always make in this country, that in time, unless great care is taken, we may find the mole-crickets as troublesome as they are in Europe. Luckily, there are numerous ways of getting rid of them, and nature helps considerably, for the mother herself frequently eats large numbers of her children. Their sense of smell is very acute, and it has been found a good plan to bury a dead crab in the ground infested by them, or pour water with a little oil or turpentine down their burrows, when those not killed will at once vacate. The mole-cricket, though feeding principally upon vegetation, is really omnivorous, and will take raw beef, grubs, &c., with zest. It has been stated that they are really useful because they do this, but the best authorities give them an unqualified condemnation. Like their relations, the field-crickets, they are very war-like, and have cannibalistic tendencies, for when an enemy has been vanquished he is sure to be eaten. Addendum.—Since this paper was read the author has been informed that Mr. Robinson, of Makara, near Wellington, is familiar with the mole cricket, but does not think it has increased in his district during the last two or three years.

Art. XXVII.—On the Cause of the Disappearance of Young Trout from our Streams. By Alexander Ferguson. Communicated by T. W. Kirk, F.R.M.S. [Read before the Wellington Philosophical Society, 9th January, 1889.] During the past fifteen years trout-fry have frequently been put into the streams in this district (Palmerston North), but, so far as I am aware, they have never been seen afterwards. Some thought they had been devoured by eels, and others that they had been washed out of the streams by freshes. As it is a subject in which I take considerable interest, and one which has cost many a pound to no purpose, I set myself some twelve months ago to discover, if possible, what was really the matter. It occurred to me that there was little use in examining the streams, or in speculating on the cause of the mischief, and that something more practical would require to