270 



SCIENCE 



[N. S. Vol. XXXVI. No. 922 



is of special importance because of its rarity 

 as a mural ornament in the Pyrenean caverns. 



On the day of the discovery of the parietal 

 engravings in the cavern of Tuc d'Audoubert, 

 I was leaving the cavern region of northern 

 Spain for Toulouse to join Professor Henry 

 Fairfield Osborn, of the American Museum of 

 Natural History, in a tour of the French 

 Pyrenean caverns under the guidance of Pro- 

 fessor Cartailhac, to vrhom Count Begouen 

 telegraphed neves of the find. Professor Car- 

 tailhac was able to add this new cavern to our 

 itinerary. We reached " Les Espas " on July 

 26 in time for luncheon, after which Count 

 Begouen and his sons conducted us to the 

 cavern of Tuc d'Audoubert. Although they 

 had been to the cavern every day since the 

 discovery in a search for more parietal art, 

 certain examples remained to be either dis- 

 covered or interpreted on the day of our visit. 

 Near the entrance to the corridor previously 

 mentioned Count Begouen found an addi- 

 tional engraving of the horse. Some incisions 

 discovered on one of the previous days, the 

 trained eye of Professor Cartailhac made out 

 to be a figure of Elephas primigenius. On a 

 projecting rock two spots of red paint had 

 been seen on a previous day but to my satis- 

 faction it remained for me to be the first to 

 recognize them as two eyes, the projecting 

 rock being an animal head in the round. The 

 paleolithic artist was quick to take advantage 

 of fortuitous resemblances in arriving at re- 

 sults that would otherwise require much time 

 and labor as exemplified not only in this latest 

 find but also in previous ones, for instance, at 

 Niaux, Altamira and Castillo. 



Tuc d'Audoubert is the most beautiful cav- 

 ern in southern France. Fortunately it is in 

 appreciative hands, for Count Begouen is 

 mayor of the commune (Montesquieu- 

 Avantes) in which it is situated. He will 

 take immediate steps to protect its treasures 

 of ancient art and of nature from vandalism. 

 He and his son Max will also prepare a report 

 fully illustrated, which is to appear in the 

 monumental series published under the aus- 

 pices of the Institut de Paleontologie Hu- 

 maine, Paris. The importance of the find 



and the fact that two Americans took at least 

 a small part in the first few days of explora- 

 tion justify me in sending at the earliest pos- 

 sible moment this short notice to Science. 



George Grant MaoCurdy 

 Toulouse, 

 July 27, 1912 



INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS OF 

 ENTOMOLOGY 



The second International Congress of Ento- 

 mology met at Oxford at the beginning of Au- 

 gust under the presidency of Professor E. B. 

 Poulton, F.R.S., Hope professor of zoology. 

 According to the report in the London Times 

 Professor Poulton in his address paid special 

 attention to t^ processes by which a species by 

 natural selection seeks to maintain its place 

 in the insect cosmos. Other papers upon evo- 

 lution, bionomics and mimicry were contrib- 

 uted by the president, who gave an account of 

 Mr. C. A. Wiggin's and Dr. G. H. Carpenter's 

 researches in mimicry in the forest butterflies 

 of Uganda; by the Eev. K. St. A. Sogers and 

 by Mr. E. C. L. Perkins, who described and 

 compared the color-groups of Hawaiian 

 Odynerus (wasps) found on the two neighbor- 

 ing islands, Oahu and Kauai. In the section 

 of philosophic entomology Professor J. F. Van 

 Bemmelen (Netherlands) explained the phylo- 

 genetic significance of the development of the 

 butterfly wing. 



In the section of economic entomology the 

 paper read by Sir Daniel Morris on behalf of 

 Mr. W. A. Ballon, " Some Entomological 

 Problems in the "West Indies," demonstrated 

 how an intimate knowledge of the life histor- 

 ies of insects may be put to practical uses, 

 and how by the introduction of the natural 

 parasite of an immigrant pest the attacks of 

 the pest may be controlled and even defeated 

 altogether. The question of international ac- 

 tion to check generally the importation of 

 pests was raised in the discussion of Mr. A. 

 G. L. Rogers's paper on " The necessary in- 

 vestigation with relation to Insect and 

 Fungus Enemies of Plants, Preliminary to 

 Legislation." 



In the pathological department Professor 



