90 



SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



SCIENCE IN SOME MAGAZINES. 



Appleton's Popular Science Monthly (New 

 York: July, 1897. 5° cents.) Professor William 

 Z. Ripley continues a series of articles on " Racial 

 Geography in Europe." In this number he deals 

 with France and its occupation by the Teuton 

 and Celt. He illustrates his views by photographs 

 of modern types. Dr. R. W. Shufeldt has a 

 popular illustrated article on " Some facts about 

 Wasps and Bees." A beautifully illustrated article 

 on " The Wild Flowers of the Californian Alps " is 

 a charming feature of this number ; it is by Miss 



B. F. Herrick. Other articles are on "The Planet 

 Saturn," by Clifford A. Howes ; " The History of 

 Alcohol," with curious illustrations, by Professor 



C. _ E. Pellew ; " Are Scorpions Matricides or 

 Suicides?" by Dr. J. Velaro ; and an obituary 

 notice of the late Horatio Hale, the celebrated 

 ethnologist, with portrait. 



The Nineteenth Century (London : July, 1897. 

 2s._ 6d.) The article on "Recent Science" by 

 Prince Kropotkin is divided into three subjects, viz: 

 "Brain Structure," "The Approach of the Black- 

 Death," and "Snake Bite." Mr. Haverlock Ellis 

 writes on " Genius and Stature " otherwise the 

 anthropometry of genius. The author bases his 

 considerations on the work of the Anthropometrical 

 Committee of the British Association, which fixes 

 the present average male Briton at 07-66 inches, 

 while the most frequent height is 5 ft. 7 to S inches, 

 the professional and commercial classes being a 

 couple or more inches over this ; and the labouring 

 classes about the same measurement below the 

 mean. The tables of tallness of celebrated persons 

 included in the article are most interesting, for 

 we find Darwin, Fielding, Abraham Lincoln, Sir 

 Walter Raleigh, Thackeray and George Washing- 

 ton all among the taller men and over six 

 feet in stature. Genius evidently, as some people 

 have averred is not confined to small men. 

 Still among the latter are Balzac, John Hunter, 

 Keats, Napoleon, Nelson, and hosts of others who 

 were only about or under five feet tall. A 

 suggestive contribution to this number is by Lady 

 Priestly on " The French and English Treatment 

 of Research." A pleasing incident mentioned, is 

 an account of Lady Priestley's visit to Madam 

 Pasteur, who still occupies the residence connected 

 with the Institute bearing her late husband's name, 

 as neither M. Duclaux, the new director, nor his 

 assistant-in-charge, M. Roux, will permit her to 

 leave the home sacred to her with associated 

 memories of her husband. The author's review is 

 not favourable to this country, at least as regards 

 the important branch of science practically 

 inaugurated by Pasteur. 



Longman's Magazine (London : July, 1897. 6d.). 

 " Bacteriology in the Queen's Reign," by Mrs. 

 Percy Frankland, is a eulogy of the work done in 

 the development and investigation of this com- 

 paratively new science, especially with regard to 

 water examination and its purer supply. 



The Strand Magazine (July, 1897. 6d.). This 

 month natural history, as latterly usual, takes a 

 prominent place in this magazine. A new series 

 commences, entitled " Glimpses of Nature " ; the 

 first being by Mr. Grant Allen on " The Cows that 

 Ants Milk," a popular article on the well-known 

 association of ants and aphides. The illustrations 

 are simply charming, and, need we say, accurate, 

 when we mention Mr. Fred Enock as the artist. 



The South London Entomological and 

 Natural History Society, May 27th, 1897, Mr. 

 R. Adkin, F.E.S., President, in the chair. Mr. 

 Bainbridge Prest, M.A., of Sydenham, was elected 

 a member. Mr. South exhibited a box of Tephrosia, 

 which he had purposely mixed as regards dates 

 and localities. He asked for information as to 

 names, but no one essayed to pick out the two 

 forms. Mr. Auld, larvae of Boannia roboraria and 

 Limenitis sibylla from the New Forest,' and also 

 larvae of Phorodesma bajularia and P. smaragdaria, 

 and remarked on the close similarity of the former 

 in its covering of oak remnants to the groups of 

 brown scales enclosing the buds on the oak twigs. 

 Mr. Moore, male and female specimens of the 

 remarkable Mexican Pierid [Pyrisitia proterpia), 

 a bright and rich orange-coloured insect. Mr. 

 Tutt, specimens of Ascalaphus coccjadeus, a neurop- 

 terous insect allied to the ant lion, from Digne, 

 France, with notes on its history, variation and 

 occurrence. It was described by Scopoli as a 

 butterfly. Mr. Edwards, a living mantis, sent from 

 Cannes by Dr. Chapman. He had had it some 

 six weeks, and it fed readily upon small cockroaches 

 and flies. He also showed young larvae of 

 Saturnia pavonia from ova laid by a female taken at 

 Digne. Mr. Adkin, series of Cidaria suffumata, 

 from various localities, including Forres, Dover, 

 Box Hill, and Loch Lagan. Those from the 

 latter locality were var. piceata. Mr. Lindley, 

 specimens of the resinous nodules of pine, sent 

 him from Scotland, from which he had bred 

 Retinici resinella. He also showed sections of the 

 same and made remarks upon the peculiarities of 

 the cocoon and the methods of emergence of the 

 species. Dr. Chapman exhibited among other 

 insects a living specimen of Cliaraxes jasius, which 

 had just emerged from the pupa of a larva taken at 

 Cannes. Mr. Step communicated a short paper, 

 entitled, " Note on a variety of Portunus 

 marmoreus," a crab taken at Portscatho, and 

 sent for exhibition coloured drawings of the 

 same. Mr. Tutt read a paper, entitled, " Spring 

 Butterflies on the Riviera," and exhibited a 

 large number of species in illustration. — June 

 24th, Mr. R. Adkin, F.E.S., President, in the 

 chair. Mr. W. H. Drury, F.R.H.S., Kingston-on- 

 Thames, and Mr. J. Sandison, Wimbledon, were 

 elected members Mr. Waters exhibited a long 

 series of the eggs of the guillemot, showing the 

 extreme variation to which the colour-markings 

 extend. Mr. South, the series olZygaena filipendulae, 

 taken in Middlesex, and referred to at length in the 

 "Entomologist," July, 1897. He was unable to 

 draw any fine distinction between var. luppocrcpidis 

 and the type, and remarked that it was necessary 

 that considerable attention should be paid to the 

 genus Zygaena, before any certainty could be 

 expressed as to the specific value of the various 

 forms. Mr. Adkin, series of Cyanins (Lycaena) 

 argiolus, bred from ova and larvae taken last 

 autumn at Eastbourne (Proc. S. Lond. Ent. Soc, 

 1896, p. no), and contributed notes. — July 8th, 

 Mr. R. Adkin, F.E.S., President, in the chair. 



