, or
subsequently, been segmented into the condition that we
have generally called leaves. We must always remember
that leaves of mosses and leaves of flowering plants are only
alike in name and function. They can have no relation-
ship one to another. They belong to different categories,
and cannot truthfully be compared, except -so far as their
function-

If the term leaf is to be applied to definitely structur-
ed, lateral, assimilatory organs of Hepaticse, then Treubia
is leafy and not merely frondose. It is only a difference of
words, with the addition of some recognition of evolution-
ary developments.

7. NOTES ON THE HUNTING STICKS (LUGHKANA),
SPEARS (PERENNA), AND BASKETS (TUGH-
BR AN A) OF THE TASMANIAN ABORIGINES.
PL IX., X., XL. XII., XIII., XIV.. XV.

By Fritz Noetling, M-A., Ph.D., Etc.

(Read July 10th. 1911.)

INTRODUCTION.

In the pajJcrs previously published in the Society's
journal I have conclusively proved, and it can now be con-
si.Iered as an established fact, that the stone relics of the
Aborigines represent implements only, and not weapons.
This is a fact of the greatest importance, and its signifi-
cance will only be fully realised when we apply it to the
study of archaeolithic man in Europe- The Tasmanian
Aborigines had made at least one great invention, viz.. they
had discovered that a certain kind of rock yielded sharp-
edged flakes when broken. (1). They also found that
these sharp-edged flakes could be used for most of the re-
quirements of their simple life. But here again we come
upon one of those curious psychological pi'oblems that are
so difiicult to explain. The Aborigines had undoubtedly
discovered that these flakes were excellent cutting imple-
ments, as thev have generally a fine edge, and often enough
terminated in a sharp ])oint To us it seems easy enough
to turn the good qualitie.s of the sharp flakes to other uses
than merely as tools. The instinct of self-presei-A'ation is
paramount in all hviman beings, and. as has often been
stated, it is the mother of all those inventions that have
changed the life of our prehistoric ancestors into that of
modem mankind. A modern mind cannot understand
how it was possible that such a suitable material as the
siliceous rocks from which the implements were
manufactured, was not also used for weapons.

(1) This si>eins very iiisigniflc-ant to u.-^, yet It was ii great Invention,
wtien wo con.sider that protmhly previously to tlie use of sliarplv-edged,
artiflclnlly detached flakes, only thin cohininHr pieces of diabase or
similar volcanic rocks which had a naturally sharp edge were used as
Implements by human beings.

BY FRITZ NOETLINIJ, M.A., PH.D. 65

To US it seems unintelligible, why the Aborigines did not
fix a suitable' flake to a piece of wood, thus producing a
weapon far superior to the primitive wooden spear. Yet
this was apparently an invention the Tasmanian Aborigine
never made. Kis mind was just as unable to conceive
the idea of providing the wooden spear with a stone head, as
it was to chip the tero-na-watta on both faces, or to' provide
it with a handle, or to improve it by polishing the surface.
It is a common theory that primitive man used as his
earliest weapon a stick picked up by him during his wander-
ings through the primaeval forest. The anthropoid apes are
said to use a stick in self-defence. Now, there is no doubt
that such a stick is an efficient weapon only at close quar-
ters, unless, indeed, it is thrown at the aggressor. A modern
man armed with a stout stick would, if suddenly surprised,
await hisi enemy and attempt to' disable him by a hard blow.
Primosval man probably acted differently under similar cir-
ciunstances ; he threw the stick, at his aggressor, and run
away as quickly as he could. Speed of foot was still one of
his chief means of defence. It is more than probable tO' as-
sume that the primitive stick at first was simply hurled at
the aggressor, and it is also more than probable that a
methodical linear discharge of such a stick was a subsequent
invention.

Now, if the Tasmanian Aborigines had neither weapons
made entirely of stone, nor used stone as a supplementary
material to give greater strength and efficiency to wooden
weapons, what kind of weapons did they use? Fortunately,
we are well informed on this point ; in fact, the information
is more complete than on many other features of their daily
life, yet the records are again silent on some important
points, as we shall presently see.

Ling Roth (2) has carefully collected all the information
available, and the observations made by many explorers.
These accounts, th®ugh sohiewhat differing ih, detail, agree
in this that the Tasmanians possessed two kind of weapons :
a sho'rt stick and a much longer spear. Both weapons were
made solely of wood, and they were never provided with
stone heads. Now it mvist be of the greatest interest to' the
student of Archseolithic civilisation, to know whether the
accounts, as handed over to us, can be corroborated, by the
examination of actual specimens. Fortunately, the Hobart
Museu.m has among its greatest treasures 7 authenticated
spears and 3 short sticks. As these weapons have never

(2) Aborigines of Tasmania, 2nd edit., pages 67-72.

66 NOTKS OX THK IirXTINt; sricKS, ETC.

been properly described, and. as to the best of my know-
ledge, there is no pictorial rcprodiiction of either sticks or
spears, I thought that in the interest of science this infor-
mation should be made available to students of archaeology.
I desire herewith to acknowledge my obligation to the
Ti-ustees of the Tasmanian Museum for their courteous per-
mission to examine and describe these valuable relics.

I. THE LUGHR-ANA (HUNTING STICK).

According to Milligan (3) the Tasmanian words for this
implement, which he calls "waddie. a tn.incheon-like
weapon used as a missile in war and hunting, were : —

(1) Lerga or lughrana (tribes fi'om Oyster Bay to Pitt-
water).

(2) Lughrana (tribes about Mount Royal, Bruni Island,
Recherche Bay, and the South of Tasmania).

The Norman Vocabulary (4) gives the name as

(3) Lillar.

while Dooe calls it lerga, and Roberts

(4) Lorinna.

Jorgensen states that the Northern Tribes call it

(5) Rocah,

while others call it

(6) Runna.

This is quite a number of names for such a simple im-
plement, but we are able to reduce them to a smaller com-
pass. "Lerga" and "lughra-na" are obviously the same
word, and it is probable that "lillar" as well as "lorinna"
were the nam'es in certain dialects. We would therefore
have lerga — lughrana — lillar — lo,rinna — a waddie. tninch-
eon-like weapon used as a missile in war and hunting. The
word "rocah," to which "runna" (Jorgensen) is apparently
closely related, is, however, quite different from the above.
We will presently see that Dove gives the word "rugga" for
spear, and Jorgensen calls the same weapon "raccah." As
all others who collected words of the Tasmanian language
agree that the "spear" and the "waddie" were distinguished

(3) Vocabulary of the dialects of some o( tlie aboilgiiiitl tribes ol
Tasmania. Pap. and Proceed. Roy. Soc. of Tasmania, Vol. III., Part
II., 1859, page 239.

(4) The Norman Manuscript. Pap. and Proceed. Rov. Soc. of Tas-
mania, 1910, page 340 (page 29 of the manuscript).

BY FRITZ NOETLING, M.A., P.H.D. 67

by two different names, it is more than probable that. Jor-
gensen must be wrong if he calls the "waddie" "I'ocah" and
the spear "raccali." In fact, if it were not for the testi-
mony of Dove, who also uses the word "rugga" to designate
a spear, I should feel inclined to think that this word is an
error altogether.

As it is, I do not think that it means a sjDear — all the
vocabularies agree as to the chief word for spear as we will
presently see — ^it may be possible that it means a special
kind of a "waddie. " The evidence of the sjDecimens pre-
served in the Tasmanian Museum seems to support such
a view, but it is not sufficient to decide on anything defin-
ite. On the whole, I am not inclined to think that, though
the hunting sticks may have differed m the finish, they
were not distinguished by different names. For the pre-
sent, I therefore consider the words "rocah — i-unna^ —
rugga — raccah" as doubtful (5).

The lughrana has been designated by the early settlers
as "waddie" or "throwing stick." The word waddie or
waddy is apparently of Australian origin, and most
probably borrowed by the early settlers from the New
South Wales Aborigines. I am unable to say anything de-
finite as to its origin, except that it is a foreign word which
does not convey a better meaning to the general mind than
the word lughrana. I therefore prefer to discard it alto-
gether.

(5) Mr. Ritz, with whom I frequently discussed these questions has
kindly supplied the following remarks: —

"According to my classification of th.e Tasmanian speech-sounds, we
have in the names given two ideas represented, viz., 'motion' and 'send-
ing forth,' or 'motion from.' We have also pena (Koth, p. xxxvi., sub.
spear (wood), which contains the idea of 'aiming at' or 'motion towards."
Win'i is phonologioally identical with jjena. Simple motion is express-
ed by the liquids: r, 1, n, m. 'Motion from' is expressed by gutturals:
k, g, ng. 'Motion to' is expressed by labials : p, b, w. We may then
classify the names of the spears, etc., as follow: —

"Simple motion: Lilla, runna, lo-rinna; also, muna Una (lioth.,
p. Lxvi.. Lix.).

"Motion from : Lerga, lugh-rana, rocah.

"Motion to: Penna.

"As the spear or the simple stick might be denoted by any of the
above names, the divergencies in the vocabularies were probably due
to the accidental circumstance that in each case the aboriginal gave
the word that occuriei to him first. This does not exclude his having
the other names in his vocabulary as well as the one given to his
questioner on a particular occasion. Therefore, I cannot see the co-
gency of 'Jorgen.-en must be wrong' (at foot of p. 4), and must regard
the whole argument on this point as doubtful.

"It is evident that any of the words for 'spear' did duty for the
designation of any other things possessing the qualities indicated by
the sounds."

I am unable to say how far Mr. Tlitz's theories are acceptable or
not; to me they seem to be interesting enough, but I must decline
all responsibility for the views expresed by Mr. Ritz.

68

NOTES ON THE HUNTING STICKS, ETC.

Worse, however, is the designation, as "throwing
stick." No doubt the lughrana was "thrown, " that is to
say, it was passively thrown as a missile, but to call it a
"throwing" stick is altogether wrong. The "throwing
stick" or "womerra'' is an implement used to impart greater
force or velocity to a spear which was thrown by means of
it. It is therefore an accessoi'y implement which was used
actively, and not passively like the lughrana. The reten-
tion of the word "throwing stick' might therefore lead to
very grave misunderstandings, because those who are not
intimately acquainted with the habits of the Aborigines
might be led to believe that the Tasmanians used the wo-
mera. As the lughrana was chiefly, though not exclusively,
used in hunting animals and birds, I think the word "hunt-
ing stick"' is much more appropriate ; it is certainly not
misleading (6).

As far as my knowledge goes, only three lughrana have
been preserved, and these are in the Hobart Museum. It
is possible that a few more are in Paris and perhaps in
the British Museum, or in possession of pnvate individuals,
but if they exist, they have neither been described nor
figured. Two of tho Hobart specimens. No. 4268 and No.
4269. were originally in Milligans possession, and we may
take it as granted that they are authentical. The third
specimen, without a number, is said to have been found in
some swampy land while a trench was dug, but, unfortu-
nately the exact locality where it was found is no longer
known. As it differs in a material point from Milligan's
specimens, this uncertainty is greatlv to be regretted. The
following table gives the measurements of the three speci-
mens : —

No. 4268
(No. 1)

No. 4269
(N... 2)

No Museum Numlier.
No. 3)

Lenpth

633 mm.

584 mm.

66U mm.

Thickne.ss

°J6 mm.

22.; mm.

22 mm.

Circumference

88.9 mm.

76.2 mm.

C!) nun.

Length of .shorter point . .

42 mm.

36 mm.

-

Length of longer point

76 mm.

82 mm.

-

Weight

26.T gram.
(9 oz.)

195 gram.
(6i oz.)

120J gram. (41 oz.)

(6) It has been suggested to me that the word "mlsslle-stlck" would
he a very approiirlate designation for the lughrana. No doubt the
luglirana was chiefly a missile, but as we shall see later on, it was
also used in a different wav, not as a missile. As It was apparently
chiefly used lor hunting purposes, I think the designation "hunting
stick" preferable to that of "missile stick."

BY FKITZ NUETLING, M.A , PH.D. 69

The most prominent feature of the above measurements
is the shortness of the lughrana in relation to its relatively
heavy weight. Specimens No'. 1 and No. 2 weigh in the
average for every 100 mm. (4 inches) in length 37.6gi-. (about
l|^oz.), while the perenna (spear) gives only 15 to 18
grammes (slightly over i-oz.) for the same length (7).

Specimens Nos. 1 and 2 are exactly alike, so the de-
scription of one serves for the other as well. In general ap-
pearance the lughrana is a short stick, pointed at both ends,
and apparently made of the wood of a shnib commonly
known as tea-tree (8). It is of almost uniform thickness
throughout, and both ends taper, forming a blunt conical
point. The aiDpearance of the ends is, however, vei'y differ-
ent. One end is smooth, the other rough and notched. The
smooth point tapers rather suddenly, so as to form a short
conical point; No. 4268 still shows the marks of chipping,
while in No. 4269 they have been carefully smoothened off.

The rough point is rather peculiar, and its appearance
is almost exactly like a pine cone. It tapers more gradiially
than tire other end, and forms a rather long point ; all over
its surface for a distance from 76 to 82 mm. from the end
it is made rough by numerous short, little cuts made with a
tero-na-watta. Small portions of the wood have thus been
broken off, and there was unquestionably an attempt to
place the cuts in a regular ring i-ound the end. The whole
surt*ace is smoothened, but the knots and knot holes were
just scraped over without entirely being effaced.

Both specimens balance in the middle.

No. 3 somewhat differs from the other two. It is
slightly longer than either, though this may not be of great
im.portance. But the greatest difference consists in the ap-
pearance of the ends, which are both smooth. One end
terminates in a short, smooth conical point, while the other
tapers very gently, and ends in a smooth point, having no
greater thickness than 6 mm., and a length of 125 mm. The
thickness, 22 mm., is fairly uniform almost throughoi;t the
length. The surface is smooth, but it has unquestionably
been affected by weathering. As already stated, the local-
ity where it was found is not known, but I reme^mber that
the late Mr. Morton told me that a specimen was found

(7) No. 3 is omitted for obvious reasons, but it may be remarked
that the wood from which tlie lughrana and spears are manufactured
is the same.

(8) Probably melaleuca.

70 NOTES ON THE HUNTING STICKS, ETC.

while a trench was dug in a swamp. The specimen here
described is unquestionably the lughrana referred to bv Mr.
Morton, as it has quite the appearance of wood that has
been under water for a long time and then became exposed
to the air, for the surface shows cracks, and along these
cracks the wood is slightly raised. Besides these cracks,
there are numerous marks and cuts made with a European
knife; it almost looks as if the finder had tried to test the
hardness or the quality of the wood.

We will now examine how far the various accounts and
descriptions given of the lughrana agree with the actual
observations made on the specimens under discussion. The
length of the lughrana is stated to be 2 feet bv Henderson
(9), 2 feet 6 inches by Thirkell, 2 feet 3 inches by Bligh. and
2 feet 6 inches bv Lyne. Only Norman gives the length
much smaller, viz.. 1 foot 6 inches; but I feel inclined to be-
lieve that he understates the length, because he gives the
circumference as 11 inch (38 mm.), a measurement which is
undoubtedly too small. These measurements agree exceed-
ingly well with the length of the specimens here described,
and it may be taken as certain that the length of the lugh-
rana probably never exceeded 2 feet 6 inches (760 mm.),
though the average length was probably not more than
2 feet (608 mm.).

The thickness is given as 1 inch by Backhouse and 1|
inch by Lyne ; this also agrees well with the above measure-
ments. It is therefore certain that the lughrana was a
short implement, and rather heavy for its size. Backhouse
speaks of it as a "short stick brought suddenly to a conical
point at each end and at one end a little roughened to keep
it from slipping out of the hand." The tapering at both
ends is confirmed by Norman and West. Both Thirkell
and West point out that one end is roughened or notched,
but Norman, who is otherwise so explicit, does not mention
this.

All these accounts agree ver}'- closely with the appear-
ance oT specimens Nos. 1 and 2, the only somewhat different
description is given by Norman. Caldc further states that
it was held by the thinner end, but he docs not say that
one end was notched or rough. Now, I hardlv doubt that
Calder as well as Norman would have noticed the difference

(9) All these quotations are taken from Ling noth. Aborigines of
Tasmania. 2ncl edition. 1899, pages 65-82, wliere, under the heading
"War," numerous references are given. It would be useless to quote
again tlie titles of the original booJts, as a full list of literary refer-
ences has been given by Ling Koth.

BY FRIT2 NOETLING, M.A., PH.D. 71

in the appearance of the ends if one had been rough or
notched, and we must therefore a.ssume that both Norman
and Cald?r examined hunting sticks that were similar to
No. 3, that is tc say, thinner at one end than the other, but
not notched. This would indicate that there were really
two kinds of hunting sticks -in use, viz., one kind having
both ends almost of the same thickness, with one of them
notched, while the other was smooth ; the second kind hav-
ing one end much thinner than the other, and both ends
sriiooth. It is impossible to say whether these two kinds
Tvere used simultaneously, or wlaether they were manufac-
tured by different tribes. It ig also impossible to say
whether they wei-e distinguished by different names or not ;
as already said I do not feel inclined to think that such a
small and rather immaterial difference was sufficient to give
rise to different names.

One of th? most interesting observations as to the way
the lughrana was thrown is that of Backhouse, who states
that tney threw it "with a rotatory motion." This is con-
firmed by Breton, who says : "It can be thrown with ease
forty yards, and in its progress through the air goes hori-
zontally, describing the same kind of circailar motion that
the boomerang docs, with the like whirring noise."

It is, therefore, absolutely certain that the lughrana
was primarily a missile, which was thrown horizontally, or
almost horizontally, with a rotatory motion like a boom-
erang. This can only be done if it is gripped at one end,
and not in the middle. The lughrana v/as therefore, when
used as a missile, thrown quite differently from the way the
spear was thrown, and its character appears, therefore, to
be quite different from the latter weapon.

Unfortunatelv, the statements as to its use are scanty,
and somewhat conflicting. If it was used as a missile, was
it used in that capacity in war as well as in hunting, or
was it solely used in hunting expeditions, in. order to kill
animals and birds at a distance?

The various accounts seem to agree well on these
points. The encounters between Aborigines and Europeans
Avere numerous, and murders of Europeans onlv too fre-
■quent, but there is not a single instance on record that
during these conflicts the lughrana was used. The killin;
of the enemy was always effected by means of the spear.
In fact, the account of the first encounter between Eviro-
peans and Aborigines on May 3rd, 1804, near Risdon, lays

72 NOTKS ON THK HUNTING STICKS, KTC

great sti-ess on the fact that the Aborigines were "anned
(sic !) with waddics only (short, thick hunting clubs), while
they drove a herd of kangaroo before them. It is emphati-
cally pointed out, that this was the surest sign that on that
particular occasion they had no hostile intentions towards
the Eui'opeans, because they were not armed with spears.
The whole regrettable incident is stated to have arisen from
a niisunderstanciing or lack of knowledge on part of the
Europeans, who did not know that the "short.thick hunting
clubs were only used in hunting, and not in warfare (10).

There are, however^ accounts which seem to indicate
that the lughrana was used for other purposes. Henderson
states that it was used to despatch the wounded victim, and
Melville says: "If any quarrel took place among the men
of the same tribe, it was the waddy that decided their
affairs of honour." According to Breton, "it is the custom
for one to receive a blow on the craniam. and then to re-
turn the blow on that of his adversar}'." The last statement
is confirmed by Norman, though, according to him. the
women chiefly settled the quarrels in the manner above de-
scribed.

All these accounts indicate that the lughrana served
a twofold purpose, viz., at a distance as a missile, in order
to kill animals and birds, and, at close quarters, as a kind of
club in personal quarrels, and to "despatch the wounded
victim, " at least, according to one authority. Unfortu-
nately, it is not stated whether the "wounded victim" was
an animal or a human being. There is no doubt that
smaller animals, like a kangaroo or a wombat, could be
killed by a blow with the lughrana ; but was a wounded
human being killed in a similar way? The skull of a Tas-
manian could apparently stand a good deal of hammering,
and we may well ask, "was it really used in that way to
despatch the victim," or was it, perhaps, used as a stabbing
instrvimcnt ? Calder states that the mutilation of the
body, and particularly of the bead always followed the kill-
ing of a victim, and "this was done either by dashing heavy
stones on the corpse or beating it savagely with the
waddie."

Though, therefore, the lughrana was primarily a missile
for hunting ])urposes. it seems to have been often enous;h
used as a kind of club in personal quarrels, or to batter the
body of a wounded enemy. It is, however, very doubtful

(10) J. E. Calder, Some Accounts of Dip Wars, TCxtirijation, Habits,
etc., of the Native Tribes of Tasmania, 1875, page 6.

IJY H'KIT/ NOKTLINti, M.A., I'H.D. 73

wlicthcr it was used as a. stabbing instrument, though it
seems to be well fitted for such a purpose.

There may yet have been another use for the lughrana,
though there ai'e no accounts of it. It seems well fitted to
dig up roots and fungi ; in particular, fern roots and the
truffle-like Melitta australis. According to Brough Smitn
the West Australian Aborigines use a similar, though some-
wiiat longer, instrument, and it isi therefore not altogether
improbable that the lughrana was used for a similar pur-
pose. It may even be possible that the smooth-ended
lughrana was used for digging roots, while the rough-ended
was used as a missile.

The lughrana can, therefore, not be considered as a
weapon, strictly speaking; there is not the slightest evidence
to show that it was used in inter-tribal fights or in war, bvit
there is at least one very empliatic statement that it was
solely used for hunting pui'poses. We must, therefore, ex-
clude the lughrana from the list of weapons, and we have
to consider it as a special implement, belonging to that class
of which the Australian boomei-ang is the tvpical represen-
tative. Tbe general idea that the Aborigines of Tasmania
did not know the use of the boomerang has to bo consider-
ably modified. Tliey did use a short stick, which was thrown
like a boomerang, and the only difference between it and
the lughrana is in the shape ; the character of the twO' im-
plements, viz., a wooden missile thrown with a rotatory
motion at a. distant object is exactly the same.

This fact opens a wiac view, and it may, perhaps, ex-
plain the curio'us accounts that recur ever and ever again of
European tribes having used the boomerang. The boom-
erang seems to be such a peculiar instrument, which, accord-
ing to a general be'.ief, was so'elv restricted to th'^ Australian
Aborigines, that it was thought that any other race using
such an instrument must, of course, be related to the Aus-
tralians. But we can now give quite a different explana-
tion ; the boomerang is bv no means an instrument special
to Australia ; it is only the highly-specialised form of a
primitive implement that was common to all human tribes.
I have above pointed out that we are very fond of imagining
that primitive man picked up a convenient stick to defend
himself with, and it is generally assumed that this stick was.
used as a club in a hand to hand fight. If we, however, as-
sume that this stick was hurled with a rotatory motion like
the lughrana, at a distant object, we shall probably be nearer
the mark.

74 NDTKS ON THK HUNTINC STICKS. ETC.

It is very probable that at first any stick of sliort
length, just as picked n]> on the ground, was suitable, later
on the ends were pointed, and one end was notched to en-
sui'e a iirmer grip. It was probably soon discovered —
though appartntlv the Tasmanians never made the discov-
ery, or, if they did, never turned it to a practical use — that
curved sticks were more suitable to be thrown with a rota-
toiy motion than straight ones. This curved stick was cap-
able of many improvements, without losing its character as
a missile, notably with regard to its thickness; instead of
being round like the primitive iu.sti-umcnt it was flattened,
and the natural result was the boomerang (11), or instini-
nients like it. It is, therefore, hardly astonishing to find
boomerang-like instruments pictured by the ancient Egyp-
tians, or the similarly-looking trombash made of iron, and
used by the negroes of Central Africa up to the present day.
All these instruments represent nothing else but highly
specialised forms of the primitive human implement, the
lughrana or hunting stick. This view is certainly more
plausible and probable than to assume that there is in
Australia a race of men of Indo-European origin, and that
the boomei'ang was one of the weapons introduced by this
race into Australia (12)."

It is very interesting to note, that while the Central
Africcin negroes substituted iron for wood, thus producing
a very effective weapon, the Australian natives have only
Cjuito lately learnt to use metal in the manufacture of the
boomerang. A paragraph in a weekly paper published in
Svdney, seems to indicate that the Clarence River tribe on
the Orara (N.S.W.) use strips of tin-plate in the manufac-
ture of bocmcrangs (13). Of course, this statement requires
further confirmation, but, if true, it would mean another
interesting stage in the evolution of man's primitive instru-
ment.

(11) Brough Smyth (Aborigines of Viotoiia. vol. T.. page 311, lins con-
cUisivelv shown lliat lliat type of the bnonierang, llie woriKuin. which
returns"to the feet of the thrower, is "usually regarded as a playlhing."
though It Is occasionfilly used in battle, and sometimes for kllline
birds and small animals, it is not so handy as the short sticl< named
konnung. and on page 302 Brough Smyth says: "-.V weapon of very simi-
lar chararter was in use amongst the natives of Tasmania.

The l)arn-Keet, the war-boomerang, used In battle does not come
back t) tlie tlirower.

(12) Ferguson, on the antiquity of the klllee, or boomerang Transact.
Roval Irish Academy, 1838. (I quote from Brough Smyth), as I have been
unable to obtain this paper In Hobart).

(13) "Yalgun." Seen the tinerang yet? T have— among the rem-
nant of a Clarence Uiver (N.S.W.) tribe on the Orara. Billy cadges the
raw material, wliich ccmsists of a strip of tin plate from tlie local
canning works, and having twisted the goods into tlie roqiiired shape,
he does the same old tricks with It as he does with Us woori.en brother,
the boomerang.— "The Bulletin," Vol. 32, No. 1,628, April 27. 1911, page
14.

BY FRITZ NOKTLING, M.A., PH.D. 75

II. THE PERENNA (SPEAE).

Accurding to Milligan (14) the following words were
xised for the designation of the wooden spear : —

(1) Perenna (tribes from Oyster Bay to Pittwater).

(2) Pe-na (tribes about Mount Royal, Bruni Island,
Recherche Bay, and the South of Tasmania).

(3) Poena, pilhah (North-West and Western Tribes).

The Rev. Norman supplies three more words (15), viz. :
— (4) Arlenar. (5) Peearner. (6) Pleeplar.

And according to Calder, Dove uses the word

(7) Rugga ;

Jorgensen the word

(8) Raccah ;

and Roberts the word

(9) Preena;

while Scott in Milligan's Vocabulary (1890) uses

(10) Preana. '

This is again a large list of words for a weapon about
which there cannot eixist the slightest mistake, but, as
usual, this list can be greatly I'educed.

In the first instance, pe-na and poena are identical, as
well as perenna, preena, preana, and peearner. In fact, to me
it seems that there is no difference between the two words
of the first and the three words of the second group, and
that the word for spear can be spelled in any of the above
variations.

From these differ, however, the words pilhah (Mill.) and
pleeplar (Norman) ; it may be probable that both words
are identical, but even if that be so it would be difficult to
explain the different spelling.

But worse still are the words ai'lenar (Norman) and
rugga (Dove), or raccah (Jorg.). The last two words are
identical, but as exactly the same words have been used by
the same authors for designation of the hunting sticks, their
meaning is, to say the least of it, very unreliable.

(14) I.e. under spear (wood).

(15) I.e., page 335 (page 9 of the manuscript).

7G NOTES ON THK HUNTINti STICKS, ETf.

All accovints agree, and the records are corroborated by
the evidence of the specimens preserved that onlv one kind
of spear was used; in fact, that the Aborigines used no
other weapon but the spear. It is therefore very improb-
able to assume that the words pilhah — pleeplar,
and arlenar represent different kinds of spears, but
what their exact meaning is I am unable to say. unless
we accept the very improbable theory that, besides the
spear, they used another weapon of which there is neither
record nor specimen preserved.

The words iiigga or raccah may apply to a different
kind of hunting stick, of which, as we have seen, two forms
are known, and I think they had better be excluded alto-
gether. (See above.)

We have, therefore, the following words for the desig-
nation of spear : —

(1) Perenna — - peearner — preana — preena — pe-na —
poena, a wooden spear.

(2) Pilhah — pleeplar, correct meaning unknown.

(3) Arlenar, correct meaning unknown, a very doubt-
ful word.

In speaking of the spears I use the word perenna. leav-

^ it to others to settle the question which would be the

correct way of spelling (16).

insf

(16) The following contains Mr. Ritz's opinion on these words: —
These words may be classified, according to my theory, thus: —

1. Pe-na, peearner equal to pienna (where the two vowels may indi-

cate a curve corresponding with tlie motion of the vocal
organs from one position to the other.)

2. Pe-ren-na, where the "ren" would indicate speed, cf., "run"

(Eng.); preana or preena would be variants of perenna.

3. Pilhah equal to pe-illa, equal to the moving thing (ilia) aimed at

(pe) something. We had "lilla" before: arlenar equal to illa-na.

Pleeplar equal to piUa-pilla, a very effective missile.
I am disposed to thinli that the Tasmanians used all these words
Indiscriniinatelv for "missile:" the phonology does not support a
distinction between a simple stick and a fashioned lance.

I think Mr. Ritz is greatly mistaken if he assumes that all these
words were indiscriminately used for "missile," and that there was
no distinction between a simple stick and a fashioned lance. He has ap-
parently entirely overlooked that in all probability the hunting stick
had been in use for immemorial times before the invention of the
spear was made. But even If this theory is not accepted, there is a
fundamental difference between the hunting stick and the spear. The
former was thrown with a rotatory motion, the latter in a straight line,
spinning round its longitudinal "axis. However primitive the language
mav be, I cannot consider for a moment the Idea that the aborigines did
not' distinguish carefully between two instruments, used for distinctly
different purposes, and thrown in quite a different manner, quite apart
from the view that the hunting stick was probably the older instru-
ment.

BY FEITZ NOETLING, U.A., PH.D.

77

The number of spears presei"vecl is far greater than
those of the hunting sticks. The Tasmanian Museum has
now seven spears (17), which were originally in the posses-
sion of Milligan, and perhaps half-a-dozen more are owned
by different private persons. The character of all the
specimens that came under my notice is so similar that the
description or picture of one specimen is sufficient to illus-
trate the features of them all.

In the following table I give the measurements and
weights of the seven spears in the Tasmanian Museum, ex-
amined in detail by me: —

No. 1

, No. 2.

No. 3.

1
(No. 4265 H.M.)(No. 4267 H.M.)

(No. 4266 H.M.)

Length. ,

4.457 metres

4.432 metres

4.420 metres

Greate.st Thickness.

21.5 mm.

21.6 mm.

16.0 mm.

Smallest Thickne.ss.

3.0 mm.

6.2 mm.

5.0 mm.

Distance of centre of Gravity
from pointed extremicy.

1499 mm.

1575 mm.

15.12 mm.

Weight.

773i grm.

9144 grm.

666i grm.

No. 4.

No. I:

No. 6.

No. 7.

(No. 4264 H.M.)

(No. 4260 H.M.)

(No. 4262 H.M )

(No. 4259 H.M.

Length.

4.077 metres

3.531 metres

3.520 metres

2.984 metres

Greatest
Thickness.

16.7 mm.

12.5 mm.

23.0 mm.

13.0 mm.

Smallest
Thickness

5.3 mm.

3.0 mm.

3.0 mm.

3.0 mm.

Distance of

centre of gravity

from pointed

extremity.

1480 nmi.

1257 mm

1283 mm.

1067 mm.

Weight.

660^ grra.

283^ grm.

737 grm.

255.13 grm.

The general appearance of all the specimens I examin-
ed is much the same ; they represent simply a straight shoot
of Melaleuca spec, which was freed of bark and lateral
shoots, and ends in a sharp, smooth point at the thicker
end. The finish of all is exactly the same, except that one
may be a little more knottv than another. If we go int-o
details, we observe that the perenna shows an extraordin-

(17) The register implies that there were originally 10 spears, but
three have mysteriously disappeared.

78 NOTES ON THK HUNTING STICKS, ETC.

ary length ; uoiie of tlie above seven specimens is under 3
metres in length. This extraordinary length will only be
fully realised if a perenna is held by a man of average
height.

The above measurements agree very well with the state-
ments made by most of the former observei-s, but Melville
mentions that they were varying in length from 5 to 8 feet,
while Henderson says that they were commonlv 6 feet in
length. I cannot help thinking that both these statements
arc not quits correct, because the majoritv of obsei'vers
agree that the spears were at least 10 feet (3 metres) in.
length. The longest I examined has a length of 4.457
m^eti'es (14 feet 7h inches), but according to La Billardiere
they reached a length from 16 to 18 feet (5 to 6 metr. app.).

However that may be, we may safely assume that on
the average the perenna had a length of 4 metres — 13 feet
(the average of the above seven spears is 3.917 metres), and
though occasionally smaller or larger specimens were used,
the minimum length did not go below 3 metres (10 feet).

The next remarkable feature is the small thickness ;
tne thickest (No. 6) does not measure more than 23 mm.
(0.9 inch) at its thickest part, while the thinnest (No. 5) is
only half of this thickness. The thickest part is always
just behind the point, and from there the perenna tapei-s
almost immeasurably to the oppcsite end, which apparently
does not exceed 6 mm. (^ inch) in thickness, but comes down
as low as 3 mm. (J inch) (18). Widowson says that the
spears were "as thick as the little finger of a man,' but
other observers, except Mrs. Prinscp. took very little notice
of this feature. Yet it is an important one: the extreme
thinness of the hinder end, in conjunction with the peculiar
position of the centre of gravity, precludes the use of a
woomera or throwing stick. Even if it were possible to
grip the thin hind end in tho hook of the woomera, the
heavy pointed end would hang down to such an extent that
it would be practically impossible to throw the spear. Hand
in hand with the great thinness goes lightness ; the heaviest
(No. 2) weighs only 914 1-3 grammes (21b. ^oz.). and the
lightest (No. 5) weighs only 283A gi'ammes (lOoz.), the aver-
age being 613 grammes (1 ^Ib. a.d. app.). Of course, it
might have been anticipated that being no thicker than the
little finger of a man. the spears were light, notwithstand-
ing their great length, but nobody has apparently noticed

(18) I may mention that the ends of every one of the specimens
examined were broken off. and they may, therefore, have been somewhat
longfr and also thinner at the end.

BY ¥RnZ NOETLING, M.A., PH.D. 79

this fact. If we calculate the weight for a given unit of
length, say, 100 mm. (4 inches), we find that it weighs: —

No.

1—17.343

gramme

1

No.

2— •20.6:22

, ,

j

No.

3—15.068

,,

(■

Aver.-ige 17.891

^o.

4 - 16.335

,,

1

No.

6—20.087

,,

J

No.
No.

5-8.0147
7—8.5456

"

[

Average 8.2S01

Gland average, 15.145 grammes for every 100 mm.-of length,
which is therefore less than half the weight of the lughrana
for the same length.

Another peculiar feature is the position of the centre
of gravity ; whatever the length or weight of the perenna
may be, it balances slightly more than ^ of its length from
the pointed end. In other woi'ds, that the perenna was
grasped with the hand in such a way that j of its length
was in front and '^ behind it.

The accxirate figures as tc the position of the centre of
gravity from the jioiut expressed in a fraction of the length
would be : —

No.

1

=

0.29733

No.

2

=

0.29330

No.

3

=

0.29233

No.

4

=

0.27436

No.

5

=:

0.28113

No.

6

=

0.27435

No.

7

=

0.27966

These figures seem to indicate another interesting
feature, namely, that the position of the centre of gravity
shifted somewhat with the length ; in the shorter perenna
it was only slightly forward of the ratio 0.25000, while in
the longer perenna it nearly approached the ratio 0.30000.
This really means that the longer spears were grasped some-
what farther back fi'om the point than the shorter ones. In
round figures about 9/12 of the total length were behind the
hand in the shorter and 8/12 in the longer perenna. The
perenna is invariably pointed at the thicker end, and the
greatest care was taken to produce a smooth, sharp point. "
Very little is known as to how the perenna were made, but
the examination of the specimens, together with other obsei-
vations, enable us to form an approximate conjecture.

There grows in the Tasmanian bush a kind of shrub
poptilarly known as tea-tree (Melaleuca). This shrub grows
up in long, straight shoots, and the wood is, when dry, of
considerable hardness. These shoots were used in the manu-
facture of the perenna. It is not quite certain whether the

80 NOTKS OX THK HIJNTING STICKS, ETC.

shoots were pulled up with the loot, or whether they were
cut off in situ. In either case, the root end was cut off by
means of a tero-watta. According to Lync, the green
wood was held over or passed through the fii-e "to soften
and supple it. The bark was removed by means of a
tero-na-watta, and the same instrument was used to
smoothen the knots and knot holes. One of the specimens
(No. 1265) shows the traces of the work of smoothening a
spear in a particularly fine way, and I have taken a photo-
graph of *a portion of it. This shows that by means of such
a primitive, clumsy instiniment as the tero-na-watta, long
regular splinters could be sliced off; the knot holes were
smoothed by cutting off short chips. We must assume that
the point was produced bv slicing off long, narrow splinters,
gradually bringing the thicker end to a tapering point.
Scott states that the end of the perenna was hardened by
being a short time in the fire, a statement which is corro-
borated by Lyne and Raynor. The latter is particularly
explicit in stating that they pulled up the young shoots,
burnt off the roots (19), and placed the thick end on the
fire again till it was slightly burnt ; then thev would rub
off the burnt part with a rough sandstone, and repeat the
operation till they got a sharp point. If this account is
correct in evei-y point, it would appear that the tero-
watta never came into use in the manufacture of the point
except as a scraper (20), in order to scrape off the charred
portion of the wood, and to smoothen it. Considering that
three different observers, who are generally very reliable,
and to one of whom we are indebted for some of the most
important information, have stated that fire was used in
the production of the point, we must assume that it really
was so. On the other hand, though I very carefully exam-
ined the points of the seven spears with a powerful magni-
fving lens, I could not discover even a minute trac? of chai-
coal. It must, however, be admitted that, though the
marks of the tero-watta are very clear and distinct on
the hinder portion of the perenna, none are visible on the
point, which, as will be seen from the ilhistration, is as
smooth as possible.

Inasmuch as the ^tero-watta was unquestionably used
to shape the back portion of the perenna, I question to

(19) Be it noted tliat Uaynor say? "hurnt off," and not "cut off" the
roots. If this was the regular prartlce, th^ tero-watta would not have
come into use as a chopper to cut oflE the root end.

(20) Of course, the word "sandstone" used by Raynor is not correct;
it ought to read "flint," or tero-watta. If sandstone had really been
used to smoothen the point, specimens of It would have been found on
the old cam]) sites. The camping grounds are. however, singularly free
of pieces of sandstone, and I never found even a small piece Indicating
that It was used for polishing.

BY FKITZ NOETMJSG, MA., PH.D. 81

some extent Raynor s statement. To me it seems that the
point was rough-hewn by means of a tero-watta exactly like
the point of the lughrana, as conclusively proved by speci'
men No. 1 ; after the rough work was done the point was
held in the fire, and the slightly-charred surface caixfully
scraped off by means of a tero^na-watta, and eventually
rubbed with grease to make it quite smooth (21).

I cannot quite understand what Backhouse means by
stating that in straightening their spears the natives used
their teeth as a vice to hold them. The shoots of melaleuca or
leptospermum are very straight, and do not require straight^
ening, but owing to the extreme length and the peculiar
distribution of the weight, a perenna will assume a some-
what curved line if kept in a horizontal nosition, and this
feature probably explains why. according to W. B. Walker,
"at meir places of rendezvous" the spears were "carefully
tied to straight trees, with their points at some distance
from the ground."

All eye-witnesses agree that the perenna could bo
thrown to a considerable distance ; according to Mrs. Prin-
sep it could be thrown to the distance of 60 yards, while
Lloyd says that 40 yards was th'fe extreme range ; Bretoin
estimates the range to be from 40 to 50 yards : Calder gives
60 to 70 yards. All accounts further agree that this primi-
tive weapon could inflict severe wounds ; Meredith, in de-
scribing the murder of one of his father's stockmen, states
that a spear had been driven through the thick boot-sole
into the foot of the murdered man ; another had penetrat-
ed his loins several inches. According to West, a man
named Franks was, while riding, attacked by Aborigines,
"and within 30 yards a savage stood with his spear quiver-
ing in the air. This weapon, ten feet long, penetrated the
flap of the saddle and the flesh of the horse four inches."
According to Kelly, when the Aborigines attacked his party
near Cape Grim, "one spear went through the side of the
boat."

All these accounts prove one fact conclusively, viz.,
that the perenna was thrown with great force, and this is
the more astonishing if we consider that no woomera was

(21) It. must be particularly mentioned that the statements that the
spears had jagged points, or that they were pointed at both ends, or
even that the joints were poisoned, are entirely unfounded. There
is not a single specimen known which shows a jagged point, and the
statement tliat they were pointed at two ends is probably due to the
mistake of thinking that the naturally thin end of the fusiform spear
was artiflcially made thin or pointed. Melville's statement of a fatally
poisoned barbed spear is unquestionably erroneous, as quite out of
harmony with the general customs of the aborigines.

F

^^- M)TE.S ON THK HUNTlNi. sTUK.s, Eiv.

used. Now. how were the nerenna thrown? It is obvious
that they were thrown differently from the lughx-ana. The
latter was, as we know, thrown with a rotatory motion, like
a boomerang, but it is obvious that the perenna eould not
possibly have been thrown in such a manner. The perenna
must have be^n and was thrown in a straight lins, but the
force that sent it to a distance of 40, 50, even 60 yards, and
madl' this crude weapon penetrate through thick leather
must have been considerable.

Now, how was the perenna grasjjed, in order to make
it such an effective weapon? The ordinary modern man
would gi-asp it in his fist, as shown in PI. xi.. fig. 1, but
it is very doubtful whether this way of grasping could sup-
ply it with such a great energy on being thrown. In fact,
in dealing with the manner in which tools and weapons
were grasped by archaeolithic human beings, I have become
rather" suspicious of fehe way the hand of the modem man
involuntarily grasps these same implements. I have como
to the conclusion, that it is almost certain that archaeolithic
man did things and held instruments in quite a different
way from that which a modern man would do or hold them.

Now, a most remarkable passage in Mrs. Prinseps let-
ters gives apparently the key to the problem. This passage
runs as follows: — "They threw the spear for our amuse-
ment. This is merely a slender stick, nine or ten feet long,
sharpened at the heaviest end ; they poise it for a few
seconds in the hand, till it almost spins, by which means
the spear ilies with great velocity to the distance of 60
yards, and with unerring aim."

They poise the spear in the hand till it almost spins!
Now, liow can we intei-pret this peculiar remark ; if the
spear was gripped by the closed fist it certainly could not
spin. Therefore, we must assume that it was not held or
grasped with the closed fist, with which I or any other mod-
ern man would grasp the pilum.

We may further take it that the words "till it almost
spins' mean that it rotated round its own longitudinal axis,
and not in a circle. Now. such a motion can be jnoduced
if the spear were held, as shown in PI. xi., fig. 2. The front
part of the spear rests on the middle finger, the hinder por-
tion on the base of the first finger, which grasps the spear
on its upper side. The thumb presses well against th?
lower side, and the moment it is thrown the thumb, by a
quick upwards movement, imparts to it a rotating motion.

BY FKITZ NOKTLING, M.A., PH.D. 83

exactly the same a bullet acquires by the rifling of the
barrel, or as a "spin." is imparted to cricket ball bv the
pecviliar action of the thumb and forefinger. This spinning
motion probably enabled the perenna to travel to distances,
which it would never have reached if thrown without it, and
the long range which astonisihed evei'ybody is thus easily
explained by the neculiar way the perenna was held by the
hand when thrown. Now, we also understand why the
perenna shows such a small thickness. A perenna having
the thickness of a lughrana could not well be held by three
fingers, and the thumb could not impart tO' it the spinning
motion it could to the thin perenna. The thinness was,
therefore, the essential featvire of the perenna; without it, it
could not be thrown with a spinning motion, and without
the latter it would never travel the distance it did, nor pro-
bably have the penetrating power.

I need hardly mention that the perenna was never pro-
vided with a stone head, and in this conjunction it must be
mentioned that the so-called Tasmanian word, "poyeenta"
or "poyeenna," which Milligan gives as designating the
"point of speax, " is most probably an adopted English
word; the Tasmanian did apparently not distinguish be-
tween the different parts of a spear as we should do, and
there was no reason to do so, because the perenna did not
consist of head and shaft, but was made all in one piece.

Like the tero-watta, but unlike the lughrana, the
perenna could not be improved upon or altered without
losing its character. If it was made thicker it could no
longer be thrown with a spinning motion, and, of course,
there was a limit below which the thinness could not go.
If ever it had been provided with a stone head; it would
have b^pu no longer a perenna, though it might still have
been thrown with a spinning motion. As long as it remain-
ed as it was the woomera could never be used in conjunction
with it. even if it had been invented by the Aborigines.
Though there cannot be the slightest doubt that the pilum
of the antique world evolved from the perenna of archseo^
lithic mankind, this weapon had reached its highest .perfec-
tion, and could not be improved upon without losing its
essential characteristic features.

In conclusion, I may mention that the Aborigines were
frequently in the habit of trailing the perenna along the
ground, holding it between the toes, appearing to be un-
armed, with the intention of deceiving the enemy. At a
moment's notice the perenna was transfeiTed to the hand.

84 NOTES ON THE HUNTINCi STICKS, ETf.

to be thrown at the enemy. Without doubt the perenna
was well adapted for such a rvise, but it seems unlikely that
it was habitually carried in this way, as this would greatly
hinder the march through the bush.

III. THE TUGHBRANA (BASKETS).

Milligan gives the following words for basket : —

(1) Tughbranah (tribes from Oyster Bay to Pittwater).

(2) Ti'cnah (^tribes about Mount Royal, Bruni Island,
Recherche Bay, and the South of Tasmania).

(3) Tille (North-West and Western Tribes).

And a? usual the Norman vocabulary (22) gives four
words, all different, viz. : —

(4) Tringherar.

(5) Poakalar.

(6) Meerar.

(7) Parnellar.

And as, if this list was not formidable enough, Calder
mentions two more names, viz. : —

(8) Terri (D'Entrecasteaux;.

(9) Tareena (Roberts).

Finally, Milligan, in the list of short sentences, trans-
lates the words : "The woman makes a basket " with "lowan-
na ollc tubbrana,' in which the last word stands for basket.
Though "tughbranah" and "tubbrana" are apparently iden-
tical, as well as "trenah" and "tareena," to which might be
added the word "terri," thei'e remain seven different words
to designate a basket. Even if one were to go as far as to
assume that all the words beginning with a "t" wei"e identi-
cal, and represented only different spellings or local dia-
lects, there still remain four entirely different words.
•

It is impossible to say whether these words represent
different kinds of baskets, or baskets used for different pur-
poses, if they really apply to baskets. Norman, who is re-
sponsible for most of these words, docs not even hint in his
explanatory note that there were different kinds of baskets,
or that those that were used for different purposes were dis-

(22) Pap. and Proceed. Roy. Soc. Tas., 1910, page 340 (page 25 of MS.).

BY KKITZ NOETLING, M.A., PH.D.

85

tinguished by different names. In fact, his note seems to
indicate that there was one kind of basket only, a view
which is fully borne out by the specimens still preserved.

It is impossible for me to explain these words, and I
must leave it to others better acquainted with the Tas-
manian language than I am to explain them. In my opin-
ion, the last three words of Norman (5, 6, 7) have probably
nothing to do with baskets (23).

TheTasmanian Museum in ITobart possesses 10 baskets,
the measurements of which are given below : —

1

2

3

4

^

No 1247

No. 4280

No. 4282

No. 1246

No. 4274

Diameter at top

20 cm.

l.T cm.

16 cm.

IS cm.

18 cm.

Greatest Diameter

37 „

'^1 ..

23 „

18 „

25 ,,

HeiRht

35 „

26 „

23 „

'21 „

25 „

6

7

8

3

10

No. 4276

No. 4279

No. 4277

No. 4278

No. 4281

Diameter at top

15 cm.

15 cm.

12 cm.

10 cm.

9 cm.

Greate.st Diameter

19 ,,

20 „

17 ,,

16 „

12 „

Height

-'1 M

IVU .,

IS „

16 „

lU ,.

(23) Again I am indebted to Mr. Ritz for an ingenious explanatiou
of tliese words. Mr. Ritz says: —

My ilieory would explain tlie words as follows: —

1. Tugtiljrana, tubbrana equal to tuga, perina breone equal to eat

fish.
The basket represented as swallowing the fish or oysters.

2. Trenail, tareena, terri, tille, equal to terina, skeleton. The

baskets were not solid, but open worked, for fishing. Those for
carrying water (see Roth, p. 142) were, of course, nearly water-
tight; they were nitipa (Roth, p. xviii.) e(|ual to ni-tapa equal to
not dripping (tap, the noise ol falling drops).

3. Tringherar is given by Norman also as meaning "to swim."
■Poakalar, jjarnella — Norman gives to these words also the meaning

of mussel.

Meerar is probably a form of peri-na or breo-ne fish.

In my "Speech of the Tasnianian Aborigines" (p. 33) I sugge.sted
that Norman was likely to mistake his own presumptions for the in-
formation given by aboriginals. Here we find several likely in-
stances. He pointed to a fishing basket, and asked foi Ita name. One
would tell him it was used wlien the women went swimming (tring-
herar), another would say it was for mussels (poakalar, parnellar) ; and
a third said it was for holding shell fish (mera-na, or perana). He
quite seriously assumed that these words meant basket.

Incidentally we find a remarkable similarity to buckalow in poakalar,
warkellar (p. 7 of Norman's MS.).

Mussel equal to round, swimming, or floating.

Again, the words are apparently not names of different things, but
different names of one thing.

86 NOTKS ON THE HUNTING STICKS, ETC.

From the above nicasureincnts it will be seen that some-
of the baskets were of considerable size ; the cubical contents
of th.^ largest (No. 1247) (24) being 26i litre (26522 cub.
cent.). The smallest (No. 4281) contains, on the other hand
not more than 905 cub. cm., that is to say, less than one
litre.

Though in general appearance remarkably alike, it al-
most seems as if two kinds were made, a spherical and a
cylindrical kind. The largest (No. 1247) is atypical spheri-
cal basket, which is widest in the middle and nari'ower at
the opening and the bottom. No. 4280 (see pi.) is of cylin-
dical shape, maintaining its width throughout. Only two
cylindrical baskets have come under examination, all the
others are of the spherical type. This difference in shape
may, however, only be accidental ; at the same time it can-
not be quite denied that the different kinds may have served
different purposes, and this theorj^ would explain the differ-
ent names.

The plaiting is exactly the same in all the baskets,
whether of spherical or cylindical shape ; the only difference
is that sometimes the meshes are smaller, sometimes larger,
but the work is of the simplest kind.

A careful examination of the specimens has convinced
me that they were made differentlv from th" modern basket.
The modem basket is commenced at the bottom ; the Tas-
manian basket was commenced at the top.

The basis of the tughbrana was a ring of twisted flat
fibres of about 6 to 7 mm. thickness. The vertical strands
were not twisted, but the flat fibres were nicely rolled. These
were inserted into the basal ring, and kept in position by a
thin twisted chord, which was firmly wound between the
vertical strands round the basal ring. Each ring of the
horizontal strands consists of two pieces of rolled grass, which
were twisted round the vertical strands in a very regular
way, which the figure illustrates very well.

The illustration also demonstrates how the vertical
strands were joined, and how eventually the bottom was
made.

The ba-skets were probably all made of a reed, juneus
acutus, which grows in abundance in the swamps of

(24) ThlP s!i)ecimen. as well as No. 4. ha«! been figured by LlnR Koth,
Aborlg. Tasman. Plate to face page 153.

BY FKJTZ MOETJ.INU, Al.A., PH.D. 87

Tasmania, and which yields a very strong iibre. Bunco
stated that they were made of the leaves of Anthoricum semi-
bai'bala, as well as Dianella. That may be so, but no
specimen made of these plants has come under my exam-
ination ; those in the Hobarfc Museum are all made of
Juneus-fibre, as has already been noticed by Ling Roth
(25).

The baskets are very strong, and even now, though
years have p.-ssed since they were made, they are very
elastic, instead of being brittle, as might be expected after
this long time.

It is difficult to say how the baskets were carried ; most
of those that are in the Hohai't Museum havei a short string
of twisted grass' tied at two opposite points of the basal
ring. This would indicate that they, were carried bv the
hand and not on a long string across the shoulder. If they
had been carried this way, the longer string would have
again to be tied to the shorter string, an assumption which
is not very probable.

We practically know nothing about the manufacture of
the baskets, though several of the early explorers watched
the operatio'n. Bonwick says that he watched a woman
making some string, and the chief point of his observation
is, that the woman "began tci twist the threads by rolling
the material up and down her thigh." The strands of
which the baskets are plaited look exactly as if they had
b?en rolled in such a way.

The baskets were pi'incipally used to bring up shell
fish collected at the bottom of the sea, and to carry the same
afterwards to the camping grounds. It is vei-y probable
that chiefly the larger baskets were used for such a purpose,
because the smaller ones ha.rdly contained enough room for
even a small quantity of oysters or haliotis. They were pro-
bably also used to collect the raw material (pebbles) for the
manufacture of tero-na-wattas, or to carry to the camping
grounds suitable specimens that were obtained at the quar-
ries. To me it seems probable that the smaller ones were
used to carry the tero-watta that were in use for the time
being, as well as the material required to make fire-
In the 1st edition of the Aborigines of Tasmania, Ling
Roth figur'is on PI. I and PI. II., two baskets said to be of

(25) Aborigines of Tasmania, 2ncl ed., page 144.

88 NOTES ON IHK IllNTINi; STKKS, ETC.

Tasmanian origin, and now in the British Museum. These
baskets were originally in the possession ol G. A. liobinson,
tioni whom Miliigan obtained them. There cannot be the
slightest doubt tiiat these two baskets are not of Tasmanian
»ori<man.>iiip. Tlie plaiting is so dilFerent trom tlie Tas-
manian baskets, and discloses also a niucU higher style, that
it would be most remarkable had th»e Aborigines practised
simultaneously such diflferent kinds of plaiting (2b). Like-
wise, the woodcut, fig. 3, from a basket in the Museum or
Oxford, IS cercainly not taken from a basket made oy Tas-
maniaji Aborigines, and Ling Roth s assumption that a race
who appear to have been lower in the scale of civilisation
than many races whose industrial remains have lately be-
come known to our times, should have known the stitches
which lorin, in fact, the foundation of our modern point
lace (27) is unfounded. It is greatly to be regretted that
the learned author of the Aborigines of Tasmania, who gives
in the 2nd edition a wood cut of the pattern of basket work
from Queensland, which is very similar to that of the Ox-
ford basket, has not corrected his errors in the 2nd edition.
Such statements as the above are ver-*- misleading, and are
apt to throw quite a wrong light on the Tasmanian civilisa-
tion.

Ling Koth remarks that the plaiting of the Tasmanian
baskets is similar to some fabric fi-om the Lake Dwellings of
Eobenhausen and Wangen. I am unable to verify this
statement ; the only two illustrations of basket work from
the Lake Dwellings I have at my disposal are two figures in
Reinhard s "Der Mensch zur Eiszeit in Europa, which are
apparently copies from Ileierli, "Urgeschichle Der Schweiz."
Both, figures 341 and 342, represent specimens of basket
work from Wangen. but the pattern is unquestionably much
sup'n-ior to the Tasmanian one, and of quite a different
workmanship (28). This might have been expected ; the
Lake Dwellers (Rohenhausenian) had attained a much
higher stage of civilisation than the Tasmanian Aborigines,

(28) Though Ling Roth had already expressed his gravest doubts
as to the authenticity of these Imskets (2nd ed.. 1899, page 144),
these more than doubtful specimens still seem to figure as Tasmanian
baskets. In an article on the earlv lilstorv of Tasmania ("Tasmanian
Mail," necember 12, 1908, by Ida Lee, one of these selfsame baskets is
figured as a "reiic of the natives of Tasmania in the Britisli Museum."
It seems almut time that the autliorities of the Britisli Museum re-
moved thofe two questionable baskets, or at least marked them with
a great query.

(27) Aborigines of Tasmania, 1st ed., page x.

(28) The i>a1terii of plniting given tiy Mortillet (mui^e prehlstort-
que, PI. LXVII., flg. 739, from Wangen) Is exactly the same as that de-
scrll)ed by Kelnhard.

BY FRll/ N()KTL1N(;, M.A., PH.D. 89

and it would, therefore, be more than remarkable had the
latter already reached such a high perfection in basket
plaiting as to be equal to the Lake Dwellers.

I am unable to say whether the baskets found in the
Lake Dwellings were manufactured like the Tasmanian
ones, viz., commenced at the top. However that may be, I
consider the Tasmanian baskets as the most primitive type
of human basket work (29). Tlie great probability that
the tughbrana was commenced at the top, and not at the
bottoim , renders this kind of work absolutely different from
any later work. It would be of the greatest interest to
ascertain when the invention was made to plait the baskets
in the modern way.

Though, outside the scope of this paper, I may mention
that the Tasmanians possessed a kind of pitcher called
nioirunah, and made from sea-weed (Fucus palmata). The
onlv specimens that are known are in the British Museum
and in France (30). A wooden "spatula" was used to loosen
the Haliotis from the rocks to which it firmly adhered
There is no moiruuah in the Hobart Museum, and as to the.
"spatula,"' I do not think that any specimen at all has been
preserved. Neither can I find a name for this implement,
and I do not think that it was more than a short stick, end
ing in a chisel-shaped edge.

One word about the so-called canoes, the mallana or
nunganah. The accounts agree that they were nothing but
bundles of reeds tied together, but the figures of models in
the British Museum, and similar models in the Hobart
Museum (31), are so suggestive of a real canoe having stem
and stem, that I cannot help thinking that their original
shape has been greatly improved upon bv those who made
the models. Those in the Pitt Rivers Museum seem to be
moTe like the real mallana, and more in harmony with the
state of the Tasmanian civilisation than the canoe-shaped
models in tlie Hobart and British Museum.

(29) According to Brough Smyth, Aborig. Vict., vol. I., page 346,
basket of exactly the ?am^ pattern ai= the Tasmanian one?, and
similarly in shape, are still manufactured by the Queensland aborigines.
The ftgiires of baskets made liv the aborigines of Victoria, page 343,
344, and 545, particularly fig. 159, make it more than probable that the
so-called Tamanian baskets in the Biitish Museum, and in the Ox-
ford Museum, are really of Victorian origin.

(30) See Ling Eoth, Aborigines of Tasmania, 2nd ed., page 142.

(31) Ling Roth, Aborig. Tas., plate to face page 153.

90 NOTES ON THK HUNTINi; STICKS, ETC.

CONCLUSION.

Modoni researches have shown that stoue implements,
which cannot be distinguished from the rougher tero-watta,
have been found as tar back as the Middle Oligocene
(Fagnian). Unfortunately, there has lately ai-isen a discus-
sion as to the authenticity cf these specimens. Verworn
(32) holds in opposition to Rutot that these specimens were
made by natural agencies, and not bv human beings. Not
having seen the locxility wh.re the specimens were found, 1
cannot speak with the same authority as Verworn, who ad-
vances some seemingly strong arguments in favour of his
theorv. All I can say is, that I cannot distinguish the
Ai-chaeolitlies from the Fagnian, which Dr. Rutot kindly sent
me, from the Tasmanian tero-watta, and unless absolute
proof is forthcoming that natiu-al agencies can produce
tero-watta^like specimens, I maintain with Rutot the
artificial origin of the Fagnian specimens.

However, to be quite on the safe side, I will begin with
those specimens whose nature as human handiwoi-k nobody
now doubts : the Archaeolithcs from the Upper Miocene
(Cantalian). As these implements are exactly like the
tero-watta, we may fairly assume that they were used for
the same purjooses as the former. The chief purpose for
which tho tero-watta was used was unquestionably the
manufacture of the lughrana (hunting stick) and perenna
(spear). All other pui-]5oses were subordinate to this one.
We may therefore conclud? that the Archaeolithes from the
Cantalian were used for a similar pvxrpose, and, what is
more, as, during the Upper Miocene, a mild if not warm
climate must have pi'evailed in Europe, the necessity of
warm clothing did not exist. The race that hunted the
Hipparion and manufactured the Cantal Archasolithes was
probably quite as naked as the Tasmanian Aborigines. Tliere
was therefore no necessitv for the use of a scraper in order
to prepare skins for clothing.

Now, a difficult question arises ; we know that the
Aborigines used, together with the tme weapon, the peren-
na, an implement which cannot quite be considered as a
weapon, namelv, the lughrana (hunting stick). It may
have been used as a weapon, and a true weapon has even-
tually evolved from it, but the lughrana was, in the first
instance, made and used for hunting purposes only. It is
further verv probable that the lughrana is the nearest an-

(32) Korresi)onden7.blatt, Dentsrh. Ciegpll. f. -Aiithrnp. Ktlinol. nnd
Vrgescli. XLI. Jahrg. No. 5 and 6, 1910.

BY FRITZ NOLTLING, M.A., PH.D. 91

proath to the stick, whioh primitive man hurled alike at
human enemies and animals required for food.

Now, did the human beings who made the Cantal
Archseolithes already manufacture spears of the perenna
type, or had they not made that invention yet, and solely
used their stone implements in the manufacture of hunting
sticks (lughrana; ? The question is an intensely interesting
one, as the lughrana is the primary implement, the perenna
the later invention Now, when was the invention of the
perenna made? If, as Dr. Rutot and I hold, the Aixhaeo-
lithes from the Middle Oligocene were made by human
beings, it is very prohablc that these human beings used
them for the manufacture of the hunting sticks only, and
it is, perhaps, possible that the Cantalians had not advanc-
ed further.

If this theory be correct, the invention of the perenna
(spear), i.e., the weapon which was thrown with a spinning
motion in a straight line at a distant enemy, must have been
made some time between the 1st Glacial Period ^Guenzian),
representing the Kentian industry and the beginning of the
Middle Interglacial Period, representing the Strepyian in-
dustrv. The Che' lean industry at the end of the Middle
Interglacial period had already learnt to provide the spear
with stone heads, and had therefore, in all probability, dis-
carded the wooden spear (33).

If we knew for certain which of the Archaeolithic indus-
tries, from the Fagnian to the Mesvinian, used the hunting
stick only, and which used the wooden spear besides it, a
great stride in our knowledge of the development of the
human race would have been made. To judge from the
Archaeolithes from the Mesvinian, Maffelian, and Reutelian,
which my friend Dr. Rutot sent me, I have no doubt that
the representatives of these industries alreadv used the
A^ooden spear. If that be so, the invention of the wooden
spear as a weapon would have been made either in the 1st
Glacial Period (Guenzian) or in the Ist Interglacial Period,
both of which are now considered as Pliocene, forming the
end of the Tertiary Period in Europe (34).

According to this theory, the human beings of the
warmer Tertiary epoch, i.e., the Oligocene and Miocene

(33) This may have already commenced during the Strepyian.

(34) ft is quite possible that a lucky find may solve this question;
if human hones have been preserved it is to be hoped that some day
the remain of a lughrana-like instrument or of a perenna-like spear
may be found.

92 NOTES O.N THK HUNTINO STICKS, KTC.

used lor an enormous period, that can only be counted by
millions of years, nothing else but the hunting stick, which
was thrown with a rotatory motion, and which, as I said,
cannot be considered as a weapon, strictly speaking. When
the first ice sheets covered Northern Europe, perhaps the
first invention of a real weapon, the wooden spear, which
was thrown in a straight line, probably spinning round its
own axis, was made. Wooden spear and hunting stick were
again the only weapons of the human race for an enormous
period, though, if measured in absolute time, the earlier part
of the Archajolithic stage, which was characterised by the
use of the hunting stick only, was incommensurably longer
than the latter iDart^ in which hunting stick and wooden
spear were simultaneously used.

The period when the wooden perenna was superseded
by the stone-headed spear can be verv accurately fixed ;
this must have taken place about the time when the Palaeo-
lithic implement took the place of the Archaeolithc, name-
ly, during the Middle Interglacial Period in the Strepyian
industry. It is ven' probable that at first spear heads of an
Archaeolithic type were used, and specimens of this type are
still used on the Admiralty Islands and in Queensland. It
is, however, very probable that owing to its unequal bal-
ance the Archseolithic spear head was not long in favour,
and was soon siiperseded by the Palseolithic head.

. Probably at the same time as when the wooden spear
was provided with a stone head, the shaft was made
stronger, and it was no longer gripped like the perenna,
but with the whole fist. Tbe spinning motion of the
perenna naturally became impossible, and the spear was
thrown in a straight line, without rotating round its longi-
tudinal axis. It would go beyond the scope of this paper
if I were to follow up the evolution of weapons ; it only
seems to me that the period during which a certain type
of weapons was in use quickly became shorter till it is now
only as many months in use as it was formerly centuries,
and at a still earlier period thousands, even hundreds of
thousands of years. In connection with this we notice a
peculiar feature; primitive man fought his battles at a long
range (35), which, of course, was measured by yards only ;

(35) The Tasmanlan aboriglnps did not likf a hand to hand fight:
In preffTPnce thev sent a shower of spears from ini ambush at the
unsuppcctlnR enemy, hot they did not come to close quarters except
to dispatch the wounded when the enemy look to flight. For this
reason I do not helle\e that i>rlmltlve man used as Its first weapon
a club, that Is to say. a weapon ending In a heavy knob. A club Is
e'^'-entlHllv h weation to be used in' a close combat, but primitive mnn,
like the Tasmanlans, did not flgbt at clot-e quarters, so the club was
of no use to hlni.

RY FRITZ NOETLlNd, M.A., I'H.l). 93

modern man fights again his battles at a long range, with
the difference, however, that the distance between the com-
batants is now almost as many thousands of yards as it used
to be yards. Between the two stages falls the period of
close combat ; this period must have coanmenced with the
invention of the dagger and the sword, the axe, and the
club, the weapons suitable for a close fight. Perhaps this
invention coincides with the Magdalenian, though I should
feel inclined to date it somewhat -later. Ever since, pro-
bably all through the Neolithic and Bronze age, human
beings fought their battles hand to hand. All the great
battles of the antique world were fought at close quarters,
and so were those of early middle ages. Only with the in-
ventions of gunpowder the combatants separated again, and
the distance gradually increased, and is apparently still in-
creasing. There will, however, be an end tO' this ever-in-
creasing distance ; at present the range of some of the big
guns is such that it is impossible to discern a small or even
large object at that distance. There must, therefoi'e, be
an end to this increase of the horizontal distance, and I
think we are pretty near that end. What would be the
use of a gun having a range of 30 or 40 miles if the object
to be fired at is below the horizon, and cannot be seen? But
what is going to happen then? Are wo to eiXpect that the
pendulum swings back and the combatants again come to
close quarters? I hardly think so, even if an invention
were made that one man could annihilate a whole army at
close quarters, thei other side would take the gi-eatest carG
that that one man would never come to close quarters. I
almost think that as fighting in the horizontal plane has
com© to its practical limit, the next movement will be the
shifting of the plane, and instead of in the horizoaital plane
the fighting will be carried out in the vertical plane, which
very likely means coming to close or relatively close quar-
ters again.

APPENDIX.

THE DUTERRAU ENGRAVINGS.

Mr. J. W. Beattie, who is so indefatigable in hunting up
old records and ot-lier relics connected with the early history
of Tasm^ania, has kindly drawn my attention to some quaint
eld engravings, which bear on the subjects discussed in the
above paper.

These engravings were "designed, etched, and pub-
lished by Bn. Duterrau" between July 15th, 1835, and
March 23rd, 1836, in "Hobart Town, Van Diemen's Land."

94 NOTES ON THK HUxNTING STICKS, ETC.

As Bn. Duteirau has been careful enough to add even
Ihe day of the month when he publii^hed his engravings,
we know that they were made after the Black War (1830).
probably just before the Rev. George Augustus Robinson
brought the last 203 survivoi^ to Flinders Island. The
lirst engraving published, July 15th, 1835, is entitled "Tas-
manian Aborigines, ' and represents a group of ten Abori-
gines (7 men and 3 women) cordially receiving Robinson,
who is wearing a quaint sort of a cap. The Aborigines are
depicted as naked, except for a loin-cloth, which is unques-
tionably an invention of the artist, and a concession to pub-
lic taste. All the women have the hair closely cropped,
three of the men have the peculiar wig-like head dress,
while four have it in apparently its natural curly state.

Four of the men are simply armed with spears, while
two others who are squatting down are apparently making
spears. It will be noticed that two of the men are holding
their spears in the left, three of them in the right hand.
Robinson is grasping a native's left hand with his left,
while his right is held up in teaching or preaching position.

Now, I shall presently show that, in all probability,
these engravings mu.st be reversed, and we have therefore
three men holding the spears in their left hand,
two in the right, while Robinson's right grasps the right of
the native, and his left is lifted. Unless we assume that
Robinson was natvirally left-handed, we must accept the
view that the print of the engraving ought to be reversed.

Now, the second engraving published on August 24th
represents exactly the same two figures in e>:actlv the same
attitudes, with that difference, however, that while in the
above engraving they are separated by two women, Robin-
son and a man, and two dogs,they are in the second close to-
gether, each sitting, so to say, on a large bundle of spears,
which are absent in the above engraving. This seems to
indicate that the pictures were not taken directly from life,
but were composed in the ai-tist's home, from rough sketches
made elsewhere. This may somewhat reduce the value of
the engravings as evidence, because it is hardly necessaiy
for me to say. that memory' even supported by a sketch is
deceptive, and in the process of composing groups from
sketches enors axe verv likelv to creep in. This view also
accounts for a certain discrepancy in the proportions which
will be noted in the different groiips.

The second engraving represents two "Aborigines mak-
ing and straightening ,speai-s." The two men are represents

BY FKITZ NOETLING, JM.A., PH.D. 95

ed sitting cross-legged, with threfe buudleb of spears under
their legs^ a small fire burning between them. The right
hand figure holds a spear under his right arm, closely pressed
to the body by arm a.nd hand, while the left hand holds a
cutting implement. We know that this implement must
have been a tero-watta and it is very suggestive that it is
completely concealed by the fingers. This proves that the
tero-watta, which was used, was of such a small size that
it did not even show above the first finger. The view ex-
pressed by me in a previous paper that the tero-watta was
on the whole an implement of small size, is therefore fully
confirmed by this engraving. But what is more import-
ant still, the position of the bent-in thumb suggests that it
must rest on one face of the tero-watta, pressing it with
the opposite face against the curved first finger. The posi-
tion of the hand and fingers, as drawn in this picture, is
therefore completely in harmony with the view time and
again emphasised by me, that tne tero-watta and all other
Archaeolithic implements were grasped in such a way that
the thumb invariably '-ested on the flat face, which I there-
fore called PoUical face.

The most remarkahle feature of this figure is, however,
quite a different one. The left hand holds the implement
used for making the spear, not the i"ight one ! If it could
be proved to a certainty that the position of this Aborigine
is drawn correctly, the conclusions that could be drawn
would be far-reaching. However, I rather feel inclined to
think that the artist has made a most unfortunate mistake ;
we may safely assume that he first made a pencil sketch on
paper, and then transferred that sketch exactly as he had
made it on the copper plate, forgetting that by doing so
the print must naturally become reversed. What he ought
to have done was to transfer his pencil sketch on the copper
plate, such as it aopearod in a locking-glass, but not as he
had designtd it (1).

The second Aborigine sits like the former, cross-legged,
and full front, gripping a spear between his two fists, while
his teeth are holcftng it like a vice. The inscription says :
"Straightening" the spear. The only reference i could find
that the spears were straightened with the teeth is in Back-
house's book, page 172, and I confer that I was somewhat
doubtful as to this practice.

(1) The scrawlv character of the legend gr«atly supports this theory.
In order to appear correctly on the print he had to draw it inversely
on the Dlate To judge from the almost childish scrawl, this has caused
Mm a good 'deal of trouble, and therefore the theory that he did not
take the pains to engrave the human figures inversely on the plate
is more than probable.

90 NOTKS UN THK HUNT1.\(; STIt KS, K'lW

Now, unless wv assume that the Duterrau eiigraviug,
leproyeutiug an Aboi-iginc holding a spear with his teeth,
is an invention pure and simple, a view which is certainly
not supported by other evidence, we must admit that the
Aborigines used their teeth in connection with the manu-
facture of the spears. To me it seems probable that the
repeated process of placing the wood in the fire and scrap-
ing it, attcrwards. curved or bent the straight shaft, and
that in order to straighten it, the teeth crripned it (like a
vice!), while the two hands, by slowly effecting an upward
pressure, gradually bent it straight.

This view is greatly supported by the position of the
hands. The back is turned outside, the muscles of the arm
are in rather a strained position. i\ow. as everybody can
obsei've for himself, it is very easy for the arm to exercise
an upward jDre-sure by simply moving the elbow outwards,
if in the position as depicted by Duterrau. A downward
pressure is much more difficult to exercise, because the
points of the elbows will have to be brought together; if
the Aborigine straightened the spear by a downwards pres-
sure, which, by the way, would involve a sevex'e strain on
the lower jaw, he would have griniDcd the spear in such a
way that the back of the hand was turned towards his own
face, because in such a position the arm can easily exercise
a downward pressure.

It is further interesting to note that, unlike the tero-
watta. which were made whenever required, the speai"s
were made in advance for further use, the two men having
made nearly 50 spears.

The fire burning between them apparent.lv confirms
the view that it was required in the manufacture, other-
wise there does not seem to be any reason why there should
be a fire.

These two men are depicted without the curious head
dress, in their naturally curly hair, both showing rather a
strong beard.

It is obvious that these two figures are the same as
those shown in the larger group, and tlie only question that
could arise is, which represents the original sketch. I almost
feel inclined to think that Duterrau actually saw the two
Aborigines making spears, and having sketched th?ni, after-
wards coni])o.sed the group in which the.sc same two figures
are so prominent. It will, however, be noticed that in the
second engraving the front portion of the spear held by the

BY FRITZ NOETLIN(i, M.A., PH.D. 97

Aborigine is longer than the posterior, while the reverse
is shown in the group. Likeiwise, the left portion of the
spear held by the man with his teeth is much longer in the
group than in the second engraving. Tbisi unquestionably
shows a certain amount of carelessness of observation, and
reproducing observed facts, and this may tend to minimise
the value of those recorded.

Engraving No. 3, published on March 23rd, 1836, bears
the curious inscription : "A wild native taking a kangaroo,
his clog having caught it, he runs to kill it with his waddy."

Now, we know for certain that dogs were unknown to
the Aborigines previous to the arrival of the Europeans.
The hunting scene, as depicted by Duterrau, can therefore
not have taken place in older times, and the "wild native"
must have caught his kangaroo by other means than by a
dog before 'killing it with his waddy." The chief interest
of the engraving is, however, the fact that the "waddy"
(lughrana) was used to kill animals. The sketch of the
"waddy," as given by Duterrau, fully agrees with the shape
of the specimens in the Hobart Museum, even the notches
at one end are distinctlv depicted. The hand, however,
grips the lughrana, not at notched end, but fairly in the
middle, and from this we mav conclude that the animal was
killed with a blow.

There is, however, another curious feature connected
with this scene; the "wild native" grasps his lughrana with
the right, while the left gets hold of the kangaroo. Now,
if we assume that this engraving, not inversely etched on
the plate, but transferred directly, the "wild native" grasps
the kangaroo with his right, and holds the lughrana, with
which he means to deliver the blow, in his left. *

The last etching, published on the same date as the
former : "A kangaroo caught by a wild native's dog," is of
very little interest. It practically shows nothing but two
very crudely-designed figures of a kangaroo, which a dog,
apparently a collie of most ferocious appearance, having
claws like a bear, has caught by the ear.

The only interest is in a very crude figure of an Abori-
gine holding a spear in his left and a hunting stick in his
right hand, of which the legend says : "The native then
seizes the kangaroo and kills it with his waddy."

This engraving seems to contradict the view that spears
were not used in hunting expeditions; but though Duterrau
has depicted this "wild native" in the position of throwing
the spear at the kangaroo, the legend, which says that "He
kills it with his waddy," does not make it appear as very

98 NOTES ON TllK lIUNTIXd STICKS, ETC.

jjrobable that his dog, having caught the kangaroo, the
"wild native'" throws first his spear at it, and then "runs
to kill it with his waddy. ' I ratuer feel inclined to think
that the ''wild native" is shown, though in a picturesque
attitude, armed uith spear and hunting stick, is not rejDr?-
sented quit« truthfully. This certainly applies to the loin
cloth which our "wild native" is wearing on his hunting
expedition, which is rather a concession to the public of
1836 than a true fact.

Again, it appears to me very probable that the engrav
ing ought to be reversed, because the wild native is holding
the spear in his left and the hunting stick in his right.

We can sum up the value of the Duterau engravings
as evidence regarding the Tasmanian Aborigines as follows :

(1) On the whole these engravings are somewhat fanci-
ful compositions, which were probably made in the studio
from rough sketches drawn from life.

(2) It is very probable that all the engravings were
transferred directly, instead of inversely, on the copper
plate. Hence the prints are all reversed. This detracts
somewhat of their value with regard to any conclusions that
may be drawn as to the use of the hands. Yet, even if it
is admitted that the pictures ought to be reversed, it seems
that the Aborigines used their left hand as often as their
right, and were therefore ambidextrous (2).

(3) The use of a loin cloth, with which the Aborigines
are provided in all the engravings, is a concession to the
public, but not an actual fact.

(4) Notwithstanding these' drawbacks the engravings
are of great value, because they prove at least two facts
which have hitherto been without corroboration, viz. : (a)
That the spears were straightened by being gripped with
the teeth and bent with both hands, moving probably in
upwai'd direction ; (b) that the hunting stick was used to
kill an animal by a blow. They further confirm the view
a-s to the holding of the stone implement (tero-watta).
and the hunting stick (highrana), as depicted, fully agrees
in shape, even as details are concerned with the specimens
described in this paper.

P.S. — since the above was written the orifjinal oil pitinting from wliieli No. i
engravintr was niiule, and which is now in the possession of the Misses Clehurn, has
come to lipht. This pjiintirc fully confirms my conjecture that all the encnivinRs
should be revised, because in the original the man holds the scraper in his right
and not in his left as it appears in the engravings.

(2) This theory Is confirmed by certain tero-watta which can only
have been used with the left hand, If they were held In such a way
that the thumbs rested on the Pollical faci»

OY. Soc. Tas. 1911.

Rov Soc. Tas. 1911.

Roy Soc Tas. 1911.

PL X

I

Jjk

POINTS OF SPEARS AND MIDDLE PORTION OF A SPEAR.

Roy. Soc. Tas 1911

OY. Soc. Tas. 1911.

PL XII

OY. Soc. Tas. 1911

PL. XIII

Roy. Soc. Tas 1911

PL. XIV

Roy. Soc. Tas. 1911.

PL. XV

7^ 5

j

99

ON THE CONNECTION OF SWIFTS WITH
WEATHER.

By H. Stuart Dove, F.Z.S.

(Read September 11th, 1911.)

For years I have been watching the movements of the
'Spine-tailed Swift" (Chsetura Caudacuta), that species
which comes down to us from China and Japan, and, after
spending a few summer months here, departs again to those
more northern climes. While living among the mountains
of Northern Tasmania, it occurred to me that the appear-
ance of this Swift was often coincident with that of a
cyclonic disturbance, and this observation has been con-
firmed of recent years- During the summer of 19iU-li I
kept notes of the various appearances of this species, to-
gether with weather conditions of same period, and, as
anything which may tend to throw light upon the habits
of this migrant should be placed on record, x give extracts
from my journal, first remarking that in some seasons the
Spine-tails appear to visit us in very small numbers, and
are scarcely seen, while in other seasons, such as the
summer just passed, they appear so frequently and in such
numbers that they thrust themselves upon our attention.

LAKES ENTRANCE, EAST GTPPSLAND, VICTORIA.

December 8th, 1910.— A great company of Spine-tailed
Swifts appeared this morning for the first time this season,
circling and wheeling at heights varying from the tree-tops
to practically out of sight ; they were first noticed shortly
before 9 a.m., and appeared to come from E.N.E., as in the
case of the great company of Wood Swallows. *

Again, near the end of the same month (December),
two companies of the Spine-tails were seen, before and after
stormy weather.

(Aitanms tenebrosus, Lath.)

These Wood Swallows appeared on the mornina; of 5th Sept., 1010 and
continued their migration towards W.S.W. (See "EMU" October, 1910).*

G

JOO ON THE CONNFXTlD.N (>K swlKTS WITH WEATUKK.

Ou Gill January, I'Jll, a parly of tucso birda wa& olr
sei'ved in the midst of a tliuiideriitorm, flying towards N.E.,
the wind at the time being N.W.

Un 1st February, I'Jll, while jjroceeding by launch up
the Tambo River, E- Gippsland, we noticed many Spine-
tailed Swifts flying backwards and forwards over the river,
some at a low elevation ; the day was sunny, and extremely
warm, with a light breeze from the ea^t. Two days after-
wards the sky became overcast, and we ha.d a gale from the
, eastwai-d.

February 8th, 1911. — Large numbers of the same
species were seen high in the air, early in the morning, in
fine weather ; next day. 9th February, broke fine, but rain
came on, and continued steadily until noon, while on 10th
February heavy squalls of wind and rain passed over south
eastern Victoria.

WEST DEVONPORT, TASMANIA.

March 11th, 1911. — Numbers of the Spine-tailed Swift
appeared on 8th, 9th, and 10th March, during disturbed
thundery weather, with rain, and, during part of the time,
a high, tearing south-east wind. Great floods again in
Victoria and parts of Tasmania.

March 20th. — The Swifts again apneared yesterday,
when it was raining almost the whole day. They passed
leisurely over from west to east, near the s^a. and at a good
elevation.

March 23rd.— Swifts again seen coursing leisurely
about; soon afterwards rough weather set in.

April 16th. — Perfect morning, cloudless sky, light sea
breeze (N.N.E.) ; Spine-tailed Swifts passed over the shore
scrub at a low elevation, making west as a general direction.
I said to the friend with whom I was walking, "There are
the Swifts ; our fine weather will not be of long continu-
ance." That very night great piles of cumulus appeared
in the eastern sky, and drifted gradually overhead, bring-
ing a heavy downpour.

April 25th, 1911. — On this day the Spine-tailed Swift.s
were seen "migrating." passing to the N.W. over the beach,
at a height of 60 or 80 feet ; weather cold, showery, squally,
wind veering N.W. to S.W.

BY H. STUaKT dove, F.Z.S. 101

April 27th. — This afternoon tne Swifts passed to the
north-west in a long, straggling party over tne beach and
the sea, at a height of perhaps 60 feet; wind south-west,
strong, cold. This was their last appearance, and tlie
latest date I have ever seen them ; I believe it constitutes
a record for Tasmania, if not for the Commonwealth.

Now, the Spine-tailed Swift is very fond of ants in the
winged state, and these insects constitute a large portion
of its food while with us : I have noticed that the male and
female ants of various species attain the winged state, and
"swaiTii," or issue, in vast numbers from the nest, generally
during the moist, muggy weather which Drecedes an atmos-
pheric disturbance ; the termites, or so-called "White ants,"
will often swann during a light, warm rain. It has, there-
fore, occurred to me that the frequent appearance of the
Spine-tail Swift either during, or shortly before or after,
disturbed ntinospheric conditions, may be due to its winged
food occurring more plentifully at these times- There may
be other conditions of which at present we know nothing,
affecting the sudden appearances and disappearances of
this most interesting species, but the theory here advanced
seems a reasonable one, and I shall be glad if it is the
means of inducing other observers of ottr migratorv fauna
to give particular attention to the habits of this swift.

102

FURTHER NOTES ON THE HABITS OF THE TAS-
MANIAN ABORIGINES.

PI. XVI., XVII., XVIII., XIX., XX.
By Frita Noctling, M.A., Ph.D., Etc.
(Read October 9, 1911.)
1. DID THE TASMANIAN ABORIGINES MANUFAC-
TURE BONE IMPLEMENTS?— PL XVI.

The question whether the aborigines used bones of
animals, either entirely or in fragments, for implements is
of gi-cat importance. It has hitherto been assumed that
bone as a material for implements did not come in to use
earlier than the Magdalenian stage. If this be so, all the
earlier industries, -v^^hich, of course, include the archae-
olithic stage, did not use bone, either as a material from
which implements were manufactured, or, indirectly, as a
tool to press off small Hakes, in order to sharpen the edge.
The Tasmanian industry, which, as we have seen, repre-
sents the typical archjeolithic stage, should, therefore, not
know the use of bone. It would constitute one of the
greatest anomalies in the evolution of mankind, if it wex-e
a fact that the aboi'igines did include bone among the
materials from which they manufactured their imple-
ments. I can safely say that there are few persons living
who have so carefully studied and examined the camping
grounds as I have, but never did I find a single piece of
bone that could even, with the greatest stretch of imagina-
tion, be considered as an implement; in fact, the almost
total absence of bones or fragments therefrom on the camp-
ing grounds has always struck me as rather remarkable.

Yot there is a general belief among the amateur coHeV-
tors that the aborigines manufactured a kind of scoop
from bone, and such specimens are greatly valued. Among
the great treasures of the Hobart Museum there is a
bundle of bones labelled, "Bone implements manufactured
by the aborigines."

I had always my doubts as to the authenticity of tnese
bone implements, and I am now in the position to con-

Roy. Soc. Tas. 1911.

Pl XVI.

SO-CALLED "SCOOPS" AND THE FIHULA OF MACROPUS HILLAUDIERI.

KV FRITZ NOETLING, M.A., PH.D. 103

clusively dispel the view that the aborigines ever manufac-
tured implements from bone.

When excavating together with Mr. T. Stephens the
great shell deposit in a cave near Rocky Cape, I collected
a fairly large number of bones, mostly consisting of
kangaroo, opossum, wombat, seal, and numerous bones of
birds. The bones were mostly in a fragmentary state, and
the larger ones, apparently femur and humerus of kan-
garoo, were evidently intentionally broken. None of the
splinters showed even the slightest trace of use. I had,
however, the good luck of finding several of the "scoops,"
and their appeai'ance seemed to exclude the view of an
artificial origin. As these specimens show considerable
length, I was pretty certain that they could not come from
any other part of the body but the extremities, pi-obably
the posterior ones, of a kangaroo ; I, therefore, compared
the leg bones of a kangaroo, and I could prove the com-
plete identity of the so-called "scoops" and the fibula of
the kangaroo.

From PI. XVI. it will be seen that the fibula of the
kangaroo is rather a thin, slender bone, which closelv lies
on the tibia. The distal end of the fibula is cylindrical,
but it becomes deeply concave in the pi'oximal -part- The
thinnest and most fragile portion of the fibula is almost
in the middle of its length, about there where the concave
rather broad pi'oximal portion contracts very quickly, and
becomes flat, before merging into the cylindrical distal
portion.

It can, therefore, hardly be surprising that when a
kangaroo comes to grief it is usually the fibula that breaks
first. I have seen man}' a kangaroo hunted, and if they fell
over a cliff, the fibula was regulai'ly broken, and always at
the same place, that is to say, where the bone was weakest.
The bone was, therefore, broken into two parts, the cylin-
drical distal, and the hollowed out, concave proximal part.
The concave part, formed the "scoop," so highly treasured
by amateur collectors, and its shape was the more sugges-
tive of artificial work, particularly because it was strongly
attenuated.

Once more the well-known fact that an actual observa-
tion, however simple it may be, is worth more than all the
finest theories, is shown to be true. The numerous ama-
teurs who collected these specimens jumped at once to the
conclusion that these were "scoops" manufactured by the
aborigines, but not one of them did look at the leg bones
of a kangaroo.

104 FUKTHKK Ni'TKS ON HABITS <)K TASM AMAN ABoltKilNES.

It must be considei-ed as rather fortunate that, before
the statement that the aborigines of Tasmania did use
bone in the manufacture of their implements, has been
spread through the literature, it could be proved to be
absolutely wrong. It is rather remarkable that such a
theory should ever be credited even among amateurs, be-
cause the question might well be asked : For what purpose
could these "scoops" be used? The general belief is that
they were used to scoop out the marrow from the bones,
and this once more proves how wrong it is to judge from
our customs and habits those of a far inferior race. It does
not follow that because we use a special insti'ument to
scoop out the maiTOw from the bones of the big ruminants
that the aborigines did the same ; in fact, if one thing is
certain it is, that they did not. If they wanted the marrow
the easiest and quickest way to get it was to sma.sh the
bone, and this they did, as has been proved by the broken
fragments in the cave deposits. The idea that a primitive
human being like the Tasmanian sat down uolding in one
hand the cooked marrow bone, and in the other the scoop,
daintily scooping out the marrow, is intensely comical.
Its absurdity becomes more conspicuous still, when we
consider that the end of the marrow bone hau to be cut off
by means of a stone, and that the marrow was obtained
quicker and easier by breaking the whole bone at once,
than by knocking off one end, and aftei"wai'ds scooping out
the marrow.

I have dwelt at some length on this absurd theory,
because it is very illustrative of the way how the most
ludicrous intei'pretations of archseolithic remains can arise.

The archaeolithic civilisation did not know the use of
bone as a material for the manufacture of implements, and
the Tasmanian industi'y foi'ms no exception from this rule;
in fact, we know now for certain that oven the most care-
ful examination has failed to discover any specimen of
bone that had been used as an implement- It might be
argued that in Europe, where the archa?olithic civilisation
IS of great age. the Ijones had become decayed, and there
being no bone implements does not prove that they were
not used. From our investigations we know now that the
archaeolithic civilisation of Tasmania did not know the use
of bone as material for implements, and we can. therefore,
conclude that this also applies to the same type of civilisar
tion in EuT'ope. Those who held that the use of bone is a
more modem invention, which the primitive industries had
not yet made, were, therefore, perfectly right, and this
view is fullv borne out bv the researches in Tasmania.

Roy. Soc. Tas. 1911.

GROUND "sacred" STONE, OLD BEACH.

BY FJii'i'Z N(ii.;tlin(;, ma., I'll u. 105

2. DiD THE ABOKlGiNES KNOW THE ART OF

GRINDING?— ri. XVil.

It has always been most emphatically asserted that
the art of grinding was unknown to the aborigines. My
collections have, however, proved that the oj)eration of
grinding was not unknown to them. It ajapears, however,
that thoy nevei", under any circumstances, used it in the
manufacture of tero-watta, but strictly limited it to the
manufacture of the Hat, so-called "sacred" stone (1). I never
found a single tero-wattai which even shows the faintest
indication of being ground or polished, but I have found
numerous sacred stones, which show more or less distinct
traces of having been subjected to the process of grinding.
I described some specimens in a previous paper (2), but,
though the indications may, perhaps, not be quite
so convincing, the specimen PI. XVII. from the
Old Beach gives us an absolute proof. This
specimen was found by Mr. E. S. Anthony, who
kindly presented it to me. It is an oval, very flat
diabase pebble, measuring 5 x 3^ to Ij inch, and weighing
lib. 8oz. avoir- Both the upper and lower sides are flat,
but while the lower side is rough, probably on account of
weathering, the upper side has been most elaborately
polished and ground. The grinding even extended to the
peripheral portion, and fine sharp edges were produced.
Three rough marks, extending obliquely across the upper
side, form a conspicuous feature, particularly as the surface
between them is slightly convex. In my opinion, these
mai'ks are incidental, and they represent a jDortion of the
original crust, which was not quite removed when the
pebble was ground.

The specimen is well preserved, except for a large frag-
ment broken off from the marffin. Now such sharp faces
?.nd edges as this specimen exhibits can only be produced
by grinding; any other explanation is impossible. Modern
mnn would assume that the stone was ground on another
one ; at least, if he were to reduce such a stone he would
proceed in such a way- The Tasmanian may have pro-
ceeded differently; he rubbed and ground the specimen

(1) I pr fer to use the term "sacre.d" in=tp,nfl of "mnsic" in c^P9crihing
this pecuUar group of stones, because it bettor expresses tlieir nature
than the word magic.

(2) Some implements of <ho Ta'manlnn aborigines. The Tasmanian
Naturalist, vol. 1, No. 3, 1907.

Irti ITKllIKi; NOIKS ON lIAitll'S (IK TAS.MAMAN A I!i Mill ;I N KS.

with another stone till desired result was produced. This
is unquestionably indicated by the two large " inortars " in
which the concavity has been produced by grinding the
stone with another one of globular shape.

As a contribution towards the psychology oi the Tas-
inanians, the fact that they liad, at least, a rudimentary
knowledge of the operation of grinding is of the greatest
inijiortance. The question may well be raised, if the
operation of grinding was known to thcnij why did they
not use it to imjjrove the tero-watta, but limited it strictly
to the sacred stones ? The aborigine who ground and
polished the specimen (PI. XVIT.) was, apparently, quite
aware that he improved it. Under these circumstances it
is more than surprising — I always speak from the point of
the modern mind — that it never struck him to apply the
same process to a tero-watta. It might be argued that
the material of the tero-watta was too hai^d for grinding.
This is by no means the case, as I have proved by experi-
ment. Chert or hornstone is easily ground and polished
on sandstone; in fact, almost easier than diabase. This
proves, in my opinion, that the difficulty of grinding a hard
rock cannot have been the reason why the tero-watta were
never ground.

The rea-son must have been quite a different one. The
aborigines were not above a certain logical reasoning, as is
proved by the production of red ochre (3). But, on the
other hand, they were ab.solutely incapable of conceiving
new ideas for the improvement of their implements. This
has been amply demonstrated by- the peculiar tero-watta
described in a previous paper (4). If they could not make
such a simple invention as to continue the trimming of the
whole edge on both faces, it is not very probable that they
applied a process, Avhich was restricted to the "sacred"
stones for the improvement of the tero-watta.

There may, however, be another, perhaps, more
weightier reason still. I have shown that the sacred stones
must in all probability be considered as specimens connect-
ed with certain rites or religious notions (5). It may be
possible that an operation which was used in the produc-

es) Rpd Ochre and Its use hv the Aborigines of Tasmania. Pap and
Proceed. Hoyal Society Tas.. 1909, page 30.

(4) A Peculiar Group of Tronattas. Pap. and Proceed. Rov. Soc. Tas.,
1909, p'lgo 1.

(5) Some Implements of the Tasmanian Aborigines. Tlie Tasmanian
Naturalist, vol. I, No. 3, 1907.

BV FUITZ >H)ETJJNC;, M.A., PH.D. 107

tion of these specimens was not to be applied to profane
purposes. Tliis is merely a suggestion, which may be
accepted as a plausible explanation or not.

However that may be, it is bey'bnd doubt that the Tas-
manians had already acquired a rudimentaiy knowledge of
grinding, but they applied it to one pmijose only, viz., to
the manufacture of the sacred stones, and never to any
other.

This is one of the numerous strange facts which we
meet with in studying the Tasmanian race. In my opinion,
this points to one direction only. The Tasmanian race had
already reached their highest point of evolution ; it was
impossible for them to go further; they could not conceive
new ideas, or make new inventions, and had the race still
existed for another thousand years, at the end of that
period they would have exactly been where they were at
its beginning- It is unquestionable that the incapability
of the Tasmanian race to adaj^t themselves to new ideas or
surroundings accelerated its extinction.

This view has now been proved by so many observa-
tions that we may take it as certain that the Tasmanian
aborigines represented a race of mental stagnation. They
may have been distantly related to the races now inhabit-
iiig the Australian continent, but it is absolutely incojiceiv-
able how, in the face of these facts, a recent writer (6)
could consider the Tasmanian aborigines as an insular tvpe
of the Australian aboi'igines.

Let us consider the logical consequences of this theory.
Dr. Basedow admits that the Tasmanian aborigines came to
the island 'previous to its separation from the mainland,
and, as a necessarv corollary, previous to the arrival of the
dingo.

If the Tasmanian aborigines were only an insular
branch of the Australian race, we must assume that at the
time of their migration to the south-eastern comer of Aus-
tralia, now represented by Tasmania, the whole of the
Australian race was in the arch?eolithic stage. There
is no getting away from rhis, because the Tasmanians repre-
sent that sta,ge, and never got beyond it.

On the other hand, we find on the Australian contin-

6) Basedow, Der Tasmanier Schaedel. ein Insulartvpus, Zeitsch. f.
Ethnologie, vol. 42, pt. III., 1910, page 175.

108 FIRTHKK NOTES ON HABITS OK TASMANIAN ABORIGINES.

cut the palaeolithic as well as the neolithic stage. I have
very little knowledge of the Australian stone implements,
but it appears to me that in the Australian implements
there is no lower stage represented than the Solutreen, of
which probably the West Australians may be the type.
The confirmation of this view may, perhajjs, be of great
importance, but luckily it does not bear directly on the
present question. One fact, however, is absolutely certain,
the civilisation of the Australian aborigines represents a
much higher stage than that of the Ta?manian aborigines.
In other words, the Australians developed (7), while the
Tasmaiiians remained stagnant. At the first glance my
theory of the mental stagnation of the Tasmanian abori-
gines seems to confirm such a hypothesis, but on closer
examination it will be seen that such view is untenable.
If the mental qualities of the Australian race had the germ
of further development, why did only the Australian
branch reach a higher stage while the Tasmanian one re-
mained stationa,ry ? This question must first be conclu-
sively answered before Dr. Basedow's theory can be
accepted.

It is impossible to assume that the struggle for exists
ence is responsible for this. Let us examine the physical
conditions under which ine so-called two branches lived.
The average temperature of the Australian continent is
decidedly higher than that of Tasmania ; the climate is.
therefore, considerably wai'mer in Australia than in Tas-
mania. On the oth^r hand except the northern tropical
portion, Australia is much drier than Tasmania- The
search for drinking water is certainly more arduous in (he
Australian continent than in Tasmania. Food was. if any-
thing, probably easier to find in Australia than in Tas-
mania. Neither in Australia nor Tasmania large carnivor-
ous animals existed as enemies of the human race. If any-
thing, Tasmania can boast of the most ferocious of the
two. the tiger and the devil. Hunnn enemies were the
same, both in Australia and Tasmania, and we have it on
record thnt the Tasmaninn tribes lived in constant interno
cine war.

The absence of large animalic enemies, the constant
intertribal feuds, the plentifulnoss of food being the same

(7» It mattors not the lenst whethnr tlip Auslrillnns Imd al^e.^dy
rpaflii d the hl.trh<»r ptnp^ whpti th^v nrrlvod 'n Australia, or cradnally
aonulrod It fIh'-p fhoir arrival. T ico^. howpvp'-. inrllned to IioUpvp they
r<'pr<'s<- tt'<I alrpady a hiirlu'r stace wlii-ii tliev invaiU-il the Aiistralinn rontinent,
tlian its original iiiliahitaiit«, viz , the Tasmanian race.

BY FRI'lZ NOETLING, M.A., PH.D. 109

for the aborigines of Tasmania as those of Australia, the
only real diliei'ence is a warmer, more congenial climate
in Australia than in Tasmania. "Whether tlie comparative
scarcity of water in Australia is of any real importance
may be somewhat doubtful, because it is very probable
that the natives carefully avoided all those tracts where
water is scarce.

Though the Tasmanian climate was more severe than
the Australian, it is, therefore, not very probable that the
struggle for existence was more arduous in Tasmania than
in Australia, and, though an occasional drought may have
affected the Australians, the same struggle was not harder
in Australia than in Tasmania.

The conditions of life of the Australian aborigines and
those of Tasmania were, therefore, pretty much the same,
except for the difference in the climate. Is it possible, or
even probable, that this difference of climate accounts for
the difference in the evolution of the two branches? I
fairly doubt it, and it is generally assumed that those races
living in a cooler climate are superior to those living in a
warmer one. If Dr- Basedow's theory were correct, this
general experience would be erroneous, as f:ir as Australia
;:nd Tasmania are concerned.

I, therefore, think that, notwithstanding their simil-
arity of the skull, the Tasmanian r.borigines are different
from the Australian aborigines. Both may be derived
from the same stock or root, but it is more than probable
that the Tasmanians represent the older, the Australians
the younger branch.

Wc know now for certain that the separation of Aus-
trn.lia and Tasmania took place after the disappearance of
the glaciers in Tasmania, and after the extinction of the
gignntic marsupialia, which, as the palaeontological evidence
of the Mowbrav swamp pi'oves, must have lived up to, what
•we would call in Europe, historical times. The occupation
of the present island by {he aborigines has, therefore, taken
place in quite recent times, and I estimate the period that
has since lapsed at not more than 7,000 years.

Even admitting, for the sake of argument, that this
period were too short, is the time since the separation long
enoufrh to produce such serious changes in the cranium of
the aborigines as Dr. Basedow assumes? I fairly doubt it;
but, what is more, why should the mere fact of separation

110 FUUTHKR NtiTl'.S ()N H A HITS OF TASMANIAN ABORIGINES.

produce osteological chingcs in ihi Tasmanian aborigines
and not also in the Australian natives? This statement of
Dr. Bciscdow is absolutely without foundation, and he
proves himself by it a worthy disciple of Ilerr Klaatsch,
who enjoys such an unenviable notorietv for superficial
work.

In conclusion, 1 may mention another theory promul-
gated by Dr. Basedow, viz., the origin of the superciliary
ridges. Dr. Basedow believes that they represent a second-
ary feature, probably due to the intense glare of the sun
in Australia. But what about the Tasm.uiians? Why
should they develop such strong supcrciliarv ridges? There
is not such a strong glare in Tasmania as in Australia ; the
rays of the sun are much more oblique in lat. 43deg. than
in lat. 35deg. to 15dcg., and there was, therefore, no need
for the Tasmanians to develop such strong ridges in order
to protect their eyes from the glare. The logical conse-
quences of Basedow's theory are almost too ludicrous for
woi'ds. If he were right all I'accs living under the tropical
sun should develop strong supercilian' ridges. This is cer-
tainly not correct, as far as India is concerned, as I can
vouch from my own experience, and I fairly doubt whether
the glare of Australia is worse than that of the Indian
desert or Baluchistan. All the African and American
races living between 43deg. north and 43deg. southern
lat. should develop superciliary ridges, if Basedow's theory
were coiTect. The Italians, the Spaniards, in fact, any
European living south of 43deg. north lat., should develop
strong superciliary ridges to protect his eves from the
glare, but I am afraid that wp would fail to discover them.
I do not think that many will share Basedow's view as to
the origin of the superciliary ridges, and I am probably
correct if I assume that far the majority will consider them
as what they really are, viz., primitive features-

Since the above was written a very severe criticism of
Dr. Basedow's paper has been published in the same jour-
nal. Vol. 43, 1911, Pt. II., page 287. Professor Dr. von
Luschan. one of the greatest living authorities on crani-
ology. points out that Basedow's paper is scientifically
valueless, full of errors, mistakes, and wrong deductions.
It is hardly surprising that Professor von Luschan notices
Basedow's ludicrous theory, and he says: — "Basedow does
not tell us how it could happen that the skull of the
Tasmanian became broader and the hair more curly
because Ta.smania became separated from the Australian
continent." Professor von Luschan calls Basedow's paper

BY FRITZ NOKTLING, M.A., PHD. Ill

"Eine Eiitgleisung." Literally, this word means "a derail-
ment" (of a ti'uck), but, metaphorically used, it is a polite
form of saying that the contents of a paper are scientifi-
cally without value ; in fact, that they are not worth the
paper on which they are printed.

3. DID THE ABOEIGINES MAKE TEEO-WATTA
OF APPARENTLY INTENTIONAL FORM?—

PL XVIIL, XIX., XX.

I have repeatedly pointed out that one of the chief
characteristics of the tero-watta is the absence of every
intentional or conventional shape. The specimens here
described appear to be contrary to this rule ; at least, it
is very difficult to imagine that their outline is purely
accidental. If this be so. we may well ask : What do these
specimens represent? It is impossible to suppress the
notion that No. 1, PI. XVII., does not represent a four-foot-
ed animal ? The outline is sO' suggestive that any other inter-
pretation does not appear probable ; the two lobes repre
senting the feet are so thin and fragile that if they were
ever used for any purpose whatsoever where the slightest
pressure was required they would break at once ; yet they
are most carefullv chipped all along the edge. More curi-
ous still is, perhaps. No. 2, PL XVIII- The view that it
represents a double concave sci'aper, and that the bill
between the two concave edges is accidental, is at once dis-
proved by the fact that the point of the bill is carefully
chipped and rounded oflF. If we assume it to be a borer,
we may ask why was the point of the drill, which ought to
be sharp, carefully rounded off, and what would be the
good of such a short, rounded-off point when any sharp
splinter could perform the operation of boring much more
effectively ? If we go through the whole number of speci-
mens that have come under notice, we will see that in every
instance there are weighty reasons speaking against their
use as implements or tools, and equally weighty reasons
pointing towards the assumption that their outline is not
purely accidental, but is rather shaped to represent a cer-
tain object. If this view be correct, the specimens have
to be considered as figure stones, that is to say, stones

I1:J FL1:T11J-K MiTlis UN llAlilTs UF XAbMAMAN AilUlUcilNES.

which were Bhuped with the view of ropru'seuLiiig a certain
object. These objects ai"e : —

(1) A four-footed auiuiai.

(2) The huiiiau f;ice-

(3) A bird's head.

(4) A snake.

Specimens of this kind are pretty rare, but from the
first their peculiar shape induced me to set them aside
from the others.

Pi'of. Schweinfurth described in an interesting paper
on the cave deposits of Sicily (8) certain specimens as figure
stones (Pierres figures, pierres figurees), which reminded
me at once of the Tasmanian ones. Prof. Schweinfurth
states that the Sicily specimens mostly represent heads of
animals. Much rarer are complete figures, but he did not
notice any specimens representing human heads or figures.

The figures he gives of these specimens are, however,
not very convincing, and it requires some stretch of
imagination to recognise in figures A, B, C, D, E, F,
PI. X., the heads of birds. The most convincing are figures
L and M, PI. XL, though even here a certain imagination
is required. However, I do not wish to discuss the proba-
bility of Prof- Schweinfurth's views; all I want to point
out is, that if the hypothesis with regard to the Sicily speci-
mens be correct, tlie view I have taken with regard to the
specimens here described is still more so, because their out-
line is much more suggestive than that of the Sicily speci-
mens.

I am fully aware that it is a very delicate siibject I am
dealing with, and I particularly wish to point out that T
do not consider it more than a working hy]iothesis. T
shall be very pleased if anybody else can suggest a better
one, because if we accept it we admit that the Tasmanian
aborigines had already developed a certain sense of art.
This feeling induced them to reproduce in the unwieldy
stone certain objects with which they were familiar, ani-
mals in the first instance.

(8) Ueber diis Hoehlen PaUeollthlkum von Slclllen, Zeltschr f.
Ithnologle. 1907, vol. 39, pt. 6, page 879.

BY FKITZ NOETLING, M.A., PH.D. 113

If we muster the animals of Tasmania we find that the
lai'ge four-footed animals so abundant in Europe are totally
absent. There are only two animals in which the four
extremities are well recognisable to the eye, viz., the Tas-
manian tiger (Thylacinus) and the Tasmanian devil (Sarco-
piiiiui. ursinusj. In the wombat (Phascolomys wombat) the
extremities are very short, almost hidden by the body, and
the kangaroo, either resting, but particularly when chased,
looks more like a two-footed animal than a four-footed one.

Among the birds, the now extinct emu, with its sharp
beak, must have been a conspicuous object. I hardly need
to say that the snake, so common in Tasmania, must have
been an object of teri'or to these naked savages.

Last, but not least, there are those specimens which
suggest the profile line of a human face, which certainly
represent a remarkable feature. When a child draws a
human face in profile the most conspicuous part besides the
circular head is the nose, added in the shape of a triangle.
The specimens here described show this feature in a marked
way, and, as I said above, it is impossible to suppress the
notion that these specimens really represent what they
appear to be.

Whether the hypothesis here promulgated be correct
or not, one fact appears to be pretty certain, the outline
of these specimens is not accidental, but the result of
deliberate work, with the intention to produce a certain
shape.

PI. XVIII.

This is the finest specimen which, so far, has come
under my notice. It measures 100 mm. in length, and its
greatest height is 71 mm. The thickness i.s small, the
greatest thickness barely exceeding 10 mm.

The rock used is a fine grained hornstone, of dark grey
colour, apparently finely stratified. It is covered w'^
rather a thick patina of light grey colour, having a yellow-
ish tinge. The outline of this specimen cannot be better
described than representing that of an animal, having a
thick body, a rather short, but thickly-set, head, and short,
squat legs, and the posterior portion of the body shortly
rounded off.

The upper edge forms almost a straight line, and is
very carefully chipped from the posterior end to the middle

114 iritlllKK NuTKfS ON HAlillS (IK TASMaMAN AliOKlGlN KS.

of the head. Here a piece of the original crust of dark
brown colour is still preserved, but there is no marginal
chipjDing up to the anterior end. From here the lower
edge is most carefully worked for its whole length. It is
obvious from the chipping that the deep anterior con-
cavity of the margin is intentional and not accidental.
The chipping is particularly careful at the lower edge of
the anterior extremity, and but .somcwh:it less on its pos-
terior side. Unfortunately, a fi"agment broke oflF the pos-
terior extremity, though, to judge from the patina, this
damage must have been caused at the time of manufac-
tvirc- It appears, however, that the posterior side was
much less carefully chipped than the other edges.

The indical face is llat. and shows the traces of a few
large flakes being broken off- The pollical face is flat, but
somewhat wrinkled ; no bulb of percussion is visible, but
it appears probable that it was situated at the point of the
posterior extremity.

Well may we ask, what was the use of this remark-
able specimen, sujDposing it were used as an implement?
The three concavities might suggest the use as a scraper
for spears or hunting-sticks. Assuming this being so. it is
impossible to account satisfactorily for the fine chipping of
the lower edge of the anterior extremity. This could not
have possibly served any useful purpose, because of the
thinness of the anterior extremity, which is only 3 mm.
At the base where it measures 23 mm. in width, the thick-
ness is slightly larger, being 6 mm., while the total length
is 26 mm. If any strain or hard pressure were brought on
this thin piece of stone, either at its lower or its lateral
edges, it would break off at once. This fact makes it im-
possible to assume that this part of the stone ever served
any useful purpose. The same applies to the posterior
extremity.

The upper edge may have been used as a scraper, but,
admitting this, we may rightly ask : Why, then, was the
lower edge so carefully hollowed out and chipped to such
an extent that even the thin piece separating the anterior
and the middle concavity was chipped at its lower edge,
when all this work was to no useful object whatsoever?

The study of the tero-watta has revealed some
str3.nge features of the mental state of the aborigines.
Admitting that they did a good deal contrary to modern
expectations, it would certainly go too far to assume

Roy. Soc. Tas. 1911.

Pl. XVIII.

Roy. Soc. Tas. 1911.

PL. XIX.

Roy. Soc. Tas. 1S11.

PL. XX.

BY FRITZ NOETLING, M.A., PH.D. Il5

that they deliberately spent a good deal of work, knowing
all the time that it was useless.

I rather think it n.cre probable that the outline of
this specimen was dehi)erately shaped to represent a cer-
tain object, viz., a loi'r-footed animal, in all probability a
v.-ombat.

The group of specimens now to be described are, pei"-
haps, the most interesting of the whole number, because
if the hypothesis of the figure stones be correct they must
represent human faces. It may be argued, but the face,
i.e., the profile, is not that of an aborigine. .Granted that
this is so, but can we expect that a primitive race
could shape such primitive implements from so unwieldy
a material as stone i.n exact likeness of a human Deing?
That would be exactly the same as if we were to expect a
child that makes its first attempt with a piece of chalk to
draw an accurate portrait of his father. Nobody could
reasonably expect this, and we must, therefore, not expect
that the specimens beio considered as human faces must
represent an accurate profile line of an aboriginal face.
It were rather surprising if the aborigines had already
acquired such a high perfection in art, considering their
otherwise low state of civilisation.

I wisli it, however, to be well understood that I do not
siay that these specmens represent a human face. All I
contend is that the outline of these siDecimens is inten-
tional and not accidental, and if the hypothesis of the
figure stones is correct, there can be only one interpreta-
tion of these specimens : they were manufactured to repre-
sent a human face.

PI. XIX.

This very interesting specimen was found at Mona Vale.
Its length is 84 mm., the greatest breadth 52 mm., the
thickness 34 mm. The nature of the rock cannot be quite
correctly ascertained ; but, to judge from the colour of the
patina, and fi'om that of the original crust, as well as the
fine conchoidal fracture, the rock must be a hornstone of
either grey or dark blue colour. It differs, however, from
other hornstones, that large numbers of small perforations
or holes, which on the siurface are filled with a ferruginous
matrix, are irregularly distributed through the substance.
The whole surface is covered with a patina of light brown
colour, while that portion of the original crust which still
adheres to the indical face is of dull red colour.

H

1)0 FUltTHKll .No'J'K.S u.N IIAlilTS (iK TASMANIAN AUURIGINKS.

The outline is the profile of a human turned towai'ds
right. Oil the right side we see, as a most conspicuous
feature, a little above the middle, a short, rather broad
prominence, rounded off at its end. Above it the edge is
deeply concave, but bulges out again, and comes round in
An elliptical curve to the left side. Below it the edge is a
little less concave, then turns into a fairly straight line,
wiiich, before reaching the proximal edge, forms another
concavity. The left edge is convex at its distal, concave at
its proximal position. The proximal edge is straight.

The pollical face is flat and smooth ; no distinct bulb
of percussion ■ can be seen. The indical face is strongly
convex, and is a good deal worked. The flaking is, how-
ever, limited to the right and the left side, while towards
the distal end the original crust is still preserved.

The right side conclusively shows that the promin-
ence has been deliberately made by striking off flakes
above and below it. The result is a ridge in its middle,
Avhich runs from the edge towards the left. The three con-
cavities wei"e eventually produced by three blows of differ-
ent strength, the top one being the strongest, the lower
one t\\2 weakest- It can further be seen that these blows
were effected after the production of the prominence. The
left side has been well chipped, particularly towaj*ds the
proximal end. The chipping of the indical face has not
1 educed the thickness of the stone, and it is' clear that the
reduction of thickness was not desired ; otherwise the
thin ridge formed by the flaking of the left and right side
could have easily been struck off by a simple blow.

I will attempt to discuss the probable uses of this
peculiarly-shaped specimen. The most natural suggestion
is that it served as a borer, the prominence being, appar-
ently, well suitable for such a purpose. If we examine it,
however, more closely we perceive that it is most unsuit-
able for boring, its end being too blunt and rounded off
to be used for making a hole. But .supposing it did serve
as a borer, what good was it to the left edge, which was
quite useless? The original crust proves conclusively that
the flake cannot have been much larger than it is now. and
that, therefore, the removal of an inconvenient part can-
not have been the object of trimming. Further, if the
prominence was a borer, why was the lowest concavity of
the right edge made? Surely, that little convex part above
it cannot have been used as a borer. Perhaps the weighti-
est objerlion against the borer hypothesis is the breadth
of thci prominence. We are sufficiently well infonncd about

BY FRITZ NOETLIJSG, MA., I'H. D. 117

the habits of the aboi'igines to know that they did not
possess any object that required a borer to produce holess
from 10-lli mm. in diameter.

The second hypothesis would assume that the promin-
ence was accidentally produced by the edge above and
below it being used as a scraper to polish spears. Against
this view speaks the fact that the prominence was inten-
tional and not accidentally left. We further know that
the lowest concavity was prodviced by a special blow, and
whatever it was meant for it is certain that it cannot have
served as a scraper- The same that has above been said
about the left side applies to the scraper theory.

If we admit tliat this sjDecimen was not used as an im-
plement, the only possible view Ave can take is that it is
a figure stone, representing the profile line of a human
head.

PI. XX.

This specimen was found at Melton Mowbray. The
length is 57mm., the greatest breadth 44 mm., the average
breadth is a little smaller, viz., 31 mm., the thickness no-
where exceeds 21 mm., the weight is

The rock is the typical honistone of dark blue colour,
occurring at Johnston's quarry. Melton Mowbray, and
-there cannot be the slightest doubt that this specimen
was made from a piece of rock that was obtained from the
quarry. There is no pa^tina, but a rather thick portion of
the original cnist still remains on the indical face. The
crust is of light greyish colour, and its surface rather
ferruginous-

The outline would be elliptical, if the continuity of the
curve were not interrupted by a broad two-pointed pro-
minence. The right edge is slightly curved, and passes
gradually into the more strongly curved upper and lower
edge. The left hand edge is deeply concave in its upper,
somewhat less so in its lower portion. Both times the con-
cavity forms an oblique angle. Between these there is a
prominence measuring 26 mm. in length, terminating in
two points, of which the upper one is longer and sharper
than the lower one, which is slightly I'ounded oflF. Between
the two points the edge is slightly concave.

The pollical face is veiy smooth and flat, but there is

118 FUHTHKU NOTKS ON HABITS OF TASMANIAN. ABORIGINES.

no bulb of percussion. The indical face is rathei" convex,
and well worked. Upper, right, and lower edge are most
carefully chipped. The outline of the left edge was pro-
duced by a few large flakes being struck off in such a way
that a ridge runs to the extreme end of the two points.

When we examine this specimen we perceive that a
good deal of work was spent to produce the regular curve
of the continuous upper right and lower edge, and, notic-
ing this, we may well ask, Why was the work not complet-
ed all round? Two blows would have been sufficient to
strike off the prominence, and a most perfect oval would
have I'esulted. Though the right edge could have served
as a scraper, the left edge was perfectly useless. I do not
think that anyone will assume that it served as a borer.
If it was a borer, why the careful trimming of the other
edge? The three concave portions are certainly not acci-
dental. We see distinctly that the upper middle and lower
one were produced by striking of a single flake. The flak-
ing was probably executed by means of a sharply-pointed
hammerstone. because the spot where the point struck the
pollical face can distinctly be seen on the edge.

This specimen affords a still greater problem than
the above, and before proceeding further I want once more
to summarise the facts that cannot be disputed. These
arc :. —

(1) There is the evident intention to produce a speci-
men of elliptical shape by the careful trimming of at least
5-6th of the circumference.

(2) The lower, right, and upper edge arc most carefully
worked.

(3) The peculiar outline of the left edge has been
produced by three separate blows, and the three concavi-
ties are, therefore, not accidentally produced.

What conclusion can we draw fi'om the above obser-
vations? The fact that the left edge is much less care-
fully chipped than the rest of the circumference might
suggest the view that it represents a reject which was
dropped before it was finis-hed. I fully admit the weight
of this argument, but we may well ask is it possible to
imagine that after such an amount of work had been spent
in shaping it, it was dropped when two more blows liad
been sufficient for completion? If the theory of the un-

BY FRITZ NOETLING, M.A., I'U.D. 119

-finished reject were correct, it would add one niore fact
illustrating the curious condition of the mind of the
aborigines by doing certain acts which are impossible to
•our mind. There is no doubt that the theory of the
unfinished reject deser /es cons'deration, yet I am not quite
convinced of its correctness. The flaking of the left edge
shows that its outline was intentionally produced, but it
did not serve any useful purpose. 1, therefore, think that
this specimen has to be considered as a figure stone repre-
jsenting the px'ofile line of a human face.

120

NOTES ON MARSUPIALIAN ANATOMY.

1. ON THE CONDITION OF THE MEDIAN VAGINAL.

SEPTUM IN THE TRICHOSURID^.

PI. XXI.

By T. TlioinsMi) Flyim, B.Sc
Professor of Biology, University of Tasnuiuia.

(Read October 9. 1911.)

There has been at various times some little discussion
on the state of the median vaginal septum in vai'ioiis
members of the genus Trichosurus ; up to the present how-
ever, tlie only member of the group which seems to have
been examined is the common phalanger Trichosurus vul-
pecula. Brass (1) in 1880 described the organs of this
animal, and in his specimen found the two median cul-de-
sacs separated from one another by a complete partition.
In 1899 Forbes {'2), in a foot note on a communication on
the anatomy of the Koala, speaks of the median vaginal
apparatus as a "common vaginal chamber formed bv the
coalescence and fusion of the two diverticula present in
Phascolomys and Phascolarctos."

In 1900 the question was finallv decided for T. vul-
jiecula by Hill (3), who, as a result of his own obsei'vations
on the genital organs of both virgin animals and those
which had given birth to young, conclusively showed that
in the former the septum was complete, in tlie latter it
was incomplete, causing a more or less complete coalescence
of the two cul-de-sacs, and that this condition of incom-
pleteness of the septum arose almost certainly as a result of
and most probably during the first act of parturition. Undea*
these circumstances, the incomplete nature of the septum in

1. Brass A. " Beitriine ziir Keiiiitniss ties wi'ibliclien Urogenital .systeius der
Marsupialen." Leip/.ig, ISbO.

2. Forlu's, W.A. "On some points in the Anatomy of the Koala (Fha.sco'
larctos finerens)." I'.Z.S., 18S1.

3. Hill, .I.P. " Contrilmtions to the Morph. and Dev. of the IVm. Urog.
Organs in the Marsupials." J.) P.L.S., N.S.W., ISOU.

BY T. THOMSON FLVNN, B..-^C. ]2I

a specimen of T. vulpecula would be sufficient evidence of
the fact that the animal had borne young. In spite of
this. Van den Broek (4), in his work on the anatomy of the
female genital organs in the Marsupials, in a table given
on page 277, mentions a specimen of T- vulpecula. with such
an incomplete septum, and yet queriea the possibility of the
animal having borne young. On page 274 the same author
says: — "Doch ist diese Unterbrechung des Septum nicht
ein bestimmtes morphologisches Merkmal gewisser Ge-
schlechter von Beuteltieren, denn bei demselben Geschlechte
findet man bei der einen Art die Scbeidewand vollsttindig,
bei der audern Art unvollstanrlio-. So faud ich selber bei
Didelphys folgendes. Bei einem Didelphys marsupialis
mit Jungen im Beutel war das Septum inkomplet, bei einer
anderen kleineren Didelphysart, ebenfalls mit JungCii im
Beutel wares komplet; bei einem 6 cm. grossem Beuteljung-
en von Didel|ilivs CHnrrivorn bfstn.nd eine vol 1st tin di go-
Scheidewand. Doch selbst bei verschieden en Individuen
derselben Art findet ma^n das eine Mai ein untierbrochen-es
Septum, das anderc Mai ein kompletes."

The above statement has some significance, in view of
the condition of tiiis portion of the female genital system
in Trichosurus caninus, a specimen of which I recently
received, through the kindness of Professor Welsh, of
Sydney. It had in its pouch a mammary foetus measuring
approximately from snout to root of tail along the dorsal
curvature, 13 cm. (As it reached me minus its head only
approximate measure'ment can be given).

On examining the organs of the adult animal I expected
to find the septvimi broken as a result of parturition, but was
considerably surprised to find it quite entire. (PI. XXI.,
Fig. 1.) Recently, I have had the opportunity of examin-
ing the female organs of Trichosurus vulpecula var- fuligin-
osus. the Tasmanian "black opossum." The median vagvaal
apparatus of this animal agrees with that of the common
Phalanger, the median septum being thin, often transpar-
ent, and perforated by a larger or smaller opening after
parturition- In extreme cases the two cul-de-sacs have
quite fused, the septum being onlv represented by ex-
tremely minute rudiments. For the purposes of compari-
son the median vaginal apparatus is shown in fig. 2. It
will be seen that there are other points of difference in
the two figures, besides the condition of the septum. Thus

4. A. J. P. V. (1. Broek. '• Uiitersnclmnsen iilier die \vei))liche!i Geschlei'lits.
organe der Beiiteltiere." Petru.s Camper. 1)1 IK , Afl. 2.

122 NOTKS ON M XKSUl'IALIAN ANATOMY.

we have in T. caninus the internal lining raised into a
number of large, rounded folds, separated bv deep grooves,
the whole having a reticulate appearance. In T. vulpecula,
on t.lie other hand, the reticulate appearance is confined to
♦lit- area around the os uteri, and even in tliis region is
not very conspicuous, the remainder cf the cul-de-sac being
occupied by a scries of slightly raised long, narrow folds.
The presence of the strong septum as well as the other
points mentioned give the median vaginal apparatus in T.
caninus an appearance of strength absent in other members
■of the genus.

A study of the table given by Van den Broek (5)
summarising the existing knowledge of the changes occur-
ring in the median vaginal apparatus consequent on parturi-
tion, brings strongly forward the general rule that where
the young are borne through a direct median passage, the
septum between the two cul-de-sacs is more or less incom-
plete. A possible exception to this is Sarcophilus (6), but
it is as yet doubtful whether the young are here not borne
through the lateral canals, although the main evidence
points to the median passage as theii' means of exit- At
first, as stated in his work on the anatomy of the female
organs in Per-ameles, Hill (7) believed that the young of
Trichosurus were borne thi'ough the lateral canals, "here
comparatively short and simple in their course," but later
lie communicated the discovery of a pseudo-vaginal passage
in that genus similar to that in Perameles and Dasvurus
viverrinus (8). These -^oints may be summarised as fol-
lows : —

(1.) Marsupials which possess in the virgin completely
separated median vaginal cul-de-sacs, and in which, after
parturition, these cul-de-sacs are in communication, bear, so
far as is known, their young through a direct median
passage.

(2.) In some genera of marsupials (e.g.. Didelphys and
Trichosurus) one species may still have an entire septum
after parturition, while another mav not-

Hence, it is possible that in a genus of marsu])ials in

5. I.oc. cit., p. •27<<-'i7S.

6. FIvnn.T. T " Cdtitiil.iil i'.iis 1 .1 ;i luKiwlcil^e of tlie Aivit. .iiid Dev of the
■Marsnpiiilia." I. I'.L.S., N.S.W., idio.

7. I^oc. i-it

(S. Hi'l, .1.1*. '•(•<.iitiiliiiti..ii t<i ibc .Mdinli. .-iiul Dov. of llic Keiii Uioji.
OiRaiis in tlic .Miiisiii-iiilia ' II. \'. I'.L S., N.v.W., v.tm, j.. .•, (i.

Roy Soc. Tas. 1911.

Pl XX!

BY T. THOMSON FLYKN, B.SC. 123

• one member of a genus parturition may take place through
the lateral canals, while in another member it may not.

EXPLANATION OF FIGUKES.

Fig. 1. — Median vaginal apparatus of Trichosurus caniriue.
The two cul-de-sacs have been opened from the ventral side.

Fig. 2. — Median vaginal api^aratus of Trichosurus vulpecula
^Tar. fuliginosus, opened from the ventral side.

Pap. ut.— Uterine papilla.

Sep. — Septum between cvl-de-sacs.

124

THE OCCURRENCE OF GIGANTIC MARSUPIALS
IN TASMANIA.

By Fritz Noetling, M.A., Ph.D.

(Read November 14, 1911.)

It had hitherto been generally believed that the
gigantic marsupials were restricted to the continent
of Australia, and did not occur in Tasmania. Jack and
Etheridge (1) mention their wide distribution on the con-
tinent, and Professor Stirling (2) is of the opinion "that
this great marsupial appears to have had an immense range,
and to have probably wandered over the whole Continent
of Australia." R. M. Johnston (3), who is better acquainted
with the geology of Tasmania than anybody else, states
that "in Tasmania no remains of the extinct marsupials,
such as Diprotodon, Nototherium, and Thylacoleo, have as.
yet been found either in the ossiferous cavern breccias or in
the older alluvial beds."

It seems rather strange that nobody took the view that
remains of such animals ought also to occur in Tasmania.
Howitt (4) had already, in 1898, expressed the opinion that
Tasmania was connected with the mainland in geologically
recent times, and Hediey (5), in 1903, holds the same view.
Jack and Etheridge had. in 1892, .shown that Diprotodon
existed in Queensland in post-pliocene times, and as.
according to all writers, this animal roamed all over the
continent, it would appear very remarkable that it should
have avoided the south-east corner of Australia, viz., Ta.s-
mania, when during that time the present island formed
still a part of the continent.

(1) Geology and Paljeontology of Queensland and Now Guinea, 1892,
page 668.

(2) Fossil remains of Lalte C^allabona. Mem. Kov. Soc. Houth Auet.,
1900, Vol. I., Pt. II.

<3) (Jeology of Tasmania, page 325.

(4) On tlie Origin of tlie A>)origlnes of Ta.sninnia and Australia. Re-
)iort on tlie seventli meeting of tlie Australasian Association for tlie-
Advancement of .Science. Sydney, 1898, page 723-758.

(5i Tlie effect of tlie Bassian Isthmus upon tlie existing marine-
fauna. A study In ancient geography. Proceed. Linn. Soc. of N.S.W.,.
1903, Pt. IV., Pag. 876-883.

BY FKITZ NOE'l'LING, M.A., I'H.l). 125

Conseqviently, the discovery of remains of a gigantic
marsupial in Tasmania should not have created the general
surpi-ise they did. When, in 1910, the news that bones of
a gigantic marsupial had been discovered in the Mowbray
swamp, near Smithton, became known, the- discovery was
at first somewhat discredited. However, confirmation soon
came, and the remains were purchased by the Launceston
Museum from their discoverer, Mr. Lovett. Mr.
Scott, the Curator of the Museum, has since described them
under the name of Nototherium tasmaniense (6), but I am
somewhat doubtful whether a new species is justified. After
having seen the wonderful remains of Diprotodon australis
in the Adelaide Museum, 1 think a more careful compari-
son of the Tasmanian remains with those from South iVu&-
tralia should have been made before a new species was
created. More weighty reasons for the establishment
of a fourth species, in addition to the three already known,
should have been advanced, than those given by Mr.
Scott; in fact, if we consider that both N. ineraie Owen
and N. dunense De Vis. differ so little from Nototherium
Mitchelli Owen that they are probably nothing more than
varieties, the characteristics on which this fourth species,
N. tasmaniense, is established, are altogether unsatisfac
tory. However that may be, it matters very little whether
Nototherium tasmaniense is identical with N. Mitchelli or
not, or if even the generic determination be uncertain.
The main fact that the remains of a gigantic marsupial,
which belongs either to Nototherium or Dipi'otodon, have
been found in Tasmania, is indisputable.

Early in 1911 I had an opportunity of visiting Smith-
ton, and, thanks to the kindness of Councillor S. Moore of
Smithton, I was able tO' examine the exact spot where the
remains were found. The Mowbray Swamp is about 1-2
miles west of Smithton, and, apparently, fills up a shallow
depression of the svirface- Probably it represents an old
river course, which once had an outlet to the sea, but which
subsequently became blocked up by sand. At present the
''swamp'' IS divided from the sea by a narrow strip of sand,
on which low dunes are rising towards the coast. There
is hardly any natural fall from the swamp towards the sea,
and the vegetabilic mould, or, better said, peat, which fills
up the depression, is completely waterlogged. The thick-
ness of the peat layer is not exactly known yet, but along
the edge of the swamp, where drainage work has been
intensive, it reaches about 25ft. to 30ft. To me it seems-
very probable that the deepest point of the firm bottom,

(6) The Tasmanian Naturalist, 1911.

12G TllK 0( (JLUKKNCK 01- (iKIANTlC MAUSUl'lALS IN TASMANIA.

cn which the peat rests, is below sea level, and this would
account in some way for the sluggishness of the fall. When
drained this peat forms a rich agricultural scil, and it
is during the course of such drainage works that the
remains were discovered on Mr. Lovett's faiTn.

The fertility of the soil can be judged by the fine tim-
ber that grows on the swamp, but a great deal of clearing
and, above all. draining will have to be done before the
soil can be used to its full extent.

The clearing has revealed a very peculiar feature of the
surface. Everywhere, where the bush is lighter, small coni-
cal mounds, rising abn.iptly from the surface, will be
noticed. Generally these are not of great height ; the high-
est I saw was about 30ft., but the majority are not more
than lOft- high. These mounds look like little volcanoes,
and the likeness appears greater still, as on the top there
is a crater-like opening filled with water, in which gas
bubbles constantly rise. The water flows over the edge,
down the slope, and the immediate neighbourhood of such
a mound is particularly swampy. In order to prevent this,
and to regulate the outflow, several of these mounds have
been opened by a trench, extending right into the centre.
This trench has not only revealed the existence of a pipe,
reaching from the' bottom to the top of the mound, but it
also permitted its structure to be studied We see that the
mounds consist of body of peat, which rises above the gene-
ral surface, and dips from the centre in all directions. On
the surface of this cone layers of calcareous tuffa are ob-
sei-ved, while layers of fine mud, containing numei'ous shells
of fresh water mollusca, are seen to be interstratified with
the peat.

There is only one explanation to account for the exists
ence of these cones, the vegetabilic matter in the depth of
the swamp is still decaying, and as the result of the
decomposition gases are liberated. These gases rise and
lift the peat till it assumes the shape of a bubble, which
eventually bursts. The gases have now a free exit, but the
pressure is still sufficient to make the water rise to the
top. where it flows over.

It was, of coui'se, of some importance to ascertain the
nature of the gas rising in the water, whether it be sulphu-
retted hydrogen, a hydro-carbon, or carbonic acid. Sulphu-
retted hydrogen is easily detected by its unpleasant smell.
The entii'e absence of such smell proved that the gas could

BY FRITZ NOEXLIN(i, M.A., PH.D. 127'

not be sulphuretted hydrogen (7). The gas was, appar-
ently, not combustible, as a lighted match applied to the
bulbbles had no effect, but when I put it into
the bottom of the pipe of a cone which had been opened
by a cut, just over the point where the bvibbles rose, it
went out immediately. This proves, in my opinion, that
the gas must be carbonic acid, which, being heavier than
air, collected at the bottom of the narrow pipe, and slowlv
flowed out along the trench. The water is quite cold; un-
fortunately, I had no thermometer to measure its tempera-
ture, but even in January it was cool. This proves that it
cannot rise from a great depth. To all appearances the
water is of good quality ; it has no taste whatsoever, and
is of crystal clearness. However, when exposed to the air-
for some time, scuds of brownish colour commence to fonn.
These indicate a considerable percentage of iron, which
becomes oxydised when the water is exposed to the air.
The presence of some iron salt is proved by another obser-
vation. A piece of peat which was taken from the ditch
where the bones were found became, after being dry, com-
23letely covered with whitish crystals. These crystals proved,
bv their sweetish, astringent taste to be sulphate of iron.

Considering the large Cjuantity of the efflorescence,
sulphate of iron must be present in considerable quantities,
and this accounts for the ferruginous scvids forming when
the water is exposed to the oxydising influence of the air.

The water must also contain a considerable amount
of carbonate of lime, as pi'oved by the deposit of tuffa.

Whether water that, though, apparently, perfectly
tasteless and quite clear, contains so large a percentage of
iron and lime is ai good drinking water, and not injurious
to health, remains to be seen.

The peat is composed of rotten vegetabilic matter, in
which trunks of large trees are irregularly embedded. It
appears that most of the vegetabilic matter is too decom-
posed to allow for a determination, yet trunks of fern trees
could be distinctl^'^ recognised. A great deal of inorganic
substance, probablv sand and clay, is mixed with the
organic matter, and when dug it represents a black sub-
stance, of, rather, heaw weight, which might be used as
fuel.

(7) Mr. Moore has, liowever. informed me that there are certain
spring.* wlilch emit such a smell.

1128 THK OCCUUUKNCK OF (JKJANTIC M AltSUI'IAL.S IN TASMANIA.

Imbedded in the peat are iri'egiilar streaks and layers
' of a soft calcareous mud, full of the shells of fresh water
molluscs.

At Mr. Lovctts farm a trench of about 10ft. depth had
been cut. and partly imbedded in such a shell layer were
found the bones of, apparently, two individuals, a larger
and a smaller one. Unfortunately, Mr. Lovett had not
noted the position of the bones when thev were found, but
there is no doubt that they were not washed together by
running water; at least, those of the bigger animal
belonged to one individual. This fact is so far of import-
ance, as it proves that the animal must have perished
where it was subsequently found. If this view is correct,
there is every probability of finding further remains, be-
cause it is not vei'y likely that the specimen found was the
only one that existed.

I collected a large number of the shells, be-
cause their determination must be of the greatest import-
ance in fixing the age of the strata in which the remains
of this marsupial were found. As I have been able to com-
pare the specimens witli the types in the Tasmanian
Museum, Hobart, the specific identification is correct. I
found : —

(1) Vitrina (Paryphanta) Milligani. Pfeiff.

(2) Helix (Flammulina) Hamiltoni, Cox.

(3) Bulimus (Carycdes) Dusfresnii, Leach (eggs only).

(4) Succinea australis Fer.

(5) Physa tasmanica, Ten. Woods.

(6) Bithynella nigra, Quoy and Gaimard spec.

(7) Cyclas tasmanica. Ten. Woods.

(8) Pisidium tasmanicum. Ten. Woods.

(9) Ostracodum gen. et spec, indet.

The occurrence of Physa tasmanica, some 8ft. from the
surface, associated with the remains of a gigantic mar-
supial, is of particular interest. Tennison AVoods (8). who
first desci'ibed this species, states that it is so similar to
Physa fontinalis, of Europe, that it is almost impossible
to distingui.5h the two species. He was, therefore, at fii-st
inclined to consider Physa tasmanica as an imported vari-
ety of Physa fontirtalis. The discovery of Physa tasmanica
in the beds of the Mowbray Swamp has now conclusively
proved that it is an indigenous, and not an imported.

(8) Pap. nnd Proceed. Roy. Soc. Tasmania, 1875, pag. 74.

BY FRITZ NOETLIXG, MA., PH D. 129

species. If it were imported the gigantic marsupials would
have existed a considerable time after 1803, because we
must assume that it took some time before Physa fontinalis
spread from the southern part of the island to its north-
western corner. I do not think that anybody would accept
such an absurd theory, and we can, therefore, take it as
granted that Physa tasmanica is autochthonous.

On the other hand, if Physa tasmanica and Physa fon-
tinalis are really so similar that thev are hardly discernible
the pi"oblem becomes very interesting. I hardly think that
anybody will assume that Physa fontinalis migrated from
the temperate zone of Europe, through the tropics of Asia
into temperate Tasmania, without the slightest morphologi-
cal change; in fact, if such a migration actuallv took place
it would be more probable that the Tasmanian form would
be widely different from its European ancestor — unless we
believe that having passed the tropics, and reached the
temperate zone, it assumed again the shape and form of
that, living in the temperate zone on the northern hemi-
sphere.

If such a theory were possible, or even probable, it
would revolutionise our entire view of the geographical dis-
tribution of animals ; but I think that before it could even
hv seriouslj discussed further nroof would be required.

I rather feel inclined to think that the similarity of the
two species represents one of the numerous examples of
convergency of form, developing under the influence of the
saine climatic conditions. After the disappearance of the
glaciers in Tasmania, certain molluscs developed the same
tendency towards a certain form, as did similar molluscs
in Europe under similar climatic conditions. This is, how-
ever, a problem which isi outside the province of this paper.

With the exception of Bulimus (Caryodes) Dufresnii,
the largest land snail of Tasmania, whose eggs could un-
mistakably be recognised, and Helix (Flammulina) Hamil-
ton! all other species occur in enormous numbers. All
these species live at present in Tasmania, and range
amongst the commonest species. With the exception of the
three species, all the others are fresh water molluscs, but
Vitrina Millegani, Helix Hamiltoni, and Bulimus Dufresnii
like a moist, cool habitat.

We must, therefore, assume that the beds in which
Nototherium tasmaniense was found are of quite a recent
age; in other words, that the gigantic marsupials must
have lived in Tasmania up to quite recent times. The

130 THK UCCURKENCK OK (UCANTlr MAKStlM ALS IN TASMANIA.

simultaneous occurrence of higher organised mammals,
which have become extinct, and lower organised mollusca,
which are still nourishing, is of the greatest theoretical
importance. It proves conclusively that lower organised
animals are much less suscej. table to changes than higher
organised ones. The Ipwer oiganism is, apparently, better
fitted to adapt itself to changes than the higher one ;
changes which resulted in the complete disappearance
of the gigantic marsupials had not the slightest effect on
the molluscs. On the other hand, this simultaneous occur-
rence of extinct mammals and living molluscs conclusively
proves that in determining the age of certain beds from
fossils alone, we must be strictly guided by one class only.
It has been proved over and over again that the results as
to the age of certain beds derived from the study of, say,
the cchinodenns, are somewhat at variance with those de-
rived from the study of molluscs ; and, again, those derived
from the study of pelecypoda and gastropoda differ from
those obtained from the study of cephalopoda. Generally,
the lower classes are indicative of a somewhat older age
than the higher classes, because they are more persistent
than the latter.

The j^resent land and fresh-water molluscan fauna
must, therefore, have already been in ex'str^nce when the
gigantic marsupials roamed over the Australian Continent,
and when Tasmania was still connected with the mainland.
It would, however, bo completely wrong to argue that it
must bo of great age, becavise these giants have since died
out.

Stratigraphically, the beds in the Mowbrav Swamp are
also of very recent age; in fact, thev were formed when the
present physiographical features of Tasmania had been
practically formed, except that in all probability th? eleva-
tion of the swam]) above sea level was then higher than it is
now.

It almost seems significant that the remains of the
gigantic marsupials were discovered in such a part of Ta.s-
mania that probably was connected longer with the main-
land than others, but this is, perhaps, merely accidental.
For the present we are unable to say whether the gigantic
marsupials had a wider distribution in Tasmania, or
whether thev were restricted to the northern part. So far
no remains have been found at other localities, and R. M.
Johnston, the indefatigable geological explorer of Tasmania,
v»ould have most probablv discovered them had they
existed. However, this does not prove that they do not

BY FKITZ NOETLING, M.A., PH.D.

131

exist ; the numerous silted-up lakes and tarns of the high-
lands of Tasmania may still contain many a surprise.

However, for the present we are forced to assume that
the distribution of the gigantic marsupials in Tasmania
was limited, and restricted to the northern parts; in fact,
i*-. almost appears as if they had just arrived from the
mainland, when they commenced to die out, without find-
ing time to spread further. It is certain that the migra-
tion from the mainland must have taken place at a time
when Tasmania was still connected with the mainland; in
fact, the occurrence of the gigantic marsupials is a further
proof — if such was required — of the existence of a land
bridge between Tasmania and- Australia. It is absolutely
impossible to understand how the gigantic marsupials could
have otherwise reached Tasmania, unless we assume that
they originated snontaneously in Australia and Tasmania.

Further, unless we assume that the gigantic marsupials
existed in Tasmania a long time after the separation of the
island from the continent, we must conclude that this event
took place in very recent times. But, what is more, the
gigantic marsupials must have already been extinct before
the arrival of the Tasmanian aborigines, because there is
not a tittle of proof that they were knov;n to them. Thus
the separation of Tasmania and Australia must have taken
place so recently that the tJieory advanced by me in a
previous paper is fully borne out (9).

The
times of

Fresh water
and land
Molluscan
Fauna, the
same as at
present.
Flora the
same as at
present.

sequence of events in the most modem geological
Tasmania may be summarised as follows: —

'(a) Last stage p. Immigration of the gigantic Marsupials (?)
of the isthmus 2. Extinction of the gigantic Marsupials,
between Tas-x 3. Immigration of the Tasmanian Aborigines
mania and about 7,000 years ago. i)

Australia. V (Probably commencing rise of temperature.)

(h) Destruction (
of the isthmus Subsidence of the surface, probably accom-
between Tas--! panied by volcanic eruptions along the north
m a n i a a n d coast of Tasmania. (Younger volcanic period (?)
Australia. v

I (^fj Complete re- (\. Immigration of the Aryan race, 1803.

])lacement of 2. Extinction of the Tasmanian Aborigines,
the old isth-] 1878. _ . . *?

musbythesea. 3. Exclusive population of Aryan origin in
I Tasmania since 1878.

(9) The Antiquity of Man in Tasmania. Pap. and Proceed. Roy. Soc.
1910. See al?o Noetling, Das Alter der menschl. Rasse in Tasmanian.
N J.M.GP, 1911. B-iilagebandXXXI., page 303.

132 THE OCCURRENCE OK (ilGANTIC MARSUPIALS IN TASMANIA.

The fact that in Tasmania the gigantic marsupials
occur together with the recent molluscan fauna and the
recent flora is of the greatest importance with regard to
the determination of the age of these animals in Australia.

On the authority of the late Professor Tate, the beds
which contained the remains of Diprotodon australis in
Lake Callabona (S.A.) were declared to be of pliocene age.
] have not been able to ascei-tain how Tate arrived at his
view of the age. Professor Stirling found only one species
of mollusca, viz., Potamopyrgus spec, and some specimens
of plant remains, two of which could be identified with liv-
ing species. I almost presume that for no other reason than
because they contained the remains of extinct animals
these beds were considered as Pliocene, as they were un-
doubtedly younger than those Tate considered as Eocene
and Miocene. Tate's views as to the age of the tertiary
beds in Australia are, however, no longer tenable. The
Eocene disappears entirely, and most of the strata he
thought to be of Eocene age have to be considered as Mio-
cene ; in fact, if not of still younger age. I cannot enter here
into the discussion of tbis question; all I can say is that
Tate's view of the pliocene age of the Diprotodon beds is
not supported by unshakable palseontological evidence.
Whatever their age may bo, in Tasmania the Nototherium
occurs in beds that, without doubt, are of post-glacial age.

In view of the above fact, it is remarkable to note that
as far back as 1892 Jack and Etheridge (10) have ex-
pressed a similar view with regard to the remains of Dipro-
todon in Queensland. On page 608 the authors say : — "On
the other hand^ in Queensland there is no evidence that
they went back to the tertiary epoch, although it is quite
possible that thev did. Such direct evidence as we have,
consisting of the association of the mammalia with fresh
water and land shells of species still living, would lead to
the conclusion that the former (viz., the gigantic marsu-
pialia) were in the Queensland area, confined to the post-
tertiary deposits."

If the authors, however, state that "There is abundant
evidence to show that in the southern colonies the extinct
mammalia existed in pliocene times," I am afraid that
they were somewhat influenced by Tate's views. I do not
deny that it is possible that the gigantic marsupials first
appeared in pliocene beds, but the evidence on the strength

(10) The Geology and Palaeontology of Queensland and New Guinea,
1892, pag. 608.

BY FKITZ NOETLING, M.A., PH.D. 133

of which these beds wex'e declared to be Pliocene is not very
convincing. On the whole, I do not think it very probable
that these giants lived all through the Pliocene, the Pleis-
tocene, and the late post-glacial epoch, up to times which,
according to the European standard, might be termed prse-
historical. I have come to the conclusion that the gigantic
mai'supials, in particular Diprotodon and Nototherium,
existed during the cold Pleistocene period, when enorm-
ous glaciers covered a large portion of Tasmania and the
Australian mountains. The giant marsupials were not
exactly Arctic animals, but they preferred a cool, pluviose
climate to a warm and dry one. When with the general
rise of temperature the glaciers melted away the giant mar-
supials probably followed the receding glaciers, and they
kept longest in those parts where the glaciers remained for
the longest time, viz., in Tasmania. With the complete
disappeai'ance of the glaciers, the giant marsupials also
became extinct.

It is noteworthy that Jack and Etheridge hold some-
what similar views. They assume that the changes of cli-
mate which followed the subsidence of the land were suffi-
ciently great to have a disastrous effect on the now extinct
fauna (H). It matters very little whether we attribute the
changes of the climate to the disappearance of the glaciers
or the subsidence of the land, which latter, in my opinion,
took place in post-glacial times. Messrs. Jack and Ether-
idge, as well as myself, concur in the view that the extinc-
tion of the giant marsupials was the result of climatic
changes ; only that I go a little further, and assume that
the gigantic marsupials were the representatives of the
glacial period in Australia, in the same way as Rhinoceros
tychorhini (the woolly Rhino) and Elephas primigenius
(the mammoth) characterised the pleistocene glacial period
in Europe.

(11) L.C. pag. 609.

134

NOTES ON DUTERRAUS "RECONCILIATION"
PICTURE, PI XXTI.

By Fritz Noetling, M.A., Ph.D.

Read November 14, 1911.

In an appendix to my paper on the lughrana, etc.,
read before the Society on July 10, I discussed the evidence
aflForded by the Duterrau engravings (1). I came to the
conclusion that all the engravings ought to be reversed,
because, by the mistake of the engi'avor, they were
transferred on the copper plate as originally drawn.
Naturally the prints became revex'scd, and the man making
the spear appeared to hold the tero-watta in his left
and not in his right. Just when the final proof of my
paper had been received Mr. Beattie kindly infomied me
that he had seen the original oil painting, of what I termed
No. 1 engraving (PI. XIII.), at the house of the Misses
Clebum, and that this oil painting fully confirmed my con-
jecture. I had iust time to add a hasty postscript to my
paper, stating that my views were correct, but I think it
will be useful to make a few more remarks.

From the inscription on it we know that the
engraving was made in 1835. Inasmuch as the oil
painting is somewhat more explicit, I feel inclined
to think that it is of a later date. It is very probable that
Duterrau made at first several sketches before ho finally
made his selection. One of these sketches he etched and
published in 1835, and subsequently he painted the picture
under discussion. All wc can, therefore, say is, that in all
probability it was painted jifter 1835, perhaps towards the
end of the thirties, or early in the forties.

Notwithstanding its great shortcomings, the picture is
of considerable value as a historical document. It mea-
sures about 6x4 feet, and on the back is written : "The
Reconciliation : Sketch of a national picture measuring
14 X 9 feet.' This "national" picture has actually been
painted, but its whereabouts are now unknown. Perhaps
these notes may help to discover it. The designation of
this picture as a "national" picture is a curious illustra-

(1) See Antea pag. 93.

Soc. Tas. 1911.

PL. XXI!.

BY FRITZ NOETLING, M.A., PH.D. 135

tion of the sentiments jDvevailing in 1835. Everybody
presumed that henceforth black and white, Europeans and
Tasmanian aborigines, would live as brothers and sisters
in one united "nation." To-day we can only smile at the
simpliciLv that thought it possible that one nation could
arise from the union of Aryans and one of the lowest races
of non-Aryan origin that has ever been known. We may
be thankful, in the intei-est of those that inhabit present
Tasmania, that these views, however lofty they may ap-
pear to the philanthropic idealist, were never realised. It
is regrettable that the intensely interesting Tasmanian
race took such a sad and untimely end, but in the interest
of the purity of the white race it is perhaps better so.

A comparison of PI. XIII. (the original engraving)
and PI. XXII. (the sketch in oil) shows marked differences,
though on the whole they represent the same arrangement
of persons. Both pictures prove that they are compositions,
made in the artist's studio, from sketches he made after life,
either in Kobinson's house, or in his own in Hobart (2). The
engraving contains 11 figures, viz., three women and seven
men (not including Robinson), and three dogs, while the oil
sketch contains 15 figures, viz., five women and nine
men (not including Robinson), three dogs, and a kangaroo.
The additional figiires appear in the background only. The
main gi-oup of nine figures (including Robinson), viz., three
women and five men, is, however, exactly the same in
both. Robinson half turned to the right, grasps the
Tasmanian s right with his right hand, while the left hand
is slightly raised in a teaching attitude. The features of
the aborigines are unquestionably considerably idealised.
The man, whose hand Robinson is grasping, shows an almost
noble profile, and the three females are by no means bad-
looking. It is therefore pretty certain that the features
are not realistic. The same probably applies to the colour
of skin, which in the oil sketch appears to be rather a
nleasing dark grev. I do not think that I need to explain
the meaning of the picture, which speaks for itself, except
that in the "sketch" the man on the extreme right appears
in a more natural position, his left hand holding the shell
necklace, while in the engraving he holds a portion of a
spear. It is noteworthy, however, that apparentlv the
females are convinced, and ready to accept the new doc-
trine. The men. with one exception only, are either in-
different or directly hostile, attempting to restrain the
females. It would be interesting to know whether this

(2) This renders it very probable that the "National" picture devi-
ates as much from the "Sketch" as the latter does from the 1835 en-
graving.

13(i NOTKS ON DUTEllKVLS 'KEOUNCILIATIOS I'KTUKE.

conception of the reconciliation arose in the artist's mind
only, or whether the females did play the role attributed
to them in the oil sketch.

Wc will now^ examine those features of the painting
that axe of interest with regard to the aborigines.

It is pretty certain that the loin cloth, consisting of a
kangaroo skin (with the fur inside") is a concession to the
public taste of 1835. We know for certain that the
aborigines did not cover their sexual organs.

Ornaments are woni by both sexes : these consist of
shell necklaces, and a human lower jawbone, suspended by
a string, and worn round the neck. It seems remarkable
that only the men wear the jawbone, while the women wear
only pearl necklaces. This may be accidental only, the
more so because in the engraving not one of the figures
wears a neck ornament. These are apparently subsequent
additions to the fisrurcs of the oil sketch and this would
somewhat reduce their ethnological value, because it would
show that the artist painted them, not as he had seen them,
but as he thought that they would make a pleasing effect.

Only three men wear the customary head-dress, i.e.,
the ringlets produced by rubbing a mixture of red ochre
and fat into the hair. It is noteworthy that these three
men show the neaj;est approach to correct features of the
aborigines, in particular the flat nose.

All the other men wear short curly hair. The ques-
tion may well arise, did the aborigines, when brought to
Hobart, lose the habit of smearing the hair with ochre,
probably because they had none, or did they, in their free
state, only occasionally x-esort to this practice, while gener-
ally the hair was left in its natural state? It is pretty
certain that once the hair wa.s well rubbed with the mix-
ture of red ochre and fat, which hardened in time, it could
not be removed unless the head was shaved. Now such
3 head-dress must afford a good shelter to vennin, and it
is perhaps probable that, if worried too much by it, the
aborigine had his head shaved, and not until it had i^ached
a cert-ain length it was again treated with the ochre mix-
ture. The men wearing the natural hair would therefore
represent individuals whose hair is growing, but had not
reached the sufficient length for the ornamental head-dress.
If this view were correct, the remarkable sentence, "He
shaves his hair with a flint," would perhaps bo not so
wrong after all, because the men did shave their hair occar

BY FKl'lZ ]S0ETL1NU, M.A., I'H.D. 137

sionally. Unfortunately, we are unable to decide this
question for ever. We are equally unable to say whether
the operation of rubbing ochre and fat into the hair was a
sort of distinction, or a sort of rite, to be performed on cer-
tain occasions only. The evidence of the picture only proves
that the custom of rubbing a mixtvire of red ochre and fat
into the hair existed, but that apparently the majority of
men wore the hair in its natui'al state.

All the women, except one, have the hair closely
cropped ; in fact, it may be questioned if even this female
is not supposed to have the hair vei*y short; in fact, in
the engraving she does not differ from the other women
in that respect. The picture therefore fully confirms the
statement that the women habitually wore the hair closely
cropped. Thus we will never know whether the hair of
the Tasmanian females would attain a greater length than
that of the males or not. (3)

Nothing need to be said about the spears, except that
the man who is scraping one, seated to the left, is holding
the terc-watta with his right hand.

One word about the dogs. Two breeds can distinctly
be discerned, viz., two' collies and a greyhound. Did the
aborigines distinguish these two breeds, which are so very
different, by different names, or was any breed of dog to
them a kaeeta?

The place of the fire which burns near the man
straightening a spear with his teeth, is in the oil sketch
occupied by a kangaroo. As it is not known that the
aborigines kept pet animals, except dogs, which were
rather their assistants in hunting than pets, the tame
kangaroo is probably an introduction by the artist to en-
liven the group.

I am greatlv indebted to the Misses Cleburn, who
kindly permitted this oil sketch to be photographed by
Mr. Beattie. and the reproduction is published here for
the first time.

(3) I regret to say that hitherto I entirely overlooked a passage in
Api)enflix I. of Ling Roth's "Alx)riigines of Tasmania." This api:>endix is
aiiparently an extract from the "Penny Magazine" of June 21, 1834, deal-
ing with the Duterrau Portraits. It says :— "His wife, Truganina, . . stands
beside him, with her head Shaved, according to custom, by her hne-
band, with a sharji-edged flint." This fully confirms my interpretation
of the mysterious sentence : TXigganna pugheranymee trautta. We may
further conclude thiit the noble savage whose hand Robinson grasps, is
meant t« represent Wooready, his trusted servant, from Bruni Island.

138 NOTKS ON UUTEKltAUS " liKlHiNC'lLl ATlON " PICTURE.

As the abo\'e paper practically concludes my investi-
gations on the Tasnianian Aborit;ines, it will perhaps be
advisable to give a list of the literature which has been
published on the subject. The older literature has been
completely enumerated by Ling Roth, and it is superfluous
to reiterate it here. The following list contains only those
papers that have appeared in the Society's journal and
those published after 1899, the year of publication of the
2nd edition of Ling Roth's "Aborigines of Tasmania. "

BIBLIOGRAPHY.

1. — 1842. Rev. T. Dove, Moral and Social Characteristics
of the Aborigines of Tasmania. Tasman.
Journal of Nat. Science, vol. I., pag. 247 —
254.

2. — 1842. Jorgen Jorgensen, The Aboriginal Languages of
Tasmania. Tasman. Journal of Nat. Science,
vol. I., pag. 308—318.

3. — 1846. R. H. Davies, Aborigines of Van Diemens
Land. Tasman. Journal of Science, vol. II.,
pag. 409.

4. — 184S. Matthew C. Friend. On the Decrease of Abori-
gines of Tasmania. Tasman. Journal of
Science, vol. III., pag. 241—242.

5. — 1859. J. Milligan, Vocabulary of Dialects of
Aboriginal Tribes of Tasmania. Pap. and
Proceed. Roy. Soc. Tas., vol. III.. Pt. II., pag.
239 — 274. (A first reprint of this paper was
made in 186G. and a second in 1890. Both
reprints include a list of words collected by
Thomas Scott, which does not appear in the
original paper.)

6. — 1859. J. Milligan, On the Dialects and Languages of
the Aborigines of Tasmania. Pap. and Pro-
ceed. Roy. Soc. Tas., vol. III., Pt. II., pag.
274—282

BIBLIOGRAPHY. 139

7_ 1873. J. W. Agnew, Reference to correspondence

with Mr. Brough Smith re stone implements
of the Tasmanian Aborigines. (In the discus-
sion it was stated that no handle was attach-
ed to the Tasmanian stone implements.)
Monthly notices of Pap. and Pi'oceed. Roy.
Soc. Tas., July, pag. 22.

8.-1873. James Scott, Letter to J. W. Agnew, Esq.,
Hony. Sec. Eoy. Soc. Tasmania (re use of the
stone implements). Monthlv notices of Pap.
and Proceed. Roy. Soc. Tas., August., pag.
24—25.

9.-— 1873. Robert Thii^kell, Letter to J. W. Agnew, Esq.,
Hony. Sec. Roy. Soc. Tasmania. Notes on
the Aborigines of Tasmania. Monthly notices
Pap. and Proceed. Roy. Soc. Tas., August,
pag. 28.

10. — 187b. James Scott, Letter to J. W. Agnew, Esq.,
Hony. Sec. Roy. Soc. Tasmania (re so-called
native quarries.) Monthly notices of Pap.
and Proceed. Roy. Soc. Tas., August, pag. 41.

11. — 1876. James Scott, An aboriginal stone implement
from Mount Morriston (also reference to an
aboi-iginal grave which was dxcg up). Pap.
Proceed, and Rep. Roy. Soc. Tas., October,
pag. 70.

12. — 1876. James Erskine Calder, Language of the
Aborigines of Tasmania. Pap. Proceed, and
Rep. Roy. Soc. Tas.. pag. 7 April, and 72
October. (In th© April meeting the Norman
manuscript is mentioned for the first time;
which was, apparently, in the possession of
Dr. Agnew.)

]3. — 1878. R. Brough Smyth, The Aborigines of Victoria;
vol. II. Appendix : The Aborigines of Tas-
mania, pag. 379 — 434.

14. — 1S88. R. M. Johnston, Svstematic Account of the
Geology of Tasmania, pag. 334 — 337.

15. — 1889. Jas. Barnard, The last living Aboriginal of
Tasmania, Fanny Cochrane Smith. Pap. and
Proceed. Roy. Soc. Tas., pag. 60 — 64.

16.— 1890. H. Ling Roth, The Aborigines of Tasmania,
1st edition.

140 BIBLIOGRAPHY.

17. — 1891. Alfred J. Taylor, Notes on the Shell Mounds
at Seaford. Tasmania. Pap. and Proceed.
Roy. Soc. Tasmania, pag. 89 — 93.

13 — 1891. R. M. Johnston, Observations on the Kitchen
Middens of the Tasmanian Aborigines. Pap.
and Proceed. Roy. Soc. Tasman., pag. 93 — 94.

19 — 1893. E. B. Tylor, On, the Tasmanians as Representar
tives of Palaeolithic Man. Journ. Anthrop.
Inst. XXIII.

20. — 1894. E. B. Tylor, On the occurrence of Ground
Stone implements of Australian type in
Tasman- Journ. Anthrop. Inst. XXIV., pag.
335—340.

21. — 1897. A. H. Clarke and W. E. Harper, Measure-
ments of the Tasmanian Crania contained in
the- Tasmanian Museum. Pap. and Proceed.
Roy. Soc. Tas., pag. 97—110.

22. — 1897. James B. Walker, Notes on tiie Aborigines of
Tasmania extracted from the Manuscript
Journals of George Washington W^ker.
Pap. and Proceed. R03'. Soc. Tas., pag. 145 —
175.

23. — 1897. J. B. Walker. Some Notes on the Tribal Divi-
sions of the Aborigines of Tasmania. Pap.
and Proceed. Roy. Soc. Tas., pag. 176 — 187.

24. — 1899. H. Ling Roth, The Aboi'igines of Tasmania.
2nd. ed. (The most important book on this
subject.)

25. — 1300. James B. Walker, The Tasmanian Aborigines,
Hobart, Government Printing Office, pag.
1—9.

26. — 1901. J. E. Calder, Language and Dialect spoken by
the Aborigines of Tasmania. Parliament of
Tasmania. Pari. Paper No. 69.

27. — 19067. F. Noetling, Notes on the Tasmanian Amor-
pholites. Pap. and Proceed. Roy. Soc. Tas.,
pag. 1—37.

28. — 1907. H. Klaatsch. Schlussbericht ucbor seine Rcise
nach Australien in den Jahren 1904 — 1907.
Zeitschr. f. Ethnologie, 39. Jahrg., Heft
IV u. V S. 685—686.

BIBLIOGRAPHY. 141

29. — 1907. A. Rutot, Un Grave Probleme. Bull. d. 1.
Soc. Beige de Geol. Pal. et Hyd. vol. XXI.,
pag. 3—46.

30. — 1907. F. Noetling, The Native Quarry on Coal Hill
near Melton Mowbray. The Tasmanian
Naturalist, vol. I., No. 2, September, pag.
14—15.

31. — 1907. F. Noetling, Some Implements of the Tas-
manian Aborigines. The Magic Stones. Ibid
vol. I., No. 3, December, pag. 1—6.

32. — 1908. F. Noetling, Notes on a Chipped Boulder
found near Kempton. Pap. and Proceed.
Roy. Soc. Tas., pag. 1 — 9, pi. I. and II.

33.— 190S. F. Noetling, The Native Quarry of Syndal
near Ross. Pap. and Proceed. Roy. Soc.
Tas., pag. 44—52, pi. III. and IV.

34._130S. Hermann B. Ritz, On Dr. Noetling's .Conclu
sions respecting the Aboriginal Designatio'ns
for Stone Implements. Pap. and Proceed.
Roy. Soc. Tas., pag. 68—72.

85. — 1908. Hermann B. Ritz, An Introduction to the
stud-"^ of the Aboriginal Speech of Tas. Pap.
and Proceed. Roy. Soc. Tas., pag. 73 — 83.

36. — 1908. F. Noetling, A Native Burial Ground on
Charlton Estate near Ross. Pap. a.nd Proceed.
Roy. Soc. Tas., pag. 36—42, pi. V.

37. — 1908. F. Noetling, The Aboriginal Designations for
Stone Implements. Pap. and Proceed. Roy.
Soc. Tas., pag. 60 — 67.

38. — 1908. H. Klaatsch, die Steinartefakte der Australier
und Tasmanier verglichen mit denen der
Urzeit Europas. Zeitschr. f. Ethnologie, 40.
.Tahrg., Heft 3, S. 407—427.

39. — 1908. M. Veiwom, Ein objektives Kriterium fur die
Beurteilung der Manufactnatur geschlagener
Feuersteine. Zeitschr. f. Ethnologie, 40.
Jahrg., Heft 4, S. 548—558.

40. — 1908. F. Noetling, Sind die craquelierten Feuer-
steine aus dem Oligocan von Tlienay als
Artefakte aufzufassen? Centralblatt f. Min.,
Geol. u. Pal. No. 24, S. 748—753.

142 BIBLIOORAPHY.

41. — 1909. F. Noetlins:, Kannte die tasmanische Sprache
spezielle Worte zur Bezeichnung der ver-
schiedcnen Gebrauchsart der ArcbaolithischeD
Werkzeuge? Zeitsehr. f. Ethnologic, 41.
Jahrg., Heft 2, S. 199—208.

42. — 1909. F. Noetling, Weitere Mitteilungen ueber
craquelierte Archaeolitlien aus Tasmanien.
Neue Jahr. f. Min., Geolog. u. Palaeont.
1909, B. I. S. 73—76.

43 — 1909 F. Noetling, A Peculiar Group of Trowattas.
Pap. and Proceed. Roy. Soc. Tas., pag. 1 — 8,
PI. I.— III.

44. — 1909. F. Noetling, Red Ochre and its use by the
Aborigines of Tasmania. Pap. and Proceed.
Roy. Soc. Tas., pag. 30—38, PL IV.

45. — 1909. F. Noetling, Preliminary Note on the Rocks
used in the Manufacture of the Tronattas.
Pap. and Proceed. Roy. Soc. Tas. pag. 85 —
102.

46. — 1909. F. Noetling, Notes on the Names given to
Minerals and Rocks by the Aborigines of
Tasmania. Pap. and Proceed. Roy. Boc. Tas.,
pag. 102—123.

47. — 1909. F. Noetling, Studien ueber die Technik der
tasmanischen Tronatta. Archiv. f. Anthro-
pologie. Neue Folge, Bd. VIII., Heft 3, S.
197—207.

48.-1909. Hei-mann B. Ritz, The Speech of the Tas-
manian Aboi'igines. Pap. and Proceed. Roy.
Soc. Tas., pag. 44—81.

49.— 1910. F. Noetling, The Antiquity of Man in Taa
mania. Pap. and Proceed. Roy. Soc. Tas.,
pag. 231—261, PL I. and II.

50. — 1910. F. Noetling, Comparison of the Tasmanian
Tronatta with the Archaeolithic Implements
of Europe. Pap. and Proceed. Roy Soc. Tas.,
pag. 265—278, PL III.— VI.

51.— 1910. F. Noetling, The Food of the Tasmanian
Aborigines. Pap. and Proceed. Roy. Soc.
Tas., pag. 279—305.

BIBLIOGRAPHY. 143

52. — 1910. James Norman, The Norman Manuscript,
Vocabulary of the Tasmanian Language.
Pap. and Procefid. Roy. Soc. Tas., pag. 333 —
342.

53. — 1910 Hermann B. Ritz, Notes on the Norman
Manuscript. Pap. and Proceed. Roy. Soc.
Tas., pag. 343—345.

54. — 1910. P. W. Schmidt, Die tasmanischen Worte zur
Bezeichnung archaeolithisclier Werkzeuge.
Zeitschr. f. Ethnologie 42. Jalirg. Hoft VI. S.
915—919.

55. — 1911. F. Noetling, Das Alter des Menschenge-
schlechtes in Tasmanien. Neues Jahrb. f.
Min., Geolog. u. Palaeont. Jahrg., 1911.
Beilageband XXXI., pag. 303—341, PI.
v.— IX.

56. — 1911. F. Noetling, Notes on the Marks of Percus-
sion on Siliceous Rocks. Pap. and Proceed.
Roy. Soc. Tas., pag. 1—20, PI I. and II.

57.— 1911. F. Noetling, The Manufacture of the Tero-
watta. Pap. and Proceed. Roy. Soc. Tas.,
pag. 38—61, PL v.— VIII.

58.-1911. F. Noetling, Notes on the Hunting Sticks
(Lughrana), Spears (Perenna), and Baskets
(Tughbrana) of the Tasmanian Aborigines.
Pap. and Proceed. Roy. Soc. Tas., pag. 64 — •
98, PI. IX.— XV.

59. — 1911 F. Noetling, Notes on Duterrau's "Reconciliar
tion' picture. Pap. and Proceed. Roy. Soc.
Tas., pag.

GO. — 1911. F. Noetling, Beitraege zur Kenntniss der
archaeolithischen Kultur der Tasmanier.
Zeitschr. f. Ethnologie, 1911, vol. 43.

Ling Roth mentions in his Bibliography the following
paper as having appeared in the publications of the
Royal Society of Tasmania, viz. : —

Milligan, Religious Belief of the Tasmanian
Aborigines. Pap. and Proceed. Roy. Soc.
Tas. for 1854, pag. 180.

I have not been able to trace this paper in the volume
and on the page quoted, nor does Morton enumerate it
in his Register of Papers of the Royal Society of Tasmania
from 1841 to 1885.

144

NOTES ON MARSUPIALIAN ANATOMY.

II. ON THE FEMALE GENITAL ORGANS OF

A VIRGIN SARCOPHILUS SATANICUS.

PI. XXIII., XXIV^., XXV., XXVI,, XXV^II.

By

T. THOMSON FLYNN, B.Sc,

Ralston, Professor of Biology, University of Tasmania,

In a former communication to the Linnean Society of
N.S.W. (10) I described the genital apparatus in a female
specimen of Sarcophilus satanicus which had borne young,
and in that j^ajDer drew attention to various phenomena,
especially in connection with the median vaginal apparatus,
which could only be satisfactorily explained by the exam-
ination of similai' organs in the virgin animal. In the
ordinary course of events, such an undoubted virgin would
be difficult to procure, and, even if obtained, would be
hard to recognise as such in our present knowledge of these
organs in this genus. Nevertheless, since my last paper
was written, through the kindness of Mrs. Roberts,
C.M.Z.S., of Hobart, such a virgin has been placed at my
disposal. Mrs. Roberts has had for some time past in her
gardens at Beaumaris a number of Tasmanian "devils,"
among which was the specimen in question. It came to
the gardens as a baby attached to the teat about August,
1909, and had lived ever since in a cage with its mother
and an old male. Last March quarrels occuiTcd through
the young female resenting the attentions of the male, with
the result that she was severely handled, and had to be
removed to another cage. Soon after she seemed to rally,
but after a little while sank and died. A po-st-mortem
showed that external injuries were not the sole cause of
death, for the internal organs were very much diseased.

I wish to place on record my grateful appreciation of
the kindness of Mrs. Roberts in putting this specimen at
my disposal.

BY T. THOMSON FLYNN, B.SC. 145

My best thanks are due to the following gentlemen
for the loan of literature : —Prof essors J. T. Wilson and
W. A. Haswell, and Acting Professor Johnston.

I am able to confirm and considerably augment my
account of the genital organs in thisi genus.

I have nothing to add to my previous account of the
external form of the female organs, except that in this
specimen the Fallopian tubes seem slightly more con-
voluted than in the former specimen.

STRUCTURE OF THE VIRGIN UTERUS.

Fig. 1 represents a transverse section of the uteiiis
of the virgin. From side to side the whole uterine
body is flattened, containing consequently a corre-
spondingly flattened lumen. Each dorsal and ventral
wall of the uterus is raised into a rounded fold, separated
from the lateral uterine wall by deep grooves. With the
exception of these grooves the inner surface of the uterus
is quite smooth.

A somewhat enlarged section of the uterus is shown in
Fig. 2. The inner covering of the uterine wall is a thin
epithelium consisting partly of cells with rounded nuclei
partly of columnar cells mixed indiscriminately. It
raeasiu'es in tliickness about .012 mms. The uterine glands
have an epithelium continuous with the inner uterine
epithelium., but noi columnar cells are present in it. The
glands are slightly convoluted tubes with an average
diameter of .009 mms. The mucosa is well defined and
sharply marked off from the muscularis. It containsi large
numbers of uterine glands, but in no case did I find these
to penetrate the muscularis. The tissue of the mucosa
is of the nature of a loose network, the nuclei of whose
cells become aggregated for the most part round the uterine
glands, the vessels, and just below the uterine epithelium.
The vessels which supply the mucosa, after piercing the
muscularis, lie for the most part in the lower portion of
this layer, although fine capillan^ branches supply the
inner portion of the mucosa. For the most paxt the
vessels have es:tremely thin and ill defined walls. The
average thickness of the mucosa is .71 mms.

The muscularis is a definite layer, .032 mms in average
thickness, consisting of circularly running plain fibres only.

I4») M)TKS ii.N MAU^l'l'lAl.lAN ANAToMV.

Il is interrupted only by the incoming blood vessels.
There is a well marked serosa continuous with the broad
ligament.

A comparison with the uterus of a female with pouch
voung (described in my last paper) shows that the chief
difference in the latter is the greater growth of the mucosa,
it being about one and a half times as thick. This increase
in growth takes place for the most part on the lateral walls
of the uleinis, forming here two large cushion-shape masses.
Other jjoints noticeable in the multiparous uterus are: —
The inner epithelium is entirely columnai-. the mucosa is
considerably more vascular, almost the entire space between
the uterine glands being taken up by vessels, the uterine
glands have increased in number and diameter, the muscu-
laxis has increased in thickness, and has become invaded to
seme extent by uterine glands.

MEDIAN VAGINAL APPARATUS (SINUS

VAGINALIS),

The general arrangement and structure of this portion
of the female sexual organs of Sarcophilus is worthy of
considerable discussion. In my last communication, I
ventured the remark that the structui'e may not be present
in the virgin, but may arise at the time of the first preg-
nancy. I was led to this conclusion by the fact that in
the comparatively large and late pouch young described in
that communication no sign of the median vaginal appara-
tus, as such, was present; while in a pouch young of
Perameles, a section of whose organs was figured by Hill
(5, p. 77) there are indications that the foundation of the
median vaginae have already been laid. Van den Broek,
again, describes the presence of a well marked median
vaginal apparatus in a pouch young of Didclphys. for he
says: — "Dagcgen fand ich bei Beuteljungen von bidelphys
schon sehr fruh den Sinus Vaginalis in eincn Entwicklungs-
grad, der jenem des ei-wachsenen Tieres relativ wenig nach
stcht." this being quite the opposite to what had been
already described by Brass. I was also led to the abov&-
mentioned conclusion bv the peculiar irregnlar arrange-
ment of the two median va^nal cul-de-sacs with: regai-d to
the vaginae, and again by the fact that the anteriorly
directed portion in each median vaginal cul-de-sac is quite
narrow and canal-like, an occurrence which led me to
give it, for the time being, the special name of the median

);Y T. TH( MSoX FLY.ViN, B.SC. 147

vaginal neck. Tlie presence of these median vaginal
necks distinctly marks off the arrangements of the female
organs in Sarcopliilus from that of any other de-
scribed marsupial. At the time of my last paper
I had not seen Van den Brock's paper on the
marsupials (3), and did not know that he had
already called that portion of the sinus vaginalis (median
vaginal apparatus) into which the uterine necks opened,
the foimix. In Sarcopliilus the fornix is drawai out on
each side into a narrow tube. It had been pointed out
(3) that the position of the uterine openings into the
median vagina may vary ; fo'- examjDle, in the Didel-
phidae the uterine necks penetrate the median vagina from
the anterior side, in Phascolomys they are placed at the
antero-lateral corners, in Antechinus apicalis quite lateral-
ly, while in the Macropods they enter the median vagina
from the dorsal side. In Sarcopliilus each uterine neck
opens at the apex of a large papilla into each median
vaginal neck. This papilla differs from all other niar-
sujDials except Phascolomys (3) in having lobed edges.
Since this opens into the anterior prolongation of each cul-
de-sac, the entry of the uterus is quite from the cranial
end, and it can be placed in the same group, therefore, as
the Didelphidae.

Van dcii Broek, who examined a single specimen of
Sarcopliilus, but not apparently in detail, says (3, p. 51) : —
"Dasyurus ursinus und Antechinus apicalis komnien in der
Gestalt ilires Sinus vaginalis Phascolomys schr nalic, doch
untcrscheiden sich, besonders Antechinus vom Letztgen-
anntcn dadurch, dass die Uteri melir horizontal verlaufen
und folglich mehr von der Seite her in den Sinus vaginalis
ausmunden."' This statement indicates that Van den
Broek had not observed the presence of the median vaginal
necks in this genus.

Morphologically, the median vagina of the virgin
differs, from that of the multipaa'a mainly in the fact that
the cul-de-sacs are much smaller and considerably shorter.
The median vaginal apparatus in Sarcopliilus has a number
of peculiar featui'es which mark it off from the similar por-
tions of the sexual organs in otner marsupials : it is con-
siderably less developed in projjortion to the vaginae than
is usual, its shape is irregular, it cannot bs said to be tri-
angular, as in the Didclplivdae, nor tongue-like as in Phas-
colomys, nor cjdindrical as in Macropods. It retains
more than any other — having as it does a complete and
strong septum containing muscle fibres — the character of

l48 NOTES ON MARSUPIALIAN ANATOJfY,

two separate outgrowths approximating, but hardly suf-
ficiently to form a homogeneous structure. Van den Brock
has said: — "Man konnte in diescr doppclten Herkunft
Anlass finden statt von cincm 'Sinus vaginalis' von 'Sinus
vaginalcs' zu sprechcn, " and this statement ajjplies above
all to the condition iu Sarcophilus.

MICROSCOPIC STRUCTURE.

Muscularis. — In common with Hill and Van den
Broek, I find that, as in tlic I'est of Marsupials, the mus-
cular tissue of the median vaginal apjjaratus consists of
circularly running nonstriatc fibres. On this point, how-
ever, the latter says (3, p. 60): "Muskelfaseni kommen
iiiemals in Septum vor, die. . . Muscularis circularis in der
Wand des Sinus umschliesst immer die beiden llohlraumc
dos Sinus als eincn einheitlichen Raum." Hill, however,
(5, Y>. 53) says of the two cul-de-sacs in the virgin Perameles
that "they are separated by a common j)artition wall, and
each is surrounded by a delicate layer of circular non-
striate fibres." He refers to Fig. 7, but the presence of
these fibres in the septum is more plainly and unmistak-
ably shown in Fig. 10 of a section through the median
vaginal cul-de-sac of a specimen with two 17.5 young in
the pouch.

In Sarcophilus 1 find that each sinus is contained in
its own portion of circular muscle, which wholly surrounds
it, and is, therefore, present in the septum. The presence
of these muscle fibres in the septum of both Perameles and
Sarcophilus gives the two median vaginal cul-de-sacs an
independence which is absent in other marsupials. In
Sarcophilus I find that the epithelial lining of the vaginae,
median cul-de-sacs, and of the necks is of practically thi.
same character throughout, consisting of an overlying layer
of flattened cells which is not at all continuous, below which
is a layer one or two cells thick of cells containing rounded
nuclei. The epithelium of the urogenital sinus is similar.
I have already (10) shown that tiic posterior ends of the
median vaginal cul-de-sacs are embedded in a mass of
deeply staining connective tissue, continuous with a central
mass of similar tissue passing backwards between the
lateral vaginae, and coming into relation with them about
the point where the two lateral vaginae meet the urogenital
sinus. This rod of connective tis.sue is similar to that
already described by Hill in Perameles (5. p. 54). This
mass of tissue is distinctly defined in the specimen under

BY T. TriO^rSON FLYNN, B.S(\ 149

discussion, being first a rliomboidal mass situated between
the two inpassing ureters. Later, in company with the
two vaginae, it comes to lie jvist outside tne circularis of
the urethra as a deeply stained triangular mass. The cir-
cularis of the urethra develops an upper portion, which
grows over the two vaginae, and encloses them together
with the deeply staining tissue. The muscular layer here,
tlien, is in section of a somewhat elliptic shape, crossed by
another muscular layer, tne dorsal portion of the original
circularis of the urethra. In this way two spaces are form-
ed, an upper and smaller containing the vaginae with the
intervening deeply staining tissue, and a lower large one
containing the urethra. The muscular layer between these
two spaces disappears, and so is formed the circularis of the
ui'ogenital strand. The vaginae have up to this time each
kept its own circular mviscle layer. The muscle 1-ayer of
the vaginae consists each of an outer and inner circular
layer portion, with an intervening mass consisting of con-
necting tissue with a few circular fibres. Just before the
vaginae enter the urogenital sinus their muscular layer
dwindles away. The two vaginae enter the two dorsal
grooves of the ui'ogenital sinus, the presence of which gives
the sinus somewhat the shape in section of a V, the limbs
of the letter being formed by the grooves just mentioned.
The cloaca is covered with a stratified epithelium.

REMAINS OF THE WOLFFIAN DUCT.

In sectioning there was found in the course of the left
vagina round the bladder, embedded in its wall, between
the inner and outer portions of the circularis, a short,
blind discontinuous tube, representing, I take it, the re-
mains of the Wolffian Duct (Fig. 3). It extends through a
total length of 450 micra, thirty sections of 15 micra each.
Here and there it shows a lunven, at other places it is a
solid cell strand. It is thickest in the middle, and tapers
off at each end, leaving no trace. It is not found in the
similar position in the right vagina., nor in the multiparous
sjjecimen, nor have I found it in the pouch young. It is to be
regarded as an individual variation. Although remnants
of the Wolffian duct have beien found persistent in the
papilla uteri, it has never, so far as I know, been found in
the position above described.

THE CLITORIS.

Extremely little has been done on the clitoris of Mar-
supials. Those who early described the genital organs in

150 NOTKS ON MAlISri'IAMAN ANATOMY,

the MarsupiaJia wcrp cont. iit to describe its external form,
without paying any atiention to its minute etiuclure.
Home made the statement that the clitoris in mamupials is
comparatively large. Owen is responsible for the assertion
that in those genera of marsupials in which the male lias a
divided penis, the female possesses a, correspondingly split
clitoris. Brass concurred in this view, but it was shown
by Hill not to be the case in Perameles. Van den Eroek
later showed in detail that a relation exists between the
sinus vaginalis (median vaginal apparatus) and the clitoris,
in that a split clitoris is found in those marsupials in wnieh
the median vaginal cul-de-sacs ai'e completely separated,
while in those forms prssessing a single median vagina the
clitoris is correspondingly simple and undivided. This
latter cjuse is characteristic of the Macropods.

As regards the minuter structure of the clitoris, it was
first attempted in the case of Perameles by Hill, and was
continued bv Van den Bi'oek for the genera Phascolarctos.
Phascolomys, Halmaturus, Didclphys. and others. As a
result, the latter writer was able to deduce some generali-
ties on the structure and insertion of the clitoris in vhis
group. Histologically, be found that all marsupials possess-
ed a median septum clitoridis complete or incomplete, and
that the erectile tissvie of the clitoris formed either a single
or a pancd mass. The insertion of the clitoris may take
place by means of an intei'x'ening septum clitoridis, which
gradually disappears craniallv. or, as in Didelphys. no such
preputium mav be present, when the insertion takes place
bv mere approximation of the ventral wall of the clitoris
on the wall of the cloaca, the epithelial septum so formed
afterwards disappearing craniaiiv.

In Sarcophilus. I find that the clitoris pos.sesses struc-
turally features of interest which, in the present early state
of our knowledge of this organ in marsupials, make it
worthy of desci'iption.

EXTERNAL FEATURES OF THE CLITORIS.

The organ with its surroundings is shown in Fig. 4.

Looked at from above the clitoris presents two well-
marked lateral portions, united towards the aijex. and
diverging considerably towards the base. The line of
union is shown just in front of the apex by a fine, narrow,

BY T. THOMSON 1-LYNX, H.SO. 151

superficially placed longitudinal groove. Apically, this
groove bifm-cates so that the clitoris here seems to consist
of three lobes, which at the apex are slightly free from one
another. The two grooves separating them pass backward
and downwards towards the ventral side of the clitoris, and
pass forward underneath, being gradually lost. Ventrally,
therefore, the clitoris also presents the appearance of being
divided into three lobes by two shallow grooves.

The two main portions of the clitoris (looked at from
rbove) become widely separated cranially, and fuse with
the ventro-lateral wall of the cloaca. Arising between
these from the clitoris floor, and separated from the lateral
clitoris folds by somewhat deep grooves, which extend
vontro-laterally below the lateral clitoris folds, is a fold
which, being caudally weak and of no great height, on
being traced in a cranial direction, becomes considerably
stronger, but not so strong as the lateral clitoris folds.
Sections show that this fold is continuous with the median
apical lobe of the clitoris This fold splits anteriorly
into two divisions, separated by a deep narrow groove,
which, passing forward, loses itself in a very deep pouch.
downAvards into which also pass the folds enclosing it.
Into this pouch two other pairs of folds pass ; one pair is
continuous with two from the urogenital canal, and them-
selves secondarily fold.ed, lose themselves in the pouch.
Bounding the pouch laterally and passing into it is a pair
of transverse folds, one on each side. Each of these arises
from about half-wuv up the lateral side of the urogenital
canal, and forms a swollen fold of mucous membrane which
almost touches its fellow of the opposite side. The floor
of this pouch is much sunk below i lie general level cvf the
floor of 111? urogenital canal, and is considerably thinner.

MICROSCOPIC STRUCTURE OF THE CLITORIS.

The following account is based upon the examination
in serial sections of 15 micra in thickness, both transversely
and horizontally, of the clitoris in the virgin, and in an
old adult female with pouch young: —

Immediately behind the apex of the clitoris, the rloacal
wall is raised into a median cloacal fold. This is separat-
ed from tho clitoris by a narrow but deep transverse
groove, curved in accordance with the shape of the apex
of the clitoris. Histologically this fold is found to be ex-

NOTES O.N MAKSII'I U.IAN ANATUMV.

trcmcly vascular, tontain iil; a small proptjilion of erectile
tissue, and is fairly abundantly supplied with ners'e tissue.
It is partially divided l»y epithelial septa similar to those
of the clitoris.

Sections through the caudal portion of the clitoris a
little in advance of the apex show that the organ is here
divided into three lobes by two complete septa. Each
of these septa is caudally converted into the shallow
grooves separating the three free apical portions of the
organ. These septa, as will be shown later, correspond to
the lateral septa, such as occur, e.g., in Phascolarctos (3,
PI. 4, Fig. 4). This portion of the clitoris is shown in
Fig. 5. From each of these main lateral septa passes off
into the lateral clitoris lobes, secondary lateral septa, each
passing ventro-laterally to end in a slight swelling, making
the septum somewhat club-shaped. No such secondary
septa occur in the central lobe. ]n this central portion
we find in the mid-line extending upwards a short distance
from the ventral clitoris wall a short epithelial septum re-
presenting what is left of the criginal median septum of
the clitoris which is found in tlio pouch young of this
genus, and which persists in those marsupials (e.g., Pera-
meles, vide 5. p. 56, PI. .'), Fig. 9), in which the clitoris
i-emains in the adult in a somewhat primitive condition.

The clitoris wall is seen to be composed of a stratified
epithelium continuous with that of the cloaca. This
epithelium consists of a basal layer of cells with large
nuclei arranged at right angles to the surface, these being
overlain by four or five layers of flattened pavement cells.

The lobes of the clitoris are extremely vascular, con-
taining numerous large thin-walled vessels. Where v.ho
rudiment of the median septum appears an alteration oc-
curs in the main lateral septa. Each of these consists
of two portions a dorsal portion, and a ventral, the divi-
sion between being marked by the oiigin of the secondary
lateral septum. A change takes place in such a way that
the ventral portion gradually disappears, leaving only the
dorsal portion in connection with the secondary lateral
septum. F(;v a time th'j lowest portion of the ventral
divisioji persists, but in time also disappears, the clitoris
possessing now two diverging septa composed mainly of thi'
»econdarv lateral septa, which now extend somewhat in
length ventro-laterally. Round the ends of these septa
til-' vessels of each lobe enter into communication.

BV r. Tllo.MSuN FLYNN, B.SC. 153

In close proximity to the ends of these septa appear
the masses of erectile tissue. These are somewhat more
difTcreiitiatcd than is the case in any marsupial as yet
described. Each mass is caudally somewhat cylindrical,
tapering off to a point, and consists of large thin-walled
cells with muscle fibres, the whole surrounded by fibrous
tissue. Pursued cranially they become somewhat flat-
tened, and then semi-lunar surrounding tlie ends of the
two septa. Kelations have now been established between
the ventral clitoris wall and the epithelium of the cloaca.
This relation, in the absence of a preputium clitoridis, is
extremely simple, and consists of a mere approximation
and fusion of the two epithelia, the result being the forma-
tion of an epithelial septum, similar to the other septa of
the clitoris (Fig. 7).

This fu.sion commences from the mid-ventral line. This
process of formation of relations between the clitoris and
cloaca differs from that of any marsupial so far described.
As Van den Broek points out in Halmaturus and Phas-
colarctos, the fusion takes place caudally through the
medium of a prsputium. which disappears cranially, while
in Didclphys, in which there is no preputium, the clitoris
wall being placed laterally upon the cloacal epithelium,
the former dwindling away, and only leaving the latter, the
result being the formation of a median ventral space be-
tween clitoris and cloaca, bounded laterally by the liui-s
of combination of the two.

The points where the septa of the clitoris meet tho
upper surface of that organ are indicated by longitudinal
shallow furrows. These now invade the septa, gradually
converting them by the diverging of their epithelial walls
info deep narrow grooves.

A glancei at Fig. 7 will show the internal structure of
the clitoris at this height. The organ has lost its sttper
ficial trilcbed structure, the two lateral Icbes having over-
grown the central one, which has correspondingly diminish-
ed in size. The latter is separated from the former by
incomplete septa, which aro being converted intci grooves.
These grooves pass ventro-laterally from the bottom of the
single longitudinal groove of the upper surface of the
clitoris, this representing the upper portion of the median
goptitm of other marsupials. The ventral portion of that
septtim remains in the section as evidence of the combina-
tion of two lateral portions of the clitoris. For a fair
distance on cither side of this latter portion of the median

154 NOTKS ON .M \l:>l ri AI.IAN ANATOMY,

septum the approximation of the clitoris ou the cloacal
wall is cviclciit. ' Here and there small evanescent i;epta
arc formed as ingrowths of the clitoris ej)itlielivim. Erectile
tissue is i)rcsent in two curved bands round the ends of
the two septa. Outside these latter the vessels arc mainly
arranged in somewhat horseshoe-shaped masses. Ventral
to the vessels on either side of the ventral median septum
is abundance of nei've tissue.

As the fusion of tlie two approximating cpithelia
continues, the clitoris sinks by degrees further and further
into the submucosa of the urogenital canal. As soon as
this is ccmplete, absoiption of the septum so formed takes
jilace, beginning at the upper end. the last remaining rem-
nants b^ing on the mid-ventral side.

The general clitoris tissue and that of the urogenital
canal form now a homogeneous mass, except that the
clitoris is immediately recognisable by its vascularity.

(Fig. 8).

The erectile tissue here consists in section of two
lateral well-marked curved bands, separated in the mid-
line by a septum consisting of fibres crossing from the
upper to the lower sides of the outer fibrous sheath. This
septum is by no means continuous, but is interrupted at
intervals to allow the lateral portionsof the corpora cavern-
o.sa to communicate. (Fig. 9).

The lateral portions of the clitoris, up till now the
most important, begin to lose their identity in the urogeni-
tal canal, and there is a corresponding increase in growth
of the central clitoa*is fold. The vessels of the lateral por-
tion Tiass into the main vessel of the central fold. This
fold now becomes longitudinally divided by a groove,
caudally shallow, but cranially deepening considerably.
Tho two portions of erectile tissue diverge considerably,
and sink deep into the wall of the urogenital canal. An-
teriorly they are found to end in the bulb-shaped swelling
jilustrated in Fig. 11.

In sectioning the clitoris of a pouch ycung of b'ar-
cophilus, I find that a])ically the organ is comi^letely divid
ed by a septum. The sej)tum followed craniaily in sections
bifurcates, and thus divides the clitoris into three parts.
The lower ends of the two lateral s.^pta sc formed become
witlulrawn, and the arrangement is that shown in Fig. 10.
From this the adult structure is develoijcd. The arrange-

BY T. THOMSON FLYNN, B.SC. 155

incnt of middle portion of the adult clitoris (Fig. 7) is
directly derivable from that in the iDouch young by the
conversion of the upper portion of the median septum, and
the lateral septa into grooves. The growth of the middle
fold so formed, the completion of the lateral septa, and the
appearance of secondary lateral septa, lead to the arrange-
ment at the apex of the adult organ, while the further de-
velopment of the median septum, and after it a groove, in
the -middle portion, with the dwindling away of the lateral
portions, presents us with the arrangement shown in the
cranial portion of the adult clitoris (Figs. 5 and 6).

BIBLIOGRAPHY.

l.^A. Brass. Beitrage zur Kenntniss des weiblichen
Urogenital system der Marsupialen. Leipzig,
1880.

2. — Van den Broek, A.J.P, On the Relation of the
Genital Ducts to the Genital Gland in Mar-
supial.?. Konink. Akad. von Wetersh. ts
Amsterd., 1906.

3. — Van den Broek, A.J.P. Untersuchungen liber die
weiblichen Geschlechtsorgane der Beutel-
tiere. Petrus Camper, Bd. III., 1907, p. 221.

4. — Owen, R. Comp. Anat. and Phvs. of Vertebrates.
Pt. III., London.

5.— Hill, J. P. Contrib. to the Morph. and Devel. of
the Fem. Organs in Marsupialia, No. 1. PL.S.,
N.S.W., 1899.

6.— Hill, J. P. Do., Nos. II.-V. PL.S., N.S.W., 1900.

7. — Hill, J. P. Contributions to the Embryology of the
Marsupialia. Q.J.M.S. Vol. 40, 1897.

8. — Stirling, E. C. On Some Points in the Anatomy of
the Female Organs of Generation of the Kan-
garoo. P.Z.S. London, 1899.

9. — Wiedersheim and Parker. Comp. Anat. of Verte-
brates. London, 1907.

l.JG Notes dN MAR.SUriALI^N ANATOMY.

10.— Flyiin, T. Thomson. Contributions to a Knowledge
of the Anat. and Dov. of the Marsiipialia. Nos.
I. and II. TL.S., N.S.W., 1910.

11.- Sweet, G. The Repioductive Organs of Notoryetes
Typhlops. Stirling. Q.J. M.S. Vol. 51, 1907.

EXPLANATION OF PLATES.

Fig. 1. — Photomicrograph of a transverse section of
the virgin uterus of Sarcophilus.

Fig. 2. — Photomicrograph of the section of uterus a
little enlarged.

Fig. 3. — Photomicrograph of the left lateral vagina,
showing the remains of the Wolffian duct. The larger
open space towards the right of the figure is the vagina,
while the much smaller canal towards the left represents
the persisting Wolffian duct.

Fig. 4. --Reproduction of a drawing (from photograph)
of the clitoris of Sarcophilus and the region surrounding it.

Figs. 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9. — Photomicrographs of trans-
verse sections of the clitoris of Sai'cophilus at various
heights, from the apex forwards.

Fig. 10. — Photomicrograph of a transverse section of
the clitoris of a pouch young of Sarcophilus.

Fig. 11. — Photomicrograph of a horizontal section of
the terminal cranial portion of the clitoris in Sarcophilus.

Roy. Soc Tas. 1911.

PL. XXIII.

FIG. 1

FIG 2.

Roy. Soc. i as. ign.

Pl. XXIV.

I-

Frc. 3

Roy. Soc. Tas. 1911.

Pl. XXV.

FIG. 1 1

FIG. 4

Roy. Soc Tas. 1911

Pu XXVI.

FIG. 6

Fig. 7.

Roy. Soc. Tas. 1911

Pl. XXVI L

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Fig 9

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ANNUAL REPORT

OF THE

ROYAL SOCIETY

OF TASMANIA

FOR THE YEAR

1911

TASMANIA :
Printed at "The Mercury" Office, Macquarie Street, Hobart,

ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

The Auuual General Meeting of the Royal Society was
held in the Society s Rooms, Museum, on Monday, 18th
March, 1912.

In the unavoidable absence of His Excellency, the
President, the Hon. G. H. Bailer, occupied the chair, and
the Annual Reports for 1911 were submitted.

ANNUAL REPORT FOR 1911.

The C(nincil of the lioyal Society have the honour to
present the Report for 1911 to' the Annual General Meet-
ing of the Society.

Eight montiily General Meetings and two Special
General Meetings were held during the year. Nine Urdi-
nar-y Meetings and five Special Meetings of the Council
were held during the same period.

Eleven Fellows were elected, while seventeen Fellows
left the State, or allowed their membership to lapse.

The total number of the Fellows of the Society was
one hundred and thirty-eight, including nine Life Members.
The number of Coi'responding Members was sixteen. Of
these latter Sir Joseph Hooker, the renowned botanist, died
within the year.

During the year a Bill to incorporate the Society and
to confer upon it powers as to holding pi-opcrty, litigation,
and to make and alter Rules, was passed by Parliament.

The Rules of the Society have been revised by a Special
Committee, and arc now in operation.

A Sub-section on Psychology and Education was added
to Rule 51. The Sub-section Biology was brought into
action about the middle of the year.

Oil ihf rcprescntaLioii oi the Council of the Society,
the Hon. the Minister for Lands and Surveys approved of
the rcconinicndation to alter the names of Oyster Hay to
Flcurieu Bay, and West Hunter Island to Fleurieu Island,
the original names. The Survey Department is consider-
ing the right of further allarations, and of placing names
where tliev do not now exist upon the charts.

In order that the Society mav allow the use of their
iDum at the Museum for such meetings and gatherings
connected with the objects of the Society, as the Society
iiiav from time to time allow, the permivsion of the Trus-
tees to do so was obtained.

The Librjiry received a gift of more than ordinary
value in eleven handsome volumes dealing with the Geo-
logy and Natural History of the Jlarriman Alaska Expedi-
tion. They were presented by Mr. E. H. Harriman. of
New Yoi-k, and forwarded by favour of the Smithsonian
Institute.

During the year thirteen papers were read, as enu-
merated in the table of content*. One illustrated lecture
was delivered. The Ee|)orts of Sections are appended.

A Balance-sheet, duly audited, showing the receipts
and expenditure for 1911, is attached.

The Report was adopted without amendment.

ELECTION OF MEMBERS OF COUNCIL.

The following members were duly elected: — Hon. G.
H. But1(M-, Dr. Arthur Clarke, Dr. Fritz Noetling, Dr.
Gregory Sprott, Prof. T. T. Flynii. ISIessrs. Samuel Clenies,
J. A. Johnson, M.A., E. L. Piesse, B.Sc, Leonard Rodway.

ELECTION OF MEMBERS.

Dr. Brooks, Mrs. E. M. Brooks, Dr. H. N. Butler. Dr.
W. L Crowther, Messrs. R. A. Black, C. J. Clark, J. R.
Chapman, C. J. Inglis, and H. J. Spencer, C.E., were
elected Members of the Society.

AUDITOR.

Mr II. W. W. Echlin was reappointed Auditor.

REPORTS OF SECTIONS.

REPORT OF EDUCATION AND PS\CHOLOGY
SECTION, 1911.

This Section held its first meeting m the Library on
1st August. There were eleven members present. Mr.
S. Clemes was elected Chairman and Mr. J. A. Johnson
Secretary of the Section.

Three subsequent meetings were held during the year,
there being an average attendance of nine members. All
those who attended are directly engaged in the work of
Education. It may be pointed out that the subjects dis-
cussed are of general interest to all who have the cause of
Education at heart, and, therefore, any Member of the
Royal Society may follow and take part in the discussions.
It is to be hoped that the membership of this Section will
not be confined to schoolmasters.

The subjects discussed during the session were the
Herbartian theory of "Apperception" and "Many-sided
Interest. " The discussions were opened by the President,
the Secretary, and Mr. S. R. Dickinson, all the members
present taking part m the debates.

The following is a complete list of members: — Dr.
Purdie, and Messrs. S. Cleincs. E. I. Gcwer, S. R. Dickin-
son, G. V. Brooks, R. O. M. Miller, W. Clemes, J. A.
McElroj, G. A. Guiney, L. Decliaiueux, and J. A. Johnson.

REPORT OF BIOLOGICAL SECTION, 1911.

For the year ending December, 1911, the Section con-
sisted of ten members. Three meetings were held. At
the first, held in the Royal Society's room, June 30, the
scheme of work was set out. Prof. T. T. Flvnn was ap-
pointed Chairman, and L. Rodway Secretary of the Sec-
tion. Prof. Flynn gave an inaugural address, pointing-
out the lines in which the Section might work to the best
advantage.

A meeting was held at the Biological Laboratory of
the University, September 20, at which Prof. Flynn gave
a lecture on the lowest forms of animal life to be found

in the uoighbourliood of liobarl, illustrating the lecture
by diagi'anis and some forms under the microscope, after
which instruction was given in the elementary stages of
microscope technique.

On October 16 Mr. H. M. Nicholls gave a lecture at
the University Laboratorv on the life historv of "Venturia
inajqualis, ' causing the disease of apples comiiionlv known
as black spot. The lecture was illustrated ])v lantern and
microscope slides. Specimens of the injury done to apple
trees by red spider were exhibited by INlr. A (). Green.

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ANNUAL REPORT

OF THE

ROYAL SOCIETY

OF TASMANIA

FOR THE YEAR

1911

TASMANIA :
Printed at "The Mercury" Office, Macquarie Street, Hobart.

Papers and Proceedings

OF THE

ROYAL SOCIETY

OF TASMANIA

FOR THE YEAR

1911

TASMANIA :
Printed at "The Mercury" Office, Macquarie Street. Hobart.

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