296 



SCIENCE. 



TN. S. Vol. VIII. No. 192. 



a side. In western Java *S = 50 km. There 

 are more earthquakes in this region. It 

 will not be without interest to quote a few 

 of the author's conclusions expressed in 

 this numerical form. 



For Porto Eico, ^=2.3 km., that is, 

 there is one earthquake annvially in each 

 square of 2.3 km. (1.38 miles) on a side on 

 the average. 



For the island of Luzon, *S= 2.8 km. ; 

 for Manila, S= 3.0 km. ; for central Cuba, 

 >S=41 km.; for western Cuba, *S'= 128 

 km. ; for Hawaii, S = 37 km. These num- 

 bers may be compared with others relating 

 to the United States, as central California, 

 5=76 km.; New England, /S = 90 km.; 

 the Carolinas, /S'=313 km.; Michigan, 

 5'= 487 km., or with Tokyo, Japan — one 

 of the most disturbed portions of the 

 globe — for which the number is 12 km. 

 Manila and Porto Eico are far more dis- 

 turbed than this. 



Work of the kind here noticed is valu- 

 able in proportion to the care with which 

 the data have been sifted, and to the im- 

 partiality of the investigator. It is be. 

 lieved that anyone who will examine the 

 work of M. Montessus carefully will con- 

 clude that he has made a considerable step 



forward. 



Edward S. Holden. 

 Stockbeidge, Mass., 



August 15, 1898. 



ZOOLOGICAL NOTES. 

 Me. Frank Finn, of the Indian Museum, 

 Calcutta, has been making an extensive 

 series of experiments with birds in regard 

 to the value of the so-called warning colors 

 of butterflies. These experiments, which 

 are recorded at length in the Journal of the 

 Asiatic Society, are extremely valuable from 

 the fact that while it has been assumed that 

 insects nauseous to man are equally nause- 

 ous to birds this has not been sufficiently 

 well proved. In fact, it has been shown by 



the investigations of the Department of Ag- 

 riculture that many of the (to us) vile- 

 tasted Hemiptera are greedily devoured by 

 birds. Definite information is also needed 

 as to the extent to which birds actually eat 

 butterflies. The experiments were mainly 

 made with Babblers, Crateropus, and Bul- 

 buls, Otocampsa, although a few, other species 

 were used. 



As a result of his experiments Mr. Finn 

 concludes: "That there is a general appetite 

 for butterflies among insectivorous birds, 

 even though they are rarely seen when wild 

 to attack them. 



" That many, probably most, species dis- 

 like, if not intensely, at any rate in compari- 

 son with other butterflies, the ' warningly- 

 colored' Danaince, Acrcea violce, Delias eu 

 charis and Papilio aristoloehice, of these the 

 last being the most distasteful, and the 

 Danaince the least so. 



" That the mimics of these are at any 

 rate relatively palatable, and that the mim- 

 icry is commonly efiectual under natural 

 conditions. That each bird has to acquire 

 separately its experience, and well remem- 

 bers what it has learned." 



That, therefore, on the whole the theory 

 of Wallace and Bates is supported by the 

 facts and Professor Poulton's suggestion 

 that animals may be forced by hunger to 

 eat unpalatable forms is also more than 

 confirmed. 



F. A. Lucas. 



CURRENT NOTES ON ANTHROPOLOGY. 

 INDETERMINATE FORMS OP CHIPPED STONES. 



There is a large class of objects which 

 constantly puzzle the antiquary. These are 

 flaked or chipped stones simulating the 

 forms of art effects, yet not positively in. 

 dicating the work of man. 



In a handsome and abundantly illustrated 

 volume of 70 pages M. A. Thieulen pub- 

 lishes a paper read before the Anthro- 

 pological Society of Paris on a collection of 



