1919 .] 
New Zealand Institute Science Congress. 
253 
EVENING LECTURES. 
Large and appreciative audiences attended the public lectures in Canter¬ 
bury College Hall on the evenings of the 5th, 6th, and 7th February. We 
append the following reports from the Lyttelton Times : — 
Vestiges of the Primeval Plant World, by the Bev. Dr. J. E. Holloway. 
Dr. Holloway said that although he would deal with fossils and with certain 
insignificant plants the subject should be an interesting one. It should be surrounded 
with an atmosphere of romance, and on that account should be attractive even to 
those who had not pursued studies in that direction very far. It should be interesting 
also in a better sense, because it opened up the whole question of the evolution of 
plant-life. It introduced the different chapters in the history of plant-life which 
culminated in the vegetation of the present day. He could not supply proofs that the 
plants he dealt with were vestiges of the ancient plant world, as if he tried to do that 
his address would become difficult and dry. 
He dealt mainly with ferns and lycopods and their allies, which were character¬ 
ized hv peculiar alternation of generation. 
After referring to the peculiarities of ferns and lycopods and their allies, he 
described several fossil plants, and threw a large number of illustrations on the screen. 
Most of these were representations of fossil plants of the British Carboniferous period, 
and he showed the connection between them and the groups of plants at the base of 
the higher plants, with which he dealt. 
A hearty vote of thanks was passed to him-for his lecture. 
Mountain Structure, by Professor W. N. Benson. Mountain Sculpture, 
by Dr. C. A. Cotton. 
Professor W. N. Benson, Dunedin, gave an address on “ Mountain Structure.” 
“It is one of the glories of this land," Professor Benson said in his remarks, “that 
nearly every view is framed with a broken horizon ; not the smooth sweep of plain or 
plateau familiar in my Australian homeland, but irregular peaks and valleys, jagged 
surfaces or smooth flowing curves, whose forms and ever-changing colour gladden the 
heart of the lover of beauty. Prom the low, smooth, dome-like hill, the tilted broken 
plateau, or the glorious volcanic cone of Egmont, perfect as Fuji Yama, to the high 
and rugged Alps, covered as with jewels by snowfield and glacier, almost every type 
of mountain scenery is illustrated in New Zealand.” He described how great masses 
of rock became elevated above the surrounding parts of the earth’s surface, the 
building-up of the mountains, the structure of their innermost parts, and the origin 
of the great earth-blccks. He recognized three main types of mountains—namely, 
mountains of accumulation, mountains of upheaval, and mountains of circum- 
denudation—dealifig with each type in a clear and popular style. The origin of folded 
mountains received special attention from the lecturer. He said that it was impossible 
in a short lecture to touch upon the immense problems of the cause of the mighty crust- 
movements he had described. Many factors that might be operative had to be con¬ 
sidered, and to mention a few r only would be to leave but an inadequate idea of the 
problem. Much as had been learned, much remained unsolved, and students must 
confess that as yet no combination of hypotheses had given a completely satisfactory 
explanation of the origin of folded mountains. 
Dr. C. A. Cotton, Wellington, who followed Professor Benson, dealt with the 
erosion and destruction of mountains. Referring specially to New Zealand mountains, 
he said that this country might be described as a concourse of earth-blocks, the highest 
of which lay on the north-east and south-west axis of the land-mass. In Central Otago, 
perhaps, the structure and the history of the earth-movements were best displayed. 
A vote of thanks was passed to the lecturers. 
The Influenza Epidemic, by Dr. A. B. Pearson. 
After giving a history of the disease and describing bacteria-carriers, Dr. Pearson 
dealt with the bacteriology of the Christchurch epidemic. He said that the epidemic 
assumed serious proportions in this city in the first week of November but it was 
important to remember that prior to that, even back in September, there had been 
