SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



313 



CONTRIBUTED BY FLORA WINSTOXE. 



La Naturaleza (Madrid, Nos. i to 7, vol. viii., 

 from January Sth to March Sth, 1897.) January 8th 

 contains an article on the new Equatorial Telescope, 

 made in Berlin, for the Observatory of Grunewald, 

 with illustration. The report of the Congress on 

 the Anthropology of Criminality is concluded, 

 giving papers on this subject, of Herr van Hamel, 

 Dimitri Drill and Professor Lombroso. Dr. 

 Francisco Vidal y Careta continues his notes on 

 the " Races of Men who have successively inhabited 

 Cuba," and there is a further article on " The 

 Study of the Movements and Revolutions of 

 Planets," by Don Manuel G. Vidal. — The number 

 for January iSth has a series of lengthy notes on 

 "The Cultivation of Vines," by Don Ricardo 

 Becerro de Bengoa, the Director of the magazine ; 

 Dr. F. Vidal y Careta and Don M. G. Vidal 

 continue their articles above mentioned. February 

 Sth contains an article on " The Perils of 

 Acetylene," by an anonymous writer, also the 

 continuation of "The Problem of Longtitude 

 at Sea," by Don J. de Irrea. — February i8th. 

 Don R. Becerro de Bengoa gives an account of 

 the creation, foundation and proposed work 

 of the Institution of Experimental Hygiene 

 at Montevideo. The Council of Instruction at 

 Montevideo formulated in 1894 the project of such 

 an institution, and it was decided that it should be 

 founded on the same lines as the Laboratory of 

 Bacteriology of the Faculty of Medicine. The list 

 of subjects is very extensive. M. M. G. Demeny 

 contributes an illustrated article on " Cinema- 

 tography, or, as it is expressed in the article, 

 " Photographature of Movement." Drawings are 

 given of the camera used by the author, and also of 

 special appliances which render photographs of 

 movement possible. — February 28th. Don R. 

 Becerro de Bengoa contributes an article, with 

 analyses, on " The Combination of Argon and 

 Helium." An anonymous author writes on " The 

 Industrial Uses of Acetylene," and Don M. Gomez 

 Vidal continues his series on " The Study of the 

 Movements and Revolutions of Planets." — The 

 part for March Sth contains an article on " Agri- 

 culture in England," and another on " The Mines 

 of the Transvaal," by Don R. Becerro de Bengoa. 

 A note on " A War Automobile " gives an illustra- 

 tion of a new auto-motor car, with guns mounted 

 in front and at the back, sighting both ways. 



La Feuille des Jeunes Naturalistes (Paris : 

 February, 1S97). ^- Adrien Dolfus has an 

 illustrated article entitled " Iconographic Table of 

 the Philosciae of Europe," a family of terrestrial 

 Crustacea or woodlice. He describes shortly but 

 clearly the characters of the genus Philoscia, and 

 especially those which distinguish them from the 

 genus Oniscus and the genus rorcellioniens. M. 

 Dolfus states that it requires a practised eye to tell 

 at the first glance, Philoscia from Ligidiitm, but the 

 much articulated " scourge " in the last genus is a 

 character which distinguishes it. M. G. de 



Lapouge contributes a valuable paper on " The 

 Phylogeny of Carabus." He states that Coleoptera 

 are very unequal i'n their phylogenic evolution, but 

 the group Carabus is, in general, advanced in its 

 evolution ; certain sections showing remarkable 

 differences. The difference in each genus in the 

 present day, and as represented on sculptures and 

 other archaeological records, is given in detail, and 

 also, in some instances, the probable causes of the 

 evolution of certain organs. In the next number 

 of this magazine, M. Eug. Simon will commence 

 his " Synonymous Catalogue of the Trochilides " ; 

 M. Et. Rebaud will contribute papers on the work 

 recently done in "Cellular Division," and the 

 series of articles on " Salt-water Molluscs " will be 

 continued. 



Bulletin de la Societj': Zoologi^ue de 

 France (Paris, 1S97), contains the new statutes of 

 the Zoological Society of France, which was 

 founded June Sth, 1876, and incorporated Decem- 

 ber i6th, 1S96, by a decree of the Government. 

 There is also a list of the members, honorary, 

 corresponding and ordinary. The addresses of the 

 retiring President, M. E. L. Bouvier, and of M. R. 

 Moniez, President for 1897, ^-^e fully reported. M. 

 Ernest Andree contributes a " Description of three 

 new species of Mutilla from Eastern Africa 

 belonging to the Royal Museum of Belgium." 

 These three new species, which have been recently 

 acquired by the Natural History Museum in 

 Brussels, are Mutilla angidiceps (a single specimen 

 was found in Delagoa Bay) ; M. tntngativcntris (one 

 specimen was found in Delagoa Bay and another 

 exactly similar, labelled Africa, w^as sent to the 

 Museum at Naples), and M . ddagoensis (from Delagoa 

 Bay, one specimen ; another, also labelled Africa, 

 is in the Naples Museum). M. Ph. Dautzenberg 

 andM. H. Fischer give an "Account of the New 

 Species of Pdccypodes" found during the voyages 

 of H.S.H. Prince Albert of ]\Ionaco. The same 

 authors describe the " New Species of Gastropods " 

 obtained on these expeditions. M. Dautzenberg, in 

 conjunction with M. E. de Boury, further gives an 

 account of the "New Species belonging to the 

 genera Scalaria and Mathilda" found the same time. 



Proceedings of the Association of Economic 

 Entomologists. — The U. S. Department of Agri- 

 culture has issued a report of the eighth annual 

 meeting of this association, which was held at 

 Buffalo, N. Y., August 21st and 22nd, 1896, when 

 the average attendance was about thirty persons 

 interested in this subject. Mr. C. H. Fernald, of 

 Amherst, Mass., the President, gave an important 

 address, entitled " The Evolution of Economic 

 Entomology." He commenced by referring to the 

 earliest accounts of injuries caused by insects, 

 which appear to be those mentioned in the Old 

 Testament and the earlier Greek and Latin authors. 

 Passing thence to the year 875 ad., the President 

 referred to Berg's "History of the German Forests," 

 which gives an account of the devastation caused 

 by grasshoppers in the Rhine valley. No efforts 

 appear to have been made to check these 

 ravages other than by processions of priests 

 carrying holy relics around the infested fields. 

 Later insect plagues were discussed, and the 

 earlier means employed to arrest their damage. 

 Commencing with the newer and more intelligent 

 economic entomology, which may be said to have 

 grown with the present century — very slowly 

 during the first half— the President concluded 

 with a valuable statement of its present condition 

 and a forecast of work to be done in the future. 



