74 December 1853 Port Jackson N.S.W. 31st This morning I visited the Sydney Museum (of Science) where I found a very scientific man—Mr Wall, curator of the Natural History Department. He showed me many interesting shells, and many unique cetacean skeletons, among which latter were a perfect example of that of Catodon australis, which was of great size and mounted outside of the building,—and also one of his new genus Euplotoses. He gave me copies of the work in which this latter genus was described for distribution among our naturalists at home, and for myself. He gave me an account of his reasons for suggesting the application of a propeller to steam vessels on the same principle as that forming the motive or gain of the whale, namely, the tail. He complained of the contempt with which his own countrymen had treated this attempt to make principles taken from nature serve in art, and extolled the Americans for the encouragement always given by them to efforts to make improvements in the mechanic arts, however problematical they might appear to a super- 75 December 1853 Port Jackson N.S.W. ficial observer. He also showed me a copy of one of the first numbers of a scientific journal now published in this part of the world (Melbourne, Vol. I. No. 2) which contained an account of the Australian fresh-water Entomostraca, with a few coarse figures, by Rev. Mr King of Sydney. The genera showed a great similarity of the Entomostraca of this country to those of Europe. Mr Wall treated us (Miss Wright, Storer and myself) with great politeness; and after leaving him we went to see Mr Mac Leay, who lives in a large house, having extensive grounds, situated beyond the town of Wolloombooloo. He treated us with kindness, and showed us his fine collection of insects, and the plants of his large garden. He appeared to care little for marine invertebrate, and on the whole I was not much interested by my visit. He is a man of immense general information, having a remarkable memory, and is equally versed in Zoology and Botany. He is now about 80 years of age, and his working days are over. He is possessed of a very large property but is said to be very parsimonious.