552 



SCIENTIFIC NEWS. 



[April 13, 18 



that " the theory of evolution has any advantage over a 

 theory of special creations." (Note the plural here 

 used ! ) 



The author's plea for the spider is well worth quotingand 

 acting upon : " She is," he writes, " without reservation, 

 a friend to our race, destroying noxious insects by myriads 

 and making in return no impost or levy upon our 

 orchards, vineyards, cupboards, and cellars." All this is 

 perfectly true, and so long as Arachne contents herself 

 with flies, gnats, cockroaches, earwigs, aphides, and the 

 like, we should never blame her. But when the strong- 

 minded lady ensnares honey-bees, rare and lovely butter- 

 flies or beetles, and especially small birds — for which we 

 have the authority of Mr. Bates — we feel that she is 

 going beyond her rights, and is justly open to our inter- 

 ference. 



The cannibalism of spiders and others comes in for a 

 notice suggesting to the author the reflection that among 

 mankind " the big brothers eat the little brothers, and the 

 monopolies swallow all." One of the interlocutors asks 

 concerning the pupa of the Polyphemus moth, " how the 

 caterpillar eats itself within this cocoon," adding, " I feel 

 very much as the somewhat under-wise and stuttering 

 King of England, George II., is said to have felt when he 

 first saw an apple-dumpling." The speaker, though a 

 " schoolma'am," is here astray : the monarch in question 

 was George III. 



In a subsequent part of the volume an additional sin 

 is brought home to the skunk. This evil-smelling beast 

 tears up the nests of bumble-bees, and devours the young 

 brood. 



A word as to the illustrations. Many of them are 

 evidently direct from nature, and will prove very 

 serviceable to the reader ; but there are others, spoken 

 of in the preface as " admirable comical adaptations," in 

 which insects are represented in human attitudes, walk- 

 ing on their hind legs, wearing shoes, and committing 

 other absurdities. At these the naturalist can afford to 

 laugh. But how is the outsider, after reading on the 

 title-page that the book is " illustrated from nature," to 

 distinguish in these cuts the true from the false ? We 

 hope that the artist who designed these monstrosities 

 will never again attempt to illustrate any work on 

 natural history. In publications of the Punch class he 

 may do good service. 



The book certainly contains enough, and more than 

 enough, original observations to make it valuable to 

 working naturalists, and in that conviction we may 

 recommend it. The reader will do well to turn 

 to the index at the end, which refers to the scientific 

 matter only, and to be guided by it in his studies. 



First Annual Report of the Agricultural Adviser to the 

 Lords of the Committee of Council for Agriculture. 1887. 

 {Insects and Fungi Injurious to the Crops of the Farm, 

 the Orchard, and the Garden.) London : Eyre and 

 Spottiswoode. Price 3d. 



It appears that the body which in this country acts as 

 a substitute for a responsible Minister of Agriculture 

 has selected an " Agricultural Adviser." Their choice 

 has fallen upon a Mr. Charles Whitehead, of Barming 

 House, Maidstone. Whether this gentleman possesses 

 any special qualifications for the important duties which 

 will devolve upon him we do not learn. We should think 

 that an agricultural adviser should be a chemist, a 

 botanist, and an entomologist, or at least one of the three. 

 This, we think, is demonstrated by the fact that the 



present report has to deal with injurious insects and 

 fungi. 



The pests here noticed are the ribbon-footed corn-fly 

 (Chlorops taniopus), the corn saw-fly (Cephus pygmceus), 

 the Hessian fly {Cecidomyia destructor), the clover eel- 

 worm (Tylenchus devastatrix), and the hop-mildew 

 (Podosphcera castagnei). 



The author concludes, in accordance with general 

 experience, that long winters and cold springs, with a 

 prevalence of dry, chilling east winds, favour the spread 

 of aphides and the caterpillars of the smaller moths. 

 He considers the Hessian less destructive, as far as the 

 past season is concerned, than the Chlorops and the Cephus. 

 The Hessian fly seems to have reached this country 

 from Russia, where it has only been known for about 

 eight years. It is accompanied, fortunately, by the 

 parasites which prey upon it in Russia, but not by its 

 American enemies. 



Much of the information in this report is due to Miss 

 E. Ormerod, F.E.S., Consulting Entomologist to the 

 Royal Agricultural Society. 



Transactions of the Institution of Engineers and Ship- 

 builders in Scotland. Thirty-first Session. 1887-88. 

 The papers in this issue treat of the " Erection of the 

 Superstructure of the Forth Bridge," the "Stability of 

 Yachts," and on " Liquid Fuel." In the last memoir 

 the author, Mr. James M. Storrar, quotes from Admiral 

 Selwyn the information that there exists in this country 

 more oil-producing shale than all the coal which has yet 

 been found. There are beds of shale stretching right 

 across England, from 650 ft. to 1,100 ft. in thickness, and 

 lying close to the surface. Different samples of this 

 shale have been analysed at various times by eminent 

 chemists, and the yield of oil has varied from 50 to 

 120 gallons per ton, which would give a supply prac- 

 tically inexhaustible. The author's conclusions are that, 

 except in exceptional circumstances, such as proximity 

 to oil supply or remoteness from coal supply, it is not 

 likely to become advantageous in case of land boilers. 

 For marine boilers it may, or ought to be, cheaper than 

 coal, if we take into account the saving in stowage room 

 and in stoking. 



Journal of the Society of Telegraph Engineers and Elec- 

 tricians. Vol. xvi.. No. 69, and Vol. xvii., No. 70. 

 We have here a discussion on some papers read before 

 the Society on November 24th last, on Fleming and 

 Gimingham's instruments for measuring electro-motive 

 force and electrical power, and on Ayrton and 

 Perry's portable volt-meters for measuring alternating 

 potential differences. Next follow the proceedings at the 

 annual general meeting on December 8th last, and a 

 paper by A. C. Cockburn, F.C.S., on safety fuses for 

 electric light circuits. The author finds pure tin prefer- 

 able to any other metal or alloy for safety fuses. It 

 melts at 235" C, at which temperature it is unable to 

 char wood, and drops its weight, when the circuit is 

 broken and the current cut oft". 



In the second number, which we here notice, follows 

 the discussion on Mr. Cockburn's paper. 



Climatologic.'\l Encyclop.edia. — Dr. Cruls, director 

 of the observatory of Rio de Janeiro, is preparing a 

 universal climatological dictionary. The enterprise is 

 under the patronage of the Emperor of Brazil. 



