RECENT ADVANCES IN SCIENCE 291 



is led to the conclusion that Flagellates and Amoebae are not the 

 factors inhibiting bacterial activity in well-manured soils. 



Invertebrata. — " Some Nemertinea, Free-living Nematoda, 

 and Oligochaeta from the Falklands " collected by Mr. Vallentin 

 are recorded by Baylis {Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist. April 191 6). 

 In " The Development of Paravortex Gemellipara (Graffilla 

 gemellipara, Linton)" (Jour. Morph. vol. xxvii. 191 6) Ball 

 states that when two or more embryos are found in a capsule, 

 it is due to the inclusion of two or more eggs. Three germinal 

 regions are recognisable in the blastula, a meso-ectoderm, a 

 primary entoderm (whose cells act as vitellophags) and a 

 secondary entoderm. 



The question of the influence of the yolk in development has 

 been investigated by Grave (Jour. Morph. vol. xxvii. 191 6) 

 " Ophiura brevispina — II. An Embryological Contribution and a 

 Study of the Effect of Yolk Substance upon Development and 

 Developmental Processes." The great increase in the yolk con- 

 tent of the egg of Ophiura brevispina, to which its large size is 

 due, has not disturbed its early developmental processes. 

 The manner and rate of its segmentation and the structure of 

 the blastula remain practically the same as in the egg of Ophio- 

 conia, which is T ^th the size of the egg of Ophiura. 



Bagnall gives " Brief Descriptions of new Thysanoptera " 

 (Ann. and Mag. Nat. Hist. May 1916), " New Tipulidce from 

 the Malay Peninsula " and " A Third Species of the Genus 

 Elporia Edw." are recorded by Edwards (Ann. and Mag. Nat. 

 Hist. April and May 191 6). Champion describes a series of 

 new Coleoptera in " A new Genus of Pythidce from the Falkland 

 Islands " (Ann. and Mag. Nat. Hist. April 191 6), "A new 

 Genus of Anthicidae from the Islands of Mysol and Waigiou " 

 (ibid. May 191 6), and " New Species of the Genus Platomops, 

 Reitl. [= Spithobates, Champ.] from Tropical South America" 

 (ibid. June 191 6). Cockerell continues to pile up " Descrip- 

 tions and Records of Bees" (LXXI. ibid. April 1916, LXXII. 

 ibid. June 191 6) and Turner " Notes on Fossorial Hymenop- 

 tera " (XXI. ibid. April 1916, and XXII. ibid. June 191 6). A 

 list with brief descriptions of the " Ants from British Guiana " 

 comes from Crawley (ibid. May 191 6) and " Notes on the Apidae 

 (Hymenoptera) in the Collection of the British Museum, with 

 Descriptions of new Species " from Meade-Waldo (ibid. June 

 1 91 6). Lepidoptera appear in the Ann. and Mag. Nat. Hist. 



