The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1879-03-06
Portland society ofNatural Hi,,ery.

Portland Society ofNatural History.
AZ the business meeting held Monday even.
lDg' the principal subject Of discussion related
70 tne construction, this season, of a new build
Ing upon the Elm St lot. The President laid
before the Society proposition that had been
made through him for loan to it for building
purposes, upon terms which all regarded as
very favorable.
The question was raised whether the amount,
which was limited, would be quite sufficient to
cover the cost of construction, and in case Of
deficiency, from what source it could, with
certainty, be supplied The Society is en-
tlrely free from debt and owns at the present
time, the lot of land and building on Elm ST.,
Tor which it paid s. 500. Its library, collections
and cabinets represent a value Of no nconsider-
able amount, and it has invested in mortgage
$1,000, the donation of two individuals, which
BY vote of the Society and not at the request
OF the donors, has been retained as permanent
fund, the interest of it only to be used. The
Society might find itself compelled to make
use OF this small sum, but 1t would, for many
reasons, do it reluctantly. The annual assess
ment OF the members will, without doubt, be
promptly payed in aid Of this project. And it
was thought that an appeal to the citizens for
AID would meet with the favorable response
that 1t has never yet failed to receive. The
snbject of Natural History Fair was also
again brought up as another method Of iucreas-
ng the building fund. No detailed plan was
brought forward at this meeting, but it was
freely discussed and plans were quite well ma
tured at the meeting of the Society year ago.
Rofaro danidioo 70 hni1d -
thought best to request the contractors, who
time, sent in their proposals for building at that
to revise their propositions, and see if any more
favorable terms conld be obtained 10 the pres
ent state of the market for materials and labor
Accordingly after free interchange of opin-
ions and suggestions the whole m after was re-
Tered to the next meeting of the Society, the
third Monday evening of this month. This
discussion occupied nearly the whole of the
session., but before adjourning, an interesting
letter from Admiral Preble was read in rels-
ton to the vegetable caterpillar, an account of
which was published in the proceedings of the
last meeting of the society. He corrects the
error as to the locality from which they were
obtained, by saying that they were from the
vicinity of the Bay Of Islands, New Zealand,
aud not from the Cape Of Good Hope. They
are found about he roots of the Kaurie Pine.
Dananaara Australis, tree growing to the
height of 200 feet, yielding an invaluable light
compact wood, free from knots, from which the
finest mssts are made. 1t also exudes gum
similar in character to gam Copal, specimens
of which are to be seen In the cabinets of our |
society. Those presented by Admiral Preble, |
as we'll as the caterpillars, we're destroyed by |
fire. The one exhibited at the last meeting of |
the society, having been presented by him to |
the president. and being in his possession at |
that time, escaped destruction. He then goes |
on to say, that Sin March, 1916, 1 obtained |
the first vegetable caterpillar had ever seen, |
from an officer of an English frigate, then in |
our company at the Bay Of Islands, who told
me that it had escaped the Iotice of the
Wilkes Exploring Expedition, and had not
been noticed by any previous writer's on the
natural history of the Islanis Immediately
offered to purchase from the natives all that
were brought to me, and in the few days be-
fore our sailing, obtained dozen or more spec
linens which, on my return home, L distrib-
uted around. When l brought them home
they were supposed to be of vegetable origin.
After The return of H. NJ S. Hazard and North
Star their character was, bslleve, discussed
10 the English Journals. l never saw them
taken from the roots of the Kaurie Pine but
the impression gathered was that the cater
pillar was found under the sod, with the
stpe or stem growing from the neck
above it," In the Proceedings
of the Boston Natural History Society, we find
that according to Dr.. Hooker, as pub
lisbed in the London Journal of Botany
the whole insect is metamorphose6 into vege-
table, with the exception of the skin and ntes-
lines which remain sound. The transforma-
ton takes place when the animal is under
ground, where it buries itself for this purpose.
The same author is of opinion that the spores
Of the fungus are lodged in the first joint of the
neck ard the caterpillar settles head upwards
to und rgo its change, when the vegetable de-
velops itself. 4
In regard to the Kowdry or Kaurie gum Adj
mrsl PEBBLE says that it was first brought to
this country 10 1915 "An American had COL
ected at the Bay of Islands a large quantity of
this gum for shi pment, when the troubles be-
tween the natives and English com menced just
previous to our arrival in the st. Louie, and
claimed our protection. Jast then an Ameri-
can whaling ship ca ne 10, whose crew b 4d mu-
tinted, refusing to lower the boats, when SUI
rounded by school of whales. The captain
bad lost all control of them and his whaling
voyage was therefore broken up. 81 our Cap
tain arranged aud chartered the vessel to take
this gum 10 the United States. Two years af-
terward | was in Mr.. James Toid's picture and
frame store in Portland, when a man came 10
u. l.. = |
'Kowirie gum which led me TO inquire
about it and tell the story of our shipment from
New Zealand, when he said his varnish was
made from that Uery same lot of guna They
had just begun the manufacture of varnish
from it. The gum, like the caterpillar, is found
by the natives at the roots Of the tree, and I
have seen specimens of it which think m light
have weighed twenty pounds. in which numer-
Gus insects were embedded and embalmed as
Ia amber"
A box containing quite large variety of
specimens in Natural History has been re.
ceived from Admiral PEBBLE since the last
meeting. Among them were specimen of the
red Syeniie Of which Cleopatra's needle is COM
posed, horDstone from the Mount Of Olives,
Stasctite from the Grotto of Anti Paros and
dendritic rock from the Chusen Islands.
A spearhesd Of white quartz, frc N Indian
Neck, Wellt1set, Cape Cod, was presented by
Miss Ella Hasty. She also gave a fine speci-
men of the nut Of the Traps bicornis, water
plant growing in China, the kernel Ct which is
used for food, and from the collecting of which
the government in some places derives large
eveuus This nut has very singular and un-
usual form, very strongly resembling the head
and horns of an OK.
Deering.
Hon. f. M. Fogg, having over-estimated the