November 7. 1918 



NATURE 



199 



such as to n ndei the pi oblem ol refrt 1 ies extren 



difficult. There was the corrosivi action of the molten 

 upo nd with, and, in 



addition, the corrosive action of hoi dusl upon flues 

 and furnace interiors. The nature oi the various re- 

 ory materials used in the glass industry was then 

 dealt with, and the effecl of grain size on the n 

 torines gth ol silica bricks received thon 



il emphasis was laid upon the neces- 

 sity for the -in. ill. -1 joints in building op refrai 

 materials, and furnaci building should beregarded 

 the point ol view of masonrj rathei than from thai ol 

 bricklaying. 1 he paper closed with a discussion of the 

 eVil effects on refrai ories ol penetration ol glass and 

 ials and the import. i oi thermal conduc- 

 tivity. Dr. M. \Y. Travers : I s pots. 

 By means ol a striking collection of specimens the 

 author showed that the life of a glass pot was 



ially increased if, before filling in, the pol 



completely "vitrified." Ways and means oi 

 carrying thi- out were given, .and the reason win 

 vitrifii i! ■ ' sui li good results was 



fully discussed.— S. X. Jcnkinson : The requirements of 

 cla) foi glass-pol making. A briei survey was made 

 of the position of the glass refractories trade, both in 

 1014 and at the presenl time, and the necessity for 

 ition of materials was shown to ho urgent. 

 The proposed specification drawn up by the Refrac- 

 tories Committee for clay for pots was then deall with 

 and its various sections discussed. The question of 

 si/e, nature, quality, and function of "grog" receivi 

 full treatment, Mr. Coad-Pryor : Action of certain 

 iss upon pots. The author discussed the 

 for the quicker solution of the bottom of glass 

 pots as opposed to the sides. Several interesting ex- 



1 in- were described dealing with this problem. — 

 Dr. Turner and J. 11. Davidson : The solubility of pot 

 mat. rial in glass. The influence of grain size upon 



if melting w as show n. 



Paris. 



Academy of Sciences, October 14. \1, P. Painleve 

 in the chair. E. Fournier : General expressions for 



the resistance of water to the translation of hulls and 

 theii I., (ionrsat : The problem of Back- 



land. — E. Cartan : The varieties of Riemann in three 

 dimensions. J, GulUanme : Observations of Borrelly's 

 mad.' with the cou n ial at the 



Lyons Observatory. Data for October 1 and < are 



given. On October 1 th< nel showed as a 



nebulosity with undefined 1 Iges about .•.." diameter, 

 with a cent 1 10-5 to 1 1. — 



M. Dechevrens: An electrical tide in the soil derived 

 from the oceanic tide. Observations made at the 

 ' ' .1 een October, 



[917, end August, [918. Th. gas and water mains 



through a galvanometer gave an e.m.f. ol 



about . 1 volt, and this has been record..] photo- 



l\ Morvlllez : Tl nducting apparatus 



of the leaves of the Saxifrages P. Godln : Ped: 



the laws of growth. J. Amar : The laws 

 of feminine work and of cerebral activity. T.hi 

 of endurance in women is low and undulating, and 

 the physical work amounts to less than 40 per cent, 

 of that of men. It is irregular and lacks continuity. 

 —P. Duval and A. Grigaut : Intoxication by war 

 wounds 



Sydney. 

 I.innean Society ol New South Wales. May jo. — Prof. 

 II. (.. Chapman, president, in the chair. — Dr. R. J. 

 Tilly aril ; The I'anorpiil complex. Part i. : The wing- 

 coupling apparatus, with special reference to the 

 Lepidoptera. The author shows that th. most archaic 

 type of wing-coupling apparatus was situated al the 

 NO. 2558, VOL. 102I 



base oi the wing, and consisted of four parts, two 

 belonging to the fi d two to the hindwing. 



rhese are named (1) on thi forewing, the jugal lobe 

 and jugal bristles; (2) on the hindwing, the humeral 

 lobe ami the frenulum. These tour structures are onl} 

 preserved in theii entirety al the pri da; in two 



ancient families of the Mecoptera, the Choristidae and 

 Nannochoristidae. The same typi occurs in the Plani- 

 pennia, with the absence of the jugal bristles. The 

 evolution of these structures throughout the other 

 orders of the complex is followed out, the paper deal- 

 ing finally with the highly specialised ipling 

 found in the wings of the Lepidoptera. The Micro- 

 pterygidae are shown to possess the archaic jugo- 



frenate type found in the Planipennia, but with cer- 

 tain specialisations. From th.- unspecialised 

 frenate type there are developed in two dill : 

 tions (1) the true jugate type, found in Hepialidae and 

 Prototheoridae, and (2) the true frenate t\ pe, found in 

 the other families, though with further specialisation 

 to the amplexiform type in three groups that have 

 lost the frenulum. The author suggests that flu 

 Lepidoptera should be divided into two sub-orders, 

 Homoneura and Heteroneura, according to the state 

 of their wing-venation, and that the former sub-order 

 should be again subdivided into two divisions, the 

 Jugo-frenata (Micropterygidae s. hit.) and the Jugata 

 (Hepialidae and Prototheorida?). — Prof. W. X. Benson: 

 The geology and petrology of the Great Serpentine 

 Belt of Xew South Wales. Part vii. : The geology 

 of the Lo'omberah district and a portion of the 

 Goonoo Goonoo estate, with two palaeontological 

 appendices by F. Chapman. The area in question, 

 containing nearly 100 square miles, lies between 

 the Tamworth district and the Xundle district, 

 described in earlier parts of this series of papers. By 

 the present work, therefore, the detail-mapping of a 

 length of fifty miles of the Great Serpentine Belt is 

 completed, permitting the correlation of the formations 

 throughout. The present area has not been described 

 previously. The points of interest arising in it are 

 chiefiv the occurrence of a third fossiliferous limestone 

 zone in the Devonian series, with various important 

 fauna! peculiarities; the presence of a remarkable 

 development of the highly albitic intrusive rocks, 

 keratophyres ; the abnormal absence of serpentine 

 from the serpentine line; and the presence of dip- 

 faults, breaking across the strike of the Devonian 

 rocks, which may be of Carboniferous origin, but have 

 b.en planes of movement in post-Permo-Carboniferous 

 times 



|ulv jt. — Prof. H. G. Chapman, president, in the 

 chair.- Prof. W. X. Benson ; The geology and petro- 

 logy ..I the Greal Serpentine Belt. Part vii. (con- 

 tinued). Several tvpes of massive igneous rocks have 

 been obtained that were not previously recognised in 

 th.- Devonian rocks of the Great Serpentine Belt. A 

 \.r\ typical example of pillow-structure developed in 

 the spilitii rocks of this region is described and 

 figured. This is the clearest example yet known in 

 Australia. Dr. R. J. Tillyard : Studies in Australian 

 Mecoptera. No. ii. : The wing-venation of Chorista 

 australis, Klug. Freshly turned pupae of this rare 

 Panorpid were obtain.ed by digging and sifting soil in 

 a select d locality. The result is the first study of 

 wing-venation for the order Mecoptera, based on an 

 examination of the pupal wing-tracheation. The pupal 

 wings vven dissected off and studied under water in 

 the usual manner. A very remarkable result 



I here are Only two trachea' in the wing, 



belonging to the cos'to-radial group and ent< 

 the radius, the other belonging to the cubito-anal 

 ! entering the media. Hence the Mecoptera 

 must be regarded as highly specialised in this respect. 



