ad, 
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90 _ THE AUSTRALIAN NATURALIST. 
drainage, ete. Attention was also drawn to malformations 
arising from insect attack or mechanical injury. The re- 
markable alteration in the shape of .the leaves of our 
_Kuealypts and Acacias in their transition from the juvenile 
to the adult stage is common knowledge. ‘That sunlight 
__ affeets plants to a limited extent both mechanically and as 
regards coloration has long been known, the response of the 
Suntlower fo sunlight (heliotropism) and the blanching 
of Celery (etiolation) by earthing up the stems and depriv- 
ing them of light are familiar examples. On the rare 
occasions upon which a plant ‘‘sports,’’ i.e., develops an 
abnormal growth, the plant propagator—if the development 
is of an ornamental character—expends a considerable effort 
in accentuating the novel formation, and fixing it. The care 
lavished upon our Dahlias, Chrysanthemums, etc., with the 
‘object of encouraging any vagaries in the size, shape, or 
position of the petals is a case in point. The susceptibility 
of the Cocks-comb (Celosia) to fasciation and spiral torsion 
~has alse been exploited by the floriculturist. If these 
alterations can be produced by the simple process of re- 
eulating the supply of sunlight, as is claimed by Colonel. 
- Rawson, this braneh of horticulture will be revolutionised, 
and an art which at present is largely speculative will be 
elevated to an exact science. ~ 
LIFE-HISTORY OF TIPULID FLIES. 
By L. Gallard 
The larva of the Painted Crane Fly, Gynoplistia bella, 
I found under an old rail in a very damp place at Piper’s ~ 
Gully, Gosford. On August 17, 1914, I took several, and 
on August 22 one of them assumed the pupal BE and 
duly emerged on September 20. 
On January 7, 1918, under a piece of wood lying on’ 
wet sand in a pully near Narrara, I found a black object, 
which proved to be the larva of another common Crane Fly, 
probably Ptilogyna ramicornis. A fair number of further 
specimens were collected in similar situations in the 
district. The larve are large, soft-textured, bladdery- 
looking grubs, from one to one-an-a-half inches long, with 
very indistinct segmentation. When pupating, the skin 
