42 JOURNAL OF SCIENCE. 



blanket over the proposal by terming it "drastic," a word which 

 frightened everybody : members of Parliament with a general election 

 in view declined to study the real interests of their constituents in 

 comparison with their votes, and so nothing was done, and phylloxera 

 is now spreading at its own sweet will through the North Island. In 

 fact the "economic " side of the matter was enough to sicken anybody, 

 and he had in the present paper left it entirely aside. 



Mr. Hulke : Mr. Maskell's remarks on this subject were most 

 interesting, given as they had been to-night in a popular manner, and 

 quite within the capacity of all to understand and apply. He 

 considered that Mr. Maskell's work had not only a great scientific 

 value, but had been most beneficial to agriculture generally. 



(2) "On the Life History of the New Zealand Glow-Worm," by 

 G. V. Hudson, F.E.8. The author gave a most interesting account of 

 these curious insects, and illustrated his remai-ks by drawings of the 

 stages of development of the worm. He dwelt particularly on the 

 peculiarity of the light given by these creatures in all their forms of 

 growth. ; 



Mr. Travers said that these worms were first mentioned by Hoch- 

 stetter, but he did not think they had been described. 



Mr. Maskell : Has the light been microscopically examined? 

 Could it possibly be phosphorent infusoria 1 It might not be at the 

 will of the insect that the light went out, as described by Mr. Hudson. 

 He was sorry that Mr. Hudson did not describe the insect himself, 

 instead of sending it to some one else to do. He thought Mr. Hudson 

 was quite able to describe his own insects. 



Mr. Poynton was of opinion that the extinction of the light was 

 quite a voluntary act on the part of the worm. He had seen numbers 

 on the West Coast, and was quite satisfied of this. 



Mr. Hudson, in reply, said that he was confident that the 

 extinction of the light of the glow-worm was a voluntary act on. the 

 part of the larva, aud, as such, could not possibly be clue to parasitic 

 infusoria. It was also almost incredible than an aggregation of animal- 

 cule could give such a brilliant light. He felt sure that the organ he 

 had described produced the light at the will of the insect, but its use 

 he was entirely unable to explain. 



Wellington, 29th October, 1890.— Charles Hulke, F.C.S., President, 

 in the chair. 



It was announced that in conformity Avith the Act, Mr. Charles 

 Hulke had been nominated to vote in the election of Governors of the 

 New Zealand Institute for the ensuing year. 



Papers. — (1) "An exhibition of new and interesting forms of New 

 Zealand Birds with remarks thereon," by Sir Walter Buller, K.C.M.G, 

 F.Fl.S. The author said that probably no section of New Zealand 

 Zoology had received such careful attention or been so thoroughly worked 

 out as the Birds. Their beauty of form and colour and the peculiar 



