Vol. XXV. No. 11.] 
POPULAE SCIENCE NEWS. 
161 
scarce, the American copper (Chrysopaness hy- 
pophlaes) was found in some abundance near the 
town, and one specimen of tlie common yellow 
butterfly {Colias philodice) was seen, but wings 
were too much for leo;s and it escaped. Several 
exami^les of the curious larviE of the giant water 
fl\- {Curydalis cormitus) were found under stones 
by the riverside. This insect deposits its eggs in 
masses on leaves of trees, close to or overhanging 
the water, into which the young larvae instinct- 
ively make their way as soon as hatched ; at this 
period of their existence tliey breathe by means of 
external gills or branchia, like very 3"0ung tad- 
poles, or the w'ater lizard {Menohrnnchus) . During 
the second and third periods of its life, the gills 
are replaced by spirades, and it then can only 
breathe atmospheric air, and accordingly, when 
about to iissunie the second, or pujtal condition, it 
leaves the water and conceals itself under a stone 
or other shelter, and there passes through its final 
transformations, issuing as a large net-winged fly, 
the male being furnished with immense sickle 
shaped mandibles. 
Birds were fairly represented, but nothing unu- 
sual was noticed. Pui-ple grackles {Quiscalus 
quisculus mneus) were common on the outskirts of 
the town, and several pairs of red-winged black- 
birds (Affelwius plio'nicetts) were seen at a swamp, 
where no doubt they had their nests. A Maryland 
yellow-tlnoat was heard singing near the same 
place. Crows, bobolinks and several fluehes and 
spari'ows were also observed. 
On .Tune 28 Hochelaga was visited, the beaver 
meadow being the locality selected. Hovering 
over a shallow ditch were a number of flies, some 
of which, when captured, proved to belong to the 
genus Ildiuphilus. The larv;u live in stagnant 
water, and ai-e commonly 4inowu as " rat-tailed 
maggots." These creatures breathe through the 
tail, which is, in fact, an extensile tube, and can 
be lengthened or shortened at the animal's pleas- 
ure, to suit the depth of the wafer, the larva rest- 
ing with the tip of the tail just reaching the 
surface. In a clover meadow we took the small 
brown skipper butterfly {Pamphila ceriics) and 
a moth (Euclidea cnspidea). In a rank growth of 
dogsbane, we found a number of the pretty white 
moth (Euchates collarin), and in the beaver 
meadow, the myrina butterfly was quite common. 
The usual birds were seen through the day, but 
no species not commonly met with were noticed. 
Bobolinkg liovered over the meadows, and by 
their cries of distress, betrayed the fact that their 
nestlings were close at hand, and, in their opinion, 
in imminent danger. 
Ou the occasion of the Society's field day ou 
the mountain the following birds were observed: 
Pewee flycatcher {Sayornis phcube), crows (Cormis 
Americanus) , song sparrow (Melogpiza fusciala), 
blue suowl.'ird (Jnncn hyemalis), red-eyed fly- 
catcher {Verio oUvacetis), yellow warbler (Dr;n- 
droica (estiva), oven bird {Seinrus aiiricapilus) , 
redstart (Setophaga ruticella) and hermit thrush 
{Turdus aonalaschkm pullasii) . Of insects, among 
others, the following specii's were noticed: Cab- 
bage white {Pieris rapce), eurytris butterfly 
{Neohympha eurytrii), lary skipper {Eudamus tity- 
rua) ; and of moths— Ca^morpAa lecontif, Euchates 
collaris, Enphanessa mendica, and Drasterta erec- 
the.a. Ants were abundant under stones, and 
m:igriificent dragon flies flew swiftly overhead, or 
settled just out of reach at the extremity of a 
leafy bough or withered twig. 
Early in .luly an examination of the seed poils 
of the blue flag (7m versicula) showed that many 
of the seeds were eaten by the larvic of some 
beetle, and also that these grubs were iu their 
turn being devoured by the grub of some other 
insect. By the beginning of September all that 
survived had reached maturity; the beetle proved 
to be a small weevil {Mononychus vulpeculus). 
The parasite is a small ichneumon fly, which I 
have not yet been able to determine. The fly 
issued first, cutting a small round hole in the side 
of the pod ; but the beetle is not provided with 
any me:ins of cutting through the pod, and is too 
large to get out the hole made by its parasite; it 
is, in fact, imprisoned, bat nature has provided a 
remedy. When the seeds of the iris are fully 
ripened the pod opens, letting the seeds fall to the 
ground, at the same time setting free the im- 
prisoned beetle. 
The last outing was taken on the eleventh of 
December, to see how nature appeared in her 
winter dress. Walking out by the aqueduct, 
when near Cote St. Paul, some small birds were 
seen on the top of an elm tree, one of which, 
when shot, proved to be the American goldfinch 
{Spinns tristis), showing that this species may be 
included in ourlist of winter birds, although it is 
doubtful that it remains with us duriug the entire 
winter. Nothing further was seen until tlie 
woods beyond Vetdun were reached, but there 
the chickadees {Varus Atrictipilliis) were quite 
plentifid, and seemed in the best of spirits. Along 
with them were a few white-hearted nuthatches 
{Sitta caroUneusis) and brown creepers {Certhia 
Jimilearis Americanus), and perclied sedately on 
the bougli of an apple tree a little sawwhet owl 
{Nyctala acadica) sat gravely looking at us. 
These, with a northern shrike {Larius borealis), 
were the only birds seen during the day, but were 
sufficient to show that even in the depth of our 
C^madian winter, the woods and fields are not 
entirely deserted. 
[Orlglr:>l In I'oi'clar Science News.] 
THE ELECTRIC EXHIBmOX AT FKANK- 
FOKT-OV-THE-MAIX. 
BY ADA M. TROTTElt. 
Tins exhiliition, — which attracts thousands of 
tourists to Frankfort, — with catholic desire to be 
all things to all men, includes interests within its 
pale for all classes of intellect, from tlie most 
dense to the keenly scientific. In this respect the 
exhibition in Philadelphia about nine years ago 
compares favorably with this of Frankfort. It 
seems to belittle a scieutific exhibition when so 
much of the space within its gates is given up 
to beer-halls, theaters, small shows, shooting-gal- 
leries, panoramas, etc. As a purely scientific 
exliil)ition, I suppose it could not be made to pay, 
so plenty of mundane attractions are ofl'ered to 
bring the traveller through the entrance gates. 
He comes, therefore, not to see what advance 
science has made in electric light, but to answer 
the jingle of the elec;ric bell which calls him to 
the Victoria Theater, where a ballet can be seen 
arranged by the manager of such affairs at the 
Opeia House of Paris I 
With a clear remembrance of the machinery on 
view in Philadelphia in "83, I entered the great 
eugine-rooin, almost blinded there by the brilliant 
lights, and deafened by the noise made by the 
huge engines. Here may be seen engines of .">00 
to 600 horse-power, capable of keeping 6,000 lights 
going. I askeci a young American electrician 
what he thought of these large engines, and he 
replied that, though much used in Europe, he 
considered them to be a mistake. "In America," 
he said, "the use of several small ones is pre- 
ferred to that of one large one," for which he 
gave a good practical reason — "that the least 
thing might throw the engine out of gear, and the 
6,000 lights would be instantly put out, whereas 
if several small ones are used, the results of one 
having to stop for repairs would not be much felt." 
I saw gi-eat improvements in the lights and 
chandeliers to be used for domestic purposes. It 
seems as though proof enough lay before us as to 
electric light being of all others the most capable 
of artistic handling. Xo longer need we be bound 
to the ugly upright globe to shade the light; — 
around us are lily bells, roses, trumpet flowers, 
their petals daintily glowing from stamens of 
electric light. A bouquet of flowers on the table, 
of lily, tulip, and rose, at a touch from the mana- 
ger irradiates light, every blossom glowing at the 
center. Thus, as the electric light can be placed 
at any angle, we need no longer endure stiff, up- 
right candelivbra; our lights can droop in flower 
forms anywhere we like to place them. 
There is a room in which a large telephone is 
placed — a trumpet-shaped valve protruding from 
the wall. The auditors take seats as though at a 
concert, and the sound is heard only too loud, 
everywhere in the room. The manager called for 
a cornet solo from Wiesbaden. Not only was it 
disagreeably loud, but it certainly came to us with 
a hollow sound, as though transmitted through a 
tube, and the breathing of the player was pain- 
fully evident. I should like to have heard the 
experiment tried with an artist instead of an 
indifferent performer at the telephone. 
The phonograph experience was equally disa- 
greeable, the vulgar public, evidently, rather than 
the cultuied, being catered for. I noticed here, 
also, an absence of naturalness in the sound — the 
same hollow, distant, yet too loud impression that 
had struck me in the telephone-room. 
The Thomson & Houston department (Ameri- 
can) boasts the steadiest electric light in the 
whole exhibition. They give an entertainment to 
visitors to their technical exhibit, in the form of a 
car laden with stone, which is sent up and down 
an inclined plane by means of a machine opposite. 
The pit-ce de resistance, however, is the "mine," 
whose wonders are open to the puldic at 20 pf. a 
head. This mine is constructed in order to show 
the power of electiic light under ground, and to 
demonstrate the uses of pumps worked by elec- 
tricity, and a powerful drill which makes holes in 
a rock for the dynamite for blasting purposes. 
People are cari'ied in and out of the mine on an 
electric car, which little adventure brings many a 
visitor into the mine who cares little for machines. 
The scientific like to visit the exhibition best by 
d.iy, but the uncultujed world rushes there in 
crowds by night. At half past six the buildings 
are outlined with lights, and the interiors, of 
course, illuminated. Later the artificial cataract 
pours ruby, amethyst, green, and gold torrents 
over the rocks into the lake below, and search 
lights from the top of the Eiftel Tower and other 
high places bring their witchery to bear on the 
brilliancy of the spectacular scene. Crowds take 
the elevator to the top of the tower, where a 
splendid bird"s-eye view can be obtained of the 
city, and, of course, of the exhibition grounds, 
dazzling the unaccustomed eye with myriads of 
lights. Bands play, crowds seat themselves at 
the tables amidst the lights to drink beer, and the 
bells ring |)eoiile in and out of the little theaters 
and the iiauoraiiia. There is much that jars upon 
the taste of a cultured or scientific mind in such a 
medley, and the explanation ofl'ered in good faith 
of a learned German doctor — "O, it would not 
pay without" — seemed a poor excuse for such 
intrusion of ballets and beer halls into a scientific 
exhibition. 
