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Show 1S99.] HON. W. ROTriSCHILD ON THE CASSOWARIES. 773 Capt. Giffard had appended the following note-" Not uncommon, very solitary in its habits, never seen more than 100 yards from water." In size this Duiker closely resembled the Bed Duiker of South Africa (G. natalensis), aud perhaps this would be found to be its nearest ally, though the slate-coloured legs aud dorsal stripe as well as the more massive horns were distinctive of the Red-flanked Duiker. Both the Black-fronted Duiker (G. nigrifrons) from Gaboon and Harvey's Duiker (G. harvegi) from East Africa were much larger animals and are otherwise widely distinct. The Hon. Walter Rothschild, F.Z.S., read a memoir on the Cassowaries, which contained notes on, and an enumeration of, the species and geographical races of these birds. He also exhibited the originals of the plates which are to illustrate the paper when published in the Society's ' Transactions,' and made the following remarks : - M y interest in the Ratitse was first aroused as far back as 1876, when a pair of Emus (Dromceus novce-hollandice) were brought over by Mr. Cyril Flower (now Lord Battersea) from Australia and turned loose in Tring Park. I well remember the universal excitement at home in 1877 when the first of the beautiful dark green eggs was found. Since that time Tring Park has never been without some representative of the Ostrich tribe, either Rhea, Emu, Apteryx, or Cassowary. However it was in 1890 when I first turned my attention seriously to the genus Casuarius, induced to do so by the abominably stuffed and grotesquely coloured specimens preserved in all our museums. I proceeded to devise a method by which their natural appearance could be better displayed. The first step was to get some alive, and I procured two Ceram Cassowaries, a Westerman's Cassowary, and two Australian Cassowaries. I then, when they were in full colour, got an artist to make careful drawings from life. Finally, with the help of a Cambridge taxidermist, we succeeded in modelling Cassowaries so true to life that a photograph from the mounted specimen was barely distinguishable from oue taken from life. In 1896 I promised to work out and monograph for the German Zoological Society the two families of Paradiseidce and Ratitce, for their great work ' Das Thierreich.' Finding no figures or descriptions, not even those of rhe 'Catalogue of Birds in the British Museum,' of any great value to m e in the work for the Ratitae. I determined to get together a collection of all the Ratite Birds alive. I had at the time 5 out of the 6 forms of Apteryx alive; in the Society's Gardens 2 out of the 3 forms of Struthio were represented ; while at Tring I had Dromceus novce-hollandice and D. irroratus, 3 Casuarii, and Rhea americana alive, and Rhea macrorhyncha at the Society's Gardens. In collecting the species and varieties of Cassowary during 1896, 1897, 1898, P R O C ZOOL. Soc-1899, No. L. 50 |