The Museum and Botanical Gardens were carried on by the Royal Society, aided by a Government grant, until 1885, when they were handed over to the State and placed under Trustees, leaving the Royal Society free to devote its attention to strictly scientific pursuits,

Not the least useful work undertaken during the last few years has been the introduction of salmonidæ. By whatever name the species may be called, certain it is that a delicious edible fish has been added to the number of Tasmanian fish already in our waters.

It is worthy of remark that one of the oldest members of the Royal Society, the late Sir James Agnew, M.D., bore the entire cost of the last shipment of salmon ova, amounting to about £800.

In 1855, Tasmania was granted a new Constitution, with the power to elect two Houses of Parliament. Sir Henry Fox Young was at this time Governor, and he and Lady Young, in 1858, took up their residence in the new Government House which had just been erected.

In 1857, the City of Hobart was first lighted with gas. The first railway in Tasmania was opened in the North in 1871, but it was not until five years later that the Main Line, from Hobart to Launceston was built The by an English company, and opened for traffic. Government purchased the Main Line in 1890. With the exception of the V.D.L. Railway from Waratah to Emu Bay on the North-West Coast, and Mt. Lyell Company's line on the West Coast, all lines now completed are Government property, and the colony possesses about 470 miles of metal roads, of which only about 50 are yet to be opened for traffic, the remainder being in full working order.

The population of Tasmania is 172,480. The climate is mild and exceptionally healthy, and the scenery richly varied, grand, and beautiful. The country, notwithstanding some vicissitudes, is, in the main, prosperous, and suffers less from the ".. 'unemployed" difficulty than its larger neighbours.

Intellectually, Tasmania has no reason to feel ashamed of her record. Of painters, she boasts of a name honoured throughout Australasia, and rapidly coming to the front in England-Mr. W. C. Piguenit. Of poets, Caroline Leakey found a warm place in the affections of her fellow colonists in the fifties, and later, Rowland Davies made one of a quartette of Australian song writers. In singers, Miss Amy Sherwin takes a front rank. Among writers, Mrs. Humphry Ward is known throughout the English speaking world.

One might specially mention Mrs. Charles Meredith, whose first Tasmanian book was published in 1852, and who, at intervals during a long and useful career, sent forth her charming descriptions of life in Tasmania, with accounts of the animals, birds, and flowers which abound in the island.

To the Rev. John West, Tasmania is indebted for a valuable work entitled, "The History of Tasmania," published in the year 1852.

Mr. John Gould lived in Tasmania for some time, collecting material for his books on Australian and Tasmanian birds. Mr. R. M. Johnston, F.L.S., is the author of several important books relating to Tasmania, chief among them being his "Systematic Geology of Tasmania." Mr. James Bonwick has written voluminously on different phases of Tasmanian life and customs; and Mr. James Fenton, aided materially by Mr. J. E. Walker, F. R. G. S., has given to the world a fair and concise "History of Tasmania."

The number of scientific and other papers contributed to the Tasmanian and Royal Societies since 1842 is sufficient confirmation of the mental activity and love of individual research to be found among the inhabitants of Tasmania.

Cab Fares by distance. Any distance under one mile, 1s.; for each successive half-mile 6d. up to five miles. By time, 2s. for any time under half-an-hour; 3s. 6d. up to one hour, and so on. The cars on the three lines of the Electric Tramways commence running at 7 a.m., and between 8 a.m. and 11 p.m., the running is every fifteen minutes upon the New Town line, and every twenty minutes upon the Cascades and Sandy Bay lines. The fares are-2d. to the city boundary and 3d, beyond.

The Botanical Gardens are situated in the Queen's Domain, reached by following the Domain-road past Government House.

The Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery, in which is a large room set apart for the display of Tasmanian specimens of natural history and minerals.

The Public Library is in the same building as the Town Hall, with an entrance in Elizabeth-street.

Sandy Bay is reached by tram; three miles from city. Tram, 6d.

Derwent Park is reached by driving through the lower Domain Road, to Risdon Ferry, and continuing along the new road round the Prince of Wales Bay. The Queen's Domain stretches from the railway station to Cornelian Bay, and has several roads, from the highest of which a lovely view is obtained of the mountain, the city, and suburbs towards Glenorchy,

and the Derwent.

Coaches (fare 38.) leave at 9 a.m. and 2 p.m. daily for the Fern Tree, a point on the Huon Road, on the slope of Mount Wellington, five and a quarter miles from Hobart. The Fern Tree Bower is a favourite picnic resort, and fireplaces and shelter pavilion are provided for visitors, free of charge. Two mountain streams, part of the Hobart water supply, unite here, and pass through screens into a stone aqueduct leading to the city reservoirs. The Silver Falls are some two hundred yards above the Bower.

The Springs are on the eastern side of Mount Wellington, 2,872 feet above sea level. There is a shelter pavilion for the free use of visitors; hot water is supplied gratuitously, and refreshments are also obtainable. A track runs from the Huon Road, between the entrance to the Bower and the church, to the Springs, the distance being one and a quarter miles. From the Huon Road, about five miles from Hobart, there is a well graded carriage drive (the Pillenger Drive) to the Springs, the distance by this route being two miles fifty-seven chains. The ascent of Mount Wellington from the Springs must be made on foot, but there is a well-defined track to the Saddle at the crest of the mountain and from the Saddle along the flat top of the mountain to the Pinnacle the track is marked out by guide posts. From the Springs to the Pinnacle is four-and-a-haif

miles.

(We are indebted to the proprietors of the Tasmanian Mercury for the views of Hobart, and to the "Tourist's Guide" and "Cook's Handbook," for the information given in this supplement).