/ 
The j\f\iturcilists’ Compcmino. Jf7 
As soon as the larva are liatehed 
they betake themselves to their feeding 
l)laees; some of them eating the stems 
of water plants, and (Others preying as 
l)arasites upon the large water beetles, 
as the Dysticus and the jYepidae. 
Fastening themselves securely to the 
side ot their victim, there they stick 
and eat until ready to enter the n3'mph 
state. There is something remarkable 
about the growth ot* these larvae; the 
onl}^ part of them that grows at all is 
the abdomen, and that swells to such 
enormous proportions, that linall}^ one 
would easil\^ mistake their head 
and thorax, legs and all, for the 
head itself, so great is the contrast. 
As soon as they are read}" to begin 
the first transformation, the}" leave ofi* 
eating and commence to shed their 
skin. The nymph, however, strange 
to say, still remains fixed to its victim, 
and still devours its fiesh. And there 
it stays until the final change takes 
place, and then the perfect mite ap¬ 
pears, ready to skip about with its fel¬ 
lows, on the water. 
Although these members of the spi¬ 
der tribe do undergo metamorphosis, 
there is no other class of insects whose 
individual species show so great a vari- 
ence in their mode of development. 
Some, as we have seen, sutter meta¬ 
morphosis, and some simply liaA-e a 
succession of moultings, and there are 
still others that apparently have no 
change whatever; and the history of 
the maturing of the oA'o-viviparous 
Arachnida has yet to be Avritten. 
We would like the readers to assist 
us as much as possible b}^ sending in 
contributions, exchange notices, cor¬ 
respondence, queries, etc., and take a 
general interest in the magazine, and 
we will show you an interesting journal 
Californian and Polynesian Fish- 
Hooks. 
In his work on pre-historic fishing- 
in Europe and North America, Dr. Ran 
has drawn attention to the similarity 
of South Californian and Polynesian 
fish-hooks of shell and bone, and has 
figured a few from South Sea Islands 
for the sake of comparison. In conse¬ 
quence thereof, he received, a short 
time ago, fj-oiii the ethnological depart¬ 
ment of the British Museum, a com¬ 
munication, together with a large plate 
of drawings of Polynesian fish-hooks 
preserved in the museum. Some of 
these are strikingly like the Californian 
specimens; not only does the curved 
points in these hooks approach A"ery 
closely the shank, but they also show, 
like the Californian hooks, a barb on 
the outside. This analogy is the most 
significant, as some ethnologists have 
claimed a relationship between the 
Polynesians and South Californians.— 
American J^'aturalist. 
One of the most obliging profession¬ 
al scientific gentlemen is Prof. D. G. 
Brinton, of* world renown fame. He 
is eA"er willing to assist a young stud¬ 
ent. 
We are pleased to learn that our 
friend and contributor, Mr. W. S. 
Beekman, Avho has recently been very 
ill, is recovering. 
Few, of what a year ago Avere num¬ 
erous, papers to-day devote any space 
to archaeological news. We promised 
to, and intend to do so. 
Pecan Point, in Arkansas, is one of 
the best fields for the potterist that 
the archmologist may wish to search. 
Many valuable finds hav'e been made 
there recently. 
