January 13. 192 1] 



NATURE 



651 



Societies and Academies. 

 Sydney. 



Linncan Society ol New South Wales, October i-,. — 

 Mr. J. J. Fletcht-r, president, in the chair. — E. VV. 

 Ferguson and G. F. HUl : Notes on .\us- 

 tralian Tabanidse. The paper deals mainly with 

 synonymy, the results beinj; given of com- 

 parison of specimens with the types of .\ustralian 

 Tabanida; in the British .Museum and in the .Aus- 

 tralian Institute of Tropical Medicine. Seventeen 

 species belonfjin}* to five genera are dealt with, one 

 species beinj.; described as new. — Dr. .\. J. Turner: 

 Studies in .Australian I.epidoptera : Liparida;. In 

 .\ustralia the family LiparidtC is represented by sixty 

 species belonj<infj to eijjhteen genera, of which two 

 genera and ten species are describe<l as new in this 

 |)aper. — G. .\. Waterhonie : Descriptions of new forms 

 of butterflies from the .South Pacific. One species 

 from Fiji and si.\ subspecies from H'iji (three). 

 Lord Howe Island (two), and the New Hebrides (one) 

 .ire described as new.- -Eleanor E. Chase: .\ new 

 avian trem.-itode. .\ species of Holostomum is 

 describeil as new. The specimens described were 

 obtain«Hl from a white-fronted heron, Notopho\x 

 novae-hollandiae, at Terrigal, N.S.W.— Dr. j. M. 

 Pctiie : Cyanogenesis in plants. Part iv. : The hydro, 

 cyanic acid of Heterodendron, a fodder-plant of New 

 South Wales. The foliage of Heterodendron oleae- 

 folia was much used for cattle-feetling during the 

 drought. Chemical examination of the leaves shows 

 them to contain a cvanogenetic glucoside yieldinc, 

 when hvdrolvsed, oi28 per cent, of hydrocyanic acid. 

 The plant is therefore one of the most poisonous 

 cyanogenetic plants known, yielding more than twice 

 as much hvdrocyanic acid as bitter almonds. One 

 ounce of the air-dried leaves forms a lethal amount 

 for one sheen. The leaves are invariably found to 

 be <leficient in enzvme. and require the .iddition of 

 emulsin in the estimation to bring about the complete 

 decotnposition of the glucoside. — Vera IrwIn-Smlth : 

 Studies in life-histories of .Australian Diptern Brachv. 

 rera. Part i. : Stratiomyiidae. No. i : Metoponia 

 rubriceps, Macquart. Verv little work has been done 

 in anv oart of the world on the earlv stages of the 

 Brachvcera ; many soil-inhabiting, dipterous larvfp, 

 mostiv belonginc to the Brachvcera, have been col- 

 lected and reared through to the imago or to the 

 r)up.Tl stage. The present paper is the first of a series 

 deallni' with this work, and gives a detailed account 

 (if the life-histor^' of Metoponia ruhricepa. Macquart. 

 It is also accompanied by a historical review of pub- 

 lishe<l accounts of earlv stages of the .Stratiomviida-, 

 a list of the species the earlier stages of which have 

 hern observwd, an<l a comprehensive bibliography. 



HOBNRT. 



Royal Sotlely ol Tasmania, October n Dr. .\. II. 

 riarke in the chair. I,. Rodway : .Additions to the 

 fungus flora of Tasmania. Several new and interest- 

 ing species of fungi were ilescribed. In his introduc- 

 tion the lecturer pointe«l out that in any communitv 

 such as Tasmania, where the future largely depends 

 upon agriculture, the study of botany was essential. 

 It was to lie regretted that up to the present thia 

 studv had l>een absolutely neglected even at the Uni- 

 vcrsitv. Independent of the injurv done bv some para- 

 sitic fungi to our crops and forests, fungi were of the 

 utmost importance to the well-being of the earth. 

 Their principal work consists of decomposing dea<l 

 vegetable mailer and bringing the soil into a fit sinir 

 to afford foo<l for pinnt-life 



NO. 2672. VOL. 106] 



Books Received. 



Survey of India. Professional Paper, No. 15. The 

 Pendulum Operations in India and Burma, 1908 to 

 1913. By Capt. H. J. Couchman. Pp. b-t-vi+igo. 

 (Dehra Dun : Trigonometrical Survey.) 2.8 rupees. 



-Medical Research Council and Department of 

 Scientific and Industrial Research. Reports of the 

 Industrial Fatigue Research Board. No. 5. Fatigue 

 and Efficiency in the Iron and Steel Industry. (Metal 

 Trades Series, No. 4.) Pp. 99-I-8 plates. (London : 

 H.M. Stationery Ofhce.) 3s. net. 



Cocoa. Bv Edith .A. Browne. (Peeps at Indus- 

 tries.) Pp. viii-(-88. (London : .A. and C. Black, Ltd.) 

 2S. 6d. net. 



Kepler. By W. W. Bryant. (Pioneers of Progress : 

 Men of Science.) Pp. 62. (London : S.P.C.K. ; New 

 A'ork : The Macmillan Co.) zs. 



John Dalton. By L. J. Neville-Polley. (Pioneers 

 of Progress : Men of Science.) Pp. 63. (London : 

 S.P.C.K.; New A'ork: The \iacmillan Co.) 2S. 



I'nion of South .Africa. Departinent of Mines and 

 Industries. Geological Survey. The Geology of the 

 Northern Portions of the Districts of Marico and 

 Rustenburg. By H. Kynaston and Dr. ^^^ .A. 

 Humphrey. Pp. 38. 2.9. M. The Geology 

 of Pondoland and Portions of .\lfrt>d and Lower 

 I'mzimkulu Counties, Natal. By Dr. \. L. 

 du Toil. Pp. 45. 2s. 6d. Memoir No. 11. The 

 Limestone Resources of the Union. A'ol. ii. : The 

 Limestones of Natal, Cape, and Orange Free State 

 Provinces. By VV. Wybergh. Pp. 149. 55. Memoir 

 No. 15. Corundum in the Northern and Easterrt 

 Transvaal. By .A. L. Hall. Pn. 223-hxxiii plates. 

 ys. M. (Pretoria : Geological Survey.) 



South .African Mammals. .A Short Manual for the 

 I'se of Field Naturalists, .Sportsmen, and Travellers. 

 Bv .A. Haagner. Pp. xx-t-2d8. (London : H. F. and 

 (i. VVitherby; Cape Town: T. Maskew Miller.) 2(>,v. 

 net. 



Diary of Societies. 



THVRSD.W, jAXiAnr 13. 



' Lo.s-DOx .MiTBiHATicAi SocitTT t»t Uojral Aitronomical Society), >t 5. 

 —A. S. KddinKton : Dr. Shcppard's Method of Krduction of 

 Error br Linear CompoandinR.— W. F. Shcppard : Conjugate 8«t» 

 of Quantitie».— B. A. Milne ; A I'roblem eoncerning the 

 Maxima of Certain Type* of Sums and Intejrraln.— H. J. Prieit- 



' ley : The Linear Dilter-ntial Kquation of the Second Order.— 

 M. Kinder: The ZiTOe of .\n«lvtio Kunetion». -A. ('. Dixon; 

 The Theory nf a Thin Elastic IMate, bounded bv Two Circular 

 Are», and' ClamiM-d.— O. A. .Miller: Determination of all thiv 

 Characteriitie 8ub-(rroupii of an Abelian Group. 

 IxsTinriox or Ki.Hf«UAi. ENOiKiiitiw (at Inntitution of CitII 

 Enirineera), at 6.— Sir William Brairir : Electron! (KeWin l.»o- 

 ture). „. , _ ., 



Co.tiuxTl: I.'taTlItTK, at 7..10.— H. K. D.vwin : T.!.t« on Hi)jh Ten»ilr 



I Oil A!»D Coi«r« CBiuiKTR' A«!toriATio:t (at i Kurni»al Street!, at 

 7.30.— H. O. Clarke : The ETaluation of White Pi|rment» : with 

 Special Refercniv to White Antimony Oxide. 

 omcAi. Socirri (at Imperial Colleire of ScienoeL at ..♦»•— 

 Prof. W. Salomonnon ; A New nphthalmoacope.— H. Dtnnia Taylor : 

 I An Anaatiirmatie Flat Field Telencope and Itl Application to 

 Prinroatie Binornlar>.--In>t..Comdr. T. T. Baker : A Note on 

 Multiple Reflection. 

 Htanu'i Ho<lKTT or I,oxdoi« (at Medical Siwiety of T,ondont (An- 

 nual Meetiniri. at R.30.-Dr. W. Hill The Great Adjancen In 

 J the Inre«tiiration and Treatment of Pineanet of the (K«opha»u» 

 ! ilnrinr the Pre«ent Centorr. , — . , 



I RoTAi. SocitTT or MtniciKi (NeuroloKj Section*, at ».Sa,— Informal 

 MMtlDC for Free Diaenaiion. 



FRlDAr. J»i«r»«T H 



Rnttl A»Tao»o»iinl. So<ltTT, at 't. K. E Itarnard : Hind « N>%% 



Star nf IMK I Nova (Iphiuehi No. St.— W. J. Lnrten : Note no thr 



i Claater N.O.I'. flRM.-Rer. J. O. Hafen : The A utmph.Tiical 



I Problem "f Variable Star*. C. Kaaton : The Dinlanee of the 



I Galactic Star clouds. J. Harrrea»e» : Note on the I'hotoirraphT 



of Mele<ir>. W. M. Smart and H. E. (Jreen : Photographic Mairni- 



! todei and KWeetiTc Wa»e leniftha of No»a Crirni ilHSOi. from 



Pholovrapkn Taken at the Canibridire Ohaerratorr. 



