SCIENCE NOTES.

Hokitika Guardian, 14 November 1924, Page 1

SCIENCE NOTES.

ANCIENT RUIN FOUND ON AIIDPACIFIC ISLES.

New light on the old mystery of the origin of the Pacific island races may he slicel by recent discoveries on two tiny islands belonging to the United State’s—islamls, whose very existence, let alone their ownership was uiisus-pc-i-leel hy most Americans. The Bernice P. Bishop .Museum expedition, working in co-operation with the United States navy, lias spent many mouths in a scientific reconnaissance of the chain of small islands extending a thousand miles northwestward from Hawaii and discovered on the islands of Nihoa and Noc-ker the remains of ane-ieut- dwellings. These two islauds are oroded remnants of volcanic masses, elilf-bound, and without water. The settlements must have been lnaeic when life was possible the.-rc, anil leave' been abamloiieil when conditions became unfavourable, no one knows how long ago. Preliminary clearing has brought- to light old walls, house platforms, burial grounds, and terraced fields. Further excavations are phinncil. In addition to the archaeological finds, the expedition brought in much data and many specimens of value in the ficleis of botany, entomology, marine zoology, ornithology, nail geoiogv.

A STUDY 01-' FLEAS. Dogs elo not carry fleas which transmit bubonic plague, according to the results conducted by f‘. E. Pemberton, entomologist of the Hawiian Sugar Planters’ Association. During the past year or so Air Pemberton has (..night nearly .3000 lions from Hawaiian eiogs. In not a single instance has he found a rat Ilea, and, as is well-known, it is the rat-fleas which carry bubonic plague. Only fleas from infected rats can transmit the disease. The flea found on eiogs and cats, lie says, is a quite distinct species from the rat, chicken, or human Ilea. The families do not mix well. Air Pemberton believes that Hie dog lias been given an undeserved reputation as a disease carrier, which lias resulted ill stringent laws against stray canines in some localities.

REGARDING TORTOISSIIELL CATS

it lias been known for some time that tortoishell cats are almost always females, but the peculiar behaviour of Die tortoiseshell character in breeding lias only recently been explained ns a Aleneellian phenomenon. Air F. A. Hays points out in the last “Journal of Heredity” that the genetics of tortoiseshell cats present the following points:—Black males mated to yellow females give tortoiseshell females and yellow males. Yellow males mated to black females give tortoiseshell females and black males, although an occasional black female lias been known to arise. Blae-k males inateel with tortoiseshell females give both tortoiseshell and black females and both yellow and black males. Yellow males mated to tortoiseshell females ghe both yellow and black males. Tortoiseshell males have been known to arise as a sort- of rare freak, but they, are uniformly found to he sterile.