42 



HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



the upper side of the leaf ; why the larva is humped 

 on its fourth segment ; in its early stages possesses 

 "ears," and in its fifth and sixth stages, protrudes 

 where the "ears" formerly were; what the reason 

 for its constructing so excessively hard and wonder- 

 fully secret a cocoon — which obviously appertains to 

 the doctrine of Mimicry ; what the chemical or 

 natural causes for its change of colour just before 

 becoming a pupa ; why it so closely resembles news- 

 paper, as an imago— the silver birch {Bctula alba) 

 being the only tree-trunk which would afford it pro- 

 tection by mimicry in this respect, and the only 

 species of this genus ever found on this tree, is D. 

 bicuspis. When these and other similar questions are 

 proved to be answered correctly, and will bear test, 

 then, and not till then, may we consider the life-' 

 history of Dicranitra vinula as complete. 



Claude Morley. 



The Museum, Ipswich. 



SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



It is with much regret we have to record the death 

 of Mr. H. T. Stainton, F.R.S. etc. The well-known 

 author of "A Manual of British Butterflies and 

 Moths," "The Natural History of the Tineina," 

 "The Tineina of Southern Europe," "The Tineina 

 of Syria and Asia Minor," "The Tineina of North 

 America," "The Entomologist's Companion," and 

 for many years the editor of the " Intelligencer," and 

 " Entomologist's Annual." Mr. Stainton was among 

 the first who thoroughly worked out that intricate 

 and complex group of Natural History, the micro- 

 lepidoptera, and there are few who had keener 

 observation or greater powers of perseverance. He 

 has several times been President of the Entomological 

 Society of London, and an active member since 1S48. 

 Both the City of London, and South London 

 Entomological Societies will greatly miss one of their 

 best benefactors. The old saying that a man's works 

 are not appreciated till he is gone from among us 

 does not in this case hold good, for Mr. Stainton's 

 " Manual of British Butterflies and Moths," has been 

 a standard work since its publication in 1856. 

 Mr. Stainton died suddenly early in December last, 

 at the age of 70. 



We have much pleasure in calling attention to the 

 "Child-Life Almanac," for 1893 (London: Geo. 

 Philip and Son). It is loose-sheeted, each month's 

 sheet separate, and crowded with valuable pheno- 

 logical and natural history observations. 



A link between the present and past history of 

 modern science has been snapped by the death, at 

 the ripe old age of eighty-nine years, of Sir Richard 

 Owen. He was better known to us in our younger days 

 as Prof. Owen, and credited with the possession of an 

 extraordinary amount of scientific knowledge. Thirty 



or forty years ago he was much in request as a 

 scientific lecturer, especially on the comparative 

 anatomy of fossil animals, and more than one eminent 

 scientist among us owes his success in life to the 

 infectious influences! of Prof. Owen's early lectures. 

 The doctrine of evolution never found in him a 

 disciple ; perhaps it came upon him too late in life, 

 for very few men can recast their scientific philosophy 

 after they are fifty years of age. But he was a grand 

 old man for all that, and an honour to British science, 

 which sent representatives from each of its learned 

 societies to attend his burial in Ham churchyard on 

 Friday, Dec. 23. 



Before the Chicago Exhibition opens, an 

 event of enormous practical scientific importance 

 will have taken place in America. Some weeks ago 

 we gave our readers a description of the enormous 

 engineering feat which has been going on for more 

 than two years past, at Niagara Falls. This was, 

 boring a tunnel through the rock from below the 

 Falls to the rapids above. Practically tapping 

 Niagara. The tunnel is now completed, and it is 

 announced that the power-plant for transforming the 

 energy thus supplied by the head of water into 

 electricity will be in operation by March next. It is 

 anticipated, that a current will thus be generated 

 equivalent to 75,000 horse-power. This is an 

 enormous supply, but a mere trifle compared with 

 the mighty energy which wastes itself in tumbling 

 over the Falls. No less a force than 45,000 elec- 

 trical horse-power will be transmitted from the 

 Niagara tunnel to the city of Buffalo many miles 

 away, and 30,000 electrical horse-power will be con- 

 veyed to other places. 



On various recent occasions we have endeavoured 

 to call attention to the use of electricity as a 

 heating agent. Hitherto, we have thought of 

 electricity chiefly as an illuminant. At a recent 

 meeting of the Paris Academy of Science Mr. 

 Plenry Moissan gave a description of a new elec- 

 trical furnace, which consists of two bricks of quick- 

 lime, one upon the other, the lower one of which is 

 provided with a longitudinal groove to carry two 

 electrodes. Between them is a small cavity serving 

 as a crucible, which contains a layer of several 

 centimetres of the substance to be experimented 

 upon. The latter may also be contained in a small 

 carbon crucible. The highest temperature worked 

 with it was 3000 C, produced by 450 amperes and 

 70 volts, consuming 50 horse-power. In the neigh- 

 bourhood of 2500 lime, strontia, and magnesia 

 crystallised in a few minutes. At 3000 the quick- 

 lime composing the furnace began to run like water. 

 At the same temperature the carbon rapidly 

 reduced the oxide of calcium to the metallic state. 

 The oxides of nickel, cobalt, manganese, and 

 chromium were reduced in a few seconds, at 

 2500 ; and a button of uranium, weighing 120 gr., 



