PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY

Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 210, 30 May 1919, Page 3

PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY

Mr. R. W. Holmes, 1.5.0., presided over the meeting of. the Wellington Philosophical Society at the Dominion iMuseum on Wednesday evening, ft good r-.udience being uresent. . A' copy of the late Mr. A. Hamilton's classical work, on Maori Art was exhibited, for presentation by the New Zealand Institute to Mi* Evan Parry, lately Chief Electrical Engineer to tho Dominion Government.

Mr. Elsdon Best exhibited and described an Oriental figurine recently found near Auckland in circumstauces which point to its having lain in the ground a great number of years, probably ante-dating the European occupation. While speaking on this subject, he referred to the ancient Tamil bell which had been found in use by the Bay of Plenty Maoris as a cooking vessel, another indication that-early voyagers from the East had probably visited these shores.

A most interesting paper on "Spiders" was read by Mr. E. K. Lomas. He described their classification and characteristics, and mentioned many peculiarities due to their modes of catching a living. Several instances of cleverly-devised webs were shown, and.their methods of ÜBing explained, as also was the manner in 'which the trap-door spider, which abounds near Wellington captures his prey.' References was made to the notorious kati no spider, and the poisonous nature of its bite was authenticated in the discussion which followed. A number of lantern slides were exhibited, illustrating the lecturer's remarks. "Seasonal Variations of the Wellington Milk Supply" was the title of a paper read by Mr. R. L. Andrew. It is well known that the quality of milk varies considerably at different limes, of the year, and Mr. Andrew had prepared charts showing these variations for different years in Wellington, comparing them with milk tests made by a 1/mdon firm. In this comparison New Zealand milk showed a higher percentage of fats and solids other than fats. A minimum of fats and solids was shown for the month of October in each year, and a mnximum early in the year. A further variation is' found in the percentage of fats and solids not fats between the morning and evening milkings, but tho lecturer said that this difference disappeared when the intervals between milkiiißS were made equal. A rise in the percentage of fats was noticed to coincide with a particularly dry spell of weather. The speaker stated that the best milk could only.be ensured by buying on the quality basis, that is, that the price was regulated by Iho percentage of fats and solids, otherwise ,cows- giving poor milk in large quantities would naturally bo kept by ~the farmers.': A bonus should also be 'paid for milk found to be cleaner than a fixed standard. An urgent necessity was improved transport, especially in cases where tho niilk required to lie brought long distances. Discussions of the papers elicited some interesting information, and votes of thanks were passed to their authors.