726 
NATURE 
[May 26, 1923 

is brought up in anticlines. The structure of Islay 
is probably synclinal. Only one system of folding is 
required to explain the facts. 
May 2.—Prof. A. C. Seward, president, in the 
chair.—J. Joly : The bearing of some recent advances 
in physical science on geology. In his lecture, Prof. 
Joly dealt with the subjects discussed in the article 
““ Surface Movements of the Earth’s Crust ’’ in NATURE 
of May 5, p. 603. 
Royal Anthropological Institute, May 1.—Mr. 
H. J. E. Peake in the chair.—V. Gordon Childe: 
The Neolithic painted pottery of south-eastern 
Europe. The sites in question extended from the 
banks of the Dnieper in the Kiev Government to 
the slopes of the Carpathians, and are restricted 
to the fertile “‘ black earth” belt. Three groups 
were found: an eastern group along the Dnieper 
(the Tripolje culture proper) with much incised ware ; 
a central group in Bessarabia, Moldavia, Bukowina, 
and Eastern Galicia, where pottery with black 
paint predominated, and a western group represented 
by Koszylowce west of the Sereth with polychrome 
painting. At Cucuteni in Moldavia an older phase 
of this culture was discovered with polychrome 
pottery and good spiral designs. The painted pottery 
comes either from large rectangular structures of 
wattle and daub called ploshchadky or from huts 
partly hollowed out in the earth (zemlyanky). No 
hearths have been found in the former, but the 
latter regularly contain an oven situated in a deeper 
trench filled with kitchen refuse. No authenticated 
metal finds were reported from Schipinitz, and at 
other parallel stations (except Cucuteni IJ.) metal 
was either completely absent or represented only 
by small implements of pure copper. Polished 
stone axes were also very rare, but fine flints and 
numerous artefacts of bone date the culture to the last 
phase of the stone age. The culture of the “ black 
earth ’’ was apparently terminated by the incursion of 
nomadic tribes. 
May 14.—D1r. A. C. Haddon, past-president, in the 
chair.—Mr. J. E. P. Murray: Native administration in 
Papua. The principle that government of the back- 
ward races should be in the interests of these races 
themselves has been followed by the Australian Govern- 
ment in the administration of Papua. Itis necessary, 
however, to understand the Papuan character if an 
intelligent native policy is to be pursued, and on this 
account an anthropological department was instituted. 
The indenture of women is not allowed in Papua 
except for domestic purposes under certain conditions. 
The indenture of women would probably result in 
the breaking up of village life, which would put an 
end to any possibility of developing the territory 
through native enterprise. Changes introduced into 
native life by the arrival of the white man can be 
classified as (1) moral; (2) material; for the latter 
the Government must find a remedy or it fails in 
its duty altogether. One most obvious remedy is 
work, not merely in the interests of the white 
employer, but work for the native’s own interest 
and on his own land. The introduction of the 
native tax in Papua has made it possible to deal 
comprehensively with the question of native planta- 
tions, and plantations worked by natives in partner- 
ship with the Government. The proceeds of the 
tax are used only for native education and for other 
purposes directly for the benefit of the natives. In 
the future the danger to the native under Australian 
rule lay in “‘ benevolent capitalism.” 
Linnean Society, May 3.—Dr. A. Smith Woodward, 
president, in the chair—W. T. Gordon: Fossil 
coniferous genus Pitys. The specimens were obtained 
NO. 2795, VOL. 111] 

from beds of siliceous volcanic ash, at Gullane, 
17 miles east of Edinburgh, and comprised a new 
species, showing cortex and leaves ; hitherto nothing 
was known of the genus, except pith and wood.— 
R. Gurney : The Crustacean plankton of the English 
Lake district—S. L. Ghose: *A systematic and 
ecological account of a collection of Blue-green Algz 
from Lahore.—J. Groves: Notes on Indian Charo- 
phyta. In 1882 representatives of the genera Chara. 
and Nitella only were known from India. Now a 
Nitellopsis, a Lychnothamnus, and three species of 
Tolypella have been recorded. Within the past 
three years, in a comparatively small area, Mr. 
G. O. Allen added three well-marked species to the 
Indian flora besides rediscovering C. Waillichii, of 
which only the male plant collected in 1809 by 
Dr. Wallich was previously known, and establishing 
the occurrence of Nitellopsis obtusa (in Kashmir), 
the only previous Asiatic record of which was 
dependent on a poor specimen from Burmah.— 
J. G. H. Frew: On the morphology of the head- 
capsule and mouth-parts of Chlorops teniopus Meig. 
(Diptera).—A. M. Alston: On the genital system 
of the wood-boring beetle, Lyctus brunneus Steph. 
Both of the ovipositor and the rectum are of great 
length. ; : 
Aristotelian Society, May 7.—Prof. A. N. White- 
head, president, ia the chair—L. J. Russell: Some 
problems in the philosophy of Leibniz. The meta- 
physical concept of the monad was reached in the 
later part of Leibniz’s philosophical development 
and the sources of the doctrine are only to be dis- 
covered by studying his writings, many of which 
are undated manuscripts, chronologically. In the 
“Discourse on Metaphysics ’’ (1686) we find he has 
arrived at the conception of created substance. It 
was this conception which provided for him a rational 
justification of his view of the relation of God to. 
the universe and of his conception of the universe 
as a harmony. It was into this framework that the 
monadology was fitted. Leibniz seems never to have 
doubted the validity of the conceptions of God as 
the architect of the world machine, and as the ruler 
of the republic of spirits. The first saved him from 
the pantheism of Spinoza, which would have made 
the second irrational. The reconciliation of the two 
conceptions presented the chief problem of his 
philosophy. 
Zoological Society, May 8—Dr. A. Smith Wood- 
ward, vice-president, in the chair.—H. Burrell: 
Note on a hibernating female specimen of the 
marsupial Acrobates pygm@us.——F. M. Duncan: 
The microscopic structure of mammalian hairs, with 
especial reference to the hairs of the primates. 
Optical Society, May 1o.—Mr. T. Smith, vice- 
president, in the chair—J. W. French: Stereoscopy 
re-stated. Stereoscopic vision is possible only within 
certain limits. For certain pairs of objects, whether 
on the same or different horizons, there are generally 
two extreme critical points beyond which stereo- 
scopic vision breaks down. For certain pairs of 
objects on the same horizon there are two inner 
critical points. Objects of dissimilar form but 
approximately the same average angular dimensions 
can frequently be combined stereoscopically ; thus 
a circle can be combined with a triangle if their 
average angular dimensions are about equal. When 
the angular dimensions are very different, combina- 
tion is generally impossible; thus, for example, 
a thin line cannot be combined with a thick line or 
triangle. When the pairs of objects are dissimilar 
in size, there is only one pair of outer and inner 
