4:74 Scientific Intelligence. 



of the Catalogue of the Lepidoptera Phalsense in the British 

 Museum. This includes the Lithosiadas (Arctianse) and Phalse- 

 noididse, and is by Sir George F. Hampson. Pp. xxiii, 619, with 

 text figures. This volume was in manuscript in early 1915, but 

 owing to the war, publication was postponed. It has now been 

 completed and so far as possible brought up to date. The text 

 is accompanied by a special volume including plates xlii-lxxi. 

 These are beautifully executed in color as has been true of earlier 

 publications of the work. 



Another recent publication is the following : 



Economic Series No. 11. — Furniture Beetles, their life-history 

 and how to check or prevent the damage caused by the worm ; by 

 Charles J. Gahan, Keeper of the Department of Entomology. 

 Pp. 23 ; 1 plate, 5 text figures. 



5. The Nature of Animal Light; by E. Newton Harvey. 

 Pp. x, 182, with 35 figures. Philadelphia and London; 1920 

 (J. B. Lippincott Co.). — This is the fifth volume of the series 

 of monographs on experimental biology by American authors. 

 It consists of a clearly written summary of our present 

 knowledge concerning the physical characteristics of animal light 

 and the chemical processes involved in its production. It may 

 be surprising to learn that while but two groups of plants — the 

 bacteria and the higher fungi — are known to be self -luminescent, 

 this property is possessed by no less than thirty-six different 

 orders of animals, including many forms of protozoa, hydroids, 

 jelly-fish, bryozoa, polychaete and oligochaete worms, brittle 

 stars, Crustacea, myriopods, insects, mollusks, primitive chordates, 

 and fishes. Curiously enough, none of the luminous species 

 inhabit fresh water, all being either terrestrial or marine. In 

 some forms the luminosity is exhibited by both larvae and adults, 

 and in a few forms light is produced by the eggs either before or 

 after segmentation. Many other animals appear to be lumines- 

 cent at times because of the presence of ingested or parasitic 

 luminous organisms. 



Following the description of the cellular structures found in 

 the various types of photogenic organs, the author explains from 

 experimental evidence the chemistry and dynamics of light 

 production. He concludes that the light is produced by the 

 action of an enzyme, luciferase, on a proteid, luciferin, in the 

 presence of water and oxygen. These substances can be separ- 

 ately isolated and are luminescent when brought together 

 outside the body. w. r. c. 



Obituary. 



Sven Leonhard Tornquist, the veteran Swedish geologist, 

 died at Lund on September 6. 



M. Louis Ducos du Hauron, a pioneer in the difficult work of 

 color photography, died on August 31 at the age of eighty-two 

 years. 



