Aprit 26, 1912] 
their host. With these facts in mind M. Rou- 
baud experimented upon Oordylobia. He 
found that eggs placed directly upon the skin 
do not result in the infection of the animals. 
In the same way his experiments indicated 
that where eggs were swallowed by animals 
no infection followed. His experiments with 
a third method proved successful. Fifteen 
small larvee were taken immediately upon the 
hatching of the eggs and were placed upon a 
light layer of sand in a large vessel. A guinea 
pig was shut up in the vessel for twenty hours 
and then taken out and placed in a wire cage. 
The result was that three days afterwards six 
tumors were found on the under side of the 
body, upon the muzzle and near the anus, each 
one containing a rapidly developing larva. 
His experiments indicate, therefore, that in- 
festation is accomplished exclusively by the 
direct and active penetration of young larve 
hatched elsewhere. He followed day by day 
the evolution of the larva and describes the 
successive stages, which occupy only a week. 
He believes that Europeans are only accidental 
hosts of this parasite, but that with the natives 
who sleep on the ground the infection is nat- 
urally much more easy. The investigations 
were made in the laboratory at Bamako. 
Of equal interest are the observations of 
Herbert von Pelser-Berensberg (“ Societas 
entomologica,” Vol. 26, p. 34, July 29, 1911) 
on Cordylobia rodhaini Gedoelst. It had been 
supposed that uncleanly habits led to infec- 
tion, but it was found that those persons who 
bathed most frequently were most subject to 
infection and the inference was that the eggs 
were laid upon the exposed body. Keeping 
eggs under a watch-glass bound to his arm, 
von Pelser-Berensberg found that the newly 
hatched larve, while they gnawed the skin, 
did not succeed in penetrating. Later he 
solved the problem by direct observation. 
While bathing he noticed that certain flies. 
were attracted to the clothing which he had 
spread out on bushes, in the sun, to dry off the 
perspiration. He found that these flies were 
Cordylobia and that they had glued about 
twenty eggs to his underclothing. As an ex- 
periment he continued to wear the clothing. 
SCIENCE 
663 
Examination at the end of the first day showed 
that the eggs were intact, but on the second 
day they had hatched. Search with a lens 
upon the skin revealed some minute red spots 
and beneath these were the young larve, 
about .5 mm. long. 
FREDERICK KNAB 
THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES 
THE scientific program of the National 
Academy of Sciences, which met at Washing- 
ton on April 16, 17 and 18, was as follows: 
George E. Hale: ‘‘The New Tower Telescope 
of the Mount Wilson Solar Observatory. ’’ 
W. W. Campbell: ‘‘Radial Velocities of 213 
Brighter Class A Stars.’’ ‘‘Radial Velocities of 
190 Brighter Class F Stars.’’ ‘‘Some Character- 
istics of Stellar Motions.’’ 
W. J. Humphreys (introduced by Cleveland 
Abbe): ‘‘Holes in the Air.’’ 
R. A. Harper: ‘‘The Organization of the Cell 
Colony in Pediastrum.’’ (By title.) 
D. H. Campbell: ‘‘On the Morphology and Sys- 
tematic Position of Calycularia radiculosa (Sande 
Lac) Stephens.’’ (By title.) 
William Trelease: ‘‘A Revision of Phoraden- 
dron.’’ 
H. F. Osborn: ‘‘ Biological Foundation of Berg- 
son’s ‘Creative Evolution.’ ’’ (By title.) 
E. S. Morse: ‘‘Biographical Memoir of C. O. 
Whitman.’’ (By title.) 
G. L. Goodale: ‘‘ Biographical Memoir of Alex- 
ander Agassiz.’’ (By title.) 
By invitation of the Council— 
Harvey Cushing: ‘‘Some Observations on the 
Functions of the Pituitary Body.’’ 
Jacques Loeb: ‘‘The Activation of the Animal 
Egg from the Physico-chemical Standpoint.’’ (By 
title.) 
J. A. Holmes: 
Mining Industry.’’ 
CG. G. Abbot: ‘‘The Solar Radiation.’’ 
‘<The National Phases of the 
ANNUAL MEETING OF THE AMERICAN 
FEDERATION OF TEACHERS OF THE 
MATHEMATICAL AND THE 
NATURAL SCIENCES 
Tue American Federation of Teachers of the 
Mathematical and the Natural Sciences held its 
annual meeting at the New Willard Hotel in 
Washington on December 27. 
