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Show 466 DR. J. v. H A A S T O N ZIPHIUS NOVXE-ZEALANDIXE. [June 6, Mr. Sclater read an extract from a letter addressed to him by Mr. J. H. Gurney, F.Z.S., dated Northrepps, Norwich, M a y 23rd, 1876. Mr, Gurney stated that a pair of the variety of the Common Swan, usually called the Polish Swan (Cygnus immutabilis of Yarrell), which had been deposited by the Society under his care for the purpose of breeding, had just hatched five healthy Cygnets, which did not appear to Mr.. Gurney to differ materially from those of the ordinary form. The general colour of the upper parts was brownish grey with a slight tinge of dull pale rufous; the head, throat, and breast were white. The white colour, however, was not abruptly marked off from the grey, but the boundaries of the two tints were somewhat blended. Mr. Sclater remarked that the usual notion was that in the Polish Swan the Cygnets were invariably of a pure white*, and that it was for the purpose of ascertaining whether this idea was correct that the pair of Swans in question had been placed under Mr. Gurney's charge, at the suggestion of Prof. Newton, in order that they might have a better chance of breeding. The Swans had been originally received of a dealer in exchange in May 1871, and had not bred in the Society's Gardens, the space available for them being too limited. The following papers were read :- 1. Notes on the Skeleton of Ziphius novce-zealandia. By J U L I U S V O N H A A S T , Ph.D., F.R.S., Director of the Canterbury Museum. [Received May 5, 1876.] (Plates XLV. & XLVI.) At the end of July 1872 the report reached me that a Whale had been stranded on a reef in Lyttelton Harbour, Banks Peninsula, and that the carcass had been towed to one of the small bays by several fishermen for securing the oil. Being myself prevented by indisposition, Mr. Fuller, the Taxidermist of the Museum, proceeded to that locality with instructions to secure the skeleton and to make the necessary observations as to the dimensions, form, sex, and age of the animal. When he arrived where the fishermen were at work, he found that the blubber had nearly all been taken off, so that he could only partially obtain the required measurements. The animal, which on dissection proved to be an aged female, had a total length of 26 feet; and Mr. Fuller describes the body as being rather thick in the middle, tapering to a slender tail without showing the least trace of any dorsal fin. Colour bluish black on the upper portion of the body, white beneath, the upper portion being marked with numerous oval spots, 2 to 3 inches across, like the skin of a Leopard. * See Yarrell's ' British Birds,' vol. iii. p. 131 (1843). |