Advancement of Science.

Hokitika Guardian, 18 January 1923, Page 4

Advancement of Science.

WELLfNDTON CONGRESS

PAPERS ON VARIOUS SCB-IKCTS

WELLINGTON. .lan to INSECT FAUNA.

The origin and composition <>l the insect In it tin s of Australia ami New Zealand was dealt with In Or I'. A. Tillyartl. addressing the Biology seetioii. lie said I hi- was the first time an attempt had been made to extract ceiierareniielnsions on the subject. Ihe fossil evidence, he said, was confined t„ Australia, not a single fossil insect having been diseovcreil in New Zealand. There appeared to have boon at least three streams of immigration from the north, and three from the south. Ten elements were recognised to form the two faunas. Of these, nine formed complex Australian insect launa, while only five could he recognised as contributing to New Zealand fauna. SHEEP MAGGOT FLY. "The sheep maggot lly ill New Zealand is not as serious a problem as in Australia, hut it is lieing tackled,” said Mr David Millar, Government entomologist. ‘‘Four native, lour Australian, and seven European species exist here.” he said, “of which the European blue, the Australian green and the golden-haired are responsible by llii' blowing of sheep. Suil-wooled and greasy adult sheep, and lambs at marking and weaning time are the most susceptible. Ellieient cnitchi|n.g and dipping constitutes a remedy. Parasites had been introduced to combat the nest.” A ivl- WEAVING BY MAORIS. "Art-weaving—lts Development by Maoris,” was the subject ol a lecture by Dr Buck. Other Polynesian races, he said, had forgotten weaving in favour of the hark cloth, a supply ol which the Maoris brought to New Zealand. but found climatically unsuitable. The Maoris had, therefore, revived the lost art of weaving, for which llax was an abundant material. From basket designs to cel traps they evolved simple plaited designs, finally inventing the tied cloth from plaintwined weaving, with a two-ply well The Maori inventive genius progressed to the four-ply weft, with which the hotter class of garments was made. Close twine weaving, as in the famous dog-skin cloaks, was a further development, and rapped twine-weaving, in beautiful geometrical coloured designs of taniko borders, marked the highest advance of all. The two-poinlod sticks upon which the Maori weaving was set up were not a degenerate representative of the forgotten loom, hut were an independent creation, invented during the occupation of New Zealand. 'RAILWAY CURVES. Professor 1). M. Y. Summerville offered in it paper on “Railway Transition Curves,” read before the Engineering Section. some suggestions as to how greater smoothness of running and increased comfort to passengers may lie ensured in the passage of a railway train over bend or curve of a line, lie pointed out that in an ordinary transition curve the line was hanked up on one side and the passenger experienced a certain amount of disloiufort as lateral acceleration was changing, beginning and ending suddenly -at the ends ol the transition mine. By means of a more gradual form of transition curve, which was explained in detail in the paper, this disconiiiiiiily was removed. The adoption of curve he outlined, the lecturer stated, should lead to .-til! greater smoothness and greater earn fort lo p:ts-

t:.\!rn iqr akes ,\nd kr fptionr. In tlie course oi a short address on ■" itor-on t Fart !i-[it:t,kos in Now /earned.’’ Dr C. If. Adams, (iovcnimeiil Astronomer, stated that records of the earthquakes were obtained from about eighty postmasters and others whose stations were distributed throughout; tlie Dominion. The most severe earthquake in 1921 was that of June 29, which had an intensify of > on the Rossi-I’orel scale, fu centre was near Gisborne. The Taupo earthquakes, beginning in June, 1 1 it(I not yet, he said, entirely subsided. The earthquake -d’ December ’Jo. had its centre in the ' hr-viol di- triol, and had an intensity oi !i as slioun in the Rossi-Forel scale. The highest intensity on this scale was 111. Dr J. A. Thomson, Director of the Do. union .Museum, delivered all address on “Eruptions in the New Zea-land-Tonga Volcanic Hell.’’ lie said that the late .nr Percy Smith had given an excellent account oi the Tara-ui-ra eruption, and that nearly all we knew of the volcanic eruption in the Kermadee Islands has been recorded by him. Ruapehu appeared to he an extinct volcano, hut the lake at its summit had been violently disturbed on several occasions, and steam had been seen rising from if. No lava had been erupted from the actual crater of Ngauruhoe, but Mr Bidvill stated that on one occasion some lava flowed from a vent on its side. There had been many explosive eruptions and flames might have accompanied some of these. There had, said the lecturer, been several eruptions of vents oil Tongul’iro, To Mai re and the Tied Crater. Dr Eriedlander had rescribed one of these, which was accompanied by flames of different colours. The eruption of Taniwera on Juno 10, 18S(i,-took everyone by surprise, but in the light- of , present knowledge there were a num- I her of signs of the coming eruption. The geysers and hot springs of the district were more active than usual. , Small masses of lava seemed to have welled up in some of tlie lesser craters along the Taraivera rift. In TOGO the Waimnngii geyser began to play from one of the small craters along the Tarawern rift. In 1917 Frying Pail Mat blew out and destroyed the Waimaiigu vent. Tt seemed to have been , a true eruption. At White Island, in ’■ September, 1014, a tragedy occurred, ’ all the sulphur workers on the island losing their lives. Only a eat was saved. Eruptions on Sunday Island, j in the Kermadee group, occurred in . ISM, 1*72. 1*8(0 and in 190?. The' speaker said that there were ten volcanic vents in the Tonga Islands. There were only three actual volcanoes on the land, the others were submarine. -Many eruptions had been recorded. This volcanic belt from New Zealand to Tonga was evidently a. very active one, and systematic ieeords and observations were highly desirable. The lecturer emphasised the j need for a volcano observatory, and [ mentioned that eruptions could lie pre- \ dieted, as had been done by Dr T. \. Jaggar in Hawaii. Ho also mentioned | that in Japan a serious eruption was predicted a fortnight before it occurred. The neighbouring population was removed and no lives were lo=t. With ; our present knowledge Dr Thomson said that lie firmly believed- that the i Tarnwera eruption, its time and place, could have been predicted and thus lives which had been lost could have • 110011 saved. In the course of a brief address on , “Tlie Taupo ’ Earthquakes of T 922.” i Professor E. .Marsdon remarked that ’ these earthquakes, which began in i June, 1922, were still continuing but were now very slight. The quakes had been felt as far west ns Tnumarnnui, a few miles west of Taupo township. A large block of land on the north shore of the lake had dropped

nine feet. The fall diminished in the north and petered out eight or nine miles in that direction. The fall had taken place over a period of several months. It was not known, he added, how far the lallon Mock extended under Lake Taupe. No evidence of it was seen at I okaanu at. the south end. , A post had been put in the lake s>] that any further movement of the I,lock might- he observed. Home-made seismographs wore installed at airakei and Taupo. The actual records wore disappointing 'nit; very informative as io what should he done in the future. The cause of the earthquakes was undoubtedly actonic, that was dependent on movements of the earth s crust, and not volcanic or due to subterranean explosions of any kind. The tremors were very frequent during th early part of the period over which observations wore made, up to 20 or 30 in an hour. Their intensity on Hie Rossi-Korol scale was from 1 to (>, 1 being a tremor imperceptible to the senses and 0 a somewhat violent shake. No great material damage was done. Many of tin' tremors were accompanied h v rumblings and a curious noise. ‘ln a subsequent discussion on the advisability of establishing a volcanological and seismologienl observatory Professor Marsden advocated the placing of portable seismologienl instruments at Rotorua and taking them, if required to any district where an earthquake had occurred. The after shocks would thus ho mirdod. A voloanologioal observatory on >bc slopes of Toiigariro was advocated by Hi- .1. A. Thomson and Professor Burbridge. Professor L, A. Cotton, said I bat Wellington was not likely to be free for all time from earthquake shocks, and he therefore urged the fuller equipment of the Wellington Observatory. The meeting passed a resolution >eeoinmonding the establishment of a volcanilogieal observatory and additions to the instruments at Wellington. ANTARCTICA. Sir Douglas Mawson lectured tonight at the Town Hall, under f hc auspices of the Australasian Associai tinti for the Advancement of Science, I bis subject being “Antarctica.” Ibe ball was crowded to the doors, and the lecturer had a most flattering: ecepiioii. During the course ul 'he lecture he said that in common with every other region of the world the great Antarctic zone held data of vital importance to science ill I lie solution of its problems. If, therefore, the general advance olscientific inquiry was to . go forward unhampered investigation of ai least the broader aspects of Antarctic research must proceed haml-iii-hand with the march ot scientific inquiry in other lands, so that apart from exploring economic possibilities. and apart from the achievement of being the first to reach the pole, the prosecution of purely seieui iln- investigation m that region was iciv desirable s,i far as opportuniy and Itnaltcial consideration would allow. The lecture was profusely illustrated by slides and films depicting the topography of the country, its ice fields and ice Hows and bird ami animal life in Antarctica and subA nIH ictic.'i. The penguin pictures v.ere especially popular. At the do.v of the lecture Sir Doug- 1 las received a great ovation. PI? MSI DKNT-KI.KC T. At a meeting of the council ul the as soeiirtion this afternoon General Moilash was chosen president-elect. GKOGI’A I’llV AND LAND SKTTLKM I TNT. Professor Taylor, who is professor of geography tit Sydney ITiiversitv, took as his subject “Geography and Australian National Problems.’* He

contended that intimate knowledge of tlie geographical features of a country was ail important in determining clicomlitiini-,, the suitability of the land for settlement, and the propriety of the expenditure of public money. lie doubted the wisdom of the White Australia polity ill ihe strictest, sense, lie estimated that Australia was capable ot sustaining At).GUO.I)OO white set tiers, hut he contended that settlement must he continued on lands to a great extent already alienated. Australia had in tact reached the stage when the resumption of land was necessary, so far as setllcinenl of any importance was concerned. During Die course of the ledure Pto-fi-s-s.r Taylor urged i he establishment oi a school of geography in connection with tlie New Zealand I'niversitv. NEW ZEALAND WAR E!NANCE. ••Sonic Aspects of New Zealand War Finance" was the subject of a. paper read in the Statistical Setion by Mr J. M. Tail, IS.A., of Christchurch. The lecDircr showed that, while taxation had iiu roased. between 1891 to 191 i, from £2.200,000 to C 0.900,000. and the net public debt from £97,500,00() to £91,500.000. during Mar.-li. 191 I, to March. 1919 (the war period) taxation grew from £5.900,000 to £19.800,000, and about £81.500,000 was borrowed for war expenditure at an average rate (including sinking lend) of 5.0 per cent. Adding a conservative estimate for pensions and small losses on soldiers’ lands, it would make the total cost of the war la New Zealand by the time this debt had been paid off, about £295.000,000. The most alarming feature, Mr Tail said, was the enormous interest payment spread over a period of forty years. He made a plea for a larger contribution to the sinking fund, to enable an earlier elearanee to be made. He also protested against the present j system of “surplus” financing, which made f'lmcls available for expenditure which would never be countenanced if subjected to proper scrutiny, lie held that tlie accumulated surpluses of the war period had led to j much reckless expenditure. The period j under review had brought a great | •hange in the distribution of taxation, j and the whole system now stood in ’ invent uar-d of scientific revision. j MAORI CANOES. A paper was read before the Etlnio- ■ logical Section of the Science Congress ) this morning by Air F. V. Knapp, of Nelson, on the subject of “Afanri j Canoe-making Implements in the Tas-• man Hay District.” He said that the ; canoe was in many parts regarded as the most valued possession of the ancient Maori, and though war canoes were now never seen, yet they were seen in numbers hv old settlors in the pioneering days. The statement in Hamilton’s “Maori Art” that war canoe building was oon-

fined principally to the natives of the | East Coast was queried by Mr Knapp, ] who mentioned evidence of old work-; shops on the Tasman "Bay beaches as j proof that a nourishing -war canoe building industry existed there in lhc past ages. Canoes on that coast were built of totarn, and allusion was made to the tapering of certain suitable trees. Young saplings were notched several feet above the ground to secure a strip of dry wood being formed in the mature trees to facilitate the hollowing out process. Mr Knapp suggest o *' that these workships were often a considerable distance from the pas, th° workmen being conveyed to and liom their work. The fact that sione implements in the Tasman TSav districts were rougher and 'ess polished than in the northern cultural areas might re due to the fact that abundant supplies of good stone were available locally. Most of the large adzes and gouges had been collected and were in the museum, and the object of the papu was to draw attention to the many unpolished chipped tools to which hitheito little attention had been given. The details by which these might be recognised were given. Mr Knapp suggested that the tools were made from chance flakes, and were not struck olf in different slopes for certain purposes. The keen eye o. the dusky artificer knew at a glance how 'the flakes could he of service, lienee, few were wasted, and in this way the Tasman "Bay and Star Bay natives had in use a wonderful variety of makes and slopes, which they used jin canoe building. Even after the canoe was built, much remained to 1 •’ done in making the hull smooth. Stone scrapers were necessary as well as sandstone rubbers for smoothing down a canoe. The figurehead or stern post owed its beauty to the open finish of ils design, and hence drill and borers were all important tools in the carving work. The writer classified these into ten distinct sets, each with an accompanying figure, each m which was mentioned. Me also referred to the beautiful greenstone chisels which were worked at a low angle for shallow carving. In the rourse of bis paper, repeatH attention was drawn by Mr Knapp t * the remarkable, resomblanee oxistin between Tasman Ihiy art and tho-fi-run kitchen middens of Xorth-W os! orn Europe. \a l ions types wore thou more particularly referred to. and their uses and poeuliaritienoted. In ibis way. about fifty set wore dealt with, the lecturer’s remark being often illustrated by drawings.. Tile whole series, Mr Knapp said, must he taken as indicative of the

genius stml industry of the sint-ioli s canoe Imilders. They demonstrate, how these Maori experls ot I’asmai r.av evidently took pride in then work, since they elaborated .on.! brought into use such a wonderful variety of implements to enable them successfully to execute the detail and finish c,f their ramie ornamenialioii.