450 
NAT ORE 
[Marcu 10, 19¢4 
reading of the past geographical history of a country from 
a study of its surface features,” has already found ex- 
ponents in Australia; it must be continued also in New 
Zealand. He went on to refer to the ‘* wonderfully de- 
veloped alkaline series of eruptive rocks ** which have been 
and are at present receiving attention in various parts of 
Australasia, and characterised the tuffs around Dunedin as 
being ‘‘ one of the most interesting groups of its kind in 
the world.” 
In biology he dealt with Mr. Chas. Hedley’s important 
study of the molluscan fauna in the ocean near the edge 
of the continental shelf of East Australia, and pointed out 
the desirability of examining this fauna off the shore of 
New Zealand (a committee was later appointed to initiate 
this investigation). 
Prof. David passed on to the importance of marine bio- 
logical stations, and expressed his satisfaction that recently 
the New Zealand Government, at the instance and with 
the aid of the Otago Institute and the Otago Acclimatisa- 
tion Society, had already established such a station near 
Dunedin. He reviewed some of the more important recent 
work by various biologists on the fauna and flora of 
Australasia, and noted the publication, under the editor- 
ship of Captain Hutton, of 
Zealandiz.”’ 
In reference to geography, he naturally looked forward 
to interesting results from the work of the various Antarctic 
expeditions as bearing on the former extension and con- 
nection of these southern lands. After dealing with the 
oceano-geographical work that has recently been carried 
out off the Australian coast, Prof. David expressed the 
opinion ‘* that it would be possible to put a bore down in 
the bed of the ocean at a depth of about 100 fathoms, and 
in such a way as to secure a core of the strata encountered. 
If the boring at these shallower depths were successful, 
attempts would be made to bore at greater depths.” 
In discussing agricultural studies, he stated that *‘ an 
important fact “of late brought into prominence is that the 
barren-looking red soils of the west plains of New South 
Wales are formed of material which is exceptionally rich 
in mineral plant food.’’ After indicating other lines of 
work which ought to be carried out, the president insisted 
that “the importance of science to national wealth can 
scarcely be overestimated, but the advance of education 
should be our grandest ideal.” 
He then turned to the ‘‘ duty of the association in science 
teaching,’’? quoting Sir Norman Lockyer’s address to the 
British Association, as well as the reports, lectures and 
writings on the subject by various Australasian men of 
science, and emphasised the need of carefully thought out 
schemes of science teaching in elementary schools along 
““ heuristic *’ lines. 
As an outcome of the address a committee was appointed 
to inquire into the science teaching of these colonies, and 
to suggest a way in which it could be made effective in 
primary and secondary schools, colleges and universities. 
The following are the authors and titles of the presidential 
addresses to sections :—Prof. W. H. Bragg, of Adelaide, 
gs, 
some recent advances in the ionisation of gases; Mr. 
Brownlie Henderson, 
of Brisbane, chemistry and food; Mr. 
W. H. Twelvetrees, of Tasmania, some aspects of modern 
petrology ; Colonel Legge, of Tasmania, on the relationship 
of the avifauna of Australasia with that of Austro-Malayan 
and Polynesian regions; Prof. Baldwin Spencer, F.R.S 
of Melbourne, dealt with’ totemism in Australia; Mr. T. W. 
Kirk, Government biologist, Wellington (in the absence of 
the president), gave a short account of the importance of 
agriculture. The president of the section for architecture 
and engineering, Mr. H. Deane, engineer-in-chief of rail- 
way construction in New South W ales, discussed day labour 
on Government works; Dr. Frank Tidswell, of the Depart- 
ment of Public Health, Sydney, spoke on the hygienic aspect 
of boric acid; Mr. John Shirley, chief inspector of schools, 
Brisbane, took education and national trade competition, in 
the mental science and education section; and Prof. J. W. 
Gregory, F.R.S., of Melbourne, discussed the Southern 
Ocean and its climatic control over Australasia, 
Among the papers read before the various sections, the 
following are of more than local importance :—Dr. 
Coleridge Farr, of the Christchurch Magnetic Observatory, 
NO. 1793, VOL. 69] 
the ** Index Faunz Novce 
on some continuous observations on the rate of dissipatiom 
of electrical charges in the open air, showed that in ordinary 
weather the atmosphere is a better conductor for negative 
than for positive charges, but during the ‘‘ Canterbury 
nor’-westers ’’ the reverse is the case. 
A communication on the heating effect of radium eman- 
ation, by Prof. Rutherford, was presented. 
Dr. Greig Smith, of Sydney, in a paper on the productiom 
and identification ‘of vegetable gums, showed that some: 
gums are the products of certain bacteria, which inhabit 
the tissues of the gum-bearing trees. The bacteria were 
isolated and made to produce their gums in the laboratory. 
Thus ‘‘ arabin,’’ the soluble gum of wattles, ‘‘ metara- 
bin,’’ the insoluble gum of wattles and of certain fruit 
trees, and ‘ pararabin,’ the insoluble constituent of 
Sterculia gum, are each produced by a distinct bacterium. 
The author suggests that all other vegetable gums are 
bacterial products, and that the world’s s supply of gum might 
be increased by judicious injection of susceptible trees. 
Prof. Easterfield and Mr. G. Bagley (Wellington), in the 
chemistry of colophony, raised the question whether any 
particular chemical structure is common to the resin acids 
obtained from coniferous trees. 
Prof. Easterfield and Mr. B. C. Aston, 
New Zealand timber trees, 
in the acids of some 
find that the resinous matter 
contains crystalline constituents, to which the name 
‘rimuic acid’’ is given, closely related to ‘‘ podocarpic 
acid,’’ which occurs in one of the timber trees of Java. 
In the geology section, Dr. P. Marshall (Dunedin) de- 
scribed a trachydolerite from Dunedin; this rock, which has 
a very peculiar association of minerals, belongs to a rare 
type, which has been described also from East “Africa. 
An important note on the geology of the New Hebrides, 
by Mr. D. Mawson, showed that at Sandwich Island there 
is a series of raised coral reefs, at least nine in number, up 
to a height of 2000 feet above sea-level. The coral rock 
occurs as a mere veneer over fine-grained submarine 
tufaceous muds, like ‘‘ Fiji soapstone,’’ or over other 
voleanic rocks. At Santo three unconformable series of 
rocks were discovered, the oldest of which is a tufaceous. 
calcareous group, dipping off the syenites at an angle of 
50°; this contains vast numbers of foraminifera (Orbitoides), 
showing that the oldest rocks in the New Hebrides are not 
older than Tertiary. 
In Section D, Miss G. Sweet described the structure of 
the eye of Notoryctes, the marsupial mole. The eye has 
sunk below the surface, and is merely represented by the 
pigmented choroid, all trace of iris, lens, retina and optic 
nerve having practically disappeared. The lachrymal gland, 
however, is of great size, and opens into’ a closed con- 
junctival sac, derived from the closure of the eyelids of 
the eye-vestige; thence the naso-lachrymal duct takes the 
usual course. 
Prof. Chilton, of Christchurch, read papers on some sub- 
terranean isopods. 
In the anthropological section, Mr. E. Tregear, of 
Wellington, in a paper on the language of Maori and Malay, 
drew a comparison between the language of Celebes 
islanders and that of the Polynesian ; a considerable number 
of words are identical in the two languages, too great to 
be a coincidence, suggesting, probably, a derivation from 
a common ancestral language or from one another. 
Prof. Baldwin Spencer gave an account of fire ceremonies: 
in Australia. 
In the agricultural section. Mr. J. A. Gilruth, Wellington, 
read a note, and gave a demonstration, of a means of 
making innocuous injections of virulent cultures of anthrax. 
This he does by inoculation with a mixture of the culture 
of anthrax bacillus with some non-pathogenic microbe, in 
certain proportions. He also pointed out the toxic effects: 
of ragwort (Senecio jacobaea) upon cattle and horses, re- 
sulting in a disease known in Nova Scotia as ‘* Picton 
disease,’’? and in New Zealand as ‘* Winton disease.’’ Sheep 
can eat the weed with impunity, but direct experiments: 
show that in the case of cattle and horses inflammation 
of the liver ensues, which causes death. 
An evening lecture was given by Prof. Baldwin Spencer 
on the Central Australian aborigines, their habits and 
customs. This was illustrated by numerous lantern slides 
showing the aborigine from infancy to old age, and by 
