28 



NATUKAL SCIENCE NEWS. 



Specimens of full-grown larvae 

 which were secured were placed in 

 earth, pupated and gave out the 

 imago in eighteen days between 

 August 1 8th and September 5th. 

 Of anotherdot secured on Septem- 

 ber 5th only one has emerged to 

 date. A specimen was submitted 

 to Prof. S. W. Williston, who was 

 unable to determine the species, it 

 being "in all probability yet un- 

 described." It belongs to the 

 genus Prosphorysa. 



No flies resembling these at all 

 were noticed about the holes or 

 wasps, and I do not know how the 

 flies gained access to the larval 

 cavities, as in almost every in- 

 stance the mouth of the burrow is 

 carefully covered with earth by the 

 wasp both when leaving the hole 

 or remaining in for some time. In 

 the latter case the dirt is pushed 

 up from below, the angle of de- 

 scent being small, so that the earth 

 does not run down into the hole. 

 The statement that no parasites 

 are known that feed upon provis- 

 ions of flies in the nests of any of 

 the species of the genus Bembec- 

 inus is upon the authority of Prof. 

 L. O. Howard. — H. Anderson 

 Laflcr in Entomological News. 



The Mongoose in Jamaica. 



At a recent meeting of the Bos- 

 ton Scientific Society, Prof. E. W. 

 Forbush, State Ornithologist, pre- 

 sented a paper on Birds Useful to 

 Man, in the course of which he 

 had occasion to speak of introduc- 

 ed pests. This led directly to a 

 consideration of the mongoose in 

 Jamaica, concerning which he had 

 some recent authorative state- 

 ments. The story is a very inter- 

 esting one, and shows the danger 

 of introducing animals into a coun- 

 try where they will have a chance 

 to increase too rapidly for the good 

 of their new home. 



It seems that there were rats in 

 Jamaica which devoured the sugar 

 cane. These rats were abroad in 

 the daytime and really seemed to 

 be quite a pest. The mongoose 

 had a great reputation for its skill 

 and value in India as a destroyer 

 of snakes and other reptiles. So 

 it was decided about a dozen years 

 ago to introduce the mongoose in- 

 to Jamaica to free the island from 

 the rats. The mongoose began 

 promptly to eat the rats, where- 

 upon the rats climbed into the 

 trees and became to some extent 

 at least nocturnal. The mongoose 

 finding that the rats were out of 

 reach, tried the ground birds; find- 



ing them to its taste, it speedily 

 began to exterminate them, and 

 today it has practically destroyed 

 the ground birds of the island. 



Meanwhile the destruction of 

 the birds brought another agency 

 into action, the insects; and these 

 increased marvelously. There was 

 the cane grub, which did quite as 

 much damage as the rats did in 

 the beginning, while the ticks be- 

 came numerous and a pest every- 

 where. The situation, therefore, 

 is this: that the Jamaicans have 

 still the rat, and they have the 

 mongoose too, and the tick, and 

 they have lost their ground birds, 

 so that agriculture of some kinds 

 is now impracticable and import- 

 ant sources of gain have passed 

 away. The indications are that 

 the mongoose is beginning to 

 climb the trees, and if he does this 

 he will exterminate the tree birds. 

 The only outcome from the diffi- 

 culty, according to the informant, 

 seems to be the possibilify that the 

 ticks will become so numerous 

 that they will exterminate the 

 mongoose; and then in time the 

 former balance of animal life on 

 the island may be restored. 



An Exploring Expedition to the 

 Interior of Labrador. 



An expedition bound for the in- 

 terior of Labrador will leave Phil- 

 adelphia in June for the purpose 

 of studying the Eskimo and collect- 

 ing specimens of the flora and 

 fauna of that region. G. H. Per- 

 kins of the class of '95, University 

 of Pennsylvania, will be the com- 

 mander, and the remainder of the 

 party will consist of four students 

 of zoology, geology, botany and 

 archaeology and a number of col- 

 lege students and others. 



Professor Frank Russell, curator 

 of the University of Iowa, accom- 

 panies the expedition as an archae- 

 ologist. 



The trip from St. John's, N. F., 

 to Labrador will be made in the 

 ship Kite. At St. John's the Phil- 

 adelphia party will be joined by 

 ten scientists sent out to explore 

 the coast of Ellesmere Land, and 

 also to discover traces of the ances- 

 tors of the Greenlanders, who, it 

 is thought, came from that place. 

 Professor Hite of the University 

 of Pennsylvania, who is the origin- 

 ator of the expedition, said: "The 

 party will leave Philadelphia about 

 the middle of June. The ten sci- 

 entists who will join our party at 

 St. John's will be sent out by Dr. 



C. T. Mendenhall, superintendant 

 of the United States coast geologi- 

 cal survey; General A. W. Greely, 

 Baron von Saurmajeltsch, J. A. W. 

 Grip, envoy extraordinary from 

 Germany to Norway and Sweden; 

 J. W. Powell, director United 

 States geological survey, and Bar- 

 on Adolf Eric Nordenskjold of the 

 Royal Academy of Science, Swe- 

 den. 



"These persons have supplied 

 the wherewithal for the researches 

 of the scientists for a period of 

 one year. The Kite, after leaving 

 St. John's, will cruise around the 

 gulf of St. Lawerence, making col- 

 lections at the south coast of Lab- 

 rador, visiting the island of Anti- 

 costi for Eskimo remains, and will 

 then go north along the eastern 

 coast of Labrador as far as " Cape 

 Chidley. Parties will be left at 

 various points along the coast, 

 supplied with tools and equipments 

 necessary for their researches. At 

 Clarence head, in James sound, 

 Ellesmere land, it is proposed to 

 leave the ten scientists, who will 

 erect winter quarters and a general 

 supply station there. They will 

 make explorations until the six 

 months of darkness come on, when 

 they will return to Clarence head, 

 starting out again in the spring. 

 It is expected to explore at least 

 300 miles of Ellesmere Land, 

 which in all probability is the 

 original home of the ancestors of 

 the present Greenland Eskimo, 

 who must have crossed to Green- 

 land over 1,000 years ago. Of these 

 people the scientists are desirous 

 of finding traces. r 

 "The Kite will return to Labrador, 

 picking up the various parties, 

 and then keep on to St. John's, 

 arriving about Sept. 12- She will 

 return in 1897, carrying the same 

 number of people and for the 

 same purpose and will bring home 

 the party of scientists from Elles- 

 mere Land. 



Professor Hite said that the uni- 

 versity cruise to India in Septem- 

 ber would prevent his accompany- 

 ing the expedition to Labrador. — 

 Philadelphia Press. 



An Investment in ''Natural Science News" 

 Returns Fifty-fold. 



Bangor, Me., Feb. 16, 1896. 



Friend Lattin: 



I enclose herewith $1.00 for my renewal to 

 Natural Science News. I have 'found the in- 

 vestment of SI. 00 made a year ago for the pa- 

 per to have returned to me 50-fold. In ad- 

 dition to the excellent articles which have ap- 

 peared in its columns I have derived fully $i0 

 cash by the sale of specimens to parties whose 

 names have appeared in your exchange col- 

 umns. I have also through the same means 

 added fully $'00 worth of specimens to my pri- 

 vate collection. Have done this by writing 

 parties who had notices in the exchange col- 

 umns. O. W. KNIGHT. 



