SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA ACADEMY OF SCIENCES. 23 



this instance have been a delicate operation, though no doubt 

 the erect position of the stem favored its accomplishment. 

 Originally I was under the impression that the food supplied 

 the larvae consisted of caterpillars, as no remains of food were 

 to be found in the cells, but examination of the cells in the early 

 part of the season showed that spiders alone were supplied as 

 food, and these, strange to say, were all of one species, viz., 

 Linyphia. . . . Five to six were the number usually sup- 

 plied to each cell. All the smaller species of wasps here who 

 feed their young -with spiders apparently capture indiscrimi- 

 nately any small species of spider, so that as far as my observa- 

 tions go, this Trypoxolon is unique in supplying one species 

 only. Necessity rather than instinct is probably the explana- 

 tion of this. 



The Trypoxolon appears very early in the season and com- 

 pleted cells may be found as early as February. At this time 

 few spiders have left their winter quarters, but among the 

 earliest to leave are Linphya and these are to be found in num- 

 bers at this season. These spiders have, besides a habit of spin- 

 ning their webs over the water, which renders them more easily 

 observed, and these circumstances pi'obably in a great measure 

 determine the Trypoxolon 's choice of this insect as food for its 

 larva. 



Prehistoric Man and his Development. 



BY DR. LORENZO G. YATES, F. L. S. 



Honorary Member Southern California Academy of Sciences 

 President of the Santa Barbara Society of Natural History, Etc. 



In the present state of our knowledge of the history of man- 

 kind the word prehistoric is of varied application and uncertain 

 meaning, changing, as it must do, according to the region or 

 country to which it is applied, and the extent of the time which 

 it is supposed to cover, is continually and rapidly being ex- 

 tended by exploration and discoveries. 



For a long time Denmark claimed the credit of the discovery 

 of evidence of the existence of man in the ages before written 

 history began. The historic period of Scandinavia began about 

 A. D. 1000, and the earliest examples of history writing in that 

 part of Europe are the. Runic inscriptions and poetic legends of 

 that country called ''Sagas," inscribed upon stone monuments 

 and other places, which the antiquarians of the past century de- 

 lighted to study. 



This study led to the discovery of the Kjokenmoddings, the 

 Danish name for kitchen refuse, in which were found large 

 numbers of stone implements, weapons and other interesting 

 relics of man's handiwork. 



