The Portland daily press., 1884-12-16
Society Of Natural Hi.,ory,

At meeting held last evening.
Mr.. Manning read a letter he had received
from Prof. G. FL. Fernald of he State College
at Orono, in relation to the worm inhabiting
the Devils Beam. The insect belongs to the
family Tortrscid@ OF which Prof. Fernald is pre-
pairing revision of all the described species.
They were described by Westwood, the cele-
brated Oxford professor in the Proc. Ashnno.
lean Soc. for 1857. The following year rede
scribed by Lucus in the Ann. Soc Emit, France
with complete description of the seeds, lsrya,
pupa and image, with plate giving colored fig
ures of each. Lucas had evidently overlooked
the description of Westwood and gave the
food plant the name OF EuplorbiA species,
which agrees With the determination of DR..
Wood. A remarkable fact about the insect ia
that thus far only females are known. Tho
original types in the British Museum, as well
as large number bred by Lucas, and all in
the collections in this country thus far O b.
tanned are females.
As the genus Cdrpocdpsa ia separated bv
characters which are to be- found in the male
only, Prof. Fernald is at present uncertain
whether the insect is really Carpocapsd or
should be referred to some other genus, With
Lucas IN Paris, they remained in the larva
state jumping, ETC., till about Feb. 10th, when
they transformed to pupa and some of the per-
feet Insects emerged as early as Feb 90 Saw
eral OF the members placed the insects in their
pos session in Mr.. Manning's hands, who for
wardsd them TO Professor FerDald, hoping
that from the number male may emerge,
Westwood described the insect under the
name CdTpocdpSa saltftans, Lucas as Carpocdp-
So deshGiSiQ7lG.
A letter was also read from Professor John
J. J. KYLE Of the National College, Busnos
Ayres, relating to the agate sent to the socie
ty last spring by Mr.. A. G. Bean. Mr.. Mar
ming being anxious to gain more knowledge
In regard TO its formation, addressed letter to
Prof. Kyle, from having seen his name at.
tached to an article giving analyses OF the wst-
ers OF the river Parana, Paraguay and Uru-
quay. Prof. Kyle kindly answered, and wrote
to Mr.. Bean himself, to ascertain If possible
the direct source of the specimen Mr. Bean
had no personal knowledge OF the locality, it
having been sent to him by friend. Prof
Kyle thinks it nearly certain that the speci-
men came from the river Uruguay and no.
rom river Parana The foIlowinot
extracts are of interest showing the source
from which the silica, SO abundant in the
Uruguay, is derived. 81 believe, and in this
am supported BY the opinion of the professors
of mineralogS in our university, ST. Aeuirre.
that the production of agate is still going on in
our river beds. Volcanic rocks in the adjs-
cent countries, Brazil and Uruguayan Rspub-
lie are probably the sonres of the silicic acid:
this, as it separates from the accompanying
5AiOAtcb AOLAdAue uinbulN6u III tQ6 SHgNklV a.
kaline waters. (All our streams and wells are
decidedly alkaline from the presence of aka
line, silicstes and carboBates.) Ga the moun-
tain streams reaching tbs Parana much of the
slicic acid gets thrown down in combination
with lines which base is very abundant in
some OF the feeders of the Parana. Not 80 the
UrRgnay; little or no lime finds IFS way TO this
river, SO that the silica remains as SUCH at FIRST
in solution, then probably assuming the
colloid form, and ultimately separating under
the action Of The SUMS nearly vertical rays, or
thus aided by carbonic acid from decaying
vegetation, ETC., taking the form OF agate,
reniform crusts etc etc 1 think that there
ia no occasion to imagine the existence of hot
springs or of geysers. In the Parana we can
observe the formation Of what is here called
tosca (concrations OF carbonate and siicste of
limt). In the Uruguay the deposits are en-
tirey siticjous, because the necessary bases are
wanting. The former river has bed of CLAW
and tosca, and contains in suspension colIoid
clay, being always turbid-the Uruguay is al
ways transparent, its bed is sandy and pebbly.
its petrifying power is proverbial; agates from
its bed and banks are known ali over the
world. We can almost see them grow,
Geysers, or at least hot springs, exist In the
volcanic districts near the Andes, but are
quite unknown near the two great rivers of the
Republic"