The Tasmanian ATURALIST THE JOURNAL OF THE Tasmanian Field Naturalists’ Club. £ S>SB— V#I. 11 . SEPTEMBER, 1907. NO. 2 . CONTENTS : Camp Out of the Field Naturalists’ Club on Brum Island, Easter, 1907 (with Illustration) ----- 1 Tasmanian Quail and Game Propagation (with Illustrations) 3 A Parasite upon Flies ".8 Meetings - - - - - - - '*• - -10 An Entomologist’s Cycling Trip to Cloncurry (Queensland) 12 Excursions - - - - - - - • 14 Printing Fund.- - - 14 Notes on the Amorpholithes of the Tasmanian Aborigines (with Illustrations).- 14 Annual Report - - - - - - - 19 Statement of Receipts and Expenditure - - - - 20 m- t&h- 5>g+- »£-{- m- »§*- PRICE SIXPENCE. r / TASMANIA : Printed at “ The Examiner’’ and “Weekly Courier” Offices, 73*75 Patterson Street, lyaunceston. 1<107. Tasmanian Field Naturalists' Club. Vol. i. SEPTEMBER, 1907. No. 2. (Samp Out of tfje ‘J'ield ffaturalists (Blub on ffiruni Island , Easter , 1$OT. By the HON. SECRETARY. It was arranged ’to hold the third Easter camp-out of the dub at the south of Bruin 'Island, landing on the channel side at the head of Great Taylor’s Bay. from where Cloudy Bay Lagoon is easily reached, and of the locality Hereabouts good reports were heard. This year the, party numbered 2d. They met at the .steamer Waldcinar 011 Thursday evening, .March 28. and started on the trip at 7 o’clock, expecting to land at tire camping ground some time before midnight. A good trip down uitunel was made,chough when the Huon River was reached it. was seen that the ship did not head for our destination, but was going straight up this river. L’pon interviewing the cap¬ tain it was learnt that in his opinion tile wind was too strong to make a safe landing at Taylor’s Bay, and as argu¬ ments were in vain, we had to suffer a trip up to Franklin, which was reached about half an hour past midnight, A number of the party made an unsuccess¬ ful attempt to obtain lodging in one of tlie hotels. Some went for walks in the moonlight, along the roads, passing many fine apple orchards; these, of course, making the dis¬ trict a famous centre of apple-grow¬ ing There was little sleep for most. A start down stream was made the fol¬ lowing morning, and many eases of apples were taken on ‘board ere the river was left behind and tile ship headed for Bruni. Draa.pp.oiHitment was again our lot, for this time we were landed in 'Daniel’s Bay, wliicfi is one of the chief eet.tfemenlts on I,South Bruni, and some seven miles from the locality we desired to reach. The steamer landed us at 5 pun., and as a fairly good camping ground was found near by. most of the party at once carried their impedimenta there, and set about erecting the tents; returning it was found that the shed at file end of tine jetty had been com¬ mandeered as a dining blit, and as the evening meat was ready, this was soon made but a happy memory. There were eight tents for the 25 campers, no that no ten; was too full, and tile first night was one of rest to all. At daybreak 011 Saturday morning many birds made their presence known. They were chiefly of the honey-eaters, and contained in their number the wattle-birds (Acantho- elmera induris), whose voices, having 'benefited by tti.-ir night’s rest, made too frequently their unpleasant, croaking call, certain it is that they were there more noisy in early morning. After break¬ fast some o; the party went fishing; others left for Mouth /Bruni lighthouse, ten miles or more distant. The Country of the district was seen to he hilly and covered with fairly large eucalypts, with thick undergrowth in places, mak¬ ing progress very slow when roads or tracks were left. That is to say, that part resembled greatly the most of Southern Tasmanian country. After walking four miles the large swamp at tlie rear of Cloudy Bay Lagoon was seen, and soon afterwards the lagoon itself, one or two miles broad, came in view. There is a neck of land 500 yards wide from here to the channel side of the island at Great Taylor’s Bay —where we had expected to land and form the camp. A narrow channel con- WEST HEAD OF BKUNI ISLAND, FROM CLOUDY BAY. THE TASMANIAN NATURALIST. nects the lagoon with the ocean, and by setting nets across this many dish may be caught, whereas in Daniel’s Bay, where the camp was, fish were very few. At the lighthouse the party was hospitably received by Superin¬ tendent Hawkins, who is in charge there, and who showed the mem¬ bers over the buildings, which were kept in praiseworthy condition. In con¬ versation, Mr. Hawkins stated Umt the weather would easily have allowed the boat to land our party in Great Taylor’s Bay on the Thursday nigat, when taken direct to Franklin. Other trips were made to Adventure Bay, Mount Bruni, and elsewhere, which were enjoyable, but there was little scope for natural history roseanli. Between Cloudy Bay and the lagoon a long arm stretches, having a fine beach on the ocean side, where shells are to be found after a storm, but few shells were seen during our visit. Many gulls, terns, and cormorants were flying about tlie lagoon, and as the water is very shallow over most of its area, it must be an easy matter for them to catch the fish. Out in the middle were some black swans, and ducks of different kinds were also ob¬ served. A large flock of white-fronted herons was there too, and sooty and white-breasted oyster-catchers occasion¬ ally flew in from the sea. On the hills the chief birds seen were black cockatoos, green parrakeets, and wattle- birds. Two summer birds and a few swallows were seen, showing that these hud not then left the ■north. Near Daniel’s Bay the numbers of small birds were remarkable; three of the robins— scarlet and flame-breasted and dusky— were continually in sight. The spine- bill, crescent, New Holland, yellow- throated. and black (leaded honey-eaters were common, and showed by their num¬ bers that the pea rifle was practically unknown there. Quail and ground birds (Cinclosoma punctatum) were also seen. Whilst fishing in Little Taylor’s Bay our attention was attracted by the hawk-like cackling cries of a Caspian tern, which wa.3 trying to take a fi-l> from a smaller species, the latter probably be¬ ing the white-fronted tern. At different times one or two sea, eagles were ob¬ served, sometimes soaring, at others flying heavily in the still air. Probably there are several nests of these birds ■on Bruni, but local residents at Daniel’s Bay were unable to tell us where they were situated. No wedge-tailed eagles were seen. Fid. were remarkably few; only small catches of flatheod and rock- cod were taken with hand lines, and the nets brought up usually nothing at all— sometimes a few mullet. The other kinds taken were flounder, pike, saw-fish, sting-ray, and a small kind of leather- jacket. On Tuesday, April 2, at midday, the members were grouped on the beach and photographed, and at 2 p.m. the steamer called and took the party hack to town. Tasmanian Quail and §ame ^Propagation . By A. R. REID. It has always seemed strange to me that so little has been done in Tasmania to increase our supply of winged game. One can form some little idea of the ex¬ tent that game tearing is carried on in the old country when it is noted that over two millions of money are annually spent on its propagation and rearing. But before going into the subject of pro¬ pagation it might be as well to consider the reason why one particular game bird is rapidly getting scarcer. I refer to our grey or stubble quail. Let us follow the life history of a bevy. About the middle of No. vember a pair of bird s build their nest under a tuft of grass on the verge of a field of growing wheat, and in it lay nine pretty spotted eggs. After nineteen days of patient sitting-nine little downy chicks are hatched, and almost immediately run with their parents into the standing grain, there to feast on insects and small grubs. All goes well for the first week or two, till the rattle of the reaper and bin- der, is heard, and as the golden sheaves are gathered and bound the birds creep more and more into the middle of the piaddoek; when the last strip is about to he cut the piareut birds call their little ones together, and saying “Follow us, stretch thedr wings and fiv to the grass that grows long anti rank around their once secure home. But two of the little ones are too timid to trust their wings, and squat close to the earth, thinking they will not he noticed; but, alas, the wheels of the binder pass over their tiny bodies, and the family circle (including the old birds) is reduced to nine. Next morning the survivors leave their home in tlie grass to feed amongst the stubhla ( 3 ) THE TASMANIAN NATURALIST. and bask in the sun; but a hawk, like a bolt from the blue, swoops down and picks one up in his talons, then leisurely flies to the nearest tree to enjoy his meal. Learning sense as the days go by, they emerge from their cover only early in the morning cr late at evening, thus escaping the sharp-eyed birds of prey. A worse enemy, however, has heard the ■whistle of the cock bird as he calls his | children to their evening meal, and the arch-enemy of all feather game, the do¬ mestic cat, sneaks along the fence, and with one swift spring reduces the bevy to seven. New lodgings are sought with¬ out delay, and the young birds grow and wax fat. On the first of May there ar¬ rives on the scene one of the lords of creation, attended by a. faithful servant in the shape of a keen-nosed pointer, who stands statue-like some twenty yards from Where our bevy is concealed. They hear the command, “Hi, boy! put them up!” The dog advances two yards, when up they rise with whirling wings, and are saluted with two sharp reports. A brace is stowed away in the spacious game- bag, and the rest are followed from paddock to paddock till the whole eeven are accounted for. Next year the shooter- scours the same land in vain, and straightway petitions Parliament to have the quail protected for a period of three years. Our brown or swamp quail are not so likely to get exterminated, as they protect themselves to a large degree by inhabiting rough, wet land, where cover is always plentiful, and cats, by their dislike to water, are prevented from raiding their sanctuary. Brown birds will not stand the same amount of shoot- ing as their grey cousins, and will very quickly leave a locality if disturbed too often. They have one peculiarity, which should lie more widely known than it fi at present. A bevy of birds, if not broken up, will remain in company and not breed for a number of seasons. You will often hear the remark in the country when you enquire about quail from the farmer, “There is a nice lot of brown birds in my swamp, hut though 1 never allow them to be "shot, they do not in¬ crease.” Some years ago, at Risdon, a bevy of eight birds arrived on my shoot¬ ing ground, where not a bird had been seen for years. The time was about the middle of June, and I was sorely tempted to have a crack at them, bnt knowing that they were not likely to come under the notice of other shooters owing to the almost barren ground they occupied, it was decided to leave them for another season, fondly pictur¬ ing splendid sport on the opening day of the following year. I used to go over there every "Wednesday afternoon, rain or fine, taking a small packet of canary -eed to S]*inkle about their haunts. Often none were seen, but from the marks amongst the grass and rushes it was evident that they were still there. The long-lookcd-for day arrived at last, but all I could find were seven birds. After¬ wards I put into practice knowledge gleaned from the gamekeepers in Scot¬ land, and shot the old birds, but let the young go. Next year twenty brace were bagged and a few were left for next sea¬ son. The only way that I can suggest to restock land Limit has lieen shot qnt is— to use an American expression—“plant” quail. Secure two or three pairs of adult birds, and confine them in small aviaries, say about ten feet square, with the earth for a floor, and, if possible, growing tufts of gTass in the corners. They ■will nest behind these, and if not dis¬ turbed, will rear their young without much trouble. A plentiful supply of hard-boiler) eggs ami canary seed will be sufficient food. They wni most likely rear two broods in the one season. My bird3 laid five times this year, and hatched a goodly number of young. The young birds should be kept ia the aviaries until the end of October, and then turned out in pairs, selecting spots some little distance apart, as the males are great fighters. Both varieties can be treated in the same manner. Jf our sportsmen would only practice a little self-ck>nial while in the field, by levying toll, sav up to two-thirds of the birds they find, we should have a brighter prospect to look forward to. Another suggestion 1 should like to make to farmers would be that they limit the number of brace their friends shoot each season. Most farmers can form a pretty accurate estimate of the number of birds on their lands, and, by Hmiting the num¬ ber shot,they could always ensure having a good breeding stock left at the end of each shooting season. In dealing with imported game, the pheasant claims pre¬ mier position. 1 can see no reason why pheasants should not be reared in thou¬ sands in this fair isle of ours, with all its natural advantages. When one has seen the thousands of bird, reared by hand in England, when during the rearing months there is often a continual down¬ pour of rain, and contrasts it with the beautiful weather experienced here, it will be seen that Tasmania has many advantages. There are plenty of estates where everything would be in favour of the young birds. We who live in the city can, and do, rear pheasants with everything against us, and can form a good idea of how the birds would succeed in more favoured circumstancos. A beginner should start with a pen of birds consisting of four hens .mil one rooster, from which he should get about two hundred eggs, and with any sort of luck should rear quite half that number. THE PHEASANT IN TASMANIA.—A BEAUTIFUL BIRD WHICH WOULD THRIVE IN THE STATE. Nest and Eggs. THE PHEASANT IN TASMANIA.—A BEAUTIFUL BIRD WHICH WOULD THRIVE IN;THE STATE, 1—Well-grown Chickens, three months old. 2—A healthy young brood. THE TASMANIAN NATURALIST. Tile feeding of the chicks Is the all-im¬ portant item, and I shall at a!i times be pleased to render ail}' assistance and advice to anyone desiring the same, feel¬ ing confident that the pleasure ho will derive from watching the handsomest and linest game bird the world knows grow up under his hand will amply repay him for the trouble he has taken to rear them. Many of us hope to see the pheasant amongst our game birds within the next few years. Another bird that warrants our attention is the Virginian quail, or Boh White; it is the game bird of America, and has been introduced into Japan, Jamaica, Holland, and New Zea¬ land, in each of which places it has es¬ tablished itself. In New Zealand It is doing remarkably well. It is larger than any of our native Quail, a swifter llier, is more prolific, and possesses one splendid trait ensuring Its protection if once established here—wuen disturbed from the stubbles where it feeds it seeks shelter in the nearest scrub, and one who has hunted our brown birds under these conditions knows how It is an al¬ most impossible task t»o find them again in cover of this description. A few immigrants of this class would bo wel¬ comed to Tasmania by ah sportsmen. i71 i'Parasite upon Allies. By H. M. NIC ROLLS (Garden Islaud Creek). This curious little creature first came under my notice while 1 was engaged in preparing the proboscis of a March tty (Tabanus sp.) for mounting. Happen¬ ing to look at it under a dissecting microscope, there seemed to he a num¬ ber of little black specks sticking to the pseudo-tracheal tubes—a very unfamiliar appearance. In picking them olT with needles, in nearly every ease a portion of the tube they were attached to came away with them. This led me to ex¬ amine tf • on more carefully, when T found they were parasites of a very unusual nature. Later on, I found precisely the same thing upon the proboscis of me common blow-fly, and more extended in- vestigations showed that it was by no means uncommon upon both blow-flies and March-flies, in this part of the coun¬ try -at least. Upon showing specimens to our able Government Entomologist, Mr. A. M. Lea, I found that, it was un¬ known to him, and no references to anything like it were to be found in any scientific work available. This little creature is very remarkable in many ways. It is less than the 130th of an inch in length, hardly bigger than some of the rotifers, but It possesses a hard ohitinous exo-skeieton, rid its abdominal portion is divided into seg¬ ments, just as that of a flea is. Tlie head appears to be merged with the thorax, as is the ease with spiders, and there' are a pair of powerful hooked man¬ dibles, which the little creature drives through the pseudo-tracheal tubes of its host, and thus hangs on. Thtere are no visible signs of any locomotive organs, such as legs or wings, nor any antennae to be seen. There is a very curious hood-like arrangement situated upon the anterior end of the head, and just over the hooked jaws. This fits down over the pseudo-trachea of the host, when the parasite is in position, and completely covers up the jaws and mouth parts. In some specimens there can bo seen what appear to be eyes, in the shape of un- pigmented lenses, one on each side, just as the eyes of some fleas are situated. Just below the base of the hooked jaws there is a little tube-like arrangement which suggests « sucking apparatus. It appears to be so situated that when the parasite has fastened on to the proboscis of the /use it would project into the pseudo-tracheal tube through one of the horseshoe-shaped openings in the hitter. The opening of the little tube is divided at the anterior end by a septum, whid» gives it something of the appearance of the muzzle of a very minute double- barrelled gun. This would suggest that the parasite only feeds upon the food matter that the host lias collected for it self as it pusses through the pseudo- trachea on its way to tire main tube, -which carries it to the stomach. The parasites are nearly always found upon the pseudo -tracheae, and never in any case that I have seen are they very far away from them; so it therefore appears to he rather a partial parasite of an un¬ usual nature than a true parasite. The hooked jaws seem simply to servo the purpose of holding on, while the little sucking tube takes a share of the dinner that the blow nr March fly has procured for itself. Alien detached from the •host these little creatures have a slight power of movement, bending their tails feebly from side to side, as many chrysa¬ lids do. but they are unable to move- I from one place to another, at least under 8 ) THE TASMANIAN NATURALIST. Fig. 1. Two parasites attached to tip of tongue. Fig. 2. View of parasite from above. Fig. 3. Side view of parasite. (All greatly enlarged.) ‘the microscope. They are not found upon every lly, and are commoner upon Alarch-flies than blow-flies, but a March- fly has seldom more than three or four on its proboscis, while a blow-fly may have ten or a dozen. During the middle of summer nearly every Alar eh-lly had one or more, and they were ccommon on blow-flies, but in May, when my last specimens were taken, 1 only found one Iblow-fly that iud them out of about 50 I examined. It had eleven. The micro¬ scopic measurements of Uiese parasites are as follow:—Length (exclusive of bristles), 1941 microns; length of head, <13 microns; greatest width (to edge of segments), 111) microns. The length, making allowance for alterations pro¬ duced hy pressure of cover-glass, was very similar in all specimens. It may he mentioned that a micron is the unit adopted for microscopic measurements. It equals the one-thousandth part of a millimetre, or, roughly, the 25,00(>th part of an inch. Fig. 1 shows the tip of a blow-fly's proboscis, with two of the para¬ sites fastened to the pseudo-tracheae, en¬ larged GO diameters. Fig. 2 shows a hack view of one of the parasites detadj- ed, and magnified 280 diameters. The hooks are seen through the semi-trans¬ parent shell of the head. Fig. 3 is a view of another turned upon its side, giv¬ ing an oblique view of the under surface of the head. It is enlarged 500 dia¬ meters. TV i» hooks, tube, and hood-like arrangements are shown. In some specimen the ventral edges of the ab¬ dominal segments are produced into long, wavy filaments, but 1 have reserved this appearance, which may possibly bo a sexual characteristic, for further study. The life-history and family connections of the creature are quite unknown to me, and T would he very much obliged to any reader of t<«is journal who could supply information regarding it. The Tasmanian t ook cod is attacked by one of the most remarkable parasites known, and belonging to the genus Ler- naea. This creature fastens itself to the cod by a three-hooked head; from this I ( 9 ) there extends a long thin neck with a stout curved body, from which extend two white appendages exactly like spiral springs. The parasites themselves are often covered with a species of zoophyte. THE TASMANIAN NATURALIST. Jlpril Meeting. An enjoyable meeting was held in the Masonic Hall on the 25tli April. In spite of wet weather, there was a fair attend¬ ance. Air. L. Kodway occupied the chair. Election of Members.—Messrs. R. Stops, G. Richardson, D. Burn, and C. T. Hope, of Hobart, and Air. E. P. Harrison, of Bellerive, were unanimously elected members of the club. Exhibition of Specimens.—Mr. E. S. Anthony exhibited a representative col¬ lection of ethnological implements. These included some stone axe-heads and chisels, a few of which were placed in elk-horn handles; also horn knives and chisels from Switzerland and Belgium; chipped and well-worked arrow-heads and knives from North America; and knives, axe-heads, and spearheads from Australia. 'Air. A. JI. tjea showed a case of beetles of Scarnbaeidae, from Austra¬ lia and Tasmania, containing in their number some of the most beautiful, as well as the bulkiest, of insects. Air. II. Pottenger showed the nest and eggs of the olive thickhead (Paehycephala Oliva- cea). There, were also on view a number of excellent photos taken during the club’s camp-out by Alessrs. A. Propsting and 11. C. Harvey. The secretary (Air. E. A. Elliott) read an account of the r.aster camp-out, which was held on South Bruni Island, and which is published on page 1 . Air. H. Al. Nicholls exhibited under the microscope a parasite on the tongue of a blow-fly, and which is described in a special article in this issue. Air. L. Rodway, Government Botanist, exhibited specimens of the eoniferae o{ ■ asmania. lie stiiteu that there were eleven species in the island, nine of which were confined to Tasmania. lie said were were no native pine trees here, and those so-called really belonged to other tribes. The Huon pine and celery-top pine were yews; the Oyster Bay and its relatives were cypresses. Air. Rodway also dealt with the economic aspect of these trees. After the usual conversazione, the meeting terminated. Mag Meeting. The monthly meeting for May was held on Tuesday, the 28th, in the Town Hall committee-room. Mr. S. denies pre¬ sided, and there was a good attendance of lady and gentlemen members. The Late Air. Alexander .Morton. — The chairman said that, before they proceeded with the business of the evening, he was sure they all desired to express their deep sorrow at the death of Air. Alex¬ ander Morton, which was a sad blow to the cause of science in Tasmania, and sympathy with his bereaved family. They would all greatly miss Air. Alorton; in fact, the whole community would. As to sympathy with the immediate family, it came close home to the hearts of every one of them. He moved, "That a suit¬ able letter of condolence lie forwarded to Airs. Alorton.” The secretary had been thoughtful enough to provide a wreath, which he was sure the club would approve. Air. L. Rodway seconded the motion, remarking that he had been associated with Mr. Alorton for many years, and appreciated the splendid work he had done for the institution he represented, and for Hobart outside of that insti¬ tution. | ( 10 1 Air. Arthur Butler, in supporting the motion, mentioned how ready Air. Alor¬ ton was at all times to assist young people and students generally in the study of different branches of science, .tn exceedingly useful man had been lost to the community, and one who could ill be spared. The motion was then formally passed. A letter was received from Air. J. E. Smith, tendering his resignation as vice- chairman of the club, on account of leaving to reside in Adelaide. The club had his sincere good wishes. The resig¬ nation was accepted, with thanks for past services. ■ Air. R. Astrella, Smith-street, was elected a member. There were tabled copies of the first issue of the club's journal, the "Tas¬ manian Naturalist,” with illustrations, and (by Air. Rodway) a copy of ".Austra¬ lian Bird Life,” by R. S. 1 lull, illustrated. Air. A. E. Brent sent for exhibition splendid specimens of the kestrel (Cercli- neis (Jenchroides) and sparrow-hawk (Accipiter Cirrhoceplmlis), which he had captured and stuffed. Air. A. R. Reid showed a case of Australian snipe, which he had shot, stuffed, and mounted. Mr. THE TASMANIAN NATURALIST. H. L. Pottcnger exhibited eggs from New South Wales of the White Corcorax, the tjualin or magpie lark, and the grey jumper. Mr. Clive Lord read a paper on Bird Photography, showing how to go about it. lie advised eommencing l>y photo¬ graphing the nests the first season, at the same time observing the habits of the birds, and learning how best to pro¬ cure pictures of them. He mentioned some devices which have been used by naturalists for approaching nests, but impressed the need of untiring patience. Details of the camera he would recom¬ mend were also touched upon. ‘Mr. Arthur Butler supplemented Mr. Lord’s helpful paper, mentioning some birds it was easy to photograph. Mr. A. R. Reid gave a paper on “Pro¬ pagation of Game,” which is printed in full herein. Mrs. H. L. Roberts and others com¬ mended Mr. Reid's paper. Mrs. Roberts mentioned that she had successfully bred Mallard ducks during the past season. i lie lion, secretary read a report, pre¬ pared by a committee, suggesting to the Government certain amendments to the (lame Protection Act, which were ap¬ proved. J August Meeting. A meeting and conversazione was held in the Masonic llall in August. Mr. S. C,ernes, chairman of the ciub, presided, and there was an excellent attendance. The secretary reported that letters had been received from eminent naturalists m Australia, praising the club’s journal, the "Tasmanian Naturalist,” and wishing it every success. The lollowing new members were elec¬ ted: — Mrs. Cvril 'Cameron, For.km, Nile; Mr. J. 11. Could, and .John Grn.lili.in; as juniors, 'Masters C. Caive, \ . IHick- ma.ii, F Dull', of (Hobart, ami Richard Dawson, of Belleriive. The illustrations of a new publication by Mr. L. Rodway, printed by the club, entitled "Trees anil Shrubs of Tasmanian Forests,” were shown and admired. A number of illustrated booklets on Eng¬ lish nature objects, published by M'Gowan, were tabled. .Specimens Exhibited.—-By Mr. H. J. Colbnurn, skull of swuru-fisli, on which interesting observations were made. The secretary (Mr. Elliott) showed an un¬ usually good collection of aboriginal im¬ plements, arohaeoliths. which he had re¬ cently collected on the East Coast, at ■ixelvedon, hr. Noetling offered remarks on some of the more interesting of them. Mr. F. L. Brownell nad some similar ones, which he had collected near Ho¬ bart. Mr. A. M. Lea showed a small live whip snake, which excited interest among members. Air. L. Rodway, Go¬ vernment Botanist, showed and explained a rare fern, Cystopteris fragilis. Mr. B. L. M'honald had some shells from Trini¬ dad, which had unusual growth of long seaweed on them. Air. A. AL Lea, Government Entomolo¬ gist, gave a leeturette on marine life, with limelight illustrations, lie showed lorms of corals, and explained the growth of the coral reefs, and showed many of the invertebrate animals which are to be found there. The leeturette was not con¬ fined tu marine life, however, and seve¬ ral slides were shown illustrating the life history of the mosquito, which spends its larval -stage in the :m-?h water pools. The ditferenee was shown between the com¬ mon moHquito and the species which is known to spread malarial fever. Dr. Fritz Noetling then gave ail inter¬ esting account of the geology of the Barn •niff. He described carefully the enor¬ mous ore deposits of that comparatively unknown district. He stated that the ore in sight at present represented seve¬ ral millions of tons, and he expressed himself as being sure that a big future lies before this great mineral field, es¬ pecially referring to tue Derwent and Lake Windermere mines. Air. E. L. I’iesse proposed votes of t..atlks to those who nad taken part in the meeting, after which those present examined tile specimens. A remarkable Tasmanian beetle (Am- blyopinus JansoniL which lives at tho base of the tail of one of our hush rats, has recently been taken by Air. H. M. Xieholls. at Garden Island Creek. The only other reported capture «>f this spe¬ cies war by Mr. Aug. .SinWOU, nt, Ben Lonmnd, about 110 years ago. The nearest relative of this beetle lives at the base of the tail of a species of mouse in South America. In January, 1000, bush fives burnt many beautiful gullies on Aloitiit Wellington. The ground thrush (Geoeichla macrorhyn- chu), amongst, other birds deprived of iheir customary haunts, had to seek fresh nesting grounds, ami during last spring more than usual of these birds were found building by the New Town Creek and other places untouched by the fires. (11 ) THE TASMANIAN NATURALIST. J^n Sntomologist’s Qyding Wrip to Qloneurry (Queensland). By HENRY HACKER. Business matters requiring my presence in Oloncurry, i decided to 'take boat from Brisbane to Townsville, and cycle from there onwards, annexing such insects as were come across on the journey. Time did not allow of any regular collecting, Ibut a few small bottles of formalin were taken to preserve the insects in. When Townsville was reached, to save time and incidentally to escape the rigours of cycling over the lluughton Range, the train was taken to Charters Towers, the queen city of North Queensland, now somcwtnt of a fallen queen. However, a start from that town was made on 'tile morning of February 7; at the end of the day Pent land, a distance of 7b miles from flic Towers, was reached; the coun¬ try between proved to he 'ridgy and bushy. Billing the heat of the day a spell for an hour or so was taken at a almdy creek. Here a very beautiful Symphyletes was taken on a tea-tree overhanging the water; a yellow Spanish tly, Zonitis, was common on tlu* coarse grass; a pretty little I -a ills (bell ulus) was first taken her,-, and proved to be plentiful through¬ out the trip, although not previously re¬ corded from Queensland ; other captures at this place were two species of Crypto- eephalus (one probably new to science, the other being the handsome gracilior), Klaphodes larinus (hitherto known only from North-Western Australia and plen¬ tiful on gum saplings), two kinds of l’uropsis, two of Rhyparida, and an Oxyops, all on .young gum trees, whilst fire beautiful little Tachys liipustulatus was plentiful on mud at the water’s edge. The next day's journey was a hard one. The road proved to be so rough that J had to leave it and ride on the footpath alongside the railway line. It was not an enviable journey, for 1 had to jump olf every few yards to dodge culverts and loose stones on the line, and con¬ stant irritation was caused by grass seeds. I was not sorry to reach Torrens Creek —the North Queensland meat works — where a night was put in. Dur¬ ing the day tl« widely-distributed tiger- llieetle, Cicindela semicincta, was plenti¬ ful in muddy places, whilst another and apparently a new species like Hackeri "ns running about on sandy roads. The other insects taken were Iiathliodes quadrilineatus, coin on on reeds, live kinds of Myllocerus, a Stenooorynus, very ( 12 ) plentiful on bushes and abundant all over North Queensland; Pliilonthus, sub- cingulatus, plentiful in decaying vegeta¬ tion; a beautifully speckled Belus; a tor¬ toise beetle, Coptocyela; a small Calo- mela, and a tine lCbyparidu, whilst a rainbow-hued Chalcopterus was found in numbers on Uie hark of u mimosa tree. At Torrens Creek one of the “great natu¬ ral resources” of W estern Queensland was experienced, consisting of half a hurricane of wind and dust, and reminding one of the willy-willies or duststorms of Kalgoorlie. They are very plentiful in this district, this one doing considerable damage to the roofs of the houses. The next day’s journey to llughendon was monotonous and dry, the only water on the road being ut a. Government dam about half-way between Prairie and Hughenclon. Ti« country towards llughendon begins to change from forest to treeless black-soil plains, consequently the captures Consisted mostly of Tene- brionidae, Curculionidae, and such Cara- bidae as are peculiar to downs country. •From llughendon to Richmond, a dis¬ tance of SO miles, the road travels over what is called the North-Western Downs of Queensland. As the wet season has not yet started, the country was in a desolate condition, not a blade of grass nor au animal of any kind being visible; the only vegetation to break the monotony was a few reeds end thorn bushes along the bore drains that cross 'the road, one at Teleuion sheep station and the other at Marathon, and a few stunted trees round the edge of water-boles, winch were then quite dry. On this stage the captures consisted of Gnathaphanus puleher, Chlaenius austra¬ lis, an ordinary-looking Diaphoromorus, Phortieosomus gmndiis, a Sarugus, two kinds of Purohehveus (one much re¬ sembling an Encara), a Polyphrades, the peculiar gout-i leaded Rhinaria tragoce- pb&la, Aleidts bubo, and a short Lixus- Richmond is a little galvanised iron town, chiefly noted for heat. During my stay the inhabitants suffered from a plague of beetles, the most abundant of which was a very distinct species of Ptcrohe- laeus, but others, especially Phorticoso- iuus graadis and a large Unatii.iphanus (midway between puleher and Riverinae) were also very numerous. They were THE TASMANIAN NATURALIST. such a pest tlmt at night-time most busi¬ ness places were compelled to close up. To stop the nuisance one ingenious busi¬ ness man procured two powerful acety¬ lene gas lumps and put them on the foot¬ path outside hi- -hop, wuilc turning the inside ligi its low. lie thus managed to keep most of the insects outside. At •present Richmond is the terminus of Queensland's northern railway, although the line to Cloncurry is under construc¬ tion; so after leaving the former place the road begun 'to assume quite a busy •appearance, from the number of team¬ sters and camel caravans carrying sup¬ plies to the Cloncurry copper-fields, where there is just now considerable mining activity. My journey still lay over tlia .monotonous downs country, the most plentiful beetle here being the beautiful and very variable longictmi. Zygrita diva; Cenognius rotundieollis, u peculiarly mot¬ tled Cryptoeephalus, and the remarkable Microtragus plctus were found crawling on the ground all over the downs. Here a very pretty little Lai us was taken on a weed, and seen nowhere else. Four days from Richmond Lilly vale out-station was reached. t'p to here the weather had been dry and exceeuingly bot, but here the real troubles commen¬ ced. The rain fell in torrents, and all till! watercourses were flooded. It was impossible to ride or even to pu-h my bicycle through the wet black soil, so 1 shouldered it at sunrise and started to walk to the next stopping-place, Fisher's Creek, a distance of forty miles. With tiie help of a little riding in tin harder parts of the country, my Ualting- plaeo wtitt reached at midlnight, after hav¬ ing to leave the bicycle on the road. On arrival the hotel was closed, and 1 was compelled to sleep in wet clotfiis on the footpath. Next day I walked back to the bicycle, picking up on the road Plun tocosomus grandis, a beautiful green Chlaenioidius. Ona'chaphanus pulclier, and 'the grand tiger beetle, Megacephala cylindrical, which the wet bad evidently driven out of their holes. Here it may be mentioned that, although they were looked for, no species of Carenum or Amyeteridae were seen throughout the journey, probably owing to the lateness of tii- season. Fisher’s Creek, which is about 18 miles from Cloncuny, marks the westerly boundary of the North- Western Downs. After leaving here the country assumes the desert sandstone formation, with light forest, which is characteristic of the Cloncurry belt. It was quite a pleasant change after seven days toiling through • those awful black-soil downs, to encounter good hard roads for the last few miles of my journey. Cloncurry was reach- ( 13 ) ed about midday on February 2b, after having ridden over five hundred miles. The chief beetles captured in the Cloncurry district were two species of Syniphylete.s, one of which was the pretty species before mentioned, Zygrita diva, Microtrr.gus (rictus, one dead speci¬ men of a Skigmodera washed up by tiie Cloncurry River, one specimen eoch of •two/ brilliant species of Chaleophora iFairmairei and Saunders!), which were taken on the whig, a small Storeus com¬ mon under bark, an Oxyops much like the South Australian llilunaris, Bryachus -quamieollis. abumhint everywhere on saplings; an apparently new Leptops, with -null prot,borax and very large elytra; anotti.-r species somewhat like Musiaion, and a Polyphrades. crawling along tiie ground. A blue and yellow All lac ip bora, the male of which has very remarkable antennae, was found on a vine locally called "Chinese cucumber.” a small spotted Rhyparida under bark, a large Klapiodes, and tlirce species of Ditropidus, one being very large and resembling antennarius, and another having an enormous head, with powerful jaws, all taken on foliage, wfere also a yellow Caloinela with black knees was common; a Cestrinus was taken under logs, as was also a Cistelid close to Homotrysis, but li n ing most remarkable sculpture; two species of click beetles were taken here, both of the genus Mono- erepidius, and one of which was flying -at dusk in great numbers; two species of Onthophagus (Consentaneus and Com- perei) were captured in refuse, and Atacnius semieaeens round lights, and a very curious anil probably new Rupilia on watermelon vines. Cloncurry is naturally a rather rough though lively little town, owing no doubt to tf»e pre¬ sent boom in the copper market. Money is very plentiful there. On my arrival ’business matters engrossed all my atten¬ tion, so not much collecting was done, the above representing practically all the insects captured. NOTE BY ARTHUR M. LEA. Mr. Hacker has sent me for examina¬ tion all the species mentioned above, ■and many others taken during his trip, altogether 128 species. The collection contains some very beautiful inserts, probably more than half of them being new to science. In addition to Urose mentioned, he took the very peculiar Bledius insignieeoinis, hitherto known only from Victoria, a remarkable spotted jumping beetle, probably an Arsipoda, a Saraguh remarkably close to one occur¬ ring in the Northern Territory, and many- typical beetles of North Queensland. THE TASMANIAN NATURALIST. Excursion to ^Botanic gardens. On Saturday, lltli May, members paid a visit to the Botanie Gardens, to gain information as to the many useful and ornamental trees from foreign parts which are growing there. They were met at the gates by Mr. Wardman, and as it was late in the sea¬ son for deciduous trees, attention was directed chiefly to the eoniferae. The party went along the top path above the poml, where there are well-grown speci¬ mens of trees on either side. In this part also were the cedars and cypresses, and as the party proceeded, several species of evergreen oaks from North .-imcriea, and also the cork oak, were seen. Owing to the interest now being taken in forestry, interesting discussions were held as to the best trees for this purpose, and as Mr. Wardman is well up in this subject, he gave much information, illus¬ trating his remarks from the trees around him. Seeds of many kinds were taken by several members of the party to experi¬ ment with. Excursion to South ^Bridgewater. On Saturday, 18tli May, Dr. Xoetling led an excursion to examine the lime¬ stone quarries at South Bridgewater. The quarries are aoout one mile from the railway station, and in excavating lime¬ stone for burning in the kiln the rock nas been cut away to a depth of about dOft., and a line bed of fossils exposed, 'me formation is of slightly inclined alternating beds of limestone and shale, in which there are many fossils, including Spirifer, Pro ductus, and Beetowt, though the majority had been pressed out of shape during the formation of the rock. There were many kinds of corals of ex¬ tinct forms, and crystalline carbonate of lime was found to be common. A little way from tae scene where members were most busy a striking ex¬ ample of an anticline was observed. This is an upward turn of the beds of rock caused by immense pressure from below, and is rarely seen. The hardness of the limestone, and consequent, breaking of many fossils in trying to extract them, was at times cause of disappointment, but those at¬ tending were well satisfied with the suc¬ cess of the outing. I 'Printing Jund. The subscription to the club (5s. for adult and 2s. 6d. for junior members) is so low that f it will not cover all our ex¬ penses, and for many reasons it is de¬ sire. not to increase the same. Contri- nbtions are therefore invited to a print¬ ing fund. The following members have already contributed to the fund: — Dr. G. Smith, Mr. Bodway, Mr. A. L. Butler, Mr. K. Maxwell, Miss D. Kermode, Mr. „. W. Tarleton. ffotes on the Jlmorpholithes of the Wasmanian Aborigines. By FRITZ NOKTLINO, M.A., Ph.D., etc. No. I* ^ 6 e Native Quarry on Goal near Melton Mowbray. It is of the greatest interest to as¬ certain where the aborigines of Tas¬ mania procured the raw material for their erutla implements. There -is no doubt, as is conclusively proved by nu¬ merous specimens, that the rolled pebbles of the diluvial boulder beds contributed ( 14 ) a considerable share, but it is also equally certain that the aborigines knew numerous places where a suitable mate¬ rial could be Xopnd in situ. As far as I know the first “native quarry,” as these places were called, was discovered by Jas. B. Walker on the boundary line K RELICS OF AN EXTINCT RACE. NATIVE QUARRY ON COAL HILL, NEAR MELTON MOWBRAY, SOUTHERN TASMANIA. Pbotos by Dr. Noetling. 1—Coal Hill, where an Aboriginal Quarry is situated. 2—View of the Native Quarry. RELICS OP AN EXTINCT RACE. NATIVE QUARRY ON COAL HILL, NEAR MELTON MOWBRAY, SOUTHERN TASMANIA. Photos by Dr. Noetling. 1—Fragment showing mark of percussion. Rejected by tie Aborigines. 2—Well-finished Hand»Chopper. 3—Angular Fragment showing traces of use. 4—An Unfinished Specimen, showing a considerable amount of work on each side. KELICS OP AN EXTINCT RACE. NATIVE QUARRY ON COAL HILL, NEAR MELTON MOWBRAY. SOUTHERN TASMANIA. Photo* by Dr. Noetling. 1 and 2—Well-finished Hand-Choppers. 3, i, 5—Knife, showing pollical and indieal face and side view. to O THE TASMANIAN NATURALIST. between Glenleith and Charlie Hope’s es¬ tates, near the River Plenty; and a graphic description of this locality will be found in Ling Roth’s book on the aborigines of Tasmania (page HU-151). Another quarry was discovered in 1890, if I am right, by Mr. Harold Bisdee, on Coal Hill, near Melton Mowbray, and 1 subsequently found a third one on iSbene, near Pontville station. 1 have no doubt that many more native quarries will be discovered if a proper search is made, but for the present very little is known about their features. The most important part connected with them has already been pointed out by our veteran geologist, R. 11. Johnston. Native quar¬ ries are invariably situated on such place where the palaeozoic mudstone or sandstone h»3 been altered by eruptive dfaibas or basalt. It is certainly a fact that al! quarries hitherto known are situated on such places, but it Joes not necessarily follow that there must also be a quarry wherever such a locality is found. On the whole, it is a good plan, when searching for native quarries, to keep to the contact line, between the eruptive rocks and the palaeozoic strati’, pin! it is prettv certain to assume that after a short time success will he the reward. It is obvious that palaeozoic strata of different nature were differently altered (metamorphosed) by one .and the same eruption of volcanic matter. The sandstones were turned into a more or less coarsely-grained porcellanite, while the mudstones were altered into the va¬ rious kinds of splintery, silicious chert, commonly, though erroneously, called flint. In a future article I shall have an opportunity to dwell more especially on the petrographical features of the Tasmanian amorpholitiies, as I have al¬ ready ascertained some very peculiar facts. According to the nature o.f the altered rock we can naturally distin¬ guish two groups of quarries, those irom which the altered mudstone was obtained, and those where tne por- cellanite was quarried. The quarry near the River Plenty and that on Ooal Hill are instances «of the first type, while that of Shene seems to be, as far as 1 know, tiic only instance of the second type. It seems that the quarry on -Coal Hil! is the most important, as far as extension and intensive work goes; and a detailed description, to¬ gether. with that of some taf the imple¬ ments found, is therefore lot particular interest. As already stateft, the quarry was discovered by Mr. Harold Bisdee, and subsequently visited by Messrs. Johnston, Morton, and Walker, but, ex¬ cept a note in Walker’s paper on the Tasmanian aborigines, I only know that a short account, accompanied by a photo¬ graph, was published in a southern weekly journal. It appears that the ac¬ tual situation of this quarry was only known to the few persons mentioned, and even the local people hardly knew of its existence when I visited Melton Mowbray for the first time in 1906. I tried in vain to discover the quarry by following the contact of diabas and mud¬ stone, hut I soon found out that it would take me many days of diligent research to find it. However, on enquiry, Mr. Bis¬ dee, on whose property Coal Hill is situ¬ ated, kindly supplied the necessary in¬ formation, and, guided by this, Mr. Nich¬ ols, of Melton Mowbray, who knows tlie country well, could show me the exact locality. Anybody interested in this subject could Jo no better than to communicate with Mr. Nichols, if he wishes to visit the quarry. Coal Hill is a low. fairly thickly wooded hill, about a mile and a half north of the hotel at Mel¬ ton Mowbray (see Fig i,. A shallow gully divides it in a western and eastern spur, on tiic crest of which the quarry is situated. It is a remarkable bit ot scenery, this old quarry. Right on the top of tile ilat hill, in fairly open coun¬ try, the ground is covered with thou¬ sands and thousands of angular frag¬ ments of a blue, hard, and splintery chert. It almost looks ns if the whole ground had lately been covered with fresh road metal (see Fig. 2). This pic¬ ture show, a view of the native quarry on Coal Hill. On close examination, shallow holes of about live to six feet in diameter will be observed, having a low wall of debris heaped a non ml them. It is evident that these holes were pro¬ duced by excavating the rock. The thickness of the debris strewn about may be about lift, to 2ft., and its area about 200 to 300 feet square. All the fragments are of a very even size — about five inches in length—though of course there are numerous smaller frag¬ ments, but there are hardly any larger than six inches. Every specimen we took up showed sharp edges, and most of them showed more or less extensive traces of use. The most in¬ teresting feature of these fragments is certainly the fact that every one ot them, of all the thousands we saw scat¬ tered, had orice gone through the hands of a human being. We may also take it as certain that all the specimens we now see in the picture are either refuse or specimens that broke while being shaped, or, unfinished implements. Well- finished specimens are very rare, and it appears that the aborigines chiefly ex¬ cavated the raw material, and, having perhaps roughly shaped a suitable speci- ( 18 ) THE TASMANIAN NATURALIST. men, took it to their marest ramp, in or