182 



SCIENCE. 



[N. S. Vol. IX. No. 214. 



by Mr. Howard who exhibited a series of Aus- 

 tralian insects of economic importance and made 

 a brief statement of the present condition of 

 economic entomology in the Australian colo- 

 nies. He called attention to the fact that the 

 introduction of agriculture on a large scale in 

 this comparatively new region had resulted in 

 the attacks of many native species upon culti- 

 vated crops. The specimens shown had been 

 sent him by Mr, W. W. Froggatt, the Ento- 

 mologist of the Department of Agriculture of 

 Sydney, New South "Wales, and included a 

 number of species of great economic importance. 

 He noted the curious habit of the apple root- 

 borer (Leptops hopei) in laying its eggs in the 

 folded leaf of the apple, the newly hatched 

 larvffi dropping to the ground and entering the 

 roots ; the damage done by the orange bug 

 (Oneosalis sulciventris), the vine moth (Agarista 

 glycina) and a number of other species, showing 

 among other things that the so-called climbing 

 cut- worm named by Mr. Froggatt Plusia verti- 

 serrata is apparently nothing but our North 

 American Prodenia lineatella. In briefly dis- 

 cussing this paper Mr. Schwarz drew a com- 

 parison between the large number of native 

 species which, by a change of habit, have at- 

 tacked cultivated crops in Australia and the 

 extremely small number which have similarly 

 changed their habits in our own Northwest. 

 He recalled no native species in Washington 

 and Oregon which have become crop pests. 

 L. O. Howard, 



Secretary. 



THE ACADEMY OF NATURAL SCIENCES OF 

 PHILADELPHIA. 



Decemher 20, 1S98. Professor Angelo 

 Heilprin made a communication on the phys- 

 ical geography and geology of the Klondike 

 region, with incidents of a summer trip to 

 Dawson City. The general features of the 

 country traversed were described and profusely 

 illustrated by lantern views. 



A paper entitled ' Synopsis of the United 

 States species of the Hymenopterous genus 

 Centris Fabricius,' by William J. Fox, was pre- 

 sented for publication. 



January 10, 1899. PROFESSOR H. A. PiLSBRY 

 described a New Mexican Helicoid land shell 



received from Professor Cockerell. A dissec- 

 tion showed that the form agreed with the Epi- 

 phragmophora in the structure of the genera- 

 tive organs and the form of the kidney, while 

 the shell closely resembles Polygyra. The 

 new genus thus defined was named Ashmun- 

 ella in recognition of the services of the col- 

 lector. 



Dr. William H. Dall referred to the discus- 

 sion at the recent meeting of the Geological 

 Society of America of the authenticity of the 

 Calveras skull, and described the specimen as 

 examined by him immediately after it came into 

 the possession of Professor Whitney, of the Geo- 

 logical Survey of California. The speaker 

 believed that so far no sufficient reason had 

 been adduced for doubting the genuine charac- 

 ter of the skull and its original situs below the 

 lava, though the question of the coexistence of 

 man and the extinct mammals whose remains 

 have been found in the same gravels is entirely 

 distinct and may reasonably be left open. 



The subject was discussed by Mr. Lewis 

 Woolman, who also referred to recent ineffec- 

 tual attempts to find implements of human 

 manufacture in the Trenton gravels. 



A paper entitled ' New and Interesting 

 Species in the Isaac Lea Collection of Eocene 

 Mollusca,' by Charles W. Johnson, was pre- 

 sented for publication. 



January 17, 1899. Mr. Charles S. Boyer 

 read a paper on the general study of diatoms 

 and on the characters of the forms found in the 

 neighborhood of the mouth of Pensauken creek 

 and elsewhere near Philadelphia. 



Mr. Louis Woolman dwelt on the geological 

 position and characters of the deposits contain- 

 ing the forms enumerated by Mr. Boyer and ex- 

 hibited microscopic preparations in illustration 

 of his remarks. 



Professor Angelo Heilprin, alluding to 

 Dr. Dall's communication on the Calaveras 

 skull, recounted the arguments for and against 

 its authenticity recently presented to the Geo- 

 logical Society of America. He regarded the pres- 

 ent evidence of the miners as worthless. He had 

 calculated the age of the canon to be quite con- 

 sistent with the existence of Indians cotem- 

 poraneous with the deposit of the skull, al- 

 though he agrees with Dr. Dall that, with the 



