164 Willis’s Guide Book of New Route for Tourists.

specially noticeable as being set up in natural positions, and theparents are, in many cases, surrounded by their progeny. The speci-mens are in excellent condition, contrasting favourably with the manymoth-eaten specimens in some other Museums. Many of the extinct,and nearly extinct, birds are represented. Among the former areseveral skeletons of moa.s, one having the cranium and the trachealrings in position, and thus being unique among moa relics. Thedigestive quartz pebbles found in the gizzards of moas, and a numberof fragments of moa egg-shells—the first found in N.Z. (1847)—arealso here shown. The N.Z. quail (koitareke), now extinct; the nearlyextinct birds, the bush-robin (pitoitoi), the huia, the North Islandthrush (piopio), and the white heron (vulgo crane) (kotuku) are allrepresented. There is a tray of vegetating caterpillars (hotete), and astartling display of bones of cattle eaten away by cancer. There is agood collection of N.Z. shells and Crustacea . The volcanic productsof the Thermal District make a fine show, and there is a specially-interesting case of surface-deposits from the blown-up Rotomahanadistrict.

There is a large collection of Maori weapons, tools, and implements,including stone-chisels, adzes, and axes, fishing-sinkers, and meres;many greenstones ( pou namu), meres , tikis , and ornaments ; fishing-nets, eel-baskets ( hinaki ), hue calabashes for carrying water, bark-baskets for carrying food, ketes , mats, dresses, etc., out of number.The ancient Maori fishhooks, formed of manuka or other hard wood,often pointed with human-bone barbs, and the more recent nativefishhooks, made out of iron wire, or copper-bolts taken from wreckedvessels, will be remarked with interest. It should be noticed that theMaori fishhooks are of different shape and are differently, barbedfrom those used by ourselves. Some carved paddles (hoe) are ex-hibited, including one which is said to have been used by Turi, thecaptain of the Aotea canoe on its voyage from Hawaiki to N.Z.

Under the S. gable of the hall is a Maori whare, in the verandah(pikitara ) of which is seated a full-sized figure of an ancient rangatira ,while a loahine, with a tamaiti on her back, stands on the opposite side.

Maori carvings of many kinds, including canoe-prows and humanfigures in the usual grotesque native style, occupy prominent placesabout the building.

The centre of the floor is occupied by a collection of large N.Z. skeletons and stuffed specimens, including three seals of rare sizes andvarieties, and a green turtle caught off New Plymouth .

The S. end and the E. side of the hall are filled with cases con-taining foreign specimens very interesting to N. Z folks, but with mostof which tourists will be familiar. Attention should, however, be calledto the fine exhibits of birds from Australia and New Guinea , some ofwhich are remarkably handsome. This and the N.Z. ornithologicalcollection are daily being added to as the Curator, Mr. Drew, findstime to mount and set up the many skins till now stowed away. It isonly fair to this gentleman and his clever sons to mention that theyhave worked for years, during their leisure hours, collecting and pre-paring the specimens here exhibited, a large proportion of whichformerly were deposited in Mr. Drew’s private Museum.