Oct. 24, 1889] 



NATURE 



>OD 



females under 15 years of age. If it be assumed that the 

 numbers living under 5 years of age bear the same proportion 

 to the whole number under 15 years of age as in the European 

 portion of the population, the above numbers would give 4596 

 Maori males and 4082 Maori females between 5 and 15 years of 

 age. As all the children attending the private and public schools 

 may be fairly taken at over 5 and under 15 years of age, and 

 the ages of those attending native schools are ascertainable, it 

 may be roughly stated that nearly 32 per cent, of the Maori 

 boys and nearly 27 per cent, of the Maori girls between 5 and 

 1 5 years of age attend schools. 



SCIENTIFIC SERIALS. 



Reale Istittito Lombardo di Scienze e Lettere, Kendicontif 

 vol. xxii. fasc. xv.-xvi. — It appears from experiments here 

 described by Signor Sormani that the Bacillus and spores of 

 tetanus may be drawn into the respiratory passages by inhala- 

 tion, or even injected into the bronchial tubes, without producing 

 tetanus. The Bacillus is probably anaerobic, unable to develop 

 in presence of oxygen. The tetanus called rheumatic is thought 

 to be of traumatic origin really, the wound being slight, and but 

 little of the virus introduced. Tetanus is most common in 

 Northern Italy ; its maximum being in Lombardy and Emilia, 

 where people frequently work, in the hot season, with bare 

 feet. They are attacked in the proportion of lOO males to 30 

 females. The mortality in hospitals is about 44 per cent of those 

 attacked. — We note two medical papers : on recent innovations 

 in treatment of free inguinal hernia (Signor Scorenzio), and on 

 fibroma of the breast (Signor Sangalli), — An inquiry into the 

 nature and uses of the stufe and warm baths of the middle and 

 later ages is summarized by the author, Signor Corradi. — Signor 

 Maggi writes on the principles of the theory of potential functions, 

 and there are continuations of mathematical papers by Signors 

 Oschieri and Giulio. 



Bulletin de V Academie Royale des Sciences de Belgique, No. 8, 

 1889. — M. Massart here seeks to account for the penetration of 

 spermatozoids into the egg of the frog by the resultant attraction 

 of the gelatinous mass round the egg, which, absorbing water, 

 presents a gradually increasing density inwards. If a piece 

 of the episperm of linseed or quince be put in water containing 

 spermatozoids, the mucilaginous matter round it swells similarly, 

 and, during the twenty minutes this continues, the spermatozoids 

 are attracted, and make their way to the centre. When the 

 absorption ceases, they stop too. The gelatinous covering of 

 the frog's egg, separated from the latter, in water, affects them 

 similarly. M. Massart holds that sensibility to contact is the 

 explanation of the phenomena (not mechanical attraction, nor a 

 sense of the direction of the current). — M. de Heen describes a 

 simple new. apparatus for measuring the heat conductivity of some 

 homologous organic liquids, and shows that, in a given series, the 

 conductivity diminishes with increasing molecular weight ; but 



the square of - varies generally >less rapidly than the weight. 



He also discusses the dilatability of liquids in relation to mole- 

 cular movements. — M. Henry studies the volatility of normal 

 cyanic ethers, and of poly-oxygenated carbon compounds ; find- 

 ing the simultaneous presence of oxygen and nitrogen, or the 

 accumulation of oxygen, at one point in the molecules, a power- 

 ful cause of it. He has also a short paper on monohaloid ethers 

 of ethylenic glycol. — M. Dewalque supplies some phenological 

 figures for Liege, Spa, &c. A valuable paper on the svastika 

 appears in the section des lettres. 



SOCIETIES AND ACADEMIES. 

 London. 

 Entomological Society, October 2. — The Right Hon. 

 Lord Walsingham, F.R.S., President, in the chair. — Mr. F. P. 

 Pascoe exhibited a number of species of Coleoptera, Lepido- 

 ptera, Hymenoptera, Neuroptera, Hemiptera, Orthoptera, and 

 Diptera, collected by himself during the past summer at Brin- 

 disi, and in Greece and the Ionian Islands. — Mr. J. W. Douglas 

 sent for exhibition specimens of Lygus viscicola, Puton, a 

 species new to Britain, taken at Hereford, in September last, 

 by Dr. T. A. Chapman.— Mr. R. McLachlan, F.R.S., exhibited 

 nearly 100 specimens of Trichoptera recently collected in Ice- 

 land by Dr. P. B. Mason. Only six species were represented, 

 and of these five had been previously recorded from the island. 

 Mr. McLachlan remarked on' the great amount of variation 



existing in some of the specimens. — Mr. E. B. Poulton, F.R.S., 

 exhibited a mounted specimen of the yellow powder from the 

 cocoon of Clisiocampa nenstria under a power magnifying 188 

 diameters. The powder was thus seen to consist of crystals so- 

 minute that the form could only just be made out under this 

 power ; it was present in a crystalline form in the Malpighian 

 tubules, and discharged from the anus of the larva. A discussion 

 ensued as to the functions of the Malpighian tubes, in which 

 Mr. Stainton, F.R.S., Lord Walsingham, Dr. P. B. Mason, 

 Mr. McLachlan, and Dr. Sharp took part. — Mr. Poulton also 

 exhibited some photographs of the living larvae of Ilemerophila 

 abruptaria, showing different depths of colour which had been 

 induced by experiment ; the larvae had been rendered very light 

 in colour by being surrounded by green leaves and stems only, 

 whereas they had become extremely dark when numbers of dark 

 twigs were intermingled with the leaves of the food-plant. Mr. 

 F. Merrifield said that Dr. Chapman had recently obtained 

 similar results from experiments made with the larvae of Ennomos 

 alniaria. — The Rev. Dr. Walker exhibited, and read notes on, 

 a number of Coleoptera, Neuroptera, Hymenoptera, and Diptera, 

 which formed the second instalment of the collection which he 

 had recently made in Iceland. — Mr. R. South exhibited a speci- 

 men of Luperina nickerlii, Freyer, caught in Lancashire 

 last August. He also exhibited, and read notes on, a long 

 series of Boarmia repandata, bred from larvae collected in North 

 Devon. Mr. Poulton, Mr. Merrifield, and Lord Walsingham 

 took part in the discussion which ensued. — Mr. J. J. Walker,. 

 R.N., exhibited a collection of Coleoptera made during the pas^ 

 summer in Cobham Park, Kent. Thirty-three species were 

 represented, amongst which were the following, viz. Eros 

 mintitus, Philonthus fuscus, Homalota hepatica, Abrceus granu- 

 lum, Anisotoma grandis, Agaricophagus cephalotes, Thalycra 

 sericea, Cryptophagus ruficornis, PlcUy tarsus setulosus, &c. — 

 Herr Jacoby exhibited a curious Phytophagous beetle found by 

 Mr. J. H. Leech in the Corea. He stated that he was unable 

 to determine the species, as was also Mr. J. S. Baly, to whom 

 he had submitted the specimen. — Mr. R. Adkin exhibited speci- 

 mens of Retina resinella, received by him from Forres. Lord 

 Walsingham remarked that he had never seen the species in 

 Scotland, but that it was not uncommon in Germany. — Mr. W. 

 Dannatt exhibited a male specimen of Papilio antimachus,. 

 Drury, received from Lukolela, a station about 500 miles from 

 the mouth of the Congo. He stated that the species, although, 

 very rare, had a wide range, as three other specimens of it had 

 been received from the Stanley Falls, which were more than 

 800 miles further up the Congo. — Lord Walsingham exhibited 

 specimens of the larva and imago of Cidaria reticulata, collected 

 in the Lake District, and sent to him by Mr. Hodgkinson. — 

 Mr. J. Jenner-Weir exhibited fore-wings of the males ol Argyn- 

 nis paphia, A. adippe, and A. atlantis, denuded of the scales,, 

 in order to show that there was no dilatation or thickening of 

 the median nervules and submedian nervure in that sex of these 

 species ; but that the apparent dilatation was produced by a 

 dense mass of scales crowded together on each side of the 

 nervules. He also read a short paper on the subject entitled 

 " Notes on the Nervules of the Fore- Wings in the Males of 

 Argymtis paphia and other Species of the Genus." Mr. Jenner- 

 Weir said he was supported in his views by the opinions of Mr. 

 S. H. Scudder, Dr. Staudinger, and Dr. Schatz. 



Sydney. 

 Linnean Society of New South 'Wales, July 31. — 

 Tlie following papers were read : — Description of a new 

 species of lodis, with remarks on Pielus imperialis, Olliff, 

 by Thomas P. Lucas. For the new species of lodis — of 

 which three specimens were recently captured in Brisbane 

 by Mr. Illidge— the name of P. illidgei is proposed. The 

 second part of the paper consists of critical remarks on P^ 

 imperialis, Olliff, which the author states is identical with P, 

 hyalinatus, Schaffer. — The examination of kinos as an aid in 

 the diagnosis of Eucalypts ; Part i, the Ruby Group, by J. H. 

 Maiden. The author refers to a previous paper, in which he 

 shows that Eucalyptus kinos may readily be grouped into three 

 great classes, according to their behaviour with water and with 

 spirit. Briefly, he divides them into (i) the Ruby Group, which 

 consists of ruby-coloured kinos, the members of which are 

 soluble either in cold water or in cold spirit. (2) The Gummy 

 Group, whose members are soluble in cold water, but very im- 

 pei'fectly in spirit, owing to the gum they contain. (3) The 

 Turbid Group, whose members are soluble in hot water or in 

 hot alcohol, but the solutions become turbid on cooling, owing 



