532 JOURNAL OF SCIENCE. 
MICROSCOPICAL SECTION. 
Sydney, May 10th, 1885.—A paper on phylloxera was read by Dr. 
Morris. He stated in it that Dumas, a weil-known authority, recom- 
mended the use of sulpho-carbonate of potassium, which both killed the 
insect and nourished the vine, while gas tar, and especially the so-called 
oil of anthracine, destroyed the winter eggs. Dr. Morris recommended 
the use of sulphate of iron as a preventative (1lb. to the gallon). In 
the course of a discussion which followed, Mr. Moore stated that no 
phylloxera had yet been found except in the one vineyard at Camden. 
In about 20 other vineyards he had found nodes on the roots, which 
were held to be caused by phylloxera, but no insects had been dis- 
covered, and in consequence of this he had determined not to accept any 
report of their being found unless the insects were actually produced. 
Dr. Morris stated that he believed the French and Australian phylloxera 
were identical. He had no doubt on the subject. Mr. Moore remarked 
that if this newly discovered insect was really Phylloxera vastatrix it 
was strange that it had not spread, and he added that it fed only on 
vines. 
Sydney 5th August, 1885.—Professor Liversidge, F.R.S., 
President, in the chair. 
‘New Members,—Messrs. R. G. Goggs, M.4., G. W. Griffin (U.S. 
Consul), and F. Leverrier, B.A., B.Sc. 
Paper.-—(1) ‘‘Some causes of the decay of the Australian forests,” 
by the Rev. P. MacPherson, M.A. The rev. gentleman stated that 
thousands of young trees in the Meredith district, Victoria, were 
observed to be decaying year hy year without any visible cause. This 
was so perceptible over thousands of acres that it had led to an inquiry 
into the matter. Various causes were assigned for this phenomenal 
decay. Some, doubtless, had been drowned by too much water on low- 
lying ground; others had been destroyed in one or other of the 
numerous bush fires which had occurred during the last few years ; but 
there still remained a very large number of trees which had decayed 
owing to some mysterious cause which neither water nor fire could 
account for. It had been surmised that the white ant had had some- 
thing to do with the decay; but a number of the decayed trees were 
examined and not a white ant was to be seen. Clearly it was not the 
white ant that had done the work. A woodman proffered the explana- 
tion that the trees were suffering from a blight, as the leaves on the 
trees had been destroyed, and was fully satisfied with this curt explana- 
tion of the phenomenon, although what sort of a blight it was he would 
probably have been at a loss to tell. The caterpillars were next sup- 
posed to be the depredators; but caterpillars devoured bark and 
sapwood rather than leaves, and their path was marked by a ring 
round and round the trunk. But no traces of caterpillars could be 
found in the district, and to have effected the enormous damage done, 
myriads of caterpillars would have been required. However effective 
some of these causes might be in the destruction of trees, they 
evidently had little or nothing to do with the destruction of these 
particular ones.. So much for the reasons assigned by the white man ~ 
for the phenomenon he could not otherwise account for. Let them 
hear what the blackman had to say on the subject. When questioned, 
ee 
