168 JOURNAL OF SCIENCE. 
black moth that at first I was puzzled to locate. Having re- 
cently had to examine the Otago Museum collection, I found 
there a moth without any note of locality, named by Mr. Mey- 
rick as Ovocrambus melampetrus, Meyr., probably a manuscript 
name, as I cannot find any such name in his published papers. 
On comparing my specimens with this they were found to be 
the same or a closely allied species. The Museum specimen is 
brownish-black, with a transverse greyish band near the end of 
the cell of the forewings; my specimens have the forewings a 
deep glossy black, with no trace of markings. Hindwings grey- 
ish black. This species was tolerably common, flying freely, 
rather too freely to make many captures, among the shingle near 
the snow, and it was rather curious to find so near the pure white 
snow, numbers of a black butterfly (Percnodaimon pluto), and 
this black moth. The expanse of this Ovocrambus is from 24 to 
26 mm., and its outline when at rest reminds one somewhat of 
such as Pedisca among our Tortricina. ALEX. PURDIE. 
ON THE TRANSPORT OF SMALL ERRATIC BOULDERS.—On 
the fine sandy beaches of the southern coast of the South 
Island bordering on Foveaux Straits, very large numbers of 
quartz boulders running up to about 1lb. in weight may be seen. 
They do not appear to be connected with the local rocks, but 
have probably descended the great rivers like the Waiau, and 
have been thus swept out into the Strait. They are brought 
ashore in large numbers by ascidians, sertularians, and seaweed. 
The ascidians bring up the larger specimens. They attach 
themselves to the boulders when young, and when they grow 
large exercise a considerable floating power upon them, thus 
lifting them off the bottom. In this way the boulders are driven 
ashore. J have noticed considerable banks of these little erratics, 
with their floats in all stages of decay, attached to them, lying 
on the beaches. On examining the brown coal exposed in the 
seam 18 feet thick worked at the Fernhill Colliery at Green Is- 
land, near Dunedin, I found exactly similar boulders embedded 
at various depths in the coal. These are indications that this 
bed of coal has been formed under the sea. It seems highly 
probable that while the coal was in process of formation these 
boulders occasionally dropped from decaying ascidians, which, 
rooted to them, were bearing them in this manner towards the 
shore. FRC; 
N. Z. DIPTERA.—Baron Osten Sacken, of Hans Mai, Hei- 
delberg, Germany, wishes to work up the Diptera of New Zea- 
land, and would be happy to correspond with collectors in dif- 
ferent parts of the country.-He would especially like to get the 
Crane-flies or Daddy-long-legs (7ipulid@), and would describe 
them at once. The best way to prepare the insects is to pin 
them immediately after catching. The pins must be zvsect pins 
about an inch and a half or an inch and a quarter in length, and 
