May 1, 1897.] 



KNOWLEDGE. 



109 



saw-fly larva. Closing the gall again, I tied it round with 

 thin cotton, examining it each day, until on the fourth I 

 discovered a tiny white maggot in the act of crawling from 

 the egg. Once more I closed it up, but only for an hour or 



FlO. 10. — Ei'lopiiis nemati (female), Parasite of Willow Saw-Fly. 



two, for, on reopening it, there was the maggot (Fig. 81 with 

 its jaws fixed tight into the paralyzed larva of the saw-fly, 

 which, as day after day passed, gradually decreased until 

 only the skin remained, whilst the parasitic larva increased. 

 Now, many parasitic larv» spin a silken covering where- 

 with to protect them during the change to the pupa, 

 but this one did not require more protection than that of 

 the gall, so no cocoon was made ; but the larva laid 

 down on its back close to its food, and there changed 

 to a naked pupa (Fig. 9), to emerge either late in the 

 autumn (I have bred some in October), or, more generally, 

 in spring. 



Fig. 10 represents another very exquisite parasite of the 

 willow saw-fly. This is Eulophus }icmat!, a perfect jewel. 

 Though not more than a sixteenth of an inch long, its 

 body is one blaze of flashing colour. The head, thorax, 



and parts of the legs are 

 pitted all over with 

 minute concavities, which 

 reflect the sunlight in 

 every direction, making 

 it a sight to be remem- 

 bered. The male (Fig. 11) 

 has the additional charm 

 of most extraordinarily 

 formed antennip, which 

 take an important part 

 when this handsome 

 couple meet and pay court 

 — which is a ceremony 

 in which much frivolity 

 is shown. Antics of the 

 most comical character 

 are indulged in. These exquisite parasites, together with 

 many others, are exceedingly common, each species 

 showing peculiarities of the most extraordinary kind. 



I can only recommend those who are desirous of 

 studymg insect life in a somewhat limited area to grow 

 willow trees, from which they will obtain an endless 

 supply of insects. 



Fig. ll.Si'Iophus nemati (ma'e), 

 Parasite of Willow Saw-Flv. 



Sctenw Notts, 



The South-Eastern Union of Scientific Societies holds 

 its second annual congress at Tunbridge Wells on May 

 21st and 22nd. Various meetings and excursions will 

 take place during these two days. There are also a number 

 of very interesting papers down for reading by Prof. 

 Boulger, Prof. Seeley, Rev. ScargUl, Mr. T. W. Tutt, and 

 others. The congress should prove a great success. FuU 

 particulars as to membership, etc., can be had of the hon. 

 secretary, M. G. Abbott, M.B.C.S., 2, Queen's Road, 

 Tunbridge Wells. 



A pmjini of the recent opening of the celebrated Borgia 

 apartments in the Vatican, containing the beautiful frescoes 

 by Pinturricchio, it may not be uninteresting to mention 

 that there is a model of a portion of one of the " stanze " 

 in the South Kensington Museum. It is believed that the 

 construction of this model aroused great interest in the 

 suite of rooms named, with the fortunate result that His 

 Holiness Pope Leo XIII. ordered the books belonging to 

 the Vatican library, until recently kept on shelves placed 

 against the walls of the " appartamento," to be removed, 

 and arrangements made so that the public might have 

 access — a privilege, until now, exceedingly diflicult to 

 obtain. 



We regret to announce the death of Mr. George W. 

 Traill, the author of several exhaustive monographs on the 

 algology of various localities. In 1885 appeared " The 

 Algfe of the Firth of Forth' ; in 1886, " The Marine Alga- 

 of Joppa " ; in 1888, " The ^lariue Algae of Elie " ; and in 

 1890, "The Marine Algfe of the Orkney Isles." Mr. 

 Traill was a member of many learned societies, and his 

 contributions to the Transactions of these bodies were both 

 numerous and important. 



— ►.*.. — 



The profitable utilization of waste glass is now said to 

 have been accomplished by M. Garchey, a Frenchman. 

 Ornamental objects of many kinds are produced from the 

 great masses of broken glass accumulated at factories, and 

 a building material called " ceramic stone " is among the 

 products derived from this source. The waste glass is first 

 ground and placed in a metallic mould, and it is then 

 introduced into a fiurnace in order to devitrify and anneal 

 the mass ; in this way the molecules weld together and form 

 a consistent dough. The mould is next placed for a few 

 minutes in a second furnace heated to a very high tempera- 

 ture, by which means the devitrification is completed, and 

 the mass rendered very pliable. 

 — I-*-. — 



M. Berthelot has recently published in the Cimptes 

 Bendiis analyses of weapons, tools, etc., from Tello, in 

 Chaldea. Their date is put from 1000 to 3000 b.c. A 

 large lance and a hatchet were found to be approximately 

 pure copper, and another hatchet was of copper with traces 

 of arsenic and phosphorus, by which it seems to have been 

 hardened. No trace of tin was present in any case. Thus, 

 in Chaldea, an " age of copper " seems to have preceded 

 the "age of bronze." An egg-shaped object from the 

 same locality, weighing one hundred and twenty-one grains, 

 was of iron ; an ingot of white metal was ninety-five per 

 cent, silver ; a leaf of yellow gold was found to contain 

 considerable quantities of sUver. 

 — *~*~t — 



According to M. Henri Moissan, in a communication to 

 the Paris Academy of Sciences, the deposit made on a 

 diamond by molecular bombardment in a high vacuum, 

 shown by Mr. Crookes in 1879, is undoubtedly graphite, 

 proving that the diamond must attain on its surface a 

 i temperature nearly equal to that of the electric arc. 



