AMERICAN NATURALIST. AN ILLUSTRATED MAGAZINE OF NATURAL HISTORY, EDITED BY - A S. PACKARD, Jr., axo EDWARD D. COPE. ASSOCIATE EDITORS : Dr. ELLIOTT COUES, DEPARTMENT OF MAMMALS AND Breps. : Dr. R. H; WARD, DEPARTMENT OF MICROSCOPY. VOLUME XIV. Copyrighted 1880, By McCALLA & STAVELY, For the Proprietors. a CONTENTS. Observations upon the Habits, Structure and _and Developmen of Amphioxus pera a at ae eh cae a iy or GT eee ea Henry di BCE ini eK SD 1, 73 Sketch of North American Ornithology in1879........-. Eliott COMO. ss x0 nt 20 Historical a a the Satis of Bo cna in ipsa Am from 1840 to 1858, (Co aoe from p. 771 Vol. xu). . . > Frederick Brendel . xy OS A Sketch of syne ge ve Em japa (I.—The ace of the Genoblasts, and the oy f Sets puis enaa Charles Sedgwick Minot... 96 The Convolution of the Trachea in the Sandhill and se et pe eee eae E . Thomas S. Roberts u.s . 108 The Perici Of Moina s sisca esate ace ee g S Si wg rege sia) 10g The Proboscis of the Houseg: . < a e. 6c als 3 6 be ee G. Macloikit se o oo o eo 153 Sketch of Progress in Mam malari in ika United States in 1879 . Elliott Coues s.. + + + + + 161 Review of the Modern Doctrine of Evolution.. . . . . eure Me De COPE s s 0 a 20-0800 ROO Concerning Amber. i Spo «40k 6 jhe ee . » Erminnie A. Smit PIE TE | Protoplasmic Dyna W S Barni. aane + 233 A Sketch of Comparative Embryology. “dL. —Fentlzation of the Ovum, III, ) Charles Sedgwick Minot. . . 242 Progress of Invertebrate TURAT in the United States for the year 1879.. >. 6 gin) oso As a R C. A. White...» 50 The Toneoe of the ‘Hea Be sa wa ee ae ee ee aes erR I The Structure and pira of a Buttery’ Trunk senansa 2 AAA Burgers. 5-6-6 65° 353 The Critics of Evolutia: ¢ sag ss ie s © Sue LAPIN» a oy 319, 398 Hall’s Second Arctic Expedition. . . . . e ees sess- Ellis Hornor Yarnall Sketch of North American Anthropology in 1879 > > > s >.. T. Mason ` Otis 348 The Domestication of Certain Ruminants and Aquatic Birds. . , A. £. Brown and x D. Caton = The Supposed Dimorphism of Lithospermum longiflorum . . . . C, E. Bessey... + - Notice of some Aquatic Worms of the Family Naides. . . . Joseph Leidy ses...» s American Work in the Department of Recent Mollusca paein akae. + aie a A A A . . William H. Dall >.. i» 4% The ee Agricultu tal Fertilizers oe JEPEN Indians and _ as the Early English Colonists. . . esr a G Bmw GONE oi 6.9 oe ae A ae of Comparative re av. —The Embryology Se AREE E Dets wate A . . + « « Charles Sedgwick Minot. . , 479 NES “tint of the Micke ot Gs Wine Oregon Spas oh 6 O Ee FRM 6 6 Oa A Botanist in Southern California... .. +--+ . o + Joseph F. James +++ ean Anns CEE Mite. a ie ee The Structure of the Eye of Trilobites......+-++++> AS Pacer, Yr...» 503 The Fabrication of Aino Cloth . RES ae ea . » D, P. Penhallow n.a». ax 55 English Birds compared with American... . e +++ +++: B.D Moa. Se On the Age of the Laramie Peres as x diaii by its Vege- table Remains... ... Pasian Sh nS 30% aE "Y, Starkie Gar Cn ee 565 Notes on the FI ering of fraga sar ri ES AE B w Saxi tosa roe 7. T : oP eed f Destruction of Obnoxious Insects by means of Fungoid Growths. A. N. Prentiss . « . + «575, $30- The Siphonophores, (I.—The poni and Development of ken. Pansi anaa TE FE eger pi aa A ur OIA A Do Flying Fish Fly? Pee enn ie ye ae ee ae ee En = Pee Sag gay ae | Pag ae € O ROR ee = e Food of the Darters... .. - SA. Forbesss vn ess i n the ery Extent of t Triassic Formations a the Atlantic eis : he lps Rana + = PA . Chas. C. Stat 6% . Notes api alenen Ponni in N * jei sowie tne eee TE i crash Binds ae i ‘ oe : ee ee Sarnaak Ar di 75 l ined i Pine aE eS WOR. Hlg... 720,776 The Island Ai Daa N aan. OS AM ea SS I The Sand-hill Crane.. i, an 0 ee PN O KD. Cate on eet 3 the Origin of the Lac. ee Se he ale 9. M. Stillman... +. - 72 Botanizing on the Colorado Desert... e+e eet shes a + 87 On the reame Cats of America I PE A A es ar Twin lakes pe 1 Colorado, be al Phenomena of that region. . ss’. = + yden r si A Sketch of te Siew of Botany in the U, S. in the year 1879. C. Æ. Bessey +++ +++ - re of Embryology. (V.—The eee ooo p A Sketch , of Development)... eee 2-5-2 -+> iv Contents. EDITOR’S TABLE The Phi lade a gassed 38, 11 7; The tariff on spe cimens,.apparatus and books necessary i f Edt e Phila a, Go 654; Biology at the American Association at Boston, 725; Obligations of Educational and Chari- table Institutions, 793; The Metric System, 881 ; The Permanent Exhibition of Philadelphia, 881. RECENT LITERATURE. Paro Survey of Canada; 42; arias Shell Mounds of Ti 43; Growth as a oe of Cells, 44; Williamson’s Fern Etch 45; Recent Books and Pamphlets, 46; Notes on New England Is sopoda, 120; Gacik Pahi of Paul Mayer, 121; Herrick’s Tatia I21; The Mi cific paaa ek 281; Barrande’s TAa s rip caps 282 5 re on the Crayfish, 282; Thomas’s Noxious Insects of Illinois, 283 ; on the Cot , 283; Gilbert’s Geology of the Henry’mountains, ar a tracholog Hy pid 286; meir Contributions, 287 ; The Annual Report of the E or 1877; 360 ; hatin Books:and Pamphlets, sei Smith’s Braz il; The ceases akt —— cast, 436; ‘Natural Science a sata 436; prera d Book of Field hae 438 ; Sketches of the Physical phy and of Nebraska, 439; omparative Medicine and Surge uair on Peyi, 439; Recent ks phlets, 441; The Geol of Wisconsin, 508; ley on the Crus- tacea belonging to Union College, 509; Crosby’s Geolo: f Eastern Massachusetts, ; Bı velop: t of t ster, 510 ; Thomas’s Chincth Bug, 511; ‘The Geological Record, 511; The Midland Naturalist, 512 ocky Mountain Health Resorts, 512; Proceedings of the venport Academy of iences, 512; Hayden’s Great West, 513; Verrill’s Cephalopods of Northeastern America, oe Recent Books and Pamphlets, 514; Packard’s Zodlogy, 582; orph Studies a kos M ologica b Eeboistory i in the University of Cambridge, 584; The Hessian Fly, 586; A New Gei Geog ł Journal, 588; Favre’ sonha Ce of Geren ithe a Books and Priaphiets; 588; cao Recent Publications on Japa: Archeology, 656; Balfour’s Comparative Embryo logy, 6 ; The Odom ornithes, or Birds: ‘with Teeth; 6s ; for 1879, 665; Recent Books and Panghls, 667; Nell’s New-Map of Colorado; 728; H Haeckel’s System of Medusze, 729; Recent Books and Pamphlets, 730; Bessey’s Botany, 796; Huxley’s Introductory to Science Primers, 797 ; carota s Seaside Collecting, 798; Zittel’s Paleontology, 793; ee ee ects of Russia,-799; Miss Omerod’s English Injurious Insects, 799 , White’s Contributions to Paleontology, 800; The Aborigines of Victoria, 800; Recent Books and eggs Sor; = Phe Tarsus and Carpus of Birds, 882; A Manual of the Infusoria, 883 ; Packard’s second edition, 884; Daubree’s Chemical Geology, 885; Hertwig’s Che- tognath Worms 885; Wadsworth’s hg te toc, pe AARS and -Geological Results of the French Expedition to observe the Transit of i Sigsbee’s Deep Sea Sounding and Dredging, 887; Recent Books and ea GeneraL NoTES. Beary SPE entrapped by an Asclepiad Plant (Physianthus) and killed by Honey eae cal Birds, 126; Connection of the Rainfall with Forests, 127; The New Mexican Locust Tree, etc., 127; coer abet»: pid the iene 128; Botanical Notes, 128: Sexual Differentiation in Epigea > The Agency of Insects in Fertilization, 201; The Function of A T 204; The Humble vat a Dyrteedlgie ‘among Alp in e Flower Visit tors, 288 ; Botanical l Notes, 291 Destroyers , 363: Twining Planes, nts, 364: The Germ ‘Disease Theory , 364; Botani cal News, 365 Transformation of Anthers into Overs, 442; Additions toa Historical Sketch of Botany, 443 The Fly-trap, its. First Discovery, 443; Arenaria groenlandica near Middletown, Conn., 444; Bo- tanical Notes, 444; Effects of Uninterrupted TAP Plants, 516; Destruction of Tneechs ts by Fungi, 516; The Origin and Survival of the Types of Flowers, 517; Botanical Notes, 5177 Changes in Plant Life on the San Francisco Peninsula, 589; Botanical Notes, 592; Contrivances . , . , Contents. ; Vv for Cross-fertilization in the Ranunculacea, 668 ; Botanical Notes, 669; The legia vulgaris, 731; Plants of Nova Scotia, Cape Breton and New Foundland, 733: Satis Notes, 735; Mechanical Cause of Pyne’ Phyllotaxy, 802; Influence of a tas and Moist Temperatures on Germination, 853; Nectar, its Nature, Occurrence and Uses a Notes, 803; The Botany of a City aes 889 ; A Dispermous Acorn, 892; i Notes, 894. e = D — Poenat T e in the Shell of papa a megasoma produced by Confinement, 51; Influence » 52; canus, 52; The Coi drags Moth y Rhode Isiand, 53; Notes on Phyllopod see igs The White ae Swallow i le ea bicolor), 54 ; Vi bration of e Ta ilin en , 54; Fork- Turtle, 129; S The Chipping versus the European Sparrow, 129; Depredations oe the European va j ; Laws 209; Notes on the Geographical Distribution of the Crustacea, 209; sorosperm. St Li ‘ Sea,i aries for Whales, 292; List of Californian Reptiles and Batractila col- lected by Mr. Dunn and Mr. W. J. Fisher in 1876, 295; The Gastrula of Vertebrates and the Gas- Not ia Fi li Chipmunk, 523; Ferocious Tendencies of the Muskrat, 524 ; tte English Sparro wet Bird Arrivals at Eva nston, Ill. » 525; Gadus in norrhua i in Fresh Wat r, 525; si ee Dalling on the Theor f Bird Mig ios Sane and oe am Seis Habits of the Pine Snake, oni Notes on the nie hae 528 ; vin mo: Anodontz, 529; Preliminary Note on Branchipod PERRA 531; jap iv Synthetic | sig 531; pee gn Notes, 531; Tardigrades and Eggs, 593; An Abnormal Foot in Abiy- stoma, 594; Notes on Myriopods, 594; Second Flight of Dragon-flies, 594; Breeding Habits of Spiders, 595; spon on New and Rare Fishes of the hain pgs 595; Case of Protective oea icry ` Eyes and Brain of Cermatia forceps, 602 ; Zaidi: Note meee ; A new ‘Harvesti p: Budding in Free Medusæ me English Sparrows refusing to eat Worms, 671; How ho s rent old, Sra; “ Mimicry” in Snakes, 672; Notes on the Mammals of Southern Utah, 673; _ . 674; On go Course of the Intestine in the Oyster (Ostrea virginiana), — 4 1 NY, Pee 4 TD 1 ae L i st a aa of very Young aaa pi Zoölogical Notes, 6 ew Freia producta n ydendron spl um. : Pale said of Nes enes fasciculatus, 811; Zodlogical Notes; 812; The Metamorphosis of Actinotrocha, 894; Occurrence of the Web-fingered Sea-robin on the coast of Maine, 896; The Little Seiged Skunk Climbing, 896; Yapasa of Chordeiles popetue Baird, 896; Leeches on oe 896; The Organs of Smell in Insects, 897; Action of Acids and Color apr ” Ma- ine Invertebrates, 897; The Thorax of - Blow Fly, 897; The Sw — Fishes, tes ‘ : ET RS FS APREA OR OER Bae PE Be 6. Ran’s Pal Madee Mien, 0 SB CPOs 2 50; 8 T 34 + ‘> 236 ; Ob ro. ay as: Fead IRA, EE ET S al Nei , 218 B; American Et ogy, 297; deine Antiquities, 299 ; Peabody Museum at Anteo News, 379; A Dictionary and ERI PEE R AEE A ogy in os Mr. Maclean’s Contributions to. rcheology, 452; The Protection vi Contents. ties, 454; Another Elephant Pipe, 455; Anthropological News, 455 ; Bibliography, 456 ; Syphilis, 533; Footprints of Vanished Races, 533; Spencer’s Ceremonial Institutions, 534 ; ‘The Orie ntal igin of hro i : phy, 538; Pueblo Indians, 603 ; ROTI = Materiaux see *Histo omm 3 bia NER 6c8; Prof. Flower’s Lecture p oR Bibliography, 608; Maya Chronology, 676 pology, 677; R , 677; The American Antiquarian, 680 ; lend in Wisconsin, 680; Cliff-dwellings in Southern Utah, 681 ; Bibliography, 682; Anthropology at the American Association, 740; Unsymmetric Lance-points,744; The Anthro- pological Society of Washington, 813; The Davenport Academy, 814; Anthropology in France, 815; Anthropology in England, ai Biblography, 817; New Archzological Enterprises, 899; Japanese Mythology, 902; Burial of the Dead, 904; The American Antiquarian, 904 ; Mound G thes Ichthyosaurs Viviparous ies Miocene Fauna of Oregon, 60 60 Sheds st the eng p New Be rk, 139; Geological aN of New Sealad. 140; Hill’s Kansas Ex m ithopsi as, 684; The Bad Lands of the Wi 745 ; Geology of Egypt and of the Libyan pame 813; Vertebrate Palæontology of India, 818; he Geology of the Lower Valley of the Delaw: re, 8395 ; Origin of ee Reefs and Islands, 819; The ‘‘ Comptes Rendus Stenographiques,”’ aa, Geological News, 821; The Devonian Insects, gos; America’s Coal Supply, 907; The Northern Wik Fauna, pat Ged logical News,909- Bw AEN Ly qaa VAEGA Hayden's s New Mapa of Wyoming, etc., 62; African Exploration, ei 143; Unit of the Territories. Work of 1877-8. ae Triangulation and FE ER Park Maps, 2233 The nee of AN Expedition to the North Pa the Isbjorn in the Barents sea, 542; Circumpol e tion of the Siberian Arctic ocean, 546; ‘“‘ Die Metamorphosen des Polareises,’’ 548 ; The Ascent of : a ‘the Binué, in August, 1879, 686; The Royal Geographical Society’s Expečition to Lakes Nyass@ and Tanganyika, ey The Franklin Search Expedition, 821 ; How; Expedition, 824; Col. a Prejevalsky, 824; Proceedings of the Geographical Section of the hers Remit S e Microscopy.—Improvements in Cell-cutting, 65; Another Journal, 68; Adulterations in Food, 68; Exchanges. 68; Thin Glass Slide Troughs, 14@; Preparations of Crystals for ae Polari- scope, 146; Fidpedetticg Foraminifera Sand, 14%; Naturalists’ Directory, 148 ; Hints on the ion of Livi jects, and their Examination under the Microscope, 225 ; Method hae me from Water, 227; Agen Exchanging Objects, 309 ; n; Soci f Microscopists, 309; Observations on the Construction of ; American = = Huyghenian Eye-piece as sien in ry croscopes, 309 ; Organisms in Ice from Stagnant Water, n Society of Micros ts, 389; Adulterations of Food, 461; A new ‘‘ Growing Slide” me ines te Organisms, ones inicio and Mounting Spiders’ Webs, 464; Wpod-fibers sahara ey: it sperm Se 465; Spodumene, 465; The Microscopical Ap- Diatoms, ; The American Journal of Microscopy, 465; ie araen at E s rae Association, a, TREE. Society of Microscopists, 613; “ Science,” 4 613; Microscopists’ Annual, 614; = n’s new oe Sapakan and Moist Ch amber, pse Methods yoi ‘Dry Sener: 693; P D Sections of Soft iano; 825: The Atwood Sagi sonia he Sweating of eho ees ae pier i e e National S giz; New Le ee opm , 68, 148, 3 227, 311, 389, 466, 548, 614, fot 753, 829, 915. ; Pegeeaernce OF Screwriric Soc OCIETIES, 71, 15% 232, 311, 390, 470, 552, 757, 831, 917 152, 233; 312; 392, 472, 552, 616, 832, 919. THE AMERICAN NATURALIST. VoL. xıv.— JANUARY, 1880. — No. i. OBSERVATIONS UPON THE HABITS, STRUCTURE AND DEVELOPMENT pg AMPHIOXUS LANCE- OLA FUS: BY HENRY J. RICE. REVIOUS to last season, specimens ofthat very curious fish- like animal, Amphioxus lanceolatus Yarrell, had been dis- -covered along the eastern coast of the United States only in Florida and North Carolina, and one specimen, according to Mr. P. R. Uhler, president of the Maryland Academy of Science, upon the Eastern Shore of Virginia. -While engaged in laboratory work at the Chesapeake Zoological Laboratory, at Fort Wool, last summer (1878), I was fortunate enough to obtain possession — of three adults—two males and a ripe female—and twenty speci- mens of the young of this very interesting species, thus making Fort Wool not only a new locality for the adult animal, but, so far as I am aware, the only place in America where the yeno = have ever been captured. Of these specimens the adults were taken with the dredge b : the bottom of the bay, south and east of the fort, in a depth « of JA water of from twelve to fifteen feet, and the young were secured ae by surface dredging with small hand-nets of bolting cloth, fom around the wharf, and near the steps of the boat-landing, While they remained alive, which was during the greater part of the months of July and August, I had the opportunity of making a very interesting series of observation, in regard to their habits, and those peculiarities of structure and development which have- drawn so much attention to this animal, and rank it as at least the : lowest of vertebrates, if not an intermediate type between Verte- _ a brata and Invertebrata. These investigations, the results of which a VCL. XIV.—NO. I. wes 2 Observations upon the Habits, Structure and (January, I have embodied in the following necessarily incomplete sum- mary of our present knowledge of Amphioxus, were conducted with a great deal of care, and while they have led me to differ from the commonly received views in regard to certain particu- lars of structure and development, they have enabled me, by a somewhat detailed comparison of results, to corroborate much of what has already been done in this important field of research. History—This apparently insignificant little creature was first made known to science, in the year 1778, from specimens found upon the coast of Cornwall, England, and sent to Peter Simon Pallas, a celebrated German naturalist, who was then issuing his Record of new forms of animal life. The description given in this Record? is, in the main, quite accurate, but from some migun- derstanding of the nature of the ventral ridges, or perhaps from ` some slight resemblance to a sea-slug, Pallas considered it a new species of snail, and named it Limax lanceolatus. Had he had the opportunity of examining other than contracted specimens of this new form, he probably would not have written, “Tentacles . evidently none,’ and might have hesitated before placing it among the Limacidz. But if Pallas failed to correctly estimate its generic features, the next writer who mentions it? seems to have been able to appreciate them to a certain extent, for he remarks,- * that it is “ hardly a Limax,” although for some reason he retained this name, and adds to it, probably through some typographical _ error the: specific term of danceolaris, which ought only to accom- pany the genitive of Limax, or Limacis. After this notice by vocabulary of zoologists and to have passed almost from the memory of those engaged in describing and classifying new spe- — cies of animals, for in 1834, when Costa? discovered this same animal in the Bay of Naples, Italy, he failed to recognize it as having been « pecs before, and considering it a new species of — : having tentacles about the mouth, and upon the supposition that l | these tentacles subserved the purposes of respiration as branchia. _ 'Spicilegia Zodlogica. Peter Simon Pallas. Fasc. x, p. 19. Taf. 1, Fig. H. - Berlin, 1778. j : _2£Elements of Natural History. . Stewart. 2d edition. Vol. 1, p, 386. ; *Cenni Zodlogici ossia descrizione sommaria di talune specie nuove di antinali. O. G. Costa. Page 49- Napoli, 1834. And, Storia el Branchiostoma ibri Napoli, S Stewart, Limax lanceolatus seems to have dropped from the. : ey 1880. ] Development of Amphioxus Lanceolatus. 3 Almost simultaneously with this discovery of Costa, it was redis- covered,;upon the coast of Cornwall by Mr. Couch, and was recognized by Mr. Yarrell as the Limax lanceolatus of Pallas. But Mr. Yarrell also recognized as Costa had already done, and thus corroborating the doubts of Stewart, that instead of being a Limax it was, in reality, closely allied to the class of fishes, and not aware of its discovery in Italy, by Costa, he erected a new genus for it, Amphioxus (Amphi, on both sides, and orus, sharp, from the fact that both extremities are pointed), and described it in 18361 as Amphioxus lanceolatus. It will thus be seen that the > generic name assigned it by Costa has priority over that instituted by Yarrell, but the term Branchiostoma being founded upon a misconception of the functions of the tentacles, and the specific name of Pallas having priority over all, the name as given by - Yarrell, Amphioxus lanceolatus, has come, by common consent, to be adopted as the appellation of this small denizen of the sea. Since 1836 Amphioxus has been found inhabiting nearly every quarter of the globe, specimens having been taken in China, Bor- neo, South as well as North America, and along the entire coast of Europe, although it has been found most abundantly in the waters of the Mediterranean sea, near Naples and Messina, Italy, where at present the conditions seem fo be most favorable i its propagation and growth. These various specimens, coming from such widely daai localities, were supposed, by their discoverers, to represent dis- _ tinct.species of this animal, and specific names have. accordin been given them, as Amphioxus belcheri Gray, for the East Indian form, and Branchiostoma caribeum Sundeval, for the form upo our coast, but the best informed European systematists consider’ that all these forms represent but a single species,’ the A. lanceo- latus Yarr., of Europe, which thus becomes one of the most widely distributed, as it is certainly one of the most anomalous. of existing animals? Da es 1 Hist. of Brit. Fishes. Wm. Yarrell. Vol. 11, p. 468, London, 1836. ; 2 Traité de Zoölogie. Page 808. , 1878. Translated by Prof. G. Moquin: sei from the eke and latest tte ae the Handbuch der Zodlogie of Prof. Me. Claus 3 Dr. Gill, of the Smithsonian Institution, see me that Sundeval nad the Caribeean form from that of Europe on account of a difference in the number of | plates, or fibers in the muscle-plates, of one seins from that of the other. I have as yet t been able to examine the two forms witha view to determine this acai 4 Observations upon the Habits, Structure and | January, General Description and Habits—The adult Amphioxus, Fig. 1, Pl. 1, is a small, rather slender animal, which lives for the greater part of the time entirely buried in the sand along the sandy portions of the shores which it inhabits. When fully grown it is about two inches in extreme length, rarely somewhat longer, and of a pale flesh color which changes, when seen by reflected light, to a beautiful display of metallic iridescence. Its body is smooth, very muscular, much ‘compressed from side to side, and tapers gradually to the extremities, which are pointed, but differ considerably in contour, for while the posterior is lance- shaped, from whence is derived the specific name of /anceolatus, the anterior is formed like the ram of a modern gun-boat, and is admirably well adapted for forcing a way through the sand in which it burrows. The abdominal portion of this blade-like struc- ture forms a dilatable sack which extends from near the anterior end of the body back for about two-thirds the entire length of - the animal, where it terminates in an opening, the abdominal pore or branchiopore, which places the cavity enclosed by the sack in communication with the exterior. During the life of the animal this abdominal sack is seen dilating and contracting quite regu- larly, although at rather lengthy intervals, with « wave-like motion which begins at the forward end of the cavity and travels backward, rather slowly, to the posterior extremity. When the sack is completely distended this portion of the body presents a full, clear, rounded appearance, and projects considerably below the ordinary ventral outline, but when contracted, as it is in all preserved specimens, all appearances of a cavity disappear, leaving merely a slight indentation where the “ pore”’ is situated, between the abdominal and the tail portions. ae Through the center of the muscular part of the body, and - forming an axial support to the animal, there is a long, slender, semi-cartilaginous rod, which is pointed at each end, and which extends from the very point of one extremity to that of the other. This rod is composed of an external membraneous sheath enclos- ing a series of closely approximated flattened disk-like bodies, and | is probably the homologue of the vertebrate notochord, or back- bone, although not exhibiting any anterior cranial expansion. — _ Above it, but not extending quite as far forward, is the main nervous ~ _ system, or chorda dorsalis, and below it lies the long, nearly straight _ alimentary canal. This canal opens anteriorly by a longitudinal _ 1880. | Development of Amphioxus Lanceolatus. 5 aperture, the mouth, placed upon the median, ventral line just behind the depressed ram-like termination. of the body, and between it and the anterior portion of the abdominal cavity. This oral opening is of moderate size, and is surrounded by about thirty-one tentacles which are moderately long and slender, and bear upon their sides little protuberances which give them a | toothed appearance. The anus, or outlet of the canal, is funnel- shaped, and opens very eccentrically upon the left side of the body just beneath the level of the notochord and gwite near the end of the tail. The left or free edge of this aperture does not extend at its posterior limits quite down to the ventral edge of the muscle-plates, so that the anus also opens, to a certain extent, towards the left side of the body, although the foeces are expelled directly backwards and downwards along the side of the median fin. This free edge is quite flexible and in hardened specimens -is so contracted, together with the surrounding parts, that the anal aperture appears to open into a pseudo-cloaca. The integu- _ ment, which forms the greater part of the mouth tentacles, is thin and nearly transparent, and expands along the entire length of the dorsum, and around the tail, and as far forward as the branch- iopore, into a delicate, median fin of nearly uniform width except _ upon the edges near the posterior extremity, where two unequal lobes are formed which represent the blades of this “lance” ter- mination. Of these two “blades” the ventral is the larger, and its posterior curvature is nearly below the anal opening of the intestine. The integument also forms two longitudinal folds, - which extend along either side of the abdomen, from the poste- rior portion of the mouth orifice where they originate, to the indentation which exists between the abdominal and the tail portions. Here, after forming a sort of triangular pit into which the branchiopore opens, they become merged into the median, ventral fin, which, as already stated, reaches forward to this point. When the abdomen is fully extended these folds be- come nearly obliterated, and are barely visible as lines running along the sides parallel to and at some distance above the ven- tral outline; but when the abdomen is strongly contracted they form prominent ridges along the lower edge of the body, and so change the appearance of the specimen that it is not much to be wondered at that Pallas should say, that this por- : tion looked “very much like the very narrow foot of a Snail ce 9 6 Observations upon the Habits, Structure and | January, These folds are hollow and have been thought, until quite recently, to have an opening at either extremity, but Prof. Ray Lan- kester denies! that there are any such openings, and I have failed to obtain any evidence from my specimens that any such apertures exist. With the exception of these side-folds and the mouth tentacles, the integument presents no appendages whatsoever. Ex- ternal sense-organs are also wanting, except upon the left side of the body near the anterior end of the chorda dorsalis, where a small ciliated pit is said to be located which it is claimed, by Kölliker? its discoverer, and others, represents a nasal depression, or cavity. I have not been able to make out this pit, and even if it is present, it is probable, that these animals gain their impres- sions of external objects entirely by the general sense of touch. The adults, while varying somewhat in size, as is the case with most adult animals, do not differ very much otherwise in general appearance except during the breeding season, when the female becomes filled with ova, and the abdominal portion becomes, in consequence, much larger than ordinary. At this period the ova show very plainly as a row of large white spots along either side of the animal, Fig. 1, Pl. 1, but at other times, and in the males, there are no such spots visible to the naked eye. These differ- ences of size and sexual appearance were well marked in my specimens, for while they varied in length from Iygth to ryeth inches, thus being of rather small size, the female, which was the largest, was so distended with ova that her body was much - rounder, and consequently more opaque in appearance than the bodies of the thinner males. The young, Fig. 5, Pl. 1, and Fig. 7, Pl. m, resemble the adults very much in outline, but differ in many points of structure, which will be noticed in treating of their development, and in being quite transparent, looking much _ like animated bits of isinglass when in the water. This trans- parency, however, gradually gives place, as they grow old, toa _ semi-opaque condition which permits the outline of different parts — to be made out, but not with any great degree of distinctness unless under a very strong light, and the older and larger the speci- men, as a matter of course, the less the distinctness. The young — specimens varied in length from {th to 7th of an inch, although _ the greater number were about th of an inch long. 3 ; 1 On some new points in the structure of Amphioxus. Prof. E. Ray Lankester. a Quar. Jour. of Micro. Science. Vol. 15, p. 257, 1875. ee Me ? Miiller’s Arkiv, p. 32. Berlin, 1843. 1880. | Development of Amphioxus Lanceolatus. 7 All of the above-mentioned specimens which came into my possession, were gathered together during the period from the oth of July, when the first specimen, an adult, was obtained, to the 2d or 3d of August, after which date no more could be found. The young were taken mostly at night, one or more at a time, when the water was comparatively quiet, but the greatest number captured on any one occasion was at noon of a very hot day, when there was scarcely a breath of wind, and the surface of the bay was almost as smooth as the proverbial “ sheet of glass ;” these small inhabitants thus seeming to be affected by heat, and especially by a quiet condition of the water, in very much such a manner as are the myriads of other young animals which are floated hither and thither by the currents of the sea at this sea- son of the year. As soon as taken they were transferred to tumblers which had been previously filled with fresh sea-water, and each tumbler was generally occupied by four or five speci- mens. The water was changed daily in all the vessels. When first placed in these receptacles they darted about with a quick “ wiggling ” motion which resembled somewhat the movement of a tadpole, but different in that the head, or anterior part of the body, moved from side to side as far and as vigorously as the tail portion. This peculiar undulation was generally kept up for some little time at or near the surface, when suddenly they would cease all motion and allow themselves to sink slowly to the bot-. tom, where they would remain flat upon their sides until again’ impelled to action. When this impulse came, from whatever- cause, and they were once started from their resting place at the bottom, they generally swam directly upward.to the surface, moved) — about here for a short time, and then, as before, suddenly stopped and allowed themselves to sink again to the bottom. But some- times one of the inhabitants of a dish would start up, seemingly impelled by some willful freak, dash about close over the bottom. _ and stir up all the others in the vessel, when there would be, for a; moment or so, quite a brilliant display of undulating, flashing forms. ao The largest of these young specimens was pretty well adoi in development, and was placed in a separate dish which had a layer of sand upon the bottom. It- was thus isolated for the pur. pose of ascertaining if it would make use of the sand as a place: _ of refuge, but only on one or two occasions, and then for, ma 8 Observations upon the Habits, Structure and (January, brief periods, did it ever disappear beneath the surface. Gener- ally it lay flat upon the top of the sand, until disturbed from its repose, when its actions closely resembled those of its smaller fellows. Hence it must be at a later period of life than that to which this one had attained, that these little animals cease to be shifted about by the flood and ebb of changing currents, and become “burrowers.’ The adults, which were taken from the banks by means of the dredge, were placed together in a large jar of sea-water, which was furnished, like the dish of the largest of the young animals, with a layer of sand upon the bottom. When once in the water they commenced swimming about very rapidly, with the same graceful, undulating motion which has been noticed as characteristic of the young, but with much greater vigor and elasticity. These movements were executed sometimes upon the back, sometimes upon the abdomen in the position of ordinary fishes, it seemed to make very little differ- ence which side was uppermost, but I have never seen them move backwards, or tail-end foremost. After circumnavigating the — vessel once or twice, gradually moving slower and slower, they would stop and sink down upon the sand at the bottom. Gener- ally as soon as they touched the sand they would half-arch their bodies and almost instantaneously disappear from sight beneath the surface, thus regaining their natural place of refuge. After this disappearance they very rarely entirely emerged from their retreat, and as a rule, not at all during the day time. But if the surface of the sand was carefully examined at night, little spots might be detected where the sand appeared less compact than elsewhere, and a close inspection would discover each such spot to be a network of crossing tentacles arching over the expanded mouth cavity of one of these animals, which was thus, while lying belly upwards buried in the sand with only its mouth exposed at the surface, busily engaged in drawing its food from the water above. Sometimes they could be found so situated during the day time, and now and then both by day and night, but rarely in the day time, one or more of them could be seen protruding part way from the sand, and looking as if planted in this position, but a tap or a motion of the vessel would cause them to withdraw, ‘ from sight immediately. These actions would seem to indiai what is B a fact, ` 1880. | Development of Amphioxus Lanceolatus. 9 that the day time is to these animals a period of rest, when they remain entirely buried beneath the surface, and night time a period of activity, when they come up to feed and perhaps to move from place to place,as they have been seen swimming about during the night in the aquarium at the Zoological Station at Naples, and on one or two occasions I have found, early in the morning, one of my specimens lying entirely out of the sand, fully exposed to view, and in all probability it had been: swim- ming about during the night. On account of the propensity of these animals to remain con- cealed from sight it was necessary, whenever they were wanted for examination, to drive them from the sand, and this was by no means an easy task, as they are such exceedingly active little beasts that they would work their way from side to side of the dish beneath the sand, very nearly as quickly as I could runa stick or pencil through it in trying to find their position. And when once forced out, they would dart through the water so impetuously, and plunge into the sand again so quickly that their movement seemed merely a flash in the water, and a few particles of floating sand and mud would alone indicate that one of them had been out of their proper domain. Generally this chasing process had to be repeated four or five times, when they would become exhausted, and after undulating about the jar very slowly for a moment or so, they would sink upon the sand and remain perfectly quiet, flat upon their sides, for sometimes half a day atatime. During these intervals they could be transferred from dish to dish and even placed under a low power of the micro- scope for examination. But if not completely exhausted a short rest would revive them, and then, when touched, they would dash away as impetuously as ever, and I have had them, on such occasions, rush out of the water and over the broad rim of a large plate on to the table, and before they could be touched, — much less secured, throw themselves off the table and down upon the floor. But the adults appear to be so vigorous that these falls, which occurred on two different occasions, did not seem to have the least injurious effect. As may be surmised from this, all their movements are exceedingly quick, and this rapidity in- going through sand and water, and hence the ease with which they can move about from place to place, is probably the reason why we secured only three of these animals at Fort Wool. 10 Observations upon the Habits, Structure and (January, We made a large number of dredgings but the dredge used was too coarse and heavy for such work, and as we had had no idea of finding Amphioxus at this place, we were unprovided with one of suitable construction. It is probable that with a proper dredge, perhaps a ring dredge, made light and with fine meshes, they could be taken in this locality in fair numbers, and it is possible - that places might be found along our coast, if searched for, where they could be taken in as great abundance as at Naples and Mes- sina, in Italy. And where the adults are found the young could be taken also, if looked for during the breeding season, which in this country is probably during the months of June and July. I base this statement upon‘*the facts that my young specimens, which were somewhat advanced in development, were taken mostly during the second and third weeks of July, and that only j one specimen could be secured after the close of that month. Amphioxus does not appear to be a difficult animal to keep if supplied with plenty of sand in which to burrow, and a daily change of water of a density equal to that which is found at the place of its capture, My adults remained alive and appeared to _ be in fine condition as long as I could give them water which came in fresh from the sea every day, but in September they were carried up the bay to Tangier’s sound, where being unable to supply them with suitable water they soon showed unmistakable | signs of debility, and on the 1oth inst. they were placed. in picric — acid to be ready for future service. None of the young remained — alive as long as did the adults, and only a few grew so well and — appeared so vigorous as to indicate that they would reach maturity. Some of them, from some cause, became dwarfed and _ drawn out of shape so as to look, in one or two cases, like a large letter S, and others, probably. from the erosive or wearing action 4 of bits of sand, or something of the kind, which had entered the stomach and intestines along with the food, had lost portions, and — sometimes half of their bodies, and yet these little deformed and maimed animals lived sometimes for a week in such condition, — evincing certainly a good degree of vitality, and enabling us, if — Amphioxus is really one of the earliest of animals, the better to 4 appreciate the “ why and the wherefore” of the persistence of 4 this species to present time. The Skeleton—The framework of Amphioxus is entirely car- tilaginous, and is composed of the notochord; a serics of processes — SE oe MP Pen bg eee TTE EER, Sig ie ee eee ee A S 1880. ] Development of Amphioxus Lanceolatus. II said to represent spinous processes, which extend along nearly the entire length of the dorsum, and along the ventral side of the tail portion of the animal; and a series of arches or supports which are formed along and in the sides of the anterior half of the alimentary canal. The xotochord has already been described, and its position defined as forming an axial support extending from end to end of the body, and representing the back bone of higher vertebrates, but lacking the anterior expansion or brain case. The spinous processes form rows of semi-transparent, per- pendicularly placed, block-like bodies; the dorsal row origi- nating over the chorda dorsalis, and rising upwards from between the side muscles to form a median basal support to the dorsal fin; and the ventral row originating beneath the intestine and extending out from between the side-muscles to form a support to that portion of the median fin which extends from the branchio- pore back to the ventral “blade.” of the tail. These blocks are well marked, and form quite a prominent border to the greater . part of the outline of the muscular portion of the body. (Figs. 1 and 5, Pl. 1, and Fig. 7, Pl. 11.) The series of bodies pertaining to the alimentary. canal consist of a mouth ring, a pharyngeal ring and a variable number of rib-like arches placed alternately upon either side of the canal and extending back to about the middle. of the body. These different parts are unconnected above, unless it may be toa slight extent with the sheath of the notochord, but below, the two rings, which arise from a common base, are connected with the arches by a cartilaginous trough-like forma- tion which extends back as far as the last arch, and in the sides of which the bases of the arches are firmly imbedded. The mouth ring is formed in the integument of the edges of the mouth orifice, and arches forward and upward in conformity to the outline of this portion of the body. It is made up of seg- ments, one for each tentacle, and each segment sends out from the side, at the anterior end, a long, slender prolongation which extends, as ‘a central support, to the very tip of its corresponding tentacle. (Fig. 2, Pl. 1.) These segments, which are the same in number upon both sides of the mouth, do not unite in front, but form arms which end upon either side just at the base of the ram- Aes entity of the body, and at these terminations of the “ring” new segments are formed, when, in the growth of the animal, there is room in the oral circlet for additional tentacles. I2 Observations upon the Habits, Structure and [January, The odd tentacle which is found in the mouth circlet of Amphioxus, is formed from the center of the basal portion of cartilage from which the two rings originate. The cartilaginous portions of all these tentacles are curved inward, and so directed that the tentacles in the normal condition always cross each other, much as the fingers of a person’s hands can be interlaced, and thus form a rude sieve which prevents the entrance of large substances into the digestive tract. The pharyngeal ring which marks off the anterior limits of the abdominal cavity, forms a sort of welt or slight constriction around the inside of the ante- rior portion of the alimentary canal. It is curved backwards upon both sides, and bears upon the posterior border of each curved portion two or three rather large fleshy-looking tentacles. (Fig. 2, Pl. 1.) These tentacles generally lie directed backwards against the side walls of the digestive tract, but they can be brought forward so as to extend directly across the canal and form a sec- ond barrier to the onward progress of large bodies. In the young this barrier is of much greater service in preventing entrance to the digestive tract than the oral tentacles, as these latter appen- dages are not sufficiently numerous to act as an efficient guard until the animal is of considerable size, as large or larger than the — largest of my young specimens. These tentacles are not always l of the same size, and are generally so placed upon the sides that. when brought forward they alternate one above the other. The branchial arches are frame-like in structure, long and slender in outline, and run obliquely downwards and backwards across the entire width of the canal—this obliquity is such that the center of the upper portion of one arch is about over the — center of the lower part of the next arch in front. The arches are quite numerous, fifty, more or less, upon each side, but Iam _ not aware that there is any definite limit to their number, the _ largest individual appearing to have the most arches. The greater — number of them are of uniform length, but as they approach their posterior limits they gradually become shorter and shorter, to the last one or two, which are less than a quarter the length of the longest ones. The first and second arches are also much shorter than the others, and are about the length of the last ones. The ` first and last arches are very simple in formation. The first is : composed of an oblong framework, pointed at the lower end and nearly square or somewhat pointed at the upper. It is about 1880. | Development of Amphioxus Lanceolatus. 13 twice as long as broad, almost upright in position, and is placed just posterior to the lower curvature of the pharyngeal ring. The last one is merely a round or nearly round ring of cartilage. The rest of the arches are shaped much like the first, but are bi-lobed above and have a central bar which passes from the indentation of the bi-lobed end down to the cartilaginous bed which encloses the pointed lower extremity. This bar is about twice as wide as either side of the arch, and is marked throughout its entire — length by a median line which indicates a division into two slen- der halves. In all of the longer arches there are also three cross- bars, which pass from side to side of the arch at about equal distances between the two ends, and in the shorter arches, except- the first and last, which contain none, there are sometimes one, sometimes two of these bars in each arch. These bars pass obliquely backwards and upwards across the arch, and generally go directly from one side to the other, but some of them divide at the central bar and become attached to it, so that they form two short bars instead of one long one. The arches of each side are placed close together, edge to edge, so that they have the appearance of a connected, continuous series of long slender oblique bars, each marked by a median division line and sepa- rated by a space of about the same width as the bars themselves, and with cross-bars running, with more or less regularity, across these spaces from alternate bars. The upper edge presents a — series of uniform lobes, and the lower edge a series of larger uniform arched points, there being left between each two points a triangular space of considerable size. (Fig. 4, Pl.1, æ.) Each complete arch is thus made up of two nearly similar halves, and - as the arches of the two sides alternate with each other, as has already been said, the triangular spaces at the bases of the arches- not only serve to show the divisions between them, but also indi- cate the positions of the opposite arches. This alternation can be readily seen by placing an adult animal, when living, under a _ low power of the microscope, or by a careful dissection of this portion of the body. The Digestive Tract—The alimentary canal, which witkad along beneath nearly the entire length of the notochord, is some- what compressed from side to side, varies considerably in breadth in different parts, and is lined throught its entire length with cilia __ which serve by their action to draw food into the canal for the — eS 14 Observations upon the Habits, Structure and (January, — nourishment of the animal. The canal may be divided into five rather natural divisions; the mouth cavity, extending from the mouth orifice to the pharyngeal ring; the pharynx, the cesoph- — agus and the stomach, extending from the pharyngeal ring to — the division between the abdomen and tail, and which hang from — their attachment beneath the notochord freely suspended in the | abdominal cavity, being completely enclosed by its walls; and : the intestine, which extends along through the tail portion of the — animal to the anus, near the posterior extremity. The mouth — cavity, or first division of the canal, is somewhat triangular in i shape, being circumscribed above by the notochord, and below and behind by the two orifices already mentioned. Its anterior — upper outline is curved, and it bears upon its walls certain slight, finger-like ridges where the cilia of this cavity are principally aggregated. Ë : ‘ ” g ie ips oe alk ont SES PARAE AEE AOI a RRL E S SAIN MENSAE A ERPS PT N Cele N APE eae a ST PEREA RET PEND an Meee ee At the rather constridted opening of the pharyngeal ring it merges into the pharynx, which extends a little past the middle of the abdominal cavity, and is the largest division of the canal. This portion is that in which the branchial arches are formed, and has much the shape of a bean pod, being quite broad along the — central part and narrower towards each end, but the posterior — extremity tapers much more gradually than the anterior, and where — it merges into the cesophagus, it is hardly more than half the size of the portion at the pharyngeal ring. Along its sides, in all the — spaces between the bars of the branchial arches, there are long narrow openings, called branchial slits, which place the interior of the pharynx in communication with the abdominal cavity, which is also known as the branchial cavity, or atrium, but which | might more properly, perhaps, as will be noted later on, be = called the dranchium. These branchial slits extend, with few ex- ceptions, from the upper curves down through nearly the entire length of the arches, to the edges of the cartilaginous, trough- like bed, being crossed here and there by the cross-bars which _ serve to stiffen the general framework. In the first two or three arches the clefts do not extend quite to the upper borders. Along the inner edges of these slits the cilia of the pharynx are very long and arranged in rows completely encircling each slit (Fig. Ay Pl. 1), so that by their action they intercept the food particles 1880. | Development of Amphioxus Lanceolatus. 15 the greater portion of the water, in which the food is brought into the canal, to escape into the branchium and be forced, by the contraction of the walls of this cavity, out through the branchio- pore once more into the surrounding medium. The esophagus is a short narrow portion of the canal, and leads from the pharynx directly into the stomach, which enlarges considerably in diame- ter, and extends straight back to the end of the branchium. Its walls are rather thicker than those of the other portions of the canal, and upon the inside the cilia are disposed in such a man- ner that when in motion they force the particles of food, which come into the receptacle, into a long rope-like body, and then cause this food-rope to revolve and twist about until all the nutriment and shape is twisted out of the component particles and the refuse material is forced on into the intestine. The food consists of diatoms, alga and most any bit of organic material, plant or animal, which is floating in the water in the neighbor- hood of the animals, and which can succeed in passing the guards and entering the stomach, and if a young animal is taken and placed in some water under the microscope, the entrance of these particles into the canal and their gradual grinding up as they get into this vortex of the stomach, can be readily seen through the nearly transparent tissue, and well repays a little time spent in such observations. Ordinarily these little bits—animals or plants—sail along down the canal without any hindrance from the guards, and as they approach the end of the “rope,” they commence rotating slowly about the sides, often, in the case of animals, making uncertain efforts to escape, until after rolling around for a time they are gradually pressed into the mass and twisted on to make room for the others which are continually floating in from the outside. Sometimes a long piece of an alga, or partially decayed bit of organic material, is drawn by the power- ful action of the cilia, with a quick rush, against the mouth ori- fice or into the mouth cavity ; then, with a motion which seems nearly instantaneous, the pharyngeal tentacles are brought for- ward with a sudden flap, the mouth aperture is widely distended, and the offending substance is thrown out of the body together with the water which was in the mouth cavity, after which the tentacles return to their normal position along the sides of the pharynx. This action is often repeated four or five times before the object is gotten rid of, as the action of the cilia tends to _ 16 Observations upon the Habits, Structure and [January, — draw the substance back again immediately into the mouth, and at times, after all this labor to get rid of a substance, it finally succeeds in eluding the tentacles, which flag in their activity after a few efforts, and passes on down the canal. From the tower anterior portion of the stomach there is given off a long, fadet 7 saccular diverticulum which extends forward along the lower — portion of the right side of the pharynx to about the middle of this — part of the body, where it is attached by one or two bands to the bars of the branchial arches, and perhaps to the side muscles, Fig. 3, Pl. 1. This organ is considered to represent the liver. It ; is of a dark-green or brown color, which is probably due to pig- — ment cells in its walls. The walls of the stomach are also colored, but not so deeply as those of this saccular liver, All — this portion of the alimentary canal, including the pharynx, cesoph- — 2 agus and stomach, is covered with a delicate membrane which 4 is reflected from the inside of the abdominal walls, and forms | along the roof of the branchium, on either side of the canal, a true pleuro-peritoneal cavity, or schizoccele, which extends back quite to the end of the digestive tract. The intestine forms the posterior portion of the alimentary canal, and passes — | in a perfectly direct course from the stomach to the hind end — of the body. It is much smaller than any other portion of the canal, and is of uniform diameter except at the posterior extremity where it enlarges to form the funnel-shaped outlet of the anus. It is not known at present time whether the cilia along the course of the alimentary canal are continuously at work drawing in food, or whether they have periods of rest during which they are perfectly quiet. I have never seen them quiet except upon small patches and in weak animals, and thea not for any great length of time, but the fact that the stomach and intes- tine are very frequently found devoid of food, or of all but a small are not always feeding, and this would imply that they can con- trol, in some manner, the action of the cilia. This would accord well with their habits, and would corroborate to a certain extent the statement already made, that they probably have feeding periods, during which they appear at or near the surface, and rest- ing spells, when they hide from sight. : [To be concluded. | Development of Amphioxus Lanceolatus. 1880. | PLATE I. MMU i am: —— ad | : TORT mC HIE) a ee SE N < RRRS ALU Dy SSS Tr RICE ON AMPHIOXUS. VOL. XIV.—-NO.T 18 PLATE Il, | Observations upon the Habits, Structure and (January, RICE ON AMPHIOXUS, MTU TET MUN DNAT ENAA Nim T- a aan a a = BLT arc AO niin RTO a A AN iT aUi b t atu 7 PR ] iyi a = A Kae Ta it ui ate ii atraia H ei A AT: 7 Fe nine mA Eas r ez Tet A } nT TUG Le 1880. | Development of Amphioxus Lanceolatus. 19 EXPLANATION OF PLATE I. The full length figures were drawn either from careful measurement of the parts of the animals, or with the assistance of a camera, so that the outlines may be con- sidered as very nearly, if not quite, correct. Under each of these figures is a line aaa the length of the individual. Fic dult female, 1,’;ths inches in length, seen from the left side. The egg- cases are represented as squarish blocks attached beneath the body-muscles within the limits of the ETE which is almost fully expanded. The beraikin clefts are shown as oblique lines crossing the anterior portion of the pharynx. In this figure the anal opening is represented about ły of an inch too far back, and, for want of space to make the lines clear and distinct throughout their entire length, the full number of muscle-plates at the ends of the body have not been indicated. ; —The prana ae tae fr ee a its gem and a portion of the Petirke 2: ring shows the divisions of. gach into segments: an sa the ba on Socios of “a ten tacular Eper gation 3-— of the right side of a portion of the pharynx, showing the extent ind pon nut the sa cpa liver ne kage slender eel esr or nade which attach it the: Dari of the branchial a ` ketika of the branchial dor of the left side, viol ing the central sare with their central division lines; the extent of the op s in the length of ea arch; the pa lining p tia the triangular spaces, æ, between the bases a the arches which a med the “branchial yas ” of the blood system, and the cro be b run a fi rom one side of the arches to the other, and acting as stiffeners. to the e'caniilaginous framew “iri FiG.5. —Young animal, 3,ds of an inch i gth. The uth apertur Fic. Fie. e is eccentric opening upon the left side ak Partially nia 2 the forming tentacles. The branchial arches are large and prominent, and seven in numb and the liver caecum is just forming from the aa portion of the ali peer Gaal EXPLANATION OF PLATE II. . i ERr frer of the anterior portion of the body of a young Amphioxus, show- ing the ix pharyngeal o penings, the first three openings for the left. bran- chial e par the mouth-cavity as it appears shortly after the cleft from the pharyngeal mouth aperture to the ciliated pit has closed. The peculiar shape of | the anterior pharyngeal Eemia is caused by their position na the right side at the median line of the phar —An eo _ of the same portion of the body shown in Fi gi re the OR un aper ure, the ciliated mouth cavity, and the cleft. Jiane the two ee re plainly i ated. . 3-—Portion of the- RENEA canal of a young animal parry the last bran- chial opening, upon the left side of the payes, and the entire stomach cavity, and show h the ventral blood vessel conform- ing to its lowes border IG. 4.—An egg capsule with its quota of ova, very much en larged, , . 5.—Diagrammatic cross-section of the body of a young Amphioxus. Sectio; m the phary of t y ade through the pharyngeal mouth aperture and one of the pharyngeal clefts, 7, to show the connection of these openin th the ce The point ate the wall or mouth welt, just to the right of the letter æ in processes = of The mout 6.—View of a portion of. Me muscular system of the left slide of the body of an © adult, showing the disk-like character of i notochord ; the muscle-plates of pa : side muscles; the distribution x = nerv a bad si en and the attachment and form of the generative bodies ordinary a - 7-—Young animal, {ths of an fon in agit, ca ing pharyngeal mouth open- — ing with seth $ entlaginos pear-shaped welt; ciliated pit, and the first three pharyngeal openings. 20 Sketch of North American Ornithology in 1879. (January, SKETCH OF NORTH AMERICAN ORNITHOLOGY IN 1879. BY DR. ELLIOTT COUES, U.S.A. INCE the year 1858, memorable in our annals for the appear- ance of Baird’s great work, which gave such an impetus to the study of birds in this country, and in the light of whicha — generation of ornithologists has grown up, activity in this depart- ment has been incessant ; and the workers in this field have never been more numerous or more in earnest than during the year just _ passed—one which, though marked in no especial manner, has witnessed a steady advance in the extent and in the precision of our ornithological knowledge. Foremost among the signs of the times stands the Buletin of © the Nuttall Ornithological Club, the fourth volume of which closed with 1879. Originating in the necessity which the Club experienced to have a medium of communication with the pub- lic, and edited by Mr. Allen with conspicuous ability, this periodi- cal soon secured firm foothold, and its success became assured. The magazine, devoted entirely to the technic of a branch of science, is phenomenal in the fact, that so special a publication has paid for itself from the start, and already doubled its size. It is a trite saying, though generally an untrue one, that such and such a publication “fills a real want,” but this is actually the case — here. Nearly all the working ornithologists of America record the progress of their affairs in the “ Nuttall,” so that if one — wishes to know what has been found out since the appearance — of the last formal treatise on our birds, he turns to the Bulletin with confidence. In fine, it answers in America to the English | fois and the German Fournal fiir Ornithologie. It is, of course, impracticable to give here any analysis of its contents, and to — mention a few leading papers would be both invidious and unnec- essary. It may not be so generally known that there is published at — Utica, N. Y. by S. L. Willard, a bi-monthly periodical entitled — The Odlogist, devoted entirely to the nests, eggs and breeding — | habits of our birds. Beginning very modestly, Zhe Odlogist has — more than held its own; several volumes are completed, the size has been enlarged, and the conduct of the periodical has become so workmanlike that the claims of this serial to gan mer tion are just. In the same connection we should not fail to notice thé eS RA A ne EA A 1880.] Sketch of North American Ornithology in 1879. 21 increasing attention paid to ornithology by several of the semi- scientific papers, notably Charles Hallock’s Forest and Stream, of New York, and Dr. Rowe’s The Field, of Chicago. Though of course dealing chiefly in game birds, the natural history depart- ment of these papers gives us a good deal of ornithological matter ; the articles are grown more shapely, with a smaker pro- portion of untitled, anonymous or otherwise “ scrappy” pieces ; on the whole, these contributions rank with those of the London Field, and many of them are precisely of the character'of the shorter notes in the Nuttall Bulletin, or in Harting’s Zodlogist. In the case of Forest and Stream, we believe the commendable state of affairs to be largely due to the zeal and competence of Mr. George B. Grinnell, whose example in this purana is to be emulated. Science News, a fortnightly record of progress in science, estab- lished and edited in New York by W. C. Wykoff and Ernest In- gersoll, contains a fair proportion of ornithological matter. Among articles of 1879 may be noted Ingersoll’s instructions for forming collections of nests and eggs, and a part of G. B. Sennett’s expe- riences on the Rio Grande. We regret to learn that the publica- tion died with the year. The promptly-appearing and readily-available avenues of com- munication thus far mentioned have naturally absorbed most of the current items of ornithological information or entertainment for the year, less than formerly falling to the share of the AMERI- CAN NATURALIST, and the slower or more irregular publications of- scientific societies containing but few papers, all of a very techni- cal character. Leading these last comes the Proceedings of the U. S: Na- tional Museum, published by the Department of the Interior: under the direction of the Smithsonian Institution. The com- pleted first volume dates 1879, about half of it appearing in sheets in 1878. Here are found the complete results of Mr. F. A. Ober’s Explorations in the Lesser Antilles, elaborated in a series of important papers by Mr. G. N. Lawrence. One paper on these- collections was in Forest and Stream, and descriptions of several of Ober’s new species are given in the Annals of the New York Academy of Science, but the whole matter is finally set forth in the publication in mention. The Proceedings also contain sev- eral important papers by R. Ridgway, on neotropical birds, describing new species, monographing the genus Tyrannus, &e, 22 Skétch of North American Ornithology in 1879. (January, together with L. Belding’s extended list of Californian birds, edited by Mr. Ridgway. Vol. 11 opens with a paper by Dr. T. M. Brewer on Empidonax. The Bulletin of the U. S. Geological Survey gives us its fifth and, as we particularly regret to add, its final volume this year. It consists of the usual four numbers, of which the first and second and third have appeared, the fourth being still in press, delayed by printing E. Coues’s protracted and tedious bibliographical matter. In this volume are several papers on birds. Dr. C. E. McChesney, U. S. A., has some valuable notes on the Birds of Fort Sisseton, Dakota. Mr. George B. Sennett gives an exten- sive and important paper on the results of his second season’s operations in Texas, adding several new species to our fauna, with great store of information respecting the habits of the birds of the Rio Grande. Dr. Morris Gibbs gives an annotated list of the birds of Michigan. . Dr. Coues prints an article on the present status of Passer domesticus in America, including an his- torical résumé of the quarrel over the sparrow, which has set the brethren of Boston and Washington so by the ears. The same writer also offers a second instalment of his ornithological bibli- ography, similar in scope and plan to that which forms the appendix to his “ Birds of the Colorado Valley,” but relating to neotropical instead of nearctic birds. In the Proceedings of the Boston Society of Natural History, Dr. T. M. Brewer gives additional notes on the birds of New England, — and Mr. E. A. Mearns has published in the Buletin of the Essex Institute, several instalments of an elaborate and valuable list of - the birds of the Hudson Highlands, N: Y. The Transactions of the Illinois Horticultural Society, for 1878, published in 1879, contain a paper on economic ornithology, — by Prof. Forbes ; and we may add that previous volumes of the — same publication contain similar matter, perhaps none too well — known. It is an important practical subject ; such contributions to which as those of Prof. Forbes, of Prof. Aughey (in the First Annual Report of the U. S. Entomological Commission, 1878), of : Dr. J. M. Wheaton (Twenty-ninth Report Ohio Board of Agricul- ture, 1875), merit special attention pending the sparrow question. The Yournal of Science, edited at Toledo, Ohio, by Dr. E. H. — Fitch, continues to give popular articles on birds, mostly by the ; editor, and usually illustrated. The Familiar Science and Fanciers Fournal continues to fill its Pee eee a ECT Te ey Mem pte eS et NT are gee ORE Ee TT e eae SS 1880.] Sketch of North American Ornithology in 1879. 23 chosen sphere well, and has frequent articles of more technical character. Dr. Wm. Wood has here continued his “Birds of Connecticut.” The most important — we i waa almost said the only very important—contribution to systematic ornithology, among special treatises, is Elliot’s Synopsis of the Zrochtlidz, published as one of the Smithsonian Contributions to Knawledge. It is a really great work, which bids fair to supersede Gould’s Monograph in all that relates to the technic of the subject. As witnessed by the many critical papers which Mr. Elliot has published during the progress of his study of this family of birds, the author has been unwearied in his attention to the subject, and this extensive quarto gives his final results. Mr. Elliot is “ conservative” toa degree; very many nominal species are reduced to synonyms, the preparation of the lists of which shows great care and judg- ment; and the ridiculously over-large number of genera which various writers have sought to establish, have found what we trust will be their final resting place. Numerous illustrations, from Mr. Ridgway’s pencil, fitly illustrate the text of a memoir which instantly becomes indispensable to the working Trochilidists and which will undoubtedly carry the weight of the leading authority on the subject. Since Audubon’s pencil and brush fell from the hand which for so many years turned them to works of unsurpassed beauty, nothing in the way of ornithological art appeared in this country to challenge comparison with the work of the great master until, from an unexpected quarter, the “ Illustrations of the Nests and Eggs of the Birds of Ohio” were laid before us by the Misses Jones and Shulze, of Circleville, Ohio. Two numbers of this splendid work have appeared during the past year, and the prospect of the completion of the undertaking brightens as the merits of the “Illustrations” become better known, notwith- standing the untimely death of the leading author on the thresh- old of her enterprise. This work is in folio, and is published by subscription, in parts, each to contain several colored plates of nests and eggs, of life size, with sheets of descriptive letter press. Combining as it does, the merits of fidelity to nature with artistic excellence, this work commends itself in an especial man- ner to all those who have a taste for the beauties of nee as well as those who make ornithology a severe study. Another contribution to our knowledge of the eggs, nests and - 24 Sketch of North American Ornithology in 1879. (January, breeding-habits of birds is essayed by Mr. Ernest Ingersoll, and so far accomplished in a most meritorious manner. Three num- bers have appeared during the year past, in March, August and October respectively. This work is in large octavo, with several colored plates of eggs to each number, and more or less extended biographies of the species. Excepting in certain particulars, which we have noted in other places already, the mechanical execution does great credit to the publisher, Mr. Cassino; and the comple- tion of this extensive work in the manner in which Mr. Ingersoll has begun it cannot fail to enrich the literature of the subject. We are glad to see the steady progress made by Mr. C. J. Maynard in his meritorious and laborious undertaking, which, beginning as the “ Birds of Florida,” has been remodeled and enlarged in scope, to represent a history of the birds of Eastern North America. Mr. Maynard is a practical ornithologist of large field experience ; his biographies have the unusual merit of originality and make interesting reading, while the attention he pays to the anatomical structure of birds gives prominence to one aspect of the subject much neglected in this country. The work is in quarto, with colored plates; it is published in parts, about a dozen of which have appeared, and deserves to succeed. With due deference to Herbert, whom, as “ Frank Forester,” the disciples of St. Hubert seem to have canonized as only a lesser than their patron saint himself, we may refer to Dr. Lewis's work on American Field Sports as one of the most agreeable and reliable of books of this kind, and one a new edition of which — has appeared this year. The veteran taxidermist, collector and dealer of Philadelphia, Mr. John Krider, has also contributed to such literature in the — publication of his experiences of “ Forty Years.” “ Wilsoniana” bids fair to become scarcely less extensive and fertile a field than “ Waltoniana” has long been. The appear- 4 ance not long since of A. B. Grosart’s two portly volumes on — Wilson’s life, character and writings, both prose and poetry, and rather miscellaneous than ornithological, freshened the theme. It may not be generally known that the “father of American | ornithology” was anything (and almost everything) but an — ornithologist, until the decade before his untimely death in his — SP cee Sten Es oe eee ey ee AE Oe aE a ee ee ee SE LE pee De E T Seg eR a Ets od oe arr E prime, when his genius at last found its “place in nature,” and — achieved immortality. Every scrap of paper relating to the a “melancholy poet-naturalist”” has been eagerly sought for by his _ ST es ee ee RP see ONC ee eh AN: re in es BLS FB aes tw oe 1880.] Sketch of North American Ornithology in 1879. 25 successive biographers, and Grosart, his latest and most enthusi- astic admirer, seemed to have told us all we were likely to learn of the man. It was, therefore, with peculiar pleasure that the present writer acquired, from Miss Malvina Lawson, daughter of Wilson’s famous engraver, an autograph letter of Wilson’s, which was found, on comparison with the documents in Ord’s “ Life,” and in Grosart, to have never been published correctly, or in full. It is that one which, dated Pittsburgh, February 22, 1810, gives an account of Wilson’s beat voyage down th® Ohio. It is printed verbatim, along with certain letters of George Ord’s and Prince Bonaparte’s, in the Penn Monthly for June, 1879. The writer also received, from the same source, an excellent drawing, never published, of the schoolhouse, near Gray’s Ferry, where Wilson taught; and which he would make over to any enter- prising publisher who would have it properly engraved. This slight sketch need not be left without allusion to the “sparrow literature” of the year—a curious mass of raw and not over-nice material, which will, nevertheless, be not without: its “ final cause,” if it contributes to the very desirable settlement of the vexed question of the European sparrow in America. :0: HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE SCIENCE OF BOTANY IN NORTH AMERICA FROM 1840 TO 1858. _ BY FREDERICK BRENDEL, [Continued from p. TU, Vol. XLII, American Naturalist. ] T the time when Torrey and Gray commenced their first work on the Flora of our continent north of Mexico, Sir William Jackson Hooker, the celebrated English botanist, had finished his great work on the Flora of British America, two volumes, in- quarto, with 238 plates, London, 1833-1840. But, before we pro- ceed farther, we have to review the early history of botany in the most northern and Arctic regions of North America. oe Hans Egede, a Danish missionary, was, from 1721 to 1736,in Greenland. After his return to Denmark, he published, in 1741 | a description of that country. He describes, vaguely, some plants, with some drawings on one plate, but it is rather difficultto _ make out what the drawings mean. Afterwards his son, P. Egede, made some botanical collections, which, as well as those of Gieseke, who published a Flora Greenlandica, 1816, in Brewster's Edinburg Encyclopædia, and those of Wormskiold, are preseran : in the herbaria of Hornemann and M. Vahl. 26 Historical Sketch of the Science of Botany [January, Some Greenland plants were described, 1770, by Rottboell, professor in Copenhagen, and, in the same year a history of Greenland was published by the missionary Cranz; the plants in it were described by Schreber. The largest collections were made in this century by yer Vahl, the librarian of the botanical garden in Copenhagen, who traveled nine years in Greenland, and probably there will not — many new discoveries be made. J. Lange’s catalogue of Green- land plants (in Rink’s work on Greenland, 1857), contains 320 ; species in 52 orders. A list of plants collected on the coast of Baffin’s bay was pub- — lished by Robert Brown, in 1819, and by the same a “Chloris — Melvilleana,” 1823, containing 131 species, of which 80 are phe- nogamous, collected at different times by Sabine, Edwards, Ross, Parry, Fisher and Beverley. Scoresby’s collection in East. Greenland, was described by Hooker in 1823, and that of Sabine in 1824. John Richardson, born in Scotland, 1787 (died 1865), was the naturalist of the expedition from the shores of Hudson’s bay to the Polar sea, 1823, under the command of Franklin. This — expedition started from York Factory, on Hudson’s bay, and | proceeded via Cumberland House, Carlton House, Fort Chippe- — way, on the Athabaska lake, Fort Providence, on the Slave lake, and Fort Enterprise, 65° N. latitude, to the Coppermine river, then along the coast eastward to Cape Turnagain, the Hood river up to Fort Enterprise, to Norway House, on the Winnipeg lake, and back to York Factory. The collection of plants con- : tained 700 species, and was published by Richardson in the botanical appendix to Franklin’s Narrative, printed 1823. The narrative of the discoveries on the north coast of America, — by Simpson and Dease, in 1837, published in 1843, contains a — catalogue of plants examined by Sir William Hooker, but noth- ing new; all the species were already collected by Richardson. Berthold Seemann (born in Hanover, 1825), the naturalist on board of Ai. M. S. Herald, udder the command of Captain H. Kellet, during the years 1845-1851, described, in a letter addressed to Sir William Hooker (in Journal of Botany), the arctic Flora of Kotzebue Sound, and published, 1852-1857, the botany of the expedition, the first part of which contains the Flora of Western Esquimaux land. Bachelot de la Tyas a French botanist, explored, in 1819 and 1880. | In North America from 1840 togi858. 27 1820, Newfoundland and the little islands of Miquelon and St. Pierre. He published, 1829, Flore de lisle de Terre Neuve, which was not finished, and contains only a description of cryp- togamous plants. A Flora of Labrador was compiled by E. Meyer, professor of botany in Kcenigsberg, in 1830, from a small collection by the missionary Herzberg, and a number of species made known by Schrank, professor of botany in Munich. These plants were col- lected by a Danish missionary, Kohlmeister, probably the same that Pursh calls Colmaster in his Flora, and the plants of which he found in the herbaria of Dickson and Banks. The number of all the species of Labrador known at that time, was 198, of which 30 are cryptogamous. The north-west coast was visited, 1838, by the expedition of H. M. S. Sulphur, under the command of Sir Edward Belcher. — This expedition explored the Pacific during the years 1836-1842. The botanist was Mr. Barclay, in the service of the Kew garden, assisted by the surgeon Hinds and Dr. Sinclair. The parts visited were Prince William’s sound, Port Mulgrave, both under 60° N. L., Sitka, Nutka sound, San Francisco, Sacramento river and Monterey in California. The botanical collections were described by George Bentham, in “ Botany of the voyage of H. M. S. Sulphur,” 1844, with 60 plates. The U. S. Naval exploring expedition, under the command of Charles Wilkes, which crossed the Pacific during the years 1838 to 1842, in every direction, arrived, 1841, in Oregon. Charles Pickering was collector on this expedition. The Columbia river up to Walla Walla, and the Willamette valley were examined: afterwards the Sacramento river down to San Francisco, In Ore- gon were collected 1218 species, and 519 in Northern California ; the whole collection of this expedition amounting to 9600 spe- cies, were examined. The phanerogamous plants were described by Dr. Torrey ; the ferns of the expedition, by Dr. Brackenridge ; the mosses by Mr. Sullivant ; and the lower PIPS by other botanists. N. J. Andersson, a Swedish botanist, natiis of the voyage around the world of the Swedish frigate Eugene, collected in 1852, in California; he took particular notice of the willows, and in 1858, he published in Proceedings of American Academy of Arts and Sciences, a “Synopsis of North American Willows,” of which he — 28 Historiggl Sketch of the Science of Botany {January, enumerates fifty-nine species, a number of which he degraded to the rank of sub-species in his Monographia Salicum, 1863. He is the author of the genus Salix in Decandolle’s Prodromus. Besides the Rocky mountains and California, another large field opened for exact exploration. The Mexican war and the acquisition of new territories caused a long series of expeditions to California and those tracts of land which form with West Texas: the North Mexican botanical province. In June, 1842, Lieut. Fremont set out from the mouth of the Kansas river, followed that river about one hundred miles, passed over to the Platte river, traveled up the river to the junction of ~ the north and south fork, where the party divided, one part fol- — lowing the north fork to Fort Laramie, the other proceeding along the south fork to Fort St. Vrain, and from there to Fort Laramie. Then the expedition followed the north fork and the — Sweetwater river up to South Pass, and the Wind River moun- tains, the highest peak of which, afterwards called Fremont’s Peak, he ascended. Returning, the Platte river was followed to its mouth. The collection of plants, consisting of 352 species, con- tained fifteen new ones, described by Torrey. The collections of Fremont’s second expedition, during the years 1843 and 1844, which extended to Oregon and California, — were greatly damaged, so that in many instances it was extremely — difficult to determine the plants. Torrey furnished the descrip- tion of a few new genera and species, which, with four plates, was _ published in App. C. to Fremont’s Report. One of these new genera he named Fremontia, but this name was afterwards 7 withdrawn, as Nees had already described the plant under the ~ name Sarcobatus, and Fremont’s name was transferred to another — new Californian genus of the order of Sterculiacez. Two other expeditions were undertaken by Fremont in 1845- — 1846 and 1848, extending to California. Large collections were J made again, but the greater part of them were destroyed by the — same mishaps. Some of the new genera that were saved for €x- — amination were described and published in 1850, by Professor . Torrey in the Smithsonion Contributions, as “ Plantæ pyes ianæ,” with ten beautiful plates. Emory’s military expedition traversed in June and July, 1846. 4 the plains from Fort Leavenworth to the bend of the Arkansas, — followed this river to the Pawnee fork, crossed the Raton moun- 1880. | In North America from 1840 to 1858. 29 tains (7000 feet) and the ridge between the Canadian river and Rio Grande to Santa Fé; then again the dividing ridge (6000 feet) between the Rio Grande and Gila, followed the latter to the Colorado of the West, and arrived at St. Diego. The botanical collections (about 200 species) were examined by Torrey, the Cactacee by Dr. Engelmann, and published in Appendix 2 of Emory’s Report. A small number of plants was collected by Lieut. Abert, amongst which was nothing new. Dr. A. Wislizenus, born in Germany, 1810, left St. Louis in the spring of 1846, with the intention of traveling in North Mexico and Upper California. He undertook the journey at his own ex- pense, and war was not yet declared, when he arrived at Chihua- hua; but there he was arrested as a spy, and transported to Cosi- huirachi, at which place he was left in a “ passive ” condition ; that means as to his free will to leave; for, as a collector, he was very active on this rich field, where he collected so many species not found before. Six months afterwards, Colonel Doniphan’s troops occupied that part of the country, and Wislizenus accepted a situation in the medical department of the American army, and, instead of going westward as he first intended, he followed the army to Monterey, and returned via Matamoras to the States. He collected a large number of plants. In an Appendix to the “ Memoir of a tour to North Mexico in 1846 and 1847, by A. Wis- ` lizenus, M. D., printed for the use of the Senate of U. S., the botany of the ised country is described by Dr. Engelmann. Amongst the new species were over thirty new species of Cactus. West Texas was extensively explored since 1835, when Ferdi- nand Lindheimer (born in Germany, 1802), settled at New Braun- fels, where he lives yet. His large collections were named and described by Gray and Engelmann, in Boston Journal of Natural History, as Plante Lindheimerianæ, part 1 in 1845, part 11 in 1847. Many of these plants were shortly afterwards described - by Scheele, in Linnæa, from a collection brought to Germany by — the geologist F. Roemer, who studied the geology of Texas in _ 1846-1847, and received many specimens from Lindheimer. Completed and extended to the whole area of the Rio Grande, were these explorations by Gregg and Wright. Josiah Gregg, the author of the “ Commerce of the Piai, o 1844,” made large botanical collections, but died soon era no California. 30 Historical Sketch of the Science of Botany | [January, — Charles Wright spent several years in Texas, the botany of — which country he studied. Then, in 1849, he went westward to El. Paso, in New Mexico. His rich collections of plants were ~ placed in the hands of Prof. Gray, who described and published | “Plante Wrightiane” in the third volume of Smithsonian Con- © tributions, with ten plates. In 1851-1852, he was again in New Mexico, the collection of which tour -furnished the material to — the second part of Plante Wrightianz, with four plates, in the — fifth volume of the Smithsonian Contributions. | Another well-known botanist explored New Mexico at the © same time. August Fendler came, about the year 1836, from — Germany to North America. In 1846 he left Fort Leavenworth — with a military train, followed the Arkansas river up to Fort — Bent, crossed the mountains to Santa Fé, where he made his — principal collections from April to August, 1847. An account of — his collection Prof. Gray published in the Memoirs of the Ameri- — can Academy, Vol. iv, under the title, Plantae Fendlerianz. Fend- — ler resided a long time near St. Louis; went afterwards to Vene- — zuela, and is now collecting on the Island of Trinidad. ; Dr. Woodhouse was a member of the expedition down the — Zui and Colorado rivers under the command of Capt. Sitgreaves, — in 1850. His collections, placed for examination in the hands — ` of Prof. Torrey, consist of three portions: the first, collected — between Neosho and Arkansas rivers, and on the north fork of © the Canadian, and the second, from Texas, contain nothing new. | The plants of the third portion were collected in Arizona and — California. The catalogue of the latter (about 180 species) is published with twenty-one plates, in 1853, with Sitgreaves’ Re- port. There is described a new genus of the order of Amaran: tacez and several new species. a -In the year 1852 an expedition under the command of Capt - Marcy explored the Red river to its sources. The botanical col- lection of 200 species, made by Dr. Shumard, was examined by — Prof. Torrey. and published in App. G of Marcy’s Report “ig twenty plates. The botany of these formerly Mexican provinces was nearly un- known before Berlandier ; but by the collections of the above-named — botanists much light was thrown upon it; their work was further advanced by the Pacific railroad explorations and the Mexican boundary survey, and will be completed by the surveys of the 1880. | In North America from 1840 to 1858. 31 Territories in progress yet. Here may be mentioned, though not in the compass of this historical sketch, the surveys of Hay- den, Powell, Wheeler, and King, who surveyed the State . of Nevada, and whose report contains, in the fifth volume, the botany of Nevada and Utah, by Sereno Watson. Several expeditions were orderéd by the Government, in 1853, to cross the Rocky mountains to the Pacific, along certain par- allels, to explore. the most practical route fora railroad to the Pacific coast. The parties consisted of a military command and a number of technic and scientific assistants. The reports of these explorers were afterwards published by the Government in thirteen quarto volumes, extensively illustrated and full of the most important scientific matter. The botanical collectors were the following: Dr. Suckley, naturalist to the party of Gov. Stevens, who proceeded between the parallels 47 and 49 to Oregon. The botanical report of this route, with six plates, we find in the last volume; it contains the collections of Suckley on the plains, 323 species, examined by Prof. Gray (one genus and three species were new), and a catalogue of plants from Washing- ton territory collected by Dr. Cooper. Those east of the Cascade range, 75 species, of which two were new, were examined by Prof. Gray, those of the west side, 386 species, of which one was new, collected by Suckley and Gibbs, were examined by Torrey and Gray. A general report on the botany of the route is written by Dr. Cooper. In Vol. u, Torrey and Gray reported on the collection of plants made by F. Creutzfeldt, a German gardener from St. Louis, who was engaged as botanist under the command of Capt. Gun- nison, and was killed with the same, by the Indians, near Sevier lake, Utah. He collected 124 species, with two new ones; the report is illustrated by three plates. After the murder of Gun- nison, the party reached, under Lieut. Beckwith, the Great Salt lake, where the winter was passed. J. A. Snyder, the topog- rapher of the party, took charge of the botanical collections made along the 41st parallel, from the Great Salt lake to the Sacramento z river, The plants, 59 species, were published by Torrey and Gray. There were seven new species, illustrated on seven plates. The richest collection was that of Dr. J. M. Bigelow, under Capt. Whipple, along the 35th parallel; it is published in Vol. 1v, and contains 1109 species of vascular plants, amongst which nine _ 32 Historical Sketch of the Science of Botany January, genera and seventy-two species were new, illustrated by twenty- five plates. In a separate report Dr. Engelmann described fifty Cactacee, of which eighteen were new and illustrated by twenty- four: plates, and Sullivant seventy-two mosses, with twelve new — ones and ten plates. Very instructive is the general description — of the soil, of the productions along the route, and the forest trees 4 by Bigelow. . The route near the 32d parallel, from El Paso to Preston on ~ the Red river, was explored by Capt. Pope. Dr. Diffendorfer made the botanical collections, which contained 268 species, of | which three genera and thirteen species were new. The cata- logue is published by Torrey and Gray in Vol. 11 of thie Reports, © with ten plates. : Dr. A. L. Heermann was the naturalist under the command of Lieut. Williamson, who explored the passes in the Sierra Nevada — and the coast range. The catalogue of eighty-eight species, — amongst which were fourteen new ones, with eighteen plates, — described by Durand and Hilgard, we find in Vol. v, with a sepa- rate collection of the geologist, W. P. Blake, containing eighty- seven species, with six new ones and ten plates, described j ia Dr. Torrey. | Vol. vi contains the interesting botanical report of Dr. J. 5 a Newberry, geologist under the command of Lieut. Williamson when he explored the country between the Columbia river and | Sacramento river. Besides an article on geographical botany, he SPSS IAPA EARE TRIE e P Na TEDA E S A Re AEN CS Reet EEEE NOR E SE pe BENTA ST Moy amie EIIE C A pre De AREA PL Rea MCSD Ea rn ar ALLTA E TOAS TA with six plates, twenty mosses and ten lichens. He was after- wards a member of the expedition on the Colorado of the West, under the command of Lieut. Ives, in 1857-1858. The report examined by Gray, Torrey, Engelmann and Thurber, 400 species with ten new ones. Dr. Thomas Antisell collected, under the command of Lieut. } G. Parke, between the Rio Grande and Southern California, 281 species (one genus and three species were new), which are pub- lished with eight plates in Vol. vir of the reports. The Mexican boundary survey began in 1849, and continued with an interruption, and after a reorganization under Major Emory in 1853, till bagi The mee of Emory was published 1880. | In North America from 1840 to 1858. 33 1858, in two large volumes; the first half of the second volume contains the botany. An introductory chapter on geographical dis- tribution and botanical features of the country was written by Dr. C. C. Parry, the catalogue of plants, with descriptions of twelve new genera and 195 new species, with illustrations on sixty-one plates, by Torrey, partly by Gray and Engelmann, who elaborated the Cactaceze separately and described ninety-two species, of which not less than forty were new, with seventy-five plates. The whole work contains under 2140 species, 235 new ones. The most new species, besides the Cactacez, we find amongst the Euphorbiacee (36), described by Engelmann, then under the Composite (32), and the Scrophulariacee (19), both orders described by Prof. Gray. Eight orders comprise half the species of the collection: Composite 430, Leguminosze 212, Euphorbi- acee IOI, Cactaceze 92, Scrophulariacez 71, Cyperacez 61, Labi- ate 53 and Crucifere 47. The large order of Graminee, elabo- rated by Dr. George Thurber, was unfortunately omitted on ac- count of the already too great size of the volume. Geo. Thur- ber was one of the botanists of the survey under Bartlett at the same time with Dr. J. M. Bigelow. Gray published already, in 1854, in Memoirs of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, N. S. Vol. v, “Plante nove Thurberianz,” twenty- eight species, of which six belong to six new genera. Charles Wright was attached by Col. Graham to his separate corps of the survey. Under Emory, Dr. C. C. Parry and A. Schott made the botanical collections. The important result of all these explorations was not only the — multitude of new genera and species made known, but the light thrown upon the distribution of North American plants. It was recognized that there is an unmistakable difference between the eastern wooded, the central treeless and the Californian sections of — temperate North America, of which the first may be called the sylvan, the second, the campestrian, and the third, the Cali- fornian botanical province. The campestrian province reaches — ` from West Texas to Southern California, and far north on both sides of the Rocky mountains ; the Sierra Nevada and Cascade range, in Oregon, form the western border, but on the east side there is no sharp line, the prairies stretching into the wooded country. That the flora of East Texas is identical with that of Louisiana and the other Gulf States, fg Sate has suffi- VOL. XIV.—No. 1. 3 34 Historical Sketch of the Science of Botany [Januar ciently demonstrated in the Proceedings of the American Asso- — ciation, fifth meeting, 1851. a At the time of Fremont’s first e a two German botan- 4 ists directed their lonely ways to the Rocky mountains and to th Territory of Oregon. Carl Geyer, born 1809, came to America in 1835. As alread mentioned he was employed as a collector by Nicollet, afterwar he crossed the Rocky mountains under 40° N. L. to Orego who examined the plants and described fourteen new species in Fournal of Botany, 1845 to 1856. Geyer himself furnished in- teresting remarks on the features of the country. He returned . in 1845 to Germany, and died there in 1853. Lueders, from Hamburg, crossed the Rocky mountains in 1843, and made collections in Oregon Territory. Fremont m him near the Cascades of the Columbia river, where he (Luede lost his package by capsizing of his canoe in the rapids, an acci- dent which Fremont memorized by naming a little bay in t locality after his name Lueders’ bay, probably a poor reparation for his loss. Nothing was known of him afterward. . Descriptions of plants collected by Dr. Wm. Gambel in t Rocky mountains and California were published by Thom Nuttall in the Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences new species, but not all of these remained valid. Captain Stansbury explored,- 1849-1850, the valley d t Great Salt lake. His report was published by the Government in 1852. Appendix D contains the þotany examined by Torrey, The knowledge of the botany of British America was greatly promoted by Sir John Richardson's Arctic searching expedition, published in two volumes, London, 1851. The object of the e pedition was the search for the lost Captain Franklin along the north coast. The voyage was made in boats from Lake Superi via Lake Winnipeg to the Mackenzie river, then from Great Bear lake to the Coppermine river, and lasted from May, 1848, to Sept. | 1849. In the Appendix (more than half the second volume) we find chapters on the physical geography, climatology and geo graphical distribution of plants north of the 49th parallel, 1880. | In North America from 1840 to 1858. 35 most valuable observations. There is a list of trees and shrubs with their northern limits, and a table of the distribution of Cari- ces, which was prepared by Dr. Francis Boott, one of the best authorities and author of the beautiful “ Illustrations of the genus Carex,” the 4th part of which was after his death published by J. D. Hooker. Boott was born in Boston, 1792, and died in London, 1863. : In the summer of 1848, Prof. Agassiz made a scientific excursion to the Lake Superior with a number of students. He published, 1850, a volume on the physical character, vegetation and animals. Two chapters treat of the botany on the shore of Lake Superior compared with that of the Jura and the Alps. The accounts of such excursions are highly interesting, when related by compe- tent botanists, e. g., that published by Prof. Gray in 1841, in, Szi- man’s Journal, “ Notes of a Botanical Excursion to the Moun- tains of North Carolina.” The most prominent American botanists of our times are Torrey, Gray and Engelmann. [(Cé+A~.—_— itv John Torrey was born in New York, 1798, and died on the roth of March, 1873. Author of many botanical writings, he published, as early as 1819, a “Catalogue of plants growing spontaneously within thirty miles of the city of New York;” in 1824 a “Flora of the northern and middle sections of U. S.,” of which only Vol. 1 was printed, containing Classes 1-x1 of the Linnzan system, which was at that time yet in general use; . 1826, a “ Compendium of the Flora of the Northern and Middle States ;”’ 1836, a “ Monograph of the North American Cyper- aceæ ” (in Annals of the Lyceum of New York, Vol. 111); from — 1838 to 1843, with Asa Gray, the first two volumes of the Flora of North America already mentioned. It contains the orders from Ranunculaceze to Composit, and was not continued at that time, but will be finished now, since the large amount of new material brought from the Western explorations is nearly worked up. In 1843 appeared his “ Flora of the State of New York,” two large quarto volumes, with 162 tables, forming the second part of the Natural History of New York. In the preface we find a historical sketch of the botanists and their work in the State before that -~ time. His other writings are already mentioned, Asa Gray was born on the 18th of November, 1810, in Paris, Oneida county, New York, and is now Professor of Botany of _ 709 Jl 36 Historical Sketch of the Science of Botany [January, Harvard University, at Cambridge, Mass. His first work was ~ published 1834-1835, “ North American Graminee and Cyper- ace,’ two volumes, containing each one hundred species, illus- trated by dried specimens. It was followed by “ Elements of ey ” 1836; “ Melanthacearum Americe septentrionalis rey visio,” 1837; the “ Botanical Textbook,” 1842 (third edition, 1850); “Chloris Americana,” illustrations of new, rare and otherwise | interesting North Americam plants. Decade 1, with ten beautiful plates, 1846 (not continued). The first edition of his well-known ~ “ Manual of the Botany of the Northern States,” appeared in 1848, and was followed by many editions. ‘‘ Genera Flore Americ boreali-orientalis illustrata, Vol. 1 and 11, with 186 tables,” from Ranunculacezee to Terebinthaceze, was not continued. Already mentioned are many of his contributions in public documents, ` Smithsonian publications and scientific periodicals, too numeroni to be all named, but all of the greatest value. George Engelmann, born in 1810, in Frankfurt-on-the- Main, | came to America about the year 1834, and has resided since that — time in St. Louis, Missouri. Except his writings mentioned above, ~ he has published, in different periodicals, a number of mono- graphs of difficult orders and genera, e. g., Cactaceæ, 1856, Cusi cutæ, 1859. His papers on North American Juncus, Quercus, Yucca, some Coniferæ and Gentianæ are later. a -© Other active botanists of that period are -A. Wood, who p be gen a “ Classbook of Botany,” which is much in use. There is “ Botany of the Northern States,’ by L. C. Beck, professor mi ‘Albay: who lived from 1798 to 1853; a “North American Botany,” by Eaton and Wright; an “ Introduction to Botany, — by Comstock ; an “American Flora,” by Strong; a “ rie -g the Southern Sites ” by Darby. « Ch-fa—n—— A Local floras and catalogues of plants were compiled, by Dewey 1826, by Dr. L. C. Beck, and, 1843, by C. Geyer, with notes by Dr. Engelmann, both in Si/iman's Fournal, then 1845, by Dr. C. WwW Short in the Western Journal of Medicine. Much has been dont 1880. | In North America from 1840 to 1858. 37 for the knowledge of the botany of Illinois by Dr. S. B. Mead, of Augusta, Hancock county, and Dr. G. Vasey, of McHenry county. . Amongst the American botanists, although born in Germany, may be named Dr. Rugel. He came, in 1842, to America, and settled afterwards in East Tennessee, where he lately died. He collected in the South-eastern States, and used to send his collec- tions to Shuttleworth, in Geneva (Switzerland). / There is a number of catalogues which fall partly in the latter time of the second period, that of Bachman, of the plants in the vicinity of Charleston, S. C., 1834; by Gibbes, of the plants of Columbia, S. C., 1835; by Aiken, of the plants near Baltimore, 1836; by Lea, of plants collected in the vicinity of Cincinnati, after his death published by Sullivant. The fungi of the collec- tion were examined by Berkeley. Ravenel published a paper on the plants of the Santee canal, 1850, and Kirtland one on the climate, flora and fauna of the southern shore of Lake Erie, 1852. Publications on single orders exist of Jos. Barratt, “ Salices Americanz” and “ North American Carices,” 1840; of Tucker- man, “ North American Lichens,” 1848; of Sullivant, “ Musci Alleghaniensis,” 1846, and “ Bryology and Hepatology of North America,” 1847; of Bailey, on “North American Alge.” 1848; of Curtis, on “ North American Fungi,” 1848, both in Siman’ s Yournal ; of Dewey, “ North American Carices,” in Sz//iman's Sournal; of Sartwell, “ Carices Americe septentrionalis exsicca- tæ,” 1848-1850 (158 species) ; of Alex. Braun (professor in Berlin, who died lately), “ Equisetae and Chara,” in Siiman’s Fournal ; of Harvey (professor in Dublin, dead since 1866), “ The Marine Algæ of North America,” in Smithsonian Contributions, 1858, three volumes, with fifty plates. as The chief authority on North American fossil plants is Leo Lesquereux, a native of Switzerland, residing in Columbus, -Ohio, who is besides a trustworthy judge of mosses, and compiled the catalogue of Arkansas plants in Owen’s Geological Report. An important branch of science, the geographical distribution of American plants, is yet in its infancy. It requires a thorough | knowledge of local floras in connection with the physical and climatological condition of each locality to get the right view of this matter. Some steps have been made in that direction, some 38 Editors’ Table. [ January, q preparatory work has been done, but the main labor is left to the | 4 future. Prof. Gray published “Statistics of the Flora of the North- 4 ern U. S.” in American Fournal of Science and Arts, 1856, which a will promote the cause for that part of the country. Dr. J. G. Cooper 4 published a‘ good article on the distribution of the forests and trees a of North America, in Smithsonian Report for 1858. As only the ~ woody plants are here accounted for, the limits drawn cannot be q intended as to separate botanical districts in general. Even for ~ the forest plants the limitations admit of some corrections, but q as a preliminary essay it is valuable. 4 Here this sketch must be concluded, for two reasons—tI, the ~ newest botanical literature is so extensive, and partly published i in so many different periodicals, that a private library is not su cient for a survey of the whole; 2, the number of botanists has ‘increased so much throughout the country, as is shown by Cassino’s Naturalist’s Directory, that it is rather difficult to win- -now the chaff from the wheat, and to avoid offence by neglect- a ing a man whose merits are worthy of mention. A’ Je EDITORS” FABLE. EDITORS: A. S. PACKARD, JR., AND E. D. COPE. The Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, nearly four years since, made a number of changes in its 6rganization aS _ expressed in its by-laws. With but two dissenting voices, the ~ investigators or active scientists of the academy. It was thought 1 Although published in 1860, yet, as the author has mentioned several works pub- lished later than 1850, we may here draw attention to the Flora of the Southem United States, containing abridged descriptions of the Flowering Plants and Ferns of Tennessee, North and South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi and Flo- rida, by A. W. aes, ee D. Sou Ferns, by Daniel C. Eaton, New York, 1860; pp- 621.—EDITORS 1880. } Editors’ Table. 3) to be important that the control of the working material of the institution should be in the hands of those who do the work and give it its reputation; and further, that lectures should, from time to time, be delivered, which would constitute statements of the progress of science, as made by the workers of the academy and of the world at large. These propositions, whose reasonableness is so self evident, bringing the academy, as they would, into con- formity with the usage of similar bodies throughout the world, were stoutly resisted by some of the members. As discussion proceeded, it became evident that without such an organization, or its equivalent, the title of “ Academy” is a misnomer, and that nothing good could be expected of the club management under which it was conducted. It was shown that under this order the position of an expert working in the institution was an unenviable one; that free use of the museum exposed him to charges of misconduct by irresponsible and ignorant persons, and brought him in conflict with employés who recognized only the authority of the four curators. It was brought to view that the most pro- fuse liberality and generosity to the institution afforded no pro- tection from these wrongs, and that while gifts of the greatest value were gladly accepted, obstacles, often indirect but always effective, were thrown in the way of the use, by the donors, of these, and even of unpresented private property. It was shown that the arrangement and labeling of the collections were fre- quently entrusted to incompetent persons, and that the result was- what might be expected; also that the museum was not keeping pace with the age, and that as a consequence, original work in connection with it had almost ceased. The result of the discus- sion was as stated, the adoption of the proposed re- organization, with only two dissenting voices. One of the two noes came from the president, Dr. Ruschen- berger. Although standing thus in opposition to the will of the academy, the services of this gentleman in the cause of science in raising money for the erection of the building the academy now occupies, were justly so appreciated by the members, that he was reélected to fill the position for another year. A due sense of the generous action of the majority in thus electing an oppo- nent to the highest position within their gift, if not sufficient to — _ induce conformity to the republican principle of a support of the views of the majority, should at least have suggested a passive attitude towards their attempts to carry their wishes into effect. But the friends of progress were doomed to disappointment. A determination to stamp out the new measures was manifested by a few members, who, having abandoned legitimate opposition, adopted the weapon of the weak—personal defamation. By introducing damaging personalties, so that a full discussion was impossible prior to an election of officers, much injury to the interests of the institution, as well as injustice to private persons, 40 Editors’ Table. [January, © was done. The president was, by no means, clear of complicity — in these proceedings, which, after the lapse of two years, receive the emphatic condemnation of the academy by a vote in the pro- portion of two and a-half to one. In the meantime the new by- laws not only remained a dead letter, but additional changes were ~ made which completely nullified them. The most important of these, by excluding the prospective professors from the council, — rendered the positions untenable by men who value the pros- perity of the academy. But this was simply a first step in the development of a new policy of the president’s own conception, — and for which he should have full credit, as expressed by himself. — Dr. Ruschenberger has stated verbally, that it was his opinion — that the council of the academy would be better constituted with- d out the membership of the specialists. He has also maintained, a council, because it is the duty of that body to “ direct the pro- — 4 fessors when to lecture, where to lecture, and what to lecture | He is credited with saying, that no “high science” can — be looked for from such an institution, as it is a kind of hee a school, etc., etc. A We have here at last the opposition to the new organization į 4 bape tt which we think to be a desirable consummation. Is — “ Academy.” to be an academy of original research in — he sciences, or, shall we say, a trustee school, which will toler- — lecture, and what they shall lecture about.” That is what the — scheme of Dr. Ruschenberger amounts to, only substitute for priests and nobles a collection of generally worthy gentle who know more of everything else than of science and its n ; That this scheme is in entire antagonism to the intention a the — founders, whose object was original research, is sufficiently clear. a and respectably signed and laid before the council, in hopes its adoption. Among the signers may be mentioned the names of Leidy, Cope, Ryder, Dercum, Brown and Parker, well known i 1880. | Editors Table. 41 Philadelphia scientific work. But the proposition was rejected by a quorum of the council, and the president has issued a report of the proceedings, which now lies before us. As it occupies nearly twelve octavo pages, it of course includes much besides the pro- ceedings referred to, and is in fact a digest of the president's views on the subject. That sucha document should be prepared, which he occupies in relation to the opinions of the majority of members of the academy. n examination of its’ contents shows that his perception of the proprieties of discussion, both as a man and as an officer, is still less clear. We only allude to the gross inuendoes and slurs it contains, to state that some of the worst of them were added by the author after the formal authorization of the publication of the report of council, and that he thus commits an offence against ordinary propriety, and against the Society itself. Such is also the omission of the names of per- names were contained in the report as read. We think, how- ever, that the publication will be, on the whole, useful to the academy’s cause, as it indicates, in no doubtful way, the unfit- ness of its author for the position he occupies. We, however, call attention to one subject, which, dressed up in various guises, has served, and still serves, as a scare-crow to some useful members. The proposition to create thirteen pro- fessors who shall be ex-officio members of council, does not dis- turb the present order, by which the general officers of the academy are ex-officio members of council. It simply places the experts of the institution on an equal footing in council with those elected by the academy at large, thus forming a body com- posed of what might be called senate and house combined. But Dr. Ruschenberger pretends to be alarmed for the safety of the property when entrusted to the care of the thirteen. We do not believe that any one else is apprehensive of danger, but if they are, we suggest that still greater risks attend the charge of the collections by equal or smaller numbers (say four, as a present) of persons, who are mostly unacquainted with the business. Sec- ondly, the use of new material by thirteen men to the exclusion of the eight hundred and eighty-seven other members of the academy, appears to Dr. Ruschenberger, to be a monstrous injustice. Perhaps the doctor would approve a plan by which all these gentlemen might take turns at describing the mass new species daily received at the hall of the academy ; the difficulty could be gotten over if the council would BAT that new species might be described several times But seriously, the president inverts the order of things abso- lutely. The amount of new material coming to the institution obviously depends on the number of persons interested in bringing it there. If such interested persons find that they have no rights 42 Recent Literature. [ January, that any one is bound to respect, they will not bring it there; as : is the case at present. And thirteen men who are interested, and who know how to obtain it, will certainly benefit the acad- — emy more, than four persons,’ most of whom do not know new material when they see it, have no use for it, and do not know how to get it. Finally, we suggest whether the professorship scheme would — not go better if a chair of libel were added to the list. The only reason why this chair should not succeed would be, that the most eligible candidate could not then be a member of council, who would have the power to direct him “where to lecture, when to lecture and what to lecture about.” “rt RECENT LITERATURE. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY oF CANADA? — Owing to the separate — paging for the several reports filling this volume, by which the — process of printing has been hastened, it has appeared sooner — than its predecessors. It is devoted mainly to interesting obser- — vations on the stratigraphy of the Quebec group, by Mr. Selwyn, © who seems to discard the names Norian, Montalban, Taconian and Keeweenian, proposed by Dr. Sterry Hunt, and now in quite general use by New England geologists. Mr. G. M. Dawson — reports at length on the geology of British Columbia, Mr. S. H. Scudder describing the fossil insects. The reconnaisance by Mr. — Robert Bell of the west coast of Hudson’s bay, gives us the first — definite knowledge, so far as we are aware, of that interesting {i region. He claims that there is abundant evidence of the eleva- tion of the land (or to use his own words, “ that the sea-level is falling ”) at a comparatively rapid rate in Hudson’s bay. “ Since,” he writes, “the Hudson’s Bay Company’s ports have been estab lished at the mouths of the various rivers, there has been an, increasing difficulty in approaching them with large craft. On 1880. } Recent Literature. 43 feet, would indicate a change in the relative level of the sea, amounting to perhaps between five and ten feet in a century.” Boulder clays are abundantly developed, containing numerous shells characteristic of the Leda clays of the coast of Labrador. It appears that the white whale still exists in considerable num- bers all along the coast, while “ the walrus is killed by the Esqui- maux, principally about the entrance to Hudson’s straits and around the Belcher islands. In former years this animal is reported to have been seen occasionally as far south as Little Whale river. On the opposite side of Hudson’s bay walruses are said to have been seen near Cape Henrietta Maria. The nar- wahl is occasionally killed by the Esquimaux in the northern part of Hudson’s bay. In the spring, soon after the shore ice disappears, the polar bear occasionally comes ashore on Long Island and the smaller islands between it and Great Whale river. In the winter they have been known to range as far south as the head of James’ bay.” The climate of the west coast of Hudson’s bay in the Nelsen river region is milder than that of the opposite coast, and that of the region about the Norway House is fully as good as that of the Province of Manitoba. The subsoil in places is frozen through the summer, ete it is possible that toward York Factory it is permanently froze e volume closes with auet by Messrs. L. W. Bailey and R. W. Ells on the Pre-silurian and Cambrian rocks of Southern New Brunswick, and on the superficial geology of New Bruns- wick, by Mr. G. F. Matthew; on the geology of Cape Breton, by H. Fletcher, with others on economical geology. Morse’s SneELL Mounps or Japan.i—Not only has Japan an university very fully manned with American, English and Ger- man instructors, but her desire to make it a genuine university, by contributing to the advancement of science, is made evident by the publication of a volume giving the results of researches car- ried on by the professors and students. The first contribution i. to the new science of anthropology by a people which has but recently thrown off the habits of a semi-civilized race and adopted the modes and sciences of those which call themselves civilized. This memoir is timely in its issue, for'with a tolerable acquaint- ance with prehistoric archæology in Europe, America and parts of Asia, such as we now possess, comparative studies on the prehis- toric remains ofa people so old as the Japanese, and with such an. __ interesting geographical position, would pre highly suggestive very considerable value. And here it may be observed, parenthetically, that it is claimed by the author, “that there is no other country in the world where so great a number of gentlemen 1 Memoirs of the Sci ience pk eld vori of Tokio, Japan. Vol. 1, PI. 1. Shell Mounds of Omori. By EDWARD S. MORSE, Professor of Zodlogy, tiair rsity of Tokio, Japan. Published by "ae Saet “Tokio, a 2539 (1879) 8vo, Pp: 36, with 18 plate 44 Recent Literature. [ January, interested in archzology can be found as in Japan.’ Indeed there is a native archeological society in existence which holds regular meetings. The Omori mounds lie six miles from Tokio, about half a mile from the shores of the Bay of Yeddo, and as shell mounds are naturally cast up near the shore, this indicates that the land has been elevated since their formation. These mounds differ from those of Denmark and New England by the great amount of pot- tery contained in them, by the great scarcity of stone implements, and by the absence of arrow-heads, spear-points and other pointed implements of stone, not a single arrow-head, flake or chip having been found after prolonged search, though rude stone hammers, celts and rollers, and instruments of bone occurred; but any orna- ments for personal adornment, such as are worn ‘by the Ainos, were entirely absent. While the remains of the monkey, deer, wild boar, wolf and dog occurred, the human bones were found to have been broken, ‘ ‘either with the object of extracting the mar- row or for convenience of cooking in vessels of too small dimen- sions to admit them at length,” while the bones were, in some cases, ‘strongly marked with scratches and cuts.” These evi- dences of cannibalism are paralleled by'those of the aborigines of Florida. Flattened tibiz also occurred. The author also com- pares the shells found in the mounds, and discovered that much as on the coast of New England and F lorida, they are now less abundant and smaller. Whiie changes in the relative propor- tions of the shells of certain molluscs have taken place, the modifications in the relative size and proportions of certain species being considerable, and seeming to indicate “ either that species vary in a much shorter time than had been sup- posed, or else that deposits presenting these peculiarities have a much higher antiquity than had before been accorded them.” The differences seemed to be decided, though still within specific limits, and to have been produced at a minimum of ot ee to 2000 years, Japanese history extending back thus far. The plates, printing and manufacture of the biol i is of Japan- ese origin, a Japanese as well as an English edition having been printed. ` GrowTH As A Function oF Cetts.!— Under this title Mr. Minot discusses the subject of the increase of bulk, weight, etc., which attends the development of an individual organism from the one-celled egg-stage to maturity and death. The exponential formulae presented, expressing the rate and consequences of growth, are just about as unsatisfactory as they well can be, and, while we would not for a moment doubt the accuracy of Mr. Minot’s facts, the attempt to express the laws of growth, which owth as a Function of Cells. By Ren SEDGWICK MINOT. Fropcedinga Boston a Nat. Hist., 1878-79. Vol. xx, Pt. 11, p. 190. 1880. | Recent Literature. 45 are themselves determined by the incidence of variably potent forces which again interact variably, producing variable resultants, the propriety of expressing biological equations by x, y, gen- erations by x, and their variables by + x, powers of these or any other desirable arbitrary symbols, becomes apparent. The results to science of this method of treating the subject, while perfectly proper and right if a person chooses so to state them, may be fairly questioned. There seems just now to be a mania amongst biologists for re-naming things when they remodel old definitions. Although Huxley may define the individual as the result of the develop- ment of a single egg, and Haeckel define and call it a person, a virtual or an actual bion ; our author now under notice, thinking that, because it has recently been discovered that the ovicell, by impregnation, becomes blended with the spermatozoon, justifies him in coining a new term derived from that much-tortured Greek word from which so much dzology has been extracted, for re-christening the individual under the name of dad. The nomi- nal rubbish of scientific literature is acquiring huge proportions ; here. On this ground the proposition to re-name an old thing is ill-advised, and it may be doubted whether zygote, the name pro- ` posed for the result of the fusion of the male and female. cell elements in certain plants, by Strasburger, may not properly supercede diad, while the word gamete, proposed by the same author, will answer all practical purposes in designating the reproductive elements of separate sexes. When one is worried with getting at the import of some recently coined term, so often needlessly imposed by some of the evolutionary school of scien- tific thinkers, Haeckel and his followers especially, it is refreshing to turn to the pages of Darwin or Spencer, often to find the same questions treated in much better and plainer every-day En- glish.— 7. A. R. WILLiAMson’s Fers Ercuincs.—The dual character of this fine work makes it no less valuable to the amateur fern student and advanced pteridologist than to those who admire ferns for their beauty alone, as by adopting the geographical range of “ Gray’s Manual,” and accompanying his plates with descriptive _ text, the author, while professing only to present a series of life- like fern etchings, has really given to us a complete hand-book of all the species found growing in the Northern, Middle and East- ern States, and, in the present edition, the Dominion of Canada. clear, concise descriptions and faithful representations of the ferns themselves, will make this book an invaluable and indis- fern Etchings. By Joun WILLtamson, author of the “ Ferns of Kentucky.” Published by John P. Morton & Co., Louisville, Ky, 1879. 2d edition, 70 illustra- tions. Price $7.50. Riek ; 2 40 Recent Literature. [ January, pensable companion to fern collectors; while those who look upon ferns as beautiful objects to be admired rather than studied, will find enough in these charmingly executed etchings of Mr. Williamson to satisfy and delight them The etchings, which are printed direct from the original cop- perplates, and in the present edition by the author himself, are beautiful examples of the author-artist’s special work, and will add greatly to his reputation as a faithful interpreter of fern life. The desire to obtain copies of Mr. Williamson's fine etchings printed direct from his own plates, has led to the publication of the present work, and, as the number of copies printed must necessarily be limited on account of the expense of the etchings, those wishing copies will need to send for them early. No fern library will be complete without a copy.—G. E. Davenport. ENT BOOKS AND PAMPHLETS. ner aed va B United States Geological and Ceann Survey of the Territories 1 & 2. 8vo, pp. 330, pls. Ul. Washington, Sept. 9, 1879. From the probate “Of ibe Interior. Some Higa Fossils from the Susquehanna river, just south of the Pennsylvania- Maryland line. By Persifor Frazer, Je 8vo, pp. 277-279, I pl. (Ext. from Proc. Am. Philos. ae. , April 4, 1879.) From the author. The Gardener’s Monthly and ene Vol. xxi, No. 250, Oct, 1879. Philadelphia. From the alishi Der Irrthum des Speciesbegriies EES PE pereg an einigen Pflanzen- n Rub Oto 8v " gattungen, insbeso Kun o, pp. 18, 1 table. (Ext. from ies ae Gesells. 5 hic 3 "F rom the ee Ueber Verwandtschaft von Algen mit Phanerogamen. Von . Otto Kuntze. 8vo, pp. 22, I pl. (Seperat-Abdruck aus Flora, 1879. y From the Sek Seeing and nse, By the late William Kingdon Clifford, F.R.S (Nature e .) Sm. 8vo, pp.: “156. Macmillan & Co., London, 1879. From J. B. Lippin- cott The Finis Group of Western Wyoming and ar weg be es By. A.C: igs ce 8vo, pp. 195-200. (Ext. from Bull. U. S. Geog. and Geol. Sarv.; Vol. Vv 2.) Washington, Sept. 6, 1879, From the author. To the ee Mages Nasua Storr). By J. A. Allen. 8vo, pp. 153-174. (Ex pen the Bul eol. and Geog. Surv., Vol. v, No. 2.) Washington, Sept. 6, j ) Fors fees Be he mg nati of Science and Arts, No. 196, 197, Vol. xvit, Oct., Nov., is From Mémoire sur = O observés dans lės Mers d’Europe. M. P.-J. Van Beneden. 4to, pp. 32, pls. iv. (Ext. from Mémoires de l’ eine Royal de Bel- r Tom. XLIII, 1 Mars, 1879.) From the author. chthyo pinige ee (vill). Von Dr. Franz Steindachner. 8vo, pp. 72, P'S es (Ext. fro X Bande der Sitzb. der K. Akad. der Wissensch. 1 Abth. ih Heft, peebaisod pone ) From the author ger Carboniferous Limestone. Bobet mian ihe Tt ae By A. Crane. 8v0, pp. 4. (Ext. from Geol. Mag., Decade 11, Vol. vi, 1879.) ess the author. Proceedings of the United States National Museum, Vol. 1, 1878. 8vo, pp. 520 pls. v. Published under me direction z ny Smithsonian Trstitatioa, Washington, E Heeg i Department of the Int oe A the aa mountains. By G. K. phere 4to, pp. 160, and 5 picasa maps. (U.S. Geog. and Geol. Surv. of the Rocky Mountain gaon] J. W. Powell in ET ) Washington, 1877. From the Departs of the Report on the Lands of the Arid region of the United States, with a more detailed 1880. | _ Recent Literature. 47 account of am As of Utah. By J. W. Powell. (Second edition.) ato Pp. 195, and three maps. ashington, 1879. From the Department of the Inter Man. Nos. 18 a 19, Oct. z and 7, 1879. New York. From the pee, Boletin del AESF de Fomento ge la República Mexicana. Tome 1v, No. 100, August 21, 1879, to No. CX1, Sept. 16, 1879. Mexico. Folio. From the Directors ie Survey of Canada. A. C. R. Selwyn, director. Report of Progress for 1877-78, with 4 eee: 8vo, pp. 519 (pagination not consecutive). Montreal, Dawso i hen S, 1879. A list of Brazilian Echinoderms, with notes on their distribution, etc. By ee RatbLun. 8vo, pp. 139-158. June, 1879. (Ext. from Trans, Conn. Acad., v.) From the author. g The Field and River. 4to, Vol. 11, No. 11, Sept., 1879. From the pee Catalogue of the Reptilia a Amphibia of seas By W. H. Smith, M.D., Ph.D. 4to, pp. vill. (Suppl. to Science News.). 1879. From the nat or. Bulletins de la Société q’ Ault de Paris, rer et 2e fascicules. 8vo, pp. 288. Paris, 1879. From the society. Classification and Description of the American species of Characeæ. By B. D. Halstead. 8vo, pp. 169-199. = from Proc. Bost. Soc. Nat. Hist., Vol. xx. March 5, 1879.) From the auth Practical Mode of Studying he ‘Hes rt. By W. H. Smith, M.D., Ph.D. “By vo, pp. 15. (Repr. from The Physician and Surgeon, Ann Arbor, Mich. Sept., 1879.) From the author Anales de la Bociedad Española B Historia Natural. Tomo vi, Cuaderno 2°, ae pp. 177-384 and m pr Madrid, 1° Octobre de 1879. From the ety. Palécthmologie de P Antiquité de Homme dans les Alpes- Maritimes. Par Emile Rivière. 4, 5 and 6th Livraisons. 4to, pp. 65-120, pls. VI—-XI. Paris, 1878-79. -Gravures sur Roches de Lacs des Merveilles au Val d'Enfer afie, Par E. ee 8vo, pp. 10, pl. 1, (Ext. from Proc. Assn. Franç. pour lav. des Sci., 1878.) From. the author. ` Grotte de Saint-Benoit, Par E. Rivière. 8vo, PP- 4. (Ext. from Proc. Assn. Franç. pour lav. des Sci., 1878.) From the author Grotte de Sisapa en Kalie e. Par E. Rivière: Eo, pp- 16, pls. 2. (Ext. from Proc. Assn. Franç. pour l'av. des Sci., 1879.) From the author. a sur des E ie en Obsidienne nae en Giéce. Par E. Rivière. 8vo (Ext. des oo Rend. de la Soc. Frang. de Numis. et d Archæologie, 877 3 From the a ; ceedi ings of ie a oe of Sciences. Session held at biases sod 8v Prin a to 18, 1879. 8vo, pp. 143-161. From the Academy. The aa Uses of the Cat. By Burt G. Wilder, M.D. 8vo, pp- 10: (Repr. eh from N. Y. Med. Jour., Oct., 1879.) rie the author. Description ee a New Branchiopod. By John A, Ryder. 8vo, pp. 200-208. (Ext. Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci., Philadelphia, aes a “Fron the author, an meant tae Aa zur Geologischen Special-Kart n Elsass Lothringen. Bd. 11, | Der Untere Dogger Deutsch- penal ae arge 8vo, pp. 160, and 4to Hft. 1.- atlas wih pls. 10. Strassburg, R. Schultze & Cie, 1879. From the publishers. List of Printed Works, Monographs, Memoirs, &c., in Natural History and ~ ence, a Andrew Leith Adams, M.A., etc. 8vo, pp. 8. London, 1878. Fro i or : aph of the OSR Fossil Elephants. By A. Leith Adams, M.A., Pt. Il, mah A and Osteology of Elephas Aoa eio (Blumenbach). 40, pp- _ 69-146, pls. vI-xv. Palæontograph. Soc., London, 1879. From the a auna der Gaskohle und der Kelkstcins der Permformation Bdhmens. Von Dr. apa Pauen Band 1, Heft 1. Large 4to, pp. 92, pls. 12. Prag, 1879 From Notice of Recent Additions to de Marine Invertebrata of the e northeastern coast - 48 General Notes. [January, of America, with descriptions of new genera and species, and critical remarks on others. Part 1.—Annelida, Gephyræa, Nemertina, Nematoda, Polyzoa, Tunicata, Mollusca, Anthozoa, Echinodermata, Porifera. By A. E. Verrill. (From the Pro- ceedings of the U. S. National Museum.) 8vo, pp. 42. Report of the Entomologist to the Department of Agriculture, Charles V. Riley. (From the Annual Report of the Department of Agriculture for the year 1878.) 8yo, pp. 51, 7 plates. Preliminary Report on the Genera and Species of Tubificide. By Gustav Eisen. (Communicated to the R. Swed. Acad. of Sc., March 12, 1879.) 8vo, pp. 24, I ate. Mollusca of H. M. S. Challenger Expedition. Trochide continued, viz: The genera Basilissa and Trochus and the Turbinidz, viz: the genus Turbo. By Rev. R. Boog Watson, (Ext from the Linnean Society’s Journal—Zodlugy, Vol. xiv.) 8vo, pp. 25. On the Mollusca procured during the Lightning and Porcupine Expeditions, 1878-70, Part 1. By J. Gwyn Jeffreys. (From the Proc. of the Zodlogical Soc. of London, June 17, 1879.) 8vo, pp. 36, 2 plates. ` Eighth Annual Report of the Curators of the Museum of Wesleyan University, Middletown, Conu., 1879. 8vo, pp. 15. Sur la Structure des Glandes Génitales Femelles chez la Taupe (Communication préalable), Par M. Jules MacLeod. (Extrait des Annales de la Société de Méde- cine de Gand.) 8vo, pp. 4. :0: GENERAL NOTES. BOTANY. | Morus ENTRAPPED BY AN ASCLEPIAD PLANT (PaysIANTHUS) AND KILLED BY Honey Bees.—Towards the last of September, Mr. John Mooney, of Providence, an observing man, brought us a stalk of Phystanthus albens, an Asclepiad plant originating in Buenos Ayres, with the bodies of several moths (Plusia precationis) hanging dead by their proboscides or maxilla. It was found that the moths had, in endeavoring to reach the pollen pockets, been caught as if in a vise by one of the opposing edges of the five sets of hard horny contrivances covering the pollinia. A few days after, Mr. Everett A. Thompson, of Springfield, Mass., wrote us, that he had a plant of the same species which had caught a num- ber of moths of several species, and that in some cases only the heads and tongues of the moths were left, and he attributed this dismemberment to birds, but wrote in the same letter that his father had seen bees sting the moths while alive and struggling. e sent me one of the moths, which proved to be a Plusia preca- tionis, the same species as we had observed in Providence, and a honey bee (Afis mellifica) which had been seen by his father to attack the moths, and which had a pollen mass of the same plant attached to one of its fore legs. On writing Mr. Thompson that his father’s observations were quite new, the hive bee not being known to be carnivorous, beyond its well-known habit of stinging burn, Mass., a careful observer, kindly prepared the following statement: pias vers re x 1880. | Botany. 49 “I cannot undertake to give an account of my observations of the plant, moths and bees, concerning which inquiry is made, from the standpoint of a scientist, which I do not claim to be, but after pretty close watching, continued for many days, I feel quite confi- dent of the general correctness of the following statement: “Early in September, of the present year, as I made one of m daily visits to the plant, to me unknown before, the Physianthus albens, or Arauja, I noticed among the many moths that had been caught in the flowers, a considerable number of tongues still in the traps, while all, or nearly all, else belonging to the recent captives had disappeared. While I stood gazing, my attention was arrested by two or three bees buzzing immediately around as many entrapped moths that were alive and struggling to get away. Every moment or two, the bee suddenly and furiously darted upon the prisoner and seemed to me to sting it despite its desperate efforts to escape. This onset was generally instantane- ous, but was repeated again and again, and, after the moth became still and apparently lifeless, the bee settled upon it, and, if my eyes did not greatly deceive me, began to devour it. I had previously noticed the tongues but supposed the bodies of the moths had been eaten by birds, though I had not actually seen it done. I cannot therefore positively assert what seemed to me the fact at the time, though I had no other thought, and the fact that so many of the moths had actually disappeared, leaving only their tongues, and, in some cases, other fragments of their bodies, in the shape of legs clinging to bits of casing or skin, satisfied me that the bees had really me on animal food as well as upon the nectar of surrounding flow “T did not apus it to be the honey bee at the time, but a kind of wasp, such as or similar to that whose nest I had some- times found in sodded banks or terraces and looked upon as an architectural wonder. Yet I did not examine it, and can only say that I saw many, or supposed I did, upon a bed of Nasturtiums and other flowers, a few feet distant from the Physianthus. “I think I have found as many as three or four different kinds of moths upon the plant, besides numerous small black flies which, unlike the moth, go down dodily into the flower. ; THOMPSON. “ North Woburn, Oct. 29, 1879.” Upon writing nt Hermann Miiller in reference to these facts, he replied as follow “ Lippstadt, Taig 10, 1879.—Physianthus albens has been ob- served by Delpino as being visited by humble bees and fertilized by their proboscis. It isa new and very interesting fact that Plusia precationis is caught by the flowers of this plant and has been found dead suspended by its proboscis. About carnivorous habits of bees, my brother Fritz, in south Brazil, has observed that honey bees (but I do not remember oe mamont whether Re, À VOL. XIV.—No. 1. 4 r a a a l ANA . 50 General Notes. [ January, ‘or sinaless. Brazilian honey bees) licked eagerly the juice drop- ping from pieces of flesh which had been suspended in order to be dried in the open air. Nothing else as far as I know has ever been published on the carnivorous habits of bees; I hope, there- fore you will soon publish your very interesting observations.” We have also received the following letter from Mr. Darwin, dated Down, Beckenham, Kent, Nov. 23d. ‘I never heard of bees being in any way carnivorous, and the fact is to me incredi- ble. Is it possible that the bees opened the bodies of the Plusia to suck the nectar contained in their stomachs? Such a degree of reason would require repeated confirmation and would be very wonderful. I hope that you or some one will attend to the sub- ject" We have also received the following note from Prof. Gray in reference to the subject: “It has long been familiar, and must several times have been recorded, that moths or butterflies and other insects are caught by getting their tongue, proboscis or legs into the chink between adjacent wings of the anthers in Piysianthus or Arauja albens, and Asclepias, etc. The anther-wings are very rigid, the groove between them narrows gradually upwards, so that when a leg or proboscis is engaged, an upward pull only fixes it more securely, and the unhappy insects seem rarely to pull backward or downward, which is the only way to get disengaged. As to the rest of your account I know nothing; and should say that the observations need, if not ‘repeated confirmation, at least some confirmation by an entomological observer. t appears from the fact that the single worker bee received had a pollen-mass attached to one of its fore legs, that it visited the plant originally for the sake of its nectar. For what purpose did it attack, kill the moths and, as is claimed, “ devour” them? We publish the observations of Mr. Thompson and the comments upon them, with the hope that the subject will receive attention next summer. Since this note has been put in type, Prof. A. J. Cook, of the Agricultural College of Michigan, well known as an apiarian of experience, informs us that within the hive, honey bee workers in killing the drones tear them in pieces with their mandibles rather than sting them, and that he has seen them thus kill a humble bee that had entered the hive; it thus appears, what we judge will be quite new to entomologists, that the honey bee uses its mandi- . bles, at least on some occasions, as weapons of attack, quite as much as the sting; this would also corroborate the exactness of Mr. Thompson's observations.—A. S. Packard, Fr. PROF. HEeR ON SEquoia.—At the recent meeting of the Hel- vetic Society.of Natural Sciences, Professor Heer read a paper in the Botanical section, on the palzeontological history of Seguora. This genus is now represented by only two distinct species, form- ing the e celebrated forests of i trees in California, and known to 1380. | Zoology. 51 botanists as S. sempervirens and S. gigantea. Prof. Heer finds that the genus attained its greatest development during the Tertiary epoch, though it was before largely represented in the Cretaceous. Between the two types above named, palzontological collections have furnished as many as 24 fossil species; of which number 14 belong to the Tertiary, and 10 to the Cretaceous. The lower chalk alone furnishes 5, two of which, strange to say, are closely similar to the surviving species (if not identical). Seguota has not, as yet, been found in Jurastic formations, though these are rich in Coniferz. Botanicat Notes.—The Bulletin of the Torrey Botanical Club for October, contains notes on the flora of the Lake Superior Copper region, by A. Hollick, and descriptions of the new fungi, by F. Baron Thueman. In the Botanical Gazette for Novem- ber, C. H. Peck describes new species of fungi; T. Meehan remarks on Viscidity as a seed-distributor; while Dr. Gray notices Kat zum macrocarpon, var. intermedium of the Columbia river. the California Horticulturist for November, Mr. B. B. Redding contributes a note on the valuable edible qualities of the camass, root, which is extensively used as an article of food by the In- -dians of the western Territories and the Pacific slope. -In Trimen’s Journal of Botany for November, Mr. S. H. Vines de- scribes the alternation of generations in the Thallophytes. The recent deaths of Mr. John Miers in the 72d year of his “Be and of Fenzel, the Austrian botanist, are announced. ZOOLOGY. ! CHANGES IN THE SHELL OF LIMNÆA MEGASOMA PRODUCED BY CONFINEMENT.—In a paper by R. P. Whitfild, read at a late meet- ing of the Boston Society of Natural History, and entitled, “ Description of the animal of Lymnaea megasoma Say, with some account of the changes produced by confinement in aquaria and — under unnatural conditions,” Mr. Whitfield states that he suc- — ceeded in keeping alive a specimen of this species in an isolated position in an aquarium in his house at Albany. These speci- mens were obtained at Burlington, Vt., in the summer of 1867. Two of them speedily died, but the third one survived the change to its new abode until the following spring. In February it laid eggs supposed to have been unimpregnated. After twenty days the animals escaped from the eggs. In the spring of 1868 many of these were removed to localities in the vicinity of Albany. During February, 1869, those of this lot still remaining in the aquarium deposited their eggs, and again during the aed part of the following summer. rom the winter brood, paa were reared which pened eggs in the early part of 1 a iThe departments of Ornithology and Mammalogy are conducted by D Dr. Exmore ot Coues, U.S. A. ee 52 General Notes. [ January, The first and second generations were each smaller than the parent stock, and this last, a third generation, had a shell only about four-sevenths as long as measured by the figures. The animals of Lymnza are perfect hermaphrodites, combining in each individual both male aud female organs, therefore it is not likely that the a oral ancestor of Mr. Whitfield’s group was a deficient specimen. rtheless, besides the diminished size and spire, Mr. Whitfield ‘Wound that the male organs had disap- peared and the liver become considerably reduced in size. A dicecious species had, therefore, in all probability become a monce- cious one on account of its removal to the aquarium. This paper reminds us very strongly of the researches of Carl Semper upon Lymneza, in which he shows that the supply of food and other things being equalized in a number of aquaria, that the size of the shells depends upon the temperature. w temperature onog inimical to the development of the largest size in any specie In this case Me Whitfield, who is a palæontologist well known to workers in his own field, did not undertake his researches with the idea of conducting an experiment, but has, nevertheless, brought out a very similar series of modifications. Curiously | enough, however, he took a species which reaches a very large size in northern waters, a rodacp it to the almost tropical cli- mate of a home aqua Mr. Whitfield has caly been very fortunate in leading the way into this field o oe in experimental zoology with so suggestive a paper.—A. INFLUENCE OF BOTS ON e — The influence of some — of the principal poisons on crustacea has lately been experimented oy M. Yung. The animals treated were the crab and lobster. _ It was found that curare acts on these animals in the same way _ as on vertebrates, but with much less power; it produces difficulty eee, A ee oe S ee a cee | eee AA E EEA s movements, The action of nico- lent for crustacea as for vertebrate DIFFERENCE IN THE HABITS OF SCALOPS AQUATICUS AND SCA- PANUS AMERICANUS. —A valued correspondent, Mr. Elisha Slade of Somerset, Mass., finds decided differences in the habits of the 1 For this latter name see AMERICAN NATURALIST, XIII, 1879, p, 189. 1880. ] Zoology. 53 common and the hairy-tailed moles. According to his observa- tions, the latter prefer rather dry ground, while the former is suffi- ciently fond of low moist soil to merit its specific name, aguaticus. Though the common mole is not aquatic in the sense a mink or muskrat is, it voluntarily enters the water and procures a part of its food in that element, such as water bugs, worms, &c. It is known in Mr. Slade’s locality as the marsh or water mole, the hairy-tailed being called the upland mole.—Ldott Coues, Wash- ington, D. C. Tue Cotton-worm Morn In Ruope Iscanp.—On the evening of the 30th of September, a specimen of Aletia argillacea flew into my study, in Providence. The moth was in a perfectly fresh con- dition and bore every appearance of having quite recently emerged from the chrysalis. Its appearance certainly did not bear out the theory that all the northern individuals fy northward from the cotton belt. Several years ago I captured, in August, on Coney Island, in Salem harbor, Massachusetts, several fresh specimens, which indicated that they had originated not far from, if not on, the little islet on which they were flying in the day time—A. S. Packard, Fr. Notes on PuyLtopop Crusracea.— We have received from Florida, through Mr. C. Gissler, a new Branchipus-like form which may be called Streptocephalus floridanus. While the females of this genus do not present decided diagnostic characters, the male is distinguished by the form of the claspers, whose tips, when drawn forcibly straight out, will reach to the end of the last pair of feet. The two basal filaments are as in S. texensis Pack. ; of the forceps at the end of the claspers, the filaments are much shorter and smaller than in S. ¢exensis, so much so that there is no need of confounding the two species, and besides in the Flor- idian species the processes are less broad and flat, and the inner of the two blades of the forceps have but one instead of two teeth. While of the same size as S. holmani, the male claspers are very much larger, and they are longer than in S. watsoni Pack., from Kansas; with the latter species it need not be confounded. It : approaches S. fexensis nearest in the robustness of the body, in the form and size of the caudal appendages, which are much _ stouter than in the other two species, and equal, in length, the ae three last abdominal segments. It seems to approach S. similis — Baird, which inhabits St. Domingo, but that species is not described with sufficient exactness to enable us to compare it doh tie | : ee From Mr. Gissler we have also received specimens of Zimnets gouldii Baird, found by him in March and April, on Long sland. From Mr. R. P. Whitfield we have received peame x Of Estheria watsoni Pack, collected by Dr. C. A. White on t : Vermilion river, Colorado, in company with Lepidurus ri Pir A. S Packed Fe O 54 General Notes. [January, Tue Wuite BELLIED SWALLOW (lridoprocne bicolor)—In the NATURALIST for November, 1879, p. 706, Mr. Allinson notes hav- ing seen swallows, at Beach Haven, N. J., which he took for the bank swallow, Coytle riparia, and that he was surprised to find in their excrement the seeds of the Bayberry. I think there can be no, doubt that the species was the white-bellied swallow, /rido- procne bicolor, which does feed in part on the waxy fruit of Myrica cerifera. Seventeen years ago I kept the /. bicolor as a pet, giving it the freedom of a room, in one corner of which I kept a bush of the bayberry, or American myrtle, changing it, as soon as the berries were picked off. I also fed it with house flies, of which it was very fond. Thebayberry is a hard nut-like seed, and its cinereous or whitish covering of wax is a mere pellicle. As food for the birds, it amounts to little, unless it can have it in large quantity and very often. If, so far as known, the dzco/or is exceptional among the swallows in this matter of a mixed diet, I think it is equally so in its habits, for it is far less.aerial, and more terrestrial, than the other members of its tribe. Of the nearly one hundred species of swallows in the world, it seems to me that I. bicolor, which is peculiarly American, is an eminently special- ized type’—S. Lockwood, Freehold, N. F. VIBRATION OF THE TAIL IN Racers.—In the September number of the Naturauist, Mr. F. H. King states he has observed the fox snake (Coluber vulpinus Cope) making a buzzing noise by rapidly vibrating the tail. In the November number, Mr. C. Aldrich makes a similar statement in regard to C. obsoletus var. confinis B. & G.; I have, in a number of instances, observed the same habit in C. emoryi Cope, which is a common species with us. I have never known the noise to be made, unless his snakeship was first directly disturbed or teased. The sound is usually made by e levating from three to four inches of the tail at an angle of near 70° from the horizon, then giving it a very rapid lateral motion. When it strikes leaves or other loose objects, there i is, in addition vibrations of the tail in the air. As this habit has been observed in three of the six species of this genus, may it not be true of all belonging to it ?—F. Schneck, Mt. Carmel, T. ForRK-TAILED EUMECES FASCIATUS AND THE VARIABLENESS OF THIS Species.—During the last few years the periodical litera- ture has been quite prolific with notes on monstrosities in the animal kingdom. Prof. J. Wyman reported a specimen of the common garter snake (Eutænia sirtalis) with two heads. Mr. J. W. A. Wright gives an account of a gopher snake (Pityop/is sp. ?); Dr. H. C. Yarrow describes a specimen of Ophibolus ckwood’s remarks bear out the advisability of recognizing “for this species, a r. Lo the genus riko beled lately proposed by us, n pA eiea MaA i 412, Wee —E. C. 1880. | Zoölog T 55 gluteus, and Mr. J. S. Kingsley mentions a specimen in Will- iams College museum, in all of which there are two heads. Mr. J. S. Kingsley also mentions a five-legged frog (Rana palustris Le Conte) taken near Rochester, N. Y.; and Mr. J. Stauffer also mentions a similar specimen of the same species taken near Lan- caster, Pa. In the Od/ogist for August, 1879, mention is made of two specimens of ruffed grouse (Bonasa umbellus) one of which had ten and the other twelve toes. Mr. W. N. Lockington gives an account of a one-toed deer, and finally, Dr. E. Coues describes a race of one-toed hogs. To the above I wish to add, that I have seen three specimens of our common blue-tailed lizard (Eumeces fasciatus S.) with forked tails. The specimens were all taken near New Harmony, Ind. Two are now in the collection of Mr. J. Sampson, of that place. The two prongs are near the same length, and as I remember, near three inches in length in all the examples seen. The two prongs form an acute angle of near 35°, and are attached to a short stub of the natural tail, which appears to have been broken off. I have also seen a number of specimens in which part of the tail was gone. Is it not probable that in the forked- tailed examples, this member was first broken off, and in the restoration this unnatural growth was assumed? While I am speaking of Eumeces fasciatus, I will mention the exceeding variableness of this species. From the small, blue-tailed, striped lizard, three inches in length, to the large, ruby-headed, copper- bellied specimen, twenty inches in length and no stripes at all, every conceivable grade is found. A comparison of twenty- eight specimens show ten well marked stages, each of which, ig alone, would make a good species—F¥. Schneck, Mt. Car- mel, Ill. Fish Commission. In the Proceedings of the Boston Society — of Natural History, Vol. 20, Mr. W. H. Patton gives a synopsis — of the New England species of Colletes. In the Canadian En- tomologist for November, Mr. W. H. Edwards describes the egg, larva and chrysalis of Argynnis idalia. It is stated that Prof. Com- stock, Entomologist of the Department of Agriculture, is endeav- Oring to prepare a biological collection of insects on such a scale and in such a manner as shall be a credit to the government. Special attention has been paid, the past year, to insects feeding on clover, the collection now containing over fifty species known to destructive to this valuable crop———A catalogue of the beetles of Japan, by G. Lewis, enumerates 2227 species. These represent many European genera, and in many cases are specifi- oa cally identical with European forms —— We have received an 56 General Notes. [ January, essay by Dr. Hermann Miiller on Pee oa in German insects, with some excellent cuts. H. J. Carter, having already published an article on the probábie nature of the animal, of Stromatopora, and a second on its mode of growth, prints a third paper on the structure of this fossil, and shows its relation to the Hydractinia, in the Annals and Magazine for October. In the November number he discusses the nutritive and reproduc- tive processes of sponges. Carter and Lieberkühn have shown that Infusoria and particles of Algæ are taken in as food by the cells of the ampullaceous sacs, whether the cells are ciliated or not, while Metschnikoff has shown that the cells of the paren- chym (mesoderm) also are alimentary cells. Thus every part of the spong- a E is capable of enclosing nutritious material and digesting it. ANTHROPOLOGY.: ANTHROPOLOGICAL News.—We are pained to hear of the death of Mrs. Rev. Stephen Bowers, wife of the eminent archæologist of Santa Barbara, California. She was devoted to her husband’s labors, accompanying him in all his expeditions, and was herself an intelligent collector. e have received from the editors of the Journal of the Vic- toria Institute, four pamphlet copies of papers from that publication bearing the following titles: The Ethnology of the Pacific, by the Rev. S. J. Whitmee ; The caves of South Devon and their teach- ing, by J. E. Howard; The contemporaneity of man with the extinct mammalia, as taught by recent cavern exploration, and its bearing upon the question of man’s antiquity, by Thomas Karr Callard; The lapse of time since the Glacial epoch, determined by the date of the polished stone age, by J. C. Southall. Prof. George M. Dawson is the author of a pamphlet, reprinted from the Canadian Naturalist, entitled, Sketches of the past and present condition of the Indians of Canada. The Indian popu- lation of the Dominion is set down at 100,000. Dr. Gustav Brühl sends to the Smithsonian Institution a pam- phlet of sixteen pages, entitled, Aztlan-Chicomoztoc, eine ethnol- ogische Studien. New York, Cincinnati and St. Louis, printed by | Berziger Brothers. Two very interesting brochures from the pen of Prof. Boyd Dawkins have reached us. One of them treats of the range of the mammoth in space and time, and appeared in the Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society for February, 1879. The other is upon our earliest ancestors in Britain, constituting No. 6 0 Science Lectures for the People, and was delivered in Manchester, Jan. 18, 1879. The ’ Fournal of Anatomy and Physiology, Vol. xiv, contains a _ paper, by Prof. W. H. Flower, on the ae index as a race character in man. 1Edited by Prof. Oris T. Mason, Columbian College, Washington, D. C. 1880. | Anthropology. 57 The May number of the Yournal of the Anthropological Insti- tute contains the following papers: Some American illustrations of the evolution of new varieties of man, by Dr. Daniel Wilson; A revised nomenclature of the Inter-oceanic races of man, by Rev. S. J. Whitmee ; Ethnological notes on the Motu, Koitapu and Koiari tribes of New Guinea, by Rev. W. G. Lawes; Notes on a skeleton found at Cissbury, April, 1878, by Prof. Geo. Rolles- ton ; Illustrations of the mode of preserving the dead in Darnley island and in South Australia, by Prof. W. H. Flower. On page 402 is the address of the retiring president, giving an abstract of the work done during the year. r. Wilson’s paper in the Fournal is devoted to a subject upon which he has bestowed a great deal of thought, the preservation of our aborigines, not by legislation but by a species of natura selection, through which a new race of men is being produced between the white race and the aborigines. The introduction of the black race and the Chinese increases the complexity of the problem and awakens some of the most curious questions in anthropology. The communication of Mr. Whitmee is important, not only on account of his long familiarity with the Polynesian races, but also for the discussion which followed it. There are two broad and very distinct divisions of these people, the dark and the drown races; the dark occupying Australia, the Andaman islands, portions of the Indian archipelago and Western Polynesia; the brown being found in Madagascar, the Indian archipelago, Formosa, North- western and eastern Polynesia, together with New Zealand. Mr. A es division of these races is represented in the following et . Austral Australia Andaman Is. ~- Negrito Samang, etc. rk Races Negrito-Polynesian Aru Is. L Papuan Western N. Guinea Western Polynesia Inter-Oceanic Samoa Races of Men 1 Sawaiori 4 Hawaii : N. Zealand, &c. Malagasy Madagascar Formosan Formosa ` Brown Stock © Malayo-Polynesian ; Malays of Sumatra, &c. Malayan Javanese, &c. : aroline Is. Tarapon - Marshall Is. Gilbert Is. Mr. Wallace, who contributes the volume on Australasia and m 58 General Notes. [January, Polynesia to Stanford’s Compendium of Geography and Travel, and Prof. Flower, objected to several of the new appellations given by Mr. Whitmee. The map illustrating this paper will be found in the February number of the Yournad. The seventh part of Anales del Museo Nacional de Mexico is entirely devoted to Archeology, and contains the following G. Mendoza; La Piedra del Sol: segundio estudio, by Sr. D. Alfredo Chavero; El Congreso Internacional de Americanistas en Europa y el cobre entre los Aztecas, by Sr. D. Jesus Sanchez; Anales de Cuauhtitlan. Vol. 1, Part 1, of the Memoirs of the Science Department, Univer- sity of Tokio, Japan, is devoted to the Shell Mounds of Omori. The author, Prof. Edward S. Morse, having for years studied shell heaps in Maine and Massachusetts in company with Prof. Jeffries Wyman and Prof. F. W. Putnam, was well qualified for the exami- nation of these remains, and has made good use of his opportu- nities. These mounds possess those common characteristics which dis- tinguish shell deposits throughout the world. They have, like- wise, the following special marks: 1. The presence of enormous quantities of pottery, of many different shapes, and of an almost infinite variety of ornamentation. 2. By the great scarcity of stone implements, and the absence of arrow-heads, spear-points and other pointed implements of stone. Not an arrow-head, flake or chip has been found by the various parties that have been there in the interests of the university. 3. Thé men of the Omori period were also cannibals. 4. Peculiar clay tablets or amulets. The pottery is minutely described and illustrated by fifteen dou- ble lithographic plates. In form and marking it resembles in a striking manner the fragments in the Latimer collection, figured in the Smithsonian Report for 1876. The tablets are of the finest clay, light colored; two of them have designs in relief, with depressed areas ; on the others the figures are cut on a flat sur- face. The author ventures a comparison with American tablets, but is not able to reach any desinite conclusion. The opinion of cannibalism is founded on the same evidence as is offered by Prof. Wyman, but as savages break human bones for other reasons than a design to eat the flesh, the theory must take its chances with the rest. With much diffidence we would call Prof. Morse’s attention to Le Moyne’s plate 1 5, descriptive of the Indians occupying, in 1564, the very spot where Prof. Wyman found his evidences of cannibalism. ‘ When a battle was fought the victors seized upon the enemy and mutilated their bodies in the most brutal manner. With cane knives the arms and legs were cut around and then severed from the body by blows upon the bones from wooden cleavers. The head was also cut around _ 1880. } Geology and Paleontology. 59 with these knives, just above the ears, and the whole scalp jerked off. These were then rapidly smoked over a fire kindled in a small round hole, and borne off in triumph towards home, together with the arms and legs, suspended upon spears.” Upon arriving at home they suspended these mangled limbs and trophies and danced around them in honor of their victory. Again, in arranging the Wilkes collection for the National Mu- seum, I was struck with the great number of spear-points made of human bones. The question occurred to me then, and has been revived by Prof. Wyman, whether any magical effect would be attributed to spear-points made of the bones of a brave enemy. The absence of pointed bone in Omori would, of course, exclude the spear-point or implement theory. In conclusion, we consider Prof. Morse’s memoir one of the most important contributions to archeology for the year 1870. Numbers 3, 4 and 5 of Materiaux contain the following papers of interest to general students: Les pierres a bassin et les rochers a écuelles dans la Lozère, by G. de Malafosse; A Review of Evans’ Ancient Stone Implement in Great Britain; Palazo-ethnological bibliography for the year 1878, by L. Pigorini; The Teneviéres of the Swiss lakes, by Dr. Forel; The latest archeological pub- lications in the North, the Archeological Society of Finland, by - Beauvois; Upon the origin of domestic animals, by G. De Mortilet; New anthropological publications in the German language ; Study upon ring-money and its use among the Ger- mans, hy Dr. Much. The article by Dr. Forel upon the Zene-. veres of the Swiss lakes is a very, important one indeed. In M esor’s classic work upon the palafittes of Lake Neuchatel, the author describes certain little submerged stone mounds, formed, apparently, by heaping rocks around the bases of piles. When _ the lakes subside, the mounds form true islets. Dr. Forel’s arti- cle is to show that many of these are of geological formation, prog the natural consequence of a talus forming at the foot of a uff. GEOLOGY AND PALÆONTOLOGY. THICKNESS OF THE Ick SHEET ON ITS SOUTHERN EDGE.—At the Saratoga meeting of the American Association for the Advance of Science, Professor J. C. Smock spoke of the surface limits of thickness of the Continental glacier in New Jersey. The exist- ence of a great terminal moraine and a southern limit to the glacial drift in New Jersey and the adjacent States, were pointed out to the author in 1876, by Professor Geo. H. Cook. In that — year the southern limit of the glacial drift was traced across the State from South Amboy to a point on the Delaware river, near Belvidere. Details were given of further investigations in tracing this line. The paper considered two questions:—What was the thickness of the ice-sheet along its southern margin; and what 60 General Notes. [ January, was the rise of its upper slope northward. The terminal moraine represents both materials carried forward under the foot of the glacier, and also the earth and stone carried on its surface and dropped in a confused mass as it melted and retreated northward. These accumulated heaps may in places have equaled in height the greatest thickness of the glacier front, although in general the moraine would fall short of the height of ‘the glacier. As we see it, this terminal moraine raises greatly in height from point to point. It is possible to get at a minimum estimate of the thick- ness by considering the heights of some of the hills in the moraine. It is safe to conclude that the ice front of the great glacier was from 200 to 400 feet in thickness. A careful exploration of that part of New Jersey, which is north of the terminal moraine, has thus far failed to discover any peaks or crests which show no marks of a glacier. WERE THE ICHTHYOSAURS VIVIPAROUS?—This is a question which Prof. Seeley sought to answer in a paper submitted to the Geological Society at a late meeting. From time to time speci- mens of Ichthyosaurs have been found, with the remains of small saurians preserved inside the body-cavity. Against the suppo- sition that these small ichthyosaurs had been devored by the larger ones, it may be urged that their state of preservation is | markedly different from that of the remains of food, such as the indigested residuum of fish, which are not unfrequently found in the stomach of the Ichthyosaurs. Moreover, the position of the ‘small skeletons in relation to the larger ones, with which they are — associated, is tolerably constant, and is such as to strengthen the , supposition that the relationship is that of offspring to parent. From these and other considerations, Prof. Seeley concludes that _ the Ichthyosaurus must have been viviparous.—Academy. Miocene Fauna OF OrEGoN —Prof. Cope recently read a paper before the American Philosophical Society, describing additional species from the Truckee Miocene of Oregon. Several of these were Rodentia, one of which was referred to a new genus, under the name of Paciculus. Four were Carnivora, two Canide and two Felide. Anew genus Hyenocyen was proposed for the Exhydro- cyon basilatus, with the following dental formula: I. 3; C. 4; Pre-m. 4$;M—. The genus Merycopater was shown to be an Ureodont 3 with deficient superior incisors. A new genus of Oreodontid@ — was described under the name Coloreodon, with the following — characters: A wide diastema in both jaws. I. 3; C. +; Pre-m. į; | . §. Two species were described, a smaller C. ferox, and a — larger C. macrocephalus, both of which have remarkably developed cranial crests. Three new species were added to the suilline di- — vision Procese Man.—Special interest is attached to Prof. J. D Whitney’s recent volume upon the “Auriferous Gravels of the — bd 1880. | Geology and Paleontology. 61 Sierra Nevada,” one of the official reports of the geological survey of California, though issued by the Museum of Com- parative Zoology, because of the full description of the reported discoveries of man in the Pliocene Tertiary. These gravels arë mostly consolidated into rock and are capped by lava, con- stituting the Table mountains. The original river valley is th gorge be taken for the unit of measurement. As glacial deposits are not known on the flanks of the Sierras, Whitney relies upon the character of the fossils exhumed to determine thé age, and de- cides that the formation was the Pliocene Tertiary, anterior to the glacial drift of the East. The principal fossils are these: Ahinoc- erus, Elotherium, Mastodon americanus and M. obscurus, three species of horse, a wolf, a deer, Hipparion, Auchenia, etc. These were determined by Dr. Leidy. Lesquereux describes seventeen species of deciduous trees referred to the Pliocene, with sugges- tions of the Miocene. Various stone implements, including tools, pestles, mortars, platters, spear and arrowheads, are describe from thirty different localities in eleven counties. Human bones were found under Table and in Bald mountain. All these facts are detailed with the utmost care, and it would seem to be clearly — ‘Proved that human bones and implements are found in these gravels, associated with what are universally regarded as the fauna and flora of the Pliocene Tertiary. This is more satisfac- tory than any of the reported discoveries of human flints in the later Tertiary of Europe. No one would doubt the correctness of Whitney’s conclusion if the question did not involve the age of- man. Now, is it clear that the California Pliocene was the equiv- alent of the Eastern American and European Pliocene? There was no true glacial period in the Sierras corresponding to the Great Northern Drift; hence, may not the organisms of the Western Pliocene period have continued to live on till post-glacial times ?- Two suggestions agree with Whitney’s conclusions: (1) the im- mense time required to excavate the deep cafions would corres- pond well with careful estimates of the length of the glacial period, and it is clear that man antedated the erosion of these valleys. (2) The cafion-making period in California and over the area of 62 General Notes. [ January, the Fortietieth Parallel Survey is probably the equivalent of the glacial period of the East. It is so regarded by Clarence King, in his “ Report,” and was certainly subsequent to the time when the early men flourished.—W. Y. Independent. The preceding abstract suggests the following observations. Some of the vertebrata reported as found with the human remains in the auriferous gravels are obviously out of place, or erroneously determined. Thus, Elotherium does not belong to the Pliocene fauna, nor even to the Upper Miocene (Loup Fork) but to the lowest Miocene or Oligocene (White river). Mastodon obscurus is Upper Miocene. How they come to be included in'the list re- mains to be explained. : The occurrence of human implements mingled with the Plio- cene fauna in Oregon, was asserted in this journal for 1878, p. 125, and some dozen species of vertebrata cited as cotemporaries. more extended list of the mammalia was given in the Bulletin U. S. Geol. Surv. Terrs., 1879, p. 48; and of the birds in the same. for 1878, p. 389. The entire number of vertebrata now determined from this locality in Oregon amounts to twenty-seven, During the past summer the writer obtained bones of Mylo- don from the auriferous gravels of the Klamath river,near Yreka, Cal., from excavations which he personally examined. He also obtained vessels of vesicular basalt which were undoubtedly pro- cured from the same excavations. The relation of this formation to the European Pliocene is dis- cussed in an essay on the parallelism of the American and Euro- 1879, February —E£. D. pean horizons, in Hayden’s Bulletin U. S. Geol. Surv. Terrs, D. Cope. ; 4 GEOGRAPHY AND TRAVELS.! HAYDEN’s New Maps oF Wtomne, ETC.—The forthcoming reports of Dr. Hayden's Geological Survey, on the field-work of 1877 and 1878, will contain three topographical atlas sheets, of the same size, and on the same scale (4 miles to an inch) as those _ in the Colorado atlas. These sheets illustrate portions of Wyo- ming, Idaho and. Utah, each of them covers 214 degrees of longi- tude, and 14% degrees of latitude, and includes an area of about © a 11,000 square miles. The south-eastern of the sheets covers the country from longi- _ tude 107° to 109° 30’, and from latitude 41° 45’to 43°. Itincludes the barren plateaus of the continental divide, north of the Union Pacific R. R. The valleys of the Sweetwater and Wind rivers, — and a part of the Wind River range. The south-western sheet lies directly west of the latter, extend- 3 ing to longitude 112°. It embraces the Green River basin, and, | farther westward, a succession of parallel ranges of no ‘great — 1 Edited by ELLIS H. YAkNÅLL, Philadelphia, = 1880. | Geography and Travels. 63 height, alternating with broad valleys drained by Bear river and branches of the Snake. The third sheet lies north of the last, extending to latitude 44° 15’. Besides a small portion of the Snake River plains on its western edge, nearly all this area is occupied by rugged moun- tains. Among them may be noted the Tetons, the Gros Ventre and the northern part of the Wind River ranges. The plan of the geographical work has been sketched in some detail in previous reports of this survey, and, therefore, nothing more than a brief epitome will here be attempted. The whole work is based upon a system of triangulation, car- ried on with an eight inch theodolite, reading to 10”. In the scheme there were two base-lines measured, one near Fort Steele, Wyoming, the other on Bear River, in South-eastern Idaho. Each error of closure of the triangles in the expansion was 5.3”. The sides ranged from twenty to seventy miles in length. Altogether, forty-nine points were located by the primary triangulation. Secondary triangulation was carried on by a theodolite reading to minutes. The mean error of closure of secondary triangles is 3. The topography was secured from elevated points by map- sketches made on an assumed scale, with distances and angles esti- mated, and by perspective sketches, on which the topographical features were represented as they appeared to the observer at his station. All salient points in the landscape, peaks, angles of plateau, minor summits and hills, and junctions of streams, were located by intersections of sight lines from two or more stations, and in plotting the maps, in the office, the map-sketches are cor- rected by these locations. On these three sheets, about 3300 points, including stations, were located, being one in every ten square miles. Altogether, between 600 and 700 stations were occupied, or about one in each fifty square miles. - A few words as to the measurements of heights, and the method of construction of contour lines. Elevations were measured by means of the barometer, and the vertical circle of the theodolite. Camps, stations, and all salient points on the routes traversed, were measured by the former instrument. Aneroids were used- but little and the results accepted with great caution. The verti- cal circle was used in determining the relative heights of all points within range of the stations—all peaks, passes, gaps, heads of ae Spurs, etc., in short, everything that could be located, even ap- Proximately. Thus the heights of a great number of points were easily determined, and these, placed upon a perspective sketch, Which may be supposed to be reasonably accurate, indicate ap-— Proximately the heights of all portions of the sketch. — — — — Difference of heights are expressed on these maps by contours. oe Space between two of these grade curves represents a differ- 64 General Notes, [January, ence of elevation of 200 feet. Where the slopes are gentle the curves are far apart, while among the cliffs of the mountains and plateaus, they are crowded together, in many places being almost run into a single line. These curves are not “run,” nor are they accurately located, as would be done in a minute survey. They do, however, express the orography, and, approximately, the elevation, over: the whole ma They are constructed mainly from the perspective sketches, aided and directed by the measured heights. As an example o the method of their construction, take a mountain spur, starting from the peak and extending to the valley below. Its summit and base, and each point of change of slope, are located, and their heights are known; we have also a profile sketch of the spur. Given these data, and what is easier than to distribute the curves with a considerable approach to accuracy, between those points actually determined. his method of representing orography is a strictly natural i one. Supposing the light to be vertical, grade curves must neces- sarily produce the same lights and shades as in nature. All the details of the topography, down to forms not above 200 feet in leight may be expressed. For masses for the representation of geological outcrops and formations, these grade curves are invaluable. They enable the geologist to draw accurately the outcrops not only of horizontal, but of inclined strata, over vast areas, from a few isolated obser- vations. In many cases, by thus expressing the orography of a range, the key to its geological structure is supplie he maps of this Survey have been justly regarded as among the finest specimens of cartography ever published in this or any other country. AFRICAN EXPLORATION.—Dr. Rohlf’s expedition to Wadai left Bengasi on the Fourth of July, last, for the Kufara oasis. The oasis of Djalo and Aujila were found to be ninety-eight and sixty feet respectively above the sea level. Heretofore they have been thought to be below it. At Kufara the party were attacked and plundered and obliged to return to Bengasi. hammedan life and become better fitted for longer journeys in Central Africa. The Academy states that Mr. Donald Mac- kenzie has returned to England from Cape Juby, in North-west- ern Africa, where, during his stay, many people came to enqui~e about trading and stated that there were numerous animals of all kinds in the interior, and the country was very fertile. Mean- 4 Dr. Oscar — Lenz, weli known for his explorations on the Ogoowé, has been | sent by the German African Society to Morocco where he intends _ to cross the Atlas and investigate the geology and natural history of the southern districts. The Society also intends sending young _ travelers to this country, where they can get accustomed to Mo- _ 1880, ] Microscopy. 65 while, the French are proposing to construct a railroad across the Sahara to connect Algeria with the river Niger. The French Government has appointed a Commission to conduct preliminary investigations, and French engineers are exploring the line of the proposed road as far as the Laghouat on the south. M. Paul Soleillet will leave shortly for St. Louis, Senegal, under orders to visit the unexplored regions lying to the east of that colony as far as Timbuktu. The Nature states that at a recent sitting of the Paris Geographical Society, Mr. Soleillet read a paper proposing that the railroad be made from Dakkar, on the Atlantic coast, and St. Louis. The Senegal should be opened to navigation as far as Bafoulabé and a canal constructed from thence to Bamakou, on the Niger. The Niger is now navigable from Bamakou to Timbuktu and lower down for a distance of 1500 miles, The aggregate expense of the whole work is estimated at $5,000,000, and the population brought into close connection with Senegal at thirty-seven millions. These projects have been adopted by the High Commission and the survey for the canal will begin imme- diately. M. Soleillet believes that the semi-civilized races occupy- ing the region he is to visit will be friendly to Europeans, and offer no obstacles to the success of this great project. The country from Senegal to the Niger is level, fertile and inhabited by two races, the Bambara and Solenké. Nothing would be easier than the estab- lishment of a preliminary trade-road between the two rivers; it would suffice,to mark out a straight line and clear it of bushes to enable a bullock-dray to travel for 200 or 300 miles. Amongst other products is a vegetable wax which can be reduced to oil, and made to serve many useful purposes in the arts. Drs. Greef — and Gasser have been despatched on a scientific mission to study — the Zoology of the West African Islands. By means of the electric light the junction of the Algerian survey with the Euro- pean net-work of triangles has been completed. One of the most important events in African exploration during the past year has been the discovery, by two Frenchmen, MM. Zweifel and Moustier, of the sources of the river Niger. Starting from Sierra — one they ascended the Rokelle river and succeeded in cross- _ ing the Kong mountains, heretofore impassable in consequence of the hostility of the. natives, and visited the heads of the three Streams which, uniting after a short distance, form the Niger. — 5 66 General Notes. [ January, expense. The elegant preparations presented by Mr. Merriman . at the Buffalo meeting of the American Society of Microscopists were mounted in cells of wax cut by punches made r. Wm. Streeter, of Rochester. These instruments, as subsequently improved and as now made, are represented in section by, Fig. 1. There is a set òf four concentric tubes of iron or hard brass, of equal length, fitting smoothly within each other, and turned to a cutting edge at the lower end. When using the punches the cutting edges are to be moistened with water to prevent sticking to the wax, and the wax laid on some book leaves or writing paper to form a firm, smooth cushion. The smallest punch is then pushed through the wax sheet with a slightly rotating motion, and then the next one is placed over it and pushed down in the same manner, and so on to the largest.. o The inner punch is next withdrawn by a wooden : eg or pencil thrust into it, and the others drawn out one after the other by the little finger. Each Fic. 1.— Street- er’s punches. the top of the next smaller punch, leaving it ey Fic — Cons l, centric pet as ji ey may be fastened to — the slide by a little © warmthand pressure only, — or by some kind of cea ment. Before using they — should be coated, on the © turn table, with shellac or — other suitable cement, which will not only form a coating to the wax but also secure it to the slide. cl a aE aA Git |S lk |, Si, Come a e a A A a very serviceable. punches can be obtained ner 3, 4.—Vorce’s Cutter. 1880. | Microscopy. GF, * is represented in front view and in section in Figs. 3 and 4. It can be readily made by amateurs for their own use. It consists of a wooden body of such size as to be easily held and twirled between the fingers, with a short needle point inserted in the center of the lower end. On one side a longitudinal slot or groove is cut through the wood deep enough to allow the cut- ting edge to approach nearly to the needle. The cutter is of steel, one-eighth or three-sixteenths inch wide, as a piece of skirt- steel or corset-spring, and is attached so as to lie in the groove and press toward the needle. The cutter should be ground toa triangular point,-and ground only on the outside, leaving its inner face flat and smooth. A screw passes through the body of the instrument and bears against the spring, regulating its dis- tance from the needle point. -Greater firmness might be secured by changing the form of the body so as to support at its two edges the cutter when forced out to its farthest limit. The other instrument, shown in Fig. 5, was suggested by the Vorce instru- ment, and was contrived by Mr. Frank Ritchie, of Troy. It possesses greater power and precision than the other, but is not so easily made by an amateur. It consists of a pair of spring dividers about three and one- quarter inches long, from one leg of which — half an inch of its length has been cut off and replaced by a brass socket with a binding screw to hold a small knife blade. A knob is also added at the top for convenience in man- ipulation. The method of working these two forms of apparatus is precisely the same. A sheet of wax may be laid on a sheet of heavy white paper, and both together tacked to a piece of smooth hard wood. The instrument with its legs set three-sixteenths inch apart, iS used to cut outa series of discs of three- eighths inch diameter. How near together these can be safely cut will soon be learned by experience. The legs are then set one- quarter inch apart, and using the same centers as before, a series of rings can be cut suitable for one-half inch covers. B successively Spreading the legs one-sixteenth inch further each time, rings may be cut around the same _ Centers for five-eighths and three-quarters inch E eee Seo ee if desired. The concentric ee ~ Riedie T each center are cut out without curte. waste, as shown in Fig. 2. Not only wax but oes also sheet-lead, card-board and gutta percha can be cut with $e a ae ae ee _ facility in this manner. The various tools sold by hardware emp ; Psi cutting washers of leather, etc., have often been e ' 68 Scientific News. [January, ANOTHER JOURNAL.—A successor to the late American Quar- terly Microscopical Fournal is announced, in the form of a monthly by the same editor, and in a more popular form. The first num- ber is promised for the present month. The editor’s name is a sufficient guarantee of the scientific spirit and energetic manage- ment of the new enterprise, which can scarcely fail, and ought not to fail, at the low subscription price of one dollar a year, to receive so general a support as to become self-sustaining and perma- nent. It is published by Romyn Hitchcock, at 51 Maiden Lane, N.Y. ADULTERATIONS IN Foop.—The prize offered last summer for the best two slides illustrating the adulteration of some common article of food, one slide to show the genuine article and the other to show an adulterated form actually sold and used, will be awarded at the meeting of the American Society of Microscopists, next summer. The donor, Mr. E. H. Griffeth, will substitute for the medal promised an objective suitably engraved, if preferred by the winner. E pw > EXCHANGES. — Fine diatoms and other marine material for named diatoms, diatomaceous earths or other good mounted objects.—M. A. Booth, Longmeadow, Mass. :0: SCIENTIFIC NEWS. — In the American Fournal of Science and Arts for December, Prof. James D. Dana, the editor, and who is, we need not remind _ our readers, one of the leading geologists of his time, reprints the _ bill for the establishment of the U. S. Geological Survey of the Pub- lic Domain, and adds his weighty comments on the “ unexpected amendment ” to this bill introduced by Mr. King, the geologist- in-charge, and passed by Congress at the extra session, by which _ the survey is extended over the whole area of the United States, including the States as well as the Western Territories. Prof. by the Act of Congress requiring its appointment : this act asking : that the members ‘take under consideration the methods and expenses of conducting all surveys of a scientific character under _ : 1880. ] Scientific News. 69 the War or Interior Department and the surveys of the Land Office, and to report to Congress as soon thereafter as may be practicable, a plan for surveying and mapping the Territories of the United States on such general system as will, in their judg- ment, secure the best results at the least possible cost? The plan set forth by the committee, besides having direct reference to the Territories, had in view that economy of expenditure, suggested in the act of Congress; while the new scheme, with the proposed enlargement of its scope, would involve—as State geological sur- veys have shown—millions of outlay for the strictly geological part, and indefinite millions besides for the economical branch— the study of ‘the mineral resources and products of the National Domain,’ ‘ and the States. “The writer is not informed as to the character of the discus- sion over the proposed amendment in the House of Representa- tives. But it seems to be plain, from the change of wording, that the meaning intended to be conveyed by it was that the director “may extend his examination into States’ which adjoin Territo- ries. There is an evident absurdity in an expression which adds the States—nearly the whole country—to the Territories. Had the general survey of the United States been intended by the House, the idea would have been brought out by the simple sub- stitution of the words United States for ‘ National Domain.’ ” rof. Dana also adds: “ A change so great in the administra- tion of the affairs of the Government should have a full discus- resources of the States, whether of a mine or of a granite quarry, Would be followed by other evils through encroachments on pri- vate rights, and the temptations to favor private enterprises. Lhe — General Government, unlike many in foreign lands, has no owner- à ship in the mines of California or of any other of the States, and “in has no need to establish a Mining Bureau for the country at large.” 2 oo , Coming from the source it does, this is a weighty protest, and- 48s in the line of criticism adopted by this journal? While the U.S. Geological Surveys under Hayden, Powell and the U. Engineers, Lieut. Wheeler in charge, were confining their att tion to developing our knowledge of the natural resources Of | Western Territories, with excellent results already accomplished and with a great mass of unpublished material for valuable final reports which will now probably never see the light; all this was , AMERICAN NATURALIST, May, 1879, p- 343» August number, p. 535- : 70 Scientific News. [ January, not only interrupted, but stopped, through the unwise action of a handful, not of politicians, but scientists. The result has proved, we fear, that it would have been better to have let well enough alone, for during the past season little or no geological explora- tion has been carried on in the Western Territories; small parties were sent to Leadville and the Eureka mines and the Comstock lodes and the California gold fields, no general geological work having, apparently, been done at all! The people want and are expending money for more information about the unsurveyed lands of the Far West; the scientific world demand and should have widely extended and thorough topographical, geological and biological surveys of that vast region, such as have been inaugu- rated and carried on in the past; these, as we have always felt should be directed by one mind, and for this reason some mem- bers of the National Academy voted for the consolidation of the different surveys then in the field. For a United States Survey of fhe Public Lands to expend a large or moderate proportion of its money and means in one or several of the Eastern States, such as Tennessee, or one of the New England States, is absurd and uncalled for, and interferes with the work that may be going on or is in prospect in such State. American scientists hope and expect that geological explorations under the new regime will, - hereafter at least, not be inferior in breadth of treatment, scientific . accuracy and extent, to what it has been in the past; ‘certainly that the zeal and previous success in field and general geological . work of the Geologist of the Fortieth Parallel may not be lessened, | but fulfill the expectations of the American people and scientific public.—£attors Naturalist. — Prof. B. F. Mudge, formerly Mayor of Lynn, Mass., died in Kansas on Friday last. Mr. Mudge was born at Orringford, Me., August 11, 1817; his parents removed to Lynn when he was about a year old. He attended the common schools until he was 14 years old, when he went to work at shoemaking, at which he worked six years. Then fitting for college he entered Wesleyan University, where he graduated in 1840, subsequently taking up the study of law. In 1842 he was admitted to the bar and prac- ticed his profession at Lynn until 1859. He was elected the sec- ond mayor of Lynn, serving in 1852 and 1853. He went West and became chemist for the Breckinridge Oil and Iron Company of Kentucky. When the war broke out he went to Kansas, and in 1863 was appointed State Geologist. In 1865 he was elected Professor of Geology and Associated Sciences at the State Agri- cultural College, and remained in that position for eight years. Since 1874 Mr. Mudge has been employed in exploring the geo- _ logical formations of Western Kansas, He was also employed by Dr. Hayden in describing the tertiary and cretaceous formations _ ~ in Kansas, and he made extensive collections for Prof, E. D. Cope, in that State, during which he discovered the first specimens of 1880. | Proceedings of Scientific Societies. 71 toothed birds. Prof. Mudge spent the greater part of his later years in camp life beyond the settlements in the employ of Prof. Marsh as field geologist for Yale College. He was a member of the Ameri- can Association for the Advancement of Science, and of other scientific bodies, and was instrumental in founding the Kansas Academy of Sciences, of which he was the first president. In 1876 the office of State Superintendent of Public Institutions was Ey him, but he preferred to continue his field work. In 184 Mudge married Miss Mary E. A. Beckford, of Lynn. Six ‘dhibdren were born to them, of whom three are still living. — During his voyage near Behring Straits, Professor Nordens- kidld obtained numerous remains of Steller’s manatee, of which only a few bones have hitherto existed in the St. Petersburg Museum, dye large Sirenian, it wiil be remembered, became extinct in 1786 — The death ofA. H, Garrod, ERS, Oct. 17th, at the age of thirty-four, is announced in the English papers. He was making © a excellent reputation as a comparative anatomist and. physi- ologist ; 10: PROCEEDINGS OF SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES. Kansas Acapemy oF Sciences, Twelfth Annual Meeting.—_ Prof. B. F. Mudge, the president of the academy, lectured on the mound-builders of America. Papers were read by the president on the metamorphic deposits in Woodson county, and on Indian ` mounds in Davis and Riley counties, also by Dr. A. H. Thomp- _ son on Indian graves near Topeka. The report of the Commis- -sion on Botany was read by Prof. J. H. Carruth, who announced ~ ~ the pes of Seng 120 species new to the State. A paper was _ read by Hon. F. G. Adams, of Topeka, on the phonetic repre- eee of the Indian language, describing the systems or alpha- bets invented by the Cherokee, Sequoyah, and by Mr. Meeker,a ‘Missionary who formerly resided in Johnson county. The alpha- bet formed by Mr. Meeker was said to be adequate to the perfect phonetic representation of any Indian language, a and books were iss in the characters of that eee in cleven Pik diale Boston Socrery or NATURAL History, Nov. sth- w Crosby spoke on the Evidences of Compression in the Roc _ the Boston basin, and Mr. J. W. Feukes on Aéyla penta; and ‘its relation to a theory of bilateral symmetry. Nov. 19th—M rest Ingersoll read a brief survey of the nati assachusetts. Prof. A. Hyatt spoke on som 7 changes undergone by fresh water snails ( Ld captivity, as observed by Mr. A. P. Whitfield. D ` e: on the pee and thei 72 Selected Articles in Scientific Serials.. (Jan., 1880. Appacacutan Mountain Crus, Nov. 12.— The councillors reported as follows: Mr. J. R. Edwards on topography, Prof. E. Fay on exploration and Dr. W. B. Parker on improvements. Rev. John Worcester described the excursion to Tuckerman’s ravine, made in connection with the field meeting at North Con- way. Prof. Charles R. Cross gave an account of the Congress of Alpine clubs, held at Geneva the past summer, which he attended as the representative of the club. Dec. 10.—Prof. J. H. H. Huntington reported as councillor of natural history. Mrs. Phebe M. Kendal presented her report as councillor of art. Prof. E.S. Morse read some notes on Japan, illustrated by the large maps of Japan recently received by, the club. A copy of Prof. Guyot’s new map of the Catskill moun- tains, presented by the author, was shown and an explanatory pape, written by him, was read. AMERICAN GEOGRAPHICAL Society, Nov. 18.—The Earl of Dun- raven read a paper on moose and caribou hunting in the wilds of -Canada. Dec. 9.—Rear Admiral Ammen presented a paper on + the proposed inter-oceanic ship canal across Nicaragua. New York AcapeĪmY OF Sciences, Section of Biology, Dec. I. —Prof. Gea. Macloskie read a paper on the proboscis of the house fly. tO: SELECTED ARTICLES IN SCIENTIFIC SERIALS. _ AMERICAN JOURNAL OF SCIENCE AND Arts, Dec. 15th—Artificial fertilization of oyster eggs, and embryology of the American : oyster, by W. K. Brooks. Abe oe of the Loess, by G. C.. Brod- head. New Jurassic reptiles by O. C. Marsh. -GeoLocicat Macazine, Nov. Pie se notes upon the form of volcanoes, by J. Milne. JENAISCHE ZEITSCHRIFT FUR eeu Oct. 29g—On the comparative anatomy of the digestive system of birds, second part, by H. Gadow. The distribution of the fresh and brackish water fishes of Africa, by C. Dambeck. The anatomy and his- tology of the actinians with special reference to the nervo-mus- wig. - cular ‘system, by O. and R. Hertw SIEBOLD UND KOLLIKER'S ZEITSCHRIFT FUR WISSENSCHAFTLICHE ZOOLOGIE, Oct. 29th-—Researches on the structure and develop- ment of sponges, eighth part, by F. E. Schultze. Germ layers and formation of the organs of Echini, by E. Selenka. Contri- butions to the natural history of the Daphnide, by A. Weismann. | ANNALES DES SCIENCES NATURELLES, Sept., 1878 Ea recia —On the scales of teleosaurian fishes, by M. Car O = geographical distribution of bats compared with that of other asa a o Ten mammals, by M. Trouessart. ; THE AMERICAN NATURALIST. VoL. xiv. — FEBRUARY, 1880. — No. 2. OBSERVATIONS UPON THE HABITS, STRUCTURE AND DEVELOPMENT OF AMPHIOXUS LANGE OLA TUS, BY HENRY J. RICE. [Concluded from the Fanuary number.) Nervous System—This system consists of a central and a per- ipheral portion. The central portion, or chorda spinalis, is a long, slender, slightly tapering body, nearly round in section, and ex- — tends from the posterior to within a short distance of the anterior extremity of the dorsal aspect of the notochord. The anterior end is somewhat larger, for a short distance, than the rest of the chor- da, and forms a sort of elongated head with a short, pointed, beak- like termination, which lies close upon the notochord. Upon the left side of this “head,” and near the end or anterior portion, there _ isa slight cone-like projection, which is in close proximity to and _ points towards the ciliated pit or depression of the left side of the Nee body. This projection is considered to represent a single olfac- 2 tory nerve or lobe, and if the pit is indeed a ‘nasal fosse, then _ undoubtedly this protuberance is an olfactory organ. With the ; : Present the slightest indication of the divisions or lobes which . Tee m the brain of all other vertebrates. ee _The posterior extremity of the chorda mie a adá upward n bena, at nearly right angles to its former direction, and expands just above the end of the notochord, into a small, button-like ter- j - mination, which probably through some accident in finishir z ie plate, is not shown in the figure of the adult animal, Between the two ends and along the center of the chorda there extends a nat rom canal , Which i is of considerable size in the head por ic = hg S enclosed by the anterior walls, but gr l; amn meia the of se itr extremity, v rh 74 Observations upon the Habits, Structure and | February, the merest traces of a cleft or opening, as seen in the center of the “button” of this end. The sides of this canal, throughout its entire length, are marked by small, black, roundish pigment spots, which are some- times aggregated into small clusters, but more commonly are scattered along at varying intervals from each other. In the sub- stance of the anterior, beak-like extremity, and just in front of the end of the central canal, there is a large pigment spot which is generally thought to represent the rudiments of a median eye ; but if it does not, then Amphioxus is entirely lacking in such an organ. Prof. Quatrefages, in 1845, described and figured a prominent protuberance as existing upon the side of the cord at this end, and claimed that it showed at its extremity a distinct and rather well-developed crystalline lens, thus representing a stalked eye, with the staik pointing towards the anterior extrem- ity of the body; but later observers have failed to confirm his observations in this respect, the only short protuberance which is formed along this portion being considered as representing, as already mentioned, an olfactory rather than an optic organ. The peripheral portion of the nervous system consists of a suc- cession of pairs of nerves given off from the upper part of the sides of the chorda dorsalis along its entire length. They originate in single roots, and arise at intervals corresponding to the divis- ions between each two of the muscle plates. With the excep- tion of the first and last pairs, all the nerves are of nearly uniform size, and, with the same exceptions, they pass outward and down- ward branching two or three times in their course, to be distributed along the middle and lower portions of the sides of the body. Besides the lower branches, each of these nerves sends off, at a short distance from its origin, a branch which proceeds upwards to the dorsum of the animal, Fig. 6, Pl. u. The nerves, which form the first pair, arise anterior to the body muscles and from the anterior portion of the head of the chorda. They are quite large at their bases, and extend straight forward from the sides of the chorda towards the anterior end of the body, dividing in their course into a large number of branches which are distributed above and below, and all about the extremity of the notochord. These branches terminate, or at least many of them do, in the cells of the exoderm, or else in small bell-like knobs which are _ wedged in among the exodermic cells, and resemble them very 1 Annales des Sciences Naturetiei 3m™me série, Zoologie. Tome qme, pe: k = oe. - 10-13, 8vo Tora, a : ip ee eee . 1880. | Development of Amphioxus lanceolatus. 75 much in shape and appearance. The last pair of nerves which arise at some distance from the end of the chorda, are directed back- wards and perform the same offices for the posterior end of the notochord and the tail, that the first pair do for the opposite extremity, but the nerves themselves are not so large, being slightly larger than the ordinary body nerves, and they do not divide into nearly as many branches. Muscular System-—The muscular system may be considered as made up of two sets of body muscles; two sets of transverse abdominal muscles ; few or many longitudinal fibres in and along the abdominal walls; mouth muscles; pharyngeal ring muscles, and sphincters for the mouth, branchiopore and perhaps for the ring or neck of the pharynx. The ody muscles are disposed as in ordinary fishes, one set upon either side and each set is composed of a series of regular, overlapping muscle plates, which extend from near the anterior extremity of the chorda dorsalis to within a short distance of its - posterior termination. Along the entire length of their dorsal half, the two sets are either united or very closely approximated, and enclose the greater portion of the entire length of the chorda and of the notochord, but leave the extremities of both entirely bare of muscular covering (Fig. 1, Pl. 1). These muscles are also united along the ventral edge e the tail portion, but for the ante- rior two-thirds or more of their length their ventral edges are quite widely separated, spreading outward and downward from the notochord to form the upper portion of the parietes of' the abdomen. The general outline of these combined plates, when seen from the side, is that of a long, slender spindle, gradually tapering from the center to a sharply pointed termi- nation at either end. Each plate is composed of longitudinal, : striped, muscular fibres, and is four-sided in outline, but with _ outline, tong and narrow, and with the longer points coincides direction with the notochord. Nearer the center of the body th plates are almost square, the- diameters being nearly equal ; _ while along the middle third, where they become once more _ Thomboidal, or nearly so, the longer diameter is at right angles to a the notochord, with the longer portion of each plate running o down into the abdominal walls, On account of the avecloai S each T T the one inmate ee to it, this 76 Observations upon the Habits, Structure and (February, sidedness can be seen only in the last plate, which is entirely uncovered. These muscles give to the body whatsoever of color it may possess, and probably also its metallic iridescence, although this latter feature may be due to the striz and fibres which exist in the integument. These muscles, from their very great extent as compared with the entire body, also give Amphioxus its remarkable power and activity in the sand and water, and from their similarity of arrangement at either extremity, enable, or rather compel it to move with that beautiful, elastic, line-of-beauty motion which is such an interesting feature of its progress. The transverse muscles lie in the walls of the abdomen and extend from the ventral edges of the muscle plates of either side to meet and unite in a raphe upon the median ventral line of the branchial sack. These muscles are nearly transparent in structure, and by their action serve to close the ‘sack walls upon or towards the . pharynx, as in the expulsion of water from the branchium by the branchiopore, and as is seen in all hardened or preserved speci- mens. The longitudinal abdominal muscles, which are found chiefly in the lower and posterior portion of the abdomen, proba- bly assist in the contraction of the abdominal walls, and also serve to shorten the sack and open the branchiopore. The mouth muscles, arranged in the walls of the buccal cavity and attached _ to the mouth ring and its appendages, serve to open the mouth, and by this operation unclose the overlapping oral tentacles. It has been said that besides these general muscles there are special muscles which serve to move each individual tentacle separate from the entire circlet. I have never seen any evidence of any such muscles, and never, in a single instance any indi- vidual motion of the tentacles, and if such muscles exist their action must be very feeble or entirely nugatory. The muscles of the pharyngeal ring are situated in the posterior portion of the buccal cavity and attached to the borders of the ring so as to bring the tentacles of these parts forward across the mouth of the pharynx. The sphincter muscles surround their respective orifices and serve, as in-the case of all sphincters, to approximate the edges of these different apertures. There may be a rudi- mentary sphincter to the anus, but neither in the young nor the adult have I ever observed what may be strictly called a closure of this orifice. Reproductive Organs—These organs consist of a number of roundish or oval bodies formed inside the lining membrane of the _ ue oe of the branchium and attached to the ‘oe a z the : 1880. } Development of Amphioxus lanceolatus. 77 muscle plates in a single row, along either side of the animal. Each body consists of a case or capsule enclosing a central solid portion or matrix, within which are developed the generative products, and each case is placed with the center of its upper border in juxta- position to the line of overlapping or junction of two of the mus- cle plates (Fig. 6 a, PI. 11). Ordinarily these cases are small and inconspicuous, and lie entirely below the outline of the body muscles, but in the female, towards the breeding season, the ova increase so much in size that the cases become large and notice- able, closely pressed together, and extend for about a quarter or third of their diameter above the edge of the muscles to which they are attached, thus occupying a goodly share of the sides of the branchium. In the female which was in my possession there were twenty-six of these cases upon each side, extending from a little in front of the middle of the pharynx back to very near the branchiopore, In the males there were respectively twenty-three ` and twenty-five pairs of cases so that it is probable that there is no great difference in the number of pairs of cases in the two sexes, These generative organs are without outlets, the germinal products- escaping from them, when fully ripe, by the dehiscence or burst- ing of the walls of the capsule and the lining membrane of the cav- ity, and thus get into the branchium from whence they pass into the Surrounding water, the spermatozoa to come in contact with and © impregnate the ova, and the ova to develop into young animals. __ This escape from the body is probably effected during the feeding time of the animals, when there is a current more or less _ Strong passing through the branchium. The exact method by — which the ova become impregnated is not known, but it may be supposed that the spermatozoa, after passing from the male, move __ about in the water until swallowed by a feeding female, when they 3 pass into the branchium with the greater quantity of the water, and so get to the cases containing the ova, penetrate the capsules, or more likely adhere to the exterior until the ova are extruded, and then effect the work of impregnation. Any ova which were in the branchium at the time of the entrance of the spermatozoa, es -and which had been recently separated from the cases, would of course be very quickly fastened upon and impregnated.) Each ovary, if a single case may be considered to represent an ovary, Contains from twenty-five to thirty ova, and each ovum is enclosec ? eS, 18 possible that it may be shown hereafter that the ova are impres nae : < ter they pass from the female into the surrounding water, there meeti ting the fic Spermatozoa | which have been cients: from. me male, 78 Observations upon the Habits, Structure and | February, in a separate membrane or cell, any one of which may open and discharge its contents without affecting the rest of the case. Under the microscope these cases appear like small bags of mar- bles or bunches of grapes, except that most. of the ova show a lighter, roundish spot near the center, which represents a nucleus, the nucleolus not being visible (Fig. 4, Pl. 11) After escaping from the cases and becoming free in the branchium, the ova in all probability, pass out of the body, by way of the branchiopore, in the water which is being constantly expelled from this orifice during the process of feeding. Up to 1873 this was considered, by careful observers to be the only method by which the ova could possibly escape into the surrounding medium, and Quatrefages says that he saw them, under the microscope, pass from this aperture. But Kowalevsky, in his paper upon the development of Amphi- oxus,' says that Ae saw the eggs issue from the mouth of the . female in bunches of fifteen or twenty, and hence concludes that they are normally extruded from this opening. This abnormal proceeding on the part of Amphioxus has been questioned by Wm. Müller? on the grounds that the branchial slits are too narrow to admit of the passage of the ova in this direction, and Prof. Huxley seems to be of the opinion? that if this proceeding took place as described by Kowalevsky, that it was accidental, and due to some of the ova in passing out by the branchiopore getting caught in the openings of the lateral folds, being carried along the hollows of these folds and discharged at their anterior open- ings into the mouth cavity and thence out of the body. But this would not account for their issuing in bunches of fifteen or twenty, and moreover, as there are no such openings to the meta- pleura (ante p. 6), the ova could not have passed in this direc- tion. Prof. Ray Lankester‘ sides with Kowalevsky, and says that in all probability the ova do pass from the mouth, but if not by the branchial slits, then by certain openings which exist, one upon either side, and connect the branchium with the buccal cavity. This connection has not been noticed by previous observers, although Prof. Lankester thinks that these’ openings are the ones 1 Entwicklungsgeschichte des Amphioxus lanceolatus. Von Dr. A. Kowalevsky, Mem. de |’Acad. Imp. des Sciences de St. Pet tersbourg, vime série. Tome x1, No, 4, p- 1. St. Petersburg, 1867. oo 2 Ueber das Urogenital system des Amphioxus, &c. Jenaische Zeitschrift, Vol. Xe p. 94. 1875. z =- 3Classification of the Animal Kingdom. PELE Hosjeg. Quar. Jour. Microscop. Sci., Vol. 15, p- 54. 1875. * Loc. tit., p: 1880. ] Development of Amphioxus lanceolatus. 79 figured by Joh. Miller’ and considered by him to be the anterior openings of the meta-pleura. In the case of the female which was in my possession, the ova were extruded very gradually and- for the most part one by one, so that here and there along the row of cases could be seen, one with a single ovum gone, others, nearer the ends, half empty, and still others, near the middle, with their full quota. During this period, which extended over the entire time the animal remained alive, I was not fortunate enough to see any ova leave the body, but from the size of the branchial slits, the position of the generative bodies, and the actions of the cilia, currents and abdominal walls, which I studied with considerable care, I arrived at the conclusion, which is in accordance with the opinions of Wm. Müller, Quatrefages, &c., that, the ova all passed from the body by the branchiopore, and that while not absolutely impossible, it would be an exceedingly exceptional proceeding if any should pass out by way of the mouth. I found that seven ova placed side by side extended Over a space just equal in length to the breadth of five branchial slits with their enclosing arches, and as the bars of the arches are quite as broad as the slits, the ova in passing out in this direction would be obliged to pass in opposition to the powerful action of the branchial cilia and inflowing water, through openings which at most would be only seven-elevenths as broad as the diameter of a single ovum, which would be an exceedingly difficult per- formance. If the openings mentioned by Prof. Lankester exist, and are no broader than the breadth of the branchial slits, there _ would be the same difficulty in passing through them as in forcing a way through the slits, besides having to traverse nearly — half the length of the pharynx against the current of water and the pressure of the abdominal walls. If these openings are larger than the openings of the slits, it would hardly seem possi- ble that they could have remained undetected until this late _ date, but even in this case the passage of ova through them — could hardly be more than an occasional and chance occurrence, since the same obstacles exist to the passage of the ova forward a to these openings as in the case of the smaller ones, and are even increased by the liability of currents of water setting through them into the branchium and thus assisting in expelling the ova- SS * Ueber den Bau und die Lebenserscheinungen des Branchiostoma lubricum. Von Joh. Müller. Abhandlungen der Berliner Akad. Berlin, 1842 (1844), Pl. 11, Fig. “r er ee ec e, 80 Observations upon the Habits, Structure and (February, by the branchiopore. Thus in any case there would be great difficulty for the ova to get into the mouth cavity, and when once ‘in they would be fully as liable to be drawn down through the pharynx into the stomach as to be expelled from the body. But it seems to me that it is not necessary to suppose any such diffi- cult and abnormal passage, as it appears possible to harmonize, in a natural manner, the opposing views of Kowalevsky with those of Quatrefages and Wm. Müller, for apparently the ova may pro- ceed from the mouth, while actually they make their exit from the branchiopore. When we consider the position of Amphioxus dur- ing feeding time, that is, when it comes to the surface of the sand, we find that it has formed for itself a sort of sand tube in which it lies, belly upwards, with its mouth orifice, or a small portion of its body exposed to view, as it was when Kowalevsky saw the ova - issue. Now at every contraction of the abdominal walls there will be left a space between the body and sand, extending from the bran- chiopore to the mouth, or near it, through which the water ex- pelled from the branchium may pass to and mingle with the water above the sand. And if at this time the ova are extruded from the pore along with the water, they will naturally rise to the sur- face of the sand, pass along by the mouth tentacles, appearing to any but the most careful observation to come from between them, and so into the medium where they float about until transformed _ into young Amphioxi. If this is the true method of procedure, as it is the most simple and natural, it will account, as no other method will, for the little bunches of fifteen or twenty which Kowalevsky saw emerge into the water. For in passing from the pore out against the sand it would be very easy for some of the = ova to become lodged against the sides of the tube until a num- ber of them accumulating together would form an obstacle of sufficient importance to be forced out by the outflowing water, and sent along by the tentacles, when they would be seen rising in the water as if just escaped from the mouth cavity. The Urinary System—The earlier anatomists who examined | Amphioxus were unable to discover any organ, or series of organs, which could be considered as acting as specialized excretory ves- sels for the urinary products, and for quite a time it was a matter = of considerable speculation as to the method by which these pro- _ ducts, if any were formed, were eliminated from the body. Very Soon, however, certain isolated, ductless, glandular patches were _ fo 1880. | Development of Amphioxus lanceolatus. 81 discovered to exist upon the floor of the posterior portion of the branchium near the branchiopore, and as no other function could be thought of as being performed by them, and as there were, apparently, no other organs which might subserve the purposes of excretion, it was supposed that these patches acted in this capacity, and after eliminating the urinary products cast them into the branchium to be extruded from the body through the branchiopore with the water which passed from this orifice. This opinion, which might be considered as very plausible, since the patches were associated in position with the posterior generative bodies, was very generally held until quite recently, but in the paper by Prof. Lankester, already referred to, he announces the discovery of certain canals which he considers as representing, rather than these patches, the true urinary ducts of Amphioxus. These vessels, one upon either side, are in the form of long tubular ridges, formed along the roof of the pleuro- — peritoneal portion of the branchium as outgrowths from the meso- derm of the body walls. They are composed of pigmented cells and their posterior extremities are open and communicate with the branchium near the branchiopore, but their anterior extremi- ties, which are in the neighborhood of the sides of the pharynx, are probably closed. These canals are thus apparently homolo- gous with the earlier stages at least of the ducts of the uriniferous tubules of other vertebrates, and, unless further investigation : shows them to appertain unmistakably to some other system they will undoubtedly henceforth be considered as representing, as- Prof. Lankester suggests, the urinary system of this animal. . The Blood Vessels—The general arrangement of the vessels of- the blood system in Amphioxus is very similar to that found’ in the young of all osseous fishes, but in the minutiæ of the plan there are quite important modifications, which, although not making a complicated system, yet render it very different from ns other ktiown among vertebrates. The main blood vessel, or ž : vein, extends from the anus along the ventral aspect of the intes- — i tine to the base of the saccular liver, thence around the entire — ae length of this organ upon both ventral and dorsal edges, to con- “ene along the ventral aspect of the cesophagus‘and pharynx to * point just beneath the first branchial cleft where it expands or : Merges into a bulbous organ, the heart. This canal is pulsatile, — Pos 1 has been given different names according to the 82 Observations upon the Habits, Structure and [February, the body through which it passes, but it is undoubtedly to be considered as a single vessel, since it is of nearly uniform calibre throughout its course, and. the rythmical contractions, which are. a very marked feature and readily seen, especially in the young, pass from behind forwards, at somewhat lengthy intervals, along its entire length. Up to quite recently this long tubular vena cava was considered to be the sole pulsatile organ of Amphioxus, and as a “tubular heart,” which was the term applied to it, was an anomaly among vertebrates, it was thought fit to designate the “thin” from the “thick” hearted vertebrata, and thus separate Amphioxus from the rest of the family by instituting for its sole reception the class Leptocardia. But in 1876 Langerhans announced! the discovery of the organ, which is described above, as being situated at the anterior extremity of the vena cava, and which he considers as representing the heart. If this is the case, and Amphioxus does indeed possess a thick-walled pulsatile cavity, the above classification may have to be revised, but even then the pulsatile character of the vena cava, together with the other pecu- liarities in the organization of Amphioxus, may be considered of sufficient importance to make it the unique representative of a distinct class. From each side of the pharyngeal portion of the vena cava a series of vessels are given off, which correspond in number and position to the main bars of the branchial arches, and through which these vessels pass to the dorsal edge of the ` pharynx, where they unite into two aorta, which run back with- out any intercommunication, one upon either side of the median line, to the cesophagus, where they unite into a single tube, which proceeds as a distributing vessel to the end of the body. Each series of these branchial or blood-renovating vessels forms its own aorta, and each individual vessel has, at its base or origin, a small dilatation or bulb-like enlargement to which the name of “branchial heart” has been given. These “hearts” lie in the — alternating triangular spaces between the curved bases of the cartilaginous arches, a, Fig. 4, Pl. 1, and probably act as elastic reservoirs to render the flow of blood steady and continuous through the branchiz. The main heart, into which a certain, perhaps a large proportion of blood from the vena cava passes, gives off three vessels, two small paer from its anterior border, ; Anat: a Amphi -us lanceolatus Wa Dr. Paul Langerhans. Archiv für Miksokopische Anatomie. Band 12, 7 336, fig. 49c. Boen, 1876. N 1880. | Development of Amphioxus lanceolotus. 83 and a large one from its left side. The anterior vessels proceed to and supply the walls of the buccal cavity and the tentacles, ‘and the left branch, which forms the ductus Botalli, or aortic arc, passes across the pharynx between the pharyngeal ring and the anterior branchial clefts, to unite with the left aorta, formed by the union of the left branchial vessels, and by this route sends its blood into the main arterial channel. The blood of Amphioxus is colorless, containing only white nucleated corpuscles, and very few of these. The manner, how- ever, of its distribution from the aorta and branches of the heart to the different parts of the body and its return to the vena cava and heart is not at present known. It may be that the passage is effected by means of capillary vessels which are so minute that they have not as yet been made out, or it may be, and which is much more probable, that this fluid passes through the inter- Spaces between the various tissues, or in other words, that the large blood vessels terminate as blood sinuses. Development.—F or those changes which take place in the em- bryo of Amphioxus previous to the formation of the side folds, and for most of my information in regard to the growth of these folds, I am chiefly indebted to the investigations of Kowalevsky? who has shown that shortly after the impregnated ovum leaves the branchium of the female and passes into the surrounding water, the granular vitellus, which nearly fills the rather delicate vitel- line membrane, undergoes complete segmentation and gradually builds up a thin-walled, nearly spherical morula, which soon, under the energetic action of the numerous external vibratile cilia, each cell of the wall being furnished with one or more of these little lashes, begins rolling over and over, quite slowly, Within the enclosing membrane, agreeing in this respect with what is seen in the ova of certain other vertebrates and many of , : the invertebrata. After the commencement of these rotary a movements, or it may be before they begin, the morula be- comes transformed, by the introversion of one side and the sul = sequent near approximation of the edges of the cup thus pro- duced, into a gastrula, and the gastrula, by the elongation of its oe phe Examination of the corpuscles of ‘the blood of Amphioxus lanceolatus. Prof. t L3 nga ey. Report of Brit. Ass. of. Science. London, aea Report of sections, iba, cit, and Weitere Studien über die EE E Jes Amphio ina opema Archiv, für Mik. Anatomie, xu r 181. Tae on 84 Observations upon the Habits, Structure and | February, sides in the direction of the axis which passes through the gas- trula mouth, or blastopore, changes into a slender, compressed, double-walled, planula-like body, ciliated within and without, and with the two walls, or exoderm and endoderm layers, which sur- round the rather large central cavity of invagination, lying close together one within the other, but separated by a narrow space which represents the remains of the original segmentation cavity of the morula. By the time the embryo is well established in its planula form, the blastopore, which marks the posterior extremity of the body, closes up entirely, or at least it is highly probable that it does, and the young Amphioxus escapes from its shell and becomes a free swimming inhabitant of the water. The cells of the exoderm and endoderm, along one edge of the embryo, now become longer and larger, entirely obliterating in their growth the segmentation cavity in this part of the body, -and form between them, throughout the length of the animal, a strip of mesoderm in the center of which arises the notochord and from the sides of which originate the muscle plates of the body muscles. As the mesoderm thickens, two longitudinal ridges grow up from the exoderm and, arching over, unite upon ` the median line into a dorsal tube which runs parallel with and close above the notochord. Within this tube the central portion of the nervous system is formed. This arises as a second tube lining the walls of the first, and originates from the differentia- tion of the exoderm cells of the latter. During its formation the ends of the dorsal canal have been gradually closing up, one of them, the posterior, completely, and the other, the anterior, all except a narrow outlet which persists until a somewhat later stage of development. Meanwhile the whole body lengthens; the exoderm of the | ends stretches away from the endoderm into thin blade-like points; the central cavity, limited by the transformation of the _ dorsum to the lower half of the body, becomes long and tube- — like posteriorly, and quite broad throughout its anterior third; a welt or pear-shaped body, with the narrow end pointing down- 7 wards, forms across the anterior end of this broad pharyngeal = portion of the central cavity, and the external cilia, which here- _ tofore have been the sole motive power, supplanted | in their func- tions by the muscular fibres of the mesoderm, disappear, except a = e a OS Taraa P -like mt of SHEE situated aa the 1880. ] Development of Amphioxus lanceolatus. 85 left side of the anterior end, a short distance back from the extreme point of the body. The middle part of the tubular por- tion of the central cavity now enlarges into a small oblong stomach, with obliquely-placed cilia along its walls, and openings, formed by ingrowths of cells from the exoderm, appear upon the left side of the body, one at either end, placing the central cavity in communication with the exterior. The posterior of these openings is formed at the very extremity of the cavity, at the base of the exodermic tail expansion, and at or near the point of closure of the blastopore, and it may be that it is rather a reopen- ing of the old gastrula mouth than a new formation, although the latter seems to be the opinion at present. It is small, slightly dilatable, and becomes the anal aperture of the intestine. The anterior opening penetrates the body wall along the anterior half of the pharyngeal portion of the cavity and becomes the mouth orifice. It is at first a short longitudinal slit, but soon broadens into an oval aperture of considerable size, with long, slender, alternating, teeth-like processes extending out from the edges towards the center as guards to the entrance, and a thickening of the body wall takes place just below it, forming a prominent ridge-like border extending from near the median line below the cartilaginous, pear-shaped welt, backwards and upwards to very nearly the level of the notochord. Along the inner, lower edge of this mouth-ridge there are generally two or three slender pointed processes which lie close to the body and point towards the right side. The central cavity is thus at once transformed _ into a digestive tract, the food particles being drawn in at the mouth by the action of the internal cilia, passed on to the Stomach, where they are twisted and ground up for the nutrition of the animal, and the refuse material sent onward to the anus — and so out of the body. . ae A third opening now makes its appearance, piercing the body : ss Wall upon the median ventral line just below the mouth orifice. It is somewhat larger than the anal opening, longer than broad, _ | with the longer diameter transverse to the length of the body, te Pa which open along the under side of the pharynx at regular a | stances back to very near the middle of the body. Coincident With the formation of this first pharyngeal cleft, two ee. F í - Early stages in the development of Vertebrates. F. . Balfour. n Mic, Science, Vol. xv, p. 208. Camb., 1875. and forms the first of a series of ten or eleven similar pharyngeal 86 Observations upon the Habits Structure and |¥February, longitudinal folds arise from the exoderm along either side of the entire length of the upper portion of the central cavity, and grow outward and downward toward the ventral aspect of the body. They soon attain a level with the lower edge of the intestine, which, as already mentioned, is much narrower than the pharyn- geal section, and those portions of the folds which lie along the intestine closely embrace it as a sort of tubular outer coating, and unite along their edges into a broad median ridge which extends from the anus, where it merges into the exodermic tail expansion, ‘to a point just in front of the stomachic dilatation. This ridge forms the ventral extension of the continuous ventro-dorsal median fin. The anterior portions of the folds now increase in breadth, leaving quite a space, the rudiments of the branchium, be- tween their edges and the alimentary tract, and gradually unite but with a smooth, unridged surface, along the median line for- ward toward their anterior extremities. In this union an opening is left between the edges of the folds just at the point where they leave the anterior edge of the coalesced ventral ridge; this open- ing, which forms a means of communication between the cavity enclosed by the folds and the exterior, represents the abdominal pore, or branchiopore. It will thus be seen that the abdominal portion of the animal presents two widely different sections; the one, posterior, with firm walls, closely surrounding the intestine and stomach, and with a very restricted cavity enclosed between the body walls and this portion of the digestive apparatus ; and the other, anterior, with thin dilatable walls, which are at some distance from the alimentary tract and which enclose quite an a extensive cavity or space, which communicates directly with the exterior and with the cavity of the posterior section. It may be that these two sections are somewhat more complicated in their formation than I have indicated above, that while the posterior — portion is fashioned as already mentioned, the walls of the ante- _ rior cavity are formed by the outgrowth of new folds from the innet edges of the old ones; that is, that after the coalescence of a the posterior portions of the first folds around the intestine, these folds grow no further, but a new set originate from the inner anterior borders of the first, and by the extension and subsequent = union of these more delicate laminæ, the walls of the anterior _ ; seit are formed. The peculiar pit-like character of the bran- Se Pere Pe ee ln a” ae Ne a 1880. | Development of Amphioxus lanceolatus. 87 chioporic depression would seem to indicate some such develop- ment, and in this case the lateral abdominal folds, the metapleura of the adult, would represent the external edges of the first pair of reduplications. This point will, however, be rather difficult to ascertain, and I am obliged to say that in none of my young specimens did I see any direct evidence of any such secondary growths, the development appearing to be as first described, so that I shall continue to consider the cavities as formed only of two folds. In whichever manner, however, they are formed, the one slender and of little account, being barely discernible, the other large and of great importance in the animal’s economy, they are both lined, from the nature of their formation, with a continuous layer of exoderm, that upon the external walls of the cavities being derived by cell multiplication directly from that which covers the inner walls. At this périod the right fold extends forward as far as the edge of the cartilaginous welt, where it merges into the exoderm, the left, as yet, only to and uniting with the edge of the mouth ridge, both being perfectly free from the sides or lower ‘edge of the pharynx, and by the time they haye united along their ventral edges to a short distance in front of the branchiopore, two or three additional pharyngeal clefts have formed along the median line of the pharynx, and the animal now appears much as shown in Fig. 7, Pl. 11, which repre- sents the youngest of the specimens which came into my posses- sion: Here can be seen the long notochord with the slender, tubular, spinal axis above it; the ciliated pit just in front of the pear-shaped welt; the side mouth with its teeth or tentacles; the cilia lining the alimentary tract; the long cesophagus, the dilata- tion for the stomach and the asymetrical anus forced to one side by the outgrowth of the exoderm of the tail and the median ridge — a of the ventral folds; the depression indicating the position of the oe branchiopore ; the three pharyngeal clefts piercing the pharynx beneath the mouth aperture, and the long tubular heart, formed at about this period, between the endoderm and exoderm of the a ventral edge of the alimentary tract. The shape of the animal is quite characteristic, very much compressed from side to side and Pointed at either extremity, but the posterior end is not often. will decide whether the ab- Sence of the nucleus is real or apparent. 98 A Sketch of Comparative Embryology. (February, the Infusoria have strengthened the movement of return towards the earlier doctrine, which had been for a while crowded aside by the over-hasty advocacy of the protoplasm theory. Bütschli es- pecially has made it extremely probable that all Infusoria are but highly specialized and curiously modified unicellular beings. It is certainly safe to assume for the present that no life can ex- ist outside of cells,and that all the phenomena of development must be reduced to terms of cell-life. The first point, therefore, to be settled is the relation of the sexual products to the cells from which they are derived, and the multiplication of which they effect. I shall give an hypothesis of these relations, which I have formed, and which is the only one, so far as I am aware, yet proposed. Whether this hypothesis will ultimately prove correct or not, it is impossible to foresee. As it still appears to me plausi- ble, I shall venture to reproduce it here. To explain it, it is necessary to premise brief accounts of the structure of the sexual products (genoblasts) and their development. We will begin with the egg. The essential part of every egg is developed from a single cell, which undergoes certain modifications, probably nearly the same in all animals, thereby acquiring the definite characteristics which distinguish it as an egg-ce// from an ordinary cell, and from all other specialized forms of cells. The eggs of different classes and even species of animals are. as is well known, extremely unlike in appearance. The dissimi- larity refers chiefly to size, and to the nature and number of mem- branes or envelopes by which the egg-cell proper is surrounded by the parent. Thus in the hen’s egg, the yolk alone represents the part formed by the egg cell, while the white of the egg and the egg-shell are only secondary envelopes, the former serving to nourish, the latter to protect the yolk, which is the essential pa the true egg. Now, it is well known that mere size does not enter into the determination of the real affinities of animals and plants. The smallness of the rat does not show that it is related to the frog rather than to the elephant, and from our present point of view the size of eggs is meaningless. The egg-cells are large in all birds and reptiles, in the sharks, rays, ganoids and Cephalopoda, small _in mammals, bony fishes and nearly all invertebrates, inarpediate iñ —_ f ik ~ 2 - Chango of shape: the cell becomes s nary c or awite spheric 1880.] A Sketch of Comparative Embryology. 99 The various envelopes which eggs ever have, may be classed under four categories: First, a very thin and delicate one, the proper membrane of the cell itself, which ought always to be dis- tinguished as the vitelline membrane; second, the ovarian envelope which is secreted around the egg-cell by the tissues of the ovary ; third, the envelopes secreted by the oviduct, which may form an envelope of nutritive matter, or a protective shell, or both, as in the hen's egg, of which the nutritive white is secreted by the upper part, the calcareous shell by the middle part of the oviduct; Jourth, coverings secreted by accessory glands, such as the slime in which the eggs of snails are imbedded, or the shells in which leeches lay their eggs. By adhering to this classification the student will be able to follow with profit the labyrinth of special description., To enter into further details would lead aside from the object of this article: let it suffice to have pointed out the possibility of manifold variations, and to have emphasized the fact that the egg-cell is the important and only essential part of an egg. The egg-cell always arises from a germ-mass, called Killapi in German. The germ-mass is at first composed of cells all essentially identical in microscopic appearance. Single isolated cells then transform themselves into eggs, while their surrounding fellow-cells play the rôles of nurses and purveyors. To avoid inaccuracy it must be added that in some cases the germ-mass does not consist of distinct cells, but contains numerous nuclei which ultimately become the centers of distinct cells; but before this separation the differentiation of the ova begins. In both — methods of development some cells enlarge to form the eggs, others supply the enlarging and growing cells with nutritive material. It is impossible to enter upon this sybject further than to say that the form and disposition of nutritive cells varies extremely in different animals, while the changes in the egg are much more uniform, so that it is possible to describe in arene terms the development of the ovum. aS The Moadations which occur in the growing ——— are as cs follo Ows ee = Change of size: the cell enlarges, it being a rule, no exception S to which is, I believe, known, that the mature egg-cell oe : erry larger than any of the other cells in the ASA of the 100 A Sketch of Comparative Embryology. [February, 3. The nucleus becomes larger, spherical, and assumes an eccentric position within the cell, while the meshes of the nuclear network are coarse, and few, and for the most part radiate from the nucleolus, which is large, distinct, highly refringent and placed eccentrically within the nucleus. 4. The cellular network becomes very distinct, its interspaces are filled with ovoid or round, solid enclosures, which are usually if not always mainly of an albuminoid character. These enclosures form the part which is called the deuto- plasm by Edouard von Beneden and others. The deuto- plasm causes the egg-cells to be called the yolk, because it is the nutritive matter from which the protoplasm of the cell grows. The term yolk has no very exact scientific meaning, for it is used to designate sometimes the deuto- plasm alone, sometimes the whole egg, as when the seg- mentation of the yolk is spoken of. 5. A cell membrane appears, and usually acquires considerable thickness, A typical mature egg-cell is shown in Fig. 1, which represent the ripe ovum of Zozopneustes lividus, the common sea-urchin of Europe. The nucleus is proportionately larger than in the eggs of many other animals, its contents are fluid except the net-work and the nocens (z), which latter frequently has one or more mu vacuoles. In some cases there are several or many nucleoli, as in osseous fishes, but the meaning of this difference is absolutely | unknown. Moreover, this egg is unlike that of many animals in that the yolk spherules or the deutoplasm granules are comparatively small, while in some ani- TATU mals, especially those with larger eggs, the sea- a aa A granules are larger. If these variations wig. are borne in mind the figure given may be accepted as a correct representation of a mature egg-cell. I am inclined to think that besides these peculiarities the ripe egg-cell shows a distinction between a thin denser peripheral layer of protoplasm immediately under the vitelline membrane and a central portion, which alone contains deutoplasm, recalling the differentiation of the ectosarc and endosarc-in the Amæba. This feature has been observed in several cases, and further research may demonstrate it to be common to all eggs. 1880. | A Sketch of Comparative Embryology. IOI The shape of the egg does not necessarily remain spherical, but may be altered by external pressure, as when several are laid in one capsule (Lumbricus, Nephelis, Planaria, etc.), or when com- pressed by an unyielding shell. A very striking instance has recently been described by Repiachoff in a the Supplement to Vol. xxx of the Zeits- chrift für wissenschaftliche Zoologie. He describes the egg of Tendra zostericola (a ie Sing etilorar tape Figs ga TE T One other remarkable modification of the chofi- egg-cell occurs among spiders, and has not yet been observed in other animals. The eggs of some spiders (Fig. 3) contain, besides the nucleus, a second body, 4, of about the same size as the nucleus, solid and resistant, and exhibiting indications of a Series of concentric laminz; this is probably only a specialized form of deutoplasm, similar Le, to the four large oil globules described by ont Spengel in the eggs of Bonellia viridis, eee When an egg-cell attains maturity, the first ps9 important and striking change that occurs is (2, the translation of the nucleus close to the sur- face of the egg, where it disappears. The nucleus of the ripe ovum is usually called the i | germinative vesicle, and the phenomenon just Fic. .3.—Egg-cell of alluded to is still generally termed the disap- 7*semerie. domed pearance of the germinal vesicle. The fact has cleus; #, laminate long been known, but was entirely inexplicable "9% | until the discoveries of the last few years afforded a partial expla- nation, by rendering it probable that the disappearance is not real but only apparent. The subject is still obscure, because the — observers are not entirely agreed with one another as to the facts. — The greatest difficulty arises from the fact that in most cases the €gg-cell ejects two or three small bodies over the spot where the nucleus disappears. These bodies are called polar globules, _ and are known to occur in Ccelenterates, Echinoderms, Molluscs, various classes of worms, Tunicates, Ganoids and mammals, so that their existence in all cases might fairly be assumed, were — . it not that renewed special search for these bodies in Amphibia, by O. Hertwig, had failed to discover any trace of them. No 102 A Sketch of Comparative Embryology. [| February, satisfactory observations of the polar globules of the eggs of any of the Rotifera or Arthropoda have yet been made; but, as the interest in this subject is very recent, the globules may yet be found in those classes. When the polar globules ave formed, the following events may be assumed probably to occur. Ed. van Beneden’s account of the development of the polar globules in the rabbit may be espe- cially mentioned as exceptional. The history as here given is based upon observations made upon a limited number of inverte- brates. When the nucleus disappears it is replaced by a spindle- shaped body known as the hern-spindel or Anglice nuclear spindle, which is generally regarded as the metamorphosed nucleus. It consists (Fig. 4) of a small number of fine, parallel threads, which, converging towards either end, run out into two points. The fibres are all thickened in the middle at the same level; these thickenings produce the appearance of a distinct plate or disk in the middle (Strassburger’s Kernplatte). It will be convenient to adhere to the term nuclear plate to designate these thickenings. The spindle lies perpendicular to the surface of the egg. The pointed end of each spindle occupies the center of a clear space, from around which radiate fine threads, thus producing a sun-like figure. The whole spindle, with the two suns, has been named the amphiaster. The character of the next series of changes is shown in Fig. 5. The spindle is partly excluded from the egg, one end 3 projecting outwards and enclosed by a dis- _ Fic. 4—Ovarian egg of tinct mass of protoplasm, constricted around — Haemopis, aia lade pa the base. The “kernplatte” has divided in duncle attaching the egg to two, one-half moved towards either end of the spindle. The spindle next divides and the inner moiety retreats into the egg, the outer into the protuber- ance, which thus becomes the first polar globule. The part of the spindle within the egg, transforms itself into a second spin- dle, which develops a second globule like the first. Frequently a third globule is also formed. The connection of the globules _ with the yolk lasts some time, and in the case of leeches isnot dissolved until segmentation begins. These globules take no part _ in the further history of the egg: they sen ht is not 1880. } A Sketch of Comparative Embryology. 103 exactly known. The part of the spindle in the egg-cell, returns to the center of the egg and becomes a nucleus-like body, now termed the female pronucleus. The egg-cell, therefore, divides into two parts, first, d egg proper with the female pronucleus, sec- et ond, the polar globules. The egg-cell has become not as a whole, but partly, areal egg, the ultimate female sexual product. Since the use of the term egg cannot be restricted, ànd since precision of nomenclature is, in this case, particularly desirable, I have pro- posed the name ¢helyd/ast for the female element. We pass now to the history of the _ Fis. 5.— Egg ot Rayi three- iy | site o: an hou after male elements, or spermatozoa, con- laying. Formation of the first cerning which the observations of nat- polar globule, after Hertwig, uralists have been even less satisfactory. The adult spermatozoa have, with a few exceptions, an elongated, almost thread-like form, Fig. 6, and consist of a shorter and thicker portion, the head, a, a short middle piece, ġ, and a filiform tail, æ, from which is suspended, in many vertebrates, a thin and very transparent undulating membrane, c. Innumerable modifications of this type occur by variations in the size and shape of the head and the length and thickness of the tail. In a few exceptional cases, as among the nema- tode worms, the spermatozoa exhibit absolutely no trace of this form, but are apparently constructed upon an entirely distinct type. A few species of invertebrates have two forms of spermatozoa. In a not inconsiderable number of invertebrates, ®© \ | we find so-called spermatophores. These are only Fıc.6.—Fresh bundles of spermatozoa enclosed in a protective ersan ar oe covering or shell (Fig. 7). In Cyclops this shell is maculosa, after Secreted by the efferent duct, around the sper- r ‘middle pone ae matozoa, just as the shell is secreted around the . eggs by the oviduct. The spermatophores of some ~ a oe exhibit a very FomPlnt es structure, and have curious orms 104 A Sketch of Comparative Embryolegy, [¥February, Like the eggs, or thelybiasts, the spermatozoa are developed out of cells, each cell forming not one sexual element, as in the case of the egg, but several. Hence sev- eral young elements appear within the interior of one cell at once; therefore this one cell is called the spermatocyst} while the young elements which are to become spermatozoa, are called spermato- blasts, and lie within the mother-cell or the cyst. The spermatoblasts appear at first as cell-like, spherical bodies, which may multiply by division Fic. 7.—Sper- within the mother-cell. Their development pro- matophore of ; ; x Cyclops quadri- gresses in the ordinary type of spermatozoon by a et s cubrane gradual elongation, the nucleus forming the greater shell; ss, part of the head, and the protoplasm, the tail, as Spermatozoa. has been described in the Narurauist for July, 1877 (p. 397). These changes are so striking that they have absorbed the attention of investigators; hence the relation of the spermatoblasts to the parent-cell has been far less studied than its importance demands. At present, certainly, it is impossible to give any general account of the development of the spermatozoa. I shall, therefore, confine myself to a résumé of Semper’s obser- vations of the process in the sharks, his being the most complete special account of which I know. The principal stages are rep- resented in Fig. 8, which are taken from eee stained with hzmatoxiline. In the earliest stage the spermatic follicle, or ampulla, a, is a cavity occupied by the remnants of a cell, which soon disappears. This cavity is lined bya layer of cells with large spherical, granular nuclei, and enclosed by an outer layer of cells with smaller dark, oval nuclei. The inner layer alone is directly concerned in the for- mation of the spermatozoa. In each one of the inner cells, which are the spermatocysts, the nucleus begins to multiply, as shown in 4, c, d, e, dividing every time into two parts, one of which remains at the inner extremity of the cell and preserves the character of the parent nucleus, while the other recedes towards the outer end. The parent nucleus then again divides, until finally the spermatocyst contains one mother nucleus (smutterkern), and several daughter nuclei, which are easily distinguished by their 1 The term spermatocyst has been used in various senses, but I believe the defini- tion above en accords with the usage most widely accepted. os the large nucleus behind. 1880, | A Sketch of Comparative Embryology. 105 spherical shape and finely granular appearance. The daughter nuclei multiply by division. While these changes, occur, the whole cell or spermatocyst becomes greatly elongated. At the completion of this stage, the parent nucleus at the inner end of the cell disappears, and a nucleus similar in appearance appears at the outer end, £ It is probable, but not demonstrated, that the two nuclei are identical, in other words, that the parent nucleus © @ 5 Vek ky ELS Kee iors Fic. 8.—Development of the spermatozoa in sharks, after Semper. ‘Migrates from one end to the other. The upper nucleus hence- forth is passive, remaining behind to degenerate after the sper- matozoa have been discharged from the cyst. Each one of the daughter nuclei, after subdividing still further so as to become very small, g, gathers a distinct mass of protoplasm around itself, and becomes a spermatoblast. The further development proceeds — = by alteration of the shape of these bodies: the nucleus elongates, becomes S-shaped, 4. The elongation advances, the nuclei become _ Straight and rod-like, and lie parallel to one another in the upper end of the cell, ù If we look at the cells from the outer surface of the ampulla, the center of the end of each cell is occupied bya cluster of dots corresponding to the bundle of rod-like nuclei — seen endwise, #. Each long nucleus forms a spermatozo6n head, ee _ Which is connected with a thread-like tail. The development is o completed by the discharge of the bundle of spermatozoa, leaving a The essential feature of this whole history is, that a ett 106 A Sketch of Comparative Embryology. [Februarý, single nucleus divides to form a compound body in which there is one large element with one kind of nucleus and numerous small elements, all with nuclei similar among themselves, but dif- ferent from the single larger nucleus. The same thing occurs when the egg sensu stricto, or the thelyblast, is developed. In the case of the egg, it is the larger element which is preserved as the female part; in the case of the spermatocyst, it is the smaller elements which are preserved as the male parts. The two pro- cesses are complementary. These facts have led to the following hypothesis of the relation of cells to the sexual elements. In an ordinary cell the two elements are intimately united in a latent condition, so that an ordinary cell is hermaphrodite or neuter, sexless, by which I mean it has no sexual differentiation. Diagrammatically this condition may be represented by Fig. 9, A. To form an egg the male por- tion is removed in several parts, which are the polar globules, while one large portion becomes the egg or thelyblast, Fig. 9, 2. To form the spermatozoa, the two elements separate, the mother nucleus, or female part, remains behind, and if my hypothesis is correct, it, as well as the egg, must be called a thelyblast; the- spermatozoa are discharged, and are capable of further vitality. FE F S They are the homologues of the polar globules. For both struc- tures the common name arsenoblast has been suggested. If the above hypothesis is valid, M l A 5 ON then there is- a: fundá- i @® mental distinction between : @ @® cells on the one hand, and : BC @°¢ the genoblasts (the sexual | —Diagrams to show the relation a T products) on the other- — | Fic. 9. sexual products to cells. an ordinary c egg mii rw globules; G spermatocyst with every genoblast contains | spermat only one sexual element, every cell contains both. When sexual reproduction occurs, a — thelyblast from one source unites with an arsenoblast from another source—the two by their fusion complete a perfect cell, which is called the impregnated ovum. In the next article this : process will be described. In conclusion I wish to repeat that the conception of sex here 4 advanced is only an hypothesis, which further research may cast aside, but which I hope may be confirmed, because it is already possible to bring forward many strong arguments in its favor. 1880. | A Sketch of Comparative Embryology. 107 For the convenience of those who may wish to pursue these subjects further, I quote below some of the principal articles, especially those which contain further bibliographical references : A. ON THE STRUCTURE OF CELLS AND NUCLEI. . Max Schultze. Das Protoplasma der Rhizopoden und der Pflanzenzellen, Ein Beitrag zur Theorie der Zelle. Leipzig, 186 2. W. Kiihne. ae ueber das Prolo und die Contractilität. Leipzig, 1 3. Heitzmann. Domai ueber das Protoplasma. Sitz. berichte Akad. Wiss. Wien. 1873, 11. Abth, 4. R. Hertwig. Beiträge zur einheitlichen Auffassung der verschiedenen Kernfor- men. Morph. Jahrb. 11 (1876), p. 63. 5. Eimer. Weitere Nachrichten über den Bau des Zell-kernes. Arch. fiir mikros. 6. Flemming. Zur Kenntniss-der Zelle und ihrer Theilungserscheinungen. Arch. . mi at. Bd. xvi, p. 248. 7. Klein. Obiscsaunee on cells and n Part 1.—Quar. Journ. Micros. m a xvir (1878), p. 375. Part 11.—Quar. Journ. Micros. Science, XIX (1879), p. 129. B. ON THE CELLULAR NATURE OF PROTOZOA. 8. eae na F. E. Rhizopoden Studien. rchiv. f. mikros. Anat., Ix, x, 329: h O- ; 9. i, R. Ueber Podophrya gemmipara, geas Bemerkungen zum Bau und zur REET rsa der Acineten. Morph. Jahrb., 1, p. 20 (1875). 10. Bütschli. ct be 7 It. Bütschli, Ueber fis aE A paradoxus, Stein, etc. Zeit. f. wiss. Zodl., XXVIII, 49 (1877). 12. Bütschli. estas zur r Ventniss der Flagellaten und einiger varan Or- ganismen. Zeit. f. wiss. ; 8). a 13. Zeller. PEETS en ueber die Fortpflanzung und die Entwicklung der in T unseren Batrachiern schmarotzenden Opalinen. Zeit. wiss. Zoöl., P ap o 1877). e 14. Hertwig, R. Der Organismus is Radiolarien. Jena. Denksch.,1, 129, | 15. Vignal. Recherches aye et physiologiques sur les oe Arch. : Physiol. norm. pathol. me Ser., TEV play — 1878.) ; A C ON THE DEVELOPMENT AND STRUCTURE OF EGGS, AND THE PHENOMENA oF eae IMPREGNATION. 16. yes Tanden, Edouard. Recherches sur la composition et sie i E = ‘zburg. Herausgegeben von C. Sem austive and e: pees valuable summary.) _ - Zelltheilung, AE die Conjugation d der I nfus ge oe Posen ia z 213 o 108 The Convolution of the Trachea in the | [February, 19. Hertwig, Oscar. Beiträge zur Kenntniss der Bildung, Befrüchtung und Theil- o + 2ter Theil. Morph. Jah Il, oe f 3ter Theil. Morph. cae IV, p. . Fol, H. Recherches sur la ALES et le commencement de l’hénogénie. Mém. Soc. phys. Généve, XXVI, p. 89. tb O 21. Balfour si a summary of the researches on the maturation and impregnation of the o Quar. Journ. Micros. Sci., xvit (1878), p ea rte "Der soa Sng agi beim Ei von Petromyzon planeri. Zeitsch. f. wiss. Zool., XXX (1878), 43 23. Kupffer u. geog Der Sear der Befriichtung am Ei der Neunauge. Königsberg, 1878, 4 D. ON THE DEVELOPMENT AND STRUCTURE OF SPERMATOZOA. 24. tadig Lehrbuch der Histologie (1857), p- 532-537. 25. v. la Valette St. George. In Stricker’s Handbuch der Lehre von den Gew ha Cap. XXI, p. 522 26. Semper. Das Wope system der Plagiostomen und seine Bedentung für das der übrigen Sängethiere. Arbeiten. Zool. zootom, Inst. Bd. 11. 1875. Ens- tehung. REET und Veränderung 3 Hodenfollikel, p. 252. 27. Spengel. Arbeit. Zool. zootom. Inst. 28. Sertoli. Paes Sige di canalicoli ae dei Testicoli, etc. Archivio per le scienze mediche, 11 (1877), p. 107. . 29. Gibbes. On the structure of he Vertebrate Spermatozoön. Quar. Jour. Micros. Sci. (1879), p 30. Weissmann, taha und Begattung der Daphnoiden. Zeitsch, fur. wiss. Zool. Bd. Xxx, p. 55. 10: THE CONVOLUTION OF THE TRACHEA IN THE SANDHILL AND WHOOPING CRANES. BY THOMAS S. ROBERTS. T is well known to ornithologists, that in many birds there are various peculiar modifications of'the trachea, or windpipe, which, it is supposed, serve the purpose of adding some particu- lar quality to the voice. Passing by the numerous minor instan- ces of this structure as seen frequently in ducks, in some geese and a few other birds, we find it most strikingly exhibited among the cranesand swans. In certain species of these two groups the _ trachea enters the enlarged and excavated keel of the sternum, 4 and after a number of convolutions, varying in position and ex- _ tent with the species, passes out at the place of entrance and thence intothe lungs. In such cases, at least, it is plainly great strength _ -and volume of tone which are imparted, as is clearly evidenced — by the powerful utterances for VERA these birds are noted, 1880, ] , Sandhill and Whooping Cranes, 109 It is the present purpose to speak of this point of structure only as it exists in the two American species of cranes, Grus americana and Grus canadensis, with special attention called to its presence in the latter. That the trachea is remarkably convoluted within the sternum in the whooping crane (G. americana) has been pointed out and fully described by Dr. Elliott Coues, in his “ Birds of the North- west.” But the mistake is there made of stating (on the evidence of others, I believe) that in the sandhill crane (G. canadensis) the trachea is simple; and this supposed entire difference between the two species is presented as strong anatomical evidence of their distinctness, 7 The fact is, however, that the trachea és convoluted within the keel in the sternum in G. canadensis as well as in G. americana. This I have determined by the examination of four sterna of can- _ adensis, three of which were prepared by myself from birds posi- tively identified as canadensts by the generally recognized external characters. Two sterna of americana have been examined: one the same that was described by Dr. Coues, and with which I have had the opportunity of comparing specimens through the cour- tesy of Dr. R. O. Sweeny, president of the St. Paul Academy of Natural Sciences ; the other a specimen recently prepared by Mr. Wm. Howling, taxidermist, of Minneapolis, Minn., and in whose collection I saw the adult bird from which it was taken. One side of the keel was neatly cut away by Mr. Howling, at my sugges- tion, and the specimen freely offered for use in the present con- nection. It is identical in structure with the St. Paul specimen, and is the one from which the drawing has been made. Although there is not such a radical difference as supposed by Dr. Coues, yet the two species are distinct in respect to their tracheal and sternal development. A glance at the drawings will show this at once. They are alike in so far as the trachea enters the | sternal keel in each. But in canadensis the whole sternum is — Smaller and less stoutly developed; the coils of the windpipe are Confined to the anterior half of the keel, and it isthis portion alone that is enlarged; there are only about eight inches (average of four specimens) of windpipe in the keel, to twenty-seven inches _ (average of two specimens) in americana ; the walls of the sternal o: Cavity are much more imperfectly ossified than in americana, where they are everywhere on the outside dense, hard bone. On IIO The Convolution of the Trachea in the [February, the whole the entire conformation of the trachea and sternum in canadensis is much simpler than in americana Although only the anterior portion of the keel is enlarged for the reception of the trachea in canadensis, yet the remainder of GENAD ve ims iS eS TV. PLR Ci FIG. I~GRUS CANADENSIS. the keel is not solid bone; but, instead, is composed of two frail plates separated by a thin layer of bony meshwork. This light _ structure of the posterior part of the keel is more pronounced in “some specimens than in others, reaching the greatest development yet seen, ina ‘sternum which shows ag the Ka convolution s the aen 1880. | Sandhill and Whooping Cranes. III The following short description of the course of the trachea within the keel in canadensis will be sufficient in connection with the drawing presented: Entering the keel at its lower anterior angle, the trachea follows the lower edge of the keel for about an FIG, II —GRUS AMERICANA. : inch and then curves strongly upward and forward, until K F ki e -turned nearly one-half of a circle, when it passes by a scarcely e perceptible curve to the upper anterior point of the sternum; lyi ing for a part of the distance in a groove formed for its recep- tion in the body of the bone and which is visible as a semi-c ylin- Sven Eesection on the inner surface of the : sternum in 112 The Convolution of the Trachea in the | February, From here the trachea reaches the point of entrance by a strong double curve, forming a figure which is a perfect letter S, the lower turn being within the first large coil, and the upper follow- ing the anterior outline of the keel. The cavity is three and one- quarter inches long, just one-half of the entire length of the keel. There are two unoccupied spaces between the coils—a small one filled with bony meshwork and a larger one entirely hollow. This description is from the specimen figured, which has been selected as representing very nearly the average of four. Two others show some variations worthy of mention. In a large sternum from a female bird, there is less convolution and fully two inches less of windpipe inside the keel. The upper loop does not fill the anterior part of the cavity, and on entering the keel the trachea does not go as far back or form the same kind of curve. But little more than one-half of the length of the keel is excavated. The third specimen shows a higher development than the one figured. The coils are large and occupy nearly the entire hollow, which is fully one-half the length of the keel. The posterior lower edge of the keel is thickened—much like the same part fur- ther forward—and cancellated inside; while the walls of the an- terior cavity are more fully ossified than in either of the others. In an embryo crane}! stated to be the sandhill, which was just about to break the shell when collected, the trachea does not enter the sternum at all and is perfectly simple. But the anterior part of the keel, which is, of course, entirely cartilaginous and very diminutive, is, comparatively speaking, much thickened, and a cross section shows it to consist of two thin walls separated by a marrow-like substance. In this feature of the sternum, we see the only indication in the embryo of the singular structure to be developed later in life. The degree of complexity of the trachea is thus shown to be dependent upon age, and the variations just alluded to are no doubt fully accounted for by this fact. ' It is unnecessary to frame a new description of the convolu- tions of the trachea in americana, as that furnished by Dr. Coues is excellent. The following extracts from it are given for the con- venience of the reader. “The sternal keel is broad and tumid, and is entirely excavated. The greater part of the ances is occupied by the singular duplications of the trachea; * but 1 This specimen was obtained in the northwestern part of Minnesota, by Mr. Na- than Butler, and is now in the collection of the Minn. Acad. of Nat. Sci., Minne- sane Minn. ut we 1880. | Sandhill and Whooping Cranes, 113 there are two—an anterior and a posterior—large empty air cells in the bone, with smooth walls, and two other air cells—one superior and one along the edge of the keel—filled with light bony meshwork. * * * The trachea, entering the apex of the keel, traverses the whole contour of the keel in a long verti- cal coil, emerges at the front upper corner of the keel, enters again at the lower corner of the keel, and makes a smaller vertical coil in the center, emerging again where it went in. On looking at the object from the front, we see three parallel verti- cal coils side by side; the middle one is the trachea coming down from the neck above; on the left hand is the bulge of the first great coil; on the right is the windpipe passing to the lungs after it has made its second coil inside.”! Following this is a statement to the effect that “there are about twenty-eight inches of windpipe coiled away in the breast-bone,” and that altogether, from the upper larynx to the bronchi, the trachea is fifty-eight inches in length, and this in a bird that is little over four feet long from the tip of the bill to the end of the tail. _ The average of three specimens shows the entire length of the trachea in canadensis to be about twenty-seven inches. Audubon, who regarded G. canadensis as the young of G. americana, has, curiously enough, left us a description of the tracheal apparatus of the former but not of the latter. His description is taken from the sternum of a crane which he kept for a season in confinement, and which the reader would be led to infer turned white while in Audubon’s possession, though this change of plumage is not directly stated to have occurred. I quote the brief description which, it will be readily seen, applies to canadensis and not to americana: “ The trachea, which is thirteen inches long to its entrance between the crura of the furculum, passes into a cavity in the sternum where it curves So as to describe two-thirds of a circle, returns on the right _ side and enters the thorax by curving backwards. The cavity — of the sternum is two inches long, with an equal depth, and T a breadth of three- -quarters of an inch. The ridge of the - keel is, at its fore part, three-quarters in breadth, and contracts _ to one-half inch at its junction with the angle of the furcula, es which is continuous with it. * * * * Boston specimen.” — It is Strange that Audubon, who appears to have been a close ! Besides at page 530 of “ Birds of the North- aTi this a dail = also b found in full in Forest ser Stream for Phin 20, oei 114 The Development of Moina. | | February, observer of the general anatomical characteristics of his sub- jects, never examined the sternum of the adult G. americana, but only of what he considered the young. Yet we must con- clude this to have been the case, for had it been otherwise, we certainly should not have been left with only the above descrip- tion given without comment. In conclusion, I cannot refrain from alluding to a subject whieh it were better, perhaps, to leave untouched at this time. In making careful, detailed comparisons of the several sterna in my possession, in order to determine exactly in what particulars the two species differ, I could but notice that only two important conditions need be fulfilled to change the sternum of canadensis into that of americana. If the remaining portion of the keel in canadensis were thickened and hollowed, and the trachea should gradually increase in length, the arrangement seen in americana would certainly result, for the disposition of the trachea in. the latter species is exactly what would be produced by its forcing itself into the narrow limits of the keel. This may be simply an interesting relationship existing between the two structures, or it may have a deeper significance as the nature of the variations among the sterna of canadensis pointed out above, seems to imply. But considerations of this nature must be left for further investigation—until material of a determinative kind has been — obtained. EXPLANATION OF CUTS. Fic. 1.—Sternum and lower part of trachea of the sandhill crane, G. canadensis. The left wall of the sates has been removed, showing the trachea coiled cae inside. Fic. 2.—The same of the whooping crane, G. americana. The entire left side of the keel has been cut away to show the interior. The scapulars, clavicles and coracoids are in position in each. These drawings were very kindly made for the illustration of this article by my friend, Mr. C. L. Herrick. ‘They are about one-half natural size. :0: THE DEVELOPMENT OF MOINA?’ BY J. S. KINGSLEY. R. Carl Grobben having recently published one of the most complete accounts of the development of one of the Daph- nidæ which has yet appeared, an abstract of his piper may prove- of value to American naturalists. 1 Die Entwickelungsgeschichte der Moina rectirostris. Arbiten aus ny Zoolog-. ischen Institute der — Wien. Tom. n, 2 heft, 1879, Pp- 66, pls. 7 116 The Development of Moina. [ February, The eggs of Moina are oval and measure about one-tenth of a millimetre in length. Segmentation occurs first on the minor and then on the major axis, thus producing four cleavage spheres. A polar view of these is shown in Fig. 1, the food granules (deutoplasm) being seen between the blastomeres. Another divi- sion produces eight segments, but after this, cleavage takes place. at unequal rates in different parts of the egg. As we understand the matter, these cleavage planes do not all pass completely through the yolk. In the resulting mulberry stage the “ genital cell” (which afterwards produces the genital system) is differen- tiated even before the first signs of the gastrula stage. (Fig. 2 g, genital cells or the cells which by invagination produce the endo- ° derm. In these cells the so-called Amphiaster is shown.) Soon there begins an invagination of the endodermal cells, and other cells arise beneath the ectodermal cells near the genital cells. These form the mesoderm. Others, opposite the genital cells, are larger, and these form the cephalic germinal plate, “ scheitel platte.” (Fig. 3, an optical section; ec, ectoderm ; ms, mesoderm; g, genital cells; £g m, gastrula mouth; ez, the cells which form the endoderm ; c, cephalic germinal plate; D, deutoplasm.) Then the gastrula mouth closes up, the genital and endodermal cells become inter- nal, the body is constricted and a fold is formed on either side, the first indication of appendages, which develops into the second antenna. A depression occurs in the ectodermal cells, where finally the mouth appears. (Fig. 4, lettering as before; a”, second antenne ; m, depression for mouth.) In the next phase two more appendages have budded, the antennulz and mandibles, while the antennal bud becomes two-lobed. This constitutes the nauplius stage. (Fig. 5, a’, antennulz; md, mandible.) Next, two of the thoracic feet are indicated, then~two more, the brain begins to appear, the mouth depression is deeper, the anus is indicated and the genital cells divide and are placed on each side of the median line. Then the maxillæ and the fifth pair of feet appear; the eye begins to be developed from the ectodermal cells, the shell gland is present and the abdominal bristles are outlined. (Fig. 6, 0’ 0”, brain ; ma! m2, first and second maxilla; /'-7°, thoracic feet; 7, branchial sacs; a4, abdominal bristles; æ, anus ; s, shell gland; v, vitelline membrane; other letters as before.) The succeeding changes are those of increase in size of the appendages, in which joints appear, the formation of the shell, appearance of heart and the covering of the eye, and at last the animal acquires the perfect form (Fig. 7, from Baird), -> : | Pur 3 1880. ] Editors’ Table. ‘7 EDITORS’ TABLE. EDITORS: A. S. PACKARD, JR., AND E. D. COPE. In our last number we called attention to the status of the modified organization of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, which was adopted four years ago, We also referred to a document relating to it, which was recently issued by a majority of a meeting of the council of that body. We criticised this document adversely, but did not enter into a detailed exami- nation of it, thinking that the general confusion of ideas and unworthiness of sentiment to be found in it, were too self-evident to require refutation. Since, however, many of the members of the academy have voted to support the policy which is embodied in it, some of whom have not understood its drift, while others have not even read it, we give space to a criticism of some of its salient points. From the positions assumed by the author of this document, we select the following: (1.) “ Under the letter and spirit of the by-laws, the professors constitute, in fact, a class of beneficiaries of the academy. * It is not apparent that it is essential to the prosperity of the academy to admit any class of its beneficiaries or subordinates to participate in the administration of its affairs. Nor is it manifest that their studies or the performance of their prescribed duties would be facilitated by their being made members of the council for life” (p.9). Imagine language like this addressed to the acad- emicians of Paris or St. Petersburg! And the presence in the council of two paid papiye of the academy at the present time, has never disturbed any one’s composure, probably because nT are not likely to be candidates for professorial honors. (2.) “ Those students who are not obliged to follow a vocation for a livelihood are not in need of the benefits of a professorship, e : or of the Jessup Fund, to enable them to pursue their studies in the academy” (p. 9). So then, Hébert and Gaudry, and others, are not eligible to chairs in the Jardin des Plantes and the Sor- bonne, because they are rich; and so with many others in all oe parts of Europe! But there are reasons other than the posses- Se Sion of pecuniary means, why a man should not be a pat th the academy ; for, (3. ) “ The professors are to have custody of all the collections in | the museum, worth Mogeriet pone a aati of a million 118 Editors’ Table. [ February, ` of dollars. They give no valuable security or pledge to be for- feited should they fail to preserve the integrity of the collections. 26 No better opportunity can be offered to tempt men to enrich their private cabinets at the expense of the academy than this proposition presents. It is not prudent to expose the property of the academy to such chances without any check or protection under its own laws, and confide it unreservedly to the purity and incorruptibility of the professors and the laws which inflict punishment for larceny and burglary.” The author of this language does not seem to be aware that it must excite astonish- ment in the minds of scientists everywhere, and that it is a boomerang which recoils upon the policy he supports. If there is any class of persons to whom property of an academy of sciences should of be entrusted, it is the amateurs and collectors who do not make original research their profession. Now too Jax in administration of a collection, some accident occurs; then too strict in their surveutance, collections become practically inaccessible. Not knowing the value of material from the stand- point of research, they accumulate show collections, and neglect the ficids where science reaps her true harvests. The true scien- tist does not care to possess collections, excepting so far as they are necessary for the prosecution of research, and depredations on museums do not come from this class. Once in charge of a museum of importance, they naturally take pride in it, and spare no pains to preserve in it all records of scientific work. This can never be felt by the mere employé, nor by the average corporation trustee. Neither class can criticise the work of the specialist as the specialists can each other. ot to enumerate self-evident truths, the sum of the matter is, that this document desires the exclusion from the administration of the collections, the only per- sons who are competent for the work. It demands security from these, while none is required at present from men who are entirely ineligible. We do not believe that a majority of the members of the academy are prepared to sustain the above positions, but suspect that their votes have been influenced by consideration of the three following very misleading statements, which form the recapitulation at the close of the paper under consideration. _ (1) We. quote: “It is notorious that the Academy, since its beginning in 1812, has been managed chiefly by, and always in the interest of its experts, those members most distinguished for their learning, and students” (p. 10). This we deny; and in evidence state that instead of its being managed by its experts, there are, at present, in a council normally of twenty-three mem- bers, but four who make the pursuit of science their business, but two of whom are officers of the academy, and only one of whom is a curator. Moreover, the by-laws expressly provide _ that the prospective professors shall not be members of the coun- — 1880. | Editors Table. IIQ cil. Whether it is managed in the interest of the specialists may be inferred from the fact that’ most of these gentlemen do their work at private houses and do not place their collections in the building of the academy. It is undoubtedly to the interest of the original investigator, at the present time not to work there, and many reasons for this may be elicited, on enquiry, by any one interested in pursuing this part of the subject. (2.) It is objected, in various paragraphs that “the effect of the _ proposed alteration will be to make the council ultimately con- sist of twelve professors elected by the council for life and the eleven officers of the academy elected annually for one year. The officers of the academy will always be a minority in the council, and when one person fills two offices this minority will be more decided.” In our opinion this provision is an important element in the proper administration of the affairs of an academy of sciences. The development of science being the primary object of the institution, those persons who devote their time to it should constitute a majority of its management, while others may be called in as important aids and counsellors. In institu- tions having other objects it is customary to call in scientific ‘experts as aids, but not to make them a majority of the manage- Ment. It is also evident that the specialists are the best, if not the only critics of each other’s conduct, while the supposition that they will combine to plunder the academy, is preposterous. But here let us observe, that as the by-laws provide that the council shall elect the professors, the matter is in their own hands as to what class shall be in the majority. Hence the statement that the new by-law discussed, at once creates a majority of professors in the council, is erroneous. And it was on this false issue that the late election was probably decided. It will be very easy to rectify any defects of this part of the plan, if necessary. ; 3.) “The appointment of professors cannot be reasonably — expected until endowments for their compensation have been — obtained.” This proposition has been put forth ad nauseam by the opponents of the plan under discussion. Having excluded pro- fessors from council, they ask for applications, and because there ~ are none, expect us to believe that the plan “has failed” for want of funds, They ignore the fact that the curators who now per- orm the more laborious part of the work of the proposed professors _ are not salaried officers, though they employ one of their own number to fulfill certain duties. They forget that one professor has been appointed and is performing his duties. They do not realize, perhaps, that the learned conservator of the conchological Peete is, in all important respects, professor at the present time. ad hn department has expanded into the most extensive one in the institution. Why cannot other departments be similarly admit istered? The scientists of the city who are working in ch has been the advantage of this arrangement, that that ee 120 Recent Literature. [ February, own studios are certainly not getting salaries for it! It is to the advantage of the academy to utilize, if possible, all these now scattered ways and means, nd is it not a reflection on human nature that suggestions to this end should be looked upon as ‘“‘Macchiavellian schemes for selfish ends,” or attempts to obtain control of the academy’s collections? We want no better evidence than such language, to show that something more important than money is wanting here. The need of something else was very evident during our Centennial, when enormous collections, which might have been had for the asking, were allowed to be taken to Washington under our very eyes. We close with an allusion to the opinion expressed in this part of the paper, that “the professors would be the only experts who would have free access to the collections.’ There is no provision to this effect expressed or implied in the by-laws or the proposed alteration of them. The by-laws provide for the reverse. The privileges now enjoyed by members of the academy would not be restricted in the least, but would rather be increased through the additions to the collections which would follow. The new by-law simply protects the new material which may hereafter be obtained through the exertions of a professor for purposes of re- search, from distribution through the museum, before it is used, and specifies who shall use it first. This is simple justice, and it will ever remain the condition on which the academy’s collections can be increased in any important degree. Expectations of ob- taining collections in any other way are illusive. By new material is not meant material new to the museum, but that which is new to science. At present, this entire subject, which is the working basis of the institution, is thoroughly misunderstood. It is not well to fear the granting of these privileges, for it is a question of their being enjoyed by a few persons or by none at all. No two persons can use the same material at the same time, nor can its first use be enjoyed by more than one person. :0: RECENT LITERATURE. Nores on New Enctanp Isopopa.—In this paper we have a list, with notes on the distribution, of forty-three species of | Isopoda found on the coast of New England (including one which has not yet been observed south of Labrador). Janira spinosa and Leptochela rapax are the only new species described. of- these forty-three species, ten have been found only south of Cape _ Cod ; fifteen are common to both sides, and eighteen appear only _ north of the cape, and eleven occur on the European shores. — Of these eleven, Tanais vittatus has been found south of the © 1 Notes on New England Isopoda. By OSCAR HARGER. Proceedings of the United — States National Museum, 1879, pp. 157-165. : i 1880. ] Recent Literature. 121 cape but not north, while Xera albifrons (copiosa Stm.), dotea irrorata, Limnoria lignorum and Leptochela algicola are found on both sides of that promontory. In the paper we notice that no species of Bopyride (with the exception of Cepon distortus) is reported south of Massachusetts. Dr. Leidy informs us that during the last summer he found Crangon vulgaris at Atlantic City, N. J., badly infested with another species —¥. S. K. CARCINOLOGICAL Papers oF PauL Mayer.'—We have here : two papers, one on the color changes of the Isopoda, the other descriptive of a new parasitic crustacean, Jve dalanoglossi, found, as the name indicates, in the body cavity of Balanoglossu. The sexes closely resemble each other, except that the males are much the smaller. The body is not segmented, but the five pairs of appendages which are present show their articulate character more plainly than in many Lerneans. The stomach is a blin sac, and the circulatory apparatus is wanting. The male adheres to the female near the genital opening. Dr. Mayer succeeded in rearing the Nauplius from eggs.— ¥. S. K. Herrick’s Entomostraca2—lIt is occasionally our lot to run across the productions of some naturalist, who, laboring under the impression that the scientific world has been at a standstill for a quarter of a century, deems it his duty to start it, and the re- sult is almost invariably the same, it retards the motion which, though inappreciable to his senses, nevertheless existed. é time necessary to unravel the confusion produced in synonymy by- such persons is enormous, and the amount of work required can only be appreciated by the systematist. Such a work is now before us and seems to demand some slight © attention. The author seems to have had very slight access to the literature of the subject, and to be entirely ignorant of any work done since the days of Baird’s British Entomostraca (1850), _ and Dana’s Crustacea of the U. S. Exploring Expedition (1852), the works of Claus, P. E. Miiller, G. O. Sars, Lilljeborg, Brady, Birge, etc., being unknown to him. The synonymy quoted, however, would — at first sight indicate an extensive acquaintance with the bibliog- _ raphy, but a slight examination shows that all references are taken second-hand and no credit is given; for instance, fifty-five references are quoted from Daphnia pulex verbatim (but owing to a ! careless proof reading not literatim) from Baird’s British En- : o tomostraca, and we would venture to say not one of them has been verified by our author, and what is more, his Pierian font, — baird’s work, is not quoted atall in connection with that species. Ve had Supposed that the classification of the lower crustacea 3 - ' Mittheilungen aus der Zoologischen, Station zu Neap:l. 1 bd. 4 heft, page 515-522 one plate, 1879. . ; eee the Microscopic Entomostrac, by C. L. Herrick, in the Seventh Annual Report of _ the Geological and Natural History Survey of Minnesota, 1879, pp. 81-123. } |, 20. VOL. XIV.—No, 11, 9 Ho la ee : 122 Recent Literature. [ February, was in passable condition, but we are informed [p. 84] that “it is not possible at this stage of the study to attempt a systematic ar- On page 85 it is stated that the Rhizocephala and and Cirripedia “ are enclosed in a hard shell-like test,” which is true of no adult; Rhizocephala and some barnacles are exceptions. On the same page we are told that the sucker-like organ on the head of Sida corresponds to the pedicle [peduncle] of the barna- cles, a statement showing very elastic ideas of homology. Our author, also contrary to the ideas of the best morphologists, rec- ognizes an ocular segment, and excludes the telson from a posi- tion among the somites of the body. The NATURALIST is not the place, nor have we time to rectify the synonymy of the forms described, and to assign them to their proper position, but several forms, if the drawings are accurate, are placed at least in wrong genera. The typographical errors are numerous; Desmarest’s name appears with three different orthographies, the abbreviation “Enc. méth” under three distinct forms. Lovén as “ Loren,” somite as “somnite” on p. 90, occurs the word “ setigiferous,” but the worst of all is “qualities” for gnathites (p. 86). The illustrative figures are clearly printed, but of their accuracy we are not certain, and many points which are important from a systematic standpoint are slighted or ignored, thus rendering it difficult for the future reviser of the American species to classify the forms here described, and a quotation from p. 86, seems to exactly describe the condition of affairs brought about by this work. e curious misapprehensions and inaccuracies into which authors have fallen still further complicates the matter.— F. S. Kingsley. Tue MISSES JONES AND SHULZE’s NESTS AND EGGS OF THE BIRDS or On1o'—The just appreciation and cordial encouragement ac- corded by scientific critics to Part 1, of this beautiful work must ' have prepared a welcome on the part of the public for the further installment issued in October last. Not only does its unique 2%- semble render it attractive, but it presents a combination of the useful and the agreeable of science and of art, to a very rare degree. In these days, when the great majority of periodical “Illustrations” have wrought, will be justly ranked high in general estimation. The originality of method of this work, which copies some of the prettiest and most varied objects in na- ture, the pleasing combinations in the drawings, the faithfully imitative style of coloring, and the tasteful finish of the text, ` 1 Illustrati f the Nests and Eggs of the Birds of Ohio. With text. By Gene- — vieve E. Jones and Eliza J. Shulze, Folio. Published by the Authors. Circleville, Ohio. (Part 11.) : ; 3 zn O 1880. ] Recent Literature. 123 render these folios almost matchless as contributions to natural science, and to picturesque art for the library or for the parlor table. Thė sad death of one of the authors, in early life, and in sight of the goal of success, has added an appeal to our sym- pathy to the just claims of the work upon public appreciation. Miss Jones died last August, of a fever doubtless aggravated by her earnest efforts and mental anxiety concerning her work, though that portion of her labor already accomplished will be in- corporated in the numbers of the publication yet to appear, Miss Shulze is engaged with Miss Jones’s parents in the completion of the plan in which the two ladies originally joined ; and Miss Jones’s name will continue to be appropriately connected with that of the surviving col/aborateuse. The present part gives three illustrations, being those of the Indigo bird, Cyanospiza cyanea, the marsh blackbird, Ageleus phaniceus, and the kingbird, Tyran- nus carolinensis, with text of the crow blackbird, Quiscalus @neus. The work will continue in parts until the 100 plates are com- pleted — Sarah O. Aiken, Washington, D. C. ontology we find, Stegocephali (“ Labyrinthodontia”) of Mr. Miall incorporated bodily; a system, if such it can be called, where all sorts of © been “fixed.” The author has profited singularly little by the Publications of the General and State Governments of America, — but has ody taken as his guide, Prof. O. C. Marsh’s address t . . . » . 1A Man _NicHotso. Black. N, Prof. of Na 124 Recent Literature. [ February, does not represent the subject to which it refers. If the author of the manual under review will examine into the claims of the nomenclature he has so extensively quoted from this: source, he will find that a great part of it has either no foundation in analyti- cal work, or has been proposed without regard to priority. Such are Dinoceras, Brontotheride, Pliohippus, etc., etc. The erroneous figure of the skull of Coryphodon is copied, when a correct one could easily have been found. Further attention to this depart- ment will enable the author to do it justice in a future edition. CENT Books AND PAMPHLETS.—Anales del Museo Naren ap ais Tomo. - i, i I to 7; pp. 399, pls. ne Mexico, 1877-79. From the Mus The Monthly Journal of Science, and Annals of Biology, Astronomy oie Industrial Arts, Manufactures, nad Technology. 8vo, Vol. 1, 3d Ser Dec., 1879. London. From the editor. Bulletin Mensuel de la Société qd em on, 3e Serie, Tome vi, No. 10. Paris, Oct., Ge 8vo, 545- eA From the society. The American io of Science ea Arts. 3d et Vol. xvul, No. 108. New ‘ack, Dec satis je pl. m1. From the edito Cerebral Topography. SV. te pl M.D. (ki bebe thi of Nervous and Mental Desens: Oct, Do. 0, pp. 27, 1 pl. From thea Geological Survey of Alabama. ‘Resort of Progress for a wad 1878. By Eugene A. Smith, Ph.D., om Geologist. 8vo, pp. 138, 3 maps. Montgomery, Ala., 1879. Froni the aut i eee History Notes in Western North Carolina. By John T. Humphreys. Pa- per 10, A Hunt for Platinum in the Mountains of Western N. C. Single sheet, Sda From the author Pro ocreminp v the ke of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, Pt. 11, 1879- From the soc Description 5 twelve new fossil species, and remarks upon others. By S. A. Mil- ler. (Extr. from the Journ. of the Cincinnati Soc. Nat. History, July, 1879). 8vo, m 15, pls. 2. From the author r. H. G. Bronn’s Klassen und Ordnungen des Thier- pegot weeny) ch denccateltt i in Wort und Bild. veggie saa Anthropoda, 28 u 29 Lieferung. 8vo, pp. 1201—1320. Siugethiere, 23, 24 und 25, Lieferung. sald pp- De 544» 7 pls. Leipzig and Heidelberg, 1879. The California Horticulturist and Floral Magazine. 8vo, Vol. 1x. San Fran- cisco, Cal., Nov., 1879. From the editors The Journal of Sony British and Peia. 8vo, No. 204. London, Dec., 1879. From the edito Ps of the toser Botanical Club. Svo, Vol. vr. Nov. 1879. From the ub. : Grevillea, a ye eas Record of Cepproganie Botany and its Literature, $8vo, 2 : No. 46. Dvc., 1879. From the editor. ee The Canadian craig a Vol. xr, No. 12. Dec., 1879. London, Ontario From the edito Archæology of Butler Co., O. P. atai Dnie. See. Ars pp: mo By J. and a map. Robt. Clarke & Co., dinnat O. 1879. From the publishers Sea del Ministerio de Fomento de la República Mexicana, rolio Tomo AV, = 3 136-48, Nov. Baa uth, dees From the Director of th cal Observatory, Mexi 1880. ] Recent Literature. 125 Contributions from the E. M. Museum of Geology and Archzology of Princeton ollege, No. 2. Topographic, Hypsometric and Meteorologic Report, by William Libbey, Jr, and W. W. McDonald of the Princeton fete c SRE 1877. 8vo, pp. 55. Appendix, > 28, and I = pls. New York, 1879. From the museum. The Meteorologist, Vol. 1, No. 9, Nov. 1879. aki Fa. sin the editor. Report of the A i of ate of the State a California, for the years 1870 and 1871. 8vo, pp. 24. Sacramento, 1872. From the commissioners. Considérations Géologiques sur bib o a du Zand-Diluvium, du Sable Campinien et des*Dunes Maritimes der Pays B r T. C. Winkler, D. Sc., etc. Large ae pp- oF | I cy (Extr. der Arch. dn Mas. Teyler, L.y) Haarlem, 1878. Fro the a ier ee tary Geology of Nashville, or, the Geological Structure of Nashville in “relation to ‘deafuage, yeh gs, wells and cellars. By Alexander Winchell, LL.D 8vo, pp. 14. dither: Report on the Copper TA ons Keweenaw Doct Michigan. By M. E. Wads- worth, Ph. D. 8vo. pp. 1879 Fro the author Proceedings of the Bonen Society of Natural "His story. Vol. SX, FPE 2 NOY ber, 1878-April, 1879. 8vo, pp. 113-224. Boston, Nov., 1879. he the sankey. The a Hose of the Franklin Institute. Vol. cv, No. 647. Nov., 1879. . From the instit Gaia Survey of Japan. Revita of Progress for 1878-9. By Benjamin Smith Lyman. 8vo, pp- 1-x and 266. Tookei, “Japan, 1879. Published by the Public Works Perna From the author Ohio Geological Survey. Remarks of Col. Charles Whittlesey before the Geo- logical Committee, Ohio Legislature, March 11, 1879. Svo, pp. 4 paoar of Portage County. By Col. pes Whitulesey. 8vo, pp. 3- he Geological ponoven: Prof. E. B. Andrews in Reply to the Letter of Dr. Newberr rry. 8 o, General Geology of the Counties of Columbiana, Stark and Tuscarawras. By Col. Charles. Whittlesey. 8vo, pp. 18, illustrated. Notes on New England Isopoda. By Oscar Harger. (Proc. of U. S. National ibe 8vo, pp. I0. Du développement des Bryozoaires Chilostomes. “Par M. J. Barrois. 4to, pp. 4. mbryogénie de L’Asteriscus verrugulatus. Par le Dr. J. Bar (Ext from the Journal de Anatomie et de la oe normales et Pathologie de P Homme et des Animaux). 8vo nE 8,2 ELIA Récherches sur le Développmen raigné n Cooman préliminaire). Par le Dr. J. Barrois. (From the jarak: iga l Anatomie et de la rence nor- males et Pathologiques de Homme et des Animaux.) 8vo, pp. 19, I plate ew form of Plethysmograph: Contributions from the Lega es ts bora- tory of the Harvard Medical School. By H. P. Bo manele M.D sles esented to the American Academy, May 14, 1879.) Svo, pp. 3, i!lust Pharyngeal prio. By pe M. Garland, M.D. eos rom the Jadni of hiy: ology, Vol. 11, No. I.) 8vo, pp. 9, 1 plate - The Effect of the Seer ds sree on the Pulmonary Circulation. By "o P. Bowditch, M.D., and G. M. Ga irland, M.D. (From the Journal o of Phy ysiology, ) The Growth of Childre. n (a Sapolebiiistent! Investigation), with Suggest > a Regard to Methods of Research, By H. P. Bowditch, M.D. Boston, S70. "vos T ates. Topographic, Hypsometric and Meteorologic PRN By William Libbey, Jr. and W. W. Mc Donald, of td Princeton Schontifiz Tipitos ART AT ak tions from the E. M. Museum of Geolo ogy and Archeology of No. 2.) 8vo, pp. p- 75. age Destruction of Obnoxious Insects, Phylloxera, Potato Beetle, Cotton | Worm Colo- rado Grasshopper and obese Pests, by Applica’ on of the ‘Yeast Fungus o Dr, H. A. Hagen. Cambridg e 8vo, O, PP. 9. : 126 General Notes. [ February, On the Occurrence of Neomenia (Solenopus) in the British Seas. By Rev. A. M. Norman. (From the Annals and Magazine of Natural History for August, 1879.) 8vo, pp. 2. _ On the Willemcesia Group of Crustacea. By Rev. A. M. Norman. (From the Annals and Magazine of Natural History for Nov., 1878.) 8vo, pp. 4. Norman. (From the An- Remarks on the Recent Eryontidz. By Rev. A. M. nals and Magazine of Natural History for September, 1879.) 8vo, pp. 10. ; :0; GENERAL NOTES. BOTANY. FERTILIZATION OF FLowERS BY Humming Bırps.!—For several insects and for nectar, and perhaps for pollen in some cases. Pollen grains have been found on the bill and feathers of the head of humming birds. These birds have been seen to frequent flowers of pelargoniums, fuchsias, trumpet-creepers, phloxes, verbenas, catmint, milkweed, tropæolums, honeysuckles, lilacs, morning- glories, cherry, wild balsams. I have no doubt they visit a great variety of other flowers which secrete honey in abundance. Mr. Osband visited trumpet-creepers, in flower, in bright days, and always saw birds. On one plant he saw eight birds at one time. The pollen of fuchsias is sticky or in strings. Humming birds are the main visitors to the flowers. The calyx tube seems too The student last named covered some flowers and found the stigmas were dusted with pollen without the aid of bees or birds. The ovaries also swelled as though forming seeds. Mr. Wm. Snyder observed the fertilization of Jmpatiens fulva. The anthers form a covering over the pistil. He tied”bags over young flower buds, also over flowers which had opened but before the stamens had disappeared. In both cases no good seeds were produced. Some he tied up and artificially crossed. The latter, without exception, niatured fruit. In other cases he cut _off all the petals of the flowers. He took down the signs. None of these set fruit. In other cases the nectar gland only was removed, with no fruit setting. Sometimes he saw a large number of black bees at work, : seemingly trying to get what exercise and nectar they could. They ran in and out many times, and hardly ever touched an . -anther or pistil. He could not see that the insects were of any use in fertilizing the flowers. Small wild bees behaved no better as far as carrying pollen was concerned. A common honey bee — : availed nothing in this direction. One humble bee hit pollen in f 1 Notes taken from papers of his young students by Prof. W. J. Beal. 1880. ] : Botany. 127 his plunges to get at the nectar, but left the plant after trying a single flower. In frequent visits he often saw humming birds about the flowers going to all that were open at the time. Ever time the birds thrust their beaks into the flowers, if the stamens had not yet been removed, the head, a little above the beak, would hit these and become dusted with pollen. Where the anthers had been removed the birds head left pollen on the stig- mas. He saw, in one cluster, all the flowers visited twice in fif- teen minutes. He is confident that /impatiens fulva is cross-fer- tilized mainly, if not wholly by humming birds. CONNECTION OF THE RAINFALL WITH Forests.—According toa paper in Fol/yéiblion, the following are the laws of meteorology as affected by forests:—1. It rains more abundantly, under identical circumstances, over forests than over non-wooded ground, and most abundantly over forests with trees ina green condition. 2. The de- gree of saturation of the air by moisture is greater above forests than over non-wooded ground, and much greater over masses of Pinus sylvestris than over masses of leaved species. 3. The leafage and branches of leafed trees intercept one-third, and those of resinous trees the half of the rainwater, which afterwards returns to the atmosphere by evaporation. On the other-hand, these same leaves and branches restrain the evaporation of the water which reaches the ground, and that evaporation is nearly four times less under a mass of leafed forest than in the open, and two and one- third times only under a mass of pines. 4. The laws of the change of temperature out of and under wood are similar so those which | result from the observations of M. Mathieu. The general con- clusion seems to be that forests regulate the function of water, and exercise on the temperature, as on the atmosphere, an effect of “ ponderation” and equilibrium.—4nglish Mechanic. : Tue New Mexican Locust Tree, ETc.—In the article on Col- — orado plants in the November number, on page 681,inthe note on _ | Salix flavescens, the word “hybrid” should read “form.” Itis apparent that no “hybrid” can occur unless both parents are- found in the same vicinity, which in this instance is not the case. Saxifraga chrysantha from Pike’s Peak is apparently the same as _ S. serpyllifolia of Porter and Coulter's Catalogue. Artemesia _ arctica, Cnicus edulis and Troximon glaucum are referred to, the last two under other names. Robinia Neomexicana is described therein also. E. L. Green, who first collected this species in — Colorado, furnishes me with some interesting facts regarding it, which I take the liberty to quote from his letter. “The clump to-day the only known habitat of the species north of New Mexico, and strange to say, those trees are twice as large as an ever saw in New Mexico; right on the banks of the river, a all around that clump of locusts grows Bigelovia greenet, whic: of trees to which you refer was found by me in 1873. eee 2 128 General Notes. : | [February, no other botanist but myself has ever collected, although Drs. Hooker and Gray were over the same ground in 1877, and the plant is common along several of Dr. Parry’s routes in New Mexico. The shrub at a distance, yes, even at the distance of a man’s eyes from the ground at his feet, looks so much like Gutierrezia euthamie (which grows with it) that it must have been confounded with that plant by the numerous botanists who have crossed the vast tract of country which it inhabits.’—/saac C. Martindale. INSECTS CAUGHT BY THE PuystANtHus.—I am reminded, on reading the account of the manner in which insects are caught in the anther-wings of Phystanthus albens, published in the last num- ber of the AMERICAN NATURALIST, that I exhibited to the Boston Society of Natural History, Sept. 1, 1852, a specimen of that plant, and read a description of the manner in which insects became imprisoned in its anthers. The following passage is pub- lished in the report of my remarks: “The insects catch them- selves, and so often does this occur that a gentleman in New York has obtained butterflies, bees and a great variety of other insects, enough to fill a large case, from the flowers of a plant growing in his garden.’—Chas. F. Sprague. We would also add that Prof. C. V. Riley, as he tells us, several years ago recorded in the Proceedings of the American Associa- tion for the Advancement of Science, the fact that he had found moths entrapped by the same plant—FLdizors. BotanicaL Notes.—The Bulletin of the Torrey Botanical Club, for November (received December 28th) contains farther notes on ballast plants near New York City, by Mr. A. Brown; and Prof. Eaton contributes the 7th of his articles on new and little-known ferns of the United States. The Journal of Botany, hitherto con- ducted by Mr. Henry Trimen will be edited by Mr. Brittain, during the absence of the former in Ceylon, as Director of the Bo- tanical Gardens. This journal records the death of the following botanists: J. F. Von Brandt, a joint author with the late Dr. Ratzeburg, of the Medical Botany and Zodlogy ; Carlo Bagnis, aged 24, and Professor of Botany in the new University of Rome; C. J. M. Von Klinggraff, author of a Flora of Prussia, and a me- moir on the plant geography of Northern and Arctic Europe. _ — Grevillea for December, notices Californian Spherie, and — prints an article on the propagation of Spheria fimbriata, by C. — B. Plowright. The new part of Bentham and Hooker's Gen- © era of Plants, will be issued in January, and will complete the Dicotyledonz. The last part only remains to be published—— Sir. J. D. Hooker has called attention to the-discovery of a variety | _ of the cedar of Lebanon on the mountains of Cyprus. 18380. ] Zovlogy. 129 ZOOLOGY.? LEATHER TurRTLE.—Afropos of the article on the “ Leather Tortoise,” in the October NATURALIST, ee the following may be of interest to the author. A few years ago, in looking over the papers of Col. Richard Varick, the first. mayor of the City of New York, in search of autographs and documents relating to the Revolutionary War, I came across a Small circular, about six to seven inches in size, printed on the rough, unsized paper used by our forefathers, and of which the following i is a copy of the subject matter: “The dimensions of the Testudo coriacea, or leather tortoise, caught by Samuel Coon, one of the branch pilots of New York, on board the Young Pilot, by way of Sandy Hook, on the 27th Sept., 1811, and purchased by John Scudder, proprietor of the American Museum; No. 24 Chatham St., are as follows, taken under the eye of Dr. Mitchell, professor of natural history : Feet. Inches. 7 Length from extremity of the snout to the end of the tail...... 6 Length of the buckler between the neck and tail..........--+- 5 8 Girth of TE" DOAK Ga oe ee ci eee ee aun eee as 8 o “Circumference of the PRA NESE M A E EE E EE 13 2 SENTER TE, T « 5 $ of be ‘fin above the joint......-.0.eeeeeesees 2 5 z We GR UNE RE E T ce 8 Length of the mii HR EEE E O RE T A ee 3 9% head and neck from the buckler.... s.s.s... I 7% Dis ance ve tween the extreme tips of the two fore fins........ | 5 Breadth of the Wikies a ee vaca 3 10% Length of the hinder ia eek 2 br cael! ore of the bero BAC er ee os yak EE 2 4% Distance bee yar the extreme tips of the two hinder fins....... 5 5 Le iogh Of the thls ick. E T Lika T E I o Circumference xi the tail in the middle at 5 Projection of the tail beyond the a tg one or 4 Width of the mouth across f orne O īIọỌ yir ne ahe apes to the aires sien ead the jaws when o as wide open....... o E riha of the eye- ‘ball 2 after extraction from the ake.. o 5% “His weight, when taken, was supposed to be rising 900 lbs., but PUA the loss of blood previous to his death, he weighed only This little — if thus it may be styled, is a very neat aid - modest one, and was, perhaps, printed by the porna of the museum to call attention to the specimen. You will perceive that this capture antedates the ‘one you mention as having been made in Massachusetts bay by thirteen years.— W. R. Gerard. THE CHIPPING VERSUS THE EUROPEAN SPARROW. —During the aS o! last two seasons the much dreaded Toa Bare wom Ž (Pieris rapæ) has been infesting the cabbage in this vicinity. — : *The departments are conducted Ma Dr. ELLIOTT Cours, U Ta pe of VERE and DESDE 130 General Notes. [ February, Several years earlier came that other pest, the European sparrow (Passer domesticus), and has -pretty thoroughly driven away most of the other species of birds that are usually common about dwellings. On my own premises, instead of the cheerful music of the wren, robin and cat-bird, which formerly helped to make the surroundings attractive, I am compelled to be annoyed by miserable squeaks. This season a cabbage patch in my gar- den became thoroughly infested by the worms; I looked anx- iously to see how thoroughly the European sparrow would do the work for which it has been transported over thousands of miles of land and water. But it was very seldom that any of the numerous individuals that have harbored about me for the past several years ever went near the patch; occasionally one of the young would fly down and take a worm, but I never saw a full- grown individual take one. By accident I was observing the patch early in the morning, from day-break to a short time after sun-rise, when I chanced to find a number of chipping sparrows (Spizella socialis Bon.), taking worms as busily as possible. By continuing my observations I seen in the patch. Whether this early feeding is the natural habit of this species, or whether it was not allowed to go about the premises during the rest of the day, I cannot say. But it did such efficient work that I feel it my duty to make it as widely known as possible.—.S. Schneck, M.D., Mt. Carmel, Ji. DEPREDATIONS OF THE EUROPEAN neea —The following case, represented to me by Dr. A. K. Fisher, of Sing Sing, N. Y., substantiates one of the many cani brought against Passer domesticus, “ About a year ago I was interested in watching a sparrow pulling up peas in a neighbor's garden. The peas were up about an inch; the bird went along the row, taking the vines in his bill, placing his foot near the roots and pulling up the shoots and eat- ing the peas. I saw him thus destroy several, when I stopped him by throwing a stone which unluckily missed him. “ The old saying that ‘ Birds of a feather flock together’ is veri- fied in the case of the sparrow’s associates. The only bird which I have ever found which seemed to enjoy the company of the English sparrow, is that miserable form of bird life, the Molo- thrus ater. It would be difficut to find two more disreputable birds than this precious pair. Here they mix together a good deal, especially when the sparrows are a little way out of the vil- lage.’ ’'—Elliott Coues, Washington, ON THE TorPIDITY OF ANIMALS.—Some time in early December, 1878, when the snow first began to fly, a silver-haired bat, without a place to lie dormint: in for the winter, flew into mg hallway, about 1880. ] Zoölogy. 131 nine in the evening, at Evanston, Ill. I was surprised at discover- ing a bat at that time of year, and secured it ina box. It was a bit- ter cold night and the bat hung himself up by its claws on the edge of the box among the cotton and went into a torpid state. Several days afterward I placed him over the fire and thawed him out. He became quite lively in the warmth, took a drop of water and flew around the room. The following night was the coldest of the season, and it again went into a torpid state and retnained some two weeks jn that condition before it was disturbed. My efforts to bring it to life ôn this occasion were not so successful as formerly. After much warming it came to sufficiently so that two spots of breath would appear on the mirror when held to it. In order to get a greater amount of heat to operate on it, I placed the box containing it on the fancy top of the stove, turned my back to it and became engaged in writing. I had written some time when my attention was aroused to a bad scent in the room. I turned around but to behold box and bat wrapped in flames. This ended my experiments in that direction, I had arrived at the following conclusions, however: That animals in a torpid state may be aroused by an application of heat; or, in other words, torpidity is but a state of lowered temperature of the body. I am strengthened in this conclusion by some observations of no little importance to the topic under consideration. ` The torpidity of swallows has long been regarded as a tradition, but traditions are generally founded on fact, however perverted the facts may be. A young man, whose word I regard in all mat- ters as perfectly trustworthy, told me that one April day while out gunning, he treed a coon. He borrowed an axe and as the tree was falling a half-bushel of swallows rolled out from the hollow. In the warm sun of the early spring day many of these took life, and consequently wings, and flew away. And why not! st winter the papers were prolific with stories about the — resuscitation of sheep, cows, and even men, from a frozen state. Indeed, it is no secret of late years that the heat generated by a dog will easily bring to its natural state a frozen limb of a man. — r noticed this fact in the South, the overflow of the Mississippi river leaves thousands of little ponds full of fishes, which in winter freeze up solidly. The fishes are confined in the ice. When these ponds thaw oùt, in spring, the fishes are liberated and go Sporting about immediately. Fishes, of course, are cold-blooded and may not be affected by the ice. The fact remains, however, that during the winter a party of us were mapping the Mississippi, about Cairo, in Illinois, Kentucky, and Missouri, and that each day these fishes could be seen, frozen stiff, in the ice, many of ` which we cut out and examied, and from all appearances, were as dead as the logs that strewed the ground. But with the ap- proach of warm weather, they were as lively asever. = — = The only instance, in any way, against the above observations 132 General Notes. [ February, occurred in the great Marshes of Lake Erie. During a severe winter the mud and water froze to a great depth. The conse- quence was that when the marshes thawed out the shallows were covered with dead turtles, snakes, frogs, etc. The unanimous opinion of the Corps of Engineers was, that the cause of this whole- sale slaughter of the reptiles was some poison permeating the marshes, doubtless generated by the slow approach of spring. There may be such a thing as being frozen too effectually, how- ever, for a good condition of torpidity. Asa final instance I may note the return of frogs from their winter’s quarters, at Camden, N. Y. Hundreds of these near this place came up from the earth in a shallow marsh, tumbling, leaping, and capering about, some of them appeared belly up, others with huge bags protruding from their mouths. They were ail in a weak, half-sensible state, but gradually regained strength in the sunlight. It is evident that animals do not assume a torpid state in warm weather, since no instance of the kind is known or recorded. he above instances seem therefore applicable to the previous conclusion that animals in a torpid state may be aroused by an- increase of temperature, or in other words, torpidity is but a low- ered temperature, sometimes to the freezing point. — William Hosea Ballou. ‘MicrAtTion oF Dracon Fiirs.—On the 2d of June, in Wey- mouth, Mass, I observed what seemed to be a concerted migra- tion of dragon flies, and should be glad to be informed whether such movements are of regular occurrence, and if they are, what is the explanation of them? I was sitting in a pasture near the edge of a wood (the wood being, perhaps, half a mile deep), at about eight o’clock in the morning, when I first became aware 0 what was going on. e flies came from over the trees, and generally on reaching the pasture, dropped to within five or ten feet of the ground, although many flew much higher and some went straight across the pasture at an estimated height of forty feet. All, with rare exceptions, kept a steady course due west, as though they were moving to some appointed rendezvous. They came in sight somewhat as waves come upon the beach—one minute there were none, and the next there were two or three or half a dozen together. I watched them for three hours or more, and in the afternoon followed in their train across two roads and some pasture lands to the edge of another wood. When they reached this wood they seemed, many of them, a little at a loss how to proceed, but soon mounted into the air and sailed over the trees out of sight. I then visited a small pond in the vicinity and took notice that they flew across it and kept on in their westerly course. As to the width of the column, I only know that it was at least a quarter of a mile. They were still flying at a little before eight o'clock in the evening, when it was almost cued a 1380. ] Zoology. 133 dark to see them. The two following days were cold and stormy, but on the 5th a few were still straggling across the fields. On the evening of the 23d inst., while crossing Boston Com- mon, I saw what seemed to be a similar migration, and in this case also the course was west.— Bradford Torrey. TRICHODINA PARASITIC ON THE GILLS OF Necturus.—I have to record a new habitat for this interesting ectoparasitic genus of Infusoria. I was recently searching the gill-filaments of a Necturus (which had died a few hours before in the attempt to swallow a young catfish) for specimens of a Polystome which I have described as occurring there, when I noticed the remains of a considerable number of Infusoria belonging to this genus. Only the aboral end of the body with its hooks and chitinous frame remained, the softer oral end being already dis- integrated. I did not succeed in identifying it with 7: pediculus, the ectoparasite of Hydra, which has been so admirably described by James-Clark (Mem. Bost. Soc. Nat. Hist., Vol. 1, No. 1), but it is possible that the examination of fresh specimens would prove it to belong to this species, which has also been indicated as occurring in the allantoid bladder of certain European newts (Busch, Miiller’s Archiv., 1855). Since writing the above I have had the opportunity of examining a fresh Necturus with the result that its Vorticellidan para- site also occurs in the urinary bladder. It is identical with the Hydra parasite, Trichodina pediculus—k. Ramsay Wright, Uni- versity College, Toronto. ZootocicaL Norrs.—The last number (3 of Vol. m1, Part. 1) of the Memoirs of the Boston Society of Natural History contains an elaborate essay, by S. H. Scudder, on the palæozoic cock- roaches, being a complete revision of the species of both worlds, with an essay towards their classification. This work of III pages is illustrated by six excellent plates. It appears that the palæozoic cockroaches are, like many other groups of animals of the palzozoic age, old fashioned, obsolete forms which have been replaced by more modern types, and we may add that the exist- _ ing cockroaches are to be congratulated that the shades of their ancestors have been thus recalled from their tombs and passed in review in a long and orderly procession. Dr. Hagen is saù- guine that noxious insects, such as the potato beetle, cotton worm and Rocky Mountain locust can be kept under, if not — exterminated, by the use of yeast fungus; we hope that these ~ fungi will take the place of Paris green as an insecticide, and trust another year to see experiments carried out upon an exten- Sive scale; we know that myriads of insects, such as the house as fly, are killed by fungi; why not myriads more, provided that the E ve Weather be sufficiently damp and warm for the growth of the fungus spores, a point not noticed by Dr. Hagen. In hot, dry 134 General Notes. [ February, weather the fungus would probably not have a deadly effect. The attention of our readers has never been called to Baron Osten Sacken’s second edition of the Catalogue of the described Dip- tera of North America, published about a year since by the Smithsonian Institution. It is invaluable as a work. of reference. American students in foreign laboratories do work of as high an order as their German, French or English fellow students of the same schools. No better work in embryology has been done than that comprised in Mr. C. O. Whitman’s essay on the embry- ology of the little leech, Clepsine. We now draw attention to the able paper of two recent Princeton graduates, Messrs. Scott and Osborn, who have worked up the early development of the com- mon European newt, published in the Quarterly Journal of Micro- scopic Science for July last, and now issued in pamphlet form. . ANTHROPOLOGY. ? Ravu’s PALENQUE TABLET..—The latest contribution to know- ledge issued by the Smithsonian Institution, is No. 331 of its publications, a quarto of seventy-six pages, by Dr. Charles Rau, on the Palenque Tablet in the United States National Museum. The contents of the work are as follows: “ Chapter 1—History of the Palenque Tablet; Chapter 11.—Explorations of Palenque ; Chapter 11.—The Temple of the Cross; Chapter 1v.—The Group of the Cross ; Chapter v.— Aboriginal writing in Mexico, Yucatan and Central America ; Appendix.—Notes on the Ruins of Yuca- tan and Central America.” In the first chapter we have a minute relation of the manner in which the tablet found its way from the Temple of the Cross to its present position in the National Mu- seum. In the second chapter Dr. Rau gives a narration of the various explorations .of these interesting ruins. The name _ Palenque is derived from a village about eight miles away, called Santo Domingo del Palenque. The ruins were discovered in 1750, by a party of Spaniards, and surveyed for the first time by order of Ramon de Ordoñez in 1773-1784. The first explora- tion which lead to any result was that of Capt. Antonio del Rio in 1787; his manuscript was published in London, in 1822, with drawings from Castañeda, the artist of Dupaix. Capt. William Dupaix, in 1808, visited Palenque, with an artist named Castaneda. The MSS. and drawings will be found in Vols. rv, v, vi, of Kings- borough. Baron de Waldeck lived two years at Palenque making surveys and sketches, 1832-4. His plates, with text by De Bour- bourg, was published in Paris, in 1866, by the French Govern- ment. When Dupaix visited Palenque the three slabs constituting the Group of the Cross were all in place. But at the time of Wal- deck’s visit, the right one, now called the Smithsonian Tablet, 1 Edited by Prof. Or1s T. Mason, Columbian College, Washington, D. C. 1880. ] Anthropology. 135 was in fragments on the floor; the middle one had been carried off to the banks of the river *by a vandal who wished to adorn his house with it; and the one on the left was in its original position, which it now occupies. Stephens and Catherwood visited the spot in 1840, and were entertained by Mr. Charles Rus- sel, our counsel at Laguna. They made drawings of the ruins, and shortly after their visit the fragments of the right hand slab were sent to the National Institute in Washington, where it arrived in 1842. The site has since been visited by Arthur Morelet in 1846, and M. Désiré Charnay, for the French Govern- ment, in 1857. The tablet was transferred to the Smithsonian Institution 1858, and in 1863, while making a cast for Prof. Henry, r. George A. Matile discovered that this was the missing slab from the Palenque group, not drawn by explorers after Dupaix. It was broken again after Dr. Matile’s cast was made, but recon- structed and set in its present frame, from which Dr. Rau’s pho- tograph was taken. Whatever doubt may have remained after Matile’s argument, is tfow dispelled by reference to the outline plate of Dr. Rau’s work, in which the whole Group of the Cross is again restored, other things, an alphabet of thirty-three signs. It will be remem- bered that a similar old MSS. is mentioned by Sr. Orozcoy Berra, in Anales del Museo Nacional de Mexico, containing the Lord’s Prayer in symbols, partly Aztec and partly ecclesiastic. All attempts to interpret the Central American glyphs and mant au, th Oph on the tablet may be easily referred to (it is a pity that e ily On pages 62 and 63, some of the glyphs are analyzed, : The author concludes that the analogies between Landa’s signs and the glyphs warrant the suggestion that the inscriptions con- stitute a chronological record of some kind. On pages 53 and o 64 Dr. ; ae Stephens, and others, as to the close relationship between the . 136 General Notes. [ February, Aztecs and ancient Mayas based on the Dresden Codex, which is clearly shown to be of Maya and not of Mexican origin at all. n page 75 the author reaffirms the view of Stephens, Ban- croft, as well as his own, “ that the Yucatan structures were built by the Mayas, the direct ancestors of the people found on the peninsula at the Conquest, and of the present native population.” ANTHROPOLOGICAL News.—Mr. H. R. Howland is the author of a brochure entitled “ Primitive Arts and Modes of Life,” the substance of which was read before the Buffaio Sociecy of Natural Sciences, March 15, 1879. The object of the author is to show how, in simple beginnings, out of the dire needs of humanity, have been born the arts of life as known to civilized man; how with patient toil he has wrought out, by means God-given, the problem of his growth and their advancement. A printed notice of four pages, announces the formation, in Boston, of the “ Archeological Institute of America,’ for the purpose of promoting and directing archeological investigation and research, by sending out expeditions for special researches, by aiding the efforts of independent explorers, by publication of reports of the results of expeditions which the institute may undertake or promote, and by any other means which may from time to time appear practicable. The institute consists of life members contributing at one time $100, and of annual members paying $10 per annum. Membership is now open to all persons interested in the objects of the institute, and who may desire to join it. The call is signed by Francis Parkman, W. W. Goodwin, Alexander Agassiz and other distinguished scholars. Prof. C. E. Norton is president, and Mr. Edward H. Greenleaf, Museum of * Fine Arts, Boston, Mass., secretary, to whom all communications should be addressed. - “ The Aboriginal Soapstone Quarries in the District of Colum- bia ” is the title of a brochure from the Twelfth Annual Report of the Peabody Museum of Archeology and Ethnology, by Elmer R. Reynolds. The discovery of the soapstone quarry at Chulu, Amelia county, Virginia, seems to have kindled a great deal of enthusiasm in our archeologists with reference to aboriginal quarrying and mining. Dr. Reynolds is an indefatigable hunter, and his success in discovering soapstone quarries in the District of Columbia, almost under the shadow of the National Museum, is graphically described in the pamphlet before us. The Society of Biblical Archzology has for its object the study of the languages, remains and natural history of those lands with which the Jews were associated, from the earliest times to the close of the canon of Scriptures, with a view to the better under- standing of the Old and New Testament. In point of fact the history of the Jewish race demands an intimate acquaintance with the civilizations of the Nile valley, Mesopotamia, the slopes of the Lebanon range, and, in latest Biblical times, of that of Greece 1880. | Anthropology. 137 and Rome. The society has for its president Dr. Samuel Birch, the Egyptologist, and includes many of the most distinguished men in England among its members. The honorable secretary ‘tr foreign correspondence is the Rev. A. H. Sayce. An acquaintance with its publications is indispensable to those who wish to pursue the study of Oriental archeology. The first number of Vol. 1x of “The Journal of the Anthropo- logical Institute of Great Britain and Ireland, August, 1879,” contains the following papers:. Exhibition of the cranium of a Native of one of Fiji islands, -by Prof. Flower; The Primitive Human Family, by C. Staniland Wake; On an Echelle de ~ Couleurs, published by the Société Sténochromique of Paris, by %. W. Brabrook; Remarks on the Geographical Distribution of Games, by Edward B. Tylor; On some Rock Carvings found in the neighborhood of Sydney, by Sir Charles Nicholson; Rela- tionships and the names used for them among the peoples of - Madagascar, chiefly the Hovas, together with observations upon Marriage customs and morals among the Malagasy, by the Rev. James Sebree, Jr.; History of the South-western Barbarians and haou-Seén, translated from the “ Tseen Han Shoo,” book 95, by A. Wylie, Esq.; Rag-Bushes and kindred observances, by M. J. Walhouse (See “ Fetish or Rag-Bushes in Madagascar,” Saturday Magazine, Nov. 22). Mr. Wake’s paper is a continuation of the author's discussion of a kindred subject in Vol. viii, of the Journal. After reviewing Mr. McLennan’s theory of the origin of society in polyandry, he adds, “We cannot suppose that the primeval group of mankind con- sisted only of a woman and her children; and if the woman had — a male companion, we cannot doubt, judging from what we know — of savage races, that he would be the head and chief of the group. * * * Self interest chiefly would govern the father in connec- tion with the marriage of his daughter. Whether the marriage _ Was to be a permanent or a terminable engagement, he would — stipulate that they should centinue to live with or near him, and that her children should belong to him as the head of the family group. In this case, not only would the children form part of the family to which their mother belonged, but the husband him- o self would become united to it, and would be required to labor- for the benefit of his father-in-law. When the wife left her father’s house to reside with her husband, he had to purchase the privi- - : lege by giving her father and other relatives handsome presents. rw could hardly have occurred at first, when property was not eld in severalty. It marks a higher step in culture]. In this case the children belonged to their father’s family, and the fact aoo the wife going to reside among her husband’s relatives meant thẹ loss of the children by ker father’s family. The presents may, therefore, be supposed to represent the price given by a man for his wife’s. offspring to her relatives. Probably the wide-spread- EN: VOL. XIV.—NO. 1. w ; RS aiae i bes woe ae 138 Gencral Notes. [ February, custom of pretended forcible marriage was originally thus con- nected with the rights of the woman’s relatives, and may have originated in the desire to obtain for nothing what could other- wise be acquired only by a purchase fee. These rights, according to Morgan, are inheritance of the prop- erty of deceased members, reciprocal obligations of help, defence, and redress of injuries, and the obligation not to marry in the gens, although practically, the property was appropriated by the nearest of kin. Morgan says nothing of any right of the gens over the marriage of its members, and it would seem not to have had any voice in the matter. Reference to the custom of blood- revenge confirms the view that, for certain purposes, a smaller family group than the gens is recognized by the people having that organization. The example of the Polynesians, who are said not to have arisen to the conception of the gens, shows that before this was developed, not only was the Zex talionis recognized, but the law of marriage and the rights of parents over their children were fully established. It is evident, therefore, that the primitive family cannot have originated with the gens, or clan; on the con- trary, the clan was based on the family or group of kinsmen, which would be a parent, his wife or wives; their daughters, together with the husband and children of the latter. The view of the ancient family held by De Coulange and Sir Henry Maine would be complete if it provided for the fact, that descent was originally traced by the female line in preference to the male line. The defect thus revealed will be removed if it can be shown that descent through the male is for certain purposes rec- ognized equally with that through the female.’ Mr. Wake, in closing, draws attention to the important fact first noticed by Mr. Fiske, that owing to the prolongation of infancy children had te _ be nurtured by female parents aided by males to some extent; and to Mr. Spencer’s remark that, “ To the yearnings of natural affection are added in the early stages of progress, certain motives, partly personal, partly social, whichehelp to secure the lives of strengthen the tribe in war; there is the wish to have a future avenger on individual enemies; there is the anxiety ‘to leave behind one who will perform the funeral rites.” Under the influ- ence of these various ideas and circumstances, the custom of tracing kinship for certain purposes in the female line would be developed by the time that the habit had been formed of wives leaving their parents to reside among the husband's family. When this took place the custom would be fully established under __ the influence of polygamy, and the development of the gentile organization would almost necessarily follow. The primitive idea of kinship through the father would, however, still remain in full _ force with the attributes which originally appertained to it, 1880. ] Geology and Paleontology. 139 namely, the headship in the family group of the oldest male ancestor, whose authority is practically represented by the tribe, and the non-intermarriage of those thus connected. GEOLOGY AND PALAONTOLOGY. THE WATER SHEDS OF THE STATE OF New York.—The State of New York presents two of the most remarkable water-sheds on the North American continent, if not on the face of the globe. Though situated so near one another that their extremities may be said to almost interlock, they are widely different in their physical features and distribution of water supply. One has been made the mighty servant of man and is harnessed for his bidding, while the other bids defiance, gushing forth its waters at its will, sometimes flooding a vast area of territory, and again leaving its river-beds to dry in the sun. . The most powerful of these is drained by the Oswego river. Its area contains no less than seven thousand square miles of ter- ritory. It comprises the well-known chain of lakes, some of which are of considerable size and importance—the Oneida, Cayuga, Seneca, etc., amounting to over four hundred square miles of lake surface. Besides being in themselves natural reser- voirs, the State has further improved Seneca lake so as to regu- late the periodical flow of the water. The average flow of the water is thus secured at about 600,000 cubic feet per minute. River Point. From this place, down stream, there is a fall of water amounting to seventy-five feet. This space is taken up by seven dams erected and maintained by the. State. Of these, two are situated at Oswego, covering a fall of forty feet. These dams accord hydraulic privileges equal to 25,000 horse power. Buta moderate outlay is required to keep the flow in the river near the average for the year. 75,000 cubic feet of this water supply are in actual use in Oswego, where a canal is provided for the recep- tion which furnishes fifty runs of first class water and over seven- teen of the second class. x Two dams are situated at Fulton with 20,000 horse power. At this point the water privileges .are easiest available, although Oswego has the greater representation of industries. _ oe The Oswego River water shed produces clear cold water, which _ is perfectly under control of man, no matter what the circum- _ Stances or exigences. The river bank forms a line teeming with industries, with millions of dollars of money invested. This water supply never endangers the lives of citizens or a on their property, but on the contrary, affords a roadway for inland navigation through the canals which it feeds. bea: Not so the other subject of this paper. Situated on the highest _ Point in New York, among the Adirondacks, it submits to no _ S0vernmental check, but ejects its turbid waters, dashing down 140 General Notes. [February, athwart and over precipices, which in spring time bear before them bridges and valuable property, not to say the lives of man- kind. This water shed covers an area of 2000 square miles. It com- prises not less than five hundred little lakes and lakelets, some of which are said to be as large as Cayuga. 4326 feet above the sea level a little lake known as “ Tear of the Clouds” starts the Hudson marching onward to the sea. Here also rise the Moose, Beaver, Oswegatchie, Gross, Ra- quette, St. Regis, Salmon, Au Sable, Bouquet rivers and many other streams. Could the streams have a uniform flow during the year, the volume of water emitted would be enormous for economic use. But though violent in time of o they are quite low, not to say often nearly dry, in summer tim Strange as it may seem, these rivers are in of use as bearing ‘rich deposits for the low land, like the Mississippi, Mis- souri, etc. The region from whence they emanate is peculiarly hostile to cultivation, and has resented all attempts at settlement and immigration, and gives no return for the careful sowing of seed, The waters afford few privileges of navigation to the hewer of timber or the excavator of ores in the mountains, They form, however, the fishing ground of America, and yield an abundance of the best of the finny tribe. Its mission in futurity is now fore- told as the solving of the problem of water supply to fifty mil- lions of people who may possibly inhabit the Mohawk valley. ‘or the present it is to gratify the pleasurable longings of man- kind. The Empire State has, therefore, two grand water sheds, the one for the accumulation of untold wealth and the other for its dissipation. But what is an Empire without unlimited resources ?— W. H. Ballou} Gerotocicar Survey or New ZeaLann.—Dr, Hector’s Progress Report for 1878-9, contains a synopsis of the classification of the formations of New Zealand, of which we present a summary: 1. Post-tertiary, including Moa beds, Alluvia and Raised beaches, Moraines, etc. 2. Pliocene, 1500 feet, with three divisions, Ter- race plains, Pumice sands and Lignites, Kereru Rotella beds, etc. 3. Upper Miocene, 500 to 1000 feet, including Wanganani beds, Manawatu gorge, Castlepoint, Toerua and Ross, and Waito- tara ‘and Awatere beds. In this formation 125 species of Mol- lusca have been found, of which 120 are found in the existing s seas. 4. Lower Miocene, 1000 to 1500 feet, containing 110 — extinct marine forms and 55 existing species; san two, Mangapokeha valley and the Taipo Awainoa and Pareora beds. K Upper Eocene, 500 to 700 feet, with three dalton. aun Be oH enee the valuable assistance of Mr. Chas. Rhodes, a noted od a of Oswego, and Prof. - Calvin, of the State — in the preparing: of Kisan = + 1880. ] Geology and Paleontology. — 141 Brown beds, Hutchinson’s Quarry beds and Nummulitic beds. Intense volcanic activity prevailed during this period in both islands, and the calcareous strata are frequently interbedded with contemporaneous igneous rocks and tufas, and in the North Island are often replaced by wide-spread trachyte floes and vol- canic breccias. 6. Cretaceo-tertiary, 2000 to 5000 feet, with seven divisions, Gray marls, Ototara and Weka Pass stone, Fucoidal greensands, Amuri limestone. Chalk marls and chalk with flints, Marly greensands, Island sandstone (Reptilian beds) and black grit and coal formation. The marine fossils include, besides well- marked greensand forms such as Ancyloceras, Belemnites and Rostellaria, a number that have still a marked affinity to the Ter- tiary fauna. Saurian bones occur of the genera /Vesiosaurus, Mauisaurus, Liodon, &c., in this part of the formation; but they ` have only been found as yet over a limited area on the east side of the South Island. 7. Lower Greensand, 500 feet, with two divisions, Amuri group on east coast, Bituminous coals on west coast. 8. Jurassic, 3009 to 5000 feet, with three divisions, Mataura series, Putataka series, and Flag Hill series. The Flag Hill series, which is principally developed in the Hokanui range, Southland, contains fossil plants in its upper beds, which are especially interesting, from at least one species being identical with a plant found in ‘the Ramahal beds of India, which are con- sidered to be of Liassic age, viz: Macrotenpteris lata, with which several others are associated, six of which have been iden- tified. 9. Lias, 2000 feet, with one division, Catlin’s river and Bastion series. | 10. Trias, 5000 to 80c0 feet, with three divisions, Otapiri series, Wairoa series and Oreti series. The Otapiri series is remarkable for the mixed character of its fossils, which, how- — ever, contain many forms identical with those from the Rheetic formation of the European Alps. The fossils are hich Permian and Triassic forms, but a Pextarrinus also occurs, which resembles the Jurassic species. 11. Permian, 6600 to 7000 ‘with one division, the Kaihiku series, 12. Lower Carboniferous and Upper Devon- ian, 7000 to 10,000 feet, with two divisions, Maitai series and Te Anau Series I3 Lower Devonian, 5000 feet, with one division, the Reefton beds. 14. Upper Silurian, 3000 feet, with the Baton- iver series. 15. Lower Silurian, 7000 to 19,000, with one _ division, Mount Arthur series. Below this horizon the Serge ae and gneissic granite are found in the mountain ranges. ia Hırt’s Kansas Exprorations.—During the past year Russell ce S Hill, of Philadelphia, continued his explorations of the Lop Fork intuition of Kansas and Nebraska. He obtained fine speci- mens of the large mammals discovered last year, especially So Mastodon campester and Aphelops fossiger, and added r epresenta- tives of groups not previously known from this horizon. He dis- covered the pharyngeal bones of aA a fishes, ia of the genus oe uiio salamanders- -e z 142 General Notes. [February, Lacertilia and snakes, some of the latter Crotalide, as indicated by the characteristic maxillary bone, with its teeth. Specimens of Procervulus furcatus with a burr on the horn, show that this spe- cies did not differ from P. necatus in this respect ; also that the P. ramosus is distinct from it as a species. In Nebraska Mr. Hill found the Ticholeptus beds containing Leptauchenta, etc., occupy- ing the place between the White River and Loup Fork forma- tions already assigned them. HULKE ON ỌORNITHOPSIS OF SEELEY.—In the last Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society for 1879, Dr. J. W. Hulke dis- cusses the characters of the huge Saurian named Orunithopsis hulket by Seeley. He identifies with it the Chondrosteosaurus of Owen and extent of its lateral excavations, and of more elongate form than the corresponding ones of Camarasaurus. He points out the existence of the hyposphen in Ceteosaurus oxoniensis and in Meg- alosaurus as figured by Phillips, using for it the term zygosphen, which is, however, homologically a different structure. FILHOL ON THE Fauna oF St. GERAND LE Puy.—The region of the Allier, Puy de Dome and Haut Loire, has for years furnished beautiful specimens of extinct vertebrates to the geologists of France, beginning with the time of Cuvier and De Blainville. Dr. Filhol has recently reviewed the work hitherto done in this field, and with the aid of much new material, which includes that obtained by Dr. Alphonse Milne Edwards, has commenced the publication of a detailed monograph. The first part, issued in the Annales des Sciences Geologiques, contaihs descriptions and fig- ures of three species of Chiroptera, one of Insectivora, four of Rodentia, twenty-six of Carnivora, and five of Artiodactyla. The elucidation of this fauna is of interest to American palzontolo- gists, since it corresponds approximately in time with the Truckee or Oregon division of our White River fauna. The faunal differences are as numerous as the resemblances. In France Canide abound, but they are mostly Amphicyons, not Canis nor other genera found in Oregon. Weasels are much more numerous than in America. ere is a near affinity between Filhol’s genus Proe/urus and our _Archelurus, though the two are distinct. Other forms of Felidæ are not recorded. The Artiodactyla are Cenotheria, which are abundant in species and individuals. The fullness of M. Filhol’s descriptions makes them of much value to science, and the light e throws on questions of synonymy is an important acquisition. We can only wish that he could consult euphony more frequently in the construction of new generic names. = - Nores on Sasre-Trootus.—The large species described in the December number of this Journal as Hoplophoneus platycopis turns — eG out to belong to a new genus, which has a premolar tooth addi- — 1880. ] Geography and Travels, 143 tional to the number usual in sabre-tooths. It agrees with Dinictis in this respect, and in its formula Pm. 3, M. 4, with that I assigned to Daptoplilus. The latter however appears to have been based on an immature Dznictis. The new genus may be called Pogono- Nearly the smallest of the Oregon sabre-tooths is probably undescribed. It is represented by the greater part of a skull with parts of all the teeth of one side. Its brain case is relatively large, and the sagittal crest small; the occiput is wide and vertical. Post- orbital process robust and prominent; mastoid and glenoid pro- cesses elongate. There is but one, a small premolar in front of the sectorial, and it has a very prominerit heel. The sectorial has a prominent anterior lobe, showing that the species is probably a true Macherodus. The tubercular is very small. The canines e then descends steeply to the orbit; sagittal crest horizontal. Length of cranium (axial) M. 0.120; from muzzle to orbit 045; vertical diameter of orbit .025. Long diameter of canine O15; length of diastema .o11; of premolar .006 ; of sectorial .o15 ; width between posterior external angles of sectorials .056. The Species may be called Macherodus cerebralis—E. D. Cope. GEOGRAPHY AND TRAVELS. AFRICAN ExPLORATION.—The Henry Venn, a steamer belonging to the English Church Missionary Society, started from Lukoja, at the mouth of the Benué, on July 8, 1879, to ascend that stream as far as practicable. The Academy notices a two years’ explora- tion of the river Gambia, made by Mr. Frederic Speer, in the _ course of which he penetrated higher up the stream than any _ European had ever done before. Though unable to take obser- vations, he has taken compass bearings and laid down the upper course of the stream with considerable accuracy. He thinks _ British traders would be able without much difficulty to establish a valuable trade with Timbuktu and the upper Niger. A similar report is made from the upper Volta, which was visited recently by - Buss, a missionary, who met witha friendly reception at fae oF Herr Schütt, whose explorations in Central Africa _ _ Were noticed in our number for May, 1879, has returned to ~ Europe with large natural history collections and carefully drawn maps of the region traversed by him, which included a large tract of hitherto unknown country between the Kwango andthe Kassai rivers, or between about 18° and 22° E. longitude, ee oe of which is under the rule of the famous Mwata Yanvo TEN. made some important discoveries concerning the intricate hydro- ` “Edited by Ettis H. YARNALL, Philadelphia. — —— 144 General Notes. [ February, graphy of the Congo water shed. He met with four tributaries to that river lying between the Kwango and the Kassai, viz., the Kwango, Marata, Cinlu and the Kwanger rivers. He has laid down the Kassai from 8° S. lat., to about 6° S. lat, but was stopped by king Mai, when within two days of the great water- falls on that stream. The Kassai is known as the Zaire from 8° S. as far as 4° S. Mucarouba is the native name for the lake heretofore called Sankowa, and it is situated in about lat. 5° S. A tribe of dwarfs live near it—-—The former companions of Maj. Serpa Pinto, Messrs. Ivens and Capello when last heard ftom were in the district called Duque de Braganza, unable to proceed further in their attempt to trace the Kwango down to its junction with the Congo for want of means. The Portuguese government has been asked to aid them. A mission station has been estab- lished by a French priest, Pere Duparquet, in Ovampoland, a tract of country south of the river Cunene, between 14° and 18° seven years passed in Southern Africa. Born in Bohemia in 1847, he very early manifested great interest in natural history and geography and especially in African exploration. After re- ceiving the degree of M. D. at Prague, in 1872, he started for country from the Diamond fields to the Zambesi, and the Zambesi from its junction with the Chobe to the Barotse country. His map of the Zambesi is on a large scale, showing every island, creek and rapid. “To show the difficulties of this survey it may be mentioned,” says a writer in the London Times, “ that owing to the loss of his Nautical Almanac his sextant was useless and the bearings had to be taken by compass observations every three hundred yards, while the distances amounting in the various surveys to over 2,000 miles, were determined by stepping. That is ; a unwell, but still full of pluck and hoping to cross the continent and emerge at Loanda. Then fever came on and his best canoe containing all his gunpowder and, worse than all, his quinine, sank in a rapid. He still pushed on, but at the Naverbine cata- ract he succumbed, and was carried back insensible by his native servants to lie ill during a period of sixteen months.” _ On arriving at Cape Town on his return, he was most warmly 1880. | Geography and Travels. 145 received by the governor and the public. He has also received a medal from the Vienna Geographical Society, and many dis- tinguished honors since reaching his native land. In an inter- esting notice published in the Atheneum (October 4, 1879,) Col. Yultes states that Dr. Holub has brought with him, besides a few surviving animals, forty-nine cases of collections containing minerals, fossils, botanical preparations, and herbaria, seeds and fruits, fishes, bird-skins, nests and eggs, reptiles and insects, includ- ing some thousands of beetles, horns and skins of fhammals, anatomical preparations, a large collection of ethnographic objects and a number of the famous “Bushmen engravings ” on stone, etc. There are, besides in Prague, fifty-six cases containing the fruits of the earlier journeys. There are also exten- sive topographical sketches, several hundred drawings of botanical, zoological and ethnological interest. Dr. Holub hopes to obtain funds in Europe to form an international expedition of twelve members from as many different nations for the special purpose of opening Central Africa towards the south and east, and to facili- tate the colonization of the district between the Vaal river and the Zambesi. The Royal Geographical Society has received a letter from Mr. Thomson in command of the expedition to Lake Nyassa dated August 30th, at Mkubwasanya, in Uhéhé, a tract of country north of the Kondi mountains, at an elevation of 6000 or 7000 feet above the sea and about six days’ journey from Lake Nyassa. The London Missionary Society has lost another of its mem- 146 General Notes. [ February, Mpwapwa on August 15th last, and expected to commence the jour- ney across Ugogo on September 3rd. Mr. Stanley left Sierra Leone on September 3rd, for Banana (Banza?) on the Congo. Accord- ing to the Academy King Mtsesa has recently showed himself less friendly to the Missionaries of the English Church Mission, accusing them of complicity with the Egyptians. The Mission- aries have been reinforced by the arrival of three more by way of the Nile via Magungo and the Albert Nyanza, and of two others by the lake from Kagei at the southern extremity. Menelek, king of Shoa, has written to the Geographical Society of Paris urging the sending out of a French Mission, promising to employ all his power on their behalf. The Sultan of Somali land, on the western coast of the Gulf of Aden, has also invited foreigners to visit his dominions.——Gessi Pacha has succeeded in 1 capturing the last refuge of the slave traders in the Soudan. r 4000 have been expelled from the country and twenty- ies dine caravans of between three and four hundred slaves each have been captured. Dr. Wilhelm Junker has returned recently to Europe after three years spent in explorations on the upper Nile. Dr. Schwein- furth writes to the Atheneum (August 23, 1879,) giving an account of his travels, illustrated by a small map of the Welle basin. Dr. Junker has brought back with him and given to the Russian Acad- emy of Sciences the largest and best ethnological collection yet obtained in these regions. His careful surveys throw a flood of light upon the water shed separating the Nile from the Welle, and present a basis for mapping an area of four square degrees. He has also made a survey of the lower Sobat. The results of his investigations in the district lying between the Welle river and the Bahrel Ghazel are given in much detail, and the Pe wes | necessary in Schweinfurth’s own REA indicated. Dr. Junker reached his furthest point in lat. 20° 30’ N., where at a distance of twenty miles he saw a range of high mountains identified by him as the Blue mountains of Baker to the west of the Albert Nyanza. MICROSCOPY.! Turn Grass SLIDE Troucus.—These are made of glass slips, three inches by one and one-third inches, to which are cemente slips of thin glass two inches by one inch, out of which a seimi- circle of three-quarters of an inch radius has been cut, and then covered with another thin glass two inches by one inch. It is well to have an assortment of these, of different thicknesses or depths, and for those of greater depths it is more convenient to ~ e the distance-plates of vulcanite instead of glass. These troughs should always be washed out directly after use. PREPARATIONS OF CRYSTALS FOR THE PoLariscore.—A fter epre- : paring crystals, dry, in Canada balsam, and in castor ‘oi, t 1 This department is edited by Dr. R. H. Warp, Troy, N. Y. 1880. | Microscopy. 147 occurred to me to attempt to preserve them in their own mother liquor. To do this paint on a slide a thin ring of gold size, whose entire diameter shall equal that of the cover glass. To make the edges of the ring smooth and true hold the flat edge of a small chisel against them at the points indicated by the straight lines in the figure, whirling the turn-table in the direction indicated by the arrow. As soon as the ring is finished heat it over the flame of a lamp until it becomes brown. Put into a test tube a little salycine, tartaric acid, prussiate of potash, or other substance adapted for examination with the polariscope, add water and apply heat until the solution is of such strength that crystals will form in it only when quite cold. Coat the ring, already hardened, with a little fresh size, and likewise the edge of the cover glass. Put the slide and cover glass thus prepared, on the hot plate for a few minutes and then pour a few drops of the boiling solution from the test tube into the cell and apply the cover glass, immediately pressing it down gently with a dry cloth which will absorb the superfluous iquid. Touch the edge of the cover glass with gold size and then transfer to the turn-table and finish. If the above directions have been followed correctly the cell will contain a clear liquid which begins to deposit crystals as it cools. Transfer the slide to the stage of the microscope soon enough to watch this process. Without the aid of the polariscope it is of interest, but with that accessory the spectacle presented is exceedingly beautiful. After standing for some time however, the crystals appear to lose their sharpness and perfection of form. They may be re- stored by a fresh application of heat sufficient to cause them to dis- Solve and enter upon new forms of combination. As a means of observing the process of crystallization this method appears to be the best, and many of the results as respects brilliancy of color and perfection of outline are unsurpassed. I would recommend however, that those who have not tried it, should make a moder- ately strong solution of salycine or tartaric acid in boiling water and pour it over a warmed slide, draining off the greater part im- _ r mediately. When crystallization ceases put a drop of Canada balsam in the center of the slide and apply a cover glass.. Exam- ine, and if found satisfactory, harden the balsam and finish in the x usual way. Having once learned these processes, there is no : limit to the range of experiments that may be made. For in- stance, a strong solution of santonine in chloroform gives very — fine crystals which are quite permanent and brilliant when mount- ed dry. It should be noted that the quantity and strength of the noe Solution employed will modify the results obtained, also agitation — Lg of the fluid whilst evaporating will in some instances introduce Crystals of an entirely different form from those obtained when 'S permitted to remain undisturbed.—M. A. Verder. _ 148 Scientific News. [ February, SEPARATING FORAMINIFERA FROM SAND.—If you throw dried sponge sand into water, slowly, all the foraminifers will sink, and sand will float on the water. F slide dipped under the floating film of grains will bring up only sand. You can safely skim off and throw away all that does not sink with a little stirring. Then.the sunken part should be dipped out, about a dessert-spoonfal at a time, into a small saucer, and water enough to just fairly cover them put in, and all floating grains stirred down. Then by a cir- cling movement of the hand the foraminifers will be got to the top, and ‘by gradually tipping the saucer and slowing up the movement they can be worked to one edge of the little pile of sand, and thence carefully dipped up with a rubber bulb pipette. In this way they are got almost pure. Only a little sand must be washed at a time, or not all the foraminifers will be got out, and very little water must be used or sand will get mixed with them. Much water moves the light sand, but a shallow wave seems not to stir it, but yet rolls the shells along—C. M. Vore NATURALISTS DiRECTORY.— The TADRE e for 1879, recently published by S. E. Cassino, at Salem, Mass., contains by far the best register of American ae one yet published. It will be found especially useful to the microscopists who desire to arrange for exchanges in different parts of the country. =O: SCIENTIFIC NEWS. — Recent arrivals at Zodlogical Garden, of Philadelphia: 1 sandhill crane (Grus americana): 2 cheetahs (Felis jubata) 8 Africa; 1 sun bear (Helarctos euryspilus) Borneo; 1 Chacma baboon (Cynocephalus porcarius); 2 electrical eels (Gymnotus electricus) and 2 red-crested cardinals (Paroaria cucullata) South America; 3 mule deer (Cervus macrotis) and 1 fallow deer (Dama vulgaris) Europe, bred in the garden; 7 mandarin ducks (4w galericulata), China; 1 rose-crested cockatoo ( Cacatua moluccensis); 78 finches, of the following species: Amadina fasciata, A. bicolor, Munia undulata, M. maja, M. acuticauda, M. malacca, Estrelda amandava and E. melpoda; 2 American elk (Cervus canadensis) and 2 Virginia deer (Cervus virginianus), bred in the garden ; Marabou stork (Leptoptilus crumeniferus), West Africa; 2 black- tailed parrakeets (Polytelis melanurus), Australia; 1 grand galago (Galago crassicaudata), East Africa; 1 Ducorps cockatoo (Cacatua ducorpsi), Solomon Islands; 1 lesser sulphur-crested cockatoo (Cacatua sulphurea), Moluccas; 1 white goshawk (Astur nove; hollandiæ, Australia; 2 hyacinthine peered Ces eed hyacin- thinus) Europe; 2 white storks ( Ciconia alba), Germany; 1 arma- x dillo (Dasypus novem-cinctus), Texas; 4 colina | peccaries (D ies KO 5 wapcenucks (Arctomys soins and 7> com- 1880. | Scientific News, 149 mon opossums (Didelphys virginianus), bred in the garden; 32 Amblystoma mavortium and 10 of the siredon form of that species from Wyoming ; 2 sand toads (Bufo vulgaris), England; 1 buffalo (Bison americanus), 2 bred in the garden; 1 black ape ( Cynopithecus niger), Phillipine Islands; 1 moor macaque (Macacus maurus), Borneo (?); 2 ashy-black macaques(Macacus ocreatus), Celebes (?) ; 1 African python (Python sebe); 1 Egyptian cobra (Wata haje); I clapper rail (Rallus longirostris), New Jersey; 1 horned lizard (Phrynosoma douglassi); 1 rufous rat kangaroo (Aypsiprymnus rufescens), and 27 water snakes (TZropidonotus fasciatus), born in the garden; 1 rattlesnake (Croialus atrox)?; parasitic jæger gull (Stercorarius parasiticus), North Atlantic; 1 great kangaroo ( Ma- cropus giganteus); 15 banded rattlesnakes (Crotalus horridus), and 5 water moccasins (Avcistrodon piscivorus), born in the garden; 1 booby gannet (Su/a fiber), captured off Cape Henlopen; 2 com- mon squirrels (Sciurus vulgaris), Europe; 1 orang-utan (Sinia satyrus), 2 Borneo; 1 Diana monkey (Cercopithecus diana), Africa ; 1 saddle-billed stork (Xenorhynchus senegalensis), West Africa; 1 tapir (Zapirus terrestris) 2; 4 Yarrell’s curassows (Crax carucu- ata); 4 razor-billed curassows (Mitua tuberosa); 1 red-breasted swan (Penelope pileata), and 18 boas (Boa constrictor), South America; 1 eland (Oreas canna), Africa, and 2 black wolves (Canis lupus ater), received in exchange; I hog-nosed snake (Heter- odon simus nasicus), and 1 rattlesnake (Crotalus confluentus) Col- orado; 1 soft-shelled turtle (Aspidonectes, sp. ?); 1 Javan chevro- tain (Tragulus javanicus), 9 bred in the garden; 2 hawks (Buteo, sp. ?), Colorado. — It will appear by the following note from Prof. Bitge that we Were in error as to the completeness of the series of Bronn’s Klassen und Ordnungen. _ “ Your reviewer has apparently fallen into some errors respect- ing Bronn’s Klassen und Ordnungen. The work is not yet ‘ draw- — ing to a close.’ The Amphibia are the only class of Vertebrates _ completed ; the fishes and reptiles only just begun, while twenty- two parts have only partly finished the osteology of mammals, “The six parts on birds, treating of osteology and part of the- . myology, were published nearly ten years ago and none since. — “ Of Crustacea, the first volume is just complete, treating of t _Entomostraca only. The worms and insects are not yet begun, while the earlier volumes, especially those on Protozoa and Radi- — : ata, are somewhat antiquated. a “The work is indeed invaluable, but no one should buy it in expectation of soon getting the remainder. It has been now ~ twenty years publishing, and at the present rate will not be com- pleted in less than twenty more. Only two volumes, that on __ Amphibia and the first volume on Arthropoda, have been finished Siten Years Fa: Binge o a $ ‘5 150 Scientific News. [ February, — Prof. K. Ellsworth Call and Mr. Arthur F. Gray are now engaged upon a Monograph of North American Unzontde, and desire to make their work compiete as regards synonomy. For this purpose they desire shells from all parts of the United States, Mexico and Canada, for purposes of comparison. The shells of the Complanatus group are now desired. Liberal exchanges will be given, or shells (typical) purchased. Parties collecting speci- mens with soft parts, please address Prof. K. Ellsworth Call, Normal and Scientific School, Dexter, Iowa, or Arthur F. Gray, Danversport, Mass. Information with regard to peculiar forms and interesting localities will be duly acknowledged. Where possible, preserve the animal. — The Scientific American for Dec. 27th, contains an article by D. C. Beard, who accounts for the sea-serpent by supposing it to be the gigantic squid which are known to inhabit the coasts of New Foundland and the high seas. We are not sure but that this is a plausible explanation, and expressed seven or eight years ago, in a communication to the Essex Institute of Salem, that the appear- ances referred to the “sea serpent” were, perhaps, occasioned by wounded or tired squid of colossal size, such as are known to exist in the oceans in both hemispheres. The barrel-shaped head, large eyes and trailing, undulating body, attributed to the “ sea- serpent” can be explained as depicted in the Scientific American. — ALS. Packard, I. ~ — Second Session of the Chesapeake Zodlogical Laboratory — A brief report of the work done in this Laboratory has appeared, from which we learn that twelve were present. Dr. Clarke investi- gated the Hydroids, Prof. Brige the development of two species of crabs, Miss Munn the development of the Ctenophore, Mr. Wilson verified the observations of previous writers in regard to the change of Actinotrocha into Phoronis, while Dr. Brooks studied the devel- opment of the squid and oyster and ascertained the existence of — a rudimentary velum in the Cephalopoda. A brief abstract of his studies on the oyster has already appeared in the columns of the American Journal of Science and arts —¥. S. K. — The report of the curator of the Harvard University Mu- seum of Zodlogy, where geology is also taught, shows that facili- ties are extended to those desirous of studying lithology. The instruction given by Mr. M. E. Wadsworth during the past year, consisted of lectures upon the macroscopic and microscopic char- _ acters of the rocks and their constituent minerals, and also of field and laboratory work. Besides the study of the laboratory _ collections, each student had assigned to him a separate district, which he was to map, studying the characters and relations of the rocks, and collecting the necessary specimens. Of the rocks thus collected, the student was required to make thin sections and to examine them microscopically, writing a thesis upon the whole a © work. It was intended that the course should be sufficiently thor- _ a ough to fit the student for practical field and laboratory research. 1880. | Scientific News. 151 — Professor Geikie opened his course of lectures to his class in the University of Edinburgh, November 1oth, with a very inter- esting account of his recent explorations in our Western Terri- tories, a full summary of which appears in Nature of Novem- ber 20th. He described his visit to the Yellowstone park, the Uinta mountains and other portions. His remarks on the evi- dences of glaciation and the superficial deposits of the West were excellent. He is now preparing an elaborate paper on the glacial phenomena which he observed, which he will offer for publication to some society or journal in this country. — The committee of the Philadelphia Park Commission, ap- pointed for the purpose, recently held a conference with the com- mittee of the Permanent Exhibition Company. The former, after consideration, resolved to recommend to the commission that the order for the removal of the Permanent Exposition be revoked, on condition that the Permanent Exposition Company raise the sum of $100,000 as a working capital, and agree to conform to the terms. of their lease. It is to be hoped that the commission will act on the report of the committee, and give the Permanent Exposition the Opportunity to show what it can become. — Biologia Centrali-Americana. Messrs. Dulau and Co. have commenced a splendid work under the above title, on the animals and plants of Mexico and Central America. It is edited by Messrs. F. D. Godman and Osbert Salvin, who have been collect- ing their materials for the past twenty-two years. It is to be issued in parts, sixty of zodlogy and twenty of botany, each consisting of about ninety-six pages of letter press, with numerous plates, many colored by hand. The colored plates issued with the first zoological part are said to be of remarkable beauty, delicacy and truthfulness to nature. Among the names of recently deceased scientists occur the _ names of Dr. F. Chapuis, the well known Belgian entomologist, Who died at Verviers, Sept. 20th; the dipterist C. Rondani, who died at Parma, Sept. 18; and T. Chapman, who died at Burghill, Hereford, Aug. 27. October 1 7, A. H. Garrod, well known for — - his papers on the comparative anatomy of birds and mammals, _ died in London. He was a naturalist of much promise. The death of the French author, Jean Charles Chenu, has lately been - Prof. J. D. Dana is about to issue a new edition of his very valuable Manual of Geology. This edition will be greatly im- Proved and enlarged and the whole subject brought up abreast of the present progress of the science. This work has occupied _ the greater portion of his time for several months. path 8 — The Royal Museum of Leiden, as reported by Dr. H. Schle- __ gel, the Director, contains, not reckoning duplicates, 7900 mam- _ Mals, 50,000 birds, 2920 skeletons, and 4300 skulls. It has one collector in Madagascar and two in West Africa, —— 152 Proc. of Sct. Socs. and Selected Articles in Sct. Serials. [Feb., 80. PROCEEDINGS OF SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES. New York Acapemy oF Sciences, Dec. 15.— Mr. Isaac N, Merritt read a description of the remarkable newly-discoved Luray caverns, Page county, Virginia (with illustrative specimens). Jan. g—Pr of. H. Bolton remarked on the application of organic acids to the examination of minerals (second paper). Boston Society oF Natura History, Dec. 1 7, 1879.—Mr. F. W. Putnam remarked on Conventionalism in Ancient American Art, illustrated by specimens of pottery from the Peabody Mu- seum of American Archeology and Ethnology. Jan. 7.—Mr. J. S. Diller read a paper on the Felsites and their associated rocks north of Boston. Mr. W. O. Crosby remarked on distorted pebbles in conglomerates, and Mr. F. W. Putnam read a short account of the largest mound in the United States. :0:; SELECTED ARTICLES IN SCIENTIFIC SERIALS. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF SCIENCE, Jan. 1880.— New forms of fossil Crustaceans from the Upper Devonian rocks of Ohio, by R. P. Whitfield (describes certain Devonian Phyllocarida under the name of Echinocaris (new genus), and a Devonian Decapod Crustacean with the name of Paleopalemon newberryi, this being the oldest genuine Decapod Crustacean yet known). New characters of Mosasauroid Reptiles, by O. C. Marsh. SIEBOLD’s UND KOLLIKER’s ZEITSCHRIFT FUR WISSENSCHAFT- LICHE ZOOLOGIE, December 12.—Studies on the organization and development of the Chalinid Sponges, by C. Keller. Structures of. the Lemipoda, by G. Haller. On the morphology of the pelvic and shoulder- arden of the bony fishes, by Olga Metschnikoff. On some octoradiate ae sponges, and on the development of their buds, by E. Sel sige i ZEITSCHRIFT FUR NATURWISSENSCHAFT, Nov. 30, | 1879.—O. and R. Hertwig continue their beautiful studies on the anatomy and histology of the Actiniz. THE GeoLocicaL Maaazine, Dec. 1879.—On the Parallel Roads | : of Glen Roy, by J. R. Dakyns ; JOURNAL OF THE Siesta’ MicroscoricaL Crus, Nov. 1879. © —On a method of resolving diatom tests, by A. Schulze: the anatomy of Actinia mesembryanthemum, by F. A. Bedwell. On staining sections of animal tissues, by J. W. Groves (a very _ useful paper). On some improvements in microscopical turn- ag tables, by C. S. Rol Ife. | THE AMERICAN NATURALIST. VoL. x1v. — MARCH, 1880. — No. 3. THE PROBOSCIS OF THE HOUSE-FLY. BY PROF, G. MACLOSKIE, LL.D. 1 Rat common house-fly of Europe (Musca domestica L.) prob- ably includes ‘the American as well as the old-world forms.’ Its proboscis has attracted much attention and been the subject of 1, A-F.—A, right side view; B, dorsal view of proboscis of Musca dati hen. y semi-tubes of its Hb trachex ; D, two of the false achei with wrinkled membrane between; Æ, a tooth; A, arrangement of teeth between roots E tracheæ. In 4 and Z, y cine the tip; o, the operculum; /, the palps; 7 fulcrum ; m, the mentum. R much misapprehension. I have recently been fortunate wee i 1 to find out several important points about the mechanism me cise organ and the homologies of its parts. a oe - ? Harris had cast a doubt on this and given the American forms the title M. ae a : yia, in oe of his disgust at “these filthy dungbred creatures.” Prof. Mean ackard, at, Jr, has established their claim toa — in the eam i 154 The Proboscis of the House-fly. [ March, Its Structure —The proboscis consists of three divisions—base, mid segment and tip. The base, or proximal division, contains : 1. A large framework of hard dark-colored chitin (fin Fig. 1, A and &, represented in the margin as spread out). This has been termed the pharynx, or fulcrum, by Lowne.! In the natural position this fulcrum is a narrow box, open at both | ends, and sending pro- cesses backwards. and for- wards. The distal part of its roof is left open so as to receive the mid segment ae ae Juicrum spread out, showing | : F s lower (ventral) plate with curved margins, its in flexion. One of Lowne’s fpr Syd + aad sibdistal (4) processes, its wings : : D which arch over its ARCEN and meet above, terms for it (2 harynx) 15 ais peeve processes (¢). It terminates incorrect; it is rather a distall in a small node le. : : case surrounding the phar- -ynx. I shall refer to it by the name fulcrum. 2. Two palps (/ in Fig. 1, Æ and B) not jointed, but borne on a weak cross-piece of chitin. (The blow-fly has stronger supporting bars, and palps longer and more slender.) 3. A transparent funnel-shaped sheath widening towards the head, surrounds the basal division. This membrane consists of chitin, but is quite soft and movable, like the membrane of the trachez or the web of the wings of insects. It is directly contin- uous with the walls of the head, and it extends forward to enclose the whole proboscis and to form the walls of the lips. It is open above so as to allow free motion to some of the hard parts. -The mid segment folds on the basal segment by an elbow joint. On the under side of the mid segment is the mentum, or chin piece (m in Fig. 1 A), truncated behind, narrowing and bifurcated in front, not articulated to any hard supporting part, but fixed in the membraneous sheath which holds it in its place. Uppermost in the mid segment is the operculum of Lowne (0 in in Fig. 1 A, Band Fig. 3). This is a semi-tube, slit beneath, pointed in front, and sending backwards two long as which I shw cali “the great tendons.” , 1“ The Anatomy and Physiology c of the Blow fy, by pE Lowne, Lond, 1979. ca 1880. | The Proboscis of the House-fly. 155 In the central axis of the mid segment, and closely articulated to the front processes of the fulcrum, is a plate (Fig. 3, x) longi- tudinally curved upwards so as to embrace the operculum, and with it to form a canal. Its central axis and its lateral parts are thickened. Lowne calls it the cannula. It may be convenient to refer to its lateral arcuate thickenings as the trabeculoid arches. Lying in the channel formed by the operculum and cannula, and firmly articulated be- hind with the front end of the fulcrum, is the lingua, or hypopharynx (Fig. 3, 2). This is rather short in the house-fly, but is long in Stomoxys, serving as a piercing organ. Fic. 3.—Arrangement of hard parts of mid Th ; segment (mentum not here shown). 0o, opercue e opercular piece and lum, sending back the great tendons, ¢; x, the the hypopharynx habitually pais Pee or canna = ed partal lie on the axis piece, whose it). In front of the trabeculoid arches are seen edges overlap it, but they the beginnings of the circum-orai rods. may be started up so.as to project clear above the sheathing mem- brane of the mid segment without any rupture of the membrane. The distal segment, or tip, called “knob” in Burmeister’s Entomology (Fig. 1, A and Æ, Z), is a singular scraping and suctorial apparatus, with the oral opening in its upper part set amidst the large protrusible lips. When spread out its surface is covered by a system of about eighteen pairs of curved trans- verse ridges. These have a general resemblance to trachee. Suffolk! calls them pseudo-trachez, that is, false trachee. They are split tubes, having a rent along their anterior surface, and are Supported by a framework of chitinous semi-tubes, which are — forked at alternate ends (Fig. 1, D, shows the relation of two of these false tracheæ with the ‘intervening membranous crenula- tions). The line of opening of these tubes is zigzag, caused by — the sheath-membrane flapping over the forked terminations of their supporting semi-tubes? This line of opening can be shut — So as to produce a closed channel, or opened and made rough like the face of a file. ake = On the Proboscis of the Blow-fly,’” by W. T. Suffolk, in Monthly Microscopi- cal Journal, June, 1869. - ie ee igs described and figured by G. Hurst in Quarterly Journal cf Microscopical = €, 1856, p. 238. Fig. 1, D. i Ee ee ARS y . > 156 The Proboscis of the House-fly. [March, On both sides of the mouth are hard beams of chitin, sup- ported on the trabeculoid processes of the axis piece of the mid segment (Fig. 3, xt), and themselves affording a foundation for the false tracheæ. We shall call them the circum-oral rods (Fig. 1, F). On the circum-oral rods, and intervening between the roots of the false tracheæ, is formed a set of teeth. The blow- fly has three rows of these teeth (thirty teeth in all), each tooth being two-cusped. A small house-fly (similar to M. domestica) has a similar arrangement, as has Musca cesar. The carnivorous house- fly has only one row of five or six teeth on each side of the mouth, but the teeth are three-cusped, the cusps being more or less cut (Fig. 1, Hand F). The blow-fly has been found to use its teeth for scraping sugar-candy. I would suggest that these distinctions in the structure, num- ber and arrangement of the teeth are of generic value, and that the name Musca be applied only to those species having a single row of three-cusped teeth; whilst Calliphora, already made to include the blow-fly, should take in those having several rows of two-cusped teeth. On the distal end of the mentum gi the mid segment, are two elastic chitinous bands, clasping the tip from behind. When these bands are pulled apart by muscles inserted in the mentum, they open the lips wide. Muscles and tracheæ are variously distrib- uted throughout the proboscis. At base of the tip is a nervous ganglionic mass which sends fine filaments to small terminal ganglia at the lower extremity of the lips, two of these ganglia being borne on the dichotomous branches of each nerve-pedicel. ` The surface of the proboscis supports hairs at various parts, espe- - cially on the palps and at the tip. The tip itself has no muscles; it is tumid but not fleshy. The proboscis of the blow-fly and other Muscidæ corresponds, except in detail, with that of the house-fly. The proboscis of the piercing-fly (Stomoxys calcitrans) has not the swollen tip, and its sheath is converted into a brown annulated tube, split above. Its basal part is retractile and exactly as in the house-fly. Its oper- cular piece, hypopharynx and axis piece are much elongated, as a piercing rather than a merely suctorial apparatus. In many points the oral apparatus of the mosquito corresponds so closely with that of the Muscidæ, as to render valpabk help towards the inter- EES of the latter. 1880. ] The Proboscis of the House-fiy. 157 functions—t. The proboscis is an organ of suction. The cesophagus traverses the inferior central part of the fulcrum, thence passes through the mid segment in the canal made by the operculum and the axis piece, being here joined by a pair of sali- vary ducts; it then opens at the mouth, communicating with the false trachea. It can exude a drop of clear fluid from the salivary ducts, and when the proboscis is distended it can act as an organ of suction, receiving fluids from the false trachez and conveying them to the digestive organs. The large supply of muscles within the fulcrum and in the axis piece, appears to be subservient to this process. 2. Retraction. — Two long and: powerful retractile muscles extend from the back part of the skull (near the foramen magnum) to the proximal end of the mentum (Fig. 1, 4, m). By contracting, these draw in the mid segment, so that its proximal end is close to the neck of the fly. Other muscles attached to the ventral proxi- mal processes of the fulcrum ‘assist in drawing it in and up, thus turning the fulcrum upon its upper proximal processes which are hinged to the frontal piece of the skull. Thus the two proxi- mal segments of the proboscis are folded on each other, and are both drawn inwards and upwards into the skull, so that they are like the letter V lying on its side, with its acute angle backwards. One arm of this V is hinged to the lintel of the door-way, whilst the other arm bears the collapsed tip of the proboscis, which now Serves as a door to close the entrance. The ends of the palps then protrude from the upper part of the doorway on both sides of the proboscis tip. ; 3. Protrusion.—The part taken by inflation in extending the proboscis, is so obvious that it was suggested nearly a century ago by Gleichen, but the suggestion was rejected, and W. T. Suf- folk! infers that the structure of the interior of the head was unknown to Gleichen, “as the extension of the organ is attributed to inflation, and not to muscular action.” se It is easy to dispose of Mr. Suffolk’s hasty criticism. Immerse the head of the fly in caustic potash, which destroys the muscles, the chitine of the membranous sheath and the tracheal tubes remaining intact, and you can still protrude the organ by slight © Pressure. Further, when the proboscis is pressed out and all its parts distended, pierce with a needle the swollen air sacs under the 1 Op. cit. * 158 The Proboscis of the House-fly. [ March, tip, and at once the tip collapses upon the mentum.’ If you tear the membrane about the base of the proboscis that part collapses. If you press the head over much, the membrane-sheath sends out bulging processes which soon burst, sending bubbles of air through the water in which you are examining it. I have repeated these experiments so often as to be satisfied that the rich tracheal system which crowds the lower part of the cranial chamber is the chief agent in protruding the proboscis? The examination of the muscular arrangement justifies this con- clusion. Muscles cannot directly protrude anything, they only pull. In the fly they may and do aid in protruding the proboscis by swinging. out the fulcrum. The long muscles which retract the mentum aid in straightening the proboscis when it is pro- truded, but the mentum is not attached proximally to any hard structure, and its firmness and power of supporting the tip depends on the tense condition of the membrane in which it lies, and this tenseness is due to inflation The great tendons which run back from the opercular piece (Fig. 3, 2) have their tips united by muscles to the distal and the sub-distal processes of the fulcrum (f). Lowne understands these muscles to be flexors of the mid segment upon the basal segment. Their tendency on contracting would be rather as extensors; but both suppositions are wrong. When they contract, instead of flexing the mid segment, the great tendons themselves bend, for they are too weak and too slightly articulated to the operculum to stand much pulling. Their work is of a more delicate nature. By acting alternately on the tendons, ‘these muscles bend the tip of the fly from side to side, enabling this organ to move nimbly from place to place, as you may see it when foraging on your breakfast table. This mechanism is well developed in Stomoxys, where only the basal part of the probascis is protrusible. We have already seen that the muscles extending from the mentum to the divergent rods which embrace the tip, serve to expand the lips to their fullest width; at the same time the tips become tensely swollen by air. It occupies this position when the proboscis is withdrawn, but never so in thé living fly when the proboscis is protruded. Most of the Tr in books represent it in pasts aI state, probably drawn from dead specim x e this discovery before I was aware that Gleichen had fallen upon it so long ago. a rejection of his views may — bag so little attention has uee p to it by others. 1880. | The Proboscis of the House-fly. 159 Thus we find that the protrusion and distension of this impor- tant organ is a joint affair, the tracheal system and the muscles combining their services. Homologies—It is strange that no previous observer seems to have been struck by the evidence of the “ great tendons” of the operculum as to what is the organic base of the mouth parts. These tendons are found, so far as we have observed, throughout the Diptera; they are evidently the tendons of some of the mouth parts, marking their origin. They could not be in the mid joint of an appendage; the muscles which move the segments of any arthropod appendage on each other, are zz¢ernal; it is only when we get to their root that we find these tendons extending into the body of the animal. Hence we conclude that the mid segment is the true base of the fly’s proboscis. We may, perhaps, go fur- ther and hold that these great tendons belong to the mandibles, for they closely resemble the mandibular tendons of other orders of insects and of the lobster. This will make the operculum rep- resent two united mandibles, probably enclosing the labrum.’ The palps seem to point out the maxillz, but it is not easy to determine to which of the hard pieces they belong, as they are borne on slight indurations of the membrane. The axis piece, With its trabeculoid bars, seems to represent the maxillze with its inner and outer processes. The hypopharynx and mentum offer no difficulty. The small piece represented in Fig. 3 in advance of the fulcrum, may belong to the maxilla. The membrane sheath and tip with spreading lips may be regarded as the labium with its specially developed paraglossz. Having made out the chief mouth parts as represented by the : 1 Gegenbaur approaches this discovery in commenting on the tracheal system of insects in water. The branchial tracheæ are kept distended in water by inflation, _ and he thinks that the tracheal system has a “ hydrostatic function,” which, in some — cases, may be more important than their respiratcry function. It is probable that the trachez of insects serve more purposes than we have yet recognized. Tn See Prof. Fackard’s account of the hydrostatic functions of the larval tracheæ of Corydalis, which illustrates and confirms Gegenbaur’s view. AMERICAN NATURAL- IST, Vol. vin, p. 53 a e. y * Huxley Says (Anatomy of Invertebrated Animals, p. 427; in American edition, P- 369): “In the common house-fly the labrum, mandibles and maxillæ coalesce at their origins and constitute the base of the proboscis, which is mainly formed by the confluent second maxillx, Its longitudinal grooved anterior face is overhung by the — elongated styliform labrum.” It is probable that the author was misled by endeavor- ing condense the views of others in this part. Anything done by himself would os : Scarcely be so faulty as this passage unquestionably is. se ple ee 160 The Proboscis of the House-fly. [ March, mid segment and the tip, we have still the largest structure of all (the fulcrum) to explain. It seems to be general in Diptera; even the mosquito possesses it; in other insects it is unknown. It could not be what Prof. Huxley suggests, “the labrum, mandibles and maxillz coalescing;”’ at least its structure and forms in various Diptera give no evidence of such union, and how then are we to explain the mid segment with the great tendons? Mr. Lowne makes it a composite structure, the dorsal part being epistoma, and the ventral part pharyngeal, formed in the wall of the aliment- ary canal. This explanation will not satisfy, for the inner surface of the fulcrum has many muscles, which could not be there if it were only a chitinous lining of the cesophagus. One might as well expect to find muscles growing on the outside of a lobster as within its throat. In searching after the homology of this piece, I soon found that I must go outside the Diptera, nor was I long searching till the secret came out. Opening the head of a katydid and of a wasp, I found in both what I wanted; the endocranium, which runs from back to front of skull, strengthening it. Long ago Burmeis- ter informed us that the Diptera have no endocranium, but their skulls are as empty shells, easily fractured. But here we see that Burmeister was wrong; they have the endocranium in the proper position when the insect is being hatched and when its proboscis is withdrawn ; but instead of having it rigidly fixed in the skull, they have it free posteriorly, hinged in the front and able to swing out so as to form a pedestal for the mouth parts which make up the proboscis. Comparing Mr. Huxley’s excellent description of the endocran- ium of the cockroach} we find the relation of parts with the retract- ed proboscis of the house-fly to correspond exactly. The endo- cranium has axis and wings corresponding to the structure of the fulcrum (Fig. 3). Its posterior extremity close to the foramen magnum, and the cesophagus pierces it; so with the house-fly when the fulcrum is turned in. The great tendons of the mandi- bles are right and left of it,as we have seen them to be in the house-fly. What is true of the house-fly is, we believe, generally true of its order. Thus we have fallen upon a modification of structure dependent on metamorphosis of function, almost as striking as that which 1 Anat. Invert. An., p. 403-404 (348 of American edition). 1880. ] Mammalogy in the United States in 1879. 161 exists between the suspensor of a bird’s mandible and the small bones of the human ear. I find in the lobster a structure which is probably homologous with the endocranium of insects. It is an opademe running like a bulk-head across in rear of the rostrum, consisting of a central cross bar, and on each side two free plate-like wings. Under its central bar is the frame work which supports the stalked eyes. Its hinder surface gives attachment to muscles which reach the stomach. It is described by Huxley (Anatomy of the Invert., p. 274, of American edition) as the opademe of the ophthalmic samite. O; SKETCH OF PROGRESS IN MAMMALOGY IN THE UNITED STATES IN 1879. BY DR. ELLIOTT COUES, U.S.A. ie year past has seen very little progress in our knowledge of - recent Mammalia, so far as contributions to that subject in the United States are concerned. Mr. J. A. Allen, one of the recog- nized leaders, has apparently been too busy with his great work on seals (now in press and about half printed) to do much else in _ mammals, and the present writer’s labor in the same field has been confined to the “ History of North American Mammals.” The latter is still too far from completion to speak about; but Mr. Allen’s Pinnipedia may be expected to appear very shortly, doubt- — less in 1880. Having the supervision of its publication in its pas- sage through the press, the writer is in position to speak confidently of its merits and importance. It will make an octavo of perhaps 800 pages, illustrated with numerous wood engravings, mostly original; and will unquestionably become at once tke work upon the subject. In thoroughness of treatment, accuracy and extent of investigation, and other requirements of masterly workmanship, it will compare with the author’s celebrated memoir on the Ameri- can bison. a _ As Prof. Leidy has done nothing during the year, either in fos- sil or living mammals, the field of the former has been left to Mr. arsh and Mr. Cope, whose important contributions are noted Certainly the most notable ‘and perhaps the most significant _ Paper on mammals of the past, present and, we may add, of the ee 162 Mammalegy in the United States in 1879. [March, future, is Mr. Cope’s, “ On the genera of Felidze and Canide,” in the Proceedings of the Philadelphia Academy, giving the author's views of their primitive types and of the successive steps through which they have passed, with detailed characters of the genera, including several new ones, and a nominal list of the species of both families. In the Felidae, Mr. Cope recognizes altogether fourteen genera (including Cryptoprocta, between Similodon and Pseudelurus) and ninety species—which are probably too numer- ous in the genera Felis and Lyncus, as the author remarks. In adopting Uncia of Gray as a generic term, the author assumes it to be derived from Uncus, a hook, but is it anything more than “ounce” in Latin? Dinictis cyclops n. sp., is fully described, p. 176. The interest of this paper perhaps centers about Synagodus mansucius and Dysodus pravus, two new genera and species founded upon before-supposed varieties of Canis familiaris. Of the Synagodus it is stated to be “ uncertain whether any species of this genus exists in a wild state. Should such not be the case, we can only predicate the former existence of such an one as entirely different from the Canis familiaris, and which has given origin to the existing one.” Dysodus pravus is the Japanese lap dog. These are regarded as “the most specialized of the Canidz.” In this connection the author refers to the frequently-observed reduced dentition of man, and reasons from “ what is elsewhere known in zoology, that the same or nearly the same specific characters may be found in different genera,” that different genera may be found in the same species, which becomes a different species upon the circumstance of being referred to a new genus. Two hypotheti- cal genera of Hominide to “be at some future day added to Homo,” are named and described in anticipation of the establish- ment as a generic character of certain dental peculiarities, namely: Metanthropos with incisors 4, and Epanthropos with molars 3. The species of these genera, left unnamed, may be provisionally des- ignated respectively M. incipiens and Æ. procul, with reference to their extremely primitive state of possible accomplishment. Much might be said, doubtless, for and against the availability of names proposed for conjectural species zz futuro. The logical extreme of the procedure might be a potential Pseudanthropops gingivatus, that is, an hypothetical anthropomorphic super-simian without canines; the dental formula of which would be, according to our inference and our ignorance, I. ?, C. §, Pm. ?, M. ?. The new spe- 1880.] Mammalogy in the United States in 1879. 163 cies of Canide of this paper are Temnocyon corypheus and Icticyon crassivultus In the same part of these Proceedings (April—October) Mr. H. C. Chapman describes the placentation of Macacus cynomolgus, and an earlier one by the same author is on the anatomy of the Chim- panzee, illustrated with four plates. Mr. John A. Ryder continues from his paper of 1878 (pp. 45-80) his notes on the mechanical Genesis of tooth forms, seeking to show the modes in which the teeth of mammals are modified by movements of the jaws in mas- tication, through a long series of generations; reaching the con- clusion “that mechanical strains and impacts had probably been the secondary causes to which the origin of the various forms of teeth might, in a large measure, be attributed.” He here offers some new evidence based upon more accurate observations of the mode in which herbivorous ungulates masticate their food. In the same line of research, Mr. Cope has a paper on the origin of the specialized teeth of the Carnivora, in the Naruraist for March, 1879, p. 171. Other articles on recent Mammalia by the same author in the Same journal, are on the California gray whale, p. 655; on the Japanese lap dog, p. 655, and a paper on the zodlogy of Mon- tana, p. 433. Various other brief articles or notes on mammals in the Naruratisr need not be more than alluded to here. The Bulletin of the United States Geological Survey contains two important papers, by Mr. Allen, on the genera Maswa and Bassaris, in which the specific characters and very complicated Synonymy of the two species of each genus which the author al- lows to stand, are carefully worked out. a For the rest, several of the newspapers of semi-scientific char- acter give a fair space to game mammals, as they do to birds; Forest and Stream and the Chicago Field are to be specially men- tioned in this connection. Among other subjects the question of hydrophobia from the bite of the skunk has occupied a prominent _ place; the contributions, however, being mostly the experiences of a Unscientific observers. It seems to be established: (1.) That skunk - bite may produce a fatal disease undistinguishable from rabies Canina, or ordinary hydrophobia; (2.) that skunk bite may be — skunk bite only results under a rabid condition of the animal. perfectly innocuous, and therefore, (3.) that hydrophobia seo : No peculiarities of the case, as distinguished from that of a mad 164 Mammalogy in the United States in 1879, [March, dog or cat, appear to have been established, notwithstanding repeated assertions that skunk bite is always and necessarily fatal. To the elucidation of fossil mammals the contributions of Mr. Marsh and Mr. Cope have been both numerous and important. If these still continue, as in former years, to represent the accu- mulation of material in the way of new genera and species, and the general enlargement of the view, rather than the attainment of final results based upon all the data acquired, they neverthe- less include important discoveries and generalizations. Foremost among these comes Mr. Marsh’s discovery of Jurassic mammals in this country. The original announcement was made by Mr. Marsh in June, 1878, in the American Fournal of Science, with description of Dryolestes priscus from the Atlantosauris beds of the Upper Jurassic, the associated fossils being mainly Dino- saurians. To this succeeded, in July, 1879, the notice of Sty/acodon gra- cilis, and in September, 1879, additional remains of Jurassic mam- mals were described as Dryolestes vorax and Tinodon bellus. It is interesting to observe, first, that the Jurassic genera indicate as many new families, and further, that they confirm Mr. Marsh’s — original determination of the Atlantosaurus beds as Upper Jurassic. The same journal for June has also an interesting paper by the same on polydactyle horses, recent and extinct. It is illustrated with a plate of the genealogy of the horse, showing the modifica- tion of the limbs and teeth from Orohippus to Equus. This paper defines clearly, for the first time it is believed, the true difference between the orders none too aptly named Perissodactyla and Artiodactyla by Owen. The difference between the “ odd-toed ” and “even-toed” structure is stated to be “a profound one, extending to nearly every part of the skeleton, and marking two distinct groups of Ungulates. The number of toes has really nothing to do with the true distinction, and hence the terms in use are especially misleading. The real difference, so far as the feet are concerned, is, that in the Perissodactyle type the axis of the limb passes through the middle of the third digit (Mesaxonia), while in Artiodactyles * 2 outside of this digit (Paraxona), between it and the fourt Mr. Cope’s Spaho to the same branch of the subject during 1879, will all be found in the publications of the Philadel- 1880. | Mammalogy in the United States in 1879. 165 _phia Academy, of the American Philosophical Society, the AMERICAN NATURALIST, and the U. S. Geological Survey “ Bulle- tin.” The first of these has been already noted in connection with recent mammals. The NATURALIST contains many short papers, among which are: Extinct Mammalia of Oregon, p. 131 (in full in Bull. U. S. Geological Survey, No. 1, Feb, 28, p. 55-69); Merycopatcr and Hoplophoneus, p. 197; a new Anchitherium (A. prestans); A Decade of Dogs (five genera, ten species) p. 530; and the Cave Bear of California (Arctotherium simum sp. n.), P: 791. Mr. J. A. Ryder, in shë NATURALIST for September, notes a remarkable genus of sloths, Grypotherium Reinhardt, typical of a sub-family Diarhine and a species of Cælodon Reinhardt, 1878. Mr. Cope's paper, above mentioned, in the Hayden Bulletin, describes for the Miocene Territories of Oregon: Exhydrocyon (g. n.) stenocephalus, E. basilatus, Poébrotherium sternbergii, Boich- @rus (g. n.) humerosus, Lutrictis lycopotamicus, Protolabis trans- montanus, spp. nn. The same author's “ Relations of the Horizons of Extinct Ver- tebrata of Europe and North America,” in the same Bulletin, pp. 33-54, is doubtless his most important contribution, but it is one to which it is impossible to do justice in the present connection. His conclusions are: “I. Portions of all the faunz of all the primary divisions of geologic times have been recognized on both the European and North American continents. “IL. Parallels requiring general identification of principal divi- sions of these fauna may be detected. These are: the Coal. measures; the Permian; the Laramie; the ‘Meestrichtian ; the Eocene ; ae Miocene. HE Eia identifications of restricted divisions may be made in a few instances only; such are the Turonian and the Nio- brara; the Suessonian and the Wasatch; the Æguus beds and the Pliocene,” The Bulletin of the U. S. Geological Survey, Vol. v., No. 2} published September 6, 1819, has a paper by Mr. Cope, on the extinct Rhinoceride- of North America and their allies, which a goes very fully into the characters of the group, giving new defi- nitions of Perissodactyle families and genera, and- ical a . may of f the latter in detail, with analyses of- various species: 166 A Review of the Modern Doctrine of Evolution. [ March, The same paper is adapted to the AMERICAN NATURALIST for December, 1879, pp. 7718-7, with eight cuts. Pages 798a-%, of AMERICAN NATURALIST for December, give in brief some of the more important results of Mr. Cope’s recent trip to the Pacific coast, describing among other things the remarkable new fossil cats, Archelurus debilis and Hoplophoneus platycopis. Mr. Cope’s Palzontological Bulletin, No. 31, being a “Second Contribution to a Knowledge of the Miocene Fauna of Oregon,” “read before the American Philosophical Society, December 5, 1879,” contains descriptions of the following new fossil mammals: Hesperomys nematodon, Sciurus vortmani, Canis lemur, Chenohyus (g. n.) decedens, Thinohyus trichenus, Pale@ocherus subequns, Colo- reodon (g. n.) ferox, C. macrocephalus. The date of printing is given as December 24, 1879. guenan ©. A REVIEW OF THE MODERN DOCTRINE OF EVOLUTION. BY E. D: COPE. HE doctrine of evolution of organic types is sometimes appro- priately called the doctrine of derivation, and its supporters, derivatists. This is because it teaches the derivaticn of species, genera and other divisions, from pre-existent ones, by a process of modification in ordinary descent by reproduction. The oppo- site or creativist doctrine teaches that these forms were created as we see them to-day, or nearly so; and that the natural divisions and species of organic beings have-never been capable of change, the one into the other. I. The Evidence for Evolution. The reasons which induce me to accept the derivatist doctrine, and to reject the creational, fall under the two heads of pro- babilities and conclusive evidence. The probabilities are cumula- tive in their pointings, and form part of a total body of evidence which is, to my mind, conclusive. The reasons why derivation is probable are the successional relation of increment or decre- — ment of structure, observed i in: 1 Abstract a a lecture delivered before the California Academy of Sciences, Oct. © 27, 1879. ae 1880.] A Review of the Modern Doctrine of Evolution. 167 I. Systematic relation (taxonomy); 2. Embryonic growth (em- bryology); 3. In geologic time (paleontology); 4. And in the coincidence in the successions seen in Nos. I, 2 and 3. The fact that it is necessary to arrange animals in an order cor- responding with the phases of their embryonic history is remark- able; but the further fact, shown by paleontology, that the same Succession marked the ages of past time, at once brings evolution within the limits of strong probability. Nevertheless, all this might have been a mere system, without transitions between its members; organic types might have been created unchangeable, but presenting the mutual relations in question. But if transi- tions among these members can be shown to take place, then indeed the phenomena mentioned receive a sufficient explanation. They are seen to be the necessary relations of the parts of a shift- ing scene of progression and retrogression; they express com- binations of structure, which, though often long enduring, are, nevertheless, not perpetual, but give way to other combinations to be in their turn dissolved. Now, if there is anything well known in nature, it is that there are divisions of various ranks in the vegetabie and animal kingdoms, whose contents present varia- tions of structure which are confessedly additions to or subtrac- tions from the characters of ancestors, which have appeared during ordinary descent. The protean species, genera, etc., are well known to biologists, and every naturalist who admits varieties, sub-species, sub-genera, etc., admits derivation so far as they are concerned. The facts of variation, including “ sporting,” etc., are notorious, not only among domesticated, but also in wild animals and plants. The facts have led some persons to suggest that Species have been produced by evolution from a single specific center, but that the genus and other comprehénsive divisions are unchangeable. But I think I have shown, ina paper entitled, “The Origin of Genera,” that the structural characters which define genera, and even higher divisions, are subjects of variation to as great an extent as are the less profound specific characters; _ and, moreover, that the evidence of derivation which they present 's singularly clear and conclusive. The changes of both genus and species character are always of the nature of additions to or Subtractions from those of one generation displayed by their descendants. As such, they form the closing chapters of the embryonic or growth-history of the modified generation. — — — — "Philadelphia, 1869, “ Proceedings Academy Natural Sciences, 1868.” _ ae 168 A Review of the Modern Doctrine of Evolution. | March, In order to explain more fully the application of the above statements, I introduce a few examples selected from the subjects of my studies. Their number might be indefinitely extended. I first cite the genera of the tailless Batrachia Anura (frogs, toads, etc.), whose relations are very simple and clear, and show the parallelism between adult structure and embryonic succession. See above, I and 2. The greater number of Batrachia Anura fall into two divisions, which differ only in the structure of the lower portion of their scapular arch, or shoulder girdle. In the one the opposite halves are capable of movements which contract or expand the capacity of the thorax; in the other the opposite halves abut against each other so as to be incapable of movement, thus preserving the size of the thoracic cavity. But during the early stages, the frogs of this division have the movable shoulder girdle which characterizes those of the other division, the consolidation con- tituting a modification superadded in attain- ing maturity. Further- more, young Anu- ra are toothless, and one section of the spe- cies with embryonic shoulder girdle never acquire teeth. So here we have a group which is imperfect in two points instead of one. This is the tribe Bufoniformia; the tribe with teeth and embry- onic shoulder girdle is called the Arcifera, and that which is advanced in both these respects is the Raniformia. Now the frogs of each of these divisions present nearly similar scales of development of another part of the skeleton, viz: the bones of the top of the skull. We find some in which one of these bones (ethraoid) is represented by cartilage only, and the fronto-parietals _ and nasals are represented by only a narrow strip of bone each. _ In the next type the ethmoid is ossified ; in the next, we have the fronto-parietal completely ossified, and the nasals range from nar- of Anura. Fi. i of the Arciferous type ore holbrookt). Rana tenporaria. tadpole with bud- ep ty Fig. 3, Fic. 3. do. ‘adult. Figs. 2 and 3 from Parker. 1880] A Review of the Modern Doctrine of Evolution. © 169 row strips to complete roofs; in the fourth station on the line, these bones are rough, with a hyperostosis of their surfaces ; and in the next set of species, this ossification fills the skin, which is thus no longer separable from the cranial bones; in the sixth form the ossification is extended so as to roof in the temporal muscles and enclose the orbits behind, while in the rare seventh and last stage, the tympanum is also enclosed behind by bone. Now all of these types are not found in all of the families of the Anura, but the greater number of them are. Six principal fami- lies, four of which belong to the Arcifera, are named in the diagram below, and three or four others might have been added. I do not give the names of the genera which are defined as above described, referring to the explanation of the cuts for them, but indicate them by the numbers on the left margin of the page, which correspond to those of the definitions above given. A zero mark signifies the absence or non-discovery of a generic type. Sternum embryonic. Sternum complete. Bufoniformia. Arcifera, Raniformia. Bufonide. Scaphiopide Cystignathide. Hylide. Ranide, and Pelobatide. _ o o I I ò — 2 2 2 2 o -a 3 o 3 3 E s E; 4 4 4 4 4 5— 5 5 o 5 5 é— 6 6 6 6 o — 7 o o o o It is evident, from what has preceded, that a perfecting of the shoulder-girdle in any of the species of the Bufoniform and Ar- ciferous columns, would place it in the series of Raniformia, An — accession of teeth in a species of the division Bufoniformia, would make it one of the Arcifera; while a small amount of change in the ossification of the bones of the skull would transfer a species from one to another of the generic stations represented — by the numbers of the columns from one to seven. i There are few groups where this law of parallelism is so readi- ly observed among cotemporary types as the Batrachia, but it is _ Rone the less universal. The kind of parallelism usually observed = that in which there is only a partial resemblance between adults of certain animals and the young of others. This has been termed — _ VOL. XIv.—no, 111, 12 170 A Review of the Modern Doctrine of Evolution. (March, FIGS A Fic. 3°. Fic. 3, wanting. Fic. 7. Fic. 7, wanting. BUFONIDA. SCAPHIOPID4 AND PELOBATIDE. 1880] . CYSTIGCNATHIDÆ. 172 A Review of the Modern Doctrine of Evolution. (March, -“ inexact parallelism, ” and the relation is presented by forms not very nearly phylogenetically related. The more remote the Fic. 4 Fic. 37. Y Fic. 3°. Fic. 5. RANIDÆ. phylogenetic lines of two types, the more “inexact” will their parallelism be. It was once a question whether any parallelism can be traced between the members of the five or six primary divisions of animals, and in my essay on the “ Origin of Genera,” I was compelled to state that there was then “no evidence of the community of origin of these divisions.” Since that time, Haeckel has published his “ Gastreea Theory.” This is a grand generalization from the facts of embryology, which shows the community in type of the early stages of all animals, and the similarity of the phases which they present during a part of ‘their larval life. The exceptions to this law which have been observed, will probably be explained, as have been those which have been urged against the law of homologies in anatomy. The palzeontology of the Batrachia Anura is largely unknown, so we must look else- where for proof of the truth of the fourth pro- position, viz., that the successional relation in embryology corresponds with that shown by palzontology to have existed in geo- logic time. For this purpose I select one of the most complete series known to palzontol- ogy ; that of the camels or Camelide, whose remains are fgund abundantly in various parts of our country. The succession of | the known genera is seen in the structure of the bones of the feet, and of the superior incisor and premolar teeth. The metatarsal and metacarpal bones are or are not co- össified into a cannon bone; the first and second superior incisor teeth are present, rudimental or want- ing, and the premolars number from four to one. The relations 1880.] A Review of the Modern Doctrine of Evolution. 173 which these conditions bear to geologic time is displayed in the following table, commencing with the lowest horizon: No cannon bone. Cannon bone present. A Incisor lia present. Incisors one and two wanting. EEY zh os 4 premol ts. 3 prem’rs. 2 prem’s. I prem’r. a Lower Miocene. f z Poëbrotherium. Procamelus. Protolabis. | Pliauuchenia. Upper Miocene. Blisdene and Recent. ie Aakn This table shows that geological time has witnessed, in the his- tory of the Camelidæ, the consolidation of the bones of the feet and a great reduction in the numbers of the incisor and premolar teeth. The embryonic history of these parts is as follows: In the foetal state all the Ruminantia (to which the camels belong) have the cannon bones divided as in Poébrotherium ; they exhibit also incisor teeth, as in that genus and Protoladis. Very young recent camels hive the additional premolar of Pliauchenia. They shed this tooth at an early period, but very rarely a camel is found in which the tooth persists. The anterior premolar of the normal Camelus is in like manner found in the young lama (Auchenia), but is shed long before the animal attains maturity. I may add that in some species of Procamelus caducous scales of enamel and dentine i in shallow cavities represent the incisive dentition of Protolabis It remains to shows that characters of the kind above mention- ed are sometimes inconstant; that they may or may not appear in individuals of a species. Under such circumstances it is evi- dent that their origin does not imply m break in the line of de- _ scent, First, as to a family character. It is well known that the : deer differ from the giraffes in the presence of a burr or ring of . osseous excressences surrounding the base of the horn. Now - which possess or lack this ie indifferently. Why. some joe ae viduals should, and others should not possess it, is not known, — 2 cond, as to a generic character. The, genus Canis. is defined by the presence of two tubercular molars in the inferi sne. ‘The Tin genus Thous, prane three such teet 174 A Review of the Modern Doctrine of Evolution. (March, Icticyon has but one. Now examples of Canis familiaris (domestic dog) with but one tubercular molar are not rare, while an individ- ual with three is occasionably found. | To take another case. The normal dentition of Homo (man) is, on each side, incisors, 2; canin2, 1; premolars, 2; molars, 3. It is very common to find in the higher races, individuals who have molars only two in one or both jaws; and the absence of the external incisors of the upper jaw is almost as frequently met with. Here we have two new generic variations in one and the same species. ; In specific characters variations are most familiar. Thus, the young of deer are generally spotted, and’ the adults are nearly uniform in coloration. Some deer (as the Aris) retain the spotted coloration throughout life, while an occasional spotted individual of unicolor species, is a violation of specific character by a failure to develop. The larvz of some salamanders are of uniform col- oration, and the adults spotted. The unicolor adults of the same species, not-uncommonly met with, present examples of the same kind of variation. Any biologist can select hundreds of similar cases from his special department of study. Il. The Laws of Evolution. Having reviewed the reasons why the doctrine of evolution should be received as truth, I desire to give attention to the laws which may be made out by reference to its phenomena. Progress ‘in this direction is difficult, owing to the natural impediments in the way of studying the history of the growth of living beings. We will, however, commence by examining more fully the phe nomena with which we have to deal. It is well understood that the world of animal life is a nicely adjusted equilibrium, maintained between each individual and its environment. This environment exerts forces both purely physical, and those exercised by other animals. Animals an- tagonize each other in procuring food, whether that food con- sist of vegetation or of other animals, but in the latter case the conflict is more severe. A similar competition exists among male animals in the matter of reproduction. These exhibitions of energy constitute the struggle for existence, which is the daily business of the living world. It is well understood, that in this struggle the individuals best provided with means of self-preser- 1880.] A Review of the Modern Doctrine of Evolution. 175 vation necessarily survive, while the weak in resources must dis- appear from the scene. Hence those which survive must dis- play some especial fitness for existence under the circumstances of their environment, whatever they may be. So the “ survival of the fittest ” is believed to be a law of evolution, and the pro-« cess by which it is brought about has been termed “natural selec- tion.” The works of Darwin and others have satisfied biologists that this is a vera causa. Before the excellence of a machine can be tested, it must exist, and before man or nature selects the best, there must be at least two to choose from as alternatives. Furthermore it is exceedingly im- probable that the nicely adapted machinery of animals should have come into existence without the operation of causes leading directly to that end. The doctrines of “ selection” and “survival” plainly do not reach the kernel of evolution, which is, as I have long since pointed out, the question of ‘‘the origin of the fittest.” The omission of this problem from the discussion of evolution, is to leave Hamlet out of the play to which he has given the name, The law by which structures originate is one thing; those by which they are restricted, directed, or destroyed, is another thing. There are two kinds of evolution, progressive and retrogres- sive ; or, to use expressions more free from objection, by ad- dition of parts, and by substraction of parts. It is further evident that that animal which adds something to its struc- ture which its parents did not possess, has grown more than , they; while that which does not attain to all the characteristics of its ancestors has grown less than they. To express the change in the growth-history which constitutes the beginning of evo- lution, I have employed the terms “ acceleration and retardation.” Generally these expressions are literally exact, £. e., there is an in- creased rate of growth in evolution by addition, and a decreased rate in evolution by subtraction; but this is not always the case, — for some divisions of animals have increased the léngth of their Srowth-period without reference to evolution in structure. The terms express the phenomena figuratively, where not exact in the sense of time, and I believe they are sufficiently clear. The or igin of the fittest is then a result of either acceleration or retardation. It 1S easy to perceive that a character which makes its appearance 1n a parent before or near to the breeding season wel whe o 176 A Review of the Modern Doctrine of Evolution. (March, transmitted to its descendants; so also a character which is lost near this time is likely to be wanting from the offspring. The causes of acceleration and retardation may next claim atten- tion, ¢ It is well known that the decomposition of the nutritive fluids ‘ within living animals gives rise, in the appropriate tissues, to exhibitions of different kinds of forces. These are, motion in all classes; heat in some only; in a still smaller number, electricity and light; in all, at certain times, growth-force or bathmism; in many, phrenism or mental or thought-force. These are all derived from equivalent amounts of chemical force which are liberated by the dissolution of protoplasm. This organic substance, con- sisting of CHON, undergoes retrograde metamorphosis, being resolved into the simpler CO, HO, etc.,and necessarily liberates force in the process. None of the functions of animal life can be maintained without supplies of protoplasm. We have here to do with bathmism. It consists of the movement of material to, and its deposition in, certain definite portions of the growing egg, or _ foetus, as the case may be. It is different in its movements in every species, and its direction is probably the resultant of a number of opposing strains. In the simplest animals its polar equilibrium is little disturbed, for these creatures consist of nearly globular masses of cells. As we ascend the scale a greater and | more marked interference becomes apparent; radiated animals display energy in a number of radiating lines rather than in the spaces between them ; and in longitudinal animals, a longitudinal * axis exceeds all others in extent and importance. In the highest animals its results are much more evident at one extremity of the axis (head) than at the other, and the diverging lines are reduced to,four (the limbs). In each species the movements of this force are uniform and habitual, and it is evident that the habit is so deeply seated that only a very strong dynamic interference can modify or divert it. The interfering forces are probably all those transmissible through living tissue, and especially molar force. Thus every species has its own specific kind of bathmic force, The characters of living beings are either adaptive or non- adaptive ; they are either machines especially fitted to meet the peculiarities of their environment, or they are not. _ Among the | latter may be ranged rudimental structures and also many others 1880. | A Review of the Modern Doctrine of Evolution. 177 of no sufficient use. They are all due either to excess or defect of growth force; they are either consequences of a removal of nutritive material to other portions of the body; or they are due to an excess of such material which renders an organ or part use- less through disproportionate size. Of the former class may be ` cited the absence of the tail in some monkeys and birds; also of © the teeth in some Cetaceans; of the latter kind are the enormous tusks of the mammoth and the recurved superior canines of the babyrussa. The change of destination of this material has been probably due to the construction of adaptive machines whose perfection from time to time has required the use of larger and larger proportions of force and material. In considering the origin of adaptive structures, two alternative propositions are presented to us. Did the occasion for its use follow the appearance of the structure, or did the need for the structure precede its appearance? The following answer to the question has always been the most intelligible to me. Animals and plants are dependent for existence on their environment. It is an every-day experience that changes in environment occur Without any preparation for them on the part of living things. If the changes are very great, death is the result. It is evident that the influence of environment is brought to bear on life as it is, or has been, and that special adaptations to it on their part must fol- low, not precede changes of climate, topography, population, etc. — We have another important consideration to add to this one,-viz: the well-known influence of use, 7. e., motion, on nutrition. Exer- cise of an organ determines nutritive material to it, and the ner- vous or other influence which does this, equally determines nutritive material to localities in the body to which an effort to Move is directed, whether an executive organ exist there or not. — The habit of effort òr use determining the nutritive habit must be inherited, and result in the growing young, in additional strut ture. Change of structure, denied to the adult on account of its fixity, will be realized in the growing or plastic condition of foetal or infant life. The two considerations here brought forward lead me to think that the cause of acceleration, in many adaptive Structures, is environment alone, or environment producing move- — ments, which in turn modify structure. The character of the a stimulus in the successive grades of life may be expressed by the — A ‘ollowing table, passing from the lowest to the highest: : 178 A Review of the Modern Doctrine of Evolution. { March, I. Passive or motionless beings ; by climate and food only. 2. Movable beings; by climate, food and motion. By motion either; a, unconscious, or! aa, conscious, which is, 6, reflex, or 66, directed by desire without ratiocination, or bbb, by desire directed by reason. The only general rules as to the direct influence of motion on structure which can be laid down at present are two, viz: That density of tissue is in direct ratio to pressure, up to a certain point ;? and that excess of growth force, in a limited space, pro- duces complications of the surfaces stimulated.* These and. other laws, yet unknown, have probably led the changes expressed by evolution, while many others have followed the disturbance of equilibrium which they have produced. I here allude incidentally to the question of transmission or - inheritance. It has been maintained above that the bathmic force of each species is different from that of all other species. This force is chgracteristic of some unit of organization of living beings ; and this probably consists of several molecules. This unit has been termed, by Haeckel, the plastidule. The trans- mission of the bathmic force of one generation to another would be effected by the transmission of one or more living plastidules; and this is probably precisely what is accomplished in reproduc- tion. The Dynamic Theory of reproduction I proposed in 1871,* and. it has been since adopted by Haeckel under the name of perigenesis. I compared the transmission of bathmic force to that of the phenomenon of combustion, which is a force conver- sion transmitted from substance to substance by contact. The recent observations of Hertwig, Bütschli and others, confirm this view. The theory of pangenesis, devised to explain the phenom- enon of reproduction, is to my mind quite inadequate. 1 Movements coming under this head are often called reflex. 2See Penn Monthly, 1872. 3 « Method of Creation,” Philadelphia, 1871. t“ Method of Creation,” 1871. 1880. ] Concerning Amber. 179 EXPLANATION OF CUTS OF CRANIA OF ANURA. The numbers in each column correspond with the types of ossification mentioned in the text, and are the same as those in the table of families given in the same con- nection. The power numbers attached to Fig. 3, represent the degree of ossification of the nasal bones, except the —1, which signifies unossified. ethmoid. Most of the cuts are original. Buronip&.—Fig. 2, anterior part of skull of Ee gouldi Gray, from Australia, Fig. 3, do of Schismaderma carens Smith, S. Africa. Fig. 6, top of head of Pe/taphr. ae FSA ia i D. and B., cet "Fig. 7, top of head of Otaspis eee Cop SCAPHIOPID 5 ets OBATIDA,.—Fig. 2, diagram be top of cranium of Did calcaratus Mee Spain. Fig. 5, skull of Scaphiopus holbrooki Hat, United States. Fig. 6, skull of ‘Cultripes provincialis, from France, after ug S. HyxLiDÆ.—Fig. 1 ; Thoropa misiessi Bibr., Brazil. Fig, 2, Hypsiboas doumerci D. , Surinam. Fig. 2!, Aypsiboas punctatus Schn., Brazil. Fig. 32, mh venulosus Daudin, Brazil. Fig. 6, Trachycephalus de ie sent D. an azil, after Steindachne Sitters HIDÆ.—Fig. 1, Z oth nebulosus Gir., Chili. Fig. 2, Borborocetes tas- maniensis Gthr., Tasmania. g. 3, Elosia nasus Licht., Brazil. Fig. lodes seyrijnched D. and ge W. Indi Fig 4 Grypiscus umbrinus Cope, Brazil. Fig. 6, sr tehe pores gayi D. & É; Chili Ranip&.—Fig. 31, Ranula -ysoprasina Cope, date Rica. Fig. 3, Rana oxy- rhyncha Sand., S. rn Ha 31, Rana clamitans Daud., N. America. Fig. 3’, Rana agilis Mus., Berol. Fig. 3°, Rana eee 3 Less., India, Fig. 4, Polypedates gutiiritincatas D. and B., Ceylon [To be Conable) a CONCERNING AMBER! BY ERMINNIE A, SMITH. Pas history of amber illustrates most clearly not only the slow and tedious growth of civilization, but also the seeming per- versity and obtuseness of human nature, which, especially in fors mer times, so retarded the advancement of science. Exhuming this history from the dim, far distant, prehistoric past, we find that _ om being first used for fuel by the almost barbaric northern hordes, among the more refined southern peoples, amber, like bronzes and their other articles of luxury, took the place of coin- and had its economical and financial import. The oldest written documents that have come to us, mention it as one of the chief — articles of luxury of the ancient civilized world, an slabs v - Sreater request than fine gold. "Read before E “ American Asso. for the Advancement of Science” at: Sane eo 180 Concerning Amber. [ March, Three thousand years ago it was well known among the inhabi- tants of Hellas that amber would attract light bodies, and Thales, one of the “ seven wise men of Greece,” adduced that circumstance | in support of his theory that inanimate objects possessed souls, but two and a-half thousand years passed before it was discovered that it was this self-same power which, flashing amid the roar of thunder, illuminated the wide canopy of Heaven, bound iron to iron and directed the silently recurring course of the magnetic needle. Tamed and baited as we have considered this all-pervading element, still, as day by day we are startled by new discoveries, and while awaiting the result of investigations which may trans- form the night of our great metropolis into. day, are we not as puzzled that these problems should have remained so long unsolved as astonished at their solution ? Americans can complacently pardon the inexplicable fact that Dr. Wall, the English scientist, when succeeding in drawing the electric spark from amber and hearing the crackling sound accom- panying it, compared the two to thunder and lightning, but left the discovery of their being identical to our Benjamin Franklin, with his kite and key. Although nearly two thousand years ago, Pliny wrote that amber was the fossil resin of the extinct Conifer, Succinum pinttes, to-day the subject presents many unsolved problems, It is true- the modern geological column has assigned it an approximate geological place, and modern chemistry has given it a formula, and its principal scientific value as the source of succinic acid and varnis A bier review of some established facts in regard to amber as also some of the erroneous but popularly received ideas, which, if unimportant, still remain uncorrected, will perhaps show that _ for a substance ever popular, coveted as a luxury, even ranking as a gem, both useful and ornamental, with a name in every language _ expressive of its many qualities, it Sei > received the atten? tion it deserves. a Probably the oldest of these names is bernstein, or its equiva- _ lent in the old Teutonic, from its combustibility. Its two Latin — names are succinum (juice) and Zincurium. In Persian it is called e : kérnbu, or straw robber; in French the trivial name is also zire dé — from its a straw ; in Italian, e and as 1880. | Concerning Amber. 181 nearly the same name is given for amber, signifying cluster or mass, The first Greek name applied to it was a term signifying the rays of the sun, either from the color or some relation to the sun god. The popular Greek name was é/ectron, or the attractor, and thus our substance can boast of having added a word to nearly every language, as even the mother-tongue-loving Germans find e/ectrita¢ more euphonious than their harsher synonym, bernsteinkraftigungristzeug. Italy, Spain, France, Switzerland and England are given as amber-producing countries, but it must not be forgotten that under this name are included many fossil resins, the differences in which have as yet been hardly determined. In Lemburg, in the Tertiary sandstone, with giant oysters, a splendid amber is found in immensely large pieces, clearer than the Prussian, and producing a most delightful odor when burnt. In the pitch coal of Bohemia, Reutz found specimens contin ing sulphur, and also with the foraminifera of the Vienna Ter- tiary. Daubré found amber in Alsace, and Schubert in the Alps, but these were of a different quality from that of the Baltic sea. But there is no doubt that this amber conifer forest reached from Holland over the German coast, through Siberia and Kamtschatka even to North America, and from the abundance of amber found in some localities, those conifers must have been as productive as is at present the Dammara australis of New Zealand, the twigs and branches of which are so laden with white resin as ‘to have the appearance of being covered with icicles. One of the great deposits-of amber is in the rie pope where on the plains of Pomerania the peasants dig in the su clay for it. In the vicinity of Brandenburg, pieces have been found weighing four pounds. rom this abundance of amber in the drift clay and also from the fact that branches of “ arbor vite” ( Thuja occidentalis) occur : in the Baltic amber, and have been found in the stomach of the Mastodon in the United States, Goppert concluded that the | “ Diluvial,” or time of the mammoth in the old world and masto- don in the new, was the age of amber. This theory has since been entirely disproved. a : By far the most celebrated locality for its richness in amber, on and one which still possesses great stores of this valuable fossil, is the peninsula of Samland--a petia of Prussia aont san rounded by the Balti tic sea. Pane 182 Concerning Amber. [ March, The northern part of this region, which constitutes the pro- montory of Briisterort, is very hilly, and the coast banks are often from one hundred and fifty to three hundred feet high.. Formerly this was all owned and worked by the German government, and was watched by gens d'armes; all amber found, even by the peas- ants in ploughing, being claimed, the finder, however, receiving one-tenth of its value. For the piece in the Berlin Museum, weighing eighteen pounds, the finder received a thousand dollars. Until ten years ago, during stormy weather, when the waves were beaten against the banks of this coast, the amber was thrown up in quantities, entangled in the seaweeds, and a hundred hands were ever ready to intercept it with their nets, a trying occupation, as the roughest storms yielded the richest booty. Of late years the diving apparatus has been used so successfully that the marine deposit has been greatly diminished, and systematic mining is now carried on inland, where the amber is much finer. The price of amber has increased during the last year, and this advance is caused by the diminution of the yearly product, many of the pachters, or renters, having thrown up their contracts and abandoned the business of mining on that account. It was in this famed locality of Samland, so favorable for geo- - logical survey that Prof. Zaddach of the University of Konigs- burg, pursued his investigations relating to the birthplace of amber, and his report throws great light upon this vexed question, Taking a section of the cliffs where the geological structure is exposed, he finds that wherever the Tertiary formation crops out, it always comprises two different deposits. The underlying con- sisting of thick beds of glauconitic sand, which sometimes attains a height of sixty feet above the sea level, and upon this rest the beds of the Brown Coal formation, from sixty to a hundred feet thick. Under the green sand lies the sorcalled amber earth, only | from four to six feet thick, and underneath this the “ Wilde Erde,” so called because containing no amber. Sometimes the beds of green sand are cemented by hydrated — oxyd of iron into a coarse sandstone which often contains well- preserved fossils representing the Tertiary period, but as this glau- conitic sand is a marine formation, it follows that the amber it contains does not lie in its original bed—that is, not in the soil of _ the old forest in which the amber pines grew—but that the amber was washed into the sea in which sea urchins and crabs lived. 1880. } Concerning Amber. 183 In the sand of the amber beds are found numerous pebbles or pieces of compact stone, which is evidently the parent rock of the green sand, as it is composed of exactly similar granules of iii, Sa oe CERES GL eee TTA EFTE EENE POE EE AA SAND AND DILUVIAL. MARL WITH ery » ree ERRATIC ROCKs. ae ee ; orem ir on ; zA Brown COAL. GLAUCONITIC SAND. AMBER EARTH. WILDE ERDE. GEOLOGICAL SECTION OF THE AMBER COAST OF SAMLAND. quartz bound together by a marly cement. The amber earth alió abounds in fragments of rock known as chalk marl, which con- tain Cretaceous fossils. same rock i is found on the Island g Borato in the Bal- 184 Concerning Amber. [ March, tic, and belongs to the Cretaceous. It is therefore proved that the Tertiary glauconitic sand has been made up of the green sand of the Cretaceous formation. Therefore the trees yielding the am- ber resin must have grown upon the green sand beds of the Cre- taceous which then formed the shores. of the estuary where the lower division of the Tertiary accumulated. Zaddach assumes that at that time the coast sank slowly, and the forest soil being washed by the waves the amber was carried into the sea. Immediately over these amber-producing strata rest the beds of the Brown Coal formation, the fossil plants of which differ entirely from the amber flora. Finally, Prussia was laid dry by an up- heaval of the rocks, and this ended for a time the recorded history of the country. Now ensued a new period in the geological history of Samland, when the climate and all the conditions of the country were changed. The mountains of the north which projected out of the sea were covered-with glaciers that extended down to the water. Icebergs laden with the finer débris of rocks and blocks of stone, were detached from these glaciers and drifted to the south, passing over land formed of Cretaceous strata. Without doubt there remained a considerable deposit of amber upon this green sand bed of the Cretaceous formation where the old forest soil still existed. By the icebergs this soil was now broken up and the amber brought down and scattered in every direction. Thus the fact is explained that amber nests are found in the quaternary deposits over all the plains of northern Europe. his epitome of Prof. Zaddach’s report seems to settle the question as to the birthplace of amber in Germany, and contra- dicts entirely the generally received opinion that it is the product of the Brown Coal formation, and also the theory of Dr. Feucht- wanger, that marine amber was a.later deposit or formation than terrestrial. It is apparent that the gum of the amber trees flowed out as a viscid sap to which all small objects, leaves, twigs, insects, etc., that came in contact with itadhered. Subsequent exudation cov- ered these and preserved them more perfectly than was possible — by any other method. In this way vast numbers of insects werè hermetically sealed up, over eight hundred species having been l discovered and many groups yet remaining to be studied . ae These give us much interesting information in regard not pe 1880. | Concerning Amber. 185 to the insect life of the amber age, but afford valuable information in regard to the history of many of our living species and groups (see Heer’s description of amber insects). These species are now mostly extinct but have affinity with tropical forms. A very in- teresting collection of these most ancient mummies can be seen in the British Museum. A classic spider is at Amherst, and in my own collection is a lizard so. perfectly embalmed that the animal tissues can be seen, as also the liquid contained in the stomach; this little curio has the honor of having been christened by Prof. Agassiz. Prof. H. R. Goeppert has made a study of the remains of plants found in amber, and has identified one hundred and sixty-three Species, all of which are now extinct. Mr. Kaldenberg, of New York, has specimens of amber containing bark, water and various insects. After mining, amber is kept temporarily in vaults near the am- ber localities. Rosa narrates that he entered one of the vaults of the Pachter Douglas, where he saw the yearly products arranged according to their size and quality in chests and baskets, and saw records containing the yearly results back to 1500. The worth of the pieces varies according to the size and perfection. For the trade it is divided into classes, the best pieces being generally sent in the rough to Constantinople, where they are used for the mouth-pieces of pipes, as it is still believed there that amber possesses properties preventing contagion, and as the pipes of this case-loving people are lighted by domestics, thre amber tips to the long stems are considered a prudent caution. This trade: with Constantinople is very ancient and still continues over the Same route as a thousand years ago. The smaller sized pure pieces are used for beads and the very impure for the distillation of succinic acid, the residue or refuse is the colophoninm-succini employed in the preparation of varnish. The varnish made from amber has long been considered the finest, but other resins are now its rivals, and varied are the secrets of this Prosperous trade. With amateurs at work all over the landi we may hope that even the secret of Stradivarius may yet come: to light! : ; oo ae The chemical analyses of all resins, both fossil and recent, differ = iis slightly. Certain varieties of amber, copal, mastic, etc, giv- : VoL, 21v.—No, m, 3 186 _ Concerning Amber. [ March, ing nearly the same atomic ratio as will be seen from the follow- ing table : Carbon. Hydrogen. Oxygen. Amber Cee RO 8 I Retinite 12 9 I Copal TOt ase Me Fin eA REENA e A eae ee fe) 9 I Mastic. . 10 8 I a T sc os oo ooo es cee tees wer Seeks acces tees 10 8 I Fiehtlite a 8 6 I Ambrite... 16 13 I The conclusion is that their differences consist in the arrange- ment of their molecules and not in their composition or even age. Amber may be distinguished from the other resins by its hard- ness, its lesser brittleness and the much higher temperature re- quired to reduce it, and also its greater electric action, but the difference is quickly discovered in the attempt to cut and polish, as the ordinary resins become in the process so heated and soft- ened as in a measure to prevent their use for ornamental pur- poses. Copal jewelry is, however, occasionally made, but it soon loses its lustre. A property of amber not generally known is its flexibility at certain temperatures. Formerly when amber required bending it was softened by placing it in warm linseed oil, and it could then be bent in to a required form. For changing the form of amber the method at present used in our extensive manufactory in this city, is simply to hold the amber over a lamp and draw it out slowly by hand. Although this process is very difficult and slow, .the results are marvelous. A pipe-stem nineteen inches long has been in this way drawn -out of a coil of amber about six by four inches in size or fifteen inches in circumference. At the same factory can be seen all the process of working am- ber which, owing to its low degree of hardness, is wrought with the turning lathe after having first been cut with a knife and filed into something approaching the form required. It is then polished in the lathe or by’hand with pumice stone, whiting and alcohol. — The chippings and amber dust left from the cutting are used for varish or incense. The Orientals, especially the Chinese, con- sider the burning of the odoriferous amber the highest mark of respect possible to pay a stranger or distinguished guest, andthe _ more they burn the more marked is their expression of esteem. . 1880. ] Concerning Amber. 187 We find in King’s work on gems, the following: “A large amber cup, holding half a pint, has lately been discovered depos- ited in a tumulus in Ireland, which, from its size could hardly have been cut out of a single block of that substance. It has been ascertained by experiment that bits of amber boiled in tur- pentine can be reduced to a paste, united and molded into any form desired.” In Feuchtwanger on gems, we also find similar assertions re- garding the melting and reforming of amber. Both King and Feuchtwanger are in error on this point. If amber were ever thus melted and molded, the art has certainly been lost. Repeated experiments have failed to produce such a result, although a recent German scientific journal informs us that a patent for such a discovery has been applied for. An art so valuable, if successful, would certainly insure a fortune to the in- ventor. Nor is it necessary to have recourse to such a theory in order to account for the cup exhumed from the Irish tumulus. Alexander, Czar of all the Russians, owns a tea-set cut from blocks of this precious material. I have seen rough specimens both in the Berlin and Vienna museums larger than would have been required for the cup alluded to. The imitations of amber are various. Glass paste is sometimes used, another composition is of turpentine and caoutchouc, still another, linseed oil, gum mastic and litharge, to which finely powdered copal is added to give the appearance of veins, add to this, ants of decalcomania, and we have the material of the cigar- holders which so deceived the uninitiated during our exhibition at Philadelphia. The most perfect imitation is the uncolored cellu- loid. Abbé Haiiy gives the following mode of detecting or identifying amber: “ Attach a fragment to a knife, and when in- _ flamed the amber will burn with some noise and ebulition, but without liquifying so as to flow, whereas all other resins and compositions melt and drop.” A better method is perhaps the electrometer, | poak. Very little amber has as yet been found in the United States. Gay Head, Martha’s Vineyard, Camden, N. J., and Cape Sable only are mentioned as its localities. A barrel full of small pieces was taken out of the green sand in New Jersey, which through some mistake was burned. . ao Oe Let ushope for the accident which may yet reveal to us hidden | 2 188 Concerning Amber. [ March, stores of this interesting substance with a less pone fate in reserve for it. While the color of amber is generally yellow it occurs in all shades, from pure white to “black.” The Fadernian, from the wine of that name, was the favorite color among the Romans. Dice of the white variety are hardly distinguishable from ivory. At Constantinople a pipe-stem of the milk-white variety is prized by the Turks at from forty to a hundred dollars. The action of sulphuric acid on the yellow changes it to red. A beautiful specimen of green amber has been found on the Ameri- can coast. “Black amber,” which was a vexed question in the middle ages, returns to question us again to-day. Monsieur le Conte de Borch, in his letters from Sicily, within the last decade, says that “ black amber is common.” Stretter, the latest English authority on gems, also gives black amber; but a very careful analysis of the black amber which has recently been imported from Spain to be manufactured in New York, gives: Carbon, 82.57; hydrogen, 7.70; oxygen and nitro- gen, 9.08; ash, .65. A result so different from true amber, and on distillation yielding no succinic acid, is, therefore, not true amber, but either a superior variety of jet or a highly oxidized bitumen. In chemical composition it seems to occupy an inter- mediate position between cannel coal and torbanite. Subjected to the microscope, woody fibre is visible, replaced in part by resin. Its electric power is great, and admitting as it does of a remarkable polish, its lightness well adapts it for orna- mental purposes. Among the old accounts of journeyings in search of amber, we find the first mention of the Teutons asa race. As the search for an “ El Dorado” led to voyages of discovery in later times, so we find that voyages and pilgrimages to the land of amber were made dating back to 1500 years before Christ. Peschel says, “Preach aloud the fact that the migrations of na tons s depend on the existence of the substantial treasures of the earth. So this Prussian paradise had been visited by Pythias of Mas- silena four hundred years before Christ, also by Theophrastus, the naturalist and philosopher, and by Philomen, the Greek poet. Nero sent there his Roman knights, who brought back quanti- ties of amber to enrich his treasury, and a small image in this precious material was valued higher than a human slave. 1880. ] Concerning Amber. 189 Amber was intermingled with the.myths and religion of the Greeks, their legends pene its eee to the sweet tears s By fair Heliades—-Apolio s dioit, hen their rash brother down the welkin pen, Lashing his father’s sun team, and fell dea xine waters 4 Amber literature is of great interest to the virtuoso. Books in all languages refer to its many supposed qualities, and the insects contained in it have given rise to many quaint metaphors which still exist. Martial (A. D. 43) wrote in Latin: “The bee is inclosed and shines preserved in a tear of the sisters of Phzton, so it seems enshrined in its own nectar. It has obtained a wor- thy reward for its great toils—we may suppose that the bee itself would have desired such a death.” Thomas May (1640) thus translates this : “ Here shines a bee, inclosed in an amber tomb, As if interred in her own rA comb— s fit reward fate to her labors gav: o other death would she have wished to have.” Hay in the same century translates it thus: “ The bee inclosed and through the page: shown, Seems buried in a juice few was xo So honored was a life in labor spen Such might she wish to gen her sdai: ji Sir John Denham (1640) wrote of streams, “Whose foam is amber and whose gravel gold.” In the Nibelungen Lied we find Hagentronje with his amber girdle; the dragon’s blood armor of Siegfried is also supposed to have been amber; and Brunhilde mentions the amber-colored flower. Byron alludes to amber in the “ Island,” and Pope speaking of ir Plume, “Of amber snuff-box justly vain.” Also in his prologue to the satires, “ Pretty in amber to observe the forms OF flies and ants and bees and bugs and worms ; The things we know are neither rich nor rare, But radar how the d—l they got there. ; Milton apostrophizes a bee in amber, and Moore nevels in amber image ry. “amb authors have written of the weird “amber witch,’ “ and “oe si 6 mber gods,” and oe lizard in amber i is s thus a y essed : p“ 1g0 Editors’ Table. [ March, “Who Patent thy grotesque and uncouth frame e sunshine of this golden chamber ? Is this the fountain whence the nectar came? Or is it star born, this undying flame Which men call amber ? “ Splay-footed sprawler from the unknown seas, wny cousin of the Ichthyosaurus— What sportive sister of Hetperi rides, In the ambrosia of celestial trees, Embalmed thee for us? ” So questions the poet, but if we might invoke this “ Ancient Mariner” from out his crystal coffin, more serious would be the questions we would bid him solve. But though speechless, he bears a silent witness, for as one of the many hieroglyphics of the language of geology, underneath its Rosetta wand, he helps to reveal the history of our earth. Thrice happy the gifted mortal, who, wielding .this magic wand, can lift the veil and translate these mystic symbols of the too long “ dusky past.” :0: EDITORS’ TABLE. EDITORS: A. S. PACKARD, JR., AND E. D. COPE. We recommend to the attention of members of the National Congress who are interested in the intellectual progress of the country, the character of the tariff on specimens, apparatus and books necessary for instruction in the sciences. These objects are only allowed to enter the country free of duty when “ot intended for sale. This practically prohibits any but wealthy citizens and institutions from possessing collections of the natural products of all parts of the earth excepting the United States, a restriction extremely disadvantageous in all directions. The majority of American students are not able to visit Europe for the purpose of making purchases, nor are they able to pay the increased rates which must be demanded by dealers who should bring their specimens here. The result is that foreign collections from all parts of the world pass by our country to go to the various European cities, large and small. This is one of the causes to which we can ascribe the ignorance of natural history which is so general in American Society as compared with that of Germany and some other parts of Europe. The amount of revenue derived from such importations must be piety: nothing, while the 1880. | Editors Table. IQI injury to useful pursuits and amusements is great. All such objects should be allowed to enter the country free of duty. It has again become the unpleasant duty of the Phila- delphia Board of Education to report where and how another reduction of the salaries of the teachers shall be made. We had hoped that they would have reported that no reduction was prac- ticable. Philadelphia has long enjoyed the unenviable preëmi- nence of paying its teachers less than any city of importance in the country. It is true that owing to the exigencies of the times two or three years ago, the salaries were lowered in several of our cities, but now that times have changed, the original rates should be restored. Instead of this our city governors wish to reduce the figures still lower. If the former situation was discreditable, what shall we say of the present movement? Councilmen perhaps do not know that teachers have a market value like any other kind of skilled labor, and that the city will get exactly what it pays for; also that they can in consequence produce such a community as they pay for. If they will only employ poor workmen, or a large percentage of such, they will turn out a community which will be- come the ready victims of all the evils that mental development and training is able to prevent, and which will not produce those intellectual fruits and flowers which so sustain and beautify human ife. Not but that we have many excellent workmen in our corps of teachers to-day, but how long can we expect them to remain in a locality or even a profession where they are subjected to such : or to be dropped altogether. Their efforts have not been appre- 192 Recent Literature. [ March, Why increase cares and anxiety? Why not let things move along as best they may? WHAT IS THE USE We fear that a feeling of apathy may fall upon the stronger and more zealous teachers, as it has already seized upon the average teacher, and is always found with the idle, careless, or incompe- tent ones. :0:—— RECENT LITERATURE. Dana’s MANUAL OF GEOLOGY, THIRD EDITION. —The merits of this work as a school-book are well known, and in the present edition they are decidedly enhanced. Thisis partly due to the in- troduction of the latest determinations in stratigraphic geology in the West. We observe with pleasure that Prof. Dana has ad- hered with impartial justice to the law of priority in the nomen- clature of the formations of the interior of the continent, in spite of the attempts made by some writers to introduce names of their ings, especially of those representing some of Prof. Marsh's dis- coveries in the West. It is true the author might have derived some aid from other sources, especially as regards the skull ot Coryphodon, of which he gives a figure which is quite inaccurate. We cannot speak in as high terms of the manner in which the palzontology of Vertebrata is represented in the new edition of the manual. It displays little acquaintance with what has been done in this field in North America since 1872, and that includes three-fourths of the entire subject. Thus the greater part of all the principal modern discoveries in the Permian, Triassic, Postcre- taceous, Suessonian and Pliocene faunz are not alluded to, while not a few of those in the Jurassic and Suessonian formations are attributed to other than the original discoverers. The nomencla- ture employed is that of the vertebrate paleontological papers published in the Asnerican Fournal of Science'and Arts, which is notoriously regardless of the rule that names must be ‘only pro- posed to represent work done, and may not be proposed to secure credit for work yet zo de done. It is discouraging to the student to be expected to remembér names which cannot be used either be- cause they are synonymes or do not refer to necessary descrip- tions. THE Rervrarion or DarwinisM2—This book is an excellent dHastetion if one were needed, of the futility of persons writing on the question of evolution who are not themselves experts in 1 Manual of Geology, etc., with especial eyes to American Geological History. New York, Ivison, Blakema n. ter or & Co., 1880. 2 The Refutation as Darwinism, Sagal prey converse theory of Develo, vp based ex- clusively upon Darw A i Soe net By T. WARREN O’ NEILL, member of the Phila- delphia Bar. J. B. Lippincott & Co., 1880. ; 1880. | Recent Literature. 193 some branch of natural science. A work founded “ exclusively upon Darwin’s facts,” must of necessity strike wide of the mark, for many of the most important evidences for evolution are not to be found, or are barely mentioned in Darwin’s works. That Dar- winism is not the whole doctrine of evolution is perceived clearly enough by Mr. O'Neill, who devotes two or three opening chap- statement that “the origin of the fittest” is the primary problem of evolution, while the “survival of the fittest” (Darwinism) is secondary. Mr, O’Neill’s “ Refutation of Darwinism,” however, ¢onsists principally of a theory of his own, which is an extension of the principle of reversion to all kinds of variation now observed in domesticated animals; he does not concern himself so much with the wild ones, as they are not so fully considered in Darwin’s works. In brief, Mr. O'Neill believes that the present condition of animals is one of degradation from a condition of primitive perfection, which has been brought about by the severity of the struggle for existence! The whole theory is a readaptation of modern knowledge to the medizval idea of the creation and its degradation, consequent on the fall of man. There are two little difficulties in the way of this hypothesis. Firstly : since the doctrine of evolution is an attempted explana- tion of the “origin of species,” etc., etc., Mr. O'Neill’s work is entirely irrelevant, if true. By reversion he only brings us back to species in their pristine completeness or “ physiological integ- rity,” as he calls it; the question of how they attained this con- dition is not considered. It is fair to add that Mr. O'Neill prom- ises us a work on this subject in a foot note on page 435, which = i if the author’s expectations are realized, a wonderful work indeed, tegrity” to be a myth; that development is by divergent advances, Re vä reversion; and that a struggle for existence, not too severe, has been an agent of good, not of evil _ The book is written in a pleasant style and the author is some- times witty at Mr. Darwin’s expense. í Hattez’s NaruraL History oF TurBeLLARIAN Worms! —The rst of this series was the elaborate researches on the embryology : *Fravaux de l Insti, 7 7 la Station maritime de Wimer: : Fascicule nstitut Zoologigue de Lille et de n ma $ : Ps LEZ, Lille, I a 879. 4to, pp. 213, 11 plates. Contributions a l'histoire naturelle des Turbellariés. Par PAUL ei o 194 Recent Literature. [ March, of Bryozoa, by J. Barrois; the present memoir is concerned with the structure of several Turbellarian worms, and is particularly valuable as giving detailed and well illustrated life histories of Eurylepta auriculata, Leptoplana tremellaris, with fragmentary but still important embryological details on certain Rhabdoccelous worms, with especial reference to the early history of the egg. He describes the lasso cells of some of the worms, remarkably like those of the jelly-fish, anc discusses the process of strobilation in a Microstomum. Westwoop’s Synopsis oF UrAnupa.'—This is a finely illus- trated essay on the systematic position of this small but interest- ing group of moths. By Guenée they were placed at the head of the Phalænidæ, in which view he was followed by Packard. Prof. Westwood, however, on account of differences in the venation of he wings, and the fact that the larve are not loopers, but have sixteen legs instead, or fourteen as with a very few Geometiid lar- ve, believes that the group should be a orig at a distance from the Geometridz and amongst the Bombycidz THE ZootocicaL RECORD FOR 1877.2—This well known publica- tion of the Zoological Record Association, and which has now become almost absolutely indispensable to working naturalists, deserves more than a mere passing notice. Under the heads of twenty-two classes and orders, the progress of Zoology for the year past in all departments is reviewed by specialists competent, from their bibliographical attainments and training in their respec- tive departments, to carry out the work satisfactorily. Under each head the contents of the more important papers, general and ee are given with references to their place of publication. malia have been done by Edward Richard Alston; Aves, ge Howard Saunders; Reptilia and Pisces, by O'Shaughnessy ; Mollusca and Molluscoida, by Prof. Edward von Martens; Crustacea, by Prof. von Martens ; Arachnida and Myriopoda, by Rev. O. P. Cambridge; Insecta, general subject, by E. C. Rye, together with Coleoptera, Hymenoptera, Diptera and Rhynchota; ” Lepidoptera, by W. F. Kirby; Neuroptera and Orthoptera, by R. McLachlan; Vermes, by F. Jeffrey Bell; Echino- dermata and Ccelenterata, by C. F. Latken ; Spongida and Pro- tozoa, by Stuart O. Ridley. Most of these names are exceedingly familiar to naturalists and are a sufficient guarantee of the charac- ter of the book. It is a work which may be deservedly encour- 1 Observations on the Uraniida, a family of aie ge PORN Insects, z ri a S ynopsis Z s family sige a trois Natt of Coronidia, one of the genera of w. A it is com- By J.O. V oop. (From the T saga of the Sis Aapa Society, X, Re XI, 1879.) jan ne i 4to, pp. 35, 3 plate ? The Zoblogical Record for 1877; being MER fourteenth ay the Record of Zoö- oo ele rs Edi — Edward yer Er F. Z. S., M. E. 5., etc., 8vo: X 24, $9; LE, 30, 97, 36, 20, I, 234, 20, 18, 8, 12, London, John | Van Voorst, Poernata Row, 1879. 1880. ] Recent Literature. 195 aged. The subscription price of the annual volumes is £1, 10s, to the public. Leipy’s Ruizopops oF North America.\—This magnificent volume, with its wealth of illustration, is the fruits of four years of constant study of the fresh-water Rhizopods of this country. The author has not only studied them in the Western Territories, but also at various points along the Atlantic coast from Nova Scotia to Philadelphia. The Rhizopods are the lowest forms of life with the exception of the Monera of Haeckel, of which but a single species has been detected by Prof. Leidy in this country. As a full and thoroughly well illustrated account of these organ- ism this volume will prove of service to the general public inter- ested in the discussions regarding protoplasm, for here are pic- tured with wonderful accuracy and grace these animated bits of protoplasm ; to the teacher, who cannot always command even a single Amoeba and much less a series of them, here is presented on a single plate the Amwba proteus in a dozen different attitudes, drawn in colors, in some cases half as large as one’s hand; and this plate is succeeded by forty-seven colored chromo-lithographs, well engraved, though we doubt not falling far short of the ex- quisite original sketches of the author, who is not excelled by any living naturalist or zoological artist in the accuracy and artistic finish of his drawings. _ Moreover the study of these minute changeable protean forms is most difficult in itself, and their truthful representation still more so, While, then, the volume has a high philosophical and educational value, it will stimulate naturalists to cultivate this field, and to elucidate the modes of development of these forms. o the palzontologist the work will havea high value, since allied or possibly the same shelled forms may be discovered in the lake formations of the Western Territories. This work forms, conse- quently, one of the most important volumes of final reports of the great survey now unfortunately closed, and which has done so much to spread among our people a knowledge of the natural re- Sources of the Western Territories. Biology embraces palzon- tology, the latter is more than half of: geology, so that no scien- tific geological survey can do its work properly without reference to these sciences. The cost to the survey of the field work, t Press-work, and, we believe, the illustrations of this volume were — but nominal, the printing of the volume with the necessary illus trations having been separately ordered by Congress. As the author States, “ Whatever may be thought of the pertinence of ublishing Such works as the present one with the Reports of the Geological — Survey of the Territories, to remove any misapprehension in the Matter I deem it proper to state that my contributions have been 1 Report o 7 3 Territories. Nol. Xu, Fe — owe Hagen een sere a katoen a oe gran By JoserH Y, M.D. Washington, 1879. 4to, pp. 324, 48 plates. a) 196 Recent Literature. [ March, given without pecuniary recompense. In my own judgment, Prof. Hayden has acted with the most enlightened view in author- izing and encouraging such natural history investigations as would be facilitated by explorations of the country in which his geologi- cal surveys were conducted. With the exception of the cost of publishing the present report, the only additional expense to which put the survey during my Se in the West amounted to about $222.” The same may be of at least one other of the bulky quarto volumes of the ae and we suppose of others. The number of species of these fresh-water Rhizopods living in our country is unexpectedly large; numbers of them are common to Europe and North America, and many are found not only in the Eastern States but also in the lakes of the Uintah mountains of Wyoming, showing that the forms are well nigh cosmopolitan. They occur in the summer time on the under side of floating leaves of water plants and especially among Sphagnum moss. *“ ‘A dr rop of water squeezed from a little pinch of bog-moss has often yielded scores of half a dozen genera and a greater number of species.’ RECENT Books AND slag ost Ns Mic eerie in Medicine. By Lionel S. Beale, M.B., F.R.S., etc. Fou dition ; illustrated, and much enlarged. 8vo, pp. I-XXXI, 1-539. London, Churchill Philadelphia, Lindsay & Blakiston. 1878. Danalite from the Iron Mine, Bartlett, New Hampshire—Picrolite from a Serpen- tine heat in Florida. By M. E. Wa dsw orth, Ph.D. (Proc. Bost. Soc, Nat. Hist., xx, Oct. 1, 1879.) Pages 284-287. Fron the author. A iiritidtion to the Ornithology of Minnesota, Being notes upon Summer Birds rs Grant and Traverse Pereri _ (Nuttall Ornith. Club. Bulletin, Vol. v, No. 1, 1880, pp. 11-20.) From the Bulletin of the United States Geological and Geographical Survey of the Terri- tenet , Vol. v, No. 3. 8vo, pp. 331-520. Government Printing Office, Washing- n, 1879. Prot the Survey. The American Monthly Microscopical Journal, Vol. 1, No. 1, Jan., 1880. New York, Thompson & Moreau, 51 and 53 Maiden lane. Pec the editor rt of ee Explorations during 1878-79, with maps sak sections. Jam niga ctor, C.M.G., M.D., F.R.S., apk ctor. 8vo, pp. 135, pls. 6. Wellington, New 3 Zealand, 1879. From the direct _The Journal of the Cincinnati Society of esi History, July, 1879, Vol. 11, No. 2. 8vo, pp. 71-118, pls. g-10. From the society. Le a Journal des weiss a Ja Nouvelles. rre Année, No. 16, Nov. — aris, 23 rue dela Monnaie. Emile Deyrolle, Directeur. nspectus ye clear et geographicus mammaliu m tam viventium quam fos- t iqu rou Marius Aubert. Fascicule 1—Primates (Simiæ, Prosimæ, ae agree ae de la Revue et Magasin de Zoolo ogie, 1878.) 8vo, pp. 93. From the au Atti della Societa Toscana di Scienze Naturali residente in Pisa, “nae verbali, Vol. 1. hs ae 16, 1879. From the soci Report of the Commissioners of Fisheries of the State oe California for the years sets and 1879 8vo, pp. 63, Sacramento, 1879. From the commissioners. n New England Isopoda. By Oscar Harger. (Proc. U. S. National Mu- eg ae $60, pp. 157-165, no > date. From the author, A comparison of the Eocene Mollusca of the South-eastern United States : Western Europe in relation to the determinstion of identical forms. By Ange 1880. ] Recent Literature. : 197 ee: (Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, 1879, pp. 217-225.) From the author. Revision of the Palzocrinoidea. By Charles Wachsmuth and Frank Sprinker. sea Acad. Nat. Sci., Philadelphia, 1879.) Pages 226-280 and farther. From the autho Dora mese Trout; a aai to breed and grow them.. By Livingston Stone. 3d edition, revised ope ged. Sm. 8vo, pp. I-XIV, 1-367. Charlestown, N. H., 1877. From ı the author. On the species of heey genus Bassaris. By J. A. cine Bhs? te S. Geol. and Geog. Surv., Vol. v, No. 3. 1879.) Pages ate Fro A History of the gibi By G. wn Goode. gia an account of the vs omg raa of the Fish, by W. O. rie ated , and an Eare bringing the subject down to date. 8vo, pp. 529, pls. XXX. Ora ange Judd Co., New York, 18 Zur fos hk Von i Otto Kuntze. (Extr. from “ hated? 1879.) 4to, 1-687. Fiir das salzfreie Urmeer. "Von Dr. or Kuntze. (Kosmos, Leipzig. Heft 9, 1879.) Pages 239-244. From the aut Resti Fossili della Selache, trovato a ricava presso Santa Lucenelle Colline Pisane, nota letta dal Socie Roberto Lawley. 8vo, pp. 8, Pisa TA From Prof. Hayden. e Osservazioni sui Cavalli quaternari di C. L orsyth Major. (Estratto dall’ Archivio per 1 Apuopologia s la Etnologia, Vol. 1x, eha 1°, 1879.) Svo, pp. 14. From t Alcune parle sll =e cinctus (di Lawley) del pliocene Volterrano Par C. I. Forsyth Major. (Extr. dagli Atti della So ieee Toscana di Scienze Naturali, Vol. iv, lése 1° F OA 8vo, pp. 6. From the author Beit: rage zur sae der Flussfische sitdameriis. Vie Dr. wie ip ee ay rE (Extr. from x1 Bd. der Denkschriften d. Math.—naturwiss, Clas A d. Wiss ssenschaften.) 4to, pp. 14, pls. Iv. V 1879. From ri ai or. ae rteenth Annual Report of the ee a on Inland Fisheries, for the year ding September 30, 1879. (Public Document No. 25.) 8vo, pp. 50. Boston, 1880. From Theodore Lyman. Boletin de la Sociedad de Geografiay saucers: 2 de la Babli Mexicana. cer x a tomo Iv, Nos. 6 y 7. 8vo, pp. 321 448, with maps. Mexico, see fen om ty. de la Sociedad Española de Historia Natural. Tomo vey genie K re on aon pls. 3, pp. 691-202. Madrid, 1879. From the soc he wear News and aga of Physical. Science. Edited by We Crookes, F.R.S. Vol. 41, No. 1051, Jan. 16, 1880. From the editor Sitz toalchis der naturwissenschaflichen Gesellschaft Ibis zu Dresden, Juli bis December, 1879. 113-129. Fro f Chicago Field, Vol. x1, No. 25, Je a pi ci ages 396-398. A complete << of = published writings of Dr. A. S. Packard, Jr., with references and dates of 50 titles.) Notice of New Forms of Fossil Crustaceans from the Upper “Devonian rocks of Ohio, with descriptions of New Genera and Species. By R. P. Whitfield. (Amer. Jour. Science, Vol. x1x, 1880, pp: 33-42, pl. 1.) From the author. The Formation of Ground Ice in the Rapids of the Mississippi. By Dr. R. J. F thor (Proc. Davenport Acad. Sciences, 1878.) Pages 30-354 From author. A Review of the Modern Doctrine of Evolution. By E. D. Cope. Mining and Scientific Pres, San Francisco, Cal., 1880, pp. 66 and 70, 71. From author, Notice explicative sur la are a gtotep de la Belgique et des Provinces voisines. oo walque. (Extr. la Soc. geol. de Belg., t t. VL) Liége, 1879- 0, pp. 17. From the a aS Report of the Cilika for 1877. A—Inquiry into the decrease t food-fishes. B—The propagation o pry aadi in the waters of t the Unites pp. of, em 1879. From the U. S. Commissioner. 198 General Notes. [ March, Notes on some new or little known North American Limnzide., By A. G. Weth- erby, A.M. (joum: of the Cincinnati Soc. Nat. Hist., July, 1879.) Pages 8. From the auth AS of a kaiaa iae of the pee RR in pt eat with spe- cial seherceee | o those contain “Gray Collection.” By Alleyne Nichol- son and Robert Ethridge, Jt: Pesci I. Trilobite, Phyilopsda, Cirripedia and Ostracoda.) 8vo, pp. I-IV, 137-233, pls. Xx-xv. Wm. Blackwood & Sons, Edin- burgh and London, 1879. From the publishers. :0: GENERAL NOTES. BOTANY. SEXUAL DIFFERENTIATION IN EPIGÆA REPENS.!—The following remarks on Epig@a repens are confdined in Gray’s “ Synoptical eon of North America,’ under the generic description of that lan ae The flowers are heteromorphous and inclined to be dicecious, or dicecio-dimorphous. Those with fully polliniferous anthers seldom set fruit; their stigmas short, erect, slightly projecting beyond the margin of the five-toothed ring (to the teeth of whic they are severally adnate), the style sometimes longer than the stamens and projecting, sometimes shorter and included. Fully fertile flowers on other plants; their styles (as in the former sort sometimes long and exserted, sometimes shorter and included) with stigmas elongated and much surpassing the ring, short, linear, glutinous, radiately divergent; their stamens either. slightly pol- liniferous, or reduced to abortive filaments, or even wanting.” In the early spring of this year I took occasion to make some careful observations on this plant as it occurs in the vicinity of Washington City, the results of which, though i in the main con- _ firmatory of this description, differ from it in some respects, and ` afford some additional facts of special interest. I desire to premise that these variances and additional peculiari- ties are doubtless due to differences of habit in different localities, and not to any lack of fidelity in description The principal deviation which I detected from the description which I have quoted, was in the styles and stigmas. I found no heterostyly ; the length of the styles pied to the flowers- was about the same at all times in both forms of flowers. The stigma, however, presented a very different appearance in one form from what it did in the other. In the fertile form, in which the abortive stamens varied in all degrees, the lobes of the style a were strongly divergent and of a firm texture, with evident See oie the American Association for the Advancement of Sinon At Sara- toga, Y., September 1, - 1879, Pp ra F. Ward, A.M. 1880. ] Botany. 199 lesion, and satisfy myself that they were entirely functionless, possessing no stigmatic surfaces, : , he important addition which my observations furnished to the facts described by Prof. Gray, consisted in the discovery that the dimorphism of the flowers extends in a marked degree to their dimensions. The staminate flowers are, in all respects, much larger than the fertile ones. As this fact at first appeared quite remarkable, I took great pains to verify it, making my com- parisons from specimens taken from localities widely separated, and repeating the observations a great many times throughout the flowering season of the plant. It grows on gravelly slopes in small areas or patches, and all the flowers in a patch were inva- riably found to be of the same kind, either all staminate or all fertile, as if all came from the same root, as no doubt they do, The amount of surface covered by staminate plants was found greatly to exceed that covered by the fertile ones. It thus often required considerable search to find a patch of fertile flowers, but a little practice was sufficient to render their detection easy from the diminished size and conspicuousness of the flowers. This difference does not consist merely in the greater vigor and turgidity of the staminate form, but represents an actual discrep- ancy in the measurements of all the parts of the flower, amount- ing to about thirty per cent. in the length and about forty per cent. in the width of the corolla. The exact dimensions, as taken from typical specimens, were as follows: Length of flower including calyx and limb of corolla: In staminate fi i ... 16 millimeters. . in fertile lomi. (65 pile nnak, ss Width of corolla tube split through and laid open: i TOF. cz . D SAONIMGIS TOF oo i cag ca ks soos Cenn ta II g rle for, ogoi nsike n ee i Bs Width of limb of corolla laid open in the same manner: n staminate f ‘ 15 z fertile form T 9 Z Length of the pistil, including ovary and stigma: In staminate form, ... ee re oe 9 5 la fertile fmm. i ceis. a H: <7 - tengih of perfect samèns. o.o ionsar o aani esane 9 es Length ol WOE Hawt oi ee aap cco basevces 3 z The staminate form appears never to develop fruit, although ne ovary contains ovules. The fertile form, besides being much more rare in actual amount at flowering time, and possessing — decidedly less fragrance, also often fails to fruit. It is, therefore, : _ Only quite rarely that fruiting specimens can be found. 1 attrib- — _ ute this, however, to the failure of most of the. fertile flowers to _ _ Téceive any pollen. The two forms are often not in close prox- — _imity. They bloom very early in the spring, before most of the = _ vying insects appear. The flowers are always close to the ground, _ With their open end more frequently inclining downward than ~ __§pward, and most of them are concealed under the foliage so 200 General Notes. [ March, be invisible from above. Yet, as we have seen, their self-fertilization is impossible. These and other facts have led me to the conclu- sion that, where fertilized at all, it is chiefly done by ants, which, on the theory, now generally accepted by entomologists, of the possession by that insect of a keen sense of smell, would suffi- ciently account for the exquisite fragrance of the flowers of Epigæa. I have failed entirely to find insects within the corolla, but this, so far from causing doubts that it is fertilized by insect agency, simply helps us to understand why it bears fruit so sparingly. The facts which I have stated, even if they were entirely new, which they probably are not, might not, perhaps, in themselves have justified me in E for them the attention of this asso- ciation. For my own part I am far more interested in the important stints Cilio they illustrate, and it is for the pur- pose of stating these principles, supported by such an example, that I have been led to present the fact Besides affording an instructive senii of the many ways i in which plants are depencent upon insects, Epigzea well illustrates the process of sexual differentiation which is going on in a great many species of plants. In the maples it has not yet advanced so far; in Smilax it has gone somewhat farther, while in the wil- low it has reached completeness. It isin these intermediate stages _ that the phenomena are most interesting, and the botanist, con- templating a great number of these, differing by small degrees, can almost see the process in operation. The phenomena of dimorph- ism, as it exists in Houstonia, must probably be regarded as one of the initial steps in the direction of ultimate dicecism, or com- plete separation of the sexes. In this respect, as in many others, we find that nature cannot be assumed to have reached its final and fixed condition, but that the existing state of things must be regarded as dynamic; the movements in the past which have made things what they are, still continue to effect changes in them. There is a sort of uniformitarianismn i in biology as well as in geology, and the Jaw of ; causes” is as potent in explaining the existing conditio of crane and animals as it is that of coast lines or mountains. z Hermaphroditism, or self-fecundatien, seems to be a thraldom necessary at the outset, but from which all living things are seek- ing to escape. The animal kingdom has, for the most ft i Bo which I have a a here, shows one of the many wa! in which these creatures r pa this service. 1880, ] Botany. 201 Tue AceEncy OF Insects IN FERTILIZATION! —I present some additional notes taken from papers prepared by some of my young students while working under my direction. Mr. A. J. Chappell studied a healthy plant of Zythrum salicaria. The flowers of the species are trimorphous. e plant studied was one which produced short stamens and those of medium length and a long style. In the béd, these organs are bent or curved so that the anthers and stigmas are included within the calyx. The anthers all ripen at about the same time, sometimes before the flower opens. _ Bees visit the piant freely. Their heads are covered with pol- len from the stamens; the thorax with pollen from the stamens of medium length. Some of the pollen thus collected on the insect is carried to the long pistils. Pollen was found on all the stigmas, but Mr. Chap- pell: observed zvat after a few days each pistil in turn after the flower had opened, wilted and fell off. Mr. E. A. Murphy found several kinds of insects about the Ly- thrum above mentioned. He was also surprised to see all the pistils, after they had been exposed for a few days, wilt and fall off. The plant was making a fair growth, and did not suffer from dry weather or a surplus of moisture. sly Mr. J.T. Elliott studied Apocynum androsemifolium. The anthers are shaped somewhat like an arrow-point. All the anthers form a sort of pyramid about the pistils. An abundance of honey attracts many insects. The groove between the lobes of the an- thers often catch and hold small bees by the tongue, much as a tapering crack between two boards would hold a rope. Small wild bees pull out the masses of pollen which come in pairs. ome flowers were tied up to keep all insects away. In some cases after a few days, the bell-shaped corolla was full and over- flowing with nectar. These were artificially fertilized, some with pollen of the same flower; others with pollen from other flowers. Some were kept covered without artificial aid in transferring pol- len. All were covered again. Those pistils where the stigmas were supplied with pollen set fruit. ao e . A. Burgess tried similar experiments with similar re- Suits, Ee Mr. J. H. Irish observed the flowers of catmint. When the anthers are discharging their pollen, they are clustered around | _ and a little above the pistil. When the pistil is ready to secure the _ Pollen, it reaches above the stamens and spreads its stigmas apart. At this time the anthers are dead and slightly curled down, The stigmas are just in position to touch the back of an insect where it has previously collected pollen from anthers of a younger flower. ! Notes f i ichigan Agricultural College. Ab- = o Wi te a o4 202 General Notes. [ March, In several oom flowers were tied up with sarles which kept insects away. Nose RERE ‘fertilize Nepeta nuda in the same manner as they do z catm Mr. Ges ‘Young found that the flowers of Nepeta mussini were also proterandrous and that they were fertilized essentially in the same way as the two species above mentioned. He sprinkled some chalk dust on the back of a bee and soon found that it had come back for more honey. Salvia ci ate Teucrium Cana- dense, thyme, and motherwort were fertilized in the same manner. mber of spikes of Teucrium before flowering were tied up in bags. None of these set seeds. Other spikes were tied up in a similar way. The latter were several times violently shaken without taking off covers. This caused about one- fifth of the flowers to set se The fertilization of Pax tago boeredae and P. major have before been described. e flowers are in spi The pistils appear some time before the stamens which-are ‘ode and reach some distance up the spike. The pollen is dry and the plant is usually described as dependent on the wind for aid in transferring from one flower to another. Several students have seen honey bees and other wild bees, bugs and flies in considerable numbers about the flowers of Plan- age lanceolata. These insects, except the bugs, seem to be after the pollen Mr. Avery covered buds of Asclepias cornuti and they set no fruit. Not all insects about this plant aid in the fertilization. He saw some insects held fast by pollen which they were not stout enough to pull out. Some left their legs and had escaped. Ants get fast sometimes. They were seen to liberate their feet with their jaws. Mr. L. Wilcox found the flowers of the common teasel prote- randrous and dependent on various insects for fertilization. Mr. H. I. Penoyer finds that the flowers of Mimulus ringens are not self- -fertilizing but depend on the aid of insects. Detailed ex- periments were made to prove the statement. Mr. J. E. Coulter removed the young stamens from flowers of Scrophularia nodosa and found that the pistils were fertilized in some way by receiving pollen from other flowérs. He also tied up some flowers with paper bags and found that they did not set fruit. Mr. J. R. Shelton removed the stamens from five opening buds, and tied over them a paper bag. After a few days they be- gan to enlarge and develop seeds. He covered five buds not ar- tificially fertilized and they set no fruit. This plant is proteran- drous and well described and i illustrated in Dr. Gray’s neat little book, “ How Plants Behave r. W. E. Hale found that the flower buds of Campanula ro- tundi ifolia all blasted if tied in paper. sacks. It has often been — 1880. ] Botany. 203 shown that the stamens shed their pollen on the outside of the style before the stigmas are open, i Mr. W. H. Goss tied paper sacks about flowers of Lobelia spicata; none of them bore seeds. From others he cut away the young anthers while very small. The latter were left ex- posed and all fruited. r. C. A. Ward, on the flowers of Martynia proboscidia has seen bumble bees, honey bees and another wild bee. Bumble bees were seen to enter the flowers. The stigmas closed before the bees backed out. The quickest time observed for the closing of the stigmas was ree seconds. It took this six minutes to Open again. The longest time for closing of stigmas was twelve seconds, and this occurred on a cool, cloudy day. e says, “It always took twice as many minutes to open as it did seconds to close. After about five trials made in succession, the stigmas re- fused to act, as if they were tired out.” Mrs. F. A. Gulley, during two weeks of very hot, dry weather, watched a patch of white clover, every day at different times, and never saw an insect near it. At the end of that time, she exam- ined Gfty of the heads, twenty-eight of which had no seeds. In the other twenty-two heads there were two or three, and some- times five or six of the flowers which contained seeds. Previous to dry weather, bumble-bees were abundant on the flowers and these seeded freely. r. E. A. Burke studied the flowers of Indian corn. In nearly out for a few hours. In each case the ovules developed. H e also tied up some before the stigmas appeared and fertilized them artificially. The kernels all set. a o Bees, wasps and other bugs visit the stamens. If the stigmas ee are soon ready for fertilization after they appear, they are in near- ly all cases crossed by pollen from other stalks. aono wr. A. G. Jack observed the flowers of Epilobium coloratum. It is well known that Æ. angustifolium is proterandrous or at least Most of the stamens ‘are ripe before the stigmas appear. The former plant under consideration -has four petals which are two- lobed, It has eight stamens, four of which are long and four a4 ae short. The four long stamens grow up close to the stigma and o 204 General Notes. [ March, adhere to it, where they discharge their pollen before withering. The four short stamens grow only about half way to the stigma. _ At no stage of their growth could he find them any longer. Both - sets of stamens discharge their pollen at the same time. The short re oY stamens are attached to the base of the petals and when the flowers close, the petals coming together draw the anthers of the short stamens up to the base of the stigmas. Occasionally a small green bee came to the flowers, but they all left at once, as though they had made a mistake. He tied up buds before they were open, and found that the flowers all set seeds freely. Mr. C. H. Osband finds that the sensitive stigmas of the flow- ers of trumpet-creepers close in about three seconds after being touched and open in five minutes. Both insects and humming birds aid in fertilization. THE FUNCTION OF CHLOROPHYLL.—One of the most important recent contributions to physiological botany, is contained in a recent communication to the Berlin Academy of Sciences, by Dr. Pringsheim, which appears to throw considerable fresh light on the function of chlorophyll in the life of the plant. Having been led by previous researches to the conclusion that important results might be obtained by the use of intense light, he combined an apparatus by which the object under view should be brightly and constantly illuminated by a strong lens and a helio- stat. If in this way an object containing chlorophyll—a moss- leaf, fern-prothalium, chara, conferva, or thin section of a leaf of a phanerogam—be observed, it is seen that great charges are pro- duced in a period varying from three to six or more minutes. The first and most striking result is the complete decomposi- tion of the chlorophyll, so that in a few minutes the object appears as if it had been lying for some days in strong alcohol. Although however, the green color has disappeared, the corpuscles retain - their structure essentially unaltered. The change then gradual- ly extends to the other constituents of the cell; the circulation of the protoplasm is arrested; the threads of protoplasm are ruptured and the nucleus displaced; the primordial utricle contracts and becomes permeable to coloring matters; the turgidity of the cell ceases ; and the cell presents, in short, all the phenomena of death. That these effects are not due to the action of the high tempera- ture to which the cell is exposed under these circumstances 1$ shown by the fact that they are produced by all the different parts of the visible spectrum. The result is the same whether the light has previously passed through a red solution of iodine in carbon bisulphide, through a blue ammoniacal solution of cupric oxide, or through a green solution of cupric chloride. If the carbon disul- phide solution of iodine be so concentrated that only rays of a greater wave-length:than 0.00061 mm. can pass through it, these _ effects are not produced, although about eighty per cent. of the _ heat of white sunlight is transmitted. On the other hand, if the 1880. ] Botany. 205 ammoniacal solution of cupric oxide be so concentrated that the whole of the rays of a less wave-length than 0.00051 mm. are ab- sorbed, a rapid and powerful effect is produced, although the amount of heat that passes is very small. It is thus seen that the phenomena in question are not the result of heat. The next point determined by Dr. Pringsheim, is, that the effects are not produced in an atmosphere devoid of oxygen. This was the case whether the oxygen was replaced by pure hydrogen or by a mixture of hydrogen and carbon dioxide; while the re- moval of the carbon dioxide from atmospheric air was altogether without effect on the phenomena. The conclusion drawn is that the decomposition of chlorophyll in the living plants is a process of combustion which is influenced and promoted by the action of light, and which is not related to the decom- position of carbon dioxide by the plant. When the green color of the chlorophyll-grains has been partially destroyed, it cannot be restored, even though the cell continues to live; from ~ which it is inferred that the result is not a normal physiological, but | a pathological effect. No substance was found in the cells which might be regarded as the product of the decomposition of the chlorophyll, nor was any oil or starch detected in the etiolated cell, nor any formation of grape-sugar or dextrine. The assump- tion is therefore that the products of decomposition are given o in the gaseous form. The conclusion is drawn that the decomposition produced in the protoplasm, and in the other colorless cell contents, is the direct effect of the photochemical action of light. That it is not due to the injurious influence of the products of decomposition of the coloring matter of the chlorophyll, is shown by the fact that it takes place equally in cells destitute of chlorophyll, such as the hairs on the filaments of Tradescantia, the stinging hairs of the nettle, &c. It is, on the other hand, dependent on the pres- ence of oxygen, or is a phenomenon of combustion. ; The results of a variety of experiments leads Dr. Pringsheim to the important and interesting conclusion that the chlorophyll acts as a protective substance to the protoplasm against the inju- rious influence of light, diminishing the amount of combustion, or, in other words, acting as a regulator of respiration. He then proceeds to investigate what are the substan i s which 2 become oxidized in the process of respiration. In every cell, — Without exception, that contains chlorophyll, Pringsheim finds a Substance that can be extracted by immersion in dilute hydro- — chloric acid for from twelve to twenty-four hours, to which he Sives the name hypochlorin or hypochromyl, and which he believes _ to be the primary product of the assimilation of the chlorophyll. It occurs in the form of minute viscid drops or masses of a semi- — fluid consistenc hi f ge into long red-bro' < < Consistency, which gradually change into long red-browi imperfectly crystalline ‘iceiles. It is soluble in alcohol, ether, 206 General Notes. [ March, * turpentine and benzol, but insoluble in water and in a solution of sodium chloride. It becomes gradually oxidized on exposure to an apee crystalline resinous substance. It is probably an ethereal oi an invariable accompaniment of the coloring sub- stance of cloraphs ii, a even more universally distributed than starch or oil. It has not yet been detected in those plants which do not contain true green chlorophyll, such as the Phycochroma- cee, Diatomacee, Fucacez and Floridee. Starch and oil appear to be reserve substances produced by the oxidation of the hypo- chlorin caused by light, it being the most readily oxidizable con- stituent of the cell, more so even than chlorophyll itself. That the hypochlorin—present in variable quantity in every chlorophyll grain under normal circumstances—is subject to con- tinual increase and decrease, may be proved without difficulty. All comparative observations on chlorophyll grains in younger and in older conditions, point unmistakably to the conclusion that the collection and increase of the starch enclosed in the ground substance of the chlorophyll, goes on pari passu with a decrease of the hypochlorin. In dark, the hypochlorin, which does not take any direct part in the transport of food materials, is More permanent than starch; and this fact again is in agree- ment with the conclusion that its transformation in the cell into more highly oxidized bodies i is hindered by the increased respira- tion in light. n the facts here detailed, and the conclusions derived from them, Dr. Pringsheim believes that an entirely new light is thrown on the cause of the well-known fact that assimilation takes place only in those cells of the plant which contain chlorophyll. This substance acts universally as a moderator of respiration by its absorptive influence on light, and hence allows the opposite phe- nomena of respiration and elimination of carbon dioxide to go on in those cells which contain it. A more detailed account of the experiments. and results is promised by the author in a future paper.—Alfred W. Bennett. zobni. 1 BUNDLES OF SNAKES.—The statements made by Humboldt as to the piles of snakes he saw in Guiana, can be verified here in our northern woods and swamps. I personally had the pleasure of observing it twice, both times very early in spring, and in loca- tions which could be called wildernesses. I first saw such a bun- oe dle of snakes in the neighborhood of Ilchester, Howard Co., Md., on the stony bank of the Patapsco river, heaped together ona rock and between big stones. It was a very warm and sunny © location, whére a human being would scarcely disturb them. I reasoned that the warmth and silence of that secluded place £ The gw alae of Ornithology and Mammalogy are conducted by Dr. ELLIOTT a Cougs, U. S. A Le 1880. | | Loblogy. 207 brought them together. Some hundreds of them could be counted, and all of them I found in a lively state of humor, hiss- ing at me with threatening glances, with combined forces and with such a persistency that stones thrown upon them could not stop them nor alter the position of a single animal. They would make the proper movements and the stone would roll off. All the snakes in this lump were common snakes (Zutenia sir- talis L.) The second time I noticed a ball of black snakes (Bas- canton constrictor L.) rolling slowly down a steep and stony hill- side on the bank of the same river, but about two miles above Union Factory, Baltimore county, Md. Some of the snakes were of considerable length and thickness, and, as I noticed clearly, kept together by procreative impulses. _ It is surely not agreeable to go near enough to such a wandering, living and hissing hundred-headed ball to examine the doings and actions, and search for the inner causes of such a snake associa- tion. As, furthermore, the localities for such mass-meetings of snakes are becoming rarer every year, and our rapidly in- creasing cultivation of the country must make it hotter for snakes everywhere, only a few naturalists could see such a sight, even if they should look for it-in proper time, which, as stated above, seems to be the first warm days in spring.—Z&. L., Ellicott Mills, Ma. REVERSED MELANTHONES.—It is a not uncommon circumstance for collectors, in taking any considerable number of the various so-called species of Melantho, to find a few of them heterostro- phal, or sinistral. Dr. Kirtland, in the Ohio Report (quoted by Binney in Land and Fresh-water Shells of North America, p. 44), described one of these abnormal forms as Paludina heterostropha, though he evidently was not altogether clear as to its specific value, for he remarks, “ I formerly considered it as a mere variety of P. decisa Say.” is same shell Mr. Binney has referred to Melantho ponderosus Say. That all of these sinistral shells are — abnormal forms of one or more of the well-known Melanthones is now conceded by most naturalists. It was with not a little surprise,. therefore, that the writer recently received from a col- lector in Illinois a reversed shell of M. subsolidus Anth. labeled with the old and almost forgotten name given by Dr. Kirtland. Having collected a very large number of the three species com- mon in New York, viz., M. rufus Hald., M. integer De Kay, and M. decisus Say. 1 wish to place on record the following observa- — tions made in the spring of 1877, with reference to the relative abundance of these reversed forms. page Gee he method pursued was as follows: From impregnated shells, — about the time of parturition, the young Melanthones were taken and separated into lots of one hundred specimens each. Every shell was then carefully inspected, and it was found in the case of M. integer that two per cent. of every one hundred ‘shells were 6 208 General Notes. ` [March, sinistral. Of M. rufus, about one and one-half per cent. of every one thousand were thus reversed, while the per cent. of M. decisus was between two and two and one-half in each hundred. Com- paring these averages with the number of mature reversed speci- mens collected through quite a long period of time, it was found that only about one-tenth of oxe per cent. survived the accidents consequent on station and environments. How to account for the presence of sinistral shells at all now became the problem. I submit the following suggestions: Many adult and impregnated specimens were dissected and carefully studied, with the result that the position of the embryonic shells was such as to necessarily crowd them one on another. As they increased in size (this is based upon the inspection of shells in different stazes of development), their proximity influenced their assumption of form, more and more, and many curious and abnormal shapes were given the growing shells. Binney (1. c., p. 49) figures some of these forms, while others have been described as species (e. g. Paludina (Melantho) genicula Con.). Mr. Binney very properly groups these aberrant forms under M. decisus or M. integer. These “shouldered” and otherwise deformed shells are due to the crowding mentioned above. Isit not possible that the reversed forms originate in a similar way; the embryonic shell increasing in the direction of the least, or no resistance ? The direction of the “ whirl” thus started, would be followed in all the succeeding stages of development. Binney doubts the specific identity of M. rufus Hald., but if the usually accepted definition of “ species” be allowed, without good reason. The three above-mentioned forms are associated in the Erie Canal, at Mohawk, N. Y., and so far as species go they are all valid. The latest understanding of a species would, however, relegate them all, together with the other southern and western forms of the genus, to varieties of one sole type.—X. Zils- worth Call, School of Science, Dexter, Towa. Laws oF HisrotocicaL DIFFERENTIATION.—In a recently pub- lished article (Proc. Boston Soc. Nat. Hist., Vol. xx, p. 202) Dr. C. S. Minot discusses certain laws of histological differentiation. He maintains that, first, the most primitive form of tissue is an epithelium composed of a single row of polyhedral cells of equal height. Second, very early in the course of development the ecto- dermic cells become smaller and multiply faster than the cells of the entoderm. Third, the two horizontal axes of an epithelial cell (or those parallel to the surface of the epithelium) usually _ remain approximately equal to one another in length, while the — perpendicular axis varies independently and to a much greater extent. Fourth. epitheliums increase their surface by the forma- tion of depressions (invaginations) or of projecting folds (evagina- tions). Fifth, structural modifications of epitheliums usually affect similarly a whole cluster or tract of cells, but rarely isolated — 1880.] Zoology. 209 cells only. Sixth, probably the primitive cells of the mesoderm are amoeboid in character. For all mesodermic cells, not mechan- ically united with other cells, but capable of independent locomo- tion by amoeboid movements, is proposed the collective name of “ mesameabotds.” The author concludes by saying that if these views are confirmed “we shall then have discovered primary /zs- tological differences between the three germinal layers in their earliest stages as follows: EPITHELIAL. A. Small cells, mainly protopl ti Ectoderm B. Large cells, with much deutoplasm.... Entoderm ÅMŒBOID. C. Cells free in the cavity between the two primitive layers, ecto- d entoderm Mesoderm. Ant BATTLES.—I have within the past few years witnessed several battles between ants, and in some instances, the curious conduct of the captors towards their prisoners which I think is worth mentioning. The most noted battle took place July, 1878, be- tween two colonies of red ants. The victorious army were med- ium in size and numbered many thousands; those captured were a much larger ant, but not so numerous. The large ants after a desperate resistance were forced out of their fort, four or five small hausted and then allowed to go free— this material with a power of 900 diameters it was found to be entirely com- sed of very minute ovoid bodies with a tail, as : shown in Fig. 2D a pair Fic. 1.—Psorosperms in the pirate perch. B, of nucleated elongate bod- ‘Yst much enlarged. ies were enclosed and attached to the membranous body-wall of what appeared to be the head end. There were many thousands of these bodies in a single cyst, and were it not that the tail did not exhibit the slightest movement, they might have been regarded aS spermatozoa. A very few were seen without a tail as in Fig 2 2 General Notes. [ March, Fig. 2, B represents an optical section of the head end of one like that shown at D in profile, and shows the oblong attached internal Z3 — bodies in an excentric position with = = = reference to the enveloping mem- B C brane. Excessively minute round granules were found mixed in great ES D oe abundance with the tailed forms. These are veritable psorosperms Fic, 2.—Psorosperms. and are almost identical in form with those found by Müller in 1841, in European freshwater fishes. The above description is not different in any essential particular, . from that given by Müller, and I only offer this account in order that it may induce others to look for similar parasites in other common vertebrates. Cobbold states that they are harmless if eaten with the flesh which contains them, stating that in eating of the heart of a healthy ox, which had furnished part of two meals, he himself must have consumed at least 18,000 of these parasites. They are supposed to be an embryonic stage of development of the Gregarines. Psorosperms, have not, as far as I am aware, been recorded as being found in Aphredoderus, which is a characteristically American fish. There must have been half a million of these embryonic gregarines in the individual fish which I examined.—- Fon « Ryder. small simple eyes on the front of the head. As described by A. Milne-Edwards and Owen, the optic nerves to these eyes are very Jong and slender. Those distributed to ‘the larger compound eyes are very long, and close to each eye subdivide into an irreg- ular plexus of fine nerves, a branch being, as we have found, dis- tributed to each facet composing the,compound eye. The struc- ture of the eye is very unlike that of any other Arthropod eye. , the cornea externally being structure- less, simply laminated like the rest of the integument. In the through the smooth convex translucent cornea, give the appear- ance of a facetted surface to the external eye. J 1880. | . Zoblogy. 213 All the parts thus far described except the pigment layer, are moulted with the rest of the crust, and the large long slender cones can be easily seen by viewing a piece of the cast-off eye; the solid cones being seen projecting from the inner surface of the cast-off cornea. The internal structure of the eye is very simple. There are no cones and no rods, but a branch of the optic nerve impinges directly upon the end of the solid chitinous cone, as determined to settle. Are they crystalline lens or only analogous organs? Can the horse-shoe crab distinguish objects? We doubt if its eyes enable it to more than distinguish between the light and darkness. Since the above remarks were put in type, we have seen Grena- cher’s great work onthe eyes of Arthropoda. He regards the conical chitinous minnie-ball-like bodies as corneal lenses. He _ Goes not describe the simple eye, which is a close repetition of one of the corneal lenses of the compound eye of the same ani- mal, except that the lens is shorter and with the end much more obtuse.—A. S. Packard, Fr. ADVENT OF PASSER DOMESTICUS IN NorTH CArOLINA.—The following letter is published in the belief that it is desirable to preserve records of the spread of this bird in this country —Zi/iott Coues, Washington, D. C. : Darras, N. C., Nov. 30, 1879. Dr. Elliott Coues. Yours, &c., PauL B. BARRINGER, M. D. co ~ THE STRUCTURE of THE TRACHEÆ AND THE “PERITI CircuLaTIoN ” IN Insecrs.—Under this title M. Jules M x. l L Se 214 General Notes. [ March, Gand, has published a prize memoir of more than ordinary value. His conclusions are as follows: 1. The wall of the trachea com- prises three layers: one external, probably connective; a middle chitin-forming, and an internal chitinous layer. 2. The spiral its thickness alone ; but especially in its functions. 4. The tubu- lar trachez, and especially the intima of those organs, present numerous variations, even in a given group, like that of the winged insects, for example. The chitin- forming tunic of the trachea is not formed ‘by cells fused together, but it is on the con- trary a true epithelium. 6. The middle tunic remains independent along the whole length of the trachea. 7. The peritracheal circu- lation is anatomically impossible. 8. In many larve, the intima presents besides the spiral thread, other parts, differing by their properties. It will be remembered that Blanchard, and afterwards Agassiz, assumed that there was a circulation of blood between the trachea proper and its investing peritracheal membrane. Joly, and after- wards H. J. Clark of this country, maintained that this was anatomically impossible, and Macleod by experiments and dissec- tions shows that such must be the case. - = VITALITY oF HELIX ASPERA.—AImost incredible wg poet are found in the books concerning the vitality of snails. I must add another. August 24th, 1878, I ascended an old castle, or tower, near Queenstown, Ireland, and found between the stones a the common garden snail of Europe, Helix aspera. I iieatda three specimens, and having wrapped them in paper, ut them in my trunk. On my arrival home, October 28, on looking for my treasures, I found one was crushed. The other two I dipped i in water a few seconds, then put them in the fernery, and was delighted to see them crawl about. I could not get them to feed. One died in the following May, having been in confinement nine months. The other died in November, 1879, having lived thirteen months without food.—S. Lockwood, Free- hold, N. F. ZooLocicaL News.—In Forest and See for Jan. 29, Henry Youle Hind states that the salmon on the Labrador and New- foundland coast spawn in ‘the spring as well as in the autumn, i. ¢., that some spawn in the autumn and some in the spring.—— A blind Asellus-like Isopod Crustacean has been ices by Prof. Forel, at great depths, in Lake Leman; the eyes are rudi- mentary, while the general color of the animal is white. r. Darwin notices, in Nature, the fertility of hybrids from the com- mon and Chinese goose, and shows that the fertility is complete. : . W. Bates states that certain species of Longicorn ~ beetles mimic PITS beetles “ with great exactness, the a — 1880. } Zoology. 215 giving segments of the latter being perfectly represented in the Longicorns, although destitute of phosphorescent power.” The Report of the Commissioners of Fisheries of California for 1878 and ’79, contains numerous and valuable notes on the foo fishes of San Francisco by W. N. Lockington. The Journal of the Royal Microscopical Society reports the discovery of an Otocyst-like organ in the antenne of flies (Syrphus, etc.). There seems little doubt but that many Diptera (Muscide and Tabanidzx excepted) have these minute ears situated in the third joint of their antenne. Mayer, however, questions whether these organs, of which he claims to have found fifty in the antenna of Musca vomitoria, are ears, though he regards them as organs of some sense. Dr. H. Krauss finds an otocyst in the larva and imago of Tabanus, the horse-fly. r. H. Burmeister discovers that the fine longitudinal lines or striz of butterfly scales belong to the some interesting experiments on the nervous system of the cray- fish? He arrives at the conclusions from cutting the nervous —— The “Arbeiten ” of the Zodlogical Institute of Vienna, Vol. 1, Part 11, 1879, contains a revision of the known genera and species of the Platyscellidae (Crustacea Amphipoda), and a description of a new Siphonophore from the Mediterranean by Carl Claus. —Mr. Gibbes? has been making some investigations regarding the structure of the spermatozoa, and finds that the head, from its reaction with coloring agents, possesses a different chemical Structure from the rest of the organism. A filament was found to arise at the base of the head, in all the animals examined, which is Some notes on the Physiology of the Nervous System of the Crayfish. Journal of ysiology, Vol. 11, pp. 214-227. j o J *On the Structure of the Vertebrate Spermatozodn, by Heneage Gibbes. Quar. our. Micro. Sci., Oct., 1879, pp. 487-491, pl. XXIV. : o 216 General Notes. [ March, ANTHROPOLOGY.! OBER’s CARRIBEES.—Lee & Shepard, of Boston, have just issued a work entitled “Camps in the Carribees,” by Mr. Frederick A. Ober, who undertook a scientific exploration of the Lesser Antil- les in 1876. The most of the volume is occupied with a racy account of the naturalist’s experience in those islands while col- lecting specimens in zoology. Chapters vi, vir and x11, however, come under our immediate topic. In two of the smaller islands, Dominica and Saint Vincent, are the only remnants of that power- ful race which struck terror into the hearts of Columbus and his followers. Humboldt relates that the Caribs of South America called themselves Carina, Calina, Callinago, Caribi, and that the name Carib is derived from Calina and Califoona; the latter word being the ancient name of their people given to Mr. Ober by the Caribs of St. Vincent and Dominica. This name the author seeks to connect with Shakespere’s Caliban, and Robinson Crusoe’s “Man Friday.” Their ancient savage manners have wonderfully changed, for they are now gentle, hospitable, and kind to their women. They are naturally much lighter than the typical Indian, which has given them the title of “ Yellow Indians.” In Domin- ica there are but twenty families of pure Caribs; in Saint Vincent less than six. In the latter island there is an interesting people, called “ Black Caribs,” formed by the intermarriage of the natives with negroes. Mr. Ober confirms the statement of a difference between the language of the men and that of the women. They have, besides, a certain form of speech which they use amon themselves in war-councils. The author inclines to the view that the Caribs were the race who made the beautiful stone implements, collars, mammiform stones, masks, &c., found throughout these islands. In the National Museum is a collection of implements brought by Mr. Ober from Saint Vincent. The volume before us will prove interesting not only to the ethnologist but to the ornith- ologist, as the appendix contains a list of all birds collected. Mounn Bur_pers.—The second number of Vol. 11, of the Ameri- can Antiquarian contains the following papers: The Mound Build- ers; Explorations by the Muscatine Academy of Sciences, by TE Stevenson; Alaska and its Inhabitants, by Rev. Shelton Jackson; Antiquity of the Tobacco Pipe in Europe. Part 11. Switzerland, by E. A. Barber; Fort Wayne (old Fort Miami) and the Route from the Maumee to the Wabash, by R. S. Robertson; How the — Rabbit Killed the (Male) Winter, an Omaha Fable, by J. O. Dor- sey; The Delaware Indians in Ohio, by S. D.*Peet; The Silent Races, by L. J. Dupré; Sacrificial Mounds in Illinois and Ohio. The paper of Mr. Stevenson upon the explorations of the Mus- catine Academy is a very important contribution to mound-litera- ture. “From an imaginary point near Drury’s Landing, a few 3 3 1Edited by Prof. Oris T. Mason, Columbian College, Washington, D. C. 1880. ] Anthropology. 217 miles above and east of Muscatine to another like point, and down the river, near Toolesboro and New Boston, distant from the first point twenty miles, the bluffs (once the Mississippi shore line) recede from each other about eight miles, and upon all the highest points are found groups of mounds, numbering from two to one hundred or more, varying in base diameter from fifteen to one hundred and fifty feet, and from two to fifteen feet in height. In all there cannot be far from two thousand five hundred mounds.” their erection. Among civilized peoples, only the head of the family is engaged in active industry; but it is quite possible that men, women and children entered with enthusiasm into this national work. The papers of Messrs. Jackson, Barber, Robinson and Dorsey, are all of permanent ethnological value. Mr. Peet will publish also a quarterly, entitled The Oriental Fournal. Mr. F, utnam communicated the following note to the Boston Society of Natural History, October 15, 1879, on the Occurrence of chambered barrows in America: “The chambered mounds are situated in the eastern part of Clay Co., Missouri, and form a large group on both sides of the Missouri river, The chambers are, in the three opened by Mr. Cur- tiss, about eight feet square, and from four and a half to five feet high, each chamber having a passage-way several feet in length and two in width, leading from the southern side, and opening on the edge of the mound formed by covering the chamber and passage-way with earth. The walls of the chambered passages were about two feet thick, vertical, and well made of stones, which were evenly laid, without clay or mortar of any kind. The top of one of the chambers had a covering of large flat rocks, but the others seem to kave been closed over with wood. The chambers Were filled with clay which had been burnt, and appeared as if it had fallen in from above. The inside walls of the chambers also showed signs of fire. Under the burnt clay, in each chamber, were. found the remains of several human skeletons, all of which had. Curtiss thought that in one chamber he found the remains of five skeletons and in another thirteen. With these skeletons there aere a few flint implements and minute fragments of vessels of clay, m “ A large mound near the chambered mounds was also opened, but in this no chambers were found. Neither had the bodies been burnt. This mound proved remarkably rich in large flint imple- ments and also contained well-made pottery and a peculiar _,Borget’ of red stone. The connection of the people who placed € ashes of their dead in the stone chambers with those who. o “termined,” VOL. x1V.—no, ur. buried their dead in the earth mounds is of course yet to be 15 218 General Notes. [March, ANTHROPOLOGICAL News.—The question is frequently asked, How does anthropology fare in the catastrophe which destroyed the three surveys of Hayden, Wheeler and Powell? It is the purpose of this brief note to answer this question. In the same bill in which provision was made for the establishment of the new survey under Clarence King, an appropriation was granted for continuing the ethnographic work, and this resulted in the organization of what is known as the Bureau of Ethnology, and Major J. W. Powell was put in command of the corps. . This Bureau is now engaged with the aid of skilled collaborators in the following work: 1. Preparing a history of Indian affairs, including an atlas of treaty cessions, exhibiting by graphic signs and descriptive text, the manner and time of the yielding up of our territory by the aborigines. 2. Carrying on an exhaus-. tive investigation concerning the languages of the North Ameri- can Indians, including a series of grammars and dictionaries and a bibliography. At present it is found convenient to group them into the following linguistic stocks: Adaize, Achomawi, Aleut, Algonkin, Alikwa (Yurok), Ara (Karok), Atakapa, Atimoke (Timucua), Billekula, Bribri, Caddo, Cheroki, Chetimacha, Chia- panec, Chimariko, Chimseyan, Chinuk, Coahuiltec, Coiba (Cueva), Dakota (including Catawba), Galibi, Haida, Hailt suk, Huave (Wabi), Inuit, Iroquois, Kalapuya, Kera Pueblo, Kaiowa, Kusa, Kutené, Maidu, Maklaks ( Klamath), Maskoki, Maya (Mixe), Mut- rae Apa ors Numa, Nutka (or Bowatchat), Otomi, Pani, Pirinda, Rio Grande Pueblo, Sahaptin, Sasti, Sayuskla, Selish, ‘Sea “Pakilma (Kalapuya), Tarasco, Tene (including Santa Bar- ‘bara and San Antonio), Terraba, Thlinkit, Tinné, Tonkawe, Ulua (Maya), Washo, Wayiletpu, ‘Wichita, Wintaen Wishosk, Xaloa (Nicaragua), Yakona, Yokuts, Yaki, Yuma, Yutchi, Zapotec, Zuñi. 3. A collection of a complete synonymy of North American In- dians as material for an encyclopedia or Sonne dictionary of every tribe known to have lived on our contin 4. An investiga- tion into the sign language, by Colonel Garrick n. 5. Anac- count of savage mythology or philosphy, under the special direc- ition of Major Powell. 6. The study of the arts and industries of all our tribes. During the past summer a party Seapets of Mr. James Stevenson, “Mr. Frank Cushing and Mr. J. Hillers were dispatched to the Pueblos, with instructions to leave no object, sketch, or’ custom that would be valuable to the ethnologist. Mr. Stevenson had charge of the collection, Mr. Hillers of the ‘photography, and Mr. Cushing of the “ceremonial part of the work. The first two gentlemen have already returned laden with four car loads of the finest specimens of aboriginal art ever brought ‘together. Mr. Cushing, who has succeeded in ingratiating him- self with the Pueblo people, will remain over the winter. e enumeration of a few of the objects in this superb collection will give some idea of its rare value. F rom Zuñi: pottery, whole and ` 1880.] Anthropology. 219 in fragments, together with clay, and all the implements used in tassels, rabbit-skin robes, saddle bags, boomerangs, stone images, arrows and bows, with all the implements for mak- ing them, corn-mills, virgin’s head dress, cradles, hair curlers, forceps, lariats, moccasins, dance-ornaments, wrist guards, medicine boxes, balls for play, vermin killers, gambling cups, mush sticks, snares, agricultural implements, water bottles, paint rock, baskets for every purpose. Scattered through the valley of the Rio Grande are nineteen Pueblo villages, and it is designed to make characteristic collections at every one. Mr. Hiller’s collec- tion of photographs includes vfews of the interior and exterior of these Pueblos from every accessible point of view, and of the natives of various ranks in their characteristic attire. The most interesting of his pictures is a group of albinos, the skin and hair being quite white, who intermarry with the other members of the tribe and are very hivhly esteemed. r. Wm. J. Rhees, chief clerk of the Smithsonian Institution, has edited a pamphlet of 96 pages, entitled “Visitor's Guide to the Smithsonian Institution and National Museum.” The latter portion, from page 63 to the end, is occupied with a brief descrip- tion of Anthropological Hall, under the direction of Dr. Charles Rau. Although ‘the publication is provisional, it is exceedingly timely, and will assist the visitor to acquire a good general knowledge of our national collection. A. H. Keane, of “Finnish Crania,” by Gustav Retzius, of Stock- holm, in December 2 5th. Dr. Retzius adopts the view that the Finns are amongst the most recent arrivals from Asia; Mr. J. C. Galton reviews at length in January 1 and January 8, Maclay’s — s : cen : Royal College of Surgeons, of England, by William Henry — ver, conservator of the museum. Part I, Man. (London: © David Bogue, 1879.) ee as ee ~ The Academy for January 3, announces that Dr. Robert Hart- ae _ ‘Mann is the author of a monograph, entitled “Die Nigritier, cine — 220 General Notes. [ March, anthropologisch-ethnologische Monographie,” published as a sup- plement of five hundred pages to Zeitschrift fiir ethnologie, Berlin. The October number of the Revue d’ Anthropologie contains the following original papers and reviews: Notes sur la fécondité des mulatres du Sénégal, by M. Berenger-Feraud, 12 pp.; dela notion de la Race en Anthropologie, by M. Paul Topinard, 72 pp.; Note sur le a du Cerveau considéré dans ses Rapports avec le Crane, by éré, 14 pp.; Une négresse blanche, by Dr. Smester, 7 pp. La Mythologie Comparée, of M. Girard de Rialle is reviewed in a critique of eight pages, by M. André Lefèvre. The chapter entitled “ Revue Préhistorique, by M. E. Callamand, embraces a review of Greenwell’s ‘British Barrows, ” eleven pages, and a résumé of the prehistoric portion of Bulletin de la Société d’Anthropologie, 4 pp. The book review, by M. Zaborowski, is a critique of 8 pp. on Chudzinski’s “Anatomie comparée des circonvolutions cérébrales.” Under the Revue des Journaux are reviews upon: Etude sur les cranes boughis et dyaks du Muséum d’histoire naturelle, by Dr. Montano; Anom- alie symétrique héréditaire des deux mains, by Dr. Boechat de Fribourg, in Bull. Congr. medic. intern. de Genéve, 1878; Aperçu général de l’hérédité et de ses lois, by Dr. Marc Lorin, Thèse inaugurale de la Faculté de medecine, Paris, 1878; Annales de démographie internationale, recucil trimestriel publié sous la direction du Dr. Arthur Chervin, Deuxieme année, Paris, 1878; Lectures on the Indigenous races of the Pacific Ocean, by Wil- liam H. Flower; Anthropology of the county of Gloucester, by Dr. John Beddoe, in Zrans. Glouc. Arch. Soc., Bristol, 1878; Essay upon the anth ropology of Southern Tyrol, based upon the examination of skulls discovered at Saint Pierre, near Meran, by M. Rabl-Ruckhard, Berlin Gesellsch. f. Anth., &c., Feb. 16, 1878. The number closes with brief extracts, a short résumé of the various anthropological congresses during the year, and a biblio- graphical bulletin of five pages. The most valuable contribution to the number is the paper of M. Topinard upon the idea of “sack. if nen popo og and demands more space for a review than we can give it her Prof. Friedrich Müller contributes t> e Ausland, No. 10, a short article upon the language of anim The Verhandlungen der Berliner Gesellschaft fiir Anthropologie, Ethnologie, und Urgeschichte from January-February of the cur- rent year, give us a digest of the proceedings of that celebrated society.. In tu rning over the leaves we find quite extende abstracts of the following communications: Session of Jan II. Skull from the Bone-Cave of Gorenice, near Ojcow, Poland, by Ferd. Römer, in Breslau, with Table 1v; Upon the stone imple- ments of Japan, and upon various antiquities in the collection of the German Society for the study of Eastern Asia, by Hr. v. Brandt; Results of his measurements of school children, by Pro- = 1880.] Anthropology. 22I fessor Lucæ; Upon the language of the Australians, by Hr. Steinthal. Session of Jan. 18: “Face-urn ” from a stone-cyst grave in Gabolin (Kreis culm, West Prussia); Fung Schui, or Chinese ‘‘Geomanty ;;’ Black pottery in India and in Turkey, by Hr. Jagor; Upon the cemetery of Giebichenstein, near Halle, Hr. Credner. Session of Feb. 15: The canicars of Southern India, by Hr. Jagor The following titles from various sources may be of service to some of our rea aders : The oldest art in the ners by W. J. Loftie, (Macmillan's Mag.) Electic Mag., Dec., 4 pp.; Beasts, Birds, and Insects in Irish Folk-Lore, by Letitia McClintock, Belgravia, ov., 8 pp.; The Ancient Remains at Bounarbashi, by W Simp- son, L ondon Academy, Nov. 1; Cinderella, by W. R. S. Ralston, Nineteenth Century, Nov., 22 pp.; The study of Cuneiform Archos ology, by Rev. B. W. Saville, Clergyman’s Magazine, Nov., 16 pp.; The Deluge: Its traditions in Ancient Nations, by F. Lenormant, Contemporary Rev., Nov.; The Supreme God in the Indo-Euro- pean Mythology, by I Darmsteter, Contemporary Rev., Living Age, Oct. 25, IO pp.; The Hittites in Asia Minor, London A Acad- emy, Nov. 1; Monumental Inscriptions in all parts of the world, Calcutta i , July; Pliocene Man, by Dr. C. C. Abbott, Kansas City Review, Non: Ra, in Prehistoric Times, by L. Jewi Illustr. Art Fourn., Nov. 3 pp; Preservation of Ancient Ka and Monuments, Chamber's Journal, Nov.; Les Temps oublies, by E. Littré, Philosophie Positive Revue, Dec., 8 pp.; Fetish or Rag Bushes in Madagascar, Saturday Ma p, Nov. 22; The Music of Hindustan, by B. S. P. gg Sag Caleutta Rev., July; Institu- tions et Moeurs Annamites, by T. V. Ky, Philosophie Positive Revue, Dec., 12 p pp.; Language and the cad ay Language, by Dr. C. Abel, New Englander, Nov., 15 pp.; Des Origines et de l’Evolution du Droit ete Bal by H. Denis Piso Saxe The following are recent articles of interest : CHARENCy, M. D Ages - Cosmiques sary la Mythologie mexicaine, 1I. Annales de Pade c Chretienne, Nov., 15 p T a a ei Incantations to ene and Water. 7y. ‘Soe. Biblical Archa- ology, v | , W—Notes on Assyrian Religion and Mythology. Tr. Soc. Biblical Houcnton, W.— Mic roglyphic or picture oe “ the characters of the Assyrian M Syllabary. 7%. Soc. Biblical Archaolo, ogy, CCLINTOCK, we 8 age Birds and mene in ie Folk-lore. Eclectic Mag., > ekg a a Homeric Mythology and Ree. A Reply to Mri Gladstone. i zers ag., i Forms of “Se Eclectic Mag., ae 2 Be oe | Recs P. S.—On the Coast of Madagascar. Madras F. of Literature, z _ -SOGERs, E. o a of Arabic. = Y Te Asiatic Sot, Au ng: o 222 General Notes. [ March, pau J. oe Grammaticale de la Langue de God. Rev. AP TR: Oct. TON, W. G.—é pomparsive study of the Javanese and Corean Languages. F. of Roy. Asiatic oi Aug. ra maire Samoane, Rev. Linguistigue, Oct. OPPERT, G.—Onthe Ancient Commerce of India. Madras Y. of Literature, I. GEOLOGY AND PALAIONTOLOGY. FossıL CRAWFISH FROM THE TERTIARIES OF Wyominc.—Two specimens of fossil crawfish quite well preserved have been kindly loaned us for description by Professor Leidy, who received them from the fish beds of the western border of Wyoming, through Dr. J. Van A. Carter, of Evanston, Wyoming. Of the two speci- mens, the smaller presents a dorsal, and the larger a lateral view, both being slightly distorted by progre, the length of the smaller from the tip of the rostrum to the en the telson is 38 mm., and of the larger 53 mm. They do not differ generically from existing species of Cambarus, though with some resemblances to Astacus, but as the gills are not represented it is not possible to say to which ofthese two genera the species belongs; still the weight of characters ally it nearest to Cambarus, affinis, as seen in the long ~ _ var. latimanus and bartenii, but rather narrower, the lateral termi- nal spine being long, slender, acute. The flagellum of the second antenne are of the usual size, extending to the terminal fourth o the abdomen. The distal end of the scape of the first antennz reach to near the end of the last joint of the scape of the first pair, the species in this respect being more like Cambarus than Astacus. The carapace is of the proportions of living species of Cambarus. ~ The firsť pair of legs are rather shorter and stouter than in our living crawfishes, and the chelæ are rather shorter, while the surface of the carapace and legs is much more cọarsely tubercu- lated than in our Cambari, and in this respect resembles large specimens of Astacus fluviatilis of Europe, though the tubercles are larger. The abdomen is of the usual proportions, but the surface is more coarsely tubercled; the telson and broad rami of the last pair of feet are spined as in living species of Cambarus. It is inter- esting to observe that this species is nearest related to Cambarus afnis, which as observed to me by Mr. P. R. Uhler, who kindly gave me some species for comparison, is the more generalized American species of the genus, and probably the oldest one. 1 would be interesting to know whether this fossil form is actually a Cambarus or an Astacus, and to ascertain which of these two genera, now restricted, the latter to the Pacific slope of the Sierra Nevada, the kores to the Central and Eastern zoò- -geographical provinces, was the first to obtain a foothold on our continent. There isa a probability that the present fossil form is a member _ 1880. ] Geography and Travels. 223 of the American genus Cambarus. The species may be cal'ed, therefore, Cambarus primevus.—A. S. Packard, Fr. ON THE SAUROPTERYGIA OF BouLoGNe-sur-MeErR.—Dr. H. E. Sauvage has recently published an interesting memoir on the above subject, including in it many general remarks on the affini- ties and contents of the order Sauropterygia. He uses the results of the latest investigations on the subject, referring especially to those of Seeley. He describes several species heretofore very little known, and adds a number of new ones to Scientific Litera- ture. Those which Dr. Sauvage finds in the Upper Jurassic beds of the Boulonnais are: Pliosaurus gamma Ow.; P. grandis Ow. ; P. suprajurensis Sauv.; Polytychoaon archiaci E. E. Desl.; Ples- tosaurus carinatus Ow.; P. phillipsi Sauvg.; P. morinicus Sauvg. ; P. infraplanus Phil.; P. plicatus Phil.; P. ellpsospondylus Ow. ; Colymbosaurus dutertret Sauvg.; Mureuosaurus manselt Hulke; Polycotylus suprajurensis Sauvg. at the middle, is equal to the anteroposterior diameter. The crescents, and especially the inner ones, are correspondingly nar- row e enamel borders are simple, there being’ only a few notches on the adjacent faces of the lakes. One loop projects from the inner enamel border, almost reaching the anterior inner column. Cement abundant. Diameters of second premolar: anteroposterior, m. .035; transverse behind .021; height o Crown .035. Diameters of a superior molar : anteroposterior, O27; transverse, do., including external ridge, .027 ; longitudinal ex- ternally, .o45. The species of the genus heretofore described from the United States ( Æ. pernix and H. robustus), are represented _ as having teeth with short crowns and long fangs, and of materi- - ally smaller size. The species may be called Æ. spectans. The teeth are about the size of those of the quagga—E. D. Cope. GEOGRAPHY AND TRAVELS.' UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL AND GEOGRAPHICAL SURVEY OF THE TERRITORIES. WORK OF 1877-8, PRIMARY TRIANGULATION AND p ELLowsroxe Park Maps.—Among the posthumous works of Dr. F. V, Hayden’s Survey of the Territories, there have recently = , 1 Edited by Ertis H. YARNALL, Philadelphia. o 224 General Notes. [ March, appeared a series of maps, comprising most of the topographical work of the last two years, 1877 and 1878. This series comprises a sketch of the primary triangulation, and a drainage map, each covering the whole area surveyed, on a scale of eight miles to an inch, a detailed map of the Yellowstone National Park, on a scale of two miles to an inch, and three detailed atlas sheets, on a scale of four miles to an inch, The last three sheets were noticed in the number of the NATURALIST for January. The triangulation sheet shows the scheme of the primary trian- gulation, the stations, the sight lines, the closed and open tri- angles, the details of the expansions from the bases, and the astro- nomical connections. e base lines were two in number, one near Fort Steele, on the Union Pacific railroad, Wyoming, the other in the valley of Bear River, near the village of Georgetown, Idaho. Each was be- tween five and six miles in length, about two miles of which appear to have been measured directly, while the balance was ranged out by small, well proportioned triangles. The expansions were by means of closed triangles, and, apparently were well executed. The astronomical connections were ample, consisting of stations at Sherman and Fort Steele in Wyoming, Salt Lake City and Ogden in Utah. These points were located by the Coast Survey and by Lieut. Wheeler of the Engineer Corps. The scheme is well planned, most of the triangles being well proportioned and the only failures are unquestionably due to the incompleteness of the work, owing to the abrupt discontinuance of the survey. Since the discovery of the wonders of the Yellowstone coun- try, in 1870, this region has been a favorite field of exploration. Expedition after expedition has traversed it, each following much the same routes as its predecessors, and, after the first, adding but little to the sum of human knowledge regarding this strange fire- ridden region. ; The explorations in this region, of the survey under Dr. F. V. Hayden, in 1871 and 1872, were singularly prolific of facts, geo- logical, physical and geographical, and little that was new was evolved from numerous expeditions that followed. The bi nuggets had been taken, and nothing but a careful, scientific, eworking of the tailings would extract from them the wealth of fine gold which they still held. popa In 1878, Dr. Hayden’s survey reached this region in the prose- cution of its system of surveys. Its work had, years previously, passed from the reconnoissance stage to that of systematic surveys on a scale and of a degree of accuracy commensurate with the needs of the country. : In that year, a party was directed to make a detailed survey of the Yellowstone Park, its geography, geology and volcanic phenomena. a A part of the results of this season’s work is now before the _ 1880. | Microscopy. 225 world, in the form of a map of the Yellowstone Park on a scale of two miles to an inch,a scale sufficiently large to show all details necessary to the geologist, or the traveler. The topogra- phy is represented by contour lines, at approximate intervals of one hundred feet. This map, as well as the others published by this survey, are admirable illustrations of relief-effect by means of contours; and they not only express the relief, but the absolute and relative elevations. . From a study of this map, we find that the greater part of the surface of the Park consists of high rolling plateaus, broken by stream beds, cliffs and cafons. Several small groups of moun- tains diversify the surface, among them the Red mountains, in the southern part, rising two thousand feet above the general level, or more than ten thousand feet above the sea—and the Washburn group, near the middle of the Park. This group has the form of a horseshoe, opening towards the east. The eastern border of the Park is occupied by a high, rugged range, to which has long attached the name of Yellowstone Range. Index peak; the highest measured peak in this range, exceeds 11,700 feet in height. In the north-western corner of the Park is the southern extremity of the Gallatin range, culminating in Electric Peak, a Magnificent summit, 11,155 feet above the sea, which overlooks almost the whole Park. The mean elevation of this reservation appears to be not far from 8000 feet, an elevation so great in this latitude as to pre- Suppose an almost arctic climate. The lowest point within its limits is at the mouth of Gardiner’s river, on the Yellowstone, which is 5360 feet. ` -Marked features of the reservation are the low, indefinite divides and the abundance of lakes and marshes, In several cases we note marshes extending across divides and making “two ocean rivers,” phenomena by no means as uncommon as are popularly Supposed. The lakes, principal among which are Yellowstone, Shoshone, Lewis and Heart, gover nearly 200 square miles out of bi total area of the park, which is estimated at 3312 square miles, Many’ newly discovered groups of hot springs and geysers appear, for the first time, on this map, among which should be mentioned the large and fine groups near the head of Gibbon’s” fork of the Firehole, the discovery of which has been previously Noticed DEN The engraving of these maps, by Bien, of New York, is one of best specimens of his very excellent work. MICROSCOPY.’ ea HINTS on THE PRESERVATION OF LIVING OBJECTS, AND THEIR EXAMINATION UNDER THE MicroscoPe.—I will now give a short Summary of the most useful apparatus for the examination of w > ; This department is edited by Dr. R, H. Warp, Troy, N. Y. a 226 General Notes. ` [ March, ing objects. The simple glass slip, three inches by 1 inch, or bet- ter, a ledged stage-plate three inches by one and a half inches, with narrow strip of glass cemented along one edge. One of these, with cover-glass, is often all the apparatus necessary to use with small infusoria and free-swimming rotifers, and is also occasionally available with a little management for larger objects, either free or attached. Manipulation with these I cannot better describe than in the words of Judge Bedwell in his ,description of what I call Bedwell’s rotifer-trap. “Take a plane glass slide, on it drop one or more of the roti- fers in a drop of water, about half an inch in diameter, and draw off the surplus water if any, carefully with the empty pipette ; then fray out a very, very small portion of cotton wool (I always use a watchmaker’s glass in the eye to do all such operations) until it is much extended, and spread out and lay this on the drop. Upon that lay the thin microscopic glass, the thinner the better, and then set up the capillary attraction by gently touching it with a needle. Draw off any superfluous water from the edges with the pocket- handkerchief, and. you will have a little wilderness of wool in in which the rotifer is restrained in its movements, protected from pressure, and within reach of very high powers. The amount of wool depends on the size of the rotifer. Hydatina requires more depth than Rhinops. The same plan answers equally well for all roving animals. The Goduride in particular, when placed in deep glass cells, are easily seen by this apparatus, and it saves many a weary and vexatious five minutes with the compressorium, which even at the best, requires with living animals extraordinary patience. The rotifers are easily found and secured with the pipette and a watchmaker's glass in the eye after a very little prac- tice. Mr. Bolton’s studio is of the greatest value to naturalists, and cannot be too well known, for to those who have not time to look for specimens it is a great privilege to be able to purchase them.” Another simple apparatus I call the Wills’ compressorium. Most forms of compressorium are useless—all are expensive. Those who try the following will be surprised at the efficiency of the apparatus. Two pieces of thin glass are cemented on toa glass slip in the shape of the letter L, but with the two strokes of | the letter about equal in length, and another thinner and longer one is fixed longitudinally, thus . The L serves to retain in position a square slip of cover glass placed, of course, not on the L, but inside it; the horizontal piece, which should be ground toa bevel on its top edge before fixing it, serves to carry a fine needle, the point of which is inserted beneath the edge of the cover glass. — This point being tapered, it is easy to increase or diminish the thickness of a film of water carried between the cover and the o slip by pushing the needle further in or out, and so to forma — cheap and effective compressorium.— T. Boltonin English Mechant. 1880. | Scientific News. 227 METHOD OF SEPARATING ORGANISMS FROM WATER.—In order to reduce the quantity of water containing infusoria, obtained by means of a collecting bottle or otherwise, an easy and effective method is to allow the liquid to stand in a bowl until it has set- tled, and then take up’ the water by means of a sponge placed in a pouch made of fine silk. If the water be allowed to soak into the sponge very gradually and a slight pressure be given before removing it from the bowl so as to wash away any adherent par- ticlés, even the finer forms of animalcule diffused through a pint of water may be left in great abundance in a quantity of water not larger than a tablespoonful.—M. A. Veeder. 702 SCIENTIFIC NEWS. — One of the best and most successful fish culturists and prac- tical ichthyologists in America has passed away. James W. Mil- r was born in Kingston, Ontario, January 11, 1841 ; he came to Chicago when about five years old, and he grew to manhood there, showing even as a child great, almost excessive devotion to study, the effects of which impaired his physical condition on more than one occasion. He left the Northwestern University, before graduating, to take a place asa private soldier in the Ist Illinois Light Artillery. During his military service, which lasted until 1864, he exhibited an enthusiastic patriotism, courage and endurance, with a kindly interest in the comfort and welfare of those about him which ‘Recessitated a very thorough study of their habits and conditions — Modest -o Ren ~ 228 Scientific News. [ March, history of fish culture and it practical workings he was doubtless better informed than any one else in this country at the time of his death. His enthusiastic and successful attempt at the fertiliza- tion and hatching of the eggs of the cod (never before attempted) kept him during an inclement season at Gloucester, Mass., under circumstances of great exposure. The disease of which he died was then first developed, though its seeds had doubtless long been latent in his system. A winter in Florida, a summer in Colorado, both came too late for his recovery to be even hoped for, and returning to his Illinois home (at Waukegan) he passed away in the midst of his family on the 6th of January, 1880. He left a wife and two children. Not only these bereaved ones will feel his loss. Those who knew him realize that a warm friend, a man of truth, integrity, modesty and sterling worth has been taken away, and that the pen of a careful, conscientious and intelli- gent observer and student has been laid down forever.—W. H. Dall. — The collection of the late Dr. Asa Fitch comprised one hun- dred and six heavy cork-lined boxes (the cartons liégés of Dey- rolle, 26 x 19% c.m.), nearly all of double depth, and with the ex- ception of a slight deposit of mold, easily removed, and a very small percentage of loose or broken specimens it is in excellent condi- tion. While the bulk of the material is from the United States, and principally of the doctor’s own collecting in the vicinity of his residence at Salem, Washington county, N. Y., there are also many species from all parts of the world received from exchanges with his correspondents, Drs. Sichel, Signoret, Fairmaire and Andrew Murray. The Coleoptera occupy eighteen boxes ; the Orthoptera, seven; Neuroptera, six; Hymenoptera, eight ; Lepi- doptera, twenty-one, of which four only contain the diurnal spe- cies. Both divisions of the Hemiptera are nobly represented, the Heteropterous by fourteen boxes, and the Homopterous, to which as most naturalists are aware the doctor devoted especial attention, fill twelve boxes, and preserve as do the other orders apparently all the types of the descriptions published in the New York State Agricultural Reports, and other articles. Five boxes exhibit an excellent set of American Diptera with many exotic forms, and four are devoted to Myriapoda, Arachnida and Crustacea. __ Some thousands of European and other exotic species received from Sichel, Signoret, A de la Cerda, and the late Rev. M. S. Cu ertson, who collected at Hong Kong, appear never to have been incorporated with the main collection, but are generally in good condition, occupying twenty-five or more boxes of various sizes. Several hundred biological illustrations, principally “ galls,” &c., occupy three or four double boxes, and are now in good order, but very liable to be disarranged in the event of transportation. — wo cases exhibit a vast amount of patient labor on the Ceci- 1880. | Scientific News. 229 domyia and allied genera, but have suffered seriously from the in- roads of Ptinus fur, which we caught in the act of demolition. An extensive collection of duplicates, including about one hun- dred thousand Coleoptera, and perhaps twenty-five thousand of all other orders, have been invaded by Dermestes /ardarius and injured to an extent not exceeding twenty per cent. These are contained in two pine cases, each containing about thirty-six slides or rim- , less drawers, in which the pins are feebly secured by slits or incis- ions in the wood. There are no traces of Anthrenus or Tinea, and little if any of the more minute museum pests in any part of the collection. One hundred and forty-eight small thick note-books contain in fine MSS., the locality, date of capture, &c., of nearly every speci- men; their numbers reaching fifty-five thousand ; the record com- mencing about the year 1833. Each species is accompanied by a brief diagnosis, followed on a subsequent page by a fuller descrip- tion with notes and observations. The whole forming an almost exhaustive descriptive catalogue of the collection of inestimable value and which should of course never be separated therefrom. Several microscopes, among them a valuable upright Nachet with all accessories, made expressly for the doctor, only a few years ago, and a large and valuable library containing many rare and Curious as well as unique works on entomological subjects are also stored in the small wooden building known as the “ Office,” a few rods in the rear of the hundred-year old homestead or dwel- ling-house. An extensive collection of minerals, as well as a few specimens of local birds and mammals and a good alcoholic collection of the Washington county reptiles and fishes also attest the labors of the eminent naturalist. _ — It is with sincere regret that we record the death, on Janu- ary 23d, of Dr. Thomas M. Brewer, the distinguished ornitholo- gist, whose geniality and courtesy won him friends all over thè country, and whose labors as a naturalist entitléd him to the Warm regard of all lovers of nature. Dr. Brewer paid, as is well known, Special attention to the study of the habits, nests and eggs of birds ; publishing an elaborate and beautifully illustrated trea- tise on the eggs of birds; he supplied this part to Baird, Brewer and Ridgway’s great book on the birds of the United States. _ Ur. Brewer was born November 21, 1814, graduated at Har- vard in 1835, and began the practice of medicine three years later. He was one of the oldest and most active of the working members of the Boston Society of Natural History; had just completed a catalogue of the large collection of humming birds of the Boston Society, in whose Proceedings most of his papers “ppeared, and had almost completed the collection of New _ England birds, which he had been at work upon for se 230 Scientific News. . { March, years. The society owes its large collection of bird’s eggs, and many of its choicest native birds to his labors — Volume x of the new edition of the Encyclopzdia. Brit- tanica just issued from the press, contains a long and elaborate article by Prof. Archibald Geikie on Geology. It is nearly as article in the Encyclopædia contains several sections, namely, the Cosmical Aspects of Geology, Geognosy, an inquiry into the materials of the Earth’s substance, Dynamical Geology, Structural Geology, Paleontological Geology, Stratigraphical Geology and Physiographical Geology. Like all the former works of Prof. Geikie, this article exhibits marked originality and great literary merit. ere are very few writers on scientific sub- jects on either side of the Atlantic who possess a more masterly use of the English language. — We have received the first number of the American Ento- mologist, Vol. 1, new series, edited by C. V. Riley and A. S. Fuller, and published by Max Jeegerhuber, 323 Pearl street, New York. It worthily continues the first series of this journal which was suspended nine years since. The number is replete with entertaining and popular matter most useful to farmers and hor- ticulturists, and deserving of the widest circulation. Articles on the hibernation of the cotton worm, by C. V. Riley, from advance sheets of Bulletin 3 of the U. S. Entomological Commission; on the food-habits of thrushes, by S. A. Forbes, and others of not less interest, with a number of shorter notes and paragraphs, render the contents varied and interesting. — The grand Walker prize of the Boston Society of Natural History, founded by the late Dr. William J. Walker, and be- stowed every ten years for excellence in original biological work, was, in January last, awarded to Professor Joseph Leidy, of Phila- delphia. Weerneed hardly say that the award will meet with the warm approval of every naturalist in the country, as Dr. Leidy, by his contributions to the comparative anatomy of both the Inverte- brates and Vertebrates, to Vertebrate palzontology, his studies on the Protozoa, the intestinal worms, and the work he has done in other directions most justly entitle him to this prize, which is a substantial one, amounting to $1000. _— We have been delayed in noticing the second contribution » from the E. M. Museum of Geology and Archzology of Princeton College, which embraces a topographic, hypsometric and meteor- ones report by William Libby, Jr, and W. W. McDonald, the Princeton Scientific Expedition 7 Colorado, Utah and | Wiyeaiias undertaken in 1877. The report is of very consideras ble value and contains a number of excellent ehgoenny of the 22 mountain zor i 1880. | Scientific News. ata — Theodore Fischer announces the publication of six of a series of Paleontological wall illustrations, which are one hundted ctm. broad, and one hundred and forty ctm. high, at the price of twelve marks a Lieferung, containing six plates, representing Protozoa, sponges, corals, Brachiopods and an_ ideal landscape of the coal formation. They are edited by Drs. Zittel and Haushofer. The whole collection will contain from forty-five to fifty diagrams, comprising seven landscapes, five or six plates of fossil plants, the remainder of fossil animals. — The Boston Society of Natural History proposes, as a part ° of the celebration of its fiftieth anniversary, to publish a hand- some quarto volume containing a series of illustrated articles in different branches of natural science, with a sketch of the society’s history, The volume will contain several hundred pages and many plates. The price of the volume has been fixed at $10. — Mr. Defrees, the public printer, will receive until June first, orders for the new edition of the Narrative of the Polaris, at two dollars per copy. The money must be sent him with the order. This is the splendid edition of which extra copies have been sold by authority of Congress at ten per cent. above the cost of press work and paper. _ — Mr. P. N. Seminoff, of the Natural History Faculty of the University of St. Petersburg, desires North American Coleop- tera in exchange for those of Russia. Any correspondence in regard to exchanges can be made through Hon. N. Shishkin, Washington, Russian Minister to the United States. — Dr. A. E, Foote’s Leisure Hour comes to us filled with use- ful information, especially on the subject of mineralogy, It also Presents us with the fullest sale list of the publications of cotem- porary American naturalists that exists, so far as we are aware. = Mr . George A. Bates has established at Salem, Mass., a Natu- ralists’ Bureau for the sale of works on natural history, authors’ extras of their scientific papers, and specimens. k Je _ ope our readers will bear these facts in mind and represent them m their friends, No popular scientific journal in the world pos- 232 Proc. of Sct. Socs. and Selected Articles tn Sci. Serials. [March. PROCEEDINGS OF SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES. AMERICAN GEOGRAPHICAL Society, New York, January 13.— A paper was read by B. R. Curtis, Esq., entitled A voyage around the world. February 10.—Prof. John B. McMaster read a papér entitled the Bad Lands, or Mauvaises Terres, of Wyoming New York ACADEMY OF SCIENCES, January aaa Hi Mott spoke on the diamond, its artificial production and uses. _ January 26.—Prof. J. S. Newberry remarked on some peculiar silver deposits in Utah and Colorado, and Mr. S. W. Ford spoke on the recent discoveries of fossils in the limestone of the Wap- pinger valley, N. Y Boston Socrery oF NATURAL History, January 21.—Mr. Dil- ler replied to Mr. Crosby’s remarks on the felsites north of Bos- ton; Mr. Crosby made a communication on distorted pebbles in February 4.—Dr. J. W. Fewkes described the pinnal sucker of certain Heteropods, and Mr. F. W. Putnam remarked on the for- mer Indians of Southern California and their relation to the origin of the red man of North America. At the meeting of the Section of Microscopy, Mr. M. E. Wadsworth spoke concerning the cutting of rock sections. APPALACHIAN Mountain Crus, January 14.—Prof. W. H. Niles delivered an address as the retiring president of the club February 1t.—Prof. E. C. Pickering spoke on tapke refraction, and Mr. W. H. Pickering addressed the club in refer- ence to future Arctic explorations. 0; ——— SELECTED ARTICLES IN SCIENTIFIC SERIALS. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF SCIENCE AND ARTS.—February. Notice of recent additions to the marine fauna of the eastern coast of North —— by A. E. Verrill. The limbs of Sauranodon, by O. C. Marsh. THE Geos MAGAZINE.— January. On some fossil bird remains from the Siwalik hills, India, by | W. Dav ANNALES DES SCIENCES NATURELLES, 1879. at the Plesiosau- rians and Elasmosaurians of the Upper Jurassic, by M. Sauvage. QUARTERLY JOURNAL OF MicroscopicaL ScIENCE.—January. On the development of the Spermatozoa. Part 1. Lumbricus, by J. E- Bloomfield. On the spinal nerves of Amphioxus, by F. M. Balfour. CANADIAN Entomotocist.—January. Description of the pre- paratory stages of Grapta progne, by W. H. Edwards. CANADIAN NATURALIST.— December 29, 1879. Hs yr foy- mation of the beds of the Great American lakes, by E. W. Clay- 809 Note on recent controversies respecting Eozoön canadense, id J. W. Dawson. A livi THE AMERICAN NATURALIST. VoL. xiv. — APRIL, 1880. — No. 4. PROTOPLASMIC DYNAMICS. BY PROF. W. S. BARNARD, PH.D. tes present general tendency of natural science is. towards unification. Formerly it was truly “ natural history,” analyti- cally descriptive and distinctive, while morphological classifica- tions were formed on external resemblances known as analogies, or on interna! structural analogies entitled homologies. But this stage of culture has passed its maturity, while the investigation of processes has introduced the natural, synthetic, explanatory stage, with its abundant results now appearing. The derivation of the physical forces from each other by trans- mutation, and from chemical and mechanical actions, which they are capable of originating again, the development of organisms from protoplasm, a substance, which, with its functions, all have in common, and the doctrine of the evolution of species, present - only some of the most important advances made toward a unita- rian system combining all objects and operations together as they are derived from each other. While some chemists expect that Organic chemical combinations may yet be obtained by uniting inorganic molecules in the laboratory as in the bodies of plants, carbon ebrtigiounids, the physiologists have decided that there are chemical. changes and physical forces associated with, and seem- ing to have a causal connection with, the production of organic Powers and functions. But there can be no positive certainty es this transition unless we can show how and why it necessarily — Z o RA: To effect this and to ene to trace c eea the : : ms Vhs HAV. ry, 16 à and thetic are those who think with Haeckel that the very lowest . may arise by sp generation from the higher 234 Protoplasmic Dynamics. [ April, combination of some of the fundamental operations, whether physiological, mechanical, physical or chemical, as they exist in one continuous process pertaining to protoplasmic things, is my present undertaking. I.—Protoplasm masses and molecules, or their parts, may be set in motion by the impact or attraction of active masses or molecules or atoms, without or within. The agitations thus imparting themselves are various and, be- cause communicative, may be regarded as excitants or incitive actions, already called stimuli or irritants. These include mass- motions, such as pressure, blows and friction; molecular motions, chiefly vibratory or oscillatory, as sound, electricity, light and heat; also atomic motions; and with these are the attractions be- longing to these divisions of matter respectively, as gravitation (weight), cohesion and adhesion (osmotic, diffusive, capillary, &c.), and finally chemism. Important sources of some of these are the chemical reactions of oxygen, water, and the ingested nutriment, constituents with each other and with the protoplasm elements ; others proceed from contact with the active materials of the envi- ronment; while the sun also continually contributes. ; II.—All the above disturbing forces tend to cause the displace- ment, mutilation, fission or decomposition of molecules or their parts, which is especially easily accomplishable against weak com- binations of ponderous, complex molecules, such as distinguish organic bodies. I1I.—When molecules or their parts are thus separated, their combining powers are set free, and this liberation of attractional forces will be sustained by the continued operation of the original displacement forces, or may become, to some extent, self-propa- gated after their cessation by the disturbance (heat, &c.) resulting from recombination; for the impact of every union manifests itself in new disturbing fortá, which, in turn, may disband other attrac- tions, from which further combinations follow. An illustration of this self-sustained process is common in every — 5 form of combustion. The little heat-agitation applied to a very small part of the mass to be consumed, frees attractions there, which satisfy themselves by uniting with the ever-present oxygen, thereby generating more heat, sufficient to renew itself by indu- — cing further chemical reaction so long as fed with the materiak for consumption. 1880. | Protoplasmie Dynamics. B IV.—These free combining powers, acting together, constitute plasma attraction or affinity, and are the force and source of organic power. Their mode of utilization we shall see further on. Though strange indeed that attraction as the great fountain of power in organisms has been overlooked, it has probably remained so from lack of seeing the application of this most abundant of all forces to the driving of the vital machine, even as we were late in learning the use of the expanding power of steam. Without looking among the attractions for the propelling power, the impression has prevailed that if anything is necessary, more than the assumption of an independent vital force, it must be looked for in forces like heat and electricity, which are freed by chemical combination, and evidently are of great importance, especially in the higher organisms as communicative and excitive of agitations inducing the liberation of attractions which collectively constitute the immediate organizing and working power. Concerning this matter Herbert Spencer (Princ. Biol., Vol. 1, pp. 55) says, “ We have as yet no clue to the mode in which molecular movement is transformed into the movement of masses.” Also in this connection three papers may be cited as fairly showing the chief facts and theories bearing on this question and respectively pertaining to the three kinds of active tissues of the higher organisms: I, Engelmann. Die Flimmerbewegung. Jenaische Zeitschrift, 2. Charles. The mode of Propagation of Nervous on Journal of Anatomy for October, 1879. 3- Armsby. The source of Muscular Power. Popular Science Monthly for October, 1879. The first of these is an exceedingly important volume of inves- tigations, showing. the effeċts of chemical re-agents, and the physical and mechanical forces in accelerating or retarding, intro- ducing or stopping the action of dead and- living. cilia, also affirming the constancy and fundamental importance- of. the inbibitional swelling, and the conclusions of others, that like oe veactions are obtained from all the contractile tissues. The second defines the two propagation-processes seed a to nerve impulses; the vibratory hypothesis and the chemical a hypothesis, giving the facts on which the latter is founde Ww wa. fe the conclusion that it a cane — the forn 236 Protoplasmic Dynamics. [ April, The final decision will probably be that both these processes exist throughout the gray protoplasm of the nervous system, but that the chemical predominates in the ganglial cells, the vibratory in the axial plasma. p The third is a presentation of the chief facts-and conclusions pertaining to its subject, and with such decided bearings on the topic before us that we must notice it more particularly. By way of introduction the following statements represent a doctrine which is now largely taught and accepted. “The question of the source of muscular power is essentially a question concerning transformation of energy. The most char- acteristic distinction between plants and animals is, that the for- mer appropriate force from outside themselves, from sunlight, and tore it up as potential energy in the various complex compounds which they form in; while animals draw their supplies of force entirely from those compounds in which it has been stored up by plants, and from which it is set free again when they are decom- ` posed in the organism.” “In a word, the plant converts the actual energy of the sun- light into the potential energy of organic compounds, the animal converts the potential energy of the organic compounds into actual energy, which manifests itself as heat, motion, electricity, etc.; in the plant the spring is coiled up, in the animal it uncoils, exerting an amount of energy equivalent to that which coiled it. One of the forms which this energy takes on is that of muscular motion, which we thus trace back to the potential energy of food, and through this to that great source of all energy to our earth, the sun.” “We are not, however, satisfied with knowing in this general way that it is the food we eat which serves as a vehicle to convey to us our needful supply of sun-force.” — We agree that there is “ energy of food,” that “ plants store up * * * * energy in the various complex compounds which they form in,” but when it is called “sun-force” appropriated “ from sun-light” and stored up, we dissent, for it is attractional force inherent in terrestrial matter independent of the sun, and from which probably none has been received since our globe wasa part of her fiery mass. Similarly Professor Carpenter (Correlation — and Conservation of Forces, pp. 404-5) speaks, “Thus in either case we come, directly or indirectly, to solar radiation as the main _ spring of our mechanical power; the ws viva of our whole microcosm.” And thus too much power is now-a-days often ae tributed to the present influence of the sun and the ungulatory 1880. | Frotoplasmic Dynamics. 237 forces, and too little to the attractional forces of matter. The author speaks of the force several times as “potential” and “latent” energy, but these words in such connection are ne no more than blanks. This valuable conclusion agrees with that of Professor Flint (and others),—“ All the facts seem to indicate ‘that muscular force originates in a splitting up of some substance in the muscle accompanied by the liberation of force” (p. 822). The next conclusion should be that combining power is the only immediate force that can be freed by fission among muscle mole- cules, This will appear if we thoroughly understand the nature and relations of the powers in question, for it is necessary to dis- tinguish all forces sharply into two groups: 1, the aééractional (gravity, adhesion, cohesion, chemism), and 2, the zmpactive or momentum forces of masses, molecules and atoms (in mass- motions, sound, electricity, heat and light). Those of one group are not convertible into, but oppose those of the other, and while the latter set may, by opposition, often disengage the former, the latter are but the recoi (which may propagate itself) from the ac- tions produced by the former group. V. The plasma-affinity, which is the joint action of its freed attractions, is its imbibing force, exerting a hydraulic suction power, manifested in a circulation into the part affected and the resultant swelling of the same, from which all the mass motions of organisms proceed. he initial movement is the circulation among the attracting molecules with its general direction toward the point where the greatest amount of chemismic power is being freed, and: such as necessarily precedes chemical unions of dilute fluid constituents with those of fixed, elastic, porous bodies; for the matter im- ibed consists of the water solution of oxygen, nutriment and disengaged plasma-molecules. Most common examples of ex- Pansive and circulatory movements resulting from combining — Power are not in their details parallel with those of the proto- plasmic substance, The activities from heat and from affinities freed by heat in ordinary combustion, which naturally come to- mind first, present an altogether different case. If the combin- ing element, oxygen, was only in a solution permeating every- _ _ Where to act throughout the entire mass, the resultant ac- tivity would be, instead of a swelling of heated surrounding air, e Semion of the solid mass, And we must alte gobs a 238 Protoplasmic Dynamics. [ April, that the protoplasm contains, besides oxygen, many other re- agents as its stored food-constituents; that there are also more of the volatile elements in its composition, which is more com- plex while its consistency is that of elastic viscosity. ‘Further, the oxidation in organic fluids cannot be so intense and generates but a comparatively small amount of heat, so little that it is eliminated by conduction without appearing in such vast quanti- ties as to induce a boiling or convectional circulation, while the chemical reactions of the organized plasma-components are ex- ceedingly slow and weak, yielding but little heat. The intersusception and interpolation of new matter into the plasma is by zmbibition, which also is the method of ingestion of nutriment by the plasma of cells and the lowest organisms. This imbibition process is a well-established concomitant to all plasma- action, but while its value as a nutritive power determining the peculiarities of nutrition and growth has been esteemed, its great importance in the production of mass-motions has not become understood. Vi—ZJmbibitional swelling, in some respects, simulates that resulting from inorganic absorption and diffusion, but is markedly different, especially since the engaged combining powers act stronger than those freed, so that it does not result in a dissolu- tion or solution of the imbibing substance, while the increase of distension intensifies its tension and elasticity. To understand the possibility of this swelling without rupture of the chemismic bonds in organic bodies, we may have to regard their constituents as grouped into filamentous branches or a spongy mesh, in sym- metrical order, and remember that they are certainly very com- plex, for, according to recent chemical theories, some of the albumenoid molecules may contain a thousand atoms. Let us now classify the principal kinds of plasma-motion while trying to explain how each is attained. 1. Axial Procession. —Let x—y represent a surface on which a a lump of plasma is shown in sec- _— Cag tion, the heavy portion of its out- | J ine indicating that part of its sur- face which is acted on by light or some other decomposing force. Imbibition from within to this tract is induced and it swells thereby advancing slightly toward the light, while gravity pulls it down $O at an ea descending movement of the front’ manget i 2 1880. | Protoplasmic Dynamics. 239 results while the upper and inner adjacent plasma supplies its place to swell and follow, and so on, the mass advances. This kind of motion is very common in some Amcebas. ` 2. Axial Exsertion—The imbibitional swelling may be still more local from either external or internal excitation and thereby produce pseudopodal protuberation, and in Amcebas we often observe the transition from the pseudopodal to the total proces- sion. In both cases these animals show a marked circulation towards the swelling point in the protruding part. 3. Lateral Deflection may be produced in any elongated mass by lateral superficial imbibitional swelling, as in the ee area of the pseudopod x—y causing its deflection to r—y’. By this method alternating from side to side, the vibrations of the pseudo- pods of free-swimming, rotating x rhizopods and the flagellate and ciliate action of infusorians, rotifers and other organisms are effected, probably under control of elec- tro-chemical impulses in their own substance. The sort illus- trated above may be called the monomeric while the polymeric or undulatory form also appears as shown in the figure, the - white swollen regions being several and alternately dis- posed. Again, should the imbibition follow a spiral line, spiral contortions and cycloidal figures result. : A good method of showing imbibitional deflection is to use a very thin strip of gelatin, such as is employed by lithographers for tracings. Let a-b represent the sheet as seen edgewise and standing erect, held at a. b Now if it be breathed on gently at the point indicated by the arrow, it will quickly bend over -7 to 4’. This is by imbibition of the moisture of R E TN the breath on one side causing it to swell. The ; y thinner the sheet is the quicker will the flexure - ; appear, and by comparison we may judge that with filaments as fine as cilia it should result with the same rapidity that characterizes cilia aw a Motion. The thin mass erects itself as promptly - ofits own accord, but still more sudden if moisture be breathed ee 7 7 240 Protoplasmic Dynamics. [ April, on the opposite side. And thus by breathing on one side and then on the other the vibration back and forth may be produced several times. Of course, in actual cilia the conditions are very different, for the material to be imbibed is ever present, while the imbibitional attraction is alternately freed first on one side and then on the other apparently by a chemico-electric, electro-motor process. And those who think it necessary to suppose a vital force here must be reminded that, according to Engelmann (op. cit. pp. 463-4), weeks after death, on stinking, decaying mem- branes, the cilia can be set in action by adding their normal con- ditions of oxygen, water and temperature. 4. Zonate expansion with axial contraction, in a monomeric form pertains especially to such retractile parts as pseudopods, some cilia, and unstriated muscle cells, from imbibition in a zone of the conical or cylindriform part. The engorgement of this zone causes an influx into it shortening the long axis and tending to yield a spheroid form. In this way muscle cells and pseudopods broaden and shorten themselves, the latter sometimes to such an extent as to attain the diameter of the main mass, into which they thus merge. In the diagrams the light parts represent the expanding zones. With the poly- meric form of the striated muscle cells, . undulatory outlines result from the swell- ing of many successive zones giving greater and quicker contraction than in the smooth spindle cells. In this connection it must be borne in mind that a muscle’s action is only a resultant of the joint action of all its cells and that.attraction is the vs æ tergo of organic ex- pansion and contraction. 5. Contra-actional retraction we can presume as the reverse of the exsertive, its center of imbibition being at the base of the pseudopod which becomes drawn to it. 6. Spherogenic ballancement would occur from equal expansion -in all directions and cause the mass to assume a spherical form. VII.—The processes described above produce all the mass- motions of organisms, which are of a kinds and may be chiefly — grouped as: i Locomotive, for transporting individuals from m to SF o 1880. | Protoplasmic Dynamics. 241 2. Supportive, for maintaining the normal relative position of parts and opposing gravity. 3. Prehensional, including all kinds of manipulatory actions. 4. Peristaltive, the motor actions of hollow organs on their con- tents, embracing swallowing, gastrition, peristaltition, the contrac- tions of sphincters, the heart, blood-vessels (circulative), &c. VilIl.—The molar and mass-impact and frictional wear and tear from the above operations yield mechanical heat and elec- tricity with structural degeneration. IX.—To maintain the conditions of all these activities the com- bining process must go on intermittingly or constantly. The fractional molecules must unite with each other, with imbibed food-constituents (nutritive assimilation) or with oxygen. X.—From this we have chemical heat and electricity with the processes of protoplasmic extraction, secretion and excretion of fluids, Though heat and electricity must naturally appear more or less from all the chemical unions in plasma of whatever tissues, we may look upon the oxidizing process as the greatest source of chemical heat, while the ganglial and muscle cells are to be looked upon as the batteries in which chemical combination generates most of the neural electricity. To illustrate the rela- tions existing here, we may suppose the light to cause molecular agitation in the retinal nerve-ending and to propagate itself inward. Entering the ganglial plasma, it frees attractions, whence recom- bination results, generating nerve electricity discharged along the motor nerve and naturally causing some chemical reaction in it, but producing its greatest effect in the terminal muscle cell, which is charged as a receiver, the continued agitation keeping its attrac- tions freed, sustaining imbibitional zonate expansion with axial- contraction, from which mass-motion results. In the so-called — voluntary motion it would seem as though the ganglial agitation was excited from within and the same consequences follow. The recombination occurring in the muscle substance probably also generates recurrent electricity, which reacts = the nerve - ee centers, us Finally, organic combining power is abt only motor power, ee but also “growth-force,” the vis a tergo of plasma-nutrition, : growth and development, producing (by coöperation with con- soning forces) all the diverse and wandani form- a - 242 A Sketch of Comparative Embryology. [ April; the kinds of which, like the varieties of mass-motion, are deter- mined through localized imbibition. On this account, and be- cause the motor acts have laid out the paths of growth, the paral- lelism between the series of morphological processes and of the motor processes is strikingly complete; but a presentation of these details, in the same order, must remain for the future. d :0:—— A SKETCH OF COMPARATIVE EMBRYOLOGY. BY CHARLES SEDGWICK MINOT. Il.—THE FERTILIZATION OF THE OVUM. N the previous article we traced the relation of the genoblasts, or sexual products, to the cells from which they arise. We have now to consider the manner in which these products effect the creation of a new and complete animal. Now, the bodies of all animals are composed of cells and the productions of cells, hence to make an animal the first thing is to furnish cells. Ac- cording to the theory propounded in the last article, an egg rep- resents one part, a spermatozoon another part of a cell, hence a fusion of the two would again make a single perfect cell. This fusion actually occurs, and is called the impregnation or fertiliza- tion of the ovum. Our knowledge of this phenomenon is extremely imperfect. It has, however, been the object of several important researches during the last few years, but we must wait for much more extended investigations before we can make any satisfactory gen- eralizations. The following order of events is that which our present knowledge renders most probable—it must be remem- bered that we are dealing only with a probability. A single spermatozoon enters the egg and fuses with it. After the ejec- tion of the polar globules, the dares o the egg isa small body which lies near the periphery, i th the globules. It then is called the female pronucleus, and tavelocowhy or how is not known—towards the center of the egg, where it finally remains. A system of radiating lines runs out from it into the yolk, making, together with the LOTRE the so-called female . BUT. 1880. | A Sketch of Comparative Embryology. 243 At some time during these changes, whether sooner or later perhaps does not matter, a single spermatozoon enters the egg. As the egg or yolk is surrounded by envelops, it is evident that either the spermatozoa must enter before the coverings are formed, or that it must have some way of passing them. For instance, in the hen the spermatozoa attain the yolk before the hard shell is formed in the oviduct. In other instances there is a special opening, often having a peculiar structure, which admits the passage of the spermatozoa, and is called the micropyle, Fig. 10. This opening is of course not an essential part of an egg, and merely permits the egg to be protected by an impermeable shell without excluding the spermato- zoon. It is asserted that in some cases z the micropyle is not a real opening, but vend Sapari EE only a permeable spot through which the spermotozoön can work its way (Kupffer). It was stated above that only a single spermatozoon enters the yolk. The way in which the entrance of a second one is pre- vented is not definitely determined yet. It has, however, been stated by Fol and by Kupffer and Benecke that in the eggs observed by them (star-fish and lamprey) there is no vitelline membrane around the egg until after impregnation, when a com- plete envelop is rapidly formed by the yolk, effectually excluding all other spermatozoa. If this view is correct, then the egg has no proper cell membrane until after its fertilization; and all the coverings it has before that event, are only secreted around it by other cells, and not by itself. When a spermatozoon penetrates into an egg, the head goes in first ; after which the nucleus it contains loses its peculiar shape, transforming itself within the yolk into a small spherical or irreg- ularly-shaped male pronucleus. The tail disappears—how is not known, This pronucleus, like the female, is surrounded by radiating lines, so that there is also a male aster. At this time the egg, as shown in Fig. 11, contains two pronuclei, and is still Connected with the polar globules. The second pronucleus also travels towards the center of the egg, where the two pronuclei — Meet, both having meanwhile enlarged considerably. After coming in contact the two pronuclei fuse completely, making a — ae 244 A Sketch of Comparative Embryology. [ April, single body, to which the very appropriate name of segmentation nucleus has been given. Possibly a contraction of the impreg- nated egg always occurs, either during or immediately after the entrance of the spermatozoon, so that a space intervenes between the yolk and the envelops of the egg. As little heed has been paid to this point, we are uncertain about it. We thus have seen that a male and female element unite and make a single Hig: Eer of Nephelis perfect cell. This fact offers a very ne hours after waei m, strong support to the theory that cells male,—f, female ucleus ; p.g., polar globules ; pi Hert. Contain two sexual constituents in a wig. atent condition, and are therefore to be considered either hermaphroditic or sexless. It has long been known that the egg of every animal must be impregnated by the spermatozoa of its own species, while on the other hand reproduction is dependent upon a certain dissimilarity, the existence of which is well established, although its nature cannot be even hypothetically explained. When the parents have been closely related for several generations, the sexual products alter in such a way that they cannot produce a complete animal by their fusion, although fusion with an element from another less closely related individual is still effectual. From these circum- stances arises the necessity of cross breeding, a fact which has been so much discussed in public that I need not occupy further space to describe it. In a very few cases the genoblasts of nearly related species may unite efficiently, producing an animal par- taking of the character of both parents—in short, a hybrid. Such exceptions are, however, extremely rare. Since the offspring inherit the peculiarities of the parents, it is evident that the transmission must take place through the geno- blasts, and various theories have been propounded to account for it, but no view has yet been brought forward which can justly be termed satisfactory, not even excepting the theory of pangenesis. The formation of the impregnated egg, with its segmentation nucleus, marks the beginning of new cycle of life, for the cell SO. 2 formed is endowed with a mysterious and remarkable power, which entirely distinguishes it from almost every other kind Of; cell known at present. The fertilized ovum is charged with free a 1880. | A Sketch of Comparative Embryology. 245 which cause it to divide into numerous cells, and cause these cells to arrange themselves upon the model of the parents which formed the egg and spermatozoa, and to imitate the peculiarities of the cells in each locality, making an eye where the parent had an eye, a gland where the parent had a gland—only the imitation is imperfect, the offspring is not absolutely the same as the parent. Evidently the fusion of the genoblast is the source of an increased vitality and of a formative power which is specific in each case, í. e., the action and result of which is predetermined. This marvelous formative power has always excited the inter- est and astonishment of naturalists. Itis one of the fundamental distinctions of life, since no similar power occurs in inorganic nature. Itis important to note, therefore, that it must enter into all cells, otherwise some of them would not form in the right place and manner. That other cells than the fertilized ovum contain such a power is shown by the formation of buds and strobila, and more strikingly by the development of pseudova. In the latter instance, the development begins with a cell arising in the ovary, and which resembles an ordinary egg very closely. Such cells are formed in various animals, notably in the plant lice, but, although they are so like eggs, the pseudova differ by being capable of developing intó a complete animal without impregnation. ` For want of space, it is impossible to describe the formation of buds and strobila, let it therefore suffice to say, that the reproduc- tion depends in both cases upon the separation of a cluster of cells (instead of a single cell or pseudovum) from the body of the pa- rent. This cluster grows up into a complete animal, in which the Structure of the parent, or sometimes of the grandparent, is imi- tated by the action of the formative force of the cluster of cells. Hence it is evident that a similar power is bestowed upon several cells, which is the thesis we started to prove. II.—SEGMENTATION AND THE FORMATION OF THE After the impregnation has been completed, and the two pro- nuclei have fused, to form the segmentation-nucleus, there usually follows a period of quiescence, during which no visible changes Occur. It is rot known whether such a period is always intercalated - in the course of development; but it has been observed frequently. _ After this pause the process of segmentation begins, which has for ee 246 A Sketch of Comparative Embryology. [ April, its essential purpose the multiplication of cells; the further his- tory of the egg is a description of the way in which the cells, con- stantly on the increase, arrange themselves in definite order, until they have gradually created, or, more truly, become, the adult animal. The object of embryology is to discover the laws ac- cording to which this arrangement is developed. We, of necessity, begin with a study of the process of segmenta- tion; but the details are so numerous that we can indicate only a few of them. The first result is the formation of two sets of cells. In one set the cells are small; in the other set they are large. Except in the sponges, the small cells form the outside covering of the body, appearing as a sac, or vesicle. The large cells form the lining of the digestive canal, or primitive stomach, and are, therefore, enclosed in the outer vesicle made by the small cells. It appears that this disposition arises in two entirely distinct ways. First, the cells formed by segmentation arrange themselves in the shape of a sphere, hollow inside, and its walls consisting of a con- tinuous layer of cells. One half is composed of small cells; the other half of large cells. Second, the result of segmentation is likewise a hollow sphere, but with double walls; the outer wall of small cells, the inner wall of large cells. In both cases the sphere transforms itself into a so-called gastrula. In the first in- stance, the large cells become inverted inwards, or, in technical language, invaginated; while the small cells grow down and around the others, until they encase them, leaving only a small opening, the primitive mouth. In the second instance, an open- ing breaks through both walls, thus making a mouth. This method of development is much rarer than the other, and unfortunately has never been studied in a thoroughly satisfactory manner. The accompanying figure A is a very simple form, such displays diagrammatically the — 7 | principal forms of gastrula. Fic ee coe of epia modi- aS occurs among Echino- 4 o fications W the Gastrula. cf. Text. A-E derms The adiiferenct = represent sections. cells is slight, but evident. In B, the difference is more marked, 1880. | A Sketch of Comparative Embryology. 247 and fairly represents a gastrula of Amphioxus. In C, the differ- ence is very great, and corresponds to a form observed in certain Gasteropods. In D, the inner set is no longer separated into dis- tinct cells, although there are a number of nuclei, each of which marks the center of a future cell. In such an instance we should regard the whole inner set as a nutritive yolk, not yet transformed into a definite cell-layer. This figure is particularly instructive, because it shows that what we call the yolk is not something dis- tinct from the germ, but really belongs to the inner layer of the embryo. Æ shows a. similar egg, in which the outer set of cells has not yet grown around the yolk. This 4 outer layer was called by the earlier embry- ologists the blastoderm, in all those eggs with a great deal of yolk. F shows the Same egg not in section, but seen from the outer surface, to exhibit the cap of small cells, or the blastoderm, resting upon the large yolk. Those eggs in which the differ- fis i i Formion si ence in size between the two sets of cells is the blastoderm in Oniscus not excessive (A-C) are called holodlastic, ™¥707s after Bobretzky. while those in which the yolk remains more or less intact for a considerable time (D-F) are termed meroblastic. In order more fully to illustrate the peculiarities of the process of segmentation, it is necessary to consider the holoblastic eggs further. Fig. 13 represents an actual section of an egg of the sow-bug, Oniscus, after Bobretzky, corresponding very nearly to the diagram Æ, of Fig. 12. Fig. 14 is a similar sec- tion through the egg of a moth (Pieris crataegi), and shows a number of nuclei, each surrounded by a little mass of protoplasm, and scattered irregularly through the yolk. Their number 3 gradually increases, and each one becomes the oa ee center of a distinct cell. This is merely a pecu- pon S 14 fee liar modification of the ordinary method of cell ing egg of a moth; — division into two equal parts, for in the moths and“ neater 8 butterflies and some other animals the large yolk divides gradually, _ P o ©) Pre ey A P, na A a A a. 9 CY F ”; ey Ee ee by forming several nuclei, and so breaking up into a considerable - ae number of cells piled up one over the other. ` We shall have oc- — 248 A Sketch of Comparative Embryology. [ April, casion to recur to this matter in speaking of the development of vertebrates. i j The embryology of sponges is important frontiè they do not have any gastrula. It will be described in our next article. - Ex- cept in the sponges, the small cells form the outside layer and are called the ectoderm, while the large cells form the inside layer, or entoderm. In England the attempt has been made to substitute epiblast for ectoderm, and hypoblast for entoderm, but the change seems to me useless and confusing. In face of the present ten- dency to substitute new and difficult for old and simple names every protest is desirable. Compounding English polysyllables from Latin and Greek confers, in most cases, no benefit to science. The coining of such terms ought to be restricted in its applica- tion to things which have no accepted name and for which no straightforward English term can be found. The next Pi after the formation of the ectoderm and ento- derm does not occur among all animals, but > only in those above the / Ceelenterates. I refer to the development of a dis- tinct middle layer of cells, the mesoderm, situated as shown in Fig. 15, be- tween the two primitive layers. Of the origin and characteristics of the mesoderm I shall treat in the next article. Fic. 15.—Section of a al sine of oho cept A great many embryos lividus, after Selenka; — live in the water, and have the power of locomotion long before they have any muscles. For this purpose the ectoderm in these forms is provided with cilia or vibratile hairs, which may be longer (Fig. 15) or shorter. In most free embryos, moving by cilia, we find distinct bands, — along which the cilia are more developed and powerful ; as the ciliated bands are often pigmented, while the rest of the embryo is transparent or light-colored, SA are very conspicuous. We shall have to recur to them. The authorities for the general views advanced above are the _ 1880. | A Sketch of Comparative Embryology. 249 discussions in a long series of special papers. Prof. Haeckel’ has written a great deal upon the: gastrula and its significance, and has published several popular works on embryology. Unfortu- nately, he is inaccurate and untrustworthy to a degree surpassing any other scientific writer I can recall, for on almost every page are mistakes it requires little knowledge to detect. He is, there- fore, utterly useless to the beginner. I mention this, not alone as my personal conviction, but also as the judgment of competent and distinguished critics, some of whom are even more severe in thein condemnation, For these considerations I shall not quote Haeckel as an authority. The references to some of the special papers I have consulted will be given hereafter. E. GENERAL PAPERS ON THE GERM LAYERS. 31. Agassiz, Alexander. Critique de la Gastræa theorie. (Traduit par Schneider.) Arch. Zool. expt. Tome tv, p. 1x (1875). Also Mem. Amer. Acad. x, No. 3. 32. Lankester, E. Ray. On the Primitive Cell Layers of the Embryo, etc., etc. Ann. and Mag. of Nat. History, Vol. x1 (1873), p. 321-338. - Notes on the Embryology and Classification of the Animal Kingdom, etc. Quart. Journ. Micros. Sci. 1877. p: 399- 34. Minot, C. S.. Recent Investigations of Embryologists, etc. Proc. Boston S. N. H. Vol. xIx, p. 165. (A brief summary.) 35- Moquin-Tandon. De quelques applications de Embryologie à la classification méthodique des animaux. Ann. Sci. Nat. Zool., 11 (1875), Art. 7. - Salensky. Bemerkungen über Haeckel’s Gastræatheorie. Archiv f. Naturges. Bd. 1. Jahrg. 40 (1874). - Semper, Carl. Kritische Gänge. No. 11. Die Keimblätter theorie. Verh. phys, med. Gesell. Würzburg. Bd. (1873), p. 222. Qə D Q3 m ! “ Professor Hacckel’s principal articles on the Gastrula are to be found in the Jena Zeitschrift für Naturwissenschaften, Band. VII, p: 1, and Biologische. Studien, a tes Heft. 1877. Haeckel introduced the term Gastrula, and his writings and spec- ulations have afforded a powerful stimulus to waits”: research.” seis VOL. XIV,—nNo, rv, 17 250. Progress of Invertebrate Paleontology in [April, PROGRESS OF INVERTEBRATE PALÆONTOLOGY IN THE UNITED STATES FOR THE YEAR 1879. BY, DR. C. A. WHITE; A the operations of men’s minds are not subject to the calen- dar, it is difficult to select any specified period of time and say just what progress in any one branch of investigation has been made within it. Therefore, in this popular review of Ameri- can palæontological labors for 1879, both the distal and proximal boundaries of the year will be held somewhat loosely. That is, in giving a summary of the work done, all writings will. be men- tioned which have been published either originally or in their latest form, even such as appeared in the earliest days of the year; and mention will be made, not only of such works as are known to be in press at the close of the year, but also of such as are known to be in course of preparation then. These anticipatory notices have been made from information kindly communicated by the various authors who are referred to. No work, however inconspicuous, has been intentionally omitted from bibliographi- cal notice, but even the most obscure are mentioned, leaving the question of sufficiency or insufficiency of publication to be decided by the custom of naturalists. The writer, in connection with Prof. H. Alieyne Nicholson, having published a Bibliogra- phy of North American Invertebrate Paleontology, which, with a supplement, extended to the close of the year 1878, the follow- ing account of the publications for 1879 may be made, to serve rudely as a continuation of the portion of that bibliography which relates to the United States. The reader may readily separate this bibliographical matter from the personal gossip, of which the article is largely composed. : The list of Americans now living who have at some time or other, and to a greater or less extent, contributed to the literature of invertebrate paleontology, is a rather long one, and yet the names of a large majority of them do not appear in connection with any publication of the past year. Among the active workers in this field is first to be mentioned the veteran palzontologist, Prof. James Hall, who is still engaged with his great series oF works for the State of New York, upon which he has bestowed — the unremitting labor of almost forty years, no one of which has been more fruitful of important results than the one just passed. 1880. ] the United States for the year 1879. 251 Volume v of his great series is just completed, and will, doubt- less, be in the hands of scientific workers within a few weeks. It is in two parts—really two volumes—part 1 containing the text, and part 11 the plates. I regret that it has not been practicable to obtain a résumé of the contents of this volume, but it is safe to say that it is a worthy companion of any one of the series which has preceded it, the appearance of each one of which has marked an epoch in the literature of American paleontology. In 1862 Prof. Hall published in the Transactions of the Albany Institute, descriptions of a large and remarkable collection of Niagara fos- sils at the then newly-discovered locality near Waldron, Indiana. In 1876 he published in the documentary edition of the Twenty- eighth Report of the Regents of the University of New York, full illustrations of these fossils, but without any accompanying text. In the museum edition of the Twenty-eighth Report, just printed, Prof. Hall publishes full. descriptions of all those fossils, together with the republished illustrations, embracing more than one hundred pages of text. In March of 1879, he also read before the Albany Institute, “ Descriptions of New Species of Fossils from the Niagara Formation at Waldron, Indiana.” This work is now published in the form of a twenty-page pamphlet, and contains descriptions of upward of forty new species and one new genus. Ampheristocrinus, Palzeontologists will rejoice that this remark- able fauna of the Niagara period is at last fully before them, In addition to the descriptions and illustrations of the Niagara fossils, Prof. Hall also publishes in the Twenty-eighth Report just mentioned, a paper, illustrated by three large plates, entitled “ Notice of some remarkable crinoidal forms from the Lower Helderberg Group.” He here establishes the new genus Camaro- crinus, of which he describes three species. A part of the re- markable fossils upon which this paper is based have been in the hands of Prof. Hall for many years; and a part of them were lately collected in Tennessee by Prof. J. M. Safford, who read a ~ paper on them last summer at the Saratoga meeting of the Amer- — ‘can Association for the Advancement of Science. Besides these important works, Prof. Hall has a brief illustrated ‘article on — the genus Plumulina in the Thirtieth Report of the New York tate Museum, just published, and he also read a palzon- tological paper at the Saratoga meeting of the American Asso- ciation for the Advancement of Science. The Thirty-second — 252 Progress of Invertebrate Paleontology in [ April, Report of the New York State Museum is in press; it contains descriptions of the Bryozoa of the Lower Helderberg group, adding fifty or sixty species to the list of those published in ʻa former report ; all being the work of Prof. Hall. The time of Prof. R. P. Whitfield, for the past year, has been largely employed in his duties at the American Museum of Nat- ural History at New York, and at the Troy Polytechnic Institute, but he has, meantime, continued his work upon the Palzeontology of the States of Ohio and Wisconsin, the results of which are to appear in Vol. 111 of the former and Vol. 1 of the latter, respect- ively, both of which volumes are well advanced toward comple- tion. At the Saratoga meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, he read a paper on the Occurrence of rocks representing the Marcellus shale of New York, in Cen- tral Ohio; and published in the September number of the Arneri- can Fournal of Science.and Arts, p. 22, a note on the Occurrence of Maclurea magna in the Barnegat (Chazy) limestone near New- burg, N. Y. These:are brief papers, but they are important applications of paleontological identification of fossil forms to the elucidation of geological problems. 7 Besides these, he has published in the same journal for January, 1880, pages 33-42, an article on “ New Forts of Fossil Crusta- ceans from the Upper Devonian of Ohio,” in which he proposes the genera Echinocaris and Paleopalemon, describing three new species under the former, and one under the latter genus. He has also prepared a description and figures of a large and inter- esting Cretaceous brachyuran crustacean, Paramithrax (?) walkeri, which will appear in connection with the palzontological work of the writer of this article, in the Annual Report for 1878 of the U. S. Geological Survey, lately in charge of Dr. Hayden. His work for the Paleontology of Ohio will be illustrated by from fourteen to eighteen’ plates of figures. One of these plates will be devoted to the illustration of his new forms of Devonian Crus- taceans already mentioned, and one of them, in part, to the illus- tration of those forms upon which he bases his conclusions of the occurrence of Marcellus shale in Ohio, also before mentioned. The report will contain descriptions of new and known forms from the Lower Helderberg, Upper Helderberg and Upper De- vonian; also the entire known fauna of the Maxwell limestone (=Chester and St. Louis series) and some other upper and lower 1880. ] the United States for the year 1879. 253 Carboniferous forms, some of which are referred to the horizon of the Burlington limestone. ‘His work on the Paleontology of Wisconsin is now ready for the printer and engraver, and will be issued some time during the year 1880. A total of one hundred and eighty-nine species are illustrated by twenty-six plates of figures, which fossils are referred to the following formations: Potsdam, Lower Magnesian, Trenton and Galena, Hudson River, Niagara, Guelph, Lower Helderberg and Hamilton. He recognizes Triplesia, Holopea and Bellerophon, and a second species of Palwacmea in the Potsdam; and also Ziiipsocephalus and the peculiar genus Ag/asfis, of Hall, in the same formation, thus adding materially to our knowledge of the fauna of the Pots- dam period, and to the previously known range of some of the genera mentioned. The Lower Magnesian epoch he finds repre- Sented in Wisconsin by the genera Dikellocephalus, Mlenurus, Metoptoma and Scevogyra, the latter being a new genus of sinis- tral gasteropods. He also proposes a new genus of corals, Cys- Zostylus, among the fossils of the Niagara group. His’ palzonto- logical recognition of the Guelph limestone in Wisconsin, is im- portant;.and he also describes new forms from that formation. Some of the species recognized as new among the Wisconsin col- lections have been described by Prof, Whitfield in the published annual reports of that survey, but about thirty of them are pub- lished in the forthcoming volumes for the first time. These works of Prof. Whitfield, all of which are practically finished, will be- come an important part of the paleontological literature of our country. The labors of Mr. S. H. Scudder in invertebrate palzontology are confined almost wholly to fossil insects, but he has performed this work so well, and prosecuted it so vigorously, that no one seems disposed to dispute the ground with him. He is still busily engaged with his great work on the Tertiary insects of North merica, which is now well advanced toward completion, and is to form Vol. xir of the quarto series of the U. S. Geological Survey. oe , of the Territories, lately in charge of Dr. Hayden. His me- - Moir on the Palaeozoic cockroaches has just issued in quarto form from the press of the Boston Society of Natural History, in which about sixty species are enumerated and figured. A memoir — H e same form: and from the same press, on Early Treat ee aya Progress of Invertebrate Paleontology in [ April, Insects, has also lately issued, and an abstract of it has appeared in the January (1880) number of the American Fournal of Science and Arts, pages 72-74. An interesting article from his pen has also lately appeared in the Report of ‘Progress of the Geological Sur- vey of Canada for 1877-1878, pages 175-185, on “ The Fossil Insects collected in 1877 by Mr. G. M. Dawson in the interior of British Columbia.” The insects described are all referred to the Tertiary period, and represent four orders; one species being re- ferred to the Hymenoptera, two to the Diptera, ten to the Cole- optera and four to the Hemiptera. Among the latter he proposes the new genus Planophlebia. The duties of Prof. A. Hyatt at the Museum of the Boston Society of Natural History, have made such demands upon his time for the past year, as to retard the progress of his special investigations. He is still working, however, upon the Ammonites, being now specially engaged upon the Arietidæe, and also upon . the Steinheim shells. His only published work for the past year _ is embraced in a paper, by the writer of this article, on “ Fossils of the Jura-trias of South-eastern Idaho,” in the Bulletin of the U. S. Geological Survey of the Territories, Vol. v. Prof. Hyatt there proposes and diagnoses the new Cephalopod genus Meeko- ceras. Mr. W. H. Dall published in the Proceedings of the U. S. National Museum, Vol. 1, page 3, an interesting note on the occurrence of a Post-pliocene deposit containing recent species of marine shells in a semi-fossilized condition, at the head of a cañon near San Luis Rey, California, twelve miles from the sea and six hundred feet above tide water. This determination of species is especially interesting and important, since it proves a considerable elevation of that coast to have taken place at a comparatively recent date. He also pub- lished in the same volume, pages 10-16, an article on “ Fossil Molluscs of the Later Tertiary of California,” describing six new species, and, giving a table showing the known distribution OE forms and the proportion of fossil and recent species respec- tively. Mr. Angelo Heilprin has published in the Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences at Philadelphia for 1879, t three articles bearing respectively the following titles: “On some new Eocene Fossils from the Claiborne marine formation of Alabama;” 1880. | the United States for the year 1879. 255 “A comparison of the Eocene Mollusca of South-eastern United States and Western Europe in relation to the determination of identical Forms,” and “ Stratigraphical evidence afforded by the Tertiary Fossils of the Peninsula of Maryland.” The first of these papers is illustrated by a plate of figures; the other two embrace some important philosophical discussions. Mr. Heil- prin has begun the preparation of a monograph of the Tertiary Fossils of Eastern North America. George Jennings Hinde, Esq., F. G. S. of Surrey, England, published in the Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society for August, 1879, pages 352-369, an important memoir “ On Cono- donts from the Chazy and Cincinnati group of the Cambro- silurian, and from the Hamilton and Genesee Slate divisions of the Devonian in Canada and the United States.” Palzontologists have been divided in opinion as to what class of animals these interesting remains belong to, and Mr. Hinde’s important memoir still leaves us in doubt upon this point, although he has much enlarged our knowledge concerning the objects themselves. In 1878 Mr. U. P. James began, at Cincinnati, the publication of The Paleontologist, for which he is thus far the only writer. Four numbers have been printed, aggregating thirty-two pages octavo, two numbers of which have appeared in 1879. In these two numbers Mr. James describes twenty-one new forms of Lower Silurian fossils, and proposes two new fucoid genera, Saccophycus and Lockeia. Mr. Victor W. Lyon described three new forms of Ca/ceola from the Upper Silurian rocks of Kentucky, in the Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences at Philadelphia for 1879, pages 43-46. Mr. S. A. Miller has, during the past year, published in pam- phlet form, of thirty-five pages, a revision of his “Catalogue of Fossils found in the Hudson River, Utica Slate and Trenton groups, as exposed in the south-east part of Indiana, south-west part of Ohio and northern part of Kentucky,” which originally appeared in the Tenth Annual Report of the Geological Survey — of Indiana. In the April number of the Journal of the Cincin- nati Society of Natural History, pages 31-42, he has “ Remarks upon the Kaskaskia group, and descriptions of new species of Fossils from Pulaska county, Kentucky;” the new forms being illustrated, with others, upon the two plates which that number 256: Progress of Invertebrate Paleontology in [ April, contains. Inthe July number of the same journal, pages 104--118, Mr. Miller has “ Descriptions of twelve new Fossil species, and remarks upon others.” The species are from the Hudson River, Niagara and Upper Helderberg groups, all being echinoderms except one fucoid, and all are illustrated upon the two plates which accompany the number. Prof. James M. Safford read a paper at the Saratoga meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, on some remarkable Crinoids from Tennessee, which form the sub- ` ject, in part, of the article by Prof. Hall in the lately published edition of the Twenty-eighth Regent’s Report, and which has already been mentioned. Mr. E. O. Ulrich has, in the April number of the Journal of the Cincinnati Society of Natural History, an illustrated article enti- tled “ New genera and species of Fossils from the Lower Silurian about Cincinnati. He describes thirty-two species, and proposes three new genera, Lefidolites, Ropalonaria and Crateripora, In the October, 1879, number of that Journal, pages 119-134, he has two articles entitled, respectively, “ Description of a new genus and some new species of Bryozoans from the Cincinnati Group;” and “ Description of a Trilobite from the Niagara Group of In- diana,” both being iliustrated. He has also lately personally published a thirty-two page pamphlet, “Catalogue of Fossils occurring in the Cincinnati Group of Ohio, Indiana and Ken- tucky.” : Lieut. A. W. Vogdes, in “ Notes on the Geology of Catoosa county, Georgia,” in the December number (1879) of the Areri- can Fournal of Science and Arts, page 477, names and briefly characterizes Calymene rostrata, a new Upper Silurian trilo- bite. Messrs. Charles Wachsmuth and Frank Springer have pub- lished, in the last number for 1879 of the Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, a “ Revision of the Palzocrinoide. Part 1. The families Ichthyocrinide and Cyathocrinide.” Those who have done original work with the palzeozoic crinoids, or attempted a critical study of them, can fully appreciate the importance of the work which has been undertaken by these authors, The portion now published is the first of a proposed series, and contains about one hundred and fifty pages and three plates of illustrations. It contains a discus- - 1880. | the United States for the year 1879. 257 sion of the general subject and of the questions pertaining to the two families now considered; a rearrangement of the genera and sub-genera under each, and lists of all the known species of each genus with their synonymy. Mr. C. D. Walcott, in four pages printed in advance of the Thirty-second Annual Report of the New York State Museum of Natural History, publishes “Descriptions of new species of Fossils from the Calciferous formation,” embracing five new forms. He has also published a pamphlet of thirty-eight pages and two plates, in advance of Vol. x, Transactions of the Albany Institute, with the triple title, “The Utica Slate and Related Formations ; Fossils of the Utica Slate; and Metamorphosis of 7riarthrus becki.” In these papers Mr. Walcott presents some interesting discussions, makes known important facts bearing upon the subjects indicated by the titles, and proposes the genera Cyathophycus and , Disco- phycus. The Thirty-first Annual Report of the New York State Museum has lately been issued, which contains the final publica- tion of Mr. Walcott’s papers, “ Notes on some sections of Trilo- bites from the Trenton limestone ;” “Note upon the Eggs of the Trilobite,” and “ Descriptions of new species of Fossils from the Chazy and Trenton limestone.” Mr. Walcott has also much im- portant material in hand, which will, when published, add largely to our knowledge of the anatomy of the Trilobite. In the January (1879) number of the Journal of the Cincinnati Society of. Natural History, Prof. A. G. Wetherby has an article entitled, “ Description of a new family and genus of Lower Silu- — rean Crustacea,” which is illustrated by eight figures on plate 7 in the April number of the same journal. The proposed new family and genus (Enoploura) are founded on the Anomatocystites (Atelo- __ eystites) balanoides of Meek, which Prof. Wetherby removes from the Cystidians, where it was placed by Meek, to the Crustacea. He also publishes in the April number of that journal, some interesting remarks upon the genus P%erotocrinus Lyon and Case : sidy, with illustrations. He thinks the genus more nearly allied to Eucalyptocrinus than any other, and not nearly related to Dicho- — crinus, as has been formerly supposed by some palzontologists. In the October number, pages 134-140, Prof. Wetherby has — “ Descriptions of new species of Crinoids from the Kaskaskia group of the Sub-carboniferous,” with one plate of illustrations. ao He has also in press, a revision of certain species- of Lee. = which have been referred to the genus Levins. 3 ce 258 ` Progress of Invertebrate Paleontology in [ April, Professor A. Winchell has an investigation of the Cephalopods .of Tennessee nearly completed, and is also pursuing his investi- gations of the Stromatoporide. The writer of this article has published in Vol. v, of the Bulle- tin of the United States Geological Survey of the Territories, the three, following “Paleontological Papers:’ No. g—“ Fossils of the Jura-trias of South-eastern Idaho,” pages 105-118; No. 10— “Conditions of Preservation of Invertebrate Fossils,” pages 130-142, and No. 1 1—“ Remarks upon certain Carboniferous Fos- sils from Colorado, Arizona, Idaho, Utah and Wyoming, and cer- tain Cretaceous Corals from Colorado, together with descriptions of new Forms,” pages 209-221. He has also in the same volume, pages 143-152, in connection with Prof. H. Alleyne Nicholson, a supplement to the Bibliography of North American Inverte- brate Paleontology. The March number of the American Four- nai of Science and Arts also contains an article from his pen entitled, “Remarks on the Jura-trias of Western North America.” The most important of these papers is No. 9, relating to the discovery of Triassic types in the region indicated, the epoch of the Muschelkalk of Europe being fully recognized. It is in this paper that the new genus Meekoceras of Hyatt is diagnosed. . The writer has also in press a series of Contributions to Inver- tebrate Palaeontology, seven in number, illustrated by thirty-eight lithograph plates. The first portion with ten plates has just been published separately, and is to appear in the Annual Re- port of the U. S. Geological Survey of the Territories for 1877, and the remainder in that for 1878. The fossils described and illustrated are from the following formations: Carboniferous, Triassic, Jurassic, Cretaceous, Laramie and Tertiary. A large proportion of these species have been described by the writer in different publications of the surveys, formerly in charge of Dr. Hayden and Prof. Powell respectively; a part are therein described for the first time, and the remainder are species that have, by different authors, been described in various publications, but not illustrated. These descriptions last referred to are mostly by the late Mr. F. B. Meek and Dr. B. F. Sherward. It has been the aim of the writer to illustrate all the species described by these two authors as well as others, so far as practicable ; and when the volumes in question appear, there will remain 1 comparatively 3 1880. ] the United States for the year 1879. 259 few described species from strata of the western half of our country that will not have been illustrated. Besides the foregoing, the writer has also in press, for the Pro- " ceedings of the U. S. National Museum the following articles and -. =. notes: “ Descriptions of new species of Carboniferous Inverte- brate Fossils ;” “ Descriptions of new species of Cretaceous Fos- sils from Kansas and Texas ;” “ Note on the occurrence of Pro- ductus giganteus Martin, in California,” and “ Note on Criocardium and Ethmocardium.” The three first-named papers are illustrated by seven plates of figures. In the first paper is proposed the new Crinoid genus Lecythiocrinus, from the Upper Coal measures of Kansas. In the second, two species are described from the Da- kota beds of Kansas, collected by the’ late Prof. Mudge, adding to our knowledge of the fauna there, which links the lower American Cretaceous with the upper much more closely than was formerly supposed. The discovery of that huge brachiopod, Productus giganteus, in the western part of the continent, where it has hitherto been unknown within its limits, is an interesting fact. The sub-genus Erhmocaraium is proposed in the last-named paper for a Cardium (C. speciosum Meek and Hayden), which is without spinules, and has rows of cleanly-cut holes through the entire thickness of the test, which occupy the a amis between the ribs of the middle portion of the shell. Among the many important facts brought out in the “ Contri- butions,” it is there shown that many of the types by which the living North American land. and fresh-water molluscan fauna is characterized, have descended to us almost entirely unchanged from the Laramie period and, in some cases at least, from the still earlier Cretaceous epochs. Even some of the sub-divisions of genera, made by different authors, and which some others have been slow to accept, as insufficiently founded, are found to have become established in those early times, and to have main- _ tained their slightly differentiated status intact during the inter- vening epochs. It also appears that the nearest relatives, and- doubtless the lineal descendants of the Laramie and Tertiary fresh-water and land mollusca are found living in the fluvatile waters and drainage areas of the Mexican gulf and Arctic ocean, and not upon the Pacific slope. Some Po Beno zoological questions are thus suggested. — No investigation of a forms. ias a more direct bearing 260 A Review of the Modern Doctrine of Evolution. [ April, upon invertebrate palzontology than that of the Brachiopoda. For this reason mention should be made here of a memoir by Prof. W. K. Brooks, on the “ Development of Lingula and the systematic position of the Brachiopods,” published in Scientific Results for 1878, Chesapeake Zoological Laboratory, Johns Hop- kins University, Baltimore, 1879.. Prof. Brooks opposes the views so long and ably advocated by Prof. Morse, that the Brachiopoda are specialized worms, and presents his reasons for regarding them as more nearly related to the Polyzoans. The foregoing notes, so far as is known, embrace all the publi- cations that come within the scope of this article. There are, doubtless, other works in progress whose authors are waiting suitable opportunity to pursue their investigations. Prof. A. R. Grote has some uncompleted and unpublished notes on a new form of the remarkable crustacean genus Ausarcus Grote and Pitt, in the Waterlime group of Western New York. Prof. Verrill has also in hand the few fossils that were dredged from the sub- merged Tertiary beds off the north-eastern coast, but nothing has been published concerning the fauna of this Tertiary Atlantis since his article of last year in the American Fournal of Science and Arts. It has often been a subject of remark during the past few years that invertebrate paleontology was receiving comparatively little attention in the United States, but the foregoing makes a = very satisfactory showing for the past year. The excellent char- acter also of much of the work that is being done by the younger palzontologists promises well for the future. 20% A REVIEW OF THE MODERN DOCTRINE OF EVOLUTION.—Conciupep! BY E. D. COPE. III. Metaphysics of Evolution. ENTER here upon a wide field, over which I can only skim on an occasion like the present. The subject has been already introduced by reference to consciousness as modifying 1 A lecture delivered before the California Academy of Science, Oct. 27, 1879- 1880. ] A Review of the Modern Doctrine of Evolution. 261 movement; of course then if movement modify structure, the latter is influenced by conscjousness. The word consciousness was then, and is now, used in its simplest sense, viz: as synony- mous with physical sensibility. Its lowest and most usual exhi- bition is the sense of touch; the special senses, taste, sight, etc., are higher forms, while thoughts and desires are organized pro- ducts of the same raw material. Consciousness cannot be denied to many of the inferior animals; indeed, if we grant it to any, we must admit that it is displayed at times by even the lowest Frotozoén. That these humble creatures should possess it, is apparently quite as probable as that the very similar - bioplasts of the brain of man should be its seat. Consciousness alone is not a sufficient basis for the develop- ment of mind. For this, one more element is necessary, and that is, memory. Impressions made by the environment are reg- istered, and soon cease to be present in consciousness. Under the influence of association the impressions return to consciousness. Associations are those of place, of the order of time, and ot similarity or difference in various qualities, as size, color or any other physical features. Experiences of these qualities are to all conscious beings either painful, indifferent or pleasurable. When association requires, events, objects or characteristics, are returned to consciousness in the order in which they cohere most firmly in the mind, which may or may not be that in which they entered it. The liking for or dislike to the object, are equivalent to an a‘traction to or repulsion from it. Thus experience is begotten: as its material increases, new combinations are formed, new rela- tions observed, and in the highest types of mind, laws are discov- ered. No one can deny memory to animals; it is the medium of their education by man, and has been as well the means of their education by nature. Impressions cause a rearrangement of cer- tain elements of structure which give the form to consciousness — when it arises again. It is also probable that these arrangements are not the same as those which represent classifications and con- clusions, but that nevertheless the arrangement or organization of these is determined by the simpler arrangements caused by per- ceptive stimuli. Experience produces these combinations in te = bioplastic aggregations of all animals, be they in the form of gan- glia, brains, or less specialized forms. Nowhere in the human or- ganism are the effects of effort and use so strikingly witnessed as 262 A Review of the Modern Doctrine of Evolution. (April, in the increase of brain power; and familiarity with the education of the lower animals shows that this is the case with them also, though in a lesser degree than in man. If, then, we grant the propositions, first, that effort and use modify structure ; and second, that effort and use are determined by mind in direct ratio to its development, we are led to the con- clusion that evolution is an outgrowth of mind, and that mind is the parent of the forms of living nature. This is, however, to reverse a very usual evolutionary hypothesis, viz: that mind is the product and highest development of the universe of matter and force. The contradiction is, however, not so absolute as at first appears. By mind, as the author of the organic world, I mean only the two elements, consciousness and memory. But it is the view of some thinkers that consciousness is a product; that it is not only a correlative of force, but a kind of force. To the latter theory I cannot subscribe; when it becomes possible to metamorphose music into potatoes, mathematics into mountains, and natural history into brown paper, then we can identify con- sciousness with force. The nature of consciousness is such as to distinguish it from all other thinkable things, and it must be ranged with matter and force as the third element of the uni- verse. It is true that unconsciousness does not imply absence of life as generally understood. A majority of the processes of life are performed unconsciously by living creatures; mind itself being no exception to this rule. There is another class of acts whose performance produces sensation, but consciousness is not con- cerned in them as an immediate cause. Therefore, it is a com- mon endeavor to associate reflex and unconscious acts with the molecular movements of inorganic and non-living substances. But the one great difficulty in making this identification has never been surmounted. This is the different nature of the movements in the two cases. In non-living matter they are sim- ply polar, nothing more. In living beings they display design. Perhaps I use the word “ design” in a new-sense, but the expres- sion is nevertheless appropriate. What I mean is, that the move- ments of living things have direct reference to consciousness, to the satisfaction of pleasures, and to the avoidance of pains. The molecular movements within animals of the simplest class are the digestion of food and the elaboration of the materials of repro- fen 1880.) A Review of the Modern Doctrine of Evolution. 263 duction. The molar movements of the simplest animals are to enable them to escape the pains of hunger and celibacy. More- over there is reason why the movements of living beings display design. We all know the nature of habits; how they are per- formed unconsciously, and as automatically as digestion itself. But did any one ever know of a habit in an animal, whose origin he could trace, Which has been formed in unconsciousness? According to our knowledge, habits are always the result of stimuli which are constiously felt, and which cause by repetition or through reminis- cence a repetition of the resulting movement. After a sufficient number of repetitions such an act becomes a habit,z.¢.,is performed automatically, or without the intervention of effort, and frequently without consciousness. It thus becomes a part of the character. of the individual or species. This common phenomenon is explained by the hypothesis, that an organization of the centers controlling action is caused by the efforts of the animal under the stimulus, and that finally a machine is constructed which deter- mines the nature of the force expended, without further mental exertion of the individual. Such a process is education, and the result is an addition to the stock of faculties already on hand. Thus is explained the vast number of automatic and unconscious activities displayed by animals; to the same source, I believe, the common reflex acts may be traced; it even appears to me prob- able that the organic functions in general have had the same origin! While these latter have mostly long since passed beyond the con- trol of ‘the mind, portions of the urogenital functions still linger within the confines of its jurisdiction. Thus have consciousness and mind endowed living nature with useful functions ; and this, which may be called the Theory of Endowment, accounts for the element of design which is so puzzling when seen in unconscious. and reflex acts. As it has been maintained above, that structure is the effect of the control over matter exercised by mind, it is evident that the — evolution of mind must be directly followed by corresponding _ development of organism. The science of palzontology sub- — Stantiates this theory in a wonderful manner. But the animal mind being generaliy occupied with simple functions, its expres- sions in structure are usually nothing more than the progressive _ creation of improved instruments for obtaining food, E 2 Consciousness i in Evolution. Penn MON aik is 264 A Review of the Modern Doctrine of Evolution. | April, climate, escaping enemies, and reproducing their kind. The struggles of animals have been on this platform, and mind has only been necessary to aid in accomplishing the ends above mentioned. Wonderfully effective machines for grinding, cutting, seizing and digging; for running, swimming and flying have been produced. The development of mind proper must appear in the size and structure of the brain; and though the history of the lat- ter in past ages must always remain, in large part, hidden from us, it is known that in the former respect there has ‘been great progress made in various lines of animals. Now the line which has car- ried brain to its present development in man, the Quadrumana, has been deficient in special mechanical excellencies of the kind enumerated above. Perhaps primitive inferiority in these many respects has kept the Quadrumana under greater mental tension, and compelled them to exercise caution in their acts and give that opportunity to thought which was less demanded in the case of other animals. Furthermore, if they are less specialized in their mechanism than most other Mammalia, they are less restricted by it to peculiar modes of life. They are more versatile, and more capable of the adoption of new habits as a consequence. And here we have a glimpse of a most important principle in evolution, which is the keynote to its method; this is what have called Tke Doctrine of the Unspecialized. Paleontology shows that the succession of living types has not been ina single straight line. It has been in many divergent lines, and a large number of them have not continued to the present time. The history of life has been well compared to a tree with divergent branches, many of which do not reach the elevation of the summit. Furthermore, in the many cases in which we can trace the lower lines to the present period, it is evident that in their present condition they could not have given rise to the higher forms. Each line, in fact, has developed to an extreme of specialization of structure, which it would seem is incapable of modification in any direction very divergent from that which it has already taken. Much less have such special- ized types been able to survive the environment for which they were designed; with important changes in that respect they have perished. A few examples will serve to illustrate my meaning. The direction of development has been from fishes, through , Batrachia and reptiles, to birds and mammals. But we cannot 1880.] _ A Review of the Modern Doctrine of Evolution. 265 derive any living type from the osseous fishes of the present or past ages (Hyopomata): to find the origin of Batrachia, we must pass below these to more generalized and older forms, the Dipnot, a class whose position in the system was for years a controverted point. We cannot obtain Mammalia from any of the existing types of reptiles, but we must go back to the Permian period, and trace their outlines in the Zheromorpha of that day. In spite of the prophetic resemblance of these remarkable animals, they are inferior to later Reptilia in the structure of their vertebral column, and display resemblance to some of their immature stages, as well as to those of the Mammalia. Among mammals we cannot derive monkeys from Carnivora or Ungulata, nor the latter from each other, but can only trace their close approximation in the Bunotherian types of the Lower Eocene. So with the great divisions of Ungulata; Preboscidians, Hyrax, and tHe even and odd-toed orders must all be traced to the unspecialized Amdlypoda, with small brains and five-toed plantigrade feet, as their ancestors.’ It is easy to perceive that the generalization and plasticity of all these forms has furnished the ground of their ancestral relation. Weare now in a position to comprehend more clearly the general nature of evolution. The doctrine of the unspecialized teaches that the perfection produced by each successive age has not been the source or parent of future perfection. The types which have displayed the most specialized mechanism have either passed away, or, undergoing no change, have witnessed the pro- gress and ultimate supremacy of those who were once their inferiors. This is largely true of animals which have attained great bulk. Like those with perfected weapons, they have ever been Superior to the attacks of other animals in their day, and doubt- less led, so long as food abounded, lives of luxurious indolence. With change or diminution of food, such huge beasts would be the first to succumb, and it is a fact that no type of land animals has- maintained great size through many geologic changes. It is true - that all of the lines of ancestry of the existing higher Mammalia, as the subdivisions of the Carnivora, Ungulata and Quadrumana, which we know in detail, commenced with types of small s size and correspondingly little muscular power. me important conclusions may be derived from pee ke "See the origin of types of Mammalia educabilia, a mar Philadelphia, 1874. This view was subsequently expressed by Huxley. VOL, XIV.—No, IV, 18 266 A Review of the Modern Doctrine of Evolution. . [ April, preceded. It seems that evolution has witnessed a continual run- ning down of types to their great specialization or extinction. That many types have arisen in weak and small beginnings, but that the conflict with more powerful forms has developed some qualities in which they sooner or later excelled, and which formed the basis of their future superiority and persistence. That while this has probably been the true cause of the origin of the many admirable mechanical adaptations displayed by animals, it is pre- eminently true of the development of mind. That the reason why progress has reached its limit in the lines of greatest spe- cialization, has probably been the removal of the occasion of its original cause, 2. e., active exercise in the struggle for existence. This explanation is suggested by the remarkable degradation which is witnessed in animals whose mode of life’ relieves them from the nécessity of working for a livelihood, e. g., the parasites and sessile animals whose young are free. Some of these crea- tures, on assuming their parasitic life, lose the semblance of even the order to which their young belong. The primary stages of various plants move actively through the water like the lowest forms of animals, and their sessile adult condition must be-looked upon as a degeneration. It is well known that the endeavor to relegate the lowest forms of life to the two kingdoms of animal and vegetable, has been generally abandoned. The great vegeta- ble kingdom probably exhibits a life degraded from more animal- like beginnings. Animal irritability and mobility have been lost, and their own consciousness must be entirely eliminated from the question of the origin of the many later and specialized types of plants. But I venture here the hypothesis that the consciousness of plant-using animals, as insects, has played a most important part in modifying the structure of the organs of fructification in the vegetable kingdom. Certain it is that insects have been effective agents in the préservation of certain forms of plants. I would suggest whether the mutilations and strains they have for long periods inflicted on the flowering organs, may not, as in some similar cases in the animal aati have originated pecu- liarities of structure. Evolution of living types is then a succession of elevations of platforms on which succeeding ones have built. The history of one horizon of life is, that its own completion but prepares the — T way of a higher one, furnishing the latter with conditions of &- 1880.] A Review of the Modern Doctrine of Evolution. 267 still further development. Thus the vegetable kingdom died, so to speak, that the animal kingdom might live; having descended from an animal stage to subserve the function of food for animals. The successive types of animals have ‘first stimu- lated the development of the most susceptible to the conflict of the struggle for existence, and afterwards furnished them with food. Doubtless in the occupation of the world’s fields, the easiest and nearest at hand have been first occupied, and succes- sively those which were more difficult. The digging animals are generally those which first abandoned the open field to more courageous or stronger rivals; and they remain to this day gen- erally of low type compared with others of their classes (e. g., Monotremata, Rodentia, Insectivora). All occupations have been filled before that one which requires the greatest expenditure of energy, č e., mental activity. But all other modes‘ of life have fallen short-of this one in giving the supremacy over nature. Automatism then represents a condition of “lapsed intelli- gence” and diminished life. The unconscious automatism of animals is a condition of still greater lapse. On the contrary, ‘sensibility is the condition of development, and the susceptibility and impressibility which is the extreme reverse of automatism is ° the especial character of youth. Here the “doctrine of the unspecialized”’ finds justification again. - What the future has in store for us in the history of inorganic force and its results, we can not now foresee, but I call attention in this connection to the important part played by life in the dis- tribution of minerals, It has long been known that the carbon of the earth’s crust was once in a living state, and it is admitted that the limestone once circulated in the fluids of animals. We have recently been compelled to believe that siliceous rocks are com- posed of the consolidated shells of minute plants, which they have elaborated from the water of the ocean, Silver and gold are segregated and deposited by seaweeds. The principal i a. material, whose relation to life has not been ascertained, is alu- mina. How far the processes which now characterize dead mat- ter were once related to life is a problem for the future. IV. The Morals of Evolution. The doctrines of the struggle for existence and siai of the fit i in human ie have a two-fold — r n a a 268 A Review of the Modern Doctrine of Evolution. (April, portions in which these applications are made, will depend on the moral development of him who makes them. Moral density and intelluctual stupidity (often nearly allied) will see in these two laws only the struggle for material power, and the survival of the strong- est. They will hardly urge in these days, as they would infallibly have done had they lived a few centuries ago, that the strongest means the hardest hitter, or the most successful assassin, but they will probably believe that this pre-eminent position belongs to the most wealthy. From a purely dynamical standpoint this position is correct, yet it might be a useful question for such advocates to consider why it is that physical oppression and assassination should be less successful avenues to power than they once were. There are two reasons why man does not grant the first place in his esteem to physical force. The first principles of morals are acquired in the struggle for existence. The idea of meum and tuum was speedily developed so soon as men associated together ; and the habit of justice has doubtless been formed by the insist- ence of every man on his own rights, and by the power of com- binations of men to control those who may from superior strength or other cause seek to violate the rights of property. Thus law ` originated, and from the earliest history of the race to the present day it has educated the barbarous and semi-barbarous to civiliza- -tion. It is then easy to perceive that man gives the highest place in his affections to the ost just ; but there is yet another | reason why this should be the case. The reproductive instinct in the lower animals has developed into social affections, and these form a part of the character of the higher animals and, in an especial degree, of man. The sentiments of sympathy and benevolence are probably outgrowths of the same. While the rational faculties are concerned in the knowledge of right, these sentiments are a source of the Zove of right. This disposition is trusted by men as leading to the practice of right, in cases where the power to enforce it is not immediately present. The struggle for existence then among men ranges all the way from a rivalry of physical force to a rivalry for the pos- session of human esteem and affection. The robber and assassin of the lowest human races are represented by the slanderer and defamer in the higher. The ultimate prosperity of the just, asserted and foretold by prophets and poets, is but a forecast of the doctrine of the survival of the fittest. The unjust are sooner 1880. | A Review of the Modern Doctrine of Evolution. 269 or later eliminated by men from their society, either by death, seclusion or ostracism. But the organized moral qualities cannot normally transcend in power, as motives of human action, those which secure his physi- cal preservation. Lines of men in whom the sympathetic and generous qualities predominate over the self-preservative, must inevitably become extinct. Evolution can produce no higher development of the race (whatever may sometimes appear in indi- viduals), than an equivalency in these two classes of forces. Beyond this the organization of the social faculities of the brain must always be repressed in the race, so that we can only expect to attain an equilibrium between them and the more purely selfish ones, as the very highest result of unassisted evolution. In this position the judgment is suspended between the opposing classes of motives; and it must ever remain doubtful in general as to whether resulting action’ will be just and right, or the reverse. I exclude from this question those generous acts which do not appear to the actor to conflict with self-interest. These may be termed sympathetic acts, and are quite distinct from the altruistic.’ The sympathetic actions are seen at times in most animals. The altruistic acts, on the other hand, are those that express what is usually called “ moral principle.” Such acts may often coincide with the interest of the actor, but so long as they do not appear _to him to do so, they are altruistic. It is part of the doctrine of evolution, that habits will ultimately disappear on the removal of their stimulating cause.’ The moral nature originated, and has been maintained, through the pressure of the fear of consequences. The removal of this pressure, through the acquisition of power, would then ultimately result in the diminution or loss of the moral “nature, through disuse. The abuses of power are well known. This appears to be all that evolution can do for us in the produc- tion of the moral nature. So it would appear that no organized faculty of self-sufficient altruistic justice can be derived by the pro- cess of mental evolution. The result is rather a continued strug- gle between justice and injustice. It is, then, evident that any Power which shall cause the permanent predominance of the just Over the selfish faculties must be derived from without. After we omit from customary religion, cosmogony, which belongs to science, and theogony, which belongs to the imagina- tion, we have left an art which has for its object the aa seg On the Origin of the Will. Penn Monthly, 1877. 270 A Review of the Modern Doctrine of Evolution. (April, and sustentation of good works or morals among men. If the teachers and professors of this art produce the results in this direction at which they aim, their great utility must be conceded by all. Their method has the advantage over that of the law, in being of the character of inducements supplied before action, instead of pains and penalties inflicted after action. They strive to originate good conduct, rather than to punish bad conduct. They are working on the side of the originative force in develop- ment, rather than the destructive; the “origin of the fittest,” rather than the “ survival of the fittest.’ ‘Whether man possesses the spontaneous power called “ free will” or not, the work of supplying inducements for good conduct is most useful to society. But religion, as generally understood, pre-supposes free will; and the definition of the word responsibility implies its existence. The question as to the presence of such a faculty is an interesting one, and will now be briefly considered.* The well-known doctrine of necessity leaves no place for free will. All acts are the consequences of motives, and are the out- come of a balancing of interests. The heaviest side of the account determines action. Our physical necessities supply the motives for most of our activities; our pursuit of food and cloth- ing is of necessity, and no condition is free from it. Evolution supports and explains this doctrine, as can readily be perceived. It derives our instincts from an ancestry whose daily occupation has been their gratification. But it has been shown above that ` this development does not supply the motives of an independent morality. The direction of action under stimulus is determined by intel- ligence, which is, as has been above maintained, the product of experience. Intelligence is organized or classified knowledge, and directs the activities set on foot by the likes and dislikes, that is, the affections. When there is knowledge, there is no necessity for spontaneous action or free will, since action is determined by the organization of the mind. Even if the mind is conscious of insufficient knowledge, an inducement to seek knowledge is supplied, and according to the result of investigation will be the direction of knowledge. But we are here brought to face the case where knowledge cannot be or is not obtained. This is the condition of the two 1Qn the Origin of the Will. Penn Monthly, 1877. 1880. | The Tongue of the Honey Bee. 271 questions of the practice of morals, and the nature of the future life. The evolution of mind consists of a continual advance from the ‘known into the unknown, and a transfer of the unknown to the known. So long as there is any inducement to progress ` of this kind, and nature responds to inquiry, development will goon. Although it is true that it is only among men, and but few men at that, that the pursuit of knowledge is an ‘occupation; most men add to their stock incidentally as they pursue other avocations. The knowledge of right and the inducements to its practice are learned in their every-day intercourse, so far as it can be acquired. But knowledge in these directions soon attains its limit, and accordingly, development. dependent on knowledge must cease. If any further progress in practical morals is to be made, some new force must intervene at this point. ‘Here is the opportunity for the appearance of will or spon- taneity ; here it is at least needed. I am willing to believe that it May appear at this point, and that so long as we have to face the unknown in moral progress, so long it will remain. As a force it must be equivalent of other forces, but as a form of con- sciousness it is a new element of mind. As represented in new molecular organization, it may always continue, even after much of the unknown may have been conquered, and a station- ary period may have ensued. Such an accession to character would be a fitting crown of evolution, and a justification of - this labor of the ages. If a true factor in human development, it might be compared, in the creation of character, to the apical bud of a growing tree. As the part preéminently living, it leads the growth of the trunk and branches. They all follow of neces- — sity the path it has marked out. Under its lead they are suc- cessively formed, become fixed, and finally decay. ——:0:——— THE TONGUE OF THE HONEY BEE. BY PROF. A. J. COOK. HE bee is, and has long been, of great imp cial world, and this, together with the fascination inseparable from its study, have led many of the ablest scientists to carefully investigate its structure and habits. Yet I know not if there ex- ists to-day an accurate description of a bee’s tongue, and the method by which the insect procures its food. + iin bn Haters Oe The literature of the subject abounds in “confusion aad inac- oo 272 The Tongue of the Honey Bee. [ April, curacy. The most learned scientists, those usually the most care- ful and accurate, like Reaumur, Newport and Carpenter, give voice to palpable errors. Even the last edition of the Encyclo- _ pedia Britannica gives further life to these old erroneous views. Let us give brief attention to some of these descriptions. Hogg says the bee’s tongue is cylindrical; Kirby, Spence and Neighbour state that it is flat; Reaumur and Chambers that it is between the two. Reaumur, Newport, Kirby, Spence, Carpenter, Shuckard, Bevan and Hunter all state that the tongue is solid, and that the honey is se sting up, or taken through a tube, formed by the close approximation of the maxillz, labium, and labial pal- pi. Newport speaks of a hairy sheath along the under side of the basal two-thirds of the organ. Neighbour says there is a gutter throughout the en- tire length of the tongue, while Swammerdam, La- marck, Burmeister, Wildman and Munn claim that the or- gan is tubular, Newport and Carpenter assert that the bee’s tongue is muscular, which is denied by Cuvier, Reaumur and Chambers. That bees lap the nectar is affirmed by Reaumur, New- port, Kirby and Spence, Sa- vigny, Carpenter, Bevan and Hunter ; while Swammerdam, Wildman, Lamarck, Burmeis- Ài ter, Munn and Neighbour Fic. nafoogiea of the Bee. claim that the bees take liquids by suction. Amid these conflicting views let us see if we may find the truth. To do this we must examine closely the structure of the organ, and also watch the insect as it is ere its fill of honey or some other liquid. In the April number of the Journal of the Cincinnati Society 1880. | The Tongue of the Honey Bee. 493 of Natural History, for 1878, Mr. V. T. Chambers, an able entomologist of Covington, Kentucky, published a very admir- able paper upon this subject. In the American Quarterly Mi- croscopical Journal for 1879, p. 287, the subject was again pre- sented in a beautifully illustrated article by Mr. J. D. Hyatt, President of the New York Microscopical Society. I learn that Wolff has published a fully illustrated memoir on the anatomy of the honey-bee which, I regret to say, I have not seen, From Messrs. Chambers and Hyatt’s papers, and my own re- searches and observations, I am able to present the following . facts: The mouth-parts of the honey-bee brought into requisition when the insect takes. a liquid into its pharynx, are the maxille and the labium. The maxillze or second jaws (see m x in Fig 1, A) are situated each side of the labium. They are hinged to the head by the strong cardos (see c ¢ in Fig. A) which are chitinous rods. Ex- tending forward from the cardo is the more flattened stipes (see sź, st in Fig. A) which is also mainly chitinous. From the stipes pro- jects the triangular, deeply grooved lacinia (see /, Zin Fig. 1, A). This is more membranous, but it is strengthened by a ridge of chitine which extends to the apex. At the base the very rudimen- tary maxillary palpi (see mp, mp in Fig. 1, A) are visible, while scattering hairs project from the inner margins. When the maxillz are brought close together a tube is formed, which is continued by _ aid of a colorless membrane to the opening into the pharynx. This opening is beneath the labium and between the mandibles. The colorless membrane is continuous with the epipharynx. The — muscles which move'the maxillz are attached mainly to the Caro and stipes. The labium or lower lip of the worker honey-bee is o lit twenty-three to twenty-seven hundredths of an inch long. It consists of a central portion, and two pairs of appendages, the paraglossx (see ż, p in Fig. 1, A) and the labial palpi (see 4,24 in Fig. 1, A). Thecentral portion is divided into a basal two-sevenths, or mentum (see min Fig. A) and the terminal five- sevenths or- ligula (see ¢ in Fig. t, A and B). The mentum is about seven-hun- dredths of an inch long. It is hinged to the sub:mentum (see o in Fig. 1, A) which in turn is hinged to the maxilla by two chitin- ous rods (see 4, 6 in Fig. 1, A). These rods permit free motion, = 274 The Tongue of the Honey Bee. [ April, and to them are attached muscles, which in part affect the move- ment of the labium. The mentum is a flattened cylinder, the floor and sides of which are thick and opaque, because of the abundance of chitine contained in their structure. While lining this chitinous gutter and completing the tube is a thin colorless membrane, which is but the anterior prolongation of the pharynx. There also abundant muscles within the mentum which extend even for a short distance along the sides of the base of the tongue. These not only affect the motion of the whole labium, but also protrude and retract the ligula or tongue. The ligula or tongue (Fig. 1, A and B, Z) extends from the ante- . rior extremity of the mentum. It consists of a sheath (Fig. B, s) which from the many rows of yellowish hairs appears annulated. When not distended, the sheath, as seen in cross-section (Fig. 1, C), is kidney-shaped. It has a slit (Fig. 1, C, #) along the under surface, from the base very near the end. In some specimens the slit seems to reach quite the end. Within the sheath is a small colored, triangular rod (Fig. 1, C, R) darker than the sheath, which except for a slit (Fig. 1, C, 2) on its under surface, would form a tube Fig. 1, C, R); in fact the sides of the rod along the slit can be brought in such close contact as virtually to form a tube. Fine hairs pro- ject from the walls either side the slit (Fig. 1, C, 2) into the tube, which doubtless aid in making the tube more perfect. Along the back of the rod is a conspicuous layer which Mr. Hyatt asserts is muscular. If this be so we can readily see how its action would spread the walis and open the slit. The rod projects beyond the sheath, as an imperfect funnel, the “ button ” of Reaumur (Fig. 1, A. and B, f). The wanting section of the funnel harmonizes with the slit in the rod. Near the end, the rod seems firmly attached to the sheath. Any attempt to draw the rod from this position is quite certain to rupture the sheath. The rod when extended pro- jects from sixteen to eighteen-hundredths of an inch beyond the mentum. At the base the rod is colorless, and its tube connects above with the membranous sack next to be described; and through this with the tube of the mentum and with the pharynx. Attached to the edges of the sheath, next to the slit, and possi- bly, as Mr. Chambers thinks, entirely lining the latter, and also to the corresponding edges of the tubular rod is a thin membrane (Fig. 1, C,s). Mr. Chainbers thinks this passes over the slit in the rod, making the tube of the latter complete. : I have reasons to 1880. } The Tongue of the Honey Bee. 275 think he is mistaken, as will appear in the sequel. When not dis- tended this membrane lies in folds (Fig. 1,C, s); but when distended it with the rod pushes out of the sheath, so as to form with the latter a large tubular sack (Fig. B S, s), with the tubular rod (Fig. C, R) along the surface opposite the sheath. At the base this sack has a chitinous support (Fig. A, Q Q), and connects through the tube of the mentum with the pharynx, and receives the tube of the rod. It extends nearly if not quite to the end of the sheath, certainly as far as the slit in the latter extends, and is, an- teriorly, imperforate. The labial palpi (Fig. 1, A, 4, #) like the maxillæ, are deeply - grooved, and when brought close together form a tube which also has a membranous connection with the mouth opening into the pharynx. The paraglosse are short, leaf-like organs (Fig. 1, A, f, £) with a hollow membranous base, which also connects with the tube of the mentum and the sack of the ligula. When not in use the ligula, with the labial palpi and maxille, all double back under the head, and the tongue is so retracted that it extends no further than the labial palpi. This shortening of the ligula seems to be effected by drawing the more mem- branous and less hairy base into the mentum. How do bees take liquids into their stomachs? This question, as we have seen, has received various answers. Some have thought that the nectar was drawn through a tube formed by the approximation of the ligula, the palpi and the maxilla. Others that suction was the force and the tongue the tube. Still others have believed that the nectar was lapped up by the bees. I hope to be able to show you that all are right. po Look at the bee through a good lens (I have used Toll’s one- half inch) while sipping honey containing grains of solid matter, and the fine particles will often be seen to ascend through the tube formed by bringing the maxilla together. We have already _ seen how this liquid passes to the mouth and through this into — the pharynx. Or we can color some rather thin honey or syrup by aniline (I have found deep red to be the best), and while the aes bee is sipping this colored liquid, which it does as eagerly as though the poisonous aliline were not present, cut off its head, which, with a pair of dissecting scissors is done in an instant. — Examination plainly shows the track along the channeled maxilla 1 E 276 The Tongue of the Honey Bee. | April, and palpi, even to the mouth, which clearly reveals the path of the liquid. These conduits are much the larger approach to the pharynx; thus we see why bees take honey so fast when they can get freely at a large quantity, and why a few days of good basswood harvest are so fruitful. Bees as surely take honey through the triangular rod which is enclosed within the sheath. I have proved this in several ways‘as follows: I have placed honey in fine glass tubes and behind fine wire gauze, so that the bees could just reach it with the funnel at the end of the rod. So long as they could reach it with the funnel so long would it disappear. I have held the bee in my hand, by grasping the wings, while observing it with a good lens. I would gradually withdraw it from the drop of honey, which it would sip so long as the drop was within reach of the funnel. I have in such cases seen the red axis when the bee was sipping colored syrup. Subsequent examination by dissection revealed the red liquid still in the tube of the rod, clearly showing its course in passing to the pharynx. If we place the tongue with a drop of water on a glass slide and cover with a thin glass, and then look at it through the compound microscope, with a magnifying power of eighty diameters, we can readily see the liquid pass back and forth in the tube as we press with a pencil on the thin glass cover. s Mr. Chambers states, this tube at the base of the funnel is only one five-hundredth of an inch in diameter. We now under- stand why bees are so long in loading their stomachs when gathering from small tubular flowers, as then this minute tube is the only avenue by which the bee secures the nectar. We can also well understand why they gather so much faster from some flowers than from others. In the one case they secure the liquid sweet through both the channels above described, in the other, when the honey is scarce or deep down in small tubular flowers, they can only use this microscopic tube. We also note the admirable construction of the tongue, which permits it to probe these tiny flowers, and also see the advantage of even a little additional length in this important and wonderful organ. ; I also believe that bees lap up the honey. If we spread a thin layer of honey on a glass, and permit the bees to visit it, we shall see the bees wipe it up with their ligule. Fine drops dis- 1880. ] The Tongue of the Honey Bee. 277 appear even though the funnel does not touch them. From this observation, as well as the structure of the organ—if I am right in believing that the slit in the rod opens on the surface—we can but conclude that the slit in the rod, no less than the funnel, may be the door whereby liquids pass to the tube. If Mr. Hyatt is right in thinking that the dorsal band of the rod is muscular, we can readily see from its position and the form of the red, how the slit might be opened. If the liquid is very thick the bees are seen frequently to retract the ligula and then extend it, as if to clear the organ by scraping it between the maxilla and palpi. While sipping honey the bee performs a kind of respiratory movement with the abdomen. This shows that the force of suc- . tion comes partly, if not wholly from the stomach, which organ is situated in the abdominal cavity. The tongue is also retracted and extended rythmically while the bee is sipping. The tip passes alternately back and forth from its greatest distance from the mentum to the end of the palpi. This movement may be something analogous to swallowing. I am not certain as to the function of the membranous sack. I have found that if I killed a bee by compressing its thorax, very soon after it commenced to sip the colored liquid, that the latter was always in the stomach but not in the sack. If I waited longer I found the sack also partially filled. This leads me to conclude that it acts as a storehouse, enabling the bee to carry a load beyond the capacity of its stomach. It also appears glandu- lar, when distended, so possibly it secretes an animal juice or fer- ment which aids in changing cane sugar into glucose or grape Sugar ; for we find upon analysis that pure cane sugar after pass- ing through the stomach of the bee has partially undergone this transformation. After the bees have sipped the colored liquid, I find invariably that the tip of the tongue—the small portion where the slit in the sheath seems obscure, and where the rod seems more firmly attached to the sheath, is highly colored, as though full of liquid. Possibly the sac does not extend into this portion, and the tube © may be larger in this part. By a little pressure the liquid is made to pass out of this portion of the tube, either through the funnel or slit, perhaps both. = cou I have measured hundreds of tongues, under the microscope, with the camera lucida, and have been much interested to observe 278 The Tongue of the Honey Bee. [ April, the wondrous uniformity in length where the bees were from the same colony or from the same apiary, especially if close breeding had been practiced. Tongue after tongue would show a variation of less than .025 of an inch. I have found the length of the American black bee’s tongue to average about .24 of an inch in length, from the base of the mentum to the tip of the ligula. American-bred Italian bees I have found, when measured by the same scale, to have tongues .o2 of an inch longer. Some bees, said to be Cyprians, but closely resembling our black bees, except that the down on the thorax was a little more yellow, I have found to possess tongues a little shorter than those of our American Italians, though the average is but very little less. I have examined bees’ tongues from workers reared from two differ- ent imported Italian queens, and found that in both cases they exceeded in length those of our American-bred bees, though the difference is very slight. In 1878 I measured the tongues of some bees sent me for Cyprians. The bees were very yellow and beautiful. I found them to possess the longest tongues I have ever met, but there was very great variation. I had but few bees and sent for more, which never came. I had arranged the present season for bees of the various European races, and had been promised specimens, but greatly to my regret and disappointment, the bees have failed to come, so I have to make this but a partial report. That the added length is of practical importance I have proved as follows: Honey in a vessel covered with fine gauze was placed before Italians till they ceased to eat because the honey was beyond reach. The vessel was then placed before black bees, which failed to reach the fluid. The vessel was then filled and given first to the black bees, which worked tl the liquid was inaccessible, when it was placed before Italians. These would invariably commence to sip the honey. Again, a box one-half inch deep, without top or bottom, was covered with fine gauze having fifteen meshes to the inch. A glass was then placed in the box so inclined that while one end rested against the gauze the other was one-half inch from it. The glass was thinly spread with honey on the side next the gauze. This was placed ina hive of Italians, when the glass was cleaned of honey for a dis- tance of twenty-four meshes from the edge where the glass rested on the gauze. The black bees could only reach and only oo 1880. | -The Tongue of the Honey Bee. 279 cleaned for nineteen meshes. Many trials gave the same result. This then shows why Italians can gather, and often do collect from flowers which fail utterly to attract the black bees. The nectar is beyond their reach. It would seem from the above that American-bred bees have shorter tongues than those direct from Italy. It seems very probable that “ natural selection,” the very law which raised the Italians to their position of superiority, also gave to them their longer tongues: Shut up in their mountain home, a mere isolated basin, where competition must have been very excessive, nature took advantage of every favorable variation and developed those striking excellences peculiar to the Italian. During these ages there was no kindly bee;master possessed of the intelligence suffi- cient to nurse the weaklings, nor any “ Dollar Queen business ” to stimulate indiscriminate breeding, and the weak died victims to starvation. And so we are indebted to the stern, inexorable law of nature for the incomparable breeding which wrought out such admirable results in far-famed Liguria. Unquestionably the crowded apiaries of Austria and Germany have heightened the “struggle for life,’ and had a similar tendency to develop supe- rior excellence in the European black bees. It is more than probable that the German bees of crowded Europe have longer tongues and are generally superior to the same in America, where they have long been favored with broad floral areas and compara- tive absence of competition. I should expect that this very law might have developed varieties of the black race which are supe- rior to others of the same race. It is more than possible that “survival of the fittest” explains the origin of the superior varie- ties which are said to exist in various provinces of Europe. For the same reason we should surely expect superior excellence in the Cyprian bees. Crowded as they have been for long years or ages in their small island home, the principle of “ survival of the — fittest” must have been working powerfully to weed out the infe- rior and to preserve and make stronger the superior. And so the © great poet has well said: “ Sweet are the uses of adversity.” From the above considerations it seems obvious, that would we © perpetuate the excellencies given us by the skillful breeding of nature, though we may not destroy all the feeble, as nature has done, we must assuredly study and observe so closely, that we shall know of a surety which are our very ee queens, and be even r 280 Recent Literature. [ April, more careful to breed from no other. Whether care or careless- ness will be most promoted by our present system I leave for you tosay. But I do wish that we might have at least a few breeders with time, means, caution, skill and patience, who would work with earnest zeal to not only keep all the excellence we now have, but to augment this excellence, as I am sure it may be augmented. But if our cheap queen system is to continue, then, surely, we may well stimulate frequent importations from Italy and Cyprus, and thus hope to compensate in part for what will be lost by hasty, careless and indiscriminate breeding.—American Bee Four- nal. we RECENT LITERATURE. BREHM’S ANIMAL Lire.\—This volume treats of the fishes, and is smaller than the others of the series. Beginning with the Dip- noans, the larger part of the space is devoted to the bony fishes, closing with the Selachians, the Cyclostomata and Amphioxus. The style is highly popular, as few anatomical details are given, but the text is taken up with very general accounts of the natural history of the more interesting species, with popularized illustra- tions in wood and full-page copper plates. In the preliminary glance at the life of fishes in general, their structure and physiol- ogy, habitats, distribution, habits and mode of development are, as well as fisheries and fish culture, briefly discussed. The Dip- noans are too briefly disposed of, only the Protopterus or lung- fish of Africa being figured and described; nothing is said of the Australian lung-fish (Ceratodus), nor of the relations of the Dip- noans to their mesozoic ancestors. The opportunity of working up a fresh and attractive account of the most interesting group of fishes in existence is not taken, and this part is nearly twenty years behind the times. The bony fishes are finely illustrated, the drawings of the eel, lump-fish and goose-fish, for example, being particularly good. We should have liked to have learned more of the singular breeding habits of the sea-horse ; as to the garpike the reader is left in ignorance of its breeding habits so well known in this country, and the ganoids are too briefly treat- ed; Ammoceetes is still regarded as an adult fish, though well known to be simply a young lamprey. On the whole, however, the volume is interesting and attractive, and so rich in good illus- trations as to be of considerable value to the naturalist. 1 Brehm’s Thierleben. Achte Band. Die Fische. Von Dr. A. E. BREHM. 114 cuts and 11 plates. Leipzig, 1879. 8°, pp. 426. For sale by B. Westermann & Co., -New York. 1880. | : Recent Literature. 281 GRENACHER’S RESEARCHES ON THE Eyes oF ARTHROPODS. — This is the most elaborate and detailed work on the eyes of in- sects and crustacea which has yet appeared. For the first time we have very full information given us as to the nature of the simple eyes (ocelli or stemmata) of larval insects and of Arach- nida, and we are here taught that they are much more compli- cated than was before suspected; so that they are not exactly a simple, elementary eye, as it were, a primitive form of eye, but, as the author claims, the simple and compound eyes stand in the relation of sisters, rather than of child and parent. A long chapter on the physiology of the compound eyes lends additional value to the anatomical portion. The author concludes that perception in the compound eye of Arthropods is effected in accordance with the theory first proposed by Müller, and that this applies to the compound eye of the horse-shoe crab (Limulus) although morphologically the eye of this animal is totally unlike that of any insect or crustacean. Grenacher does not describe the eyes of the myriopods, though he observes that the compound eyes of Cermatia are entirely unlike those of the spiders or insects, and that they seem to show some analogy to those of Limulus, The illustrations are abundant and simply exquisite, and worthy of the text. Darr’s METEOROLOGY oF THE PaciFic Coast Pitot.2—This is the results of several years’ examination by Mr. Dall into the meteorological features of Alaska, together with the data collect- ed from the publications of learned societies and from unpub- lished material in the archives of the U. S. Coast Survey, the Medical Department of the U.S. Army, and the U, S. Signal Ser- * U. S. Coast and Geodetic Survey. C. P. PATTERSON Superintendent- Pacific . : i A Second Series. Meteorology. Ao = "eran Acting Assistant U. S. Coast Survey. Washington, 1879. 4°, PP. 375 plates. gE a e eH OEE ed VOL. XIV.—No, rv. 39 aT ae a i Grae, O 282 Recent Literature. [ April, This volume will admirably supplement the series of memoirs in course of publication on the marine zodlogy of Alaska by Mr. all, who has made very extensive collections on the coast of aska, BARRANDE’S BrAcHIOPODS OF BonEmMIA.'\—This volume of ex- tracts from the fifth of the magnificent series of the Systéme Silu- rien du Centre de la Bohême, is of very general interest to palzeon- tological students, since it gives the results of the author’s studies upon an interesting series of faunz, where the succession is quite complete ; and although the distinguished author is quite fully persuaded that his facts and inductions are opposed to the theory of descent, others who favor the theory find these profound works rich in facts and inferences which go to strengthen their own views; so anything that comes from the paleontological work- shop at Prague—and least of all are they mere chips—is always welcomed. It will be seen how useful to the general student of biology this book will prove when we enumerate the subjects here treated: Variations observed among the Silurian Brachiopods of Bo- hemia. II. Vertical distribution of the aii and species of Brachio- pods in the Silurian basin of Bohem III. Specific connections catabtiched by the Brachiopods be- tween ihe Silurian faunz of Bohemia and the Paleozoic faunæ of foreign countries. HUXLEY ON THE CrAYFISH.2~Whether it is because we happen to be just now greatly interested in the crayfish and its belong- ings, or because this book is in itself very attractive, we confess ourselves very much pleased and interested in it. The method of teaching zoology now-a-days is to induce the student to learn all he can from the thorough, detailed study of one or several types, rather than to bewilder his brain with a ponderous. classifi- ‘cation of the entire animal kingdom and a large but thin mass of superficial pseudo-knowledge of it. He is now taught to be- come, aé initio, an original investigator, to discover new facts for himself, or at least to discover what are to him new facts, and thus enthusiasm and real interest in the subject are bred. Just now a class of college students are studying with us and drawing the structure of the lobster, and with most excellent results in the way of exciting their interest and curiosity; judging by the re- sults this seems to us to be the very best way of i Ed natural. — history. This book, which is a monograph of the crayfish from x nie See Etudes locales. Extraits du Systéme Silurien du Centre de la Bo- hém l. v. Brachiopodes. 7 Planches. Par JoAcHIM BARRANDE. Prague et Pas, ae 8°, pp. 356. 2 The International Scientific Series. . The Crayfish. An einer oi" to the : study of Zodlogy. By T. H. Huxtey. With 82 illustrations. sab DE, Appleton & Co., 1880. 12°, pp. 371. 1880. | Recent Literature. 283 every point of view, will prove a great aid in such teaching. The story is told in a straightforward, honest way, and so truthfully that there is little or no room for fault-finding. We may not be- lieve, with the author, that the eyes of the crayfish or any other how the crayfish sees, and how its mind, or what answers to a mind, operates. The illustrations are most excellent. TxHomas’ Noxious Insects oF ILtinots.'—Instead of trying to cover the whole or even the larger part of the field, the author has wisely confined himself to working up one and a very impor- tant group of injurious insects, the plant lice. The group is treated of systematically, the genera and species described at sufficient length for determination, and their habits described as fully as possible, with remarks on their insect enemies and the best remedies against their attacks. With this report in hand any one in Illinois or adjoining States, whose crops or fruit trees or flowers are afflicted by these troublesome pests, can ascertain their affinities and names, and the best means of getting rid of em. A great deal of useful information is scattered througt the report, which, barring some defects in its typographical appear- ance, the common fault of State reports, is well worthy of wide distribution and use by farmers and gardeners. A number of new Species are described, and as this volume is the first attempt to treat monographically of this extensive family of insects, it is worthy of the attention of the entomologist as well as the layman. RILEY on THE Corton Worm.2—This third Bulletin of the U. S. Entomological Commission gives the results of Prof. Riley’s researches on the cotton worm (Aletia argillacea), which is so in- jurious to the cotton plant that the average annual loss is esti- mated at over $12,000,000. The author, after treating of the losses sustained from the attacks of this caterpillar, describes the, egg and metamorphoses and habits of the insect in its different stages. Riley has discovered that, contrary to the usual impres- sion, the worm hatches in April, and that the third generation is — the most abundant, this having usually been regarded as the first, there being seven annual generations in the extreme Southern _ States. The relations of the soil, of the weather, to the develop- ment of the caterpillars are referred to; and the author states his _ belief that the moth hybernates in the southern portion of the- ! Eighth Report of the State Entomologist on the Noxious and Beneficial Insects of the State of Tilinois. Third Annual Report by Cyrus THomas, State Entomologist. — Springfield, 1879. 8°, pp- 212. ines age S| * Department of the Interior. United States Entomological Commission, Bulletin 3- The Cotton Worm. Sum of its Natural History, ses an account of . i ar £ ress Of the Work of the Commission. By CHARLES V. RILEY, M.A. Ph. D; Washington, * January 28, 1880. 89, pp. 144, with numerous illustrations. © 7 = — 284 Recent Literature, [ April, cotton belt, though most of the moths die off in the autumn. The insect parasites, twelve in number, which prey upon them are described, while a large part of the Bulletin is taken up with the various remedies employed, of which Paris green, London purple, these being preparations of arsenic, are strongly advocated, and a number of machines and contrivances for sprinkling and spraying dry and liquid poisons are figured and described. The work will be of great use to cotton planters; and to entomologists the entire ee a a its skillful mode of treatment will render it of permanent valu GILBERT'S GEOLOGY OF THE HENRY Mountatns.\—The teacher as well as student of general geology in this country who would be at all informed as to the broader features of American geoloty and paleontology is compelled to resort to the magnificent series of reports of our geological surveys of the Western Territories. These, almost without exception, have been ably prepared, and in most beg certainly worthy of the time and money bestowed upon the w rom them have been and will be largely de- rived the materiale for our text books. The present monograph, though not bulky, is a finished and elaborate study of an interest- ing group of mountains forming one of the western outlines of one of the flexures of the Rocky Mountain range, and rising sud- denly from what has otherwise been a region of geological calm. This group of five elevations forms as many daccolttes, as the au- thor terms them. It is usual, he says, for igneous rocks to as- cend to the surface of the earth and build up mountains or hills by successive eruptions. Such are volcanoes. Now, when the lava, instead of rising through all the beds of the earth’s crust, stops at a lower horizon, and insinuates itself between two strata and opens for itself a chamber by lifting all the overlying stfata, and here cools, forming a massive body of trap, a laccolite (daccos, cistern, and lithos, stone) is formed. This is the mode in which the Henry Mountains were formed, as well as numerous other isolated groups in the Plateau region. That many similar peaks, with the Elk mountains of Colorado, elaborately described by Messrs. Holmes and Peale, of Hayden’s Survey of the Territories, were formed in an identical manner has been independently estab- lished by these geologists, as stated by our author. Gilbert also makes the generalization that there are two types of igneous rock. ‘One type of rock is acidic, including porphyritic trachyte and eruptive le and its occurrence is, without ex- ception, intrusive. The other type of +rock is basic, including basic trachyte and basalt, nnd its occurrence is almost uniformly extrusive.” It appears that each group of laccolites is composed 1 Department of the Interior. U. S. Geographical a Peet me Survey of the Rocky oe Region. Report on the Geology of the Henry Mountains. BF: G G. K. GILBERT. Washington, 1877. {Received Nov. i, 1879.) 4°, pp. 160. ae : plates and Gooti = 1880. ] Recent Literature. 285 ture volcanets, so to speak, as may be seen on the flanks of Mt. Shasta. For example, “in the Uinkaret mountains, Major Powell has distinguished no less than *one hundred and eighteen erup- tive cones, and in the Henry mountains I have enumerated thirty-six individual laccolites. In one locality basic lava has one hundred and eighteen times risen to the surface by channels more ‘or less distinct, instead of opening chambers for itself below. In the other locality porphyritic trachyte has thirty-six times built laccolites instead of rising to the surface.” In answer to the ques- tion, why in some cases igneous rocks form volcanoes and in others laccolites, it is stated that “when lavas forced upward from lower lying reservoirs reach the zone in which there is the least hydrostatic resistance to their accumulation, they cease to rise. If this zone is at the top of the earth’s crust they build volcanoes; if it is beneath, they build laccolites. Light lavas are more apt to produce volcanoes; heavy, laccolites. The porphyritic trachytes of the Plateau Province produced laccolites.” The process of formation is thus summarized: “The station of the laccolite being decided, the first step in its formation is the intrusion along a parting of strata, of a thin sheet of lava, which spreads until it has an area adequate, on the principle of the hydrostatic press, to the deformation of the covering strata. The spreading sheet always extends itself in the direction of least resistance, and if the resistances are equal on all sides, takes a circular form. So soon as the lava can uparch the strata it does so, and the sheet be- mountain structure is entirely due to Mr. Gilbert, although a careful reading shows that he recognized the fact that the Henry mountains are not the only examples of what he terms the ‘laccolite.” Prof. Newberry, who examined the Sierra Abajo we o . 1859, was probably the first to recognize the:peculiar structure, o a : oe ; A RS, 5 ; 286 Recent Literature. [ April, but his examinations were rather cursory. This mountain, with others farther to the east, were carefully studied by Mr. i Holmes, of the Hayden Survey, in 1875 and 1876, and his illus- trations in the reports for those years show the same structure in the La Plata mountains, the Sierra Carrisso, and the Sierra El Late, in South-western Colorado and adjacent regions, with some points that do not appear in the Henry mountains, probably on account of the greater simplicity of the latter. . Fi ; ings appear to be nearer to nature, z.¢., less schematic. Scattered through Hayden’s reports from 1873 to 1876 are many descrip- tions of this type of structure, and the term Porphyritic-Trachyte (p. 64 and 68) used by Mr. Gilbert to designate the group to which the rocks belong, was first used by Dr. A. C. Peale, of Hayden’s corps, in 1874 (see his report for 1874 in Hayden’s An- nual Report), and afterwards he always used the term in designa- ting the rocks. Mr. Clarence King, in his report (Systematic Geology, 1878, p- 581), proposes the name Trachytoid-porphyry for the group, having recognized the resemblance of certain rocks occurring within the area of his explorations, to those of the Henry moun- tains. Healso recognizes the peculiar petrographical position of the rocks, one extreme of which cannot be distinguished from granite, and the other of which is undoubtedly trachyte. This fact was also pointed out by Dr. Peale in 1874 and 1875 (see his reports to Dr. Hayden). The descriptions of the localities men- tioned in Dr. Hayden’s Annual Reports were brought together in an article (On a peculiar type of Eruptive Mountains in Colo- rado) in Bulletin No. 3, Vol. 11, of the U. S. Geological Survey of the Territories, published May 15, 1877. Mr. Gilbert’s vol- ume is dated Washington, 1877, although it was not published until about four months ago. BATRACHOLOGICAL PAPERS.— Prof. Peters, of Berlin, has recently published an important paper in the Berlin Monatsberichte,’ on the Ceciliide. He discovered two new generic forms in which the usual position of the orbit is covered over by the squamosal bone, thus enclosing the rudimental eye in the fundus of the tentacular canal. One of these, Gymnopis, is American; the other, Herpele, trema was proposed on an immature Ichthyophis. paper Prof. Peters? describes two new species of Gidipus, one nopis u. Rhinatrema, 2 Monatsherichte Berliner Akademie, August, 1879. mes’ draw-: 1 Ueber die Eintheilung der Cecilien, und insbesondere ueber die Gattungen Gym- ren Nov., ` F 1880. | Recent Literature. 287 from New Grenada, the other from Hayti. If the latter locality is correct, it gives an entirely new distribution for the genus. It is now some time since M. Fernand Lataste of Paris, showed that the larve of the Batrachia Anura with opisthoccelous verte- bre have their branchial fissure median, while those with pro- -coelous vertebrz have it on the left side. In a more recent paper! this author discusses the position of the genus Discoglossus in the system, and gives much new information respecting the habits, varieties and larve of the D. pictus. He adopts the system pro- posed by Cope in 1864, in which Discoglossus is placed with Bombinator and Alytes in a special section of the Anura, apart from the ranoid and pelobatoid types. M. Lataste creates a num- ber of new names. The distinction in the articular character of the vertebrae had not been used by Cope as the basis of a primary division on account of its uncertainty in some Cystignathide, but M. Lataste adopts an opposite course. He also gives tribal names to the group with and without ribs, which, in our opinion, increases nomenclature unnecessarily. For this reason we com- mend his rejection of the new names proposed by M. DeLisle. the respiratory currents, since no direct outlet exists at the poste- rior nares.” rof. E. D. Cope has recently published in the Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society.3 a description , of the foramina which perforate the temporal and adjacent parts of the parietal bones of the Mammalia. He finds nine of these which are generally constant in position, but present great variety in their occurrence in the different orders, families and genera. Three of them are confined to the Menotremata and Marsupialia, while there are many of the higher types which do not possess any of them. The largest number is present in the equine Peris- __ sodactyla and the Ruminantia. Prof. Cope’s conclusions are stated as follows: 2 oO (1.) The sinous foramina furnish valuable diagnostic characters, — - and may, with proper limitations, be used in systematic defini- oo tion. En (2.) The primitive condition of the various Mammalian orders, appears to have been the possession of a limited number of these — ormina. ie ee 2 Vol vr, No. 5, Feb., 1880 1 Actes de la Société Linneenne de Bordeaux, XXXIB p. 275, 1879. a 3 "N : : : ee sere or 9. 1035, March, 1880. ` 288 General Notes. [April, (3.) The Monotreme-Marsupial line have developed a number of foramina in their own special way. (4.) The Rodentia have chiefly developed those of the inferior part of the squamosal bone, if any.. .) The Carnivora commenced with but few foramina, and have obliterated these on attaining their highest development. (6.) The history of the Quadrumana is identical with that of the Carnivora. (7.) The Perissodactyla present very few foramina in the lowest forms, and did not increase them in the line of the RAinoceride. In the line of the horses an increase in their number appeared early in geologic time, and is fully maintained in the existing species. i nS 8.) In the Omnivorous division of the Artiodactyla time has obliterated all the sinous foramina. In the camels an increased number was apparent at the same geologic period as in the history of the horses (White River or Lowest Miocene), and has been maintained ever since ; while the existing Pecora present a larger number of the foramina than any of the class of the Mammata. P S a eee GENERAL NOTES. BOTANY. Tue Humsie BEE A DysTELEOLOGIST AMONG ALPINE FLOWER Vistrors.—In the interesting article of which this is an abstract, Dr. Hermann Miiller considers the disteleological actions of the men much more comprehensive than Haeckel made it, or, indeed, The different living beings of any given place are so variedly and closely connected by their mutual relations that a change in — the habits of one species is indicated not only by the consequent uselessness of its own organs but also by the accompanying, use- lessness of those of other species which were closely adapted to it under former conditions. e numerous, well-determined mutual relations existing between flowers and insects serve especially well 1«Bombus mastrucatus, ein Dysteleoloz unter den alpinen Blumenbesuchern.” a Dr. Hermann Müller, Kosmos, Band III, Heft 6, p. 422: Se gull ent ya ae 1880. } : Botany. 289 in the study of disteleclogy. The closeness! of these relations Dr. Müller has shown in previous articles! Any change in the one must react on the other and produce some effect. For ex- ample, no teleologist could desire a more perfect adaptation of an average, later than the large-flowered form, and therefore are fertilized by pollen taken from the latter, the beauti- ful lever-mechanism of the anthers in the small flowers becomes useless at once, and passes from the province of teleology into that of disteleology ; it becomes a rudimentary organ, and as such is actually found in all degrees of atrophy. Or, again, if a species of humble bee belonging to the most frequent visitors of these flowers should find it too much trouble to set the anther-levers in motion, and should take to perforating the floral envelopes from the outside and through these stealing the nectar, it would not only cease to employ its tongue in a way fully corresponding to the degree of its development, but it would render the anther- mechanism of the flowers entirely useless in all of its visits. In- deed, were the not improbable case to occur, in which other spe- cies of bees, finding the nectar constantly gone from these flowers, should entirely lose their habit of visiting them, the flowers would never be fertilized, and the meadow-sage would die out in the regions where this occurred. The change in habits of the pirati- cal bee would thus have as a result the changing of the habits of all other humble bees ; and from the moment when this occurred the wonderful contrivances by which no insects but these bees can fertilize the flowers would become not only useless but absolute- ly destructive, and this, without the formation of rudimentary or- gans. Such a bee, obtaining nectar by robbing from flowers adapted to its visits for their fertilization sets at nought the theory of teleology, and merits in a high degree the name of a distele- ologist. Of this character is the Bombus mastrucatus of the Alps; which, — moreover, does not content itself with breaking into and stealing nectar from flowers which it cannot enter inthe normal way,buthas c which are not especially adapted to bees, but are op&h to the — visits of all insects. But while it visits these in the normal way— -1| See the NATURALIST for April, 1879, p- 257. ` a ash regularly when this is less trouble than perforating its oe orolla, ae 290 General Notes. [ April, because it would be more trouble to get at their nectar in any other—its more ravenous appetite and greater dependence upon plant-food are the only causes which render its visits more fre- quent than those of less-specialized insects, and its value to the plant greater; for visit for visit, they are as effective in fertilizing the flowers as it is. Such flowers as those of Thymus serpyllum, which are only slightly modified, are not as a rule perforated ; nor are pendant flowers like those of Campanula rapunculoides. But of bee-flowers like those of Aconitum napellus very few are visited regularly before a systematic perforation of their corollas is begun. In a few other cases where this bee either leaves the nectar untouched or obtains it by force it collects pollen, and in so doing aids in the fertilization of the flowers Were we only to count the flowers which this bee visits in the normal way, and those which it perforates, we might infer that its good and evil deeds stand pretty evenly balanced; nevertheless it would always remain a disteleologist because it seldom uses its own organs ina way corresponding to the completeness of their de- velopment, and, moreover, breaks ruthlessly through the most highly developed floral structures, so that to a certain extent both its own organs and those of the flower are rendered useless. But to fully appreciate its injuriousness we must note how great- ly it prefers those richly nectariferous flowers which it perforates to those with less nectar which it visits normally. So great is this preference that it is astonishing to see how few flowers of such species as Salvia pratensis remain unperforated. 5 Bad in itself, this habit of perforating flowers is rendered still worse for the plants by the habit which certain other insects have of obtaining nectar through openings already formed, though they would not form any for themselves. This limits still more the number of useful visitors of the flowers. Hence it is not im- probable that this bee may have been the cause of the extinction of many alpine plants; and one can scarcely doubt that changes in flowers which tend to check or stop perforation by it have been taken up and developed by natural selection from the time when this unnatural action first began. An instance of partial protec- tion against this bee is afforded by Rhinanthus alectorolophus, where the inflated calyx and the firm, smooth arch of the corolla together protects the flowers from forcible removal of their nectar, and force the bee to aid in their fertilization or go without the sweets. In Pedicularis verticellata the perforation of the floral envelopes is partially prevented by the globular form of the calyx, the abrupt, rectangular bend of the corolla within, and its smooth, laterally compressed condition without the calyx. It is easily seen why rudimentary organs are not formed in flowers robbed of their nectar by our bee; for bee- and butterfly- flowers which are thus treated either receive enough visits from other species to ensure their fertilization and prevent the abortion 1880. ] Botany. * 291 of their organs, or their other visitors are crowded out to such an extent that the plant perishes at once, giving no opportunity for the formation of any rudiments. Nor can the sucking apparatus of the bee become rudimentary, for it isemployed constantly in obtain- ing nectar even from those flowers which are broken into. Only in case the robber-bee formed the habit of biting off all nectar- containing parts, or of stealing honey already collected by other bees, could its tongue become abortive. What would occur in the the latter case is seen in the Brazilian 7) rig ona lime, which has this habit. The disused tongue is here very small, while the mandibles, being more frequently used, are unusually large and strong.—W. Trelease. BoranicaL Nores.'\—The Botanical Gazette, for December, fur- nishes articles by C. C. Pringle, on dimorpho-dichogamy in Fug- lans cinerea, and on the leaf propagation of Nasturtium lucustre. To the January number Dr. Gray sends notes on Tennessee Nova Scotia. Dr. George Engelman writes on Catalpa speciosa. In the February number are notes on Viola tricolor by Prof. T. C. Porter. To the Bulletin of the Torry Botanical Club, for De- cember, 1879, Mr. Pringle contributes notes on Northern New England plants, and Aspidium spinulosum is noticed critically by Mr. B. D. Gilbert. The death of Dr. F. J. Bumstead, a student of vegetable anatomy and physiology, which occurred November 28th, is also announced. The California Horticulturist always ‘A portion of these notes were crowded out tf the March number.—Eprrors. _ : : a 292 General Notes. [ April, number, the gross weight being considerably less. He found also that the leaves were obviously injured by the flesh food and that the power of the plants to resist the winter was diminished. He thinks the epithet “carnivorous” to be inappropriate. On the other hand, Von Heldrich, according to the Fournal of the Royal Microscopical Society, has found a Pinguicula on the upper side of whose leaves are a large number of bodies of insects in an earlier or later stage of digestion by the glands plentifully sprin- kled over its surface. This is the first insectivorous plant yet recognized in Greece. By the will of the late Stephen C. Olney, of Providence, R. I., his herbarium of from 8000 to 10,000 spe- cies of plants, and his library of botanical works. numbering some four hundred volumes, and an excellent microscope, with $10,000 for the increase of the library and herbarium, have been bequeathed to Brown University. The library contains many costly works. The herbarium comprises, besides a fine series of Carices, on which the donor bestowed much labor, many Western and South-western plants named by Gray, Cuban plants, Austin’s, Sullivant and Lesquereux’s mosses, and good series of algæ and lichens. The author’s botanical labors were recognized some years since in the establishment of the genus Olneya. The Col- lege also receives from him the sum of $25,000 for a professorship of natural history. - ZOOLOGY.? Seite six Days At SEA, IN AN OPEN BOAT, CRUISING FOR ALES.—Wee left San Francisco on a small steam propeller hare as the Rocket; length about thirty-five feet, eight feet beam, and about five and a-half tons register. The day we left being fine, we had a very pleasant trip as far as Point Reyes, which is about ‘thirty-five miles north of San Fran- cisco, but saw nothing of importance on the way, except now an then numerous albicore and the porpoises sporting in the sea. We anchored in Drake’s bay for the night. Early on the follow- ing morning we steamed up and took a cruise outside, and in a few hours heard the familiar Soba “There she’ blows,” and the captain, with spy-glass in hand, answering, “ Where-away ? ” with the answer, “ Just on the lee bow, about half a mile ahead !” Getting everything in order, we steered for him, and soon saw several whales swimming very fast and going northwards. Now one approaches which proves to be a sulphur bottom whale (Si- baldius sulphureus Cope), seventy-five to eighty feet long, just under the bow of the boat, in fact almost too close for a shot. The captain fired one of the well-known Fletcher, Suits & Co. California whaling rockets, and patent bomb lance. This apparatus consists of a gun-metal cylinder filled with a peculiar composition made only by themselves, to which is attached, in front, a bomb + Tae oo of Ornithology and Mammalogy are conducted tiy Dr. Eiryr = 7 COUES, tA e 293 Zovlogy. , 1880. | with a barbed point; inside the bomb (Fig. 1) is an explosive i NI aie iy = Vg Se ae Fic, 1. Fic. 3. CALIFORNIA WHALING ROCKET AND PATENT BOMB LANCE. , which is released by the bursting of a ge and a chain to hich the © ing, one carried a whale line, of two and a-half i see) a : Bn w N : pie a | aR uug ESPA c Mess in eee ji vo g Boe 3 gaung MA Qa. TauTa a ee gsee Do e a EROP go Bad os ee B, gs aoe y TpAYE Gova v EE y S P ea (Srs) E = È r. 294 : General Notes. [ April, ference, about sixty fathoms, which shows what power they have, since a bomb and twenty fathoms of line weigh about fifty-five pounds. These are generally fired from the bow of the boat. Fig. 3 gives a good idea of a man firing ata whale. Fig. 4 gives an V Fic. 4.—Enlarged view of the complete apparatus. enlarged view of the complete apparatus before being fired. The hinged flange is thrown the whale, if it hits him, but in our case, we being too close to the whale, about ten feet distant, the bomb went through him, just abaft of the flukes, and bursted on the outside, leaving the toggle on the outside of him; we were now towed the propeller, which would, perhaps, weigh ten tons, coa twenty to forty fathoms of whale line, some- times at the rate of ten miles am hour, al- though we were fre- quently backing under a full head of steam. This, if we were going showing the immense strength of the whale. This species of whale is seldom attacked by the whalers on ~ 1880. ] Zoology. 295 account of its being so much swifter than any other whales known. We held on to him as long as we could, hoping he would soon give up, as he was going so fast and at such a dis- tance from us, we could not get another shot at him, and it being near sundown, and we over ten miles from land, we commenced to shorten up the line as much as possible intending soon, if he did not give up, to cut the line and let him go. While doing so the line parted, and we lost about ten fathoms and the rocket. Thus ended one of the fastest and most exciting rides I ever had behind one of the monsters of the dee We now steamed towards Drake’s bay, where we anchored for the night. On a subsequent day we went out and saw numerous sulphur bottoms, but all swimming fast and going northward. We could scarcely approach them, but finally firing a shot he one, we missed him. We did not get any more chances at them during the day, and at night returned to Drake’s bay.—C. D. Voy. List oF CALIFORNIAN REPTILES AND BATRACHIA COLLECTED BY Mr. Dunn Anp Mr. W. J. FISHER IN 1876.—The following species were collected by Mr. Dunn in a district about seventy-five miles south-east of San Diego: BATRACHIA. Plethodon croceater Cope. OPHIDIA. Crotalus lucifer B. and G. LACERTILIA, Cnemidophorus tessellatus sub. sp. tessellatus Say. Callisaurus dracontoides Blainville. Uta thalassina Cope. Uta stansburiana B. and G. Uta ornata B. and G. Sceloporus clarkii subsp. zosteromus Cope. Phrynosoma coronatum Blainville. The following were collected in Lewes egy at or to the south of Magdalena bay, by Mr. W. J. Fish BATRACHIA. Batrachoseps attenuatus ? La Paz. OPHIDIA.. Hypsiglena ochrorhyncha Co Rhinochilus lecontei B. and 7 LACERTILIA. Chirotes sp. ? La el Cnemidop, us Cope. Phrynosoma Eok Gin. Las Animas bay. ; a ae Dipsosaurus dorsalis Hallowell. i Prof. E. D; Cope has kindly identified the rarer species, and has verified the identification of the others. a The single example of Plethodon croceater is, I am — d by Prof. Ss Cope, the os one now known to be extant. Le 296 General Notes. [ April, Uta thalassina, a very rare species, is represented by two specimens. The occurrence of Chirotes in Lower California has been pre- viously noted by Prof. Peters, of Berlin, but as his papers upon the subject are not accessible to me, I cannot be certain to which of the two described species the specimens belong. The Batrachoseps appears to be attenuatus, and if so, proves that species to have a more southerly range than has been hitherto supposed.—W. N. Lockington. THE GASTRULA OF VERTEBRATES AND THE GASTRÆA THEORY. —The amount of attention now being given to embryology is very great, and of papers and memoirs upon this topic there is no end, while the subject is still apparently in its infancy. To Haeckel, who first showed that all animals above the Protozoans pass through a so-called morula and gastrula condition, much of this recent activity is due. However crude and open to eriticism much of his work may have been, he has marked out a new line of investigation, and his gastræa hypothesis has been, with all its necessary assumptions and crudities, most fruitful in results. -His early generalization that most if not all many-celled animals pass through the condition of a two-layer sac with a primitive open- ing and digestive canal (his gastrula) has been sustained by Bal- four, Lankester, Kuppfer, Benecke, and others. The observations of the two last named authors on the salamanders, lizards and turtles have enabled them to extend the gastraa theory into the great division of the Amniote Vertebrata, and, it is claimed, does much to explain the phylogenetic history of the allantois. A gas- trula state is now known to be common to Amphioxus, the lam- prey, sharks, ganoids, bony fishes, as well as to all higher verte- , brates. Kuppfer and Benecke have discovered that in the em- bryo turtle the gastrula-cavity is continued into the intestine (or hind gut) and that therefore it forms the rudiment of the allantois. Zootocica, Notrs.—A. D. Michael states in the Journal of the Royal Microscopical Society that after placing some Oribati mites in one per cent. solution of osmic acid for several hours, and then putting them in fifty per cent. alcohol for several more hours, and finally in absolute alcohol for several additional hours, they came out, naturally to his surprise, “all alive and apparently not much the worse.” ——M. Dareste states that the amnion is OC- casionally absent in the embryo chick, though the germs would probably not live to break the shell. In a paper on the loco- motion of land snails, Dr. Simroth discusses the action of the muscles of the foot and their relation to the nerves, and draws attention to the interesting relations between the circulatory sys- tem and the locomotor muscles. It seems that thé foot of the slug can only contract so long as it is swollen out by blood, the sinus in the middle line of the foot forniing a veritable'corpus $ r880. | Anthropology. 297 . cavernosum. Three species of Helix having been shown to be viviparous, a fourth (Helix studeriana, from the Leychelles) has been found by Vignier to bring forth its young alive. The so- called proboscis of Pterotrachea, a Heteropod mollusc, has been found to possess organs of taste, the gustatory papilla having, it is claimed by Todaro and Milone, the same structure as those of the Mammalia. Indications of the molting of the horny beak of a penguin (Eudyptes) were presented to the Zoological Society by Dr. Mulvany. It appears that the Phylloxera in France resisted the severe cold and deep snow of the past winter, the temperature in December having been below 10° and 12° F. No remedies: have yet proved successful in dealing with this dreadful pest. ANTHROPOLOGY.’ AMERICAN Etunotocy.—In the history of every science there are periods when the student may lay aside the apparatus of the investigator and bring together the results of varied researches into one general view. Such an opportunity offered itself, and was well utilized, when Mr. John D. Baldwin, profiting by the labors of Schoolcraft, Squier and Davis, Stephens, Cather- wood, the earlier Government surveys, and the Smithsonian Insti- tution, as well as the older authorities, published, in 1871, his “ Ancient America.” A personal familiarity with the very arena on which the history of the Mound-builders was enacted, and the accumulation of new materials, induced Dr. J. W. Foster, in 1873 to publish his “ Pre- historic Races in the United States.” y e work consists of eleven chapters, treating of the ancient — ern continent, origin of the ancient Americans, especially the _ Edited by Prof. Orts T. Mason, Columbian College, Washington, D. C. — : ae _ VOL, Xrv.—wnNo rv, 20 298 General Notes. | April, the Nahuas, old world analogies with ancient American civiliza- tion, chronology, language, and finally, the possible methods of peopling America from the old world. Since the author laid aside his authorities to abide with the printer, several very important contributions have appeared which would have thrown light upon his discussions, and which he, no doubt, would have been the first to utilize; notable among these are, ‘““Habel’s Sculptures of Santa Lucia,” “Raus. Palenque Tablet,” “ Anales del Museo Nacional de Mexico,” the writings of Bandelier, Icazbalceta, Stephen Powers, A. S. Gatschet, Col. Mallery, and above all, the immense linguistic and ethnographic material now collecting at the Bureau of Ethnology in Washing- ton, under the direction of Major J. W. Powell. But investigation must cease somewhere, and the author has produced, from the material at hand, by far the best summary of ancient North America which has yet appeared. We have fol- lowed him with great trepidation from the beginning to the end of his perilous undertaking, along the dizzy heights, the narrow ledges, the yawning abysses and the tumultuous floods. He has, at times, been lost to our view, and again seemed falling into the devouring torrents. We could hear some of our brethren shout- ing, “Climb a little higher!” “Stoop a little lower!” “ Lean to the right!” ‘“ Lean to the left!” “Come my way!” But on the whole, Prof. Short has made a successful trip, though, doubtless, feeling much as Maj. Powell’s party did when they emerged from the cafions in 1869, or like Dr. Grove, who closes his Greek dic- tionary with the ejaculation, “ Glory to God.” The opinions most strenuously advocated are: 1. That the Mound-builders were not red Indians; 2. That they were related to the Nahuas of Mexico; 3. That man is not autochthonous in America, that the claims of excessive antiquity are not valid, in fine, that he has not been upon the continent over 3000 years; 4- That the multitudinous theories of European and Asiatic migra- tions, of which a very complete list is given, while valuable as traditions, lack confirmation ; 5. That the ancient Americans were not a single race, as held by Morton; 6. The very high degree of artistic and scientific knowledge possessed by the Mayas and Nahuas; 7. The value of Landa’s Syllabaries in the future decipherment of Maya hieroglyphics ; 9. The great merit of the Maya-Quiche literary remains. “ The poetry of the Quiche cos- mogony must some day find expression in verse of Miltonic grandeur. The fall of Xibalba will, no doubt, afford the materials for an heroic poem which will stand in the same re lation to America that the Iliad does to Greece. The doctrines of the benign and saintly Quetzalcoatl, or Cukulcan, must be classed among the great faiths of mankind, and their author, alone of all the great teachers of morals, except Christ himself, inculcating & : positive morality, must be granted a precedence of most of the = 1880. ] Geology and Paleontology. 299 great teachers of Chinese and Hindoo antiquity ;” 10. ‘‘ While the probability is preéminent that the ancient Americans are of old world origin, and that the Mayas and Nahuas reached this continent from opposite directions, it is certain that the civilization developed by each people is indigenous.” PERUVIAN ANTIQUITIES.—Those who have read with pleasure Squier’s “ Peru,” published by the Harpers in 1877, will, no doubt, be delighted to see the following title and table of contents of the most thorough work on Peruvian antiquities that has yet ap- peared: Wiener, Charles. Pérou et Bolivie. Récit de voyage ‘suivi d'etudes archéologiques et ethnographiques et de notes sur l’ecriture et les langues des populations indiennes: Ouvrage con- tenant plus de 1100 gravures, 27 cartes et 18 plans. Paris, Li- brairie Hachette et Cie., 79 Boulevard Saint Germain, 1880. Droits de propriété et de traduction réservés. In 1875 M. Wiener was . Sent by the Minister of Public Instruction of France to Peru and Bolivia upon an archzological and ethnographical mission to last two years. The observations of the author are classed into four groups: 1. Account of his travels; 2. Archeological researches ; 3. Observations upon ethnography; 4. Linguistic studies. In giving an account of antiquities, M. Wiener observes that he does not take upon himself the office of the panegyrist nor that of the detractor, but confines himself to an accurate account of the wit- ness of these ancient civilizations, dividing them into three classes, architecture, sculpture and decoration (peinture). GEOLOGY AND PALAONTOLOGY. The flow of this glacier was subsequent to that of the great ice- sheet. More recently Prof. C. H. Hitchcock has described the glacial drift of this region in the New Hampshire Geological Reports. He also found abundant traces of such a glacier. During June, 1879, while studying the modified drift of the Androscoggin valley, the writer incidentally noted the signs of the local glacier. The most unique morainal mass which I found in 300 General Notes. [ April, covered with ordinary glacial till, with the exception of a mass of loose morainal materials lying in the woods a short distance east of the brook. A number of white birches and poplars led me into the thicket under a suspicion of kames, and thus I stumbled upon this deposit. Its southern portion (it is separated into two parts by a depression) consists of a ridge from five to fifteen rods wide and rising from ten to thirty feet above the surrounding slopes of the hill. Here are some granite bowlders, closely resembling, if not identical with the outcrop of gneiss found a short distance west of here, near the river, The northern portion consists of a V-shaped mass with the apex south, It is com- posed of two ridges making the angle of 60° with each other, which are connected on the north by an irregularly curved ridge, the whole enclosing a shallow funnel or “potash kettle,” Of these the western ridge is prolonged somewhat to the north of the cross ridge in the form of a row of conical hillocks which reach down nearly to the upper terrace of the river valley. This | western ridge is nearly in line with the southern ridge first de- scribed (perhaps they are really one ridge), and both bear nearly due magnetic north, thus crossing the State line obliquely. From the eastern ridge a short spur juts to the south. The northern end of these ridges must rise fifty or more feet above the under- lying hill. The ridges all slope outward in all directions, often as steeply as loose materials will lie. By aneroid the height of the ridges above the river varies from 180 to 200 feet, and perhaps there were places a little higher than those measured. In places the materials show signs of water- wash, with a loose structure as of gravelly upper till. Along the south bank of the Androscoggin are many morainal masses left by the great glacier, but this is evidently a very different deposit. Considering the shape of the mass, its situation, its height, its materials and the steepness of its slopes, I regard it as a moraine of the local glacier. It is one-third of a mile long and at one point is about one-eighth of a mile wide. The significance of this moraine becomes more evident after examining the north side of the river opposite. Here a high hill called Hark hill, stands far out into the valley in the angle be- tween the Androscoggin and a stream that comes in from the N. N. W. Hark hill is separated from the cliffs that. form the northern walls of the Androscoggin valley toward the north-west by a low valley in which is found an extensive moraine. This deposit ends on the east and north-east in a steep bank or bluff from twenty to forty feet high, overlooking the interval of the lateral stream above mentioned. It contains many angular bowlders and sometimes an angular gravel, as if little water worn. This deposit is not valley drift, and for the most part does not appear to be ordinary till. I marked it as a lateral moraine of the valley glacier, though not very positively. Its height was 1880. | Geology and Paleontology. 301 not measured, but cannot be much, if any, more than one hun- dred feet above the river. No grooves of the local glacier could be found on the north side of Hark hill, though they are beau- tifully developed everywhere on the south side of the hill next the river. On the south-east shoulder of Hark hill is found a morainal ridge. It bears N. 20° W., which was so near the direction of the flow of the continental glacier that I carefully examined the northern end of the deposit to see if it was a “tail” to a spur of the hill. It ends on the north at a height by aneroid of about one hundred and ninety feet above the river, terminating as a steep ridge of loose materials piled up to a height of ten or fifteen feet above the surrounding slopes of the hill. Its length is about one-fourth of a mile. It is evidently a moraine of the local glacier, and is described as such by Prof. Hitchcock. Here then at this bend of the river, at the State line, are two remarkable moraines lying transverse to the valley and directly Opposite to each other. Each begins at a point about two hun- dred feet above the river and reaches down nearly or quite to the upper terrace of the valley drift. The larger moraine is on the south side of the river, and almost in a line with the glacier’s axis for a mile or two up the valley. It appears as if the local glacier here paused in its recession for a time long enough to form a terminal moraine of considerable size. That part of the moraine which was within reach of the swollen river would natu- through it by several chan _ fineness of its materials, an 302 General Notes. [ April, make it very unlikely that this low flat was excavated in valley drift. At least, if so, the drift must have been of unusually fine materials. The currents which ees these kame-like ridges at have swept toward the Androscoggin valley or away from he abruptness with which the ridges end on the north- wk favors the latter theory, though this could not be confirmed by lines of stratification, as no fresh exposures could be found. At Shel- burne the valley of the Androscoggin abruptly widens, and there has evidently been a lateral sweep of the currents, but I nowhere in the valley saw these oblique ridges actually turning back toward the west unless it be here at the State line, The appear- ances could be accounted for by supposing that during the depo- sition of the valley drift, in times of sudden flood, powerful cur- rents overflowed into the lateral valley until it was filled with water. Coarse materials would be carried for a limited distance and the finer would be deposited over that wide interval, which would for the time being be a lake. Or it may be that a part of these ridges were true kames, deposited in ice channels along the flanks of the valley glacier during its final melting. In any case it is difficult to see how the currents could have come from the north west without leaving some traces of gravel ridges in that direction. Thus far no decisive evidence can be found that the Androscog- gin glacier flowed eastward of West Bethel. Many morainal ridges cross the valley but none of them appear to have been deposited by the local glacier, unless it be a line of hillocks and ridges just west of the valley of the Sunday river, below Bethel. A minute examination may show this deposit to be a moraine of the Androscoggin glacier.—George H. Stone. Marsu on Jurassic DINOSAURIA.—In the Masch, 1880, number of the American Fournal of Science and Arts, Prof. Marsh gives an account of the Dinosaurian Stegosaurus ungulatus, of which he as come into possession of an unusually complete skeleton. He finds the genus to be possessed of very distinctive characters, which are as follows: “(1.) All the bones of the skeleton are solid ; (2.) The femur is without a third trochanter ; (3.) The crest on ‘the outer condyle of the femur which in birds separates the heads of the tibia and fibula, is rudimentary or wanting; (4.) The tibia is firmly codssi- fied with the proximal tarsals; (5.) The fibula has the larger extremity below.” Prof. Marsh abandons the order Stegosauria which he formerly proposed, and refers the genus to the Dino- sauria, to a special group. Stegosaurus ungulatus was thirty feet long, and walked on its hind limbs; its back was protected by bony scuta, and its food was probably vegetable. ARCHOPTERYX.—In 1863 M. Haberlein discovered in the litho- graphic stone of Solenhofen (Bavaria) a fossil bird, the Archzop- 1880. ] Geology and Paleontology. 303 teryx, which was described by Owen, and a restoration of it is to be found in several of the recent manuals of Geology. ore re- cently, M. Haberlein, Jr., has found in the same place another slab containing a complete and most perfect specimen of Archzop- teryx. The examination of that specimen modified some pre- fingers are long, slender and provided with sharp claws. The wing- feathers (remiges) are attached ali along the outer side of the arm and hand; had ‘they not been preserved, no one would have sus- pected, from the examination of the skeleton alone, that the ani- mal was winged. The remiges do not overlap each other; the proximal end of the shaft is covered with down; the outline of the wings is rounded like that of the hen. The head, neck, chest, ribs, tail, thoracic girdle, and front limbs of that fossil are charac- teristically reptilian; the pelvis was also probably more reptilian than avian. On the contrary, the legs are bird-like; they re- semble most those of the falcon, inasmuch as they are covered with feathers. To every caudal vertebra was attached a pair of © lateral quills. The remainder of the body was evidently naked and featherless, with perhaps the exception of the base of the neck, where there are indications of a collar of feathers like that of the condor. Karl Vogt, to whom science is indebted for several of the fore- going facts, says that it is superfluous to discuss the question as to whether the Archzopteryx is a bird or a reptile. It is neither; it is an intermediate type by itself, and confirms the views of uxley, who classes together the birds and reptiles, under the name of Sauropsida, as one of the great divisions of vertebrates. _ Tue Manti Bens or Urau.—lIna previous number (May, 1879) of this journal I showed that the palzontological evidence is op- posed to the identification of the “ Amyzon” beds of Nevada and Colorado with the Green River formation, and that the former are probably of later origin. There is, however,a series of calcareous and silico-caleareous beds in Central Utah, in Sevier and San Pete counties, which contain the remains of different species of vertebrates from those which have been derived from either the — Green River or Amyzon beds. These are Crocodilus, sp., Clastes cuneatus Cope, and a fish provisionally referred to Priscacara under the name of P. testudinaria Cope. There is nothing to de- termine to which of the Eocenes this formation should be referred, but it is tolerably certain that it is to be distinguished from the Amyzon beds. In its petrographic characters it is most like the Green River, as it consists in large part of shales. The lamine_ are generally thicker than those of Green and Bear River. The genera Crocodilus and Clastes have not been found heretofore in 304 General Notes. [ April, Green River beds, although they are abundant in the formations deposited before and after that period. Until its proper position can be ascertained, I propose that the formation be called the Manti beds.—£. D. Cope. THE SKULL oF EmpepocLes —This genus, originally described? from vertebrz, proves to be allied to Diadectes, and to be one of the most remarkable forms of the Permian fauna. With that genus it forms a family, the sasea The skull of Æ. molaris? displays the following charac The relations of the ae and zygomatic enbi are as in the Zheromorpha generally. The pterygoids extend to the quad- rates, and the vomer bears teeth. The brain-case extends to be- tween the orbits, and its lateral walls are uninterrupted by Sae from this point to near the origin of the os guadratum. There an enormous frontoparietal foramen. The mode of eps with the atlas is peculiar. There is a facet on each side of the foramen magnum, which then expands largely below them. The bone which bounds it- inferiorly, presents on its posterior edge a median concavity. On each side of this, is a transverse cotylus, much like those of an atlas which are applied to the occipital condyles of the Mammalia. They occupy precisely the position of the Mammalian condyles. The median point of their upper border, which forms the floor of the foramen magnum, is pro- duced in the position occupied by the median occipital condyle of a reptile. From its position between the cotyli, the section of this process is triangular. The element in which the cotyli are excavated has the form of the mammalian basioccipital, and of the reptilian sphenoid. It is not the batrachian parasphenoid. Its extreme external border on each side where it joins a crest descending from Sar os is excavated by a circular fossa which looks outw The character of this articulation is so distinct from anything yet known among vertebrated animals, that I feel justified in pro- posing a new division of the Theromorpha to include the Dia- dec tide, to be called the Cotylosaurta. It will be Dee cates that in Diadectes the maxillary teeth are transverse, and molar-like. ere is a distinct canine. In Æm- pedocles there is no distinct canine, but the incisors are distin- guished by their form, having more or less distinct’ transverse edges. For the present I refer D. latibuccatus to Empedocles— ED Cope. GEOGRAPHY AND TRAVELS.’ THE INTERIOR OF GREENLAND.—The Danish Government hav- ing recently instituted an examination by a scientific commission of the interior of Greenland, has now published the first part of oceed. Amer. Philos. Soc., Phila., 1878, p. 516 + Datt molaris Cope, AMER. NATURALIST, 1878, p. 565. 3 Edited by ELLIS H. YARNALL, Philadelphia. 1880. | Geography and Travels. 305 a report giving the results of these researches. A recent num- ber of the Nature (February 12, 1880) gives a résumé of the work, from which we take the following: “The work contains four memoirs of great interest: an ac- count of the expedition upon the inland ice, made by Lieut Jan- sen in 1878; a record of the astronomical and meteorological observations made during this journey; notes on the geology of the west coast of Greenland, by M. Kornerup; and remarks upon the plants collected by the last named explorer, by M. Lange. “Starting from the néighborhood of Frederikshaab, in South Greenland, Lieut. Jansen traversed a distance of forty-six miles over the continental ice. Here he found, as did Dalager, who made a similar attempt from the same point in 1751, that a num- ` ber of islands of rock (Nunatakker) rise above the general level of the great sea of ice, and upon these rocky islets no less than fifty-four species of plants were collected.” Of the character and movements of this great sheet of ice we learn that: “1. At a-distance of 75 to 76 kilometres from the shore, the continental ice attains a height of 1570 metres (5115 feet), and must be of considerable thickness, since its inclination to the east from the Isblink of Frederikshaab averages only 40’. “2. On that part of the continental ice which has been ex- of the ice, in some cases actually bringing about a reversal of the direction. © “3. The surfaces of dislocation’ resulting from the movement of the ice are almost vertical in the midst of the continental ice, but they incline at the edge and near the ‘ Nunatakker,’ where the slope of the ground is great, and the upper parts of the ice, in Consequence, move more rapidly. “4. The crevasses are partly perpendicular, partly parallel to the direction of the movements, following the nature of the in- equalities of the rock bed, and in places where the ice takes a fan-like disposition, both radial and tangential crevasses are oD- served. : “5. Around the ‘ Nunatakker’ and the rocks near the shore the surface of the continental ice is impregnated with fine rocky débris (sand and clay), which are brought there by tempests, and — which brooks carry from a distance to the cavities of the conti- nental ice. The masses of clay thus collected give rise to the pyramids of ice which, near the Isblink of Frederikshaab, attain an elevation of nearly sixty feet. Se ee _ “6. Moraines of different form are found on the ‘continental — ice, especially near the ‘ Nunatakker,’ and they must be referred to the classes of ground moraines and terminal moraines. They _ frequently form curved or semi-circular lines, and inclose well- 306 General Notes. [ April, rounded masses of stone of no great magnitude, which in their advance fall into the crevasses. The exposed rocks along the coast and in the islets which rise above the great ice-sheet are found to be mostly composed of gneiss, with some mica, talc and hornblende-schists, and occa- sional patches of granite New proofs are furnished of the gradual elevation in past periods of the west coast. “Five sets of raised beaches are described oc- curring at heights of 28, 57, 94, 192 and 326 feet above the sea- level respectively. On the other hand there is clear evidence that the land is, at the present time, slowly subsiding, the extent of this movement being shown to have been at Lichtenfels from six to eight feet since the year 1789.” Finscu’s EXPEDITION TO THE NortH Paciric.—Dr. Otto Finsch, a naturalist of wide reputation, having recently completed an account of his last journey through Western Siberia, has now Pacific. He reached Honolulu in July last. He sends home an interesting account of the effect of the introduction of new spe- cies of plants and birds upon the native species. Large numbers of mainas, a kind of starling (Acridotheres tristis) have been imported from China, and by driving away the pigeons and fowls, and destroying the ngsts and eggs of the domestic birds, have become a great nuisance to the inhabitants. The mainas are very active and vociferous, and when gathering by hundreds at their roosting places, the noise is indescribable. The European house- sparrow has also reached the: Sandwich islands, and are only second in numbers to the mainas. Another introduced species is the turtle-dove, brought also from China. To find the native birds it was necessary for Dr. Finsch to travel into the interior. .Even here they were scarce, and he complains that both the native forests and birds are rapidly being destroyed. On August 21st, Dr. Finsch arrived at the Marshall islands, landing on “ Jaluit,” or Bonham island. This island being much vis.ted by the natives of the other neighboring and little known islands, afforded him excellent opportunities for his ethnographic studies. GEOGRAPHICAL News.—A valuable paper, “ Observations on the Physical Geography and Geology of Madagascar,” accompanied by a physical sketch map, by James Sibree, Jr., was given in Nature for August 14, 1879. It contains much new and valuable information about this great island which is the third in size in the world, and nearly four times larger than England and Wales. Nature notices an amusing mistake in a German scien- tific work, ` ia Das Leben der Hauskatze und ihrer Verwandten,” where the foll “ Die schwanz- lose Katze von der Insel Man im stillen Ocean wenn nicht das Kap Man S Borneo darunter zu verstehen,” etc., thus first placing 1880. | Geography and Travels. 307 the Isle of Man in the Pacific ocean and then doubting its exis- tence, and suggesting it may be a cape of the same name in Borneo!! Accurate measurements made by the Russian authorities in the ports of the Baltic, have undoubtedly proved that the level of the sea at Cronstadt is, by nearly two feet, higher than at Reval, and that the height decreases regularly from north to south; this conclusion being fully Supported by Prussian meas- urements at Memel and at Kiel. The Revue de Geographie has recently published some statistics of the census of Japan. Only five cities have over 100,000 population, viz: Tokio 595,905, Ohosaka 271,292, Kioto 238,603, Nagava 125,195 and Kanazava 109,850. Yokohama has only 64,602 inhabitants, Nagasaki 29,660 and Hakodate 28,800. In a communication to the Lon- don Academy (January 24, 1880) upon the archeology of South- ern Italy, M. Lenormant well says, that “geographers have not hitherto paid sufficient attention to the general fact of the dis- placement of the centers of population throughout this region at the beginning of the middle ages. The Greek cities were all placed on the sea shore, or at a very short distance from it, in positions favorable to traffic by sea, but ill adapted for purposes of defence. During the centuries when Saracen corsairs were masters of Sicily, and periodically ravaged the coasts of Southern Italy, these positions became untenable, exposed as they were to devastation of every kind. The inhabitants abandoned them and withdrew some five or six miles from the sea, leaving the coast absolutely deserted.” “ Now, since security has returned to the coast, thanks to the suppression of piracy in Barbary, which con- tinued to desolate these regions until the taking of Algiers by the French, a precisely opposite movement is in progress. The first step was to plant the sea-board and cultivate it afresh without leaving the inland districts. Next, within the last few years, the rail- way has been constructed which skirts the Ionian sea. Now the- the journ e Dutch edition will first appear, but it will doubtless be translated into one at least of the more widely known languages.——The French Geographical Society are con- sidering the practicability of adopting some uniform system of spelling in their publications, thus quickly imitating the — similar resolution of the Royal Geographical Society. —— The New York State Survey has ascertained that in a dis- — 308 General Notes. [ April, trict covering about 2000 square miles, in one of the most popu- lous parts of the State, and containing two important cities and nearly two hundred villages and hamlets, every one of these towns or villages is misplaced from one to two miles on all existing maps. The Director, Mr. James T. Gardner, remarks: ‘ Colo- rado was not a greater surprise to me than has been the structure of my native State. In thestudy of the origin of some of the most remarkable features lie untrodden tracts of knowledge which are, yet to awaken deep interest. The configuration of a part of Central New York is as unique and as unknown to science as that of any part of the Rocky mountains.” “Studien über das Klima der Mittelmeerlander,” by Theobald Fischer, published as a supplement to Petermann’s Mittheilungen, is an exhaustive mono- graph on the climate of the shores of the Mediterranean. An interesting account of the famous winds, the Maestral, the Bora and the Sirocco, is given with many tables and charts illustrating the records of temperature and rainfall. He also discusses the evidence for change of climate, within historic times, afforded by the fauna and flora. When the African elephant was tamed by the Carthagenians, the camel was unknown in North Africa, whereas now the camel is indispensable on the desert and the elephant and rhinoceros have both disappeared from the region. There is no evidence of such a change in the climate of the coun- tries north of the Mediterranean as would prevent their recovering the position they held in ancient times. The rainfall, though, owing to the destruction of the forests, it is differently distributed, is the same in amount and sufficient for agricultural needs. In the countries, however, lying south of lat. 34° N. greater changes have taken place, the rainfall being decidedly less in amount than formerly. Vast tracts have become uninhabitable, the desert is ever encroaching upon the steppe, the springs are drying up in the oases, and the larger mammals are abandoning the region. Only a local influence could be exerted by the proposed inland sea in Algeria, but the planting of forests might produce greater results. ——Mr. Alexander Forrest, brother of the well-known explorer, Mr. John Forrest, has recently made a successful jour- ney in north-western Australia, during which he explored the country lying between the De Grey and Victoria rivers. Starting February 15, 1879, from the former river and proceeding north- wards to King’s Sound, the party then followed up the Fitzroy river for a distance of 250 miles. It is navigable for small vessels for about 100 miles. Leaving the Fitzroy at 17° 42’ S. lat. an 126° E. long., they journeyed north-west towards Collier bay for 140 miles, ascending a table land 2000 feet high, but were obliged to return to the river, owing to the ruggedness of the country. ; They then, on July 10th, started for the overland telegraph line, marching in an E. N. E. direction, and reached the Victoria river T near its junction with the Wickham, after a march of 340 miles. 1880. | Microscopy. 309 During this part of their journey they discovered a vast extent of fertile country, abounding in grass, and intersected by numerous large rivers, all running north and north-west. Great numbers of natives. were seen, and “for the most part ine were fine, big men, but they had evidently never seen Europeans before. Leaving the Victoria, they came to an almost waterless country, and after terrible sufferings finally reached the epee telegraph station. They arrived at Port Darwin on October 6, 1879.1 MICROSCOPY.’ AGENCY FOR EXCHANGING Osjects.—A Microscope Sra Bureau has been opened by Herman Poole, . Sw street, Buffalo, N. Y. Slides are to be sent to the exchange in quantities of not less than six, and accompanied with a list of de- siderata. One of each six will be retained by the agency, and the rest will be exchanged as requested, so far as may be possible. EXCHANGES OF APPARATUS.—Several subscribers desire to make exchanges of apparatus. A Crouch student’s monocular stand, and Schrauer binocular, and several choice lenses are offered, either for a Beck or Crouch binocular, or a Powell & Lealand large monocular, or for lenses of other powers, or for cash. Par- ticulars can be obtained from the editor of the Department of Mi- croscopy of the NATURALIST. AMERICAN Society oF Microscopists.—The executive commit- tee of this Society have decided to accept the invitation received from Detroit, and the meeting next August will therefore be held in that city. The precise date is not determined at the time of this writing. It is certain that the citizens of Detroit will give a generous welcome to the Society; and a large and important meeting is expected. Correspondence in regard to papers to be offered, or other scientific business of the meeting, should be ad- dressed to the president-elect, Prof. H. L. Smith, of Geneva, N. Y. OBSERVATIONS ON THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE -HUYGHENIAN EYE-PIECE AS USED IN Microscopes.—The difference in the con- ditions under which the Huygenian eye-piece is used in the micro- scope, as compared with the telescope, for which it was first de- vised, and the adaptation of the eye-piece to those conditions, has received but little attention from microscopists, and there are discrepancies in the few statements published in regard to subject. The following examination of some of the oculars sa in use on microscopes was undertaken to determine whether their construction conformed to any general principles. The examina- tion was made by means of a heliostat and focometer, by which the dismounted lenses could be arranged in any position with reference to each other. The lenses being arranged in in the foco- 1 For fuller details of this expedition see Zeitschrift der Gesellschaft für Erdkunde zu t Berlin, 1 1879, p. 436. a ? This department is edited by Dr. R. i wae, T N. Y. ; : 310 General Notes. [ April, meter, light may be sent through them from an aperture of known diameter, and a piece of card or ground glass placed between the lenses at different points to indicate the course of the rays. For measurements, one of J. Moller’s photographed micrometers, in- serted as an object, is most convenient, the dense black blocks admitting of accurate reading, and the millimeter being a more convenient unit than the line. The magnifying power is ascer- tained according to the ordinary formula: Divide the product of the focal lengths by their sum diminished by the interval between them; e. g., for the first in the table 30x60=1800, which, divided by 30+60—58=48, the result being slightly too large. | v gs] | fa , | 3 v a | o pae] e egeta Ei S| 8 : | Ba thd asl a atl AlE dy | 5 s | na Ot e Geet A a A a | | salgyt el 3 Agagi E Elig] Pise Maker and Name. | %5 mel S E | Sap] 5 £\|lga| $ PE 4 | Ca c ee ae wet ee ee) Se aes | -i o o |é E E E e e . z | ae tae BG ee ee Coe Ee We Lae aioe - Big ALAA A) t aie | eA Billo p i te A| 30 | 60 | £8) 29°) 53°) 34 1718) 74 | 482s 2 | Popular. Bia Aal i ha oe) oo twee (33. eS 34 Cite] a0) 9 94 ae | ta) toe E] | 20 |... $ ERS 4 | AN se) 60. 8 F 40} Se aa 7 88 Pee Be Relies | 5 | =. | Bl 20 40 t1} 24 | 38 | 20:15} 7 FF 136) r} 6 6 De C 14 |. 25:| 7 | 134] 24 | 18) 101-5 |.% | 23 ae 7 ga D: 8) 96-16) 412) 48) 1g} Baby any 8 S 8 g El 6) 92455 on ake 8 oo ly abe 10 | $129 9 Bho PS Os S| T 2}. 947 $13 tö | Orthoscopic i2 2s 9 | 17 | 25 | 17112) 8. 251 |10 11 f | 96'} 3§-}-a194] gr | 37) | FE 1 38s S 12 11 30| 55 14| 20 | 47 | 30 | 13 itr | 43) 14| 5 13 | Nachet. 2.1 20 | 38.1.13 | 20 | 35 |.18 | 13 i+] 33, 1417 4 ELE ie | 30 | 37 | 10 E p26 L 119 I ec te on. I 28 | 52 20 | 10 50 | 2 + 1 et sie Praes 24 37 eae 8 if 37 1:24: | © 17 2 |32| 43 | I2 | 19 | 47 | 35 | 14 49 2 | 4 18 Oberhauser. { 3| 29 | 37 | 10 | 20 | 40 | 30 | 15 x 41; 18} 5 (All distances in millimeters except in the column marked “ inches.’’) By inspection of the table it will be seen that in half the oculars examined the ratio of focal length of eye lens to field lens is about one-half, in only one is it one-third, and in one of older construc- tion they approach so near as seven-ninths. The general prin- ciple in regard to the interval separating the lenses is that it shall be less than the solar focus of the field lens though in the deeper oculars, and in the orthoscopic, this limit is approached or slightly exceeded. But it must be remembered that in com- bination with the objective the ocular receives diverging rays, and hence the actual focus of the field lens for such rays is beyond the eye lens. In the shallow oculars it will be seen that only the central portion of the eye lens is used.— W. H. Seaman (abstract) — in Nat. Mic. Congress. ? 1880. } Proceedings of Scientific Societies. 311 SCIENTIFIC NEWS. — Ina recent letter to Dr. Hayden, M. de Lapparent, President of the Société Geologique de France, writes that the Geological Society of France has resolved to celebrate the fiftieth anniver- sary of its foundation. This should properly occur on the 15th of March, but as the annual meeting takes place April Ist, the Society has decided that the two meetings shall take place at the same time. A report will be read of the part which the Society has taken in the geological progress of the last fifty years. After the meeting a banquet will be given by the French members of the Society to the foreign geologists who have been so good as to respond in person to the invitation to be present. M. de Lap- parent speaks of the pleasant relations established with foreign geologists by the meeting of 1878, and hopes that these relations will be further increased in 1880, and that much may be done to render the meeting at Bologna, in 1881, still more interesting and important. — The dispute between the Directors of the Park Commission- ers and the Permanent Exhibition Company of Philadelphia having been settled to the satisfaction of both parties, the latter will at once proceed to carry out its plan as a combination of museums, The close of last year saw a balance of $16,000 in its treasury, and it is believed that next year a considerable increase in the fund available for scientific purposes, will be made. — Mons. A. Robin (Préparateur a la Faculté des Sciences), Rue d’Ulm, 38, Paris, France, is now preparing a general work upon the anatomy of the Chiroptera, and wishes to obtain, either by ei a or otherwise, American material in this order of mam- mals, — According to the Academy, C. Kegan Paul & Co., London, have published a memoir of the late Dr, Phillip P. Carpenter, well known as an able naturalist as well as philanthropist and sanitary reformer. — The Academy of Science at Turin has awarded a prize, amounting in value to about £480, to Mr. Charles Darwin for his discoveries in the physiology of plants. —0: PROCEEDINGS OF SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES. | pobited and described two new meteorites from the Southern tates. March 1.—Prof. E. C. Spitzka made a communication on the brain of man and of the ape, their resemblances and their differ- ences, 6 . eee: oe 312 Selected Articles in Scientific Serials, | April, 1880. Boston Society oF NaruraL History, February 18.—Mr. E. R. Benton spoke on the Brighton “ amygdaloid,’ and Dr. Wm. M. Davis on the stratified amygdales in the Brighton amygdaloid, while Prof. N. S. Shaler remarked on the origin of the various classes of lava March phe se, G. H. Stone read a paper on the kames of Maine. MIDDLESEX SCIENTIFIC FIELD CLUB, Malden, yi January 7. —Prof, E. A. Dolbeare, of College Hill, Mass., read a paper on radiant energy and its effects. Radiant priim ‘with Prof. Dol- beare, is synonymous with the terms heat, light, etc. February 4.—Herbert A. Young, of Revere, Mass., read a paper on insectivorous plants, illustrated by diagrams. CALIFORNIA ACADEMY OF SCIENCES, Jan. 11, 1880.—President Davidson in the chair. Mr. B. B. Redding read a paper on “The Buried Treasures of our Remote Ancestors.” Prof. Davidson made a verbal communication announcing the results of the Coast Survey Expedition for the observation of the Jate Solar Eclipse. Feb. 2.—President Davidson in the chair. Mr. Stillman read the chemical analysis of a secretion of the Parrya mexicana, the greasewood or creosote plant, caused by the puncture of an in- sect; also analysis of the oil of the California laurel or bay tree. J. P. Moore einer that a catalogue of the Fungi of California was about to be published by Dr. Harkness under the auspices of the Aahe, Dr. Behr read a paper on the gradual change of the Flora of the San Francisco peninsula, and on the supplanting of the native growths of all countries by those of Europe and Africa, especially the former. arch 1.—Prof. David S. Jordan gave an account of the labors of the Fish Commission on the Pacific coast. Prof. Still- man read an article on the gum and coloring matter found on Acacia greggi and Larrea mexicana. There was a discussion on the Metric System. +0; SELECTED ARTICLES IN SCIENTIFIC SERIALS. THE CANADIAN ExnroMoLoGIsT.—February. On certain species of Satyrus, by W. H. Edwards. Tue GeotocicaL Macazinr.— February. Mr. Hill on the cause of the glacial epoch, by James Croll. ANNALS AND MaGazine or NATURAL Histrory.—February. On _ some blind Amphipoda of the Caspian sea, by Dr. Oscar Grimm. ZEITSCHRIFT FUR NATURWISSENSCHAFTLICHE ZOOLOGIE.—Jamu- ary 23. On the development of the skull of the salamanders, wi Ph. Stöhr. On the central nervous system of the crayfish, by : R. Krieger. On the convolutions of the cerebral hemispheres of — the zono-placental mammals, by J. Krueg. THE AMERICAN NATURALIST. VoL. xiv. — WAY, 1880. — No. 5. THE STRUCTURE AND ACTION OF A RUTTERFLY’S TRUNK. BY EDWARD BURGESS. VERY one knows that butterflies and moths, the insects forming the group Lepidoptera, often feed on honey, and that for the purpose of obtaining it, they are provided with a long trunk, or tongue as it is sometimes called, to reach the nectaries of flowers. Sometimes this trunk is very long, in the case of our common tomato caterpillar moth, for example, its length is three inches, while in some allied moths of tropical regions it is greatly longer, and botanists and entomologists have often pointed. out the relation existing between the length of various long-tubed flowers and of the trunks of some species of moths in the same region. Thanks to the acuteness of Savigny, entomologists have long known that this trunk is not an organ sui generis, but simply the» metamorphosed maxil/e, or second pair of jaws of biting insects, which have become specialized to form a sucking tube. The man- dibles or first pair of jaws, which, while the insect was in the caterpillar stage were well developed to bite off pieces of leaves or other substances then its food, are, in the perfect butterfly, reduced to the merest rudiments (Fig. 1, md), only to be found by carefully brushing away the thick covering of scales and hairs. The pair of maxillze, on the contrary, grow each into a long, gently-tapering organ with a deep groove along its inner surface ; which surface being applied to that of the opposite maxilla, and held in this position by a sort of dove-tailing lock, there is formed a hollow trunk through which liquid food can be drawn into the mouth, VOL. XIV.—No. V. 21 314 The Structure and Action of a Butterfly's Trunk. (May, When not in use the trunk is coiled into a close spiral, and lies beneath the insect’s head, hidden between the large and hairy feelers of the lower lip— the labial palpi—which are specially developed for this service, Now although, as just said, these facts have long been known, the mechan- ism for sucking liquids through the trunk seems q never to have been noticed, and it has been supposed the inner gee with stiff bristles; #4, base of that the po of suction the trunk. lay in the “sucking stom- ach,” so called, or perhaps in the peristaltic contraction of the trunk, or that simply the capillary action of the latter might be sufficiently powerful to dispense with any special sucking appa- ratus. The anatomy of the trunk has been equally neglected and misunderstood. Thus even Burmeister believed that each half had a canal of its own, and Newport described non-existing hori- zontal muscles, and otherwise mistook the muscu- lar mechanism, Having been for some time engaged in studying the anatomy of the “emperor,” as Mr. Scudder has christened Danais archippus, our largest and very common butterfly, I will describe the mouth or- gans of this species, the same plan of structure prevailing through the whole group of Lepidop- tera, at least wherever I have examined repre- sentatives. Bik rE ici of In the “emperor” then, the trunk is about fif- chippus from out. teen millimeters long, with a width at the base of girene mas- about 24 mm., from which it gradually tapers to a are really black point at the tip. Externally a sort of coat-of-mail py fip apa 2 appearance is given by its composition of an im- spaces delicate mense number of rings (Fig. 2) (or rather portions ae a rings, the inner segments being of course wanting) which being united by more yielding parts of the cuticle, evidently permit the rolling up of the whole organ, while imparting at the 1880.] The Structure and Action of a Butterfly’s Trunk. 315 same time the necessary stiffness. The rings are not perfectly regular, but vary in width and are here and there broken, or branch and anastomose. Figure 2 shows a few of their irregularities, but they are less apparent at the tip than higher up. With a strong magnifying power the rings are seen to be made up of little plates! soldered together, except on the front surface near the inner edge of the maxilla, where the plates become separated and more or less hexagonal. Dotted over the whole surface, but more thickly at the tip, are seen little circular plates with a minute transparent papilla in the center. These are believed to be metamorphosed hairs, and in some butterflies and moths become greatly and peculiarly developed,? and are supposed by Fritz Müller to be organs of the sense of taste or touch, perhaps both. Breitenbach, however, thinks they play the part of teeth on a saw or file, and serve to tear the delicate flower tissues for obtaining the sweet juices contained in them. In the famous orange- sucking moth ( Ophideres fullon- ica), which some- times greatly damages the or- ange harvests, Mr. Francis Darwin? Fic. 3.—Transverse section of trunk showing wa two has descri maxille united byi me dove-tail ge snd isara the = scribed the or canal, c; the air tubes, ¢v; , nerve and mm, the tw remarkable arma- sets of muscles, probably more m ra displaced in the er ture at the tip of ting; these are omitted in the left maxilla. the trunk, which enables the moth to pierce even the thick skin of an orange, and one set of the curious spines in this case are simply our small papilla much developed and specialized. These ! By examining Figs. 3 and 4 it will be evident that these plates are the bases of little pyramid-shaped bodies (in some regions more like stout nails or tacks) which are imbedded in, or rather special- ized portions of, the cuticle. Three of these are annexed figure, 3 B, where cu is the ae fatale laminated, and hy the underlying matrix or hyfoderm. It is not impro FIG.3.B e that each pyramid corresponds to a Kakie cell of the hypoderm Arch. € papers by Breitenbach in Katter’s Entomol. Nachr., V, 238, and i inthe rig Anat., xv, 8 and xvi, 308. Quart, Four. Micr. Sci., XV, 385. 316 The Structure and Action of a Butterfly s Trunk. (May, hair structures in the emperor, however, are not prominent enough, one would think, for mechanical action, and in this and similar cases, their function is probably wholly that of touch or taste. This view is strengthened by their occurrence also wethin the tube, where they appear, but in lesser numbers. If we imbed the trunk in a mass of paraffine or soap, and cut some thin transverse sections, we shall obtain with the microscope a view of its structure as seen in Fig. 3. Each half of the trunk, that is, each maxilla—has a sort of moon-shaped section, the lower horn of which is snugly dovetailed to the lower horn of the oppo- site half, while the upper horns are drawn out into long processes, which simply interlace like the fingers of one hand with the other. There is thus inclosed a central canal open from base to tip of the trunk, and its walls are made up of broad but thin, semicircular pee whose narrow edges give the canal wall, seen from the side, much the appearance of a large trachea, or air-tube (Fig. 4, ¢). Each half of the trunk also contains a real air-tube (¢7, Figs. 3 and 4), a nerve (n) and two sets of muscles (7 and m°), while the rest of the space is filled out with connective tissues. It has generally been believed? that the j trunk is extended by muscular action, #-%---m being rolled up in repose by its own elas- ticity, like a watch-spring, but the trunk muscles seem, at first sight, to be ar- ranged for just the opposite state of N = things. They are grouped in two sets in = each half of the trunk, each set arising soe on the anterior surface, and proceeding oe ©, 4 — Longitudinal se sec- diagonally downward and backward to shown above; lower down the be inserted on the posterior surface. They trachea, ¢v, and the nerve, n; at, while the diagonal muscles, 7z, SER cher — in this course, so that, overlie them. These are spaced viewed from in front, the two sets of mus- somewhat wider than in nature, ‘ i for the sake of clearness. ‘The CICS frii a Jérica of V's ope above the right edge is the outer one? other. One of the sets is seen in the ver- tical section of the right maxilla (Fig. 4), and if we examine this — 1See directions given by Dr. C. S. Minot in the NATURALIST for April, 1 2 This is the statement of the latest text-book, that of at die Insecten, 4 I 56, e cross sections of the rings forming the edges of the figure engrave as much too irregular. The inner boundary of the cuticle i is a omitt 1880.] The Structure and Action of a Butterfly's Trunk. 317 figure, it would seem that by the contraction of the muscles, the posterior side of the trunk is pulled upwards, and of course shortened, and the shortening taking place along the whole side, the result would be the spiral rolling up of the trunk, with the posterior side within the coil. These diagonal muscles are the only ones to be found, and Newport certainly errs in speaking of annular muscles. On the view of the muscular action just taken, it is evident that the trunk must be unrolled and extended by its own elasticity, and not the reverse, a theory which is certainly very questionable, but at present I am unable to offer a better, and must leave the point to the decision of future investigators. Cer- tainly no writer I have found has thrown the least light upon the sub- ject, or even given a cor- rect general description of the muscular arrange- ment. At the base of the trunk large muscular bands run into it from the head in a diagonally op- posite direction to the trunk muscles, and are inserted on the anterior surface. Their contrac- ke tion of course pulls the Fie —Longitudinal section though the hend whole trunk-coil closely foie Ratti ravens, te as ai up under the head. ca m fl, floor of the aes showing arel “ Following now the the papili man dct dk gk trunk canal upwards into dona yoh =- — muscles which hold the (oe: the interior of the butter- 52K i its pos fly’s head, we find (Fig. 5) that it ends in what we may here call a mouth cavity, which is laterally expanded, but has no great diameter from front to back, that is, from palate to floor. The mouth cavity lies in a muscular sack (Fig. 6, seen from above), which is suspended within the head by five muscles, a lateral pair (4m), a dorsal pair (dm) and one frontal (fm). This oral sack is composed of muscular fibres running in a variety of directions as will be seen in Fig. 5; Fig. 6 shows the exterior appearance of the organ and its suspending muscles; the slender le 318 The Structure and Action of a Butterfly’s Trunk. (May, cesophagus (ve) is-seen entering it from above and behind. From the palate, just above the origin of the trunk, projects a triangular muscular flap, which we may call the oral valve (Fig. 5, ov) as it _ serves to close the mouth. The floor of the mouth is made of a thick chitinized crust, with a longitudinal fur- row between two con- vex regions; the floor thus somewhat resem- vexity is dotted over with minute transpa- rent papilla, which are, in general, similar to the papille already de- scribed, on the surface of the trunk. It seems highly natural to regard Fic. 6.— Rasen view of the bottom of the head, the pap illæ, in this sit- the top having been cut away, showing in the mid- uation at least, as taste J e ma a Sal te hace pa, TEANS, but T have not lm; cl, clypeus; an cornea of the compound eye succeeded in recogniz- (the left eye is not drawn); oe, cesophagus; pm, ; : Š one of the large muscles which move the labial 108 their ee palp. nection, The palate of the mouth, unlike the floor, is lined with a deli- cate membrane. The suspensory muscles of the oral sack pierce the muscular wall of the latter and reach the palatal membrane. Their contraction would evidently draw the palate away from the floor of the mouth, thus enlarging its cavity. At the base of the trunk, on its lower surface, the common duct (s d) of the two lat- eral salivary glands opens as is shown in Fig. 5 From the anatomy of these parts we may understand that the butterfly obtains its food in the following manner: The trunk is unrolled and inserted in the nectary of a flower; at this moment the muscles which suspend the oral sack contract, and the mouth cavity is thus extended, creating a vacuum which must be sup- plied by a flow of honey through the trunk into the mouth. When the mouth is full the muscular sack contracts, the oral valve closes the aperture to the trunk and the honey is forced 1880. ] The Critics of Evolution. 319 backward into the cesophagus, The mouth cavity is then again opened and the same process repeated. To prevent the food being sucked back from the cesophagus, it is probable that some of the numerous fibres in the muscular sack near the origin of the for- mer can, by contraction, close its opening, but in any case as the trunk presents a free tube, and the cesophagus leads into the closed alimentary canal, it is evident that the former offers the easiest route for a supply to fill the mouth vacuum. In the muscular mouth sack, we have thus a pumping organ, of action too simple to be misunderstood. As for the so-called “sucking stomach,” its delicate membranous structure is cer- tainly not adapted for sucking functions, and it probably serves only,as a reservoir. It is usually found to contain nothing else than air, but Newport asserts that immediately after feeding food is also found in it. THE CRITICS OF EVOLUTION. BY J. S. LIPPINCOTT. PoS is a large class of minds even among those who esteem themselves educated, who have no acquaintance with science and another, perhaps equally large, who have no idea of what is meant by the scientific spirit. These all imagine, perhaps, that the world of things or phenomena around them, has ever been pretty much as it now appears to the superficial gaze, and that men have always known about as much about the earth, its origin, develop- ment and productions, as they now know. They appear to be unconscious of the fact that a century ago we knew almost nothing of the constitution of matter, and were holding the same crude and puerile ideas about nature that were held by the ancients 3000 years ago. They do not seem to be aware that but few conquests, from the domain of the un- known had been made in physical astronomy, and that almost all our knowledge of the composition of the earth and its myriads products, animal, vegetable and mineral, have not yet been reached. A century ago the simplest phenomena were inexplicable ; no 320 The Critics of Evolution, [ May, man knew why he breathed, or why a candle burned ; why a plant grew; what use a leaf served; what the air is composed of; or that water is a compound fluid. A century ago, many more than even now-a-days, were perfectly indifferent as to the nature of things around them, regarding them, shall we say, with brute “unconscious gaze.” Why this ignorance of nature? The science of chemistry, a new revelation of the wisdom of the Creator, had not yet dawned upon the childhood of ignorance. When men began to question nature in the scientific spirit, began to weigh and measure and to question again and again while doubt rested upon her replies, they entered upon the path of discovery. This path has since been ardently pursued by hundreds of minds, qualified for the noble task of explaining His ways in the earth, by elucidating the method He is employing daily around us and within us, and by which He has ever been laboring for the good of His creatures. By following the path of research, accumulating facts, collating them, and constructing theories that would most fully account for the interdependence of the phenomena observed, man has penetrated into the mysteries of creation and in some directions already stands almost upon the brink of “the unknow- able,” beyond which it is impossible for finite minds to go. As each grand generalization has prepared him to take a new stand-point, and from thence to obtain a wider view of natural phenomena, his conceptions have become more comprehensive, until he may yet grasp the origin of the universe and been enabled to understand the laws by which it was condensed from the all pervading nebulous condition which has been termed chaos. Many we are aware denounce theories as vain imaginings; but such should learn that a theory is but an expression of the rela- tions of phenomena, a condensed presentation of all the facts in their natural order, and that it is by this artificial memory the en- quirer is enabled to grasp his attainments, and to be lifted up as by a scaffolding for the more thorough study of new phenomena, otherwise incomprehensible, and for the construction of a building which shall embody all the truth. Theories, let it be understood, are always tentative, always a working apparatus, to be remodeled as knowledge advances, and indispensible to its progress. Theories are not, as many suppose, the offspring of imagination purely, but are like a figure cast within a mold, or like a casting perfectly 1880. ] The Critics of Evolution. 321 shaped thereon. The mold upon which theories are formed is the mass of facts observed in their just relations, as far as man has yet discovered and determined. Emboldened by his success, the man of science is pursuing the path of discovery, convinced that though there may be many things beyond his comprehension, there is nothing that he should consider beyond his enquiries. Bacon in his “ Advancement of Learning,” sagely advises, “ Let no man out of a weak conceit of sobriety, and an ill-applied moderation, think or maintain, that a man can search too far, or be too well studied in the book of God’s word or in the book of God’s works; divinity or philosophy; but rather let men endeavor an endless progress or proficience in both.” It is in the highest degree probable that the Creator de- signed he should follow this path, both for the further development of his intellectual powers and for the promotion of the cause of truth and righteousness in the earth. It is evident that our en- larging conceptions of creative power, widen the avenue through which we receive impressions of the Divine glory, and that the views of the educated modern scientist are infinitely expanded beyond the narrow confined range of the ancients. His new and grander generalizations of knowledge are indeed so many won- derful revelations of the Creator, who, as it were, thus speaks almost face to face with man. Unfortunately many minds, especially those of purely theolog- ical bias, appear to be incapable of comprehending the value of the grand results that have followed scientific research. They hastily dismiss them, with the remark—all these researches are merely material—“ of the earth, earthy,” and beneath the con- sideration of beings living in a spiritual world and destined to an eternity of spiritual existence. This estimate of the importance of the labors of men of science, whose studies have given us al- most all the comforts and invaluable appliances that have lifted us above our semi-civilized ancestors, appear to us, to be a very unworthy and very superficial view. The progress of civilization is intimately connected with, is indeed dependent upon, advance in the useful arts, which are founded directly upon science, and to reject science and contemn its advocates, is to spurn one of the chief factors in the work of human elevation. Among the grand generalizations or results of the labors of naturalists of recent date, is that entitled Evolution, which is in- 322 The Critics of Evolution. [ May, deed the noblest product of a century of scientific thought; the top-stone of the intellectual building that man has been erect- ing. Scientists falsely assumed to be Atheists—Though it is not a part of the mission of science to explain or even to discuss the super- natural, philosophers readily admit, that all seal origination is supernatural. The question is whether they have yet gone back to the origin, and can assert indubitably, that the present forms of plants and animals are those originally created by miraculous ex- ercise of power. Studying facts and phenomena in reference to proximate causes, or endeavoring to trace back the series of causes and effects as far as possible, is a process strictly scientific and perfectly legitimate. It is the process of all science. Did not Newton, by this method, rise from the observation on the fall of an apple, to the far-reaching discovery of the laws of gravitation ? Let it be observed also as in the highest degree instructive in this connection, that Newton, the pious Sir Isaac, the demonstrator of the truth of prophecy, a sincere and humble believer in the leading doctrines of our religion,—was because of his demonstra- tion of the laws by which the universe is sustained, pronounced by the ignorant and unwise ultra-pious of his day, an atheist? They hastily assumed that, because the philosopher had traced the working of the Divine hand, had demonstrated the method by which He labors, that God had been shut out of the creation. Here is something more foolish than any philosophy, and paralleled only by the reasoning of our champion Anti-Evolutionists. The path pursued by Newton is that followed by Darwin, who has adhered to the scientific spirit, deeming the task of science to be, as expressed by Agassiz, “to investigate what has been done, to inquire if possible how it has been done, rather than to ask what is possible for the Deity, since we can know that only by what actually exists.” Though Darwin has not deemed it his duty to become an exponent of natural theology, he has emphat- 1 The list of those who have been denounced as infidels and atheists, include almost all great men of science—generals, scholars, reba philanthropists. The deepest Christian life, the holiest Christian character, have not availed to shield the combatants. Christians like Sir Isaac Newton and Paai and John Locke and John Milton, and even Howard and Fenelon, have had these weapons hurled at them. “ The Warfare of Science,” by Andrew D. White, LL.D., President of Cornell Uni- versity. See also lists of persons charged with infidelity and atheism in “ Le Diction- naire des Athées.” Paris, An. VIII. (1799) 1880. ] The Critics of Evolution. 323 ically contradicted the base charge brought against him that “ he does not recognize and does not admit either Divine agency or Divine supervision in furnishing, or in peopling the world.” This view is nowhere expressed in his books. I believe he nowhere uses the phrase “ fortuitous conjunction of circumstances,” which some of his critics “ roll as a sweet morsel under their tongues,” nor can his language “ natural selection” be rightly construed to mean any such fortuitous conjunction;” nor does he “sneer at the idea of any manifestation of design in the material universe.’ Darwin maintains that the origination of a species, no less than that of an individual is natural. He has also defined his meaning of the word zatural, and asserts, choosing the language of the distinguished Bishop Butler, whom none will deny was thoroughly orthodox, “ The only distinct meaning of the word ‘ Natural,’ is, stated, fixed, or settled, since what is natural as much requires and presupposes an intelligent agent to render it so—that is—to effect it continually or at stated times—as what is supernatural or miracu- lous does to effect it for once.” This passage from Butler Darwin has placed at the very portal of his work “ The origin of species by means of natural selection or the preservation of favored races in the struggle for life,”—upon the reverse of the title page, where it should be the first to meet the eye of the reader. Here is an emphatic acknowledgment of belief in Divine agency, a recognition of intelligent supervision throughout the “ processes of evolution.” It is no part of our mission to account for the vagaries of the critics friendly to Darwin, who have mis- construed his principles. He must speak for himself, and he has here spoken in unmistakable language. Evolution Generally Accepted. — Few of the objections that sprang into life the moment the doctrine of development was pro- posed for our acceptance, now give evidence of persistent vitality. Time has consigned, or is consigning, them to oblivion, and “evolution is taking its place as part of the furniture of the human mind,” 1 Analogy of Religion natural and revealed to the constitution and course of na- ture,” by Joseph Butler, Lord Bishop of Durham. This passage appears in chap. 1 of Part I. on Natural Religion, on p. 105 of Harper’s edition of Bishop Butler’s Aaneey of Religion, &c. The following succeeds it in order and is pa pertinent to the present discussion. “ And from hence it must follow, that persons’ notions of se is natural will be enlarged, in proportion to heir — knowledge of the orks of God and the dispensations of His Providence 324 The Critics of Evolution. [ May, Like other accepted theories, evolution is the natural growth of closer and deeper observation, and therefore of more accurate knowledge of the relations of facts. The doctrines of evolution have been reached in the perfectly legitimate manner by which all the other great truths of science have been discovered. It has been a natural outgrowth from facts, and is not, as some suppose, an invention sprung from the imagination of a dreamer. It is one department of “ that science which is but common sense method- ized and extended,” and “ is indeed the highest stage of human knowledge.” It has appeared to us to be a reasonable opinion that any one endowed with the scientific spirit would not go to a theologian to obtain a just estimate of the value of a scientific theory, but would visit an enlightened expert for an opinion. “The former class continually labor to make tradition confront discovery and feel constrained to view with jealous distrust the rapid advance- ment of practical knowledge.” Their inquiries are not whether any new fact is absolutely true, but whether it is in accordance with conceptions they consider established. Those who really desire to learn what evolution is, and its profound significance, and are possessed of the proper faith in nature as a revealer of intel- lectual truth, will not consult Joseph Cook’s “ Biology,” the scien- tific charlatanry of which has been thoroughly exposed in the New Englander for January, 1879, where its taste and rhetoric have been pronounced “execrable,” and which in the Saturday Review is the subject of an article entitled “ Spread Eagle Philoso- phy.” With his religious sentiments properly, we have no contro- versy. Nor would they look with any confidence upon the objections of writers whom they should no more regard as authority on scientific questions than they incline to accept their views on theology. Dr. Hodge, of Princeton, has been well answered by Dr. Gray in his “ Darwiniana,’”! to which I would refer the reader. One of his remarks may as well here be repro- duced; “It may be well to remember that of the two great minds of the 17th century, Newton and Leibnitz, both profoundly religious as well as philosophical, one produced the theory © gravitation, the other objected to that theory, that it was subver- sive of natural religion; also that the nebular hypothesis, a natu- 1 What is Darwinism ? by Charles Hodge, Princeton N. J. By Asa Gray in his Darwiniana, pp. 266-282, and pp. 137-258. 1880. | The Critics of Evolution. 325 ral consequence of the theory of gravitation and of the subse- quent progress of physical and astronomical discovery, has been denounced as atheistical even down to our day. It has now out- lived anathema,” and is no longer rejected even by theologians. Dr. Asa Gray acknowledges that Darwin in his style is loose, and that he might have been more guarded had he chosen to be so. Dr. Gray, however, acquits him of all atheistic intent, and remarks that his view may be made clear to the theological mind by likening it to that of the “believer in the general but not in particular Providence,” a view which prevails among mankind.’ There is no need, says Gray, “ to cull passages from his works to support this interpretation, while the author—the most candid of men—retains throughout all the editions of the “ Origin of Spe- cies,” the two mottoes from Dr. Whewell and Bishop Butler, which, by implication, entirely acquit him of atheism. It may be well to quote the passage from Dr. Whewell, the able author of “A History of the Inductive Sciences ;” that from Butler has already been adduced: “ But with regard to the mate- rial world, we can at least go so far as this—we can perceive that events are brought about not by insulated interpositions of Divine power exerted in each particular case, but by the establishment of general laws.” (Whewell’s Bridgewater Treatise.) Another extract from Dr. Gray we will present the reader. In physical and physiological treatises, the most religious men do not think it necessary to postulate the First Cause, nor are they misjudged by the omission. But surely Darwin does acknowledge a Creator, not only by implication but most explicitly where one would most naturally look for it, namely—at the close of the vol- ume in question. “ Authors of the highest eminence seem to be fully satisfied with the view that each species has been indepen- dently created. To my mind it accords better with what we know of the Zaws impressed on matter by the Creator, that the pro- duction and extinction of the past and present inhabitants of the world, should have been due to secondary causes, like those determining the birth and death of the individual” * * * “there is grandeur in the view of life, with its several powers, having been originally breathed by the Creator into a few forms, or into one; and that, whilst this planet has gone cycling on accord- ing to the fixed law of gravity, from so simple a beginning endless 1 Darwiniana, p. 258. 326 The Critics of Evolution. [ May, forms most beautiful and most wonderful have been and are being evolved.”! “If these expressions,” says Dr. Asa Gray, “do not refer the efficiency of physical causes to the First Cause, what form of words could he use.’” The Teleology of Evolution—One of our objecting critics for- gets that he is quoting from an old work of Huxley’s, where he says “ that which struck me most forcibly was the conviction that teleology (the science of Final Causes) had received its death blow at Darwin’s hands.” To the above I may reply, following Dr. Gray and other able defenders of Darwinism, that as regards the old teleology, the . less said in its defense the better for the cause of religion. The difficulties which its principles will not explain are many and serious? Darwinian teleology has the special advantage of accounting for the imperfections and failures which have loaded the doctrine of teleology with far more than it could bear. The Darwinian teleology not only accounts for the failures and the successes, but it turns them to practical account. In Darwinism we have a teleology that accords with, where it does not explain, _ the principal facts, and is free from the common objections. The Darwinian system, as we understand it, coincides with the theistic view of nature; it not only acknowledges purpose, but builds upon it. It understands all nature to be of a piece, and it is clear, therefore, that design is in some way mixed up with it. If adap- tation and utility are the marks of design, what then, we would ask, are the organs not adapted to use the marks of ?—and there are numerous functionless organs in almost every species of ani- mal. Man has sundry perfectly useless parts which the old tel- eology cannot account for, and which are great stumbling blocks in the way of the olden style natural theologians. But evolution shows their true place and demonstrates that these structures are relics of a former state of being. “It is,” says Haeckel,‘ precisely this widespread and mysterious phenomenon of rudimentary organs, in regard to which all other attempts at explanation fail, which is 1« On the Origin of Species by means of Natural Selection,” &c. By Charles Darwin. New York, 1873. New edition from the sixth English edition, &c., pp- 428, 429. 2 Darwiniana. By Dr. Asa Gray. Pages 370, 378, 379. - 3 Darwiniana. By Dr. Asa Gray. Pages 268, 269. 4« The History of Creation; or the Development of the Earth and its Inhabitants by the action of Natural Causes,” by Ernst Haeckel. 1876. Vol. 1, p. 16. 1880. ] The Critics of Evolution. 327 perfectly explained, and indeed in the simplest and clearest way, by Darwin's ‘ Theory of Inheritance and Adaptation.’ These remarks could be greatly extended, with vivid demon- stration, but I must content myself with referring to an admirable popular work by William D. Gunning, entitled “ Life History of our Planet,’ where one may learn that the human body is a “library of anatomical history.” Finally, I adduce the testimony of Dr. McCosh, an unimpeachable witness, who asserts that, “the doctrine of development does not undermine nor in any way interfere with the argument from design.” Dissent of Agassiz—Much stress has been placed upon the dissent of Agassiz and Dawson from the views of the evolutionists, and they are quoted as veterans who of course we are bound to regard as speaking ex cathedra, and therefore not to be gainsayed. “ Have any of the rulers or of the Pharisees believed on him? was asked of old,” and some critics ask the same question and forget that it is recorded of Christ, “ For neither did his brethren be- lieve in him.” What to the seeker for truth does it matter now or did it matter then, who believed or now believes? The vota- ries of science are not swayed by authorities but by truth. Their . motto should ever be, “ Nullius addictus jurare in verba magistri.” The opinions of aged men, unless they have kept themselves abreast of the thought of the day, are frequently unwise, and are seldom regarded by those who prefer to seek truth for its own sake regardless of the reflections of Mrs. Grundy. “By the time,” I have heard a most eminent man of science observe, “by the time a man of science attains eminence on any sub- ject he becomes a nuisance upon it, because,” if advanced in age, “he is sure to retain errors which were in vogue in his youth, but which the new race has refuted. These are the sort of ideas that find their home in Academies, and out of their dignified win- dows pooh-pooh new things.” (Bagehot’s Physics and Politics, p. 60.) Science enjoys perpetual youth. Her votaries grow old and pass away, and their opinions with them, unless founded on eter- nal principles. “ Her goal to-day is her starting point to-mor- row.” It is an historical fact that no physician over forty years of age at the time of the discovery of the circulation of the blood 1“ Is the Development Hypothesis Sufficient,” by Dr. James McCosh, President of Princeton College, Published in the Popular Science Monthly, Vol. x, p. 96. 328 The Critics of Evolution. [May, by Harvey, ever believed in that discovery. Why did they not believe in it? Because it was not in accord with their inherited prejudices, with the experience of their lives, and their personal pride scouted at the discovery, by a young man, of valuable facts that they ought themselves to have seen long ago, were they true. Thus it was with Agassiz, who ought to have seen the truth of evolution long ago, for he contributed a large body of material for the verification of the theory. His embryological discoveries offer conclusive evidence of its truth. This his pupils saw, but their master, blinded by his Cuvierian education and belief in dis- tinct specific creations, could never reach the truth, though dissat- isfied with the hypothesis of creation as recorded in Genesis. He publishedatheory of distinct creations in many separate geographi- cal centers, and was, therefore, quite heretical. The doctrine of evolution covers all this ground more satisfactorily, and his theory is disregarded. Why was this master in research incapable of impressing his views upon his pupils, with whom he was person- ally so popular? Because young and unprejudiced they sought truth for its own sake, and loved it better than even they did their _ admired teacher. His opposition to Darwinism, they now openly | assert, served to make them more careful in their scrutiny into its weak points as described or imagined by him, and he was thus of real service in training his pupils for the adoption of the doc- trine of evolution. “Of all the younger brood of naturalists whom Agassiz educated, every one—Morse, Shaler, Verrill, Niles, Hyatt, Scudder, Putnam, even his own son—has accepted evolution.” (Popular Science Monthly, Feb., 1880.) In direct opposition to paleontological experience, that many species of organic beings have continued unchanged through successive periods of the earth’s history, while others have existed during only a small portion of such a period, Agassiz maintained that one and the same species never occurs in two different periods, but that each individual period is characterized by spe- cies peculiar thereto and belonging to it exclusively. In this he shares Cuvier’s opinion that all the inhabitants of successive geo- logical formations were annihilated by the revolutions which divide two periods of the earth’s palzontological history, and that a new and specifically different assemblage of organisms was created and suddenly placed upon the earth in large numbers by the Creator. “Pines,” says Agassiz, “have originated in forests, 1880. ] The Critics of Evolution. 329 heath in heather, grasses in prairies, bees in hives, herring in shoals, buffaloes in herds and men in nations.’ The present terrestrial fauna of Australia is acknowledged to be unique, and is it not essentially a remnant of the fauna of the Jurassic or even of an earlier age? “ There is a wonderful rela- tionship,” says Darwin, “in the same continent between the dead and the living.” On the hypothesis of evolution there is no diffi- culty in admitting that the differences between the Miocene forms of Mammalia and those which exist at present, are the results of gradual modification. “The hypothesis of evolution explains the facts of Miocene, Pliocene and recent distributions,” says Huxley, “and no other supposition even pretends to account for them.” The division of the Tertiary into Eocene, Miocene, Pliocene and Post-pliocene according to the preponderance in number of extinct or recent shells, evidently admits that many species have persisted through the changes that have destroyed others. The late T. A. Conrad, a pronounced opponent of evolution, asserts in his “ Descriptions of new Genera and Species of Fossil Shells of North Carolina,” that “ it is a generally received opinion that some species of Miocene shells escaped the destruction of the general fauna,” and that “the small amount of variation, and in some species none at all, seems to indicate that some few kinds of shells are now living which originated in the Miocene period.” “ Among these shells, the Oliva Zitterata (Lam.) lives in myriads in Tampa bay, whilst there is a Miocene Ova equally abundant in the bank of Cape Fear river, which offers no characters by which to distinguish it from that fossil species.” The same remark is made respecting the fossil Marginella limatula (Conrad), a species living on the coast of South Carolina, while he suspects identity of the fossil and the living may be shown to exist among many other species. In his paper on “The Relations of the Horizons of Extinct Vertebrata of Europe and North America,” Prof. E. D. Cope has shown that “ the characteristic of the Pliocene fauna in Europe is the fact that the species belong mostly to existing genera.” “In the Equus beds of Oregon, a few extinct genera in like manner share the field with various recent ones, while not a few of the l Essay on Classification. Contributions to Natural History of the United States. By L. Agassiz. Vol. 1 - 39. ** Report of the s Geological apei of N. Carolina,” by W. C. Kerr. 1875. Ap- pendix A, P- 24. VOL. XIV,—NO, V. 2s 330 The Critics of Evolution. [ May, bones are not distinguishable from those of recent species.” Thus the bones of the fossil beaver and wolf cannot be distin- guished from those of the recent, while they are also associated with the remains of an extinct fossil elephant, horse and llama. The species derived from the cave formations of the Eastern States, which Cope names the Megalonyx beds, also present many in- stances of extinct species mixed with the remains of those repre- sented by the living ground-hog, porcupine, hare and rabbit and from which they cannot be distinguished. In further illustration of this error of Agassiz, we may also cite the continued existence of the Lizgule, formerly included among mollusks, but now shown: to be allied more closely to worms. The Lingule were numerous and important in earlier geological ages and have been continued almost from the dawn of life and as they exist in the primordial “are scarcely to be distinguished as even Prof. Dawson acknowledges! from those of the members of the genus which still live.’ The original Limgu/e were re- markable for the presence of phosphate of lime in their shells, a peculiarity not found in the shells of mollusks generally, which are hardened by the presence of carbonate of lime. The modern Lingule present the same peculiarity and exhibits the wonderful persistence with which they adhere to the original type. It was the merit of Agassiz that he drew especial attention to the remarkable parallelism between the embryonal and the palæ- ontological or the development through time and the development of organic species, genera and tribes, which is claimed as one of the strongest pillars of the theory of descent or of evolution. No one before had so distinctly stated as Agassiz did, that of verte- brate animals, fishes alone existed at first, that amphibians came- next, and that birds and mammals appeared only at a much later period, and moreover that among mammals, as among fishes, im- perfect and lower orders had appeared first, and more perfect higher orders at a later period. He thus showed that the palzon- tological development of the vertebrates was not only parallel with the embryonic, but also with the systematic development or the graduated series which we see everywhere is ascending from the lower to the higher classes, orders, &c. Haeckel. This doc- trine is explained quite simply and naturally by the doctrine of descent, or a historical succession, and without it, is perfectly in- 1 &« The Story of the Earth and Man,” by J, W. Dawson. 1873. p. 4I- 1880. | The Critics of Evolution. 331 explicable. “So far as Agassiz’s work, entitled ‘An Essay on Classification,’ pretends to be a scientific history of creation, it is undoubtedly a complete failure.’ We are indebted to a paper entitled “ Agassiz and Darwinism,” by John Fiske, in the Popular Science Monthly, Vol. 111, for most of the following remarks upon the cause of Agassiz’s inability to perceive the truths of evolution. The frequency with which the name of Agassiz has been brought before the American people through his contributions to geology, palzontology and systematic zodlogy, has rendered his name very popular, and given rise to the opinion that he was the greatest of naturalists. He by right occupied a very high position, but no exceptional supremacy can be rightly claimed for him. Both for learning and for sagacity, the names of Asa Gray, Prof. Wyman, Huxley, J. D. Hooker, Sir Charles Lyell, Ernst Haeckel and Gegenbauer, are quite as illustrious as the name of Agassiz,and these are the names of men who openly endorse and defend the Darwinian theory. Many imagine that because Agassiz studied extinct and living organisms through a life-time of research, that his opinions with reference to the relations of present life upon the globe to past life, ought to be conclusive. The distin- guished Darwinian naturalists above named, are equally well qualified to form an opinion, and have arrived at conclusions diametrically opposite to those taught by Agassiz. Why this re- sult? Not because Agassiz did not possess the power of philoso- phizing, but because he philosophized on unsound principles. He erred because his philosophy was not the natural outgrowth from the facts of nature, which lay at his disposal, but is made up out of sundry traditions of his youth, and because he long ago brought his mind to acquiesce in various generalizations of a thoroughly unscientific or non-scientific character, the further maintenance of which appeared to him to be incompatible with the Darwinian theory. He also evidently arrived too early at that rigidity of mind which prevents us from properly comprehending : new theories, and which we should all of us dread as a real evil. It has been broadly asserted by a learned writer familiar with the Darwinian controversy, that he has never met with any indication that Agassiz knew what the Darwinian theory really is! “ Against a development as it was taught forty years ago he was fond of “The History of Creation,” by Ernst Haeckel. Vol. 1., p. 79. 332 Hall's Second Arctic Expedition. [ May, uttering his expressions of dislike, but with the modern develop- ment theory he never betrays the slightest acquaintance, but con- tents himself with making profoundly dark metaphysical phrases do the work which properly belongs to observation and induc- tion.” [To be continued. | 70: HALES SECOND ARCTIC EXPEDITION. F the many men who have won fame in Arctic exploration, none have manifested greater heroism and perseverance than Charles Francis Hall. His ardent faith, which persuaded him to believe in the existence of some member of the lost expedition of Sir John Franklin at as late a period as twenty years after the abandonment of the Æreġus and Terror, sustained him amidst the perils and hardships and disappointments of nearly eight years of life amongst the Esquimaux. Alone, with very slender means, he was yet able to obtain much important information regarding the fate of the officers and crews of that most unfortunate expe- dition, and to add materially to our geographical knowledge of the regions bordering upon the Cumberland gulf and the Bay of Hudson. The story of his last voyage in the Polaris, and his death at almost the furthest Northern point yet reached by explorers is well known. Of his first journey, in 1860-62, to the Cumberland gulf and Frobisher’s bay, he has given us a full account in his “ Arctic Researches.” But until now no account has been given to the public of his longest and most successful journey. This occupied a period of five years and six months, and upon his return home he began immediately his preparations for his North Polar expedition, and was unable to prepare an account of his travels, Fortunately his journals and notes, mostly carefully made and preserved, were in the possession of his family, and were purchased from them by the Navy Department under an 1 Narrative of the Second Arctic Expedition made by Charles F. Hall. His voy- age to Repulse bay, Sledge soneeeys k e e A kale of ig and oe and to King William’s Land, and Resid 864-69. Edited under the orders of the Hon. Secretary of the Navy by Prof. J. E. Nourse, U. T N. U. S. Naval Observatory. 1880. } Fall’s Second Arctic Expedition. 333 Act of Congress, and these, with his private correspondence, form the basis of the narrative now published by the National Govern- ment. Prof. J. E. Nourse-of the Naval Observatory, who, upon the death of Admiral Davis, completed for publication the “ Narrative of the North Polar Expedition,” was ordered to prepare this work, and has performed the duty assigned him most successfully, showing wise discrimination in the condensation and selection of the material laid before him, and great industry and careful Ebierbing,. Too-koo-li-too. research in the collection of information relating to previous Arctic explorations. Ina preliminary chapter, tables are given showing all the English and American explorations for the north-west passage, from 1818 to 1845, when Sir John Franklin’s expedition left England, and also the English and American Franklin relief expeditions from 1848 to 1860, and mention is also made of the geographical and scientific results of these voyages. There is also 334 Hall's Second Arctic Expedition. [ May, an interesting account of two voyages made from Philadelphia in 1753—54, by a schooner of about sixty tons, fitted out by sub- scription by merchants of Maryland, Pennsyivana, New York and Boston to discover the Northwest passage. Although Capt. Hall on his first voyage was unable to reach King William’s Land or obtain any definite information regarding the records of the Franklin Expedition, he returned home inured by the hardships of life amongst the Esquimaux, and well pre- pared by this experience for the much greater trial of his cour- age and perseverance which awaited him. After nearly two years spent in efforts to obtain funds and supplies, he again sailed on July 1, 1864, in the whaling brig Monticello for Hudson’s bay, taking with him the Esquimaux, Joe Ebierbing, and his wife, Too-koo-li-too. After stopping at Depot island, he finally landed at a point on the shore of Roe’s Welcome, near Wager bay, on the 31st of August. He was obliged to remain in this neigh- borhood with a tribe of Innuits all winter, living in an igloo or snow hut. “The construction of one of these snow houses, built by the Innuits of this region, is described by him substantially as follows: After making trial of several banks of show, by plunging in their long knives, on finding the proper compactness, they cut blocks two to two and a-half feet in length and about eighteen inches in thickness. One set is cut from the spot on which the igloo is to be built, its floor being thus sunken eighteen inches below the general surface. In placing the blocks around this excavation, of about ten feet diameter, the first tier is made up of those which, by increasing regularly in width, form a spiral from right to left. They are laid from within, each being secured by a bevel on the one last laid and another bevel on the next one below. The joints are well broken. The blocks incline inwardly, thus regularly diminishing the diameter of the ig/oo and fitting it _ for the dome or keystone. Thirty-eight blocks were here used. For ventilation, a small hole is usually made by the spear. The crevices are well filled with snow within and without, making it nearly an air-tight structure. For a window, a small opening cut in the dome is filled in usually with a block of clear ice; in some — cases with the scraped inner linings of the seal; this last makes a light on which the frost does not settle as upon the ice-blocks. The passage-way to the ig/oo is always long and points toward the south. The Repulse bay natives shovel up much more snow upon the hut than the Greenlanders do. The zg/oo lamp is sometimes nothing more than a flat stone, about six inches in length, placed in a niche cut out of the wall, and having on it a little dry moss for a wick, which is supplied with oil by a slice of blubber from 1880. ] Hall’s Second Arctic Expedition. 335 the bear or the seal. A stone lamp of better form, although poor pran will give something of a à fair light and warmth. Hi i | | 4 A bel 4 ! x x (i Ry i Í | l N Ae | §$LS—SS= na SS —— aaa e= ~ = = ee — E = = SS SS = ar) === e N - = =< = —————— SS Hall’s writing desk, Hall’s first Igloo and Ground Plan. 336 Hall's Second Arctic Expedition. [ May, During the next summer he succeeded in reaching Repulse bay, where the winter of 1865-66 was passed, and it was not until April, 1866, that he was able to start for King William’s Land with a small party of natives, three sledges and eighteen dogs. On leaving Fort Hope, at the head of Repulse bay, he fol- lowed, as nearly as practicable, Dr. Rae’s route in 1854, to Col- ville bay. From here, however, he was obliged, most reluctantly, to return to Fort Hope, owing to the hostility of the tribes occu- pying the region around Pelly bay and the timidity of his own people. He was, however, able to obtain much interesting infor- mation concerning the Franklin expedition. “Disappointed but not dismayed ” is his entry in his journal on his turning back from Colville bay, although he knew another winter must elapse before he could hope to reach the goal of his journey—the island which witnessed the destruction of the mem- orable expedition. The remainder of this year was passed in the neighborhood of Repulse bay, the loneliness of his life being ` much relieved by the arrival and detention over the winter of four whaling ships. Interesting accounts are given of the superstitious customs and amusements of the Esquimaux. One of the latter is the per- formance on the ey-low-tik, their bass drum, the only musical instrument Hall found among them, “The drum is made from the skin of the deer, which is stretchéd over a hoop made of wood, or of bone from the fin of a whale, by the use of a strong braided cord of sinew passed around a groove on the outside. The instrument weighs about four pounds.” The wooden drum stick is called a £en-toon. “When the Zey-low-tik is played, the drum-handle is held in the left hand of the performer, who strikes the edge of the rim opposite that over which the skin is stretched. He holds the drum in different positions, but keeps it in a constant fan-like motion by his hand and by the blows of the 4en-toon struck alternately on the opposite sides of the edge. Skillfully keeping the drum vibrating on the handle, he accompanies this with gro- tesque motions of the body, and at intervals with a song, while the women keep up their own Innuit songs, one after another, through the whole performance. “ At the first exhibition which Hall witnessed some twenty-five men, women and children—every one who could leave home— assembled to see the skill of the performers, who would try the newly-finished instrument. As usual, the women sat on the plat- 1880. ] Hails Second Arctic Expedition. 337 wooden roller a Poot i in length; strips of reindeer fur being wrapped with the hair. These were black and white for aren n ornaments were worn on the head, and on the breast they had masonic-like aprons, the groundwork of which was of a flaming red color, ornamented with glass beads of many colors. The Playing the Key-low-tik. women thus presented a pleasing contrast with the dark vis- ages of the men in the ba ckground ; while their naked infants were playing here and there ina mother’s lap, or peering out from their nestling place in a hood. February and March, 1867, were spent in a journey of more than one hundred miles to Ig-loo-lik to procure dogs. He was successful in this but suffered much from cold and hunger, and on his return to Repulse bay was again, to his bitter disappointment, obliged to relinquish his expedition to King William’s Land. 338 Hall's Second Arctic Expedition. [ May, The captains of the whaling fleet, notwithstanding their previous promises, now refused to spare him any of their men for this journey. His courage and perseverance were, however, equal to the situ- ation, and he resolutely declined to return home in the autumn. A fourth winter found him still in his igloo at his old quarters. But his attention was now suddenly diverted from King William’s Land to the northern extremity of Melville peninsula on the shore of Fury and Hecla strait where he now heard of the exis- tence of a monument, and was told that two white men had been seen there only three years before. Accordingly on March 23, 1868, he started for this region. The monument was discovered on the 24th of April in lat. 69° 47’ 5” N., long. 85° 15’ W., near Cape Crozier. “On either side of the plain on which it stands is a river, and hills of delta are north-east of it. It is one hun- dred feet above the sea, and near a hill upon the south side of the plain.” ‘The spot visited had not been reached by any previous Arctic explorer. Parry’s officers were not on this western side of the peninsula, and Dr. Rae’s highest point was 69° 5/ 35” N. (Rae’s Narrative, p. 128).” “Dr. Rae could not possibly have made this monument and cache, for they both belong together ; the latter covered with a deep drift every winter, and when Rae was at Cape Crozier in May 1846, the bank of snow must have been as deep and hard as the one now there. Besides, Dr. Rae’s track-chart does not show that he visited the south-east angle of ' Parry bay.” ‘ The spot, near by where the Innuits stated a cache had been made and afterwards removed, leaving the stones in a pile on one side, was covered by a huge bank of snow, and after digging to the depth of fifteen feet they were unable to find the stones. Two tenting places also were found, one of which being very different in character from the other made by Esquimaux, was in all prob- ability the work of white men. Hall took down the monument, stone*by stone, but found nothing to indicate who were its builders. : The heretofore unsurveyed coast line between Capes Englefield and Crozier was now accurately laid down. An island was dis- covered north-west of Cape Englefield, and the islands off the cape and the line of the southern coast as far as East cape searched thoroughly for monuments or the evidences of the presence of 1880. | Hall's Second Arctic Expedition. 339 civilized men. After a sledge journey of ninety-six days he returned to Repulse bay on June 26. The winter of 1868-9 was spent in resting and preparing for his last and successful attempt to reach King William’s Land. He set out once more, on March 23, 1869, for this remote island with Snow Village. a party of natives consisting of five men, three women and two children, with two sledges and eighteen dogs, and followed the route previously taken in 1866 to Colville bay, Thence crossing Pelly bay he visited an encampment of natives of that region finding there some relics of the Franklin expedition. 340 Hall's Second Arctic Expedition. [ May, Continuing on to the coast near Point Acland, opposite King William’s Land, he found another native settlement where a large number of articles from the Erebus and Terror were seen. Leav- ing most of his party here he started on May 8, with one of the tribe as a guide, on a flying visit to King William’s Land, his peo- ple insisting on returning to Repulse bay within two weeks. On the 11th, Hall encamped on one of the Todd islands off the south- eastern extremity of King William’s Land. Searching here for human remains no satisfactory result was obtained, but the next day, crossing to the mainland near the mouth of the Peffer river, and digging through the snow, one unburied skeleton was found, “The gale above and the hardness and depth of snow under foot debarred further search.” He also searched with no success at another point on the southern coast, further eastward. He was then obliged to return to his party, and after some interesting con- versations with the natives set out on his return journey, having thus been only able to touch at two points on the coast of King William’s Land and at Todd island, and that too at a season when the snow still covered the land. On the return journey he was seized with a sudden and serious illness, a premonition, no doubt, of the sudden and final attack in 1871. He reached his old quarters restored to health on June 20th, his arrival being delayed by the large quantities of game found and the frequent musk-ox hunts. When a band of musk cattle was discovered and surrounded, “as soon as they perceived that the dogs were slipped, they formed into their usual one cir- cle of defense, ‘a musk-bull battery of nine solid battering heads and twice the number of sharpened horns? The dogs were quickly at these heads, barking and jumping back and forward, while the hunters made no haste to advance, for they knew that the bulls would stand their ground all day if no other enemies came. “* After a few minutes’ watch of the movements of dog versus bull and bull versus dog,’ the old hunter, /n-nook-poo-zhee-jook, went forward to within twelve feet of a large bull, carrying a lance which had a line attached by which he could draw it back; but at his second throw the wounded and infuriated bull made a fear- ful forward plunge, from the effects of which the hunter and his companions escaped only by a very timely jump to the left. The bull was soon again brought to bay. Ovw-e-/a then pulled trig- ger on another noble bull of the circle of defense, and Pa-pa 1880. | Flall’s Second Arctic Expedition. 341 shot the one which had been lanced, when at the noise of these guns the whole circle bolted away except two, who stood their ground side by side long after the whole fight was ended, and even when the dogs were driven away from them and stones had been thrown. Instead of moving, each of these two kept throw- ing his massive head down between his fore feet, rubbing the tip of each horn against the fore leg as one would rub a razor on a strop. This is the animal’s habit unless he finds himself, when attacked, near some large stone which he may use for the same purpose of sharpening his horns.” On August 5th the whaler, Ansell Gibbs, arrived in the bay, and his five years of Arctic life came to a close: On September 26, 1869, he, with Esquimaux Joe, Hannah and her adopted child, were safely landed at New Bedford, Mass. Having thus briefly indicated the most important events in this remarkable journey, we must note the at least partial success attained in the execution of the purpose for which it was under- taken. : While no records of the Franklin expedition were recovered, there were many new facts ascertained regarding the last days of the members of that wretched company who perished one by one, after the abandonment of the Zredus and Terror. As is well known these vessels were deserted by their officers and crews, then con- sisting of 105 souls, on the 22d of April, 1848, off Point Victory near the north-western extremity of King William’s Land. Capt. Hall in writing to Mr. Henry Grinnell, states : “ None of Sir John Franklin’s companions ever reached or died on Montreal Island. It was late in July, 1848, that Crozier and his party of about forty or forty-five passed down the west coast of King William’s Land in the vicinity of Cape Herschel. The his party to suffer and die for need of fresh provisions, when in truth it was in the power of the natives to save every man alive. “ The next trace of Crozier and his party is to be found in the Skeleton which McClintock discovered a little below, to the south- 342 Hall's Second Arctic Expedition. [ May, ward and eastward of Cape Herschel ; this was never found by the natives. The next trace is a camping-place on the sea-shore of King William’s Land, about three miles eastward of Pfeffer river, where two men died and received Christian (?) burial. At this place fish-bones were found by the natives, which showed them that Crozier and his party had caught while there a species of fish excellent for food, with which the sea there abounds. The next trace of this party occurs about five or six miles eastward, on a long, low point of King William’s Land, where one man died and was buried. Then, about south-south-east,two and a half-miles further, the next trace occurs on Todd’s islet, where the remains of ‘five men lie. The next certain trace of this party is on the west side of the islet, west of Point Richardson, on some low land that is an island or part of the main land, as the tide may be. Here the awning-covered boat and the remains of about thirty or thirty-five of Crozier’s party were found by the native Poo-yet-ta, of whom Sir John Ross has given a description in the account of his voyage in the Victory in 1829—34. I remains of white men. Close by were two graves. This tent was a little way inland from the head of Terror bay. In the to, were found many relics, most of them similar in character to those McClintock has enumerated as having been found in the boat he discovéred. “T tried hard to accomplish far more than I did, but not one of the company would on any account whatever consent to remain with me in that country and make a summer search over that island, which, from information I had gained from the natives, I - had reason to suppose would be rewarded by the discovery of the whole of the manuscript records that had been accumulated in that great expedition, and had been deposited in a vault a little way inland or eastward of Cape Victory. Knowing as I now do the character of the Eskimos in that part of the country in which King William’s Land is situated, I cannot wonder at nor blame the Repulse bay natives for their refusal to remain there, as I de- sired. It is quite probable that, had we remained there as I wished, no one of us would ever have got out of the country alive. How could we expect, if we got into straitened circum- stances, that we would receive better treatment from the Eskimos 1880. ] Hall's Second Arctic Expedition. 343 of that country than the 105 souls who were under the command of the heroic Crozier some time after landing on King William’s Land? Could I and my party with reasonable safety have re- mained to make a summer search on King William’s Land, it is not only probable that we should have recovered the logs and journals of Sir John Franklin’s Expedition, but have gathered up and entombed the remains of nearly 100 of his companions; for they lie about the places where the three boats have been found and at the large camping-place at the head of Terror bay and the three other places that I have already mentioned. In the cove, west side of Point Richardson, however, nature herself has opened her bosom and given sepulture to the bones of the im- mortal heroes who died there. Wherever the Eskimos have found the graves of Franklin’s companions, they have dug them open and robbed the dead, leaving them exposed to the ravages of wild beasts. “TI could have readily gathered great quantities—a very great variety—of RELICS. of Sir John Franklin’s Expedition, for they are now possessed by natives all over the Arctic regions that I visited or heard of—from Pond’s bay to Mackenzie river. As it was, I had to be satisfied with taking upon our sledges about 125 pounds total weight of relics from natives about King William’s Some of these I will enumerate : “1. A portion of one side (several planks and ribs fast together) of a boat, clinker-built and copper-fastened. This part of a boat is of the one found near the boat found by McClintock’s party. 2. A small oak sledge-runner, reduced from the sledge on which the boat rested. 3. Part of the mast of the Northwest Passage ship. 4. Chronometer-box, with its number, name of the maker, and the Queen’s broad arrow engraved upon it. 5. Two lon heavy sheets of copper, three and four inches wide, with counter- sunk holes for screw-nails. n these sheets, as well as on most everything else that came from the Northwest Passage ship, are numerous stamps of the Queen’s broad arrow. 6. Mahogany writing-desk, elaborately finished and bound in brass. 7. Many pieces of silver-plate, forks, and spoons, bearing crests and initials of the owners. 8. Parts of watches. 9. Knives and very many other things which you, Mr. Grinnell, and others interested in the fate of the Franklin Expedition will take a sad interest in inspect- ing on their arrival in the States. One entire skeleton I have brought to the United States} “ The same year that the Erebus and Terror were abandoned one of them consummated the Great Northwest Passage, having five 1 After much hesitancy as though he might have done wrong in this, some time after his return, Hall placed the carefully-preserved remains in the charge of Mr. ore ey aut ts sate fa a la pppn reer ata was identi- ed =e o pead y Aia of the Erebus. Geographical Magazine, London, for April, 1878.) z z d 344 Hall’s Second Arctic Expedition. [ May, men aboard, The evidence of the exact number is circumstantial. Everything about this Northwest Passage ship was in complete order. It was found by the Ook-joo-lik natives near O'Reilly Island, lat. 68° 30’ N., long. 99° W., early in the prng of 1849, frozen in the midst of a floe of only one winter’s formation This vessel was sunk by the Innuits in getting rod es The other vessel is reported by the Esquimaux to have been crushed by heavy ice in the spring of 1848, while the crew were engaged in getting out provisions. Capt. Crozier and another man, perhaps Surgeon Macdonald, appears to have survived their comrades and are reported to have been heard of by the natives near Chester- field Inlet. There are some indications that a portion at least of the party after trying to go down the west side of King William’s Land had turned back, doubled Cape Felix, and had passed down the eastern coast. Between Port Parry and Cape Sabine on that coast See-pung-er, an Innuit, reports finding a monument within which he found a tin cup containing manuscript which was thrown away as useless. “ He said further that he and his uncle had spent one night near this monument, wrapping themselves up in blankets taken from a pile of white men’s clothing found there, and that a kob-lu-na’s (white man’s) skeleton lay by the pile.” “ Hall appears to have been impressed with the great probability that all of Frank- lin’s party had not continued on the hopeless route to Back’s river.” Prof. Nourse quotes Dr. Rae in confirmation of this opinion. This well-known Arctic explorer suggests that Fury beach where an immense stock of provisions still remained at the place where the Fury was wrecked was much more accessible than any of the Hudson’s Bay Company’s settlements. But it seems very questionable whether the result would have been any the less disastrous had this course been adopted, feasible as it appears, for the rapidity with which the greater portion of the party succumbed to the hardships of the journey indicates great feebleness of health or great scarcity of food. That the latter was indeed the case we have every reason to believe, yet, why it should have been, with one vessel still afloat and afterwards found by the natives in complete order, and well supplied with all kinds of food (see page 404) is one of the many unsolved enigmas connected with the fate of the Franklin expedition. Capt. Hall thought he could account for as many as seventy-nine of the party, but for this belief he has to rely upon the very vague statement of the Innuits. pp ene feet ic Ri de since 1818 in Red). Ve a getat. Vanner RN Ring Vads za SAN a Ea , 9 8 es ea ee On e p Circle iscoveries ma | lat = Lad YD v oe Gh PREY s yapruury~ 9 jdn IN a109 the det directrdytiinAurrayAlbemark Stret- Circumpolar Map No. II (Geographical D Fe eat, = SCOTEA "ORI > “ a ; “ 3 RE A AR \ À . 8 x AAS \ Ne : WES Ak NOSE pi 2 va L N SENS Be é N AONE, = + tn Meornved +, CH : el re ilove: BL Ee ae: Ps tat er uolis > Wie Ne EN SA SFN, ee) ee ree ty Ga, ee S\N ine, BOP xš AN Ians Si s DU AC ain porsbuNS $. : git oe 4 Pn a NA Sean NG; SAC ey BO ó he mn S rah Le zs i BI out TA AG j pept! ak a BA pa al NDR BA Tok IPRS N a oe ae ay supp Richards, black tr z, Columbia River sae Satvelimus ‘spoctabils, Gir. Charr or Dolly aiden trout. bairdi. Dia williamsoni Gir., California white-fish. ANADROMOUS SPEC Oncorhynchus quinnat, common salmon, pee nerka, dog salmon, + keta, Ekewan xs gor rbuscha , hump- back salmon. Ff Rennerlyi, red salmon MARINE SPECIES. Ormeren oe Ayers, slender sie smelt, thalichthys Ayres, Curve-mouthed silver smelt. HHypomesus slits (Palias) Gi ll, Siall-mouthed Silver smelt. Thalichthys pacificus Gir., Eulacl The first of these (S. trideus ) tek ual here reckoned as a fresh-water trout, appears to have acquired the habit, in some localities at least, of descending to the ocean in the autumn. Considerable quantities of what are called salmon trout are brought to market in September, and appear to be nothing more or less than Sa/mo irideus, changed in color by residence in salt water. This is, at least, the opinion of the more intelligent dealers, and is borne out by the external characters of proportion and form of head, body and fins. The change of color is of the same kind as that produced in the more truly anadromous species, that is, the spots disappear in great part and a blue steely tint is spread over the ‚body. S. irideus is the common trout of all Californian brooks and rivers. The eulachon, previously mentioned, is also known as “ candle fish,” a name w which it shares with two other fat fishes of totally different families, Anoplopoma fimbria and Ammodytes personatus. If the name be finally given to the fittest, the last of these should be the true “candle fish,” since not only is it fat enough to fur- nish the Indians with a ready made candle, but it is of an elongated cylindrical form.— W. N. Lockington. THe EnGiisH SPARROW IN NEw N. J.—The unusually mild weather which prevailed in viag Gaot of New York city during the months oe. November and December, had the effect of - starting the sparrows to housekeeping. About the 20th of the latter month I first noticed them carrying building material in the city of Newark, N. J., a proceeding which invited closer observa- tion and attracted attention to vane side-walk courtships, which were quite numerous, if not gener The sparrows are very abudi in Newark, so much so that 1880. } Zoology. 369 many owners of “brown stone fronts” have put up wire screens to keep them from nesting over the windows and doors, and many other buildings are rendered unsightly by their droppings. Houses are put up for these feathered Arabs, and in Newark, as in many other places, the fiction that the sparrow is an insectivor- ous bird is cherished, notwithstanding the fact that they can be seen seeking their food in the middle of the street, and that their short bills indicate a preference for grain. : Grace church is the best place in the city to study sparrows, its splendid ivy-covered sides being rendered unsightly by the straws and sticks which protrude from it all the way from ten feet from the ground to the eaves, in many places one to each square foot. The noise of this colony greatly interferes with the services, so much as to make it necessary, as I am informed, to close the win- dows in summer; and the walk in front, under the trees, is polluted by their droppings, and many dresses have thus been ruined. Several nests were completed in the ivy on Grace church before the roth of January, when a few days of cold and wet weather put a stop to further desire for housekeeping for a few days. It was renewed again from the 15th to the 20th, but just how far it had advanced by the time of the Christmas snowfall, can- not say, as the nests are difficult of access; still the fact of their building would argue that if the weather had continued mild for a week or ten days longer a brood would have been the result— Fred. Mather. A New Preservative Fiuip.—About six months ago the Ger- man papers brought to notice that the conservator of the Univer- sity of Berlin, Mr. Wickersheimer, had invented a fluid for pre- serving animal as well as vegetable tissues, which was said to Surpass anything that had ever been used for that purpose. Mr. ickersheimer’s laboratory was reported to be the gathering- as follows , “ Mr. Wickersheimer has two ways of operating with his fluid. He either injects it into the veins of the body which is to be pre- served, or soaks the whole object or any part of it in the fluid. By these methods the bodies are preserved from decomposition, and after having been taken out of the fluid and dried, their natural colors as well as the elasticity of the tissue and flexibility of all the joints are secured. i orter saw the body of a boy which had died several months before, lying free in the open air and having perfectly 370 General Notes [ May, preserved the appearance of a sleeping child. The body was of a natural softness and had preserved the appearance of life toa surprising degree. “Mr. Wickersheimer showed a number of skeletons in which (the ligaments being preserved in their natural condition and elasticity) all the complicated movements could be executed and studied, of course much better than by aid of connecting wires and artificial joints. Some of the specimens showed beautifully the combined movements of the chest, the larynx and other parts in breathing. Several skeletons of snakes which had been treat- ed with the fluid a year ago, allowed to show the spiral and un- dulatory movements of any part of the skeleton, “ But,” the reporter continues, “not only the ligaments but also the vessels and membranes of animals will show the same indestructible softness and elasticity. The lungs thus prepared in connection with the wind-pipe may, even after years, be inflated by means of bellows. Such old lungs of several animals reporter saw swelling to ten times their size; the lobes became distinctly separate; the brown color gradually changed into red, and at length the whole body appeared as if taken from out of a fresh body. ; “Also the digestive organs after having been cleaned, prepared and blown up, may be transformed into durable preparations which are undoubtedly far more instructive than any of those common imitations in papier-maché, “Further, the fluid offers great advantages for the preserva- tion of such delicate objects which have to remain in a liqui medium, There is no discoloring, no shrinking of the objects as in alcohol (even when diluted). Sections of delicate tissues, mor- bid formations which have been removed by an operation, will appear after months as if in a fresh condition, and may thus be preserved for further study. “Finally, all sorts of vegetable organisms, such as flowers, fruits, fungi, etc., will excellently preserve in this fluid and are sure to Maintain their natural appearance fora long time. Re- porter saw a colony of those delicate common fresh-water alge which had been in the fluid for a year and had so beautifully pre- served their green color that they appeared to grow in the water in their natural condition.” Some time previous to this report, Mr. Wickersheimer had offered his invention to the Prussian government for a reasonable compensation. The government accepted the offer and appointed a committee of experts to examine the fluid and test its qualities and effects. The very satisfactory results of these examinations have been quite recently published by the State’s-Secretary of the Department of Instruction in the official “ Staatsanzeiger,” 1880.] _ Zoölogy. 371 together with the following formula for the preparation of the fluid : In 3000 grammes of boiling water dissolve Alum. Ea TEL NIE cel A E E EA E cs el tah REE E A a a EE S S ET ser 12 " was af 60 a Nye ati cot) T We, i E E O A E E E E E E A 10 os After cooling and filtering, add to every ten litres of the solu- tion, four litres of glycerine and one litre of methyl. alcohol. e “Staatsanzeiger” says: “The method of application differs according to the nature of the objects that are to be preserved. Anatomical preparations, whole bodies, etc., that are to be preserved dry, are laid (accord- ing to their size) from six to twelve days into the fluid, then taken out and dried in the open air. The ligaments, the muscles, etc., will now remain soft and flexible, so that at any time the natural movements can be executed. “ Hollow organs, such as the lungs, bowels, etc., must be filled with the preserving fluid, then laid in a vessel containing the same fluid and afterwards dried after the fluid has been poured out and the objects have been distended with air. “Smaller animals, such as crabs, beetles, lizards, frogs, etc., if the natural colors are to be preserved unchanged, are not to be dried, but put up in the fluid. “If human or animal bodies are to be preserved for a longer Space of time before they are used for scientific purposes, it is sufficient to inject the fluid. Two litres, f. i., will suffice for a child of two years; about five litres are required for an adult. By this treatment the muscles will appear (even after years, when sections are made) as if ina fresh condition. If thus injected human bodies are preserved in the open air, they will gradually lose their fresh appearance and the epidermis will assume a brownish shade. But even this can be avoided if the fluid is ex- ternally rubbed into the skin, and if the access of air is prevented as far as possible. “This latter treatment may be recommended for corpses that are to be exhibited to the public or are to be preserved for some time before they are buried, for the features will remain unchanged in their expression and color, and there will not any smell be perceptible. oe “For the real embalming a method of combined injection and Preservation in the fluid is to be applied. The bodies, after being injected, are kept in tight cases, being wrapped in clothes which have been saturated with the solution.” — W. Barbeck. t THE Sporrep SALAMANDER.—Every one who has collected water-plants or animals in the marsh-pools or quiet streams of * 372 General Notes. { May, the Eastern United States is familiar with the spotted salamander, or water newt (Diemyctylus viridescens R.). In their adult dress (olive-brown above, yellow beneath, and a row of vermilion spots along each side) they can be seen in num- bers, from early April till the middle of June, in shallow pools, basking on the surface, or floating motionless with the slow cur- rent, or walking among the submerged plants. It is the only sala- mander I know whose habits are so diurnal that it enjoys the sun- shine. I have caught them by the dozen at noon on sunny days. In the spring they prefer open pools or streams of slow-moving water where there are no trees, but plenty of plants and tufts of grass. But later in the year, when the sun becomes torrid, when the streams of the marshes are shrunken, and temporary frog ponds are nothing but patches of dried and cracked mud, the adult spotted salamander is seldom seen. I suppose they are hidden among the roots and tufts of grass. At least my speci- mens in confinement always get in such places. I have kept them in a box filled with earth, grass and moss, in which there was always a dish of water standing, but they did not care to stay long at a time in the water. Sometimes they would not remain in it for weeks, although they walked through it many times in crawling around; and they ate and were as lively as to swim with ease. Afterwards the colors become dull and the fin is absorbed. In these particulars they resemble what is said of the Triton (?) cristatus of Europe. e eggs, which I have seen, are glued singly in the axils of leaves, or the terminal whorl of finely-divided leaves, or folded up in grass blades. Often the leaves are stuck so close to the Zodlogy, 1879, p. 479.) My observations differ from those of - Prof. Verrill and S. J. Smith (American Narturatist, Vol. 11, p. slender, with narrow heads and pointed noses. They can be dis- tinguished at all times from the stout broad-headed larve of Am- blystoma punctatum. I have caught adult specimens in the breed- ing season, placed them among plants where there were no eggs- They laid eggs in the axils of the plants, and the eggs hatched to larval spotted salamanders. In the manner of placing the eggs, 1880. } Zoblogy. 373 they agree with what Prof. Owen says of the Triton cristatus and L. punctatus, The eggs are about an eighth of an inch long, ellipti- cal, with a tough envelope, and greenish fluid surrounds the yolk part. They are laid early in April or May, according to the season. The larvz are very timid. I have kept them till they became terrestrial and had yellow spots along their olive-green sides, but they would not eat, and died in about a week. I am very sorry not to have been able to keep any till they reached the red eft stage. Their dying so young makes a break in the chain of ob- served facts that prove the red eft to be a young form of the spotted salamander. The red eft (D. miniatus Raf.) was described as a different Same opinion (Proceed. Phila. Acad., 1859). Mr. H. A. Kelly kept some red efts till they became spotted salamanders (AmERI- CAN NATURALIST, Vol. xu, p. 399). ave also observed the change several times. All the red efts I have seen were small. I believe, but am not able to prove at present, that the young D. viridescens attains its red garb the summer it is hatched, re- mains that color about a year, then gradually becomes duller as it attains full size. I have found red efts in dead wood some dis- tance from water, but never in the water; I found one November I, after two severe frosts, under a loose stone near a marsh. I have kept D. viridescens, A. punctatum and Desmognathus fusca alive for more than a year atatime. The first two species be- came so tame that they would stretch up their heads, expecting to be fed, whenever they heard my voice. I have seen D. virt- descens eat tadpoles. They never seem to be able to get enough of them. The salamander puts his nose close up to the tadpole and remains perfectly still. If the tadpole does not stir, his life is saved, for the salamander soon moves off; but if he wriggles the least bit he is down the throat of his enemy in an instant. In taking bits of meat from a wire, they slowly open the mouth, protrude the tongue, and gently pull it off. A. punctatum snaps off the meat with a quick jerk. _ Ihave never seen any salamanders use the fore foot as a hand in adjusting food in the mouth, or for removing objectionable 7 pieces, but I have very often seen my tree toads do so. 3 they press it from the head and front legs by rubbing against some projection in the box, presenting different sides during the operation. Sometimes they remove the whole skin in this man- ner. At other times, after the old skin was removed from the 374 General Notes. [ May, arms, I have seen them push it from the rest of the body by alternately pressing against the sides with their hand-like front feet, in the same way that a person might strip off a tight garment. The skinning takes an hour or more, and after the integument is off they roll it up and swallow it. If kept in a warm room salamanders take food regularly dur- ing the winter and seem as lively as in summer. Tree toads kept in the same room will not eat. On the approach of cold weather they dig their way under sods and remain buried and torpid till spring. This would indicate that hybernation is not as settled a habit with these two species of salamanders as with the tree toads.— S. P. Monks. GROWTH AS A Function oF Cetts.—Dr. Charles Sedgwick Minot has published an article in the Proceedings of the Boston Society of Natural History on “ Growth as a Function of Cells.” This essay is an attempt to give an exact analysis of the problem of growth. The author considers that growth depends upon an impulse created at the time when the ovum is impregnated; this impulse he terms rejuvenation, because the vital power is made oung again in a new cycle of cells. The old cycle of cells passes away, the parent dies, but a new egg-cell is produced endowed with an extraordinary power of division, which causes the birth of successive generations of cells. Now usually the number of cells is doubled at every division, that being the least would be indefinite were there not an opposing influence. This opposing influence cannot be the loss of a part of the cells, as when part of the skin peels off, for this loss is too slight to coun- terbalance the multiplication. The explanation is, that the inter- vals between the births of two successive generations of cells — continually increases, or in other words the frequency of the divisions continually diminishes. This Dr. Minot calls the phe- nomenon of senescence, to which he attributes the utmost importance, as a vital phenomenon common to all animals, yet hitherto entirely unstudied. He says. “ From our point of view this change (in the frequency of division) is the most important alteration produced by senescence; that it really occurs is not only a deduction, but is shown by actual observation, for no one can question that the division of the cells during segmentation of the yolk proceeds at shorter intervals than during adult life; thus in an egg say eight or ten, perhaps more, generations of cells may be born in the course of a single day, all the cells dividing ; but we cannot for an instant imagine that all the cells of the human adult, for example, divide upon an average even once a day, probably * * * po T t x * epee coc ee But the size or weight of the whole animal depends not only 1880.] Zoology. 375 upon the number but also on the volume and weight of the cells. Dr. Minot therefore discusses the laws which govern the varia- tions of the size of cells. The relations of growth to the size of animals is next considered, the conclusion being drawn that the rapidity of the senescence determines the size of the animal, because the more rapidly the frequency of the cell divisions dimin- ishes, the sooner will growth cease and the smaller will the ani- mal remain, so that in this respect senescence exercises a funda- mental influence. This, is, we believe, the only scientific attempt to explain the reason why animals are of different sizes. Finall by a novel reasoning the conclusion is drawn, that although the animal grows in three dimensions, yet the growth of the cells is confined to two dimensions of space. For the detailed arguments supporting the author’s conclusions, the original article must consulted. í SCOLOPENDRELLA AS THE TYPE OF A NEW ORDER OF ARTICU- LATES (SYMPHYLA). — In examining a series of specimens of for their reception. The new group may be characterized in accordance with my observations as follows : Head essentially insectiform, or, more specifically, like that of Campodea, with mandibles, maxille and apparently a ligula. The labrum and labium are well defined, and the former is separated rom the epicranial pieces by a well-marked suture. Antennæ 14-28 articulate. Body with thirteen segments (exclusive of head), to which are appended not more than twelve pairs of five- Jointed legs, each terminated by a pair of claws, as in insects. At the bases of each pair of legs a pair of simple hairy appendages are attached, except to the first or postcephalic: these are fully three times as large in S. gratie as in the other species. Caudal stylets in a single pair, tapering, unjointed. : Genital orifice on the ventral side of the body opening on the third or fourth body-segment in both sexes. In one sex the opening is a simple pore, in the other a /ongitudinal cleft, closed by means of an oblong chitinous piece on either side, the two together occu- pying a subquadrate space. Heart, dorsal; ¢vacheal system repre- sented by a series of simple tubular arches, without a spiral filament, which arise from openings on the ventral surface of the animal, inside the bases of the legs, widening and passing upwards to | apparently in close relation with the dorsal vessel, Intestine straight, with two very long, tortuous malpighian tubules opening into it at the posterior third (S. xotacantha). The genital glands, as well as the nervous system, I have not made out with any degree of certainty. The muscles are dis- 376 General Notes. { May, tinctly striated, and the blood corpuscles small. The intestine has the portion in front of the rectum dilated; this is especially notable in S. gratig, where this part of the alimentary canal is usually filled with the remains of undigested vegetable food. The distal, thin, laminar elements of the jaws and maxillz are deeply toothed and much resemble those of Campodea, as figured by Meinert. This form, as interpreted above, becomes of the highest interest to the zoologist, and if the writer is not mistaken, the biunguiculate legs and their nearly complete correspondence in number with the rudimentary abdominal and functional thoracic limbs of the Thysanura, especially Machilis and Lepisma, which also have basal appendages to the legs, indicate as much affinity with in- sects as with myriapods, and may indeed be looked upon, per- haps, as representing the last survival of the form from whic insects may be supposed to have descended. I name the new group Symphyla, in reference to the singular combination of myriapodous, insectean and thysanurous characters which it pre- sents.— Fohn A. Ryder. NOTE ON A LARVAL LITHOBIUS-LIKE Myriapop.—I recently met with a very small specimen of this type of myriapod with seven pairs of legs. The claws are simple, as in the adults, the same as I have observed in larval specimens of Fu/us and Trichopetalum, and in both adult and immature specimens of Eurypauropus. The mouth parts are a miniature of those of the adult. The specimen was nearly an eighth of an inch long.— F. A. R. TRICHOPETALUM.—I have found Harger’s T. /unatum in great abundance in the Philadelphia park, which greatly extends the range of this Lysiopetalid myriapod.— F. A. R. Dr. CHAPMAN ON THE PLACENTA oF ELepHas.—The birth of an elephant at full term (twenty months and twenty days, according to the records kept by the keepers at Dr. Chapman’s request), in Cooper & Bailey’s menagerie in this city, afforded a unique opportunity to study the mature placenta of these huge animals. The placenta proper was found to be sonary, and was believed to have encircled the foetal elephant during gestation. The amnion and chorion formed two large oblong pouches, one within the other, and were fused together equatorially at their narrowest diameters, the point where the placental villi were developed: On either side of the placental zone of villi, the numerous cotyle- dons were developed. The placentation was found to be essen- tially non-deciduate, and diffuse in character, with a zonary form; this combination of characters renders Dr. Chapman’s observa- tions of great interest and systematic importance. No naturalist of recent times has ever had so good an opportunity to study this structure; the specimen described by Professor Owen is sup- 1880 ] Anthropology. 377 posed, from its size, to have been immature, whilst the interpre- tations, figures, and descriptions of the parts by the older authors are necessarily unsatisfactory, owing to their lack of comparative knowledge. . ZOOLOGICAL News.—A new class of marine silicious Rhizopods, called by Haeckel Pheodaria, rich in specific forms and remark- able in many respects, is described in Mature by this indefatiga- ble observer. Over 2000 “species” have been collected by the Challenger expedition. The greater number of the species are visible to the naked eye The development of Ambystoma punc- tatum is described by Dr. S. Clarke, with excellent figures, in the Studies from the biological laboratory of the Johns Hopkins Uni- versity. Considerable has been done by the Scandinavian of the worms. A number of new forms of much interest have been described and elegantly figured by Levinsen in the Pro- ceedings of the Natural History Society of Copenhagen. Hewitson and Moore’s Descriptions of New Indian Lepidop- terous insects is to appear in parts. For the first part we are indebted to Dr. Hayden. A number of forms are related to American species, hence this publication is ot interest to lepidop- terists in America. The death of Dr. Boisduval, the well-known lepidopterist, who described so many North American butterflies and moths, is recorded. He attained the age of eighty-one years. ANTHROPOLOGY.! PEABopy Museum at CAMBRIDGE.—Prof. F. W. Putnam, in three already mentioned. he second to ancient mounds and burial places in Cumberland Valley, Tennessee. Several thousand an- cient stone graves have been opened walled town on the of children, from one to four under each house. The third paper treated of the ornamentation of pottery. The author concludes from a wide induction that the seemingly useless appendages of more refined ceramic ware are survivals of useful parts in a ruder age, and that the study of the ornamentation of pottery will fur- nish an important clue to the progress of culture. ‘Edited by Prof. Oris T. Mason, Columbian College, Washington, D. C. VOL. XIV.—No. v. 25 378 General Notes. [ May, For about two years Mr. J. Francis Le Baron, Chief Engineer of the St. John’s and Indian Rivers railroad at Titusville, Florida, has been engaged in making a reconnoissance of the archzologi- cal remains in Eastern Florida for the museum. During this period he has located on a copy of a government map of Florida, published by the War Department, no less than 173 stations, com- prising shell-heaps, burial-mounds and fortifications, in a region extending about 300 miles south of the mouth of the St. John’s, and inland along that river and over-land to Lake Okeechobee. The majority of the stations are, however, on the St. John’s and Indian rivers. Taken in connection with Prof. Wyman’s account of the shell-heaps of the St. John’s river, the map and accompany- ing report by Mr. Le Baron forms a valuable addition to our knowledge of the position and number of the prehistoric sites in Florida. Mr. Le Baron has also in his report called attention to several groups of tumuli of special interest which should be ex- plored in detail if funds can be obtained for the purpose, for they a different character from the ordinary shell-heaps and burial-mounds along the St. John’s and the coast. The report and map by Mr. Le Haran will prove of considerable interest and importance in connection with the arrangement of the large amount of material which we have from the shell-heaps of Florida, consisting principally of the collections made by the late Prof. Wyman, and the proper time for its publication will be when the collections in that department of the museum shall be placed on exhibition. THE DEPARTMENT OF ANTHROPOLOGY OF THE BRITISH ASSOCIA- TION, HELD IN SHEFFIELD, 1879.—The Report of this Association is a model in punctuality and preparation. The following is a correct list of p si a —On the forms and geographical distribution of ancient stone implements India. pico, CoMMANDER.—On the manners and ‘customs of the people of Urua, Cen- CARKE, Hypr.—On the Yarra and the languages ai Australia in connection with those of the Mozambique and Portuguese Afric On High Africa as the center of a white r Dav = Jan W.—On the verti of nara n pockets of chipped flints beneath tbe on the Yorkshire moors, near Halit n an elaborately finished Celt eon on the e moors, near Marsden TIyawkins, W. Boyp.—On the geological evidence of the antiquity of Man. D: Brazza, COMTE SAVORGNAN.—On the native races of Gaboon and Ogowé.. FARRER, J. A.—On savage and civilized warfare. HARRISON, J. PARK.—The profile of the ancient Greeks. Keane, A. H.—On the relations of the Indo-Chinese and Inter-Oceanic. races saa languages KNOWLES, W. J.—On flint implements in the Valley of the Bann, On some curious leathern and wooden objects from Tullyreagh bog, County Antr LANu, Kevan: —On the origin of Fetichism. 1880. } Anthropology. 379 MILNE, JOHN.—On the stone-age in Japan Moss, Epwarp L.—On a collection of organic remains from the Kitchen-middens of Hissarlik. OPPERT, GusTAV.—On the classification of languages on the basis of ethnology. René, Drk.—On the discovery of animal mounds in the Pyrer ee a early historic events and pre- ae erate Pt perpetuation of de- si and manufacture in later, and even in prese PINTO, Da ck cae the native races of th ok waters av a PMN, ROBERTS, C.—A SOPROS of the physical paeen of life. SKERTCHLEY, SYD a e of the existence of palæolithic man during a glacial period i g ‘East rip On w estimate of the dat e the neolithic age. On thie survival of the neolithic period at Brandon, Suffolk. Tuke, D. Hack.—On the Cagots. Tytor, E. BURNETT, Chairman.—The presidential address. TYLOR, A.—On certain inventions RRS the ae of the human mind. Vinkki, ARMINIUS.—On the Turcomans between the Caspian and Merv WAKE, C. STANISLAND.—Notes on ea ra hang races. ARCHOLOGY IN InDIANA.—The volume containing the eighth, ninth and tenth annual reports of the geological survey of Indi- ana during 1876-77-78, by Prof. E. T. Cox, devotes the space from page 121 to page 153 to antiquities. In the first gre descriptions and surveys of new works and mounds are give accompanied by accurate maps. The second chapter is an a dress by Mr. Cox before the State Archeological Association of Indiana, which closes with this most excellent sentence, “ Let us, therefore, attend strictly to detailing facts of observation, and they are sure to lead to a correct solution of all problems within the compass of the human mind.’ ANTHROPOLOGICAL News.——Tenth general meeting of the Ger- man Anthropological Society, at Strassburg, on the 11th, 12th and 13th of August, 1879, in Cor.-Bl. d. Deutsch. Gesellsch. f. ‘Anthrop., etc. Nos.g, 10 and 11. The papers and discussions reported are of gon importance locally, but few of them were of general oe . Von Tréltsch presented a prehistoric chart of Southe ae and Switzerland, which is a marat of patience and skill in the use of graphic signs and color. The second part of the twelfth aan of Archiv für Anthro- pologie, 1879, contains the following communications : er Steisshaarwirbel (vertex coccygeus), die Steissbeinglaze (glabella coceygea), kosal in Steissbeingrilbs chen (foveola coccygea), w kehna oana Ueberbleibsel em- naler 150. ren einke Untersuchungen, by Dr. Emil Schmidt (Fortsetzung und Schluss), pp. I Ue ber d die Be bctiitidosteches Opferstatten am Uralgebirge, by Alexander Teplouchoff in Tllinskoje near Perm (with two plates). euer Messapparat fiir photographische Aufnahmen von Lebenden und von plate). Kleinere- Mittheilun includi ti f the Mosco w Exposition, Gatschet’s Ra ee gen, including notices o c Adjectives of Color,’’ Kutisc R ‘Jus primæ noctis,” and Wankel’s “ Piadhis- sche Eisenschmelz und Schmiedestatten in Mähren 380 General Notes. [ May, Prof. Ecker, the author of the first article, published in Globus, 1878, XXXIII, 177, a paper upon abnormal hairiness in men, espe- cially with reference to the so-called hairy men. The present paper is a continuation and extension of those studies in thoroughness, although a great restriction of the area of observation. While the author was endeavoring to ascertain the significance of distribution of hair over the foetus in general, and of the “richoszs sacralis in par- ticular, his attention was arrested not only by the hair-whorl near the coccyx, but also by the bald place (glabella), and the dimple (foveola coccygea). The author, after making these discoveries independently, found that others also had mentioned the dimple and the hair-whorl, while the g/aée//a had not been noticed at all, and the connection of all these characteristics into a single study was entirely original with him. The design of the paper is to describe the phenomena separately, to ascertain their mutual relationships, and to arrive, if possible, at their origin and meaning. The Bureau of Ethnology at Washington, designing in the future to publish a large work upon the gesture speech of mankind, has issued a preliminary quarto fasciculus of seventy-two pages ton outline.” The next chapter treats of the origin and extent 0 gesture speech, holding that the latter preceded articulate language in importance, which remained rudimentary long after gesture had become an art. The preponderance of authority is to the effect that man, when in possession of all his faculties, did not make a deliberate choice between voice and gesture, both being originally instinctive, as both are now; and there never was a time when one was used to the exclusion of the other. With the w sou with gesture he exhibited actions, motions, positions, forms, dimensions, directions, distances, and their derivatives. It 18 ideas under physical forms, had a formative effect upon many words; that they exhibit the earliest condition of the human mind; are traced from the remotest antiquity among all peoples possessing records, and are universally prevalent in the pede stage of social evolution. Col. Mallery next proceeds to demol 1880. Anthropology. 381 ish the oft-repeated story that there are tribes that cannot con- verse in the dark, alleging in response that individuals of those American tribes especially instanced, often in their domestic abandon, wrap themselves in robes or blankets thes a breath- ing holes before the nose, and chatter away for hour o mon belief in an universal sign language shares e. same fate at the hand of the author. In numerous instances there is an entire discrepancy between the signs made by different bodies of —_— to express the same idea. The pages of authorities, 16-18, a given in corroboration of the author’s view. en follows a series of variant signs, diverse both in conception and execution, with further illustrations, including speeches and stories in signs, with advice to collectors, inl von with drawings to guide them in recording their observatio We have called attention oa to the American Art Re- view, edited by Messrs. S. R. Koehler, Wm. C. Prime and Charles Perkins, and published monthy, in Boston, by Estes & Lauriat. As a medium of communication between students of the fine arts, it does not come within the pale of our notice; but the editors, taking the view that art is a factor in civilization, have engaged the most distinguished specialists, including Mr. Ban- croft and Prof. Putnam to contribute an illustrated paper to each number upon American aboriginal art in. its ancient and modern phases. In this view the journal commends itself to the archeol- ogists of our country as eminently worthy of their support. The following titles pp and treatises may draw attention to something of intere ur readers, They are compiled chiefly from Zhe ppp "Bookseller and Index Medicus: igeny: rA ye devoted to the study of the past. Edited by Edward Wal- ord. J. W. Bouton, N. Y. Aaah ave. 1879, go goda (Anthrop. Exposition at Moscow in 79 1879. Aryas, aero sur origine des. Bull. Soc. Anthrop.de Paris, 1879, Ul, 344, 443- AYRTON, MATILDA Cu HAPLIN.—Recherches sur les dimensions générales et sur les dév elop ipakain du corps chez les Japonais. Paris, 1879. By J. aii ar peara et médicale des aleves des écoles primaires de uxelie demog. internat, Paris, 1879, lI. BEARD, G. cea and pears physique. N. dm. Rev. 1879, CXXIX ued M.—Ueber Kraniometrie. Centralbl. f. Nervenh. Coblenz, 1879 H. BLEICHER.—Essai sur les temps préhi storiques en Alsace. Nancy, 1879. ORLASE, W. C.—Indian money cowrie in a British barrow. deka Jan. Borpier.—Sur les cranes d’assassins. Bull. Soc. d’ Anthrop. de Paris, 1879. Broca, PauL.—Crane et cerveau d’un nite atteint de la deformation toulousaine. Bult. Soc. d Anthrop. de Paris, 1 ‘Sur la determination de l'âge moyen. Bull Soc. d’ Anthrop. de Paris, 1879, 11. Sur un crane de Fellah et sur Vusure des dents. Bull. Soc. ad’ Anthrop. de Parts, 9, II BUjack. diene aus dem Catalog a Sammlung der Allerthumsgesellschaft Prus- Sia. Arch. f. Anthr rop., 1879, X 89. Corr Letra Tet sciences S EIRE DERA a lexposition universelle de 1878. Aux- rre, 1879. 382 General Notes. [May, DUBNIDON, P.—Le Culte des Morts et les Cimetières. Rev. Occidentale, Jan. DuRAND.—Sur les races nobles de Aveyron. Bull. Soc. d Anthrop. de Paris, 1879, Il, 421. GARCIN, C.—La tête et le crane d'un Neo-Caledonien. Marseille Med., 1879, XVI. GEOFFROY, J.—La gerang et la denomination des couleurs. Bul. Soc. d An- throp. de eiee rae GIGLIOLI, E. H.—Nuove notizie sui popoli at ter ee Asia e specialmente sui Negriti. peavey per PAnthrop. Firenze, 1879, I GIRARD, J.—Migrations Africaines. Bul. ‘aL oe Gári Oct. GOMME, G. L.—Folk-lore and the Folk-lore Society. Aztiguary, Jan. HOFFMANN, W.—Russian supersit ons. Penn Month., Jan Dirue générales pour les acces daiiron à faire sur le vivant. Paris, 18 er vom weissen Nil. Berlin Klein Wehnschr., 1879, XVI LE ae —Des differences de volume du crane suivant les races, les individus, et les xes. [Extract from his memoir crowned by the Soc. d Anthrop. de Paris with the first prize. F Gaz. @’hép. Paris, 1879, L LEBON, G. Ran Itats — par la mesure des capacitas de crânes e — a des hommes célèbre Compt, rend. Acad. d. Sc. Paris, 1879, LX Marriage Proposals, Curious. Chambers’ Foun., Jan MEEH, K.—Oberfla ere des Bdr EN Körpers. Ztschr. f. Biol., 79. KOTELMANN, L.—Die Augen von 9 Lapländern, 3 Patagoniern, 13 Nubiern, und 1 neg DEEA pte L.—Di EEL linee faciali trasverse nel-cranio di varie razze. Arch. er l ae Rebar e, 1879, IX s iii, C.—About Kissing. Potters Am. Month., Feb. PARKER, Dr. A. J. te the brain of a Chimpanzee. W. Y. Medical Record, Jan. ` sae: Sepia MARTINEZ, J.—Contribucion a la antropologia, Forma el hombre speres dentro del órden de la creacion? Æncicl. méd.-farm.. Bar- aeea 1879 Rice, L.—The Re a Kin ds F. of Literatur ROTH, rey zur ng lamer Berlin Eie penne 1879, X SABIN. ee —A Dictionary - Books relating to America, Parts 60-70. rere d Sons, New Yor SCHOLER—Ueber die Slang der atape dn zur Anthropologie. Arch. fi path. Anat. Berlin, 18 f STAGE, G. G.—Weight in i the ak y year. Copenhagen, 1879. TARUFFI, C.—Dell’ antropometria e delle anomelie della colona vertebrale. Ann. LIX VAUGHN, Mcr.—L’Homme: son origine, sa dbstines. Annales d. Philos. Chretienne, an, Vedas, Antiquity of the. Theosophist, Oct., 1879. WEISGERBER, HENRI.—De V’indico thoracique. Paris, 1879. West, E. P.—A buried race in Kansas. Kansas City Rev., WIENER, C.—Gran-Chimu et la ville de Cuzco, Bull. d. 1. ee y Geog. brar S. E. A. Z.—Some statistics g mo bing os and weight of pI born the Lying-in Hospital, Melbourne. 1. M. Journ. Melbourne, 1879, 1+ GEOLOGY AND PALAONTOLOGY. A New Genus or Tapiroips.—In 1873 I eee the anterior part of the skeleton of a tapiroid mammal from the Eocene beds: of the Washakie basin in south-western Wyoming. gree re- cently had occasion to examine the specimen, on removing the matrix I was surprised to find that it only possessed three digits 1880. ] Geology and Paleontology. 383 in the anterior foot, the fourth (fifth) being represented by a rudimental metacarpal. It thus differs from H/yrachyus, and allied genera of the Eocene, and places itself in direct association with the three-toed forms of the Lower Miocene. The dentition is how- ever that of Hyrachyus. The premolars differ from the true mo- lars in form, and the transverse crests of the latter are uninterrupted. There is a diastema, in which it differs from (Helaletes) Tapirulus. (See Scott, Osborn and Spier on this genus.) The inferior molars are like those of the rhinoceroses. The ulna and radius are dis- tinct. I call this genus thus characterized, 7riplopus, and the species T. cuditalis, with the following description : The interorbital region of the skull is wide and flat, and the sagittal crest is low. The muzzle is rather short, and the anterior border of the orbit marks about the middle of the first true molar. The posterior external crescent of the superior true molars is without bounding or dividing ridge, while the median ridge of the anterior crescent is very strong. The same is true of the confluent crescents of the premolars. The crests of the inferior true molars have strong ridges descending anteriorly from their outer extrem- ities. The fore-limb, especially the cubitus, is rather slender. Length of superior molar series, m. .055; of true molars, .030; o Superior diastema, .012; interorbital width, .049 ; length of hu- merus, .1t1; of radius, .143; of median metacarpus, .066; of me- dian digit, 028. The species was about the size of a fox. The form has a good claim to be regarded as the type ancestral to Hyracodon—E, D: Cope. _ THE STRUCTURE OF THE PERMIAN GANOCEPHALA.—Examina- tion of abundant material shows the correctness of my anticipa- tion (this Journal 1878, 633), that the vertebræ of the large ba- trachian Æryops, would turn out to have the structure found in Rhachitomus. This genuś then must be referred to the same sub- order as Tyimerorhachis, and probably Actinodon Gaudry, which will be characterized by the segmented vertebral centra.. If European authors are correct in stating that the vertebra of the Labyrinthodontia have undivided centra, the sub-order above mentioned, must probably retain the name of Ganocephala, with additional characters, The identification of the scapular arch in Eryops, and of the pelvic arch in Eryops and Cricotus, gives the following results : The glenoid cavity is an excavation in two coossified elements, of which the inferior and posterior is probably coracoid. The latter is then much smaller than in Reptilia and Batrachia anura, but resembles that of the salamanders. The scapular arch proper, re- sembles that of the Urodela. The pelvis is intermediate between that of the anurous and urodelous Batrachia. There is no obtu- rator foramen, and the common symphysis is deep. The humerus closely resembles that of the Pe/ycosauria, differing chiefly in the Non-enclosure of the supracondylar foramen. 384 General Notes. [ May. The resemblance of the scapular and pelvic arches of the Pely- cosauria' to those of the Batrachia above described, is remarka- ble. In Dimetrodon and Clepsydrops, the principal difference to be observed in the pelvis, is the much stronger attachment of the _ilium to the sacrum. In the scapular arch the principal pecu- liarity in the coossified portions, is the posterior double emargi- nation of the coracoid. It is thus evident that in the Permian period there was a much closer approximation between the Ba- trachian, Reptilian and Mammalian types than at any later period. —E£. D. Cope. BUTHOTREPHIS’ FROM YORK County, PA.—Prof. Frazer has re- cently obtained specimens of Buthotrephis flexuosa from the Peach Bottom Slate quarries, near the Susquehanna river. The slate of this region, according to Prof. Frazer, is bounded, both above and below, by chlorites of great thickness, which have been heretofore regarded as lying much below the palæozoic rocks. As the Buthotrephis flexuosa is characteristic of the Hudson river epoch at the summit of the Lower Silurian, this discovery disturbs views previously held, and opens up new questions in the stratigraphy of the region. ; Tue Comstock Lopge.—The scientific history of the Comstock has had three periods of development. First came in 1865, Von Richthofen, who had carefully studied the eruptive rocks of Transylvania, and was able to settle, once for all, the grand upon as the real lode-maker. The convulsions which attended its appearance were supposed to have opened a great crevice into which poured the waters from which the ore was deposited, 1See this Journal, 1878, p. 829. 1880. ] Geography and Travels. 385 Prof. John A. Church has recently written a book on “The Formation and History of the Comstock Lode.” His account of Comstock geology differs essentially from this. He concurs with his predecessors in regard to the position and order of the rocks and the presence of a dike under the lode; but he gives to the rocks and to the lode itself a different history. He finds that the diorite and propylite are both stratified, and their strata are approximately conformable. . ey were laid down in the horizontal position, and have been elevated into a mountain range by the ordinary operation of pressure and folding. The dikes of andesite have not broken through cracks opened across the other rocks, but are bedded, in- terposed between the strata of diorite and propylite. The open- ings between these strata were not originally so thick as the quartz seams now are. At first they were the merest partings between two layers of the propylite; and in accounting for the develop- ment of these insignificant crevices to ore-bodies two and three hundred feet thick, Mr. Church advances one of the most impor- when a number of them were involved in the process of substitu- tion, some would be completely removed, when others were only half dissolved away. If the process of substitution stopped at this stage, the result would be a mass of quartz inclosing streaks and layers of propylite, just as the structure is found to exist at the edges of the quartz bodies.—Engineering and Mining Fournal. GEOGRAPHY AND TRAVELS.’ ! Edited by ELLIS H, YARNALL, Philadelphia. 386 General Notes. [ May, direction for 232 miles to the oasis of Sha-chau—about E. long. 94°, lat. 39°'—reaching there on the 2oth of June. He states that the desert attains at one point an elevation of 5000 feet, but that the Sha-chau oasis, which he describes as very fertile, is only 3500 feet above the sea. Southwards there runs a range covered with perpetual snow, and evidently to be identified with the Altyn- tagh of his former journey to Lob-Nor. It is here joined by the Nian-Shan of Koko-Nor. This portion of Mongolia being very little known, it is likely our knowledge of it will be much increased. The latest news of this intrepid traveler comes by way of Pekin, and reports him as having reached the southern part of the province of Tsaidam on the northern frontier of Tibet. The route from there to Lhassa is known, partly through Prejeval- sky’s own researches in 1872, and partly from Huc and Gabet’s journey. Count Széchényi having, as stated in the NATURALIST for No- vember, 1879, been obliged to abandon his attempt to cross the Kum Tagh to the Lob-Nor, made a journey southwards from Su-chow-fu, visiting the high range forming the northern bound- ary of the plains of Tsaidam. Then returning to Su-chow-fu he proceeded south-easterly to Si-ning-fu through a mountainous region constituting the basin of the river Tatung, a tributary to the Yellow river. These mountains attain the limits of perpetual snow and are called Nan Shan. Si-ning-fu is situated at the foot of lofty snow-clad mountains (14,500 feet), in a well cultivated country, and is the principal depot of the rhubarb trade between China and Russia. He next endeavored to reach Lhassa by the direct route over the high plateau of Tibet, the road followed by Pére Huc, but could not advance further than the Odantala plain where the Yellow river rises. The party left Si-ning-fu on August 12, 1879, and reached Cheng-tu-fu, the capital of Szech- uen, at the beginning of October. This route is quite unknown, and passes over the water-sheds of the two great rivers, the Yellow and the Yang-tse-kiang. Széchényi’s arrival on the 24th of October at Ta-chién-lu has been reported at Pekin. Notwithstanding the efforts of the Chinese to dissuade him from continuing his jour- ney into Tibet and the reported hostility of the natives of that country, he, when last heard from, was continuing his journey to Batang and Lhassa. The immense coal fields of China are slowly being developed. On the upper Yang-tse-kiang a coal field has been found extend- ing over seventy-five square miles. In one bed lying only a hundred feet from the surface at least 1,200,000 tons of anthra- cite have been exposed. The Academy states, on the authority of the British Consul at 1 The best map on which to trace this portion of Prejevalsky’s route we have found to be Tafel 1, Petermann’s Mittheilungen, 1876, showing his previous journey 1" 187c-73 —EDITOR. 1880.] | Geography and Travels. 387 Saigon, Cochin China, that the natives of the country, especially in the more northern districts of Indo-China, have the great toe of the foot separated from the others like the thumb of the hand, so that it can be used, in a limited degree, in the same way. This peculiarity is mentioned in Chinese annals so far back as 2300 B. C. Several Russian travelers have recently made important ex- plorations in Central Asia. M. Potanin has solved many im- portant questions connected with the geography of north-western Mongolia and made valuable natural history and ethnological col- lections. M. Severtsof has, by a recent exploration of the Pamir, made considerable additions to our knowledge of its physical and geographical features. Some of the peaks in the Pamir were found to be of great height—the Mustagh attaining an elevation of 25,800 feet. The snow line was found to be at 14,000 feet on the northern, and at 19,000 feet on the southern slope of the mountains. . Oshanin describes a visit to the upper part of the Muk-sou, a tributary of the Surkhab river. From a notice of his paper in Nature we learn that very high peaks inclose the deep valley of this stream, the bottom of which is 8000 feet above the sea level.. The Sandal peak is 25,000 feet high: These peaks are rivers. The length of this glacier is not less than twenty to twenty-five miles, and it is fed with several other glaciers of very large size. The oscillations in its length have a great importance, as sometimes it advances so far into the valley as completely to bar up the valley of the affluent of the Sel-su, the Baland-kiik ; this last thence forms a wide base which afterwards cuts through a passage in the ice and inundates the main valley, destroying the forests. The vegetation in the neighborhood of the glacier is very poor, whilst the lateral valley of the Baland-kiik is covered with rich forests and grass, though far higher than that of the Sel-su. M. Oshanin observed immense quantities of the Micro- plax interrupta Fieb., in the neighborhood of Altyn-mazar. This Oxycerenina, which is characteristic of the southern parts of the palzarctic region in Europe, reaches in Central Asia such heights as, in the Alps and Pyrenees, are occupied with represen- tations of the Arctic zone. 388 . General Notes. [May, Kobdo to Kalgan, and thence to Ulassoutai via Urga, in Mon- golia. From Ulassoutai he turned west to the Chuyra river, which was reached at Kosh-agach. Nearly the whole of this journey was through unexplored territory. No less than 2700 miles were surveyed and twenty-six points determined astronomi- cally as well by chronometer as by occultations. Barometrical measurements were made during the whole journey, and ve rich zoological, botanical and mineralogical collections were obtained. Bangkok, the capital of Siam, is to be united to the telegraphic system of the world by a partly overland and partly submarine line connecting with the one now running to Moulmein. M. W. Shapira sends to the Atheneum (March 13, 1880) ån interesting account of a journey of four months during the sum- mer of 1879 in the interior of Yemen, the Arabia Felix of the Romans. He describes it as the most fertile and temperate country on this side of Asia, owing its happiness chiefly to the absence of the Shumum winds—the great curse of Syria and Northern Africa—and its prosperity to its having two rainy seasons of four months each, and consequently two harvests in the year. The mountains make the climate temperate and healthy. Yemen has an area of about 50,000 miles, more than half of which belongs to a series of plateaux from 4000 to 8500 feet above the level of the sea. The boundary line of Yemen is as follows: western side, along the eastern side of the Red sea, from Bab-el-Mandab south to Lohaya north ; then north side, from Lohaya north-west to Saada north-east; then from Saada north-east to Aden south- east; then from Aden south-east to Bab-el-Mandab south-west, so that it forms an oblong square of about 110 to 150 miles wide and 450 long. The chief towns of Yemen are situated on the second plateau, from 6000 to 7000 feet above the sea. This plateau is fertile and well watered. MICROSCOPY .' ORGANISMS IN ICE FROM STAGNANT Warter.—During the past season on account of the unusually mild weather, ice has been gathered quite extensively from stagnant water in canals and ponds. Since the middle of February I have been making micro- scopical investigations with regard to the purity of such ice. The plan adopted has been to select only those fragments taken from the interior of blocks which appear clean and transparent to the unassisted eye. On melting those fragments and examining the water thus obtained with various magnifying powers up to 900 diameters, bits of vegetable tissues and confervoid growths are usually recognizable at once. I have not noticed animalcule in an active state in water from ice that has just been melted, but upon allowing such water to settle and become warm at the or- 1 This department is edited by Dr. R. H. Warp, Troy, N. Y. 1880. ] Scientific News. 389 dinary temperature of a room occupied for. living purposes, the sediment deposited may be found to contain, after some hours, monads whose movements are easily discernible with a magnify- ing powers of from 200 to 400 diameters. pon allowing the water to stand still longer I have found the conferve growing thriftily, and in some instances forming clusters or bundles fre- quented by minute animalcule, the entire appearance in this case being very similar to that presented by the nests occupied by the young of the common Paramecium which I have seen in stagnant water. As the result of these investigations I am fully convinced that freezing does not free water from filth due to the presence of sewage or decaying vegetable matter, and further, that it is alto- gether probable that the germs from which animaicule are de- veloped, if not the animalcule themselves in a quiescent state, are present in very much of the ice taken from stagnant water. This eing the case, it would seem that the use of such ice in drinking water is hazardous, to say the least —M. A. Veeder, Lyons, N. Y. AMERICAN Society oF Microscopists.—The Executive Com- mittee of this Society has decided upon Tuesday, August 17th, as the date of the coming meeting at Detroit, which is expected to continue four days. Ample arrangements are already being -made for the entertainment of the Society by the local Micro- scopical Club. :0: SCIENTIFIC NEWS. — Epirors Naturauist.—The severe criticism upon a short paper on the Entomostraca, which I published in the Report of the Minnesota Geological Survey, seems to admit of a reply. The writer is not uncognizant of numerous faults in the paper, but is not willing to renounce the hope, expressed in the preface, that it will be of some slight service to those for whom it was designed. The reviewer seems to ignore the design of the paper and the avowal of the author, which cover most of the points criticised. reviewer deplores the absence of reference, in one case at least, to 390 Proceedings of Scientific Societies. [ May, works not published at the time the MS. was submitted. If it be a crime for an almanac to differ from an encyclopedia, there are many sinners. If the paper had been intended as a revision of the classification rather than a mere annotated list with references to such works as were consulted for assistance of amateurs, the severity might seem merited. Finally, typographical errors are to be greatly regretted, and the genius of the compositor who renders gxathites qualities, bor- ders on the sublime, yet any one who has. attempted to secure a correct rendering of scientific names: from compositors unfamiliar with them, will readily understand that the lack of opportunity for second reading of proof might cover many sins; however, Mr. Kingsley has compiled a quite complete list of errata, cover- ing the important errors. In conclusion the writer would add that the paper was collected from notes gathered at different times for another purpose, and the material was given its present form for reasons mentioned, and not without the advice of those of greater experience. The present intention is to continue the study with the assis- tance of works which unfortunately came too late to be used in the preparation of the paper, and assistance and advice is solicited and will be reciprocated as far as possible. My thanks are due Mr. Kingsley for his attempt to correct any errors which might mislead, and are respectfully tendered.—C. L. Herrick. eio PROCEEDINGS OF SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES. ACADEMY OF NATURAL SCIENCES, PHILADELPHIA, Jan. 13—. Profs. C. N. Pierce and E. D. Cope were dropped from the coun- cil on account of absence from more than six of the meet- ings; Prof. Cope having been engaged in a scientific exploration in Oregon. Their re-nomination was refused on the ground that the exclusion from the council is of the nature of a penalty for the absence in question. Dr. H. C. Chapman remarked on the genito-urinary organs of Capromys piloroides (clitoris perforated by the urethra), and on the occurrence of Cysticerci in the Macaque. an. 18.—In response to a resolution of the Academy, the fol- lowing communication from Prof. Cope was read : Dr. E, J. NOLAN. ; Sir :—Y ours of the 14th inst. containing a copy of a resolution of the Academy of Natural Sciences, is received. The resolution requests a statement of the grounds on which were based certain assertions which I have made in the Philadelphia Record for Jan. 8th, 1880. I take great pleasure in furnishing the desired informa- tion, as follows: ee First statement. “It may be remarked that at the late election 1880. } Proceedings of Scientific Socteties. 391 the reform party polled more votes than at any previous election (48 votes).” Explanation: John S. Haines, one of the candidates of the reform party, received according to the official count, fur- nished me by a reliable person, forty-two votes by the ballots on colored paper, and six votes by the ballots on white paper, which were thrown out by the tellers. 42 + 6 = 48. I take as a test of the previous strength of the reform party the vote on the final passage of the present by-laws, by which the professorships were established. After an open discussion of five months they were adopted by a vote of not more than thirty yeas and only two nays. Second statement. “ That they” (t.e. the reform party) “ elected three out of their five candidates.” The three candidates nomi- nated by members of the reform party who were elected, are Dr. A. J. Parker, Edward Potts and Rev. H. C. McCook. Third statement. “One of whom however” (z. e. one of the can- didates of the reform party who was elected) “has been irregu- larly superseded.” By this I intended to refer to the fact, that Dr. R. S. Kenderdine, having withdrawn from the candidacy for the position of curator in entire accordance with parliamentary law, was no longer a candidate. That the placing of his name on the ticket at a subsequent meeting by a ruling of the president, was an arbitrary act, done contrary to the continued ruling of the Same president for years past, which has not permitted the placing of any name in nomination for office after the last Tuesday in November. To say then that Dr. A. J. Parker has been “ irregu- larly superseded,” is to state in the mildest language, a position of affairs, which it is hoped will be, in the interest of fair dealing, soon remedied. I am very truly yours, E D Core. _ Verbal remarks by Dr. Leidy on the occurrence of Filaria immitis in the dog. Mr. J. A. Ryder remarked on the utiliza- tion of electricity for the purpose of instantly killing mollusks in a fully extended condition. _ Feb. 3.—Mr. J. A. Ryder spoke on the nucleus of the eggs of limpets, Crepidula fornicata. Feb. 10—Dr. H. C. Evarts remarked on the occurrence of Cercaria hyalocauda Hald. Feb. 24.—Dr. Leidy described some Naid worms—Audophorus vagus and Pristina flagellum named. Mr. J. S. Kingsley on the holothurian genus Kolga. Mar. 2.—Dr. Leidy remarked on Dytiscus and Mactra; also, on Filaria restiformis, a new human parasite, 26 inches long. Mr. J. S. Kingsley on the structure of the eyes of Limulus. -< Mar. 9—Dr. Coates made a verbal communication on some an- cient Peruvian pottery exhibited by him. Drs. Coates, Leidy and Conte, on the ancient Cyclopean structures of Peru, Egypt, etc. Mr. J. A. Ryder described two myriapods, Scolopendrella notacantha and S, gratie, nov. sp.; also, some remarks on the po- Sition of the chlorophyll grains in certain Vorticelle. 392 Proc. of Sct. Socs. and Selected Articles in Sci. Serials. [May. The following papers have been presented for publication :— Jan. 6. “ On the Nudibranchiate Gastropod Mollusca of the North Pacific ocean, with special reference to those of Alaska,” by Dr. R. Bergh of Copenhagen, Part 11.—“ The Terrestrial Mollusca inhabiting the Cook’s or Harvey islands,” by Andrew Garrett. Jan. 27. “ Carcinological Notes, No. 2; Revision of the Gelasimi,” by J. S. Kingsley. Feb. 17. “ A description of a new Crustacean from the Upper Silurian of Georgia, with remarks upon Calymene clintoni,” by A. W. Vogdes. Feb. 24. ‘‘ Pelagic Amphipoda,” by . Hale Street, M.D., U.S.N.—“ Carcinological Notes, No. 3,” by J. S. Kingsley. Mar. 9. “ Check-list of the Maioidea of the Pa- cific coast,” by W. N. Lockington. CALIFORNIA ACADEMY OF SCIENCES, Feb. 16.—A complete cat- alogue of the Fungi of the Pacific Coast, compiled by Dr. H. . Harkness and Justin P. Moore, was presented. An article by Justin P. Moore was read on “Edible Fungi” W. W Lockington read an article entitled, ‘Is Evolution Immoral ?” New York AcApDemy oF Sciences, March 22.—Mr. I. C. Rus- sell remarked on the former extent of the Triassic rocks of the Atlantic slope. Boston Society oF Naturat History. March 17.—Dr. M. E. Wadsworth discussed the iron ores of Lake Superior and their associated rocks. AMERICAN GEOGRAPHICAL Society, March 23.—Chief Justice Daly delivered the annual address upon the geographical work of the world in 1878 and 1879. a SELECTED ARTICLES IN SCIENTIFIC SERIALS. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF SCIENCE AND Arts.—March. The old river beds of California, by J. Le Conte. Note on the age of the Green mountains, by J. D. Dana. Western limits of the Taconic system, by S. W. Ford. Principal characters of American Juras- sic Dinosaurs, by O. C. Marsh. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF Scrence.—April. History of some Pre- cambrian rocks in America and Europe, by T. Sterry Hunt. Synopsis of the Cephalopoda of the Northeastern coast of America, by A. E. Verrill. JENAISCHE ZEITSCHRIFT FUR NATURWISSENSCHAFT.—January 31. The brain of Ammoccetes and Petromyzon planeri, with especial reference to the spinal-like brain nerves, by R. Wiedersheim. The skeleton of Pleurodeles waitli, by R. Wiedersheim. O. and R Hertwig continue their researches on the anatomy and histology of the Actinians. Special and general studies on the morphology and development of the Hydra, by W. Haacke. ZEITSCHRIFT FUR NATURWISSENSCHAFTLICHE ZOOLOGIE.—March 1, The article of most general interest is by E. Nauck on the hard parts of the stomach of crabs. THE : AMERICAN NATURALIST. VoL. xiv. — JUNE, 1880. — No. 6. THE DOMESTICATION OF CERTAIN RUMINANTS AND AQUATIC BIRDS. BY A, E. BROWN AND J. D. CATON. The following correspondence will interest both naturalists and Sportsmen ; os ZOOLOGICAL GARDEN, PHILADELPHIA, FRIDAY, Nov. 7, 1879. Hon. J. D. Caton. Dear Sir :—The large amount of information which I have gained from your valuable work on the Antelope and Deer of North America, together with your well known interest in all mat- ters relating to the domestication of the Cervide, leave me little hesitation in taking up a small portion of your time on the sub- ject. My experience with our mule deer (C. macrotis) has been very similar to yours, with the exception that the adults, two bucks and one doe, which were first procured by the Society four years ago, have all done well and are now in very ‘excellent condition. In the summer of 1878, we bred two fawns, and during the past Summer three more, two of these being twins, one of which died when two days old. The other four turned out just as yours have done; all were subject to diarrhoea, which was checked by the use of astringent food, as oak leaves and ragweed, to avoid as much as possible the giving of medicines, but in every case the disease returned. This summer I have regularly plied them with tonics, rst iron water, froma spring near the garden, then sulphate of quinia, and finally gentian powders, with good effect fora while but without affecting the general result. In each case I have found on post mortem examination, a similar condition of things—the diar- thoea resulted from cancer of the stomach (except in the sanii VOL. XIV.—NO, VI, 26 394 Domestication of certain Ruminants and Aquatic Birds. (June, some four months old, in which there was peritonitis, but no local- ized center of irritation); the general physical condition was poor, tubercles generally being found in the liver and spleen; in each case death was immediately owing to the presence of a fibrous clot in the heart, resulting from the generally impoverished con- dition of the animal. All had fed well or rather voraciously up to the day of death. The females have never appeared to take much care of the young, and they have been weaned very early. I have about determined, if I have an opportunity to try again, to attempt to raise the young altogether by hand. This is, of course, always risky, but from past experience I am inclined to think it no more so than to leave them with the mother. It is very difficult to give them the proper amount of arboreal food, and its place has to be supplied mostly with ordinary dry food and grass, hay, a little corn, bran several times a week, either wet or dry as may seem to be desirable for the condition of the animal. I have not noticed in any of our specimens, the elongation of the hoof which . you observed in yours. I will be exceedingly glad if you can give me any ideas or suggestions which would serve to promote my attempts to domesticate the species—as thus far I confess to a complete failure—the breeding of healthy offspring being the best possible measure of success in domestication. It will not be uninteresting to you to know what my experience has been with other species of deer. We have had in the collec- tion the following : Moose (Alce americanus). Caribou (Rangifer caribou). Wapiti ( Cervus canadensis). Common deer (C. virginianus). White-tailed deer (C. leucurus). Mule deer (C. macrotis). Mazame deer (C. campestris). Wood Brocket (C. nemorivagus 1} Sout America. Pudu deer (C. pudu). Fallow deer (Cervus dama). Europe. Axis deer (C. axis) Sambur deer (C. E \ India. All of five specimens of moose and eight of caribou have died at periods varying from three months to two years and five months, 1880.] Domestication of certain Ruminants and Aquatic Birds. 395 in the moose, and not beyond nine months in the caribou, from hypertrophy of the heart; owing, in my opinion, in great meas- ure to the impossibility of providing the proper kind and quality of arboreal food, and somewhat also to the climate and the limited range given them ina zoological garden. C. canadensis and C. virginianus have done well. We have bred a number of each and have lost none from natural causes, except some four or five fawns from improper care when first born. Of C. Zeucurus we have had but one specimen. The South American deer seem to be con- stitutionally weak. We have bred and raised several of C. campes- tris, as also of C. aristotelis and C. dama. In C. axis the female has had two abortions, and is now, I think, too old to breed. My experience with our prong-horn (A. americana) has also been similar to yours—they all die speedily from diarrhcea or hypertrophy of the heart; change of food and tonics seem to have no effect upon them. We have had some ten or twelve individu- als, none of which lived more than fifteen months. The only possible apology for so long a letter is the great inter- est of the subject, which I trust you will accept as sufficient to warrant the liberty, and I shall be glad to consider myself as under obligation for any result of your experience in the domesti- cation of the mule deer, which you are at liberty to assist me with. I am, with much respect, your obedient servant, ARTHUR E. Brown. I have just been much disappointed in losing a fawn of the Javan musk deer or Chevrotain ( Tragulus javanicus). The mother refused from the start to take any care of it, and I succeeded in keeping it alive for three days, by hand, but it was too delicate to stand handling and has just died. The little thing weighed less Da three ounces, the adults being only about ten inches high.— -B B. OTTAWA, ILLINOIS, November roth, 1879. ARTHUR E. Brown, Esq., Gen’l Supt. Zod. Soc. Philadelphia : Dear Sir :—I am just in receipt of your very kind and interest- ing letter of the 7th inst., and hasten to reply and thank you. I have received no more mule deer since my book was published, and about that time I lost my last of that species and also of the Columbia deer (C. columbianus), I am satisfied that they cannot be successfully domesticated in my grounds. They either find something which does not agree with them or something is want- 396 Domestication of certain Ruminants and Aquatic Birds. [June, ing which they require—most probably the former. And hence I think that closer confinement will promise better results. I added seven more antelope (Antilocapra americana) to my grounds, but all died in the course of the summer. Indeed all my experiments with ruminants, fera nature, whose natural habi- tation is confined to the United States, west of the Missouri river, have proved failures. _ About two years since I received a mountain sheep (Ovis mon- tanus\—a female, from General Miles, stationed at Fort Keogh, and in the spring following another (a young male), but in spite of every possible care, both have died with much the same complaints as the mule and Columbia deer. In less than a month after arrival diarrhcea set in and though arrested repeatedly it would always return. The male survived scarcely six months, the female nearly two years, but she grew but little and scarcely ever seemed well. - My Virginia deer continue to reduce in numbers till now I have not more than fifteen, though these seem to be vigorous and per- fectly healthy, yet not prolific. I have turned my attention to hybridizing them with the Ceylon deer and the Acapulco deer (C. acapulcensis), which with the hybrids seem to be perfectly healthy and prolific. I think it remarkable that these small species of deer, from such great distances and warm countries, should be so hardy and prolific here—most of the thorough-bred does have had two fawns this year, and several of the hybrids to this buck brought from Acapulco have two fawns and all perfectly healthy. I consider these small deer a great acquisition. On some of the hybrids the metatarsal gland is wanting and on some it is present, while some will have it on one hind leg and not on the other. My elk (C. canadensis), continue to do well and are so prolific that I have had repeatedly to reduce their number, and would be glad now to dispose of at least thirty. I have on an average about one old buck a year killed in battle, and sometimes another by some casualty, but all are healthy. Mine grow very large, and of all the Cervidze they seem best adapted to domestication. _ You mention among your other species of deer Cervus leucurus. After much study, I came to the conclusion that the C. /eucurus was but a variety of C. virginianus and so stated in my work. My efforts to acclimatize ornithological specimens have been interesting. The Canada goose (Bernicla canadensis), are Very 1880.] Domestication of certain Ruminants and Aquatic Birds. 397 easily domesticated. When taken adult, a month or two is suffi- cient to make them as tame as those that have been in the grounds for years. They are healthy and prolific. The white fronted geese (Anser cwrulescens) do not domesticate so readily, and have not reproduced, though they were observed to couple last spring. The Hawaiian geese (Bernicla sandvicensis), which I brought over in the spring of 1878, have proved hardy and I trust will prove reproductive. They were well sheltered and cared for last winter, and came through in good order. Both geese commenced laying in April, one laid three and the other four eggs, but only one showed a disposition to set upon the eggs, and she, after at- tending to her business faithfully for ten days, tired of it and quit the nest, so they produced no goslings. In the wild state they lay but two or three eggs, while in domestication they sometimes lay eight or ten. Mr. Brickwood, Post Master General of the kingdom, who had them in domestication for many years, sometimes raised as many as ten in a brood. In domestication they seem to have strong attachments and are fond of human society, one gander in particular has become very fond of me, and always greets me cordially, and will ¢a/é with me in a low, soft plaintive tone so long as I will indulge the humor. They are less aquatic than the other geese. The foot is not more than half webbed. They take a bath scarcely once a day, and rarely remain in the water long. I once saw one with the tail under water as we see a hen when forced to swim. Their native habitat is the high volcanic mountains in the Island of Hawaii, where they breed among the lava beds, depending upon the pools which they find among the rocks for water, never going down to the sea. They are of strong flight in the wild state, though in domestication they show little disposition to fly. Alto- gether they are the most interesting water-fowl which I possess, and I hope another year to raise some of them from the only pair l have left. A few weeks ago I lost the other pair by a mink, — I can add little to your observations on Japanese and Chinese geese. The former is twice as large as the latter. These have black legs, while those have yellow. They are very noisy, fairly discounting the Guinea fowls. ; I Supposed I had a pair of sand-hill cranes (Grus canadensis), 398 | The Critics of Evolution. [June, till they were seven years old, when both laid eggs and have done so now for three years. They lay two eggs each upon the naked ground without the least appearance of a nest, and far away from. the water. Last spring I procured a young male (as I suppose), but no two of the three ever associate together, as far as observed. One of the females sat about ten days upon her eggs last spring and then gave it up. The crows dined on the eggs of the others. I hope in the future to write more fully my observations on the mountain sheep and the Hawaiian geese, both of which are in- teresting subjects of study and are not very thoroughly under- stood. Very truly yours, J. D. Caron. 70: THE CRITICS OF EVOLUTION. BY J. S. LIPPINCOTT. [ Continued] Opposition of Dawson.—Prof. Dawson is also an inconsistent writer. In 1869 he published his “ Modern Ideas of Derivation,” an address to the students of McGill College, Montreal, in which he stated his belief, that Prof. Cope’s hypothesis, as advanced in his “ Origin of Genera,” is the “most promising of all that have been announced,” and as “holding forth the most promising line of investigation by which we may hope ultimately to arrive at more true expression of the law of creation with reference to organized beings.” This was an admission that he was in accord with the evolutionists. Prof. Dawson is among those who have attempted to harmo- nize Scripture and science. I am unable to see that they can at present be harmonized. and am confirmed in the belief in the difficulty, by the opinion of the ablest geologists with whom I have the good fortune to be acquainted. Moreover, Prof. Le- Conte, of the University of California, confirms this impression. He also has written and lectured largely upon this subject, for the benefit of the Young Men’s Christian Association, and is a firm believer in the truths of revealed religion. LeConte can- didly admits that all attempts to reconcile the Mosaic cosmogony with the results of science must be distasteful to the philosophical Christian. They must ever be but artificial and ingenious human devices. Far better to regard the books of Revelation and of 1880. | The Critics of Evolution. 399 nature in the philosophical spirit, and simply to wait and possess yourselves in patience, for the questions in dispute will, ere long, adjust themselves as others have done. He has used them, he admits, in times past, “ but now considers them almost like trifling with the words of Scripture and the teachings of nature.”? “ He who believes the Scriptures to have proceeded from Him who is the Author of nature, may well expect to find the same sort of difficulties in them as are found in the constitution of nature.” This passage is from the writings of Origen, “the father of bibli- cal criticism and exegesis in Christendom,” and is probably the text upon which Bishop Butler based his “ Analogy of Religion, Natural and Revealed, to the constitution and course of Nature,” “the ablest treatise on the philosophy of religion.” Prof. Dawson admits that “organizations styling themselves ‘the Church,’ whose warrant from the Bible is often of the slen- derest, have denounced and opposed new scientific truths and persecuted their upholders, but they have just as often denounced the Bible itself, and religious doctrines founded on it.” He remarks that “ theology is not religion, and may often have very little in common with true religion or with the Bible. When discussions arise between theology and other sciences, it is only a pity that either side should indulge in what has been termed the odium theologicum, but which is unfortunately not confined to divines?” “ Perhaps,” he continues, “the most troublesome oppo- sition to science, or rather to the progress of science, has sprung from the tenacity with which we hold to old ideas.” The science, which was at one time the best attainable, roots itself in men’s minds and thus “becomes a difficult matter to wrench from its hold, and its advocates are too apt to invoke in its defense politi- cal, social and ecclesiastical powers, and to support it by the authority of revelation, even when this, rightly understood, might be quite as favorable to the new views.” A work by Prof. Dawson entitled? “ The Story of the Earth and Man,” is, by many, esteemed a forcible protest against evolu- Lec Religion and Science; a series of Sunday lectures on the Relation of Natural and Revealed Religion, or the Truths revealed in Nature and Scripture.” By Joseph LeConte, Prof, of Geology and Natural History in the University of Califor- nia. 1874, i The Story of the Earth and Man.” By J. W. Dawson, LL.D, F.R.S, F.G.S. Toronto and Montreal, 1873, p. 339, which has been severely criticised by Dr. Asa tay in “ Darwiniana,” pp. 245-25) 400 The Critics of Evolution. [June, tion. In it he attempts to explain the facts of nature on the theory of creation as opposed to evolution, while he denounces the advocates of Darwinism, and boldly asserts “that evolution as an hypothesis has no basis in experience or in scientific fact.” This work was written in 1873. He has so well described the character of the obstructionist and irreconcilable in the extracts above given from a more recent paper,! that we may almost imag- ine that he had himself in view, and that larger knowledge of the accumulating facts of evolution has had some influence upon his position as respects its scientific basis. Prof. J. W. Dawson is, I believe, the only naturalist of deserved reputation who repudiates the established truths of evolution ; yet he deems it his duty to apologize for the supposed “ conflict of science and religion,” and in the Princeton Review for November, 1879, appeared the following delivery from his pen. The pursuit of science has not entirely failed, even in his case, to widen his mental scope, and render him wiser than his theological proclivi- ties would alone have left him: - Perhaps there is no part of the Bible in which the teaching of nature with reference to divine things is more fully represented than in the Book of Job, and I am inclined to think that nota few, even of religious men, fail to see precisely the significance of the address of the Almighty to Job, in the concluding chapter of that book. Job is tortured and brought near to death by severe bodily disease. His friends have exhausted all their divinity and philosophy upon him in the vain effort to convince him that he deserves this infliction for special and aggravated sins; at length the Almighty intervenes and gives the final decision. But instead of discussing the ethical and theological difficulties of the case, He enters into a sublime and poetical description of nature. He speaks of the heaven above, of the atmosphere, its vapors, and its storms, and of the habits and powers of animals. In short Job is treated to a lecture on natural history, yet this instantane- ously affects what the arguments of his friends have altogether failed to produce, and Job humbles himself before God in contri- tion and repentance. * * * take a lesson from the Bible itself? (2) May there not be wary in our time who like Job ‘have heard of him with the hearing O 1« The So-called Conflict of Science and Religion.” By Principal J. W. Daw- son, of McGill University, in Zhe Science Monthly, Vol x, pp- 72; 74- 1880. ] The Critics of Evolution. _ 401 the ear, but have not seen him with the eye in his ‘works,’ and on the other hand, are there not many who have seen the works without seeing the Maker, who can even ‘magnify God’s works which men behold’ without knowing the author of them? Would it not be well to bring more together in friendly discus- sion and comparison of notes, those who thus look on only one side of the shield? (3) Should we not beware of the error of view of God and of himself. He had not considered or fairly viewed the world around him in its grandeur, its complexity, its unaccountable relations, and contrasted it with his own little sphere of thought and work.” So to the hitherto untaught, whether layman or divine, who, in ignorance of nature, have so generally “ uttered what they under- stood not,” “ obscured counsel by words without knowledge,” and have misrepresented God’s plans, the philosophy of evolution will yet prove to be a revelation of the Divine wisdom. Adhesion of Dr. MeCosh—The work of Dr. James McCosh, the distinguished professor of logic and mathematics of Queen's College, Belfast, on the “Divine Government, Physical and Moral,” has been pronounced of preeminent merit, and even Dr. Charles Hodge, of Princeton, the accuser of Darwinism as rank atheism, asserts “it is generally regarded as one of the first books of the age.” Dr. McCosh also wrote, in connection with Dr, Dickie, “Typical Forms and Special Ends in Creation,” which is described as “ in the modern phases of infidelity, as likely to prove more cogent than Butler and quite as unanswerable.’ Dr. McCosh proved so powerful a champion against modern infidelity, so able a vindicator of the truths of revealed religion, at the College at Princeton, New Jersey, invited him to become its Principal. The directors were aware that there was no man among their divines of American theological training, competent to combat the “infidels” and do credit to their institu- tion as a learned and accomplished president. Now what is the testimony of this distinguished teacher? It is that! “good may ` “Ts the Development Hypothesis Sufficient?” by Dr. James McCosh in the Popular Science Monthly, Vol. X, pp. 86-100. 402 The Critics of Evolution. [June, arise from showing that when the doctrine of development is properly explained and understood, and kept within its legitimate sphere, there is nothing in it inconsistent with natural or revealed religion.” In his comments on Huxley’s lectures he admits that! “transitional forms are ever casting up,’ and that “in certain elds we have these transitions already disclosed,” that “ certain cases indicate a tendency on the part of the reptile to rise to the bird, and of the bird to retain properties of the reptile. Z have ever Stood up,’ says he, “for a doctrine of development.” “I see nothing irreligious in holding that the bird may have been evolved by numerous transitions from the reptile, and the living horse from the old horse of the Eocene formation.” ‘ Let us suppose they can also, in rare cases of combination, produce species, religion is not thereby undermined either in its evidences or in its essential doctrine.” “God is present in all His works, and acts in all their actings.” “For in Him we live and move and have our being.” “For we are also His offspring.” “ This doctrine may be so stated as to make it pantheistic. It is the one grand truth con- tained in pantheism, giving it all its plausibility, and making it superior to that dald theism which makes God create the world at first, and then stand by and see it go.’ “This doctrine can be so stated as to free it from all such tendencies on the one side or the other, so as to make God distinct from all His works and yet act- ing in them. This is, I believe, the philosophical doctrine. It has been held by the greatest thinkers which our world has pro- duced, such as Descartes, Leibnitz, Berkeley, Herschel, Faraday and multitudes of others.” In the view of the renowned Jonathan Edwards, “nature is a perpetual creation.” Dr. McCosh con- tinues: “ God is to be seen not only in creation at first, but in the continuance of all things. He is acknowledged not only in the origination of matter, but in its development, not only in the rep- tile and the bird, but in the steps by which the one has been derived from the other; not only in the Orohippus, but in the stages by which that animal has risen into the horse so useful to _ man.” ‘I do believe that these old horse forms were preparations for the horse now living.” Finally, we conclude our numerous extracts from the writings of Dr. McCosh, with the following: “Suppose we admit all that Huxley claims on this subject, what then? Have we set aside any doctrine of philosophy or religion? 1« Is the Development Hypothesis Sufficient?” by Dr. James McCosh, in the Popular Science Monthly, Vol. xX, pp. 86-100. 1880.] The Critics of Evolution. 403 God is still to be seen every where in His works, and rules over all. It appears to me,” he adds, “ that the whole doctrine of vegetable and animal species needs to be reviewed and readjusted, and relig- ion need not fear for the result. I have been convinced of this ever since I learned, when I was ardently studying botany, that the number of species of plants had risen to two millions. I was sure that all these are works of God, but I was not sure that each -was a special creation.”? Thus it appears that Dr. McCosh, one of the ablest defenders of the Christian faith against the attacks of modern infidelity, is a pronounced evolutionist ! Adhesion of Rev. Charles Kingsley —If the above from the able and orthodox Dr. McCosh does not suffice to show that the whole line of argument used by some popular anti-evolution critics is fitted only to delude the unwary, I may adduce the tes- timony of Rev. Charles Kingsley in my defense. This eloquent divine and naturalist, in his “ Westminster Ser- mons,’” and in a paper afterwards read to a meeting of London clergy at Sion College, remarks, “ The God who satisfies our conscience ought more or less to satisfy our reason also. To teach that, was Butler’s mission [in his ‘Analogy of Religion, Natural and Revealed’], and he fulfilled it well. But it is a mission which has to be refulfilled again and again, as human ‘thought changes and human science develops. For if in any age or country the God who seems to be revealed by nature seems also different from the God who is revealed by the then popular religion, then that God and the religion which tells of that God, will gradually cease to be believed in.” “For the demands of rea- son must be, and ought to be, satisfied. And, therefore, when a popular war arises between the reason of any generation and its theology, then it behooves the ministers of religion to inquire, with all humility and godly fear, on whose side lies the fault ? Whether the theology which they expound is all that it should, be, or whether the reason of those who impugn it is all that it - Should be?” Kingsley pronouncing it the duty of the naturalist to find out the Avzw of things, and of the natural theologian to find out the why, continues: “But if it be said, ‘After all there is no why, the doctrine of ‘Ts the Development Hypothesis Sufficient,’ by Dr. James McCosh, The Popular Science Monthly, Vol. X, pp. 86-100. ? Charles Kingsley’s ‘‘ Westminster Sermons,” quoted in “ Darwiniana,” pp. 281, 282, ; 404 The Critics of Evolution. [June, evolution by doing away with the theory of creation does away with that of final causes,’ let us boldly answer, ‘ Not in the least.’ We might accept all that Mr. Darwin, all that Prof. Huxley, &c., have written, and yet preserve our natural theology on the same basis as that on which Butler and Paley left it. That we should have to develop it I do not deny. Let us look rather with calm- ness and even with hope and good-will on these new theories ; they surely mark a tendency towards a more or less scriptural view of nature. Of old it was said of Him without whom noth- | ing is made, ‘My Father worketh hitherto, and I work.’ Shall we quarrel with science if she should show how these words are true? What, in one word, should we have to say but this, ‘We know of old that God was so wise that He could make all things, but behold, He is so much more than even that, that he can make all things make themselves.’ ” Kingsley was wise in his generation. He well knew that theologians had always been worsted in their conflicts with sci- ence, and he would ward off the injury to religion that invariably follows the defeat of her teachers. Moreover, his acquaintance with natural science gave him an extraordinary advantage over such divines as Dr. Hodge, Herbert Morris, et td omne genus. Kingsley knew the force of the position taken by Prof. White, of Cornell University, in his “ Warfare of Science,” and the truth of which he has incontestably proved in that excellent and pithy work ; that “In all modern history, interference with science in the supposed interest of religion, no matter how conscientious such interference may have been, has resulted in the direst evils, both to religion and science, izvaridély, And on the other hand all untrammeled scientific investigation, no matter how dangerous to religion some of its stages may have seemed for the time to be, has invariably resulted in the highest good of religion and of science.” Origin of Species.—The opponents of evolution sometimes quote a passage from Huxley, as follows, it is “ my clear convic- ` tion that as the evidence now stands, it is not absolutely proven that a group of animals having all the characteristics exhibited by a species in nature, has ever been originated by selection whether artificial or natural.” (“Lay Sermons,” p. 295.) They evidently forget Huxley’s demonstration of the evolution of the horse. ‘This demonstration does not admit of a doubt,” says an excellent authority. Dr. McCosh, as already quoted, says “ I do fully believe that those old horse forms were preparations for the 1880. | The Critics of Evolution. 405 horse now living.”! “ The evidence is conclusive,” says Huxley, “as far as the fact of evolution is concerned, and if it can be proved, as the facts certainly do prove, that a complicated animal like the horse may have arisen by a gradual modification of a lower and less specialized form, there is surely no reason to think that any other animals have risen in a different way. The case is not isolated. Every new investigation into the Tertiary mamma- lian fauna brings fresh evidence tending to show how the rhinoce- ros, the pigs, the ruminants, have come about. Similar light is being thrown on the origin of Carnivora, and also in a less degree, on that of all the other groups of animals. * The accurate information obtained in this department [that is regard- ing the origin of species], has put the fact of evolution beyond a doubt. Formerly the great reproach to the theory was, that no Support was lent to it by the geological history of living things ; now whatever happens, the fact remains that the Ayfotheszs is Sounded on the firm basis of paleontological evidence.’ —Huxley. Prof. Cope has shown us the origin of the camel by evolutionary processes with as much clearness and force as that of the horse has been demonstrated: Now the above has quite a different ting from Huxley’s early admission ! But says the uninformed and persistent doubter, “ We know nothing of the method by which these four-toed horses became three-toed, or the three-toed passed into the two-toed, and finally into the one-toed, as we find them in our day. You have brought no evidence to show that they have had any genealogical relation. There is no evidence in modern time to show that any such changes have taken place.” Not so fast, my friend, we may reply. There is abundant evidence to show that changes are taking place of a very striking character, some of which are wonderfully per- tinent to the case of the origin of the horse of our day. In the December number of the American NATURALIST, p. 801, may be found the following, which should silence all discussion on this Subject as final and conclusive. Prof. Cope, when at the meeting of the California Academy of Sciences, Nov. 3, 1879, “Called attention to a pair of feet of a deer belonging to the academy, which were sent from Mendocino county, Cal. Each of these possessed but ove central toe and "Is the Development Hypothesis Sufficient? By Dr. James McCosh. In the Popular Science Monthly, Vol. x, pp. 86, 100. 406 The Critics of Evolution. [ June, hoof, instead of the usual pair., The speaker stated that the toes of the hinder feet were united throughout, and were so far devel- oped beyond the usual point attained by the ordinary ruminant. The toes of the fore limb were different, only one being continued to the hoof, all the others being rudimental.’ The bones belonged to the modern deer and were not found fossilized. But suppose the case rested on the evolution of the horse alone? When Newton demonstrated the law of gravitation from atoms to apples and falling towers, what did he do? He asserted universal gravitation! Men came to him with objections and difficulties, some trivial and some serious. He answered some- what in this wise. “Gentlemen, some of your arguments are trivial, I would not answer them if I could; some are serious, just zow I could not answer them if I would; nevertheless gravi- tation zs and it is universal” All the objections to evolution may not be answerable at present, nevertheless the philosopher is jus- tified in asserting that evolution zs and that it zs universal. Evolution a Grand Generalization.—Some doubting critics esteems us “far too much inclined to accept as ‘grand generali- zation’ a bold and unproved theory and a theory which is hostile in its influences to the reception of the simple truths recorded for our profit in the Bible.” What these simple truths may be they have not stated, and perhaps it were better they should refrain from the statement. I know of no more happy mode of turning the truths of evolution against the Bible, than that pursued by some perverse theologians of boldly asserting that they are antagonistic to the Scriptures. The truths of science, as we have seen in former discussions respecting geology, were regarded as antagonistic to the Bible, and anti-scientists were forced to admit the Bible in error or resort to the only avenue of escape, by con- sidering it wrongly translated or improperly understood. Would it not be wise to admit this may again be the case, rather than provoke opposition and the damaging criticisin of evolutionary science ? As respects the epithet “ grand generalization,” and the unproved character of the evolution doctrine, I have something more to say. Our critics have evidently not made themselves familiar with the profound philosophy of Herbert Spencer, who has based his wonderful works upon evolution, and is drawing therefrom his great system of scientific thought, the most original and most 1880. ] The Critics of Evolution, 407 important undertaking of the age. This system is solidly based upon the sciences of observation and induction, and is undoubt- edly the largest scheme of systematic philosophy. Herbert Spen- cer is author of the only complete systematic statement of the doctrine of evolution. Now this Herbert Spencer is described by the most competent judges to be a thinker of larger calibre than has hitherto appeared in England, as keen an analyst as is known in the history of philosophy, not excepting Aristotle or Kant. In the highest realms of philosophical investigation he stands equal to all his predecessors, and has taken his position in the foremost rank of living thinkers. Now if a man of the char- acter I have here outlined has taken evolution as a profound and all comprehensive generalization, we surely may be permited to accept it as such. Let us not, my good critic, resemble the ostrich that hides her head in the sand and imagines that because she does not see, therefore neither can the world around see. Our critics add that evolution is not proved. Do they suppose that such a host of men, eminent in science, besides the honored name above given, would stultify themselves by admitting its truth and proclaiming it to be an invaluable boon, had they not convinced themselves of its inherent worth by bringing to its investigation all the lights at their command? Let us see what kind of minds entertain a firm belief that evolution has been proved to be a true philosophy. “It is Mr. Darwin’s misfortune to know more about the question he has taken up than any other man living,” says the learned Huxley. Sir Charles Lyell, after having for fifty years studied the sub- ject of life in connection with the past changes of the globe, and embodied all the older views in all his numerous works, at length in the tenth edition of his “ Principles of Geology,” abandoned the old ground as untenable, and adopted the views presented by arwin, Dr. Asa Gray stated before the Association for the Advance- ment of Science, that he had repeatedly attempted to catch Dar- win tripping, and had had referred to him many cases which he himself at the time considered opposed to the theory, but in every case had deen forced to withdraw his objections. Thomas Mee- han made the same remark. He had often supposed Darwin in error, but had always found him right. Dr. Fritz Müller, an eminent German naturalist, says he took 408 The Critics of Evolution. [ June, no small pains to detect contradictions among the inferences as to the class of Crustacea to which he had devoted himself, and found none furnished by Darwin’s theory. Dr. Gegenbaur, author of “Outlines of Comparative Anatomy,” which has been adopted as an authoritative text-book, has re-cast his work and embodied therein the Darwinian philosophy. He. regards comparative anatomy as the /ouchstone of the truth of evolution, Darwin’s name is always mentioned among the German natu- ralists with the profoundest reverence. His theory is now the common starting point of German science in many departments of knowledge that would seem at first to be farthest from natural history. The recent selection of Darwin as an associate of the - French Academy of Science, the very highest honor that contem- porary wisdom can confer, mark emphatically the esteem with which he is regarded in France, long unwilling to admit the value of his labors. ` Whether evolution is to be recognized is then no longer an open question. “ It is enough that it is a mental view that answers to a great reality, and is undoubtedly the broadest principle of unification in nature the human mind has yet reached.” As to whether it zs proved, depends upon the individual temperament and capacity of him who examines it. To some minds there exists no possibility of proving the truth or falsehood of any moral questions or of any physical problems, unless they can be brought to the test of mathematics. Minds of this character should confine themselves to their proper sphere, they are beyond instruction and are incorrigible. Evolution has been proved, as have many other problems in physical and natural science; the ablest experts are perfectly satisfied, why should the popular mind withhold its assent? “I do not think that I am speaking too strongly when I say that there is now scarcely a single compe- tent general naturalist who is not prepared to accept some form of the doctrine of evolution,’ says Prof. C. Wyville Thomson in his Introduction to “The Depths of the Sea,” an account of the general results of the dredging cruise of the Porcupine and Lightning, 1868, 1869 and 1870, p. 9. It may interest our readers to know to what extent the doctrines of evolution are taught in our higher institutions of learning. At Harvard every professor whose: departments are connected with 1 880. ] The Critics of Evolution, 409 biology, such as Gray, Whitney, A. Agassiz, Hagen, Goodale, Sha- ler, James, Farlow and Faxon, is an evolutionist, and man’s physi- cal structure they regard as no real exception to the law. They are all said to be theists and all conservative men. At Johns Hop- kins University, Baltimore, which aims to be the most advanced in the country, evolution is held and taught. In the University of Pennsylvania all the biological professors are evolutionists, Leidy, Allen, Rothrock and Parker. At Yale, Michigan Univer- sity, Brown, Cornell, Dartmouth, Bowdoin, Princeton, the biologi- cal professors are all in the same category. There can scarcely an exception be found. Wherever there is a working naturalist he is sure to be, almost without an exception, an evolutionist. Prof. James D. Dana often adduced as an opponent, in his new “ Text Book of Geology,” p. 341, says: “Its progress [the system of nature] if by divine power should be, as zodlogical history attests, a development, an unfolding, an evolution.” “ We challenge,” Says an ex-president of the American association for the advance- ment of Science, “ to find three working naturalists of repute in the United States—or two (we can find one in Canada)—that is not an evolutionist. I should regard a teacher of science who denied the truth of evolution as being as incompetent as one who doubted the Copernican theory.” (Popular Science Monthly, Vol. XVI, pp. 558-559.) “It is now regarded, among the active workers in science, as a waste of time to discuss the truth of evolution. The battle on this point has been fought and won.” Evolution demonstrated by the Changes going on around us.— Those of our critical friends to whom evolution is not to their understandings established on a basis of demonstration, I would refer to a very instructive paper republished in the supplement to the Popular Science Monthly, Vol.xv, entitled “ Animals and their Environments.” They will there find indubitable proof that cer- tain animals were not originally created as they now exist, and that their surroundings have greatly modified their forms, and the doctrine of special creation demolished. Among others, the changes that take place in the flounder and other flat fishes are described, and the manner in which these fishes, originally formed symmetrically like others of their congeners, with eyes on both sides of their heads, swimming upright, and colored on the back and white on their under side, become, through want of a Swimming bladder to preserve them in an upright position obliged - VOL. X1V,—No VI. 27 410 The Critics of Evolution, [June, to turn upon their sides and to descend to the bottom of the water. Here they undergo a metamorphosis, which is a wonderful in- stance of the manner in which nature modifies animals and adapts them to new conditions. The flounder thus placed at the mercy of its environment, begins to change color on the under side which becomes whiter from the absence of light, while the upper side becomes darker from its continuous action. The eyes were originally on opposite sides of the head, as in normal fishes, but the eye which was created upon the side which is now under- most, gradually moves around and takes its place upon the upper side, thus presenting the appearance, familiar to any one who has seen the turbot or flounder, of an animal with both eyes on the same side of its head. They will there find, also, a notice of the transformation of the North American axolotl (Siredon) into a completely different animal, with which it was not known to have near relationship, and already placed in a different genus. They will also see an explanation of the manner in which the Alpine salamander has probably changed from an egg-bearing to an ovo-viviparous animal in places too dry for the production of animals having gills in their earlier stages, by causing the eggs to hatch within the mother, and the young to pass their gill stage within the fluids of her body instead of in water, as do the young of other newts or salamanders. There is an excellent.lesson in evolution to be found in the his- tory of the Sacculina, which is a parasite upon the hermit crab. This illustrates the manner in which degradation is brought about, for this is often as striking a process of evolution as is advancement to higher forms. This Sacculina, as it is found on hermit crabs, is a sort of cylindrical mass with a bundle of roots growing from one side; sense it has none, limbs none, organs none, and hardly the vestige of organs and only the faintest traces of mouth and intestines. It is an embryo but not far enough advanced to show what it is to be. Listen to its history. This structureless lump began life as a little barnacle crab, swimming in the ocean, having a symmetrical body, three pairs of legs and one eye, and bearing a close resemblance to the embryos of all crabs in this state, which is called the “nauplius stage,” or that first to develop out of the egg. Very soon our nauplius barnacle leaves off roving and attaches himself to the soft hind parts of a 188o. ] The Critics of Evolution. 4Il relative, the hermit crab, and begins to suck the juices of his host. He soon loses his eye, then his limbs, then the segmentation of his body, then his head, his intestines, his everything that seems to constitute him an animal. He grows too lazy and sinks too low even to eat. Around his mouth develop a bundle of roots which spread through the soft body of the hermit crab as roots of a plant through the ground, and he sinks to the level of a mere automatic existence. Now his host, the hermit crab, and this degraded Sacculina started alike, and in the long ages, before the hermit had come to be what he is, the common ancestor of all crabs, wore, in maturity, the form of this parasite in its nauplius stage. Parasitism has pulled the Sacculina down to utter debase- ment, as it has all other parasites whether in man or animals. Thus creation advances and recedes, and numberless instances of both processes could be found in nature, for description of some of which I would refer to “ Life History of our Planet,” by Wm. D. Gunning, and “ The History of Creation,” by Ernst Haeckel. The above instances of actual transformation among hundreds that could be adduced, the result of their surroundings, changes brought about by changed conditions, must give our critics rea- Son to pause before they again attempt to deny that Darwinism can bring to its defence the “hard logic of facts” and sound induction. We have occasionally heard the remark, that it is degrading to the self-respect of man to consider himself descended from a long line of animals, beginning with the polyp or ascidian. Let us consider that in evolution we have no zew truth, but an old truth in a new form, the evolution of the individual by a slow process from a microscopic germ. Everybody knows that this is the pro- cess of development through which every one of us has passed. Yet it has never interfered with our belief in an intelligent Creator. When asked who made us, we say “ God made us.” But how were we made? The only true answer must be, by a process of evolution, a slow process of evolution from a microscopic sphere of unorganized protoplasm, the germ cell. This knowledge does not lessen our respect for the dignity of man, why then should it be different in the case of the origin of our species and of all — Species by evolution.) ‘The earnest reader who desires to become acquainted with the most advanced views of students of biology, and the recent demonstrations of the stages throug’ 412 The Critics of Evolution. [June, The Struggle for the Liberty of Science—To those who are acquainted with the history of physical discovery, and the great struggle for the liberty of science, the conflict waged with evolu- tion by theological error seems but a continuation of the struggle that has lasted for so many centuries. “ Unfortunately, some . good men started, centuries ago, with the idea that purely scien- tific investigation is unsafe, that theology must intervene, and thus. began this great war.” Among the leading innovations advanced by science, there are few indeed that have not been opposed by theologians. The idea that the earth is a globe was pronounced fraught with danger to Scripture-—that is the popular interpretation—and the great majority of the fathers of the church denied that a man could be saved who believed the earth to be round and inhabited on its opposite sides! It was not until Magalhaens sailed around the earth, that theologians subsided. The Copernican theory of the heavens, now universally accepted, was solemnly condemned, and to read the book of Copernicus was to risk damnation. H. Bruno was hunted from land to land and finally burned alive because of its advocacy. It was not established until the telescope of Galileo confirmed its truth, and even then, many either declared it impious to look into the tele- scope of Galileo, or if they saw the satellites of Jupiter, denounced them as delusions of the devil! The story of the unfortunate Galileo, and his sorry recantation of the truth, is known to all in- telligent readers. “There has been raised the same cry in all ages—the same we hear in this age—for curbing scientific studies.” The anatomist Vesalius was. hunted to death because he dissected the human body. Theology denounced in sermons “ the dangerous and sin- ful practice of inoculation” for the small-pox, and Jenner's vac- cinnation was declared as “ bidding Heaven defiance.” Even the use of chloroform in our own day, for theologians have not learned wisdom, was, from the pulpit, declared “ contrary to Holy Writ!” which the genesis of man has been effected, should consult a series of papers pu lished in the Penn sei: for April, May and June, 1877, and since esse by E. Stern & Co., 125 and 127 N. Seventh street, Philadelphia. These papers, by L. A. Ward, A.M., are catitied “ Haeckel’s Genesis of Man; a History of the De- velopment of the Human Race,” being a review of his Anthropogenie, embracing a summary and exposition of his views and of those of the advanced Germa n school of science, and since translated into English and published, and entitled “ The Evo- lution of Man,” by that vigorous expositur of this doctrine. New York, 1879- > 18 80. ] The Critics of Evolution. 413 It is difficult to realize that within our own memory a similar battle raged between the advocates of what was called the “sacred theory of the earth” and the views of geologists, and that anath- ema, styled arguments, were used in the nineteenth century simi- lar to those hurled at science in the middle ages. In our own day geology has been declared “ not a subject of lawful inquiry,” and denounced as a “ dark art, dangerous and disreputable,” as “infernal artillery,” and as “an awful evasion of the testimony of revelation.’ There have been many other battle fields, equally instructive, in which theologians have opposed the progress of the age and blindly fought against the good of mankind. Fanning mills were at one time denounced as contrary to the text, “the wind bloweth where it listeth” and as leaguing with Satan, who is “ the prince of the powers of the air,” and as sufficient cause for excommuni- cation from the Scotch church? The railroad and the telegraph have been denounced from a noted pulpit as “ heralds of Anti- Christ !!” But perhaps the most ridiculous proposal to prove that “ it is supreme folly to talk of accommodating Christianity to Darwin- ism,” is that announced in the Church Journal, by a reviewer of Dr. Hodge’s book against Darwinism, which is as follows: “ If we have all, men and monkeys, women and baboons, oysters and eagles, all ‘developed’ from an original monad and germ, then St. Paul’s grand deliverance, ‘ All flesh is not the same flesh. There is one kind of flesh of men, another of beasts, another of fishes and another of birds; there are bodies celestial and bod- ies terrestrial ’—may be still very grand in our funeral service but very untrue to fact.” Oh sad! sad! that any man supposed to- be sane could give forth such an utterance as argument! What good can possibly result to mankind from the opposition of ignorant men who stand upon high places “screaming in wrath at the advance of science.” In every case this ecclesiastical war, during its continuance, has tended to drive multitudes of thought- ful men away from religion, and theologians have to answer for this result, ` In all this long warfare the victory has invariably been with science, and “ the whole civilized world now declares that it was 1 See « Geology and Scripture,” by Pye Smith, D.D., pp. 156, 157: 168, 169. 2e Burtons’ History of Scotland,” Vol. vill, p. 511. 414 The Critics of Evolution. [June, won for religion—that thereby was infinitely increased the know- ledge of the power and goodness of God.” “ Let then the war- fare of science be changed,” says Prof. A. D. White, from whom we have derived several of our illustrations. “ Let it be a war- fare in which religion and science shall stand together as allies. Let the fight be for truth of every kind, against falsehood of every _kind, for the living kernel of religion rather than the dead husks of sect and dogma, and the great powers whose warfare has brought so many sufferings, shall at last join in ministering through earth, God’s richest blessings.” Concluston.—Want of a scientific habit of mind is the source of much of the prevalent misconception as to what constitutes adequate proof in natural science. In order to understand the doctrine of descent, or the theory of evolution, it is indispensable that the inquirer possess a gen- eral knowledge of biological phenomena. It must be evident that a certain degree of general culture, and especially a philo- sophical education, is requisite to enable one to comprehend the individual and palzontological history of development. This preparation unfortunately many persons in our day do not con- sider at all necessary. “One hears hundreds of half educated persons pass a final judgment upon it, although they acknowledge that they know nothing either of botany or of zodlogy, of com- parative anatomy, of paleontology or of embryology.” Hence it happens, as Huxley well says, that ‘ most writings published against Darwin are not worth the paper upon which they are written.”—Quoted by Haeckel in his “ History of Creation,” Vol. II, P- 346. Among many recent opinions expressive of approval of the doctrines of evolution, the following may properly conclude this article. Prof. Stanley Jevons, one of the clearest thinkers of our day, and the master spirit who has proved that John Stuart Mill's great work on “ Logic” is essentially illogical, admits that Her- bert Spencer has made a new epoch in philosophic thought. When speaking of Spencer’s “ Data of Ethics,” which is the cul- - mination of his philosophy, Prof. Jevons asserts that “Spencer has pointed out that the universe is one deep-laid framework for 1« The Warfare of Science,” by Andrew Dickson White, LL.D, President of Cornell University. N. Y., Appleton & Gn , 1877. Pages 150, 151. =- 1880. ] The Critics of Evolution. 415 the production of beneficent contrivances,” and that it “is a deep- built scheme working towards goodness and happiness.” “ Spen- cer calls upon us to admit the inventing machine of evolution, a ‘machine’ which is the most comprehensive of all machines, be- cause it is ever engaged in inventing beneficial inventions ad infini- tum.’ “ We must accept the philosophy,” says Jevons, “if it be true, and for my part I do so without reluctance.” “ According to Spencer,” continues this admirable critic, “we are the latest manifestation of an all-prevailing tendency towards the good, the happy, and that we are no lump of protoplasm but the creature of a Creator.” — Contemporary Review, Nov., 1879. Let it be remembered that as the sagacious Dr. McCosh expresses it, ‘ “Herbert Spencer is to a large extent the author and is certainly the organizer and the embodiment, personification and expression of development.” —Princeton Review. “Theologians have ever been free in the application of damnatory expletives to scientific ideas which do not conform to their standard,” but it is very pleasant to turn from denunciation and anathema to the language of Tke Nonconformist of November 5th, a journal of the English ortho- dox dissenters, and there read the following opinion of Spencer’s “Data of Ethics,” his last production, and the culmination of his system of philosophy. Speaking of the glimpses it affords into the future which its author anticipates, Ze Nonconformist remarks, “No loftier view, we venture to say, was ever enter- tained.” “ The optimism of Mr. Herbert Spencer is as pure as that of the most spiritual seers of the past, and it involves as radical a change in human nature as that demanded by the New Testament. It is, in his own words, ‘a rationalized version of its ethical principles. The fact that they are Christian in their €ssence is rather a hindrance to their acceptance, since conven- tional Christianity practically repudiates the ideal morality of its founder.” We never expected to live to see the name of Herbert Spencer, the embodiment, personification and expression of development | “received with applause in a great religious convention of ortho- dox people, but if the report of the London Times of October loth can be trusted, this extraordinary phenomenon has actually occurred! In that convention the Rev. Prof. Pritchard gave an eloquent and powerful address on “The Religious Benefits from Recent Scientific Research,” in which the doctrine of evolution 416 The Critics of Evolution. ,° [ June, was assumed as true, and as in entire harmony with all essential religious truth. He was followed by the Rev. Prof. Watkins, of St. Augustine College, Canterbury, who- spoke on the same sub- ject, and said “ he felt sure that when the history of the century came to be written from the standpoint of the future, the name of Herbert Spencer would be found in the very first rank of English thinkers.” ‘These expressions indicate a very marked progress in religious liberality,” says the editor of the Popular Science Review of January, 1880. Prof. James D. Dana in his new “Text Book of Geology,” p. 346, expresses his opinion on this wise: “ That the system of life exhibits so perfect harmony and so complete oneness of law in its several lines and successions, that it may be truly called a sys- tem of development or evolution, whatever the method by which it was carried forward,” and that, “It is also certain that science, whatever it may accomplish in the discovery of causes or meth- ods of progress, can take no steps toward setting aside a Creator. Far from such a result, it clearly proves that there has been not only an omnipotent hand to create and to sustain physical forces in action, but an all-wise and beneficent Spirit to sh7»e all events towards a spiritual end.”—Ibid, p. 351. Thus it is easily shown that the opinions of men disqualified by age or a conservative spirit, interested prejudice or enfeeble faculties, should not be regarded when opposed to new doctrines in science; that those who have devoted themselves to science have, whenever free from the prejudices of education, heartily embraced the new views; and finally that even those who have been regarded as the ablest defenders of the truths of revelation when enlightened by acquaintance with science and penetrated by its spirit, become generous defenders and fearless advocates of evolution and absolve it from all charges of atheism and want of scientific basis. 1880.] Supposed Dimorphism of Lithospermum longiflorum. 417 THE SUPPOSED DIMORPHISM OF LITHOSPERMUM LONGIFLORUM. (in ANGUSTIFOLIUM MICHX. OF GRAY’S SYNOPTICAL FLORA.) BY PROF. C. E. BESSEY, M.SC., PH.D. ieee de plant under consideration is a common herbaceous per- ennial of the prairies and great plains of North America. In the latter part of April and during the month of May it produces flowers with bright yellow salver-shaped (Aypocraterimorphous) corollas, whose tubes are about thirty mm. (one and one-fifth inch) long, and from two to three mm. in diameter. About the first of June, in Central Iowa, these large flowers suddenly dis- appear, and from this time forward until the autumn frosts, they produce only small cleistogamous flowers! The corolla lobes of the latter cohere somewhat, and remain closed, and in this condi- ` tion the total length of the corolla is from five to seven mm., the tube itself being no more than three to five mm. long. Both kinds of flowers produce seeds, and I have not ohserved any dif- ference in their relative fertility, although there are actually at least ten times as many seeds produced during the season by the smail flowers as by the large ones, for the reason, however, that there are many more of the former flowers than of the latter. Of the small flowers I will have somewhat to say at another time ; what I wish particularly to notice at this time is the relative posi- tion of stamens and stigma in the large early flowers. An examination of a number of flowers shows that in some the anthers are higher than the stigma, while in others they are lower, and unless careful measurements are made, one is led to consider this as a case of dimorphism of the sexual organs (the heterogonous dimorphism of Dr. Gray, and heterostyly of Hilde- brand, Darwin and others), a supposition which is rendered still more probable by the well-marked dimorphism of the flowers of the nearly allied Lithospermum canescens Lehm. However, after making a large number of very careful measurements, I have no hesitation in saying that in the plants a3 they occur in Central Iowa there is no dimorphism whatever, but that we have here a case of great and irregular variability in the length of the style and of the corolla tube, and that upon the varying length of the latter depends the varying position of the stamens. In the following table the flowers of the first ten plants were Measured May 4, 1878; those of the next five, May 19, 1877; and those of the remaining three, May 26, 1877. ‘First noticed by M, S. Bebb. See AMERICAN NATURALIST, Vol. VII, p. 691. 418 Supposed Dimorphism of Lithospermum longiflorum. [June, Hes ramets. Nor l ceant |. came” eae Plant No. 1 [a | 35.0mm. 29.8 mm, 26.0 mm ny 2 Bh Sah 20.0 “ 27.0. = RES ey ee Seer ys eee 3 x M aide 20 S 274 = = oe 4 eT E °° a o a 25.4 é 5 29.3 ec 25.0 “ 25.4 “ lap KARE A ORNER bee Mae ce R P 6 E LT Aa E OT = 29.4" Me A weeps 7 27.55 22.0% tS es PICO ING BINS. Codecs. eh e E 8 a st 28.4 “ 267" hag 9 ats 27.45% 29.0 * « PAPE NRO E noes 10 29.6 ** 24.8 “ 25.5" gd II 26.0 :* 20;3 “ A aE Plant No. 3 12 26.5% 2a7 170- sf 13 28.0 * 23:7. 13:3- 4 “ 14 35.0 66 29.4 “ 26.3 “c Te aie Wav we Ue wong bee 08 15 33.8.0" gög Bett Plant No. 4.... 16 23.2.0 n 24.0 “ 24.05% . 17 S00 40.2% 25.455 ms . 18 27.6 “ 4o S 2y © yi 19 24.5 T zro S 200 " E see 20 9 ” aA aee isa Plant No. 5.. è or oe i 23.2 EA Dee z 22 ma S Seg n 30.0 * M a eee W E ` 23 2a” 2go “ 264.5% i 2 6 s Say 04 “ 25:2 Fiant NG. Goto es ae wee 3 We " a: " 2.4 . 26 24.8 S 20.8 “ 226° Plant No. 7 27 30,0 oso n 27.0" Ste Si wees ven Gulvats Gays 28 30.0 ~“ P AE ee 28.0 “ “ 29 goes Oe 0 alge a7. Plant No. 8 ii ge ye n 24.0 “ Jogo n 4 2 à 31 26,8 “cc 23.3 “ 27.8 4 p 32 29.0 “ 26,0. 4.0:..% re 33 A skas 2000.5 e 34 270 * ao ~ EE i wi 35 30.0 ” aca " 264 = a . 36 Joo * 26s “ t. A P “ 37 Cu es a 24.8 “ 19.4 t Plant No. 9 38 sO T ano n 20:2 ea = 39 | 32.4 * 29.0 “ 24.4 “ FIRE ING. FO oe cs ee ae 40 wo % 244 p F ie ibe Plant No. 11. 41 O 220 ™ 26.0 * . a 42 na. 20.8 *“ Zhe oe Plant No. 12. 43 234°" 236 » a4 ia . 44 20.9: -** 26.458 wg S Plant No. 13..... 45 27:6. * 24.1." 23.35" “ec ý 46 28.9 c6 24.8 “e 24.1 se Plant No. 14... 47 34.7 “ 30.4 “ 20. SSF ew Cee otk ewe aN 48 poao” T 5 ey = . 49 29.9: ** 26.5. 1 26:1. © Plant No. 15. 50 2.5 « 22.8 S so s z 51 292 “ 24.6 e J20 * Plant No; 16... ioue yaa eee ee 32.7 * 2 32.7 “ ee s H 31.4 “ce 27.4 e Ta a eo Sy Gaaeeian evens 4 7 n 27.4 * ao Plant No. 17. 55 es “ ata s 350 = 6 56 30.4 “ 26.4 ée 25.6 “ = os beh ee Rhein ee 57 23.2 °° 23.65. 6 27.1 “ “ k 58 279 “ 23.6 “ 2o T ‘ : 59 27.4 “ 23.3 “ 24.6 © Plent No. 18; i., a Auc oe 27.9 “ 27.1 “ 2930 7 s ; | OF e748 aBa * 23.8 “ PEM il a aaa ag Mili il 62 a74 n zyj n 25.40% ae 419 1880.] Supposed Dimorphism of Lithospernum longiflorum. STE R ae oe LENYT HI kig 71 |_| 1S 8 19 T 2R. 0 2l 22 RET ~i F i y ane =| Ti O aid 5 fa. pamanna arn T A ell O + y a a og 420 Supposed Dimorphism of Lithospermum longiflorum. [June, These measurements are more readily compared when pre- sented in a diagrammatic form (see Plate). In this the length of the corolla tubes is indicated by the length of the vertical line measured from the bottom line to the mark -, the height of the anther by o, and of the stigma by x. For greater distinctness the similar points in all the flowers of each plant are connected by lines; the fine line thus indicates the variation in length of corolla tubes, the heavy one of the position of the anthers, and the dotted one, of the stigmas. The scale is magnified three times. The remarkably short style of flower No. 32, bore a distinctly two-lobed stigma, which under a lens was seen to be papillated. I think it was functional. In the case of flower No. 51, there is some doubt as to whether or not the stigma was functional; the shortness of the style may have been due to injury. In all other cases there were no reasons for supposing the stigma func- tionless. As it is well known that in cases of heterogonous dimanti the pollen grains of the two forms differ in size, I made many careful measurements of the pollen of flowers from seven different plants, and found considerable variation in size. The grains when dry are considerably elongated, being prolate-spheroidal in shape, but when wet they swell up and become spherical. The following measurements show the variations : F ace I to E pollen dry, prolate- aamen .025 X .035 mm. I llen dry, prolate-spheroidal....... 025 45°" - 16 to 20, pollen dry, eo abd: 025 % 035 ig 21, pollen wet, spheroid 035 “ 22, pollen dry, prolate-spheroidal .025 X .035 “ a 23, pollen wet, spheroidil Wiis Exe une "035 = a 52, pollen wet, spheroidal. : sss seses cos .042 g x §3, pollen wet, spheroidal. s sscsissess .039 “ a 54, pollen wet, Spberoidal, oe cs he saer .038 ve “« 5őto 59, pollen wet, sphervidal.,....... .039. oe “ 6o to 6T, pollen wet, — vos viwess -039 Let “ 62, pollen wet, spheroid .042 & It will be difficult to see, in these measurements, any evidence of dimorphism as to the pollen grains. It may be interesting to note here that the spherical pollen grains of the cleistogamous flowers have a diameter of only .025 to .027 mm. If now we compare the foregoing measurements with similar 1880.] Notice of some Aquatic Worms of the Family Naides. 421 ones of Lithospermum canescéns Lehm., we may see how far L. longiflorum is from showing dimorphism: Flower} Length of Height of | Height of Ee Noi N os. | Corolla Tube. | Anthers. Stigma. Poen: Plant No. I| I 7.8mm. | 6.8 mm. | 2.8 mm. Pollen grains ovoidal, i 2 6r e yr n si w stigmy eo ep om in the “s 3 so S wo 25 iddl x Plant No. 2| 4 9.0% Haa 3.0." = 2 ie i as is es 7 Pollen grains oblong, “ 7 p ú ap u 7.3 « | { much constricted in the ; : : ddle “cc 8 8.6 “ 29 cs 7.3 “ mi “ 9 8.6 c 2.7 i 7.3 í ol >< .019 mm. These measurements are entered upon the diagram (Plate) at the lower left hand corner, upon the same scale as those of L. longiflorum., The following facts are Der shown above in the case of L. longiflorum: Ist. The length of the corolla is exceedingly variable. 2d. The distance from the anthers to the top of the corolla tube is approximately uniform, so that the position of the anthers is largely dependent upon the length of the corolla tube. 3d. The length of the style is even more variable than that of the corolla tube. Have we here a case of incipient heterostyly; or has this species but recently (since falling into cleistogamy) abandoned its former heterostylous form and habits? Probably there is some connection between the cleistegamy of the later flowers and the irregularity of the earlier ones. -Q NOTICE OF SOME AQUATIC WORMS r THE FAMILY NAIDES. BY PROF. JOSEPH LEIDY. T little worms of the family of Naides, comprising the genera Nais, Pristina, Stylaria, Dero, Æolosoma, Aulophorus, Chætogaster, etc., are common in ponds, ditches and other quiet waters, ‘mostly living among various aquatic plants, or in the Superficial sediment. They have always been viewed with spe- cial interest from their conspicuously exhibiting the process of multiplication through division, often being seen in a string of 422 Notice of some Aquatic Worms of the Family Naides. (June, from two to four individuals together. From the want, in many cases, of sufficiently complete descriptions and accurate represen- tations of the European forms, there is more or less’ uncertainty how far ours may agree with or differ from them. Among our Naides I have observed several species pertaining to or nearly allied with the singular genus Dero. One of these, formerly described under the name of Dero limosa (Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci., 1857, 226), appears to accord so closely with the Euro- pean species, Dero digitata of Oken, that better means of com- parison may prove it to be the same. The latter, originally described and figured by Miller upwards of a century ago, “as the blind Naiad ”—“ die blinde Naide” (Von Wirmen, Kopen- hagen, 1771, 90, 95, Tab. v, Fig. 1-3) is represented with the body of the worm ending in a broad funnel-like pavilion opening obliquely upward and furnished with four pairs of divergent rays, successively increasing in length from before backward. Another European species, described by Udekem as Dero obtusa, is represented with two pairs of rays to the caudal pavilion (Bul. Acad. Sci. Belgique, 1855, 549; Mem. Acad., 1859, 18), and is likewise so described by Perrier (Archiv. Zool. Exp., Paris, 1872, 65). Semper has more recently described two species, Dero vodriguesii and D. philippinensis, which differ from the preceding and each other in the character of the caudal pavilion (Arbeit. Zool. Inst., Wurzburg, 1877, 106, 107). Dero limosa is frequent, and is to be found creeping among aquatic plants or on the sides of the vessel containing the water in which they have been collected, or it may be observed partly buried in sediment, projecting from a short chimney of its own construction, rising above the surface of the sediment, and with the caudal pavilion expanded. The characters of the worm are as follows: Body compressed cylindrical, transparent, with red blood. In an individual of a fourth of an inch in length, without signs of division, there were forty-eight rings, or body segments, of which about, a dozen pos- teriorly became successively more and more rudimental in the = disappearance of the podal stylets and bristles. In specimens — exhibiting evidence of division into a series of from two to four individuals, measuring up to half an inch in length, and stretch- ing even to three-fourths of an inch or more, the number of rings together did not appear to be greater, and sometimes was 1880.] Notice of some Aquatic Worms of the Family Naides. 423 less, ranging from forty-two to forty-eight. Head ovoid, with the upper lip conical and more or less angular and obtuse. Eye- less. Caudal ring expanding into a broad, membranous, funnel- like pavilion, opening in a slanting manner dorsally and support- ing eight divergent rays (see Fig. 1); anterior pair of rays papil- liform; the others digitiform and successively increasing in length to the last pair. The rays are capable of extension beyond and retraction within the border of the pavilion, and this is also retractile, and when closed in the lateral view looks like the keeled prow of a boat. When the caudal pavilion is ex- panded, active ciliary motion is observed extending along the rays inwardly to the rectum, which motion most probably subserves a respiratory purpose. The anterior four rings of the body are provided on each Fic. 1.—Caudal pavilion, with the = side with fascicles of four or five ¢ nay wie beanie Us ok neal ae podal stylets, and the succeed- ra. 3.—Aulophorus vagus within a ie composed of Plumatella statoblasts, mag- ing rings with fascicles of three p ifie d about six diame Fic. 4.—Spade- or four stylets. The latter rings ike posi sie and be Fs s- 3de are also provided more dorsally Fie. 6.—Posterior extremity of the body of on each side with additional the 52™* with its three caudal appendages. fascicles mostly of a single stylet and a simple bristle. Stylets sigmoid with a median shoulder, and ending in a furcate hook (seé Fig. 2), Another of the little worms allied to the genus Dero, was col- lected together with some Plumatella scraped from a log in a = SS >, a IX ox PLE (ez See a S ~ my DGA A XENONA es) ID = ditch of the meadows below Philadelphia. It was in the latter part of September, and the water collected contained a great many detached statoblasts or winter eggs of the Plumatella. The worm first attracted my notice from the fact that it occupied a tube com- posed of the Plumatella eggs cemented together, and which it dragged about in the same manner as the larva of the Caddis does its case (see Fig. 3). The only worm of European waters which 5 424 Notice of some Aquatic Worms of the Family Naides. (June, appears to approximate this one, and which may prove to be the same, was described and figured a century and a quarter ago by the portrait painter naturalist, Rosel von Rosenhof, as the little supple water-serpent with two fork prongs—“ das geschmeidige Wasserschlanglein mit zwey Gabelspitzen” (Insecten Belustigung, Nürnberg, 1755, Th. 3, 581, Tab. xc, Fig. 8-16): In character and habits it so closely accords with the genus Aulophorus of Schmarda (Neue wirbellose Thiere, 1861, 11, 9), that I have referred it to a species of the same. Schmarda describes two species, A. discocephalus of Jamaica, and A. oxycephalus of Ceylon. Our species I propose to name Aulophorus vagus. Its charac- ters-are as follow: Body compressed cylindrical, transparent, with red blood and yellowish-brown intestine. Single individuals of the third of an inch or more in length, composed of twenty-four to thirty-five rings. Head ovoid, extending asa conical upper lip, very mobile and changeable in form, obtuse or sub-acute, and minutely hirsute. Eyeless. Caudal ring contracted and furnished with a pair of long divergent digit-like appendages, which are straight or slightly incurved, blunt and minutely hirsute. Anal aperture surrounded by a rosette of half a dozen prominent, blunt, conical papilla. The four rings succeeding the head furnished on each side with fascicles of seven to nine podal stylets ; the succeeding rings, except the last, with fascicles of five to six podal stylets, which are shorter than the former. Podal stylets sigmoid, with a median shoulder, and end- ing in a furcate hook (Fig. 2). The same posterior rings fur- nished dorso-laterally with fascicles consisting each of usually a single moderately long bristle, and a single, nearly straight stylet, ending in a spade-like expansion (see Fig. 4). Pharynx capacious, extending into the fifth ring, and narrowing into an cesophagus which ends in the intestine within the ninth ring. Generative organs unobserved. Worm of three to five lines in length, or more, according to its degree of extension. Living in a tube of its own construction which it drags about with it. The tube is composed of a transparent cement or basis incor- porated with various materials, such as vegetal particles, sand, dirt, diatoms, spongilla spicules, etc. In creeping about among aquatic plants, Lemna and Wolffia, the worm stretches in such a manner that one-third of the body extends from the fore part of the tube, while the forked caudal extremity remains projected 1880.] Notice of some Aquatic Worms of the Family Naides. 425 from the back end. The worm moves in jerks, alternately extending the fore part of the body and projecting the podal fas- cicles forward and hooking into the surface on which it is creep- ing, and then contracting the fore part of the body and dragging along the back part enclosed within the tube. Frequently the motion is aided by the eversion of the pharynx, so as to forma disk or sucker which adheres to surfaces, like that of a leech. The movements occur in quick succession, so that the worm creeps about quite actively. At times the worm will double on itself and in this way pass through its tube and reverse its direction. At times too it will leave its tube and creep about without one. The papillz of the anal aperture are clothed with vibratile cils, which produce an active current inwardly as observed in Dero. Another little Naiad with conspicuous caudal appendages, in all other respects except in the possession of the latter, resembles Pristina, and I have therefore regarded it as such, with the name of Pristina flagellum. Its characters are as follow: Body com- pressed cylindroid, transparent, with red blood. In a specimen one-fourth of an inch long and exhibiting evidence of division into two individuals, there were about sixty rings, or thirty to each division. Head conical and prolonged into a digit-like upper lip (Fig. 5). Eyeless. Caudal ring furnished with three long digit-like, blunt appendages, trailing behind; the lateral pair nearly twice the length of the intermediate one (Fig. 6). Podal stylets in fascicles of four, on each side ventrally, to all the rings except the terminal ones; sigmoid with a median shoulder and ending in a furcate hook. Bristles to all the rings dorso-laterally, except the terminal ones, in fascicles of three to six. Length of worm, 6 to 7 mm.; breadth 0.3 mm.; length of digit-like upper lip from the mouth, 0.25 mm.; length of lateral caudal appendages, 0.75 mm.; of intermediate one, 0.375 mm. ; length of bristles, 0.25 to 0.375 mm. Creeping among aquatic plants in the ponds of sphagnous swamps, New Jersey and Penn- sylvania. a j VOL. XIV —NO, VI. 28 426 American Work in the Department of [June, AMERICAN WORK IN THE DEPARTMENT OF RE- CENT MOLLUSCA DURING THE YEAR 1879. BY WILLIAM H. DALL. T has not been practicable for the writer to emulate the Zod/og- ical Record in minuteness of detail, however desirable that course might have been for some reasons. It is possible that some minor papers may have been overlooked from not having been sent to the Smithsonian Institution or the writer during the year, but it is not likely that anything of importance has escaped notice. It was open to the writer to make this article a mere catalogue or a review of work done. He has chosen the latter as the most useful course, and has freely expressed his opinions in regard to the papers enumerated. It is a subject for regret that, in America, among those who are interested in Mollusca espe- cially, the veterans are passing away and few come to fill their places. This is perhaps due to the absence of any satisfactory text book, the condition of the nomenclature and the inferior po- sition occupied by the groups in most manuals of zodlogy, so far as treatment is concerned. We may hope that the laboratories of Prof. Alexander Agassiz and of the Johns Hopkins University, with the other seaside summer schools, may produce good fruit in this direction. There is certainly no department as a whole in which more work must be done of all (except merely descriptive) kinds, before the science can be put on a satisfactory footing. Even under the present adverse circumstances, a creditable amount of good work has been done in several directions, and we may reasonably expect that succeeding years will be hardly less fruitful. The harvest truly is plenteous but the laborers are few. General Works on Mollusca.—But one publication which can claim to be of this nature has appeared in America in 1879. This is a “Manual of Conchology, structural and systematic, with illustrations of the species,’ by Geo. W. Tryon, Jr.; 8vo, Phila- delphia, the author, 1879, e¢ seg. Of this, three parts of Vol. 1, Cephalopoda, have come to hand, and include 192 pages of text and seventy plates. The scope of the work is thus stated by the author: It is to be a “Conchological manual, which, while more comprehensive than any similar work hitherto published, shall be so condensed in text and illustration, that it may be issued at a much more moderate price. It will include, in systematic I 880.] Recent Mollusca during the year 1879. 427 order, the diagnoses of all the genera and higher divisions of the Mollusca, both recent and fossil, and the descriptions and figures of all the recent species, together with the main features of their anatomy and physiology, their embryology and development, their relation to man and other animals, and their geological and geographical distribution.” “ Each part will be complete in itself, Part 1 will contain the Cephalopoda; the Muricidz will follow.” “Only 250 copies will be published.” It is but fair to say that the parts of this gigantic undertaking, which have so far appeared, comprise the results of a surprising amount of industry. Anatomy and Development.—Perhaps the most important papers which have appeared in this department during the year, are those of Prof. W. K. Brooks in the “Scientific Results of the Session of 1878, Chesapeake Zodlogical Laboratory ;” 8vo, 170 pages, 13 plates, Baltimore, Johns Hopkins University, 1879. Of the two papers referred to, the first on “ The Development of Lingula and the systematic position of the Brachiopoda,” is the most extended (35--112 pp., 6 pl.) and important. The first por- tion is devoted toa description of the features of the embryos of Lingula (Glottidia) pyramidata Stm., with a review of previous investigations on the same subject. The second part reviews the “ Bearing of the development of Lingula upon the systematic position of the Brachiopoda.” The several very diverse views of different authors are discussed in the light of the new facts pre- viously set forth, and especially that theory held and expounded with so much energy and wit by Prof. E. S. Morse, that the Brachiopods were (1) Annelids or (2) “ Vermes.” The important contributions to our knowledge of the early stages of Brachiopods, made by Prof. Morse in the past, entitle any views of his to respectful consideration, such as is here accorded to them, but with the result of dismissing the first (which indeed had never been accepted in literal fashion by any naturalist of standing except Prof. Morse) very briefly, and for the second, concluding that “the Brachiopods then are ‘ Vermes ’ in the same Sense that the Echinoderms, Mollusca, Tunicates and Vertebrates are ” (l. c. p. 102), and reiterating views expressed in 1876, to the effect that, “as soon as-we recognize that the Lamellibranchs are not to be regarded as typical Mollusca, and that all of the lat- ter are to be traced back to a ‘ Veliger,’ all difficulty seems to disappear, and it becomes plain, not only that Mollusca and Mol- 428 American Work in the Department of [June, luscoida are related, but that they are connected so closely that the advisability of such a division is very doubtful.” en years ago many crudities, due to the defective state of our knowledge of the development of the Invertebrata, obscured the relations of many forms now more or less thoroughly understood. At that time the present writer took strong ground in favor of a position essentially similar to that which more lately has received the support of Prof. Huxley, and which the labors of Brooks have more thoroughly elucidated and now placed on a firm basis. As this position was vehemently contested at that time by Prof. Morse, and was considered by other good naturalists as somewhat unsafe, it is with more than ordinary pleasure that the writer now records the latest step of progress which, while it has corrected many of his own misconceptions, has resulted in proving the essential correctness of the main features of his hypothesis of that earlier time. It is hardly necessary to add that the Tunicata, then left by both Morse and himself, as well as the great body of naturalists, in the company of the Molluscoida, have since been effectually divorced from them, and may be said to have hardly found even yet, with relation to other invertebrates, a definite location. The second paper of Prof. Brooks on “ Preliminary observa- tions upon the development of the marine prosobranchiate Gas- teropods,” concerns the early stages of Astyris and Urosalpinx, and comprises an abstract of observations, with one plate. Still another report on important biological work in this depart- ment, is Prof. Brook’s “ Abstract of observations upon the artifi- cial fertilization of oyster eggs and on the embryology of the American oyster.” Am. Fourn. Sci, xvii, No. 108, December, 1879, pp. 425-427. Important differences of breeding habits are pointed out be- tween the O. virginica of America and the O. edulis of Europe. The eggs of the American oyster are fertilized outside the body of the parent, and the young swim at large during the period in which the fry of the European species are sheltered in the mantle cavity of the parent. At the breeding season each individual adult contains only eggs or spermatozoa. Segmentation is completed in about two hours, and follows substantially the course described for other Lamellibranchs by Lovén and Fleming. The oldest ones which could be raised were almost exactly 1880. | Recent Mollusca during the year 1879. 429 like the embryos of Cardium as figured by Lovén. The oysters seemed fertile at hardly more than one year of age, and from ripe individuals millions of ova were artificially successfully fertilized. A short paper on the anterior pair of muscles of the oyster, usually overlooked in descriptions of the genus, was presented to the Philosophical Society of Washington, by W.: H. Dall, and their probable homology with the pedal muscles of Dimyarians suggested. In the Journal of the Cincinnati Society of Natural History, July, 1879, Prof. A. G. Wetherby gives some notes in regard to the anatomy of Bulimnea megasoma Hald., especially in regard to the form and appearance of the soft parts, the digestive tract and the reproductive organs, which latter are illustrated by cuts. In a paper read at a late meeting of the Boston Society of Nat- ural History, by Prof. R. P. Whitfield, some singular changes in the soft parts of the above-mentionfed species are described as produced during confinement in an aquarium of successive gen- erations, the progeny of a single individual. An abstract of this paper has appeared in the Naturauist (Vol. xiv, No. 1, p. 5-12). The individuals of successive generations diminished in size and the male organs disappeared. This, which has been ascribed by Hyatt to a change in temperature (l. c. p. 52), is per- haps more probably due to a deficient food-supply (this species, according to Wetherby, is partially carnivorous) and the action of the physiological law to which Meehan has frequently called attention, of the greater persistence in cases of pauperization, of female or mother-functions and members. “On the jaw and lingual dentition of certain terrestrial Mol- lusks, by W. S. Binney, Bull. Mus. Comp. Zodl., v, No. 16. 8vo, PP. 332, 2 pl. Cambridge University press, Dec., 1879. This important though brief paper comprises anatomical notes, chiefly in regard to.the radula, of Onchidella (Onchidium ?) car- Pentert Binney; Zonites whitneyi Newc.; Z. subplanus Binn.; Fanulus stephanophora Desh.; ¥. bifrons Lowe ; Urocyclus pees Gray (?); Cionella gloynet Gibbons: Hemitrochus milleri Pfr. ; Plagioptycha duclosiana Fér.; Microphysa stearnsit Bl.; T viedopsis vultuosa Gld.; Mesodon sayii Binn. var. Chithoweensis ; M. devia Gld: ; S Pinata humboldtiana Val. ; Ochthephila tiarella W.and B.; O. abjecta Lowe; Plebecula Drala. Lowe; Leptaxis undata Lowe; Veronicella (sp. iatiet and V. olivacea Stearns; Hemphillia glandu- 430 American Work in the Departinent of [June, losa Binn. and Bl.; Szmpulopsis corrugatus Guppy; Bulimulus schiedeanus Pfr.; B. immaculatus Ad.; Macroceramus inermis Gundl.; Cylindrella Chemnitziana Fér.; Omalonyx felina Guppy (united by Binney and Bland to O. unguis); Arionta intercisa Binn.; and Vitrina latissima Lewis, which is erected into a new genus (p. 333) under the name of Vitrinizonites. It is related to Vitrina and Zonites, but differs by satisfactory characters. For a new spe- cies of slug from Natal, Africa, the (preoccupied) name of Chlamy- dephorus (rightly Chiamydophorus) is proposed, the species taking the name of Gibbonsii after its discover. Pupa cincinnatiensts Judge, is said to be a synonym of P. contracta Say, and Tectula lincta Lowe, from Madeira, is said to be viviparous. These notes are followed by systematic references to the notes on various species of Mollusks in regard to which Mr. Binney has published anatomical observations or figures; by a complete bibliographical list of Mr. Binney’s numerous contributions to science; and by a useful list of the known genera of slugs with their generic characters as far as they could be ascertained. Mr. Binney has also contributed to the Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1, No. 9, pp. 257-262, with Pl. xI (May 9, 1879), a paper on the jaw and lingual dentition of certain Costa Rican land shells collected by the late Dr. Wm. M. Gabb. He describes anatomical features of Limax semitectus ? Meerch, Bulimulus irazuensis Angas, and of undetermined species of Glandina, Helix and Tebennophorus, together with two new genera and species, Velifera gabbi (allied to Helicarion) and Crypto strakon (mel. Cryptostracum) gabbi, a curious slug with a con- cealed rudimentary shell and teeth resembling those of Poly- gyra, etc. The first essay toward a really scientific study of our American Nudibranchiata, is contained in a paper contributed by Dr. R. Bergh, of Copenhagen, to the Proceeedings of the Philadelphia Academy of Natural Sciences for 1879, pp. 71-132, “On the nudibranchiate gasteropod Mollusca of the North Pacific ocean, with special reference to those of Alaska,” Part 1, pl. =v. This paper is almost wholly anatomical, and by the acknowledged highest living authority on the subject. Twenty-seven species are ‘considered, of which two-thirds are new and most of the | others are for the first time adequately characterized. The dis- tribution of the North Pacific species is discussed, and the genera 1880. ] - Recent Mollusca during the year 1879. 431 subjected to analysis, while their exotic species are usually enu- merated. Most of the forms are from Alaska, but several of the more elegant species are Californian, while a special interest attaches to the rediscovery at Unalashka, and identification by Dr. Bergh, of the singular and anciently described Tritonia tetra- guetra of Pallas. A number of Cooper’s ill-defined Californian Species are now placed on a solid basis, and several new generic forms are characterized. The paper does not admit of a proper representation by an abstract, and the reader is referred for fur- ther information to the original. It will be followed by a second part containing eight additional plates, and is based, for the most part, on the collections of Mr. W. H. Dall in Alaska and Califor- ma from 1865 to 1874. Another paper, in part aidia, based on the same collec- tions, is that of Mr. W. H. Dall in the Proceedings of the U. S. National Museum, a “ Report on the Limpets and Chitons of the Alaskan and Arctic regions, with descriptions of genera and spe- cies believed to be new” (l. c. pp. 281-344, Pl. 1-v, Feb. 13, 1879). This paper contains a summary intended to exhibit all that is known in regard to the anatomy and development of the Chitonide, including the results of the author’s investigations and a synopsis (with some additions and rectifications) of Carpenter's classification of the group, in which a large number of genera are for the first time characterized ; and others, defined by Dr. Car- penter (in his table of the regular Chitons, 1873), are more fully alluded to. The plates represent dissections ae the radula of forty-five species belonging to thirty-three genera t more than a dozen species had previously been figured, and of these only a few (by Sars and Lovén) in an intelligible manner. The author’s observations so far as they extend agree in the main with those of Von Ihering, which were made about the same time at Trieste. The renal pore described by Ihering, but not found by Dall, appears from information received from the former, to have been due to a misconception. As the limpets had been already treated rather fully by the author, the list here given is merely a synopsis, with additions and corrections, of his previous work. The work so far as the region it covers has a somewhat mono- graphic character, and it is hoped will serve as a preliminary to the elaborate monograph of Dr. Carpenter, which is in process of preparation under the direction of the Smithsonian Institution. 432 American Work in the Department of [ June, As a whole, the paper is too extended to admit of a thorough abstract. A few new Alaskan species are described in it. In the Transaction of the Connecticut Academy, v., p. 177 ef seq., Prof. Verrill begins an exhaustive paper, largely anatomical, on the Cephalopods of the North-eastern coast of North America; Part I—The gigantic squids (Architeuthis) and their allies, etc. The first two signatures of this paper bear date of December, 1879, ° and it is proper to call attention to it, though as a whole the paper will not make its appearance until some time in the present year, and therefore will more appropriately be discussed in a re- view of publications of 1880. Descriptive, taxonomic and faunal papers —While taost of the papers enumerated under the. preceding head, would, in part, be appropriately cited here, those about to be mentioned are such as could not properly be classed under the former caption. Prominent among descriptive papers of each year for a long time, have been those of Verrill, based for the most part on material gathered by the U. S. Fish Commission and its collabor- ators. During 1879, however, the mollusca have been fewer than usual, and it begins to seem as if the molluscan fauna of the North-eastern American coast were pretty thoroughly described and enumerated so far as determination of the species is con- cerned, Still occasional novelties turn up, mostly deep-water or northern forms, and from time to time others may be expected. This year the American Journal of Science contains three papers by Prof. Verrill in which mollusca are described or enumerated. In “Notice of recent additions to the Marine fauna of the eastern coast of North America, No. 3.” 1. c. xvi, March, 1879, p. 241-3, Histioteuthis collinsii Verrill is described and another cephalopod identified doubtfully as Zaonius hyperboreus Stp. In the same, No. 4, April, 1879, pp. 311-18, Acanthodoris ornata and citrina, Coryphella rutila and Cuthona stimpsoni are described as new, while a number of notes are given relating to previously described species of gasteropods. In the same, No. 7, December, 1879, pp. 468-70, two new species and one new genus of ceph- alopods are described, namely, Stauroteuthis syrtensts Verrill, n. g- et sp. and Octopus piscatorum Verrill, sp. n. The former is stated to be somewhat distantly allied to Cirroteuthis. Prof. Verrill also contributes a paper to the Proc. U. S. National Museum for November, 1879, pp. 165-205, under the title of 1880. ] Recent Mollusca during the year 1879. 433 “Notice of recent additions to the marine invertebrata of the North-eastern coast of America,” etc. Besides descriptions of many Polyzoa and a new Ascidian the author notes as new to the eastern coast, Xylophaga dorsalis Turton, Lunatia nana Moller (also found by Möller in Greenland, and by Dall in Alaska) and Idalia pulchella Alder and Hancock. Dendronotus robustus Ver- rill, is stated to be identical with and prior to D. velifer Sars, from Norway. In the Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia for 1379, p. 16, Mr. W. G. Binney mentions Arionta vowellt and A. facta Newc., with Binneya notabilis Cp., as found on the Mexican island of Guadalupe off the coast of Lower California. He suggests that the Mexican genus Xanthonyx is probably synonymous with Binneya. In the same periodical Mr. Andrew Garrett gives a list of land shells inhabiting Rurutu, one of the Austral (Pacific) Islands with remarks on their synonymy, geographical range and descriptions of new species; 1. c. pp. 17- 30. It contains twenty-three species, of which eight are new. On page 31 of the Proceedings Mr. Garrett describes Gontobranchus albopunctatus, sp. n., from Huahine, Society islands. In the Canadian Naturalist, viii, n. s. No. 8, Mr. J. F. Whiteaves publishes a short paper of nine pages, “ On some marine inverte- brata from the west coast of North America,” which contains among other things a very interesting list of mollusks from the coast of British Columbia, one of which, Cardium richardsonii is described as new. This paper (though stated to be published Dec. 20, 1878), is of such interest to the students of geographical distribution that I include a notice of it here. It partially fills a gap which has long existed in our knowledge of the invertebrata of the fauna existing between Puget sound and Alaska. This fauna for the most part is Oregonian in character and contains few locally characteristic mollusks. In the report of the Chesapeake Zodlogical Laboratory (Johns Hopkins University), which contains the papers of Prof. W. K. Brooks, before mentioned, is a list by Mr. P. R. Uhler, of animals found at Fort Wool, in the Lower Chesapeake. This contains thirty-one species of mollusks, all of which had been previously known, though several were new to the region. It must be stated that the identification of one of these, as Chiton cinereus Lin., is doubtless an oversight; as that is a northern species, Arctic and 434 American Work in the Department of [June, European in its distribution, and not known from any part of America. In Prof. Wetherby’s Notes on Limnzide, previously mentioned, he claims to have for the first time correctly identified Planorbis glabratus Say, since it was originally described, and characterizes as new P. (Helisoma) duryi, both coming from Florida. In Science News for April 15, 1879, Mr. Arthur F. Gray notes the comparatively recent spread of Litorina litorea L., which, first described as American from Nova Scotia specimens, doubtless was brought over on ballast, and has reached as far south as Stonington, Connecticut. The writer can positively state that twenty years ago it was not found on the shores from Beverly to Boston, though now rather common there, and such records of its migration as the above are interesting and valuable. In the Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society (Sept. 1879) pp. 282-288, Dr. J. G. Cooper publishes “ Notes on some land-shells of the Pacific slope.” This is chiefly a criticism of some of Mr. Binney’s work. Dr. Cooper thinks that the little Alaskan Patula is not pauper of Gould, but a comparison with Gould’s types would have led him rather to sustain the identifica- tion of Binney and Bland, as the specimens are precisely similar and from a similar faunal region. The shells of the Colorado desert are the subject of an article by R. E. C. Stearns in the March number of the AMERICAN NAT- URALIST. Although fossilized shells, the paper has a right to men- tion here, from the fact that it is a matter of doubt whether all these species are fully extinct even in America, while Dybowski has described large numbers of Zryonie (under other names) from Lake Baikal, one species of which is hardly distinguishable from T. clathrata Stm., figured by Stearns. Mr. W. W. Calkins, who has repeatedly visited Florida on scientific tours, published a paper on the “ Marine Shells of Florida,” in the Proceedings of the Davenport Academy of Sciences in 1878, comprising a catalogue, descriptions of sup- posed new species and some remarks on the distribution of spe- cies included in his list. This paper was noticed in Science News of February 15, 1879, and in the number for April 15th, Mr. R. E. C. Stearns points out | some errors of identification which occur in Mr. Calkins’ paper, — whereby West American and Floridian species were included under one name. 1880. ] Recent Mollusca during the year 1879. 435 In Bulletin No. 14 of the U. S. National Museum, we have a “Catalogue of the Collection illustrating the animal resources and the fisheries of the United States,” prepared under the direc- tion of Mr. G. Brown Goode, and referring to the collection exhibited by the National Museum and the Smithsonian Institu- tion at Philadelphia in 1876. Part 11, of this Bulletin (pp. 249-271) comprises ‘the “ Cata- logue of illustrations of the Economical Invertebrates of the American coasts, by W. H. Dall.” Nine pages (251-259) of this relates to Mollusks, in which, of course, the pearl shells and oysters occupy the larger part. Had the uses of exotic Mollusks also been considered, the list might have been considerably aug- mented; the number of species given among the Gasteropods and Lamellibranchs includes few except those actually used for food or bait. A very much larger number might have been enu- merated as possibly available, but this was not thought desirable. A very useful aid to all students of the fauna of the North-east American coast, is the “Preliminary Check-list of the marine Invertebrata of the Atlantic coast from Cape Cod to the Gulf of St. Lawrence, by A. E. Verrill,” prepared for the U. S. Fish Com- mission, of which the author’s edition was printed at New Haven in June, 1879. Four hundred and seventy-four species and varie- ties of Mollusks and Molluscoids are enumerated, and forty-three Tunicates, distributed as follows : Cephalopods, 12 sp.; Gaster- opods (including 44 sp. Nudibranchiates), 187 sp. ; Pteropods, 4 Sp.; Solenoconchs, 3 sp.; Lamellibranchs, 122 sp. ; Brachiopods, 3 Sp. (and two doubtful ones); Polyzoa, 141 sp.; and Tunicates, 43 Sp. and varieties. A comparison of these numbers with those of Stimpson’s Smithsonian Check-list of 1860, “ Arctic seas to Georgia,” including practically all that was then known of the Atlantic coast, shows the vast progress that has been made. Stimpson’s numbers are as follows: Cephalopods, 16 sp; Gas- teropods (including 22 Nudibranchs), 240 sp. ; Pteropods, 6 sp. ; Solenoconchs, 2 sp.; Lamellibranchs, 189 sp.; Brachiopods 3 sp. (2 doubtful) ; Polyzoa, 27 sp.; and Tunicates 29 sp.; total for the whole Atlantic coast, 514 species and varieties, against 517 now catalogued for the small portion between the Gulf of St. Lawrence and Cape Cod alone. This great advance may be almost wholly attributed to the researches of the officers of the U. S. Fish Commission and those 436 Recent Literature. [June, associated with them, and especially to the untiring activity of the author of this check-list In his “ Zoology for Students and general Readers,” by A. S. Packard, Jr., the nervous system and pedal ganglia and otocysts of Mya arenaria are figured from drawings prepared by Dr. W. K. Brooks. Prof. Packard also gives a general account of the anatomy of Lunatia heros, and of Loligo pealit. A new form of Helix from California, apparently related to /7. morimonum, is described by Mr. R. E. C. Stearns in the Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1, No. 10, Nov., 1879, arti- cle xxvi, with a figure, under the name of H. var. circumcarinata Stearns, :0:—— RECENT LITERATURE. Smitu’s BraziL; THe Amazons AND THE Coast.—Of the many delightful books which have been written on Brazil, this is, to our taste, the most (ntete. Its author was, for a time, a member of the Geological Survey of Brazil under OR Hartt, and brings to the task of writing a popular book, many qualifications. His work displays scientific knowledge, acute powers of observation, an insight into the social and business interests of the inhabitants, and an enthusiastic love of nature. His style is vivacious, and we are carried with ready facility from while a narrative of travel appears here and there as we pass from one scene to another. The panel of subjects treated will interest a large circle of readers. As Mr. Smith is an accom- plished entomologist his oe ee to this department have an especial value. statements of the results of a day’s collect- ing of beetles are jepueable ye December 17th he took 394 specimens of 275 species in about eight hours. On January 29th, 471 specimens of 268 species.. The famine of Ceara, 1877-78, of which Mr. Smith was an eye-witness, is graphically described. The industrial statistics will interest American merchant espe- cially. The execution of the work, including the numerous wood engravings, is admirable. TURAL SCIENCE AND RELIGION.’ —/In these lectures Dr. Gray nahe the theological students of Yale with his reasons for Bene. a belief in the evolution of animal and vegetable spe- t Bra The Amazons and the Coast. By Herbert H. Smith. Dine by sketches fe Champney, etc. New York, Chas. Scribner’s Sons, 1579- OY» pp. 644. se 2 Two lectures oo to the Theological School of Yale College. Chas. ner’s Sons. 8vo 1880. | Recent Literature. 437 cies. Though these are familiar to most of our readers, they are not so to the average theological student; so that our thanks are due to Dr. Gray for his clear and simple statement of them. He lays a good foundation for the further discussion of questions which more immediately interest theologians, viz: the evolution of mind and character. Into this field Dr. Gray does not enter, but confines himself to a pretty thorough exposition of common sense views of creation, such as would be naturally entertained by every healthy mind were it not for the difficulties raised by too comprehensive theologies. Mosetey’s NATURALIST ON THE CHALLENGER—In this record, by one of the naturalists of the scientific staff of the Chadlenger, we have probably the cream of the more important discoveries made by this famous expedition. The story is not told in an elaborate way, but rather as noted down originally in the author’s note book and letters home. While immense collections have been made by this expedition to be elaborated by specialists in the volumes of the Admiralty reports, it is not improbable that the results already published by Mr. Moseley are quite as impor- tant as those yet to be worked out. We refer to his elaborate discussions on the development and anatomy of Peripatus, by which this singular form has been taken from among or near the worms and placed with the Tracheata; also to his papers on the Hydroid corals, Millepora, the Stylasteride and Heliopora. The results of these investigations were of the highest value to bio- logical science. These, however, were not deep sea forms; of these the most important and aberrant was a deep sea ascidian (Octacnemus bythius Moseley). Mr. Moseley states that indeed the deep sea animals are mostly closely allied to shallow water forms. “They appear also to live associated together in closely the same manner as their shallow water representatives.” Moseley says nothing as to the fact that these deep sea forms are a survival of the Cretaceous fauna, as they probably are — but the general results of the Challenger are but an extension of what had been brought out by the Scandinavian, American and British deep sea researches which had established the fact that there was a deep sea or abyssal fauna; the researches of Pourtales and Agassiz in the Floridan channel showing that this fauna, with its arctic waters, © underlay, at depths below 500 fathoms, the tropical life and waters, Agassiz’s idea, however, Moseley says, that many important fossil forms might exist at great depths was also dispelled. This idea was, however, based on a misconception. The most generalized forms, those most likely to survive great vicissitudes and changes h a map, two colored plates and numer- 1879. 8vo, pp. ‘ 4 y H. N. Moseley, F.R.S., wi Ous Wood-cuts. London, Macmillan & Co., 438 Recent Literature. [ June, of level and temperature, are forms like Lingula, Limulus and Amphioxus, which live in shoal water and evince the wonderful vitality which is the assurance of their high antiquity. It was, moreover, useless to look for allies of the trilobites in the abysses, of the sea, when it was already known that in Limulus we had a form as closely allied to the trilobites as one order of insects are to another. J Mr. Moseley’s book is unpretentious, thoroughly interesting from the large number of novel views and facts, and will remain the best popular record of the voyage of the Challenger. CLARKE’s DEVELOPMENT OF THE SALAMANDER.’—The external changes undergone by one of our common salamanders are described and figured by Dr. Clarke in this interesting paper, which for the first time gives a connected account of the develop- ment of an American amphibian. The eggs of this common salamander are attached in bunches of from three or four to two hundred in a gelatinous mass to the stem of some aquatic plant or submerged leaves. After segmentation and the appearance of the medullary folds, with the groove between them, the folds close in, forming the neural tube. The body elongates, becomes ciliated and rotates ‘horizontally upon its axis. The head is next marked off and the optic vesicles, branchial lobesand head-balancers appear; then the fore limbs begin to bud out, the heart soon pul- sates, and then the nasal pits and mouth are indicated; the tail and dorsal fin grow rapidly and the branchial lobes are divided into three pairs of gills. The head, mouth and gills are elabo- rated, the digits on both pair of limbs appear, and by the hun- dredth day after segmentation begins, the gills are resorbed and the animal assumes the adult state. Pennine’s Text Book or Fretp Geotocy.2—The first edition of this valuable book appeared about a year ago and attracted considerable attention. The first edition contained 227 pages, while to this last edition about one hundred pages of new matter . are added. The growing popularity of geological field excur- sions among the students of our higher schools and colleges, renders such hand books indispensable. The chapters on geologi- cal surveying, sections, lithology, &c.,‘are handled in a practical manner, and are simple, clear and intelligible. The illustrations are also well chosen. Not the least important pts of this book is the section on palæontology, by Mr. Jukes-Browne. it he shows very clearly the valuable aid of fossils in detereniniig i velopment of Amblystoma punctatum Bai Part 1. External. Ex- tracted aes Studies from the Biological “pees tag of the Johns Hopkins Univer- y T 2A Toxt Book of Field api gý. By W. HENRY ee F.G.S. ais sec- tion on Paleontology. By A. J. JuKEs-BROWNE, .S. Second edition, 8vo, pp. 319. Geological map and twenty-nine ‘wood- ane (London, Balliene, Lindall & Cox, 1879. 1880. | Recent Literature. 439 strata in the field, a subject which at the present day some other- wise excellent scientific men are attempting to depreciate. A second work by the same authors on engineering geology will soon be published. It purports to be a practical guide in the interpretation of those geological phenomena by which engineer- ing works, building materials and water supply are effected, and in the methods of surveying, by which such geological conditions are determined. SKETCHES OF THE PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY AND GEOLOGY OF NE- BRASKA.'—This is one of the most interesting and valuable books yet published on the scientific and practical resources of the State of Nebraska. Prof. Aughey has been for many years a most months, already a second edition is called for. We congratulate Prof. Aughey on his well-deserved success. ARCHIVES OF COMPARATIVE MEDICINE AND SURGERY. — We note with interest the appearance of this new periodical. Its objects are divided between economic and pure science, so as to appeal to a larger constituency than if its scope were confined to either alone. We note various interesting statements of observa- tions on the pathology and anatomy of the lower animais, espe- cially of the Vertebrata. One of these, on the Island of Reil, we transfer to our notes. The Archives has a wide field, and, under its present able editor, we hope for its success. TRAQUAIR ON PLatysomIDz3—This memoir fills a hiatus in our koa ihis of the Physical Geography and Geology of Nebraska. By SAMUEL GHEY, Ph. D., LL.D. * Archives of Comparative Medicine and Surgery; a Quarterly Journal of the Anatomy, Pathology and Therapeutics of the Lower Animals. Edited by EDWARD SPiTZKA, M.D. New York, W. L. Hyde & Co., Printers. *On the Structure and Affinities of the Platysomide. By RAMSEY H. TRAQUAIR, M.D. From the Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Vol. Xx1x, 1879. 440 Recent Literature. [June, new characters. He throws much light on their systematic position, especially in demonstrating the differences which dis- tinguish them from the Dafedide, and their near affinity to Paleoniscide. Indeed the author scarcely adduces sufficient ground for their separation as a family from the latter. Two of the important characters on which he lays most stress, viz., the non-coincidence of the median fin-rays with’ their inter- neural and interhæmal bones, and the absence of suboperculum, undoubtedly remove the fishes which possess them, from the order Lsospondyli, where the present writer formerly placed them. The degree of ossification of the cranial and vertebral bones, is of less importance. Dr, Traquair places this family and its allies in the Chondrostei (which he calls Accipenseridi) with Siis Countries of a r groun unds eT are cae ee g Pilchards pat up by ihe Sea at di seasons, as are not onely sufficient for e Food o n, and Birds, and for dunging the earth, bu even to lade many = s, if occasion eae ak Spe is sai chased ashore by so s Deicke „or greater Fish by wha advanta, age is great, and = - Providence of God is admirable i in these His Blessings towards His poor Crea Garcilasso de la Vega e Royal Commentaries of Peru. Trangia h from the Spanish by. Sir Paul : ri 1688, pp. 135- ` 478 Use of Fertilizers by American Indians, &c. [July, Indians on the Pacific coasts. In describing the customs of the Maya tribes of Yucatan (Vol. ii, p. 717) he paraphrases a transla- tion of the Quiché MS. by Brasseur De Bourbourg, in relation to the culture of maize by them: “ And from the time of its tradi- tional discovery by Gucumatz or Quetzalcoatl (the creator and former) down to the conquest by the Spaniards, and even down’ to the present time, the yellow and white maize, or their several varieties, have been the chief reliance of the Maya as of the Nahua nations for daily food. Every year, during the latter month of the dry season, from March to May, the farmer busied himself in pre- paring his sz/pa or cornfield, which he did by simply cutting or up-rooting the dense growth and burning it. The ashes thus pro- duced were the only fertilizer ever employed, and even this was probably never needed in this land of tropical fertility, Just be- fore the first rain fell, equipped with a sack of seed-maize on his shoulder and a sharpened stick in his hand, he made holes at regular intervals among the ashes, and in each deposited five or six grains, covering it with the same instrument, aided perhaps with his foot,” etc., etc. This is evidently accidental rather than intentional fertilization, the main object of the burning being doubtless to clear away the obstructions to planting the seed. Dr. Rau also showed me accounts of the agriculture of various American tribes, and particularly a very full one of the culture of maize by the Iroquois, in Lafittau’s “ Mceurs des Sauvages Americains,” Paris, 1724, none of which referred in any way to the use of manure. While traveling on the north shore of Lake Superior last sum- mer, Prof. Atwater learned that the Indians of that region employ, to some extent, white fish and lake trout in manuring their fields. Mr. W. H. Dall tells me that a rude system of agriculture is prac- ticed by the Indians of Alaska, a system learned from the Rus- sians since their occupation of the territory. I have presented these few notes, not as a contribution to knowledge, but to call attention to a subject which seems to have been neglected in a most unaccountable manner. Can it be that the aborigines of the Northern Atlantic States are the only uncivilized people who have understood the use of agricultural fertilizers? Fish fertilizers naturally are inaccessible except to peoples living on large bodies of water abounding in schools of fish, which may be taken with ease in quantities greater than are 1880. | A Sketch of Comparative Embryology. 479 needed for use as food. Not less interesting, however, would be instances of the use of organic refuse derived from other sources. Can it be possible that the agricultural Indians of America, such, for instance, as the Moquis, have never thought of making this very obvious application of their domestic animals? When did the Aryan races take their first steps in provident agriculture? These questions must be extremely important to those who are studying the development of culture and civilization. :0: A SKETCH OF COMPARATIVE EMBRYOLOGY, BY CHARLES SEDGWICK MINOT. IV.—THE EMBRYOLOGY OF SPONGES. p oeng the past six years our knowledge of the structure and development of sponges has made sudden añd very great progress, perhaps greater than has occurred in any other depart- ment of zodlogy during the same period. The advance was introduced by the publication, in 1872, of Haeckel’s monograph of the calcareous sponges. That work has been followed, in Germany, England, France and Russia, by numerous memoirs, among which the series of articles by Franz Eilhard Schulze stand first by their accuracy, their clearness, the beauty of the illustrations and the good temper (sometimes wanting in German scientific publications) of the criticisms on other investigators, but above all, by the value of the discoveries they announce. I think no zoologist can read Schulze’s papers without enjoying their rare combination of merits. One of the results of these numerous recent researches has been to show that Haeckel’s work is inaccurate to a startling extent. He figures in detail things he cannot have seen, because they do not exist, and he describes phenomena that do not occur. His fault is to'‘make very positive statements and give very dia- grammatic figures after a hasty examination, consequently his writings contain so numerous errors, sometimes about fundamen- tal points, that even a positive statement of his, until confirmed by other investigators, has no authoritative value. This defect is most seriously to be deplored, for Haeckel is unquestionably one of the most daring and original thinkers of the modern specula- tive school, and many of his quickly made generalizations have 480 A Sketch of Comparative Embryology. [July, proved extremely fruitful, as others have been useless or mislead- ing. Therefore, in spite of Haeckel’s great and unusual endow- ments, which every one must recognize and admire, it is unsafe to quote his writings as authorities in matters of fact! Having given my own opinion, I may add that while many of the younger naturalists bestow an almost unqualified admiration on Haeckel, several distinguished zodlogists severely condemn him as unsci- entific. In order to understand the embryology of sponges, it is neces- sary to consider briefly their structure. The sponges of com- merce are merely the skeletons of the living animals, the soft portions having been removed by maceration. During life the fibres, which make up the skeleton, are all covered by cells. The mass of the sponge is permeated by intercommunicating canals, connected with the exterior by numerous openings upon the sur- face, these openings are of two kinds, smaller ones called pores, by which currents of water enter the canals or tubes, and larger ones, or in some cases a single orifice, the osculum, through which the water passes out. The entire surface of the canals is lined by a continuous layer of cells, the extoderm. Over definite areas of this lining the cells are cylindrical, have a so-called collar, and are provided, each, with a single long: sweeping cilium, or fagel- lum (geissel), while over the intervening parts, the lining is com- posed of simple flat polygonal cells. In a few sponges ( Ascones) the whole canal system is carpeted by flagellate cells. The flagella maintain the currents of water, sweeping in the particles of food, which are seized by the sponge as the water runs through. The external surface is entirely covered by a continu- ous stratum of flat polygonal cells, the ectoderm, between which and the canals lies the thick middle layer or mesoderm, in which the skeleton and the sexual products are developed. The mesoderm is composed of numerous independent cells, each separated from its neighbors by amorphous intercellular sub- stance, the specific character of which varies from species to species. Its consistency may be so slight that the cells can crawl about through it, like Amcebas. A certain portion of these cells are transformed into the genoblasts; usually either only eggs or only spermatozoa are produced ina single individual, but of those sponges, whose sexuality is known, a few are hermaphrodite. 1In Huxley's Anatomy of Invertebrates, the chapter on sponges is based on Haeckel’s work and contains several important errors. 1880. ] A Sketch of Comparative Embryology. 481 The various kinds of sponges are distinguished principally by their external shape, and the peculiarities of their skeleton and canal system. The form from which all sponges may be deduced is the Olynthus type, which has the following characteristics: 1, it is attached by its base; 2, there is a large vertical central cavity, which, 3, communicates with the exterior at the upper end, through the osculum, and 4, at the sides through the secondary canals and pores. Modifications, besides those before mentioned, occur in the relative size of the main cavity, and by the formation of additional oscula. The principal kinds of sponges may be tabulated as follows: A WVU RY eUn Cy vac cu Gi soca cc ce bak bs wa Myxospongiz. B. With horny fibers (bathing sponges)............./...Spongide. C. With siliceous spicules (several distinct families)..siliceous sponges. D. With calcareous skeleton Calcispongiz. The Physemaria, which Haeckel described as multicellular organisms, representing a permanent adult sponge-like gastrula condition, have excited the greatest interest among zoologists. Recent investigations, however, render it probable that Haeckel’s description is entirely erroneous, and that these animals are really - multinucleolate Rhizopods. The gemmule, or winter buds, are not organs of sexual repro- duction, but rather of regeneration. ‘The tissues hibernate in a simplified condition, forming germ masses, the so-called buds; in the spring the sponge is regenerated by the renewal of its histo- logical differentiation. The formation of the egg presents no features requiring special comment from us. No polar globules have been discovered. Since the eggs and spermatozoa are ripe at the same time, the ova probably require to be fertilized, but I think no stage of the act of impregnation has yet been observed. The egg early becomes enclosed in a special capsule or follicle, developed by the neigh- boring cells of the mesoderm disposing themselves in a continu- ous layer around it, Within this follicle segmentation and the development of the embryo take place. It is a singularity of sponges, without a parallel among other animals, that the egg becomes the embryo without quitting its seat of formation—the follicle in which it grows up. The sponge larva escapes from the body of the parent by TE, Ray Lankester, Quart. Journ. Micros. Sci. 1879. 482 A Sketch of Comparative Embryology. [July, bursting the walls of the follicle, passing into the canal system, and escaping through one of the pores. At the time of its birth, the larval sponge has very distinctive peculiarities, and differs strikingly from all other larve. The larva, when hatched, is egg-shaped (Fig. 16), the larger end is composed of large ceils with granular contents, which hide the nuclei, while the pointed end consists of small cells, each of which bears a long vibratile hair, or flagellum. It is by these that the larva swims. During segmentation, however, the cells are all more or less alike, and the differentiation takes place in some species earlier, in others later, so that in some sponges (Halisarca), ——Egg-shaped larva, there is even a stage in which the whole Fic Toone ea yimming stage. Sycandra raphanus, after F.E. surface of the larva consists of small Schulze ut 530 diam cells, and later, those cells around the large pole of the egg grow bigger and granular. Again, in some _ forms (e. g. Chalinula) the difference between the two sets of cells is much less, and the small cells cover a proportionately much larger area than in the embryo figured (Fig. 16). There are also cells in the interior of the embryo, leaving, however, in certain cases a central cavity. Schulze states that in Sycandra there are no central cells, but Metschnikoff describes and figures them. These central cells are regarded by several authors as the primitive mesoderm. The metamorphosis of the larva into the sponge has been observed in but very few species. The change takes place according to two distinct types, which cannot at present be brought into relation with one another, because in the first ( Sycandra ), the large cells form the ectoderm, and the small cells the entoderm, while in the second (Chalinula and Halisarca), the destiny of the two sets is exactly reversed, the small ciliated cells remaining external, the large cells becoming internal. In the latter case the embryo attaches itself by its broad end to a solid body, the small cells grow over the whole of the exposed surface ; a branching cavity is formed in the interior, and pores and an osculum break through. There cannot be saiď to be any gastrula stage at all, nor does the osculum answer to an opening formed 1880.] - A Sketch of Comparative Embryology. 483 by invagination. The skeleton begins to appear about the time the larva fixes itself. In the other type of development, which has been observed in the higher calcareous sponges, there is both a temporary pseudo- gastrula, and a permanent gastrula differently formed, which is directly metamorphosed into the permanent sponge. The pseudo- gastrula normally occurs only before the larva leaves the follicle of the parent body, and arises by the turning in of the large cells, just as the finger of a glove may be inverted; the larva then appears like a cup formed of two membranes, the outer of small cells, the inner of large. Before long, however, the large cells are everted, and the embryo (Fig. 16) reassumes the characteristic egg-shape, and soon leaves the parent, swims about freely for two or three days, and finally perma- nently attaches itself. While still free, it broadens, and its long axis shortens (Fig. 17), whereby the large cells begin to grow over the small ones, which are gradually pushed in more and more until they are fairly invagi- nated. The large cells advance Fic. 17.—Older stage of Fig. 16. further, gradually constricting the opening until it becomes quite small. Viewed from the oral side, at this stage, the embryo pre- sents the appearance indicated by the outline, Fig. 18, 4.2 At this stage the larva fixes itself by its oral end. The cells around Fic. 18.4, Oldest free-swimming sta: f oral surface. B. The same after i ge, view of ora attachment. Larva of adarei after F. E. Schulze, magnified about 240 diam sd mouth nestle against the underlying surface, and send out + ag fon none upper and inner parts-show through, rendering the outlines much ss 484 A Sketch of Comparative Embryology. [July, from their external edges hyaline amoeboid processes, which probably help the larva to hold on (Fig. 18, B). The central ends of the cells approach one another, meet and close the mouth. Fig. 19 presents a side view of a larva in this stage, and shows the inner cavity ¢, now closed; its lining of small cells 4, and the exterior layer of granular cells a, the arrangement of which is particularly obscure, but they ultimately make the ectoderm ¿and mesoderm. The development 19.—Vertical optical section of the attached a of Sycandra see i us. After F. E. Schulze, now proceeds by the magnified about 500 d : s : vertical elongation of the sponge to a cylindrical shape; the formation of a large secondary opening, the osculum at the upper end, and of small openings, pores, around the sides, leading into secondary tubes, which communicate with the large central cavity; finally the development of the skeletal spicules and of the mesodermic intercellular substance. The first spicules that appear are simple rods tapering towards both ends, and slightly curved. They lie nearly parallel to the external surface, scattered irregularly. Three and four rayed spicules also soon appear, and the whole skeleton grows rapidly. The sponge is now in the Olynthus stage. The above account, though necessarily brief, shows that our present knowledge does not render the morphology of sponges explicable, because, although we should certainly consider, if we knew the larve alone, the small flagellate cells to be strictly homologous in all the embryos, yet in one case these cells form the internal digestive cavity, in another the external skin. At present the meaning of this divergence is unknown. The systematic position of the sponges has been much dis- cussed, At one time they were considered protozoic colonies, which they certainly are not. German zodlogists usually connect them with the Ccelenterata, but inasmuch as the development is not in the least ccelenterate, and the structure of the adult sponge 1880.] List of the Birds of the Willamette Valley, Oregon. 485 is in nearly every respect peculiar, it seems to me best to accept Prof. Hyatt’s view, and place sponges by themselves as a distinct sub-kingdom of animals, the Porifera. F. ON THE EMBRYOLOGY OF SPONGES. 38. ae Embryologie de quelques éponges de la Manche. Annales des Sci. .. Sér. vi, Tome 111 (1876). 39. seed J. Development of the marine sponges. Ann. Mag. Nat. History, 1874. 40. Keller. Studien über Organisation und Entwickelung der Chalineen. Zeit. f. 41. Hyatt, Alpheus. A Revision by the apt American poster with remarks upon foreign species. Mem. nS. N. H., 1875 an . Sponges considered as a vin sub- pedal of ih Proc. Boston S. N. H., XIX p. 12. 3: Lieberkithn. „Beiträge zur Entwickelungsgeschichte der Spongillen, Miiller’s Archiv. 1856. Cf. the same Archiv. for 1857, 1859; 1863, 1865, 1867 for papers on the enatomy 7 if tesco E. Zur Entwickelungsgeschichte der Kalkschwimme. Zeitsch. wiss, Zool., XXIV (1874), p. 1; also x 45. ——. ongiologische Studien, Zeit. f. wiss. “Zool., 46. Schmidt, ms scar. Das Larvenstadium von Ascetta RS # und Ascetta clathrus. Arch. micros. Anat., XIV (1877), 403- ay Oventirang über die ieee der Spongien. Zeit. f. wiss. Zool. XXV, anaa 48. Schulze, F. a “Untersuchungen über den Bau und die Entwickelung der Pares Zeit. f. wiss I. Sycandra, xxv, p. pa pews band) Cf. xxvu, 486. il. Halisarca, XXVIII, p. 1. ll. Chondrosiden, xx1x, p. 87. Iv. een XXX, 9. v. Diem rphose von Sycandra raphanus, XXXI, p. 262. VI. SEID XXXII. p. 117. VIIL. Spongide, XXXII, p: 593- vill. Hircinia und Oligoceras, n. g., XXXIII, p. I. 20% LIST OF THE BIRDS OF THE WILLAMETTE VAL- OREGON. BY O. B. JOHNSON. ps is not meant to be a complete list of the avifauna of the region named, but only such a part as has fallen under my Personal observation during a residence of over ten years at three different points, viz: Five years at East Portland, which is but six miles from the Columbia river ; two years at Forest Grove, twenty-five miles west of Portland and at the foot of the Coast 486 List of the Birds of the Willamette Valley, Oregon. (July, mountains; and the rest of the time at Salem, on the Willamette river, and fifty miles south of Portland. The region referred to lies between the Cascade and Coast ranges, on an average of sixty miles apart, and from the Columbia on the north to the Callipoaia mountains on the south, a distance of about one hundred and thirty miles. To the north, and along each side, and on the streams, it is densely wooded, while on the middie and south is a chain of prairies of greater or less extent, giving great variety to the landscape. I have been necessarily brief, but with any one needing more explicit notes or material, I will gladly correspond. . I. Turdus migratorius Linn. (robin)—The robin is very com- mon during the breeding season, nesting extensively, and not rare during the mild wet winter months, especially along the river bottoms. 2. Turdus nevius Gmel. (varied thrush), called “ Cal. robin,” “myrtle robin,” “ painted robin,” and “ Oregon robin.” —More or less abundant during the winter months, arriving from the north and mountains about December Ist, and remaining until about June īst. Usually shy and very thrush-like, they sometimes become quite tame about building, learning the habit from the common robin. I have always suspected that they nest in this State, about the bases of the snow-clad mountains, as hunters have told me that they have seen the bird at all times during the season in those places. They have no true song, but in its place they use the call note, which is a prolonged “ chur-r-r,’ followed after a short interval by a prolonged “ chee-e-e” a “ third” higher, and both ina minor key. The alarm note is a short decisive “churk.” They feed upon the ground, scratching among dead leaves, usually in very moist situations. They also come to the gardens for cherries and small fruits. 3. Turdus ustulatus Nutt. (Oregon thrush). — Very common during the breeding season, nesting extensively and often raising two broods. The usual situation of the nest is in a dense thicket of low brush about four feet from the ground; it is composed of moss, very bulky and rather more attractive than otherwise, but I found one at the root of a maple tree upon a “ burl” about four inches above the ground, two others were in a tree, about fifteen feet high, and composed entirely of twigs and brush well woven, and scantily lined with moss. The alarm note is a short whistle “whoet,’ identical with that of a person attracting the attention 1880.] List of the Birds of the Willamette Valley, Oregon. 487 ” of a dog, the call note is tremulous, “ whaat-r-r-r,” in the same key as the alarm note, only ending in a trill. Every evening and often on cloudy days, their song can be heard from every thicket; it is a peculiar whistle, ascending a scale of four notes, and sounds like “ holsey-govendy-govindy-goveendy.” They feed upon the ground. 4. Stalia mexicana Swains, (Western bluebird). — A common summer resident, breeding in deserted woodpecker’s holes, knot- holes and crevices, especially delighting in favorable situations about bu'ldings; they will for years return to the same place, even if roughly treated. Their only note isa mournful “ soen.” They feed upon the ground, dropping upon their prey from an elevated position. 5. Cinclus mexicanus Swains. (water ouzel).—Found on all the dashing streams in the valley. I saw but one nest and that was shown me by the owner of a mill, and he said that a brood had been raised for four successive years in the same nest. It was placed between the ends of two projecting planks in the dam, and was an open nest, the upper plank rendering the dome part superflu- ous; it was of moss and the bark of the cedar from the logs in the vicinity. I suppose that they remain all winter, for I saw them in the Bitter Root mountains, in Idaho, when ice was form- ing on the streams and the snow two feet deep. The alarm note is a faint “ chip,” expressing interrogation rather than fear, anda song that is seldom heard, owing to the rushing and roaring sur- roundings ; it comes as a faint lisping “ sweet-tweet tr-r-r-eet,” very prolonged, but rendered almost inaudible by its turbulent accom- paniment. Their food, I suppose, is entirely aquatic, though I had one make an unsuccessful attempt at an artificial fly cast near it, showing that it knew a “ tit-bit” as well as its scaly neighbor. 6. Regulus satrapa Licht. (golden-crowned kinglet)—Common throughout the winter in flocks, busily searching for insects among the dense second growth of Abies douglassii. Their note at this time is a very faint “ ¢seep,” answered quickly by the others. T have never seen the eggs or nest, | 7. Regulus calendula Licht. (ruby-crowned kinglet)—Solitary individuals seen occasionally during the winter and spring among — the thickets of rose and Spiræa. Never saw its nest or eggs. 8. Parus occidentalis Baird (western titmouse), called “ chicka- dee.” —Common throughout the year; breeding abundantly in 488 List of the Birds of the Willamette Valley, Oregon. (July, holes which they excavate in rotten wood, often in stumps not more than two feet from the ground ; nest of hair and wool ; eggs five, pure white, thickly speckled with light-brown, chiefly toward the large end. Its note is a loud, clear “ chick a dee-dee-dee,” given in a monotone. 9. Parus rufescens Towns. (chestnut-backed titmouse).—Less abundant than the last, which they closely resemble in habits. A nest that I found in the top of a willow “stub” (not excavated) contained four pure white eggs, somewhat larger than the pre- ceding species, dotted sparingly with large patches of fawn-drab. The nest was lined with fur of a squirrel. Their note is a faint “ ke-dee-dee-dee,” the last syllable uttered a “fifth ” higher. 10. Psaltriparus minimus Towns. (least titmouse).—Plentiful during the winter months among the evergreens, always in small flocks. Many remain all summer to breed, but they are more retired and less conspicuous. I took a nest of this species in ‘June, 1874; it was pensile, built of moss (Hypnum and Tillandsia), with the entrance (a small round hole) on one side, passing up and over into the inside; it was lined with feathers and hair, and contained four pure white eggs. Their call note is a subdued “zip,” "gip, varied to “ sip-hitty.” 11. Sitta aculeata Cass.(Western nuthatch).—Quite common dur- ing the summer and not rare during the winter. They breed in various places, the greatest desire being concealment. A pair had a nest in the college building at Forest Grove and raised seven young; the entrance was a knot-hole in the siding, and it was placed between the ceiling of the lower room and the floor above and was not accessible. Another was built for several years in the double roof of an ice-house upon the sawdust. I took out a set of nine eggs in 1877, white, specked with light brown of the same shade and pattern as Parus occidentalis, differing only in larger size. Their only note is a coarse harsh “ swank,” uttered at intervals that make one expect to see a larger bird. 12. Sitta canadensis Linn. (red-bellied nuthatch).—Associated with the preceding, which it much resembles in habits. Its call, “ beek,” is in a higher key and not so coarse. The nest and eggs I have not seen. 13. Lhryothurus spilurus Vig. (Western mocking wren).—This bird is quite common in the swampy parts of the valley, and breeds, though I never saw its nest or eggs. 1880.] List of the Birds of the Willamette Valley, Oregon. 489 14. Troglodytes parkmant Aud. (Parkman’s house wren).— Common during the summer and breeds plentifully, any place being “just right.” I saw a nest in the pocket of a pair of trou- sers used as a “scare crow.” In retaliation for their driving away a pair of blue-birds from a box at my house, I began taking the eggs, and succeeded in getting twenty-one, when I grew ashamed, and they afterwards laid and hatched five more. Thesong is like that of the Eastern species. 15. Troglodytes hyemalis Vieill. (winter wren)—Remains during the winter, living in semi-clearings under brush and log heaps, but leaves for other parts to breed. 16. Anthus ludovicianus Gmel. (titlark)—Common during win- ter, feeding in old fields and in roads. 17. Helminthophaga celata Say (orange-crowned warbler).— Very common during summer, and undoubtedly breeds, but I have never found its nest. 18. Dendræca æstiva Gmel. (summer warbler).—A very com> mon summer resident, nesting ‘extensively, with the usual habits of the species. 19. Dendraca auduboni Towns. (Audubon’s_ warbler).— The most abundant warbler during summer, and a few remaining until far into, if not all, winter. It probably breeds commonly, but I have been able to find but one nest, taken May 26, 1879. It was placed in the top of a small oak (Q. garryana), about fifteen feet from the ground, and placed between three upright twigs, built of grass and horsehair, and lined with feathers from a neighboring fowl-yard; it contained four greenish-white eggs, Spotted around the larger end in a ring with light-brown and lav- ender, and a few dots of brownish black; they measured .72 by ‘54, .71 by .54, :70 by .52 and .70 by .52 of an inch. 20. Dendreca coronata Linn. (yellow-crowned warbler).—I have obtained several birds in spring that I have referred to this species. 21. Dendreca nigrescens Towns. (black-throated gray warbler. Moderately common during summer in favorable situations, seeming to prefer dense undergrowth near a swamp. I took a nest of this species June 17, 1879, in the top of a clump of Spiræa, built of fine.roots and dried grass and lined with the down of the Cottonwood It contained four eggs of a dirty-white color, thickly marbled with longitudinal lines and dots, more confluent VOL, XIV.—No, VII, 32 490 List of the Birds of the a Valley, Oregon. (July, toward the larger end, of two shades of light-brown. They measured .66 by .53, .65 by .54, .65 by .54 and 65 by .52 of an inch. 22. Geothlypis trichas Linn. (Maryland yellow-throat).—A very common little resident during summer among the reeds and thickets about marshes, where they breed. 23. Geothlypis macgillivrayi Aud. (Macgillivray’s warbler).— A summer resident, nesting quite commonly; it is usually placed in the very top of a rose thicket and hardly concealed ; it is built of dried grass and leaves, and very loosely woven. Eggs usually four, pure white, sprinkled around the larger end with splashes and irreguiar dots of lilac, pale-brown and umber. 24. Icteria longicauda Lawr. (long-tailed chat).—Inhabits the dense thickets of Spiræa during the summer, and probably breeds, though I have not seen its nest. 25. Myiodioctes pusillus Wils. (green black-capped warbler).— Only noticed during the spring migrations. 26. Hirundo lunifrons Say (cliff swallow).—Abundant during summer, breeding chiefly under eaves. . 27. Hirundo bicolor Vieill. (white-bellied swallow).—Also abun- dant, nesting in holes in trees. ~ 28. Hirundo thalassina Swains. (violet-green swallow).— Also abundant, nesting in knot-holes and crevices about buildings; have never seen their nest in any other situation ; among peculiar places, I saw one in a hollow east window sill, another under the tin top of a wooden capital, twelve feet above the sidewalk, another was under a sign that lay flatwise on the awning, another in an old hat that hung in a shed. They are decidedly the most familiar of the three species of swallows. 29. Vircosylvia solitaria Vieill. (blue-headed flycatcher)— A common summer resident, chiefly among deciduous trees, where it also nests. The nest is subpensile in a low horizontal fork, neat- ly and compactly built of fine grass and horsehair, lined with fine moss and spiders’ webs, and externally covered with bits of He- patica and Hypnum to resemble a piece of bark. The eggs, usually four, pinkish-white, covered at the large end with reddish- brown dots and marks. The song is irregular, “ zo whit-to whee— to whtt-to wheo,” repeated incessantly as they flit among the leaves for food, their favorite tree being the large oak (Q. garryana). 30. Ampelis garrulus Linn. (waxwing).—I obtained a pair of 1880.] List of the Birds of the Willamette Valley, Oregon. 491 these beautiful birds during a snowstorm in January, 1876, at Forest Grove. They were feeding at the time on rose berries. 31. Ampelis cedrorum Vieill. (cedar bird)—An abundant sum- mer resident, nesting extensively in the groves of small Douglass spruce. 32. Collurio borealis Vieill. (Northern shrike).—Quite common resident, though I have not found it breeding. 33. Pyranga ludoviciana Wils. (Louisiana tanager).—Another one of those common summer residents that seem to defy all attempts at the discovery of its nest. 34. Curvirostra americana Wils. (red crossbill). Common among the evergreen covered mountains, and coming down to the valley in winter. I have not seen its nest. 35. Carpodacus californicus Baird (Western purple finch).— Common summer resident, and breeds, though I have not yet found anest. It is noted for its habit of cutting off the bloom of the cherries for the embryonic seed therein. Its note of alarm is a “ quit—quit,’ and its song a warbling “ whidly-whidly-whidly,” repeated very rapidly. 36. Chrysomitris tristis Linn. (yellow bird). A common sum- mer resident, breeding extensively, with the usual habits of the species. 37. Chrysomitris pinus Wils. (pine finch)——A common winter resident, living in flocks, and frequenting fields and gardens for seeds, virtually taking the place of the preceding at that time. It probably breeds in the mountains. 38. Hesperiphona vespertina Coop. (evening grosbeak).—Some- times plentiful during the spring migrations, frequenting the maple (A. macrophyllum), the seeds of which are a favorite food. The only note I observed was a loud “ yeeip,” strikingly like the call of a lost chicken. 39. Passerculus sandwichensis Gmel. (Alaskan sparrow).—Seen sparingly during the migration, which is usually in small flocks, [ Zo be continued.} 492 A Botanist in Southern California. [July, A BOTANIST IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA. BY JOSEPH F. JAMES. E who would see California at her best, should come here in the spring. If the traveler arrives about the middle of March, he will find the spring in all its beauty and freshness. After his passage over the snowy Sierra, he will be delighted at the change from ice and snow to green grass and flowers; from cold and cutting northern winds to gentle balmy southern breezes. The sky will appear of a brighter blue, and the grass of a greener tinge than he ever saw before, and he will feel a vigor and a fresh- ness which he has not felt in many a long day. There seems to be a something in the air of California which makes it different from what it is elsewhere. It may be that it is possessed of more ozone than common, and the presence of that material freshens up one’s thoughts and feelings. The rains of the winter season will then be over, and the grass and flowers will be seen in all their verdure and freshness. On the other hand, should he arrive in the summer, he will find everything dried and parched; and as first impressions are always the most lasting, it is likely that he will have a much poorer opinion of the country than if he had seen it first in all its beauty. To a botanist, California is almost a paradise, and although he will not find in it much of that magnificent vegetation, and those grand and interminable forests which are characteristic of the tropics, we venture to say that he will find here as many, or nearly as many, curious and interesting forms of vegetable life as he can find in any other country of the world. The distribution of rain during the year has been the cause, at least in Southern Califor- nia, of a peculiarity in the development of vegetable life. Rain falls only from November to March, and the remainder of the year is dry and hot. By the middle of June or July many of the plants and flowers have disappeared ; the grass is dry and parched, and the whole country assumes an appearance which is extremely depressing. Most all the flowering plants appear, therefore, in the spring, and it is almost next to useless to hunt for them, except along the banks of streams and in deep shaded cafions, after the first of June. But the spring! Ah! that is the time. It would be almost impossible to find a more beautiful sight than is then visible in 1880.] A Botanist in Southern California. 493 the vicinity of Los Angeles, the metropolis of Southern Califor- nia. Then the plains surrounding that city, the hills and the val- leys are one mass of gorgeous brilliant flowers. They are there by thousands upon thousands, and of almost endless variety. We shall attempt to enumerate some of them, and give a general idea of the appearance of the country in its season of beauty. Most conspicuous of all, both for its abundance and its color, is the California poppy (Zschscholtzsia californica Cham.). Never have I seen such a brilliant mass of color as was presented by this plant last spring. It covered acres of ground, and the bright golden yellow or orange of its flowers, conspicuous among the mass of other verdure, was visible for miles. I have one patch in my mind now which, seen on a bright clear day, was, with the - Sun shining full upon it, too dazzling for the eye to gaze upon. Truly it was the “ Field of the Cloth of Gold.” In places where the ground had been plowed, paths of it had been left, and they seemed like tongues of fire running over the ground. Two species of Alfillerilla, or pin clover (Erodium cicutarium L'Heer and Z. moschatum L'Heer), are very common. These are very valuable as forage plants, and without them it is hard to tell what the country would do. Both species are very similar, one having the leaves more finely dissected than the other. The flowers are small and of a bright purple. The seeds are peculiar. After the petals have fallen the pedicels become deflexed, but the seeds still stand upright. They are five in number, united toa stylus, and each one is furnished with an awn an inch or so in length, with hairs at the base. When the seeds ripen and dry, they split the capsule at the base, and each one begins to twist on its own account; when they get through, the awns of all are closely twisted together, and the seeds stick out on all sides. If One seed is separated from the others before it is fully ripe, and examined, the awn will be seen to twist. It drys very rapidly, and in the contraction turns the seed round and round till a close coil about half its length is formed, and this coil sticks out at - right angles from the seed. On wetting the awns again, they will untwist and become as straight as before. This seems to me to be a provision of nature for forcing the seed into the ground. Be that as it may, the seed itself is very hard and sharp pointed, and has a faculty of sticking very close to anything it gets into. The Sidalcea malveflora Gray, is one of the prettiest and com- 494 A Botanist in Southern California. [July, monest of the plants of the plains. It grows from one to two feet high, and has the large purple flowers interruptedly ranged on the stem, with the round cordate and crenate leaves at the base. LVatystemon californicus Benth., known as cream cups, is very common. The flowers are white or cream colored, and are raised on naked hairy peduncles four to six inches long, looking something like an Anemone. Dodecatheon meadia L. (var ?), the shooting star, common in the East, is occasionally seen, and with its pretty and curiously shaped flowers reminds one of the rocky banks and shady ravines where it finds its Eastern home. Sev- eral species of Orthocarpus, with small curious purple flowers, are common; one species (O. purpurascens Benth.) is small and in- conspicuous in itself, but it grows in dense masses, covering the ground for miles, and giving it a purplish hue. The Beria gra- cilis Gray, a small composite plant with bright yellow flowers, is so common as to cover acres of ground and add its quota to the general glory. Sayia platyglossa Gray, is also common; its yel- low flowers tipped with cream color. Occasionally a patch of Paonia brownii Dougl., greets the eye with its large dark purple or reddish flowers, and heavy thick bright-green leaves. The poor man’s weather glass, or pimpernell (Anagallis arvensis L.), with its bright pinkish flowers, is common in cultivated grounds. Collinsia bicolor Benth. with bright purple flowers, hides itself modestly under greasewood bushes and sage brush. Castilleia passiflora Bong., with its flaming scarlet flowers, looks, in the dis- tance, like the Lobelia cardinalis, that beauty of the swamps and meadows of the East. Penstemon cordifolius Benth., and P. cen- tranthifolius Benth., adorn the banks of streams with their scarlet flowers. In shady places the tall green Scrophularia californica Cham., similar to S. zodesa L., towers far above the low but pretty Claytonia perfoliata Donn., with its raceme of white flowers. This last delights in damp shady places, and in such localities it is very common. Salvia carduacea Benth., is common in dry sandy soil, as is also S. columbarie Benth., with its cluster of blue flowers. The Amsinckia spectabilis Fisch and Meyer, a small inconspicuous plant with yellow flowers, is so common as to cover acres of ground. Two species of Phacelia (P. ramossisima Dougl. and P. tanacetifolia Benth.), with white and blue flowers, are common, while their near relative, Nemophila aurita Lindl., with pretty blue flowers, and weak in the stem, helps to raise 1880. ] A Botanist in Southern California, 495 itself above the ground by climbing with its prickly stem up other plants. W. insignis Dougl., also with ‘blue flowers, is very pretty and common, and is one of the earliest spring flowers. The species of Gilia are very numerous, and many of them have such differently shaped flowers, and such varied habits of growth that a novice would never place them in the same genus. There is the G. californica Benth., which has large funnel-shaped purple flowers, and leaves awl-shaped and bristle-like, and grows into quite large bushes. As an opposite is the G. intertexta Steud., a dwarf form of which has small white flowers, and forms a mat spread out close on the ground. Then the G. multicaulis Benth., with its short upright stem, and small bunch of purplish flowers is very different from the G. densifolia Benth., with a white wooly stem, linear pointed leaves and large bright blue flowers in dense clusters, The Convolvulus occidentalis Gray, with its large white flowers, twines over the ground and bushes. Though the Liliacee are not numerous in species, there is one, Calochorus splendens, which is very handsome. The flower is quite large, of a purple-blue color, raised on a long slender stem, and as it waves to and fro in the air, it well merits its name of “ splendens.” Datura meteloides D.C., common on the roadsides, quite puts to shame its relative the “ Jamestown” weed, of the East. It has large white flowers, six and eight inches long, and forms.a bush two or three feet high. It possesses none of that vile odor peculiar to the “ James- town,” but has rather an agreeable smell. Mirabilis californica, one of the Nyctaginacea, is common all over the hills, and has viscid, sticky leaves and stem, and bright purple salver-shaped owers. Euphorbia albomarginata forms large mats on the ground, one plant sometimes covering very closely a space two feet in diameter. Sisyrinchium bellum takes the place of the Eastern S, bermudiana, which it very much resembles. One of the handsomest plants 1 have ever seen anywhere, is the Vucca whipplei Torr., commonly known as the Spanish bay- onet, and it is quite common around Los Angeles. Never shall I forget the sensation I felt the first time I saw this beautiful plant. We were riding up a cañon, near San Juan Capistrano, toward the warm sulphur springs, when off to our right appeared a tall mass of white. What it was we could not tell, but riding toward it, we soon had it revealed to us in all its beauty and 496 A Botanist in Southern California. [July, majesty. Imagine a stalk ten or fifteen feet in height, two inches ` in diameter at the base, branched like a candelabra and covered for six or eight feet of its height with a mass of cream-colored, bell- shaped, drooping flowers. At the base the long, sharp, serrated leaves stuck out on all sides, as if to guard against the approach of any injurious animal. When seen standing along the mountain side, its white mass of blossoms outlined against the dark background of the naked rock, it looks like a sentinel keeping guard over the valley ; and numbers of them ranged one after another, and one above another, looked like a troop of soldiers placed there to stand guard. They grow in such steep and inaccessible places oftentimes that it is impossible to get at them. As it gets old the leaves become frayed at the edges, and the fibers hang like long filaments down each side of the leaf. Ranunculus californicus Benth., is very common in wet and - damp places, and R. cymbalaria Pursh., grows in great profusion in the sand on the bank of the Los Angeles river. Viola pedun- culata Torr. and Gray, with its pretty yellow and black flowers, is conspicuous amid the flowers of the plains, and Nasturtium officinale R. Br., almost blocks up the water of slow-flowing and shallow streams. It grows in shady places, sometimes three feet high, and in such dense masses as to make it difficult to force one’s way through it. Vitis californica Benth., the only representative of the Vitacez in California in a wild state, is com- mon, and climbs high over the willow hedges and bushes in damp localities. The deadly Rhus diversiloba Torr. and Gray, own cousin to Rhus toxicodendron L. of the East, is too common all over the plains, hills and cañons of Southern California, and while some persons can handle it with impunity, others barely touching it are afflicted with a severe cutaneous eruption. Tellina cymbalaria Gray, is a very pretty little plant with radical leaves . and a cluster of white flowers on the end of a long scape. It grows in damp shady places, and is very common. There are several genera which are very common all ovr California, and many of the species resemble each other so closely as to be nearly undistinguishable. Among the Leguminose, for instance, the genera Lupinus, Hosackia and Astragalus are all large. The species of the last are very numerous, and so closely connected as to cause great trouble in separating them. Nearly all the species have white or yellow flowers, pinnate leaves and. . 1880. ] A Botanist in Southern California. 497 bladdery pods. The rattle weed is one of them, and is so named because the dry pods swept over the ground by the wind make a noise like the rattlesnake’s warning. Another is the Loco plant, a terror to owners of horses and cattle. It is said that when eaten by animals it acts like a slow poison. A horse, for instance, seems to be affected in the brain; he becomes stupid, easily fright- ened at any little object coming suddenly before him, is inclined to run away, and often goes mad, insane, and to wind up all, dies from its effects. A locoed horse can easily be detected by the dull stupid look in his eyes. Among the lupines there are some of our most gorgeous flowers. The shrubby species often grow four and five feet in height. The Z. rivularis Dougl., has large bright green leaves and spikes of bright blue flowers, often two feet in length. As an antithesis to this there is the Z. micranthus Dougl., which is from four to eight inches high and has small white or blueish flowers. The Hosackias are sometimes bushes four to six feet high, and sometimes lie flat on the ground, the stems of a single plant being three to five feet long. The flowers are generally yellow, and the leaves stall and three-parted. Along all the roads, and covering the ground otherwise devoid of vegetation, we see the mock orange (Cucurbita perennis Gray); the flowers are quite large and yellow, leaves very rough and scabrous, and the fruit hard, round and yellow, looking like an orange. The root extends into the ground three or four feet and is sometimes as big round as a man’s body. The Megarrhiza californica Torr., another species of the Cucurbitacee, twines over the rocks and bushes in a luxuriant manner; it has long tendrils which are slightly sensitive; when rubbed on one side, they soon bend toward that side and twine round any support they may happen to touch. Along in July the Clematis ligustici- Jolia Nutt., with its panicles of white flowers or carpels with long silky tails, climbs over shrubs and into trees along the water courses. Brassica nigra Boiss, the common mustard, is one of the most pernicious weeds of the whole of Southern California, and it covers the ground in many places for acres, to the entire exclusion of other plants. Sometimes it is eight and ten feet in height and two or three inches in diameter at the base. I have ridden through fields of it early in the spring when it was as high as the saddle on the horse. Malva borealis Wallman, is another very: troublesome weed, and grows everywhere round houses and 498 Progress of American Carcinology in 1879. [July, in waste ground; in old sheep and cattle corrals it is especially luxuriant, and grows sometimes so thick and strong that even a horse has difficulty in forcing his way through it. It closely resembles M. rotundifolia L. Several genera of Onagraceze are abundant in species and specimens, CEnothcera and Godetia being the most abundant. A small plant belonging to this order, Clarkia elegans Dougl., is found in shady cafions, and is remarkable for its queer-shaped, handsome, purple flowers, and is often cultivated. The Zaus- chneria californica Presl., has bright red flowers, and adorns dry banks and hills in the summer. Jsomeris arborea Nutt., one of the Capparidacee, is a small shrub with yellow flowers and inflated pods, and is very common near San Diego, flowering in November. A species of Hydrocotyle is very common in slow- flowing streams, and its circular crenated leaves seem to float on the water, and amongst them are thousands of specimens of Azolla americana, covering the surface of the water with its green mantle for considerable spaces. I have confined my attention in this article almost entirely to the herbs and shrubs, and have by no means exhausted the list of them. Species are very numerous in Southern California, and I may, another time, have something to say in regard to the trees and larger vegetation generally of the country. 70; PROGRESS OF AMERICAN CARCINOLOGY IN 1879. BY J. S. KINGSLEY. MERICAN science, when compared with that of Europe, does not present a very creditable appearance. In the physi- cal sciences almost every country of the old world is far ahead of the United States. With geology it is about the same, while in biology, American work, with a few conspicuous exceptions, has not surpassed a low state of mediocrity. The pages of the numerous scientific journals are filled with descriptions of new species, faunal lists and even worse nonsense, while anatomical and embryological papers are few and far between, and even then the majority of them are fragmentary and abound in errors of obser- vation. In the philosophy of biology, America has done almost nothing. It is not the place in an article of this series, to insti- 1880.] Progress of American Carcinology in 1879. 499 tute an inquiry as to the reasons for this low condition of scienct. There is an institution in this country known as “ The American Association for the Advancement of Science,’ surely a hig sounding title; but would it not be well for the Association to begin to carry out its object? to do something for the advancement of science? Judging from the character of the papers published in its somewhat voluminous proceedings, it acts as a drag rather than an aid to progress. I might here add that aside from its grants of money to the Zodlogical and Geological Records, and to specialists to enable them to carry out certain lines of investigation, its British prototype is no more worthy of its pretentious name. he American carcinological literature of 1879, may be con- sidered under three heads, systematic, anatomical and develop- mental. Systematic papers have been published during the past year by Dr. Walter Faxon, Messrs. Oscar Harger, C. L. Herrick and J.S. Kingsley, Prof. A. S. Packard, Jr, Mr. John A. Ryder and Prof. S. I. Smith. Mr. Faxon gives an account of a species of Lucifer; provisionally referred to the species ¢ypus of Milne Edwards. Mr. Ryder describes as new Chirocephalus holmanit* and Streptocephalus seali} from New Jersey. Having seen speci- mens of the former species, I can say that it is not a species of Streptocephalus, as Dr. Packard seems to suspect,’ but truly belongs to the genus Chirocephalus, where Mr. Ryder placed it. Dr. Packard has recently® proposed a new order, Phyllocarida, to receive Nedalia and its fossil allies; and in his recently issued Zodlogy® has given a new classification of the Crustacea, which was repeated in outline in the December NATURALIST. The work of Harger on the Isopoda of New England, Herrick on the Minnesota Entomostraca, and Smith on the New England Decapoda, have been already noticed in the Naturatist, and hence need not be referred to again. Mr. Kingsley has con- tributed several short notes and reviews in the various numbers * Description of Lucifer typus M. Edw.? Chesapeake Zodlogical Laboratory ; me results of the Session of 1878, pp. 113-119, Pl. VII, 1879. ? Des on of a new species of Chirocephalus. Proc, Academy of Nat. Sci., Slr ay 1879, pp. 148-149. * Description of a new Branchipod, 1l. c., — pp. 200-202. * AMERICAN NATURALIST, XIV, p. 53 (1880). $ AMERICAN NATURALIST, XIII, 128, and Annals and Mag. Nat. His., 111, 459. * Zodlogy for Students and General Readers, N. Y., 1879. 500 Progress of American Carcinology in 1879. [July, of this journal, while in his paper on Decapoda,' he describes as new, eight species, Microphrys error and Callinectes dubia from the west coast of America, and Mithraculus hirsutipes, Mithrax tri- spinosus, Lambrus granulatus, Panopeus packardii, Pilumnus dasy- podus and P. melanacanthus from Florida. Notes are given on Anaptychus cornutus, Mithraculus areolatus, Mithrax triangulatus, Panopeus affinis, P. purpureus, Xantho 9-dentatus, Chlorodius fisheri, Pachygrapsus transversus, P. gracilis and Calappa convexa. n anatomy almost no work has been done. Dr. Packard in his Zoölogy, gives a résumé of the structure of the Crustacea, but the additions to our knowledge of these animals is slight. A figure is given showing the differences between the eyes and brain of the blind craw-fish ( Cambarus pellucidus) and another species with well developed eyes. A brief account of the visceral anat- omy of Serolis is given, to which we must take exception, it being erroneous in several particulars. The writer contributed to the same work, figures of the nervous anatomy of /dotea irrorata and of Serolis, but they show no important differences from simi- lar figures of other species of Isopoda. It is in embryology that the valuable portion of American work on the crabs has been done, and here we have to record three papers on the development of these animals; two by Dr. Faxon and one by Dr. W. K. Brooks. Dr. Faxon in his first paper? gives figures showing the later egg-stages and the first stage after hatching of Hippa talpoida, so that with the previous paper of Prof. Smith on the same subject,’ we have a nearly com- plete life history of this species. In the first egg stage observed, the labrum, both pairs of antennz, the mandibles and the telson are outlined (the “ nauplius ” stage). Both pairs of maxille and the first two pairs of maxillipeds appear previous to hatching, and in the first zoea stage no other appendages are indicated, but those mentioned acquire a greater development. The abdomen consists of four joints without appendages and the telson resem- bles somewhat strongly that of a larval shrimp. The gills are yet lacking, and although able to see the other vessels distinctly, our author could not discover the hepatic artery. Dr. Faxon 1Notes on North American Decapods. Proc. Boston Soc. Nat. Hist., XX, pP- 145-160, 1879. ; 2On some young stages in the development of Hippa, Porcellana and Pinnixa Bulletin of the Museum of Comp. Zodlogy, v, pp. 253-268, pls. I-v (June, 1879). 3 Transactions of the Connecticut Academy, 111, pp. 311-342, pls. 45-48 (1877): 1880. | Progress of American Carcinology in 1879. 501 next discusses the growth of Polyonyx macrocheles. The last stages of the zoea obtained at Newport showed the enormously elongate spines of the carapax characteristic of the young of the porcelain crabs. All of the cephalothoracic appendages were present, the first two pairs of maxillipeds being large, biramose (schizopodal) and adapted for swimming. The third maxillipeds were rudimentary, and the ambulatory feet curled under the cara- pax. Six gills were noticed. The abdomen had six joints, and in the telson of those about to moult could be seen outlined the lacking segment with its appendages. From this stage the crab emerged at a moult without the intervention of a megalops stage. The young crab is nearly orbicular, and has not that “breadth of beam” characteristic of the adult, but resembles rather the genus Pisosoma of Stimpson. A bibliography of the embryology of the Porcellanide is given, but we notice that the figures of Guerin (in Ramon de la Sagra’s Historia fisica, etc., de l'Ile de Cuba, Paris, 1857) are not mentioned. The last species in the present paper is Pinnixa chetopterana, which in the last zoeal stage has four long spines, one rostral, one dorsal and one from each postero- lateral angle of the carapax, arranged much as in the oft-copied figures of the zoea of Carcinus mænas. The cephalothoracic appendages have acquired a more or less complete development, the last six, however, being concealed much as in Polyonyx. From this stage the crab develops directly, the young, however, not having the enlarged fourth pair of feet which characterize the genus, though the family characters are recognizable. Ina supple- mentary note it is stated, on the authority of Prof. Smith, that a second species of Pinnixa found on the New England coast Passes through a megalops stage. The same author has worked out more completely the develop- ment of the common prawn of our coast and his paper forms a marked exception to the general poor quality of American biological work. In this species the cleavage of the yolk occurs in two planes almost synchronously, producing four cleavage spheres, from which the segmentation progresses regular ly until the morula stage is reached. No polar vesicles were observed. The gastrula condition was discovered within twenty-four hours, but concerning the origin of the hypoblast we are told nothing. 1On the Development of Pa/emonetes vulgaris, Bulletin Mus. Com, Zoél., V, PP: 303-330, pls. 1-1v (Sept., 1879). 502 Progress of American Carcinology in 1879. [July, The gastrula mouth soon closed. The first parts of the embryo to appear are the labrum, two pairs of antennz, the mandibles and the abdomen, the latter very near the former position of the gastrula mouth. These parts appear almost simultaneously. Four days later both pairs of maxillz and the first pair of maxillipeds have hudded; in seven, the two remaining pairs of maxillipeds have appeared, all appendages showing a biramose character. The growth goes regularly on, the yolk being gradually absorbed, the eyes appearing at first as patches of dark pigment,) and when the prawn hatches there is a small simple eye at the base of the rostrum, the eyes proper are supported on short pedicels, the antennulz are simple, the antennz biramose, the future scale being much larger than the flagellum, the mandibles at no stage possess palpi. The scaphognathite (gill bailer) is in constant motion, though no gills are yet present. The three pairs of max- illipeds are two-branched, and their basal joints act as jaws, reminding one, as Dr. Faxon says, of the manducatory apparatus - of Limulus. The ambulatory feet are represented by only two pairs of double sacks, the other three being undeveloped. The abdomen is six-jointed and without a trace of appendages. A moult brings two more ambulatory feet, and with the next exuvia- tion the second antennal flagellum appears and the abdomen has seven joints, the sixth with its appendages appearing. After another moult two of the basal rostra®teeth appear, the third pair of ambulatory feet acquire a natatory character, and the fourth and fifth pairs as well as the abdominal feet have budded. With two more moults the animal has acquired all its swimming feet, but differs from the Schizopoda (Mysis) in having the last pair simple, the exopodite being absent. In two or three more exuvia- tions the exopodites are reduced to simple styles, and after a few more, the shrimp, then about eight millimetres long, acquires essentially the characters of the adult. Rostral teeth, however, continue to be added with growth. Succeeding this account, summarized above, Dr. Faxon gives a critical review of the literature of the development of Palemon, and we think him right in disagreement with Mr. Spence Bate regarding the homologies of the three pairs of appendages which appear first in the Crustacean embryo. 1 I would here quote the foot-note on p. 308: “The development of the eye cer- tainly lends no countenance to the idea that its stalk is an appendage homologous wita the antennz, ete.” 1880. | The Structure of the Eye of Trilobites. 503 The development of Sguila, by Dr. W. K. Brooks, concludes our notice of the literature of American Crustacea for 1879. While the successive stages in the development of Palemonetes were in most cases the result of the moulting of the larve in confinement, Dr. Brooks had to depend more upon the results of surface skim- ming for his younger stages, and hence his paper, though of great value, lacks the completeness of the last noticed one of Dr. Faxon. The first stage observed was that which formed the genus Alima of the earlier systematists; the eyes, both pairs of antenne, mandibles, maxillz and first two pairs of maxillipeds being present, the second pair possessing something of the raptorial . character found in the adult. The eighth to tenth segments (9-11 Brooks) are differentiated, the eleventh to thirteenth (12-14 Brooks) are still united and all are without appendages. The abdomen consists of six joints, of which four bear appendages ; the carapax with its long spines resembles somewhat that of the Decapod zoea. In the next stage the thoracic segments are all free. The third stage observed represents the changes of at least two moults, the remaining thoracic and fifth abdominal appendages being represented by small buds. The next form figured has the carapax and telson somewhat like those of the adult, while the appendages are all present, those of the abdomen, judging by the figures, having assumed something of their adult branchial character. I would here return thanks to the various authors mentioned for copies of their papers. 10: THE STRUCTURE OF THE EYE OF TRILOBITES. BY A. S. PACKARD, JR. BEYOND the fact that the entire eye of certain Trilobites, and enlarged views of the outer surface of the cornea of the eye, have been described and figured in Burmeister’s work on the organization of Trilobites and in various paleontological treatises in Europe and North America, especially by Barrande in his great work on Trilobites, I am not aware that any one has given a description of the internal structure of the hard parts of the eye of Trilobites. ! Larval stages of Squilla empusa. Chesapeake Zodlogical Laboratory. Scien- tific Results of the Session of 1878, pp. 143-170, pls. 9-13 (1879). 504 The Structure of the Eye of Trilobites. [July, The full bibliography of treatises relating to these animals in Bronn’s Die Classen und Ordnungen des Thierreichs, carried up to 1879 by Gerstacker, contains references to no special paper on this subject, and the résumé by Gerstacker of what is known of the structure of the eye, only refers to the external anatomy of the cornea, the form of the facets and their number in different forms of Trilobites. He shows that observers divide them into simple and compound ; the former (ocelli) are found in the genus Harpes. These “ocelli” are said to be situated near one another, and are so large that the group formed by them can be seen with the unaided eye; the surface of the single “ocellus” appears, under the glass, smooth and shining. From the description and the figure of the eye enlarged, from Barrande, it would seem as if each eye was composed of three large simple ones; so that these eyes are really aggregate, and not comparable with the simple eye or ocellus of Limulus and the fossil Merostomata.! Maore- over the situation of these so-called ocelli is the same as that of the compound eyes of other Trilobites. The Trilobites with compound eyes are divided into two numerically very dissimilar groups; the first comprising Phacops and Dalmanites alone, and the second embracing all the remain- ing Trilobites, excepting of course the eyeless genera, Agnostus, Dindymene, Ampyx and Dionide. The eyes of Phacops and Dalmanites are said by Quendstedt and Barrande not to be com- pound eyes in the truest sense, but aggregated eyes (Oculi congre- gati). But judging by Barrande’s figures of the eyes of Phacops fecundus and P. modestus (Barrande, Vol. 1, Suppl. Pl. 13, Figs. 12 and 22), and our observations on the exterior of the eye of an undetermined species of Phacops, kindly sent us by Mr. J. F. Whiteaves, Palzontologist of the Canadian Geological Survey, we do not see any essential difference between the form and arrangement of the corneal lenses of Phacops and Asaphus, and are disposed to believe that the distinctions pointed out by the above named authors are artificial. For my material Iam mainly indebted to Mr. C. D. Walcott, who has so satisfactorily demonstrated the presence in Trilobites of jointed cephalo-thoracic appendages. On applying to him for specimens, and informing him that I wished to have sections 1 The eyes of the fossil Merostomata (Eurypterus and Pterygotus) are evidently in external form and position, judzing by Mr. Woodward's figure, exactly homolo- gous with the ocelli and compound eyes of Limulus. 1880. ] The Structure of the Eye of Trilobites. 505 made of the eyes of Trilobites to compare with those of Limu- lus, he very generously sent me his own collection of sections of the eyes of Asaphus gigas and Bathyurus longistrinosus, which he had prepared for his own study, also other eyes, and especially the shell or carapace of a large Asaphus, from Trenton Falls, showing the eye and the projecting points of the corneal lenses. Prof. Samuel Calvin kindly sent me the eyes of an unknown Tri- lobite from the Trenton limestone, one specimen showing thẹ pits made in the mud by the projecting ends of the corneal lenses, while to Mr. Whiteaves I am indebted for a well preserved eye of Phacops. To Dr. C. A. White, Palæontologist of the U. S. Geo- logical Survey, I am also indebted for eyes of Calymene. First turning our attention to the casts and natural sections ; that of the interior of the carapace, including the molted cornea of Asaphus gigas, is noteworthy. When the concave or interior Fic. t.—Section of hard parts of eye of Limulus; c, cornea; in, integument : pes pore canals; ¢/, corneal lens. X 30 diams. FIG. Ia, optical section of facets. surface of this specimen is placed under a magnifying power of fifty diameters, the entire surface is seen to be rough with the ends of the minute solid conical corneal lenses which project into the body-cavity. This is exactly comparable with the cast shell of Limulus and its solid corneal lenses projecting into the body cavity (Fig. 1). Those of Asaphus only differ in being much smaller and more numerous, and perhaps rather more blunt. Without much doubt the ends of the corneal lenses of Asaphus, as in Limulus, were enveloped in the retina, the animal molting its: carapace, the hypodermis with the retina being retained by the trilobite, while the corneal lenses were cast with the shell, In the specimen of the unknown trilobite from Iowa, received from Prof. Calvin, the corneal lenses, seen externally, are quite far apart, arranged in quincunx order ; the lenses are round and decid- edly convex on the external surface. Ina natural section, where the VOL, X1V.—No. Vit. 33 506 The Structure of the Eye of Trilobites. [July, eye has been broken into two, the conical lenses are seen to extend through the cornea as cup-shaped or conical bodies, and are quite distinct from the cornea itself. In another broken eye of the same species, the cornea is partly preserved, and two of the corneal lenses are seen to extend down into and partially fill two hollows or pits; these pits are evidently the impressions made in the fine sediment which filled the interior of the molted eye or cornea ! Thus in the Asaphus gigas noticed above, we have the entire inside of the cornea with the cone-like lenses projecting from the concave interior; while in the last example we have the impres- sions made by the cones in the Silurian mud which silted into the cornea after the trilobite had cast its shell. Farther evidence that the trilobite’s eye was constructed on the same pattern as that of the living horse-shoe crab is seen in the sections made by Mr. Walcott. We will first describe, briefly, the eye of Limulus. Fig. I represents a section through the cornea of Limulus; c, the cornea, which is seen to be a thinned portion of the integ- ument; fc, indicates one of the nutrient or pore canals, which are filled with connec- tive tissue extending into the integument from the body cavity; c/, is one of the series of solid conical corneal lenses. These are buried partly in the black retina, and the long \—" slender optic nerve just before Fic, 2,—Section through the eye of a tril- f eaching the eye subdivides, obite; lettering as in Fig. 1. 50 diams. sending a branch to each facet or cornea, impinging on the lens. Fig. Iæ represents a vertical view of the corneal lenses or facets, magnified fifty diameters, aS seen through the transparent cornea. It will be seen that they are slightly hexagonal and arranged in quincunx order ; their external surface is flat, though that of the ocelli is slightly convex. Now if we compare with the horse-shoe crab's eye that of the 1880. | The Structure of the Eye of Trilobites. 507 trilobite (Asaphus gigas, Fig. 2), we see that the eye is raised upon a tubercle-like elevation of the carapace; the integument (int) is about as thick as that of Limulus, and it contains similar pore-canals (fc); the eye itself, or cornea, occupies a rather small area; its exterior surface, instead of being smooth as in Limulus, is tuberculated, or divided up into minute convex areas; these convexities are the external surfaces of the corneal lenses, which extend through the cornea, so that its surface is rough instead of smooth as in Limulus; c/ indicates one of the corneal lenses which are arranged side by side; they are of slightly dif- ferent lengths and thicknesses, and the rather blunt free ends pro- ject into the cavity of the eye, which in the fossil is filled with a translucent calcite. It is quite apparent that we have here the closest possible homology between the hard parts of the eye of Limulus and the Asaphus. Another point of very considerable interest is a toler- ably distinct dark line (r¢) which seems to run across from one lens to another, and which may possibly represent the external limits of the retina or pigment mass in which the ends of the lenses were probably immersed; should this be found to be the indications of the outer edge of the retina, it would be a most interesting fact in favor of our view of the identity between the eyes of the two types of Paleo- carida under consideration. Another section sent us by Mr. Walcott is represented by Fig. 3; itis from Asaphus gigas, but rep- resents a less elevated and broader Fic, 3.—Cornea of Asaphus. part of the eye than that seen in Fig. 3; the section does not so well exhibit the free ends of the corneal lenses. Fig. 3 @ repre- Sents a transverse view of the eye of Asaphus gigas, showing the hexagonal form of the facets, and their quincunx arrangement. This hexagonal appearance of the corneal lenses is still Fic. 3a. retained in natural vertical sections of eyes of the same genus; where with a good Tolles lens the sides of the cones are seen to be angular. Fig. 4 represents a few such cones, I do not under- Stand to what this hexagonal appearance is due; for both in 508 ` Recent Literature, [July, Limulus and the Trilobites the corneal lenses appear usually to be round, and yet in making a camera drawing (as are p all those here represented) of the cornea of Limulus hen = from above, they present the same hexagonal appear- Lenses of ance as in the Trilobites. The cause of this I leave ferphus. to others to explain. In a section (transverse) of the cornea of Bathyurus longistrino- sus, received from Mr. Walcott, the lenses are seen to be very irregular, five or six-sided, and very irregularly grouped, not arranged in distinct rows. From the facts here presented it would seem evident that the hard parts of the eye of the Trilobites and of Limulus are, throughout, identical. The nature of the soft parts will, as a matter of course, always remain problematical; unless the dark line indicated in Fig. 3 (cl) really represents the outer edge of the pigment of the retina; but however this may be, judging by the identity in structure of the solid parts, we have, reasoning by analogy, good evidence that most probably the eye of the Trilobites had a retinal mass like that of Limulus, and that the numerous small branches of the long slender optic nerve (for such it must have been) impinged on the ends of the corneal lenses. It has been shown by Grenacher and myself that the eye of Lim- ulus is constructed on a totally different plan from that of other Arthropods; I now feel authorized in claiming that the trilobite’s eye was organized on the same plan as that of Limulus; and thus when we add the close resemblance in the larval forms, in the gen- eral anatomy of the body-segments, and the fact demonstrated by Mr. Walcott that the Trilobites had jointed round limbs (and probably membranous ones), we are led to believe that the two groups of Merostomata and Trilobites are subdivisions or orders of one and the same sub-class of Crustacea, for which we have previously proposed the term Paleocarida. :0: RECENT LITERATURE. Tue Geoocy or Wisconsin.\—This bulky report has not only a handsome typographical appearance, but is well illustrated by numerous excellent plates, and an atlas of maps. It bears every appearance of care and labor in its preparation, and of containing Geology of Wisconsin, Survey of 1873-1879. Vol. 111, Accompanied by an Ailas of Maps. J. C. Chamberlain, Chief Geologist. Madison, Wis., 8vo. pp. 763- 1889.] Recent Literature. 509 a great mass of information, not only useful to the people of Wis- consin, but also of interest to geologists in general. It embraces chapters on the general geology of the Lake Superior region, by R. D. Irving; on the lithology of the Keweenawan or cop- per-bearing system, by R. Pumpelly; on the geology of the Eastern Lake Superior district, by R. D. Irving ; on the Huronian the late Moses Strong, and edited . C. Chamberlain; on the geology of the Menominee region, by T. B. Brooks; and lastly on the geology of the Menominee Iron region. The volume is noteworthy from the valuable contributions to lithology, illustrated by numerous colored plates, and to the mining interests of the State, z. e., the Huronian iron-bearing and the Keweenawan or copper-bearing rocks, these portions being well illustrated by Mr. KINGSLEY ON THE CRUSTACEA BELONGING TO Union CoL- LEGE'—In this paper 103 species are noticed, two new genera (Eupilumnus and Concordia) are described, the genus Heter- actea of Lockington is recharacterized, and the name Miersia is proposed for Ephyra. The new species described are Actea spin- vera, Eupilumnus websteri, Lithadia lacunosa, Pisosoma glabra, Concordia gibberosus, Alpheus websteri, A. packardii, Ozyris alphe- rvostris and Pontonia unidens. On the plate which accompanies the article, nine species are figured, seven of which belong to the genera Pisosoma, Eupilumnus, Euceramus, Concordia, Thor, Ozyris and Tozeuma, representations of which have never before been illustrated. All known genera of the Caridea of Dana are briefly characterized. Crossy’s Grorocy or Eastern Massacuusetts.2—The Boston Society of Natural History, besides its Memoirs and Proceedings, has undertaken the publication of volumes entitled “ Occasional Papers.” The first was the Correspondence of Dr. Harris, the Entomologist; the second, Hentz’s Spiders of the United States, and now it gives us the results of five years labor by Mr. Crosby, as assistant in the Museum, on the crystalline and primordial rocks of Eastern Massachusetts, a subject of high interest and ofa good deal of difficulty. The introduction gives a general sketch of the topography and geographical features of that part of New England Surrounding the Gulf of Maine. The result of the author’s labors ‘On @ collection of Crustacea from Virginia, North Carolina and Florida, with a revision of the genera of Caryonide and Palemonide.—Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila. 1979. pp. 383-427. * Occasional Papers of the Boston Society of Natural History. 1. Contributions to the Geology of Eastern Massachusetts. By WILLIAM O. Crospy, Boston, 1880. ee by the Society. $3.00. 8vo, pp. 286, with an atlas and five plates of sec- » XC, 510 Recent Literature. [July, is to bring out at least much more clearly than has before been done, the fact that between the crystalline and the oldest primor- dial rocks, “there is a great chronologic break, a ‘lost interval’ of immense duration,” and also that the geological formations are oldest on the sea-board, becoming successively newer as we pro- ceed from Massachusetts bay to the Berkshire hills in the west- ern part of the State. Bearing these two points in mind, the volume will be read with much interest, afford food for further discussion, and doubtless will lead local geologists to a more careful study of their neighborhood. The region here treated of is most difficult to study and understand; a flood of light has been thrown upon the subject by Mr. Crosby, and many facts which will be of constant use in future discussions are here re- corded. The map especially is an excellent graphic résumé of the subject. It is not often the case that a city society does so much as the one at Boston to promote the study of local geology, in this respect it has set a most useful example to similar organi- zations. Brooks’s DEVELOPMENT OF THE OysTER.!—Thisis the first attempt pletely, the shell appearing at the point which the blastopore previously occupied, while directly opposite the position of the - blastopore, the mouth and then the anus of the digestive tract make their appearance. The Veliger has the general form of that of Cardium and other Lamellibranchs. Dr. Brooks thinks that the embryology of the oyster bears out his view that Lamellibranchs must be regarded as a side branch from the main molluscan stem, of which the Gasteropods are a much more direct continuation, “ and that all attempts to trace the phy- logeny of the higher Mollusca through the Lamellibranchs to 1 Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore. Studies from the Biological Laboratory, The Development of the Oyster. By W.: K. Brooks. No tv. Baltimore, 1880. 8vo. pp- 84. 11 plates. \ \ 1880. ] Recent Literature. Sit lower invertebrates, are erroneous and useless.” We would allow this, but none the less, in our view, are the Lamellibranchs a lower, less specialized division of moilusks, than the Cephalophora and their gasteropod representatives. e memoir on the oyster is succeeded by a brief discussion on the acquisition and loss of a food-yolk in molluscan eggs. TuHomas’s Cuincn Buc.'—In this Bulletin, Professor Thomas has given the leading known facts regarding the ravages of the chinch bug, in the western corn growing States, and has collected the different views of entomologists as to the best means of pre- vention. The author shows by a lengthy series of statistics, that corn is injured much more than wheat. Enough for practical purposes is stated regarding the form and habits of this destructive pest, and as a brief manual, showing the best means of preventing its attacks, the pamphlet is timely, and will prove most useful to western farmers. The edition of 2000 copies issued by the De- partment of the Interior, was at once exhausted, and a new and much larger edition has been ordered by Congress. This is an evidence of the demand throughout the country for accurate in- formation concerning this injurious insect, of the great need of careful, widely extended and comparative studies upon the other more destructive forms, and the wide diffusion of such knowledge among those most interested. Tue GeorocicaL Recorp.2—This valuable publication is again before us, and we bespeak for it the support of geologists and scientific men generally. Publications of this character are neces- sary for the student, and hence to the progress of science. They are not published for profit, and their editors are chiefly rewarded by a sense of their usefulness. While we congratulate the editor of the Geological Record on the general result of his work, we must encourage some of his collaborators to a little more care in Some important details. Thus (p. 279) it is stated that among the “new” species of Mammalia described in the quarto report Lieut. Wheeler, is “an undeterminable species of Protohippus |” Same page, bottom, it is stated that a paper “ describes the gene- ric characters of Evisichthe, adding specific descriptions,” etc. “No age or locality given.” The paper quoted states that the genus and one of the species are from the Niobrara Cretaceous of Kansas, Page 280, a list of species is given ending with Mono- clonius crassus, which are said to be “new species founded on Dinosaurian teeth.” The M. crassus was, as stated in the paper, " Department of the Interior, United States Entomological Commission, Bulletin No. 5- The Chinch Bug : its history, character and habits, and thé means of destroy- Bo it or counteracting its injuries. By Cyrus Thomas, Ph.D., Washington, 1879. YO, PP. 44, with a map. Sa 7; he Geological Record for 1877, with supplements for 1874-5. Edited by W. HITTAKER, F.G.S. London, Taylor & Francis. X 512 Recent Literature. [ July, founded on a nearly complete skeleton. Under Hedronchus sternbergi, the recorder isolates the remark of the author apse i es specimen “has the appearance of the crown of a young oth,” thus conveying the impression that the author Jesenik it ee it to be such. This is really culpable carelessness. Page 281; Tichosteus lucasanus is said to have been founded on teeth; its teeth are really unknown. Clepsydrops limbatus is said to be from the Dakota beds i Colorado; it is described from the Permian. Same page; “A (?) crocodilian tooth named Suchoprion cyphodon ,;” the oat of the paper quoted states in several places that several teeth represent this species. Page Bich Diceratherium is called “the Eocene rhinoceros.” The American species are Miocene. Page 291,“ The beds this fossil { Atlantosaurus’) comes stig are Jurassic and Cretaceous.” No genus of reptiles is known to be common to the Jurassic and Cretaceous in America, filer of all the one in question. Tue Mipranp Naturarist..—Twenty-four monthly numbers of this valuable journal have been published for the years 1878-9. It represents the scientific activity of twenty-four scientific socie- ties or field-clubs of the Midland Counties of England. The con- tributions embrace some of the best known names in natural his- tory in England, as Allport, Cobbold, Gosse, Jeffreys, Whittaker, Woodward, &c. The discovery of specimens of animals previously unknown to England by members of the pipette and first pub- lished in this journal, is a matter of interest., Much that is of local interest and much new matter will be found.in its pen with a full synopsis of the proceedings of the various societies. Rocky Mountain Hearta Resorts.—This is a thorou work on the sanitary conditions presented by the high altitudes of Colorado and its vicinity, by an enthusiast in this study. Dr. Denison has been pursuing his studies in this direction for several years, He is a practicing physician at Denver, Colorado He has produced a real monograph on the subject which ought to prove of great service to our people visiting the Rocky Mountain region in search of health or rest. The book is well illustrated with maps, diagrams and tables, and the observations are syste- matically and clearly arranged. ‘Consumption i in all its aspects is treated in detail, as indeed all forms of pulmonary diseases. ee oF THE DAVENPORT ACADEMY oF NATURAL Sciences.—The second part of the second volume of this enter- noe society evinces the same energy and self-sacrifice which 1 The Midland Naturalist, The Journal of the Associated Natural History, Philo- sophical and Archeological Societies and Field Clubs of the Midland Counties. Edited by E. W. BADGER and W. J. Harrison, F.G.S. Birmingham, England. *Rocky Mountain Health Resorts. An PER y of high altitudes in reiste to the arrest of chronic pulmonary diseases, By CHARLES Denison, M.D. Pp 1880. ] Recent Literature. 513 has characterized the history of this academy, now in the thirteenth year of its existence, and which merits especial men- tion. The volume is strong in archeological papers, by W. W. Calkins, W. H. Pratt, A. D. Churchill, J. Goss, Dr. R. J. Farquhar- son; these will be noticed more particularly in our department of Anthropology. Among zodlogical papers is Mr. Calkin’s cata- logue of the marine shells of Florida, with descriptions of severa new species, and papers by Mr. H. Strecker, on the Bombycid moths, and an interesting account by him of hybrids between Callimorpha lecontei and C. interrupto-marginata, There are palæ- ontological articles by S. A. Miller and W. H. Barris; but with- out disparagement to the other articles that by Mr. J. Duncan Putnam on certain bark lice called Pulvinaria, is of the more importance, from the careful manner in which the anatomy, in- ternal and external, the development and metamorphosis of this singular insect have been discussed. This bark louse has at- tracted attention from the injury it has done to maples East, and especially West, and Mr. Putnam suggests various remedies. The crowded plates are drawn with care, and engraved by the author, and considering this is his first attempt, are well enough done. _ Haypen’s Great West.—This pamphlet while very popular in its treatment, is authoritative, written as it has been by one who has closely studied for over twenty years the physical geography, topography and geology of the Far West, and has had perhaps greater facilities at his command than any other geologist. After giving a brief history of the different surveys of the West, the Mountain systems of the Cordilleras are described, followed by an account of the Yellowstone river and its tributaries, the Yellow- stone park, and its geysers, the principal rivers of the Northwest, viz.: the geographical area drained by the Missouri river and its tributaries. Accounts of the tertiary lake-basins of the West with their numerous vertebrate fossils, are succeeded by those of the Snake river, its lava plains, the American and the Shoshone falls; and farther on the plateau of Colorado, with its high mountain peaks, and the Indian ruined towns and cave dwellings of the uthwest are noticed. Then passing westward over the Great basin, Great Salt lake is described, and finally the Sierra Nevada and the coast range, while the brochure ends with a brief account of the mineral wealth of the West, the fossils of the lignite, and _ lastly the stock-raising industry of the Western plains. The whole is the most interesting and reliable summary of the more striking features of the West that we have yet seen. 1 a work entitled, “The Great West.” Philadelphia, Franklin Publishing Company, PP. 87. 514 Recent Literature. [July, VERRILL’s CEPHALOPODS OF NORTHEASTERN AMERICA.— Very considerable interest is attached to the subject here dis- cussed, owing to the fact that upon the European coasts there have been from time immemorial myths and legends concerning such sea monsters, all of which have passed under the name of “Kraken.” f late years these colossal cuttle fish have been stranded on the shores of Newfoundland, or captured by fisher- men in adjoining waters, more commonly than on the European coast, and thus while we have no traditions of Krakens, we have een favored with a greater number of veritable specimens than the naturalists of the Old World. Prof. Verrill has been as fortu- nate as industrious in following up every trace and fragment of these large squids, and his numerous shorter contributions have to e the calamary. The paper bears evident marks of care and painstaking accuracy. RECENT BOOKS AND PAMPHLETS.—Brainwork and Overwork. By H. C. Wood, I2mo, pp. 126, 1880. From the author. Valedictory adira of the graduating class of the Women’s Medical ie of oe Agee By Francis Emily White, M.D. 8vo. pp. 16. 1880, the author The sans Bookseller. Vol. 1x, No. 10, May 15, 1880. 8vo, From the pub- Spens habits, struct 1 lop t of Amphioxus lanceolatus. By Henry T Rice, S.B. (Am. NAT., Jan. and Feb., 1880.) ro, pp. 38, 2 pls- From the au Fhe eget antiquity * Insects. By Herbert sme ese Vols. xv and xvi Ent. Month. Mag.) 8vo, pp. 50. 1880. From the author Geology of thi provinces of Canterbury m Westland, New ‘Zeilin, By Julius von Haast. 8vo, pp. 486, pl., rom the au! Manual of the Indigenous Grasse te oe res ca By John Buchanan. 8vo, pp. 175, pl. 61, 1880. From the a Man’s place in Nature. By ati ‘Le Conte. (Art. No. ro from the Princeton Rev.) 8vo, pp. 23, 1880. From the author, A catalogue of the segs reports upon Geological Surveys of the nse States and Territories, and of British America. a Fred. Prime, Jr. (From Vol. VII Trans. Amer, Inst, Min, Ps wel rs.) Svo, pp. 71, 1879. From the abet Eshiaton č anæsthetic use of the Bromide s laenas By R. J. Levis, M. D. (From the Med. Rec.) 8vo, pp. 8. From the The numeral adjective in the Klamath panei = oie a. By Albert S. Gatschet. (From Amer. Antiq., Vol. 11, No, 111.) 8vo, pp. The Spotted Salamander. By S. P. Monks. (From the Amer: “Nat. ., May, 1880-) 8vo, pp. 3. From the i Hel 1 The Cephalcepods of the North-eastern Coast of America. Part ii 1: The gig gantie Squids (Architeuthis) and their allies, with ete on similar nck A tose . is foreign localities. By A. E. VERRILL. (From the Transactions € Con: necticut CEE of Sda vol. v, New Haven, March, 1880) $vo, poi past 13 plate 1880. } Recent Literature. 515 General ee to the Museum a oe ee egies of Natural a By Al- pheus Hyatt.- 1. Introduction. » pp. 2 chart, 1880. From the society. The Fock annual Report of the American Museum of Natural History, New York. 8vo, pp. 32, 1880. From the mu Syllabus of courses of lectures pe patna. in General Nas ag with reference to sources of information. By Alex. Winchell. 8vo, pp. 1879. From the ae or. Report of the Board of Eees Seventh Cincinnati Industrial Exposition. Svo, pp. 408, 1879. From the Twelfth and thirteenth annual reports of the Trustees of the Peabody Museum of ee Archeology and Ethnology. Vol. 2, Nos. 3 and 4., 8vo, 1880. From the Tenei a the Cincinnati spaced z deportes Borat Jan. and April, 1880. Vol. 1, No. 4, and Vol. u, No. Fro ics: of Comparative Medicine and eee Vol. 1, No. 2, 8vo, April, 1880. Procee eves of i coi ton BSA of Natural History. Vol. xx, Pt. 111, April, 1579 to Jan. 1880. From the oe Journal of Science. May, 1880, From the editors. On the structure and development of the skull in Lacertilia. a 8 the skull of the common lizards “(hm cena agilis, L. viridis and Zootoca oF) y W. Parker. (The Erron lecture.) (From Phil. Trans, Roy. Soc. o Ta pp. 45, pl. 8. From the author The ore Record for ce Edited by Wm. Whitaker. 8vo, pp. 432, 1880. From the edit La Revue FE Jan. 17, 1880. From the editor. Illustrations ate jao and eggs of birds of the Middle States, with text. By Thos. G. Gentry. 1880. From the author Bulletin hay ae ap Socisté d’Acclimatation. 3e Sér., Tome vil, No. 1, Jan., 1880. From the so : pinenove d'une “aig et trés petite espéce de Musaraigne de Madagascar. By Dr. E. L. Trouessart. (Ext. Journ. Le Naturaliste.) 8vo, pp. 1, 1880. From the author. Note sur la Synonymie du genre Tanrec. By E. L. Trouessart. (Ext. du Journ. Le etr i 1880.) 8vo, pp. 6. From the author. = ote én cae Espèces de Cheiroptéres rares ou nouvelles pour la Faune Fran- P- 55. Révision ee oe (Soricidæ) Pon et otes sur les te ain en Général. L. Troues Ext. . Soc. d’Etudes Scientif, d’Augers, 1880. Svo, pp. 24. og sie ais sth or. Ona “g = eed Da Me nia Crocidura (Pachyura) pe eet Potten and vandam. By E. L. Tro Svo, pp. 5, 1880. From the author Notice sur quelques TE aux environs de Mulhouse et en Alsa Par MM. Ch. Zundel et = Mieg. (Ext. Bull. Soc. Ind. de Mulhouse.) Sed, ae 11, 1880, From the author Notes sur a aaa. Par M. Mathieu Mieg. (Ext. Bull. Soc. Ind.) 8vo, pp. 12, 1880. From the author Mesoplodon air ge en Tilvæxt til den danske Havfauna. Af J: PE kiea fom Oversight d. k, D. Vid. Selsk. Forhdl. 1880.) 8vo, pp. 12. From Abbildungen von ne su D papage pen von Dr. A. B. Meyer. 1 Lief. 4to, pp. 8, pl. 10, 1879. From the Palæontograp hica. Becir ge an Psd gars ceri der Vorzeit. Die Flora der Westfälischen 4 Kreideformation. n Prof. Hosius und Dr. von der Marck. 4to, PP- 241, pls. 44, 1880. From the phate 516 Genera? Notes. [July, Annali del Museo Civico di Storia Naturale di Genova. Vol. xiv, 8vo, 1879. From the museum. Il Canton Ticino Meridionale ed i Paesi Finitimi Spiegazione del foglio XXIV. Tauf. colorita geol. da Spreafico, Negri e Stoppani per Toryuato Taramelli. (Vol. xvi Mat. Carta Geol. Della Soizzera.) 4to, 1880. From the author. Annales del Museo Nacional de Mexico. Tomo 11, Entrega 1a, 4to, 1880. ms GENERAL NOTES. BOTANY. EFFECTS OF UNINTERRUPTED SUNSHINE ON PLANTS,—Professor Schiibeler has made a series of observations on the effect pro- duced by the almost unbroken sunlight of the short Scandinavian summer, on plants raised from foreign seed, z. e., wheat from Bes- sarabia and Ohio. The general results are stated by the Journal of the Royal Microscopical Society, as follows :— 1, The grain of wheat that has been grown in low-lying lands, may be propagated with success on the high fields, and will reach maturity earlier at such elevations, even, although at a lower mean temperature. Such grain, after having been raised for sev- eral years at the highest elevation, which admits of its cultivation, is found, when transferred to its original locality, to ripen earlier than the other crops which had ‘not been moved. The same re- sult is noticeable in grain that has been transported from a south- ern to a more northern locality, and vice versd. f 2. Seeds imported from a southern locality, when sown within the limits compatible with their cultivation, increase in size and weight; and these same seeds, when restored from a more north- ern locality to their original southern home, gradually diminish eir former dimensions. A similar change is observable in the leaves and blossoms of various kinds of trees and other plants. Further, it is found that plants raised from seed ripened in @ northern locality are hardier, as well as larger, than those grown in the south, and are better able to resist excessive cold. 3. The further north we go, within certain fixed limits, the more energetic is the development of the pigments in flowers, leaves and seeds. Similarly,the aroma or flavor of various plants or fruits is augmented in intensity the further north they are car- ried within the limits of their capacity for cultivation; and con- versely, the quantity of saccharine matter diminishes in proportion as the plant is carried further northwar DESTRUCTION oF Insects BY Funot.—Prof. Elias Metschnikoff, the distinguished Russian Embryologist, has, according to Vature, recently investigated this subjéct and has given an explanation of the possible value of yeast application more satisfactory than that — adopted by Dr. Hagen. e general result of the most accurate investigations of the beer-yeast fungus (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) 188o. ] Botany. 517 is entirely opposed to the notion that it can enter an insect’s body, and produce a disease. Metschnikoff has examined other minute fungi, and has by experiment proved their very deadly character to the insects exposed to infection; one of the most destructive is the green muscardine (/saria destructor). He has cultivated the spores in quantity by the use of beer-mash; in this decoction, the green muscardine produced a rich mycelium and finally spores. Metschnikoff recommended the cultivation of an insect- disease-producing fungus in quantities to places infested by these insects. ill not some of the numerous microscopists in this country make a practical application of this discovery to the de- struction of our noxious insects? ` It might be readily tried this summer on the currant saw-fly worm, or canker worm, tent cater- pillar, the potato beetle, or any other destructive insect which can be experimented upon in large numbers near the laboratory. THE ORIGIN AND SURVIVAL OF THE Types OF FLoWERS.—In a lecture delivered before the California Academy of Sciences, October, 1879, Prof. Cope proposed the hypothesis that “the consciousness of plant-using animals, as insects, has played a most important part in modifying the structure of the organs of fructification in the vegetable kingdom. Certain it is that insects have been effective agents in the preservation of certain forms of plants” (American NATURALIST, 1880, p. 266). Dr. Hermann b of insects have, each class, bred the flowers they love best. r. Mueller is abundantly able to theorize on this subject, and whether the mutilations and strains they [plant-using animals] have for long periods inflicted on the flowering organs may not, as in some similar cases in the animal kingdom, have originated peculiarities of structure.” Boranicat Nores.—Dr. Parry during his explorations in Southern California, discovered a handsome new lily, which has been described by Mr. Watson as Lilium parryi, in the Proceed- ings of the Davenport Academy of Natural Sciences, with an ex- cellent plate. The second volume on the botany of California, by “r. Watson, is now going through the press, and will be published in midsummer,——A revision of the genus Pinus, by Dr. Engel- Man, appears in the Transactions of the Academy of Science of 518 General Notes. [ July, St. Louis, February, 1880, illustrated by three plates. In the Bulletin of the Torrey Botanical Club, for April, Mr. F. Wolle gives a fourth list of fresh water algæ mostly found in the vicinity of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, of which at least ninety are new to the United States flora, and a number are described as new to science.——-A communication on the “influence of electricity upon the growth of plants,” was presented by Mr. J. M. Batchel- der, of Boston, to the Club. The author sowed “ pepper-grass” seeds on cotton floating on the surface of distilled water contained in two tumblers. One of the tumblers was insulated, and in it was placed a coiled copper wire, the other extremity of which com- municated with a revolving belt. Both tumblers were placed under the same conditions of light and heat. It was found that the electricity retarded both the germination of the seeds and the subsequent growth of the plants to a remarkable degree. At the conclusion of his experiments, Mr. Batchelder discovered that while the roots of the plants in the non-electrified water were growing normally, those submitted to the action of electricity were twisted and coiled in an intricate manner among the fibres of the cotton. A new species of Potamogeton (P. illinoiensis) is described by T. Morong, with notes on other species in the Botanical Gazette, for May. Inthe June number, G. Engelman notices the vitality of the seeds. of serotinous cones, and E. L. Greene publishes notes on certain silkweeds, ZOOLOGY. Tue HERRING OF THE Pacific Coast—The herring fishery is scarcely so important upon the coast as upon those of the Atlan- tic. How much of this is due to the herrings, and how much to the human inhabitants of the region is hard to tell. The species of Clupea, commonly known here as the herring, Clupea mirabilis, is, I believe, smaller than the Atlantic herring, and hitherto the cured fish has not been able to compete with the Eastern article. This, however, is not due to any scarcity of the fish, which occurs in shoals all along the coast at certain seasons, and is always abundant in the more northern regions. The herring found along the coast of the United States are said to be muoh inferior to those taken between Puget sound and Oonalashka. Some have been cured in Humboldt bay, but Humboldt her- ring are said to be very poor. The Alaska Fish Company have put some up at Oonalashka, which, having been very carefully cleaned and prepared, were sold to restaurants and oyster shops for lunch herring, and the Cutting Packing Company salt some at Sitka. The Indians press the whole fish for oil, and the spawn 1$ kept to form part of their winter supply of food Besides the herring, we have another Clupea, C. sagax, com- 1 The departments of Ornithology and Mammalogy are conducted by Dr. ELLIOTT Cours, U. S. A. 1880. ] Zoölogy. 519 monly called the sardine. This species comes into market in small quantities about April, becomes abundant in July and August, and appears occasionally at least as late as the beginning of November. Those brought in in April, May and June are chiefly young fish. The herring begins to arrive in our markets at the end of Sep- tember, and will, I am told, be in season during the rainy season. All that are brought to San Francisco are eaten fresh. The anchovy, Ængraulis ringens, is exceedingly abundant in this bay, and it is to be wondered at that more persistent efforts vea not been made to preserve them, or to make sauce from them. The “ Columbia river sardines”. occasionally sold in the shops, are not sardines in any sense. Those I have seen are the Eula- chon, Thaleichthys pacificus, a small fish of the salmon tribe. The Eulachon is very oily, and probably makes very palatable potted fish, but one can’t make a sardine out of a salmon. The young of either of the species of Clupea would make real sardines, or at least the nearest thing to them possible on this coast. The sardines of commerce are the young of the pilchard, C. pilchardus. These three species are the only true herrings found on this coast, but the related and world-wide species, A/bula vulpes, the lady fish, is tolerably-common farther south, and occa- sionally puts in an appearance in our markets among the fish from Monterey. lary ; operculum Striated; anterior margin of dorsal nearer the tip uf the snout than to the origin of the caudal; area included between the ridges on the top of the head narrow, pointed posteriorly; a row of dar k: : - mirabilis.—Body short, compressed, depth to length more than 1.5, thickness about two-fifths of depth; head not more than one-fifth of total length; lower jaw i max - : m origin of the caudal than to the tip of the upper jaw; area included between the midges on the top of the head an elongated ellipse; no spots along the sides. Drs. Schiddte and Meinert, of Copenhagen, requesting the loan of 520 General Notes. [July, ared.1 From it we learn that only two American museums contributed, the Peabody Academy of Science at Salem, Massa- chusetts, and the Museum of Comparative Zoology, at Cam- bridge. The first of these papers treats of the Cirolanide, which closely resemble the true Cymothoas, but which differ in having the mouth parts adapted for eating flesh. Three genera and nine collaris, brevipes, nodosa and hirsuta are new. Each species is de- scribed as far as the specimens permitted, under three heads—male, virgin, and ovigerous females—the difference between the sexes and between the two forms of the same sex being very striking. In the second paper the Ægidæ are monographed. These Crus- tacea lead a parasitic life, generally attaching themselves to the roof of the mouth of fishes, and with their modified mouth parts, which form a sucking tube, living on the blood of their hosts. These forms are described under the following generic and spe- cific. names, those starred (*) being new: Alga tridens, hirsuta*, crenulata, webbi, stræmiü, rosacea, serripes, psora, deshayesiana, an- tillensis*, magnifica, monophthalma, nodosa*, opthalmica, tenuipes*, dentata*, incisa*, arctica, ventrosa and spong ciophila, Rocinela dan- monensts, insularis® dumerilii, opion , americana* , orientalis*, australis®, signata* and arte *, Alitropus typus and 'foveolatus*. Full descriptions are given of the male, virgin, ovigerous female and the young. The plates are engraved by Lovendal, the best rene scientific engraver, and are simply beautiful; the text is in n, which is far better for the man of average education than vould be the native language of the authors, and in short, the articles are models of scientific work. Mr. Edward J. Miers has at various times since 1874 published several valuable papers on the Crustacea, some of which have distributed in six genera. There is one feature of Mr. Miers’s work, which is to be especially commended; in these days © much species making, his tendency is just the reverse, and we 1 De Cirolanis Æ gas simulantibus commentati brevis scripserunt. J.C. aR s: Fr. Meinert. Naturhistorisk Tidsskrift 111, x11, pp. 279-302, Pls. 1m-v (1879.) ili Symbolæ ad monographium Cymoth¢ — Crustaceorum Iso opodum : Familie scripserunt. J. C. Schiddte et Fr. Meine . I Ægidæ. |. c. pp. 321-414 Pls. siase (1879). From the author: 2 On the Squillidæ, Sei e Magazine of Natural History za A ioa ae February, 1880, »p. 49, Pls. d 1380. ] Zoölogy. 521 think generally that he is right. As an instance of his onoma- clastic spirit (to coin a word), the fifty-three species of Squillidz have been described under seventy-six different specific names. The new species described are Lysiosquilla brazieri, goncdactylus, excavatus and 9-furcicaudatus. A new genus Septosquilla is created for Sguilla schmeltsit A. M.-Edw. and Chloridella is sub- stituted for Chlorida, preoccupied. The plates are fair.— 7. S. Kingsley. ANOTHER Brack Rosin.—In the Bulletin of the Nuttall Orni- thological Club for January I described a case of melanism in urdus migratorius, the specimen being taken from a nest at Freehold, New Jersey, last summer. I have lighted on another specimen taken from a nest the same season, in Hudson county, ew Jersey. In this instance the color is more intensely black, and the neck has considerable of that play of metallic luster, of a purple hue in the varying light, which we see in the crow-black- bird, Quisculus purpureus. The Freehold specimen is of a sooty- ue, not unlike the color of the rusty grackle, Scolecophagus fer- rugineus, The Hudson county specimen was owned by a saloon keeper near Jersey City, who set a fancy price on his bird, and failing to find a purchaser, at last accounts, was trying to raffle off is rara avis at two dollars a chance.—S. Lockwood, Freehold, New Fersey. OCCURRENCE OF THE BOHEMIAN WAX-WING IN WESTERN WASH- INGTON TERRITORY,—The past winter has been an unprecedented one, snow having fallen to the depth of from two to three feet in the valleys—the lowest observed temperature was + 8°, which, however, was not as cold as before known. Coincident with the snow, appeared for the first time in the history of the country, the hemian wax-wing (Ampelis garrulus). Many flocks of these beautiful birds were seen in various parts of the country, the greatest number observed in one flock was about two hundred. They were feeding mostly on the capsules of the wild rose (Rosa fraxinifolia), which are abundant here, the e some I dissected were literally crammed with these seed ! vessels. Since the fitst of F ebruary none have been seen, hence I con- clude that, with the disappearance of the snow, they have retired to colder regions.— ¥, K. Lum, Lewis county, Washington Territory. Rose-BreasteD GROSBEAK AND CoLorapo Porato BEETLE.— Regarding this useful and pleasing bird, the following appeared sa the New York Weekly Tribune, of February 11, 1880, to wit: ‘Prof. C. E. Bessey, of the Iowa Agricultural College, several years ago observed the rose-breasted grosbeak’s habit of feeding on the Colorado potato beetle * * *. Its useful propensity Was again remarked during the past year by a correspondent of VOL. XIV.—NO. VIL 34 522 General Notes. [ July, Forest and Stream at Coralville, Iowa, and by another at Ames in the same State.” In a small aviary which I keep for better observ- ing the habits of our native and several foreign song birds, the same preference in the selection of food was noticed by myself. September 18, 1879, I found in the flower bed of my yard, a potato beetle (Doryphora decem-lineata), which I intended to give to my cardinal grosbeak ( Cardinalis virginianus). After placing it in the cage, it was with difficulty that I prevented the rose- breasted grosbeak (Hydemeles ludoviciana) from seizing it at once. Knowing the potato beetle to be poisonous, at least to the genus omo, I did not care to try experiments with the tame rose-breasted grosbeak, my sweetest songster in the aviary. I ha often before noticed, that the cardinal grosbeak had a fondness for beetles, and naturally supposed that he was better qualified to judge of the wholesomeness of the food offered. The latter bird watched the beetle very attentively as it crept over the floor, but seemed to be in no hurry to capture it as he would other beetles. Finally he took hold of and crushed it be- tween his mandibles. He tried to swallow it, but not finding the taste very appetizing, he gladly yielded up the unsavory morsel to the repeated snatchings of the rose-breasted grosbeak. After crushing it into a shapeless mass, which occupied but a few seconds, he carefully stowed it away. I thought he seemed not to enjoy the taste very much, as he gravely shook his handsome head as if in a doubtful mood. Wiping off his bill, he immediately afterwards proceeded to eat a quantity of cultivated portulaca that I offered as a precautionary measure. Portulaca stems and leaves contain much mucilage, which I thought would be an antidote to the possible acrid quality of the juice of Doryphora decem-hneata. The usual result of poisoning from handling these crushed beetles, as well as from inhaling the fumes arising from vessels in which D. decem-lineata have been scalded, has been likened to serpent and scorpion-poisoning. Where death followed, the blood would be- come disorganized the same as from septzemia. However, in the case of the birds no evil effects were noticed. In mankind, idio- syncrasy favors the absorption of the volatile doryphora poison. In looking over my notes, I find also that the cardinal grosbeak is fond of the rose beetle (Macrodactylus subspinosus), a species of an ill-smelling bug frequently found on the fruit of raspberries, and centipedes he always devoured, whereas none of the others would go near them. Sow bugs (Oniscus asellus L.) were eaten by the cardinal grosbeak and yellow-breasted chat (/cteria virens).— Richard E. Kunze, New York. Can Snaits MEND THEIR SHELLS.—Having some doubts whether snails are able to mend their shells when broken, I procured a full grown water snail (Lymunea elodes Say), and with a pair of pinchers broke out a semi-circular piece, the size of a half dime, and then . 1880. } Zoology. 523 placed it in a tub of water containing aquatic plants. Everything being in order, I took notes of changes as they occurred, At the end of three days no change had taken place in the size of the aperture, but the sharp edges where the shell was broken, was somewhat rounded, showing plainly that the work of repair was going on. At the end of six days the opening was perceptibly smaller. At the end of two weeks so much progress had been made that the opening was one-third closed, and the line where the patching commenced, although very smooth, could be dis- tinctly seen. I continued to watch my pet from day to day with more and more interest, until finally at the end of six weeks the . work was completed, and to all appearances as smooth as it was before it was broken. It was very interesting to watch its move- ments, it would make a circuit around the side of the tub, and then push off toward the middle, where the food plant was anchored, and feed awhile, and then return and make another circuit. Occa- sionally it would disappear for some time to tend to duties below, probably to lay eggs, as I found them very numerous on the side of the tub, and in the fall when the tub was emptied, scores of young snails were found sticking to the sides.—Rovert Bunker. Victimizinc RATTLESNAKES.—A short time since a gentleman related to me a novel way of depriving the rattlesnake of its poisonous powers. In parts of the West where this species ( Crotalus confluentus ) is more common, and most annoying, a per- son attaches a silk handkerchief to a stick, and holds it over the reptile. The instant it darts its fangs into the silk, the handker- chief is jerked up, and the fangs removed. After this the snake is of course powerless, and may be used in any desirable way. I have never seen the experiment put in effect, and give it for what it is worth.— W. H. Ballou. YTHINIA TENTACULATA Linn.—In June, 1879, I discovered By- thinia tentaculata Li nn., at Oswego, New York. A little later it was. identified in the Champlain canal, at Waterford and Troy, and this spring I have found it plentiful in the Erie canal, at Syracuse, New York. In some localities it is already abundant, and will soon be a widely distributed shell. It must have been introduced from Europe some time since, but had hitherto escaped notice.— W. M. Beauchamp. CoLor VARIETY OF THE CHIPMUNK.—À curious color variety of Sciurus hudsonius Pallas, was brought to us not long ago, and has Seemed worthy of a brief notice. That it is a variety of S. hud- Sonius is unquestionable. In general color it is less brown than any specimens in our collection. * A band of rather dull reddish- brown rans along the median line of the back from the top of the head, just behind the eyes, to the base of the tail. This tinge dies out as it proceeds taward the lateral parts of the body, and 524 General Notes. [July, is utterly wanting on the legs. The white color of the under side of the body is distributed as is usual in this species. The tail is narrow and not at all bushy, and reaches about to the neck of the specimen; it is white with a very few reddish hairs on the upper surface of the part nearest the body. A very few black hairs may also be seen very sparingly scattered throughout. Two specimens of this variety were observed in the trees of Middletown, and one of these, captured in a trap set for rats, is the individual now before me.—H. L. Osborn. © FERrocious TENDENCIES OF THE Muskrat.—It is possible that others have commented on the unnatural and ludicrous attacks of the muskrat (Fiber zibethicus) on man. However that may be, I have some incidents in point which may serve to throw light on the matter. I was sauntering along a prairie road just out of Boone, Ia., one night during the past winter. There was no snow on the ground and the moon was just glimmering through the clouds. Of a sudden I was startled by the appearance of some animal from the long grass by the wayside, which dashed up my leg. I knocked it off, picked up a frozen piece of mud and broke its leg. Again it made a rush for me, and another piece of mud sent it rolling over. I took hold of its tail during this little scene, and ended the matter by giving its head a severe bump on the ground. When I had access to more light I found that it was a full-grown muskrat of enormous size. I can neither account for its attack nor appearance there. The previous summer season had dried up all the sloughs and there was no water in the vicinity. The houses of these animals had been deserted for some time pre- vious, and nowhere on the prairies had I been able to find one with any inhabitants (they build in the sloughs of western prai- ries extensively). Alone and well away from its most natural element it had attacked me without provocation. The matter led to an inquiry among the farmers. The general statement was to the effect that considerable fun and some trouble was had with this species during each hay time, as they did not hesitate, when out of the water, to ferociously attack man or beast, with seldom any damage. One man related, however, that he received a se- vere bite in the hand from one of them, which laid him up for some time. It is either very courageous or very luny—W. H. Ballou. Nestinc Encuish Sparrows.—During the entire month of February, the English sparrows (Passer domesticus} have been busily engaged in Chicago, preparing their nests. Long before the arrival of other park birds, they have selected all the nesting boxes and hundreds of nests are completed. This is my st observation of this game being played, and I believe that it 1s an advantage they have taken of migrants to secure nesting places 1880. ] Zoology. 525 without trouble. They may be seen any day picking straws out of the street. What our summer birds will do, or whether they will remain here or not, remains to be seen. In reference to the spread of these birds in the Western States, I have this observa- tion: In central Iowa, are two cities, Boone, and Boonesboro, situated a mile apart. The intervening space is well trodden with roadways. During the past winter I have noticed literal thou- sands of sparrows on the snowless ground here, picking the seeds and scratching over the manure. They have carefully treasured under consideration. They use the great lines of railways for guidance West, and last spring while on my way to New York, they were seen migrating in flocks westward, all the way from Chicago to that city. In an Eastern city, I noted that one side of a beautiful brownstone church was covered to a remarkable extent with their filth. In spite of their rapid increase and filthy habits, however, I am disposed to believe that they are of some use.—W, H. Ballou. Birp ARRIVALS AT Evanston, ILL.—The arrivals of robins at Evanston, Ill., on the t2th day of February, is something unheard of in the annals of the ornithological records of this section of the country. The following is a portion of the records of Turdus migratorius in previous years : gy ea i arrived February 27. ELE ee «& March 8. ch Cee «& March 12. snes oo oe EP EPS CO peer oe ea *& February 12. The thermometer has indicated quite a high temperature for the latitude of Evanston, about 41° 52’ 57’, north, 42m. 18s. west longitude from Washington, and 5h. 50m. 30s. (from Green- wich), for the entire month of February, and up to the 25th, the mercury has not reached zero. On this account perhaps, the birds have remained contentedly, and their chipper is occasionally heard, About twenty specimens have been seen here. The migrations are limited up to this writing to this one species. hey have not yet begun nesting in this vicinity —W. H. Ballou GADUS MORRHUA IN Fresu WaTER!—The catalogue below quoted includes strictly fresh-water fishes only, and such marine fishes as are frequently found in fresh water. I have, however, been somewhat perplexed by a couple of species, which are stated by C. E. Varming, a merchant in Kolding, to be caught now and then in Kolding rivulet, namely Torsk (Gadus morrhua), which in Sep- tember and October is caught in abundance, and Tangsnarr (Spin- _'Fortegnels over de Danske Ferskvandsfiske. Wed Arthur Feddersen, Natur- historisk Tidsskrift 3. R. 12. B. 1-2. H. 1879. Foot note on pages 69 and 70. 526 General Notes. [July, achia vulgaris). Indeed, in the rivulet mentioned my countryman has even himself caught or seen caught the common Kulmule ( Mer- lucctus vulgaris) and Pighaien ( Acanthias vulgaris) which are not ound elsewhere on the coast. The Torsk is said of late years to go quite up to the basin at Odense; in the rivulet, however it ascends scarcely beyond Korup.— Translated b r. Bean, and received Jrom Prof Baird, Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution. Rev. Mr. DALLINGER ON THE THEORY OF SPONTANEOUS GENER- ATION.—In a valuable paper in the Journal of the Royal Micro- scopical Society for February, the author records the results of a series of experiments made to determine the thermal death point of known monad germs, when the heat is endured in a fluid. He made it plain, that a temperature of 140° to 142° Fahr. is abso- lutely destructive of the adult monad. The spores of six monads in the case of heat endured in a fluid were killed at the following temperatures: the first were destroyed at from 267° to 268° hr; a second form had its spores devitalized at 212° Fahr. the normal boiling point of water ; but in a dry heat, it could en- re 250° Fahr; a third died at 250° Fahr. in dry and 232° Fahr. in fluid heat; the spores of a fourth form (a cerco-monad), were destroyed at 238° Fahr. in fluid heat, surviving at 260° Fahr. dry heat. There were two species that could just survive 300° Fahr. in the dry heat, but perished in fluid at 268° Fahr. and 252° Fahr., respectively. The smallest spores survived the heat best. Mr. Dallinger thus concludes: “ The bearing of these results on the deeper questions of biology is plain; at least they show on the most superficial glance, the error of assuming the abiogenetic origin of septic organisms that may have arisen in closed vessels, because they were heated to a sufficient temperature to destroy the adult, or to any temperature less than that zown to be destructive of the germ. They show equally the need of enlarged and earn- est work in this somewhat difficult but most fruitful field of labor. represented my own view in approaching the question. But the facts were eloquent ; besides which a closer study of the great 1880. ] Zoology. 527 doctrine of development, shows that it by no means involves, but rather disallows, the existence of continued transformation of the not-living into the living, unless passed through, so to speak, the alembic of life. To suppose any hesitancy on the part of any truly scientific mind in receiving the evidences of abiogenesis if they could be satisfactorily shown, is too ridiculous for repetition. It would be more than weakness, however, to receive as evidence what is not such. Let ¢rwéh come from whence it may, and point never so grimly to where it may, he would be recreant to science, who would for one moment hesitate to receive it. But not less false is it to the foundation principles of true science, to accept as true, what must constitute the roots of vast generalizations, ' 564 English Birds compared with American. [ August, A more fascinating poet to me, however, whose song was full of sentiment and most individual (and curiously enough the only new type of bird-song that I heard while abroad), was the wood lark. To hear him as I did, you must wander on some heath, and to enjoy him must be near: his delicate notes are but weak, if feebly heard. The bird, easily distinguished on wing by, his smaller size, cocked tail, and much shorter flight, does not even seem to circle, but rises at one angle and falls at another. His song is the repetition of a delicate whistle (ch'weé), shrill at first, intensifying as the bird rises, and, as he drops, falling in tone and pitch, so as to die away upon the ear. It is exquisite. Another singer of high repute is the song thrush. Her beau- tiful music is most like our brown thrush’s, with something, how- ever, of a wood thrush flavor; but it has less variety and occa- sional harsh notes. The blackbird’s music, though often more nearly whistled, is very similar, but, I think, is finer, being richer and more liquid: at times it is exceedingly delightful. The wren sings with characteristic sweetness and power: her little outburst distinctly suggests that of our wood wren (and the canary’s too); but it is slenderer in every way. Then, the blackcap’s song is sweet, joyous, and rather varied; yet it seemed to me of no great merit, though altogether very pleasing. Of the linnet, perhaps most esteemed as a cage-bird, we have various representatives ; and of the chaffinch, most celebrated as the pinson of the French, I must say that he is a tiresome little bird: he is pretty, and so is his song; but, from its monotonous simplicity and abundant re- — petition, it becomes wearisome. : Robin redbreast is charming, both in himself, and because he’s not unlike the blue bird, whom his plaintive little warble oft recalled, besides suggesting to my mind the meadow lark. It may sound feeble and shrill, at times; but hear it in a church or - ivied ruin, and its repeated tenderness, neither joyous nor sad, at once creates an association that gives it a perpetual charm. The redbreasts, being hardy, insectivorous, peaceable and pleasing, might, I believe, have been introduced into this country a few years ago with great satisfaction. As to the house sparrow, such as we did import, having gone abroad in part for change and rest, I did not undertake to study them while there, or to gather home- opinions on them; but I was delighted, almost my first day among English birds, to meet a genuine old Englishwoman who 1880. ] On the Age of the Laramie Formation. 565 voluntarily assured me that the year before she was “ nigh /’eat kout of ’ouse and ’ome by them sparrows!” The naturalist traveling through England is much assisted by her museums. Though, after a hasty review of its natural his- tory department, I flattered myself (but then in flattery there is often deception) that the British Museum did not have so fine a collection of birds as has our Boston Society, yet with some of the local museums I know nothing in this country to,compare. Salisbury, for instance, a town with no large population, had a museum, which, purposely and wisely local in character, instead of attempting an ostentatious display, confused and vastly incom- plete, of a world-wide gathering, had, in its ornithological depart- ment, a simple, thorough and admirable collection of British birds, which artistically, taken all together, were the best mounted I had ever seen, What an easy Natural History to read, and what a pleasant guide-book to that neighborhood! At Torquay, if I remember right, the collection was still more local. I wish that our people would be content, outside of their great central muse- ums, to imitate these examples. I fear that they are too eager, ambitious, and fond of show; though perhaps, should I spend five months in traveling through the towns of New England, I might in this matter be agreeably disappointed. To the proper protec- tion of living birds, however, and to the reasonable preservation of Nature, the American people certainly pay no sufficient heed. 70: ON THE AGE OF THE LARAMIE FORMATION AS INDICATED BY ITS VEGETABLE REMAINS. BY: J. STARKIE GARDNER, if SHALL confine myself to such inferences which bear on the question of the age of the Laramie formation, as have been drawn from a consideration of the British Eocene floras alone. In the first place it is desirable to consider carefully the extent of the gap between the Cretaceous and the Eocene formations in Europe, as it is probable that a portion of the strata whose age in America is disputed, belong to this interval. The discussion itself and all the arguments brought to bear seem to render this Solution possible, The completely different character of the fauna of each, which 566 On the Age of the Laramie Formation. | August, led the older geologists to draw their most emphasized line of division between them, presupposes of itself a great interval. The conception I have formed of this interval is such, that should feel no difficulty in referring strata to it, even to a thick- ness of 10,000 feet. I will endeavor to explain the reasons for this belief. | ; In England no break could be more complete, geologically and zoologically, than that between our lowest Eocene and the chalk upon which it rests, although to the eye but a slightly eroded surface and a few flints separate them. The Eocenes are the result of a long series of local deposits of shallow estuaries and rivers, and the causes which led to their deposition can be traced. The chalk contrasts very strongly, being the deposit of wide ocean without any indication whatever of the proximity of land. We have but a mere fragment left, and its former presence over the larger part of Great Britain and Ireland can only be traced by the flints which have been left behind. We do not yet even know what were the shore lines in any direction of the Creta- ceous ocean, for the indications of it in Europe may belong to a later period when part of its bed was being elevated into Pre eocene land. 3 No less striking is the completeness of the change which took place in the fauna and flora during the interval. In the Eocenes the progressive change in the Mollusca, notwithstanding the evidently varied physical conditions under which they lived, was so small that they are substantially the same throughout. The changes underwent by them during the whole Cretaceous period is also so small as to be almost entirely of the value now com- monly recognized as specific and not generic. When we com- / pare the Cretaceous and Eocene faunas of England together, they | seem, however, to have hardly anything in common. In the long interval between them, genera, families and even orders had become extinct, and new types taken their place. We may form some estimate of the lapse of time such changes as these imply, supposing life forms to have been progressively modified, by examining three strata with which I am especially familiar—the Neocomian at Atherfield, the Gault at Folkstone, and the Upper Green sand at Blackdown. These answer the purpose better than — any other, because they contain a very similar assemblage of Mollusca, and seem, therefore, to have been deposited by water 1880. | On the Age of the Laramie Formation. 567 of approximately the same depth, although the sea bottom was of different natures, and further there may be gaps of age between them. In all these the genera of Mollusca are the same, and the species marvelously similar, yet when compared together they are found in nearly every case to be slightly modified. Here we have merely specific changes of minute extent, although it would be impossible to estimate the thickness of the deposits from Neo- comian to the Upper Green sand, inclusive, comprising also Ap- tien and Gault, at less than one thousand feet, and the probability is that they far exceed this. This is merely an example, but similar beds, either of Jurassic, Cretaceous or Eocene formations, if contrasted together separately, lead to the same result, pro- vided, of course, that those’examined were deposited under like conditions. : Now to compare, for a moment, Cretaceous and Eocene strata. The Gault and the London clay are both massive deposits of clay which seem to have been formed under almost similar conditions and on the same area. The utter dissimilarity of the Mollusca of each, however, is such that the time required to have effected such a change (always admitting progressive modification) would have permitted the accumulation of very many times more sedi- ment than the amount which actually separates them. It may be objected that a part of the difference which we see in these littoral faunæ took place, to an unknown extent, during the deposition of the chalk itself, but this does not seem to have been so to any great degree, since but a slightly modified Gault fauna can be traced through the Gray chalk into the lower White chalk, whilst Ammonites and Belemnites are met with in the highest chalk rocks of England without any mixture of Tertiary forms. There is nothing, therefore, to indicate that any extensive modifications had taken place up to the close of the chalk period in England. ‚Taking the floras of Cretaceous age in England, whose hori- zons are absolutely known, we see that they point to an even greater interval than the fauna. Of course I leave out of the question the so-called Upper Cretaceous floras of Europe, whose age, not based upon stratigraphical evidence, is even more a mat- ter of doubt than those of America. The Neocomian flora, from the little we know of it, was similar to that of the Wealden, and the Wealden to the Jurassic; plants would seem, therefore, to have become modified even more slowly than animals. My own 568 On the Age of the Laramie Formation. [ August, collecting in the Gault, at Folkstone, for twenty years, during the latter part of which I have employed, constantly, a collector, goes far to show that up to that period dicotyledons did not exist, in these latitudes at least. Five new species of cones, branches of conifers with leaves attached, resin and coniferous wood are found, the latter abundantly, but no dicotyledons.” I cannot but believe that had dicotyledons existed, some trace of them would by this time, have been found. The same is true of the Gault elsewhere, and especially in Hainault, where a more abundant flora has been brought to light. Neither in Neocomian, Gault, Upper Green sand or chalk, or any Cretaceous deposit in England, has any- thing leading to the supposition that dicotyledons were then in ~ existence, yet been found. Dicotyledons may have been develop- ing in other‘areas at this or an earlier period, especially towards the Poles, but from the evidence of British rocks, I should refuse, in the absence of confirmatory stratigraphical evidence, to assign so great an antiquity as that of our chalk to any deposits contain- ing dicotyledons in our latitudes. If clearly older than our Eocene, I should refer them to the great intervening period. From the almost complete absence of Cretaceous forms in even the lowest European Tertiaries, it seems to have been concluded everywhere, that all rocks containing even a small proportion of Cretaceous types, must be classed as of that age. Isolated pro- tests have been raised, but their value has not been felt. This basis of classification is, in my opinion, entirely erroneous, or at least carried to an excess, for all we know is, that the fauna which existed in Cretaceous seas did not exist in those of the Eocene. * How or when it disappeared from these areas we do not know. The extinction, or perhaps partly migration, must, however, have been a natural and gradual one, and we see in many distant coun- tries, California, New Zealand, India, Vancouver's Land, instance, that late Cretaceous types of fauna lived long after va time of which we have any record -of them here, and mingled with a fauna whose characteristics are decidedly Eocene. For the reasons already advanced I should regard the flora of Dakota, together with those of Nebraska, Vancouver's Land, New Zealand, and many European floras, characterized by an abundance of dicotyledons, as belonging to a vast intermediate period, and should adopt a name suggested by Hector for it— Cretaceo-Eacene—in preference to the term Pal-Eocene, used by we 1880.] Notes on the Flowering of Saxifraga sarmentosa, 569 Schimper, the latter having been applied PY him to true Eocene floras, With regard to the flora of the Great (1st group of Lesquereux) Lignite, I entertain no doubt whatever that it is of the age of our Middle Eocene, and perhaps partly of our Lower Eocene. I am not in a position yet to furnish any list of the fossil plants com- mon to both, but the proportion is very considerable. The only groups I have studied are the ferns. Of a small list from our Middle Eocene, two of the most abundant have been described by Lesquereux from this formation, Lygodium kaulfussi Heer (L. neuropteroides Lesq.) and Osmunda! (?) subcretacea Saporta (Gymnogramma haydent Lesq.). Mr. Lesquereux has very gen- erously himself assisted in these identifications, and I desire to express to him my thanks for his disinterested aid. In addition to the similarity of the floras, there is other strong proof that the two formations are approximately contemporaneous. While in our lower Eocene deposits there appears but a small mixture of North American forms, so far as I know at present, in the Middle Eocene they suddenly greatly preponderate, almost to the exclusion of the Australian elemeat previously manifest, and even of what was possibly an older indigenous flora. Judg- ing as well from the Great Lignitic flora as from our own Middle Eocene, it appears evident that at this period land communica- tion somewhere existed between them, which enabled them to mingle to a very great extent; so much so, indeed, that the Plio- cene flora of California, lately described by Lesquereux, more resembles our Middle Eocene Bournemouth flora as a whole, not Specifically, than any other with which I am acquainted. :0: MULES ON THE FLOWERING OF SAXIFRAGA SAR- MENTOSA. BY PROF, J. E. TODD. A a often sees in window-gardens the plant popularly called strawberry geranium. As commonly seen, perched in a flower pot on a bracket, it seems to delight in letting down its young plantlets at the ends of thread-like runners, sounding the airy depths for resting places for them. Thus its native instincts appear, though many eee have passed since its ancestors 1 ‘More properly a new genus. VOL. XIV.—NO, Vi. 37 570 Notes on the Flowering of Saxifraga sarmentosa., | August, were learning the advantages of such an accomplishment on the mountains of China. In flowering it throws up from a rosette of radical leaves a slender naked- scape which gradually develops into a cymose ' panicle. The flowers are of the unique form shown in Figs. I and 2. The two lower petals are white, and from two to three times longer than the three upper ones, which are pink, and each marked by two darker spots and one yellow spot, the latter at the. base, There are ten stamens arranged in two whorls, those alter- nate with the petals maturing a day or two earlier than the others. There are two pistils, and on the upper side of their ovaries a triple nectary, zvzde Fig. 3 e. This nectary, in its structure and posi- tion, suggests the idea that it may be formed of abortive pistils. The flowers open with surprising regularity. There is first only one at the top of the scape, then when it has passed maturity the first at the ends of the branches open simultaneously ; after these have passed their maturity, then the second ones on each branch open, and so on. This regularity is most apparent in the earlier flowering. When the panicle is crowded, unequal distribu- tion of light, heat, etc.,seems to confuse and break up this order somewhat. The table subjoined shows these facts. It should be remarked that the position of the plant examined was changed from time to time. There is an irregularity in the flowering of branches vit and rx, which may be due to their unfavorable ne ‘tion at the very base of the panicle. Several very curious facts concerning the order of d ment of the different organs of the flower, were noted. 1. Of the lower petals, which are always unequal, the longer one is always on the side toward the branch which forms the a flower next succeeding. As this 1s on opposite sides in successive flow- ers, it follows that the longer petals of flowers on any branch of the panicle are towards each other. This relation is shown in Fig. I- I —Saxifraga sarmentosa (na 2, In both sets of stamens, those ural size) ; a, pistillate stage; 4, stam- on the lower side of the whorl pa develop first. No. 1 (vide Fig. 2) always develops first, then Nos: 2 and 5 before Nos. 3 and 4; and in the second set Nos. 6 and 7 before 8 and 10, and No. 9- always last. ;MARCHyy APRIL: — MAY; rloweas. ©2 9991 1 2345367 8 9101 1213 1415 16 17 18 19 202) 222324 25 2627 2929301 23 4567 OF FLOWERS. aww ae Oe L L jee a L1H gs mma i a aa í | | | | Q, I = BS Ë. I 3 ie Admen od ” branches in ore, T | | | | | ES ae a a eH | | e H | ! AmE Jii: e l ee a a H= à geen ~~ J- L-H t ge ae ae oe ee ee A Re ao < i 7 | | I 1880.| Notes on the Flowering of Saxifraga sarmentosa. 571 3. Of those stamens in pairs horizontally on the /ower side of each whorl, the stamen in each pair on the side of the /onger lower petal develops first. That is, if the longer petal is on the right side (facing as the flower), No. 5 will mature before No. 2, and No. 6 before No. 7, but contrariwise if the larger petal is jg) .4 on the left side. No exceptions were found in thirty-one observations. 4. Of those stamens in pairs horizon- tally, on the wpper side of each whorl, the stamen in each pair on the side of the shorter lower petal develops first. If yg. 2—S. sarmentosa (en- the longer is on the right side, No. 3 larged); stamén No. 9 in posi- matures before No. 4, and 8 before 10, er discharging poate and vice versa. In forty-two observations only two exceptions were noticed, and those where No. 8 preceded No. 10 contrary to rule, In a flower whose longer lower petal is on the right side, the stamens mature in the following order, I, 5, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, I0, 9 —6 sometimes preceding 4; in one where it is on the left side, I, 2,5, 4, 3, 7, 6, 10, 8, 9—7 sometimes preceding 3. 5. The pistils very rarely reach maturity till, No.9 of the same flower has discharged pollen and withdrawn from position. Sometimes No. y becomes entangled with the nectar and is held in the position represented in Fig. 2 longer than the regular time. 6. This brings us to the most remarkable fact of all, viz: che. automatic movements of the stamens. : The stamens, when immature, stand nearly at right angles with . Pg. 3-—Views of the right halves of two flowers of S, sarwsetiins ` a, staminate Stage; 4, stamen as before the pollen is discharged ; c, fo, alter, d, pistillate stage; a *, nectaries and immature pistils, the axis of the flower, but when mature they an (i. B hed Probably in 30-1 30 minutes, according to circumstances). c come * 572 Notes on the Flowering of Saxifraga sarmentosa. | August, into the position represented in Fig. 3a. The exact time has not been noticed in a single case. Sometimes two or three stamens came into position between observations as many hours apart, but in no case was the motion rapid enough to be perceptible. After remaining in position from 2-10 hours they return to their original position, and those alternating with the petals are often thrown back much further, as is shown in Fig. 3 d. The stamens on the lower side of the flower, froin the nature of the case, move through an angle of about 45°, those on the sides through go° and those on the upper side about 130°—170°. 7. Another motion is quite as remarkable. The anthers are first in the relation to the filament represented in Fig. 3 4, but as they approach maturity they turn up, in every case, and take the position represented in Fig. 3 c, which shows also their peculiar dehiscence. After quite a careful examination, no peculiar organs or structures were found to explain either of these movements. 8. The pistils, when mature, bring their stigmas into the same relative position to the axis of the flower, as is shown in Fig. 3 d. This is done, however, merely by the lengthening of the styles and the unfolding of the stigmas. Such an array of mysterious movements and adjustments demands an explanation. Many of them are easily explained by the doctrine of cross-fertilization. The “contrivance” is SO obvious that further explanation seems scarcely necessary, büt a word or two may make some points clearer. The conspicuous panicle attracts the passing insect, the highly colored petals direct to the nectar, the large petals offer a platform for him to alight and regale himself; but he must pay the price, which, however, is only to have his breast well powdered with pollen n a flower in the staminate stage, which, when he visits another in the pistilate stage will be conveyed exactly to the stigmas. The nectar is protected from insects which do not fly by the glandular hairs bristling all over the peduncles and sepals. Close-fertilization seems scarcely possible. The only chance seems to be this. In case no insects visit the flower the nectar accumulates and may become so thick that when No. 9 comes into position it is held there until the pistils are mature, aS 15 shown in Fig. 2, then the wind or something else, jarring me plant, may toss the pollen upon the pistils. Cross-fertilization — between flowers on the same plant, or even the same branch, 15 1880] Notes on the Flowering of Saxifraga sarmentosa. 573 possible, as may be seen by studying Fig. 1, which represents a real case, or by referring to the table and noting the conditions of the flowers on April 11th, 16th, etc. As was remarked by the writer in a previous article (zzde this journal, Jan., 1879) there is nothing in the structure of most dichogamous flowers to prevent this, or even to make cross-fertilization between different plants any more probable, except as we postulate some fixed uniform habit in most insects visiting such plants." -In the plant under consideration, however, we find a plan to insure cross-fertilization between flowers on different plants, no matter in what order insects visit the flowers. This may be briefly shown, by referring to the table representing the order of flowering. It will be seen, with the exception of the flowers on the eighth and ninth branches, which are clearly abnormal, and from their position have little part in the general economy of the plant, that each set of flowers first pass four or five days as staminate flowers, then one to three days as pistilate flowers before the next set mature any stamens. Thus the first chance is invariably given to the pollen of another plant. If that is not secured, the pistils are then likely to be fertilized by the pollen of the flowers of the next set upon the same plant. Query: Do other plants with cymose panicles present similar cases ? Clearly, therefore, is the conclusion impressed, that the more diverse the circumstances of the flowers the greater the advantage of cross- fertilization. Is cross-fertilization nature’s plan for distributing the advantages resulting from a favorable locality to all the indi- viduals of a species, or, on the other hand, neutralizing the evils of a disadvantageous position? Does it render species more uniform ? There remain two or three facts concerning the development of the petals and stamens which demand explanation. We cannot see how their. existence is of the least advantage to the plant. Why should one of the lower petals be longer than the other ? _Or, if we might attribute so much to accident, why should there be regularity about it? May it be that the petal is longer on - -the side toward the branch because there is a greater amount -9f nourishment passing on that side to supply the branch, and a Proportionate amount is conveyed onward to the flower ? May not a similar relation explain why the stamens on the Cf. an abstract of a paper by Mr. A. S. Wilson in Am. Nat., Vol. XH, p. 39. 574. Notes on the Flowering of Saxifraga sarmentosa. [August, lower side of a whorl develop first? The lower petals are enlarged to serve the purpose mentioned above. This requires more nourishment to pass through the lower side of the peduncle, and in this nourishment the stamens on that side share The earlier development of stamens on opposite sides of hori- zontal pairs, according as those pairs. are above or below, is avery - curious fact indeed. To explain it and the whole order in the maturing of the stamens, we will venture the following. The flowers are quite perfectly pentamerous; the leaves also present the five-ranked arrangement. Remembering the order in which leaves unfold from the bud, and following, for the stamens of the first flower at the top of the panicle, a spiral in the same direction, as that found in the rosette of leaves at its base, we have the numbers in Fig. 4 a expressing their order of maturing. Assuming that the increased size of the lower petals is associated with an increase of nourishment in the lower side of the peduncle, and that the stamens are likely to share in this excess of nourish- ment according to their distance from the lower side of the flower, the numbers in Fig. 44 express the probable order of maturing a b c 2 5 6 6 8 de o o ° o o © 10 5 : 15 o e 7 8 4 4 11 13 o ° o o ° sf ° o o o o Gi 4 3 3 3 7 ó o o o o o 9 6 2 2 11 8 o o o I I 2 Fic. 4.—A Prae e illustrating the order of development of the stamens on ' mentosa ; a, order evelopment derived from phyllotaxy; 4, order resulti rom distance from ‘et side of flower; c, æ and 4 combined. if left to this influence alone. If we assume that both influences are acting simultaneously, the sums of these numbers as given in Fig. 4¢, will express the order in which the stamens ought to mature when the longer lower petal is on the left side, for such - was the case in the particular flower under consideration. Using ae the numbers for the stamens given in Fig. 2, and referring to Fig. 4 ¢, we find that theoretically they should mature in the following order: 1, 2, 5, (4,7,) (3,6,10,) 8, 9. This corresponds exactly — with the order frequently observed. The only discrepancy is- 1880.] Destruction of Obnoxious Insects by Fungoid Growths. 575 that the numbers joined might theoretically come at once. Our theory seems, therefore, to be proved correct as far as it goes, and sufficiently so to justify another inference, viz: that when the longer petal is on the right side, the parts of the flower are arranged in a right handed spiral; and when it is on the left side the spiral is left handed; and, therefore, that in the inflorescence Successive flowers on the same branch have spirals in opposite directions. But why in opposite directions? And why, too, should stamens imitate leaves in the order of their development? Is ita kind of structural memory, or material instinct? The habits of ‘growth impressed by one set of circumstances where they are advantageous, showing themselves where they clearly have not the same advantage, if any at all? Where shall we stop? But before leaving the case, let us not overlook the fact that in the later explanations, we have been giving reasons of a very different order from those in the earlier. We then thought it sufficient to show the advantage in a par- ticular arrangement, now we are almost satisfied when we see how certain forces, more or less familiar, may have produced the facts under consideration.. Neither kind of solution is complete. Let us not be deceived by the ambiguity of the word wy. It should still be asked %ow the structures so admirably adapted to cross-fertilization have been produced, and we may still ask why the facts concerning the stamens exist. Whether they are advantageous and serve a purpose in the economy of na‘ure, or Whether they are, as it were, rudimentary phenomena, the inci- dental effects of laws which have been established for some really important purpose. Such questions we have now no time to ollow. 207 DESTRUCTION OF OBNOXIOUS INSECTS BY MEANS OF FUNGOID GROWTHS. BY PROF, A. N. PRENTISS. ~NTOMOLOGISTS have been, for a long time, endeavoring to discover some available means for checking the ravages of obnoxious insects, and of late the possibility of employing fun- goid growths for this purpose has been receiving considerable attention. The most important paper which has. appeared upon 576 Destruction of Obnoxious Insects by Fungoid Growths. [| August, the subject is a pamphlet by Dr. H. A. Hagen, of Harvard Uni- versity, in which he advocates the use of the yeast fungus for the purpose in question.) A proposition of this kind, emanating from so high an author- ity, is worthy of the most careful consideration. It seems that the possibility of destroying insects by infesting them with fungi from spores artificially sown, attracted the atten- tion of Dr. Bail, of Prussia, more than a dozen years ago. His experiments, however, were not conducted with reference to the point in question, but for the purpose of establishing the identity of certain forms of fungi which had been regarded as distinct. That Dr. Bail’s conclusions do not follow from his experiments ; for instance, that the house-fly fungus (Empusa musce) and the yeast fungus (Saccharomyces cerevisie) are merely different devel- opments of the same species—is an opinion, I think, that every mycologist who has had experience in the growth of microscopic fungi will endorse. This, however, does not affect Dr. Hagen’s main proposition, inasmuch as the identity of the fungus is of small importance so long as it proves fatal to insects and its appli- cation is practicable. Propositions of a similar nature to that of Dr. Hagen’s have been made by other scientists, notably by M. Pasteur some years since, whose investigations upon the silk- worm disease led him to suggest to the French Commission du Phylloxera, the possibility of destroying the insect which had committed such fearful ravages upon the grape-growing industry of France, by its inoculation with some microscopic fungus. it this country, as long ago as 1874, the same idea was sug- sad by Dr. John L. LeConte.2 He recommends that a careful writ y of the epidemic diseases of insects be. made, especially _ those of a fungoid nature, hoping thereby that some sweeping remedy may be found by which man can rid himself of insect enemies. Charles H. Peck, State botanist of New York: sigue ae the same idea in 1876, only, however, applying it to the destruction of obnoxious plants. He says, “ On the other hand, those fungi “ Destruction of Obnoxious Insects, Phylloxera, Potato Beetle, Cotton-worm, Co 5 orado Grasshopper and Greenhouse pests, by application of the Yeast Fungus.” Zia 1879. Proceedings of the American E ee for the Advancement of Science,” 1874, 3 Fetes. -nint h Annual Report on the State Museum of Natural History (1876): p. 30. 1880.] Destruction of Obnoxious Insects by Fungoid Growths. 577 that infest noxious weeds and hinder their dissemination and - multiplication must be regarded as the friends and allies of man. Thus, the thistle rust, Zrichobasis suaveolens, an early stage of Puccinia compositarum, sometimes attacks the Canada thistle with - great virulence, and so impairs its vigor as to prevent the develop- ment of the seeds, thereby checking the propagation and spread of this pestilent plant. So, also, the troublesome bur-grass, Cenchrus tribuloides, is sometimes infested by a smut fungus, Ustilago syntherisme, which not only prevents the development of the seeds of the grass but also the annoying bur-like involu- cres. It may yet be found practicable to keep down this grass by fhe artificial dissemination of the spores of its parasitic fungus.” Among the facts pointing to a favorable issue of the proposed remedy against obnoxious insects, is the well-known fact that many insects living under wholly natural conditions are annually destroyed by fungi. Cook states that about twenty-five species of the genus Torrubia are known to be parasitic on insects.1 Mr. Peck, in his Annual Report on the N. Y. Museum of Nat. Hist. for 1878, says, that “ the seventeen-year locust, Cicada sep- temdecim, which made its appearance in the Hudson River valley early in the summer, was affected by a fungus. The first speci- men of this kind that I saw was taken in New Jersey and sent to me by Rev. R. B. Post. Examination revealed the fact that.the Cicadas or ‘ seventeen-year locusts’ in this vicinity were also affected by it. The fungus develops itself in the abdomen of the insect, and consists almost wholly of a mass of pale-yellowish or clay-colored spores, which to the naked eye has the appearance of a lump of clay. The insects attacked by it become sluggish and averse to flight, so that they can easily be taken by hand. After a time some of the posterior rings of the abdomen fall away, revealing the fungus within. Strange as it may seem, the insect may, and sometimes does, live for a time even in this con- dition. Though it is not killed at once, it is manifestly incapaci- ‘tated for propagation, and, therefore, the fungus may be regarded as a beneficial one. In Columbia county the disease prevailed to a considerable extent. Along the line of the railroad, between Catskill and Livingston stations, many dead Cicadas were found, nota few of which were filled by the fungoid mass.” He Fonoi ‘ ** Fungi, their Nature and Uses,” p. 218. 578 Destruction of Obnoxious Insects by Fungoid Growths. | August, Mr. Peck again, in the same report, says, that “ While in the Adirondack region, numerous clumps of alders were noticed that had their leaves nearly skeletonized by the larve of some un- known insect. The larvae were nearly black in color and scarcely half an inch long. They were seen in countless numbers feeding upon the leaves and threatening by their numbers, even if but half of them should come to maturity, in another year to com- pletely defoliate the alders of that region. Upon looking under the affected bushes for the pupæ of the insect, in order, if possi- ble, to have the means of obtaining the species, what was my astonishment to find the ground thickly flecked with little white floccose masses of mold, and that each one of these tufts of mold _ was the downy fungoid shroud of a dead larva from the alders. Not a single living pupa could be found, but there were hundreds of dead and moldy larvae, killed without doubt by the fungus, which is nature’s antidote to an over production of the insect and nature’s agency for protecting the alders from utter destruction.” The “ pébrine,” a disease which appeared in South France nearly thirty years ago and attacked the silk-worms with much virulence, is also a case in point. A popular account is given of this epizootic in Huxley’s Lay Sermons.’ This disease appeared in the rearing houses in great violence in 1854, although it had been occasionally seen previous to that ate. The name “ pébrine” was given to it because of the dark spots which appeared on the bodies of the infested larve. - The malady spread from year to year, until in 1858 the amount of silk produced was diminished to one-third of that which had been made previous to 1853. In brief, a microscopic fungus, preying upon the silk-worm and causing its destruction by thou- sands, prostrated the industries of the city of Lyons, and plunged its working class into idleness and want. What the total loss was, could not be determined, as all classes of industry suffered, but the direct loss was estimated at $250,000,009. ' The fact that the insects mentioned by Dr. Hagen exist m great numbers, is most favorable to the rapid spread of any dis- ease that may appear among them, and the remedy proposed, should it work at all, would probably prove powerful, rapid and insidious. The spread of the potato rot, Peronospora infestans, over the whole of the British Isles within two years after its intro- 1 Lay Sermons, pp. 373-375- 1880.) Destruction of Obnoxious Insects by Fungoid Growths. 579 duction, is an example of how rapidly and thoroughly spores may permeate any region when all the conditions are favorable to their growth. z ; _ In examining the question as proposed by Dr. Hagen, many facts must be taken into account before deciding upon the prob- able results. It must be remembered that the air is at all times charged with the spores of fungi. Dr. Cunningham found that “spores and other vegetable cells are constantly present in atmos- pheric dust, and usually occur in considerable numbers; the majority of them are living and capable of growth and develop- ment.” Dr. S. M. Babcock, who is determining the chemical changes of cheese during the curing process, finds it impossible to avoid mold in the curd except by heat and anesthetics (ether and chloroform). He states that the spores seem to be in the very milk used in the experiments. In the Botanical Laboratory, where molds and yeast are culti- vated at certain times for experimentation, the air soon becomes charged with spores. _ Growing in the same laboratory and rooms directly connected with it, are plants which require constant care lest they be over- run with their several insect. pests. No disease appears to have attacked these insects. It may be said that they do not feed upon the yeast, and for this reason escape. It is not necessary that the Spores be eaten by the insect in the case of the fly fungus (Am- Pusa musce). Huxley says? “It has been ascertained that when one of the spores falls on the body of a fly, it begins to germinate and sends out a process which bores its way through the fly's skin; this having reached the interior cavity of the body, Sives off the minute floating corpuscles which are the earliest Stages of Empusa. The disease is ‘contagious,’ because a healthy fly coming" in contact with a diseased one from whith the spore- bearing filaments protrude, is pretty sure to carry off a spore or two, It is ‘infectious,’ because the spores become scattered about all sorts of matter in the neighborhood of the slain flies.” In this connection it should be noted that while the insects which infest more or less the plants growing in the laboratory " Microscopical Examinations of Air,” from the “Ninth Annual Report of the Sanitary Commissioner.” Calcutta, 1872. ec : “ Lay Sermons, Addresses and Reviews,” p- 372. 580 Destruction of Obnoxious Insects by Fungoid Growths. [ August, have not been affected in any way by the fungi or their spores, the plants themselves, in some instances, have been seriously injured. On one occasion, recently, some experiments which had been commenced with much care upon Drosera rotundifolia, were brought to a sudden end by a mold which completely overrun and destroved the plant. That the air of the laboratory should become abundantly charged with spores, would, of course, be expected from the large number of experiments in the growth and propagation of microscopic fungi which at times are being conducted by the members of the classes in mycology. Indeed after a time the spores become so abundant that all apparatus has to be thoroughly cleansed and fumigation by sulphur resorted to in order that the experiments with the fungi themselves should not be defeated, The abundance of these spores of many kinds, including those of the house-fly fungus, emphasizes the fact that aphides and other plant insects, seen to thrive in the midst of these spores without any diminution of their vigor or power of reproduction, Although our whole experience in the cultivation of fungi, as might be inferred from the statements already made, as also nearly all observations made upon fungoid growths in general, indicate that the yeast fungus offers.little promise of success as a remedy against obnoxious insects, nevertheless the matter has ~ been deemed of sufficient importance to warrant a considerable amount of labor in the way of experimentation for the purpose of arriving, if possible, at some definite facts bearing directly upon the subject. A brief account of the methods and results of this undertaking is here given. All of the experiments here described were made on plants growing in pots in the Botanical ` ‘Laboratory, or in the adjoining rooms, or in a large conservatory window, where the conditions of light, heat and moisture were favorable to the healthful growth of the plants experimented upon. In conducting the experiments I have been greatly aided by Instructor W. A. Henry, of the Botanical Department, who: as also rendered much assistance in collating information relating to the whole subject. l e Experiment No, 1—A strong plant of strawberry geranium (Saxifraga sarmentosa) has been allowed to become infested with green aphides. They are mostly confined to the flower pedun- cles and young tips of the runners. : May 13.—The plant is thoroughly sprinkled with dilute yeast bY <) IA r si 1880.| Destruction of Obnoxious Insects by Fungoid Growths. 581 means of a flat paint brush so that all parts, especially those cov- ered with aphides, are fairly wet. The yeast used is fresh domes- tic yeast, diluted with two-thirds water. Torulz are active, as is shown from the fermentation in progress. After being sprinkled the plant is placed by itself on a table and covered by a large funnel-shaped hood, made of thin white paper, slightly open at the bottom to admit air. A cup of actively fermenting yeast is placed at the side of the plant under the hood, so that any germs which may possibly escape from the yeast will be confined to the air immediately surrounding the plant. Some of the older leaves are infested with a number of scale insects. May 15.—No dead aphides are to be found. Some cast-off skins from molting are seen. May 18—Peduncles and tips of runners are loaded with plump aphides. Many cast-off skins. No dead insects are found. The scale insects larger and apparently more numerous. May 20.—All young parts completely covered with aphides. June 3.—The plant is obviously injured from attack of aphides and scale insect. Some of the leaves are dead. The plant is out of flower and the peduncles are more or less withered. On these peduncles are a number of dead aphides. These might have Starved for want of food, owing to the drying up of the juices of the peduncles. A number of dead aphides are examined under the microscope in a variety of ways, but in no case is there any appearance of Torulz or other fungoid growths. Numerous live aphides are found on the younger parts of the plant. - Experiment No, 2—May 13—A small geranium plant (Pe/ar- gonium angulosune var.), infested with a considerable number of aphides, is sprinkled with domestic yeast (the same as in No. 1), and placed in a window in its ordinary position among other plants not infested. May 15:—Aphides more scattered but apginti not Tas in number. May 18.—Aphides plainly more numerous, Numbers of cast- off skins. from molting. Some leaves of geranium with dark- brown spots obviously caused by drops of yeast; other plants of ‘the same kind not treated with yeast show no spots. June 3. —Aphides numerous and healthy. Quantities of cast- off skins. No dead aphides to be found, Foliage obviously injured by the yeast. Plant plainly enfeebled by the aphides. À [Zo be S 582 Recent Literature. [ August, RECENT LITERATURE. Packarp’s Zoorocy.'—In 1876 Dr. Packard published a very convenient text book on comparative embryology, which was the first attempt to present this subject in a complète form for the use of beginners and students. He has followed it with another excellent text book of a wider scope, bearing the title given above. He has succeeded in making this the best text book yet brought out in this country or England, on the complete subject of general zodlogy. There are many useful books considering special parts of the subject, and invaluable descriptions of the anatomy and embryology of typical animals, which no student or laboratory should be without, but none which treat in the same comprehensive manner the whole subject of zodlogy, incorporating in it the latest investigations. In some respects the plan of the book is unique. The author has intended to embrace an account of the anatomy, and in some cases the embryology of a typical and, when possible, common animal of a class, and after a minute description of the type, has sought to familiarize the student with the peculiarities of closely allied or distantly related animals. In his development of this plan and execution of the work, Dr. Packard has admirably suc- ceeded. The illustrations, taken for the most part from the works of well-known specialists, are well chosen and clearly reproduced, Teachers in the class room will find them very valuable to copy ` on the blackboard. Those figures published for the first time, of which there are quite a number, are well fitted to accomplish all that was intended. They are, in most cases, designed simply as helps to the young student in his work on the “ gross anat- omy,” and indicate very well the general shape and position of different organs. They will be found of great value to those for whom the book was intended. Advanced students who would carry their studies into special and original lines of research, would naturally consult monographs by specialists. That need of the young naturalist as he matures in his work, has not been overlooked by the author, and a bibliography has been added to the book full enough of standard works to carry. such, over the threshold of special research. Several of the chapters close with | short directions for laboratory work. This departure from the stereotype way of casting text books, seems to us one of the many excellent points in the work. Any one who has had occa- sion to use some of the best contributions to anatomy and embry- ology in late years, will recognize the value of an account of the methods by which results are obtained. This account 0! agents used and mode of manipulation followed, the Germans 1 Zuilogy for Students and General Readers. By A. S. PACKARD, Jr., M.D., Ph.D. With numerous illustrations. New York, H. Holt & Co, 8vo, pp. 719. 550% : rer 1880. | Recent Literature. 583 call the author’s “ Tecknik.” The work of Dr. Packard is the first attempt in a general text book on zodlogy to give the young stu- dent a good tecknik by pointing out the proper mode of manipu- lation by which the best results can be reached. It would add much to the value of this part of the book if directions even more elaborate were given, and if more attention was given to methods of “section cutting ” and staining of tissues. he few errors which a hypercritical reviewer may find in the book, do not detract from its merits. Several specialists, some of whom are themselves teachers in prominent universities, have read over the manuscript of the chapters on their respective spe- cialties ; their names are sufficient guarantees of the value of the work which they have revised. The Coelenterates have not been as fortunate in this respect as their no more deserving relatives, ` and a few mistakes have crept in. The separation of the sponges from the Protozoa is well made, as justified by late researches on the anatomy and development of both. The researches of Noschin and Metschnikoff (Zeit. J. wiss. Zool, B. xxiv) seem to show the worthlessness of the name Ccelenterates as indicating Structural differences from the Echinoderms. The affinity of the group as pointed out by the elder Agassiz and supported by Alex. Agassiz, is the best yet proposed. The following corrections, of more or less importance, should be made in the book. They are not of such weight as to con- demn a work the general plan of which is so good. On page 60 the author says, “ Budding occurs in the medusa of Sarsia prolifera, the only example known of budding in free meduse.” Alex. Agassiz (Proc. Bost. Soc. Nat. Hist., Vol. 1x, p. 12) has shown that budding occurs in the free medusa of Lessza grata, also (North American Acalephe, p. 163) in Dysmorphosa Julgurans and in Hybocodon prolifer. These meduse are all ity, and many species which have been described, as for instance two of thé three species of Cyanea, are not “‘ bone species.” nema digitalis A. Ag., which can at times be collected by hun- reds in a single excursion in Narragansett bay. Cunina is also found there but, as in Charleston harbor, is not so numerous. here is much obscurity on page 65 in the description of the 584 Recent Literature. ` [August, growth of the “tentacles” (?) in Aurelia to form the “mouth opening,” and the statement of the position of the eyes. The obscurity comes from the use of the word fringed as applied to the edges of the “mouth opening” and the margin of the disk. The sense organs of Aurelia have no connection with the walls of the “ mouth opening.” I find no authority for the statement that the “ square mouth opening ” in Aurelia flavidula is formed by the union of four “tentacles.” I have also studied the live ephyra of Cyanea and Aurelia, and find no such method of formation of the mouth in these genera. It is to be regretted that the splendid memoirs of Eimer and the Hertwigs could not have been quoted at greater length. Much, of course, had to be omitted to prevent the book assuming undue proportions The discovery by the latter that the otolith of the Trachynemidz is endodermic, while that of the free medusa of the Campanularians is ectodermic, is one of their most important discoveries, and should be mentioned. The statement on page 62 by which the “ Discophora” are made to differ from the Hydromeduse “ in developing directly from eggs,” and that on page 68 that Pelagia (“ campanella” ?) cyanella does not undergo a metamorphosis but “ grows directly from the eggs” would leave one unfamiliar with the embryology of these animals in doubt as to what is meant by a direct develop- ment from the egg. Pelagia differs from Aurelia in that it never passes through an attached strobila stage. : In view of the elasticity of the word homology in recent times, _one is not surprised to find the foot of a mollusk compared to the under lip of a worm (?), or vice versa (p. 12). It is doubtful whether such a comparison would be accepted by all naturalists, and questionable whether it should be introduced as an illustra- tion of the term in a text book. The term homology, like many others (polymorphism, individual, &c.) is yet to be accurately defined in a manner acceptable to all. At present there 1s no better illustration of the term than the old comparison of the wing of the bird and the arm of man. —¥. W. F. STUDIES FROM THE MORPHOLOGICAL LABORATORY IN THE UNIVER- SITY OF CamBripGe.'—This thick. brochure is mostly taken up ith embryological papers which have appeared during the past ygar in the Quarterly Journal of Microscopical Science and the Proceeg- ings of the Cambridge Philosophical Society. The papers relate mostly to the special points in the development of the Vertebrates. The first paper relates to the existence of a head-kidney in the em- bryo chick together with some points in the development of the Mül- lerian duct. In this paper Messrs. Balfour and Sedgwick record the existence of certain structures in the embryo chick, which event 1 Edited by F, M. Balfour, M.A., F. R. S., Williams and Norgate, 1880. 8° pP- Tog. 10 pl 1880. ] Recent Literature. 585 ually become in part the abdominal opening of the Miillerian duct, and which correspond with the head-kidney, or “ vorniere”. of German authors; they also conclude that the Miillerian duct does not develop entirely independently of the Wolffian duct ; and finally the authors discuss certain rectifications in the views of the homologies of the parts of the excretory system in birds, necessi- tated by the results of their investigations. In the second paper Mr. Balfour traces the early development of the lizards, and discusses the nature and relations of the primitive streak. He also shows in the third paper that the nervous cords ‚of Peripatus are minutely ganglionated, and are not simple ner- vous threads as heretofore supposed. Messrs. Scott and Osborn’s paper on the early develop- ment of the common newt of England we have elsewhere noticed. The fifth paper is by Mr. Adam Sedgwick, on the development of the kidney in its relation to the Wolffian body in the chick. Although considerable good work has been done on the embry- ology of the spiders, Mr. Balfour has worked out additional points of much interest in his paper on the development of the Araneina. Among these he has proved that the supra-cesophageal ganglion of the adult is the result of the fusion of what in the embryo are two separate ganglia, and he thus effectually settles the ques- tion as to whether the first pair of appendages, the mandibles, represent the antenne of the insects and myriopods, since he demonstrates that the nerves to these appendages are sent from what is originally the second pair of nervous ganglia, thus show- as that the antennz are morphologically as well as functionally absent, € view at one time prevalent, that the Arachnida are- as nearly related to the Crustacea as to the insect, is not sustained ” insisted upon by others, that the Arachnida and insects (Hexa- Poda) as well as myriopods belong to a class, [Insecta or Trach- fata, as opposed to the. Crustacea or gill-bearing Arthropods, which may, with Gegenbaur, be called Branchiata. _ The seventh and last paper, by Mr. Adam Sedgwick, treats of the development of the structure known as the “ glomerulus of the head-kidney ” in the chick. This has been found to be “ noth- mg more than a series of glomeruli of primary Malphigian VOL. XIV.—NO, vir, 38 586 Recent Literature. (August, bodies projecting through the wide openings of the segmental tubes into the body-cavity.” Tue Hessian Fry.)—-The object of this and several of the Bulletins issued by the Entomological Commission is not so much to show evidence of special and new field studies or for the display of entomological learning, as to set forth well-known facts regarding the more injurious insects and: the best means of combating them, and to place the results in the hands of those most interested, z. ¢., the farmers, 1e Bulletins so far issued by the Department of the Interior, have rapidly gone out of print, and . fresh editions furnished either by the Department or by Congress. It was contemplated to issue others, and this could have been done, with little expense to the country and without detriment to the objects for which the Entomological Commission was work- ing, z. e., the thorough investigation of the locust plague and the depredations of the cotton-worm; but such a design was consid- and every effort was made by that enlightened official, aided b his entomologist, to not only stop the issue of such bulletins as the one before us, but to extinguish the Commission outright. While Congress voted larger appropriations than ever before to the Commission, the immediate result of Gen. Le Duc’s labors was to restrict the labors of the Commission for the coming 1 Department of the Interior. U. S. Entomological Commission, Bulletin No. 4: The Hessian Fly, its Ravages, Habits, Enemies and means of- preventing us increase. By A. S. PACKARD, Jr. Washington, May 20, 1880. 8vo, pp- 43- 2 EXPLANATION OF THE PLATE.—A healthy stalk of wheat on the left, the one Zi the right dwarfed and the lower leaves beginning to wither aud turn. yellow; ey stem swollen at three places near the ground where the flaxseed (A) are os ; ‘ween, the stem and sheathing base of the leaf. a, e the Hessian fly (greatly enlarged, as are all the figures except ¢ and et the side, in this and other figures, showing the natural length. c, the flaxseed, pu- parium or pupa case. æ, the pupa or chrysalis. e, the Hessian fly, n ing its eggs in the creases of the leaf. £ female Hessian fly, much enlarged. & ma essian fly, much enlarged. 4, flaxseed between the leaves and stalk. chalcid or ichneumon parasite of the Hessian fly, male, enlarged. 587 Recent Literature. 1880. ] ‘THE HeEsstaN FLY, AND ITS TRANSFORMATIONS. 588 Recent Literature, [ August, A New GERMAN GEOGRAPHICAL JOURNAL,|— This is a new periodical designed to present, from time to time, a brief but excellent digest of the progress of geographical science, with its literature. It is printed in large octavo form, with clean type and on excellent paper, so that it presents an excellent appearance. There are no less than twelve collaborators from all parts of Ger- many and Switzerland, representing some of the best known geographers in Europe. In the third number there is a lon; account of the history of the Hayden Geological and Geographi- cal Survey of the Territories, with the entire catalogue of publi- cations printed in detail. Favre’s GEOLOGY oF THE CANTON OF GenevA2—This important work of M. Favre may be regarded as an exhaustive monograph of the geological, archeological and agricultural resources of the Canton of Geneva, Switzerland, and therefore local in its charac- ter. Local treatises of this kind are not uncommon in Europe; many of them have been written of limited areas in France, and it would be an advantage if studies of this kind were made of the more interesting and complicated districts in our own country. The work commences with a preface and a preliminary chapter - defining its object to be mainly the application of geology to agriculture. A chapter follows describing in a brief manner the elements of the science, and then the principal formations within the limits of the Canton, are noted in detail. The Quaternary and the present superficial formations are described in great detail and ina masterly manner. The portion treating of the glacial period is of great interest, and is well worthy of careful study. ; Numerous analyses of rocks and soils are given, and a consid- erable portion of the book is devoted to a minute study of the rocks and minerals of the canton. At'the end of Tome H are eight large folded plates of geological and archæological illustra- tions, finely engraved. Accompanying the work are four map on a scale of sg}5, upon which the geology is shown 1n minute detail. The entire work is a contribution to science worthy of the illustrious author of “ Recherches Geologique de la Savole, du Piedmont et de la Suisse voisines du Mont Blanc.” ~ l Recent Books AND PAMPHLETS.—Manual of the New Zealand Moilusca. BY Fred. W. Hutton. 8vo, pp. 224, 1880. From the author. International Exhibition, Sydney. Appendix to Official Catalogue. 8vo, pp- 67, 1880. pany. T From the com ta JU 1 Zeitschrist fiir wissenschaftliche Geographie. Edited by J. 1. Kerrier, Lohr. in Baden, with the aid of numerous able Collaborators, Band 1, Heit 1, 2, 3- ? Description Géologique du Canton de Genève. Par ALPHONSE FAVRE, Profess vid emerite a l’Academie de Geneve, Correspondant de 1’ Institut de France, pour ser bi a application de la Carte Geologique du meme auteur. Tomes I and II, pe e $1.50. (Extrait du Bulletin de la class d'Agriculture de la Societe des Arts < Geneve.) : 188o. | Botany. 589 West Tennessee: its Resources and Advantages, By J. B. Killebrew. 8vo, pp. 93, 1880. From the author. On the Physical Structure and Hypsometry of the Catskill Mountain region. By Arnold Guyot. (From Amer. Jour. Sci., Vol. xix, June, 1380.) 8vo, pp. 22, maps . From the author. Geological and Natural History Survey of North Carolina. Part 11—Botany. By M. A. Curtis. 8vo, pp. 156, 1867. The Felsites and their Associated Rocks north of Boston, (From Proc. Boston Soc. Nat. Hist., Vol. xx, Jan. 21, 1880.) By J. S. Diller. 8vo, pp. 12,1880, From the author, Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia. 8vo, pp- 152, I0 pls. Pt, 1, 1880. From the academy. Catalogue of North American Musci, Arranged by Eugene A, Rau and A. B. Hervey. 8vo, pp. 52, 1880. . From the authors. Korte Bidrag til nordisk Ichthyographi. 111 Gronlands og Islands Lycoder. Med Bemærkninger om andre nordiske Arter. (Aftryk af Vidensk. Meddel. fra den naturhist. Foren. i Kbhvn. 1879-1880.) By Dr. Chr. Lütken. 8vo, pp. 26, 1880. e author. Le Globe Lenox de 1511, Traduit de anglais par Gabriel Gravier. 8vo, pp. 26, 1880. From the author, Découverte d’un Squelette entier de Rytiodus dans le Falun Aquitanien, (Ext. des Actes de la Société Linnéenne de Bordeaux.) Par M. E. Delfortrie. 4to, pp. 16, pls. 4, 1880. From the author, The Orthonectida, a new class of the Phylum of the Worms. (From Quart. Journ. Micros, Sci.) By Alfred Giard. 8vo, pp. 15, pl. 1, 1880. From the author, Zur Anatomie und Physiologie des Nervensystems der Nemertinen, Von A. A. W. Hubrecht. 4to, pp. 47, pls. 4, 1880. From the author. ' :0! -GENERAL NOTES. BOTANY. CHANGES IN PLANT .LIFE ON THE SAN FRANCISCO PENINSULA! — gressively prepare themselves in our surroundings, e have no room in our journals for facts of every-day occurrence, and at the strata the remainders of different forest trees ; and in the Atlantic States many acute observers have noticed that the birch gradually ‘Supersedes the conifers, : ; = uch a process of change, of course, is accelerated if to the secular process of change is added the powerful agent of human Th following ess ay, which will be of interest to all botanists and observers or plant growth generally, was read at the meeting of the Academy of Sefences, Feb. by Dr. Herman Behr, of San Francisco, and appeared in the Aural Press. 590 Genera? Notes. [August, activity. I have had the good fortune to witness this process in two different quarters of the globe ; in Australia and in California. The neighborhood of San Francisco and its flora in the year 1850 was not entirely in its natural state, but still the three orig- inal types of landscape that constituted the region could well be distinguished, The sand dunes and hills were covered by a dense chapparal of live oak (Quercus agrifolia), Ceanothus thyrsiflora, and on northern well-moistened declivities by buckeye trees ( 4isculus californica). In some localities a wild cherry (Prunus ilicifolia) entered this combination, but was in growth and foliage so little different from the other components that it easily escaped notice. This whole region grew very little grass, a fern (Pteris aqui- fina) forming a kind of a rough and rather transparent turf. Wit the exception of a Scirpus, even on marshy places, no Cyperacecus plant was growing. Achillea millefolium, Baccharis, Solidago, Scrophularia and Mimulus. distributed in tufts, varied the other- wise naked ground, The depressions of this formation frequently contained marshes with a shrubby vegetation of currant bushes (Ribes malvaceum) and gooseberries (Ribes californicum) and a herbaceous vegetation of Helenium, Baccharis and Mimulus. ' ‘This character of vegetation reached, almost without modifica- tion, up to the Mission Dolores, where grassy plains and hills, containing arborescent growths only in their ravines, took its place. A belt of the same formation extended from North Beach to the Presidio, interrupted here and there: by the Artemisia and Franseria, vegetation of the moving dunes and the seashore. e character of this open tract was in no way different from that of the common California pasturage ground when its vegeta- tion is not yet too much interfered with. A turf, mostly of annual grasses, whose monotony relieved by frequent patches of Nemo- hila and Eschscholtzia, is interwoven with different species of Panicula, Orthocarpus, Castilleja and Lupinus, the latter in their arborescent species frequently forming miniature forests. ce The third formation of landscape was the most characteristic, and many of the component parts of its flora have entirely dis- appeared from our neighborhoods; one of them, an Arenaria of singular beauty, probably is extinct, at least has not yet been found again in any other locality. ) This formation occupied the southern part of the peninsula, and consisted of a large marshy plain, merging, towards the sea, into the common California marsh, full of meandering, brackish creeks, and separated on the other side from the Ceanothus and live oak and chapparal, by a densely interwoven and much varied arbores- cent vegetation, where the trees of the chapparal mingled with — Myrica, dogwood (Cornus), honeysuckle (Lonicera), Garrya, bay tree (Oreodaphne), Photinia, etc. A corresponding h aceous vegetation of luxuriant J/egarrhiza, hemlock, Heracleum, differ- 1880. | Botany. 59I ent species of Rumex, Polygonum, and three pre species of Aspidium covered the black and yielding groun fter having penetrated this belt, you wautd enter a boggy prairie, in which stripes of the above-mentioned arborescent vegetation indicated the more elevated points and ridges. The vegetation of the prairie itself was a most anomalous one, consid- ering the een and the merely nominal elevation above the level of the s It was a speck of the Arctic flora. Out of a mossy aide rose the slender culmi of a Festuca mixed with Carex and Eriophorum. The characteristic Menyanthes trifoliata showed everywhere its feathery racemes; at present, when you ir to see them, you have to go to Alaska, or to very consid- rable mountain elevations. Besides these was growing a Mabe- naria and the Epipactis gigantea, two orchideous plants. Angeli- , Heracleum, Ginanthe, Hydrocotyle and Nuphar represented a ae tine which can be studied still in some localities of this peninsula, but not in the vicinity of the city.. Wherever the moisture formed a surface, it was immediately covered by the graceful Azol/a caroliniana, a Bidens and the Arenaria above mentioned that has not yet been found again. Now the first- mentioned type of vegetation, the chapparal, exists still in some fragments in the Presidio reservation; the second, that of the pasture land, is to be met with still, wherever the distance from the city is considerable enough to protect native vegetation; but the third type has entirely disappeared. We now come to the causes. It is not only the quick growth of the city, the sudden change of grade, etc., that have disturbed the original equilibrium in nature, for there still exist lonely, neglected places enough in the immense circumference of the city, where an original vegetation could have remained undis- turbed, and where it was protected even against the attacks of domestic animals. of ie oles are no more distinguishable: he improvements of a growing city have brought all to the same level. The original arborescents have been cut cown partly for fuel, partly to make room for houses. Horticulture has replaced them by the conifers of our Sierra and the evergreens of Australia. , he vegetation of the peninsula is at present more Australian than Californian, and if it was not for the beauty of our sequoias, pines and firs of our mountains, scarcely any California tree would have found admission. Parallel with this artificial immigration of Australian arbores- cents, goes an herbaceous immigration from Europe and Africa. 592 : General Notes. ` [Angust more vigorous organization, by superseding the weaker ones, would have produced originally the monotony developed at pres- ent by the immigration of foreign plants. First of all I mention Szybum marianum, a native of the Med- iterranean region, observed by me the first time in 1854 in Cali- fornia, in 1848 in South Australia. Wherever it gets a hold of the soil all native vegetation disappears. (California is not the only land invested by this thistle. I have witnessed the same invasion in South Australia, and have read the statement of my former teacher, Prof. Burmeister, at present in Buenos Ayres, that the same thistle protects, through the time of its vegetation, the settlers against inroads of the Pampas Indians, as even these wild horsemen cannot cross the immense thickets formed by the same species of thistle. The influence of this weed is not confined to the neighborhood of San Francisco, and it is chiefly the miniature forests of lupines that suffer from its invasion. i Another weed, Cotula coronopifolia, does the same work in moist ground that is begun by Silybum in the more arid tracts of soil. The plant, a native of Southern Africa, was observed for the first time by me in 1854. I also have witnessed its invasion of South Australia, and I recollect very wèll the single specimen I found near Adelaide in 1845. It is well known in Mediterranean Europe, but as to the date of'its invasion, I only know that it was common there at the same time when I found the first speci- men in Australia. This weed has transformed the varied aquatic vegetation of the different places invested by itself into one monotonous green mass with yellow buttons, Our graceful water fern, Azolla, that formerly ornamented abundantly our creeks by its floating turf, is scarcely to be found any more. a Now, both of these plants which could be called “ the coming plants,” are Syngenesists or Composit. The Composite themselves are characteristic of the most modern flora, for in a fossilized state they are only found in the most modern formations ; in fact, the only fossilized Composite of which I know, were products of a river that fossilized everything thrown into it. Now it appears that in the fight for existence the junior sons of creation have a decided advantage, and this accounts for the otherwise inexplica- ble circumstance that the variety of organisms decreases so per~ ceptibly when we enter the realms of Gymnosperms, vascular Cryptogams, and all those forms of organic life that existed in the early periods of the earth. Boranicat Notes,—In the Buletin of the Torrey Botanical Club, which, by the way, now appears regularly each month, and with a neat cover, Mr. G. E. Davenport describes and figures 1n an excellent plate, a new fern (Notholena grayi) from Southeastern Arizona. Grevillea for June contains a thoughtful essay oa Peziza, by M. C. Cooke. The Journal of Botany for May and June continues to review the British Characeæ, and the bot- 1880.] Zoölogy. 593 any of the British Polar Expedition for 1875-1876. Engler, of Kiel, has published the first part of an essay on the evolution of the vegetable kingdom since the Tertiary period, under the title, “Versuch einer Entwicklungsgeschichte der Pflanzenwelt.” It relates to the extra-tropical regions of the Northern hemisphere, . H. Miller contributes to Kosmos an interesting critique of Gaston Bonnier’s essay on the nectaries of flowers which was written in opposition to recent doctrines of the evolution of flowers. Messrs. Sereno Watson and C, S. Sargent are botanizing in Northern California and Western Ore- gon this summer, while Mr. Vasey, a son of Dr. George Vasey, is studying the trees of Southern California for the Forestry Report of the tenth census, Mr. E. L. Greene is herborizing in Southern California, Arizona, and New Mexico. We have two interesting papers from him which have been crowded out unfortunately for want of space. ZOOLOGY. ! TARDIGRADES AND Ecos.—Having found several specimens of Tardigrades during the past month, I have been fortunate enough to confirm what has been observed in Europe in regard to their peculiar manner of depositing their eggs. mong them was one which contained within the body, as nearly as I could determine, six spherical masses, which, when examined with higher power, appeared to be collections of eggs. It was in the act of molting, the old skin having slipped back so far as to set free the three Figs Fic. 1—Normal individual seen from above. Fic, 2.—Individual with egg sack asa The embryos can be seen within the eggs. FIG. 3.—Enlarged view of Oot. anterior pairs of limbs, while the posterior pair was plainly seen Moving within, The skin was empty with the exception of a ‘The departments of Ornithology and Mammalogy are conducted by Dr. ELLIOTT Cougs, U.S. A. 594 General Notes. [August, little excrementitious matter. This specimen was lost, but I shortly after found another with the old skin hanging to the body in the same position, but in this case filled with eggs. This one I succeeded in mounting in carbolated water, and so preserved it for future reference. In the normal state these creatures measure about .016 inch in length, but when gravid, or after depositing the eggs in the sack, they are much larger. My specimens were obtained from the sediment in a small aquarium in my sitting room, which contains a few native plants and fishes, and has about an inch of sand in the bottom, which was taken from the river bed last fall. The aquarium swarms with Protozoans, and I have thus far found seventeen Tardigrades, and there are probably many more. The genus I suppose to be Macrobiotus, but do not know that it has a specific name. It is the same that was found by Prof. Bessey in this place several years ago. I send drawings for identification —F/. E. L. Beal, An ABNORMAL Foor IN AmBtysroma.-—In a specimen of Amblystoma punctatum Baird, which I found in Williamstown, Mass., the second or largest toe of the right hind foot presented an unusual abnormality, being bifid at the tip. e osseous skeleton showed the same peculiarity, there being two terminal phalanges articulating with the penultimate one.— F. S. Kingsley. Notes on Myriopops.—I have recently found several species of Myriopoda in Williamstown, which are of interest from the fact that their known localities are very few. Among these are Pauropus huxleyi Lubbock, Eurypauropus spinosus Ryder, and Trichopetalum lunatum Harger. Pauropus huxleyi, an English species, has heretofore been only reported from Fairmount Park by Mr. Ryder, which also was the only known locality of Eury- pauropus. Trichopetalum has been found in New Haven and in Philadelphia. The locality where the specimens were found was on “Stone Hill,” a iimestone elevation, and with them were asso- ciated large numbers of Campodea staphylinus Westwood. I might also state that I have found here Helix asteriscus Morse, it being its first occurrence in Massachusetts.— 7. S. Kingsley. Seconp FLIGHT or DraGon-FLIES—I have now to report that last evening (May 24th), on the top of West Hill, in Melrose, I witnessed what to all appearance was a movement precisely like that of last year (see this journal, Vol. xiv, p. 132). “The. mes were moving over the hill in a business-like fashion, all going 10 — the same direction, from one to six being in sight at once. I =- watched them for nearly half an hour and they weré still passing when I came away. Nobody could see them, I think, without being convinced that they were moved by a common impulse, 7, for myself, I can hardly doubt that such migrations will be foe to be things of regular occurrence. What their occasion an design are I am not entomologist enough even to guess. should be glad to be enlightened.— Bradford Torrey. 1380. | Zoology. ; 595 BrEEDING Hasits oF Spipers.—On the afternoon of the fifth of June we were lying on the ground in a dry pasture looking among the short grass, when we noticed a pair of crab spiders, Aysticus, under a slanting grass leaf. The female stood head fe downward holding on by a few N threads across the leaf (see figure). ° IE o Her abdomen was turned a little : iF hey ES, outward and the male, when we Ba NWN e SY SA G e a ENT) NaN a abdomen and his right on the g grass leaf. He stood there for a few minutes, now and then working his palpi up and down, then ran up over the female several times and settled himself in the position in the figure over the end of her abdomen with his head just behind her epigynum. After a few moments when he appeared to have his palpus in use, we pushed away the surrounding grass and broke off the leaf on which the spiders were, without disturbing them in the least and found the left palpus in the epigynum with the spinal muscle M inflated. The size of this muscle varied continually, swelling out to its full extent in a sausage shape, and then slowly contracting. We watched him for ten minutes during which he removed his palpus once and inserted the same once again. We then put grass and all into a bottle without disturbing the spiders, but when we looked at them again on reaching home they had separated.—F. H. Emerten. i Nores on New anp Rare Fisues oF THE Pactric Coast.— It was until recently currently believed that very few additional Species would be found upon the Pacific coast of the United States. The publication of descriptions of three new flat-fishes and a scomberoid form, in 1879, threw some little doubt upon this idea, and the discoveries since made, both by Prof. S. Jordan and by the writer, will, when the results are published, prove © beyond a doubt that the Pacific icthyological fauna is far richer ` ` than it was supposed to be, and probably richer than the Atlantic. The Pacific is z%e ocean of the world—the main body of its waters are collected in its vast expanse, and it is only natural to Suppose that when men of the more advanced civilizations have Searched its shores and its depths as thoroughly as they have Searched those of the smaller Atlantic, it will be found that its fauna is rich in proportion to its larger dimensions. If we con- fine our attention solely to the west coast of North America, we shall find that several groups are peculiar to the region, or are at most represented only by scattered species elsewhere; while others that are tolerably well represented in the Atlantic have ; headquarters here. The family Scorpenidz, consisting of the genera Scorpena, OO .. General Notes. [ August, Sebastes, and their allies, mailed-cheeked scaly fishes, with perfect ventrals, short anal, and first dorsal more developed than the second, has its headquarters upon this coast. When Dr. W. O. Ayres, in the early days of the California Academy of Sciences, about eighteen years ago, added four addi- tional species to the already known eight or nine described by himself or by Dr. Girard, the announcement was received. wit doubt. > The writer, resident in San Francisco during the last six years, quickly identified all the described species but one, nor was it long before he perceived several types which differed somewhat from any of them. s, however, he was dependent for compari- son upon isolated examples brought to the local museum, and upon the supply of the market, he was unable to thoroughly con- vince himself whether the three or four varieties of color, accom- panied as they were by only slight differences in the form and prominence of the spines of the head, were really species, or only color varieties. But this question is now fully settled by Prof. D. S. Jordan, who, commencing at San Diego, and working north- wards to San Francisco, everywhere with abundant means of comparison, has proved that not only three or four, but eight or nine constant and specifically distinct types of this tribe occur, 1n addition to those before described; so that more than twenty species are now (March 14, 1880) known, and it is not unlikely that the list may be still further increased when Prof. Jordan and his comrade Mr. Gilbert have searched the coast northward to Puget Sound. The number of flat-fishes (Pleuronectide) now known to be found between San Diego and Puget Sound exceeds that known on the Atlantic coast of the United States. In my “ Review of the Pleuronectidze of San Francisco” (Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus., 1879), I enumerate thirteen species, three of them new to science. To these must be added a true sole, the first found upon the coast, discovered by Prof. Jordan at San Diego; a flounder allied to Hippoglossoides, but forming the type of a new genus, found by the same ichthyologist at Wilmington and Santa Barbara, and a species of Platysomatichthys (Bleeker), a stray specimen of which found its way into the market of San Francisco, Add to these the more northern Pleuronectes franklinii, and we have a total of seventeen species, without counting two unidentified species described by Pallas, a total which, in the light of recent discover- ies, must not be accepted as final, since the coast from 5an Fran- cisco northward may yield new forms to the hard-working explor- ers of the United States Fish Commission. The specimens of the Platysomatichthys found were evidently the young of a larger form, and Prof. Jordan confidently expects to find more and larger — specimens as he proceeds northward. The conclusion arrived at by the writer that the species re-de- scribed by himself as Pleuronichthys canosus is the Eleuronectes 1880. | Zoology. . oe quadrituberculatus of Pallas, is endorsed by Prof. Jordan; but as numerous specimens found south of San Francisco are devoid of the tubercles upon the cheeks, the latter suspects that there may be two species. The form described by me in the paper before mentioned as Lepidopsetta umbrosa (Girard) Gill, turns out to be a new species; but as the Platichthys umbrosus of Girard is, as stated by Dr. Gill, synonymous with the Pleuronectes bilineatas of Dr. Ayres, this does not increase the number of species in the group. For this species the specific name zsolepis is proposed, on account of the uniform structure of the scales—a character by which it may at once be distinguished from its nearest ally, Lepidopsetta ( Heuro- nectes; bilineata. Other characters are, its regularly oval form, small eyes, and the comparatively low arch formed on the pectoral region by the lateral line. In general appearance it closely resembles small specimens of Psettichthys melanostictus, and is confounded with that species by the dealers, who fail to notice its smaller mouth, rougher scales, and more oval form. The curious family of small mailed fishes, known as Agonide, has now so many known representatives here that it becomes prob- , 98 General Notes. [August, continuous dorsal fin and longer gill-rakers; and was described from specimens brought from Alaska by Mr. W. J. Fisher; the second is a true Chirus, not uncommon in the markets of this city, and the third is a very peculiar form} constituting a sub- family. The species of the genus Chirus are called sea-trout by some dealers in our markets, while others confound them with the Scor- pzenidz under the common name of reck-fish or rock-cod. The species found in our markets are very nearly related to each other, so much so that were it not for the unvarying pattern of the col- oration, it would be hard to tell them apart. The peculiar form just mentioned does not look like a Chiroid, but closely simulates the sea-perches, such as the Jew-fish. As, however, it has the structure of the cheeks which distinguishes the Chirida, Prof. Jordan believes it must be placed along with them. It is certainly intermediate between the Chiridz and the Scorpzenide, and must be gathered into one of them. The Chiridz, like the viviparous’ perch, are peculiar to the North Pacific, but the large fatnily of the Cottidz or Sculpins, is much more widely spread. Three additional forms of Cottide have lately been described. and small fishes. A third occurs in the fresh-water lakes of the Island of Kodiak, Alaska, and belongs to the well-known genus Uranidea. . : A fortuitously obtained trio of fishes, said to be from deep water, has enriched our coast with another family of fishes pecul- iar to it. Blenno’d in aspect, with soft and flexible bones, a con- tinuous dorsal without any definite spines, and a long anal, Jordan believes that its affinities are with the Trachinids. Tw species are known, one of them scaleless, but with small prickles upon the fins, and prickly scutellz along the lateral line; the other scaly, and differing considerably in other respects, 50 that it is not improbable that several intermediate forms will ultimately | be found. | To the fishes before mentioned must be added a singular hump- backed Catostomus from the Gila, said to be tolerably abundant ;* an Osmerus which has hitherto escaped notice, though sufficiently common in the San Francisco market; a Lycodoid (Leurynus paucidens), a Scomberoid, ( Chriomitra concolor), and a MY. xine (Bdellostoma stoutii) from the same locality ; a well characterized species of Hemitripterus from Alaska, and a Sparus from Magda- — 1880. ] Zoblogy. 599 lena bay, Lower California; all noticed by the writer; and three rays found south of San Francisco by Prof. Jordan. e Myxiné may possibly prove to be identical with one previ- ously described from the coast of. Chili (Bdellostoma polytrema), as it is said that the number of gill openings was not accurately counted in the Chilian type, but there is also a difference in the number of teeth. Of the three rays mentioned, one is a Dasy- batis, the second is a form connecting Dasybatis with Raia, while a third is a Raia. Altogether about forty species of marine fishes have been noted by Prof. Jordan and myself during the past eighteen months, and as the former is only at the commencement of his labors, and has only searched the coast from San Francisco southward, it is prob- able that he will find several more between the latter point and Puget sound. From the immense stretch of sea coast included in Alaska, a continental line of more than twice the length of that of the acific coast of the United States, we may expect many additional species when the United States Fish Commission gets fairly to work upon it. Glypiocephalus pacificus and Glyptocephalus sachirus —The reason that these two species escaped description so long is probably to be found in the fact, that those brought to the market are brought from. Point Reyes, about thirty miles north of San Francisco, : where there was no fishery until about three years ago. Neither of these species is at any time taken in abundance, and both are absent from the market, with rare exceptions, during the winter months, so that it is probable that at that season they resort to deeper water. Scorpis californiensts—This species, hitherto believed to be of rare occurrence, has been ascertained by Prof. Jordan to be the most common species in the Santa Barbara channel, constituting the bulk of the catch taken for the Los Angeles market. Torpedo californica—This species is, I believe, rare in collec- tions. The only example in our local museum is the small alco- holic specimen which probably formed the type of Ayres’ original description. It was therefore with some interest that I observed in our market a large individual, taken in Tomales bay. _I subjoin a few dimensions: Feet. Inches. L Total length % Greatest width across pectoral fins when first measured.... 2 Ditto after lying spread out for about 24 hours..........-. + 726 idth across ventrals I I Longitudinal diameter of ONG lacie ek cease E teks % Front of disk to center of mouth when the latter is closed, 2% Ditty ty Sable Of maths. (inca ey iny e saaa y 3 mato asi dorsala Ss ee ae pees on I n3% WIG serra daal os eee eee 2 X Ditto to vent ened 9% Snterocdlas: width. 3,08) irita x 2% i dh Lt 5 EE Rs ree ae ketaka CE at 31 TANP OF base of Fst dorsali 4. Se Sa eee 2% Mennt of Sst dorsales. dinas (860 AN OS 4 qieueth Of ‘base of 3d. dorsal i- iios dhase sleek smakedaeue 1% PACH. OF 20) GOMalsly keii ca beer es ee hie secs aI 2 Frontal disk to eye: 3. sie oes ae eae en a 244 Ditto:to anterior edge of spiracles, 2.5.5. cies cesiecedes 24 Length of Spirachlar Gpening...«.2a..« sings 9 tr oi am wh ei oS I The dealers state that this fish attains still larger dimensions. Cephaloscyliium laticeps.—This species is one of the most singu- lar additions to the fauna of our coast hitherto made. It was previously known only from two examples and a skull, all from New Zealand. Below Point Conception, Prof. Jordan found this curious shark, which has the power of inflating itself after the fashion of a balloon fish (Diodon tetrodon) to be the most com- mon of its tribe, so common, indeed, that it is largely taken for the sake of the oil that can be procured from it.” It attains a length of rather more than three feet, and has a very broad head, equal in width to one-fourth the total length of the fish. It does not inflate its skin, but its stomach, as was experimentally proved, and when inflated, floats away upon its back.—W. N. Lockington. Spilomyia as an admirable instance of protective resemblance. similar example I recorded several years since when I extended my net to catch what I supposed to be a white-faced wasp, and just before capturing it, found that it was a Syrphus fly (Spilo- myia).—A. S. Packard, Fr. ' Mate EELS IN Hoittanp.—An article on the reproductive or- gans of male eels and the differences between the sexes, is con- — tributed to Zoologischer Anzeiger for June 7, by S. T. Cattie, of | Arnheim, Holland. He says,“ that it is not to be wondered at at male eels are so seldom found, since the young éel finds its way _ into deep water; there the reproductive organs rapidly develop — (6-8 weeks); they then lay eggs, and the old eels, both female and male, die after reproduction. Hence the spermatozoa are wanting and in most cases even the mother-cells of the testes, 5°. 1880. | Zoology. 601 that the study of the histological structure of the organs of Syrski can bring us somewhat nearer to the truth of the matter.” He then describes the lobulated organ of Syrski, found also in American males by Packard and Kingsley. Cattie also describes what he regards as the seminal duct, previously studied histologi- cally and so considered by Freud.) Its structure is like that of the immature teStes of fishes. In the largest of the eel with the or- gans of Syrski (lappenorgan), which was 445 centimeters in length, Cattie found a tube-like cord, which extends from the base to the end of the bow-shaped indentation of the streak which extends along the testes, and which is filled with cells. This string of cells shows the most undoubted similarity to the sperm mother- cells of the testes. He observed no spermatozoa in his eels. Cattie then quotes the sexual differences in the eel given by Jacoby.? These are differences in the head; which is broader in the females, than the narrower and more pointed snout of the eels with the lobulated organs of Syrski; all the females moreover have a higher, broader dorsal fin than the males, while the latter are said to be darker green, more metallic on the sides, and blacker on the back of the body; and eels with the organs of Syrski have larger eyes, though Jacoby states that large-eyed females also occur. Cattie’s measurements confirm Jacoby’s statement that the females have a higher dorsal fin; he thinks that the females on the whole have larger eyes, while the best external sexual dif- ference is the smaller and more pointed, less flattened, more con- vex head of the males; but he found no permanent differences of coloration. as these bodies before the matter can be regarded as finally Send. ™ >, NOTES ON THE WINTERING OF THE Ropin.—I see that in the last NATURALIST, the appearance of robins at Evanston, Ill., is made the text for a theory of bird migrations. In Western Iowa, at about the same latitude, robins remain in wooded valleys through- out the winter. Last December I observed them in flocks in the underbrush along the Missouri river, opposite Plattsmouth, Neb. n the uplands, which are about three hundred feet higher and * Litzungsberichte der Kais. Akad. der Wissenschaften. Wien, 1877, Marzheft. * Dr. L, Jacoby, Der Fischfang in der Lagune ven Commachio. VOL, X1v.—No, VHI. 39 602 General Notes. { August, more open, they are not frequently observed during the winter months . J. Maynard records the robin as a resident of Eastern Massachusetts, although they sometimes do not remain all winter. Chr ysomitris tristis is also found here abundantly during the win- ter. Lophophanes bicolor, Sitta carolinensis and Centurus carolinus have been noticed more rarely. May it not be that a few warm days in spring call out the ear- lier birds from neighboring wooded valleys rather than from the south? Yet I see no serious objection to the idea that the mi- gration of birds is largely due to the prevailing winds.—F# £. Todd, Tabor, Towa. Tue Eyes AND Brain OF CERMATIA FoRCEPS.—Mr. Norman N. Mason has made preparations of the eyes of this myriopod, which, contrary to the statement in this journal last year, is not uncommon in Providence, R. I., in dark places, and which is use- ful as a spider-destroyer. The eye of this myriopod appears to be constructed on the same plan as that of other species of the sub- class, but differing in important respects. Though Cermatia is said to have compound eyes in contradistinction from the so-called “ ocelli of other myriopods, the latter are likewise truly aggregated or com- pound, the “ocelli” being composed of contiguous facets, the nerve-fibres supplying them arising in the same general manner from the optic nerve as in Cermatia, where the facets are much more numerous. The eye of the Cermatia is composed of a hemis- pherical, many-facetted cornea, the lenses of which are shallow, doubly convex, being quite regularly lenticular, the chitinous sub- stance being laminated as usual: Each corneal lens is underlaid by a retina about as thick as the cornea, the inner surface of each retinal mass being convex. Corresponding to each lens is a sepa- rate mass of connective tissue which increases in thickness from the end of the optic nerve outward towards the cornea ; though the entire retina of the eye extends back to the ganglion opiicum. retina of the eye, lies next to the corneal lens a layer of “ vitreous cells” or “lens-epithelium”’ of Graber. This layer is succeeded by the series of rather large visual rods, one in each mass correspond- ing to each corneal lens; these rods are long and sharp, conical at the end, which extends nearly to the inner edge of the re mass ; they each possess a nucleus, and the connective tissue en- veloping the rods is nucleated, while there is an irregular layer of nucleated cells near or around the ends of the rods. There are no cones; these not being yet detected in the eye of myriopods. : This layer of cells is succeeded by a thin, slightly curvilinear, transverse strip of connective tissue passing through the sare eye, and behind it are the loose, nucleated spherical cells forming the ganglion opticum., i i The brain of Cermatia forceps, as shown by several sections, !5 1880. | Anthropology. 603 developed on the same plan as in Bothropolys, and so far as we see, the myriopodan brain corresponds more closely in its general form and histology with that of the insects than the Crustacea. The large, thick optic nerve arises from the upper side of each hemisphere. The median furrow above is deep, and on each side is a mass of small ganglion cells; also a mass in the deep fissure below the origin of the optic nerve, and another mass.on the in- ferior lobe extending down each side of the cesophagus, probably near or at the origin of the posterior commissure. These masses, ie., those on the upper and under side of the brain, connect on each side of the median line, and in this respect the brain is as in Bothropolys. There are no large ganglion cells as in Crustacea, including Limulus. There is then, no very close resemblance in form or histology, between the eye and brain of Limulus and the myriopods, the two types of eye being essentially different—A. S. Packard, Fr. ZooLocicat Notes.—A communication by Dr. W. J. Hoffman, on a supposed hybrid between the lynx and domestic cat, was lately read before the Zodlogical Society of London. The second example of Archzopteryx, with the head, is now on deposit in the Geological Museum of Berlin. It was bought, ac- cording to Mature, for about $5000, by Herr Siemens, of Berlin, in order to save it from importation to the United States. M. Viallanes finds that the heart of insects is at first a simple tube open only at its two ends. So long as it has no lateral orifice it is completely arterial. Undoubted alligators have been dis- covered in the Yang-tse-Kiang, the first of this genus to occur in the Old World. In the same river occurs the Polyodon, the only other existing species of this ganoid living in the Mississippi. Prof. E. Van Beneden has discovered the existence of a double circulatory apparatys and two kinds of blood in parasitic Copepoda (Clavella, Coiericcte and Lernanthropus). The leaf-like lamella growing from the end of the body of Lernanthropus are true gills, like those of Annelids. There is no true heart; the circula- tion of the two fluids being caused by the contraction of the ) In certain worms, the closed vessels contain a-red blood without. corpuscles, while the connected lacunæ of the body (not true vessels) contain colorless blood with white corpuscles.— Th use of the swimming bladder of fishes is to regulate the migration of fishes, according to M. Marangoni. ey have to Counteract its action by their fins. It produces a double instabil- ity, one of level, the other of position. z ANTHROPOLOGY.* Puesto Inprans.—The Pueblos of New Mexico and Arizona are towns or villages inhabited by Indians of various races and Speaking different languages. i When we omit the Indians inhab- ' HEdited by Prof. Oris T. Mason, Columbian College, Washington, D. C. 604 General Notes. (August, iting the Middle Gila river, who are also sometimes spoken of as Pueblo Indians, the languages of the others are divisible into four families. Shinumo.— The Shinumo (sometimes called Móki) speak a -language of the Sho-sho-ni-an, considerably differing, however, from the neighboring Pai-Ute, Uta and Californian dialects of this chief. These are the only Pueblos in Arizona, the remainder bein within the limits of New Mexico. The following authors are known to have written or left manu- scripts on this ee PALMER, Dr. EDWARD.—Vocabulary of about 200 words (MSS.). PALMER, CAPT. A. b. eee of about 200 words (MSS.). Simpson, J. H.—Voc r aget the Moqui, 38 words, (In Journal of a Military listoausisiance &c.,; Na . 1850, 8vo.) . BUSCHMANN, J. C. E.— Vaker eae Sprachen Neu-Mexicos.” Akad, der Wis- senschaften. ‘Berlin, 1856, Loew, Pipette abulary of a o0 wor ed rc some elements of grammar. In A: cr tschet “ Zwölf Sprachen ’ Weimar, 1876, 8vo Powe! J. J. W.—Vocabulary of the Stasi thet at Oraibi, one of the Pain (MSS). Zunian.—Zuni (pron. Sunyi), a comprehensive name given to three inhabited and as many ruined Pueblos in Northwestern New Mexico, south of the Navajo Reservation: Zuñi, Old Zuni or Cibola (ruine The linguistic literature is as follows: POA J- H.—Vocabulary b Zuñi, about 40 words in Journal of Military space aissance, &c., pp. 140-144, Wash., 1850, 8vo feo Mare J. fe i ac abi a ag a (In Schoolcraft, Vol. 11, pP- wiertes Laur A. W.—V. ponor in Pacific R. R. Rep., III, 2, pp. 91-93. BuscHMANN, J. C. E.—“ pee und Sprachen Neu-Megfcos.” Akad. der Wis- ude. Berlin, 1856, : PALMER, DR. E.—Vocabulary ei ibit 60 words (MSS.). Kuerr, Francis—The Zuñi Indians of New Mexico. In Popular Science Monthly, N.Y.,-1874, pp. 58c—391 (illus., Bihnological Iena J. S.—-List of names given to Zuñi pottery, 1879 (MSS.). Kéran—Kéra, Span. Quera, plur. Queres, an ancient. name of unknown signification given to Pueblo Indians west of the Rio Grande. Locally they are divided into two branches: I. A northeastern branch on the Rio Grande, embracing San Felipe, Santo Domingo, Cótchiti, Santa Aña and Cia (Silla, Tse-a) ; 2. A western branch on the Rio San Juan, embracing Kawaikome, Laguna, Povate, Hasatch and Mogino. The linguistic literature is as follows: aust H. mhiar gt A Kéra, about 3. words. (In Journal of Military econnaissance, &c., Wash., 1850, pp. 140-143, 8vo Aap» . H. H.. EL chilii or New Mexied and her people,” N. Y., 18575 PP- 157-159, 8vo. » 1880. | Anthropology. 605 WHIPPLE, LIEUT. A. W.--Vocabulary of Kiwomi, about 200 p, and of Cochi- temi, about a words. (In Pacific R. R. Report, 11, 2, pp. 86-89.) AITA N, J. C. E.— pg igre Sprachen, Neu-Mexicos.” Phy der Wis- schaiten, Berlin, 1856, 4 Loww, TN — Vocabulary of an ta Afia, about 200 words anda few sentences. n A. S, Gatschet “ Zwölf Sprachen,’ Weimar, 1870, 8vo athe Oscar. —Vocabnlary of oor (Lbid.) KLETT, FrRANcIs—Vocabul Anm about 60 words, 1873 (MSS ). MENAUL, JOHN— Te: cher — Specimens of Laguna primer Cand catechism, with Hie Fee es aion (MSS.). 7éwan.—The largest number of Indian towns in New Mexico, along the Rio Grande, speak dialects of the Téwan. It seeins that in former times these dialects extended far into Texas and Chihuahua, along the same river, though only a few scattered remnants of them are now remaining there Of this family five main divisions may be made, these being er unintelligibl ckana: lia. aea Isleta ca Fi Paso ; Sandia. 5 Taos: Taos (Indian, Taxe) ; 3. Jemes: Jemes (old Pecos is Seat with it). 4. Tewa or Tehua (“ house, houses ”): San Ildefonso, San Juan, Pojoaque, Nambe, Tesuque, Santa Clara and one of the Moki Pueblos. Of these Pueblos, Santa Clara is the only one located on the western bank of the Rio Grande. 5. Piro in Sinect, south of El Paso. Linguistic literature : Simpson, JH. eMe of Jemes, etc., 30 words, pp. 140-143, reprinted in Davis, “ El Grin Wuitinc, Davin V. batt ocabulary of Tesuque, about 400 words, (In Schoolcraft, Ill, pp. 446-450. Ihuscuéa tin , J. C. E.—“ Volker und Sprachen,” Berlin, 1856, 4to. POEN; Oscar—lIsleta, ec San Ildefonso, San Juan, aeg of about 230 ` words each, ar nd s ces from Tesuque (about fifi ty). (in A. S. Gatschet, «© Zwölf Sprachen, 2 Weimar , 1876, 8v l : PALMER, Dr. E.—Vocabulary a Taowa (MSS.). MR: J. R.—Vocabularies of Piro, of pain of sagt (viz: Téhua, Tewa) Yarrow, Dr. H. C: pareki : Los Luceros (MSS Vocabulary of Los Tads. In A: 5. Gatichets ” Tet Sprachen,” Weimar, 1876; 8vo Kanvz, AUG: ee —Vocabulary of Isleta, 1869 (MSS.). Ginis GrorGe—Vocabulary of Isleta, 1868 (MSS.). —F. W. Powell, PRE-ADAMITES.—This designation is the external title of a vol- ume just issued in Chicago, by S. C. Griggs & Co., of which the full title is as follows: “€ Pre-adamites ; or a demonstration of the exis- tence of men before Adam ; together with a study of their con- dition, antiquity, racial affinities and progressive dispersion over e earth, with charts and other illustrations, by Alexander Winchell, LL.D.” The paper, press work and illustrations are 606 General Notes. [ August, excellent, and reflect great credit on the publishers. The work consists of 478 pages, and may be considered under three very” different aspects, the biblical or exegetical, the ethnographical or descriptive and the ethnological or deductive. From an exegetical point of view, the author states that the account of Creation in Genesis has long been interpreted to mean, 1, That the world, with all it contains, was created by God ; 2. That this occurred 4000 years B. C.; 3. That it was accomplished in six days; 4. That Adam was created on the sixth day; 5. That Eve was formed from a rib of Adam; 6. That Adam and others lived over goo years; 7. That the creation of man occurred in Western Asia; 8. That about 1636 A. M. a deluge destroyed the whole race save Noah and his family; 9. That all existing races came from Noah; 10. That the black races de- scended from Ham. On the contrary, Prof. Winchell holds, and defends with a great deal of learning, that the three dispersions of the posterity of Noah refer to the white race alone, embracing the blonde family (Japhetites or Aryans), the brunette family (Semites) and the sun burnt family (Hamites). The brown races, both Mongoloid (Tar- tar, Turanian) and Dravidian, and the black races, including Negro, Hottentot, Papuan and Australian are extra-Noachic and extra-Adamic. i All the legitimate and logical results from such a position are fully and freely admitted by the author; such as the rejection of the old chronology, non-inspiration of the narrative portion of the Old Testament, the application of apparent names of indi- viduals to tribes or nations. f In the ethnographic portion of the volume, the author has done his best work. It is not too much to say that there is no single work in our language which brings together so much © the latest investigations concerning the tribes of men inhabiting our Pre-adamite. : ; The discussions of ethnological probiems show that the author is cognizant of the latest phases ot the subject. The one to which he devotes the most space and in which he gives loose reins to his glowing style, is the question of racial cistinctions and the possibility of degeneracy. Some of his reflections upon Negro inferiority in answer to Drs. Strong, Whelan and others, will, doubtless, bring down upon him no little castigation. Apro- pos of degeneracy, Prof. Winchell makes a very neat distinction between séructural and cultural degradation, pp. 274-252; main- 1880. | Anthropology. 607 taining that the former rarely or never occurs, and that the oft- mentioned instances of race degeneracy is cultural or circum- stantial. In the later chapters of the work the genealogy of the three groups of races, the cradle of humanity, the antiquity of man. and his priscan condition are ably and exhaustingly discussed. In conclusion, there is no doubt that whether the author desires it or not, this volume will excite more good, faithful study, and more ill-tempered writing on the subject of anthropology than eid other work that has appeared in our country during the last ecade. : MATERIAUX POUR L’HisTorRE pe L'Homme. — This old and established journal plods along, and although mainly devoted to local matters, contains, occasionally, papers of general interest. Nos. 7-12, 1879, are before us with the following budget: In No. 7 MM. Cazalis de Fondouce and Helbig treat of the archeology and early history of Italy, with bibliographical references. i Noulet reviews M. Mourai’s work on the age of polished stone and of bronze in Cambodia. At the close of the number will be found a review of the labors of the Swedish Anthropological Society. No. 8 is taken up with brief reports on the anthro- pology of the French Association of 1879, and aiso of the Ger- man Congress of Anthropologists. Nos. g and 10 give us valu- able summaries upon the labors of Abbé Bourgeois and of the Anthropological Society of Berlin, and a programme of the forth- coming Congress of Archologists at Lisbon, and of the Con- gress of Americanists. The last number of the year is the most attractive, being nearly taken up with a paper upon the tumuli of Avezac (Hautes-Pyréneés), illustrated by five beautifully executed lithographic plates. _ With Nos. 1 and 2 of 1880, this standard journal enters upon its eleventh year. No. I opens with a paper, by Dr. Gross, upon the latest discoveries in the lacustrian habitations of Lake Bienne, a small expanse of the river Aar, north of Lake Neufchatel. The Interest in the investigations is heightened by the fact that the draining of the marshes has rendered‘ the old sites amenable to cultivation, and the farmers have not been slow in taking up these rich bottom lands. Some old lacustrine stations have already ge. The ninth session of the International Congress of Anthro- pology and Prehistoric Archeology will be held in Lisbon, Sept. 20-29. President, J. de Andrade Corvo. - 608 General Notes. [ August, ARcH moLoGicaL Hints.—Mr. Josiah Morrow, ina letter to the Smithsonian Institution, describes a work in Warren county, Ohio, in which the earth of the banks is very much altered by fire. Is there any evidence in this of Mr, Morgan’s theory that many of our earthworks were sites of communal dwellings? The earth may have been baked by the lodge fires, n a conversation with Mr. Stevenson about the process of pot- tery manufacture among the Pueblo Indians, I found that the women, in making those symmetrical, round- bottomed jars, use as a support a box of fine dry sand, They turn the mass around in the sand while they are working it-up into shape. After finish- ing the jar, they wash off the sand and cover the surface with a thin paste of prepared clay and water. In this rude support, so secure and yet so yielding, I could but see the ga Sig: of the potter’s wheel. Since writing the foregoing, I hav en Mr. Schumacher’s o of pottery making in California, which confirms fia The same Tadians in making their wares, owing to the scarcity of fresh pE use the rackish waters of the saline pools. The clay itself is also impregnated with salt. It may be that this necessity, SO frequently the “mother of invention,” is the true secret of the quasi glazing found Fo much of the Pueblo pot- tery, eel the oldest.—O. PROF. Frower’s LECTURES. oe the past season Prof. J. W. Flower delivered a course of lectures before the Royal Col- lege of Surgeons in Engla e have earnestly desired to see a full report of the ee as “yet the best account is a series of short reviews in ee British Medical Fournal for April and May of this current year. BIBLIOGRAPHY : ANDERSON, W.—A history of Japanese art. Tr. As. Soc. of a Vil, iv. BrisBin J. S.—Tracing the Red men. Potters Am. TEPES, Chinese Proverbs. (Chambers Journal) Eclectic Mag y. COCKBURN, e arae from the Khasi hills. > Roy. As. Soc. of Ben- al, XLVII Chippers of a (Cornhill Mag. ) Eclectic Mag., EN Crania of Murderers. S¢. Louis Courter pri Cus, R, To ihe Korean lan nguage. a X. Philol. r » 1879. : HuGHes, T. Mc “phe hesseni state of the evidence bearing on the question of ; : the antiquity a ma . of Science, April. ae Kirghiz Proverbs. eae March's 27. Memory, Indian opal of. (Atheneum) Living Age, April 17. SS RAWLINSON, > C.—-Notes on a aar ao clay cylinder of Cyrus the Great. a F. Roy. As. Soe of Gri Britain, Jan. = RECLUS, E Grodin of primitive es oples. Jnternat. Rev., gar ony R. S.—The Mound-builders of America. ee of Am. History, Rove, J. R.—Indian metal work. Magazine of Art, April. 1880. | Geology and Palecntology. z 609 £ w, E.—Ancient Japanese rituals. Zy. As. Soc. of Japan, VIL, ii, iv. SCHJEFNER, PROF.—On the languages of the Caucasus. Zr. Philol. Soc., 1879. Srour, Rev. H.—Inscriptions in Shimabara and Amakusa. Zy. of As. Soc. of Japan. Vil, iii. TAYLOR, E. C.—Musical instruments of all ages. Vat. Repository, April. GEOLOGY AND PALAONTOLOGY. Extinct Barracuia.—The recent discoveries of Dr. Anton Fritsch in the Permian “ gaskohle” of Bohemia,' have added greatly to the interest of this subject. This gentleman has discov- ered many specimens in an excellent state of preservation. This enables him to give details of the osteology of several types, which has been hitherto a desideratum. He refers all the Batrachia to the Stegocephali, and has, up to this time, given an account of the species of three families, for which he uses the names Branchio- Sauride, Apatcontide and Æstopoda. He gives thorough accounts of the structure of a leading genus in each, of Branchio- Saurus, Melanerpeton and Dolichosoma respectively. The speci- mens are so well preserved that his descriptions and figures are very instriictive.. He shows that Branchiosaurus possessed branchize apparently internal, and of a totally different type from those of existing gilled Batrachia or their extinct representative, Cocytinus, from the coal measures of Linton, Ohio.. Dolichosoma was, like our Phlegethontia, a snake-like form, with ribs and with- Out extremities, and with external gills. The presence of ribs distinguishes it from our Phlegetiontia, although Dr. Fritsch thinks the present writer in error in denying them to the latter genus. He thinks he sees them in the figure of P. serpens in Vol. 11 of the Palaontology of Ohio, The marks in the position of ribs on the block there figured, were stated to represent, in all probability, traces of the longitudinal tendons so well developed in Amp/liuma, and they furnish no ground fora belief in the presence of ribs. Dr. Fritsch describes some curious pectinate bones which he supposes to belong to the external generative Organs of Ophiderpeton. Dr. Wiedersheim gives? a very full account of the osteology of an only moderately preserved specimen of a batrachian from the Bunter sandstone (Lower Trias) of Switzerland. The structure of the pelvic and scapular arches, and of the limbs, are best given, and a cast of the cranial cavity is described. He reviews the Systematic work previously done, intercalating his own results. e remark here that in one instance he takes an analytical key ol genera given by Cope for a systematic classification, and very naturally criticises it adversely. . 1 187 ? Labyrinthodon rütimeyeri Abh. d. Schweiz. Paleont. Gesselsch. Von, R. Wie- dersheim. Zürich, 1878. ; esra der Gaskohle und der Kalksteine der Permformation Boehmens. Prag 1880. 610 General Notes. | August, Prof. Cope, in the Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society for May, 1880 (Palzontological Bulletin, No. 32), enters into the structure of the genera Eryops and Trimerorhachis, and re-defines the sub-order Ganocephala, showing that it differs materially from other Stegocephah in the structure of the verte- bral column The present occasion is a convenient one for a further addition to the subject, which chiefly concerns the genus Cricotus. This remarkable form has been characterized in this journal? and else- where? by the complete development of its centra and intercentra, both of which form entire vertebral bodies and in pairs support sin- gle neural arches. No such character has been detected in the known divisions of the Stegocephali, but before establishing a new one for it, I have waited further information. Additional knowledge of its structure shows that it is the type of a distintinct division of the Stegocephal, which may be defined as follows: Centra and intercentra subequally developed as vertebral bodies, a single neural arch supported by one of each, forming a double body. evron bones supported only by intercentra. Basioccip!- tal vertebral articulation cup-like, connected with the first verte- bra by an undivided discoid intercentrum. Thus the peculiarity of the vertebral column in general is car- ried into the cephalic articulation, and we have, instead of the complex atlas of the Ganocephala, a single body connecting occipital condyle and first vertebra. This body represents, 1n all probability, the single occipital condyle of the-Reptilian skull. This part, as is well known, remains cartilaginous in the lizara* long after the basioccipital is ossified, and is a distinct element. The struc- ture of Cricotus shows that it is a connate intercentrum. We ave not been derived from the Ladyrinthodontia as has been sug- gested, nor from the Ganocephala, but from the Embolomera, as I call the new order, or sub-order. The order of Reptilia which stands next to it is, of course, the Zicromorpha, which presents so many Batrachian characters, including intercentra, as od for the first time pointed out in the paper above quoted. Be- sides Cricotus, Fritsch describes a genus from Bohemia under the name Liplovertebron, which I suspect to belong to the Lmbo- lomera.—E. D. Cope. Tue GENEALOGY OF THE AMERICAN RHINOCEROSES.— The ee Aceratherium has been supposed to be represented in Nort 1 Cope, Proceedings Academy, Phila., 1875, p. 403. 2 1778, p. 319, May 22, * Proceed. Amer. Philos. Soc., 1878, p. 522. *See Parker on the development of the skull of the Lizard, Philos. Trans., Lon- don, 1979. i 1880. ] Geology and Paleontoogy. 611 America on account of the agreement of the species of the White River beds in dentition and absence of horn, with the A. incistvum of Europe. It seems now that none of the American species have the four digits in the manus, which is characteristic of Aceratherium, but that that member is three-toed, as in Aphelops. Even in the Eocene period, the most rhinoceros-like genus, Triplopus (Cope, this Journal, 1880, p. 383), was already three-toed. he lower Miocene species show in their superior incisor teeth that their position is between the two genera named. Triplopus probably has, like Hyrachyus, incisors $; the Rhinocerus occiden- talis of Leidy, ł, while in Aphelops Cope, they are t. In Peraceras Cope (this Journal, 1880, p. §40) superior incisors are wanting, he series of genera will ‘then be as follows. The table only differs'from the one already given in the NATURALIST (1879, p- 771e), by the interjection of the two new genera named. The collateral genera are omitted. Calodonta Ja Rhinocerus. Atelodus. E Ceratorhinus. Peraceras. Poer Aphelops. | Cenopus. * Triplopus. The characters of Cenopus are as follows. Dentition; I. #; c. t3 M. t; M$. Digits 3—3. The typical species is C. mitis (Acera- therium Cope).—E. D. Cope. A Genus tn Anticipation.—In a late number of the Revue Scientifique, M. Mortillet discusses the probable maker of the flints found in the Miocene deposits of Thenay, Cantal, and of a locality in Portugal. He rejects the proposition ef Gaudry that 612 General Notes. [ August, ‘the artificer was the Dryofithecus, because the horizon of the flints is not exactly that in which the remains of that large ape occur. He proposes the hypothesis that the problematical being was the form which has intervened between the higher apes and- man. Thus far M. Mortillet’s positions appear to be reasonable, provided that his flints are artificial. M. Mortillet goes further. He names the genus to which this being is to be referred, and calls it Axthropopithecus. As he has not the shadow of a definition for the genus, its proposition is in violation of all rules. Had he assumed the risk of furnishing it with characters, its adoption would have been a matter of time and discovery. Moreover, the name he uses is preoccupied. He then proceeds to name the species, of which he enumerates three. His method of distinguishing these is not zodlogical ; they are proposed on inference as to their differential characters, which extends to size only. The dimensions are estimated by those of the flints, one species having manufactured large implements, and ancther small ones. It is therefore supposed that one of the spe- cies was of large size, and another one small. We think on such a basis, we could infer several species of Homo on the North American continent, and as zodlogists and palzontologists, we must decline to admit such unsubstantial visions within the Walhalla of species and genera. Icuanopons.—Miss Agnes Crane, in a recent letter, states that the remains of the Iguanodons recently discovered in the Weal- den formation at Bernissart, near Mons, on the Belgian frontier are now in process of articulation in the workshops of the Royal Museum at Brussels. M. Dupont is engaged in preparing a sec- ond and enlarged edition of his account of their discovery. Several perfect animals of various sizes were found associated with the “remains,” of crocodiles, gigantic tortoises (rivaling Miocene forms), fishes and plants. The structure of the fore and hind limbs, the skuli and the tail is now well known, and proves the animal to have been very different to all previous restorations. Prof. Owen is right as regards proportions of the fore limbs and the analogies he drew from them, Prof. Cope’s views in relation to the posterior extremities will receive strong confirmation, while as to the “ structures known respectively as the ‘horn’ and the ‘spur,’ every one was, on the other hand, far from imagining the truth,” eg. Tue GEOLOGY AND TOPOGRAPHY OF THE CATSKILL MOUNTAINS. —Prof. Hall long since showed that the mass of the Catskill mountains (N. Y.) consists of nearly horizontal beds of Devonian rocks of the Chemung and Catskill epochs, which rest uncon- . formably on the Silurians. Prof. Guyot has recently published some interesting results of his observations on the region. A has, for the first time, determined the topography of the Southern 1880. ] Microscopy. 613 Catskills, or Shendaken mountains. He finds that they include the highest points, the Slide mountain reaching 4205 feet above tide water, and the Panther 3828. The region is an almost unbroken forest in spite of its proximity to the great centers of population. As to-structure, the beds show weak plications whose axes are parallel with those of the Allegheny system, but the mountain ranges were at right angles to the system, or from north-west to south-east. This anomaly is explained by the fact that they are results of erosion. The general level descends westwards, MICROSCOPY. ' Microscopy at THE AMERICAN ASSOCIATION.— There is reason to believe that the meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, which is to convene at Boston, on the 25th of August, will be a memorable gathering, as well for its scientific and social character as for the numbers in attendance at its sessions. It is expected that the old sub-sections will be maintained, and new ones organized. The large number of dis- tinguished scholars, at Boston and vicinity, can hardly fail to give Copies were published, which can be obtained at a reasonable price, by addressing the Secretary, Dr. Henry Jameson, Indianap- olis, Indiana. Instead of the medal offered last year for the best Specimens illustrating some common adulteration, the donor will substitute, with consent of the winner, the superb half-inch ob- jective now made by the Bausch and Lomb Optical Co, having nearly too degrees aperture and capable of resolving P. angulata. his is a great improvement on the original offer. “ScieNceE””—A new weekly scientific journal is announced under this title. It is designed to have somewhat the character of the English “ Nature.’ Astronomy will be the most prominent feature, but it is proposed to give adequate room to microscopical news. The editor's address is P. O. Box 3838, New York. ‘This depaitment is edited by Dr. R. H. Warp, Troy, N. Y. 614 Scientific News. [ August, Microscopists’ ANNuAL.—The first number (for 1879) of this little manual, has just been issued by the publishers of the American Journal of Microscopy. In addition to lists of Micro- scopical Societies, manufacturers, dealers, &c., it contains much miscellaneous information of interest to microscopists, in regard to weights, measures, postal regulations, magnifying powers, etc. Being unable to obtain recent information in all cases, the lists are partly based upon old data with the hope of correcting them in subsequent editions. jil SCIENTIFIC NEWS. — Caleb Cooke died in Salem, Mass., June 5, 1880, aged 42 years and 4 months, of typhoid malarial, the result of disease contracted at. Zanzibar. Mr. Cooke was for some time a pupil of gassiz. In 1859 he went to Para, South America, and afterwards to Zanzibar and Madagascar, remaining for about two years,on the eastern coast of Africa, sending important collections to Agassiz’s museum. The insects collected by him in Zanzibar, largely formed the materials for Gerstaecker’s volume on the in- sects of Zanzibar. He was onc of the curators of the Essex Insti- tute, and at the time of his death the curator of Mollusca in the Pea- body Academy, and was one of the most zealous of its officers from the date of its foundation. Mr. Cooke was an excellent and indefatigable collector and rendered most valuable assistance to investigations. He did much in local zodlogy. Though he was not a productive student of nature, he was, however, one of those useful, unselfish naturalists, with an ardent love of nature, who are careless of their own reputation, and aid in building up the fame of others. Mr. Cooke rendered important services to the U. S. Fish Commission for several seasons, when dredging. 1m deep water was carried on in the Gulf of Maine, aboard the U.S. Coast Survey Steamer Bache ; he explored Mammoth cave, and one of the most interesting of the insects inhabiting that grotto was dedicated to him, as were other insects discovered elsewhere by him. He also, in 1875, was an assistant of the Geological Survey of Indiana. Mr. Cooke wrote but little; he contributed several notes to the NATURALIST, and in the early years of its history was a most en- thusiastic and laborious assistant in the office work of this maga- zine. The writer of this notice mourns his loss, as the faithful friend of many years, who was unwearied in well doing, amiable, f sometimes with a grain of eccentricity, philanthropical, and un- i ) failing in all the minor courtesies and kindnesses that render one’s everyday life worth living. -- The School Board of Newton, Mass., have engaged Mr. d Walter Fewkes to deliver a course of lectures on natural history to the public schools. So far as we are aware this is the first course of lectures on zoölogy to teachers, as well as students, > 188o. } Scientific News. 615 paid for by any city out of the appropriation for the schools, and wholly directed by the school committee. is is a Movement which we feel sure will eventually be adopted in other towns and cities. We have long advocated the plan of having in each town or city a skilled teacher of natural history, who should give the instruction in elementary botany, zodlogy and geology in the schoois of different grades. There is, in most towns, a person with a decided taste for these studies, who, with comparatively little expense, could give at least weekly object lessons in the dif- ferent schools and to different classes in the same schools. Bring- ing zeal and practical knowledge at first hand to his work, such a teacher would do vastly more to interest scholars than the pres- ent method of requiring each school to supply its own teacher, who has to impart knowledge in numerous dissociated studies. — Prof. Wm. Boyd Dawkins, of Owen’s College, Manchester, England, has been invited to deliver a course of twelve lectures on “ Prehistoric Man,” before the Lowell Institute, Boston, Mass., the coming autumn. Prof. Dawkins is one of the most eminent of the younger scientific men of Great Britain, and has already become a standard authority in comparative anatomy and pre- historic archeology. He is a graduate of the University of Oxford, was principal geologist in H. M. Geological Survey in 1867, professor of geology in Owen's College, 1874, president of the Manchester Geological Society; and is the author of many essays and memoirs in the Royal Geological and Anthro- pological Societies. He published, in 1874, a popular volume showing great research, on “Cave Hunting, or Researches on the evidences of caves respecting the early inhabitants of Europe,” and the present year a second volume has appeared on “ Early Man in Britain and his place in the Tertiary period,” which is exciting much attention. He is forty-two years of age. ` —- The annual meeting of the Entomological Club of the American Association for the Advancement of Science will be held at the Museum of the Boston Society of Natural History, corner of Berkeley and Boylston streets, Boston, commencing at 2 P.M., Tuesday, 24 August, 1880. There will be an informal so- cial gathering of entomologists at the rooms of the Boston So- 616 Selected Articles in Scientific Scrials. { August, 1880. ciety of Natural History, 24 Aug., 1880, from 10 A. M. to I P M. During the meeting of the American Association a room will be constantly open for the exclusive use of the entomologists. e appropriations by Congress at the last session was . $150,000 for the U. S, Geological Survey. (it asked 6390.9 000); ` $25,000 for the U. S- Entomological Commission ;»$20,000 the Bureau of Ethnology under the control ‘of the Smithsonian Leena $8000 was also appropriated for the publication of r. Emil Bessel’s report on the scientific results of the Polaris Beis This will make two quarto volumes, with, an abun- dance of illustrations. — The summer school of Zodlogy of the Johns Hopkins University, Dr. S. F. Clarke, Director, opened in July, near the mouth of Chesapeake bay, for a session of six weeks. This need not be confounded with the laboratory established by Dr. Brooks at Beaufort, N. C. — The Permanent Exposition of Philadelphia gave an enter- tainment on the 5th of July, in which about 30,000 persons par- ticipated. It netted about $7000, most of which, we understand, is to be devoted to the uses of the Natural History Departments. — The American Association for the Advancement of Science will open at Boston, August 25th. The attendance will undoubt- edly be large, and the meeting one of unusual interest. — Prof. D. T. Ansted, an industrious geological writer, author among other books of a Physical Geography, died May 13. was born in ‘18 14. Ma O: proienete Sateen x SELECTED ARTICLES IN SCIENTIFIC SERIALS. JOURNAL í OF THE RoyvaL MicroscoricaL Society.—June. Ona parasitic sponge of the order Calcarea. by P. M. Duncan. The genus Ravenelia, by M. C. Cooke. On the double and treble staining of animal tissues for microscopical investigations, by Gibbes. On the illumination of objects under the higher powers = of the microscope, by J. Smith. The record of current researches re ating to invertebrate animals, cryptogamous plants and-micro- scopy are full and most useful. JOURNAL oF CoxcHoLocY.— January. This number, just re- : ceived, contains but one article, a catalogue of the Polynesian _ Mitridæ, with remarks on their Brogrepliae range station, and descriptions of supposed new species, by A. Gar š ar AMERICAN ENTOMOLOGIST —-June and July. ag 3 notices: SOF the white grub fungus, and an article on the true and bogus = Yucca moth, with remarks on the pollination of Yucca, by C. Vv n Riley, while the July number gives a fully illustrated article on the method of pupation of certain butterflies, by the same, THE AMERICAN NATURALIST. VoL. xiv. — SEPTEMBER, 1880. — No. 9. THE SIPHONOPHORES. I.—THE ANATOMY AND DEVELOPMENT OF AGALMA. BY J. WALTER FEWKES. ; 4 s tubular jelly fishes present very interesting conditions of life, and so little has been written about them, except in spe- cial scientific memoirs, that a popular account of the anatomy and embryology of a few typical forms may be interesting to those who have not access to the literature. The scientific name of these animals is Siphonophore ; they are all marine and found in almost every latitude, although most abundant in tropical oceans, ; The best known example of the Siphonophore is by no means the best adapted to give a general idea of the structure of the order. The most common representative in our waters is called by sailors the “ Portuguese man-of-war.” Its scientific name is Physalia, and figures of it appear in almost every text book on zoology. The animal, however, is badly chosen to represent the order, for it is widely different in structure from the other tubular jelly fishes, and not only does not have a tube-like body, the characteristic which has suggested the name of the order, but so its anatomy and development, as far as known, are both abnormal and present many difficulties to one who wishes a knowledge of those jelly fishes with which it has a kinship. If one should be asked to choose the genus best calculated to give a good idea of a tubular jelly fish, I think he would find one of the Agalmidz the best choice. Two genera belonging to this VOL. XIV,—No. Ix. - 618 The Siphonophores. [ September, family are found in our waters; these genera may be known as Agalma and Agalmopsis. A popular description of the latter of these animals was given by Mrs. Agassiz in the well-known “ Seaside Studies in Natural History” under the name of Nanomia? The present article will be devoted to the anatomy of Agalma, as I consider it the most typical representative of the tubular jelly fishes which have a float. I hope to follow this paper with another on the embryology of the same genus. Both articles are outline sketches of the subjects of which they treat. The word Agalma is of Greek derivation, and means simply an ornament. No doubt Eschscholtz, the pioneer in the study of jelly fishes had in mind an ornament for the neck when he gave this name to the animal. As it gracefully floats in the water with its long pendant tentacles hanging behind it, the likeness toa living necklace with rosy band and transparent beads is very great. It also resembles closely a long, transparent, crystalline prism through which passes a highly colored thread resembling a longitudinal axis, such as is often found in glass models of crystals used in the study of mineralogy. It will be found immediately, if one tries to raise the Agalma out of the water by the hand, that the prism is not a simple crys- talline body, but is formed of members which are joined together in such a fragile manner that an attempt of this kind detaches all the component parts, and the beautiful crystal falls back into its . native element broken into a hundred fragments. The parts thus detached are commonly known as individuals, and the whole prism as a colony, The individuals or pieces which compose the colony are extremely transparent, so that one can with difficulty follow by means of the eye their bounding lines, and often times to convince himself where the outline is, the sense of touch must supplement that of sight; even then one only becomes conscious that he has touched the animal when it shrinks away from the finger or contracts itself as if alarmed. 1 Our Agalma, which I think is the same as Sars’ Aga/mopsis elegans, Was discov- ered by me while at work in the laboratory of Mr. Alex. Agassiz at Newport. My reasons for considering Vanomia a synonym of Aga/mopsis and not Halistemma or Stephanomia were given in a paper pubjished in the Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zodlogy at Cambridge. * Nanomia was first described by Mr. Alexander Agassiz. Pioc. Boston So. Nat. Hist., IX, p. 181, 1863. See also North American Acalephz, p. 2C0. -. 1880. ] The Siphonophores. 619 To take the animal entire out of the water where it lives, it is va van" oA A ) ba A TOA VAKO an VAN Fic. 1—Agalma elegans. The lettering is explained in the following pages. 620 The Siphonophores. [ September, best to place under it a deep glass jar and then allow the water to flow gently into the vessel, floating with it the unconscious Agalma. Confined in a jar with the light thrown upon it ata proper angle, the animal may be studied at leisure through the sides of the glass. The observer must not forget that he can sel- dom keep these fragile jelly fishes alive, in confinement, longer than a few days. At first sight the multiplicity of parts in the Agalma gives usa rather confused idea of the structure of the several members which go to make up the colony. A more attentive study will reveal the fact that many of the component parts are frequently duplicated, and that five or six characteristic forms include those of all the appendages to an axis or stem which seems at times to give support to hundreds of differently shaped parts. Many of the appendages seem to be very different from these typical members, from the fact that they are in unde- veloped stages of growth. The general characters of the appendages I will consider in sequence after a mention of that part which connects all the dif ferent members, viz: the axis or stem. The Axis or Stem—A study of the anatomy of Agalma leads us naturally to begin with the rosy-colored axis. To this struc- ture the order of Siphonophore, to which Agalma belongs, owes its name. Passing through the colony from one end to the other, it connects all the individual members both physiologically and anatomically. Physiologically in the sense that to some of these rs falls the task of eating for the whole, to others the function of propulsion, while to a single individual is delegated the duty of floating the whole community.! If those individuals which serve the function of propulsion are detached, the colony has only passive means of locomotion. If the eating individuals are cut off, the colony dies for want of nourishment. New indi- viduals, however, are continually being developed from buds, so that it seldom happens, even when the stem is deprived of its members, that the colony suffers any fatal consequences. The length of the stem in larger specimens, when extended, is about four feet, yet the animal is often contracted to half that length. The diameter is about that of a knitting needle, and is nearly uniform ; a slight increase may be detected at either end. 1 That which 7 sapport the animal in the water, and which is called the float, is considered by many naturalists a distinct individual. Ir regard it an organ and nọ an individual, Me reasons will be given when I consider the development of this structure 1880. | The Siphonephores. 621 The different appendages or members all arise from one side of this axis; this side has been called a ventral line. The fact that they appear to take their origin on all. sides is brought about by a twisting of the stem itself There are two regions to be distin- guished in the stem, which are known as the necto-stem and the polyp-stem, The former is known by appendages which act as means of propulsion, the latter by the polypites or feeding polyps. Agalma is said to be polymorphic because it bears on the stem individuals which assume different forms according to their functions. These individuals are as follows (Fig. 1, letters as elow): I. Appended to ~ necto-stem : e floa he necto- cuiva or swimming bells. II. Appéeded to the polyp-stem c. The covering scales or PEA d. Polypites or feeding polyps, from which hang e. Tentacles and tentacular knobs. J- Tasters. g. Sexual bells of two kinds, male a female. Those who believe with Leuckart that every bud on the animal is an individual, must regard the tentacular knobs also as separate individuals. The float, necto-calyx and covering scale are of jelly-like consistency, and are modified “medusa bells.” The polypites and tasters are modified probosces, and the sexual bells are combinations of both. The last are the most perfect mem- bers of the whole colony. The tentacles are organs and not individuals, although so looked upon by many naturalists. The same remark also applies to the tentacular knobs. The first Structure to be noticed is a little sac filled with air, which is called the float. The Float—The only PE to the stem which is not duplicated except in monstrosities is the air-bladder or float. In Agalma it is very small and seems hardly large enough to buoy the animal up. It is supposed to keep the colony upright as it swims in the water. Many naturalists regard the float as the enlarged end of the axis in which, from its upper walls, hangs a sac filled with air, Itis supposed by them that the extremity of the stem has been infolded like the finger of a glove when reversed, and that the edges of the stem at the position of infold- ing had approached so as to leave a small opening leading from the reëntering part into the surrounding water. This opening can 622 The Siphohophores. [ September, be seen in Agalma, but is.not so well marked as in certain allied genera. Another suggestion for the homology of the float of Agalma is that it is a bud the same as certain of the other struc- tures along the axis. This view was first published by Metschni- koff. I shall consider it at length when I speak of the develop- ment of this part. The air sac in Aga/ma contains air or gas, and it opens into the cavity of the stem by an aperture opposite that into the surround- ing water. The opening from the float into the water is sur- rounded by a sphincter muscle and dark crimson pigment spots of unknown function. , The Necto-calyxes.—The individual which performs the func- tion of moving the colony through the water is called the necto- calyx or swimming bell. These are found occupying about one- third of the whole axis of the animal, and are arranged in two rows. They are transparent, bell-shaped and easily detached. Each row contains from ten to fifteen members. All the buds which later develop into necto-calyxes are grouped together in a botryoidal cluster just below the float. No necto-calyxes are developed from any part of the stem except this cluster of imma- | ture buds just under the float. The growth of an adult necto-calyx froma bud is very complicated, and there is no uniform- ity of opinion among naturalists as to its method. A necto-calyx is sim- ply the locomotive part of an ordinary hydroid Medusa. It is the bell, and the proboscis and tentacles are wanting, a5 would naturally be ex- pected in consideration of their function. i Each necto-calyx is united to the stem at a point diametrically opposite the entrance into the cavity of the bell, and the approxi- mating sides of consecutive necto-calyxes fit closely together. Fic. 2.—Necto-calyx. * 1880. ] The Siphonophores. 623 Two opposite sides of the bell walls rise as horn-shaped projections which embrace the axis and fit closely into certain spaces left between similar projections on bells of the opposite series. By a dovetailed arrangement of this kind rigidity is given to both series, and loss of energy in muscular action reduced. The action of the bell is as follows: Water is taken into the cavity and by muscular contraction of the walls is violently returned through _ the opening by which it entered. The resistance which the water thus forced out encounters from the surrounding medium, deter- mines the amount of motion given to the colony. The direction which the animal takes depends upon the angle which water pass- ing out of the necto-calyx makes with the line of the axis. This final condition depends in turn upon the position of the mouth of the bell as referred to the stem, and is regulated by the animal. When, for instance, the openings of all the bells on one side are at right angles to the line of the stem, and water is forced through them, lateral motion is given to the animal, In such a case the muscular contraction of the walls of the bells in a series must be simultaneous. Solitary action of necto-calyxes at either end of the series would alter the inclination of the stem in the water. When the bell mouths point downwards, t. e., towards the end of the axis opposite the float, resistance would be exerted at an angle less than a right angle, and as a consequence a motion in the direction of the axis is a result. Combinations in the action of different bells might be made to impart almost any motion to the colony. The motion in Aga/ma is seldom rapid but very graceful. What has been said would seem to indicate the existence of a nervous system, but in Aga/ma no nervous elements have yet been made out satisfactorily. Pigment spots found on the rim of the necto-calyx may be regarded as organs of sense, but that they are such is only probable. Agalma is sensitive to the touch of the finger on almost any part of the body. Nourishment is brought to a swimming bell by means of the stem, and is distributed in the bell by what are known as the- chymiferous tubes. These are radially situated and are four in number, to which may be added a tube running around the rim of the bell, and a medially placed vessel which unites the radial System with the stem cavity. In the earlier conditions of the necto-calyx the four radial tubes resemble each other very closely, and are straight vessels. 624. The Siphonophores. [ September, passing from a common junction directly to a circular tube. In the fully grown bell, however, two of these tubes diametrically opposite differ considerably from the other pair, and take, in their course from common junction to the rim of the necto-calyx, a peculiar turn or twist which I have represented in my drawing, At their junction with the “circular tube” in the rim of the bell lie two or three large lasso or stinging cells, which do not appear in a corresponding position in the other tubes; these cells have been regarded by some naturalists as the remnants of tentacles which never are found fully developed on the necto-calyxes. The portions of the bell in which the tubes with an abnormal course lie, are the same which send out the projections embracing the _axis, and interlocking in the dovetailed manner I have described above. I should not regard even a popular account of the necto-calyx complete, if it did not include a mention of two tubes ending blindly in the substance of the bell; these arise from the medial tube connecting the radial system with the stem cavity, and are known as the “mantle vessels.” They lie in the same plane as those two radial tubes which do not have any variation in their direct course to the circular vessel. One of these tubes may be the same as the tubular cavity of the covering scale., Many nat- uralists have supposed that the structure last mentioned cor- responds with one of the radial tubes of a swimming bell. I think that homology not a good one, but I consider the cavity of the covering scale is homologous with one of the “mantle tubes. The necto-calyxes never voluntarily separate from the stem, but when by any mishap they are broken off, they still retain power of motion and move aimlessly about in irregular circles, keeping up muscular action for a considerable time. Their inde- - pendent life, however, is very short, for since they are separated from the axis no nourishment can be supplied them. They are _ locomotive in their function, but rely upon the fluid which circu- _ lates in the stem for their support. When such is not supplied them they die. ; c. The Covering Scale.— All of the stem except that upon which the necto-calyxes are fastened, is’ protected, in Agalma, by structures known as covering scales or bracts. The German designation of these parts “ Deckstiicke,” is used by some English © and American naturalists. The covering scales are gelatinous, 1880. ] The Siphonophores. 625 resembling in that»respect the necto-calyxes, and are so closely approximated, as to overlap each other and apparently to form a single unjointed prism. They have an irregular triangular out- line, and a flat leaf-like shape. In Agalma they seem to serve simply the function of protecting the structure beneath them. They are traversed throughout by a medially placed canal or tube, which terminates blindly at the distal end, and opens at the other extremity into the cavity of the stem. The junction with the stem is by means of a pedicel, which is appended to one angle of the bract and has muscular fibers on its under side. ; At the very tip of the cov- ering scale there is a cluster of cells which have been sup- posed to indicate the homolo- gies of the scale with a por- tion of the necto-calyx. These cells are looked upon as rudimentary tentacles, and are relatively much larger in the young scale than in the adult. Agalma has, in addition to those described, two kinds of covering scales, which are embryonic and provisional. These will be mentioned un- der the embryology, for they are confined to early stages in the development of the animal, The feeding polyps which lie under the covering scales and -Which are protected by these modified medusa bells, next claim a description. They are known as the polypites. d. Polypites.—Certain flask-shaped bodies, more highly colored than those yet described, are appended to the polyp-stem, and their distal extremities extend out between the covering scales. — ‘hey are supposed to be stomachs and to eat for the whole col- Ony. A mouth at one end takes the food, hepatic cells arranged iN rows along the inside of the polyp assist to digest it, and after being digested the nutritive fluid is passed into the stem cavity through which it is distributed to every member of the community. From the base of the polypite on the upper side arise the tentacle Fic. 3.—Covering scale. 626 The Siphonophores. [ September, and tentacular knobs. The tentacle is jointed, very contractile, and histologically differs in no respect from the stem. Each ten- tacle can be drawn up to the base of its polypite, where it may be snugly packed away under a protecting scale, or it can be extended and allowed to project beyond the body of the Agalma to the distance of a foot or a foot and a-half. When thus ex- tended the tentacular knobs are best seen and studied. e. The Tentacular Knobs— Each genus of the tubular jelly fishes seems to have a characteristic tentacular knob. Agalma is not an exception. Although in the adult appended to the tenta- cle, they begin their growth from the ciliated base of the polypite, and do not bud from the tentacle itself. New buds which are to develop into tentacular knobs, are continually forming on the feeding polyp, and as the tentacle grows are being continually pushed out on its walls. In the earliest history of the growth of the knob, even, before the polypite on which it is borne is fully developed, we find it with others in a cluster, partially coiled up at the base of the polypite. At that time there is no tentacle, but sim- ply a cluster of partially coiled undeveloped ten- tacular knobs. In such a condition they might SSA, \ easily be mistaken for a wholly different kind O KSW || knob from the adult, and the polyps to which they KF are joined might be looked upon as a different kind of polypite. I believe them only undeveloped forms of the true polypite with tentacular knobs. In general outline the adult tentacular knob pre- serves a likeness to a Medusa. One portion of it may be likened to a bell and another to a probos- cis. e bell is represented by an envelope SUr- rounding the knob, and we might find the homo- logue of the proboscis in the coiled structure within this envelope. The bell portion is called the in- volucrum; the coiled proboscis, the sacculus. The sacculus is of dark crimson color, and ends in two ~ Fic. 4.—Ten- Drek or threads, and a sac supposed to be con- — ; tacular knob. tractie, The sac lies between the two filaments at their point of eras with the sacculus. It has been called a food reservoir, or “ Saft-behélter.” This last term has been also applied to other structures in the Agadma. iS According to Keferstein and Ehlers, the tentacular ose: g 1880. | The Siphonophores. 627 Agalma is still more complicated. According to these naturalists there are two elastic bands or threads, which arise from the inside of the involucrum and are fastened to the extremity of the coiled sacculus. Their figures of a knob where the sacculus has been uncoiled, show these bands very plainly. When the sacculus is withdrawn into the involucrum it is wound around a style which passes directly from the fundus of the involucrum to the con- tractile sac. I have seen portions of the elastic bands, and figure them in my drawing. Provisional embryonic knobs exist in lar- val stages : they will be described later. ` J. The Tasters—The word taster, by which organs now to be described have been designated by the Germans, is one of the best which has been suggested. The tasters have also been called “hydrocysts” and “Saft-bchaltern.” These bodies are easily to be mistaken for undeveloped feeding polyps, but a more intimate study of them shows the error of so doing. They differ from the adult polypite in that they have no mouth, are destitute of hepatic cells, and their tentacles have no tentacu- lar knobs. They never, in Agalma, drop off, and it is extremely doubtful that they ever separate from the colony and form new communities similar to those from which they are themselves buds. Large lasso cells are sometimes found near their base, at the proximal end, one of which was erro- neously mistaken fora float. Claus has made some very beautiful researches on the histology of the faster. I believe the taster is homologous to a polypite, and that its function has, in certain re- Spects, changed its form. &- The Sexual Bells—There remains yet to be mentioned the sexual members of the “ colony.” -© They assume the most perfect medusa form, and are found in clusters along the whole polyp stem. Agalma is moneecious; the male and female bells f ‘are separated from each other on the same stem, | _ and arise on special pedicels from the axis. The female bells form botryoidal clusters and lie about midway between two polypites, but are never joined ve eae to the tasters as in some other genera. Each ‘From “ fasten,” to touch. 628 The Siphonophores. [ September, female bell carries one egg, which will be described in the next article. Its growth and development will be found in the same place. The eggs are dropped in the water and there fertil- ized. Male and female bells ripen their products at different times. When the egg has left the animal, the sexual bell shrinks up on the stem and is finally absorbed or dropped; a scar on the stem alone tells of its former existence. The male bells have more elongated pedi- <> cels than the female, but in both cases the, K y sexual products are borne on the probos- cis between the ectoderm, or superficial layers, and the endoderm. They probably. originate from the intermediate layers, Or mesoderm (?). Agalma becomes sexually mature while yet retaining embryonic features. A young form of the most common species in the Mediterranean (Agalma sarsii) has been called another animal (Agalma clavatum). It is, however, only an immature form arrived at sexual maturity. I believe Wan- onia cara is the sexually mature young of the genus Agalmopsis. Nanomia was found hues at Newport and Nahant. A few theoretical questions suggest themselves after this frag- mentary account of the anatomy of Agalma. The first question which arises is, to what great groups in the animal kingdom is It allied? From the study of the anatomy naturalists were led o believe that Aga/ma was a free swimming hydroid. -This theory was simultaneously and independently brought out twenty years ago by several naturalists. The Siphonophoræ were regarded as nydroids which instead of being fastened to the bottom of the ocean, were detached or free swimming, and the point of attach- ment of the fixed form was supposed to be represented in a feat to support the animal in the water. Many bitter personalities, Fic. 6.—Male bell. _ happily now forgotten, were indulged in by those who claimed to have originated the theory, and it was,defended with great zeal by its advocates. Embryology teaches another answer to the question of what Aga/ma is, and it is my purpose to speak of that answer after a consideration of the development of the animal, 1880. ] The Siphonophores. 629 Another question no less significant than the first is, as to how we know that the different appendages along the axis are indi- viduals and not organs. Why not look upon them simply as organs? To answer this question we get some light from a study of animals allied to Agalma. There are tubular jelly fishes in which the appendages to the stem are not so numerous as in Agalma, and where there are clusters of appendages at intervals along the stem. Each one of these clusters, however, is com- , Posed of all essential members to fit it to lead a separated exis- tence. We have in each a necto-calyx, a covering scale, feeding polyps with tentacle, and sexual organs. These clusters are bound together by the stem, and at a certain age in the life of the colony the stem breaks midway between two clusters, which swim about as separated individuals which live long enough to change their general form. In these genera we certainly have a composite animal composed of smaller clusters, each one of which isa colony. In Aga/ma that fact is masked, since the different component parts are pressed so closely together on the axis, but it seems none the less certain that the Agalma is com- posite. If we take the different parts which compose one of these colonies, many of which joined together form the Agalma, we find a resemblance to a typical hydroid medusa in each of its component parts. In the necto-calyx we have a hydroid medusa where tentacles and proboscis are wanting; in the sexual bells we find the same likeness where bell and proboscis are present and tentacles fail. The covering scale, polypite and tentacle together make up another, and so on. All closely resemble a common type of hydroid medusa. Embryology will shed much light upon this question, which I shall again discuss. From what the anatomy of Agalma teaches, we may conclude that we have in this animal the follawing polymorphic individuals whose homologous parts “iter se” and with a common Lizzta — are given below: Lizzta, Bell, Tubes of the bell. Proboscis. Tentacles, AGALMa, ist individual, Float. TURE REAM tee: ‘ ad re Necto-calyx. pres’d by lass lls (4.) 3d n Covering scale. kiris iii Polypite. Tentacles, {c.d,) (e.) 4th T Covering scale. di kd scale. Taster. Thread-like tentacles (c./.) (e.) ie iy Bell, resent, ? Proboscis with ova. ———————— w) ` =i Proboscis with sp (g.) S Bell, Doubtfully I add to those given 7th individual, Iny volucrum. = ————— Sacculus. The first individual is never duplicated; the remaining are 630 Destruction of Obnoxious Insects by Fungoid Growths. [Sept’r, numerous along the stem. A dash shows that the organs of the typical medusa are wanting. It will be seen that I do not homologize the stem of Agalma _ with the stem of a fixed hydroid, but with the proboscis of a medusa. The Siphonophore are not free swimming hydroids, but medusz with polymorphic individuals budding from it sitai- larly to the condition in Zizsia, These buds are not zooids but physiological and morphoiogical individuals. I cannot follow Leuckart when he considers, however, that every bud is an indi- vidual. Three buds, the scale, the polypite and the tentacle together make one individual. Upon this subject we must look to embryology for light. ——0: DESTRUCTION OF OBNOXIOUS INSECTS BY MEANS OF FUNGOID GROWTHS. BY PROF. A. N. PRENTISS. | Concluded. Experiment No. 3—May 10 —A calla lily has become infested with aphides and red spider. The whole plant is carefully washed with a sponge except a small spot on one leaf wheré twenty-seven aphides are left, and a’similar spot on another leaf where about twenty red spiders are left. The whole plant is sprinkled with domestic yeast, care being taken to thoroughly drench both the aphides and red spiders. The plant is covered by a bell jar which rests upon a ring of cotton batting, so as to shut the plant off from the approach of insects or spores from without, and prevent the escape of those within. Under the bell jar are placed two cups ` of actively fermenting yeast. May 14.—The plant carefully examined. No dead aphides to be found. A number of cast-off skins are seen. The aphides are well scattered over the plant, but more than the original twenty- - seven can be counted. The red spiders are also scattered so that the number cannot be ascertained, Several living but no dead ‘ones are seen. That the spiders should have decreased in num- — : bers might be expected from the moisture of the yeast independent of the Torule. _ ; : Experiment No. 4—April 8.—Selectegl a thrifty rose geranium, — about ten inches high, that had by count seventy aphides upon it, collected mainly upon the tender shoots. a _ The yeast is prepared by dropping pieces of compressed yeast _ cake, bought at the grocer’s, into Pasteur’s fluid with sugar. In 1880.) Destruction of Obnoxious Insects by Fungoid Growths. 631 about twenty-four hours the yeast has become active as is shown by frothing and the budding of the Torule observed under. the microscope. This active yeast is sprinkled all over the plant, care being taken to wet the bodies of as many aphides as possi- ble. Over the plant is placed a bell jar to isolate it from others. April 11.— No effects noticed. Sowed more of the same veast. April 18.—The soil in the flower-pot has been allowed to become quite dry. The larger leaves of the plant have turned yellow, and upon these are nearly all the aphides. Counting as carefully as possible, the number is found to be three hundred and fourteen. The glass cover is removed and nearly all the aphides are brushed off, and the plant allowed a few days to recuperate. Experiment No. 5—May 1.—Sowed yeast procured direct from the bakery upon the same plant as in No. 4. Upon the piant are- fifty-five aphides, mostly small. The plant is placed in a close Wardian case where there is an abundance of moisture. ay 6—A mold (Mucor) has made its appearance upon all parts where the yeast adheres. The aphides are nearly all dead or dying. One aphis is found alive held ta the stem of the plant by a pasty mass of yeast. May 16.—Only three aphides alive; the mold has seriously injured the plant. Experiment No. 6.—May 26.—Sowed yeast from the same bakery as in No. 5 upon the aphides on a healthy young plant of Same kind and size as No. 4. This time the plant was not treated differently from others in the same room except being thoroughly sprinkled with yeast. June 3-—Aphides as numerous as ever. No dead ones seen. Experiment No. 7—To ascertain whether any fungoid growths could be developed from the dead aphides in No. 5, two of them are placed on a bit of clean, broken plant crock sufficiently moist- ened, which is covered with a small bell glass, the rim of which , rests in a shallow vessel of water to isolate the experiment as completely as possible. The experiment commences May 5, at 2 P.M. On May 6, at 3.30 P. m., some mycelium is visible on the body of an aphis. May 9.— A number of upright hyphe have fruited; the quantity of fruit is very small and not sufficient to determine what the mold is with certainty, but it appears to. be a Mucor. 632 Destruction of Obnoxious Insects by Fungoid Growths. [Septr, Experiment No. 8.—This experiment is introduced as a test of o. May 11.—Two aphides are taken from a plant which has been treated with yeast. One is dead when found, the other is killed; both are placed as in No. 7. No mycelium or fungoid growth of any kind is developed in this experiment. Experiment No. 9.—This experiment was introduced for the same purpose as No. 8. May 11.—5.30 P.M. Three living aphides are taken from a plant not treated with yeast, and killed and placed as in No. 7. May 13.—The room has been quite cool and no mycelium has appeared, May 15.—On one of the aphides a few fruits of a mold can be discerned. None can be seen on the other two. This experiment seems to show that the mold developed in experiment No. 7 on the body of the aphis which had died, has no connection with the fact that the plant from which the dead aphis was taken, had been treated with yeast. The result of these experiments, as a whole, as also many others not here recorded which have a more or less direct bear- ing upon the subject under consideration, indicate plainly that yeast cannot be regarded as a reliable remedy against such insects as commonly affect plants cultivated in greenhouses, rooms and parlors. Moreover, it is more than probable that the yeast would injure many kinds of plants, especially those with delicate foliage by spotting and soiling the leaves, and inducing fungoid growths upon the jars or soil in which the plants are grown. - Indeed, in most greenhouses at the present time, it is not so much a ques- tion of keeping down injurious insects, as it is the suppression of molds and mildews of various kinds. The verbena rust only need be named as an illustration of this point. sa Nearly all recorded experiments with the yeast fungus as an insecticide, have been attended only by negative results. Among these may be mentioned those of Prof. J, H, Comstock, of the Department of Agriculture, who fed caterpillars in breeding . cages with leaves wet with dilute yeast. They seemed to thrive as well as others not thus fed. : Mr. Wm. Trelease tried last August a number of experiments with yeast upon the cotton-worm, in the vicinity of Selma, Ala. These experiments were varied and carefully conducted. In r “ Report upon Cotton Insects.” J. H. Comstock, Dept. of Agr. Washington, 1979. 7 i 1880.] Destruction of Obnoxious Insects by Fungoid Growths. 6 33 some cases the cotton plants upon which the worms were feeding were thoroughly drenched with active yeast. In one instance a number of the larve were placed in a tin box and drenched for twenty-four hours with yeast; after this the surplus yeast was drained off and the larve kept in the same box and fed fora week without showing any symptoms of disease. They were then sent to the department at Washington, where they arrived safely, and never gave those receiving them cause to suppose that they had been thus treated. Similar results attended all the experiments tried by Mr. Trelease, and he was led to the conclu- sion that the proposed remedy could not be utilized for the destruction of the cotton caterpillar. On the other hand, Dr. Hagen mentions some experiments made last summer by Mr. J. H. Burns, of Shelter Island, N. Y., on the potato beetle, as being successful. A quantity of beetles was divided into two parcels, one of which was sprinkled on succes- sive days with dilute yeast. On the eighth day those sprinkled began to die, and on the thirteenth all were dead. Of the unsprinkled parcel only a few had died. That this experiment is decisive can hardly be claimed, as it is probable that some other substance, as for instance, dilute flour paste, which would favor the growth of fungi, might have had the same effect as the yeast. At all events, the experiment Must necessarily be tried upon the beetles as they are found in their natural state infesting the potato plants, before any definite conclusion can be drawn. It is true that Dr. Hagen found spores in quantity in the large Sinus of the wing of.the dead beetles which had been sprinkled, but it does not appear that these were in any way directly con- nected with the Torule of the yeast. It should also be noted that Dr. Hagen states in the May number of the Canadian Entomolo- gist, for 1880, that he has recently received a letter from Germany, giving an account of the use of the diluted (compressed) yeast upon aphides in a green-house, “ which was successful to an ex- ceeding degree ;” but no details in regard to the experiment are given. Possibly the kind of yeast used may make a great difference in the result, although it should be remembered that three different kinds have been used in the experiments detailed in this paper. It is also worthy of note that yeast, as suggested by Prof. VOL. Xiv NO, IX 41 634 Destruction of Obnoxious Insects by Fungoid Growths. [Sept'r, Metschnikoff, might in some cases prove destructive to insects to which it had been applied, not because of the yeast itself, but because of impurities which it might contain, it being an established fact that yeast may and often does contain the living spores of more than one kind of fungus. One of the things which is always taken into account in the cultivation of fungi in the laboratory, is the fact that when we purposely sow the spores of a given fungus we are never quite sure that we are not at the same time unconsciously sowing the spores of some other fungus which may be floating in the air. While we expect and generally obtain an abundant crop of the fungus we may wish to cultivate, we are apt to find here and there one or more other forms mingled with those we are trying especially to grow. These may be compared to the weeds which the gardener is pretty certain to find among the plants he has sown in his seed bed. The subtle nature of fungoid growths of every grade, and the peculiar dependence of fungi upon climatic conditions and other circumstances, which are often unknown and wholly beyond con- trol, are very important factors in estimating the probabilities of success by the methods under consideration. We know that epidemics and epizootics of various kinds may be largely destruc- tive and fatal one year, and the next, although the germs of disease must now be scattered in abundance everywhere, the disease is lessened or is wholly gone. Again, rust and smut may one season abruptly invade our grain-fields ; the next it is scarce- y seen; or blights and mildews may devastate for a few years our orchards and vineyards, and then gradually or suddenly disappear. Nor are these characteristics confined to microscopic fungi alone. During last season certain of the larger species, as Boletus and Hydnum, were sought in vain in localities about the University, where ordinarily they were abundant. The fall had been un- usually dry and in this probably lay the cause of their non-ap- — pearance. Perhaps for the same reason, not a house-fly could be found that was affected with the Empusa, though they were sought for with much care, especially about the Botanical Labora- tory where the yeast fungus was being grown. Nevertheless, inasmuch as it is possible to suppress injurious fungi which destroy our economic insects, as for instance, the — 1 See Naturé for March 11, 1880. 1880.] List of the Birds of the Willamette Valley, Oregon. 635 Muscardine in the case of the silk worm, the theory seems plausible that we may in time learn on the other hand, how to Suppress injurious insects by fostering the growth of parasitic fungi which would spread infection among them and carry with it disease and death. Finally, it must be confessed that the main question at issue is by no means decided, perhaps not seriously affected by the ex- periments and conclusions which I have here recorded. Though the yeast fungus may not be destructive to the insects named, and under the given conditions, it may, nevertheless, be destructive to other insects, or even to these under other conditions, or if the yeast fungus should prove to be wholly worthless and unreliable, it does not follow that there are not other forms which may be successfully employed as insecticides to the very great advantage of our most important national industry. 6 LIST OF THE BIRDS OF THE WILLAMETTE VAL- LEY, OREGON. BY O. B. JOHNSON. [Concluded from the Fuly number.} 49. Powcetes gramineus confinis Bd. (Western grass finch).— Common during the summer, breeding extensively with the usual habits of the Eastern species. 41. Chondestes grammicus Say (lark finch).—Sparingly common during the summer, and breeding. 42. Zonotrichia gambeli Nutt. (Western white-crowned finch).— A very common summer resident, and nesting familiarly about gardens and thickets near dwellings. 43. Zonotrichia coronata Pall. (golden -crowned sparrow). — Sparingly common during summer and undoubtedly breeds, though I have not found its nést. 44. Funco oregonus Town. (Oregon snowbird).— Abundant during the winter and a few remaining to breed, the rest probably going to the mountains, where I hear of them. I have not yet Seen its nest, : 45. Spizella socialis Wil. (chipping sparrow).—A common sum- mer resident, and breeding extensively with the usual habits of the species. 636 = List of the Birds of the Willamette Valléy, Oregon. [Sept'r, 46. Melospiza rufina Bd. (rusty song sparrow).— A plentiful permanent resident, breeding commonly, and though I have found several nests with young, I have never seen its eggs. 47. Passerella townsendi Aud. (Townsend’s fox sparrow).— Only a winter visitor; very shy and silent. 48. Guiraca melanocephala Swain. (black-headed aie A common summer resident, breeding numerously. 49. Cyanospiza amæna Say (blue linnet)—An abundant song- ster during summer, and breeding plentifully. 50. Fipilo oregonus Bell (Oregon ground robin)._-A common, constant resident, breeding numerously. 51. Eremophila alpestris Boie (horned lark).—An abundant sum- mer visitor, nesting very commonly. 52. Ageleus phæniceus Linn. (swamp blackbird).—Very abun- dant in summer, breeding with the usual habits of the species. 53. Agelæus gubernator Wag. (red-shouldered blackbird). — Very abundant, with habits similar to the last. 54. Sturnella neglecta Aud. (Western field lark)—A constant resident, less common in winter ; breeds. 55. Icterus bullocki Swain. (Western oriole). —Common in sum- mer, breeding extensively. 56. Scolecophagus cyanocephalus Wag. (Brewer's blackbird).— Very abundant in summer, breeding numerously. 57. Corvus carnivorus Bart. (raven).—Not rare in the vicinity of Forest Grove; I have not seen its eggs. 58. Corvus caurinus Bd. (Western crow).— A common resi- dent, breeding in communities. 59. Picicorvus columbianus Wil. (Clarke’s crow).—Common in Cascade mountains, down to the foothills in winter. I have not seen its eggs. _ 60. Pica hudsonica Sab. (magpie).—Quite common in the vicin- ity of Forest Grove; it probably breeds, though I have not found its nest. 61. Cyanura stelleri Gmel. (Steller’s jay).—An abundant resi- dent, nesting in communities, at which time they are very silent. 62. Cyanocitta californica Vig. (California jay). — Common _ among deciduous trees, breeding about habitations. 63. Perisoreus canadensis Linn. (Canada jay). — Common in heavy timber in winter, probably breeds in mountains. 1880.] List of the Birds of the Willamette Valley, Oregon. 637 64. Tyrannus verticalis Say (Arkansas fly-catcher)—Common in summer, breeding in trees and about buildings. 65. Sayornis nigricans Swain. (black fly-catcher).—Saw a single example of this species in this place in July, 1870. 66. Contopus borealis Swain. (olive-sided fly-catcher).—Common in summer. I have not found its nest. 67. Contopus richardsoni Swain. (short-legged pewee).—Very common in summer, and breeds familiarly about orchards and houses; nest saddled upon a limb, composed of horsehair, strings and fine grass, and lined with cotton or wool; eggs usually three, Sometimes four, cream-colored with dark-brown and lavender Spots in a ring around the larger end. A set before me measure 66 by .54, .65 by .54, .65 by 53. 68. Empidonax pusillus Baird (little Western fly-catcher). — Quite common in summer, but I have not yet found its nest. 69. Ceryle alcyon Linn. (belted kingfisher).—Constant resident, breeds. 70. Chordeiles popetue Vieil. (night hawk).—Common in sum- mer, breeding on gravely islands in the Willamette river. 71. Chetura vauxi Town. (Oregon swift).—I saw what I took to be this species in the Cascade mountains, in 1879. 72. Selasphorus rufus Gmel. (red-backed hummer).—A common summer resident, breeding; the only species observed. 73. Coccygus americanus Linn.«(yellow-billed cuckoo).—Rare ; I have seen two specimens killed in this vicinity. 74. Picus harrisi Aud. (Harris’ woodpecker).—Common resi- dent, breeding extensively. | 75. Picus gairdneri Aud. (Gairdner’s woodpecker).—Abundant, nesting in tops of dead willows. ` 76. Sphyrapicus ruber Gmel. (red-breasted woodpecker).—Not very common; I found a nest in a cottonwood “stub,” about thirty feet feos the ground, containing young. 77. Hylotomus pileatus Linn. (pileated woodpecker). tlle in heavily timbered districts. I have not seen its nest, but pre- sume that it breeds in the “Great Burn” to the eastward. 78. Melanerpes torquatus Wil. (Lewis’ woodpecker). —Common along the Columbia in winter, a few remaining to breed. 79. Colaptes mexicanus Swain. (red-shafted woodpecker). — Abundant, nesting commonly. I have seen twenty nests at Once in the College buildings at Forest Grove, where they have cut holes through the frieze. 638 List of the Birds of the Willamette Valley, Oregon. (Sept’r, 80. Bubo virginianus var. pacificus Cass (Pacific horned owl).— Quite common. 1 have not found its nest. 81. Scops asio Linn. (screech owl)—Very common, breeding in hollow trees. 82. Syrnium cinereum Gmel. (great gray owl)—Occasionally seen in heavily wooded districts. 83. Nyetale acadica Gmel. (acadian owl).— I have a single example that flew into an open transom at a jewelry store in this place. 84. Glaucidium californicum Sclat. (pigmy owl).—Quite com- mon; I have not seen the nest. They are savage little fellows, and will attack cage birds in daylight, and I know of two that suffered death thereby. } 85. Nyctea nivea Danel. (snowy owl).—Occasionally killed in winter by hunters in this vicinity. 86. Aquila canadensis Linn. (American golden eagle).—Occa- sionally killed by hunters in this vicinity. 87. Haliaétus leucocephalus Linn. (white-headed eagle).—Com- mon along the Columbia, nesting in high trees. I have seen them pick up young lambs as fast as they were dropped. 88. Pandion carolinensis Gmel. (fish hawk)—Common along the Columbia and Willamette rivers, nesting on trees. 89. Falco sparverius Linn. (sparrow hawk).—Very common, nesting in holes, usually of a woodpecker. G0. Accipiter cooperi Bon. (Cooper's hawk).—Occasionally seen. 91. Accipiter mexicanus Swain. (Mexican hawk).—I have a specimen that I refer to this species. 92, Accipiter fuscus Gmel. (sharp-shinned hawk).—Moderately common, nesting in hollow trees. 93. Buteo montanus Nutt. (Western red-tail hawk).—Common; I have not seen its nest. 94. Buteo elegans Cass. (elegant hawk)—A single example referable to this species. 95. Circus hudsonicus Linn. (marsh hawk).—Moderately com- mon, breeding. 96. Cathartes aura Linn. (turkey buzzard) —Common during summer, sailing the air; have not seen its nest. ie 97. Columba fasciata Say (band-tailed pigeon)—An abundant summer resident, feeding chiefly on berries. They nest in various situations much like the commen dove (Z. carolinensis); I found . 1880.] List cf the Birds of the Willamette Valley, Oregon. 639 one of leaves and moss beside a tree, placed on the ground be- tween two roots; another one upon an old stump that had been split and broken about eight feet from the ground; another was in the top of a fir (4. grandis), and was built of twigs laid upon the dense flat limb of the tree, about one hundred and eighty feet from the ground. These each had two eggs, pure white, and elliptical, differing from those of Z. carolinensis only in size; a set before me measure 1.60 by 1.20, 1.55 by 1.19. The first in my collection were obtained from the bodies of two females in 1877. a carolinensis Linn, (common dove).—An abun- dant summer resident, nesting commonly. 99. Tetrao obscurus Say (dusky grouse). om common resident, breeding extensively. 100. Bonasa sabini Baird (Oregon grouse).— Very common along water courses, where it breeds. 101. Orlyx virginiana Linn. (Virginian partridge).—Introduced and doing finely. 102. Oreortyx pictus Doug. (plumed partridge)—Very common throughout Western Oregon, breeding extensively, 103. Grus canadensis Temm. wane -hill crane), — Common during the migrations. 104. Ardea herodias L. (great blue heron).—A common resi- dent, breeding in communities in tall trees. 105. Botaurus minor Bon. (bittern). — A common resident, breeds. 106. Nyctiardea gardeni Baird (night heron).—A single exam- le, obtained May, 1876, near Salem. $ 107. ciali yo L. (killdeer)—A common resident, breeds, se 108. Sguatarola helvetica L. (black-bellied plover).—Occasion- ally shot during the migration a Pagan: oo L. (Northern phalarope).—Occa- sional during the migrations. : 110, Gallinago nie Temm. (Wilson’s snipe). — Abundant during the migrations, a few remaining to breed. o 111. Macrorhamphus griseus Gmel, (gray snipe). — Occasio during the migrations, 112. Tringa americana Cass. (red-backed sandpiper). —Occa- sional during the migrations. 640 List of the Birds of the Willamette Valley, Oregon. [Sept’r, 113. Zringoides macularius L. (spotted sandpiper).—Summer resident, breeding in favorite localities. 114. Rallus virginianus L. (Virginia rail) Occasionally shot by sportsmen. 115. uli-a americana Gmel. (mud hen)—Common in winter along the Columbia river. 116. Cygnus americanus Sharp. (American swan).—Not rare during the migrations. 117. Cygnus buccinator Rich. (trumpet swan)—Common during the migrations. 118. Anser hyperboreus Pal. (snow goose).—Common during migrations. 119. Anser gambel Hart. (white-fronted goose). — Common during migrations. . 120. Bernicla canadensis Bon. (Canada goose). — Abundant during migrations. 121. Bernicla hutchinsi Bon. (Hutchin’s goose). — Common during the migrations. 122, Anas boscas L. (mallard).—This and the eight following are abundant, during the migrations, along the Columbia and Willamette rivers and their tributaries. 123. Dafila acuta Jen. (springtail). 124. Nettion carolinensis (green-winged teal). 125. Spatula clypeata (spoonbill). 126. Chaulelasmus streperus L. (gadwall). 127. Mareca americana Gmel. (American widgeon). 128. Aix sponsa L. (wood duck). 129. Fulix collaris Dan. (ring-necked duck). 130. Aythya americana Eyt. (red head). 131. Aythya vallisneria Wil. (canvas-back).—Usually abundant -during the month of February. 132. Bucephala americana Bon. (golden-eye 133. Bucephala albeola L. (butter ball). sd Pais and the airs common during migrations. 134. Mergus americanus Cass, (sheldrake). —— Common along water courses, a few remaining to breed. a 135. Me cereus cucullatus L. (hooded merganser). — Common a during winter. oe 136. Chracocephalus philadelphia Ord. (Bonaparte’s gules Driven into the interior = storms. N U O 1880. | Do Flying Fish Fly ? 641 137. Colymbus torquatus Brin. (Northern diver).—Occasional along the rivers. 138. Podiceps californicus Her. (California grebe)—-I saw an example that I referred to this species. 139. Podiceps clarki Lawr. (Clarke’s grebe).—Occasional along the rivers. 140. Podilymbus podiceps L. (dabchick)—More common than the last. i -:0: DO FLYING FISH FEY? BY C. O. WHITMAN. F all the modes of animal locomotion, none has excited more general attention than that of flying creatures; and this is none the less so now that many of those who believe in the ulti- mate success of “ the flying machine,” have discarded the balloon theory, and come to regard nature’s contrivances for flight as the true models for aérial locomotives. Among those animals that enjoy the much-envied power of flight, none has elicited such universal interest and comment, from old and young, layman and scientist, as that anomalous member of the finny tribe, the flying fish. Science, poetry and fable have conspired to extend the fame of this little denizen of tropical seas, and philosophy has more than once attempted to find some adequate cause for the enor- : mous development of its pectoral limbs, hoping to find here one more important link between swimming and flying animals. This fish owes its generic name to a curious belief which is Said to have been current among the ancients. They supposed that the flying fish —“ sea swallows” they called them—left the Ocean at night and slept on shore, to avoid the attacks of their Marine enemies. From this habit of ‘sleeping out,” they were called Erocæti. _ Besides Exoccetus, which includes between forty and fifty dif- _ ferent species, there is a genus of flying fish called Dactylopterus (finger-winged), from the fact that the fin rays extend, finger-like, beyond the margin of the fins. This genus, popularly named the flying gurnard, is represented by comparatively few species which inhabit the Atlantic, the Mediterranean sea, the Indian ocean and archipelago, and the Japan seas. To those who may never have had the opportunity to observe 642 Do Flying Fish Fly ? [ September, the flight of these fishes, it may seem a matter of no little sur- prise that it is still an unsettled question whether they fly or skim. The difference of opinion on this point is all the more remarkable as the flying fish has been known, at least, since the time of Pliny, and even of Aristotle, and has always attracted the attention of voyagers. Although its aérial flight, to accomplish which it has to leave its native element, is not at all more remark- able than the sub-aquatic: flight of the quillemots, grebes, auks and penguins, all of which are accustomed to exchange tempo- rarily their own element for that of the finny race, to move through the water with even greater rapidity than the fishes them- selves, and to remain submerged longer than the flying fish remains above water; and although the modification of the fins for aérial locomotion is certainly not greater than that of the wings of the auks and penguins for flight under water; yet the testimony of able scientific witnesses, in favor of the actual flight of Exoccetus, has been often challenged by equally good obser- vers, and plausible reasons have recently been urged against even the possibility of such flight. It is maintained by many, perhaps the majority of observers, that the Exocceti are sustained by the parachute-like action of the pectoral fins, which they simply hold outstretched during their passage through the air. According to this view the fins exhibit none of that “poetry of motion” seen in the bird's wing, being capable of only a passive kite-like action, like the membrane- wings of the flying squirrel (Pteromys), the flying lemur ( Gako- pithecus), the marsupial Petaurists (Petaurus Shaw.) or the foot- web of the flying frog of Borneo.’ In one of our popular “ natural histories” the flight of the flying — fish is explained in the following manner: “ These fishes possess the power of darting from the water into the air, and by the mingled force of the impetus with which they spring from the surface and the widely spread wing-like fins, to sustain themselves’ for a short space in the thinner element, and usurp for a time the _ privileges of the winged beings whose trackless path is through the air” _ “ The passage of this fish through the atmosphere can lay no just claim to the title of flight, for the creature does not flap the _ wing-like pectoral fins on which it is upborne.’? - Described by Wallace in his “Malay Archipelago.” 2 Wood’s Natural History.” 1880.] Do Flying Fish Fly? 643 The following statement to the same effect is found in “ The Ocean World,” by Louis Figuier: “Their fins sustain them rather as parachutes than wings.” In Beeton’s “ Dictionary of Natural History,” the author speaks thus: “ Although some few naturalists have supposed that these fish possess the true power of flying, that is, by beating the air with their members, it is generally agreed that their large fins Sustain them parachute-wise when they have leapt from the water.” In the same place occurs a quotation from Bennett’s “ Wander- ings in New South Wales,” which is here given in full, as it con- tains some statements which have found quite general acceptance among scientific men. Mr. Bennett says, “I have never been able to see any percus- sion of the pectoral fins during flight, and the greatest length of time that I have seen this fish on the fin has been thirty seconds by the watch; and the longest flight mentioned by Capt. Hall! is two hundred yards; but he thinks that subsequent observation has extended the space. The most usual height of flight, as seen above the surface of the water, is from two to three feet; but I have known them come on board a ship at a height of fourteen feet; and they have been well ascertained to have come into the channels of a man-of-war, which is considered as high as twenty feet and upwards, But it must not be supposed they have the power of elevating themselves after leaving their native element; for on watching them, I have often seen them fall much below the elevation at which they first rose from the water, but never in any One instance could I observe them rise from the height at which they first sprang; for I regard the elevation they take to depend on the power of the first spring or leap they make on leaving their native element.” Burmeister in his “ Reise nach Brasilien” (Berlin, 1853, p. 36), declares that he watched the flying fish for a long time, and saw, with certainty, “that they made no kind of movement with their large pectoral fins, but held them quietly outspread like a para- chute,” : In his well-known work on “Animal Locomotion” (p. 98), Pettigrew says: ‘Whether the flying fish uses its greatly expanded pectoral fins as a bird its wings, or only as parachutes, 1“ Lieutenant and Commander,”* by Capt, Basil Hall. 644 Do Flying Fish Fly ? [ September, has not, so far as I am aware, been determined by actual observa- tion. Most observers are of opinion that these singular creatures glide up the wind, and do not beat it after the manner of birds; so that their flight (or rather leap) is indicated by the arc of a circle, the sea supplying the chord.” From a careful examination of the structure and action of these fins, Pettigrew has been able to satisfy himself that “they act as true pinions within certain limits.’ That this restrictive phrase, “within certain limits,” is intended to exclude a flap- ping motion, is evident from the following: “The flapping and gliding action of the wings constitute the difference between ordinary flight and that known as skimming or sailing Hight. The flight of the flying fish is to be regarded rather as an exam- ple of the latter than the former, the fish transferring the velocity acquired by the vigorous lashing of its tail in the water to the air.” . r _ Pettigrew shows that all kinds of wings, when extended in flight, have a kite-like action, or a “ combined parachute and wedge action” independent of any beating movement; and it iS to this action alone that he refers when he says the pectorals “act as true pinions wt/in certain limits.” ; According to Pettigrew, “ Mr. Swainson, in crossing the line in 1816, zealously attempted to discover the true action of the fins in question ; but the flight of the fish is so rapid that he utterly failed.” So much for the negative testimony. $ In favor of the flapping motion of these fins, we have the testi- mony of Capt. de Freminville! who says, “ I have been able to convince myself that they [flying fish] do actually fly, impressing » upon their fins, which serve them as wings, a rapid movement—4 species of vibration [frémissement]—which sustains them and causes them to advance through the air.” . Speaking of these fish, which he saw on the way’ from Callao to Lima, U. de Tessan? says: “J'ai très-bien vu un poisson- volant battre d'abord des ailes en l'air, et puis les faire vibrer €n planant. a In the “ Reise der Oesterreichischen Fregatte Novara um die. Erde” (1857-1859), published by Wiillerstorf-Urbair, 1861, P. 109, occurs (according to Möbius) the following: “Care ul ob- 1 Ann. des Sci. Nat., Vol, XX1, p. 102, 1830. 2“ Voyage autour du Monde sur la Vénus,” Parjs, 1844. 1880.] Do Flying Fish Fly ? 645 servation enables one to see that the wing-like pectoral fins of the flying fish are capable of a vibrating movement, like the wings of a grasshopper.” Dr. Kneeland! makes the following noteworthy statements as the result of observations made in 1870, on a voyage from San Francisco to Panama: “The ventrals were expanded like the pectorals in the act of flight. They rose out of a perfectly smooth sea, showing that they are not mere skippers from the top of one wave to another; they could be seen to change their course as well as to rise and fall, not unfrequently touching the longer, lower lobe of the tail to the surface, and again rising, as if they used the tail as a powerful spring. While the ventrals may have acted chiefly as a parachute, it seemed that the pec- torals performed, by their almost imperceptible but rapid vibra- tions, the function of true flight.” To the same effect speaks A. v. Humboldt? when he says, “ Not- withstanding the astonishing swiftness of their movement, one can convince oneself that the animal beats the air during its Spring, 2. e., that it alternately opens and closes its pectoral fins.” In his work “On the Origin of Species” (p. 175), the great naturalist remarks: “It is conceivable that flying fish, which now glide far through the air, slightly rising and turning by the aid of their fluttering fins, might have been modified into perfectly Winged animals. If this had been effected, who would have ever imagined that in an early transitional state -they had been the inhabitants of the open ocean, and had used their incipient organs of flight exclusively, as far as we know, to escape being devoured by other fish >” Without attempting to make this bibliographic sketch exhaus- tive—an infeasible undertaking with the libraries at my command > —I will now pass to my own observations on the flight of flying fish, made during a voyage from San Francisco to Yokohama, on the steamer City of Peking, reserving till the last the considera- tion of the recent elaborate paper of Prof. Carl Möbius? Of the nearly twenty-three days that elapsed between depar- ture and arrival (Aug. 1 to Aug. 24, 1879), at least ten were favorable for the study of the question under consideration. 1 Proceed. Boston Soc. Nat. Hist., Vol. xv, p. 138, 1872. i * Reise in die Aequinoctial-Gegenden des neuen Continents,” 1, Stuttgart, 1815. "Di Bewegungen der fliegenden Fische durch die Luft.” Zeitschrift für Wis- senschaftliche Zoologie, Supplement to Vol. xxx, p. 343, 1878. 646 Do Flying Fish Fly ? [ September, Aware that these fish are now generally regarded as skimmers rather than flyers, notwithstanding the testimony of very trust- worthy observers to the contrary, I determined to satisfy myself, if possible, on this one important point. I found the most favorable place for observation to be the bow of the steamer, and the best hours to be in the morning from five till eight or nine o’clock, and in the afternoon between three and six o'clock. Observations made when the air was quiet and the sea perfectly smooth, so that the fish could often be seen before they left the water, were the most satisfactory and conclusive. A stiff breeze, a billowy sea, a tossing ship and an easy chair are not conditions which facilitate accurate observation, and to such conditions, doubtless, is to be attributed the ill-success of many who have undertaken to decide this question. It has often been stated, especially by those who deny the wing-like motion of the fins, that flying fish are seldom seen above water when the air is still, and Burmeister even goes so far as to say .that “they fly oz/y when there .is considerable wind, since it is the wind which supports them.” That Burmeister “never saw a flying fish by still air,” proves only his misfortune, either in having no opportunity to see, or in not improving the opportunities which he did have. I have often seen great numbers of these fish when the air was almost motion- less—so still that not a ripple could be discerned on the glassy surface of the water—and it seemed to me that they were not much, if at all, less numerous on such occasions than when there was a moderate wind. Under the favorable conditions before mentioned, it is by n° means difficult to determine whether the fish executes any flap- ping movements with its pectoral fins. As I have seen them come out of the water directly under my eyes, I have been able to see distinctly the individual flaps of the large pectorals, while the ventrals were held in quiet expansion. The flapping move ment, which is quite regular and rapid—so rapid that it is va easily recognized at any great distance until experience has sharpened the eye—may be continued for the whole, or a part ot — the flight; but is generally discontinued after the first few rods, and the course completed by a pure skimming or sailing Move" ment. In some cases I have seen the flapping of the fins renewed once or twice after short intervals of the sailing movement. In 1889. ] Do Flying Fish Fly ? 647 the case of young fish, from a-half to one and a-haif inches in length, many of which I saw leave their native element to essay the rarer medium, the strokes of the fins are continued through- out the short flight; and the resemblance between these tiny fin- flyers and flying insects is most striking. The course of the flight is generally in a straight or curved line; but on several occasions I have seen it abruptly changed, apparently by the aid of the tail, the lower lobe of which was brought for a moment into contact with the water. . In one instance I saw the course thus changed three times, at intervals of only a few seconds. The fish came out of the water only a few feet from the steamer, flew outward and backward, then, suddenly turning, came toward the steamer, striking the crest of a wave within a few feet of the same, it darted alongside, and again dipping its caudal lobe in the water, wheeled directly away from the boat and plunged into the ocean. In the majority of observed cases, where the tail was made to touch momentarily the water, the course was not changed, the tail appearing to act, as Dr. Kneeland has already remarked, like a spring for raising the fish. In the case of a breeze, the direction of flight, as a rule, was either against that of the wind, or formed a more or less acute angle with it; not unfrequently, however, the flight is with the wind, or at right angles to it. The longest flight observed lasted not less than forty seconds, and its extent was undoubtedly over eight hundred feet, and may have exceeded twelve hundred feet. This remarkably long flight began near the right side of the steamer and was performed in a long curve, which formed, at first, nearly a right angle with the boat, then moving directly against a gentle wind, but gradually turned backward, so as ‘finally to coincide nearly with the direc- tion of the wind. While the average flight does not perhaps exceed fifteen Seconds, nor extend above four or five hundred feet, yet I have observed numerous cases in which it was continued twenty to — thirty seconds, That this flight, executed in a horizontal plane, which, accord- ing to the concurrent testimony of all observers, is seldom raised above the surface of the water by more than two or three feet, Continued for ten to thirty or forty seconds, and extending a dis- 648 Do Flying Fish Fly ? [ September, tance of one to eight or more hundred feet, can be due to the im- petus gained by a single spring combined with the parachute-like action of the fins, seems to me, aside from the oft repeated testi- mony of my eyes, quite incredible. It is maintained, however, by Carl Mobius, professor in Kiel, in the article before mentioned, that the pectorals of the flying fish execute no flapping movement during flight; and this view is based not only on the author’s observation of the flight of many Exocceti and one Dactylopterus, but also on anatomical and physiological grounds, No one, so far as I know, has undertaken so elaborate a discus- sion of this question, and approached it from so many different standpoints as Prof. Mobius; and his conclusions will, on this very account, undoubtedly command the assent of many naturalists who have had no opportunity to settle the question for them- selves. It is not, therefore, surprising to find that Prof. Bar- deleben, in his review of this paper, in Hofman and Schwalbe’s “ Jahresberichte über die Fortschritte der Anatomie und Physiol- ogie” (Vol. vil, part 1, p. 129), appears to accept as conclusive the opinion so ably maintained by Prof- Mobius. Had I not seen many times, with my own eyes, under circumstances so favorable as to forbid all manner of doubt in my own mind, the flapping of these fins, I might have accepted the conclusions of the German naturalist and overlooked the assailable points of the arguments adduced in their support; but with the positive assurance that he is in error on the main question, I have been led to question the validity of some of his interpretations of facts. That I have fairly stated the position of this author in regard to the function of the pectoral fins of the flying fish, will appear evident from the following citations: “If during the entire flight the pectoral fins of flying fishes actually made motions similar to those of the wings of bats, birds and insects, one would able to perceive them quite aS well as the strokes’ of equally large wings of bats and birds — (p. 353). D This statement is open to the objection that it entirely ignores the fact that the color of the fins, the rapidity and sweep of their vibrations have a vast deal to do with the ‘question whether the fin-strokes would be as easily recognized as the wing-strokes wo the bird or bat. f “Flapping movements of the large shining pectorals would, 1880.] © Do Flying Fish Fly? 649 make themselves visible by the alternate appearance and disap- pearance of the light reflected from them. They would escape no accurate observer who viewed the fully expanded pectorals from the height of a steamer. But as often and as long as I have been able to follow with my eyes flying fish, which came out of the water near our boat, I have never seen light reflected in this manner from the pectoral fins as from the wings of birds and ' bats” (p. 353). That these movements have escaped Carl Mobius is then evi- dent from his own testimony ; what application then is to be made of the statement that “ they would escape no accurate observer ?” This author first attempts to account for the fact that many good observers have affirmed the wing-like movement of the fins on historical and psycological grounds, asserting that this “ false notion” had its origin in a fancied resemblance of these fishes to swallows, and that it has been handed down from the times of Aristotle and Pliny to the present time, simply on authority; and afterward, as if aware that this was not altogether a satisfactory solution of the question, admits that these observers may have had some grounds for their statements, but thinks they were deceived by appearances, which they did not understand, into the belief that the fins behave like wings. He is very frank in telling us just what these appearances are, although no one, not even Mobius himself, has ever observed such phenomena in a living Exoccetus. “ Just as a sail begins to slacken and vibrate the moment the wind blows parallel to its surface, so the more flexible and elastic distal and ventral parts of the pectoral fins are thrown into rapid vibrations when the air-current moves parallel to their surface” (p. 370). As a simile, this will do very well, but how is it as a matter of fact? We are assured that this comparison is fully justified by the following simple experiment. A specimen of Exoceetus shriveled, distorted and stiffened by long soaking in alcohol, was Suspended and its pectorals exposed to a swift current of air in such a manner that the current swept along both surfaces. The fins thus exposed “ made directly under my eyes the same rapid quivering movement that various good observers of flying fish have regarded as a flying movement ” (p. 370-371). It is impor- tant to observe that Möbius has here affirmed an identity without any authority whatever. He shows his deference to the state- ments of “ good observers,” by undertaking to sweep all their VOL. XIV.—No, Ix. 42 650 Do Flying Fish Fly? |September, testimony out of court by the mere breath of his private opinion. Surely this is a most facile mode of reconciling contradictory testimony ! If Mobius merely announces it as his opinion that the tremu- lous movement observed in his experiment is identical with the movement that has been so often interpreted as a true flying movement, then we have simply to raise objections. There are three questions here to be considered: First, whether the fins probably exhibit such movement; second, whether such a movement, if made, would be probably recognized; and third, whether, if recognized, it would likely deceive “ good observers.” It would seem that the wings of a sailing bird, such as a gull or a hawk, would be quite as likely to exhibit such motion as the fins of the flying fish; and it would be much more easily recog- nized in the former than in the latter. With reference to this point, I watched the long-winged gulls that were seen almost every day of our voyage. These birds were often circling about the stern of the boat, on the watch for waste bits of food, and were remarkably good skimmers, moving the most of the time without flapping the wings. I very rarely saw any vibratory movement that could be attributed to the wind alone, and ever anything of the kind that was of more than a momentary duration. It is very evident that, under conditions that would render possible a continuous movement of this kind, the bird, as well as the fish, would inevitably fall to the water. Is it probable that a momentary quiver in the comparatively small fin-wings of a swiftly-moving flying fish would be noticed ? The fact that no naturalist has ever affirmed anything of the kind except Mobius, who bases his assertion on an experiment with an alcoholic specimen, is sufficient answer to this question. _ As to the probability of any one being deceived by such motion, I cannot, of course, judge from experience, as I have never been so fortunate as, in the first place, to detect it, and, in the second place, to discover that I had erroneously interpreted it. I cannot persuade myself, however, that any “good observer would be likely to make such an egregious blunder. That Mobius does not regard this hypothetical quivering as '" any sense a true flying movement, he states in the most unequivo- cal manner, and goes on to ask, “ how, then, are the Exoccetl able, without touching the water, to rise over the waves? ro o e 1880.] Do Flying Fish Fly ? 651 this also they make no fin-strokes. They do not raise themselves, but are passively raised by the ascending currents of air, which are caught in the grooves on the under surface of their pectoral fins” (p. 371). Notwithstanding the oft-repeated affirmation that flying fish do not actually fly, our author seems, in one place, to admit the possibility of the flapping of the fins during flight. “ These explanations of the movement of the flying fish do not imply that an Exoccetus or a Dactylopterus cannot make power- ful and plainly recognizable movements with its tail and pectorals during its ascent (out of the water), and even occasionally in the middle of its course, if prompted thereto by a strong wens of the body by the waves ” (p. 372). This statement, interpreted in the light of the context, cannot be said, however, to involve a contradiction; the author simply means that the fins and tail may be used in getting out of the water, and that these movements may possibly be recognized just as the fish rises. But he still maintains that the wing-like move- ment attributed to them by many observers, “arises not through Muscular action, but through the elasticity of the out-spread fins and the pressure of the air, which act alternately against each other” (35 3-354). Passing on from these explanations, which presume to reconcile conflicting statements by pronouncing all that will not be recon- ciled, biltacio ine; and by substituting others of a less obstinate but of a purely hypothetic nature, which seem to admit of a quasi- explanation, we have next to notice the arguments urged fro.n an anatomical and physiological standpoint. “T believe then,” says Mobius, “that I have refuted on ana- tomical and physiological prana the opinion that flying fish use the pectoral fins as wings ” (p. 368). In this entire discussion, Möbius tacitly assumes that there can be but two opinions on this question, namely: his own opinion, Which he shares with many others, and the opinion attributed, ‘With more or less justice, to A. v. Humboldt, Kneeland and others, that the fins are flapped with great rapidity throughout the entire flight. While the claim to have refuted the latter opinion Seems altogether too pretentious, it may be freely admitted that the reasons adduced have much more force against it than against the view here maintained, that the flapping movement is generally continued for only a part of the flight. 652 Do Flying Fish Fly ? [ September, The frequency of the fin-strokes is made the first point of attack. Referring to the number of revolutions made by the bird’s wing per second, which, according to Marey, are for the SPRON eke yy See Terre re Par RI Sune Abeer a ess | | 13 Wild duck 9 Pile oe eal un oc aa ob doce nio Anak ee 8 Moor buzzard ....... 534 aan aata r oo fen cee ees eon been T, 5 Mobius remarks: “If flying fish make a still larger number of fin-strokes per second, then the fin-muscles must be able to con- tract even more rapidly than the pectoral muscles of birds and all other vertebrates.” Then follows a comparison of the mus- cles of certain fishes with those of mammals, birds and frogs, in respect to the time required to execute a muscular contraction— all with a view to showing that the muscles of Exoccetus are incapable of making very rapid contractions. The strength of this argument is impaired by two facts; first, the duration of a muscular contraction has never been determined for Exoccetus; and second, the number of fin-strokes per second has never been estimated, much less experimentally ascertained. Furthermore, it does not follow, as Mobius asserts, that if the flying fish make more than thirteen fin-strokes per second, its fin-muscles must be able to contract more rapidly than those of birds. That they would be more rapid than those of some birds under some circumstances, can be safely asserted, and nothing more. The number of revolutions made by the sparrow’s wing in a second is greatly exceeded in the wing of the humming- bird; and the figure given by Marey does not represent the maximum number of strokes of which the sparrow’s wing 1S capable. A complete “muscle-curve” consists of a “/aéent period,” a contraction and a relaxation, as every tyro in physiology knows, and the last two phases may vary much in duration according to circumstances. ke Again, the size of the fin-muscles is said to be incompatible with the theory that the fins execute true flight. The average weight of the entire bird, as determined by i Harting for thirteen birds belonging to different orders, is 6.22 times that of the pectoral muscles. In the case of Chiroptera, according to the Dutch physiologist, the body weighs 13 6 times 1« Animal Mechanism,” p. 228, 1880. ] Do Flying Fish Fly ? 653 as much as the pectoral muscles; and the relation between the same in Exoccetus was found, by Mobius, to be as 32.4:1. If the work performed by the muscles of flight be proportional to the weight of the body, then, as Mobius observes, the pectoral fin-muscles of Exoccetus must develop about five times as much force as the pectoral ‘muscles of birds, and about two and one- half times as much as the same muscles of the bats. The objection from this point of view has been greatly over- estimated by Mobius. As flying fish generally move their pec- torals during only a part of their flight, which is at most short, they do not need to expend so much muscular energy as birds and bats, which take long continued flights. Small muscles may perform, for a brief period, work which only larger muscles would be able to perform for a long time. Mobius. seems to have over- looked the fact that zime, as well as size, is an element of this problem. Perhaps also the large air-bladder may, as Humboldt supposed, have something to do with lightening the work of the muscles, while serving as a store-house of oxygen. The experiment of Humboldt, by which he determined that the fin-rays of Exoccetus move with five times greater force than the rays of other fins, would seem to favor the opinion here maintained, Admitting that in form, size, length and structure the pectoral fins of Exoccetus are less well adapted to flight than the wings of most birds, there is still ample room to believe, on anatomical and Physiological grounds alone, that they are capable of executing true flight. Te In regard to the personal observations of Prof. Mobius, it may be said that they can lay no claim to the right of deciding this ques- tion. Whatever evidence they afford is of a purely negative character; and of this fact Prof. Möbius seems to be fully aware, if we may judge from the stress which he lays upon other con- siderations. That Möbius and others may not have been fortunate enough to recognize the wing-like motion of the pectorals, establishes a most only a probability, which weighs very little against the Positive evidence afforded by the testimony of those who have actually seen flying fish fly. 654 Editors’ Table. [ September, EDITORS’ TABLE. EDITORS: A. S. PACKARD, JR., AND E. D. COPE. The reasons why governments should foster scientific research, are simply those which render it important that the sciences should exist. We take those reasons to be as follows: Firstly, the importance of developing the rational part of the minds of the race coincidentally with progress in other directions. Scientific publications stimulate thought, both by adding to the materials of thought and by opening up new directions for its activity. At the foundation of scientific publication and its func- tions lies original research, which is the source of all knowl- edge. The relation of knowledge to the habit of rational thought is obvious. The importance of the rational habit of mind in the individual and in the nation, cannot be over-estimated. It affects the daily intercourse of men more than any other quality, since it is the essential element in morals and in personal viability. Secondly, scientific research i$ essentially important in the light which it throws on our physical relations to our environ- ment, and the command it gives us over the resources of the world in the amelioration and elevation of our physical condition. This, popularly spoken of as the primary mission of science, is nevertheless second in order of importance. Thirdly, the cultivation of science is beneficial to the commu- nity in affording material for the pleasurable occupation of time, and through the interest which it evokes, in furnishing an anti- dote to ever mischievous idleness. Its attractions doubtless serve to divert the mind from activities of a character injurious both to the individual and to the community. The encouragement and support of scientific research is then, evidently a duty of governments, as involving most important parts of the interests of their peoples. That this has been the opinion of most civilized nations is well known. The great scientific works of many of the European nations are among their - chief glories. as ca ey The peculiar character of our own government offers an inviting field for the establishment of organizations for the development of knowledge through the aid of the National Treasury ; a® thanks to the energy of private citizens and others, a number of such organizations have already reflected great credit on our leg- islators, and have placed American scientific work on a plane with that of the old world. But our opportunity is also our danger. 1880. | Editors Table. 655 It is easy to understand that access to the national resources is as open to place hunters as to scientific men, and that personal jeal- Ousies and private ambition may hope for easier successes than under any other form of government. We allude to this subject for the purpose of pointing out two prominent instances of the introduction of demagoguery into scientific politics, so to speak, in the belief that unless “ eternal vigilance” is exercised in this direction, scientific interests will undoubtedly lose that influence in the councils of the govern- ment, which has hitherto proven so beneficial to the progress of knowledge The sentiment has been propagated that our government should not foster scientific research, because it thus becomes “a crushing competitor” of private scientific enterprise.! While such an ex- pression as this could not emanate from a scientific man, it might have some influence did not scientific men distinctly repudiate it. We are aware that it has been used with effect in some quarters, by persons who would like to be regarded as scientific men. . We maintain that such a sentiment as the above, effectually settles their claim to such consideration. Such language would indeed be quite inexplicable had it not been accompanied by the additional assertion that Congress should employ scientific research for the evelopment of the material resources of the country. This looks like an appeal to the cupidity of legislators in faver of certain kinds of science as against other kinds. If this be so, we believe that this is the first time in our history that any one has sought suc- cess for a scientific enterprise by such methods. The custom has been hitherto to appeal to material interests in justification of pure Science; and to such a policy on the part of scientists are we in- debted for most of our great government works on purely scientific subjects, . . But the appearance of tampering with the interests of pure Science has been still more evident in certain official documents pense of much talent and toil, may be destroyed through the Jealousies of a few unpatriotic persons calling themselves scientific MRP oe i „See AM. Naruratist, March, 1879. i Report on the Methods of Surveying the Public Domain, Oct., 1878. 656 Recent Literature, [ September, RECENT LITERATURE. SoME RECENT PUBLICATIONS ON JAPANESE ARCHÆOLOGY. — Doubtless many readers of the Naruratisr may have ‘seen a review in Mature of my memoir on the Shell Mounds of Omori, and in the same journal my reply and protest against the gross misrepresentations which that review contained. My reply was prefaced by an unexpected letter from Charles Darwin, in which he not only speaks of the “ very scant justice ” done to my work in the review, but compliments the Japanese for their part in the matter. This answer called forth a second letter of considerable length, for which ature seemed to find ample room. This second letter consisted mainly in extracts from a recent paper on Japanese archzology by Prof. John. Milne, My reply to this consisted mainly in a review of Mr. Milne’s paper, and 01 this ground alone the editor of Maturve might have seen fit to publish it. My article was returned to me, however, as too long. As it is impossible to shorten it much, and as another publication on archeological subjects has recently appeared in Japan, whic demands notice, a review of both papers may possibly bring out some features of interest to those studying these subjects. It is hardly necessary to add that my only excuse for noticing the efforts of Mr. Dickins is, that his letters appear in one of the widest and best known journals of science. - ' It is difficult to see that Mr. Dickins has at all met the points I protested against in my first letter. In other words he.not only did “very scant justice” to my memoir, to use Mr. Darwins temperate words, but he showed a lamentable ignorance of the work he attempted to review. A single illustration will suffice. ` In his first article he says: ‘These mounds consist for the _ most part of shells “itéle if at all distinguishable from what are still to be found in abundance along the shores of the Gulf of Yedo.” The italics are mine. : My memoir shows that the species composing the deposit are different in their form, size, proportion of parts and relative abundance from similar species living to-day, and that one of the most abundant shells in the mounds is not found nearer than four hundred miles to the south-west, while others are rarely found in the Gulf of Yedo. Observe now the “spirit of truth” which Mr. Dickins says animated him in writing his review. Having suddenly discovered _ that somebody else offers a possible explanation of the cause of these changes, Mr. Dickins for the first time recognizes the fact of these differences by quotations which are taken from MY memoir. Mr. Dickins parades with evident exultation the paper of Prof. John Milne published in the Transactions of the Asiatic Society of Japan, and since of the three names Mr. Dickins mentione@ Prof. Milne is the only one that can lay any claim to having pub- 1880. ] _ Recent Literature. 657 lished on the matter, a review of his paper becomes a disagree- able necessity. Let us see then if Prof. Milne’s paper can be regarded in the light of a contribution to science. This paper appears in the Transactions of the Asiatic Society of Japan, Vol. vii, Part 1. It is entitled “ Notes on Stone Imple- ments from Otaru and Hakodate, with a few general remarks on the Prehistoric Remains of Japan.” An idea may be formed of the loose way in which measure- ments are taken by the following. Speaking of certain stone implements he says: “ These are adout one inch long, having a curved scraping edge one inch broad.” Again, “ Its total length is about two and a-half inches, the pointed pdrtion which is roughly rounded being adou¢ one and a-half inches.” (The italics are mine. water being cut off from ready access to the tides. The small and Stunted specimens occurring in certain estuaries are examples. More curious illustrations may be seen in the stunted and dis- torted forms of this species which formerly occurred in the Loch of Stennis in Orkney, and in the sluices of Ostend. It was sug- gested by Forbes and Hanley that the singular varieties of Mya @renaria, known as Mya lata and Mya pullus, which occur in the mammialiferous crag of the east of England, may have been due to a freshening of the water at that time from melting ice. How- ever that may be, AZya arenaria, by its diminishing size and abnormal growth, indicates the impurity of the water in which it lives. F ortunately Mya arenaria—the typical northern form-— lives in the Gulf of Yedo to-day, and its shells are found in the 658 Recent Literature. ., [ September, mounds of Omori. A comparison of the recent with the ancient forms show the least possible- change, with the present form slightly larger and just as perfectly developed. Prof. Milne will be called upon to give his authority for the statement that the Ainos have platycnemic tibie! Until some explanation is made, archeologists + will please look to Prof. Milne as an authority for this remarkable statement. We may add, by the way, that Aino skeletons are such a drug in the mar- ket that there can be no difficulty in verifying this statement ! _ A most wretched and misleading cut is given of some rock inscriptions from Otaru. In order that the hieroglyphists may ave some conception of the appearance of these curious inscrip- tions, we present a figure reduced from a drawing made bya Japanese gentleman, Mr. Morishima. Rock Inscriptions from Otaru, west coast of Yezo. Scale 1-30. In proof that the Ainos are pot makers, the following over- whelming evidence is given: “Mr. Charles Maries when travel- s it not more than likely that Mr. Maries has made a similar mistake. (I met this gentleman in Yezo, and found him a most delightful and entertaining acquaintance, but laying nO more claim to a knowledge of these subjects than I do of the trees, the seeds of which he was sent out from England to col- lect.) 1 have also crossed Yezo from the west coast, have visited — a great many Aino villages, examined a great many interiors and- identified the pottery and lacquertused by the Ainos, and failed to: find any evidence that they are to be regarded as pot makers 11 any sense of the word. e In the following manner does Prof. Milne suggest that the Ainos might have been cannibals. He finds in a number of old 1880. ] Recent Literature. 659 books teferences to their cruel modes of punishments, and says: “ There are Many references given which show that the Ainos, a few hundred years"before they were properly subdued, possessed a character which was sufficiently cruel to render it unnecessary to extend our imagination very far beyond the incidents which are there recorded, to see them practicing cannibalism.” Extend our imagination! Very well, let us extend our imagination in the Scotland two hundred years ago, persecutions so zealously maintained by that class who had the moral welfare of the people in charge; we read, among hundreds of accounts of the most atrocious tortures, of one “ who remained in the same machine -for eleven days and eleven nights, whose legs were broken daily for fourteen days in the boots, and who was so scourged that the whole skin was torn from the body.” From this evidence, according to Prof. Milne, we are not even justified in extending our imagination far beyond this time to see the Scots practicing cannibalism ! x In the following paragraph which is here quoted from Prof. Milne’s paper, we must accuse the writer either of deliberate mis- representation or of careless ignorance: : “ Prof. Morse in describing the mounds of Omori, gives a list of the ‘ Objects not found at Omori.’ About these we will make no remark, In these shell heaps, or scattered through the ground near them, stone implements are often found. The number and nature of these may be judged from the descriptions which I have given of the deposits at Hakodate and Otaru.” (The italics are mine.) i e now turn to his description of the Otaru shell heaps, and _ find the following: Spent in collecting in the Omori mounds, for a very great number Otaru mounds, in six hours time, one hundred and fifty-two stone implements, not counting husdreds of obsidian flakes. my assistants, in a large number of visits to the Omori mounds, 660 Recent Litcrature. [September, entailing perhaps five hundred hours work, have secured only eight rude stone implements! Prof. Milne, therefore, stands accused of gross misrepresenta- tion, to use no harsher term, for had he collected in the Omori mounds, or had he examined the collections at the University of Tokio, indeed had he taken the slightest pains to ascertain the truth in regard to the matter, he would have seen the wide differ- ence in the number and character of the implements collected in the two places. Judging from “ the spirit of truth” which animated Mr. Dick- ins in the preparation of his article, it is no wonder he prefers such an authority to that of the “Salem Zodlogist,’ as he courteously designates the writer. The above passages are sufficient to show the general character of this remarkable production. There is one portion of Prol. Milne’s paper that is a valuable addition to our knowledge of the early people of Japan, and that portion, significantly enough, has been extracted from a recent work written by Mt. Kurokawa Mayori, for the translation and revision of which Prof. Milne has to thank the accomplished scholar, Ernest Satow ! e turn with relief from this paper to a work published by Henry von Siebold, from the press of M. Levy & Co., Yokohama. Mr. Siebold’s work in quarto contains twenty-two pages of letter press, and is illustrated by twelve excellent photographic plates, crowded with figures of stone implements, stone ornaments an a few fragments of pottery. These will be of great interest to archzologists, and much credit is due Mr. Siebold for the manner and matter of his book. In short chapters he treats of stone — implements and stone weapons, Japanese graves, Japanese caves, apanese ancient pottery, Japanese shell heaps, stone ornaments and bronze objects, and tsuchi mugio or clay figures. Many interesting facts are given under these various heads, and his work is an important contribution to the scanty knowledge we possess of the stone implements of Japan. There are some criticisms to be made, however, and the first _ politeness and gratitude are universal characteristics of its ere In mentioning localities Mr. Siebold is not explicit enough. _!t 1880. | Recent Literature. 661 of these references, in many cases, is a serious fault in a work of this nature. r. Siebold makes a ludicrous blunder in the following state- ment: “The shell heaps themselves consist, as is likewise the case with the Keekkenmoedding of Europe and other parts of the globe, of the Eéurnas’” Will Mr. Siebold kindly inform his read- ers in what shell heaps of Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Great Britain,.Spain, France, Portugal, North and South America, either on the east or west coasts, a single shell of Eburna has ever been found? Mr. Siebold has unfortunately copied his molluscan information (without credit being given) from a little paper of mine in the Popular Science Monthly. Being in Japan when this paper was printed, it was impossible for me to correct proof, and a printer’s blunder which ran two genera together, as follows, “ Pecten Cardium,” Mr. Siebold reproduces this blunder with re- markable accuracy, and at the same time mixes thjngs in a most unaccountable manner, by scattering the genus Eburna all over the world! A little attention in quoting from other contributions might have saved him some mortification in this case. Mr. Siebold in his impatience to prove the Aino origin of all the shell heaps in Japan, is lead into some curious processes of reasoning. For example, a curious comma-shaped stone, known as a magatama, is widely scattered throughout Japan and is regarded by the Japanese as having a high antiquity. The absence of this object in the shell heaps leads Mr. Siebold into the following extraordinary mode of reasoning. He says, “ It would be scarcely possible to expect to discover among these rude stone implements ` which these shell heaps have produced, such an artificial orna- ment as a magatama, especially as the shell heaps themselves were only used as receptacles for useless and valueless articles. ; I think, therefore, that the fact of the magatama not being found is, on the contrary, proof that the shell heaps are of Aino origin.” Comment on such reasoning is unnecessary. Mr. Siebold states that in only one deposit has the evidences of cannibalism been found. It will interest him to know that in the Tokio deposit, in the deposits of Okadaira as observed by Mr. Sa- saki, and in the Higo deposits as observed by me, the most unques- tionable evidences of cannibalism occur. Mr. Siebold can hardly accept my evidences of cannibalism, but if they point that way he is ready to show that, though the Ainos are gentle and mild in Manner now, it was not so formerly, and that they might have been cannibals, and he offers, in the absence of necessary testi- Mony, that the Japanese annalists would have left unrecorded Customs and practices, which would have thrown discredit on their race. This is a novel idea. . Vee __ The question is simply, were the Ainos cannibals? not, were the Japanese cannibals. Mr. Siebold calls the shell heaps Aino 662 Recent Literature. _ [September, in their origin. Since the Japanese had fierce wars with the Ainos it would be past believing that they—bitter enemies as they were of the Ainos—would refrain from any feeling of delicacy in fastening every possible stigma, in reporting every possible crime about them. The Ainos were looked upon as debased, as having an animal origin; what more probable than that every hideous feature of their life be recorded and perpetuated? This important evidence being wanting, Mr. Siebold tries to make out that the Japanese were cannibals. Does he do this on the strength of their own historians or Chinese chroniclers? No, but on the testimony of Marco Polo! He who found in Japan temples roofed and paved with massive gold, who saw quantities of precious stones, who describes an invasion and storming of a city, the garrison put to death, all excepting eight, who by the efficacy of a charm introduced between the skin and the flesh of the right arm which rendered them proof against sharp swords, either to being killed or even wounded, and so they had to be beaten to death with wooden clubs! account of Marco Polo. This extraordinary writer says, “ that these people on capturing an enemy that was not ransomed, invited to their house all their relations and friends, and putting the prisoner to death, dress and eat the body in a convivial man- ner,’ etc., etc, With these few criticisms, Mr. Siebold’s work must be looked pon as a most excellent contribution to a knowledge of the archeology of Japan.—Z&. S. Morse. Barrour’s COMPARATIVE Emsryotocy.—Only within a year oF two, owing to the rapid advances made in our knowledge of the embryology of the invertebrate animals, could this book have | been prepared. It comprises a body of facts and, in the main, probably sound generalizations, which afford the student the only starting point for studies of this sort. The author has brought to his task much experience in the embryology both of vertebrates and invertebrates, and this knowledge, with wide reading an4 good critical powers, have rendered the book a reliable, standard authority. As such it is most useful and timely. = _ The first volume is confined to the many-celled invertebrate _ animals, beginning with the sponges and ending with the Echigo- 14 Treatise on Com ive E. s ur, F.R.S. in two volumes, Vol. 1. iia MEANT & Co 1880. Ge: oo ae Xx1I. $4-5° 1880. | Recent Literature. - 663 derms; the Protozoa not being considered. The author has evi- dently adopted Lankester’s classification, as the Tunicata are not referred to in this volume, and will, undoubtedly, be taken up in the vertebrate volume The introduction treats of the development of the ovum and spermatozoon, the maturation and impregnation of the ovum, and its mode of segmentation. These subjects are treated in a clear way, with an abundance of illustration, and this portion will be found as useful as any part of the book, since the phenomena have been traced by but a few and are rather difficult to com- prehend. The introduction to systematic embryology refers to the mode of origin of the germinal layers, and the gastrula, both by invagi- nation and by delamination, the figures very clearly showing these different modes of development of the germinal layers and primi- tive digestive cavity. We observe that Mr. Balfour uses the con- venient terms morula and gastrula to express the two earlier stages in the life history of most animals, though he is unable to perceive a true gastrula condition in the Tracheata. The remainder of the work is devoted to special accounts of the mode of development of such types of the different classes as have been studied. These include the Dicyemidæ and Orthonec- tide, Porifera, Coelenterata, Platyelminthes, Rotifera, Mollusca, Polyzoa, Brachiopoda, Cheetopoda, Discophora, Gephyrea, with references to the aberrant types of Chzetognatha, etc., Nematel- minthes, ending with the Tracheata, Crustacea, Pcecilopoda, Echinodermata and Enteropneusta, in the order here given. This order represents the author’s views as to the classification, or what is but another name for it, the phylogeny of the inver- tebrates. We are gratified to see that the author assigns the _ Sponges to a group by themselves, while the Mollusca have the Same rank assigned to them as to the Polyzoa or Brachiopoda. We scarcely see why the Echinoderms are placed so far away from the Ccelenterates and worms. laa _At the end of nearly every chapter, after treating of the indi- vidual development, that of the organs is discussed, and finally, as in that on the insects (Tracheata), we are treated to a rehearsal of the general mode of formation of the layers an embryonic envelopes, with a full bibliography. As regards the latter it would be much more convenient to the student, especially the be- ginner, if the works had been cited in the order of publication, so as to induce one to study the history of the literature. After treating of the Tracheata and Crustacea, and Poecilopoda, Pycno- gonida, Pentastomida and Tardigrada, an excellent summary of Arthropodan development is given. : i he theoretical portion relating to phylogeny is kept apart, and is discussed in a generally conservative and judicious way; the bearings of paleontology, though of primary importance as 664 Recent Literature. [ September, checking too free interpretation of purely embryological pro- cesses, are not discussed. In the introduction the credit of the correlation of the development of the individual and the class to which it Lelongs, should have been given to Agassiz and to Milne- Edwards, however much it has been extended and modified by later evolutionists. We find little to criticise in the author's general views. The illustrations, where originally prepared for the work, are nearly faultless, with two or three exceptions. THE ODONTORNITHES, OR Birps witH TEETH.'—The present memoir presents the results obtained by Prof. Marsh from the study of the remains of this interesting group, procured by him during the last ten years. It is generally known that the speci- mens which represent the Odontornithes have only been found in America in the Niobrara Cretaceous, or No. 3 of Meek and Hay- den, and within the geographical limits of the State of Kansas. Prof. Marsh’s book sets forth principally the osteology of four species of the group, viz: Hesperorni. f Ichthyornis dispar and Ichthyornis victor, all discovered and name all) of the remainder of the class Aves, and the two great divi- sions thus formed embrace corresponding or “ heterologous ” sub- . Inhis discussions the author adopts the theory of the production of modification of structure by use, a doctrine first ‘fully formulated in an essay in this journal? _ A supplement to the chapters above mentioned includes a synop- sis of all the species of birds hitherto found in the Cretaceous forma- tions of North America, twenty in number, all named by the author. We should like to have seen introduced here some clear descriptions of several of the genera named by Prof. Marsh, but whose characters we are yet unacquainted with. Some reference to the first discovery of birds with biconcave vertebra in Eng- — r land by Seeley, in 18703 would also have been in place. Men- tion of the extent and character of the services for which Mre Oscar Harger is thanked in the introduction, would also have been proper. | a 1 The Otontornithes, or Birds with Teeth. By O. C. MARSH. Memoirs of he y Peabody Museum of Yale College, Vol. 1, 1880. ‘gto, pp- 200. ? 1871, p. 603. Proceed. Amer. Philos. Soc., 1871, 253+ 3 Annals Magaz. Nat, Hist., p. 129. 1880 ] Recent Literature. COS o hoped that the State will furnish more original illustrations and better paper and press-work for subsequent reports, as thèse pub- lications are of great value to the people. There are less typo- graphical errors in this than in the two previous reports. TRANSACTIONS OF THE ENTOMOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF LONDON FOR are twenty-five memoirs filling only 346 pages, so that the papers are, in most cases, quite brief; of this number twenty are descrip- tive, most of them purely so, and a few are simply faunal lists, mostly of exotic insects, and prepared by the officers of the Or smaller branch of the antenne of the Crustacea ; especially as he - a finds a movable appendage present in Lepisma, and a large coni- | Ninth Report of the State Entomologi: te Noxious and Beneficial Insects of a ist on Lte Oxious an : a } the State of Illinois. By Cyrus THomas, Ph.D., State Entomologist. Springfield, 1880. 8vo. pp. 142. - YOU XIV.—No. IX. 43 666 Recent Literature. | September, cal process in Blatta. He compares these structures with the second branch of the bifid antennz of Pauropus. We may add that in certain coleopterous larvz there are similar movable pro- cesses. These may be found to exist in other low or larval insects ; but while interesting and suggestive, we scarcely see the need of going so far as to homologize them with the bi-flagellate antenne of the Crustacea. These attempts are due to the hypoth- esis that the insects have been derived from the Crustacea, instead of what has seemed to us the better grounded view that the two classes have independently arisen from the worms, and also it is forcing nature into a straight jacket to attempt to institute too though he adds that the joints are not movable. We have found what we suppose to be less distinct traces of an articulation in the mandible of Campodea. He concludes that the mandibles of the cockroaches are compound structures, “each made up of three (or four) such joints as are to be seen in Machilis.” Our author thenasks, “Are the mandibles of insects and myria- pods, like the jaws of Peripatus, modifications of walking legs ? He answers the query in the negative, and his reasons for his con- clusion are apparently due to the influence of the hypothesis that insects are derived from Crustacea and not first hand from the worms. He judges that the mandibies of the higher Thysanura and the cockroaches as well as the myriopods “have resulted from the direct modification of such a biramous appendage as 15 seen in the earliest (nauplius) condition of many crustaceans. Embryology shows conclusively that the mandibles and in fact all the appendages of the head of both Crustacea and insects arise in the same manner and have the same form as the thoracic ap- pendages. Would this not indicate that both arose from worms In which the rami and tentacles are obviously identical in form, and but slightly differentiated in function; and that the two classes followed distinct developmental paths, one with limbs adapted for swimming, as in the nauplius, with limbs all alike and no head differentiated from the rest of the body; while the terrestrial an- cestor of the insects at once assumed what we have called tne ` Leptus condition, having a head separate from the rest of the Another point of interest studied by Mr. Mason is the nature 1880. ] Recent Literature. 667 of “ the abdominal appendages, which, in Machilis, are movably articulated to the hinder margin of the sterna of the eight ante- penultimate somites, a pair to each somite.” These as well as similar ones in Scolopendrella, he compares to the exopodite of Decapod Crustacea, notably Peneus, and thinks this an additional argument for the crustacean origin of insects. Now while Mr. Mason has pointed out some interesting points of resemblance between the Crustacea and insects, we do not think that these crustacean features have been derived from the Crustacea; but that they have independently arisen in the ancestral forms of each class. It will be interesting to follow up Mr. Mason’s “ suspicion that the limbs of myriopods are not strictly homologous with ` those of insects, but that they correspond with the rudimentary appendages of Machilis, and are consequently exopodites, the ap- pendages of the legs in Scolopendrella representing the legs of insects, which would appear to be endopodites.” This may or may not be the case, but we should not desire to fall into the error of drawing too close homologies between two sub-ciasses like the hexapodous and myriopodous Tracheata (insects). Finally, our author, after considering the remarkable difference in the position of the genital openings exhibited by the different groups, and. very generally by the opposite sexes of Arthropoda, believes this is “ intelligible on the hypothesis that all the members of the sub-kingdom have descended from some worm-like crea- ture, provided in every somite of its body with a pair of seg- mentai organs or nephridia, and that different pairs of these organs have, in different descendants of this hypothetical ancestor, been connected in the genital aperture and ducts.” n a paper on the affinity of the genus Polyctenes, Mr. C. O. Waterhouse conclusively proves, by a winged form closely allied to the wingless Polyctenes, that this insect belongs near the Hip- poboscidz, or horse-ticks and bird-flies. In a brief paper on the natural affinities of the Lepidoptera hitherto referred to the genus Acronycta, M. A. G. Butler removes several of the species to the Arctiidae, a subdivision of Bombycid moths. Our own ob- servations on the structure of the head as well as the general form of the body, made several years ago, lead us to think that such a removal is quite unwarranted, and that the interesting analogies to the Bombycids are superficial, and not fundamental. ` __ Recent Books AND PAMPHLETS.—Descripiion of four new species of Silurian Fossils. By S. A. Miller. (From Jour. Cin, Soc. Nat. Hist, July, 1880.) 8vo, PP- 5, Pl. 1, 1880. From the author. _ The Three Climates of Geology. By C. B. Warring. (From Penn Monthly, June, 1880.) 8vo, pp. 36. From the author. Contributions to Invertebrate Paleontology, Nos. 2-8. By Dr. C. A. White. (Ext. from the Tweflth Annual Report-of U. S. Geolog. Surv., 1878.) 8vo, pp. 171, Pls. 42. From the author The Hessian Fly. By Ñ. S. Packard. (Bull, No. 4, U.S. Ent. Com.) Svo, PP. 43, Pls. 2, Map r. From the author. 668 General Notes. [September, Etude sur les Grenouilles Rousses Ranze Temporariz et Descriptions d’Espéces Nouvelles ou Inconnues. Par G. A. Boulenger. (Ext. Bull. Soc. Zool. de France pour 1879.) 8vo, pp. 38. From the author. The Plowshare. By Henry M. Parkhurst. Vol. xxxu, No. 3. 16mo, July, 1880. From the editor. On the Zodlogical Position of Texas. By Edw. D. Cope. (From Bull. U.S. Nat. Museum.) 8vo, pp. 51, August Ist, 1880. From the author. 10; GENERAL NOTES. BOTANY. CONTRIVANCES FOR CROSS-FERTILIZATION IN THE RANUNCULA- ceE#.—In ‘Ranunculus the stamens near the honey pores are adnate-extrorse to scatter pollen upon insects as they take honey. The receptacle is elongated to elevate the ovaries and furnish a firm, conspicuous platform, so that insects will first alight upon them. An elongation of the styles simply would not accomplish ‘the purpose. In Aquilegia the pollen is very rarely if ever discharged till the anthers are beyond the stigmas. As the flowers are pendant this prevents its falling upon the stigmas even if they were prepared to receive it. The spurred petals are placed on all sides of the stamens so that in passing from spur to spur the stamens are almost sure to be brushed. After the stamens have all discharged, the styles then elongate and the feathery stigmas open and curve sidewise so as to bring themselves before the mouths of the petals and at about the same distance at which the anthers were in the staminate stage of the flower. I have seen humming birds visit the columbines and they seem especially adapted to fertilize them. In Delphinium one sepal is spurred and two petals are utilized to make the stiff rim for its mouth. Two other petals, or 19 some species projections from the two already mentioned, serve as a kind of apron to protect the stamens and pistils till each 1S fully mature. The stamens are first to become so; at which time, by an elongation and bending of the filaments, each anther is brought from under the petals and placed before the mouth of the spur. After discharging pollen, each is withdrawn by a con- trary movement of the filament. In a similar way, after the stamens are through, the stigmas are brought into the same position. aS In both Aquilegia and Delphinium the outey stamens mature first, the inner méanwhile forming a sheath for covering the pistils. The degrees of complexity in these flowersand the intermediate position of Aquilegia need only to be mentioned to be readily 5 = 1880. ] Zoölogy. 669 seen. Delphigium may be considered the highest and latest developed type of the three, and D. consolida would, seem to be of later origin than D. zricome and others. Aconitum may be a stage between Delphinium and Aquilegia. me The history of these different structures, the spur, the auto- matic filaments, etc., offers a very attractive field of investigation. he Ranunculacez, on account of their wide distribution, great numbers a@ffd variety of forms, seem especially favorable for studying this branch of vital dynamics.—¥. E. Todd, Tabor Col- lege, Towa. Ernst, in Nature, by large Sphinx moths, no flower gave a fruit without having its stigmata pollenized by crossing, self-fer- tilization being therefore excluded; he also confirms Bonnier's statement that the nectar is of no direct advantage to the plant. In this connection may be mentioned the excellent treatise of Mr, William Trelease on nectar, its nature, occurrence and uses, bacilli appearing to actively excite inflammation, the animal dying after a few days’ illness, showing no other symptoms than de- crease of appetite and weakness. The disease germs appeared in- the liver, sections of the capillaries being crowded with them. ——Mr. W. T. T. Dyer contributes to Trimen’s Journal of Bot- any an article on Lattakia tobacco, which owes its flavor to being smoked with the wood of an oak, Quercus ruber var. ZOOLOGY.! - nave not looked for them farther north, but have no doubt they m be found generally in our latitude. , ; It is a small ant, the worker being about a line long. Itis ofa red- ‘The departments of Ornithology and Mammalogy are conducted by Dr. ELLIOTT Coves, U. S. A. 670 General Notes. [ September, dish-brown color. The head is rather large. The head of the soldier ant of this family is a marvel for size, being many times larger than the abdomen. It is not above working when necessary, ut is not commonly seen on the surface. It appears to rule its community, and certainly furnishes the brains of the family, in bulk, at least. In battle it is a very Ajax. It is a ferocious, mur- derous warrior. A war between them is a terrible thing in a small way. They cut each other in two and yet continue to fight. have on my table, now, a pair whose abdomens have been cut off just back of the posterior pair of legs, so that they run about without any apparent embarrassment. A few moments since I placed them near each other. They gave every sign of undi- minished rage and courage and flew at each other as if in the best condition. And, as I write, one of these bodiless heads is actually walking off with the other. hese unconquerable contestants, were taken from formicaries about fifty feet apart. Under a goo objective these heads exhibit the characteristic striæ of Pogone- myrmex crudelis Forel,as I am informed by Mrs. Treat, an ex- cellent authority. The males and females are several times larger than the work- ers. I should think the female would outweigh forty of the little fellows. Though bothered with wings, the females are at this moment diligently excavating, in a small artificial formicary in which, as yet, I have placed no soldiers, but workers and females only. I have made many interesting notes concerning these strangers, which I may hereafter give to the public. I have sent specimens to Dr. Forel, who informs me that they belong to 4 variety of Pheidole pennsylvanica. The rejected husks of seed carried out and piled up by their doorways first called my attention to them and revealed to me their character. It would seem that they do their house cleaning in the latter part of June, to be ready for harvesting the new crop © grass and other seed now ripening. Here and there, however, a careful eye may detect signs of some later work in husks just brought from below. Grass, clover, sorrel or other seed put near them will be seized and carried below with evident eagerness. They have a violent antipathy to the little yellow ant—the pest of the pantry—a fact which may be used in recognizing them. Place a piece of cake full of the yellow ones near any formicary supposed to belong to the harvester and, if the supposition is cor- rect, you will have the pleasure of seeing the big-headed soldiers rushing out with gaping mandibles eayer to crush the tiny foe, and prevent the threatened invasion—Rev. G. K. Morris, Vine- land, N. F. a BUDDING IN FREE Mepus#.—In a review of Packard’s Zoölogy by J. W. F. in the August number of the NaruraLisr, the follow- ing passage occurs: “On page 6o the author says, ‘ Budding 1880. | Zoology. 671 occurs in the medusa of Sarsia prolifera, the only example known of budding in free medusæ. Alex. Agassiz has shown that bud- ding occurs in the free medusa of Lzzzia grata, also in Dysmor- Phosa fulgurans and in Hybocodon prolifer. These medusz are all found in New England waters. Many similar cases have been described in Mediterranean genera.” By an odd chance I had under the microscope, at the time I read this article, a medusa, a Willia, which must be added to this list, as it produces medusa by budding from the base of the manu- brium. During the latter part of July I took with the dipping net, in Beaufort Inlet, N. C., a great number of specimens of Willia ornata (McCr.) at various stages of growth; they agreed perfectly with Mr. Alex. Agassiz’s description and figures, and show that the latter author was correct in referring two specimens to the same species as the single specimen found by McCrady at Charleston. With them was a single specimen of another form, which at first appeared to belong to a second species of Willia. Although it was larger than those of the ccmmon form in which the reproductive organs were fully developed, these were entirely wanting ; there was a slight difference in the outline of the bell; the tentacles were only eight in number, short and thick, and usually carried coiled up under the edge of the bell. The tubes with the clusters of lasso cells, contained only a single cluster each, instead of two or three clusters, as in the ordinary form. On the inner surface of the bell, where the radiating chymifer- ous tubes joined the manubrium, and therefore nearly in the posi- tion which is usually occupied by the four reproductive organs, four long branchial stolons hung down into the cavity of the bell, and the tip of each branch terminated in a medusa bud, with four rudimentary tentacles. budding, so that we have an alternation of generations of free medusæ. The specimen soon died in conānement, and as stormy weather set in that night I got no more of them, hence the question whether the two forms belong to the same species must therefore be left in doubt for the present—W. K. Brooks, Beaufort, N. C. _ ENGLISH Sparrows REFUSING ro EAT Worms.—One can hardly blame either bird or beast for not liking to eat caterpillars and canker-worms, but when it is claimed that that is what the English sparrow is for, it is well to keep the facts of the case be- fore the people, as a great many persons are doing. I observ a “sin of omission ” on their part here in Washington, which I do not remember to have seen in print. After every rain the 672 General Notes. [ September, common earth-worm comes out of the ground in great numbers, and upon the walks through the Smithsonian grounds, for exam- ple, where sparrows are abundant, they remain until they are dried to a crisp in the sun or crushed by the feet of pedestrians ; and the sparrows are meantime rumaging the horse droppings in the street for, to them, more acceptable food. If they are really an insectivorous bird they surely ought not to refuse earth-worms, which are favorite food with such birds.—C. A. White. How Insects RESIST CoLD.— The cocoon surrounding an insect affords little protection, relatively, to temperature. Where a pupa resists congelation, it does so by virtue of a continuous and con- siderable liberation of heat. Whence is this production? Ac- cording to Dr. Jousset de Bellesme (Les Mondes), it is, very probably due to the organic transformations taking place in the pupa. Without going so far as to say (with some naturalists), that all the organs are destroyed to be built upon another plan, it is certain (speaking only of the muscular system) that there is a disappearance of certain muscles that have served for the larve, and formation of new ones, to be used by the perfect insect. Such work could not be done without a reciprocal liberation and consumption of heat, which would compensate one another if the reconstructed muscles were the equivalent of those destroyed. ut the muscular system of the larva is much more considerable than that of the perfect insect, hence all the heat rendered dis- posable by destruction of the old muscles is not utilized in con- struction of the new ones. Further, uric acid and its derivatives are found abundant in the insect which has been metamorphosed, and this is another proof of the existence of active combustions during the pupal period. It is then apparently, to these organ- ized chemical phenomena that we must attribute the facility with which insects, in the course of transformation, bear very prolonge depressions of temperature. ““Mimicry”’ IN Snakes.—In the NATURALIST for September, the question is asked, “ Does the fox-snake ‘mimic’ the rattle- snake?” This recalls an experience of mine that occurred sev- eral years ago, when collecting plants in the vicinity of Panola, Miss. nake of an unknown kind running along in the low grass was pursued to some rails that lay in a loose pile on the ground where it had fled for safety. By means of a stick of suf- ficient length, after finding it, I held it fast to the side of a rail, _ when I was surprised and. startled by a buzzing sound from its tail. The first thought was that I had a rattlesnake, but a glance at the tail and the color of the skin at once disproved this. Feel- ing safe from being bitten, the hold was kept, and the phenome- — non observed. The tail, vertically flattened either naturally or for the occasion, was thrown into rapid vibrations from side to side. The snake was very angry at being held, and I thought this its 1880. ] Zoölogy. 673 mode of showing its spite. The sound seemed hardly as acute as that made by the rattlesnake, but may have been somewhat modi- fied on account of the beating of the tail against a rail, as it did from its position. It was, however, a close enough imitation to cause one, on hearing it, to get out of the way of harm, M description of the way of producing the sound would be in almost exactly the same terms as those used by Mr. King, though, if I remember rightly, it was more continuous, still it was not without interruptions. On loosing my hold to get a better chance to kill the snake, being uninjured it glided rapidly away, and escaped among the grass and bushes, and, as I was not in search of that kind of specimens, no further pursuit was made. I did not know the species, but from its slender form, dark color, and rapid run- ning, should think it a Coluber, or one nearly allied to that genus. Its length was about five feet—E. F. Hill, Englewood, Ill. long time. The Indians say that they never find them there but that they are abundant on the Mar-ka-gunt Plateau. Black and cinnamon bears are reported, but they are very rare; I have never the broken hills. -They are not as wary nor as fleet of foot as any dog that comes about the place, using her fore legs as clubs to strike with, and when this is not efficacious jumping with all 674 General Notes. [September, four feet upon her enemy; the last stroke always does the work. I got sight of two animals last August on Pauns-a-gunt Plateau ; they were blue in color, with horns like a goat, five others were seen on the same plateau; I do not know what they are nor do I know anything about their habits. On the same plateau are pan- thers and wild cats, with porcupines and badgers. Everywhere can be found that hen-roost robber the coyote; it will eat fowls, rabbits, crows, crickets, grasshoppers and almost anything else of animal kind, including yellow jackets. Nests of small animats, white bellied or ground mice, gophers, kangaroo rats, mountain rats with their large pop eyes and flat tail, are abundant.—A. L. Siler, Ranch P. O., Utah. ICHTHYDIUM OCELLATUM.—I have found this singular Infusor- ian, first described by E. Metschnikoff, from German waters, in great abundance in a land-locked salt pool near Mobjack bay, New Point Comfort, Va. It was associated with vast numbers 0 another member of the same family, viz: Coleps hirtus Ehbg. There were also great numbers of a small Ameeba present, together with a species of Difflugia, which appears to be Arcella vulgaris, with which a large holotrichous Infusorian, which I did not determine, was often literally stuffed. The supposed eyes of Ichthydium ocellatum did not appear as distinct to me as they are figured by Metschnikoff. The chitinous annulate cesophagus and the singular backward prolongation of it, which it is hard to believe ~ is a true intestine with a proper wall, was clearly seen. The zoological position of these symmetric Infusoria, as they were called by Dujardin (Gasterotricha Metsch. and Class, Memato- rhyncha of Huxley), still apparently remains to be settled —/7. A. Ryder. l On THE COURSE OF THE INTESTINE IN THE OYSTER (OSTREA VIRGINIANA)—[In investigating the anatomy of the American oyster, under the auspices of the Maryland Fish Commissioñ, at St. Jeromes creek, Md., I find an arrangement of the intestine so remarkable that I will briefly describe it. The mouth is a wide opening between the upper median angles of the palpi; so wide indeed, that the animal caq scarcely be said to have an cesopha- gus; immediately follows the stomach, which is seen to have very pronounced folds internally, with a generally transverse direction, but two of these which lie in a somewhat ventral position, are a pair of inward projecting lobes which are themselves lobulated. The intestine then follows an oblique course, downwards and back- wards, when it makes a sharp bend returning beneath the floor of | the pericardial space, passing obliquely upwards and forwards, somewhat to the right and dorsad of the stomach, when it crosses exactly over the mouth or very short gullet, passing downwards to the left side of the animal, alongside and a little to the lower side of the stomach, when it again turns upwards and passes 1880.} Zoology. 675 over the pericardial space to end in the rectum just over the middle of the adductor muscle. The liver, as is well known, dips into the folds of the walls of the stomach, but does not seein to follow the course of the intestine proper, which is provided in- ternally with a curious pair of longitudinal and parallel folds, which project into the intestinal cavity and extend from the pyloric end to very near the anus. The presence of these folds, gives to the fæcal matters their singular appearance, which is not in the forni of a cylinder as they leave the vent, but in the form of a tube with a part of one side removed. Tracing the course of the intestines by sections is not the proper way; they can be very easily dis- Sected out for their entire length by means of the scissors and forceps, The general likeness of this arrangement of the intestines to that of other Lamellibranchiates is apparent, but I was not pre- pared to find it return and cross over the mouth so very far for- wards. Prof. Brooks! apparently believes the intestinal coils to lie behind the stomach and liver, which is not the case according to the foregoing observations, nor is the use of the words “coils” and “convoluted intestine” admissible, since there is but one complete turn of the canal upon itself—¥% A. Ryder. PHOSPHORESCENCE OF VERY YouNG FisHes.—Whilst investigating the development of Cybium maculatum and Parephippus faber, or the bay mackerel and porgy, under the auspices of the United may be the cause of these phenomena. So striking is the resem- blance of these migratory superficial amceba-like cells to some of ! Development of the American Oyster (Biological Studies from the Laboratory of : Johns Hopkins University, No. Iv), pp. 9-10. 676 General Notes. [September, tinge is acquired by the membranes of the umbilical vesicles of the porgy on the third day, which is not due to the presence of blood globules. _ To whichever of these structural causes, the phenomenon of or- ganic phosphorescence is attributable in this special case, there seems to me to be little doubt that the prime element in the pro- duction of phosphorescence in the animal world in general, is some kind of sudden molecular disturbance or impulse, disturbing the equilibrium of the molecules of the living protoplasm involved, so as to produce a kind of motion which makes itself apparent as mo- mentary emissions of light. I have no doubt that the phenomenon in Lampyris or the fire-fly, is connected with expiration and inspira- tion, and possibly in the Medusz with the rhythmical contraction of the umbrella. The application of experimental methods to verify the above suggestions would be very easy.—¥. A. Ryder. ZooLucicaL Nores.—Mr. M. M. Hartog shows that the larva or zoe of cancer have, like the adult entomostraca, an anal respira- tion, the terminal part of the rectum being slightly dilated, and with a rhythmic contraction and expansion associated with the opening and closing of the vent. Hybrids between males of Reeves’s pheasant and hens of the common pheasant were exhibited at a recent meeting of the Zodlogical Society of London. A honey ant with an immensely distended abdomen, like Myrmecocystus, has been discovered in Australia. Rein- fleisch claims to have demonstrated the origin of the red corpuscles of mammals; 7. e., the nucleus of the red-colored cell escapes and atrophies, while the body of the cell contracts and becomes the red corpuscle The influence of light on animals has been | studied, according to the Journal of the Royal Microscopical Society, by Moleschott and Fubini. It increases the excretion 0 carbonic acid and the ingestion of oxygen; but this influence 1$ not only effected through the eyes, but by the skin, for it i#seen in eyeless animals. Weismann has found that several ostracode _ Crustacea, especially Cypris, reproduce parthenogenetically. At _ the meeting of the Linnzean Society of London, held June 17. Sir John Lubbock presented additional observations on the habits of ants, especially concerning their powers of communicating their ideas to each other; he confirms the prevalent notion that ants possess “something approaching language.” . ANTHROPOLOGY.! ! Edited by Prof. Orts T. Mason, Columbian College, Washington, D. C. 1880. | Anthropology. EF departure of the Mayas from their original home until their destruction. Don Juan Pio Perez, a learned Yucatecan, had found - an old Maya manuscript containing this account, but failed to discover the author’s name. From this precious document Mr. Valentini attempts to reconstruct the Maya chronology in the Same manner that he deciphered the Mexican calendar stone. The results at which he arrives are as follows: 1. That the conquerors and settlers of the Yucatecan peninsula, as well as those of the Anahuac lakes, were joint participants ina correction of their national calendar about the year 290 B.C. 2. That about the year 137 A.D, when a total eclipse of the sun took place, the ancestors of both nations set out from their. common fatherland, Tula, or Tulapan. ; 3. That about the year 231 A.D., both nations made their appearance on the coast of Central America, and succeéded in conquering a large portion of the peninsula. : GERMAN AntTHRopoLocy.—The second number of Correspon- _ denz-Blatt der deutschen Gesellschaft fir Anthropologie, Eth- nologie und Urgeschichte is taken up with a ‘preliminary state- ment concerning an anthropological and prehistoric exhibition for Germany, which will take place in connection with their Anthro- Pological Society in Berlin, in August of this year. “In No. 3 we ave an exemplification of what our German cousins accomplish by concentrating one’s energies upon a single subject. Dr. H Fischer, of Freiburg, who is the greatest living authority upon jade, jadeite, nephrite, chroromelanite and kindred material, gives us a detailed account of every specimen of implements made from these materials, and known to exist in public and private “Museums-of Germany, Switzerland and Austria. Venerable Archdeacon Kirby delivered a lecture before the Philological Society of London, Friday, April 30th, on the Cree language, and the use of the syllabic characters in teaching it to the natives. Mr. J. B. Good has published at Victoria, British Columbia, a vocabulary and outlines of grammar of the Nitlakapamuk, or Thompson tongue, the language spoken by the Indians between Yale, Lilloet, Cache creek and Nicola lake, to which is added a phonetic Chimok dictionary, adapted for use in the province of British Columbia. the monuments erected to signalize this improvement and incite to increased activity, the Peabody Museum stands pre-eminent. The twelfth and thirteenth annual reports, constituting Nos. 3 and 4 of Vol. 11, are quite up to the mark in the value of their origi- 678 General Notes. [September, nal papers. The report of Mr. Putnam, the curator, sums up the - labors of Dr. Abbott, Mr. Schumacher, Mr. Gilman, Dr. Earl Flint, Dr. Edward Palmer, Mr. Curtis, Dr. Patrick, and of the im- mediate force of the institution. The list of contributions is fol- lowed by a series of papers, of which a brief sketch is appended. Mr. Lucien Carr, who has thoroughly qualified himself for the task by studies abroad, gives measurements of 150 crania from California, in which the following characteristics are included : ca- pacity, length, breadth height, index of breadth, index of height, width of frontal, length of face, length of nose, breadth of nose, basi-nasal length, basi-alveolar length, ptereon, nasal index, gnathic index, height of orbit, width of orbit, orbital index, zygomatic diameter. Dr. C. C. Abbot continues his investigations upon the flint chips of New Jersey. Two kinds of workshops have been discov- ered, one near the natural sources of supply indicates that the In- dians came indiscriminately; each to make points for himself; the other, that a few skilled workmen plied their handicraft. The other important discovery of Dr. Abbott is the existence of argil- lite points belonging to an earlier time than the same implements of flint-like mineral, and forming a connecting link between these latter and those found in the drift gravels of the river valley. Mr. Paul Schumacher gives us the methods of making pottery and basket ware among the Kahweyahs, on the coast of Cali- fornia. The important points to notice are, the use of an oval dish for the potter’s wheel, and the use of the bone needle in stitching basket ware. The article of Mr. Elmer R. Reynolds on soapstone quarries has been noticed in another connection. foe The Hon. Lewis H. Morgan having visited the Pueblos in 1878, 1880, ] Anthropology. 679 And that the Mound Builders came originally from the same country is, with our present knowledge, at least a reasonable con- clusion.” . We may, without the least fear of exciting envy, give the first place of merit to the paper of Mr. Ad. F. Bandelier, on the “Social organization and government of the ancient Mexicans,” Occupying’ 142 pages of the report, and not falling below the author’s communications on “The Art of War” and “The Tenure of Land” either in the importance of the subject or in the manner of treatment. All students of ancient Mexican sociology have felt the insecurity of Spanish chroniclers for two reasons. The most courtly and ceremonious people in the world could scarcely refrain rom the use of such terms as “knight,” “king,” etc., when speak- ing of the Mexican rulers; and, secondly, every inducement existed to magnify the glory of their own deeds by exaggerating the numbers, valor, and culture of the Mexicans. This practice of embellishing, unfortunately has been perpetuated among modern writers of great genius. Mr. Bandelier, acknowledging what we have Said above, and being profoundly impressed with the teachings of Mr. Morgan, ‘has set himself the task of reconstructing the his- tory of the ancient Mexican upon the systems of gentile organiza- tion contained in Morgan's “ Ancient Society.” The complicated nature of such a work necessarily determines the style of the communication ; therefore, the great preponderance of notes over the text is partly justified. Long familiarity with ancient authori- ties and the coöperation of such distinguished Mexican scholars as Sr. Orozco y Berra and Sr. D. J. G. Icazbalceta, have specially fitted Mr. Bandelier for this difficult task. The special aim in the Rag member of the series is best told in the author’s own ras; oMicers, subject to removal at the pleasure of their constituents ; that the twenty kins, for their mutual benefit had delegated their 680 General Notes, [ September, The execution of the decrees of this council was left to elective officers, whose power was limited to military command, and whom the tribe might depose at pleasure. With the exception of some inferior positions, these officers had not the power of appointing others to office, not even their assistants of high rank. he dignity of chief, so commonly transformed into hereditary nobility, has been found to have been merely a reward of merit, and carried with it no other prerogative than personal considera- tions and occasional indulgence in finery. Taking all our investi- tions we conclude ¢hat the social organization and mode of govern- ment of the ancient Mexicans was a military democracy originally based upon communism in living.” THE AMERICAN ANTIQUARIAN.—TLhe third number of Vol. II, contains the following papers, together with a large amount of interesting correspondence and editorial notes: The Mound Builders, by Stephen D. Peet; Brady’s Leap, and other facts of Indian History, by J. P. Woodruff; Exploration of a Rock-Shel- ter in Summit Co., Ohio, by M. C. Read; Was LaSalle the Dis- coverer of the Mississippi river; Letter from Pierre Margry; The numeral adjectives in the Klamath Language of Southern Oregon, by Albert S. Gatschet ; The Sign-Language of the Indians of the author giving the various designs represented on these belts. ARCHAOLOGY IN Wisconsin.—Volume vit of the Wisconsin — Historical Collections, for the years 1877, 1878 and 1879, 15 4 very important contribution to archeology. Before praising 1t too highly, we beg leave to caution the editors to read the proof of the next volume a little more closely, and to exclude the repe- tition of more than “thrice told tales,” as on pages 148 and 149. The ancient copper-mines of Lake Superior are described by Mr. Jacob Houghton. On the south shore of Lake Superior the works of the ancient miners extend over a district of country comprising what is known as the Trap range, having a length of - 1880.] Anthropology. 681 150 miles through Keweenaw, Houghton, and Ontonagon coun- ties, with a width varying from four to seven miles. They also wrought the copper deposits of the Trap range of Isle Royal, cov- ering an area of about forty miles in length, by an average of five miles in width. The.article by the Rev. Edmund F. Slafter, on prehistoric copper implements, treats the subject from an historical point of view. We drew attention to this paper on its first appear-. ance in the Mew England Historical and Genealogical Register, for January, 1879. We are next treated to a symposium on copper- working—were the ancient copper-workers acquainted with the art of smelting copper? Mr. Draper opens the discussion, inclining slightly to the affirmative, and is followed by Mr. Fred. S. Per- kins on the same side. The opposite view is advocated by Col. Charles Whittlesey and Doctor P. R. Hoy. It has occurred to us, as greenhorns, to ask some of our friends to try the effect of sound as a test. Make a mold of one of the implements sup- posed to have been cast. Take a cast copy, suspend it alongside West Salem, Wis. On pages 188-194, Mr. Benjamin Sulté, of Ottowa, Canada, gives us a résumé of the labors of Jean Nicolet, in which the author affirms that “ Nicolet must have traveled to the Mississippi, in the year 1634-5, from July to July, because The papers on the Rev. Eleazer Williams, by Gen. A. G. Ellis and Mr, Lyman C. Draper, pp. 322-352, are certainly interesting reading upon a very great. conundrum. In this connection we may say that the Rev. J. P. McLean, of Hamilton, Ohio, will commence in the July number of the Universalist Quarterly, a series of three articles upon the Study of American archeology. Mr. McLean is one of our most — diligent workers in the West, and will, doubtless, present the sub- Ject in its latest phases. Moet, CLIFF-DWELLINGS IN SOUTHERN Urau.—Mr. A. L. Siler has dis- Covered at Malley’s Nipple Ranch, near Pahreah, Kane county, tah, remains of cliff-structures, which he déscribes as follows : The remains seem to have been the foundations of small huts built on ledges of red sandstone under overhanging cliffs. The walls Were about six inches thick, made of thin, flat sandstone brought up from the valley below, and laid in adobe. The structures are - divided into rooms about four feet square, leaving all the space _ between the building and the back of the cliff, usually about ten a VOL. Xiy — $ V.—-NO, 1x, 44 682 General Notes. [ September, feet, entirely free. Upon digging into one of the rooms, Mr. Siler found parched corn and rope in a good state of preservation. BIBLIOGRAPHY : Animal Intelligence. ee ed Review, Apri Anthropology, 1 Kant. J. of Speculative Philosophy, April. Bowen, F he eis and the brute mind. ton Rev., May. DaAwsON, PRINCIPAL J. W.—Fossil men and sae ssid representatives, An attempt to illustrate the characters and condition of prehistoric men in Europe i odder. ondon. = Fison, L.—Views of Primitive Marriage. Pop. Sc. Month., June gi empl ee = Tiei et J. Vinson—Meélanges de Pin guistique g’ Anthropolo- gie Liites: ins pi —The ceremonial use of flowers. „Nineteenth Century, May. Lone, J. M.—Automatic Mental Action. Kansas City Rev., May PERKINS, C. C.—Olympia as it was and as it is. fki edi Am. Art Rev., Abril Quarerraces A. or yeg of the human races (Rev. Scientifique). Pop. ‘onth., Jun kuia E LE Pace—The Hibbert Lectures, 1879 The Origin and Gro i a as illustrated by the Religion of anciert Egypt. (London, Williams & Norgate.) SAMOKVASOF, Pror.—Kurgans and Gorodisches of Russia. Russische Rev., April. SARGENT, Lucy—TIndian Dances in Northern California. , Californian, May. s.—Notice of Ober’s “ Camps in the ¢ bees,” especially good, concerning the Caribs. Atheneum, May 15. uncem the Folk Lore Furnal, Vol. 1 (Capetown, Darter Brothers & Wat ; London, Nutt).—— The Academy, May 1. Review of Dr. Lauder Lindsay’s “ Mind in the Lower Ani- mals in Health and Disease.” Zhe Academy, May 1. “ Ear Pa in Britain, and his place in the Tertiary period,’ by W. Boyd Dawkins. SpE Rt by F. W. Rud- i cade ay 15.——T ets i c Oo . respectively “ ‘ Archeolo ogical Notes on ancient Sculpturing on Rocks in Kumoan, India”’ ac cutta, Rouse); and “ Prehistoric Remains in Central India,’ by the same publishers, are noticed in Zhe Academy, May 15, p. 374. (The first named publication i is especially nteresting in connection with the subject of cup-cuttings-) iew Les Po olynésiens : leur Origine, le leur Migrations, leur Langage,’ by (Paris, iad fee a he eee May 29, p. 399. —— Prehi toric Antal of the Austrian Empire: Report of the Committee, &c., Imperial Academy of Vienna, Dec. i, 1879. I Notice i in Mature, March 11, p. 457. GEOLOGY AND PALZONTOLOGY. ON THE OCCURRENCE OF FOOTPRINTS OF DINORNIS AT POVERTY BAY, New ZEALAND.—When in Auckland, New Zealand, in 1875, my attention was.drawn to some specimens of “ Moa” footpr ints then in the museum of the Auckland Institute. After examining them carefully, I determined to procure some of these rare speci- mens for myself; with this intention I made a visit to the locality, which is on the right bank of the Taruheru river, near Gisborne, Poverty bay. Here I found what I so much desired to see in place, where hundreds and perhaps thousands of years ago, these great birds, sauntering in search of food, left their footprints indelibly tenpreneee on the sand. * 1880. | Geology and Paleontology. : 683 The portion of rocks in which the tracks are made (though many of them were nearly effaced by the action of the waves) was about fifteen to twenty feet in length, and from six to eight feet in width. Many of the impressions were close together, and with few exceptions were of nearly the same size. The tracks pointed in various directions, but some of them followed each other at regular intervals like successive tracks of the same bird, the strides were about nineteen to twenty inches from heel to heel. I noticed, however, some smaller tracks with strides of twelve and a-half to thirteen and a-half inches, which seem to accompany the larger tracks, as if they were made by a young bird, but these were too much effaced to be procured. At still another place I noticed some small tracks, such as might be made by a bird no bigger than a pigeon. ee The tracks are in a soft sandstone which is being rapidly worn away by the action of the water and the weather, and the impres- sions are gradually disappearing. The sandstone isa mud de- osit. We may imagine then, that these birds walked over the Still wet sand, left by the receding of the river, a short time after it had subsided, leaving their tracks, and that afterwards the wind arose and drifted a coarser sand over them, as well as over the Whole surface of the mud, to a depth of about half an inch. he spot where the tracks are exposed to view is about at high water mark, and therefore much washed by the waves and so much effaced as to be scarcely worth removing. But by following up the surface of the sandstone stratum in which they occur, and judging by the direction they Jed, I split off numerous slabs of the overlying strata, in hopes of finding some better specimens, finally I traced them under a shallow bank, which was, perhaps, eight feet high, and was the lower part of a large plain; the upper por- tion is perhaps twenty-five to thirty feet high in some places, but whether these impressions ran under this to any great distance, it would be most impossible to tell unless a shaft was sunk on this plain. Running through the plain there are two rivers, viz: the and the Arai, and occupies a middle position, rather towards the South-west of the plain; and the Taruheru, which falls into the Sea at Poverty bay, at the north-eastern corner of the bay. At this point it was composed of sandy alluvium, containing shelly lay ers of recent species; below this occur successive strata of imperfectly solidified sandstone from four to six inches thick, and Separated from each other by a thin layer of coarser sand an small pebbles, from a quarter to half an inch thick, and it is Owing to this layer of comparatively loose sand that the impres- sions are so well preserved. At this point I dug out a slab two feet by three feet, of this soft sandstone, which is probably of Post- drift age. This rare specimen contains four fine footprints and Part of the fifth; length of stride of these footprints is nineteen 684 : General Notes. [ September, = thing. These were found inabout Sea the fifth or sixth layer below | the alluvial deposit referred to, | and have a dip perhaps of about | six degrees to southwards. But | found, in this vicinity, imbedded in the recent rocks such as that Footprints of Dinornis (Moa). footprints in relief. i The original is now in the museum of the University of Cali- fornia, Berkeley.—C. D. Voy. gether with all its right and left hand branches. After that I went to the Big Wichita, and traveled over all that region for about one hundred miles, from the mouth of the river and along its branches on both sides. The time which I consumed in these regions amounted to over six months. The result of my investigations surpassed in scien- tific aspects all my expectations. I found not only many oo plants and animals, consisting of petrified ferns, fishes and reptiles, but discovered a new extinct vegetable and animal world, hitherto wholly unknown in America. According to these petrifica- tions, the whole region spoken of belongs to the transition period, and especially to the permian formation; both the lower and the upper are therein apparent. In a mineralogical view I found there the following: A. Rocks—sandstone as well as limestone is abundantly 1880, ] Geology and Palecniology. 685 diffused and eminently suited for building purposes, both on account of their hardness and stratification. B. Metals—tr. Iron ores; a, spar iron ore, or spherosiderite, pure and clayey; 4, brown iron ore; c, yellow iron ore, as bean ore and limonite ; d, hematite and ironglance, or silicate of iron. 2. Copper ores; a, malachite; copperglance; c, azurite. 3. Zinc ores; a, zincspath; 4, zincblende. 4. Lead ore; as leadglance. : 60 feet thick, are almost always overlaid with sandstone or lime- stone ; all iron ores are contained in these clay deposits, and laid in compact masses, 2 inches to 2 feet thick, in more or less regu- lar strata or in pockets Brown iron ore is séldom deposited as such in clay, but appears mostly from spherosiderite, exposed to the air and weather- Through the influence of succeeding geological periods, the sandstone and limestone covering the clay strata were in some places destroyed; the soft clay laid bare was in the course of time by rain washed away, and thus there were produced the valleys, bluffs, hollows and ravines. The heavy masses of iron ores remained behind, and have by degrees so accumulated that there are stretches a mile wide on which hundreds of tons of iron ore can be gathered on the surface of one acre, without the aid of shovel or pick. When the spherosiderites are disintegrated and washed out they often acquire the appearance of slag, and have therefore formerly been taken for volcanic scoria. _The iron ore of the permian period of north-western Texas is diffused over a surface which extends over more than one hun- dred miles in length and over fifty miles in width. The outwashed and cleansed mass on the surface is so large that it would suffice to- Supply the whole United States with iron for ten years. spherosiderite, containing zinc. ‘Lead is found sparingly injected in spherosiderite and very hard clay masses. I have nowhere 686 General Netes. [ September, yet found coal deposits in the permian formation, but the per- mian is bordered on the whole south side by the genuine coal formation, which covers the latter in almost its entire extent. Coal layers two to eight feet thick come to the surface some miles off from the boundary, and it may with certainty be assumed that stone coal can be reached at a moderate depth near the depos- its of iron ore of the permian period. If we cast a glance over the mineral kingdom of northwest Texas, and compare the same with that of England, we discover there the same appearances. In this respect Texas is equally favored, while its coal deposits in the earth, together with those of iron ore, embrace a space double that of England—/acob Boll. GEOGRAPHY AND TRAVELS.' THE ASCENT OF THE Binus, In Avucust, 1879.—Of the few large rivers to be found on the African continent, the Niger and its tributary, the Binué, probably present fewer obstacles to navi- gation and afford the most uninterrupted means of access to the still unexplored equatorial region. The recent voyage, therefore, of the missionary steamer Henry Venn, which succeeded in reach- ing a point on the latter stream 140 miles further than has ever before been attained by boats is of much importance. We com- pile the following account of the trip from papers read before the Royal Geographical Society, by Mr. Edward Hutchinson,’ and before the Berlin Society, by Herr Ed. Robert Flugel, and also rom statements furnished by the latter to Petermann’s Mittheilun- ent Mr. Hutchinson in his preliminary remarks upon the area drained by the rivers Binué and the Shary, discusses the much vexed problem of the identity of the Welle discovered by Schwein- furth, and which he and Keith Johnston believe to flow into the Shary, but which Stanley and Junker consider as belonging to the Congo system. “ The northern and eastern limits of the area drained by these two river systems are nee fairly well ascertained. The travels of Petherick, Schewinfurth, Nachtigal, and X 5 tern slopes of which form. the penna grounds of the Bahr el Homr, the Bahr el Gazal, and the White Nile. 7 lage i ea we are considering, are as yet unknown. hey will probably be found to be ranges of hills of no great elevation, running westwards 1 Edited by ELLIS H. YARNALL, Philadelphia. * Proceedings of the Royal Geographical Society, May, 1880, p. 289. 3 Verhandlungen der Gesellschaft für Erdkunde su Berlin, Band vit, No. 3, p- 112 * Petermanns Mittheilungen, April, 1880, p. 146 with preface, by Dr. E. Behm, p. 145. See also number for June, 1880, for account of the voyage of the Henry Venn from the mouth of the Binué to Djen, also by Herr Flugel. uN 1880.] Geography and Travels. 687 north of the ee and megea turning north and joining the range of the Cameroons mountai These ranges or uplands form the northern and eastern watershed of the Coiro, the Oris nd the Cross rivers “The watershed of the Ogowé has been crossed by | the traveler I De Ea at no great elevation, and Keith Johnston volume of waters from numerous tributaries, within a radius of a few ie =P of the st. “The Cross river has been si ipposed to be a een > of the Niger, but it is more probable a like the Gaboon river, it will be found to = only a large estuary re- ceiving a number of small tributaries from snag up er “Tt wil! thus be seen me ge bana ea ande A iiaii ts, and possibly also = south- er n, are m ain es of a deis a height and therefore play an mportant part as gathering oe md for rainfall, and, thou ugh we ae no exact data as to rainfall, the mass of wate’ vhich must fall upon them is enormo 4 The size “ot ‘in pe hima as indicated by Schweinfurth, in its dba course et = chief en shows the volume e Bes its highest gathering grounds. drainage of the western hee of ther whose eastern sides supply the Stele: ries of the Bahr el Gazal, must furnish a i oe efua to that stream—a volume whic would be sufficient to account for the difference between shorts contents of the hha pa as given by Schweinfurth, pad those of the Shary, as given by Major ns. t abi that vast ody of water which floods the depreisidn called the B aide sed by akg in Piel, and finds a southern outfall in the eici I shall presently a de “ According to eee Panes of Major Denham, who made his observations on the 24th o E Taie 1824, the width of the Shary at its mouth was about a ha f a mile, e parn fee a , “When Barth crossed the Shary in 1852, a much larger quantity of water was be- ins discharged along its system. He crossed ne Logon, a western bra nch or ra ater, an te at em élé. . The erful river, ti the main seis contained more water at he tak Denham found s a the m outh of pal bed ‘a o 5 1852 must have been seasons of hea vy rainfall, for Barth also ya much g reater epth of water in the Binué a at Tæpe, than was found by our men ap year. It is manifest, sae eg = acd sr em of the river Shary cunts for the drainage of only a portion of this v “ What teak; is Merk for geet rainfall on the western slopes of the ranges to the north of the Con ngo and the Ogowé? I think it will be seen that the exploration of the Binué throws some light on this question and aren in the direction of the exist- ace of a lake system somewhat similar to that of t “ The earliest maps of Africa suggest a large Pear of water in the southern half e area we i Bue ig b i e ) ; eie Lopez, places it in two degrees north. It is som mewhat remarkable that his is- he only antique map ol eaa itch a mpe to the Niger i te irie outlet, and although be falls into the common error of tting two or Dine i ivers to flow out of a great lake to which no Arabs had ever penetrated. These Mfu are well to the south and Saabs west of the Albert Nyanza, ai the direction thus 688 : General Notes. [September, indicated points to the quarter in oge Piaggia places his ae toh lake. It is ye im- ee ae that there may be in the southern part we are consid- unlike that of re Chad, and that consequently no aD reias of the fre fet from the southern hill ranges finds its way north.” The voyage of the Henry Venn was made under the ae of the English Church pres eo Society, their agent, Ae Ashcroft, being in command. The vessel was built OT for the navigation of the Niger. She is. 120 feet long, 15 feet beam, 6 feet deep and draws 3 feet 6 inches of water on an even keel, with about 60 tons of cargo aboard. After being occupied for some time on the Lower Niger it was not until the flood season of last year that she undertook the ascent of the Binué, and sailed on that duty from Lukoja at the mouth of the river on July 8, 1879. As far as Djen the river is well known from the previous expe- dition of 1854. This point was reached on the 20th of August. The river banks here are about six feet high, the river rather shallow. The people were friendly. A very picturesque range of mountains runs parallel with the river here, about two to three miles distant, inhabited, it is said by Herr Flugel, by cannibals, On the 22d they reached Gamadge, on the left bank, a mile or two beloa Mount Gabriel, to the west. Mount Gabriel is about five hundred feet high and is covered by very high grass in which the few bushes and trees standing on its sides are nearly hidden. The banks of the Binué are frequently higher than the adjacent country which: sinks to the foot of the mountains, and is often swampy and covered by the waters in the time of floods.’ The men came out in great force here armed with shields and spears, and bows and arrows. They salute here by holding up the right arm and putting the left on ‘hie stomach, On arriving a few hours later at a small place called Iangai, they dispatched messengers to the King of Bassama, and on the the King’s son arrived with presents of a cow and a bullock. He seemed “a nice quiet sort of person,” but the men who accompa nied him were wild and fierce, and during the two days they re- mained here many threatening demonstrations were made. On be 25th they continued up the stream, passing several small owns. “The people did not seem to like the look of the steamer; $ was mòre than they could understand all at once.” “ This par of the country is very thickly populated, and it would not take many visits to make very good friends of these people. The cuf- rent is very rapid just above here; river varied in width; for the distance of 500 yards it narrows to about 250 yards Wide. then — opens out again to 509 or 600 yards; very few trees about here, only a few monkey-bread trees. Came in view of several new ranges of mountains, at a distance of from eight miles, the nearest, __ 1 An interesting note on this characteristic feature of arian » Geography is pra by Herr F me Pe etermann’ $ Mittheilungen, April, 1880, p. 1880. ] Geography and Travels, 689 to twenty miles the most distant.” On August the 26th, messen- gers arrived on horse-back from the King of Demsar. [Bassama ? | hey were. dressed in fine scarlet cloth and brought a tusk of ivory. On the 27th they reached the first village of the Bulas “ I have not seen,” Mr. Ashcroft remarks, “any part of Africa so thickly populated as this inhabited by the Bula people. * For about twenty-five or thirty miles they are ‘ . In fact, since we left Djen, the country is very thickly peopled with fine, strong, warlike, healthy, robust people, that seem to lack nothing but a few more cloths; for they possess cattle, horses, and sheep in abundance, and are every- where ready to repel invasion, fully armed with spear and shield, or poisoned arrow ready strung, and a quiver full ready for action, They put their hand over their mouths and put it quickly back again, making a shrill noise, ‘bla, bla, blu, blu,’ in quick succession; some saluted us by holding up the hand, but they never appeared to know what to do, we were so strange to them, coming right into the lion’s den; for nothing seeks to pass these hostile Bula villages, nor do I think it possible for S these canoes, each holding three or four men standing up, with big long paddles, and may go by what we fine they are seen to much better advantage near Yola, and are nearer the water ine or ten miles off. ri n long distance, with peaks and terraces from 2000 to 2500 feet, with rugged perpendicular walls of red rock.” On the 28th, another fine range of mountains extending for a long distance along the right bank came in sight. “Some of the peaks I should think nearly 3000 feet high, the usual height 1500 to 2000 ; this range extends many miles along, and in some places, near the right bank Specially so, just abreast of Yola, with plenty of rock jutting out here and ch wor i ] mountains, An artist would have been blessed with the varied play of color, of rocks, trees and bushes, not to mention the rich vegetation, and weather-worn rocks of many shades of color, some very rugged ‘ stands rising ground, about three miles from the river, and is a long straggling place, composed of four lots of houses and compounds, ż.e., each house surrounded by a piece of cultivated ground, with a fence made of plaited grass, called by the natives, zenana,” : Leaving the Bula territory they passed into a country inhabited by the Fulahs. This river grew broad and shallow ; the banks Swampy to the foot of the mountains, lying in broken ranges and the and bold.” * ** Yola Herr F lugel thinks that about 12° 3’ E. long. on the northern bank, a large trib- Utary, perhaps the Gongola, has its mouth, but ł} t able to examine that portion 690 General Notes. [ September, the banks being overflowed at this period for a long distance in- land. The Yarita or Blackstock mountain rises abruptly from the plain near here and appears to have been confounded by Dr. Barth with the Atlantika, which is stated by the natives to be a long distance south. The people on this part of ap river were found to be friendly, quiet and industrious, and well c he river has many bends, is very rocky ani frequently the navigation is very difficult and dangerou The Henry Venn reached her laest point at Gurua, on Sep- tember 4th, but the launch went eight or nine miles beyond to Ribago, about a mile from a range of mountains named by the party after Baroness Burdett Coutts. “ Magnificent mountains, looking in the distance like a large palace with the center of the building higher than the rest. The finest scenery of the whole river was just about here. I was exceedingly sorry to have to turn back, the country being so beautiful ; and the people treating us like old d not the least alarmed when we approached with the steame The chief o1 Guns told them that canoes could only be used during two or three months in the year. The Kebbi, one of the main branches of the Upper Binué was distant about two and a half days by land, and eight days distant the Binue “comes over mountains” in the Gunderi country. On the next day the river beginning to fill rapidly the Henry Venn started on her return down the river and reached Djen in three days, and Lukoja on ts flat level of po more dion enty miles from the large wih ei of Demm + which according to Barth, is in aie communication with the western branch of t e ha ; would keep up a regular annual intercourse between the great basin of the Chad and the Atlantic. An almost oae S EORR has been opened rr ture herself, for, from the mouth o! a Kw o the confluence of the river Binué with the oe Kebbi, there is a natural pa inal navigable without further obstruc- tion for boats of about four feet in de epth, and the Mayo Kebbi feels. in its present ikw state, seems to be navigable for mia, or flat-bottomed boats like those or the natives, which I have no doubt may, during the highest state of ie inundation, Dr. Vogel was struck with that . go as ig a Dawa in the Tuburi country, w where large shee proceeding to join ‘the large ngaljam of Demmo, so that there would exist a real bifurcation between the basin of the ines and that of the Chad. But even if this should not be the case, the breadth of the water- -parting between these two * basins at Ses allen: i tawapi ie 2 The Niger.—Ed. 1880. ] Microscopy. 691 the utmost cannot exceed twenty miles, consisting of an entirely level flat, and prob- ably of alluvial soil. The level of the Chad and that of the river Binué, near Gewé, where it is joined by the Mayo Kebbi, seems to be almost identical; at least accord- ing to all appearance, the Binué at the place mentioned, is not more than 850 or 900 l of th regular 14th of September, would be explained by the draining of the waters through the Mayo Kebbi, caused by the highest rise in the Chad, which occurs in August. This, taken with the vast volume of the water which the rivers pour down, flooding the land for miles, seems to show its connection with a great system. “ Important results to the continent of Africa might follow an effort carefully made to rectify the apparent irregularities of the Shary. If only a portion of the enormous olume of water which is now absorbed and evaporated in the vast expanse of Lake ad were turned into the Binué, through the Mayo Kebbi, not only would such Steamers as the Henry Venn have access to that great lake, but they could probably ascend the Shary and Welle almost up to the territories of Munza, King of the Monbuttu.”’ Meteorological observations were taken on the Henry Venn four times during the day. There were no night records. Owing to the steadiness of the atmosphere, the daily variations of the barometer never amounting two-tenths of an inch when the vessel was at anchor, the approximate elevation of the highest point reached may be stated with some approach to accuracy at 624 feet above the level of the Niger at Lukoja. _ This makes the average fall of the river to its mouth fifteen inches per mile. ‘ | € maximum of the thermometer was 91°, and the minimum 74°. The daily range amounted to only 3°. The average tem- perature for the whole period of eighty days was 79°. The ther- mometer did not rise to 80° in fifty-four days, and only reached 75. in nine days while the highest point was only attained once. Rain occurred on twenty-eight days and lightning on twenty- one days. : MICROSCOPY .' Hotman’s New Compressorium Anp Morst CHAMBER.?—In working with living animal forms suitable for the elucidation of Some of the principal doctrines of life, any contrivance which will render the study easier, and hence more profitable and economi- cal of time, should be hailed with delight by the working micro- Scopist. Such a labor-saving device is represented in the accom- panying cut, Fig. 1, of Mr. D. S. Holman’s new compressor. This apparatus differs from all other compressors in being so arranged that the mica cover is fixed and immovable, while the lower, thicker plate of glass is moved up and down by means of a Screw nut and spiral spring, an arrangement which enables the student to adjust the apparatus so as to apply with certainty any gree of pressure upon any soft object without risk of breaking large and expensive cover glasses, crushing the object unex- ! This department is edited by Dr. R. H. Ward, Troy, N. Y. * Advance sheets from Journal Franklin Institute for August, 1880. 692 General Notes. [ September, pectedly, or injuring high-power lenses. The writer by its means was enabled to study with great deliberation and certainty, the phology and physiology of that great group of jointed animals, the insects. Equally good results were got by its use in studying the em- bryology of the shad, where it revealed to the writer, and for the . Fic. 2. : ayes first time to science, the presence of a so-called polar vesicle in the earliest stages of development. é In Fig. 2 we have a combination of the familiar animalcule cage -_ 1880. ] Microscopy. 693 and the siphon slide, also designed by Mr. Holman. The edge of the cover or cap is beveled, so that by rotating it against the inflow and outflow tubes of the siphon arrangement, a very con- venient and effective compressor is obtained. The apparatus is equally as valuable as the compressor before described, because of the certainty with which one can gauge the amount of pressure which is applied; also on account of the facility with which water may be renewed in it when used as a “ moist chamber ” for studying growing fungi, without in the slightest degree disturbing these delicate plants. The value of the apparatus is further enhanced by the facility with which it may be used as a siphon slide for keeping aquatic larve, worms, etc., alive for a lengthened period for study or exhibition. It is equally useful as a dry com- pressor for holding, studying and drawing minute soft-bodied in- sects in the living state. These useful pieces of apparatus should be found upon the table of every working microscopist, where every day’s use will demonstrate their indispensibility. It was in one of Mr. Holman’s siphon slides, right under the microscope, that the writer successfully hatched young shad, a feat never be- fore performed with the eggs of fishes.— Fon A. Ryder. MeEruops oF Dry Mounrinc.—Slides made of wood are lighter and stronger than glass ones, and look quite as elegant if made of ornamental wood and polished, or covered with fancy papers. In the first place procure some thin boards, about one-sixth or one-eighth part of an inch thick; these should be cut up into 694 Scientific News. [ September, a trial, and especially to those who make a special study of that delightful branch of micro-botany, micro-funyi, I hope it will com- mend itself as a thoroughly efficient and simple method.—George Clinch, in Science Gossip. 50% ` SCIENTIFIC NEWS. — Died, in Beverly, Massachusetts, Count Louis Frangois de Pourtales. Count Pourtales was born in Neufchatel, March 4, 1823. He belonged to the Swiss branch of an old family which has branches also in France, Prussia and Bohemia. He was edu- ' cated as an engineer, and came to this country about the same time as Agassiz, and became his fellow-worker and pupil. Upon the death of Agassiz the Count was appointed Keeper of the Museum of Comparative Zodlogy, which position he held at the time of his death. He had previously entered the service of the Government in the Coast Survey. His papers on the physical geography of the Caribbean sea and the Gulf stream established his reputation in Europe as well as in America. Through the death of his father he succeeded to his title, and received a for- tune which gave him the opportunity of devoting himself wholly to his favorite studies. It is said that his modesty amounted — The two first parts of a new botanical work by Dr. Dodelport, of Zurich, have just been published by Herr Cæsar Schmidt, of ‘lower fungi are described in a popular manner. The author un- _dertakes to popularize the results hitherto attained in our knowl- edge of putrefaction and contagion-fungi. He describes their forms, their size, and their manner of propagation ; introduces Another chapter treats of miasma and contagions, and gives à- 1880. ] Scientific News. 695 complete account of the present state of our knowledge of infec- tion-fungi. Part 11 is devoted to carnivorous plants, and is even more generally interesting perhaps than the first. The work is profusely illustrated with the author’s original drawings. Alto- ether it is sure to form a very welcome and valuable addition to botanical literature —Nature. — Some new experiments with regard to the influence of electric- ity on Bacteria have been published by Prof. Cohn, who adopted the method of sowing with Bacteria a sterilized mineral nutritive Solution, subjecting them to electric currents, and noting the results, A Marie-Davy flask-element he finds to exert (according to strength of current) either no influence on the increase of Bacteria, or merely a retardative influence. On the other hand, the current from two powerful elements sterilized the nutritive solution completely at the positive pole in twelve to twenty- four hours, so that afterwards the Bacteria introduced did not increase. At the negative pole the action was weaker, the liquid not completely sterilized, At neither of the poles were the Bac- teria killed, and when brought into another nutritive liquid they developed normally ; on the other hand, yeast cells and mycelium fungus brought into the liquid that was sterile for Bacteria increased plentifully at the positive pole. A battery of five strong elements killed the Bacteria distributed in the liquid within twenty-four hours, and sterilized the liquid of both poles —Z£x- glish Mechanic. i — The Eleventh Annual Report of the American Museum of Natural History in the Central Park, New York, states that the institution is now entirely out of debt, the members of the Board of Trustees having subscribed $27,250 to cover the indebtedness, which with the donations of other friends of the museum, leaves a small balance in the treasury. The city paid during the year, Over $10,000 towards the maintenance of the museum. Valu and costly additions in zoology, geology and anthropology have been made, while important additions have been made to the libraries deposited for safe keeping. Students from a number of institutions visit the libraries and collections; besides this efforts will be made to render the museum a direct benefit to the teachers and pupils of the public schools. We are glad to watch the development of this great and growing museum, and hope it will contribute still more decidedly to the advancement as well as the diffusion of science in New York, and be a means of rational €njoyment to the citizens. oe Me. E Whymper is reported to have successfully accom- Plished the ascent of Chimborazo, the loftiest mountain in the Cordilleras of Ecuador. He took ten days in getting from the Rio Bamba two-thirds of the way up to the summit, and the 696 Scientific News. [September, 1880. difficulties encountered were greater than was expected, owing to the wind and the rarefaction of the air. On the top of the mountain the thermometer showed a temperature of 11° Fahr. There is no crater at all, but two peaks, both of which Mr. Whymper ascended; he found that the higher one was at an elevation of 21,982 feet above the sea-level, or nearly 12,000 feet above the valley of Quito.—Euglish Mechanic. — The American Academy of Arts and Sciences celebrated the first centennial since its foundation in Boston, on the 26th of May, This is the oldest scientific society in America next to the American Philosophical Society of Philadelphia, - The formal exercises were held at the Old South Church, where Franklin was baptized; addresses being made by Hon. R. C. Winthrop, Ex-president Asa Gray and others, At the collation in the rooms of the academy, numerous delegates from home and foreign societies expressed their congratulations and good wishes, A large attendance crowded the hall of the academy, — Died on the 5th Aug., Alvah James Ibbotson, aged 53 years. Mr. Ibbotson was a lithographic artist who stood at the head of his profession in this country. Most of the best plates of verte- brate fossils published by Leidy and Cope were his work, besides many plates of the fossil invertebrata published by Meek, White and others. He was remarkable for accuracy and artistic finish, as well as rapidity of execution. Mr. otson was a native 0 England, and had been in the employ of T. Sinclair and Sons, of Philadelphia, for twenty-five years. : : as — A German naturalist, in the course of inquiries as to the phosphorescence of the sea, has found that the phenomenon occurs whenever sea fishes are brought into a three per cent. salt solution. The luminosity begins apparently in the eyes, spreads over the whole fish, and increases day by day. The fis after some time seems luminous throughout. The phosphorescent substance is a kind of mucus, which appears dirty-white by day, ‘and shines in the dark. — Mr. J. A. Lintner has received the appointment of State Entomologist, the office, discontinued after Dr. Fitch’s death, having been again established. The appointment is a most fitting one, as Mr. Lintner is well known as an excellent observer and clear writer on economic entomology, besides having done a high order of work in general entomology. _ THE AMERICAN NATURALIST. VoL. x1v.— OCTOBER, 1880. — No. to. THE FOOD OF THE DARTERS. BY S. A. FORBES. — the humming-birds are in our avifauna, the “ darters ” are among our fresh-water fishes. Minute, agile, beautiful, delighting in the clear, swift waters of rocky streams, no group of fishes tis more interesting to the collector; and in the present state of their classification, none will better repay his study. Not- withstanding their trivial size, they do not seem to be dwarfed so much as concentrated fishes—each carrying in its little body all the activity, spirit, grace, complexity of detail and perfection of finish to be found in a perch or a “ wall-eyed pike.” To the entertaining and instructive account of the sub-family given by Jordan and Copeland in former numbers of the Natu- RALIST,! I propose to add a few notes on their food, based upon a study of the contents of seventy stomachs, and to point out Some of the correlations between structure and habit, with a view to accounting for the origin of the group. ; These seventy specimens represented fifteen species, collected in all parts of Illinois, in several months of four successive years. They indicate much more than their number would imply, since from those collected at each time and place, as many were com- monly studied as were necessary to give a full idea of the food of the species then and there. The different individuals from the 1“ Johnny Darters.” By D. S. Jordan and H, E. Copeland. Am. NAT., Vol. x, No. 6, June, 1876, pp. 335-341. o “The Sand Darter.” By D. S. Jordan and H. E, Copeland, Am. NAT., Vol. xi, — — No.2, Feb., 1877, pp. 86-88. VOL. XIV.<=NO. x. 45 698 The Food of the Darters. [ October, same date and locality usually agreed so closely in food, that the study of from two to five gave all the facts obtainable from sev- eral times as many. The data here given, therefore, really exhibit the food of the family at different seasons in twenty-nine localities within the State. The genus Plewrolepis is comparatively rare in Illinois, as there are few of the sandy streams in the State, which it inhabits. Seven individuals were examined—four of P. pellucidus and three of P. asprellus. The food of these specimens was remarkably uni- form—the only elements found being the larvæ of small diptera and Ephemerids. Eighty-one per cent. of the food of all con- sisted of the larva of Chironomus,'—a small, gnat-like insect,— twelve per cent. of the larva of other small diptera, and the remaining seven per cent. of Ephemerid larve (May flies). Twelve specimens of the genus A/vordins were studied—seven of maculatus and five of phoxocephalus? These represented five different localities and dates. This is a larger species than the preceding, and to this fact is probably due the predominance (seventy-five per cent.) in its food of the larvae and pups of May flies (Ephemeridz). These included four per cent. of the larve of Palingenia bilineata Say, one of the largest Ephemerids in our streams. The remaining kinds were larvz of dragon flies (Agri- onini), four per cent.; larve of Chironomus, seven per cent., and . Corixa tumida Uhl., thirteen per cent. The genus Boleosoma, regarded by Dr. Jordan as the typical — darter, was represented by twelve specimens from eight locali- ties—nine of maculatum, two of olmstedi and one of camurum? These specimens show but slight food differences from other darters of similar size; the only notable variation being the appearance of fifteen per cent. of case-worms (larvæ of Phry- 1 The larvæ of Chironomus are among the most important elements of fish food in our waters, appearing in abundance in the stomachs of the young of a great variety of species. They have been too little studied in this country to allow specific deter- | 2 The classification used in this paper is that of the second edition of Jordan’s Manual of Vertebrates. ; 3 Boleosoma maculatum and B. olmstedi should undoubtedly be united. Spec! mens in the laboratory collection present the extremes of both. forms, together wiih numerous intermediate stages of each character used to distinguish them. This whole group exhibits a surprising variability, perhaps due to its compara- _ tively recent origin. 1880.] » The Food of the Darters. 699 ganeidz). Sixty-six per cent. of the food was Chironomus larve, seven per cent. larve of other minute diptera (including Simu- lium), and the remaining eight per cent. was larve of small Ephemerids. I studied the food of two specimens of Pecilichthys variatus, four of P. spectabilis and two of P. asprigenis—making eight of the genus, representing six localities. Fifty-eight per cent. of small larvæ of diptera (forty-nine per cent. of Chironomus), thirty-two per cent. of larvæ and pupæ of small Ephemerids, and ten per cent. of case-worms made up the entire bill of fare. Percina caprodes, the largest of the group, departs from all the foregoing species by the introduction of crustacean food—thirty per cent. of Entomostraca and three per cent. the smallest of our Amphipoda, AU/orchestes dentata (Smith) Faxon. -Most of the Entomostraca were C/adocera, including Daphnia, Eurycercus and Daphnella1 Here occurred the only instance of molluscan food in the group. One specimen had taken a few individuals of Ancylus rivularis Say. Reduced ratios of Chironomus and Ephemerid larvae, and a few Corixa tumida complete the list. Of Nanostoma zonale, less common than the others, but two individuals were examined, and these had eaten nothing but lar- ve of small diptera, including sixty-five per cent. of Chironomus. ` Six specimens of Etheostoma flabellare var. lineolata, from four localities, had eaten sixty-one për cent. of Chironomus larve, twenty-seven per cent. larva of small ecg ae and twelve per cent. of Copepoda (Cyclops). Boleichthys elegans, found only in the southern part of the State (three specimens examined), had eaten only dipterous larvæ (thirty- Seven per cent.) and Ephemerid larvae (sixty-three per cent.). This is a larger, heavier species than most of the others, and, therefore, like Alvordius, prefers Ephemerids to gnats. Last and least comes Microperca punctulata, represented by nine specimens from four localities in Northern Illinois. This smallest of the darters shares with Percina, the largest, the pecu- iarity of crustacean food, which made up sixty-four per cent. of the total. The principal kinds were Cyclops, Chydorus, young * Daphnella was found in a Percina from the Calumet ihe? at South Chicago, but — hot in condition to permit the. determination of the speci a 700 The Food of the Darters. [October, Gammarus fasciatus Say, and young Crangonyx gracilis Smith. The remaining elements were Chironomus larve (thirty-four per cent.) and a trace of Ephemerids (two per cent.). It will be seen that the family, taken as a whole, divides into two sections, distinguished by the presence or absence of crusta- cean food. This is easily explained by the fact that Percina and Microperca range much more freely than the other genera—being frequently found among weeds and Algz in comparatively slow water with muddy bottom, while the others are rather closely confined to swift and rocky shallows. In discussing the food of the whole group, taken as a unit, it may best be compared with the food of the young of other per- coids. It is thus seen to be remarkable for the predominance of the larve of Chironomus and small Ephemerida—tie former of these comprising forty-four per cent. and the latter, twenty-three per cent, of the whole food of the seventy specimens. In young black bass (Micropterus pallidus) on the other hand, the averages of nine specimens, ranging from five-eighths inch to one and a half inches in length, were, in general terms, as follows: Clado- cera forty-two per cent., Copepoda seven per cent., young fishes twenty per cent., Corixa and young Notonecta twenty-nine per cent., and larval Chironomus only two per cent. The search for the cause of this difference leads naturally to an examination of the whole economy of these little fishes, and opens up the ques- tion of their origin as a group.. The close relation of the Etheostomatine to the Percide proper, requires us to believe that the two groups have but recently diverged, if, indeed, they are yet distinctly separate. We must inquire, therefore, into the causes which have oper- ated upon a group of percoids to limit their range to such appa- rently unfavorable situations, to diminish their size, to develop unduly the paired fins and reduce the air-biadder, to remove the scales of several species more or less completely from the head, breast, neck and ventral region, and to restrict their food chiefly to the few forms mentioned above. : No species can long maintain itself anywhere which cannot, 1n some way, find a sufficient supply of food, and also protect itself against its enemies. In the contest with its enemies it may acquire defensive structures or powers of escape sufficient for its protection, or a reproductive capacity which will compensate for 1880.] The Food of the Darters. 701 large losses, or it may become adapted to some place of refuge where other fishes will not follow. What better refuge could a harrassed fish desire than the hiding places among stones in the shailows of a stream, where the water dashes ceaselessly by with a swiftness few fish can stem? And if, at the same time, the refugee develops a swimming power which enables it to dart like a flash against the strongest current, its safety would seem to be ensured. But what food could it find in stich a place? Let us turn over the stones in such a stream, sweeping the roiled water at the same time with a small cloth net, and we shall find— larvee of Chironomus and small Ephemerids and other such prey, and little else; food too minute and difficult of access to support a large fish, but answering very well if our immigrant can keep down his size. Here the principles of natural selection assert their power. The limited supply of food early arrests the growth of the young; while every fish which passes the allowable maxi- mum is forced for food to brave the dangers of the deeper waters where the chances are that it falls a prey. On the other hand, the smaller the size of those which escape this alternative, the less likely will they be to attract the appetite of the small gar or other guerilla which may occasionally raid their retreat, and the more easily will they slip about under stones in search of their microscopic game. Like other fishes, the darters must have their periods of repose, all the more urgent because of the constant struggle with the Swift current which their habitat imposes. Shut out from the deep still pools and slow eddies where the larger species float Suspended in mid stream, they are forced to spend their leisure on or beneath the bottom of the stream, resting on their extended pectorals and anal, or wholly buried in the sand, Possibly this fact is correlated with the absence or rudimentary condition of the air-bladder; as it is a rule with many exceptions—but still, probably, a rule—that this organ is wanting in fishes which live chiefly at the bottom. Doubtless the search for food has much to do with this selec- tion of a habitat. I have found that the young of nearly all Species of our fresh-water fishes are competitors for food, feed- ing almost entirely on entomostraca and the larve of minute In Boleosoma, which is normally scaled in front of the dorsal fin, we often find the skin of this region bare in large specimens, and showing evident signs of rubhing, ; 702 | The Food of the Darters. { October, diptera.! As a tree sends out its roots in all directions in search of nourishment, -so each of the larger divisions of animals ex- tends its various groups into every place where available food occurs, each group becoming adapted to the special features of its situation. Given this supply of certain kinds of food, nearly inaccessible to the ordinary fish, it is to be expected that some fishes would become especially fitted to its utilization. Thus the Etheostomatinzee as a group are explained, in a word, by the hypothesis of the progressive adaptation of the young of certain Percide to a peculiar place of refuge and a peculiarly situated food supply. Perhaps we may, without violence, call these the mountaineers among fishes. Forced from the populous and fertile valleys of - the river beds and lake bottoms, they have taken refuge from their enemies in the’ rocky highlands where the free waters play in ceaseless torrents, and there they have wrested from stubborn nature a meagre living. Although diminished in size by their continual struggle with the elements, they have developed an activity and. hardihood, a vigor of life and glow of high color almost unknown among the easier livers of the lower lands. The appended table will facilitate a comparison of the records of the different genera. The percentages were obtained by esti- mating carefully the ratios of each element of the food of each individual, and averaging these ratios for all the individuals of a species : DETAILS OF THE FOOD OF THE ETHEOSTOMATIN. ; , SORRE Spe Eee G E £ E 3/8 $ 2 i e 8 et Ste ee EET fe} ei aie Flelelais B11 el ee] Sl Oe S "Sinibes of paina a E E aS 9 I. Motiv: re eye or e ari ewe or n INSECTA: ....3... 100 | 99 | 96 |100 | 65 roo | 88 |100 | 36 1. Diptera +++] 93 | 97 | 73 58 | 43 Ico | 61 | 37 Undetermined to 12 | or | 07 | 09 | 02:|:35 I0 momus larvæ , ccc. 81 | 06 | 66 | 49 | 41 | 65 | 61 | 27 | 34 2. 2 Hemiptera, 25s; By å 13 o5 ER Rouen es karese 13 05 inet. a. o3 Larvæ 7 re ee wee FETTO, | OF 92 C. mmida UNI E | 06 2 The Catostom[at]idæ (acker are an exception to this rule, feeding wher young chiefly on Algæ and Protozoa . 1880.] On the Triassic Formation of the Atlantic States. 703 | P E FR E TB et A pal eo |; & ae 4 S584 6481 34 bee s)e/ Se; 5) a) 213] 3 Bi <=) ealeala) ala] ds] & Si Nongopterm .6 wads iss 07 | 79 | 23 | 42 | 17 27 | 63 | 02 Ephemeride osses.: 07 | 75 | 08 | 32 | 09 27 | 63 | 02 Welle sca ces esris | 14 PAV OR ERT O 07 | 63 | 08 | 18 | 09 27 | 63 | 02 Palingenia........ | o4 Agrionini (pupæ)...... | 04 hryganeidee (larva) | 15 | 10 | 08 6 Ill. CrusTAckA..... | Or | 04 33 ix 4 E i a E A | 03 pe Gammarus, yg......... | of Crangon MaA | ane dentata Sm.. 93 Re acada igs pss cus oF = Oid EEEREN mis nsionenninedl OTY à “a 7, cad 24 27 Undetermined T TTN o5 D niid o6 fo RE E oF MAWE as seers sks 95 Daphnella Aai “> Lynceidze ol 93 eae: Burycerens., ose. 6s. me d Copepoda zess vies iwacie or | o4 05 1z 19 NIU E S o1 | 04 05 = 19 Confervoid Mg era. oN se ON THE FORMER EXTENT OF THE TRIASSIC FORMATION OF THE ATLANTIC STATES." BY ISRAEL C. RUSSELL. Neseey two years since I read a paper before the New York Academy of Sciences, on the Physical History of the et sic Formation in New Jersey and the Connecticut valley,’ in which many reasons were given for concluding that the Triassic rocks of these two regions were detached portions of one estuary formation. eee As several papers have been published relating to the Triassic rocks of the Atlantic States since my essay was written, increas- ing our knowledge of the subject, and as my interpretation of the geological records has not been accepted by some eeehe; I 1 Read before the New York Academy of Sciences, March 22, 1880. * Annals of the N. Y. Acad. of Sci., Vol. 1, No. 8 (1878), = ' 220-254. 704. On the Former Extent of the Triassic Formation [October, take the present opportunity to briefly restate the substance of my former paper which seems to have been partially misunder- stood, together with a brief review of the evidence that has since been gathered. The broad generalization advanced in the essay mentioned above, was, that all the detached areas of Triassic rocks, from South Carolina northward to Connecticut and Massachusetts, are portions of one great estuary deposit, which has been broken up into separate areas by upheaval and denudation. The immediate aim of the paper, however, was to prove the former connection . of the Triassic rocks of New Jersey with those found in the Con- necticut valley. The conclusion arrived at from the study of the rocks of these two areas, was, that they are the marginal portions of an estuary deposit, the central region having been subsequently upheaved and greatly eroded. The Triassic rocks in this region thus fill a synclinal trough, the longer axis of which has been upheaved into a broad anticlinal. The facts that lead to this con- clusion may be briefly stated as follows: First. The Triassic rocks in New Jersey dip to the eer at an average angle of about fifteen degrees, while the correspond- ing beds along the Connecticut river are inclined to the eastward at a somewhat larger angle; thus suggesting that they are por- tions of one great anticlinal. Second. Each area is an-incomplete estuary formation, having only one line of shore deposits. This is shown in the case of the New Jersey area by the fact that all along the line of bluffs bor- dering the formation on the west occurs a coarse conglomerate which we have shown to bea shore deposit, derived from the bluffs of crystalline rock to the westward. In the finer sandstones and shales associated and interstratified with this conglomerate are ripple marks, sun cracks, raindrop impressions and the foot- prints of animals, proving beyond question that this was the shore of the basin in which the. Triassic rocks were deposited. Throughout the eastern margin of the New Jersey area, which is sharply defined along the western bank of the Hudson from Jer- sey City northward to Stony Point, these indications of shore conditions are entirely lacking, in their stead there are sand- stones, slates and shales of the character of ordinary off-shore deposits. The ae rock Prming the Palisades will be noticed farther on, 1880. | of the Atlantic States. 705 Crossing to the Connecticut valley we find this order reversed ; on the eastern margin of this area the coarse conglomerates again occur, together with an abundance of all the other proofs of shore conditions we have mentioned; on the western margin the rocks have been formed of sand and mud deposited at a distance from the shore, and are without sun cracks, footprints, etc.; these beds correspond with the sedimentary rocks in the PESARA along the western shore of the Hudson. From these facts it seems perfectly justifiable to conclude that the variegated con- glomerate bordering the New Jersey area on the west, corres- ponds in character and position with the coarse conglomerate occurring along the eastern margin of the Connecticut River region, thus mapping out portions of the astern and western shores of the estuary in which the Triassic rocks were deposited. Thirdly. The occurrence of an outlying mass of Triassic beds in the towns of Southburg and Woodbury, Conn., lying between the two great areas, also favors the conclusion that the sandstones and shales of New Jersey and the Connecticut valley were once united. This little oasis in the valley of the Housatonic, is but six or seven miles long by two broad, and is separated from the Connecticut valley area by fifteen and from the Hudson by forty miles of crystalline rock! Fourthly. The topographical features along the western dicia of the New Jersey area and the extension across the Hudson of the line of bluffs which border the formation in New Jersey, as stated on page 21 of the writer’s previous essay (page 241 of the Annals), also indicates that the Triassic rocks of New Jersey at one time followed the course of this old shore line and extended eastward of the Hudson. Fifthiy. The striking analogy that exists in the affadeeticht of the hills of trap found in these Triassic areas was also pointed out in the paper mentioned above. Nearly all the igneous rocks found in New Jersey and the Connecticut valley have been formed as sheets of molten matter intruded between the layers of sedi- mentary rock and have cooled and crystallized in that position. In the Connecticut valley these sheets of trap dip eastward at the same angle with the sandstones and shales, and present a bold escarpment to the westward; the ends of the long ridges are 1 Percival’s Geo. Rep. of — 1842, p. 410. Also Annals of N. Y. Acad. of Sci., Vol. 1, No. 8 (1878), p. 24 705 On the Former Extent of the Triassic Formation (October, usually bent eastward so as to give them a “canoe-shape.” In New Jersey the sheets of trap are inclined to the westward at an average angle of about fifteen degrees, and present their mural faces to the eastward, as in the Palisades along the Hudson. The trap ridges in New Jersey are also canoe-shaped, but have the ends bent to the westward. From the study of these trap sheets we may derive important conclusions in reference to the former thickness and extent of the sedimentary rocks with which they are associated. We have previously shown that the long mountain-like ridges giving vari- ety to the landscape in the Triassic areas of New Jersey and the Connecticut valley, are the outcropping edges of sheets of trap that have altered and metamorphosed the stratified rocks both above and below them? From the slope which these outcropping sheets still show—to the westward in New Jersey and eastward in the New England area—it is evident that they were at one time inclosed in sedimentary strata, which have since been eroded away. ‘That these sheets of trap did not reach the surface of the sedimentary beds is also evident from the fact that the molten material did not overflow and form table-lands, like those so com- mon in New Mexico and other portions of the far West. On the First mountain, at Plainfield, New Jersey, as exposed along the Johnston drive, the baked and altered shale is still to be seen on the top of the trap ridge, three hundred feet above the general level of the surrounding plain; here we know that the trap ridge was entirely inclosed in beds of shale and sandstone, and at the very least three hundred feet of* sedimentary beds have been removed by denudation. Extending the same reasoning to the Palisade range, we find that it too is a sheet of trap that cooled between strata of shale and sandstone; this conclusion is also borne out by the nature of the trap forming the Palisade range, which is dense and compact, showing that it cooled under pres- sure. This ridge of trap presents a continuous outcrop from Bergen Point, where it is but a few feet above tide water, north- : ward to Haverstraw, when it attains an elevation of over a thou- — sand feet. Are we not safe in concluding from this evidence that the sedimentary beds were once more than a thousand feet thick along the western bank of the Hudson, and that these same _ 10n the Intrusive Nature of the Triassic Trap sheets of New Jersey. Amer © Jour. Sci., Vol. xv, April, 1878, 1880. | of the Atlantic States. 707 strata must have extended on to the eastward? Opposite New York city fully three hundred feet of sandstone and slate is exposed beneath the trap, their broken edges forming the shore of the Hudson at Weehawken. It is to be remembered in this connection also, that these beds were off-shore deposits and had an inclination of fifteen degrees to the westward. Sixthly. If we could arrive at definite results in reference to the present rate of erosion of the Triassjc rocks, we could form more accurate conclusions as to the former thickness of this formation. We know, however, that the present waste, although the rocks are but little elevated above the sea, is very rapid. Composed of soft shale and sandstone, and highly inclined, these rocks present the most favorable conditions for rapid erosion; if these rocks have been exposed to subaerial denudation for a long time, it fol- lows that an mnene amount of material must have been removed. The present drainage of the country shows that the upheaval of the Triassic beds was extremely gradual, and hence that they have been exposed to denudation for ages. The Delaware, for instance, flows at right angles to the strike of the rocks, and has carved out a broad anticlinal valley, about thirty miles in length, through the shales, sandstone and trap sheets of the’ Triassic. From this we must conclude that the Delaware flowed eastward through this region before the rocks were upheaved, and that the elevation of the beds went on so slowly that the river was enabled to cut out its channel as fast as the rocks were brought within its reach. The Susquehanna, thé Potomac and other rivers to the south, also bear evidence to the slowness with which the Triassic rocks were elevated, and consequently to the great lapse of time during which they were exposed to subaerial erosion, The deep cañon-like valley of the Hudson, now partially filled, bears evi- dence of the same nature. No one who does not believe that the Surface of the earth has always been as we see it to-day, can resist the conclusion that the Triassic rocks must at one time have had a very great thickness. The problem of measuring the former extent and thickness of. the Triassic rocks in feet is far from being determined; we can only conclude from the above considerations, as the time has been long and the rate of erosion rapid, that their former thickness must have been very great, The material removed from the region separating the two Tri- 708 On the Former Extent of the Triassic Formation (October, assic areas under discussion, must have been composed of sand- stone, slate and shale like the escarpments bordering the denuded area on either side, but did not include beds of trap, for as we have already shown the trap ridges are intrusive sheets derived from fissures in the crystalline rocks beneath the regions where they occur. In my previous essay the statement is made that if fauits do not exist in the Triassic beds of New Jersey, that we cannot reckon their thickness at less than 25,090 feet. Under the same supposition the Triassic formation in Pennsylvania have been cal- culated to be 51,500 feet thick. In the notice of my paper which appeared in the American Journal of Science} the first three objections to.my conclusions are based on the misconception of this statement. As to the fourth objection, that the “ northern limit of the Connecticut valley sandstone area is north of the northern limit of the New Jersey. The New Jersey area cannot, therefore, be on the opposite margin of the sandstone region to that of the Connecticut valley,” the fact is overlooked that the relative position of these two areas has been determined by the direction of the axis of upheaval of the central region and by the accidents of erosion. Were the Triassic rocks in New Jersey entirely removed, those found to the southward, in Pennsylvania and Virginia, would still be portions of the western margin of the deposit, opposite to that found in the Connecticut valley. In objection number five of the review, the sweeping statement is made that “ no evidence of such an anticlinal, or of the sup- posed amount of erosion, exists excepting this—that the sand- stone of the Connecticut valley dip eastward, and that of New Jersey, situated wholly to the south of the southern limit of the Connecticut valley area, dip northwestward, at the angle stated.” The only reply that can be made to this, is simply to refer to the remaining lines of evidence converging on the same point. It is puzzling to know how “ violent floods of the Connecticut river, enlarged for a part of the time by the waters and ice of a semi-glacial era” could spread out wedge-shaped masses of coarse _ conglomerate along the eastern margin of the Triassic formation, the material forming the conglomerate being clearly derived from the shores of crystalline rock against which the bases of these wedge-shaped masses rest. As we go westward from the old 1 Amer. Four. Sci., April, 1879, pp. 328-330. 1880. | of the Atlantic States. - 709 shore line these beds of conglomerate thin out and pass into the finer, off-shore deposits; associated with the conglomerate we also find an abundance of footprints, rain-drop impressions, etc. On the western margin of the same area these proofs of shore condi- tions are wanting. If this is a river, or a narrow estuary deposit we should expect to find somewhat similar strata on each side of the valley, and that the material forming the rocks should become coarser as we go northward, which as the’ geological surveys show is not the case; then, too, what river with floods and ice- rafts spread out the Triassic beds in New Jersey, which extend in one unbroken area far into Virginia, with the same structural peculiarities as are found in the Connecticut valley but reversed in their relative position. ince my essay on the Physical History of the Triassic Forma- tion was written, an interesting and valuable paper on the “ Meso- zoic Formation of Virginia”! has been published by M. O. J. Heinrich, in which many facts are given that have a direct bear- ing on the question of the former extent of the Triassic forma- tion. The map accompanying this essay gives the position of the detached areas of Triassic rocks in Virginia and North Carolina, together with the dip of the beds, and suggests very strongly that the separate patches were once united. This conclusion pre- sented itself to Mr. Heinrich also, as on page 23 of his paper we read, “the destruction of a connection formerly existing between all the Mesozoic deposits along the Atlantic States might, there- fore, be attributed to a slow, an unequal rising of the Eozoic ‘rocks after the deposition of the former upon the uneven floor of the latter, noticed in the anticlinal of the latter, and producing an unequal denudation of the Mesozoic deposits.” In the carefully- Prepared section of the Richmond coal basin, published with this Paper, we find a rapidly-alternatiug series of sandstones, shales and coal, 1518 feet thick, including a coarse conglomerate thirty- Six feet thick at the bottom of the series. This section shows that the conditions at the time of the deposition of these beds Was not unlike those now prevailing at the northern end of the Bay of Fundy, where the Tantra marshes are forming. Another paper on the “ Mesozoic of Virginia,” by Prof. Wm. M. Fontaine, published in the American Fournal of Science about a year since? contains much interesting and valuable matter, but 1 Transactions Amer. Inst. Mining Engineers, 1878. * Amer. Four, Sci., January, 1879. - 710 On the Former Extent of the Triassic Formation (October, arrives at conclusions in reference to the formation of the Triassic conglomerates, the climate of the Triassic period, etc., that seem at variance with the facts, at least as presented in the northern areas of Triassic rocks. The conclusion that the conglomerates are of glacial origin, as also suggested by Prof. Dana, is not sus- tained by the structure of the variegated conglomerate in New Jersey. , The view that the Appalachian Mountain region was of suffi- cient height to become covered with perpetual snow, and give rise to glaciers which terminated in the sea, and brought down as moraines the material forming the Triassic conglomerates, and also that the paucity of animal remains in the Triassic rocks is due to the low temperature of the water, owing to the supposition that “the Mesozoic area was fed by the cold waters issuing from the ice and snow of the mountains,” is open to several serious objections : First. The conglomerate, at least in New Jersey and the Con- necticut valley, is of the nature of an ordinary shore deposit, formed mostly at the mouths of streams. Second. The boulders in this conglomerate are smoothed and rounded, but do not show grooves, scratches or e surfaces like the stones to be found in a moraine. Thirdly. The fossil plants occurring in these rocks are ferns, cycads, equiseta and coniferous trees of the Araucarian family, these are found from North Carolina northward at least as far as Connecticut and Massachusetts ; the home at the present day of the plants belonging to these families, especially of the Cycads and Araucarias, is in tropical and sub-tropical regions. Fourthly, There was an abundance of reptilian life in Triassic times, as is shown by the great number of footprints found both in New Jersey and the Connecticut valley ; reptiles of large size also lived as far northward as the Prince Edward islands. All the larger reptiles of the present day are confined to the warmer regions of the globe, and are mostly found within the tropics. We can hardly believe that the gigantic reptiles of the Triassic age were so different in habits from their modern representatives that they could find a congenial home along shores that were covere with ice, or in waters derived from the melting of e in which icebergs were floating. 1 Amer. Jour. Sci., April, 1879, p. 330. ` 1880. ] of the Atlantic States. 7X1 The absence in the Triassic rocks of the peculiar markings that are made in soft mud when it freezes, and which are as capable of being preserved as are rain-drop impressions or footprints, is another although a negative indication that there was a mild climate in the Eastern States during the Triassic period. Then, too, there was not a “ paucity of animal life” in Triassic days, as thousands of footprints show; the waters of the estuary were also inhabited by immense numbers of fishes, some of them of considerable size. As to the absence of molluscan life owing to the coldness of the waters, we know that many species of Arctic shells are found in the mud at the foot of the glaciers that terminate in the sea in high latitudes, and that the same and allied species are found in the glacial clays both of Europe and America, thus showing that the presence of ice could not account for the absence of molluscan remains in the Triassic formation. The absence of shells in these rocks seems due to the fact, long since pointed out by Sir H. De la Beche,! that animals which live on the sea bottom cannot exist upon a bottom of red mud, and that the presence of peroxide of iron in the waters is fatal to animal life ; the presence of peroxide of iron in the rocks will also promote the rapid decomposition of such organic remains.as may become imbedded in them. All who have wan- dered along the shores of the Bay of Fundy, where the bottom is composed cf red mud, will remember how destitute they are in mollusks, radiates and crustaceans, the * waters are inhabited, however, by great numbers of fishes, belonging, I believe, to a limited number of species. Thus in almost every particular, the _ Study of the present condition of the Bay of Fundy furnishes us with the key with which to unlock the ONY of the Triassic formation. The information added by the papers of Mr. Heinrich and Prof. Fontaine, tends to confirm the conclusion that the Triassic rocks in the Atlantic States were formed in one estuary, in the northern end of which sandstone and shales were ‘deposited, being subjected toa greater subsidence than the southern ex- tremity, where the shores were low and favorable for the accumu- lation of carbonaceous mud and peat. As the determination of the age of the rocks in question from the fossil plants they contain, has led to widely varying results, ‘Memoirs of the Geological Survey of Great Britain, Vol. t, p. 51. 712 Notes on Stone Implements found in New Fersey. (October, we have continued to call them Triassic, If the view here pre- sented of their former extent is sustained, it is evident that the separate members are of one age, differing in their lithology and fossils according to the various conditions under which they were deposited. Nore,—Although the conclusions given in my former paper were arrived at independently, I find that the same explanation of the dip of the rocks has presented itself to others. Prof. Hitch- cock in his work on the “ Ichnology of Massachusetts,” p. 14, in speaking of the opposite dip of the beds in New Jersey and the Connecticut valley, says, “ It looks rather as if an anticlinal axis or elevation between them, had been concerned in the tilting of both.” Prof. Kerr, in his report on the geology of North Carolina, page 141, accounts for the separation of the Deep and Dan river Triassic areas by the upheaval of the region lying between, and the removal of the Triassic beds by denudation, the parts remaining are the fringing portions of a great anticlinal. Prof. Bradley, in an article “On the Geological Chart of the United States east of the Rocky mountains” (Amer. Four. Sci., Vol. xu, p. 289), favors Prof. Kerr’s conclusion and suggests that the numerous trap dikes intersecting the metamorphic rocks of North Carolina, South Carolina, Geor- gia and Alabama, may belong to the Triassic series and indicate the former extension of this formation southward; the dip of the beds in New Jersey and the Connecticut valley also attracted his attention and suggested the former connection of these two areas. d O ama NOTES ON STONE IMPLEMENTS FOUND IN NEW e JBERSEY. BY CHAS. C. ABBOTT, M.D. Te recent article by Prof. Perkins in the January NATURALIST suggests the propriety of my making a brief reference to cer- tain forms of stone implements which have been found in New Jersey since the date of the publication of the Smithsonian An- nual Report for 1875 ;? and particularly to the occurrence of such 1 1 Archæology of the Champlain valley. By Prof, Geo. H. Perkins. 2 January, 1877. It may be well to state that the MSS. of my paper was com pleted in Dec., 1873, and during the six years ensuing, I have gathered fully twelve thousand additional specimens. None of these are referred to in the Smithsonian Report for 1875. 1880.] Notes on Stone Implements found in New ¥ersey. 713 as are identical with those found in Vermont, and which are sup- posed to be of other than “ Red-skin” origin. Prominent among these are the stone tubes. The best New Jersey examples are those from near Bridgeport, Gloucester county, N. J. They are made of a drab-colored clay slate, about one inch in exterior diameter, and ten inches in length. The finish in all respects is excellent, and in every feature are they identical with those _ described by Prof. Perkins. These New Jersey specimens are in the cabinet of Mr. Wm. S. Vaux, of Philadelphia. Smaller examples of variegated green slate, and others of baked clay! have been found by the writer, but none so long or so elaborately wrought as the Bridgeport specimens referred to. Excepting such as have the perforation of very small diameter, these tubes do not differ materially from the California tubular smoking Pipes.” Curiously enough, associated with these Bridgeport implements were found some magnificently wrought chalcedony spear-heads; remarkably similar to California specimens found in the same graves as the tubular pipes referred to. (See Plate 11 of Archeology of Wheeler’s Survey, Vol. vir.) Interesting as the Occurrence of supposed relics of the Mound-builders in Ver- mont certainly is, it is of greater wonderment that the California types should occur as far distant as the Atlantic coast; unless indeed there is or was a very close connection between the sev- eral peoples of the continent. This, it seems to the writer, is highly improbable. So far as the New Jersey examples of stone implements and ornaments of extra-limital forms are concerned, the writer is disposed to refer them to the Shawnees, who at one time occupied much of the valley of the Delaware, and coming from the south-west either brought them from the neighborhoods of their distant homes, the products of their own handiwork, or were at that time even, veritable relics of a forgotten people. Whether the Shawnees were mound builders or not, need not here be discussed. Sufficient to know that they may be located wherever one finds the mounds, and so it would not be strange that they should copy and also ‘preserve the relics of this sup- _ posed “ pre-Indian ” people. | eo eo 1 Nature, Vol. xiv, P- 154, Figs. 3, 4 and 5. *U. S. Geog. Survey west rooth meridian: Vol. vil, Archeology, plates vu, VIII, 1X. The sixteen smoking pipes here figured are not cylindrical like the Vermont and New Jersey examples, but are so far similar as to suggest identical purposes: _ One tube of uniform caliber I have figured and referred to as a “ medicine tube,” in _ another chapter. See the volume. : VOL. XIV,.—NO, X. 46 714 Notes on Stone Implements found in New Jersey. |October, Prof. Perkins refers to the comparative rarity of grooved axes in the Champlain valley. So far as I can ascertain, they are not plentiful anywhere throughout New England, while in New Jer- sey and southward they are exceedingly abundant. During the years 1878 and 1879, I gathered nearly two hundred, and have certainly seen at least one thousand in the various private collec- tions I have studied. So numerous are these stone axes in New Jersey, that I think it within bounds to estimate one to every five hundred acres of the State’s territory, as ten thousand of these implements are still lying in the ground, and probably half as many more have been already found, and are now in part pre- served in public and private collections. As with arrow-points, axes are of every conceivable pattern, and, as yet, no form has been found elsewhere, to the writer’s knowledge, that is not rep- resented in New Jersey by one or more specimens. Even the South American form, wherein the groove is reduced toa deep? notch on the upper and lower margins, is represented by two specimens found by the writer, and now in the Peabody Museum, Cambridge, Mass. The remarkable gouge-like implements, on the other hand, are as common to New England as are the axes with us. So dis- similar, however, are the two forms, that it can scarcely be said that the one implement replaces the other. Certainly they could not have had similar uses. In one respect, the stone implements of Vermont may be said to be superior to those found in New Jersey. This is in the finish and fashioning of the pestles. Pestles with carved heads or any orna- mentation are rarely, if ever, found with us. There utility seems to have been wholly aimed at, and, except that some are highly polished, these implements have but little to attract attention. - Prof. Perkins refers to the similarity of the Vermont arrow-heads to those of the Southern States, and to a want of likeness to those found in New Jersey. The arrow-heads found here must by no means be judged by those I have figured in the Smithsonian Re- port. Since the issue of that volume, thousands of more delicate workmanship, and a score of other shapes have been gathered ; _ and I hope ere long to give figures of all these, and also of every pattern of stone implement, ornament or weapon found within the limits of the State. 1 Archivos do Mus. Nacion. do Rio de Janeiro, Vol. 1, Estampa 1, Fig- 2- Rio, 1876. 1880. } Some Noteworthy Birds. 715 SOME NOTEWORTHY BIRDS. BY SAMUEL LOCKWOOD, PH.D. HAT was a memorable event in the annals of bird lore when those Arctic owls made their remarkable raid upon us in our centennial year. What it was that induced Myctea nivea to make that visit in such numbers after the big show was closed, and the world’s folk had left, may be a question. Probably the commis- sariat was under consideration ; in which case our snowy owl had grave reasons for his coming. Winter is hardly a prime season for delitacies in the larval line, and the construction may seem awkward, yet it will bear assertion that these birds of Pallas were after grub. Though bold, Nyctea did not put on style. It was simply that sort of personal bearing which comes of innocence. In the Northern cities he even perched on chimney tops, and in rural places was familiar with men, even unto rashness. Our farmer friend, his family filling the large carry-all wagon, was on his way to church, when lo! by the road side, “a sitting on a rail,” was one of these Arctic owls. No man is himself at all times, and our good friend’s piety was sorely tried, for the strange bird actually ogled at him with its big brass-button eyes. He would have railed at the bird. He was on the fence what to do. It is Sunday. “Shall he send Thomas back for the gun? The wife suggests they’ll be late to meetin’. The bird owes his life to that good woman. In the markets of New York these owls were Suspended in strings like poultry. Upon inquiry, Terence was told that they were Spanish geese. “Sure then, for a goose, it has an uncommon knowing face.” To many a village “ bird- stuffer” in the Eastern States, that winter of ’76 brought a large ` increase of business. In not a few parlors of my acquaintance, a Snowy owl became a fixture, and was pointed to as an avian prize. But our splendid bird has become unable ‘to uphold its reputa- - tion. The tidy housewife charges it with bringing in that tiny reprobate, the clothes moth, Tinea flavifrontella, it of the yellow face, which after plucking Nivea in spots, finishes on the rep upholstery, A young friend captured one of these Arctic raiders alive. So long as he was well supplied with mice, the bird was quite good natured, and even submitted to the caresses of his master; but the young man found the demands of that hun- Sty maw very exacting; in fact that owlish stomach was too (716 Some Noteworthy Birds. [ October, capacious for him to fill, so he killed the bird in order to have it stuffed. . The winter of 1877 brought to the coast of New Jersey an unusual number of the Arctic dovekies, Mergulus alle. I was much interested with these queer but amiable little fellows. I held the idea that in their high northern range, they even visit the Pole, thus putting to blush our efforts in that direction. A boy on his way to school saw a bird acting very strangely by the ' side of a small stream. It was six miles from the sea, and entirely beyond tidal reach. The boy captured it, a simple mat- ter, as he had only to go and pick it up. He took it to-school, where the heat and dryness occasioned it much suffering, while its odd appearance and singular action caused much amusement. It stood so bolt upright that the scholars said the bird stood on its tail. When the lad got home a tub of water was procured, and then came the fun. The bird seemed crazed with delight. It ducked and dove and splashed. Then it would make a dash, fetching up against the side of the tub in a manner not altogether “ healthy ;” but then Mergulus is not the only biped that takes a winter tub in an injudicious way. I had furnished the local editor a paragraph in which was given the systematic name of the bird. Another specimen was found in a neighboring vil- lage, standing on the wood-pile in the back yard of a house, also some distance from salt water. It was mounted by the local taxidermist, who ambitiously named it from the newspaper para- graph. It found its way to the bar-room of the tavern, where I saw it, and was told its name by the obliging landlord, who said that he got it from the bird-stuffer, who told him that it was scien- tific. “Ah, indeed! Could you tell me what it means?” “ Oh, -yes! Our doctor says Mergulus alle means all-sea-gull.” It would have been neither courtesy nor policy for me to say that mine host and the doctor were gulls all over. : I am at a loss to conceive why these birds, so thoroughly | = marine in their nature, come so far inland. Flight must be very - laborious to them, and every motion on the land is awkward to 4 degree. But in the water, all is truly wonderful—there the bird _ displays grace, speed and a certain refinement of motion. There — . is much to wonder at and to admire in the sea dove’s ways when in her own element. Just stand with us on the bluff at Long Branch. There is a high swell, for the wind is pretty stiff and 1880. ] Some Noteworthy Birds. 717 directly from the sea. We shiver in this wintry gale. How crushingly the surf comes rolling up the strand. What grand high waves they are—and to what a solemn cadence is the whole movement made. There are several sea doves, to whom all this is blissful and delicious. When it suits they can ride the crest like the stormy petrel. But see that gorgeous wave approaching, and that sea dove goes right through it, as an arrow shot through a cloud of smoke; and the bird comes out into the deep trough beyond, and with every feather dry. And now it scoons along the green glassy bed of that aqueous valley, then up the round side of that great water mountain which it has just pierced, then it sits like a little puff on the advancing crest. These are the nice points in the high art of natatory locomotion. It can float like a bubble and progress like a shot, while its rapid sub-aqueous movement, as against the momentum of the incoming wave, calls out one’s admiration. And what about the molecular thrill of that tiny avian brain? You may depend there is high glee there, Forward it comes, borne on that great surf-wave, which now strikes the shingly beach and ‘breaks up into wild seething froth. The little bird, like a dark spot, ascends the sloping shore so quietly riding on the mad, white foam. Its grand role, however, is over. It suffers itself to be left high up on the beach by the scattered, receding surf. The shore seems alive with sand fleas, and Orches- tia agilis is a dainty shrimp-like bait for our sea dove. The bird appreciates the opportunity, and sets itself to make the most of it. But oh, how awkward! But then, how is a body to put one's best foot forward when both pes are set so extremely far backward? So its every effort to capture Orchestia on dry land is decidedly inartistic. “As if to save it from damaging so fine a record, my pupil’s shaggy white retriever walks quietly up to the bird, takes it in his mouth, and carries it to his master. “Ah, Whitie! you have nipped birdie a little too hard, and Dovekie has come to grief.” . In November, 1878, my friend the railroad conductor called on me. He had with him a box obtained at the grocery, which, with laths nailed on one side, he had improvised into a bird cage, The cage was carried by a boy whom he ordered to set it on my study floor, which done he thus made known his errand: “ Professor, here’s a queer bird which we caught on the beach at Manasquan. I went up to it, and was surprised that it did not 718 Some Noteworthy Birds. [ October, fly away. Nobody knows what it is, neither the fishermen nor the old gunners along the coast. They all say that it is a tropi- cal bird, and the most of us think it has been a pet on some ves- sel inward bound, and that it somehow got overboard and had to work its way to land. So I have come to see if you can tell us what it is. Now then, Pet, come out and show yourself to the gentleman.” Having thus delivered himself with the same pre- ciseness as when calling out the stations for his passengers, the conductor pulled up a few of the slats, and sure enough, the pet did come out and show himself, He had a body about as big as a pigeon’s, with long legs and long toes. I had never seen his like. But there were certain features so noticeable, that with “ Coues’ Key to North American Birds,’ the merest tyro could soon determine the genealogy of the stranger. The bill was pinkish- red, and as Patrick might have remarked—* The cratur carried a breast-plate on the front of his head; and though with never a stocking to its name, it wore red garters on its legs.” The bird had on its forehead a flat smooth plate like red coral, or sealing- wax, giving it a somewhat cooty aspect; and around each tibia was a red band, as if a fillet of the outer skin had been removed. It was the Florida Gallinule, Gallinula galeata. There was no strut in its walk. But for the occasional slipping of those great splay feet on the smooth oil cloth, the bird sustained a self-pos- session, with a dignity of carriage which was charming to wit- ness. I called in my family to see the interesting stranger. Their entrance in no wise disconcerted Gallinule, although Madam stroked him on the back and patted him on his head, and even felt of his helmet plate. He was evidently a person not to be injured by flattery. Although undesigned, there seemed to me genuine humor in the contrast of the running down of an insect on the lily pads of a Florida pond and that stately megalopodian tread on my study floor. But for our confiding nature we should have suspected the stranger of putting on uprightness, an instance of mimicry of that good old knight, Sir John Auricular, who in all God’s ways walked perpendicular. I came near asking, “Where did the bird get so much good breeding ?” but was inter- rupted by the conductor, who reiterated his theory as sufficient — for the facts: “ You see, Professor, how tame he is, and gentle. He doesn’t mind anybody. It’s that which makes us believe he is a pet off some ship.” “I don’t think so; though for all that 1880. ] Some Noteworthy Birds. 719 it is barely possible that he may have been on a ship; for he has a gay cousin down south, the purple Gallinule (Porphyrio mar- tinica), who has been known to board a vessel two or three hun- dred miles out at sea.” We set to work to search the house for flies, the whole family going at it with zest. Here again the bird awoke our interest. With no flurry, but in a quiet and most sensi- ble manner, he would approach the person bringing a fly, and take it gently, in such a knowing way, from between the thumb and finger. I was much impressed with the belief that scent had much to do with the matter, as the insect was so held that it could not be seen. Again the conductor suggested his theory to explain the fact: “You may depend, Professor, he’s a tame bird, and is used to being fed from the hand.” We had a theory, too, but which we did not broach, to wit : that it was a specimen of extra good bird Sense, actuated by the keen demands of appetite. But it was so late in the fall that the flies were quite scarce, and we could not find one more. We then tendered him cake and bread crumbs, to which he took very gingerly, evidently not hankering after such rations. Some fresh water was set before him, of which he took a pretty good drink; after this, entirely of his own option and in a very quiet way, he went to his cage, entered, and squatted on its floor, and in its own dumb way seemed to say to its owner, “ Please, sir, now shut the door.” Bidding the boy who was with _him to carry the box, the conductor and his singular pet left. * Thus cooped up, with not a vestige of its natural environment, either as to food or water, in two days the poor bird died. I saw it not long after, a mounted specimen in the bird-stuffer’s shop. But now the red garters had faded into a foxy hue. So too had the rosy bill. As for that quaint frontlet of polished red coral, it had lost both color and form, for it had shriveled up into an unsightly rosiny scar. Such are a few memory notes of life features on “the human Side, of some of our rare New Jersey birds. * 720 Microscopie Crystals contained in Plants. (October, ON THE MICROSCOPIC CRYSTALS CONTAINED IN PLANTS BY W. K. HIGLEY. T has been the custom to call all crystals that eccur in plants, whether in the cell contents, the cell-wall or even the non- microscopic crystals that are found in the outer portions of plants, by the common name “ raphides,” no matter what the form may be, And while giving this general name to their form, a much more general chemical composition was given, viz: oxalate of lime; and for a long time they were all supposed to have had this composition, and even up to the present day many writers have considered them thus. The decision of some seems to have been based on the analysis of the inorganic matter of one crystal- bearing plant, which proved to have the above composition, and in drawing their conclusions they considered that all crystals of apparently the same crystalline form, were of the same composi- tion. But it is difficult to tell, at all times, the exact crystalline form, as different forms sometimes resemble each other very much. And as the form may vary, so may the chemical compo- sition. Crystals of some form seem to be nearly or quite univer- sal; on close examination they may be found in some part Or parts of the majority of plants. In some plants they are only found in a certain position and of one form, while in others they may occupy several localities of the piant, and have as many forms. But the position and form often vary so much that it has been recommended by some authorities that they be made a family, and in some cases a generic distinction in the study of systematic botany. | rof. Geo. Gulliver, while making dissections under the micro- scope for the purpose of comparing the relations between the : structure of plants and animals, made note of every case, in the examination of plants where raphides or other crystals occurred, and he says: “It was not before a large accumulation of my notes had been examined that crystals were thought of in this point of view; for they had not even been particularly looked after, and were merely noted whenever seen, long before their | significance as characters were suspected. But when every one of these notes on raphides had been picked out, it was very Un- expectedly discovered that the plants in which they occurred would sometimes come under certain orderly arrangements. $ 1880. ]. Microscopic Crystals contained in Plants. 721 Thus not a single species belonging to the order Onagracez or Galiacee was without a note of raphides, while in no single instance were these acicular crystals noted in the next allied orders.” A converse example is then given. He then proves by more extended experiments that raphis-bearing is essential throughout the lives df certain species. By this and other experi- ments that I might mention, it is shown that the form and posi- tion of microscopical crystals in plants may be used as a distinc- tive character between orders especially, and perhaps to a certain extent, between genera and species(?). Plant crystals as a char- acter would only be of benefit to the botanist who had at hand a microscope that magnified at least a hundred and twenty-five diameters, Hence the objection to making them a means of identifying plants in our works on systematic botany. As to the history of crystals, Lindley states that they were first seen by Rafn, who found them in the milky juice of some species of the family Euphorbiacez, and that they were afterwards seen by Jurine in the leaves of Leucoium vernum and elsewhere. Edwin Lankester, M.D., writing on raphides, credits Malpighi with the discovery of crystals in plants, who found them ina species of Opuntia, and he says, further, that they were after- wards described by Rafn as occurring in the milky juice (latex) of some plants belonging to the family Euphorbiaca, and that Jurine soon after found them in the leaves of Lewcoium vernum as Stated by Lindley. Raspail seems to have been the first person who studied crys- tals with their chemistry in view, at least he was probably the first to demonstrate that some of the crystals were composed of calcic oxalate. John Quekett, inva paper written in or about the year 1852, also gives the credit of the discovery to Malpighi, and says that they were subsequently described by Jurine and Raspail, as stated above. Prof. Gulliver says that the raphides so early mentioned by Rafn in the Euphorbiacez were only the starch-rods which he (Gulli- ver) described as having found in the latex of the British Spurges. Crystals should be divided into (at least) three classes and these seem to cover all the ground that was formerly covered oes me name “ Raphides.” They are as follows: : I. Raphides. 2. Sphzraphides. 3. Crystal prisms. 722 Microscopic Crystals contained in Plants. (October, 1. Raphides—The term raphid is from the Greek gagi, a needle, and was formerly applied by De Candolle to crystals resembling a needle in form. . Prof. Gulliver gives the following definition of the term: “These are slender needle-like crystals with rounded, smooth shafts, vanishing at each end to a point, from about ten to fifty or more lying parallel together so as to form a bundle, which par- tially fills a cell or intercellular space.” I have never been able to find over thirty in one cell, and gen- erally from five to twenty-five. The cells which contain them are generally elongate, or quite oval. To obtain these crystals in a bundle and still have a thin section fit for microscopical work, a steady hand and great care are required, as they are easily dis- turbed, when they will be seen scattered in every direction. Often on slight pressure they are seen to escape, one by one, quickly from one or both ends of the cell. When this occurs they are - then known as “ Biforines.” The bundle of crystals is very loose and might be compared to a bundle of needles. The genus 77i//ium affords a good example for the investiga- tion of these crystals, and still better the species of the family Aracee, with one exception which will be mentioned soon. In this family the raphides are found in great abundance and are about the largest that I have seen. As the plants of this order are very common, any one may examine them at pleasure. They may be found in any part but are best seen in the stem. 2. Spheraphides—This word is from the Greek egarpa, a sphere or globe, and fagis, a needle or pin. “They are more or less rounded forms made up of a congeries of crystals, many of which are prisms, often acicular.” As they often have points extending in all directions from the main body of the crystal, they appear rough and frequently stellate ; they are generally found regularly placed, one imbedded in the substance of each cell. A collection of cells containing these crystals is known as a “ spheraphid tissue.” e The flower parts of the geranium serve as a good field for observing them. These crystals are very common and are found, in connection with raphides in the family Vitaceee. But the best place to examine them is in the family Cactacez. These crystals as well as the next class were formerly known, incorrectly, under the common name “ Raphides.” ; 1880. | Microscopic Crystals contained in Plants. 723 3. Crystal prisms—These are “ acicular forms with well-marked faces and angles both on the shafts and tips.” They are found imbedded in the tissue of the plant and are never seen in bundles or loosely packed together, or single in a cell or intercellular passage. I have found as many as five of these crystals imbedded close together in certain tissues, but generally only one. They vary much in size but are generally much larger than raphides from which they may be easily distinguished. The family Com- posite furnish about the best field for the examination of this class of crystals, but they are much less common than the other forms of crystals. My own observations and experiments have been, at present, mostly confined to the natural orders Aracez, Vitacez and Com- posite. I examined the first two orders: especially, as they abounded in crystals, and this gave me a better opportunity to examine into their chemical composition with more sure and sat- isfactory results. In examining each specimen for the composition of the crys- tals, I first made the test under the microscope as far as possible, and in the case of inorganic crystals incinerated the substance and analyzed the residue. Of course from this analysis it is not possible to state the exact composition of the crystals, whether they are, for example, acid or neutral salts; but we are able to State with certainty what the elements are that enter into the crystal. And at times and under certain conditions, and also by analogy, the exact composition may be ascertained ; for example, if on examining the tissues of a plant octahedrons are found, and if under the microscope they do not effervesce with acetic acid, but do with stronger acids, and if after incineration we find on analysis calcium and carbonic acid, we may conclude with cer- tainty that these crystals are composed of calcic oxalate. How- ever, other acids than the one just mentioned do occur, as phos- Phoric and carbonic acids; the former I tested for under the microscope in the following manner: obtaining as large a field as possible of the crystals, I added a drop of hydrochloric acid and heated the slide slightly and then added a small amount of molyb- date of ammonia; heating the slide again and allowing it to — stand for some time, I placed it under the microscope, when, if any phosphoric acid was present the characteristic crystals of phospho-molybdate of ammonia would appear. These crystals 724 Microscopic Crystals contained in Plants. (October, are stellate forms consisting of four or six points, and have a yel- low color. This test requires care, as too much heat seems to dispel the crystals, The latter (carbonic) acid I detected in the usual manner with acetic acid. The three acids mentioned above are the only ones that I found. Dr. Gray, in his “ Structural and Physiological Botany,” page 60, reports sulphuric acid. The tests applied for the base were the same as those given in Douglas and Prescott’s “ Qualitative Analysis,” but the only base found was calcium. The methods of testing given above were followed in nearly all cases. Where there is any change it will be mentioned in its proper place. I will now give the results of my own work, commencing with the order Aracez; in this order the raphides are abundant and large, and the cells that contain them are much elongated. The bundles contained from ten to twenty-eight crystals. The number was noted in twenty specimens and the average, twenty-five, taken frora the results. Raphides were found in all parts of the plant Arisema triphyllum; they varied some in size, but were, on the average, about y} oth of an inch long and qobgvth in diameter. The raphis-cells were very large and elongated and easily distin- guished from the surrounding ceils. ; Dracontium, another species of the same genus as the above, showed no material difference in the position, size and number of the crystals from the first species. In Symplocarpus fætidus, or skunk’s cabbage, the crystals were as common as in Arisæma, but were, on the whole, somewhat larger, and were found, as in the above species, throughout the plant. The raphis-cells of this plant were about s'sth of an inch in length and yoysth in diameter. Some of the crystals appeared to be biforines, which I did not observe to be the case in any other species of this order. Thus if the odor of this plant can be overcome, it furnishes a good field for work upon this subject. In Acorus calamus, or sweet flag, I was not able to find a single raphid, and as far as I am able to find articles upon the crystals of this family, none have ever been reported, but time and again students have been disappointed in not finding them. This genus is thus marked off from the rest of this family, although agreeing with the family characters perfectly in other particulars. Dr. 1880. | Editors’ Table. 725 Gray, in his systematic arrangement of plants, places this genus in the family Aracez, but Lindley, on account of there being no raphides, and as the general characters of the plant would not permit of its being placed in any other family, places it in a fam- ily by itself, calling it Acoracee. This genus contains but few crystals of any sort. On examining a number of specimens I found only a few crystal prisms, which effervesced and dissolved with hydrochloric acid and were probably oxalate of lime. With the exception of the genus Acorus the crystals mentioned in this family showed with certainty that they were composed of phos- phate of lime when the chemical tests were applied both under the microscope and also to the incinerated residue. | Zo be continued.) co EDITORS’. TABLE: EDITORS: A. S. PACKARD, JR., AND E. D. COPE, The late meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science at Boston, under the presidency of the : - Hon. L. H. Morgan, was a very successful one. There was a large attendance, most sections of the United States and Canada being represented. A considerable number of papers of a high order of merit were read. Propositions for a precise and conve- nient division of the work of the Association were considered, and a report on the subject may be expected at the next meeting. The arrangements made by the local committee were excellent, and the most convivial member could not complain of any defi- ciency of receptions or “lunches,” either as to quantity or quality. The excursion to the White mountains was replete with interest to the geologist, the more so as it was accompanied by the State Geologist of New Hampshire, Prof. Hitchcock. Of the addresses of the officers, we refer to two as ciocia interesting to our readers, viz: those of Prof. Barker, the retiring president, and of Mr: Agassiz, vice-president in charge of Section The former was a general exposition of the present state of knowledge of the physics of life. The chemical nature of the respiratory and digestive functions, and the dynamic characteris- tics of muscular contraction were passed in review. The charac- _ ter of nervous te'egraphy was discussed, and its relations to men- tal phenomena considered. The conversion of force in reference 726 Editors’ Table. [| October, to these acts was set forth in the light of recent investigations, especially those conducted by the aid of the plethysmograph. The identity of conduct of vegetable and animal protoplasm under stimuli and reagents, was regarded as warranting the con- clusion that the properties of animal protoplasm have a previous existence in the plant, and that the solution of the vital question in the lowest fungus will solve the problem for the highest ' vertebrate. thi The address then considers the relations of the forces displayed by living bodies to those exhibited by the space-filling ether. In accordance with late usage he discards the term potential energy, and regards the energy of the supposed molecular movements 0 the ether as representing what was originally intended by that expression. He closes by remarking, “ Is it a wonder that out of such a reservoir, the power by which we live should irresistibly rush into the organism and appear as the transmuted energy which we recognize in the phenomena of life?” Further than this speculation can not go, but such language is useful if only as an indication that the field of vital phenomena is not necessarily restricted to our planet or even to our system.’ We note here that Prof. Barker has not touched on the ques- tion of consciousness in his address, and it might be supposed _ that he does not regard it as an essential element in the problem. This omission may be explained on the supposition that he does - not know what to do with it; for it certainly does not seem to have any appropriate niche in the system of the purely physico- vitalists. For our own part we cannot escape it in considering the evolution of forms; that is as modifying growth nutrition, through molar movements. ey Mr. Agassiz’s address is an exposition of the palzontological and embryonic histories of the Achini, with a discussion of their bearing on the question of evolution. He refers to the early labors of Profs. Agassiz and Vogt on the paleontology and em- bryology of fishes as the starting point of discussion of the doc- trine of parallelism. After a thorough review of the facts, Mr. Agassiz finds the history of the Æchini to present a conformity to the general law, and that it exhibits, moreover, certain peculiari- ties. The rule is, that each character taken separately presents an “exact parallelism” between its paleontological and its embry- onic histories, but the characters taken coljectively, in the com- binations which constitute species, do not present such a parallel. In other words, that no extinct species, taken as a whole, 1S identical with a transitional stage of any recent species. He says, “ Any attempt to take up a combination of characters, Or 4 system of combinations, is sure to lead us to indefinite problems far beyond our power to grasp.” Here we see the author wrest- ng Penn Monthly, 1875, p. 574. AMERICAN NAURALIST, 1879, 420, and 1880, p: eo i 3 = 1880. | Editors’ Fable. 727 ling with the universal phenomenon of “inexact parallelism,” which has received satisfactory explanations at various times, It is gratifying to find Mr. Agassiz giving a general assent to the doctrine of derivation, but we observe that he cannot forbear _ intimating that he does not enter the ranks‘of the evolutionists on account of the society he finds there. He says in effect,—your derivation is probably true, but you can’t tell how it was done, so what are you going to do about it?- And he proceeds to show that they cannot do anything about it, in the following manner: “The time for genealogical trees has passed; its futility can, per- haps, best be shown by a simple calculation which will point out at a glance what these scientific arboriculturists are attempting. Let us take for instance the ten most characteristic features of the Echini, The number of possible combinations which can be pro- duced from them is so great that it would take no less than twenty years, at the rate of one new combination a minute for ten hours a day to pass them in review. * * On the other hand, in spite of the millions of possible combinations which these ten characters , mensely short of the possible number. We have not more than twenty-three hundred species actually representing for the Echini the results of these endless combinations. Is it astonishing there- fore that we should fail to discover the sequence of the genera, even if the genera, as is so often the case, represent, as it were, fixed embryonic stages of some sea-urchin of the present day?” Precisely what relation the above considerations bear to the tra- cing of the phylogenies, it is difficult to perceive. If Mr. Agassiz had insisted that any or all of the millions of possible combinations e has pictured may have existed as extinct species, he would in- deed have presented us with an inextricable genealogical puzzle. But he does not do this, for he admits that the number of the forms which have actually existed is limited. Does Mr. Agassiz mean that there has been no order in this limitation; that there have existed no causes which have rendered some combinations possible and others impossible? Such would appear to be the Spirit of his proposition, but it is the objection of a mathematician. and not that of a practical biologist. The chairman of Section B admits that genealogies of single characters may be constructed; therefore genealogies of orders, families and genera can be con- structed, for they are, or ought to be (for they ultimately must be); efined by single characters. Having thus established the lines tents of the divisions so defined, is greatly restricted. We can no 728 | Recent Literature. [ October, lines of Echini after they have been differentiated, than we can ex- pect to find fossil centaurs or sphinxes. So also with the minor lines, though of course the sagacity of the investigator is taxed to ascertain what these are. Thus much in defence of hypothetical lines bridging present gaps in our knowledge. Such have not unfrequently been realized by paleontological discoveries. As to lines already worked out, such as the genera of Camelide, Felde, Rhinocerontide, horses, etc., no question of mathematical proba- bilities can invalidate the significance of the wonderful closeness of the successive stages which they present.—E£. Ð. C. :0: RECENT LITERATURE. Netit’s New Map oF Cororapo—lIt is strange that in this country there are no map-makers worthy the name. The only decent maps, either of the whole or portions of the country, are those published by the General Government. : It is sad, but true, that the best map of the United States which can be purchased, and I may add which can be obtained, is pub- lished not here but in Germany. This is not from want of skill in drafting and engraving, but it seems to be a want of knowl- edge, of enterprise and of care in those superintending the work. I am roused to this philippic by the appearance of a map of Colorado, which is a vast improvement, both in style and in cor- rectness of compilation, over anything heretofore published for sale in this country. ote The map has been compiled by Mr. Louis Nell, a topographi- cal engineer who has been for a number of years connected with the Survey of the Territories under Capt. G. M. Wheeler. He has brought to the work not only a general knowledge of how a country should be represented on a map, but a personal acquaint- -anceship with a large part of the country represented. The map shows, too, a degree of painstaking accuracy and care which 1s verv rare among us. ‘he map is evidently compiled, although authorities are not mentioned in detail, from the work of the surveys under ayden, Wheeler, King and the General Land Office. The scale of the map is 10.5 miles to one inch. The topography is represented by hachures and by contour-curves at every 1009 feet up tO 11,000 feet. The county lines are given, and it may be said, in passing, that the map might have been a little clearer if these - lines were less pronounced. tie All the later changes due to settlement, roads, railroads, etc., have been added, bringing it fully up to date. The estimated — area of irrigable (arable) land is represented by colors. The a 1 Neills New Topographicai cathe A i rado, Com: piled from U. S, pie sata Settee wa Bae eae. : Washington, D.C» 1880. Scale 10.5 miles to one inch. __ . 1880. } Recent Literature. 729 vations of many hundreds of points are given in feet above sea level, and to illustrate the careful nature of the work, it may be noted that those measured by spirit-level are distinguishtd from those dependent upon the barometer, It is to be hoped, in the interest of map-making in this country, that Mr. Nell may see his way clear to extending his work and making this one of a series—H. Gannett. HAECKEL’S System oF Mepusa.!—The early reputation of Haeckel rested mainly on his great work on the Radiolaria, a magnificent and costly folio volume with numerous beautifully executed plates ; this was succeeded by his smaller works on the Monera and other invertebrate animals; his great work on sponges then succeeded; in the embryological portion of this work some errors have naturally been detected by subsequent observers. Then Haeckel prepared his popular, more general works, z. e., the General Morphology, his History of Creation and Anthropology, In these works he gave rein to his imagination, and while he attempted to solve problems insoluble in our day and with our preseat knowledge, and though opening up new lines of investigation, yet committed some extravagances of scien- tific thought, and in some statements, and especially illustrations from his prolific pencil, overstrained or actually misrepresente that the best of observers and thinkers sometimes do what proves later to be rash, useless or actually misleading work. pan The part before us describes the Craspedote, or naked-eyed Das System der Medusen. Erster theil einer Monographie der Medusen. Von Dr. Exxst HagcKEL. Mit einem Atlas m. 40 plates. Erste hälfte des ersten Theils. System der Craspedoten. 20 Tafeln. Jena, 1879, folio. (Denkschriften der Med. Naturwissenschaftlichen Gesellschaft zu Jena.) Pages 360. VOL. XIV.-—-NO. X. 47 : 730 Recent Literature. [ October, Medusz, the first legion of the class Medusa. There is no pref- ace or introduction, but the descriptive part opens with a sys- tematic-register of the orders, families, genera and species of the legion; then are given the synonymy and characters of the Cras- pedotz, of the two sub-legions into which they are divided, then of the orders and minor subdivisions, the definitions being detailed with explanatory remarks. The synonymy and descrip- tions of the species are fully given, so that the whole is a com- prehensive monograph of the naked-eyed Medusz of the globe; an ambitious undertaking, but one apparently well carried out. The work is richly illustrated, the large plates being crowded with elegantly drawn figures; they are not so delicate as the illustrations of the Radiolaria, being chromo-lithographs, but are calculated to give some idea of the richness of tints of these beautiful and delicate marine forms; the illustrations are all drawn by the author, and the anatomical details are full and elaborately presented. The author is anxious to receive specimens of jelly fishes from the Pacific coast for ‘description in the remaining parts of this work, and those who are favorably situated should by all means contribute to the material which will be so well used. From the excellent figures of alcoholic specimens in this work, it is evident that specimens can be preserved and transmitted great distances in pone KS AND PAMPHLETS.—A sketch of the history of the fossil Vertebrata of rea By R. Lydekker. 8vo, pp. 36, 1880. From the author. List of the kse of the American Philosophical Society. 8vo, pp. 72 1880. From the society, Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society. 8vo, 1880, pp. 511-598. Notes on the Geology of the Iron and Copper ge had Lake Superior. By M. E. agah (Bull. Mus. Comp. Zodl., Geol. I.) 8vo, pp. 157, pis, 6, 1880. From the author Takar of new species of North American Fishes. By David S. Jordan. (From Proc, U. S. Nat. Mus.) 8vo, pp. 9, 1880. escription of a new species of Sebastichthys ( ( Sebastichthys sense} from Mon- terey bay, California. By D. S. Jordan and C. H. Gilbert. 8vo, pp. 6 On the Generic Relations of Platyrhina PERES By D. s. A isd C. H. Gilbert. 8vo, pp. 1, 1880. Notes on a collection of Fishes from San Diego, Cal. By D. S. Jordan and C. H. Gilbert, 8vo, pp. 12. ' Description of a new Linnea rata liolepis) from Santa Catilina island, Cal. By D. S. Jordan and C. H. Gilbert. 8vo, ppe16, 1 Notes on Sharks Pa the Coast of California. By D. S. Jadis and C. H. Gil- bert. Rvo, pp. 1, 1880. Description of a new ' pedias of Ray cent stellulata) from Monterey, Cal. By D, S. Jordan and ns Gilbert. 8vo, p 1880. i Description of new ee sae Braci opsis xyosternus ee nga edi we Rinse soph 5. Jordan an he “ee $ gje k 1880 Jp e species o i i gens € peah D. Sk apan sagt in- ities | one etaa undescribed. W. N. Lockington. 8vo, pp. 5, 1I Description of a new Fish T Aka anean microstoma). By W. N. Lockington. 8vo, pp. 2, 1880. 1830. ] Botany. 731 Description of a a secs of ok ae ( tigplagh 300 verrucosus), from the coast of California. By W. N. Lockin 8vo, pp. 9, 1880. From the author. Observations on Mo unt ia y S. P. Langley. (From the Amer. Jour. Sci. and Arts, Vol. x1x, July 1880.) aie, pp. 12, 1880. From the author. Introduction n the Study of ener oie amiong the North napere In- dians By Dr. H. C. Yarrow o, pp. 6 ee From tbe aut Eesitribartions to the ches of Missouri y the pctiaelacwal igi A 38 St. Louis Academy of Science. Pt. 1.—Pot ae 4to, pp. 30, maps 5, p 1880, Memoirs of the Geological T | India. Series x. eure Tertiary and — ‘Pertiary Vertebrata. Vol. 1, pt. 1v.—Supplement to Crania of Ruminants, pp. 2-181, pl. 21-24. Pt. oa-Shvall: hae Marbada Probostidia, pp- 182-300, pls. ' rei 45. "By R. Lydekker. From the author. The Valley Naturalist. Vol. ii, No. 1, 8vo. St. mes 1880. From the editor. The Student. Vol. 1, No. 1, 8vo, 1880. From the D SE Ta Breiträge zur Naturgeschichie de Wonk: 4to, pp. 88, pl. 11. Cassel, 1880. From the edito Beitrage zur Kenntniss der F Praatje Südamerika’s. Von Dr. Franz Steindach- ner. 4to, pp, 23, pl. 4, 1880. From the author. Ueber den p ee Ban der pge Wüste. Von. Dr. Carl A. Zittel. 4to, PP- 47, map 1, 1880. From the author :0: GENERAL NOTES. BOTANY. THE FERTILIZATION OF AQUILEGIA VULGARIS. —A note by Mr. Thomas Meehan, in the “ Bulletin of the Torrey Club” or "Jone, 1880, recording the perforation of the curved spurs of certain species of culumbine, induces the aiton of the following ead based chiefly on the observations of Sprengel’ and Dr. H. ll As the plant commonly grows, the flowers are pendant. The five sepals are petaloid, nany flat, and aid in rendering the flow- removal of nectar D bees with short tongues, an curvature seems to be a pretty good “ys of excluding birds, ea as Prof. dd has if i a nd oa during the eg spring. 1 Entdeckte Geheimniss 1793. S. 279. * Befruchtung der Blumen, 1873. S. 118. AM yr Sept, 1880, p. 668. 732 < General Notes. [October, appears that the nectar of these flowers is perfectly accessible only to insects whose slender and flexible suctorial mouth-parts - reach a length of not less than 10 mm.; and these insects must be habituated to hanging upon flowers while probing them for their sweets. These requirements are met with only in certain humble bees. Sprengel records the flowers as being visited for their nectar normally, and fertilized, by large humble bees. Dr. üller, from observations extending over a number of years, finds two species of Bombus which act in this way ; the first, B. hortorum, has a tongue reaching a length of from 19-21 mm.; the second, B. agrorum, has a tongue varying from 12-15 mm. in length. When collecting nectar, one of these bees hangs upon the flowers with its prothoracic legs on the base of a spur, the mesothoracic and metathoracic limbs clinging to the column formed of the stamens and pistils. Inserting its head as far as possible into the flaring mouth of the nectary, it passes its tongue into the spur, the curve of which is readily followed when, the insect occupies this position, in which the ventral surface of its body is brought in contact with the essential organs. But the flowers are proterandrous, the anthers only being mature in young flowers, while they are replaced by the receptive stigmas in older ones; so the bees, going from plant to plant, constantly cross older flowers with pollen from those which are younger, and, from their habit of visiting the lower (and older) flowers of a plant first, they usually cross the flowers of distinct plants. Where the nectar has been removed from flowers, the bees soon learn to probe only a single spur, and finding this empty, seem to reason that it would be a useless waste of time to try the others, and hasten on to another flower. Many years ago Necker proved the value of these nectaries for the fruiting of the flower, for he found that no fruit was set after their removal; but he does not seem to have arrived at the correct explanation of the result of his experi- ment. Concerning the perforation of the spurs of the corolla, Spren- gel tells us that he found hive bees (? Bienen) on the flowers, which first collected pollen, then betook themselves to the bend in the spurs, which they bit through, thus readily obtaining the nectar. Dr. Müller found two small wild bees—species of Halictus—col- _ lecting pollen from the open anthers, but they showed no tenden- cy tain nectar, and hive bees trying, failed. He found, how- ever, that an humble bee ( Bombus terrestris), having a tongue not exceeding 9 mm. in length, and therefore debarred from partaking _ of the sweets with its more fortunate relatives, seemed to learn — by individual experience the futility of attempting ‘to reach the nectar in the normal way, afterwards acquiring the habit of Acta Academie Theodoro Palatinæ, v (fide Senebier). Soyer-Willemet also observed the same fact, and advances it on p. 13 of his “ Mémoire sur le Nectaire in support of his theory that nectar played a direct rôle in the act of fecundation. 1880. ] Botany. 733 alighting on the hook of the nectaries and perforating them on the convex side, securing their prize through the opening thus formed. It is well known that one or more of our sixty-two North American species of Bombus habitually perforate flowers whose nectar is inaccessible to them normally; and from the shortness of the spurs of certain flowers like Dicentra canadensis and D. cucullaria, which, as every lover of our spring flowers must haVe noticed repeatedly, are invariably disfigured in this manner in some localities, it is to be inferred that some of these bees have very short tongues, though I am not aware that the species have ever been carefully compared in this respect. The individuals that Mr. Meehan found perforating columbines, in all probability did not possess tongues sufficiently long to enable them to obtain the nectar in the regular way. . ` While, therefore, Aguilegta vulgaris is visited normally to a certain extent by hive Bees, small wild bees and short-tongued humble bees, which either in gathering pollen or trying to obtain nectar must, necessarily, aid in the cross-fertilization of the flowers, it seems perfectly adapted to profit by the visits of the long-tongued species of Bombus, and I must therefore depart from the conclusions of Mr. Meehan, that “the humble bee and the honey bee are evidently not the insects for which the Aquilegia had this beautifully contrived nectar cup provided to induce cross-fertilization, and what particular insect was designed to be the favored one, so that it and no other could turn its tongue around these twisted spurs to get at the honey in the end, I think no student has discovered,” so far as to believe that the evidence in the case warrants the conclusion that certain species “the humble bee” are evidently the insects for which the Aquilegia had its beautifully contrived nectar cup provided to induc® cross-fertilization.— William Trelease. : PLANTS or Nova Scotia, CAPE Breton AND NEw FOUNDLAND. =-The following list of plants represent the results of herborizing in an interesting region : ; Thalictrum cornuti L Torbay, N. F. ‘ Ranunculus hyperboreus Roth., Open Hall, N. F. In black mud. “ repens L., Guysborough, N. S. ; $ acris L., Guysborough, N. S. ' rracenia purpurea L., Arichat, Cape Breton island. $ ze Drosera rotundifolia L., at Arichat, with S. purpurea L., and Calopogon pulchellus in moist moss, and at Open Hall, N. F. mith, Guysborough, N. S., Torbay, N. F. — longifolia Muhl., Torbay, N. F. j uliginosa Murr., Torbay, N. F. Tk ! i Cerastium viscosum L, Torbay, N. F., Guysborough, N. S. = Malva moschata L., Guysborough, N. S. Both the white and the purple-flowered forms common on roadsides ee is acet Spiræa salicifolia L., Open Hall, N. ; Poterium canadense L., Cape Broyle, N. F. Potentilla norvegica L., Carbonier, N. F. 734 General Notes. [October, Potentilla tridentata Ait., Arichat, Cape Breton island. Extremely numerous over e treeless barrens above the village. Pats vesca L. ? Arichat, Cape Breton islan Rates Be tee Richards, AU hat, Cape Breton island. s Ait., Torbay, N. F. Ta Aen Ehr. r Carbonier Aa ya Hall, N. F. Cicea alpina L., Guysbor This and Oxalis acetosella L., occur in enormous numbers over agni per shady hillsides in the vicinity of Guys- boro Epilobium angustifolium L., Guysborough, N. S., Cape Broyle, N. F. m Muhl., Torb ay, N. E. (nothera Pasta is Guys borough, N. S. fs chrysantha Mx. Heracleum lanatum Mx., Torbay, N. F. Carum carui ba Guysborough, N. S. Escaped and become a very troublesome weed in meadow piia nudicaulis L., Cape Broyle, N Corn EL, a O, N. S; Arichat, Cape Breton island, and Cape ro abun hifen a ie , Cape oases es yas 48 Gronov., Cape pate 8 ‘and Saws of Bulls, N. F. Forming very Galim Di SP ag Mx., Brose h, N. Ba Torbay, N. F. m L., Ari i Cape) Breton island. Aster estieus ee , Cape eke N. F lev , Cape Broyle, N. nemo Ait. oa Hall, Bay of Bulls, N. F. purniceus L., Cape Broyle, Diiia nh mA “Torr, et Gr., Cape TA, N. F. Solidago — E. Meyer, ke Broyle, Wok “%“ altissima L., Cape Bro sn E: “ P: EA r millefolium L, Tor bay PAF Sen. É Cavs Broyle, N: F- PhO pi L Tor d iidr autumnale I, nt -Gistorough, N S. Nabaius nanus D. C., Torbay, N. F Campanula rotundifolium 1 T i oih ay, a F. Faren canadense Kalm., Cape Broyle, N. F. ' macroca acta re Arichat, Cape — island, “ oxycoccus L. Arichat, Cape "Bret and, bg fee sc ca sey a re a need. -ide E. Onea H LN: F: Chingenes hispidula Tn. et Giy, Cahora, N.S. Kalmi angustifolia L., Arichat, Cape Breton island; Cape Broyle, N. F. Ledum latifolium Ait., Cape Broyle, N, F. Aia. elliptica Nutt., Guys ORAN N.S. ts secunda, Open Ha i, Plantago maritima L:, ‘Guysborough, N.S. Trientalis americana Pursh., Cape Broyles N. F. Lysimachia stricta Ait., Guysborou d Veronica ch aes L., Gu 2 ei N.S. Found quite abundant in a shady rav sepia L., Torbay. N. F. ; Guysborough, N. $ Euphrasia officinalis L Giana. N. S.; Arichat, Cape Breton island. Rhinanthus christa-galli L. , Guysborough, N. S.; Cape Broyle, N. Melampyrum americanum Sees par Breton island. ae virginicus L., Bay of Bu Ils, lla vulgaris L., Aric > k Aea eS z > Woe > pS N = kas BE orbay, pomea pandurata Meier Cenaa, N.S. 1880.} Zoology. 735 Urtica dioica L., Torbay, N. F. Juniperus communis L., Bay of Bulls, N. F. Larix americana Mx., Bay of Bulls, N. F. ra R. Spiranth Calopogon pulchellus R. Br., Arichat, Cape Breton island. Juncus effusus, Arichat, Cape Breton island. fa Mx., Ari It appears that the Ningpo hats, of which 15,000,000 were exported in 1877, many being sold in the South- ern United States, are made from a sedge, Cyperus tegetiformis. ~The development of the colors of flowers is discussed by Dr. Hermann Müller in Kosmos. ZOOLOGY. ! A RELATION BETWEEN METEOROLOGY AND THE GRASSHOPPER OR Locust Pest.2—In the winter of 1877-1878 I made a short ! The departmemts of Ornithology and Mammalogy are conducted by Dr. ELLIOTT Cours, U. S. A. * Read before the National Academy of Sciences. 736 General Notes. [ October, preliminary study of some of the relations of climate to the so- called “ locust pest” of our Western States. An abstract of my . results was published in chapters vi (pp. 203-211) and xv (pp. 424-432) of the “First Annual Report of the U. S. Entornologi- cal Commission for the year 1877 relating to the Rocky Mountain Locust, &c, &c.” Although the results then arrived at were crude because of the paucity of proper material, yet as nothing better has since then ap- peared and as the subject has not come to the notice of some who might aid in securing further precise data, I will take the liberty of bringing the matter to the attention of the naturalists of the Academy, to whom we must look for the accurate,determination of the thermal constant that we need in order to attain to results that may be practicaily useful to the community—premising only that I have merely broken the ground for some one else to build. My idea is that it would be an important advance toward pro- tecting the agricultural districts if we were able at any day to say: “ Up to this date the grasshopper eggs have been rapidly (or slowly).progressing towards hatching, and they are now within five (or other number) days of appearing.” i But in order to accomplish this we must know the normal time of incubation, which probably must depend principally upon the temperature to which its egg is exposed, and upon the peculiarity of the locust egg as an organized body having the inherent vital power of development. i The meteorologist and the biologist must here work in union. I have, however, presumed for the first effort to undertake at least an approximate solution of both questions, and present here the conclusions that are given at greater length in the pages before referred tọ. © L The Heat of Incubation—It may be assumed that in these eggs, as in all similar animal and. vegetable germs, a certain definite amount of heat represented by an exposure for a definite. number of hours to a uniform, definite temperature will always effect the hatching of the young. From the study of the obser- vations made by Dr. C. V. Riley, I concluded that at temperatures below 50° Fah., the development of the egg progresses very „slowly if at all—although the vitality is not destroyed by temper” ‘ures ° F. J found that the few available observations led to the following approximations: a, Ata uniform temperajure of 50° F. th gg qi ire 65 E ee y 1560 hours to hatch, 7 2 ba p 60° te “a 60 s ws 1440 ‘ i e A s ’ R e si 5 3 is cs 4 M Mi “ e 55 « te nian ‘ * ETENN i 50 It may be that at higher temperatures the development pro- ceeds at a more rapidly increasing rate ; indeed, one correspondent says that at a temperature of 100° F. the eggs hatched out in a few hours—but nothing is known as to whether the eggs were _ fresh or not, and the observer's name itself is also unknown, there- 1880.] o iiia 737 fore I have restricted the above table to that range of temperature within which we have satisfactory observations, and which corres- ponds most nearly to what generally occurs in practice. The above table may also be put in the general algebraic form: In hours H = 1560 — 12 (T — 50°) In days D = 65 — % (T — 50°) where T represents the average temperature to which the eggs are exposed. We see from this that the heat received by the eggs while resting for sixty-five days in a light, dry, sandy soil at a uniform temperature of 50° F. is the least that will hatch them, while the additional term 14 (T—s0°) represents the acceleration of the process consequent upon maintaining a higher tem- perature. Ll. The Temperature experienced by the Eggs in the Ground—In order to apply the results of the preceding section we must know the temperature of the ground in which the eggs are deposited, that is to say especially the duration of such temperatures as are above 50° F. Actual observations of the soil at depths of one-half, one, one and a-half, two inches, &c., are, so far as I know, sadly lacking in this country, and rarely to be found in Europe, although very much needed in. special investigations. An exhaustive review of our knowledge on the subject of earth temperatures has been published, during the past year, by Wild, of St. Petersburg, but it is concerned mostly with temperatures at greater depths than six inches, and relates, therefore, to terrestrial physics rather than to agricultural interests. In the absence of direct observations, I have therefore adopted as a working hypothesis some empirical approximate relations between the air temperatures (published in the annual report o the Chief Signal Officer, Gen. A. J. Myer) and soil temperatures at the depth of one-half inch, from which I have deduced the following table showing for each station the total number of hours in each month during which the eggs must have been exposed to temperatures of over 50° and reduced to an equivalent of 60°. Manik Fort Garry.| Breckenridge.| Yankton. | North Platte. | Dodge City.| Corsicana. ~ | He T Lat, 50° Lat. 46.5° | Lat. 42.5° | Lat. 41.5° | Lat. 37-5° | Lat. 32.09 1875. 5 A E | : ; x DY ay ge 8 496 538 620 in oer ta 372 | ie 372 496 Fo 3s 744 O Ptember 324 406 4 540 6 October A ETEEN 48 180 275 3 48 540 November.. | o 36 72 264 464 December pise o o 28 6o 144 372 1876. pra i o o 20 20 120 324 ebruary ‘a s Sá 64 180 324 BEER ea o o ' o 54 104 46 April ROAR ae 66 78 18 : 276 324 600 May . eee 324 290 3 464 558 ; 744 de aao. 594 420 480 S 690 920 eee atte ena 738 | General Notes. [ October, this table, we obtain the total duration of exposure to a hatching temperature of 60° F., or the total progress that the egg has made toward the full complement of 1440 hours required for hatching according to the results of section I. For example, eggs laid so late as the 1st of September, 1875, at the respective stations, would have made progress and would hatch about as follows : | | Eggs laid September 1, 1875 Average dates Station., ‘Latitude. of hatching A Will h À Wili hatch PT Locust k P ; Plague Fort Garry . 50° 1264 hours of temperat’e 60° by June 30); Early in July, 1876 June Breckenridge} 46.5 [1410 s e ae une 30| “ 5 “ |3d week in May Yankton. . 2.5 140 sy = ae a gy une ‘ Middie May North Platte| 41.5 |1434 08 re y April 30| ‘* mae | First of May Dodge City . 5 [1404 j “36 ae Nov. 30| During Dec , 1875 April Corsicana, . a9 1320 “p hy y Oct. 311“ Nov, E | March This table agrees roughly with the dates published in Riley's Locust Plague, p. 97, but is here given only as a sample of what should be possible when we have a better determination of the heat of incubation and have actual observations of the tempera- ture of the soil. In such case we should week by week, as the - season advances, make up a statement of the actual progress of the eggs towards the completion of their period of incubation, thus giving the husbandman abundant warning of the birth of the young insect, and giving him more precise data by which to determine, in any case, the best date to plant or sow in order to avoid the ravages of the pests.—Cleveland Abbe. : Forster’s TERN IN FLORIDA.—Forster’s terns (Sterna forsteri Nutt.) were quite common here for two months, November an December, 1879. One specimen was secured. Mr. J. A. Allen (On Mammals and Birds of East Florida) says, “I have no evi- dence of its occurrence here at this season.” — Thomas W. Wilson, Seville, Volusia Co., Fla. first of March the weather was warm and spring-like, but after _ that it became so cold that the pools were coated with ice several : Another peculiarity of this season was the excessive drought in May, which dried up several of the pools. Since then the rains have filled them again, but the salamanders have disap- * 1880. } Zoölogy. 739 peared. They were not developed enough at the time to leave | the water, and so probably perished. „In one pool I found an abundance of the half-grown larva of H. pickeringu or Hyla versicolor, but they were the only Batrachians seen. Usually one can find as many as six varieties in this place. Either the tree toad larvæ were not hatched, or they have a way of caring for themselves when the water dries up, better than other species.—S. P. Monks. Fresu WATER JELLY FisH.—An adult medusa belonging to the order Trachymedusea, allied to Aglauropsis from the coast of Brazil, was observed by Mr. Sowerby in the tank in the water lily house in Regent’s Park, London, June roth. It occurred in great abundance in perfectly fresh water at a temperature of 90° Fahr. Mr. Sowerby observed the medusa feeding on water fleas (Daphnia). The specimens were adult males, and are described by Prof. Ray Lankester in Mature for June 17, under the name of Craspedacusta sowerbii. It was probably introduced from the West Indies. This is the first instance known of fresh water jelly fishes; Hydra and Cordylophora being, so far as we are aware, the only fresh water Hydroids. The succeeding number of the same journal contains additional valuable descriptions of the same medusz by Prof. Allman and Mr. G, J. Romane _ Zoorocicar. Nores.—It seems that kangaroos have increased in the Australian colonies so as to become a serious evil. On one run, in the Stanhope district, it was computed that there were at least 60,000 head of marsupial animals, every one o visited by Mr. Inglis, there were 40,000 head of sheep, and the owner had destroyed more than that number of kangaroos. It is well known that snakes swallow their young in case of dan- ger; Mr. E. G. Blackford now states that ten sharks, two feet in length and apparently about six months old, were taken from the stomach of a mackerel shark (Lammna punctata), as if they had got there to avoid danger. Still it is probable that sharks may * eat their young. Mr. W. S. Ball, of Greensboro, N. C., com- plains that swarms of honey bees attacked his grapes, “ destroy- ing nearly half.” —The first part of a new volume, the first, of Bronn’s Thier-reichs, on the Protozoa, by Dr. O. Bütschli, has appeared. This will undoubtedly prove to be the best general work on these organisms, and will be of much interest to micro- scopists. An English work on the Infusoria, by W. Saville Kent, is announced to begin to appear in the autumn in monthly parts. — In Prof. Newton’s article on the goose, in the Encyclopedia Britanica, he remarks that the predominance of the white variety in domestication may be due in part to the practice of plucking the birds alive, “for it is well known to bird-keepers that a white feather is often produced in place of one of the natural color that - 740 General Notes. [October, has been plucked out.” The reviewer adds that saddle-galls on horses become covered with white hairs; and that he possesses a black cat which has a white star on its head where it was picked by a fowl in kittenhood. The stridulating organs of spiders have been described by Westring and Mason Wood; those of still other spiders (Steatoda guttata and Linyphia tenebricola), of both sexes, have recently been described by Mr. F. M. Campbell.—— It is claimed by M. Pasteur that earth-worms carry about the bacteridium germs of the disease called anthrax in their alimentary canal; that the dust of the earth mixed with the infected blood gets blown about the herbage with the worms’ excrement, and the cattle devouring the grass become infected. Soon to be pub- lished is Mr. St. George Mivart’s “ The Cat; an introduction to dibranchiate Cephalopoda or cuttles, Dr. Brock discusses the phylogeny of these animals. He thinks that the Octopods, or poulps, have been derived from shell-bearing forms, Argonauta having, in the young, the rudiment of a shell capsule, while Cirro- teuthis, which is not a true Decapod, has an internal shell; while the ink-bag is originally a part of the hind gut, in Sepia only is it connected by a long efferent duct with the anus. He then asks how Sepia came to retain its shell, when in other cuttles it is sim- ply horny. He thinks that Sepia may be a direct descendant of the belemnites. ANTHROPOLOGY.! _ ANTHROPOLOGY AT THE AMERICAN AssocraTion.—Of the hos- pitality and general enthusiasm which characterized the Boston meeting, accounts will be found elsewhere and especially in the Daily Boston Advertiser from Aug. 26th to Sept. 2. Our purpose is to give a list of the anthropic papers and a brief sketch of their- contents. I. Ethnology of Africa. A. S. Bickmore. 2. Myths and folklore of the Iroquois. Erminnie A. Smith, 3. Prehistoric altars of Whiteside county, Ill. W. C. Holbrook. . Theory imiti emocracy i D. W. Ross. 5. Ancient moun s near Naples, Ill. J. G. Henderson. , Stone imp C. Abbott. ` R 10. Indications of Pre-Indian occupancy of the Atlantic coast of North America ~ _ Subsequent to that of palæolithic man. Abbott. pe 11. The probable existence in America of the prehistoric practice of trepanning '" : the cutting of rondelles or amulets from the skull. R. J. Farquharson. eae _ Edited by Prof. Oris T. Mason, Columbian College, Washington, D. C. 1880. | Anthropology. 741 12. The Dacotah tribes. Gen. H. B. Carr 13. Textile fabrics of the ea a abahan, of the Mississippi valley. J. G. Hen- aerson, 14. Engraved tablet from a mound in Ohio. W. J. Knowlton. I5. Japanes ese cave orse 10, Ancient agricultural implements of sto . McAdan 17. nay. a et flint mines and hue oR of Mamati Wyandot and erns. . C. Hove 18. The lasaincerion of kindred by the N. A. rere J. W. Powell. 19. On the Iroquois language es. Erminnie 20, On the mek of the Indian languages. H W Po well, 21. Remarks on the mound-builders. J. F. Everhart. 24. Cablinasaaibeous existence of mastodon and man in America. R. J. Farqu- 23. Conventionalism in ornamentation of ancient American pottery. F. W. nam. 24. a = occurrence in New England of carvings by the Indians of the N. W. of Ameri F. W. Putn 25. i language bie S A e dances among North American Indians. J. G. 26. The topographical survey of the works at Aztalan, Wis. S. D. Reet. 27. The military system of the emblematic mound: builders. S. D. Peet. 28. Improved stereograph for delineating the outlines of crania. A. S. Bi sen: 29. Feeling and function as factors in human se Pilg Lester F, War » The uses of the “ chungkee-stone.”’ Alfred M. Ma 31. Relation “ the archeology of Vermont to ae of the dimen States. Geo, H. Perkin 32. Exhibi toe of some gambling games of the Iroquois. Erminnie A Sm 33. Parturition in a kne eeling posture as practiced by the women of the piri 5 uilding and stone- -grave peoples. C. Foster Williams. 34. The antiquity of man in Eastern America geologically considered. Henry C. Lew 35. A comparison between the shells of Kjökkenmöddings and present forms of the peci . 5. Morse. . Asnityisies of Onondaga county, N. Y. W. W. M. Beauchamp. The address at the opening of the subsection of anthropology, by Major J. W. Powell, the chairman, was upon the social organi- zation of the Wyandotte Indians. This was an original investi- gation covering the entire sociological system of that tribe. The. material was gathered from Gray Eyes, a Wyandotte chief, during a six months’ residence in Washington the past year. Below ' will < found abstracts of the papers in the order s the titles abov Gə an African continent. The map will be on permanent exhib fioa at T rat of Natural History, New York city. . Smith, having spent a season among the Onondagas ‘eink Kab facilities for studying their habits, gave a series of myths collected by the people themselves. . The prehistoric altars of Illinois are structures made of slabs of undressed stones in two or three layers, about ten inches high, and containing charred remains. r. Ross took issue with Mr. Freeman in his theory of the origin of democratic institutions as found at the ATN time in Alpine communities. : . 742 General Notes. [October, 5. The author of this paper is himself an enthusiastic explorer, and exhibited a collection of crania and mound relics which he had exhumed with his own hands. The theory of a homogeneous race of mound-builders appears to be confuted by these investi- gations. Indeed the author seems to think that there were as many races of mound-builders as there are of modern Indians. 6. Mr. McAdams, an intelligent farmer from that portion of Illinois lying near to the Mississippi bottoms and the mouth of the Illinois river, has spent twenty-five years in the explorations which he described in a straightforward, modest communication which held the attention of the subsection undiminished to its close. . Prof. Morse began by saying that the Japanese, as a race, are exceedingly fond of the past, and that in almost every well-to-do tradesman’s house could be found a fine collection of ancient objects of interest. The author of the paper is of the opinion that the shell-heap pottery is very ancient, and that the indica- tions of Aino origin are fallacious. 8. Col. Mallery has been employed for the past few months, under the patronage of Gen. Walker and of the Bureau of Eth- nology in ‘Washington, in devising a scheme for securing a census of the untaxed Indians .of the United States, that will include answers to all questions bearing upon their sociology. This was one of the most carefully prepared and valuable papers read before the subsection. 9, 10. Dr. Abbott is well known as the discoverer of palæo- lithic implements in the drift gravels of New Jersey. His latest investigations lead him to conclude that there were two areas of population in New Jersey anterior to the modern Indians; the palzolithic people of the drift and a later argillite chipping pe? ple, whose implements are found in the marsh deposits overlying the drifts. ; 11. Dr. Farquharson exhibited a series of crania upon which trepanning had been practiced after death, and among them one or two which gave indications of operation during life. 12. The paper of Gen. Carrington was rather a noble plea for the Indians, founded upon long acquaintance, than a scientific dis- sertation. ; 13. Mr. Henderson exhibited before the subsection, specimens of the raw material of every substance known to have been us the subject, together with the author’s own observations. 14. The tablet was exhibited and resembles very closely the celebrated Cincinnati tablet. : - Prof. Morse gave an account of personal investigation of 1880. | Anthropology. 743 pottery and remains. 16. The agricultural implements described were a set of thin flaked hoes collected on the ground by the author. I r, Hovey having examined and surveyed the caves men- tioned in his paper, described the remains of man and of his industry to be met with therein. 18. Major Powell, with the aid of the entire corps of the Bureau of Ethnology under his charge, has constructed a series of charts to accompany a new edition to his Introduction to the Study of the North American Indians. These charts, by means of simple and graphic symbols, indicate at a glance nine genera- tions, including that of ego, four above and four below, also sex, consanguinity, affinity and the effect of marriage upon the gens of the offspring. The paper of Major Powell was an accurate account of the purport of these charts, which are to be litho- graphed and distributed to all anthropological observers. 19. Mrs. Smith gave a sketch of the grammar and vocabulary of two Iroquois dialects, at the same time presenting a manu- script collection of words and phrases. : 20. Major Powell read a very carefully prepared paper, giving the results of a long study upon the structure of our American Indian languages. As the paper will be published in full an abstract will not be attempted. _ 21. Mr. Everhart’s paper was a recital of his own experiences in mound exploration. A very puzzling slab or tablet was Japanese caves under great difficulties, and the finding of ancient n and activity to gratify them. The gustatory and sexual appetites and, we would add, desire to be at peace with climatic environ- 744 General Notes. [ October, ment) are the primary and essential factors. Mr. Ward presented an elaborate schedule of human wants. 30. Mr. Mayer presented to the association a beautiful speci- men of a polished “ chungkee stone,”\and from indications upon it argued that the common interpretation of their function is correct. 31-34. No abstracts have been furnished. 35. The purport of this paper may be learned from Mr. Morse’s letter in the NATURALIST for September, pp. 656-662 e next meeting will be held in Cincinnati, with Col. Garrick Mallery as chairman, and Judge J. G. Henderson as secretary. A section of anthropology will then be formed. The Saratoga volume of the association, just issued, contains the following papers in full : he Sign Language of the North American Indians, by pathes — U.S.A. On the Explanation of cpa gan. Tr papais sion, by Lou Notes on the Archæology of t Cha amplain valley, b y Gore H. Perkin Mythologie, Philosophy. Kaden of Malet John W. Powell, vice- pendi sec- UNSYMMETRIC LANCE-POINTS. “uw hits examing the archeologi- cal collections of Peter Neff, Esq., at Gambier, Ohio, I discovered. a flint lance or arrow-point of such peculiar shape and workman- ship as to merit a figure and full greatest width, has been a shaped. Across the face of the stone there extends a natural vein having the appearance of a flaw. It is ev vi- dent that after undertaking to form a concluded to make a smaller an more perfect specimen by ingeniously using this vein for one of the sides. The accompanying figure brings out this fact clearly. The specimen is wg Mairi and beautifully formed. arks from an attempt to break the specimen along the vein, are seem near both extremities. On page 292, ol. xi, of the NATURALIST, Prof. symmetrical arrow-heads and allied forms, one of which (Fig. 8) bears $0 “Found ee E Walhonding, Coshocton nope a resemblance to our specimen — sg emg o lead to the inquiry whether the ie same eae may not bE) ives in both cases. —E. T. Nelson, Oho A Unive ersity. 1880. ] Geology and Palecntology. oe GEOLOGY AND PALAIONTOLOGY. Tue Bap Lanns oF THE WinD RIVER AND THEIR FAUNA.— These bad lands are situated in the upper drainage basin of the Big Horn river in Western-central Wyoming. Dr. Hayden, who first reported their existence, has referred them to the Wasatch ocene (see AMERICAN NATURALIST 1878, p. 831). Explorations which I have recently set on foot and placed in charge of Mr. J. _L. Wortman, have resulted in the discovery of an interesting fauna, which quite confirms Dr. Hayden’s determination of the age of the formation. Mr, Wortman has obtained nineteen species of Mammalia, of\which nine are new to science, and five have been already found in the Wasatch beds of New Mexico. The follow- ing list is given preliminary to further remarks. Rodentia (1-2); Plesiarctomys,two species. Mesodonta; Hyopsodus, Pantolestes,and Lomitherium, one species each (5). Chiroptera. (6) Vesperugo anemophilus sp. nov. Represented by the ante- rior part of a skull without lower jaw. Dentition, I. ?C.1; P-m. ; M. 3. Posterior molar narrow, its posterior external V. rudi- mental ; first and second molars subequal. Fourth premolar ele- vated and acute, with an external basal cingulum; second pre- molar simple, acute. Profile steeply elevated behind orbital region, less steep in front of it; zygomas wide. ength from interorbital region to above canine alveolus in front .o10; inter- orbital width .oo5 ; width of zygomas .o12; do. between outsides of last molar teeth .010; length of molar series .008; do. of true molars .004. Creodonta. (7) Protopsalis tigrinus gen. et spec. nov. Char. gen. Probably Oxyenide} but as the type species is only known from two true molars and a canine of the inferior series with bones of the skeleton, this point remains to be ascertained. Femur with a weak third trochanter. Inferior molars, one like those of Oxy- VOL, XIV.—No, X. 48 746 General Notes. [ October, 025 m.; transverse .014; vertical .022. Length of heel of tuber- cular sectorial .006; width of same .oo6. Vertical diameter of base of crown of canine .022. Depth of mandible at last molar 042. Length of femur (condyles inferential) .300; diameter of shaft at middle .034. (8) Stypolophus strenuus Cope. (9) Siypolophus bicuspis sp. nov. Smaller than the S, minor Filh., hence the least species of the genus. It is represented by a nearly complete skull with entire dentition of both jaws. Premaxillary bones rather elongate ; general form of skull that of a civet. Crowns of second and third superior premolars compressed, with a prominent cusp behind the principal one. First and second true molars with two distinct external cusps and a strong external basal cingulum. Inferior first premolar one-rooted; third with a posterior heel, 5. (11) Coryphodon sp. indet. Perissodactyla. (12) Palæosyops borealis sp. nov. Founded on a portion of the right fevidens. Anterior median tubercle well developed ; anterior and posterior cingula strong, not rising to inner cones. A low ridge extending outwards and forwards from posterior cone. Enamel smooth. Differs from P, junior Leidy in the presence of the 1n- termediate tubercle and crest, and in the weak external cingulum. gth of true molar series .063; diameters of first true molar, anteroposterior, .019; transverse, .020 tema in front of the second inferior premolar. Presence of first inferior premolar not ascertained. Fourth inferior premolar with- out posterior cusps. Superior molars with an angular ridge extending inwards from each inner cusp. Last inferior molar with heel. This genus differs from Oligotomus in the simplicity of the fourth premolar, which has, in the latter, two posterior 1880. | Geology and Paleontology. 747 cusps. The V-shaped crests of the inferior molars separate it from Hyracotherium. Char. specif. The heels of the second and third premolars have a median keel; the third only has an ante- rior tubercle. The crest of the heel of the fourth forms an im- perfect V. Heel of the last true molar small. No. cingula; enamel smooth. Length of molar series .o80; of true molars 044; of last molar .o1g; depth of ramus at first premolar .021; at last molar .031. Second specimen. Diameters of crown of last Superior molar: anteroposterior .014; transverse .o16. About the size of the Hyrachyus agrestis. Three individuals. (14) Hyracotherium angustidens Cope, jaws of three specimens. (13) Hyracotherium vasacciense Cope, one jaw. (16) Hyraco- therium vortmant sp. nov. About the size of the H. tapirinum Cope, but. with the opposite cones of the inferior molars not united by cross-crests. There is a tubercle between the posterior pair of the first inferior true molar. The anterior tubercles of the fourth premolar are close together, and there is a strong cusp anterior to these. No basal cingulum on this tooth. Length of molars 3 + 4 + 5, .025; depth of ramus at p. m. Iv .o18. (17) Hyracotherium craspedotum sp. nov. Size of H. tapirinum, but the tubercles of the inferior molars are not connecte Cross crests, and they all possess a strong external basal cingu- lum, which also extends round on the posterior base of the land II true molars. Heel of fourth premolar with a diagonal ridge; them. Second premolar with narrow heel; last true premolar with wide heel. Length of molar series .056; of true molars 033; of last molar .014 ; depth of ramus at second premolar; .o18 at last true molar .o with wide heels, each with a single low ridge. ngth of molar Superior molar at No. 2: anteroposterior .012 , transverse .O1 (19) Lophiodon ventorum sp. nov. Larger than the last, and differ ing in having a large heel of the last true molar, and an om the preceding it appears that this fauna, though | in general that of the Wasatch Eocene, present certain peculiarities, 748 General Notes. [ October, Passing by the absence of fishes and crocodiles, which may yet be found, we have, for the first time, the association of Pal@osyops with Coryphodon, genera hitherto characteristic of the Bridger and Wasatch beds respectively. The occurrence of true Lophiodons, for the first time exactly determined in America, is an interesting circumstance. Bats have not been recognized hitherto in the Wasatch formation.—Z. D. Cope. GEOGRAPHY AND TRAVELS. Tue ROYAL GEOGRAPHICAL Society’s EXPEDITION TO LAKES Nyassa AND TANGANYIKA.—The serious misfortune which befell this exploring party in the loss of their leader, Mr. Keith John- ston, soon after their departure from the coast,? has not prevented the successful execution of the work assigned them. Mr. Thom- son, who succeeded to the command, has completed his explora- tions, arrived back at Zanzibar and sailed for England about the middle of last July. His journey is the most important made in Africa during the past year. It is to be regretted that no obser- vations could be taken, and that therefore Mr. Thompson’s maps are not strictly accurate, but his descriptions, in his reports to the Society, of the countries and peoples visited, are clear and full, and contain much of great interest. After the death of Mr. Johnston on the 28th of June, 1879, the Crossing the River Ruaha, one of the chief branches of the Lufigi, at about long. 37° E., lat. 8° S., it was found quite un- navigable even for canoes, owing to the rapids and rocks. The Uranga, the other branch of the Lufigi, is, however thought to be navigable for the largest river boats as far as the point visited at Mkomokero, in the M’henge country, and probably further. The M’henge country is a plain kept constantly damp through- out the year at the base of the M’henge mountains, and is neces- sarily very fertile. It is about forty miles in length by twenty broad, and occupies the angle formed by the junction of the Ruaha and Uranga. The le are a superior race to the neigh- boring tribes. Their houses are generally built on poles, and are of the most peculiar character, in some cases being built on a platform with a huge roof (the house being circular) projecting 1 Edited by Ertis H. YARNALL, Philadelphia, 2 See NATURALIST for October, 1879, p. 660. this result; if the surface is not damp and marshy it becomes a desert.’ 1880. } Geography and Travels. 749 all around and reaching a much lower level than the platform, so that nothing is seen but a large cone elevated on poles. The Uchungwe mountains were next crossed. They are a large num- ber of mountains separated from each other and trending gener- ally north and south along the edge of the great plateau reaching to the west, rounded in appearance and covered with vegetation. From east to west there is a general rise in altitude up to 7000 feet, and further south to 8000 and gooo. The plateau is about 6700 feet above the sea ; its structure is of soft clay-slate till near Nyassa, where the rocks become volcanic. ; Across this table land of Eastern and Central Africa, they pur- sued their way through a bleak, monotonous moorland-like country, very scantily inhabited and called Uhehe. The inhabi- tants (Wahehe) depend to a great extent upon their cattle. The climate is Very trying. The temperature varies throughout the twenty-four hours from above 80° to below 50° with exceedingly cold north-west winds. On approaching the northern end of Lake Nyassa, Thomson western edge of the great plateau. He reached Mbungo, near the head of the lake on September 22, 1879. : Starting again from Mbungo on the 28th, the ‘expedition reached Pambete, on the southern shores of Lake Tanganyika, on the 4th of November. The width of the belt of land which sep- arates these two great navigable lakes was found to be two hun- dred and fifty miles. ; The Konde country which they first traversed lies at the north- west corner of Nyassa, and occupies a deep triangular indenta- tion in the central plateau which bounds it on all sides except on the east. “ Near the lake extends a broad plain of wonderful fer- tility, with a large population.” At a height of 3000 feet they ound a very broken, ridgy country. From the western limit of . lAta meeting of the Royal Geographical Society, Mr. Francis Galton, in speak- south dinary variations of temperature, marked atmospheric disturbances and peculiarities. in the direction of the winds south of the Cape of ope. “ The southern it attained a height of 7000 or 8000 feet. The ld, therefore, be little doubt that the deflection eae 750 General Notes. [ October, Konde, long. 33° 45’ E. and lat. 9° 22’S., the extremely steep face of the plateau commences, and the ascent from 3300.to 6500 feet above sea level in the country of Nyika was made. The highest point reached was on the Munboya mountains at the ele- vation of 8180 feet. From these mountains the ground descends through barren woodland till long. 32° 45’ is reached, where the altitude is only 3300 feet. To the west Nyika is bounded by the Chingambo mountains, running north and south and rising to 5000 feet. These mountains are in long. 32° 45’ E. and lat. 90° 5’S. On crossing them they were found to slope away gradu- ally to the west. They then passed through Mambwe and Ulungu where the wooded ridges rise to 5000 feet to Tanganyika. Mr. Thomson believes the rise in the waters of Tanganyika to be periodical and according to the ainount of rainfall. Leaving Pambete on November soth, Thomson established a permanent camp for his expedition at Liendwé, on the Lofu river, and then taking a few of his followers advanced into the country of Itawa, occupying a very hilly plateau and exceedingly diffi- cult to march through. “There was not a mile of level ground, but hills followed hills, all of the most precipitous nature, varied . only here and there by some lower ridge.” The adjoining coun- smooth rounded outlines, except where they face the lake. Large streams are numerous and must make the country almost impassa- ble during the rains.” The people also were most excitable and ofa current.” The barrier seen by Stanley was found swept away ; e river, narrowed at this point, rushing through with great force so as to be utterly impassable for canoe or boat. “The barrier of mud and papyrus was swept away either two or three years ago, the waters of the lake having been rising till that time; since then there has been a fall of seven feet, according to the observa- tions of Mr. Hore at Ujiji, who was also the first to see the Lu- kuga as an indisputable river.”! From here he continued on to- 1 Mr. E. C. Hore, of the London Missionary Society, visited the Lukuga in April, 1879, and found it a large river flowing out of the lake. From the high ridge above the stream he saw it flowing outward as far as the eye could reach towards the Lu- alaba. Cameron and Stanley both visited the Lukuga in the dry season.— Lior. ` 1880. ] Microscopy. 751 Kasenge and Ujiji. No details of his return journey have been received as yet. He is known, however, to have followed the Lukuga for many days on its course to the Lualaba or Congo. He then returned by the lake to his camp, and finally reached the coast by a new route past the unvisited Lake Hikwa. At the same time that Mr. Thomson was crossing from Ny- assa to Tanganyika, the journey was being made by Mr. James Stewart, of the Mission station at Livingstonia. He left the for- mer lake at Kambwe lagoon about twenty-five miles south-west from Mbungo, on October 14, 1879. The ascent to the plateau was not so steep here as the R. G. S. expedition found it to be, and was accomplished in two days, when the elevation of 3900 feet was attained. Continuing to keep to the south-west of the route of Thomson, he found the average elevation of the plateau 4700 feet. The rain fall of the country is large, and its climate cool and bracing. The route over this plateau was a remarkably easy one, gradually rising from 3yoo feet to 5400 at the ridge overlooking Tanganyika, and there is not one difficult ascent. The descent to the lake is gradual, and took two days. The distance from Kambwe lagoon to Pambete was found to be 254 miles. Here he met Mr. Thomson and remained with him until his departure, when Mr. Stewart returned to Nyassa, reaching it again on December 3d. The homeward march was only 232 miles in length, and could be shortened probably to 210. In Chungu he found the trees thickly covered with large cater- pillars three or four inches long and as thick as the fore finger. The natives were gathering them in great numbers, to preserve them for food. One kind was a light pea-green color, the other dark with white spots and sharp spines on the back. MICROSCOPY :.' PERMANENT Microscopic PREPARATIONS OF Prasmopium.—Mr. - H. Gage advises picric acid as a means of hardening this inter- esting motile form of the Myxomycetes, without change of color in twenty-five per cent. alcohol. ‘This department is edited by Dr. R. H. Ward, Troy, N. Y. 752 General Notes. | October, PERMANENT Microscopic PREPARATIONS OF AMPHIBIAN BLOOD. —The very excellent method of drying the corpuscles of mam- malian blood on the microscopic slide, is not applicable to the much more bulky corpuscles of Amphibia. The corpuscles of the latter are sure to be distorted and seamed in drying; hence various methods of preserving the corpuscles moist have been tried with varying success. The following very great modification of the method proposed by Ranvier in his treatise on histology,' has been in use for some time in the Anatomical Laboratory of Cornell University, and has given uniformly excellent results. Preparations made three years ago are quite as good as at first. Three or.four drops of fresh blood are allowed to fall into 10 cc, of normal salt solution (common salt 750 milligrams, water 100 cc.) preferably contained in a high narrow vessel like a graduate glass or beaker. The mixture of blood and salt solu- aqueous solution of picric acid added with constant stirring. After the corpuscles have settled, as much of the supernatant liquid as possible is poured off, and in its place is put about an equal volume of normal salt solution. The corpuscles are allowed to settle, the liquid poured off and another volume of d -ibis 3 salt solution added, >This is continued until the salt solution acquires only a faint yellow tinge. The use of the salt solution is, first, to dilute the blood in order to avoid distortion of the corpuscles, and second, to wash away the picric acid so that the subsequent staining will be more satisfactory. After pouring off the last salt solution, there is put in its place .10 cc, of a mixture of five parts of Frey’s carmine and ninety- five parts of picrocarmine. The corpuscles will stain in from one to fifteen hours. drop of the agitated mixture should be exam- ined occasionally to ascertain when the staining is sufficient. The | nucleus should be deep red, and the body of the corpuscle yel- low or pinkish. ; en the staining is completed, as much stainer as possible should be poured off, and in its place 10 or 15 cc. of acid glyc- erine (glycerine 100 cc., acetic or formic acid I cc.). This mix- re of corpuscles and glycerine may be placed in a bottle and used at any time, it being simply necessary to agitate the mixture slightly or to take up some of the sediment with a pipette and mount it precisely as any other glycerine preparation. Summary—ı. The fresh blood is first diluted with about fifty times its volume of normal salt solution. ` 2. To this diluted'bldod is added ten times as great a volume of a saturated aqueous solution of picric aci acid. ; 3. The picric acid is washed away with normal salt solution. 1 Traité technique de Histologie; p. 195. 1880. | Scientific News. 753 4. The corpuscles are stained with picrocarmine, or a mixture of this and Frey’s carmine. . they are preserved in acid glycerine, and may be mounted for the microscope at any time.—Read at the sub-section of Micro- scopy of the A. A. A. S., by Simon H. Gage, Ithaca, N. Y. :0: SCIENTIFIC. NEWS. — The U. S. Entomological Commission had a prolonged ses- sion in June, immediately after the adjournment of Congress, and since then the members and their assistants have been in the field. As during the previous year the labor was divided, so that Prof. Riley took charge of the cotton worm investigation, while Profs. Packard and Thomas prosecuted the study of the Rocky Mountain locust in the Western Territories. The organization of Prof. Riley’s parties is as follows: Prof.-Stelle proceeded to Texas, making his headquarters some- where in the Colorado Bottom, where he was assisted by Judge W. J. Jones, of Virginia Point, near Galveston. Prof. Barnard made his headquarters at Vidalia, Louisiana, so as to fully study those portions of Louisiana and Mississippi y ich were neglected in 1878 and 1879 on account of yellow ever. In Mississippi, Prof. R. W. Jones, of the State University, assisted by Dr. E. H. Anderson, of Kirkwood, and Mr. Lawrence Johnson, of Holly Springs, represented the Commission among the cotton lands of that State. classification of the cotton belt with reference to the hibernation of the insect. a o Ir. E. A. Schwarz, who has been associated with Prof. Riley from the beginning of the investigation, and Mr. W. H. Patton, an experienced entomologist of Connecticut, remained at the head- quarters of the Commission in Washington during Prof. Riley’s 754 Scientific News. [ October, absence, and took the field later in the season at points to which future experience may direct. Prof. Riley has been at various . points in Mississippi, Alabama and Georgia. He has traveled from point to point superintending the work and advising with his assistants. Towards the end of September he expects to go to California to investigate the facts concerning the cultivation of Pyrethrum, which may prove a valuable and safe antidote to the cotton worm. He has already taken steps to introduce this plant into the Southern States. | In their investigation of the Rocky Mountain locust, Profs. Packard and Thomas have been assisted by Prof. Aughey and r. Lawrence Bruner, of Nebraska, Dr. John Marten, of Carbon- dale, Illinois, and Mr. Allen Whitman, of Minneapolis, Minn. In Utah, Messrs. J. L. Barfoot, Orson Howard and Mr. E. E Wood, of Chicago, have rendered assistance. Prof. Packard visited Wyoming and Utah, while Mr. Bruner, his assistant for Montana, left home July 1st, going from Bis- marck overland to Fort Keogh, and thence up the Yellowstone valley to Bozeman. When last heard from he was at Helena ex route for Benton. He was in the field two months. Prof. Thomas left Carbondale on the ioth of July for an ex- tended exploration of those parts of Dakota and British America which embrace some of the most important regions in the perma- nent breeding grounds of the locust. The result of the locust investigations for this season shows a remarkable immunity from the attacks of Caloplenus spretus, the species of locust under consideration. A single swarm was observed in Utah, and local scattered flights of inconsiderable importance in Dakota and Minnesota, and Eastern Oregon, near Walla Walla. For the first time for many years Montana has been free from the locust, only scattered individuals having occurred in the Yellowstone valley. The researches of the Com- mission now carried on for four seasons has cleared up the question of the permanent breeding grounds of the locust, which exists in Montana, in the valleys of the Upper Missouri, the Judith basin and the Yellowstone valley with its tributaries. From this region the swarms visit the border States to the eastward, and also pass down into Utah and Wyoming. Colorado is mostly visited by swarms local to that State, while large swarms have arrived from Wyoming in former years. The second report of the Commis- sion is in press and will appear in November, and the third is im preparation, — : The investigation of the locust will be resumed in the spring of - 1881, Prof. Packard designing to spend the month of June in por- tions of Utah, Idaho and Montana, so as to bring the work down to June 30th of next year, when by law the special field work con- nected with the investigation of the Rocky Mountain locust ceases. It is believed that this locust will never be so destructive as in the 1880, | Scientific News. 755 past, and due credit has been given by disinterested persons in Kansas, Nebraska, Colorado and Utah, to the practical value of the efforts of the Entomological Commission in obtaining and diffusing such a knowledge of its breeding habits, migrations and distribution as to abundantly justify Congress in ordering the investigation. country and in Europe, in the closing paragraph, which we trans- fer to our pages. “ There will be, we presume, one further report for 1878—the last year of the existence of the Geological and Geographical Survey of the Territories. Though this mode of annual publication necessarily involves incompleteness, and is apt to overload the reports with unimportant detail, there can be no doubt that the series of volumes issued by this Survey form a permanent record of great value, which for the districts to which they refer, will serve as the basis of all subsequent work. It is not without regret that one can regard the cessation of these vol- umes. On this side of the Atlantic, where they can be calmly considered apart altogether from scientific rivalry and political entanglements, they have been received with general approbation. It is impossible not to be struck by the largeness of the plan con- ceived by Dr. Hayden for the scope of his survey. Not geology merely but every branch of inquiry touching the natural history, archeology, geography and meteorology of the Territories, was embraced within his plan, and has been illustrated as far as the Means at his disposal would allow. To have conceived this broad and scientific scheme, and to have possessed the adminis- trative power to secure and keep in working concert so large and able a body of observers, are qualities of no mean order, and deserve grateful recognition wherever an intelligent interest is taken in the general progress of science and in that human advancement which scientific progress insures.” Haldeman, Professor of Philology in the University of among them that of the oldest fossil known at that time. From 1851 to 1855 he occupied the chair of Natural History in the Uni- versity of Pennsylvania. In that year he took the same position in Delaware College, and at the same time became professor of 756 Scientific News. [ October, Geology and Chemistry in the Agricultural College of Pennsylva- nia. He was the.author of numerous articles on conchology, entomology and paleontology, published in the various scientific magazines. His work, entitled “ Analytic Orthography,” con- sisting of investigations into the philosophy of language, obtained for him in England, the highest Trevelyan prize over eighteen competitors in 1858. — Mr. G. D. Smith, of Boston, died of paralysis August 6th, aged 46. He was a member of the firm of Palmer, Bachelder & Co., Boston, but was, from boyhood, a student and lover of nature. He devoted himself especially to the Coleoptera, amassing a col- lection of about 13,000 species, North American and exotic, probably the largest private general collection of Coleoptera in the country. Mr. Smith published no scientific papers, but aided museums and entomologists by the loan and gift of specimens, and thus fostered the zeal of amateurs and local collectors. He was modest, amiable, generous and most industrious, and a loss to the entomologists of Cambridge and Boston, by whom he was held in high esteem. We understand that Mr. Smith’s collection is for sale; it would serve admirably as a general collection for a college or university museum. — Dr. Charles T. Jackson, well-known as a pioneer ‘in Ameri- can geology and mineralogy, died at Somerville, Mass., Aug. 29th. He was State Geologist of Maine (1836-8), Rhode Island (1839), and New Hampshire (1840), in 1847-50 was U, S. Surveyor of mineral lands in Michigan. He was the author of many gcologi- cal and mineralogical essays. Dr. Jackson was born at Plymouth, Mass., June 21, 1805. — Two eggs of the extinct great auk were sold by auction in Edinburgh recently, both being purchased by Lord Lilford, one at £100, the other at 102 guineas—probably the largest sum ever paid for a single egg, with the exception of that-of the moa, a single specimen of which was sold at the same place, in 1865, for — Messrs. A. F. Gray and R. E. Call invite the codperation of American conchologists in providing the necessary material for a monograph of the Unionidae of North America. It is de- signed to figure the anatomy of every species in detail, hence shells with their animals carefully preserved in alcohol are de- ed sired, : to the Saragossa sea. The plan embraces soundings, deep-sea temperatures and observations of the currents. ie Opinion Nacional of Caraccas, Venezuela, is publishing a series of articles by A. Ernst, on injurious insects and their 1880, | Proceedings of Scientific Societies. 757 parasites. The Miris maidis and Empusa musce have been dis- cussed. — Three excellent papers on the three climates of geology, by C. B. Warring, have lately appeared in the Penn Monthly. They are mainly critiques of Croll’s speculations. — Mr. George A. Bates, Naturalist Bureau, Salem, Mass., an- nounces the publication of Life on the Sea-Shore, or the Marine Animals of our Coasts and Bays, by James H. Emerton. — Prof. A. E. Grube, of the University of Breslau, died June 3d. He was born in 1812, and will be remembered by his valuable treatises on the invertebrates, especially the worms or Annelides, in the knowledge of which he was facile princeps. — Prof. E. B. Andrews, of the Geological Survey of Ohio, and author of one of its final reports, died Aug. 21st, aged 59. — Gen. A. J. Myer, the head of the U. S. Signal Service, died. Aug. 24th, aged 51. i E E PROCEEDINGS OF SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES. AMERICAN ASSOCIATION FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF SCIENCE, Twenty-ninth Meeting, Boston, Aug. 25 to Sept. 1, 1880.—This proved to be the largest meeting of the association ever held, and the members received a right royal welcome from the citizens of Boston. The address of the retiring president, Prof. George F. Barker, was on “Some modern aspects of the Life Question.” He said that at the outset a reply to the great question, What is Life? must be evaded by the assertion that the answer is not yet. However, one of the greatest results of modern research has been to establish the fact that living organisms have been brought _ absolutely within the action of the law of the conservation of energy, and that whether it be plant or animal, the whole of its energy must come from without itself; in fact, an animal like a machine only transforms its energy. Lavoisier’s Guinea pig Placed in the calorimeter, gave as accurate a heat return for the energy it had absorbed in its food, as any thermic engine would have done. He next referred to the origin of muscular contrac- tion, and arrived at the conclusion that it was due to electrical phenomena, adding the interesting fact that the electrical dis- charge was not carried to the muscle by the nerve, but was gen- erated within the muscle itself. He said in conclusion that physi- ologically considered life- has now no mysterious passages, no Sacred precincts into which the unhallowed foot of science may not enter, and that research has day by day diminished the phe- nomena supposed to be vital, and that sooner or later every action of the living body will be pronounced chemical or physical. The address of Mr. Alexander Agassiz, vice-president of sec- 758 Proceedings of Scientific Societies. [ October, tion B, was entitled, “ Palaontological and Embryological Devel- opment.” The speaker referred to the remarkable parallelism between the embryonic development of the members of a group and its palzontological history. This parallelism, which has been on the one side a strong argument in favor of design in the plan of creation, is now, with slight emendations, doing duty on the other as a newly discovered article of faith in the new biology. As a demonstration of the truth of such a parallelism, he pre- ‘sented a series of facts and generalizations resulting from his studies of the fossil and recent sea-urchins. In closing he insisted on the impossibility of tracing in the paleontological succession of the Echini anything like a sequence of genera. “N direct filiation can be shown to exist, and yet the very existence of persistent types, not only among Echinoderms, but in every group of marine animals, genera which have continued to exist without interruption from the earliest epochs at which they occur to the present day, would prove conclusively that at any rate some groups among the marine animals of the present day are the direct descendants of those of the earliest geological periods. When we come to types which have not continued as long, but yet which have extended through two or three great periods, we must likewise accord to theis ene representatives a direct descent from the older.” * “ Such descent we can trace, and trace as confidently as we trace a part of the population of orth America of to-day as the descendants of some portion of the population of the beginning of this century. But we can go no further with confidence, and bold indeed would he be who would attempt even in a single State to trace the genealogy of the inhabitants from those of ten years before. We had better acknowledge our inability to go beyond a certain point; anything beyond the general parallelism I have attempted to trace ‘which in no way invalidates the other proposition, we must recognize as hopeless.” Prof. A. M. Mayer read an eulogy on the late Prof. Joseph Henry. The botanists were entertained at the Botanic Garden by Prof. Asa Gray, who read an essay on the vegetation of the Rocky mountains. Prof. A. Hyatt also gave an evening lecture on the Laat aetna of Planorbis as an illustration of the doc- trine of evolutio The leme officers were elected for the next year, the meet- ing to be held at Cincinnati: president, Prof. G. J. Brush, of New Haven; secretary, Prof. C. V. Riley, of Washington ; treasurer, St. Louie? Soca. Prof. William Ete of Can Following are the titles of papers read in sects yi natural -history and geology: 1880. | Proceedings of Scientific Societies. 759 Comparative anatomy as a part of the medical curriculum. Harrison Allen aa species of Populus and Juglans by the young naked branches. W. Evidences of the effe ct of chemico- m oi influences in the evolution of branchi- pod cru cy uae Carl F. Giss aon on Japanese Bacia . S. Morse, n investigation Aa the e peach yellows. B. D. Halsted. Incomplete adaptation as ney T e oped of sex in plants. L. F. Ward. Evolution of parasitic plan hom yee a fruit trees; or the = called ae ‘light of the pear and twig blight of the apple tree. T.J. B Further notes on the liad a of Yucca, and on Pronuba and Prodoxus. €. V. ile Fossil Dinocerata in the E. M. Museum at bss Ni J: E. C HiH hi d : Origin f Felidz Preservation of fossil insects and plants at Maton creek. J. W. Pike. Menobranchus lateralis. P. Ho The endocranium and max illary suspensorium of the bee. G. Maclo Anatomy of the tongue in snakes pores — Sarin and in birds. a chitin of sections. Charles Sedgwick M The ye decade of the U. S. Fish Commission. Its plan of work and accom plished sults, leew cars $ on G. Brown Goode. Partial ı revisio of the nomenclature a the brain. Burt G. Wilder. The fo kat Monro in man and the domestic cat. Burt G. Wilder. The or ~ punts a part of the mammalian brain apparently not hitherto described. Wilder rt G. Plan of the cerebro- spinal nervous system. S, V. a The Cupriferous series in Minnesota. N. H. Win The excavation of the upper pasın and clove of tee Kaaterskill, Catskill mountains, Alexis A, Julia The Pulmonates of the hs leozoic period. J. W. D On the summation of m eer AA iroi Charles Sedgwick Mi Minot. Notice of a olen bibliography v hackney gt k Minot. Two new methods fighting i injurious insects . Coo Feeling and action as factors in human de velopment Lester T hoa fhe metamorphosis of Actin ha. E. B. Wils The rhythmical character of segmentation. W. K K. Broo The credit of the United States MEyo E. B. Eio tt. : Additional notes on the army worm ania ee Haw. ). C. V. Riley. The Spanish es and ye atc propagation ye AS miley. otes on k s and assars o The age of the copper toe ie a ie E we sg E. Wadsworth. eld work by amateurs. Ellen H. Walw Origin of gold placer deposits poke formation of a Thomas — Coals of the Galisteo in New Mexico. B. Auriferous gees of the e Upper Rio N gr Mexico, B. Silliman. Extension a ORE ANA formation in Massachusetts. W. O. Crosby and G. Subsidence peir Boron. A. S. Tiffany. IM n maximum synchronous glaciation. W. The — in the White Mountain ss stn agree Willard, and their contact George W. Eruptive Socks oÈ Mt. Ascutney. C. TH. Hitchcock. €s on Japanese faye gece E. S. Mors Recent practical resu of the cotton Sai inquiry by the U. S Entomological missio ig . Riley. Mineral discoveries i in Western ‘Nonh yrs K. y Humphreys. topo Anci Recent geology as illustrated in oe ions aon coe ‘Nort h Carolina.. W. C. — ped points peg Ee structure of mica veins in North Carolina. W. C. Kerr ew mode of vein nies "W. C. Kerr, Condition of the kames and moraines of New England, as bearing upon the date of the glacial epoch. G. F. Wright. ` 760 Proceedings of Scientific Societies. [Oct., 1880. Occurrence of tin at Winslow, Me. C. = n a On the gravel deposits of Key ucky: a J R. Prog On several horizons of Breccia in Keniucky, J. R Procto Method of preparing and ania ng w f micro- ikea C. H. Fernald. The giore of the rege! og Pilopelogical Club to the progress of ento- nology. B. Pickm The life habits of carta Bina fies CBombvliidæ). C: V. Riley. Remarks on tree crickets. C. V ey. Remarks on the early stages s blepharocera: C. V. Riley. On lpia joan ees of insects. . Ha x ogg The occurr of Aletia argillacea in Wigton, P. R. Hoy The migrations of the Rocky orig locust. on S. Padari, Jr. On wig oak geet. deformit H. A. Hag Todu case Co D. S. Som me points inthe anato my of the Coneidbe. E. L. Mark. Structure and development of certain hymenopterous galls. H. F. Bassett. No or piei haeo shige we yee ‘J. D, Putnam Contributions of apiculture to scie Address of the © porsiient of the e eny Club of A. A. A. S. a H. Scudder. The honey ants of the Garden ba the Gods — lorado. H. C. McCor On Phoxopteris aA eie E; = Fer ald. List of Co none a hatched mas a e hickory yi i. L. LeConte. the an ie Prodoxus decipien n. On the stru si of the mouth nieg in the Tepidopiera. E. Burgess. An essa ay on lightni ng bugs. J. L. Le Con On the Hessian fly. . A. Hagen On ‘some rare insect deformities. H. A. Ha agen n the — of the ne GN., Seay Gores characters in the uidee, R. Grote. 3 Scheme of the pes census ioe sas statistics of untaxed Indians. Garrick Exhibition of stone implements from the river drift of New Jersey. C. C. Abbott. Indications sÈ a ats Indian cage gli of the Atlantic coast of North America, sub- o that of palæoli n. Er G aott The De. pons H. B. Canin an baster qu vake ey sara" an other antiquities recently found in Mammoth, Wyandot uray ca H. C: Hov i Textile fabrics of an ancient rete Ra of the Misesingl valley. Pt. I. Material. Preparation of material and spinning, illustrated with specimens of bark, in uts. if “a Hend son spind pind | Engraved tablet from a mound in Ohio. W. J. Kno PBS >S 3 2 ® o ne ES TF | -S Ancient meai cult ultural al implements of stone. Wm. McAdams. D. A. Lyle. The lagiication vi ‘kindred by the N. A. Indians. J. W. Powell. On Miss Tepe ios Smith. well. è On the pr- of Indian languages. J. W Rem n the Roana. builders. J. F. Everhart, Contemporaieems. existence of mastodon and man in America. es Us dp wea Conventionalism in ornamentation of ancient pees u pottery. Se in New Teea. Haii by the Indians of ue ameze wet ast of America. Sign language and pantomimic po aay press the North American Indians. J. G. erson The topograp! hical su rvey of the works at Aztalan, eg SD. swe bioen military system of the emblematic | mound-builde S. D. Pee ; outlines of- paces A. S. Bickmore. The uses of the “ chungkee stone.” Alfi A red M. Mayer Fo - a a poise oor c forms of life in the central and lateral surfaces of ponds. Ep The value of bea water shed and water supply of the globe. F. L. Capen The sola of man in Eastern America geologically considered. Henry C. Lewis. THE AMERICAN NATURALIST. VoL. x1v.— NOVEMBER, 1880. — No. 11. THE ISLAND OF DOMINICA. BY F. M. ENDLICH. P)OMNICK has. always been veiled in a halo of mystery. Vague rumors of “smoking mountains,” of springs flow- ing “liquid sulphur,” and of caverns of prodigious dimensions have invested it with more than ordinary interest. The island was discovered by Columbus on his second west- ward voyage in 1493. It belongs to the “ Windward Group,” the whole of which form a portion of a circle directly east of the Caribbean sea. Geographically Dominica is located about at N. lat. 15°, and 61° long. W. of Greenwich, and its climate, conse- quently, is subtropical. Withcut entering into details, which here would carry us beyond our limits, it may be said that the entire Windward Group belongs to one geological system. Gen- erally speaking we may regard these islands—excepting Antigua, Barbadoes and Trinidad—as the highest remaining portions of an extensive eruption, the age of which falls near or into the _ Eocene period. From their orographic character, as well as from their relative position, the temptation is great to considey them the projecting points of the eastern side of one huge, serrated crater-rim. Detailed observations are too meagre as yet, how- ever, to attempt the establishment of any such hypothesis. Lithologically speaking the erupted material shown on Dominica strikingly resembles that of the southern Wasatch range. Even in special arrangement of the trachytic series the analogy is remarkable, It is furthermore borne out, on this and other : islands, by the general contours of elevations, and by the simi- larity of the effects produced by extensive erosion. Rising abruptly from the sea, the shores of Dominica afford VOL. XIV.—No, XI. 49 762 ` : The Island of Dominica. [November, comparatively few landing places, and unless a shelving beach can be found, the boat may not unfrequently be swamped in an attempt at landing. Owing to the character of the rocks com- posing the body of the island, erosive action has been productive of varied results. The immediate base is composed of hard, com- pact sanidine-trachyte ; overlying occurs a series of easily decom- posing conglomerates, while the higher portions are again formed by trachyte. In giving these facts, it may be stated that the southern end of the island is spoken of. Towards the high inte- rior and north, but few explorations have been accomplished. Wherever the more easily yielding conglomerates have been attacked by erosive agents, almost vertical walls and narrow gorges are found. Steep slopes are not wanting in the trachytes proper, but they seem to be owing less, perhaps, to erosion than to be the expression of original contour. Towards the interior the highest mountain reaches an absolute elevation of 5500 feet; within a very few miles of shore, how- ever, 3000 to 3500 feet are attained by a number of peaks. It would be difficult to imagine any more beautiful spot than the. southern end of Dominica. Combined with outlines which resemble the rigid stability of Alpine scenery is the luxuriant, sub-tropical flora. An abundance of moisture, equable tempera- ture and absence of the destructive hand of civilization allow full scope for the development of plant life, and have preserved for our admiration a region which cannot fail to call forth enthu- siasm. Few sights can be more charming than that of a high, vertical wall clothed throughout with abundant vegetation, exhib- _iting numerous shades of vivid green. The Roseau river is the most important watercourse of the island. It heads in the higher mountains, flows in a westerly direction, forms a fine waterfall near Laudat, and enters the sea on the leeward side of Dominica at the main port, the town of Roseau. _ From the earliest days, since its discovery, Dominica has been _ a bone of contention between England and France. Ample forti- _ fications, now allowed to decay, speak of the importance which each nation attached to its possession, By the treaty of Fon- tainebleau it was ceded to Great Britain, but in 1802 wos again recovered by France. Finally, in 1814, the former power once more added it to her list of colonies, and has retained it since that time. At the time of its discovery, and for many years after, A = 1880. ] The Island of Dominica. Ls 763 Dominica was one of the favorite resorts of the Caribs. This warlike nation here found mountains and water, fish in plenty and fruits in the valleys. From their strongholds in wild fastnesses they more than once issued upon aggressive warfare and severely harassed the settlers of neighboring islands. In the course of years, however, the Caribs have become greatly reduced in num- bers, until to-day there is but a mere handful remaining. It is certainly a subject for serious reflection to note the almost com- plete extermination of a once powerful people by the advance of civilized measures and by superior instruments of aggressive warfare. In view of our own vexed Indian question we may feel inclined to allow personal or national interests to warp judgment or to subvert justice. When, however, the same spectacle is seen from the standpoint of an unimpassioned observer, it assumes a totally different aspect. Dominica and Trinidad are said to con- tain the last surviving Caribs. On the former island perhaps one thousand may still be living, on the latter not so large a number. Secluded in the mountains of the interior, they are but rarely seen at the settlements. Chivalrous as they formerly were, they have retained to some extent their tribal characteristics of vener- ation for hereditary and accidental authority and good treatment of their women. These latter have been accustomed to wait upon the “lords of creation” most assiduously, and are rewarded by respect and far more consideration than is usually found among savages. In spite of former cannibalism the Caribs have often shown traits of greatness and magnanimity. At present they occupy a reservation set apart by the government. Peace- ably passing their time, they devote their energies to the manu- - facture of exceedingly tasteful baskets. Double plaiting renders - the latter waterproof, and the careful work bestowed upon them is recognized by the numerous uses to which they are put. T In physical appearance these people closely resemble the _ Nobler tribes of our North American Indians; long, straight, black fe : hair falls down over their shoulders; the cheekbones are prom- _ inent, nose flattened somewhat, mouth broad and chin massive. — Much lighter than the negro population, the color of their skin E. is yellow to brown. The influence of intermarriage between o negro and Carib is plainly perceptible in their descendants. A decided lightening of color, an improvement in features and a Stature as well as decreased curliness of the hair, denote the pres- 764 : The Island cf Dominica. { November, ence of blood which for many years controlled the Windward islands. Many of the girls belonging to this class, who may be found some distance away from the coast, are really quite pre- possessing in appearance. A total population of about 26,000, of which Roseau claims 3000, is ascribed to the island. As might be expected, the con- stant change of ruling power has had a detrimental effect upon the language spoken by the present, population. Defying alike the Parisian and the Englishman, a French patois is used as the means of lingual communication. Indolence in properly framing words on the part of the negro inhabitants, and perhaps an admix- ture of some Carib phrases or intonations have rendered it difficult for any one but a resident to understand what is spoken. Very few Caucasians are living on Dominica, as the mountainous character of the colony forbids extensive enterprises. Coffee was intro- duced, during the last century, from Martinique, and was formerly largely cultivated. Recently, however, an insect has attacked the delicate leaf and destroyed the plants. Experimentally the Liberian coffee-plant has been introduced, and it is hoped that its thick, hardy leaf may successfully withstand the ravages to which the other has succumbed, Limes are raised in great quantities, and have become so thoroughly acclimated that they flourish without requiring any particular attention. Citric acid is manu- factured from them and exported. One of the staples is sugar, but the annual production does not exceed a few thousand tons. From the appearance of the town of Roseau, some inferences may be drawn as to the struggles which were made for possession of the island in times gone by. A dyke, capable of being forti- fied, protects the water front, while forts, located on the “ Mornes” near the town, were destined to keep at bay the invading foe. True, to-day, all of the elaborate defences would speedily fall before the heavy armament of a man-of-war, but at the period of their usefulness they were sufficiently formidable. As the inhabi- _ tants are mainly negroes, the town does not present an imposing _ array of fine structures. Small, wooden huts, thatchéd in part, i =f protect their families from rain and storms. Illustrating the good taste shown on all these islands, there is a “ Public Garden” near - the town ; fountains cool the air, and conveniently placed seats invite the seeker after shade and the admirer of scenic beauty. During our stay on the island (February, 1880), we had occa- — | 1880. | se The Bland. of Dominica. 765 sion to visit several points of interest, thanks to the courtesy of gentlemen living there, and the kind offices of Dr. Brown, of Princeton. Prominent among the “mysteries” of Dominica, the “Boiling lake” and the “Soufreurs” have always held their place. The latter are located near the extreme southern end of the island, Leaving Roseau early in the morning, we were pulled along the coast for six miles by four strong oars. On account, of the difficulty in landing at some localities, the boats are without rudders. Their place is supplied by a steersman who ably directs the course by means of a short paddle. Boats used by the negroes are built in the shape of canoes, and are partly sharp keeled dug-outs, the sides being boarded to increase the depth. After we had landed, a very warm climb brought us to the first appearance of chemical changes in the rocks. _ The feld- spathic constituents of the trachyte were thoroughly decomposed, the ground white and dusty with but little vegetation. Some search revealed a number of cavities in the altered material, which were lined or filled with beautiful crystals of sulphur. Although the surface of this decomposed area showed a normal tempera- ture, this increased so rapidly with depth, that at little more than a foot it was unbearable to the touch. Small streams in the Vicinity were found to measure 45° C., and the water evidently carried ferric sulphate and alum in solution. Ascending higher, through tall weeds, and plucking guavas on the way, we observed — a narrow gully in a rocky mountain side, whence steam was issuing in dense volume. It was a matter of some difficulty to cross a ravine which separated us from this point of greatest chemical activity. Here our colored guides deserted us. Not that their guidance was in the least valuable, but we wanted them to carry specimens. No persuasion, no threat could induce them to follow us to the place where, in their opinion, evil spirits resided, “7; hey will throw rocks at you,” was their only reply, accompanied by an obstinate negative shake of the head. Who “they” were could not clearly be made out. A prevalent popu: lar superstition regarding evil-minded “mountain spirits,” fur- = a nished us a clew, however, as to the identity of undefinable enemies. Once within the active region of the Soufreurs it be- > came necessary to be cautious in our movements. The ground was treacherous and of about 60° C. temperature. Small open- — Ba ings lined with crystals of sulphur, steadily emitted sulphurous 766 The Island of Dominica. [ November, gases. At some places it became difficult to breathe, so dense was the volume. After passing over about quarter of a square mile, densely studded with fumaroles, we entered the gorge seen from - a distance. Steep, slippery slopes of partly decomposed trachytes here enclosed a narrow stream of water which was found to be heated nearly to the boiling point. Sulphuretted hydrogen was present in great quantities, and hot steam-jets attacked us from the most unexpected quarters. Along the rock-walls we found a number of openings, sometimes nearly half a foot in diameter, from which either steam or gas issued. “ And it bubbles and seethes, and it hisses and roars, As when fire is with water commix’d and contending,” truly describes what we encountered while slowly climbing upward in the gully. From the bottom, through narrow crevices, -by way of cylindrical openings, all around us, steam and gas threatened to bar farther progress. In. the bed of the hot creek the water presented an appearance of violent boiling, owing to the rapid emission of large quantities of gas. So thick was the steam at this point that it began to interfere with respiration, and at times our surroundings were entirely shut out from view for several minutes. A large percentage of mineral constituents in the water rendered it totally unfit to drink, even when cooled. Ascending farther in the gorge, escape from which was negatived by barren walls on'either side, we finally reached an elevation of about 1200 feet above sea level. Here we found the water cold again, trickling in small streamlets over the rocks. We had escaped from the region of gas and steam and had passed, at the _ same time, the upper limit of present chemical action. Complete metamorphosis, produced by long-continued decomposition, had placed these rocks beyond the influence of atmospheric agents. Burned out, not now taking part in the phenomena of the imme- diate vicinity, they remain as mute witnesses of the forces which _ there must have been at work for ages. _ To our satisfaction we were enabled to find in some fragments = of fresh and partly decomposed trachyte, the solution of the Striking scenes witnessed. Minute crystals or irregular fragments A i of pyrite impregnate the rock throughout a definite zone. -~ — Weight the quantity of this pyrite may amount to about twenty | per cent. Moisture in conjunction with atmospheric air will = readily decompose this mineral, a process which is accompanied — 1880. ] The Island of Dominica. T oz by generation of heat. Such action will be facilitated and accel- erated by the extremely small size of the individual pyritic parti- cles. The postulated reagents are abundantly supplied at the locality in question, In addition to the ferric compound the feldspathic portions of the trachyte are attacked, yield to altering agents, and by increase of volume accompanying chemical change, add their share to the generation of heat. At the same time the decomposing mass is physically disintegrated and then easily removed by natural causes, thus permitting a repetition of the same process, until the supply of unstable chemical com- pounds may become exhausted. Irregularities of either chemical or physical character within trachytic rocks are by no means of rare occurrence. Should their nature be such as to yield more readily to active reagents than the portions surrounding them, decomposition will progress at a higher rate of speed along cer- tain lines or in certain directions. Thus vents may be formed which besides serving as outlets for gases and liquids, will allow — fresh supplies of moisture and air to reach points as yet com- paratively intact. Returning to our darkies we found them unfeignedly surprised to see us still alive, but they evidently concluded that we were reserved for some fate even worse than “having rocks thrown at us.” “Wotten Waven” is another point deserving of special study. A morning ride aldng the left bank of the Roseau, which led through flourishing lime plantations, brought us to the undisturbed timbered slopes of a subtropical zone. Huge tree ferns over- shadowed the narrow path cut into a steep face of trachytic con- __ glomerate, over which we were gradually winding our way upward. It would be impossible to furnish a pen picture capa- — ble of giving even a faint idea of the beauty inherent in such a forest. The cool moist atmosphere is refreshing, and every step — ; i taken forces admiration from those whose eyes are accustomed to the more sombre grandeur of northern climes. A column re ae steam slowly wreathing skyward betrayed the presence of Wot- ten Waven. These “ thermal springs” lie about 1600 feet above- sea level, but not within pyritiferous trachyte. A short distance from the timber edge we found a creek flowing cold water. Fol- lowing this down, the first hot springs were soon encountered. Here the water issued from small apertures in trachytic rock =~ 768 The Island of Dominica. [ November, which showed but little decomposition on the surface. Varying temperature, ranging from 85° C. to boiling point, was observed, while the water of the creek measured 68° C. But a few yards to the right, a narrow gully ran off from the creek, ending abruptly in a vertical wall, the lower portions of which were com- posed of trachyte. In the latter an almost circular opening, about two feet in diameter, led to regions unknown. Standing in front of this opening a regular pulsation within was observed. So far as could be seen; it was the mouth of a somewhat extended cavity ` into which water rushed simultaneously, at nearly regular inter-_ vals, from the two sides parallel with the trend of the ravine. If a comparison be attempted, the total effect might be likened to the noise produced by a ship’s engine, accompanied by a similar though slighter tremor. Four pulsations occurred’ on an average during every seven seconds, and the fifth ejected a large mass of water through the opening. This main “spring” of Wotten Waven must therefore be regarded as a geyser. On account of the slip- pery character of the rocks and the imminent risk of being scalded, the temperature could not be obtained at the moment of emission. As the water flowed off it measured 98° C. Besides this large geyser, numerous small ones occur here, all, however, sending their water in lateral directions, not vertically. In addition to the rock openings ejecting water, there were many from which steam issued. Sometimes this was not visible at the immediate mouth and it became a matter of discrimination as to the selec- tion of standing places. Taking the temperature of several of -these jets, we found a maximum of 102° C. Noticeable is the total absence of sulphuretted hydrogen. While at the Soufreurs all the silver we carried with us almost instantly turned black, we could here find no point where bright coins would be at all affected. : ` Although in a general way the sources of heat are due to the = same causes at Wotten Waven as at the Soufreurs, some differ- ences were found. Decomposition is the main factor, but in this _ instance pyrite is not the material most violently affected. Small quantities of the mineral certainly occur, and it is quite possible that its presence in larger proportion may originally have initiated the process of chemical changes. At this locality the trachytes contain a large percentage of soda feldspar (oligoclase). This is rapidly decomposing, and by the chemical reaction itself, as well 1880. } The Island of Dominica. 769 as by the considerable increase in volume incident thereto, heat is produced. In several instances, where the same changes were going on in rocks containing oligoclase, we have found thermal springs in the immediate vicinity. While decomposition of pyrite is more rapid, it does not extend so far from the surface -into the rocks as that of the feldspar. In connection herewith it may be mentioned that the waters of Wotten Waven hold an exceptionally large amount of alumina in solution. In spite of the diminutive size of the majority of the geysers, the quantity of water delivered is considerable. As it nearly all flows off, a very large supply must be furnished by percolation, or by entrance through fissures and along subterranean watercourses. On January 4, 1880, the inhabitants of Roseau had cause to feel somewhat alarmed. Taking into consideration the myste- rious legends as to volcanic-activity on the island, it will readily be understood that the appearance of a huge, dark cloud over the town shortly before noon of a clear day, might awaken some apprehensions. More so, however, when that cloud began to “rain down” fine particles of gray, mineral-like material which soon changed the green foliage of all vegetation to its own color. Pompeii and Herculaneum saw the initiation of their destruction ina similar cloud. So far as could be determined by cool obser- vers, among whom Dr. Nichols of Roseau was prominent, the cloud extended for a distance of about eight miles beyond the town and then was lost, going seaward. Even in the latter part of February the finely divided “ash” could be found on many plants. It consisted of very minute fragments of trachytic rock and small crystals and particles of pyrite. The general impres- sion was that a volcanic eruption had taken place at, “ Boiling Neither definite detonations were heard nor seismic disturb- ances felt by the more critical observers. A low rumbling noise Seems to have preceded the appearance of the cloud. Several venturesome explorers determined to investigate matters, but were obliged to return without results, as all access to the lake © had been barred by dislodged rocks and earth. During our stay at Roseau a party was organized to visit the lake, and a new road : was cut through the forest. Numerous colored attendants, whose climbing qualities and endurance we could not but admire, trans- ported baggage and provisions. Reaching a point several miles t mO The Island of Dominica. © [November, beyond Laudat, we were obliged to relinquish our riding animals and proceed on foot. Wet and slippery the newly cut path fol- lowed the sharp crest of a narrow ridge until it reached an abso- lute elevation of 3200 feet. From here the view was overpower- ing. Before us lay miles of mountain slopes, utterly denuded of vegetation. Dull gray was the color of the entire surface, and the broken stumps of once gigantic trees spoke eloquently of the terrific force which had laid in desolate waste what but two months before had been a dense primeval forest. Behind us was the beautiful valley of the Roseau, the wooded mountains skirting it and withal an expression of serene repose. To our right steam was fitfully issuing from a crater-like depression, to the left rose a majestic column of white steam from Boiling lake. We descended a very steep slope and found the “erupted” material to consist of broken and disintegrated fragments of trachyte thoroughly impregnated with pyrite. In other words, we had before us fresh rocks which were analogous to those we found decomposed at the Soufreur and identical with the “ash” which had fallen at Roseau. By far the greater portion of the mass was reduced in size so as to pass through a twenty-mesh © sieve. Boulders weighing several hundred pounds were not wanting, however. Arrived at the rivulet at the end of thé mountain slope, we found the water to be warm. With the lim- -ited amount of time at our command, it was impossible for us to visit the right-hand depression, so we turned our steps towards the lake. The former was the scene of greatest activity, and the place from which the dislodged rock material had issued: Re- cent disturbances had rendered access so precarious, however, that it would have been necessary to spend more time than we : could afford in effecting an entrance to the bottom of the “crater.” An inky black creek was crossed shortly, and but a few yards beyond it one of milky whiteness running parallel. Both were warm, about 60° C. Probably the presence of iron sulphides accounts for the color of the former, while the latter, judging _ from its taste, contained mainly alkalies. Asa noticeable fact, ~ we observed that these colors were not merely due to the effect of underlying rocks, but that the water was really so colored. _ Over rocks, through water, knee deep in yielding mud we scram- bled along, until we finally stood at the edge of an oval basin - ; surrounded by almost vertical walls, where the Boiling lake had =< been. Formerly it must have extended about three hundred by 4 1880. | ~The Island of Dominica, 771 two hundred and fifty yards, but at the time of our visit the-dis- turbances about one and a-half miles distant had destroyed the ` lake, leaving only a boiling spring of about fifteen by twelve feet. Here the water issued with tremendous ebullition. It was unsafe to approach within a few feet of the spring after the descent to the former lake bottom had been made, and it thus became im- possible to ascertain the exact temperature. The spring was located near the center of the lake bed, from where its water flowed off through a narrow opening in the enclosing walls. Every step was taken on hot ground, and a cane pressed down into the earth would be followed by the hissing sound of escaping steam upon withdrawal. Fortunately we found cold water, at the upper end of the lake, trickling down on the face of a rock, and we were spared the torture of « Water, water everywhere Nor any drop to drink.” From examinations made we found that the lake had not been filled up by masses of rock or soil projected into it, but that the confining dam had broken away and the water had flowed off. In view of the fact that seismic action appears to have been very subordinate at the time of the “ eruption,” it seems probable that the lake suddenly received accessions of water and thus forced its way downward, carrying with it the former barrier. At best the depth of water, unless perhaps immediately over the hot Spring, which once formed an integral portion of the lake, must ave been inconsiderable. Its elevation is about 2400 feet above sea level. Had not personal inspection of the parrougdicgs of the lake been convincing that the “eruption ” did not take place there, the evidence afforded by mutilated plants would have been conclu- sive. No other word but “terrific” can express the conception of the mass and overwhelming force with which rocks and — boulders were hurled into the forest. On the southerly side— towards the above-mentioned crater-like depression—the bare broken trunks and stumps of trees, rarely over fifteen feet high, were literally mashed, while comparatively untouched on the- a reverse. About one-sixth to one-tenth of the total diameter was worn away by repeated concussion, and trees of tough fiber, so much as remained of them, were absolutely torn to shreds. No- where did we find indications of heat which might have been | Sufficiently great to fuse any of the minerals contained in the + 772 The Island of Dominica. [ November, trachyte. ‘ The reduction of the latter in size was purely mechani- cal, largely due to attrition, although certainly the force producing it was owing to causes entirely different. We estimated the area thus razed, of timber, at about nine square miles, and the average thickness of deposited lithological material at eighteen inches. Allowing for the fact that the latter was not densely packed, this estimate furnishes a total amount of more than 27,000,000 tons which had been removed from their normal position by catastro- phic action. As to the causes which produced the “ eruption,” the evidence on hand is sufficient to arrive at some conclusions. First of all, the idea of volcanic eruption must be dismissed. No grounds for -such assumption can be found, and the immediate vicinity of the scene of action exhibits no trace thereof. On the other hand, the decomposition of pyrite and associated minerals is here the evi- dent source of heat. Water is plentifully supplied by precipita- tion as well as by superficial and subterranean drainage. If we can assume, and it seems reasonable that we should, that either the supply of heat-producing material had increased without ` adequate vents for accumulating pressure being in existence, Or that the vents, at the time acting as safety valves, were by some means reduced in area of cross-section, then, necessarily, an explosion must follow as-soon as the pressure of steam and gases is able to overcome superincumbent weight. Added to this we have learned that decided barometric disturbances were observed on Dominica at atime immediately preceding the catastrophy. In case a bare equilibrium were maintained, certain changes of atmospheric pressure alone might account for a sudden release of gases under pressure. Every indication speaks for the assump- tion that the phenomenon is to be regarded as an explosion and not as an eruption, so far as the latter pertains to vulcanicity. In the course of a few years the damages so suddenly wrought _ will have been repaired again. Plant life in this climate is vigor ous, and it will seem but a short time ere the now barren slopes will once more be clothed in green. Nothing will remain but — a ‘some scarred veterans to tell the tale of the disastrous explosion of 1880. Although a repetition of such occurrences may- looked for, the area is too limited and the seat of disturbing chemical action too superficial to endanger the safety of Do- — = minica. 1880. ] The Sand-Hill Crane. — 773 THE SAND-HILL CRANE. BY HON. J. D. CATON. OME observations which I have made of the habits of the sand-hill crane (Grus americana) in domestication in my acclimatation grounds, may be interesting, as I am not aware that this interesting bird has been much studied under such con- ditions. Seven years ago Father Terry, the Catholic priest in Ottowa, Illinois, presented me with two sand-hill cranes, then three years old. They had run about his house and yards, and in the street of the city near by. They manifested a strong appreciation of the kindness he had shown to them, and whenever he returned home, whether in the day or the night time, they manifested their Satisfaction by their loud calls and uncouth gestures. If in the Street they were pursued by a dog, they took wing and flew home with the ease and facility of the wild bird, and yet they showed no disposition to leave and revert to the wild state, even at the migratory season of the species. In my grounds they necessarily received less personal atten- tion and gradually became less attached to man, but could often be induced to dance and play with me in their awkward but very amusing way. They are inclined to be imitative. Forty years ago, when they were very abundant in this country, a farmer whom I well knew, assured me that he had one in domestication which when a year old would fly on to the hay stack and tramp around in imitation of the boy, and would also take the lines in its beak and follow the horses, breaking prairie, for a connai time, with a stately strut that was very amusing. For the first year or two in my grounds they were inclined to associate together, but gradually become estranged and avoided each other’s society. Indeed for years they avoided each other, and were never seen together. One season one of these birds - got into the north park and attached itself to the pigs, which it- followed about constantly, and when it returned to the south park seemed quite disconsolate, and kept near the dividing fence where it could see its friends on the other side, and if they came- near would greet them with its loud harsh note, which could be | heard half a mile away. Several times during the summer she Managed to join her unnatural associates and followed them with 774 The Sand-Hill Crane. [ November, a constant devotion; this is the only instance in which I have seen one of these birds attach itself to any other animal in the grounds, I have never observed these birds to eat grass. When they were abundant here in the wild state, they were considered very _ destructive to the winter wheat after it had sprung up and attained a considerable growth in the fall. I have seen hundreds together `on a wheat field in November, but I was so careless an observer then that I cannot tell whether they took the blades of the plant or the decayed seed or roots. The only food I have observed them to take in my grounds was maize and insects. There are two ponds of water in the grounds, in which there are small frogs, but I have never seen them step into the water or hang about them as if hunting for food. Others seem to have proved that in the wild state they habitually feast on frogs and small snakes, but if they do this in domestication it has escaped _ my observation. When these birds were eight years old, ihat: is two years ago last spring, both laid eggs—two each—both eggs were laid on the bare ground without the least attempt to make a nest, and neither attempted to set upon the eggs, though one of them stood about them for a,few days as if to guard them, and made a great outcry if any one came near. The next year (1879) they again laid two eggs each, on the naked ground as before, without any nest. — This time one sat upon her eggs with apparent devotion for three days, when, as if appreciating that it was labor lost, she left them _ _ without further attention. Last summer, through the kindness of Dr. Row, of the Chi- cago Field, I obtained a male bird, one year old, as I understood, and placed him in the grounds with the others. He was not- quite as large as the adult females. He manifested no disposition . to associate with either of them. All three wandered about the grounds separately, though the females when they chanced to meet the youngster treated him as none? they regarded him as an intruder. In October last one of the imale; was killed by a mink re ate off the head and part of the neck, leaving the body untouched. — a : (The same rascal no doubt killed a pair of Hawaiian geese which 4 _ I valued above price.) I had it cooked, and though nine ye on utd found it tender and of excellent flavor. 1880. ] The Sand-Fiill Crane. 775 During the winter the remaining pair of cranes were forced into a closer companionship, as they remained about the premises where all the fowls were fed with Indian corn. Early in the spring they manifested their natural instinct by a closer intimacy, and soon. became inseparable. On my return home about the first of June I found the female setting on four eggs in a nest consisting of a slight depression on- the border of a bunch of leaves which had been arrested by a pile of brush, The nest was not protected by the brush but quite outside of it. The keeper informed me that she had been thus faithfully employed for four weeks, and I hoped soon to see the young birds and determine the period of incubation. She Sat upon that nest with great constancy for four weeks jonger, when I ordered the eggs to be remove The habit of the cock during this time was quite interesting. He spent most of his time pretty near the nest, and guarded it with great fidelity and defended it with courage. If a cow ora deer came near it he flew at it in a rage, and a few thrusts with his sharp beak sent it away ina hurry, and if he saw a buggy coming in that direction, he raised his coarse harsh voice in so threatening a way as not to be mistaken, and if it came too near he flew at it, attacking either the buggy or the horse, whichever he happened to be nearest, and if it went within say fifteen or twenty feet of the nest, the female would leave the eggs and join in the attack, and the premises were soon cleared. Indeed, my- pee friends who are in the habit of visiting my grounds soon learned to give that family domain a wide berth. In fact he was almost as constant in his watchfulness, and as pugnacious in his conduct as a wild (Canada) gander whose goose was sitting across the ravine. It was the habit of this cock whenever the hen left the nest to seek for food, to take her place, and do the best he could, but he cut an awkward figure sitting on the nest, for his long legs — Seemed to be much in his way, while the female had managed to ' assume rather a graceful position while performing that maternal i duty. The eggs probably were not in fact fertilized. I hope to be more fortunate next season, and raise a broca of young sand- : hill cranes. The male is now fully one-third larger than the female, though he is but two years old. Since the nest was broken up both are 776 | Microscopic Crystals contained in Plants. [November, _ constantly together, rarely being seen twenty feet apart. He is as gallant in the defence of his mate as ever. But the other day I picked up the female to examine more closely the red por- tion of the head when a vigorous thrust of his sharp beak as he flew at me admonished me that he thought I was taking unwar- rantable liberties, and the attack was followed up with great vigor till I got the whip and tickled him smartly about the head, when he retreated in tolerable order. In the mean time the female had got quite a way off, which no doubt he thought a - good excuse for the discontinuance of the attack. word about the color of these birds. One of the females when they came into my grounds had two white feathers on the back, which have proved constant ever since. All the others are of the regulation blue of the species. I think Audubon would have admitted that a ten year old bird was no longer young, and would have despaired of ever seeing it turn into a white Grus canadensis. 20: ON THE MICROSCOPIC CRYSTALS CONTAINED IN PLANTS. BY W. K. HIGLEY. [ Concluded from October number.] I shall now take up the species of the family Vitaceæ and in these a wider view of crystals will be presented. This family gives us a good field for the examination of both _ raphides and spheraphides in the same plants. In all the species that I have examined the raphides were the most abundant in the leaves with their appendages, the petiole, and the epidermis of the stem in young plants, while the spheraphides were more common in the old stems and berry, but were also found, though rarely, in the other parts mentioned for raphides. Crystals in the grape have been known for along time. In the common cultivated ` grape, raphides are abundant, but the largest are only found in the _ leaf and petiole, and at times much smaller ones may be looked after in the fruit. These crystals, whenever found, gave the 4 i a te ae i Yoh Hys test for phosphoric acid and lime. In the pulp of the berry - sphæraphides are abundant; those of the fruit stalks were about . EEA ERT ed 1880.] Microscopic Crystals contained in Plants. 777 toooth of an inch in diameter. When a collection of these is met with they form a beautiful field, which I think is only sur- passed in beauty by the sphzraphid tissue in the testa of the elm. These crystals would not answer to any of the chemical tests except those for calcium, so that I have reason to believe that the base was combined with some organic acid, perhaps tartaric. Vitis estivalis and V. cordifolia abounded in both sorts of crys- tals, but neither were as large as in the common grape. In Am- pelopsis quinquefolia I found raphides, but they were often free, that is they were not in a close bundle. The sphzraphid tissue is very fine in this species. Each crystal seems to form a nucleus to a single cell. Thecells are placed very regularly and sym- metrical in form. The blackberries contained raphides in more abundance and of a larger form than those of the grape fruits, but the largest were in the leaves and petioles of the younger shoots. The sphzraphides were not as large as those of the grape. As in the genus Vitis the crystals of this species, except those mentioned last, seemed to contain lime as a base and phos- phoric acid. In this family all the crystals contained in the fruit, except the raphides, gave the tests for lime, but failed to give the tests for the common acids, so that I think it probable that the base was in combination with some organic acid. I expected to find in this family more acicular crystals, but in this I was disappointed. The next order that I shall report upon, as is well known, is the largest natural order, and is represented by a number of — hundred species, it being universal. This family, the Composite, — is well represented in the Northern States. Raphides are not as common in this family as in the other two, Araceae and Vitacee, but forms of all three classes do occur. I have only found the needle-shaped crystals in the ovary or fruit, and sometimes in the receptacle and involucre. In some species minute cubical crystals occur which dissolve with effervescence in acetic acid. Globular masses of crystals known as inuline are quite common. I did not find the raphides in bundles except in one case, Achillea mil- f lifolium, which contained in the receptacle, on the average, about twenty raphides in each bundle; in all other cases when raphides were found- they were single, which was perhaps due to some disturbance. In /nula helenium I could find no crystals except the globular VOL. XIX.=NỌ. XI, 50 778 Microscopic Crystals contained in Plants. [November, aggregate known as inuline. This substance is an organic com- pound having the composition Ce Hy O;. Miller says that this is a variety of starch, insoluble in alcohol but soluble in hot water, and by boiling with dilute acids it is converted first into dextrine and then into pure levulose. It forms an insoluble precipitate when its solution is mixed with one of acetate of lead and ammo- nia is added. I did not attempt to extract it from the root as that is quite a difficult operation to perform. The crystals appear like a globular mass with fissures radiating from the center out- wards ; iodine when applied to the well-cleaned section, gives with inuline a distinct yellow color. This statement is in direct opposition to that made by Fluckiger and Hanbury (see Pharma- cographia under elecampane). The only part of the plant that I had was the root, it being too early for the stem, leaves, etc., SO that I am not able to state what might be found in the other parts. oe Taraxacum dens-leonis also contains inuline, but in much smaller amount than the last, and also a few sphzraphides, which seem to have no particular location, as they may be found, on close examination, in almost any part of the plant, although rare. They were too small and too few in number to obtain any definite chemical tests with them. Also raphides were present, but only in small numbers and not in bundles. Cichorum intybus contains inuline but it is in still smaller amounts than in the last. I also found inuline in the root of Cirsum arvense, or Canada thistle ; in which plant raphides are formed in the flower recepta- _ cle and also in the parts of the flower, also some other crystals which seemed to have four faces tapering to a point at each end (crystal prisms), The number of faces were probably double this. These crystals were soluble, with effervescence in hydrochloric and not in acetic acid. The raphides gave the chemical test for ‘phosphate. In Cirsium muticum, or swamp thistle, the crystals of inuline were very small and indistinct. The raphides were found the same as in the last species, though more numerous. The crystal prisms I was not able to find at all, the reason perhaps is, that I had only a young plant, while of the Canada thistle I had a fall or late specimen, Cirsium lanceolatum gave the same results aS C. arvense. . 1880.) Microscopic Crystals contained in Plants. 779 In Cynthia virginica raphides of small size but no inuline were found. There were also a few cubical crystals in the lower part of the stem and in the flower receptacle, which gave answer to the test for carbonic acid with acetic acid, but the raphides proved to be phosphate. The cubical crystals were about the goyoth of an inch in diameter. Senecio aureus and S. balsamite contained acicular crystals which, upon chemical examination, gave evidence of oxalate of © lime. In this genus I was not able to find any raphides at all, nor any inuline. A few crystals were present, but on account of their small size and number, I was neither able to determine their form nor chemical nature. Lappa major, or common burdock, contained in the flower receptacle and dried fruit, minute cubical crystals, which gave the tests for carbonate of lime. No raphides or acicular crystals of any sort were present. Tanacetum vulgare contained both cubical and kient crystals, the latter in the leaves and petiole, and the former in the flower parts; and upper part of the stem ; both oxalate and carbonate of ‘lime seemed to be present. The raphides of this order seem to be rarer in the division or sub-order Ligulifloree, while the acicular crystals or crystal prisms were only found in the sub-order Tubuliflore. Inuline is common to both sub-orders. It will be seen on reference to my work that the raphides seemed to be composed of phosphate of lime, the acicular or crystal prisms, of oxalate, and the cubical crystals, of carbonate of — 2 n the same, while the sphæraphides seemed to be the same base combined with different acids according to their locality. It will be remembered that in the first part of this paper I mentioned the fact that crystals of some form were nearly if not | quite universal, and as some slight evidence of this I have com- Le piled with care a list of all the families in which crystals have been reported. This is the beginning of a more complete list of the genera and species which I hope soon to have ready for pub- — : lication, which will be classified according to the mee of oe Crystals that the species may contain. 1A variety of S, aureus. z Š A 780 Microscopic Crystals contained in Plants. {November, The following is the list of families : CRYPTOGAMIA. 1 Filices Musci Equisetaceæ lgæ 7 Fungi Characeæ PHÆNOGAMIA. EXOGENÆ. p Araliacee Halorageze Aurantiaceze Juglandaceze Balsaminacez Leguminosez Berberidaceze Linaceze Cactacee Melastomaceze Camelliaceze Nyctaginaceze Caprifoliaceze leace hy llaceze Onagracee Chenopodiaceze Orobanchacez inchonaceze Oxa Co: itæ Passiflorac oniferæ Phytolaccaceæ ; Crassulaceæ Polygonaceæ Crucifer Pittosporacez Cycada Lacee Droseracee ac Elzeagnaceze Scrophulariacez (Gelseminez) uphorbiacee Tetragoniex de: iliaceze : Fumariaceze Urtica 5 Galacine: Valerianaceze Me Geraniacee Vitacee 7 cee Zygophyllacez. z ENDOGENÆ. Amaryllidaceæ ace cae Marantacee Bromeliaceze Melanthacez Burmanniaceze usaceze B ac Orchidace@ ee Orontiacexe Dioscoreaceze Pandanaceze 2 Gr ae Pontederiacez Hzemodoraceze Smilacaceze Hypoxidaceze ypha tridacee Xyridacez Funcacee Zingiberacee. Liliacee oo has oes 1In this family I have seen crystals but once, and these were contained in Phegop- teris hexagonoptera ae 2The crystals of this rm Oe were shown to me by a fellow student in the Uni- _ versity, Ann Arbor, Mich. 1880. ] Microscopic Crystals contained in Plants. 781 The names that are in italics indicate the families in which I have seen and studied the crystals, but only in a few cases their - chemical composition. Some of these, as the Onagracez and Orchidacez, contain large and beautiful crystals. In the vanilla bean, which is a fruit — belonging to a species of the latter family, T. F. Meyer, of the university class of ’78, has reported and made drawings of the crystals. He states that they are composed of the active princi- ple of the bean and belong to the second class or crystal prisms. It is often supposed that minute substances have no particular use, and so it may be thought of these minute crystalline bodies ; but generally anything that occurs in such abundance and so regularly has some use in the economy of either the animal or vegetable kingdom. On the use of the crystals Prof. Gulliver Says: “Although the precise use of crystals in the vegetable economy may be obscure, it is plain that whatever is constant in the plant-must be important, and by no means necessarily of lit- tle importance because of such obscurity.” Taking, for example, the Cactus family, which abounds in large crystals, some speci- mens of which have been reported to contain so many of these minute inorganic bodies that it was almost impossible to move the plant without breaking it, and when moved it was necessary to pack it in cotton with great care, as if it were the finest jewelry. A case like this is seldom met with, but as the occurrence of crystals is so constant a feature of this family, they must be of Some use, which is, as yet, beyond the reach of man’s power to perceive, and it would seem ridiculous to say that they have no use as some prominent scientific gentlemen claim. But such crystals may be of use to man, perhaps in two ways; first, when contained in some medicine. : It is well known that the disease called “ rickets” is treated, or at least has been, with sarsaparilla; now the plant itself contains a large number of crystals which are composed of phosphate of lime. Query—why may not this plant, in connection with its tonic effects, also furnish some of the needed phosphate to strengthen the bones ? Second, they may be of use to man when contained in decay- ing leaves or plants, thus acting as a fertilizer. . Again, crystals are sometimes used by the merchant asa test for the genuineness of a drug. The quality of rhubarb is often” 782 On the Origin of the Tae [ November, tested by its grittiness, which is due to inorganic crystals, and rhubarb should contain a high per cent. of inorganic matter. ther uses might be enumerated and given in this list, and per- haps some of them are of more importance than those mentioned, but sufficient has been said to show that they are probably of some practical value to man. It is hoped that this article will induce other investigators to take up this subject and find, if pos- sible, their exact use in the economy of the plant. The time is probably not far distant when we will know more about microscopical crystals in plants, and for that time we must all wait, each investigator endeavoring to do his best. BIBLIOGRAPHY. Quar. Journ. of Micros., I old ser., 20; III new ser., 243; IV new ser., 207, 208, 09, 234, 208; V new ser., 49, 83, 140, 220, 279; VI old ser. 120; IX new set., 232; XIII new Ser., 290, 216, 324,294, 439; XIV new ser., 108, 211; XII new ser., 288. hens ad Mag. of Nat. Hist., XI 3d ser., 13; XII 3d ser., 226, 446, 288, 365 ; XIII 3d ser., 41, I19, 212, ae a soe XIV 3d ser., 53, 250; XV 3d ser., 38; 211, 80, pea XVI 3d se Sach’s “ Text Book of oes” 4g Lindley’s Introduction to Botany. Gray’s Structural ci Systematic Botany. _ Flückiger and Handbury—Pharmacographia. w Miller’s Organic Chemistry. :0: ON THE ORIGIN OF THE LACI BY J. M. STILLMAN. \URING the course of an examination of a product from Ari- _ zona, apparently identical with the gum-lac from India, I had occasion to consult various works touching on the origin of this interesting product. The statements met with were in many cases contradictory, and the most usual statement so directly opposed to what appears to me, from a careful examination of the deposit and of the evidence on the subject, to be the truth, that I cannot refrain from at least _ suggesting what seems to me to be the true state of affairs. At the same time I wish to state, that as far as the lac insect is con- ses : cerned, I have not been able to find sufficient data regarding its anatomy and life-history to enable me to touch upon some very — __ interesting points in connection with the subject. Nor am I cer- - 1his paper was read before the California Academy of Sciences, April 19, 1880. 1880. ] On the Origin of the Lac. 783 tain that the questions here considered have not been thoroughly discussed by previous investigators; but if so, the current chemi- cal literature, encyclopedias and some of the natural history treatises have overlooked such work, so that there has crept into the literature a statement with regard to the origin of the gum-lac which I think is an incorrect one. This is, that the gum- lac is an exudation caused by the puncture of the lac insect (Coccus lacca). This is stated in such standard works as “ Muspratt’s Chemis- try ” (even in the late German edition), Wurtz’s “ Dictionnaire de Chimie,” “ Johnson’s Encyclopædia,” &c., and in various text- books on chemistry, and various works on natural history accessi- ble to me. “Chamber's Encyclopædia also asserts the same fact by saying that the insects “ entomb themselves in a mass of mat- ter which oozes from small punctures made in the twigs of the tree,” but also adds, “ As we have no strictly analogous resin from the vegetable kingdom, zot even from the lac-bearing trees, it may be assumed that the juices of the trees are somewhat altered by the insects.” Watt’s “ Dictionary of Chemistry,” on the other hand, says: “Lac is the product of the Coccus lacca, which deposits its eggs ` on the branches of a tree called Bihar in Assam and other parts of India. It appears designed to answer the purpose of defend- ing the eggs from injury and affording food for the maggots in a more advanced state. It is formed into cells finished with as much art and regularity as in mie honey-comb, but differently arranged.” This statement is not to be accepted entirely, I think, but in so far as it states that the Jac is the product of the insect rather than of the tree, I think it is correct, and it is this thesis that I wish — here to maintain. Let me first state briefly all that I feel confident of regarding the life- -history of the Coccus lacca of India.: The lac insect, like many other insects of its kind, lives and dies in the same spot. The young insect, after emerging from its hatching place in the ae body of the mother, crawls off as an extremely minute bug ofa a bright red color, It very soon attaches itself to the branch, loses _ its legs, antennz, &c., its sides expand and it becomes fixed tothe = branch like a minute scale bug. Here it grows and lives upon the juices of the twig which it sucks from minute punctures in — 784 On the Origin of the Lac. [ November, the bark. If it be a female, and I shall take cognizance here only of the female insect, as it grows older it forms its eggs, and the entire insect develops into a shapeless sac enveloping these eggs. Within this sac is developed at the same time a purple-red gelat- inous mass which contains the eggs and perhaps serves as food for the young insects. By this time, also, the numerous sacs are entirely enveloped in a heavy mass of the lac-resin. The cellular structure of the latter is caused by the soft sacs of the females enclosed in the hard resin. When the young are hatched, they bore a hole through the back of the mother-sac and through the resinous envelope and escape, fix themselves to new portions of the plant and the life-history begins again. Now, although I am by no means confident that the Coccus which forms our Arizona lac is identical with the Coccus lacca, yet I think that I can show that the resemblance is sufficiently close to enable a course of reasoning on this insect to apply to the Indian species as well. In the first place the very great chemi- cal similarity of the Arizona gum to the Indian, as shown at a meeting of the California Academy, is a presumption to this effect. In the next place, the coarse cellular structure of the resin, the enclosed sacs with the eggs and purple juice, formed in the Ari- zona product and agreeing with the descriptions of the India lac, are another set of facts strongly confirmatory. Lastly, the _ specimens of lac from Arizona with the holes bored in it by the escaping insects, furnish additional evidence of close agreement. ` Very recently also I have received from Mr. J. A. Culbertson, of — Arizona, specimens of the young insects affixed to the twigs. _ They are minute scale-bugs of a red color, with indistinct mark- - ings across the back. In size I should roughly estimate them at : one-fiftieth of an inch in length and half that in width, though some are even smaller. No doubt could exist but that they belong to the Coccide, and that they are very similar in develop- ment and life-history to the Coccus lacca. Hence I think that any general deductions from examination of the Arizona lac will apply equally well to the India product, especially as all descrip- tions of the products of the insect—lac-dye and lac-resin—seem to coincide. We notice first that resin is developed only by the action of this insect. No similar product can be obtained from the plant by other means. This is stated of the India lac in the sentence — 1880.] On the Origin of the Lac. 785 above quoted from “ Chambers’ Encyclopedia,” Eye-witnesses say, that the Arizona lac also does not occur wherever the plant, upon which it grows, is found, but only in particular regions or patches. In the second place the gum-lac of India occurs on no less than five trees, Ficus religiosa, Ficus indica, Rhamnus jujuba, Croton lacciferum, Butea frondosa, and that from Arizona on two plants, the Larrea mexicana and Acacia greggt. These plants are not related for the most part, and do not afford the gum except under the influence of the insect. In explanation of these facts we have two alternatives to choose from. First, the gum is an exudation from the twig, excited by the puncture of the Coccus; it flows out, envelops the insects, hardens and forms the gum-lacs; or, second, that the gum ts the elaboration of the insect itself. : he first explanation is the one usually given, the second one appears to me the true one, and the following facts and consid- erations appear to me to sustain this view: 1. The gum-lac is not simple, like most vegetable resins, but — is composed of resins soluble in alcohol, wax and gluten, or substances resembling gluten. Such a complex substance might be expected from an animal secretion. 2. The resin, as far as known, possesses the same general com- position and properties independent of the species of plant, whence it is derived, since no specific difference is given for any of the seven India varieties, and the two Arizona sorts have probably- the same general composition. The kind of plant and the char- acter of its juices undoubtedly have a general influence, inasmuch as the sap of some plants would not support the life of the insect nor furnish it its necessary materials for the elaboration of its products. 3. If the resin were an exudation from the plant, simply — = induced by the puncture, we should expect to find this resin more or less collected into globules, drops, or masses independent of the immediate presence of the insect. In my examination es could find no particle of resin which did not form a bounding wall to one or more of these cells occupied by the egg-sacs. The only places, where the resin anpeared solid and thick, was i in the spaces between three or more contiguous cells, as if the sacs had, by their united secretions, filled up the small room be- tween them. In some specimens what appeared to be a small f T = 786 a On the Origin of the Lac. [November, drop of resin on the bark, where a small insect had covered its dome-shaped body with a layer of resin, was as thin-walled as the shell of a mustard seed. In such a case we are called upon to suppose that a flow of resinous juices starts from below the in- sect, passes up over its body and nowhere else, and covers it with an even layer of resin. This is to me a difficult conception. On the other hand, it is easy to conceive how the insect simply feeding on the juices from below, and secreting this resinous sub- stance from its body, could build such a'shell of resin. 4. By careful examination of bark and wood, no puncture or abrasion could be detected at all adequate to account for such a Spontaneous flow of the sap of the plant, as would produce the amount of resin present. This examination was repeated with the assistance of Prof. Joseph Le Conte, who concurred fully in the conclusion arrived at. All these facts, so inexplicable on the exudation theory, appear to me to be readily explained on the basis of the insect origin of the gum. The insect fixes itself to a spot on the bark where it lives and dies. For its sustenance it is dependent on the sap of the plant. Certain plants are adapted to this purpose, others are not. e juices sucked up and absorbed by the insect serve as its food, and at the same time as material, from which is elabo- rated the resinous envelope, destined to serve as a protection for the eggs and larve. This resinous substance may be exuded from the entire surface of the insect, or from particular organs OF — glands; I am in no position to pursue this point, interesting as it is. This elaboration thickens as the insect grows older, and as- the insects live in close proximity they become crowded and distorted, and the spaces between them compactly filled with their _ united elaborations, so that the result is as we see it, a resinous mass of coarse, irregular, cellular structure, with the egg-sac fill- ing the cell, or, after the specimen is dried or the young escaped, | _ with the shrunken remains of sac and eggs in the cell. This explains the occurrence of practically the same resin on various plants—the form and structure of the resin—that 1t sur- rounds the sacs on all sides perfectly, but does not run off along the bark of the twig nor collect into solid drops or masses—a- fact difficult to explain on the simple exudation theory. It atso gives a definite meaning to the “alteration” of the juice by s insect referred to in “ Chambers’ Encyclopædia.” 1880. ] Botanizing on the Colorado Desert. POT a Whether the lac is to be considered as an excretion or secre- tion is very much a matter of definition. If by secretion we mean a definite substance elaborated by the organism for a defi- nite purpose, this would appear to be a true secretion. On the other hand, once secreted it probably exerts no further internal function in the organism, and is in so far an excretion. In the Same sense, hair, nails, epidermis, etc:, continually discarded by the organism, might be considered excretions. However we may regard it, it is probably a normal product of the vital activity of the lac insect. A somewhat striking objection against this theory is, that it is against analogy, that a well-marked resin should be the product of animal life. But so also is the production of wax by the bee against the same analogy, and yet it has been proven that bees confined to an exclusive diet of sugar will produce wax formed by their own vital processes, and any philosophical distinction between wax and resin in this particular would, I think, be diffi- cult to establish. In conclusion, I would again reiterate that Iam by no means certain that the question of the origin of the lac has not been settled by observers more directly interested in natural history, but if so, our chemists and encyclopedists have been slow to find out the facts, and our most recent authorities, with few exceptions, adhere to the exudation theory. If this communication has the effect of bringing to notice previous work, or gives rise to more complete investigations in the future, it will be as much as I can expect from it. 70: BOTANIZING ON THE COLORADO DESERT. BY EDWARD LEE GREENE. Los : r February of 1877, by way of the stage road between San- Diego and Fort Yuma, I made a little expedition across the interesting region above named. A desert is not naturally supposed to be the most eligible locality, nor midwinter the ae best season for making botanical excursions, yet seldom hasa _ week’s recreation of that kind given me more satisfaction than that upon which I have preserved the following notes: In passing from west to east across Southern California, the ¥ " 788 Botanizing on the Colorado Desert. (November, first glimpse one gets of the desert is a fine bird’s-eye view. From the San Diego plains, all treeless, brown and dusty, an easy two days’ journey brings the traveler up to the level of that broad plateau which constitutes the summit of the coast range. Across this forty-five miles of mountain top, one travels pleas- antly ; now through handsome groves of evergreen oaks, then among a succession of low, rounded, stony hills, between which some bits of fresh, green mountain pasture spread themselves; here passing a settler’s cabin with its newly ploughed fields and its group of blooming peach_trees, and there meeting a merry, boisterous gang of mountain herdsmen. Having thus come to the eastern verge of the plateau, the great wilderness breaks all at once upon the view, beginning a dizzy half mile down beneath your feet, and stretching away to the eastward for a hundred miles. It was past the middle of the afternoon when I reached this interesting point, and paused to rest a while and to enjoy the novel scene, so desolately grand, which lay before me. The region in question is far from being a flat monotonous expanse of naked sands. Its general level is broken by many abruptly rising knobs and peaks and by several prolonged chains of high and sharply defined rocky hills, all lifting themselves up like precipitous islands above the even surface of a sea; and although these peaks and ranges are destitute of verdure, and red as the sands that drift about their bases, they yet combine to make a most impressive picture when viewed at a distance, and from this aerial elevation where | the desert first appears in sight. Aware that the stage station where I must pass the night was not more than two miles away _ by the steep, winding road, I lingered here until the sun was near : his setting, and the shadows of the peaks and pyramids I sat among, were measuring their dark lengths upon the plain afar below, and the purple evening clouds had reflected their own almost gorgeous coloring to the vast, varied landscape that _ stretched eastward and northward so very far away. This strange sunset scene was beautiful beyond all description, and will be | _ treasured for a lifetime in the beholder’s memory. _ Having descended from these picturesque heights, it was nearly dark when, as the road led around a sharp angle of the mountain, I found myself almost at the door of the stage company’s little hotel. Here were pleasant sounds; the music of water trickling 1880. ] Botanizing on the Colorado Desert. 789 down through an iron pipe from a small spring that rises among rocks which almost overhang the house hundreds of feet above; and by the way, the sound of running water is never so musical as when one has traveled six hours in torrid heat without having tasted a drop. Music also of insects was here, evidently some sort of bees which, even in the late twilight, were humming amid the rosy, dower lade boughs of the desert almond. This hand- _ Some bush (Prunus andersonii Gray). when in flower, resembling a small peach tree, contrasts very prettily with its associates, the cacti and agaves which thrust forth their clumsy, graceless forms from every niche and crevice of this grand mass of rock which walls in the desert on the west. While most trees and bushes of that genus require good soil and a fair supply of moisture, this Species appears to thrive, like the spiny cacti, on nothing more substantial than the sunburnt rocks and the desert air. The condition in which I found the solitary tenant of this isolated hostelry illustrates one of many dangers to which the lone keepers of these desert stations are exposed. He was bend- ing over a basin of water bathing his head and face, which parts, as I could see by what remained of daylight, were bleeding freely. He seemed in too much pain to notice the near approach of the Stranger, at whose unexpected presence the man’s sole household companion, a fierce bull-dog, tugged away at the end of the chain in a rage which I should not have smiled at had the chain been a light one. Presently, however, the man tied a bandage about his head, unbent himself, turned toward the door where I was stand- ing, and I inquired what had befallen him. He replied that he had, a few moments previous to my coming, gathered himself up from the stable floor where he had been lying unconscious he hardly knew how long, having been kicked by a vicious stage horse left in his keeping. Luckily for him and somewhat so for me, tired and hungry as I was, the wound was not serious. He was an intelligent youth, intelligent enough to comprehend my reason for undertaking a walk across the desert. Under his cabin roof I fared well, and on the hardest of beds enjoyed such sound, refreshing sleep as is given to tired but happy travelers. From this hostelry among the cliffs, a few minutes’ morning = walk brought me to where the mountain flanks are parted by a — a deep gorge indicating where, in times long past, a river made its © way from the highlands down to the sea which then occupied the i 790 Botanizing on the Colorado Desert. [November, area now a desert. The road here descends to the dry bed of the extinct river, and follows it directly to the plain. The grade is easy but the loose white sand is deep, and in this sandy rock- . walled passage I met two Indians, a man and woman, whose decrepid forms, withered features and whitened hair made them look almost prehistoric, toiling upward on foot, each with a heavy pack of blankets and pottery on their backs, while a few rods behind them a stalwart youth of about thirty years rode in serenest laziness a half-starved looking pony. It was probably another party of herborizers this, on their way up to the rocky heights where the wild maguey plants grow, to feast on the ten- derly springing flower-stalks, and make mezcal. February days in this region are nearly as warm as days of July in-New England, and as I walked along the south wall of the cafion, gratefully sheltered from the heat of the morning sun, I easily comprehended the origin of that oriental phrase: “ The shadow of a great rock ina weary land.” Here at my feet, where the sand was shaded, grew and bloomed a low spreading variety of evening primrose (CEnothera), with large, pale yellow flowers. On the opposite side, more exposed to the sun, the whole base line of the rising cliffs was ornamented with a continuous hedge- row of a very handsome shrub (Hyptis albida H. B. K.) with whitish foliage, its branchlets ending in slender spikes of fine, deep purple flowers. The desert shrubs, however brilliant their flowers may be, are usually without much show of foliage, most of them bearing spines or briers instead of leaves. But besides this pretty, white-leaved Hyptis, I noticed one other exception to that rule in the case of a smaller bush ( Beloper- one californica Gray), the stems of which were buried half their length in the drifting sands, and whose salvia-like spikes of scar- =~ let flowers were subtended by neat foliage of a bright shining * green. From admiring these first beauties of the desert, MY attention was next drawn to a tuft of tall, slender, reed-like stems _ with pale-green bark which, though appearing wholly leafless, _ produced at their summits several pendant clusters of white _ flowers. At a few rods distance one would never have guessed this graceful plant to be a near relative of the stout coarse leaved — _ silk-weed of Eastern fields and waysides; but a glance at the structure of the flower showed the plant to be a genuine Ascle- pias ( A. subulata Dec.). The stems, though altogether smooth 1880. ] Botanizing on the Colorado Desert. . 791 and reed-like as seen at a distance, show distinctly, to the nearer view, the nodes at which, in other species of the genus, broad, flaunting leaves are developed, and at each of these leaf-nodes the careful observer detects a pair of minute, awl-shaped appen- dages which are technically the leaves of this anomalous Ascle- piad of the desert. On passing forth from the mountain gorge to the open plain, the eye is greeted by an assemblage of such strange-looking veg- etable forms as command the wondering attention of all travelers, whether scientists or not. Among these the cacti are the most conspicuous; some of them globose or cylindrical, resembling so — many enormous melons set up on end, having prickly sides and bearing flowers and fruits at the top. Others are more like orchard trees, with smoothish trunks and well-rounded heads of branches bending under a load of pear-shaped fruits. One of these cacti (Opuntia bigelowii Engelm.) is, in its gen- eral aspect, doubtless a more forbidding thing than any “thorn” or “thistle” which the ancestral fugitives from Eden ever met with in oriental wilds. If the reader wishes to form a definite and tolerably correct idea of this plant’s appearance, let him imagine a post four or five feet high and as many inches thick, putting forth, from its upper extremity, a half dozen clumsy arms or branches of the size and shape of ordinary ball-clubs, the trunk and club-shaped branches all so thickly beset with long, needle-like, glistening spines, that the spines are actually the only part of the plant visible. With such a horrid growth as this the grand knolls and lower slopes of all the hills are covered, Extremely odd looking and not more odd than beautiful is the 25 small tree locally known by its Mexican name ocotilla (Fouguiera splendens Engelm.). It grows to the height of from eight to twelve feet, and in outline is quite precisely fan-shaped. To show how this may be, let me describe more particularly its mode w > growth. The proper trunk, usually ten or twelve inches in diam- — eter, is not more than a foot and a-half high. At just a few inches above the surface of the sands this trunk abruptly sepa- rates into a dozen or more distinct and almost branchless stems. These simple stems rising to the height of eight or ten feet, gradually diverge from one another, giving to the whole shrub — the outline of a spread fan. Each separate stem 1s clothed — throughout with short gray thorns and small dark-green leaves, = 792 Botanizing on the Colorado Desert. [ November, and terminates in a spike a foot long of bright-scarlet, trumpet- _ shaped flowers. This splendid oddity flourishes in great abun- dance in many places. The stems are not so thickly armed with thorns but that a man may handle them if he will seize them circumspectly with his fin- gers, and being very hard and durable, as well as of a convenient size, they are much employed for fencing purposes about the stage stations and upon the ranches adjoining the desert. Give a skillful Mexican ocotilla poles and plenty of raw hide thongs, and he re- quires neither nail nor hammer to construct a line of fence which for combined strength, neatness and durability fairly rivals the best work of that kind done in our land of saw mills and nail factories. As a tree or shrub of strange peculiar beauty, the cultivators will vainly desire to add this to their list of varieties, unless their art can reproduce the parched and sterile gravel heaps and the _ dry, withering atmosphere which it finds congenial. Those who have ever experienced anything of a naturalist’s enthusiasm will readily believe that the writer, in passing amid these and other unmentioned objects of thrilling interest, hardly felt the intensity - of the mid-day heat, nor realized how much he was suffering from thirst until, at two o’clock, almost before he had thought of such a place or wished it near, he found himself but a few rods away from the station of Coyote Wells. This is the westernmost stopping place on the desert, only twelve miles out from the base _ of the mountains. The place derives its name from the fact that here the Coyotes, long before ever white men had passed this way, smelled water near the surface, and pawed in the sands until _ they reached it. These wells of the Coyotes having been suitably -o excavated and curbed up, supply the best water that has been found on all the breadth of the desert; the other wells being more or less strongly impregnated with offensive salts or alkalies. Having reached the shade of an adobe wall, I gladly took refuge from the heat, and for something less than an hour, did little but drink water. Dinner was then announced, after which I sought again the shade outside, rested, and studied for another hour the rugged outline of a mountain range which broke the level of the plain some ten miles to the northward. The station keeper was _ going to remove thither some day to settle and dig gold; plenty -of the precious metal there ; no doubt about it. Only a few years ago a white man and a negro had gone there to dwell to- 1880.] Editors Table. 793 gether and amass each his fortune. A late party of prospectors passing that way had found the white man’s bones whitening among the sun-burnt rocks. The conclusion was that the negro had murdered his partner and absconded with the accumulated gains of both. And with many such cheerful and edifying bits of history do they seek to beguile the time which weary travelers spend at these desolate halting places in the wilderness. 10: EDITORS’ TABLE. EDITORS: A. S. PACKARD, JR., AND E. D. COPE. —— Whenever an institution accepts a bequest designed to assist impecunious but worthy students in the acquisition of some useful kind of knowledge, such as natural history, its obligations to itself, the donor and beneficiaries of the gift, are plainly that it must, under the direction of a competent com- mittee, see that the donated funds are applied to the objects for which they were given. Such bequests render the institutions accepting them, charitable, and if in addition the bequest is for the purpose of enabling any particular class of persons to acquire a specific kind of knowledge, the institution becomes educational in the same sense that any special school is considered to be such. Under no ordinary circumstances can the governing body in charge of such a trust, neglect the duty of ascertaining ‘whether the persons directly in charge of the incumbent benefi- ciaries, do their duty, and whether the beneficiaries themselves are competent persons who are making the proper progress under the proper discipline. Otherwise there is room for maladminis- tration under unauthorized authority ; or, the beneficiaries with no direction, under no discipline or instruction, fritter away their time in fruitless effort, at a period of life when they can ill afford to lose it. The Academy of Natural Sciences, of Philadelphia, some years ago accepted a trust of this kind. Mr. A. E. Jessup’s children, out of dutiful regard for their father’s wishes, gave the society a sum in trust, the income of which was designed for the benefit of im- pecunious young men who desired to devote the whole of their time and energies to the pursuit of natural science. The desire to give a sum of money for such a purpose in a man like Mr. Jessup was a natural one, which probably took its rise in the recollection VOL, ¥1V.~=NO. XI. st 794 Editors Table. [November, of his own early struggles for knowledge, when he, too, was poor. He wished that the money he. had verbally bequeathed should be used for the support of poor young men only, who would devote the whole of their time to study. Have Mr. Jessup’s wishes been fully complied with in the administration of the benefits of the fund ? It has been argued that inasmuch as the Academy afforded the facilities for study in its library and collections, that all Jessup beneficiaries should in return spend a certain number of hours each day at work for the Academy. This is now the rule. But, as it has been claimed time and time again that the Academy is a charitable institution, it does not seem to be in keeping with this claim to ask Jessup scholars to devote a part of their time to labor in order to pay the Academy for the privilege of studying in its building, especially when the work they are frequently expected to perform has no interest to them or no scientific bear- ing whatever. The character of some of the work at which Jes- sup scholars have been employed, may be gathered from the fol- lowing statements of facts: In one case a beneficiary was put to. washing shells to prepare them for a specialist ; another was em- ployed at brushing and dusting off the collection of stuffed birds; on another occasion one of them was set to work by the librarian to copy the titles of books in the library for compilation of cata- logues, properly the duty of the librarian himself, for which he 1s employed and paid. It has become the rule to make the Jessup scholars take the place of the janitors at the door once or twice a week, to sell the tickets which admit strangers to the museum of the Academy. It is hard to make a mental distinction in these the daily press, and the corresponding secretary has the blanks acknowledging donations filled up by one of these scholars. hey are also frequently used as messengers by the secretary, president and curators. They have become, in short, a Species. of men-of-all-work, useful to everybody about the institution, with no definite knowledge of their relation to the fund. from whence they derive an income just sufficient, with close economy, to oe port themselves. These persons then are virtually employes © 1880. | Editors Table. : = aS the Academy, paid from the income of a bequest designed to foster free scholarships. Suppose the various scholarships in America and the fellowships in English universities were tenable only upon condition that a certain amount of manual labor was performed; would it be at all likely that Prof. Clerk-Maxwells ` or Sir Wm. Thomsons would be the results of the system ? A matter which also deserves notice is the custom of assign- ing to Jessup students the work of arranging and labeling the collections of which they possess no previous knowledge. This plan is in principle beneficial to the student, and its originators rightly comprehended the benefits to be derived from a systematic study of any given group of animals, But it is obviously im- proper to entrust the determination of a collection for scientific study to inexperienced persons, who are, moreover, sometimes careless, or quite indifferent about the accuracy of determinations. his plan is also objectionable on account of the fact that the training of a young naturalist in this way restricts him to a com- paratively small group, so that he is quite unfitted to begin work as a teacher from a lack of comprehensiveness and the originality consequent upon a system of more general work. A broader preliminary training should be required of a person who ap- plies for the benefits of this fund, all of which would redound to the credit of both the individual scholars and the Academy in after years. His knowledge of the elements of biological science should be as full as possible, so that he would not be afterwards compelled'to go back and begin at the ground principles of his Science, in order to underpin, as it were, his own mental super- Structure. abundantly able to do so. The apathy which allows the present condition to continue, is wrong, because the opportunities for the 796 3 Recent Literature. | November, RECENT LITERATURE, BressEy’s Botany.'—To one who is desirous of obtaining a knowledge of general botany we should unhesitatingly recommend this manual. Most of the botanies which the student deals with are manuals of the flowering plants, rather than of plants in gen- eral, and thus he is led to believe that there are few plants in the world besides the flowering ones, that what do exist are of little importance, and thus his idea of the plant world is a limited and . one-sided one; and by plant we mean not a phanerogam or cryp- togram, but a plant as distinguished from an animal. In the same way many of our manuals of zoology are treatises on the vertebrated animals rather than on animals in general. It is true that in order to teach the elements of botany to beginners it is better to give them a general idea of the structure, physiology and mode of development of a common, well-known and accessit- ble flower or tree; but if the study of botany is to be made a dis- cipline, if the student is required to acquire a good general knowledge of the plant world—and our college students should be required to attain such knowledge—he must, after acquiring a good general knowledge of a few common flowers, master the kind and extent of knowledge contained in a book like the one before us. In short, he should study with the aid of some such book as this the types of the leading divisions of plants, begin- ning with the Protophytes and ending with the alge, mosses, ferns and flowering plants, or at least, if the pupil is not carried so far in his studies, the teacher should be armed at all points in his knowledge of general botany, so that he may rightly inform the pupil regarding the structure and physiology of the lower plants, for the sake of bringing out more clearly the position 1n nature and general relations to other organized beings of the flowering plants. ` While, therefore, this book is designed apparently for advanced classes, it will be of especial value to the thousands of teachers of botany in the higher schools scattered over the country. Without disparaging school books written by other botanists, It seems to us that Prof. Bessey’s book is indispensable to the teacher of botany as it is or should be taught in these days in our leading colleges and universities. é It moreover derives its value in large part from being compiled from the works of Sachs, De Bary, Hofmeister, Strasburger, Nageli, Schwendener and others; the first part following quite _ closely Sachs’ botany, many of the admirable cuts in that book being reproduced, so that those who cannot obtain the more costly and voluminous work of Sachs can master this book. The volume is divided into two parts; the first consists of - 1 Botany for High Schools and Colleges. By CHARLES E. Brssey. American Sci- ence Series. New York, Henry Holt & Co,, 1880. 8vo, pp. 611. . 1880. | Recent Literature. 797 twelve chapters on the following subjects: protoplasm, the plant cell, the cell wall, the formation of new cells, the products of the cell, the tissues, the tissue systems, intercellular spaces and secretion reservoirs, the plant body, the chemical con- as possible to their pupils. The second part occupies the last four hundred pages of the book, and is entitled, Special Anatomy and Physiology. It treats of the general classification of plants. The arrangement of the lower plants is a modification of the system of Sachs, while the author has made a considerable innovation in raising the Proto- phyta, Zygosporee, Odsporee and Carposporee to the dignity its treatment, we leave to others the task of detecting and noticing the errors and shortcomings, if such occur. HUXLEY’S Inrropuctory To SCIENCE Primers.'—Every incipient biologist or geologist should study this little primer, which will Serve admirably its purpose as a brief and plain introduction to the study of nature. It is well calculated to be used as a text book for classes in elementary biology or geology, and we intend to use it as a basis for preliminary instruction to a course of physi- cal geography. Beginning with nature and science it treats of sensation and things, causes and effects, the order of nature, laws of nature, and gives a definition of science. A second art discus- ses material objects, which are divided (A) into mineral bodies, | Science Primers. Edited by Profs. HUXLEY, ROSCOE and BALFOUR STEWART. Introductory. By Prof. Huxuey, F.R.S. New York, D. Appleton & Co., 1880. Iomo, pp. 94. 35 cents. 798 Recent Literature, [ November, water being the mineral chiefly referred to for the sake of illustra- tion, and (B) living bodies. Under the latter head the wheat plant and the substances of which it is composed, the common fowl and the substances of which it is composed, are described in the com- pass of three pages ; then the constituents of the body common to the wheat plant and the fowl. What is meant by the word living, and how the living plant comports itself, and how the living animal grows, and how living bodies differ from mineral bodies is told in a few clear, simple sentences. Finally the science of biology and its subdivisions, botany and zodlogy, are defined, and a final page or two is devoted to mental phenomena and the definition of psychology. EMERTON’S SEASIDE CoLLECTING.! — In England and France popular works on the animals of the seashore, and the names of Gosse, Forbes, Kingsley and Quatrefages are associated with some of the most entertaining books that have ever been written. America, on the other hand, has been wofully deficient in works _of this character. The only ones which approach it being Mrs. Agassiz’s Seaside Studies, Verrill and Smith’s Invertebrata of Vineyard sound, and the charming little work of “ Actaea.” In the present volume Mr. Emerton has given us a well illustrated account of the common marine forms of invertebrates with the methods of collecting them. The work is written in Mr. Emet- ton’s straightforward manner, and from a literary point of view 1s superior to his well-known volume on spiders. A fair proportion of the 161 figures which illustrate the book are new, while the ` remainder have not been copied often enough to render them at all hackneyed. The pictures of Lophothuria fabricii and Pentacta - frondosa are possibly the best. “Here we would remark that the as 7 ’ , credit on the publisher. — % S, K. ZITTEL’S PALÆONTOLOGY.?—The third part of Vol. 1 of this im- portant work especially commends itself to American palæontolo- gists, since it continues and completes the elaborate account O 1 Life on the Seashore, or Animals of our Coasts and Bays. By James H. EMER- TON. vo, pp. XX and 143. Salem, George A. Bates, 1880. 2 Handbuch der Paleontology. Unter mitwirkung von W. PH. SCHIMP mpER. Hera gegeben von Karl A. Zittel. 1 Band, 11 Lieferung, mit 195 original holzschnitten. Miinchen, 1879, 8vo. 1880. | Recent Literature. 799 fossil Echinoderms begun in the preceding part, and is partially based on the researches in this country of Hall, Billings, Shumard, Meek and Worthen and Wachsmuth, so that while the work is mainly compiled from European works and museums, the fauna of the two hemispheres is nearly equally well described and illus- trated. The Crinoids are treated with fullness, the descriptions of the families and genera being preceded by more detailed accounts of the orders, while the essential features of the class are given at greater length, due reference being made to the structure of the ard and soft parts of the existing species. The Cystoidea and Blastoidea have received full and detailed treatment. The star- fishes and sea urchins are described in the same manner, nearly as much space being given to the sea urchins as to the Crinoids. This part is illustrated by about two hundred woodcuts, nearly all well drawn and engraved. We do not know of a hand-book which will, when finished, be so useful for reference as this, at least so far as concerns the invertebrated animals and plants. Koppen’s Injurious Insects oF Russta.1—While the literature of €conomic entomology is fullest in this country, where more perhaps has been done than in Germany, France or England, considerable attention is now being given to this subject in Russia, which of late years, especially last year and this, has suffered grievously from the ravages of noxious insects. To the author of this book we are indebted for the best, most detailed and original treatise on the migratory locust of the old world. After briefly enumerating the insects found on the more im- portant trees and crops, the insects of different orders are described or referred to. The treatment of the subject is scarcely adapted to the needs of the unlearned, but as the first sketch of so vast a subject, the book will indirectly be of much practical value to Russian agriculturalists. Miss OmErop’s EnGuisH Injurious Insects.’ —Thkough this is a pamphlet of but forty-four pages, yet the eminently popular style and the illustrations will render it most useful to the average English farmer and gardener. Though British agriculturalists are heavy losers by the attacks of destructive insects, for many years past there has been a strange apathy on the part of the entomologists in calling attention to these pests. Miss Omerod’s annual reports and her earnest labors in economic entomology will, it is to be hoped, awaken fresh attention to a subject which rom its very nature has to be re-worked every few years. Miss Omerod announces her intention to prepare a hand-book of reme- dies to be used in checking the ravages of insects destructive to 1 Die Sehädlichen Insekten Russlands. Von F. T. KOPPEN. St. Petersburg, 1880. 8vo, pp. 526. Notes of Observations of Injurious Insects. Report 1879. London, W. Swan Sonnenschein & Allen. London, 1880. 1 shilling. Svo, pp. 44, with cuts. 800 Recent Literature. [ November, the food crops, timber and fruit trees of England, and she has therefore issued a circular asking information concerning the hab- its, appearance and remedies against noxious insects. WHITE’S CONTRIBUTIONS TO PALÆonTOLOGY.!— These chapters contain descriptions of fossils discovered by the Hayden Survey, belonging to the Cretaceous, Tertiary, Laramie, Triassic, Carbon- iferous, Jurassic and again the Carboniferous formations of the Western Territories, in the order here named. The sudden, and as it has proved in many ways to be, disastrous abolishment by Congress of this great survey, has left no provision for the proper publication of the final results of the geological and palzonto- logical work.. But while the subjects treated of in these eight contributions have been thus presented in an unfinished state, opportunity has been taken to figure nearly every species described in the publications of the survey. Hence all that refers to the Tertiary, Cretaceous, Laramie and Jurassic invertebrates, as well as those of other formations, is rendered of much value in of the Laramie invertebrates and his general introductory re- marks. These afford materials for a monograph of the inverte- brate animals of this interesting formation which it is to be hoped he may have the opportunity, by fresh field work, to complete. - THE ABORIGINES OF VictortA2—This valuable publication was printed at the expense of the government of the province of Vic- toria in Southeastern Australia, and although it professes to sketch only the natives of the province aforesaid, we get from it a glance at all the Australian aborigines, their manners, customs, and racial peculiarities. The first volume enlarges upon the man- ner of sustenance, the education of children and the mental char- acter of these natives; then follow sketches of their encamp- ments and daily life, their diseases, their canoes, weapons and other implements. A chapter on pictorial representations drawn on pieces of bark will attract particular attention. e second volume is devoted to the reproduction of numerous vocabularies and other linguistic material of the Victoria and Tasmania dialects, all of which seem to show considerable affinity and are, in part, of a very harmonious, or at least vocalic charac- ter ; follows a series of appendices of ethnographic import: songs, music, sign-language, etc. Some of the songs are worded in the — harmonious dialect of Kotipna, at the junction of Goulbourn and Murray rivers. Among the myths, of which a large selection 18 1 Contributions to Paleontology. Nos. 2-8. By C White, M.D. .S, logical Survey, F. V. Hayden in charge. (Extracted from the Twelfth Annual Re port of the Survey for the year 1878.) Washington, July, 1880. 8vo, pp 171) 4? Geo- plates. _ R. Brough Smith, the Aborigines of Victoria. Melbourne, 1878. Two ier oa in Lex.-octavo, profusely illustrated. 1880. ] Recent Literature. 801 offered, those of the creator of all things, called Pundjel by the tribes of Bungwrong, Yarra, Melbourne, &c., are of peculiar interest—A. A. Gatschet. NT Books AND PAMPHLETS.—The Foramina of Monro. By Burt G. Wilder. (From aean Med, pe Surg. Journ., Aug. 12, 1880.) pp. 8. From the author. The two kinds es Vivisection—Sentisection and Caca: By Burt G. Wilder. oen Med. Rec., Aug. 21, 1880.) pp. 2. From the author addr ba beo the American Association for the ELT of Science. By P nenbeini yyt ssiz. pp. 26, 1880. From the author An address before the American Association for the Advancement of Science. By Asaph Hall. pp. 16, 1880. From the author. The EEEIEI of the Tertiary period by means of the Mammalia., B W. eh s eala (From Quar. Journ. Geol. Soc. for Aug., 1880.) pp. 26. From eea ions on the Menobranchus maculatus. By Henry Montgomery. fon Canadian Naturalist, Vol. 1x, No. 3.) pp- 7, 1880. From the author, Description of parts of the Skeleton of an An omodont Reptile aoe sde robustus) irom the ‘Trias of neo Reinet, S. ata y Pro (From Quart. Journ. Geol. Soc., Aug. 1880.) pp. 13, pls. 2. From the ats Graptolites of the Niagara formation. By J. W. Spencer. (Fr m Canadian Nat- uralist, Vol. $ No. 8, pp. 7.) From the author. n the Ni Aad or r Copper- bearing Rocks of Lake Superior, with notes on copper sey m in the r By J. W. Spencer. From Canadian Naturalist.) pp. 15. uthor. Notes on the Geology of the Iron and g Districts of Lake Superior. By M. E. Wadsworth. (Bull, of the Mus. Comp. Zoöl., Geol. Ser., Vol. 1) pp. 157, pls. 6. Cambridge, 1880. From the autho era On the = to be filled by a Theory of Life. By C. S. Minot. (From Proc, Amer. Assoc. Adv. Sci., Aug., 1879.) pp- 5, Salem, 1880. From the author. A Catalogue of the Indiana with keys and descriptions of the conp of Daaa Interest to e Horichirereilit. By A. W. Braytons. pp. 76. Indianapo- lis, 1880. From the author Not te on the Extension of Coiled Arms in Rhynchonella. By Edw. orse. (From Amer, Journ. Sci sg Ar, Vol. 17, March, 1869.) pp. I. Tis Fona. m= 1878. e Tarsus and Carpus 2 ‘Birds By Edw. S. Morse. rs a Lyc. Nat. Hist. ee York, Vol. 10, 1872.) pp. 18, pls. 4-5- From the auth On the corny of the a Process of the snag age in Bids with the In- peery By Edw. S. Mors (From Mem . Soc. Nat. Hist., 1880.) 4to, Ppp. 10, pl. 1. From the author. ae of a si hore cies ae Chamzleon from Madagascar. By Dr. A. Gun- ~ P- 1, I pl. Sept., 1879. From the author escription of new oe of Reptiles from Eastern Africa. pP- 5 Sept., 1880. From the author. contribution to the knowledge of the Fish ve ‘Gin ther. (From Ann. and Mag. Nat. Hist, July, 1880.) pp. 8vo, pp. 60, pls. 2. Ottawa, By Dr. A. Gunther. -fauna of the Rio de la Plata. By Dr. 7, pl. 1. From the oe Field ae on Transactions No. I. Canada, 1880 m the Comptes Rendus pa cats iques des Congrés et Continet — Interna- tional de bg ologie, Paris, Septembre, 1878. 313. Paris, 1880 Rap sur i marche der Musée Géologique Vaudois en vier. "(Ext Bull. Soc. Vaud. Sc. Nat., 16, 83.) pp- 1 the au eae Géologique du Canal de la Manche. Par M. Hébert. Aen Comptes Rendus Acad. des Sciences, T. 90, 1880.) - pp- 13, 4to. From the author Le Pliocéne de Castel d’appio en Italie. Par M. Emile Rivière. pP. 8, 1880. 5 r E. Rene- plea 1880. From 802 _ General Netes. [ November, De Quelques Hyperostoses de Poissons Trouvées dans les Grottes Quaternaires de Menton en Italie par E. Riviére. Assoc. Franc. pour l’Advane. des Sci., Congrès de Montpellier, 1879. pp. 6. From the author Orographie de la partie des Hautes-Alpes Calcaires. By E. Renevier. 12mo, pp. - Lausanne, 1880. From the author. Quelques Roches des Alps Vaudoises Etudiées au microscope. Par M. Arthur Wm. Waters. (Bull. Soc. Vaud. Sc. Nat. 16, 83.) pp- 6, pl. 1. From E. Renevier. Zur Fisch-fauna des Cauca und der Flüsse bei Guayaquil. Von Dr. Franz Stein- dachner, 4to, pp. 52, pls. 9. Wien, 1$80. From the author. Ichthyologische Beiträge (1x). Von Dr. Franz Steindachner. Uber eine Samm- lung von Flussfischen von Tohrzona auf Madagascar. (Sitzb. der k. Akad. der Wissensch, 1, Abth. Juli-Heft. Jahrg. 1880.) i From the author. Anales del Ministerio de Fomento de la Republica Mexicana, 8vo, Tomo III, pp. Mexico, 1880. Circular of the Terzo Congresso Geografico Internazionale. Venezia, 1881. Roma, 1880. From the secretary. foal ~ ` :0: GENERAL NOTES. BOTANY. MECHANICAL Cause oF QuincuNncIAL PuyLioTaxy.—lIn a pre- liminary note on this subject, Prof. F. Delpino, of the Royal Uni- fourth ; the sixth is in the angle between the third, fourth and fifth ; and so on, each additional ball being placed in the angle between the three immediately preceding it in number. On the cylindroid thus formed the spheres occupy positions correspond- ing to those of the leaves in the quincuncial arrangement. Three spirals may be traced, having the formule f, $, 3. Imagine now the spheres as thus placed to elongate gradually into horizontal cylinders, and the spirals will change successively to }, 3, 23 b 8 $; 3; &c. His conclusions are that the cause of the quin- _ cuncial arrangement is exclusively mechanical; that the ortho- 1880. ] Botany. 80 3 phytes, and not cormophytes, the only true cormophytes being certain alge (Caulerpa, Chara); and that the leaf has the same structural significance in the phenogams and higher cryptogams, ut that there is nothing in the lower cryptogams which cor- responds to it—W. T: INFLUENCE OF HIGH AND Moist TEMPERATURES ON GERMINA- TION.—The action of high and moist temperatures on germina- tion has been recently studied by M. Hackel, who put seeds of black mustard ( Sinapis nigra) on a moist sponge placed ina plate whose bottom was constantly covered with water, and kept the | whole in a stove with constant temperature at 48° C. In less than twelve hours radicles were formed in a large number of the seeds (but none such were observed in seeds in the water kept there—they never generated). The seeds, having sent out their radicle, stopped while the temperature remained at 48°, but when it was lowered to 20° or (better) 17.5°, there was a rapid develop- . ment of germs. Neither Sinapis alba nor Lepidium sativum gave a reproduction of the phenomenon. The substances, benzoate of soda (known to arrest the development of ferments), benzoic acid and sulphurous acid, were proved to be capable of suspending the germination of various seeds—English Mechanic. NECTAR, Irs NATURE, OCCURRENCE AND Uses. — Under this heading Mr. William Trelease contributes to the report on Cotton insects lately issued by the Agricultural Department, an interest- ing essay, accompanied by a good plate and full b.bliographical_ references. He concludes that “ nectar, whenever it occurs, may be considered as excretory, reproductive, protective or nutritive ; that in some cases, e. g., the leaves of the peach, excretory nectar may possibly be protective also; that reproductive nectar usually s in the flowers but not always; that protective nectar Seems, in some cases, designed to keep ants from defoliating and deflowering the plant; in others, to keep larve from destroying the foliage or immature fruit; that nutritive nectar may serve, in some cases, to lead to the capture of wingless, in others of winged insects, and finaily that thé vital force of a plant is taxed so little in the production of nectar, that glands once developed an endowed with the power of active secretion may continue to 804 General Notes. | November, minology of the reproductive organs of the Cryptogamia.”—— Ata recent meeting of the French Academy, M. Planchon de- scribed a new species of American vine under the name of Vitis berlandieri. Messrs. E. A. Rau and A. B. Hervey have issued a Catalogue of North American Musci, giving the names of the species and the general localities. A valuable contribution to the subject of insect-destroying Fungi has been published by Prof. A. Giard. Of these the most common is Lxtomophthora musce, so common in September and October in our apartments; a = second type is E. megaspermum, a parasite of the cut-worm or larva of Agrotis segetum; others are Æ. curvispora, a parasite of Simulium latipes, a species of black fly, and Æ. ovispora, parasite of another fly (Louchea vaginalis). He regards Empusa and Tarichium as simply forms of Entomophthora, and to be used in the same sense as in zodlogy the nauplius or zoéa of a Crusta- cean. He describes as new a fungus parasite of the flesh fly, under the name of Extomophthora calliphore. He then describes the appearance of a gnat (Chironomus) attacked by the Empusa form of Entomophthora rimosa, and incidentally alludes to Æ. con- glomerata of the mosquito. Finally M. Giard refers to the enor- mous services which Entomophthora renders to agriculture. “Nothing could be more easy than to multiply these parasites, and to introduce them into places where they had not hitherto existed.” The caterpillars of the cabbage butterfly can be exter- minated by watering them with water containing the spores of . Spherosperma. By collecting, in winter, these caterpillars, mummified and filled with spores, they can be used in destroying the hordes of caterpillars of the next summer. Giard also recom- mends destroying the cut-worm by sprinkling over cabbage beds water holding the spores of the fungus in suspension.——Some peculiarities in the anthers of Clethra are described, by C. R. ~ Barnes, in the Botanical Gazette for August and September. ZOOLOGY.! EGGS or THE Tree CRICKET WANTED.—The undersigned would be much obliged for specimens of the eggs of the tree cricket (CEcanthus). They are laid in the terminal branches of the rasp- berry, plum, oak, grape, and almost any shrubs. The rows of punctures made by the ovipositor of the female are quite easily detected, and may be found during the Autumn and Winter. Send twigs by mail.—A. S. Packard, Fr., Providence, R. I. Do Fryine Fish Fry —In the September number of the NATU- RALIST is a very interesting article on the subject, “ Do Flying Fish Fly?” During the past summer I have been enabled to wit- ness the flight of a good many flying fish of the large species 1 The departments of Ornithology and Mammalo ry are conducted by Dr. ELLIOTT Cougs, U.S. A: = 1 880.] i Zoölogy. 805 known as Ærocætus californicus Cooper. The following extract from my field notes may be of some interest as bearing on this question : It flies for a distance sometimes of nearly a quarter of a mile, usually not rising more than three or four feet. Its motions in the water are extremely rapid, and its motive power is certainly the movement of its powerful tail in the water. On rising from the water the movements of the tail are continued for some sec- onds until the whole body is out of the water. While the tail is in motion the pectorals are in a state of very rapid vibration, and the ventrals are folded. When the action of the tail ceases, the pectorals and ventrals are spread and, as far as we can see, held at test. When the fish begins to fall, the tail touches the water and the motion of the pectorals recommences, and it is enabled to re- sume its flight, which it finally finishes by falling in the water with asplash. When on the wing it resembles a large dragon-fly. ; motion is very swift; at first it is in a straight line, but this be- comes deflected to a curve, the pectoral on the inner side of the arc being bent downward. It is able to some extent to turn its course to shy off from a vessel. The motion seems to have no reference to the direction of the wind, and we observed it best from the bow of a steamer off Santa Catalina island, in early morning, when both air and water were free from motion.—David S. Fordan, Ind. State Univ., Bloomington, Ind. -Fiicuts oF “ Fries.” —Under the head of “ traveling flies,” the Scientific American notices the occurrence of a vast cloud of flies on the Hudson river, between New Hamburg and Newburg. It reached southward from shore to shore as far as the eye could reach, and resembled a great drift of black snow. The insects were flying northward “as thick as snow flakes driven by a strong wind.” The steamer Mary Powell ran into the fly storm off Haverstraw, some forty miles below where the Martin encoun- tered it. The flies were “ long and black and had light wings.” A dispatch from Halifax, Nova Scotia, states that on Sunday, pt. 5, immense swarms of flies passed over Guysboro, 120 miles northeastward of Halifax. They came from the east and resembled a dark cloud. : A correspondent of the Toronto Mail, writing from East Pic- tou, Nova Scotia, describes a similar phenomenon as occurring there August 21. The flies, forming a veritable cloud, passed Lismore at 6 o’clock in the evening, close to the shore. They went with the wind, which was blowing lightly from the west, occupying about twenty minutes passing a given point. made a loud, buzzing noise, which was heard by many who missed seeing them. They flew so lòw that some of them ap- peared to fall into the water. About two miles below Lismore they slightly changed their flight, heading more to the north. 806 General Notes. : [ November, CETONIA INDA.—This common insect which in former years was a harmless beetle feeding in early spring on the sap of freshly cut maple trees has, within two or three years, become very abun- dant and destructive in different parts of New England. During the past summer it collected in great numbers on green corn, -eating the kernals and partly destroyed a field in Middleboro, Mass., as we learn from Prof. Jenks.—A. S. P. CAUSE OF THE TWISTING OF SPIRAL SHELLS.—At the end of his essay on the development of the pulmonate Gasteropods, M. Fol inquires into the cause of asymmetry of univalve shells ; by most authors it has been ascribed to the folding round of the shell; ering, however, regards the torsion of the shell as due to the asymmetry of the viscera. Fol regards both these opinions as too extreme, as in the Heteropoda asymmetrical arrangements manifest themselves at an extremely early period. In Helix and Limax the torsion does not appear so early, and is seen simulta- neously in the viscera and in the shell. To explain the phenom- ena, it seems to be necessary to note the process of segmentation of the ovum; but here unfortunately there is but little informa- tion. The fact that organs like the kidneys, which are, as we the commencement of the embryonic period. In conclusion, as reported in the Journal of the Royal Microscopical Society, the author points out how recent observations tend to favor the rees- tablishment of the Vermes of Linnzus. It is impossible, Fol says, to compare the molluscan larva with a segmented worm larva; they only correspond to the cephalic portion of the larva mented animals which have fused their segments, but they are animals which have remained simple. In the Vermes, on the other hand, the larval form (Lovenian, veliger, trochosphere) can, _ with variations in form, be traced through “worms,” Annelids, Bryozoa, Brachiopods, and even Echinoderms, and these all form a phylum quite distinct from that of the Arthropoda on the one se and of the Chordata (Tunicata and Vertebrata) on the other. _ Tue Young OF THE CRUSTACEAN LeuciFER, A NaurLIus.—One of the most interesting observations which we have made this summer is, that Leucifer leaves the egg as a Nauplius. As Fritz Nauplius from the egg, so the occurrence of a Nauplius is proved, _ absolutely, in one stalk-eyed Crustacean. As almost nothing was known about the habits of Leucifer, and nothing whatever about its embryology, I have devoted especial 1880. ] : Zoology. 807 attention to this interesting species this summer, but although the animals are very abundant I have been baffled in all my attempts to find the eggs or young until within the last week, but have it hatch I should certainly have supposed it to be a Copepod embryo, as the resemblance is perfect. In this connection I may state that Mr. Wilson has succeeded in raising zoéas from the eggs of Libinia, and of a closely-allied genus. In these, the most highly specialized of the Decapods, the embryonic record is accelerated so much that the zoéa has its full number of thoracic appendages when it leaves the egg, so the embryology of Leucifer is at one end of the series and the em- bryology of Libinia at the other. : Wilson has also raised the zoéas of the following crabs from the egg, this summer: Porcellana, Pinnixa, Sesarma, Pinnotheres, Callinectes, : The skin which the crab zoéa sheds soon after it leaves the egg has been regarded as a Nauplius skin, but the fact that the Naup- 808 General Notes. [ November, lius of Leucifer leaves the egg encased in a similar skin, and molts it soon after, seems to indicate, that it has no morphological significance.— W. K. Brooks, Beaufort, N. C., Sept. 5. THE FRIGATE MACKEREL, AUXIS ROCHEI, ON THE NEW ENGLAND Coast. — The United States Fish Commission has obtained numerous specimens of a fish, before entirely unknown in the Western Atlantic. This is the frigate mackerel, Auris rochet, twenty-eight barrels of which were taken in a mackerel seine, ten miles east of Block island, on the 3d of August, by the schooner American Eagle, Capt. Josiah Chase, of Provinceton, Mass. ~ The Frigate mackerel resembles in some particulars the com- mon mackerel, in others the bonito; the genus Auxis being inter- mediate in its character between the Scomber and the related - genera Pelamys and Orcynus. It has the two dorsal fins remote from each other as in Scomber, and the general form of the body is slender, like that of the mackerel. The body is, however, somewhat stouter, and instead of being covered with small scales of uniform size, has a corselet of larger scales under and behind the pectoral fins. Instead of the two small keels upon each side of the tail which are so noticeable in the mackerel, it has the sin- gle more prominent keel of the bonito and the tunny. Its color is grayish-blue, something like that of the pollack, the belly being lighter than the back. Under the posterior part of the body, above the lateral line, are a few cloudings or maculations resem- bling those of the mackerel. The occurrence of a large school of this beautiful species in our waters is very noteworthy, for the fish now for the first time observed are very possibly the precur- sors of numerous schools yet to follow. It is not many yea since the bonito became an inhabitant of our waters, and the dis- tribution and habits of the frigate mackerel are supposed to be very similar to those of the bonito, Sarda pelamys, and the little tunny, Orcynus alliteratus, which also first came on the coast 1m 1871, and have since been found in considerable numbers. — The frigate mackerel has been observed in the West Indies and other parts of the tropical Atlantic as well as on the coast © Europe. In Great Britain it is called the “ plain benito.” It 15 not unusual in the Bermudas, where it is called the “ frigate mackerel,” a name not inappropriate for adoption in this ile RE since its general appearance is more like that of the mackere than the bonito, while in swiftness and strength it is more like the larger members of this family. ME Since the first appearance of this fish many new observations of its abundance have been received. These fish seem to have men in previous years. Several vessels have come into Newport recently, reporting their presence in immense numbers 19 1880. | Zoology. 809 vicinity of Block island. It will interest the “ Ichthyophagists’ Club” to know that several persons in Newport hare seated the fish, and pronounce it inferior to the bonito. Part of the flesh, that on the posterior part of the body, is white, but behind the gills it is black and rank, while the meat near the backbone is said to be of disagreeable, sour flavor. It is hard to predict what its influence will be upon other fishes . occupying our waters. Its mouth is small and its teeth 8 le, so that it is hardly likely to become a ravager like the onito and the bluefish. There is little probability, on the other = the tunny. The captain of the vessel, Joshua Riggs, reports that about a week ago he had a hundred barrels in the seine at one time, and saw over twenty schools of them. He saw them as far east as Sow-and-Pig light ship. They are very easy to feed on mackerel food. Mr. Daniel Hiltz, of the same vessel, says that he caught one of just the same kind in February, 1879, on a haddock trawl on the eastern part of the Middle Bank in forty fathoms of water. He took it to Boston, where it was called a young bonito.” f the schooner Sarah C. Wharf, says eastward of here; the took a number of bar- dollar a barrel. An- took about fifty Block island. The captain an M. F¥ohnson, of Newburyport, just arri they saw abundance of the Auxis, bu VOL. XIV.—=NO, XI. 52 . 810 General Notes. -[November, until reports came from you at Newport. They opened one and found in its stomach the ordinary red mackerel food, This crew differ with the crew of the schooner Fitz. Y. Babson with regard to the ease of capturing them—think them rather difficult to take; say they flip like porgies, and do not rush like mackerel; they saw ten large schools of them on Saturday last when some fif- teen miles south of Block island. I hope that any reader of the AMERICAN NATURALIST who has seen this fish will mention it; some may, perhaps, have an oppor- tunity of studying its habits. The length of those I have seen ranges from twelve to sixteen inches, and their weight from three- quarters of a pound to a pound and a-half or more. Those sent to New York market were part of the lot taken by the schooner American Eagle and brought into Newport, whence they were shipped by Mr. Thompson, a fish dealer of this place. It would require from eighty to one hundred of them to fill a barrel, so the estimate of Capt. Riggs that there are a thousand barrels in one of the schools, shows how exceedingly abundant they must be. Capt. N. E. Atwood, of Provincetown, Mass., the veteran fish- erman-ichthyologist, has examined the specimens, and is satisfied that they belong to the same species as fish which he found abundant in the Azores in 1840, when, led by the reports of Cape Cod whalers, he went to these islands in search of mackerel, the mackerel fishing being poor at home. No mackerel were found except the “ frigate mackerel” referred to in this note.— G. Brown Goode, Summer Station U. S. Fish Com., Newport, R. I, Aug. 30, 1880. ON THE OCCURRENCE OF FREIA PRODUCTA WRIGHT, IN THE CHESAPEAKE BAY.—Sometime in 1851 Prof. Leidy called attention to the existence of Freia ampulla in American waters, and from the poor figures of the European form then in existence, he was led to consider it a new species under the name of F. americana, but he now considers both forms the same. As they are amongst the most singular and beautiful of the family of the trumpet ani- malcules or Stentorina, I take pleasure in announcing that I have found the still more interesting species, F. producta T. S. Wright, in shallow waters on the western shore of the Chesapeake, at- tached in vast numbers to the shells of oysters, in company W1 ? Loxosoma and other bryozoa. The tubes in which the animalcule resides are formed of a nar- row transparent ribbon of horny consistency, wound into a spiral and terminating in a trumpet-shaped extremity from which the _odd peristome of the inhabitant protrudes. The basal or attached 1880. ] Zoölogy. gii takes its rise, but it is. composed of the same kind of material. Many of the tubes show the rim of a trumpet projecting from the sides of the former, a little above the middle, and of the same form as the terminal rim, showing that this, like the form des- cribed by Mr. Wright from English waters, may stop building its tube for a time and then recommence. The adult animal, tube and all, when fully extended, will meas- ure s'5 ofan inch in length. It is of the same color as Stentor ceruleus, but has the power of elongating and twisting itself as greatly as S. reset. The peristome is quite unlike that of Freia ampulla and bears a strong likeness to the blades of a pair of ob- stetrical forceps. The blades are deeply grooved, forming a deep ciliated demi-canal with parallel sides, and at the junction of their bases lies the spacious, twisted and richly ciliated pharynx, which is bounded dorsally and ventrally by the prominent folds which unite on either side with the long, curved lobes of the peristome. As in F. ampulla a finger-shaped knob, which may sometimes be extended as a long flexible appendage, surmounts the apices of the lobes of the peristome. There is a small basal disc as in Stentor and the ectosarc is traversed as in that genus by parallel granular bands, regarded as muscle fibers by some writers. The usual food balls and vacuoles are present, and I was enabled to de- fine sharply the endosare from the ectosarc, and clearly see the long-beaded nucleus. The tube or ribbon-secreting organ de- scribed by Wright I was unable to discover. When fully extended the basal portion of the animal becomes attenuated to a thin bluish filament, which widens toward the pe- ristome, where the body is over half as thick as the diameter of the tube. When fully retracted and resting, the animal resembles in its oblong shape a retracted and resting Stentor, and measures about y's as long as when fully extended. The agreement of this form with F. producta is in every respect so complete, that I have no doubt whatever that they are the same. The ribbon makes from four to twenty-four turns in specimens of different ages, and the turns are to the right. Z. stylifer Wright, is probably only a variety of this species.— Fon A. Ryder, Sept. 34, 1880. RHIPIDODENDRON SPLENDIDUM.—This remarkable flagellate monad, which builds a fan-shaped test composed of radiating tubes in which the individuals live and divide, is not uncommon, — attached to the leaves of Sphagum, from ponds in the neighbor- hood of Woodbury, N. J., from whence I have obtained it in material furnished me by Mr. W. P. Seal. Prof. Stein first de- scribed it from Bohemian waters.— 7. A. Ryder. A PALE VARIETY OF POLYXENES FASCICULATUS.—I have just picked up some specimens of Polyxenes that seem to me unusu- ally pale in color. I find them under chips, sticks and bits of bark within forty feet of the sea beach, at St. Jerome, St. Mary’s 812 General Notes. | November, county, Md., on the Chesapeake bay. The beach at this place is composed of white sand, and these little myriapods seem to have acquired a reddish tinge with none of the bluish cast so charac- teristic of specimens which I have examined from the vicinity of Philadelphia. There is so little pigment in the body walls that with careful illumination I am able to see the viscera, filled with ingesta, very plainly. There are no other differences by which I can distinguish the form from P. fasciculatus Say. It may be called var. pallidus. I wish also to record that all the inland specimens which I have found were always observed under the bark of trees, a fact which, I think, Mr. Say also records, but these I find invariably on the ground and in great numbers underneath the objects mentioned. — F. A. Ryder. ZootocicaL Notes.—A communication has been found by F. W. Bennett between the air-bladder and the cloaca in the herring. ——tThe structure of the ovary, ovulation, fecundation and the first stages of development in the bats has lately been studied by Messrs. Van Beneden and Julin. A contribution to the study of the structure of the ovary of the mole, ermine and bat ( Vesperugo pipistrella) by J. MacLeod, appears in Van Beneden and Bam- beke’s Archives de Biologie. A good deal of attention is now being paid by anatomists to the nervous system of the lower ani- mals, especially the ganglionic centers. A useful tract bearing on this subject is Liénard’s “ Constitution de Anneau Œsophagien. Mr. J, A. Lintner’s Lepidoptera of the Adirondack region 1s an interesting contribution to zod-geography, especially to our knowledge of the sub-arctic life of these mountains. It appears in the seventh report of the Adirondack Survey. The re- searches carried on by the U. S. Fish Commission the past season from Newport out to the Gulf Stream, have resulted in the addi- tion of a large number of new fishes and marine invertebrates. The hauls made in about three hundred fathoms under the edge _ of the Gulf Stream revealed a strange mixture of tropical and arctic life, with abyssal forms, including many shells and an inter- esting new starfish; 150 species new to the coast being dredged in a single day.—M. Fabre has discovered that two species of Halictus, a genus of bees, are parthenogenetic. They have two generations a year; a vernal and sexual one, originating from females which, fecundated in autumn 1880. | Anthropology. 813 study of the hair worms now asserts that the larve of the Gordii do not select their hosts; they encyst themselves and become developed in the most different animals (batrachians, fishes, crus- taceans, Arachnida, insects and mollusks). It is, therefore, by no means the case that the larve of the hair worms are parasites peculiar to insects; they probably most frequent fishes, and only exceptionally infest terrestrial animals, and only these when acci- dentally exposed to water, many insects, as ground beetles, man- tidz, grasshoppers and locusts perishing in this way; the Gordii in them being set at liberty. ANTHROPOLOGY.! THE ANTHROPOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON.—On the 10th of February, 1879, at the invitation of Dr. J. Meredith Toner,’ Col. Garrick Mallery, U.S.A., and Prof. Otis T. Mason, a few gentlemen interested in the study of man, met in the Smithsonian Institution to devise a method of mutual improvement. The effort resulted in the formation of the Anthropological Society of Washington, with Maj. J. W. Powell for president, Dr. Elmer R. Reynolds, recording secretary, and Otis T. Mason, corresponding Secretary. The purpose of the members being to compare notes I. Indian Pictographs. G. K. Gilbert. 2. Aztec and Guatemalan Antiquities. Otis T. Mason. 8. French and Indian Half-breeds. Dr. Victor Havard, U.S.A. i 9. Indian Color Names. Albert S. Gatschet. 10. Comparative Mythology of the Indies. Col. Garrick Mallery, U.S.A. II. Aboriginal Cemeteries near Piscataway, Md. Dr. Elmer R. Reynolds. 12. The Zodlogical Relationship of Man. Prof. Theodore N. Gill. 13. The Sign Language of the N. A. Indians. Col. Garrick Mallery, U.S.A. i eapons i m. J. Hoffman. 15. Fertilizers employed h de, : 16. Comparison of a written language with one that is spoken only. Otis T. Mason. 17. Aboriginal Shell Mounds at Pope’s Creek. Dr. Elmer R, Reynolds. 18, Ancient Maps of N. America. John C. Lang. : ‘ 1g. Comparison of Forest and Geological changes in the Tropics. Miles Rock. 20. Estimation of the age of Prehistoric Remains. Capt. Edwin P, Lull, U.S.N, 21. Turtle-back Celts and their Uses S. 22. Aboriginal Shell-heaps on South River, Md. J.. . McGuire. 23. Unclassed Disc-shaped Implements from Benning’s, D.C. Dr. Elmer R, Reynolds. 24. A Strange old Chart. Lt. Com. W. Bainbridge Hoff, U.S.N, 1Edited by Prof. Ors T. MAson, Columbian College, Washington, D. C. Sig o o General Notes. [November, Tue Davenport AcADEMy.—The Academy of Natural Sciences of Davenport, Iowa, has just issued Part 11 of Vol. 11, from July, 1877, to December, 1878, and Part 1 Vol. 111, to January 1, 1879. Wherever Prof. J. D. Putnam and Dr. C. C. Parry are to be found, one reasonably expects to hear of entomology and botany, and the volumes before us are largely indebted to these gentlemen for what they contain of lasting value. A goodly space, however, is devoted to what immediately concerns this department, as the fol- lowing list of papers will show: VOL, irs Exploration of Mounds on the farm of Col. Wm. Allen. W. H. Pratt. Examination of a large Mound in Jackson county, Iowa. Rev. J. Gass. A review of the published statements regarding the Mound at Payson, Utah. By Dr. E. Palmer. Inscribed Rocks in Cleona Township. Rev. J. Gass. Report on the Mounds of Jackson County. Rev. J. Gass. Left-handedness in the City Schools. W. H. Pratt. : ound No. 11, Cook’s farm, and an Inscribed Tablet. C. E. Harrison. On the East Davenport Mounds, A. D. Churchill. o near Moline, Ill. Rev. J. Gass and Dr. R. J. Farquharson. Exploration of Indian Graves. Rev. J. Gass. Elephant and Bear Pipes, illustrated. Most of these communications are, for the present of local interest. The time will soon come, however, when these special labors will be generalized into a consistent system embracing the archæology of our entire continent. On pages 156-162, Vol. 11, Mr. Pratt describes shell beds in the vicinity of Davenport, which he considers to be of natural formation. It would be well for some of our shell-heap friends to look into the matter. To dis- cover that natural causes had coöperated with man in building mounds and shell heaps, would affect materially our theories con- cerning both. Dr. Palmer, pages 167-172 takes entirely too - much notice of a canard concerning giants and mummy wheat. _ The description of the mode of building up the mound is excel- lent, and Dr. Palmer has the credit of being the first to draw attention to these tent mounds. It is to be sincerely hoped that no respectable journal will hereafter help to propagate archæo- logical weeds. The short paper by Mr. W. H. Pratt on left- handedness, p. 186, is an excellent contribution to a special sub- ject. The paper of Mr. Harrison, pages 221-224, touches on a topic of absorbing interest. The late Prof. Henry was in the habit of calling all observations which did not readily fall ie some known class, outstanding phenomena. The tablets o Davenport and the more recently discovered elephant pipes are, at present, outstanding phenomena. We may provisionally enu- merate the groups of objects in one of which they must go: i It has been said that they are downright frauds. The veracity 0! _ the many scientific gentlemen in the Academy which has been staked upon the genuineness of the finds, forbids such a conclu- 1880, | Anthropology. 815 sion. 2. In a late number of the American Art Review, Mr. F. “plant.” If the Davenport tablets and pipes are clever “ plants, some very shrewd gentlemen have been hoaxed, but really it is unkind to harbor such thoughts if there is any other possible explanation of the phenomena. 3. While many of the mounds of this continent are of unknown antiquity, it is proved beyond a doubt that many are quite recent. It is within the range of pos- sibility that the mounds at Cook’s farm were constructed after the Indians had received from the Catholic missionaries an idea of recording events upon bark, stone, metal, etc. 4. Granting the Asiatic origin of the Mound-builders, it is not inconceivable that the recollection of the elephant and of written characters, which play such a prominent part in the civilization of Asia, should have been brought to this continent and permanently recorded in stone. 5. It is yet an open question whether man existed on this conti- nent contemporaneously with the mastodon, or, what amounts to the same thing, whether the mastodon survived until man had appeared in America. If such had been true, we have in our elephant pipes another graphic witness of this acquaintanceship. 6. The theory that these graphic signs and images are only unde- signed coincidences will close our list of conjectures for the pres- ent regarding these truly wonderful objects. The paper of Mr. the Peabody Museum and the United States Fish Commission. The latest testimony is rather unfavorable to the cannibal theory. ANTHROPOLOGY IN FRANCE.—The second number of the Revue M. J.-J. Da Silva Amada. The observations of Dr. Féré were made upon 133 males and 67 females. Without attempting to repeat his processes, we may give some of the author’s results. There is no fixed relation be- tween the width of the skull and of the pelvis, notwithstanding. M. Pruner-Bey thinks that the form of the cranium agrees with that of the thorax and of the pelvis in well marked races. Again, while the proportions of the diameter of the skull and of the bi- 816 General Notes, [ November, acromial diameter decrease gradually and in a quite regular man- ner in both sexes as the height increases, and they are generally less in females, the bi-iliac and the bi-trochanterian diameters present numerous variations. Dr. Richet, in his paper on fecun- dity, discusses the relation of vitality to fecundity by means of a series of algebraic formule. The chief merit of the communica- tion is the emphasis given to the fact that the mere counting of the offspring of a single generation of mulattoes is not a correct guide to their fecundity. It is well known that very feeble mothers frequently have many children, all of whom perish in childhood, while vigorous mothers, less fecund, raise all their children, and thus contribute to the succeeding generation a proportional num- ber of fathers and mothers. It will be seen at once that the question of the permanence of hybrids depends quite as much on the vitality of the offspring as upon the fecundity of the mothers. Dr. Périer, in his note on evolution, calls attention to the fact that the theory of “transformism” has been received with greater enthusiasm in England and Germany than in France, the land of its birth. The author inclines to compliment his countrymen for this state of things, and, for himself, is happy “to be among the number of those who bow before the inaccessible unknown, and practice in the barracks and in the school. A bibliographic list accompanies the essay and adds very much to its value. ANTHROPOLOGY IN ENGLAND.—The May number of the Fournal of the Anthropological Institute contains, in addition to the presi- dent's address, the following papers of general interest: Austra- lian marriage laws, by Rev. Lorimer Fison; Savage and civilized warfare, by J. A. Farrer; Notes on the Jivaros and Canelos In- dians, by Alfred Simson; On the Bheel tribes of the Vindhyan 1880. ] Anthropology. 7 817 range, by Col. W. Kincaid; The Ethnology of Germany, Part Iv: the Saxons of nether Saxony, Section 11, by H. H. Howorth. Mr. Tylor’s address is a model for all such orations. Going beyond the custom of his predecessors, he commences with a tribute to the work of foreign societies, but, alas, finds no good word for American laborers. Following this we are presented with a résumé of work done by British anthropologists. Mr. Fison, in a letter to Mr. Tylor, gives a detailed statement of class marriages in Australia, accompanied with a chart. Mr. Farrer develops the idea that among savage races there are laws of war; that the instances are rare “where no notice nor declaration of war is made, but one tribe falls on another with no more warning than would be considered obligatory by a pack of wolves.” The tribes described by Mr. Simson dwell in Ecuador, The author has been for years a resident of the country, and speaks from personal observation. The Bheel tribes described in Col. Kin- caids paper live on the hills and in the villages bordering on the Vindhya mountains, a range stretching across Hindostan from east to west, just north of the Nerbudda river, extending from 22° to 25° N. The village Bheels are employed by the people among whom they dwell as trackers of stolen property, whic custom is well described by the author, as well as the methods of oath taking, superstitions and marriage ceremonies. Mr. Howorth’s paper occupies thirty pages of the Yournal and is a continuation of the author’s exhaustive monographs upon the tribes inhabiting Europe in the earliest classical times. BIBLIOGRAPHY: _ ALLEN, W. F.—Mr. Morgan’s classificatory system of relationships. Penn Month., June Animal Intelligence. (Westminster Rev.) Living Age, June 12. AYERsT, Rev. W.—The Anthropology of the Garos. Ind. Antiquary, April. Bayce, ARCHIBALD H.—Introduction to the Science of Language. Scribner & Welford. BUNKER, Rev. A.—On a Karen inscription plate. - Am. Oriental Soc., X, 11. e N. A. Indians. United Service Mag., July. Modern Rev., July. CLopp, E.—The later stone age in Europe : F. Straits Branch Roy. Dary, D. D.—Caves at Sungei Batu, in Selangor. As. Soc., III. DUGANNE, A. J. H.—Civilization vs. Nature. Potters Am. Month., July. Esers, H.—Modern results of Egyptology. Deutsche Rundschau, May. GALTON, F.—Statistics of mental imagery. Mind, July. ; È F. Am. Oriental Sot., X, U. Harnes, Henry W.—Fossil Man. EA ‘ ee a ie li- HALL, J. H.—Cypriote inscriptions of the Di Cesnola Collection in the 4 tropoli- tan Museum Sf Art, N. Y. City. J. Am. Oriental Soc., X. ; HoLMES, N.—Geological and geographical distribution of the human race. Trans. Acad. Sci. St. Louis, IV, 1. x k KINGSMILL, T. W.—The ancient language and cult of the Chows. F. W. China Br. &. As. Soc., XU. ; 818 General Notes. [ November, MCLEAN, J. P.—A study of American Archeology. Universalist Quarterly, July. Mayers, W. F.—On the stone figures at Chinese tombs and offering of living sacri- fices. J N. China Br. Roy. As. Soc., XM. Nubian races. Pop. Sc. Month., Aug. ARISOT, J.—Note sur la langue des Taensas. Rev. Linguistigue, April. PICKERING, W. A.—Chinese secret societies. X. Straits Br. R. As. Soc., II. PosTGATE, J. P.—A philological examination of the myth of the Sirens. Ff of Philology, XVII. PREGER, H.—Psychogenesis. Deutsche Rundschau, May. - RHEA, Rev. S. A.—Brief grammar and vocabulary of the Kurdish language. T Am. Oriental Soc., X, IL. SMITH, W. R.—Animal worship and animal tribes among the Arabs in the Old Testament. X. of Philology, XVIIL. Stone, W. L.—Remains of an ancient Indian work on Fish creek near Saratoga Springs. Mag. Am. History, July. { STUART, VILLIEks—Nile gleanings, 58 plates. Scribner & Welford. GEOLOGY AND PALÆONTOLOGY. GEOLOGY OF EGYPT AND OF THE Lipyan Desert.—Prof. Carl Zittel has published in the Abhandlungen of the Royal Academy of Munich for 1880, an essay on the above subject. It is largely based on the observations and collections of Schweinfurth and Gissfeld. As is known, the order of succession of the forma- tions in Northern Africa is from the older in the south to the later in the north. An exception to this is found in the region border- ing the Red sea, where a long extension northward of the primi- tive Azoic formation exists. Dr. Zittel shows that the greater part of the region west of this primitive plateau consists of the upper and lower Nummulitic Eocene. To the south and south- west the Cenomanian Cretaceous comes to the surface, the lower beds especially appearing from beneath lines of Eocene or upper Cenomanian bluffs. The oases are excavations in the latter forma- tions, whose bottoms consist of the Lower Cenomanian. VERTEBRATE PALEONTOLOGY OF INDIA.—Dr. Lydekker con- tinues to make important contributions to this subject. : His latest is a memoir on the Siwalik and Narbada Proboscidia, in which a great deal of light is thrown on the structure of the den- tition of many of the species. Two species are named for the first time, Dinotherium sindiense and Mastodon falconeri (a tr iloph- odont), while several others are described for the first time under MS. names of Falconer. In a preface the author puts the Indian _ species of RKhinoceride in order, and gives information not hith- _ erto accessible, by which they may be referred to their proper genera. In the Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal for 1880, Dr. Lydekker gives a synopsis of the species of extinct Vertebrata hitherto found in the peninsula of India. He enumerates twenty- eight species of fishes, mostly Paleozoic; seventeen of Selachii, mostly Mesozoic; thirty-nine Reptilia and Batrachia, divided 1880. | Geology and Paleontology. 819 equally between the Mesozoic and Tertiary, and one hundred and twenty-five Mammalia. THE GEOLOGY OF THE LOWER VALLEY OF THE DELAWARE.— Mr. H. C. Lewis has recently investigated this subject, and pre- sents us with the following résumé of his results in the Proceed- ings of the Philadelphia Academy: Forming the N. W. boundary of the Philadelphia gravel and brick-clay is a hill of gneiss, rising two hundred feet or more above the river, which may be called the Upland Terrace. It has a N. E. and S. W. trend, and in this vicinity is at an average dis- tance of five miles from the river. . ous deposit. : A yet more recent formation, the “ River gravel and sand, lies within the others and close to the river, and is made up of flattened pebbles composed of the rocks over which the Tiver flows. Upon this, in the river flats, lies a modern mud, the “ Re- cent Alluvium.” Back of the Upland Terrace, isolated patches of two surface deposits, more ancient than any yet described, lie upon the hills. These are, the “ Branchtown clay,” at a height of two hundred and fifty feet, containing boulders of Potsdam rocks but no traces of Triassic red shale or of fossiliferous pebbles; and the “ Bryn Mawr gravel,” which caps hills of a higher elevation, ethane containing boulders and pebbles of identical material with those of the last, is characterized by the presence of a hard iron con- glomerate or sandstone. This conglomerate, occurring also in New Jersey, and named the “ Mt. Holly Conglomerate,” 1s con- jectured to be of Tertiary age In these seven formations the Delaware valley. is written the geological history of 820 General Notes. [ November, and are in harmony with Dana’s views of the great antiquity and permanence of the great ocean basins, which all recent deep-sea researches appear to support. Murray thus summarizes his views: 1. That foundations have been prepared for barrier reefs and atolls by the disintegration of velcanic islands, and by the building up of submarine volcanoes by the deposition on their summits o organic and other sediments. hat the chief food of the corals consists of the abundant pelagic life of the tropical regions; and the extensive solvent action of sea water is shown by the removal of the carbonate of lime shells of these surface organisms from all the greater depths of the ocean. 3. That when coral plantations build up from the submarine banks they assume an atoll form, owing to the more abundant supply of food to the outer margins, and the removal of dead coral rock from the interior portions by currents and by the action of the carbonic acid dissolved in sea water, 4. That barrier reefs have built out from the shore ona founda- tion of volcanic débris or on a talus of coral blocks, coral sedi- ment, and pelagic shells, and the lagoon channel is formed in the same way as a lagoon, : . That it is not necessary to call in subsidence to explain any of the characteristic features of barrier reefs or atolls, and that all these features would exist alike in areas of slow elevation, of rest, or of slow subsidence. In conclusion it was pointed out that all the causes here ap- pealed to for an explanation of the structure of coral reefs are proximate, relatively well known and continuous in their action. Tre “Compres RENDUS STENOGRAPHIQUES” of the Congress of Geologists, held in the Trocadero Palace during the Expost- tion of Paris of 1878, has just appeared. It is an octavo volume -~ studies on fractures of the earth’s crust ; Favre on the effect of folds and lateral twists in geology ; Lapparent on the plications of the Cretaceous formation between France and England; Hall on the nomenclature of the Palzozoic rocks of the United States; De Moeller, the divisions of the Carboniferous; Cope, relations of -horizons of extinct Vertebrata of Europe and North America, Fannetaz on the propagation of heat through rocks; Hunt on the Precambrian rocks of North America; Ribeiro on .the geol- -ogy of Portugal. : » 1880.] _ Geography and Travels. 821 GroLocicat News.—Mr. S. A. Miller, of Cincinnati, is pub- lishing an important series of historical monographs of North American geology. He has concluded the Palzeozoic and Meso-. zoic portions, and is preparing that of the Tertiaries. toM: E. Wadsworth, of Cambridge, has recently issued in the Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zodlogy, a series of full notes on the iron and copper districts of Lake Superior. He gives many graphic sections of vein contacts, explains the stratigraphy and reviews the literature. Prof. Owen has recently described a Cope in 1878. . J. W. Spencer, in the Canadian Naturalist, Vol. vit, describes a number of new Graptolites from the Niagara formation. Four of them are referred to three new genera, Calyptograpsus, Rhizograpsus and Acanthograpsus. GEOGRAPHY AND TRAVELS.' heard the same account of the sinking of one of Franklin’s expedition at a point near O'Reilly's island (N. lat. 63 30’, W. ] ong. 95°) in the spring of 1849 as was related to Capt. Hall. On May 31st, after visiting Montreal island, they met the | Edited by ELLIS H. YARNALL, Philadelphia. *See NATURALIST for August, 1878, p. 571, and November, 179, p. 723. 822 General Notes. [ November, | first Neitchillik encampment. Near it on an inlet west of Point Richardson a boat, skeletons and many relics had been found by the natives. This is believed to be the furthest point reached by the rem- nant of Franklin’s company, and here Lieut. Schwatka also believes the records of the expedition were finally lost, having been contained in a tin box which was broken open by the Esqui- maux and its contents scattered to the winds Lieut. Schwatka first reached King William Land at the mouth of Pfeffer river, where he visited the cairn erected by Capt. C. F. Hall in May, 1869. On June 15th, the party arrived at Cape Herschell, when they left most of their men in a permanent camp. Cape Herschell was found to be about eighteen or twenty — miles further west than it is given on the charts of the Admiralty. Continuing their journey along the coast they discovered the graves of two white men before reaching Collinson’s inlet, and at the inlet the camp of Capt. Crozier and his command after aban- doning the vessels. They found many relics here and an opened grave, the remains in which were identified by a medal found with them as those of Lieut. John Irving, third officer of the Terror. Itis probable that Lieut. Irving was conducting a small party back to the ship for provisions after the crews had reached the southern shore of King William Land, and that the men said by the Eskimos to have drifted with the ship to O’Reilly’s island, belonged to this return party. Among the ruins of a cairn was found a copy of the record discovered by Lieut. Hobson, of Mc- Clintock’s expedition in Sir Leopold McClintock’s handwriting, and partially illegible. This was the only document found during the journey. McClintock’s record buried near the cairn was searched for but not found. : Leaving Irving bay on June 30th, they reached Cape Felix on the 3d of July. No traces of the Franklin expedition were found until three miles south of the cape, where the remains of a permanent camp were seen. A well built cairn or pillar seven feet high on a high hill two miles back from the coast was exam- ined without finding any records. Returning down the coast a careful examination of the country within five or six miles of the coast was made, and at Point Le Vesconte the grave of an officer was found; also in the neighborhood of Erebus bay sever skeletons, and in a deep inlet the remains of a very large boat. Cenotaphs were erected wherever human remains were found. The skeletons were always incomplete and it was not always wen sible to tell the number of individuals represented in the piles O bones found, The ice broke up in Erebus bay about the Ist of nee Reaching Terror bay on August 3d, the search was continue along the coast as far west as Cape Crozier, only one skeleton 1880. | Geography and Travels. 823 being found. Lieut. Schwatka remained in King William Land until November Ist, when he started on his return trip to Hud- son’s bay, pursuing a route south and west of his former course, and following Back’s river to 66° N. lat, This stream is laid down on the maps about one degree further west than as found by the travelers. Finding game very scarce near the river, and losing many of their dogs for want of proper food,) the party left the river on December 30, 1879, and traveling in a south-easterly direction through a country where plenty of game was found, arrived at Depot island on March 4, 1880. While in King William Land two of an apparently distinct Species of snipe were shot and their skins preserved for deposit in the Smithsonian Institution collection. One of them was dis- tinguished “by a sweet simple song, somewhat similar to a lark, its silvery tones gushing forth as if in perfect ecstacy of enjoy- ment of sunshine and air, at the same time rising and poising itself on its wings.” Small flocks of ducks—the drakes and ducks in separate bands—were also seen. “The drakes are exceedingly senting a texture on the back somewhat similar to the canvas back species of Chesapeake bay.” Immense herds of reindeer were seen in King William Land in September, but when, about _ October rst, the ice became sufficiently strong for them to cross to the mainland, they rapidly disappeared. paratively short a march h ‘ xi left no ace by which the history of their expedition can be read 1 Twenty-seven died before reaching Depot island. 824 © General Notes. [ November, The temperatures for the following months are given by Mr. Gilder: 1879, September mean 21.1°, minimum 5° CWtober Sees terse. pono? ang BO NOVEMber Cotas aes 233° $6 egg? PCCM OUTS cans ee owas te 50.49 « 69° maximum —26° TUGO, JABUA e cows ea y “53.29 if oye ey Waly SS eak **_44.8° “& —69° January was a very stormy month there being only eleven days on which travel was possible, and the total distance passed over in that period, ninety-one miles. e total distance traveled was 3251 miles, being very much the longest sledge journey in unexplored regions of which we have record. They were also in the field during the entire win- ter, so that the journey, both in distance and time, is most remarkable. Their dependence upon the resources of the coun- try, much aided, it should be noted, by the excellence of their re-arms, is also a distinguishing feature of the exploration. To the fact that Lieut. Schwatka and his three companions were able to live on this food is it doubtless owing that they were able to bear with impunity and even with little suffering the great cold to which they were exposed. To their diet and also to’ their active life throughout the whole year we ‘must attribute their exemption from scurvy, although deprived of lime juice or any of the anti-scorbutics usually taken by similar parties. Probably also his companions possessed, alike with Lieut. Schwatka, the robust health, cheerful disposition and powers of concentration ascribed to him by Mr. Gilder. Certainly the success of this effort to reach this remote land indicate also the existence of strict discipline and thorough organization, the want of which has so often proved fatal to the success of similar attempts at exploration in these desolate regions. Aa It should be remembered that the results of Lieut. Schwatka s investigations entirely corroborate the statements made by apt. Hall concerning the fate of the Franklin expedition. And Set cially is this the case as regards the successful accomplishment 0° ~ unseaworthy. Dr. Parry, the naturalist of the expedition, re- mained in Greenland for the winter. 1880. ] Microscopy. 825 boldt and Ritter were given. He reached Koorlyk, a distance of about 180 miles, without difficulty, but had much trouble in going on to Dzoon Zassak. The distance from Saisan to Dzoon Zassak, at the foot of the Burdan Booda range, is 1370 miles. The whole country traversed, with the exception of occasional oases, is a desert, and forests were found only on the Tien-Shan. Topographical, barometrical and meteorological observations have been made, and accurate data obtained for mapping a large extent of country, From Dzoon Zassak he started for Lhassa, and after being once misled succeeded in crossing the Blue river and reaching the Tan-la plateau where a great snowy chain of mountains attains a height of 16,800 feet. After driving off a party of nomads who attacked them the expedition reached its furthest point at the village of Nabchu, 180 miles from the capital, permission to visit Lhassa being refused by the Thibetan authorities. The return journey to Tsaidam in the midst of the violent winter storms, was very trying, and took two months. Col. Prejevalsky visited Koko-Nor and finally arrived at Si-ning on March tgth. He hopes to explore the ` upper course of the Yellow river and return home by way of : MICROSCOPY.'* USE or COLLODION IN CUTTING THIN SECTIONS OF SOFT TISSUES. —The preparation to be cut being embedded as usual, collodion is applied to the surface of the object by means of a fine brush. The collodion is of the regular strength of the United States d to settle so as to become as Tur Atwoop CeLL.—This new device, intended exclusively for mounting opaque objects, was designed by Mr. H. twood, of Rochester, and is made in hard rubber by Bausch and Lomb of that city. It consists of a black disc, hollowed at the top to con- tain the object, and furnished with a rim to receive the cover glass. Those now being made are adapted to half inch covers, and cost thirty cents a dozen. They can be obtained from the 1 This department is edited by Dr. R. H. Ward, Troy, N. Y VOL, XIV.—NO. XI. 53 826 General Notes. | November, inventor or from the dealers in microscopical supplies. The cut gives a sectional view of this cell, the dotted line indicating the cover glass and the open space below it the loca- tion of the object. The glass cover is easily attached by a little shellac or other suitable cement; and the whole cell may be cemented, if desired, to the center of a common glass slide. For convenience of exchanging by post, or for storing a large num- ber of objects for future reference, in a small space, the glass slide may sometimes be omitted altogether, the name or number indicating the object being merely attached to the back of the cell. ARTIFICIAL CRYSTALS oF GoLp.—In casting bars of pure gold for the manufacture of foil, traces of crystallization may often be observed upon their upper surfaces, and sometimes distinct crys- talline forms. These are generally simple triangular faces slightly raised, very similar in appearance to specimens sometimes found in nature. Occasionally several faces of the octohedron may be . seen, the edge in some instances being half an inch in length, and quite sharp and well defined. The purer the gold is, the more likely the crystals are to form, and they are oftenest seen when the bars are cast from that which has been previously crys- tallized by the battery process described below. * * * he precipitation of gold from solution by the aid of a battery is a well-known process in the common operation of electro- gilding, but to deposit it in the crystalline form is a process of comparatively recent date, having been patented in 1860 asa method of preparing gold for dental purposes. The process 1S briefly as follows: A solution of chloride of gold and ammonium is placed in a shallow dish coated with heavy gold foil, which 1s connected with the zinc plate of a large Daniels’ battery. ear the top of the solution and connected with the copper plate of the battery, a roll made up of thin strips of pure gold is suspended, enclosed in a muslin bag. The strength of the battery current 1S controlled by a coil of wire arranged as a rheostat, a clamp ter- minating one of the battery wires enabling the operator to 1n- clude a greater or less number of coils in the circuit. The neces- sary conditions being fulfilled, on completing the circuit the gold is gradually dissolved from the roll and deposited on the bottom of the dish in bright crystalline flakes having the appearance or feathers or fern leaves when examined under the microscope. have been quite surprised that no trace of faces 1S to be observed upon these crystals, as is always the case with natural ones. The latter are seen under a low power to be made up oF show a slightly beaded look along the side ribs, but nothing that can be considered distinct crystalline forms, With the power- 1880.] Microscopy. 827 mentioned the whole surface of each crystal is in focus at once, showing that the different sets of ribs are in the same plane, Where one crystal lies upon another, when examined under a power of a hundred and fifty diameters, both are in focus at once, showing that they are exceedingly thin and lie perfectly flat. . Sci. and A ANGULAR APERTURE.—Dr. Geo. E. Blackham’s paper on this subject, read at the Microscopical Congress at Indianapolis, has been published by the Industrial Publication Company of New York. The paper presents a comprehensive review, in a popular rather than a mathematical style, of the subject of the angular aperture of microscopic objectives. It is neatly published in an tions are used, and the only cement which I have thus far found to be tolerably $28 General Notes. [ November, successful is shellac thoroughly incorporated with the finest car- bon (diamond black) such as is used in the preparation of the best printing inks; the solvent being alcohol, these rings dry rapidly, and the cover is attached by heating. Even these rings and which had been subjected for several hours to the heat of a steam bath. With large, somewhat coarse objects, the defect is not so marked, but with delicate ones, and especially test objects, it is simply a nuisance. With care I think the shellac rings may answer pretty well. I have not tried the aniline colored rings. The moisture (whatever it is) and the crystalline specks appear to be derived from the vaporizable parts of the wax or cement given off under conditions where one would suppose such a thing im- possible ; it is however a fact; I have the proof of it, and I dare say hundreds of others have, too plainly evident. There is another mode of making cells which promises well for perma- nence. My attention was first called to this method by Dr. Tulk, of London, who suggested for this purpose the thin gutta-percha tissue used by surgeons in the place of oiled silk. I have had special punches made which cut neat rings from this tissue, and I have used these rings with the greatest satisfaction. I have no preparation of my own more than two years old, these, so far, show no signs of change. Dr. Tulk informs me that he has them ten years old, and still good as when new. I have noticed that in some recent papers in the microscopical journals the writers who, with little experience, have so lauded wax rings, speak o “thin rubber” for rings. Evidently they have seen somewhere the gutta-percha mount, and supposed it rubber—the latter will not answer, melted rubber will not become hard. One beauty of the gutta-percha ring is the very moderate heat required ; it is thus available for many objects which might be injured by the greater heat necessary for the asphalt or shellac rings. As these rings, the arrangement of which I have spoken of, can be rapidly made, and as they can be kept for any length of time (shut away from the dust), they are at any moment ready as well as conve- nient for use. The preparation is first arranged, dried or burnt on the cover, the slide cleaned, a ring laid on the center, and on this the cover is placed; the whole is now held together by the forceps and slightly warmed, just sufficient to soften the gutta- percha ; the forceps may now be laid aside, or used simply to press the cover home, warming the slide gently, also the cover; the perfect contact of the softened “tissue” with the cover and slide is easily recognized, and with a little care this can be effected very quickly, and nothing further is necessary. A finishing nng of colored cement makes a very neat mount, but it is not neces- sary.—Prof. H. L. Smith, in “ Science.” 1880, ] Scientific News, 829 SCIENTIFIC NEWS. — The fiftieth meeting of the British Association for the Ad- vancement of Science was held at Swansea, beginning August 26th. The inaugural address of the president, Prof. A. C. Ram- Say, was on the recurrence of certain phenomena in geological time. It was a contribution to the doctrine of uniformita- rianism. He claimed that the deposition of the Laurentian rocks took place far from the beginning of recognized geological time ; that the phenomena of metamorphism extend from that date all through the later formations down to and including part of the ocene strata; that volcanic forces played no more important part in any period of geological time than in our modern epoch, that the formation of mountain chains has gone on with increas- ing vigor from before the deposition of Silurian rocks to Pliocene times ; that the deposition of salts from aqueous solutions in inland lakes and lagoons appears to have taken place through all time; that glacial phenomena began with the Cambrian epoch. He concludes, therefore, that the earliest of the physical events alluded to by him were so enormously removed from the primi- tive events assumed by the nebular hypothesis, “ that they appear to me to have been of comparatively quite modern occurrence, and to indicate that from the Laurentian epoch down to the present day all the physical events in the history of the earth have varied neither in kind nor in intensity from those of which we now have experience.” The address of H. C. Sorby, presi- dent of the section of geology, was on the comparative structure of artificial slags and erupted rocks, there being a gradual pas- sage from one type to the other. The address of Dr. Günther, » president of the section of biology, was on museums, with espe- cial reference to the British Museum. The address of Mr. Bal- four in the department of Anatomy and Physiology, was on recent progress in embryology, and is a valuable résumé of our present knowledge of the origin of the different anatomical sys- tems of the animal body, with especial’ reference to the genesis of the nervous system. — A London paper of recent date gives the following particu- lars of an extraordinary match at rat killing. “ Hollinwood, near Manchester, was the scene of a rather novel rat-killing match the other day, between Mr. Benson’s fox terrier dog, Turk, and a Mr. Lewis's monkey, for £5. The conditions of the match were that each one had to kill twelve rats, and the one that finished them You may guess what nd a commotion it caused. ime g the monkey’s turn, a s immediately put to his twelve rats, Mr. called, the monkey wa 830 Scientific News. [November, Lewis, the owner, at the same time putting his hand in his coat pocket and handing the monkey a peculiar hammer. This was a surprise to the onlookers ; but the monkey was not long in getting to work with his hammer, and, once at work, he was not long in completing the task set before him. You may talk about a dog being quick at rat-killing, but he is really not in it with the monkey and his hammer. Had the monkey been left in the ring much longer you could not have told that his victims had been rats at all—he was for leaving them in all shapes. Suf- fice it to say the monkey won with ease, having time to spare at the finish. Most persons present (including Mr. Benson, the owner of the dog) thought the monkey would worry the rats in the same manner as a dog does; but the conditions said to kill, and the monkey killed with a vengeance, and won the £5, besides a lot of bets for his owner. — The French Gov t has, according to Nature, during the past summer carried on deep sea explorations in the Bay of Bis- cay in the steamer Travailleur, of 900 tons. The naturalists of the expedition were M. A. Milne-Edwards and Profs. Marion and Perier; Messrs. J. Gwyn-Jeffreys and A. Norman, of England, being present by invitation. Twenty-three dredgings were made at depths ranging from 337 to 2600 métres. Those between 600 ance to those made by Capt. Baudon in 1801, M. d’Urville in 1829, the Recherche in 1835, the Astrolabe in 1841 and other French expeditions. — We are glad to announce to our readers that Prof. Chas. E. Bessey, of Iowa Agricultural College, has kindly consented to edit the Department of Botany of the AMERICAN NATURALE Prof. Bessey is the author of the Botany for High Schools and Colleges, one of Holt’s American Science Series, and was late Lecturer on Botany in the University of California. We fee] sure that the magazine will greatly profit by this addition to its edito- rial force, and would ask botanists to Iend him all possible assist- ance. _— The French Association met the last week in August x Rheims, about 500 members being present, exclusive of loca members. The address of M. Perier on transformism was to the end that the doctrine of evolution was a scientific mistake, though its first advocate, Lamarck, was a Frenchman — It appears that the surgeon of the ill-fated Ad/an/a, which is 1880. ] Proceedings of Scientific Societies. 831 supposed to have foundered at sea, was Dr. E. L. Moss, a good observer of nature, who contributed some excellent papers on marine animals to the publications of English scientific societies, and withal was an excellent artist. — Augustin Seguin and Jules Luquet, two eminent civil engineers from Lyon, France, are now visiting the Yellowstone National Park. Within two years a railroad will be completed which will render this park very accessible. — A list of preparations of Phylloxera, its natural enemies and of other insects living on the vine, has been published by Dr. Adolph Blankenhorn, of Karlsruhe. — The Italian Government has recently made the liberal ap- propriation of 1,000,000 lire for a Geological Survey of Italy. :0: PROCEEDINGS OF SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES. ACADEMY or Naturat Sciences, Philadelphia, March 16.—Mr, J. A. Ryder described Trichopetalum lunatum, and spoke on Podo- phrys and Epistylus; he also described Camaraphysema obscura. Mr. Potts spoke on Vorticella. March 23.—Dr. H. C. Chapman remarked on the generative apparatus of Elephas. Mr. Ryder described a new order of myri- apods, Symphyla. March 30.—Mr. Ryder spoke farther on Symphyla. Mr. Mee- han on advancement of vegetation. Dr. H. Allen on the olfactory sense in mammals. Mr. Ryder on Epistylis. Mr. Potts on Vor- ticella. April 13.—Dr. Jos. Leidy remarked on Entomostracans and Infusoria in ponds near Woodbury, N. J. Mr. Meehan on Sar- ‘code S. April 20.—Mr. J. S. Kingsley spoke on cell division, April 27.-—Mr. H. C. McCook remarked on honey ants. Mr. Jos. Willcox on the habits of the blue heron. May 4.—Mr. McCook remarked on honey ants. Mr. Isaac Martindale on parasitic plants. Mr. Potts on Spongilla. ay 11.—Prof. Pike spoke on fossil impressions supposed to have been made by jelly fishes. Mr. Ford on eggs of mollusks. -May 18.—Dr. Chapman spoke on the anatomy of the orang- outang. Messrs. Ford and Potts on the nidus of Natica. ~ - May 25.—Dr. A. J. Parker spoke on the brain of the chim- panzee. > June 1.—Mr. J. A. Ryder described a species of Japyx. Prof. S. S. Haldeman spoke on stone implements. Mr. Edw. Potts remarked on the embryo of Natica. une 8.—Dr, Francis Dercum spoke on the lateral lines in fishes. Mr. E. Potts on the anatomy of pipe fish. $32 Selected Articles os Scientific Serials. ~ [| Nov., 1880. June 29.—Dr. Allen on Bunodont teeth. Dr. Foote on caverns near Louray, Va. July 27.—Mr. Edw. Potts made some remarks on sponges. August 3,—Mr. Potts on larva of flies. Mr. Meehan spoke on “sleep of plants.” September 7—Dr. Herman Evarts spoke on Infusoria. Dr. Foote on a large specimen of Sphene. Mr. Potts on Plumatella. September 14.—Dr. Evarts spoke on Infusoria and described Freia cerulea, Mr. Meehan on the limit of vegetation in the Rocky mountains. Mr. Potts on tubers. Mr. Meehan on nest- ing of birds. September 21.—Dr. Leidy spoke on organic remains discov- ered in Hartman’s cave. Prof. Porter on organic life and vegeta- tion. Mr. Meehan on dimorphism in plants. The following papers have been presented for publication: March 16.—“ Carcinological Notes, No. 1v,” by J. S. Kingsley. March 23.—“ On the Gestation and Generative Apparatus of the Elephant,” by Dr. H. C. Chapman. “On a new species of Hemi- tripterus from Alaska,” by W..N. Lockington. April 13.— Description of a new species of Catostomus (C. cypho) from the Colorado river,” by W. N. Lockington. May 18.— “On t Structure of the Orang-outang,” by Dr. H. C. Chapman. June 1 —“ Description of a Partula, supposed to be new, from the Island of Moorea,” by W. D. Hartmann, M.D. June 8.—“ On the development of Lemna minor,’ by Wm. Barbeck. June 15. — A bibliographical catalogue of the genus Partula, with obser- vations on the species,” by W. D. Hartmann, M.D. August 17. —“ Rhizopods in the mosses of the summit of Roan mountain, N. C.,” by Jos. Leidy, M.D. :0:— SELECTED ARTICLES IN SCIENTIFIC SERIALS. ZEITSCHRIFT FUR WISSENSCHAFTLICHE ZOOLOGIE.—July 30. On a peculiar formation of the dorsal vessel in some Ephemerid larvee, by O. Zimmermann. Contributions to a knowledge of the Gephyrea, by J. W. Spengel. THE GEOLOGICAL MaGazine.—September. Oceans and Conti- nents, by T. M. Reade. The mammoth in Siberia, by H. H. - Howorth. : JENAISCHE ZEITSCHRIFT FUR NATURWISSENSCHAFT.—August 15. _ On the structure of the Ctenophora, by R. Hertwig (an elabo- rate histological essay with six plates) On the doctrine of cell structure, by C. Frommann. ANNALES DES SCIENCES NATURELLES.—June, July. Anatomical rèsearches on the Bullidæ, by M. Vayssiére (an elaborate an well illustrated treatise on these mollusks). “IDISIOULING Wo ‘dZIs [RIN}VU YUIU-dUO UY) ssaj ‘SIRAIOL) 4070I9UuU UOpozIMG—'TI “OL hkl a wr ir a ANNA LEDS AQSTST THE AMERICAN: NATURALIST. Vo. xiv. — DECEMBER, 1880. — No. 12. ON THE EXTINCT CATS OF AMERICA. BY E. D. COPE. P following the general series of the Carnivora, we pass, as in other orders, from the generalized 2 the specialized gain That we should begin with the Procyonid )andtheirallies, is indicated by all the characters to be especially considered i in the case. They have five toes on all the feet and are plantigrade, re- sembling in these points all primitive Mammalia They have the original number of molar teeth, seven on each side, and of these none are distinctly developed sectorials. The condyloid and carotid foramina are distinct, and there is a postglenoid foramen. If, starting from this point of departure, we arrange the succeed- ing families of Carnivora according to their resemblances and dif- ferences in these respects, we have a tolerably consecutive series of divisions, Passing at present over the families J/ustelide, Viverride, Cryp- loproctide and others, with five toes on all the feet, we reach those in which the hind foot has lost a digit, leaving the number 5—4. These are the Protelide, Canide and Felide. We can take but one step further in this order, that is, to those species where the anterior foot has also lost a toe, which constitute the. family Hyenide. The toes are therefore here 4—4. For the well- marked characters of the three families mentioned just before, I refer to another page, and prdceed to define, briefly, the division | Which has been heretofore termed the Fedide. In doing so I am compelled to omit several of the characters generally employed 1 See Homologies and Origin of Sip of Molar Teeth of Mammalia educabilia. Journal Academy Phila., 1874, Mar VOL, XIV.—No, x11. 54 834 On the Extinct Cats of America. [ December, _ to define that family, since I have found them to be wanting from various extinct genera. The only comprehensive definition which I can give is the following; Digits 5—4. Sectorial teeth well developed in both jaws ; not more than one true molar tooth in the upper, nor more than two true molar teeth in the lower jaw. Glenoid cavity grasping mandibular condyle anteriorly as well as posteriorly. Prof. Gill, who has devoted much attention to the definition of the families of the Mammalia, gives the following skeletal char- acters in his diagnoses of the Fede and of the three compre- hensive divisions within which he places it. “I. Skull with the paroccipital process applied closely to the auditory bulla; the mastoid process small or obsolete; external auditory meatus very short or imperfect. Div. A. Carotid canal minute and superficial or obsolete; condyloid foramen and foramen lacerumposticum debouching into a common fossa; glenoid foramen minute or null. Os peuis rudimentary. Subdiv. 1. Otic bulla divided by a septum into posterior and anterior chambers communicating by a narrow aperture (Flower). Subdiv. a. Skull with no alisphenoid canal.” All of the parts here mentioned I have found to be important in the definition of the natural divisions of the Car- nivora, excepting those derived from the paroccipital and mastoid processes. But their condition in the extinct Carnivora which have been hitherto arranged with the Fe/idg, and which resemble them very much in superficial characters, does not coincide with Prof. Gill’s definition. Thus in the various American genera which resemble Drepanodon, the carotid canal is distinct from the foramen lacerum posterius, and the condyloid foramen is also separated from it by quite a space. These are characters which belong to most of the Carnivora with five digits on all the feet. Further, the postglenoid and postparietal foramina are present, also characters of the lowest Carnivora, as the bears and certain extinct dogs. Then there is an alisphenoid canal, which is also found in bears, dogs and the cat-like Cryptoprocta, I cannot demonstrate that the otic bulla is divided as the above diagnosis requires, in any of the fossil species. I have verified the above characters on species of the following genera, of which I have =< preserved skulls; Archelurus, Nimravus, Dinictis, Pog onodon, Arrangement of the Families of Mammals, Smithson. Miscell, Coll., 230, 1877 . 56. i Piace those of the base of the skull, 1880. } On the Extinct Cats of America. 835 and Hoplophoneus. Three genera, as yet only found in Europe, are similar in general characters, and probably agree with them. Tallude to Proelurus Filh., Ælurogale Filh., and Eusmilus Gerv. On the other hand, the genus Smlodon, which includes the Ameri- can sabre-tooths of Pliocene age, agrees with the true cats in the points in question; 2 e., the alisphenoid, postglenoid and postparietal foramina are wanting; the carotid foramen is either internal or wanting, and the condylar enters the jugular foramen at its mouth. This surprising condition of affairs makes it im- portant to learn the characters to be found in the species of the longest known genus, Drepanodon, of the European beds. But although there are several good crania in European museums, I can find no description of their minute characters, and no men- tion made of their foramina. The probabilities are, on various grounds, that this genus agrees with Suiodon in the latter char- acters. The reasons in favor of this supposition are, the agree- ment in special dental characters, and the Pliocene age of the typi- cal species, D. cultridens. Whether the Miocene species of San- san and Epplesheim agree with this one in structure, is of course uncertain. Seven and perhaps eight genera then, constitute a group to be distinguished from the true Fe/ide, and, as it appears to me, as a distinct family. Should we ignore the characters adduced in this instance, we abandon at the same time the definitions of several of the other families of the order, and in fact, throw the system into confusion. I have proposed to call this family the Mimravi- de, and have contrasted it with the Fe/ide in the following defini- tion. Both are included n the division already defined on a pre- ceding page. No distinct carotid foramen nor alisphenoid canal ; condylar foramen entering the foramen lacerum posterius. No postparietal, and generally no post glenoid foramina ; Felide. Carotid and Cerise foramina entirely distinct from the foramen lacerum posterius; an alisphenoid canal, and post glenoid A postparietal for- amina; Nimravide. NIMRAVIDÆ. The dental characters of the Nimravide are in general those of the Felidae, the higher genera having the same dental formula. 836 On the Extinct Cats of America. [ December, Descending the scale the number of molar teeth increases at both ends of the series in the lower jaw, and anteriorly only in the upper, the number of the true molars never exceeding }. The following table gives the definitions of the genera. I am unfor- tunately ignorant of the characters of the foramina in Pree@lurus and Pseud@lurus, as well as in Ælurogale and Eusmilus. I. Lateral and anterior faces of mandible continuous; no infe- rior flange. a. No anterior basal lobe of superior sectorial; inferior sectorial with a heel; canines smooth. Molars 4 4; inferior sectorial with interior tubercle........... Molars 3 +; inferior sectorial without interior tubercle...... II. Lateral and anterior faces of mandibles separated by a ver- tical angle; no inferior flange; incisors obspatulate. a. No anterior basal lobe of superior sectorial; inferior sectorial with a heel (and no internal tubercle) ; incisors truncate. Molars £ 4; canine smooths os i i es -Archel Molars $ 4; canine denticulate. ........... ...- Alurogale Nimravus Molars $ 4; canine denticulate. 22.61. 20. cecsccccscsentees III. Lateral and anterior faces of mandible separated by a vertical angle; an inferior flange; incisors conic, canines denticulate.’ ~ a. No or a small anterior basal lobe of superior sectorial ;? infe- rior sectorial with a heel. No posterior lobes of the crowns of the premolars. Molar Ep ecri e Sos es i r eres sree o Dinictis. > Mols fia ie Since mittens pls Ui vcs sep ceamegesy es west ivan Pogonodon MOUS FOR $ oe avis ices cuss teatauetvveemetsneiés . Hoplophoneus. Molars ? ? eee Busmilus. teeth. (2) In the enlarged size of the superior canine In the diminished size of the inferior canine teeth. (4) In the conic form of the crowns of the incisors. (5) In the addition of a cutting lobe to the anterior base of the superior sectorial tooti (6) In the obliteration of the inner tubercle of the lower sectorial ; and (7) in the extinction of the heel of the same. (8) In the development of an inferior flange and lateroanterior angle of the -1 Gervais’ figures of the canines of Eusmilus bidentatus represent no denticula- - tions, but the figure is not clear, 2 Rudimental in Hoplophoneus. 1880. ] _ On the Extinct Cats of America. 837 front of the ramus of the lower jaw. (9) In the development of cutting lobes on the posterior borders of the larger premolar teeth. Fic. 1.—Proelurus julieni Filh.; two-thirds nat. size. From Filhol. (1) The reduction in the number of molar teeth. The dental formula of Proglurus is that of some Viverride and Canide, and the reduction from this point to the end of the series is obvious. In Lusmilus, as in Smilodon, the number of molars is less by one in the inferior series, than in Lynx and Neo- Jelis, where the formula is the smallest nown among Fé/ide@ proper, viz: $ i- (2) The enlarged size of the superior canine teeth. In Proelurus and Pseu- delurus, the canines of both jaws are Subequally developed as in recent Fe- Base... ' lide. In Archelurus the superior is Fic. 2,—Proelurus julien Filh.; the larger, but does not, relatively to of E nihe: g grieta view of the molars, exceed that of Feis. It perrel teeth; ¢ ned sectorial, is rather compressed in form, and has si a ogc ma a sharp cutting edge posteriorly. In Mémravus the superior canine begins to have the enlarged size of the sabre-tooths, but its form is peculiar in the W. gomphodus, being spike-shaped rather than sabre-shaped. We find the true sabre-shape first in Dinictis, where it is compressed, and with a denticulate cutting edge on both front:and rear. In Pogonodon it has reached a very large size, and it does not display much in- crease in this respect until we reach the last genus of the series, 838 On the Extinct Cats of America. [ December, Eusmilus, where its proportions are enormous; almost as large as in the feline genus S7zi/odon, where they appear to have been an inconvenience to the animal. (3) The diminished size of the in- ferior canines becomes evident in the lower genera of the third division (supra) of the Mimravide, but is most decided in the highest genera Hoplophoneus and Eusmilus. (4) The incisor teeth have the usual obspatulate or obovate outline in the genera of the first and second divisions of the family, including Memravus. They are conic in the true sabre-tooths with flared lower jaw, be- ginning with Dinictis and ending with Ewsmilus. (5,6 and 7) The -structure of the sectorials. The presence of a heel and an inner tubercle of the lower sectorial are well known characters of a majority of the Carnivora. In only the most highly organized genera are they wanting, and among them are included all those of the Felide that still exist. In the Mémravide the inferior genera have both in a reduced degree, and they soon disappear as we ascend the scale. Thus the inner tubercle is only present in the species of Proelurus, Dinictis and Hoplophoneus. The heel on the other hand remains throughout the entire family. The an- terior basal lobe of the superior sectorial has the same history, its absence being characteristic of the inferior Carnivora, and of all the genera of Nimravide, except in Hoplophoneus, where it is rudi- mental. It is well developed in Drepanodon, as in recent Felide, and is double in Smilodon neogaeus. (8) The development of the inferior flange and lateroanterior angle of the mandibular ramus. There is a successive advance in the development of these char- acters, beginning with the second group, for in the first they are wanting. The lateroanterior angle is developed in Archelurus and allied genera, and is merely continued on the inferior border of the ramus. In the third group it is much more acute, and 1s deflected downwards, forming the well known flange of the sabre- tooths. It is longest in the Eusmilus bidentatus Filh. (9) The highest genera of Nimravide, e. g. Hoplophoneus, differ from the true Felide, in the absence of the cutting lobes on the posterior edges of the crowns of the larger premolar teeth. But according to Filhol these lobes are present in the generalized genera, yoe- lurus and Pseudelurus, which are thus brought into a relation with the Fe/ide, not possessed by other Nimravide. A characteristic perfection of the Fe/idæe is seen in the genus Smilodon; that is, the vertical direction of the ungual phalanges, by 1880. | On the Extinct Cats of America. 839 which the claws become retractile. This is well displayed by the two splendid specimens of Swzlodon necator from Buenos Ayres, which have been preserved (See Fig. 12). Unfortunately, these pha- langes have not yet been discovered in any species or the Mimra- vide, and it is not yet certain what their structure really was. Among the true Felde, the genus Cynælurus displays a less degree of development in this respect than the other genera, the ungual phalanges lacking the proximal process below the articular facet. Such a condition is to be looked for among the less perfect genera of Mimravide. The succession of genera above pointed out coincides with the order of geologic time very nearly. Those belonging to groups first and second, belong to the lower and middle Miocene, except (December, remarked, the evidence of their possession of the characters of the Nimravide has not yet been obtained. There can be no reason- able doubt that the genera Drepanodon and Smilodon in the Fe- lide are the descendants of Hoplophoneus and allied genera. In fact, the Vimravide and Felide are “ homologous groups,” having corresponding terms in the manner I foreshadowed as a general principle in 1868 (Origin of Genera). In looking for causes in explanation of the modifications of structure cited, one can easily discover that there is a close rela- tion between the arrangement of the teeth and the mechanical laws involved in the performance of their function, those of seiz- ing an active prey, and of cutting up their carcasses into pieces suitable for swallowing. It is obvious that in the latter case the flesh teeth bear the resistance, and the masseter muscle is the power, and that the nearer these parts are together, the better is the function performed. As a matter of fact, the sectorial teeth in modern carnivora are placed exactly at the angle of the mouth, which is the front border of the masseter muscle. In the process of evolution both the muscle and the teeth have moved forwards in connection with the shortening of the jaw behind. This has been due to the necessity of bringing the power (masseter) nearer to another point of resistance, viz: the canine teeth. In the early carnivores (as Hyznodontide) the long jaws sup- ported more numerous teeth (#3) than in any modern families, and the fissure of the mouth was probably very wide, as the last molar was a sectorial. The canine teeth were evidently very inef- fective weapons. The animals probably only snapped with their jaws, and did not attempt to lacerate or hold on, as do the cats. he dogs of to-day are long jawed, and they snap in a manner quite distinct from anything seen among the cats. The only dogs that hold on are the short jawed bull-dogs. _ So in the use of the canines we have the ground of the short- ening of the jaw behind and before, and the consequent change of structure which resulted in the modern perfected Felide} The following list shows the number and distribution of the species of the Mimravide : ; ‘See AMERICAN NATURALIST, 1878, p- 171. . 1880. | - On the Extinct Cats of America. 841 Upper; _ Lower Upper : Eocene. | Miocene. | Miocene. | Pliocene. 4 | Eur. | Eur. | Am. Eur. Am. Eur.| Am. saij aai — EPR Prozlurus julieni Filh : | t lemanensis Filh........ So ees ees | X Pseudælurus hyzenoides Blv......-..-- atop | x oe edvardsi Filh..... sets serra Ce po i intrepidus Leidy........-..+--+: | | | Ak sivalensis Lydd.........-+++++- | | | X Archzelurus debilis Cope.. ......02 see ee eee lurogale intermedia Filh. .........+..+++- ES ae | S Sacotata PUB. asse oorr -i | | Nimravus gomphodus Cope. ........+++++++ | | . confertus Cope.....e.sseseeeeeees | Dinictis felina Leidy,........c0ceseeeeeeee | “+ cyclops x seer ee eere eer eo ees ete | sere eetee eres ee ee “ce XXXXX XXX XXX s cerebralis Cope .....-.++-++ By | Eusmilus bidentatus Filh. .... E E A a E IGS ee We may now consider in more detail the characters of the genera and species of North America. Division I. The Primitive Cats. PsEup& Lurus Gervais. Although this genus commences in the Phosphorites of France, which are generally referred to the upper Eocene, it has at least some dental characters of the true Felide, Even at that early period, if well defined period, it be? the premolar teeth are lobed; see P. edvardsi Filhol. The single American species, the P. intrepidus Leidy is from a late Miocene formation, the Loup Fork. It is only known from lower jaws, of which Dr. Hayden procured one in Nebraska, and the writer another in Colorado. It was a species with large teeth, of about the size of the Canada lynx. Division II. The False Sabre-tooths. ARcHa&LURUS Cope. : This genus is of interest as completing the connection between the sabre-tooth and primitive unspecialized groups of the cats, a transition also clearly indicated by the genus Memravus, In den- 1I only know this species by name. | *Th Phosphorites are suspected by some to contain mixed materials from differ- ent horizons. 842 On the Extinct Cats of America. { December, tition it adds a tooth to the number belonging to that genus, in both jaws, and has a smooth-edged canine; it is otherwise identi- cal with that genus, unless, indeed, the exostosis supporting the in- ferior sectorial tooth in the A. debilis, be introduced into this cate- gory; a position I am not prepared to assume positively. There is but one species known, the Archelurus debilis Cope. It is probable that this was an anima: presenting much the ap- pearance of the existing cats, and of about the size of the Ameri- can panther. Omitting more technical characters, it differed from this and other species of the Feide in the greater slenderness of its feet. Its head was characterized by less breadth through the posterior part of the cheeks, and by a greater convexity of the forehead between the eyes, and a greater prolongation backwards of the same region. Its structure plainly indicates that this species was of less san- guinary habits than the existing Fc/id@, since its prehensile organs, both of the feet and dentition, are less robust. The slen- der zygomata and rami of the lower jaw show also that the impact of its bite was less powerful, although the large size and narrow form of the sectorial teeth, furnish an effective cutting apparatus, which in some degree supplements the deficiency of strength. The weakness of the rami is further provided against Fic. 3.—Archeiurus debilis, one-half natural size. Mus. Cope. From Vol. Iv, e of U. S. Geol. Surv. Terrs. by the curious exostosis at the base of the inferior sectorial, already mentioned ; see Fig. 3. 1880. } On the Extinct Cats of America. 843 The first description of this species was given by myself under the head of the Nimravus brachyops (Macherodus brachyops. Palzontol. Bulletin, 30, p. 10, Dec., 1878), from a skull found by 0. AS. Fic. 4.—Archelurus debilis, one-half nat. size ; inferior aspect of Fig. 1. Foramina: AS, alisphenoid ; O, ovale; PG, postglenoid; C, carotid; Co, condylar, Mr. Sternberg, under the impression that it might belong to a female of that species.’ Subsequently a nearly perfect cranium. obtained by Mr. Wortman, demonstrated the distinctness of the animal both as to species and genus, Horizon and Locality. The remains of the Archelurus debilis have so far been only found in the Truckee Miocene formation of the John Day river, Central Oregon. Judging from the remains, it was, after the Vimravus gomphodus the most abundant feline of that region. Nimravus Cope. This genus has the dental formula and characters of Hoplopho- neus, with the addition of a tubercular inferior molar tooth. It is, moreover, not a true sabre-tooth, as is that genus, since it does not display the inferior anterior flange of the mandible. This is represented by an obtuse angular border, quite as in the species of Archelurus, in which genus Nimravus finds its nearest ally. The constant absence of the anterior premolars in both jaws dis- tinguishes it sufficiently from that genus. On this account, and in view of the larger development and denticulated edge of the Superior canine teeth, Vimravus may be considered as occupying a position between the two genera above named. Two species are known to me, a larger and a smaller, both from the Middle Miocene formation. 844 On the Extinct Cats of America. [ December, Nimravus gomphodus Cope. The Mimravus gomphodus is as large as the full-grown panther of the large varieties. It probably stood as high above the ground, but whether the body had the elongate proportions of that animal, or the more robust form of the leopard and jaguar, cannot be ascertained in the absence of necessary material. Unless the animal had pendulous upper lips, a thing unknown among cats, the superior canine teeth must have been distinctly displayed on each side of the chin; their points descending entirely below the lower margin of the lower jaw, when the mouth is closed. As these points are less com- pressed than in the true sabre-tooths, they were less liable to fracture from lateral blows, but were more apt to be broken by fore-and-aft strains, owing to their slenderness. The long canines of this species testify to blood-thirsty habits, for as weapons for pene- trating wounds they are without rival among carnivorous animals. They resemble consider- ably the teeth of some of the Dinosauria, for instance, those of the Triassic Clepsysaurus. Fic. nd of The sectorial apparatus is especially effective, a and astragalus of and no tissue could long resist the combined rehelurus debilis. ye Fic Femur of action of the opposing blades of the two Jaws. žo: Nevertheless this species did not, probably, at- natural size. Mus. tack the large Merycocheri of the Oregon her- a bivores, for their superior size and powerful tusks would generally enable them to resist an enemy of the size of this species. They were left for the two species of Pogonodon, who doubtless held the field in Oregon against all rivals. The compressed mandibular rami of the Wimravus gomphodus, though less slender than those of the Archelurus debilis, are not so We! calculated to resist lateral strains as the more robust jaws of the majority of the existing Fe/ide. Nimi jaa dus. All Nimravus confertus Cope. ‘ Ithough a left mandibular ramus is al! that I have been r to obtain of this cat, the evidence is sufficient that it is specit- 1880. | On the Extinct Cats of America. 845 cally different from the others enumerated in this chapter. It is inferior in size, and peculiar in the reduced symphyseal and in- Fig. 7.—Nimravus gomphodus, two-fifths natural size. Mus. Cope. From Vol. Iv, U. S. Geol. Surv. Ters. cisive parts of the mandible. It was found by Mr. Wortman in the bad-lands of the John Day valley, Oregon. Division TII. The Primitive Sabre-tooths. Dinictis Leidy. With this genus we enter the group of the primitive sabre- tooths, commencing with the most generalized form. The skele- ton is yet unknown, but the skull and dentition are those of a true sabre-tooth, and there seems to be no ground for believing the Musteline affinities suggested by Leidy! It occupies the lowest position on the line of the sabre-tooths, on account of its humerous and simply constructed molar teeth, and stands in im- mediate connection with the false sabre-tooth group, having ex- actly the dental formula of Alurogale Filh. On this account I formerly united the two genera, but now believe that the absence of the inferior flange of the mandible in 4Z/urogale is sufficient ground for maintaining them as distinct. The latter genus, in this respect, exactly resembles Archelurus and Nimravus. Remains of this genus are quite abundant in the White River roi Extinct Mammalia, Dak., Nebr., p- 64- 846 On the Extinct Cats of America. [ December, formation in Nebraska and Colorado. They principally belong to the longest known and typical species, D. felina Leidy. Speci- mens are much less numerous in the Truckee beds of Oregon. Two species have been obtained from the former horizon, the D. felina and D. squalidens, and one from the latter, the D. cyclops. Dinictis cyclops Cope. This cat is represented by a perfect cranium with its mandible, which lacks only the posterior portions. The dentition is com- i ee cease w ANNS ENIESTRWLA ee Fic. 8.—Dinictis cyclops, one-half natural size. Mus. Cope. From Vol. IV, U. S. eol. Surv. Terrs. plete, excepting the posterior parts of the two inferior sectorials, -and the apices of the canines and incisors. The condition of the specimen allows its characters to be seen with clearness. The species was as large as the fully grown Canada lynx. Although of an inferior position in the system of Carnivora, its powers of destruction must have excelled those of the catamount. While the skull is generally less robust, its sectorial teeth are not smaller nor less effective than those of that animal, and the canines far excel those of the living species, as instruments for cutting their prey. Dinictis felina Leidy. This species is known from a number of crania and jaws. The former differ in their proportions from those of the D. cyclops, having a relatively longer cerebral and shorter facial part of ine skull. The anterior premolar teeth, especially in the upper Jaw, were stronger than those of D. cyclops. 1880 ] On the Extinct Cats of America. 847 Dinictis squalidens. In this species the first lower molar tooth has but one root, while in the others there are two. The canine tooth of the typical specimen has also a very peculiar form. The crown is short and wide like that of a Carcharodon shark, or somewhat like that of the sabre-tooth Drepanodon latidens Owen. As the first true molar tooth of this specimen was not fùlly protruded, it is possible that this canine belongs to the deciduous series. As the tubercular tooth of the specimen on which this species was established could not be found in the jaw, I proposed to re- gard the species as typical of a genus distinct from Dinictis, re- marking at the time that should such a tooth be ultimately found, the genus would have to be abandoned. Evidence of the exist- ence of this tooth was afterwards obtained. Still later, another sabre-tooth was found with precisely the formula supposed to characterize this discarded genus (Daptophilus). Under the circum- stances I thought best to give the former a new name, Pogonodon. Poconovon Cope. This genus represents a station on the line connecting Dinictis with the higher sabre-tooths, being intermediate between the former genus and Hoplophoneus. It lacks the tubercular inferior molar of Diénictis, and possesses the second inferior premolar characteristic of that genus, which is wanting in Hoplophoneus. € species is certainly known, and a second is provisionally re- ferred here. The two are the largest of the sabre-tooths of North America, the type B. platycopis equaling in dimensions the largest species of Drepanodon, being only exceeded among the true sabre- tooths by the species of Smilodon. Unfortunately only the skull of the typical species is known. Several bones of the P. brachyops have been discovered. P: ogonodon platycopis Cope. the greater part of the skeleton of the Pogonodon platycopis ts unknown, little can be said as to its general proportions. The Skull is one-sixth shorter than that of the usual size of the tiger oe (Uncia tigris), and is equal to the largest Brazilian variety of the jaguar, and is considerably larger than the Texan form of that : Species, E a -The development of the dentition is sch eotiutesd $ in the canine ~ teeth, and the powers of destruction of the animal would seem to 848 On the Extinct Cats of America. { December, be disproportioned to its ability to appropriate its prey as food. The molar teeth are rather small, as is the case with the earliest Fic. 9.—Pogonodon platycopis, less than two-fifths natural size. Mus. Cope. From Vol. tv, U. S. Geol. Surv. Terrs. - representatives of the canine family. The inferior sectorial is primitive and peculiar in its robust heel. We can suppose this species to have been a great destroyer of contemporary mam- malian life, and that the largest ungulates of the Truckee fauna were its victims. History. Science has hitherto had little knowledge of this spe- cies, and owes what is here recorded to a fortunate chance. e exploring party which I had sent into the John Day River valley under the direction of Mr. Jacob L. Wortman, in 1879, examined the bad-lands in the locality known as The Cove. ‘In passing the bluffs on one cccasion, a member of the party saw on the summit _ ofa pinnacle of the crag what appeared to be a skull. The large shining objects supposed to be teeth attracted his attention, and he resolved to obtain the specimen. He, however, was unable to climb the cliff, and returning to camp narrated the circumstance. The other men of the party successively attempted to reach the object, but were compelled to descend without it, and in one case, at least, the return was made at considerable peril. A later at- tempt, made by Leander S. Davis, of the party, an experienced collector, was more successful. By cutting notches with a pick, in the face of the rock, he scaled the pinnacle and brought down the skull, but at considerable risk to limb and life. 1880. ] On the Extinct Cats of America. 849 Pogonodon brachyops Cope. This was a most formidable animal, and its dental characters indicate a high degree of efficiency of both the lacerative and of the biting functions, While the P. platycopis has a larger de- velopment of the canine teeth, it is inferior in the relative size of Fic. 10. —Lower jaw of Nimravus confertus, one-third natural size. Fic. 11.— Dorsal s eee Moria of Pogonodon brachyops, one-third natural size. Mus.Cope, From Vol. iv, U. S. Geol. Surv. Terrs the sectorials.. In the latter respect the P. drachyops resembles the species of Mimravus and Archelurus, but these are furnished with smaller or more slender canines. It, however, resembled the latter in having the feet relatively smaller than in the recent cats, a character which indicates inferior prehensile power. Un- fortunately no ungual phalanges have been preserved, so that we cannot learn whether they confirmed this indication by re- sembling those of the Cynelurus Jubatus or the still less special- ized forms of other families. History. This species was the first of the Oregon felines of which bones were obtained. It was first sent here by Mr. C. H. Sternberg from the Truckee Miocene bad-lands of the John Day valley, Oregon. Although I do not possess a mandible, I am Satisfied that it is more nearly allied to Dinictis and the present genus than to Mimravus. It differs from the species of that genus and Archelurus in the following points: (1) the truncate triangu- lar Posttympanic process; (2) the transverse frontomaxillary su- a ture; (3) the preorbital impressed depression; (4) the superior ae Doaition of the postparietal foramen. Hortorxongus Cope. In this genus we reach the dental formula of Drepanodon and _ the true cats, while at the same time the primitive form of the — VOR. x1V.—"o. x11, 55 850 On the Extinct Cats of America. [ December, sectorials of the lower jaw remains. Three or four species only are known as yet, all from North America. We- may expect, however, to find the genus in various parts of the world, wherever the beds occur which represent the time immediately preceding the epoch of the true sabre-tooths. The longest known species is the FHloplophoneus primevus Leidy, from the White River bad-lands of Dakota and Nebraska. It is about as large as the Canada lynx, and has long.and slender superior canines. A larger species, the H. occidentalis Leidy, from the same horizon and locality, is known from a single jaw fragment, as large as the corresponding part of the Mimravus gomphodus. Although the oldest mem- bers of the Mimravide yet known from North America, the Dre- panodon characters of the mandible and of the superior canine tooth are well developed, much more so than in the false sabre- tooth group of the later Truckee epoch. In Europe, however, it must be remembered that the latter division commences still earlier, in the Upper Eocene, in the genus /urogale Filhol. Hoplophoneus oreodontis Cope. This species is nearly allied to the Hoplophoneus primevus, of which it may be only a regional variety. It is distinguished by its shorter and wider face and palate, a character especially seen in the shortness of the diastema, which is considerably less than in the Nebraska species. With this animal it compares much as the bull-dog does with the ordinary varieties of the genus Cants. The two specimens I have described were found by myself on a denuded portion of the White River formation in Northeastern Colorado. At the same locality were multitudes of bones, mostly jaws, of fifty species of various orders of Mammalia and Reptilia, on many of which it doubtless preyed. Hoplophoneus cerebralis Cope. This peculiar species, the smallest of the genus, appr oaches nearest in dentition to the true sabre-tooths (Drepanodon), and = represented by a skull, from which the basioccipital region, @ good deal of the right side, and the lower jaw are absent. " differs in many respects from all the members ọf this family of cats heretofore discovered in North America. In almost every point in the osteology of the skull it is peculiar. There is not as much space for the temporal muscle as in most of the extinct 1880. ] On the Extinct Cats of America. 851 species described, or as in the large recent Uncig, but the points of origin of the muscle indicate that it was relatively stronger than in the domestic cat and the lynxes. Its single premolar is very small, so that the dentition for practical use is reduced, in the upper jaw, to the canine and sectorial. Both have been most effective instruments in the performance of their respective func- ’ _tions. The sectorial has a distinct anterior basal lobe. The Space for the accommodation of the brain is relatively more ample than in any other feline of the formation, and the inner wall indicates that the convolutions of the hemispheres were well developed. This species, if the cranium were of usual propor- tions, was about the size of the red lynx (Lynx rufus). The unique specimen of this species was found by Mr. J. L. Wortman in the bad-lands of Camp creek, one of the head tribu- taries of the Crooked river, in Central Oregon. Hoplophoneus strigidens Cope. Represented only by a part of a canine tooth. This tooth be- longed to an animal of about the size of the Æ. cerebralis, an perhaps to that species. If so, it indicates for it a longer canine than usual, as its extremely compressed form points to a position at a considerable distance beyond the base of the crown. The probabilities are against reference to the D. cerebralis. The tooth is the most elegant in form and perfect in its details yet found. As a cutting instrument it is superior to anything of human manufacture which I have seen. Found by C. H. Sternberg on the John Day river, Oregon, in the Truckee beds. - FELID. As defined in the preceding pages, the family of the true cats is of comparatively modern origin, We know that they existed during the Pliocene epoch, and it is very probable that they have been found in the Upper, and perhaps in Europe, in the Middle Miocene. If Pseudelurus and Proelurus pertain to it, the family dates from the Upper Eocene (Phosphorites). Like the Nimravide, the Felid@ has its sabre-tooth division, With the long superior canine, reduced inferior canine, and flared lower jaw already described. In both divisions,species are known which exceed in size any of those of the older family which have yet come to light. Such animals constitute the most formidable _ type of Carnivorous Mammalia. 852 On the Extinct Cats of America. [ December, The classification of the family is as follows : I. The anterior and lateral faces of the mandible separated by an angle. a. Inferior border of mandible flared downwards in front. &. Inferior sectorial without heel ; an anterior lobe of the supe- rior sectorial, and posterior lobes of the premolars. Premolars 3, first inferior two-rooted. .......ceeesesseecees Drepanodon. 2 Premolars Soy first inferior one-rooted...........csccevessees Smilodon. II. The anterior and lateral faces of the mandible continuous, convex. (No inferior tubercular molar.) : a. Inferior sectorial without heel; premolars with posterior lobes; superior sectorial with anterior lobe. & Superior sectorial without internal heel; ungual phalanges without inferior process. Pupil round, premolars 2; orbit open posteriorly Cyne@lurus. #8. Superior sectorial with internal heel; ungual phalanges with inferior process. y. Pupil round, Prenola Dd Oo 00k ily kk s ca Petes V3 O14 GASES a Uncia. E T E E E tik ch E has T oe Neofelis. yr. Pupil vertical. Orbit closed behind; premolars 2.. TERRE Catolynx Orbit open ; premolars 2 P Felis. Orbit open; premolirs is uesa sin cos ed's sled okey rs i a Lynx. The tendency to reduction of the number of molar teeth is seen in the above genera, as already pointed out in the Nimravide. The only extinct genera are Drepanodon and Smilodon. Of the other genera the greater number of extinct species belong to ncia. The following catalogue of species and their distribution shows that but few of the extinct Felide have yet been found in North America. A star on a line between two columns shows an inter- mediate stratigraphical position. The extinct true cats whose crania have been discovered, belong to Uncia, but it is possible 7 that some of the European species, which are as yet only known : from lower jaws, may be species of the genus Feks or Lynx. 1880. ] On the Extinct Cats of America. 853 Upper, Lower Eoc ocene. Miocene | Aa | Eur. | Eur. Am. Upper Miocene. | Pliocene. Eur.| Am.| 45/2 Am. Drepanodon Lene rane PA We hs car ete se ogygi aphan ory “as E S wor " naa Pend Gey. feos vee PA D c Q XXXX necator Gav ora XXXX PrE COPE cos. o ikara Ke Uncia media G ee aa en ey a aera X “ Gaa F. and G iaeei is x ls] é g oO 5 wn z p A Fes XXXXX eer Mea Ledi.. ee ate eS ai x C MIN ENON sil tee de ow ch oan a aK x ‘« — spelaea Gf. . E R ine 3.1 AELE R TA x As already remarked, the genera of the Nimravine and Drepa- nodont lines are extinct, and this in spite of the fact that they pre- sented the most perfect weapons of destruction in their canine teeth, from the earliest times. Their other modifications of structure advanced, pari passu, with those of the feline series, and, among others, the feet presented in the latter forms at least (e. g., Smilodon necator, Gerv.), the most perfect prehensile power of the lions and tigers of to-day. As nothing but the characters of the canine teeth distinguished these from the typical felines, it is to these that we must look for the cause of their failure to continue. Prof. Flower’s suggestion appears to be a good one, viz: that the length of these teeth became an inconvenience and a hindrance to their possessors. I think there can be no doubt that the huge canines in the Silodons must have prevented the biting off of flesh from large pieces, so as to greatly interfere with feeding, and to keep the animals in poor condition. The size of the ca- nines is such as to prevent their use as cutting instruments, ex- cepting with the mouth closed, for the-latter could not have been opened sufficiently to allow any object to enter it from the front. * 854 On the Extinct Cats of America. [ December, Even when it opens so far as to allow the mandible to pass behind the apices of the canines, there would appear to be some risk of the latter’s becoming caught on the point of one or the other canine, and forced to remain open, causing early starvation. Such may have been the fate of the fine individual of the S. xeog@us, Lund, whose skull was found in Brazil by Lund, and which is familiar to us through the figures of De Blainville, etc. Drepanopon Nesti. (Macherodus Kaup). This genus as understood by most authors, belongs to the later Miocene and Pliocene, and has had numerous representatives in Europe and Asia. No species has as yet been found in America. ‘Some of the species described by authors are only known from fragments, so that much remains to be ascertained as to the prevalence among them of the characters I have assigned to the genus and family. Those given are derived from the two species best known, the D. cultridens and D. megantereon, which have been readily obtained from the descriptions and figures of authors. t is difficult to ascertain the number of European species. Pomel’s catalogue is generally cited, and this is, with some sub- tractions and additions, the basis of the list already given. SmiLopon Lund. Besides the family characters already given, this genus differs from the Nimravide in two other important respects. In bot points it differs also from such existing members of the Felde — with which I have been able to compare it. In both S. fatalis and S. necator, the posttympanic process of the skull is codssified with _ the postglenoid, thus closing the auricular meatus below. It thus differs from other Felidæe as the genus Khinocerus differs from various other members of Rhinoceride. The second point has been indicated by Prof. Gervais. There is no epitrochlear arte- rial canal, such as belongs.to cats and Mimravide generally. This I have only verified on the S. necator. ` This genus represents in America the Drepanodons of the Old World. The known species belong to the Pliocene period, and were the cotemporaries of the gigantic sloths and G/yptodoms, which at that time ranged over the entire American continent. Their powerful limbs terminated by immense claws, bespeak for them exceptional force in striking and tearing their prey, and tae long compressed canine teeth are well adapted for penetrating za 1880. | On the Extinct Cats of America. 855 tough hides and muscles of the large Edentata, which were doubt- less their food. There are known two species of large size from Mus. Cope, Original. FIG. 13.—Smilodon necator Gervais, one-third natural size. the Pliocene of South America, and probably two species from orth America. A figure of the skeleton of the S. necator Gervais accompanies this paper. It is’ a copy of a lithograph taken by Prof. Burmeister from a specimen in the Museum of Buenos Ayres. The second known skeleton, found by M. Lar- roque near to the village Areco, a few miles west of Buenos Ayres, is in possession of the writer. Lateral and inferior views 856 On the Extinct Cats of America. [ December, of the skull of this individual, one-third of the natural size, are represented in figures 13 and 14. Fic. 14.—Smilodon necator, one-third natural size. Inferior view of skull Fig. 12- This specimen is the one on which the late Prof. Gervais based his determination of the species (Comptes Rendus, 1878, J une), but which he had not described at the time of his death. The species is about the size of the lion, and of the most formidable character. A fragment of a maxillary bone containing a sectorial tooth found in Texas was referred to an extinct cat, by Prof. Leidy, under 1880. | On the Extinct Cats of America. 857 the name of Trucifelis fatalis. As it possesses a second anterior basal lobe of the superior sectorial, it is doubtless a Smzlodow. I am confirmed in this opinion by the characters presented by an important specimen sent me by G. W: Marnock, who obtained it in Southwestern Texas. It consists of that portion of a cranium, which is posterior to the orbits, and represents an animal of the size of the S. neca- tor, or of a large tiger. The positions of the foramina and the conjunction of the posttympanic and postglenoid pro- cesses are as in the S. necator. When more of this species is known, it will doubtless be found to be our largest sabre-tooth. Among the remains obtained by - Charles M. Wheatley from a cave on the Schuylkill river, in Pennsylvania, which I described in 1871, there oc- curred a part of the canine of a sabre- tooth. Hoping to obtain better speci- mens, I did not include it in the pub- lished lists. Having established the existence of the genus*Swilodon as a contemporary of the sloths during the Pliocene period in North America, it becomes probable that the species of the caves is also to be referred to it. The canine in question has lost most of its crown. It is of smaller size than that of either of the three species pre- viously mentioned, and its basal por- tion is more compressed. This com- pression is a marked character, and I refer to it the name Smilodon gracilis, by which the species may be known. Uncia Gray (Cope emend.). Extinct species of this genus have been found in the late Miocene and subsequent deposits in India, Europe and North America. It is distinguished from the Fic. 15. — Dan necator; humerus of s en Figs. 12, 13, from front, one- e-third natural size. Mus. Co} 858 Twin Lakes and Teocalli Mountain, Central Colorado, {Dec., true Felis by the round form of its pupils. This can only be ob- servéd in the living species, so that some correlated index of it must be used in determining the genus from skulls. This Dr. Gray shows is seen in the small size of the orbits, which are always less than those of the species of Felts. Fragmentary remains from the Loup Fork formation of Ne- braska and the Piiocene and Quaternary of Mississippi and Cali- fornia have been described by Leidy under the names of Fels augustus, F. atrox and F. imperialis. Dr. Leidy suggests that there may have been two species, the one (F. augustus) charac- teristic of the Loup Fork epoch, and F. atrox, the second, belong- ing to a later period. The Uncia augusta was intermediate in _ size between the U. onca and the tiger, while the Uncia atrox was, according to Leidy, larger than the lion or tiger. It represents in America the Uncia spelea of the European caves, and should be carefully compared with that species. sangre LÈ eg cents TWIN LAKES AND TEOCALLI MOUNTAIN, CEN- TRAL COLORADO, WITH REMARKS ON THE GLACIAL PHENOMENA OF THAT REGION. BY F. V. HAYDEN, NE of the most interesting localitie# in Central Colorado, is the Twin lakes. These lakes are situated at the point where Lake Fork issues from the Sierra Madre, or Wasatch range, into the short valley which opens into the Upper Arkansas. At no distant period this point, with its surroundings, will form one of the most popular and desirable watering places in the West; already every available spot in the vicinity has been purchased for the purpose of erecting summer houses. The elevation of the lakes is 9357 feet above sea level. Some of the loftiest peaks T Colorado are in full view of the surrounding hills. Massive mountain, Mt. Elbert, Harvard, Yale and Princeton peaks, rise to heights of over 14,000 feet. The massive granite mountains on every side, are among the most rugged and picturesque 1n me Rocky Mountain region. : During the survey of this region in 1873, under the direction of the writer, these lakes were carefully sounded, and me greatest depths were found to be respectively seventy and seventy-six feet, These are formed in basins, as it were, which ‘OpeIo[oOy enua) yeg uray, ədd) 1880.] Twin Lakes and Teocalli Mountain, Central Colorado. 839 were undoubtedly scooped or worn out of the granite rocks by glacial action. They afford a splendid example of what Prof. Ramsay, the eminent geologist of England, calls “ Rock Basins,” the origin of which he has so graphically explained in his volume’ on the “ Physical Geography and Geology of Great Britain.” In the Upper Arkansas valley there seems to have existed in glacial times, one immense glacier, rising to the height of 1000 to 1500 feet on the mountain sides, and filling up the entire valley, with tongues or branches extending up the numerous side cafions. A description of this remarkable district may be condensed from the Report of the U. S. Geol. and Geog. Survey of the Territo- ries for 1873 and 1874. The Arkansas valley, from its head in Tennessee pass to the point where the river cuts through the Front or Colorado range and opens out into the plains, has been sworn out of the granite mass to a great extent. The origin of ‘this valley is mostly due to erosion. From the crest of the Park ‘range, on the east side of the Arkansas river, to that of the Wa-. satch on the west, the average distance in a straight line must be sat least ten or fifteen miles, and the average elevation above the water level of the river 1500 feet. It is probable that this great Space was, at no very ancient period, filled with one vast glacier, which doubtless performed the greater part of the grinding up of the rocks and the wearing out of the valley. The glacier-worn sides of the gorges, point strongly to that conclusion. But in this brief article we must confine ourselves mostly to the limited district, the valley of Lake Fork, in which the Twin lakes are located, the subject of the illustration. The valley of Lake creek is filled with the morainal deposits for which both sides of the Wasatch range of mountains are so remarkable. It would seem that the great glacial force moved here in a direction a little south of east, inasmuch as the mass of the detrital mat- ter is heaped up on the south side. The two lakes are about three hundred and fifty yards apart, with a small stream flowing from the upper into the lower, about twenty feet in width. The interval is made up of worn detrital matter, but over it and around both lakes, are mounds or oblong ridges of drift; and scat- tered over the surface, are masses of granite, coarse in texture, with crystals of feldspar, one and two inches in diameter, aggre- gated together. The rock has the appearance of a feldspathic breccia. The lower lake is about two and a-half miles in length | 860 Twin Lakes and Teocalli Mountain, Central Colorado. | Dec., and one and a-half miles in width, the upper lake is one mile in length and a-half mile in width. As we have stated before, the greatest depth was found to be seventy to seventy-six feet. The Lake creek rises about twelve or fifteen miles away, at the crest of the Wasatch range, and flows through a deep gorge or cañon, with signs of glacial erosion its entire length, and as it issues from the mountains into the main valley, has become a consider- able stream. These lakes are really expansions or basins in this stream and a part of it. That these lakes have been slowly diminishing in area, we know by the land bordering on both of them. Above the Upper Twin lake, there is a half mile in width of boggy meadow, which at no distant period must have been covered by the lake. At the head of the valley, or where the gorge begins, there is a sort of natural bridge, where the stream has worn a narrow channel through the rocks. At the summit the gorge is about eight feet wide, and in it a huge boulder has lodged. The stream rushes down its steep, narrow, winding channel with great force. On the north side there is a huge — boulder just ready to topple off into the channel, which is fifty feet in diameter. On the sides of the channel are several most remarkable rounded cavities worn in, like pot holes, six to ten feet in diameter. One of these occurs twenty feet above the water level of the creek at the present time. The worn rocks, or roches mou- tonnes, are most admirably shown everywhere, and portions crop out in the bottom of the valley to indicate the force as well as the extent of the erosion. It is quite possible that if all the débris could be stripped off the gorge and valley, the grooved oF scratched surfaces would be apparent. One immense mountain mass on the north side seems to have resisted the eroding forces, so that from base to summit, a heighth of one thousand feet, it 1$ smooth, like enamel. The great glacier which must have filled up the channel, has probably been obstructed, in its slow downward e movement, by this projecting point of the mountain. The great n branch glaciers of Lake creek must have been at least 1500 feet thick. The valley or gorge is of nearly uniform width, about one-fourth of a mile, and the glacier must have ploughed its wayo along, removing a great thickness of the gneissic rocks on either side and on the bottom, rounded remnants of which can be seen cropping everywhere from the detritus. About six miles above . ` Twin lakes, in a straight line, Lake creek forks, one branch eX tending up toward the north-west, and the other south-west. ‘urejunopy tpeooa ‘Ope41ojo7) [uaquey : 3 ‘ 1880.] Twin Lakes and Teocalli Mountain, Central Colorado, 861 Both separate again soon into a number of smaller branches, ‘which end in amphitheaters near the crest. There is not space here to dwell in detail on the remarkable features of this region. The student will find here the most wonderful examples of ero- sion, and an almost unlimited view of varied glacial phenomena; the lover of sport can find abundant trout fishing in the lakes and various kinds of game in the mountains; the invalid, pure air and water, so that at no distant period the region about Twin lakes must become a famous resort for’ seekers after health and pleasure. Teocalli mountain —On the west side of the Main or Wasatch range, in a nearly direct line from the Twin lakes, is a mountain peak of very singular but interesting appearance. This peak forms the subject of our second illustration. The name was given this peak by the Survey on account of its resemblance to the celebrated: Sacrificial mound of Mexico. The mass of roc seems to have been elevated by forces acting in a:vertical manner so that the strata are nearly or quite horizontal, yet its summit is 13,131 feet above sea level. The peculiar form is pyramidal. and the strata of various colored sandstone and clays are so arranged as to form a series of steps from base to summit. The texture of the rocks is quite varied, from a fine sandstone or quartzite to a conglomerate interlaid with thin seams of clay, which is weath- _ ered out so as to permit the harder beds to project out like.steps. There is an enormous thickness of these variegated beds, an while a great portion may. be of the age of the Jura-trias, the lower portion is bélieved to belong to the era of the Permian, or Permo-carboniferous. From this point can be seen distinctly the remarkably picturesque forms of Pyramid, Maroon and other Mountains, rising to an elevation of over 14,000 feet, yet com- posed of nearly horizontal beds of these variegated rocks. The prevailing color is a dull red or purple.: Maroon peak, 14,003 feet above sea level, receives its name from its prevailing color. Great numbers of these peaks, which in the aggregate, form the celebrated Elk Mountain range of Central Colorado, seem to have been originally thrust up through the overlying Cretaceous and Tertiary beds with the utmost irregularity, producing a series of faults and overturnings of strata, equalled in very few localities on this continent. Teocalli mountain. does not. present. the appearance of having been eroded since the uplift, and the vast $62 | A Sketch of the Progress of Botany { December, thickness of superincumbent strata may have been removed prior to its elevation, but we know that at least 10,000 feet of more modern beds, at one period rested upon it. The illustrations accompanying this paper will serve to convey some idea to the reader of the unique scenery which abounds in the mountain regions of Central Colorado, aE A A SKETCH OF THE PROGRESS OF BOTANY IN THE UNITED STATES IN THE YEAR 1879. BY PROF. C. E. BESSEY. A. Anatomy and Physiology—tIn this department the observa- tions of the botanists of this country, as shown by their published papers, were directed mainly to the reproductive organs and their functions; and with one or two exceptions the papers were short, involving but a few quickly-made observations. Little or no work was done in micro-anatomy (histology) and proper physi- ology. While we may regret that so much of the field has been so sadly neglected in our country, we should remember, that as a rule our botanists are overloaded with other duties which render it often impossible for them to command the time for making the necessary investigations. In the January number of the NATURALIST, Prof. J i Todd - published a paper “On Certain Contrivances for Cross-fertiliza- tion in Flowers,” illustrated by eight wood-cuts, in which he described the modes of pollination in Martynia, Penstemon and © Lobelia, and added a few observations upon the structure of the Iris flower. In the same journal Mr. William Trelease published (p. 427) a paper “On the Fertilization of several species of Lobelia,” and another (p. 688) on “The Fertilization of our native species of Clitoria and Centrosema,” both illustrated by several cuts. Thomas Meehan’s paper “On the Fertilization of Yucca,” read before the American Association for the Advance- ment of Science, is interesting from the fact that it shows that in Yucca, where we appear to have so perfect an adaptation Ho flower and insect (Prenuba yuccasella), pollination may still be -effected by other and unusual means. _ Prof. W. J. Beal described in the American Fournal of Science : and Arts for May, some “Experiments in Cross-breeding plants . 1880. | in the United States in the year 1879. 863 of the same Variety.” Of Indian corn and wax beans, two lots of each were obtained from widely different localities ; these were so planted as to secure cross-fertilization in certain cases, and fer- tilization without crossing in others, The result was shown to be highly favorable to the crossed plants. Dr. M. E. Elrod’s paper on the “ Seeds of the Violet and other plants as Projectiles,’ in the February NATURALIST, and that of R. E. C. Stearns in the July number of the same journal, on “ The Form of Seeds as a Factor in Natural Selection,” contribute somewhat to our knowledge of the means for the distribution of the seeds of plants. Of other papers in this department, the following may be men- tioned: “ Trimorphism in Lithospermum canescens,’ by Mr. E. F. Smith in the Botanical Gazette for June; “ Sexual differentiation in Epigea repens,” by Mr. L. F. Ward; “ Note on the movement of the stamens of Sabdatia angularis,’ by the same author, both read before the American Association for the Advancement of Science; “ Objects of Sex and Odor in Flowers,” by Thomas Meehan, read before the A. A. A. S., and printed in the Scientific American, Oct. 1879, pointing out that “variation is not merely an incident of form, but that it must necessarily be a primary object in nature; that the institution of sex is but an incident in the primary law of variation; and that all the machinery for fer- tilization and cross-fertilization is with the object of causing `a change of form far in the future, and with no material bearing on the good of the individual, or even of the race.” Here should be mentioned Prof. Tuckerman’s paper, “The Question of the Gonidia of Lichens” (Am. Four. Sci. and Arts, March, 1879), a review of Dr. Mink’s recently published observations. The re- viewer gives a short résumé of the lichen-gonidia controversy, and records some observations of his own, which he regarded as con- firmatory of those of Dr, Minks. B. Systematic Botany.—a. Fungi—One of the most important _ contributions in this department is Mr. C. H. Peck’s “ Report of the Botanist” in the Thirty-first Annual Report of the New York State Museum of Natural History. This report, although bear- ing date of January, 1878, was actually not published until 1879. Many new species of Fungi (mostly Basidiomycetes and Ascomy- cetes) are described. One of the most interesting of these is the one which lives parasitically within the abdomen of the seventeen- 864 A Sketch of the Progress of Botany [ December, year Cicada, and which Mr. Peck proposes to put into the new genus Massospora, which he briefly characterizes. The table giving the synonymy of the Myxomycetes of New York, and the critical notes which follow are valuable, especially to those who do not have access to Rostafinski’s work. In the “United States Species of Lycoperdon,” a paper read Feb. 4, 1879, by Mr. C. H. Peck, before the Albany Institute, we have the first approximately complete account of the puff-balls of this country. The paper opens with a general description of puffballs, covering six pages. This is followed by a synoptical table of the species, which are arranged under two sections, viz: Bovistoides and Proteoides, according as the peridium ruptures irregularly or regularly. The excellent specific descriptions which follow in the body of the paper, are based upon Mr. Peck’s personal observations, and these are supplemented by remarks upon the general and more obvious characters, as well as the dis- tinguishing features of such species as are closely allied and lia- ble to be confused. Nineteen species are thus described in full, and four others, known to occur in the United States, but not seen by Mr. Peck, are more briefly noticed at the end of the paper. A list of publications consulted closes this valuable con- tribution. : The same indefatigable mycologist, in several short articles in the Botanical Gazette, described thirty-eight new species from various parts of the United States. Of these twenty are Ure- dineze, six Hymenomycetes and four Gasteromycetes, M. C. Cooke, in the March number of Grevillea described sev- eral new species ftom California, and in the September number of the same journal, Mr. Cooke and J. B. Ellis described thirty or more new Fungi from New Jersey. - Baron Theumen’s short contribution in the October Bulletin of the Torrey Botanical Club, contained Ligaen of several new species. In P: B. Hine’s “Observations on Severs Forms of sapri niew,’ — in the October (1878) American Quarterly Micro- al Fournal, and concluded in January, 1879, we have one of de Sak records of a careful study of the plants of this interest- ing order in this country. Four plates, filled with many figures, accompany the paper. ae B. Ellis’ paper “On the Variability of Spheria quercuum 1880.] in the United States in the year 1879. 865 Schw.,” published in the Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, 1879, p. 66, shows the growth of a healthy critical spirit, the author having satisfied himself that the species named includes thirteen or more forms hitherto regarded as distinct species. Dr. Farlow’s lecture on “The Diseases of Forest Trees,” an abstract of which was published in the Transactions of the Massa- chusetts Horticultural Society (1879), consists of a plain account of the fungoid growths upon forest trees. As a contribution to the popular economic mycology of the United States, this lecture is to be regarded as a most valuable one. Thomas G. Lea’s list of “The Fungi collected in the vicinity of Cincinnati,” originally published in 1849, was republished with — a few additions, by J. F. James in the Journal of the Cincinnati Society of Natural History, 1879. In its revised form it includes 319 species. Of the two American exsiccati now publishing, Centuries m1 and Iv of Ravenel and Cooke’s Fungi Americani appeared early in 1879, and Centuries 11 and 111 of Ellis’ North American Fungi. 6, Alge—tIn the Proceedings of the Boston Society of Natural History, 1879, Dr. B. D. Halsted published a valuable paper on the “Classification and Description of the American species of Characee.” Eight species of Nitella, one of Tolypella and nine of Chara are fully described. The references to descriptions and exstccati appear to be full, and the geographical distribution of the species is as well worked out as the material at the com- mand of the author would admit. A valuable list of the works consulted in its preparation is found at the end of the paper. Dr. T. F. Allen’s “ Characeæ Americane,” of which Parts 1 and II were issued in 1879, is-another valuable contribution to our knowledge of the hitherto little studied American species of the Characee. Each part consists of a colored lithograph of a spe- cies accompanied by descriptive letterpress. “The Seaweeds of Salt lake,” is the title of a short article by Dr. Packard in the November Naturauist. It is composed mainly of Dr. Farlow’s preliminary report upon a collection of Algz obtained by Dr. Packard from the Great Salt lake of Utah. Two of the species are recognized as marine forms, while the third is new. Francis Wolle, in an article entitled “ Dubious character of VOL. XIV.—No. Xil. 56 866 | A Sketch of the Progress of Botany [ December, some of the genera of fresh water Algz,” published in the American Quarterly Microscopical Journal, records some of his observations upon the unicellular forms of vegetation occurring in fresh water, and “ questions the place given them as plants,” and suggests that many of them “are merely forms of gonidia or spores or sporangia, various stages of development in the life history of filamentous plants.” The same writer, in the Bulletin of the Torrey Botanical Club (January and February, 1879), pub- lished a “Synopsis of the Discoveries and Researches of fresh water Alge in.1878,” in which some American species are, for the first time, described, and many others catalogued. Fasciculus 11 of Algze Exsiccate Am. Bor., containing thirty species of the larger alga (Fucacee and Floridez) was issued by the authors, Farlow, Anderson and Eaton, during the year 1879. c. Lichens.—But little appears to have been published in 1879 by the lichenologists of this country. Prof. Tuckerman’s list of the lichens in Dr. Rothrock’s “ Catalogue of the plants collected in Nevada, Utah, California, Colorado, New Mexico and Arizona” (Wheeler’s Report, Vol. v1) is the only publication in this depart- ment which has come to hand. d: Bryophytes ( Mosses and Liverworts ).—In the catalogue just referred to above, Thomas P. James enumerates seventy-nine spe- cies of mosses, and C. F. Austin fifteen species of liverworts. In Mr. James’ list the less known species and genera are described, and to nearly all short notes upon habit or habitat are appended. “ Descriptions of some new species of North American Mosses,” by Leo Lesquereux and Thomas P. James (Proc. Amer. Academy of Arts and Sciences, 1879), includes the descriptions of fourteen new species, mostly from the Southern and Western States. Under the titles of “Some New Musci” (Botanical Gazette, April, 1879), “ Bryological Notes” (Bull. Torr. Bot. Club, Sept., 1879), and “Notes on Hepaticology” (Ibid, April, 1879), the lamented C. F. Austin described a considerable number of new — mosses and liverworts. e. Pteridophytes (Vascular Cryptogams).—lIt is a pleasure to direct the attention of botanists to the industry of Prof. Eaton, whose “ Ferns of the Southwest” (Wheeler’s Report, Vol. v1); “The Ferns of North America” and “New and little known Ferns of the United States” (Bull. Torr. Bot. Club, pp. 306, 360), appeared wholly or in part in 1879. The first includes descrip- 1880. | in the United States in the year 1879. 867 tions of all the less known ferns of the Southwest, z. e., the Utah- Arizona region. In all sixty-six species are noticed, and one fig- ured in Plate xxx. It should be remembered that while the preface to the work bears the date of 1877, the date of its actual appearance in the volume of which it forms a part is p®operly 1879. A few copies were separately distributed some time in advance of the publication of the whole report, but the exact date of this distribution is not known to the writer of this paper. ‘The great work on the “ Ferns of North America” with its fine colored plates was’nearly brought to a close during the year 1879. It will forever remain a monument to the ability of its author. In “Fern Etchings,’ by John Williamson we have a notable example of the good work which may be done by the painstaking lover of plants. The volume contains plates of sixty-eight ferns of the United States, with letterpress descriptions of each. G. E. Davenport’s “ Catalogue of the ‘Davenport Herbarium’ of North American Ferns ” is interesting as being the first com- plete catalogue of the ferns of this country. It contains one hun- dred and forty-two species, besides sixteen varieties. Among other publications, Mr. J. F. James’ list of vascular cryptogams in his catalogue of Cincinnati plants, above referred to, and Prof. J. W. Chickering’s list in his catalogue of the plants of Dakota and Montana (Bull. U. S. Geol. and Gograph. Survey, Vol. Iv), deserve mention. Baron Eggers’ similar list, in his “Flora of St. Croix and the Virgin islands” (Bull. U. S. Nat. Museum) should also probably be noticed here. J. Phanerogams.—The most notable contribution in this depart- ment is the “ Report upon the Botanical Collections made in por- tions of Nevada, Utah, California, Colorado, New Mexico and Arizona, during the years 1871 to 1875,” by Dr. J. T. Rothrock, being Vol. vi of the Reports upon the U. S. Geographical Sur- veys west of the 1ooth meridian, in charge of Lieut. Wheeler. The work contains a General Report, in which the general fea- tures of the flora of the Colorado and the New Mexico districts are separately described. This portion also contains some valu- able and interesting notes upon economic botany. The main Part of the work consists of the catalogue proper. This is mod- eled after Sereno Watson's “ Botany ” of the Clarence King Re- Ports. All the genera and species not contained in Gray’s Man- ual, or in Watson’s Botany, are here fully described. : 868 A Sketch of the Progress of Botany [ December, While Dr. Rothrock bore the burden of the work, he availed himself freely of the aid of such excellent botanists as Mr. Wat- son, who worked out the Leguminosz, Dr. Engelmann (Cactacee, _ Asclepiadaceez, Gentianacee, Cuscutee, Euphorbiacee, Cupul- iferee, Loranthacee, Conifer, Amaryllidacee and Juncacez), Prof. Porter (Polemoniacee, B g , Scrophul , Labi- atæ and Polygonaceæ), M. S. Bebb (the genus Salix), Wm. Boot (the genus Carex) and Dr. Vasey (the Graminez). Twenty-nine excellent plates of flowering plants, mostly from drawings by Isaac Sprague, accompany the volume. Dr. Gray’s “ Botanical Contributions ” (Proc. Am. Acad. of Arts and Sciences) contained (1) “Characters of some new species of Composite in the Mexican collection made by C. C. Parry and Edward Palmer, chiefly in the Province of San Luis Potosi, in 1878,” and (2) “Some new North American Genera, Species, &c.” The new genera are Suksdorfia, a Saxifragaceous genus from the Columbia river, and Howellia (Lobeliacez) from Oregon. Sereno Watson’s “Contributions to American Botany, Ix” (Proc. Am. Acad. of Arts and Sciences), issued July, 1879, con- tained (1) a “ Revision of the North American Liliacez,” and (2) “Descriptions of some new species of North American Plants.” Under the first part, the fifty genera and two hundred and thirty- five native species are arranged and described. The whole or- der, which here includes the Melanthacee, is divided into sixteen tribes, “based upon the characters of the inflorescence, and such others as can be used without separating evidently allied genera.” The Alliez come first, then the Millez, Conval- larieæ sixth, Yuccee ninth, with Lilies, Uvularieæ, Trilliee, Veratrez following in order, and the Xerophyllez at the end. In the second part the new genus Ho//isteria (Eriogonez) is described. “ The Willows of California,” by M. S. Bebb, issued July, 1879, consists of advance sheets of the “ Botany of California, Vol. 1.” Six new species and seven new varieties are described. ‘ Wm. M. Canby, in the Botanical Gazette for March, published under the title of “ Notes on Baptisia,” a valuable synopsis of an arrangement of the North American species, sixteen in number. Among the lists of plants the following may be mentioned, viz: Prof. J. W. Chickering’s “Catalogue of the Phenogamous and vascular Cryptogamous Plants collected during the summer of 1873 and 1874 in Dakota and Montana,” published in Bull. p.s. Geol. and Geog Survey, Vol. 1v; this enumerates 673 flowering 1880. | in the United States in the year 1879. 869 plants; J. F. James’ “ Catalogue of the Flowering Plants, Ferns and Fungi growing in the vicinity of Cincinnati,” with 869 flow- ering plants; ‘Colorado Plants,” a list of plants collected in Central and Southern Colorado, by I. C. Martindale, published in the November NATURALIST, with notes upon the rarer species ; “ Ballast Plants in New York city and its vicinity,’ by Addison Brown, in the November Bull. Torr. Bot. Club, enumerating 258 species, Here must be mentioned the fine work by Thomas Meehan, “ The Native Flowers and Ferns of the United States,” consisting of chromo-lithographs with explanatory letter-press. This work continued to be issued in parts through the year. Baron H. F. A. Eggers’ “ Flora of the St. Croix and Virgin Islands,” published in Bull. U. S. Nat. Museum, should probably be noticed here. It enumerates 977 flowering plants. C. Geographical and Geological——Under the title of ‘A Visit to the Shell islands of Florida,’ A. H. Curtiss, in the Febru- ary, March and May numbers of the Botanical Gazette, gives an interesting account of the vegetation of these little-visited islands. Much like this also is J. H. Redfield’s “ Notes of a Botanical Ex- ' cursion into North Carolina,” in the July and August numbers of the Bull. Torr. Bot. Club. In the party were Dr. Gray, Prof. Sar- gent, Mr. Canby and others, and one important object of the excursion was the finding of more specimens of Shortia. “ The Forests of Central Nevada, with some remarks on those of the Adjacent Regions,” by Prof. C. S. Sargent, in the June Am. Four. Sci. and Aris, contains notes upon the trees of the region, and comparative lists of the ligneous floras of the Rocky mountains, the Nevada and the Sierra Nevada regions. Much like the foregoing in treatment, but referring to very different plants, is Dr. Gray’s paper, “ The Pertinacity and Predominance of Weeds,” in the September Am. Four. Sci. and Arts. In the Bulletin of the U. S. Geol. and Geographical Survey, Vol. v, W. H. Holmes contributes an interesting article on the “Fossil Forests of the Volcanic, Tertiary Formations of the Yel- lowstone National Park.” In some places the aggregate thick- ness of the strata reaches more than one vertical mile (5500 feet), and throughout these strata are found vast numbers of silicified remains of tree trunks. The article is accompanied by a figure of the north face of Amethyst mountain, showing a precipice composed of upwards of two thousand feet of strata. 870 A Sketch of the Progress of Botany, etc. [December, In the American Fournal of Science and Aris for April, Leo Lesquereux published a review under the title, “ Notice of Gas- ton de Saporta’s Work: ‘The Plants of the world before the advent of man,” which is to be regarded as a real contribution to Phytopalzontology. Dr. Dawson’s paper “On Tertiary Plants,” published in the Report of the Geological Survey of Canada for 1879 has not been seen by the writer of this article. D. Historical— The Chronological History of Plants: Man’s record of his own existence illustrated through their names, uses and companionship,” by Charles Pickering. In this large volume the author aimed to present in a condensed form all that is known as to the plants used by or spoken of by the ancients. It is a monument to the patience and industry of its lamented author. Of a very different nature is Frederick Brendel’s “ Historical Sketch of the Science of Botany in North America from 1635 to 1840.” (Am. NATURALIST, p. 754). Beginning with Cornut's Canadensium Plantarum Historia, 1635, “the first book on North American plants ever written,” the author notices in chronologi- ‘ cal order the publications relating to American botany down to the year 1840. . Text Books —Two notable text books made their appear- ance during the year, viz: Gray’s “ Botanical Text Book: I.— Structural Botany,” and Goodale’s “Concerning a few Common Plants.” The first is the now well-known revision of the old Botanical Text Book. It is unnecessary to describe it; it at once took rank as one of the best books on structural botany extant. The second book is unfortunately less widely known. It was prepared as a supplement to a series of lectures to the teachers in the public schools of Boston and vicinity, As an aid to the earnest teacher seeking for the best methods of presenting the more important facts in the structure and physiology of the flow- ering plants, this little book is a valuable contribution. F. Periodical Publications —The two purely botanical journals of this country, The Bulletin of the Terrey Botanical Club and The Botanical Gazette, continued soba the year without any marked change in their characte _ The same may be said of the baa departments of the AMER- ICAN NATURALIST and the American Journal of Science and Arts. Two journals, in which botanical articles frequently appea red, ceased publication for want of adequate support, viz: Science _ News and The American Quarterly Microscopical Journal. 188o. | A Sketch of Comparative Embryology. 871 A SKETCH OF COMPARATIVE EMBRYOLOGY. BY CHARLES SEDGWICK MINOT. V.—THE GENERAL PRINCIPLES OF DEVELOPMENT. HE sponges present, as we have seen, many exceptional pecu- liarities in their development. All the remaining Metazoa, on the other hand, may be treated as members of one series, which are governed by several general laws of embryonic growth, only a portion of which can, at present, be said to apply to the sponges. The fundamental law of embryology is, that the simple pre- cedes the complex, the general and typical, the special. All em- bryos obey this principle in their early growth, and most of them throughout all their growth; but some, after advancing to a certain stage, stop, or suffer a degeneration as it is tech- nically called—in other words, only a part of their organs con- tinue to develop; or even the whole animal retrogrades, 2. e., becomes simpler. Of degeneration,’ the Crustacea offer many instances—one of the most familiar is the common barnacle, which in its young or larval state swims about the ocean freely, — having well developed limbs and sense organs, but later loses some of its structures, becoming in its adult condition perma- nently attached to the rock, Almost all parasitic forms are degraded. In spite of these instances, progress is primary and universal, degeneration secondary and exceptional. In all cases the embryos present to us animals stripped of the secondary - modifications found in adult life, and exhibiting the more essen- tial peculiarities, Thus in very young birds we plainly recognize, the gill slits and arches corresponding to the gills of fishes, but in the adult bird the gill slits have disappeared, and the arches so metamorphosed, that without knowing the embryo it would hardly be possible to discover their real connections, and their identity with the corresponding structures of fish. Embryology has proved that gills are typical of vertebrates, although many verte- brates have none in the adult state. Such insight the student of embryology may gather from any animal and every organ. The next law is, that development is always gradual—to it there are no exceptions. Even the sudden metamorphoses, e. g., 1E. Ray Lankester has recently published a very interesting little volume on degeneration in the Nature Series. 872 A Sketch of Comparative Embryology. {|December, of caterpillars, are only apparent not real exceptions, for in the caterpillar the chrysalis is gradually formed, and when perfected is merely uncovered by the casting off of the caterpillar skin, which masked the changes going on within, and so also the opaque crust of the chrysalis conceals the butterfly being formed underneath. In some animals, however, the vwészb/e changes though still gradual are more rapid at one time than another, as when the larval starfish (Brachiolaria) passes in a few hours into the adult form. The explanation of the gradualness of develop- ment in the Metazoa, is the dependence of the process on altera- tions in the single cells, and as these are small and change slowly, the whole effect is produced imperceptibly; we notice only that the embryo has advanced since we examined it before, we cannot see it advancing. Now, the construction of an animal out of the cells derived from the impregnated egg, depends on two things; frst, the arrangement of the cells in relation to each other; second, altera- tions in the characters of the cells themselves. We have already seen that in the course of segmentation the cells become arranged in two layers, the ectoderm and entoderm, both consisting of a single stratum of cells, and later there is a set of cells, the eso- derm, in between, Fig. 20. Compare also Fig. 15, p. 248. Before proceeding further it is desirable to say a few words about the middle ger- minal layer. Concerning its origin we have but little satisfactory information. In the lower animals (Radiates) it arises from cells which break away from the two primitive layers. In the jelly fishes it hardly exists as a distinct part, but as the 20.—Transverse sec- tion through the head of em. Brothers Hertwig have shown, is rather an ae eee Suid gees incompletely separated portion of the ecto- derm. In the Bilateralia, or all animals except sponges and radiates, the mesoderm is always present as a distinct layer, which is formed after both the ectoderm and entoderm. Its exact origin has never been definitely settled, although the question has been interminably discussed, especially as regards vertebrates. It is, however, known that in some forms there are two special cells, one at each side of the primitive mouth of the gastrula, distinguished by their large size and containing a 1880. | A Sketch of Comparative Embryology. 873 ; large amount of nutritive matter. These cells are called the mesoblasts, and break up into smaller cells which form the middle germinal layer, Fig, 21... ., The. cut represents a longitudinal section through the double embryo of Lumébricus trape- soues, after Kleinenberg. In this species the develop- ment is unique, for each egg normally grows into two individuals. The separation begins during segmentation. The two embryos are united by a cord of large cells, Fig. 21 x, and have at first a common mouth. In the right hand embryo of the figure, the large mesoblast lies between the inner and outer lay- ers, and has already given rise to a number of cells, es, the beginning of the mesoderm. In other cases it has been said that the mesoderm arises from th2 ectoderm or the entoderm, but nearly every observer is contradicted by some other, therefore it would be unprofitable for us to pursue the matter further. Suffice it to say that the embryonic mesoderm of the Bilateralia consists of a mass of cells, or of several strata when the mass is compact, whereas the other two layers are each but one cell thick. This difference is always preserved, except in the ectoderm of verte- brates, to which we shall recur. This is our third law. ; The fourth law is i that the cells are Ñ grouped in definite relations to certain ideal axes or planes. The first of these axes is the gastrula Or dorso-ventral,; it alone is clearly indi- iii si cated in the Colen- „„ẸlC: a2- Diagrams 1o show the mes of the body: 4 terata. It is the line and hind gut; a, openi ing 4 pal irk 4, of fore gut; which passesthrough ^ 9f hind gut. the mouth of the gastrula and the opposite end of the body, Fig, 22 A. Fic. f Lumbricus trap- HAK aaia section, After Kleinen- berg. 874 A Sketch of Comparative Embryology. (December, In order to understand the relation of the other axes, we must consider briefly the development of the digestive canal in the _Echinoderms, and some bilateral animals. The diagrams in Fig. 22 show the points which concern us now. The ectoderm in the young Echinoderm gastrula forms a little pit, Fig. 22 B, 4, near the upper end of the gastrula stomach; the bottom of this pit grows onto the wall of the stomach, an opening breaks through and the pit and the stomach fogm a continuous canal with two orifices, Fig. 22 B’. A plane passed through these two openings and through the gastrula axis will divide the body into symmetrical halves, a right and left. This plane may be called the median plane. It is of course purely ideal, not present as a structure of the embryo. In the young mollusk, a snail for instance, beside the first ectodermal pit, Fig. 22 C, 4, there is formed a second one, and always in such a position that the median plane passes through it, while the gastrula mouth lies between the two involutions of the ectoderm. The gastrula mouth ultimately closes, the two pits become connected with the entodermal cavity, their exterior openings forming respectively the mouth and the anus, A line passed through these two sec- ondary openings represents the longitudinal or antero-posterior axis. It must not be imagined that these axes necessarily always remain straight, for, on the contrary, they usually depart somewhat from the simple form, sometimes very much so, as in the case of the spirally twisted snails. These axes mark the distinction of dorsal and ventral surface, of right and left sides, of anterior and posterior ends or head and tail. In the vertebrates the axes are further complicated in a manner which will be studied in a spe- cial article, and is therefore passed over here. The fifth law is that, however much the weight of an animal increases during its development, the ratio of the free surfaces to the mass alter but slightly from the ratio established when the embryo begins to take food from outside. It is only for convenience that I express this law in this precise form—in reality, about it our knowledge is scanty and our conceptions vague. According to a geometrical principle, when the bulk of a body bounded by a simple surface increases, the surface enlarges less than the mass —in the simplest case of a cube, the surface increases as the square, the mass as the cube of the diameter. If in a cube of unit diameter, one unit of surface bounds one unit of mass, then 1880. } A Sketch of Comparative Embryology. 875 in a cube of three units diameter, zzze units of surface will bound twenty-seven units of mass; the proportion in the first cube is 1:1, in the second 1:3. To maintain the proper proportion in the embryo, simple enlargement is insufficient, therefore the surface becomes more and more irregular or uneven, being thereby multiplied to correspond with the bulk. The irregu- larities present distinctive peculiarities characteristic of each organ and part, ande may be either large or microscopic. They may be conveniently classified under five heads: 1. Pro- jections, either large like the limbs of insects and quadrupeds, the tentacles of Coelenterates, the branchia of Amphibia, etc., or microscopic like the v/i of the intestine.’ 2. Dzlatations of the digestive canal and other internal cavities; the stomach is usually a dilation. 3. Déverticula, or blind pouches, pushing out from one part or another; the lungs of vertebrates, for example, are diverticula of the digestive tract. 4. Folds, or ridges either longi- tudinal or transverse. A capital illustration is afforded by the common grasshopper (Caloptenus); this insect has six large diverticula springing from the front end of its stomach, each of which is traversed by twelve longitudinal folds, admirably shown in transverse sections, Fig.23. 4. Small pits, or invaginations, which form glands. They dif- fer from diverticula by their smaller size, and also in that they grow into the mesoderm, while the diverticula push the mesoderm along with them. A section through a couple of such pits is shown in Fig. 24, which represents “mucous glands” from the stomach of a kanga- roo. It will be noticed that the cells at the bottom of the pit are larger than those nearer its mouth, so that the lower g/andular portion is already marked off from the upper part or duct. Of pits, or glands as they are prop- | To see the wi//i, of which students usually have a very imperfect conception, it is only necessary to take a short piece of small intestine of a common mammal (dog or rat), slit it lengthwise, spread it out, wash it and examine with a lens. Although the inner surface of the intestine would be very small if it were smooth, yet in reality it is very great, being increased by the countless villi and glands. connective tissue. X about 40 di iam, 876 A Sketch of Comparative Embryology. (December, erly called, there are many kinds, varying in shape and in the char- acter of the cells lining them. They a maybe straight or very much elongated e and coiled or twisted; they branch in Dy Many different ways, but all forms are modifications derived from simple pit- ee eS lal diolo Q plolela > Ae ld Å lJepiaolcjopje]o] gelea > ———_ IG EEC! ola del oa anced 30 e Bice re a y like invaginations. ag ga Dje | The necessity of proportioning the [ Be Sia à oo J surface to the mass arises from the R a Hna gs 5 fact that it is only through the surface F- G A al . S Ma] -that food, water and oxygen can be G) A > 5, FKA) we taken in, refuse matters (excretions) fed fo) | Wy we | ejected, and sensations from the out- Uy Bee side received. Hence when the right Wau & 4 © P p . . . - AAM ia lÀ ) relation is once established it must be ; = = permanently kept up. In the grow- 0/1 es" enet ing embryo the object is so to expand u a a Fic. ai a Vertical section of the surface that as the bulk increases, Macrep ea re the surface is always sufficient not fer. 210 di only to supply the cells composing 1t, but also the inner and deeper lying tissues. We can now understand why eggs with very little yolk are hatched very early, to become self-dependent larvæ—it is because of their small bulk, which enables a simple surface to answer their physiological needs, to digest and breathe enough. Bulkier eggs must reach a more advanced development, living the while on their own yolk, before they can lead a free life. Let it not be thought, however, that any one has ever determined, even ina single case, the proportion between the surface and the mass- There are reasons for thinking that the proportion varies consid- erably in different species, and even in individuals of the same species, The sixth law is, that in all but the lowest metazoa, there are several systems of cavities formed in the mesoderm. The meso- derm becomes more important and voluminous as we ascend the animal series, and so also do the cavities of the middle layer be- come more complex. In many animals there is one large space known as the body cavity, but the other spaces are for the most part small; such are the organs of the circulation, the blood ves- 1880. | A Sketch of Comparative Embryology. 877 sels, and in vertebrates the lymphatic system. Another set of cavities forms the excretory system—the water vessels (of certain worms), the segmental organs and kidneys, all distinguished by being connected directly with the exterior by openings through the ectoderm. There are also tubular ducts which compose the secondary genital apparatus, and are, in many of the higher inver- tebrates and in all vertebrates, intimately connected with the excretory organs. Formerly it was supposed that the branching respiratory tubes or frachee of insects, were mesodermic, but more recent investigations tend to show that they are always invaginations of the ectoderm. All these cavities are lined each by a layer of cells, one row deep, an epithelium. In the circula- tory channels and body-cavity, the epithelium appears to be inva- riably composed of broad, irregularly polygonal very thin cells, being a so-called pavement epithelium, while in the excretory tubes and genital ducts the epithelium is quite thick, each cell being at least as high as it is broad. The seventh law is of the utmost importance—each germinal layer forms predetermined special tissues, and no others, and each tissue in a predetermined position. In all bilateral animals at least, the mesoderm forms, besides the organs belonging to it exclusively, such as the heart, etc., layers of tissue around the whole entoderm and ectoderm ; for example, the intestine of an adult animal is composed of an entodermal lining (epithelium) and. several mesodermic coats (connective tissue and muscles) ; the skin is composed of an outside epidermis, derived from the ectoderm, and under it the dermis, or cutis, derived from the mesoderm, An organ is said to be ectodermal or entodermal when the part essential to its physiological function arises from one or the other of the primitive layers; for example, the eye is ectodermal because its light perceiving portion is developed from the outer germ layer; the liver on the other hand is entodermal because its secreting cells are formed from the inner germ layer. The anatomy of adult forms does not by any means always reveal to which layer a given organ properly belongs, This is perhaps better illustrated by the nervous system than by any l There are certain exceptions, e. g., the malpighian bodies of the vertebrate kid- neys are lined by a pavement epithelium although they form part of the excretory System of cavities. * Often called Aysodermis by many writers on Invertebrates, especially by ento- mologists, ' 878 A Sketch of Comparative Embryology. (December, other structure. In nearly all animals the central nervous system (nerve ganglia, spinal cord, etc.) lies quite deep, well separated from the ectoderm or skin, yet in the embryo the nervous system arises from the ectoderm (Fig. 25, cf. also Fig. 20) ap- Fic. 25—Transverse section of caste a - pearing at first as cells qus raped ri se ton ing eae nervous Very much like the rest system; v, ciliated b: “ally parating the two parts of of the ectoderm. They the, nervous system; c, c’, par f body cavity; . „mesoderm. Only the Krt ‘half ar the sec- Soon, however, separate tinje Sqered. from their first neighbors, moving inwards; the mesoderm then grows in between the half developed nervous cells and the ectoderm, so that they are com- pletely divided. The following table shows to which of the” germ layers the principal organs belong: aer DE MESODERM. ic pidanti or external skin. 1. Wandering cells, rust of arthropods. 2. Connective tissue, fat cells, etc. o 3 Horns, hairs and nails. sgt glands. of larva, etc. 2. Prata system, Organs of, a Touch. b Taste. c Smell. d Hearing. e Sight, etc, 4. Fore gut. 5. Hind gut. 6. Mouth gut (vertebrates). 7. Gillis 8. Tracheæ of insects. 3. Internal skeleton. . Muscles. 5. Genital products. 6. Blood. 7. Organs of circulation. 8. Organs of excretion. 9. Secondary g con 10, Lymphatics (and spleen ENTODERM. f: Middle gut. id, pancreas, € hyroi 5. ey appendages H the digestive _ As appears from this table the erne of each germ layer is predetermined. The eighth law is, that the simple cells formed ‘during segmen- tation change their character during embryonic growth, not only appearing EA but altering also their activity from general 1880. | A Sketch of Comparative Embryology. 879 to special functions. Of course it is not possible to consider here in detail the laws of histological differentiation, the more as they have never received much attention, for although hundreds of published researches elaborately describe the changes in special cases, yet the general laws of the progressive development of cells have never been seriously discussed, and rarely subject to more than incidental treatment. I shall mention only three gen- eral principles, which are at once universally applicable and readily understood. 1. Structural modifications of epitheliums usually affect similarly a whole cluster of cells; or 2. Less fre- quently isolated cells only. 3. The mesodermic tissues are for the most part in masses (muscles, tendons, fat, etc.) not in layers, excepting always the epithelial lining of the mesodermic cavities. We have already considered one illustration of the first princi- ple, the formation of the central nervous system (Fig. 25, #, 2). Other areas are transformed into the retinz, the finger nails, etc, Again smaller clusters into the lining of glands. Let us consider for a moment the peptic glands of the mammalian stomach, which are modifications of the simpler mucous glands (Fig. 24). The peptic gland is still a straight tubular pit running down from the inner surface of the stomach, but the cells composing its walls are of several kinds—one sort in the neck, a, two in the glandular portions, 4 and c, of which the darker and more closely granulate cells (“ Be- legzellen”’) predominate in 4, but the lighter central cells, 4 (“ Hauptzellen”), in c. The central cavity of the gland is not shown in 6 and c. The relative positions of the two kinds of cells will perhaps be better understood by a transverse section, Fig. 27, Bong through the lower part, Fig. 26 c, of a cluster ofj. si eae: glands, such a section being of course parallel to stomach of guinea the inner surface of the stomach. We here have A cnet? 5 an excellent illustration of what is meant by aa Ariy e sprecseed tological differentiation, for the general arrange- Pallen ;” go ment of the cells is the same as in Fig. 24, but ae PH different parts of the more complex peptic gland diam they have assumed distinct forms and functions. The differentiation of isolated cells is often very important. In Pee eS] Bese ae WEE Ema 4 Gore ane rs ce, : oar ace x SRR T Vea St: Dif AN a A Se Ee, ol £ eat » a raS O “Soe I 52 880 A Sketch of Comparative Embryology. |December, the skin of many animals there are unicellular glands. Every mi- nute scale making the microscopic dust on a butterfly’s wing results from the modification of a single cell, from which the scale grows out; again in VE VRA, the ectoderm of Ceelenterates, Fig. 28, oy i A } we usually find scattered among the o Ne P >Z unmodified epidermal cells single net- A tle cells (thread or lasso cells), Z, and unicellular glands. The nettle cells Fic. 27. — Transverse section may be readily recognized by the aa e PETE glands of a do- Coiled thread in each of them; the “ hauptzellen;” , peripheral gland cells by a small pore and their cells. After Rollet. Xx 320 diam. é = mass of secretion, Fig. 28 D. Such are the leading principles of embryology as far as our space permits dealing with them, varying however in their exact application from group to group. In all the embryos of each natural group, we can recognize peculiarities common to all the members of the group, peculiarities which we therefore designate as typical. When, however, the embryonic form leads a free life, it may often present special adapta- tions that change it so much as to obscure the ry typical features, hence in the study of those forms which begin their free life in an embry- onic condition, we have to compare the larve, pores le gland cell. Af- one with another, in order, by the elimination of those features which are only special and secondary, to discover the really typical structure. This is par- ticularly the case with marine animals, whose larvæ often have bizarre shapes, which have arisen, it is to be assumed, by natural selection among the larvæ, and relate to their presentation rather than directly to their development. Therefore we shall not pause to consider the forms of embryonic larvæ. I hope, however, to publish, before long, figures which will enable the student to recognize the more common marine embryos, 1880. ] Editors’ Table. 881 EDITORS’ TABLE. EDITORS: A. S. PACKARD, JR., AND E. D. COPE. The metric system is extensively used in this country, but not yet so generally as would seem to be desirable. While its introduction into scientific work is quite general, its use in mechanics and manufactures makes slow progress. This is nat- ural, but we believe that the merits of the system will become so obvious as ultimately to command the support of all who use measures of any kind. It is evident that such a radical change can only be made slowly, and be introduced under special circum- stances, as, for instance, in the commencement of new manufac- turing or engineering enterprises. Old institutions with extensive apparatus, would be involved in expense in changing their scales, and in difficulty in instructing their employés. But we cannot on this account endorse the opposition which has been displayed in some quarters. The fact that it may cost a given firm of manu- facturing machinists so many thousand dollars to alter their measuring tools, does not justify those persons in resisting the general introduction.of the system. The objection now most dwelt on, that the metre is not exactly what it professes to be, has, in our judgment, little bearing on the present state of the case. What the world wants, and sooner or later will have, is a uniform decimal system of weights and measures. This it has in the metric system, and its adoption has now proceeded so far that it is useless to think of proposing or creating another to take its place. We hope that the time is near at hand when a uniform decimal System of coinage will be adopted by civilized governments. It will be much more readily introduced into common use than the changes contemplated by the metric system. It has been demonstrated beyond all doubt that the Per- Manent Exhibition of Philadelphia can pay its running expenses. Even in its present inchoate condition it supplies a need, and is popular with a large class of citizens. But it remains to put into execution the classified museum scheme which was adopted two years ago, and before this is done provision must be made for necessary repairs to the roof and floor of the building. The former requires attention, but the condition of the floor is more serious. It is to be hoped that the subscription now on foot in VOL. XIV.—NO. XII. 57 882 Recent Literature. [ December, this city to raise a fund to secure these repairs, will be successful. Then it will be seen whether the Board of Directors will rise to the importance of the work cut out, by the Council of Education, and will really grant to that body the privilege of carrying out the programme they have presented. Unless this is fully and frankly done, the Board of Directors may rest assured that their labors, which have been neither few nor light, will have been wasted, and that the Exposition will be a failure. The Council of Education is composed of capable men, and such as will not be found to repeat their past work unless their relations to the Exposition are placed on a permanent and satisfactory basis. :0:—-—— RECENT LITERATURE. ‘Tue Tarsus anp Carpus oF Birps.—In his first paper, Prof. Morse gives the results of his examination of the embryos of various North American birds, with reference to the primitive constitution of their tarsus and carpus. In the former he finds three bones, “#diale, fibulare and centrale. The first two unite into an hourglass-shaped bone such as exists among Dinosauria, the astragalo-calcaneum, while the last forms the cap for the metatar- sals, contributing to the adult tarsometatarse. In the carpus Prof. Morse finds four bones (rarely five), of which two become united with the ulno-radius, and two or three with the metacar- als. He then introduces the description of a fourth tarsal bone found by Prof. Wyman in the “blue heron,” and mentioned by ‘him in a letter. Prof. Morse concludes that this element is the intermedium of Gegenbaur somewhat out of place. In his quarto memoir, the author further investigates this fourth tarsal and its homologues. His studies having been directed to the lower birds, as penguins, auks, petrels, etc., he finds the ascending bone partly occupying the position of the intermedium in several of aem. He finds that it early unites with the tibiale and fibulare, _ forming a temporary astragalo-calcaneum, which thereafter unites with the tibia. He is-thus able to homologize the ascending pro- cess of the astragalo-calcaneum of Ornithotarsus and Lelaps with ie the intermedium. In the course of his examinations of the is of the sea pigeon, Prof. Morse found curious apical expan- sions of the distal phalanges. > = oo _ We have been much interested in this essay, and commend it as a good illustration of the meaning of the term monograph. _1 The Tarsus and Carpus of Birds. By E:S. Morse, Ph.D. Annals Lyceum The Identity of the Ascending Process of the Astragalus in Birds with the Inter- on medium. By E. S. MORSE, Ph.D. Anniv. Mem: Boston Sve. N. History. 1880. 4t- 1880. | - Recent Literature. . 883 A MANUAL oF THE InFusortA..—The first installment of 144 pages of this work impresses us with the belief that the English reading student who desires to become acquainted with the . remarkable animals of which it treats, should take early measures to secure a copy. The execution of the work, both as to illustra- tions and text, is excellent, while its size is convenient for actual students. The author introduces us to the objects of his studies in a highly agreeable manner, rendering even the details of the history of their successive discovery interesting. The scientific results are important, including some systematic views which will at least aid in the analysis of the forms included in the class. Thirteen divisions are recognized which fall into four orders, viz: the Pantostomata, Discostomata, Hustomata and Polystomata. Mr. Kent devotes a chapter to spontaneous generation, and we make some extracts treating of this obscure and interesting subject. “The general conclusions deducible from the long array of evidence now produced with respect to the question of ‘ spon- taneous generation,’ or ‘ abiogenesis, may now be briefly sum- marized. From every line of inquiry investigated, one and the Same answer is invariably returned. Life in its most humble and obscure form, be it existent as impalpable germinal dust floating in the atmosphere, or shaken from a truss of hay, or manifested in its more active state as the minute monads, bacteria and other organisms developed in infusions, teils everywhere the same un- varying tale. Traced backwards to its origin, or forwards to its ultimate development, each type is found by patient search to be derived, not de novo out of dead or inorganic elements, but from a specific parental form identical in all respects with itself, and whose life-cycle is as true and complete as that, even, of man himself, * *, + “In order to arrive at a comprehensive insight into the life phenomena and progressive developmental manifestations of the weeks. The water added to the hay was of the purest possible description, and was frequently boiled for some time to prevent the introduction of extraneous germs. In all instances the results obtained were broadly and fundamentally the same, and differed only with respect to the specific types found living together in the Separate infusions. Even here, however, the general dominance of two or more special forms was notably apparent. Commencing with the first wetting and simultaneous examination of any given A Manual of the Infusoria ; including a description of all tte ail vo. 1 Ciliate and Yentaculiferous Protozoa, By W. SAVILLE KENT, F.L.S. oy. London, David Boyne, 1880. 884 Recent Literature. [ December, sample, spores of different sizes were found congregated in count- less numbers and in various orders of distribution throughout the surfaces of the vegetable tissues. The majority of these spores were excessively minute, spherical, of the average diameter of the 1—20,000th part of an English inch, and required necessarily the employment of the highest powers of the compound microscope for the correct registration of their characteristic form and size. Sometimes these spores were to be observed collected in definite spherical heaps, but more often they were scattered in irregular- shaped patches, such patches being often again more or less con- fluent, and thus forming collections of considerable extent. A large number of these spores were likewise to be seen, detached from their original adhesions, freely floating in the water or col- lected in masses upon the peripheries of the small air bubbles that had here and there become entangled between the slide and cov- ering glass. In this latter instance the spores exhibited a thicker and more opaque bounding wall, and manifested, as in the case of lycopodium powder, the power of resisting for some time the hydrostatic or wetting action of the water: this property had already been suspected by Prof. Tyndall to be possessed bye these minute bodies, but had not previously been practically demon- strated. “The hay within from four to six hours after maceration revealed on examination of a small fragment, a considerable alteration in the character and comportment of the associated spores. Hith- erto these had displayed no signs of motion, a uniform stillness reigning throughout the entire expanse of the microscopic field. Now, however, among the numbers that had become detached from their original adhesion to the vegetable matter, the majority exhibited an active vibratory motion that at t first sight was scarcely to be distinguished from the characteristic ‘ Brownian movements.’ The size of these motile spores corresponded with that of the quiescent ones, not exceeding the 1-20,o0oth of an inch in diameter, and without recourse to the highest magnifying power and the most careful adjustment of the illumination, it was te inch objectives of Messrs. Powell and Lealand, it was at length satisfactorily determined that each individual spore or body was- furnished with a single, long, slender, whip-like organ ae um, whose active vibrations propelled the spherical body through the water. These minute motile corpuscles exhibited, in fact, at this early stage of their development a type of organiza- tion in ways momparable with that of the simply uniflagellate genus Monas. | -PACKARD’S Zoorocy, Seconp Epirtion.'\—In revising this text : ee au Schools and ee res. By A. S. PACKARD, Jr. Second edition, evised. New v York T Jo., 1880. I2mo, pp. 719 . 1880. ] Recent Literature. 885 book, the author has availed himself of the criticisms of other naturalists, and thus made a considerable number of changes in the stereotype plates. Several of the figures, notably that illus- trating the anatomy of the cat, have been changed, and one of the opossum and its marsupial bone added. Other changes have been made in order to bring the book up to the present state of the science. DavuBREE’s CHEMICAL GeEoLocyY.!— This grand work may be regarded as a revised collected edition of the former smaller successful scientific life, and on it he may safely rest his fame. The first section of the work deals with chemical and physical phenomena—metalliferous deposits, nature of metamorphism, the effect of heated waters, formation of zeolites, amygdaloids, rocks both eruptive and metamorphic, and volcani¢ action. The second section treats of mechanical phenomena, and applies the rigid experimental method of trituration and transportation of sediments, and chemical decompositions by mechanical forces ; the distriffution of gold in the bed of the Rhine is also discussed. The first chapter contains an account of the experiments on the stria- tion of rocks. The marks or striz are. produced or imitated by rubbing pebbles together. The second chapter treats of the deformations which the earth’s crust has been subjected to in for- mer ways. Sir James Hall’s experiments were of a similar char- acter. The remarkable examples of reversed folds, as shown in the Alpine regions, are imitated and explained, The discussion of the nature and causes of faults, joints and all kinds of frac- tures in sedimentary rocks will be read by the geologist with peculiar interest. The account of the experiments on the developed by the crushing, grinding and mutual frictions of rocks are important; it is believed that sufficient heat may be generated in this way to produce metamorphism The second part treats altogether ‘of cosmic bodies. Three hundred and fifty pages are devoted to the experimental study of the structure and genesis of meteorites and the accompanying minerals. The entire volume is well illustrated, and as a speci- men of typography may be regarded as a model of clearness and beauty.—F. V. Y. Hertwic’s CuztocnatH Worms2—A careful elaboration a the morphology and development of the Sagitta, the type of Chætognathi, that singular type of worms, so aberrant that it bias 1 Etudes tae vrai a Geologie Experimentale. Par A. Daubrée. Premiere par- o Appli n de la méthode experimentale a l'etude de divers phenoménes geol- ogiques, Deus uxieme etary eet ht de la pow _ ceprctnpsiele a etude de divers phenoménes cosmologiques. Large 8v o, 828 pa ? Die Chatognathen. Ihre Anatomie, pipet mis 'Entvictlangeschichte. moe Monographie. Von Dr. Oscar Hertwic. Mit 6 Tafeln. Jena, 1880. 886 | Recent Literature. { December, by different authors been regarded as a vertebrate, a mollusk, as well as a crustacean, has been greatly needed. r. Oscar Hert- wig is so excellent a histologist and anatomist, that we may feel sure that this investigation has been made with the same exacti- tude which has characterizetl his previous labors on the lower animals. Our knowledge of Sagitta had already been greatly extended by the researches of Krohn and Kowalevsky, and owing n of Vermes is uncertain. Hertwig concludes that it agrees best with the Nematodes-and Annelides WapsworTH’s GEOLOGICAL iets i This papers by Prof. Walghoith are, like all the preceding ae of this author, of the most thorough character. He has made the microscopic study of sean and metamorphic rocks a ai study for sev- eral years, and by his thoroughness has elevated this department of geology very nearly to an exact science. The first paper, on the geology of Lake Superior, is the most important one, and contains six effective octavo plates, showing the relations of the different kinds of rocks to each other; the dykes, bands 8f iron ores, jasper veins, felsites, diorites are cleariy shown in their rela- tions to each other in the rock masses. Mr. Wadsworth has not relied on the microscope alone, but has given many important chemical analyses of minerals. The historical account of the explorations of others in that region, with the bibliography at the end of the memoirs, is very. valuable. We wish we could quote largely from these papers, but space will not permit.— PHYSICAL AND GEOLOGICAL RESULTS OF THE FRENCH ExPEDI- TION TO OBSERVE THE TRANSIT OF VENUS.2—These beautiful vol- umes are a portion of the results of the French Expedition to observe the Transit of Venus.’ The first part deals with the physical results of the expedition, printed in fine clear type with eighteen excellent plates, a portion of them photographic. The | Notes on the Geolozy ot the Iron and Copper Salhi of Lake Superior. By M. _E. Wadsworth. Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zodlogy at Harvard Col- lege, Whole Series, Vol. vit. (Geological Series, Vol. I). PP. He mn 6 plates. On th e Elongation and Plasticity of Pebbles in Conglomerate. . E. WADS WORTH. (From the Proceedings of the Boston Society of Rained History, Vol. xX, = Nov. 5, 1879.) _Danalite from the Tron Mine, Bartlett. New Hampshire. By M. E. WADSWORTH. - Picrolite from a Serpentine Quarry in Florida, Mass. By M. E. WADSWORTH. 2 Mission de l Isle Saint-Paul Observations Astronomiques, aiaeag speak aph- igues, observations magnetiques et hydrographie. Institut = 2 ran e des Sciences. Recueil de memoires a l’observation du passage de said ae ya Soleil. (Extrait du tome 11, rst partie.) 425 pp-, 4to, 18 plates aad maps. Recherches iaa oa Eggi a Aden, a la Reunion, aux Isles Saint Paul et Am- ie , aux M. Cu. VELAIN, Maitré de conferences a la Sorbonne. cs te PP» Ato, site plate rje maps. (Extrait du tome 11, 2d partie.) Paris, 1879. 1880. | Recent Literature. 887 engravings are good, showing with great detail the surface fea- tures of the island, pictorially and topographically. But to the naturalist and geologist, the second part, by M. Velain, is of greater interest. This volume is illustrated with twenty-seven quarto plates, eight of which are by the photoglyptic process, and are microscopic studies of the volcanic rocks. The island itself is of volcanic origin, and entirely composed of igneous rocks. This volume is a most elaborate monograph of the min- eralogical and structural history of the island, by means of sec- tions and colored maps, and it certainly is a model of careful study and bookmaking. Many actual volcanoes are shown to exist on the island, in operation at the present time. The publication of these important volumes is very creditable to the Government of France as well as to the authors. . Velain has recently published a small brochure of great interest in Bulletin No. 7 of the Mineralogical Society of France, on the microscopic study of the glass or slag resulting from the fusion of the ashes of grasses. It is illustrated with an excellent octavo plate showing the production, artificially, of the crystals of tridymite, anortheite, wollastonite and augite—F. V. H. SicsBee’s. Deep SEA SounDING AND DREDGING.!—It is greatly to the credit of American science and to our government, that it has taken so prominent a part in deep sea explorations. This is due largely to the labors and energy of the lamented Count Pourtales, who was a distinguished physical geographer and or a long time an assistant in the U. S. Coast Survey. He was the first to show that the warmer waters of the tropics, nota- biy the Floridan seas, with their profusion of tropical life, were underlaid by a colder bottom stratum of water with a nearly equal profusion of what was hitherto supposed to be purely Arc- tic life. The Norwegian marine zodlogists had previously demon- strated the existence of a deep-sea fauna off the coast of Norway, and the Swedish naturalist, Lovén, had suggested that this deep sea fauna was widespread over the ocean bottom, but Pourtales demonstrated it, and the subsequent deep sea explorations of the English Navy, especially the Challenger Expedition, carried out and extended Pourtales’ discoveries. Pourtales was aided and advised by his friend Agassiz, and the work-of exploration of the ocean bottom under the Gulf Stream off the Floridan peninsula, and in the Gulf of Mexico, as well as off the southern coast of the United States, has of late years been extended by the officers of the U. S. Coast Survey, Mr. Alexan- der Agassiz being the naturalist of the recent expeditions. The Coast Survey has now a beautiful steamer, the B/ake, of 350 tons, 1 United States Coast and Geodetic Survey. CARLISLE P. PATTERSON, Superin- tendent. Deep sea Sounding and Dredging. Jescription and discussion of the oar 888 Recent Literature. [ December, aan and equipped for the work of deep sea sounding and dredg- ing e successive officers, Commanders Howell, Sigsbee and Bartlett, especially Commander Sigsbee, have devised the most elaborate and effective machinery for this difficult work, and investigating the life of the ocean from the surface to the ottom, even to the abyssal depths; subjects bearing intimately on the physics, geolegy and biology of the globe. The Superin- tendent of the Coast Survey, after giving in a prefatory note the history of these undertakings, refers with pride to the fact “ that in the small steamer Blake, of only 350 tons burthen, n. m., under the energetic and skillful commands of Lieut. Com. Sigsbee and officers and c more rapid work was done than had been accomplished with the old methods and appliances by the Chal- lenger, a vessel of over 2000 tons burthen, with a complement of nasa eR naval and civil officers and a correspondingly large crew.” RECENT Books se drig LETS.—History of North American Pinnipeds. By de A. Allen. (Dep. Int., U. S. Geol. and ee Surv. Terr., Misc. Pub. No. 12). Washington, 1880. rom the aut “Annual es a of the National ee ot Sciences. pp. 22. Washington, 1880. m the academy, Sr, of Four New Species and a new variety of Silurian Fossils and Re- marks on others. By S. A. Mi “i 8 ya Journ. Cincinnati Soc. Nat. Hist. Oct- 1880.) pp. 5,1 1 plate. From the The sk od Insects of New “ri Kk By Samuel H. Scudder. (From An- Bost niv. Mem. n Soc. Nat. Hist.) 4to, pp. 41, 1 plate. Boston, 1880. From the author „Eue sur la aig Ichthyologique de POgooue par M. H. E. Sauvage. (From ouv. Archiv. du Museum, deuxieme série. Paris, 1880.) 4to, pp. 55, 3 plates. From the se Notice sur les Travaux Scientifiques de Belgrand par M. A. Delaire. 8vo, pp. 20. Paris, ‘rom the author Zoologie i in Beziehung zur Anthropologie. mit Einschluss der tertiaren Saugeth- iere. Von Dr. W. Branco. (From Archiv. für Anthrop., for 1879 and 1880.) 4t0, 1880. From the author. p Centralia f für das gesammte Forstwesen. Heft. 5. May, 1880. 8vo, pp. 6- bte y Mittheilung über die Entwickelungsgeschichte der Petriren tre; PP. Von Dr. W. B. Scott. (Ext. from Zool. Anzeiger, 1880, No. 63 u 64.) From the author. a eeigen über die EG ton ra ee ucarp. und Orbitoides — D'Orb. V Jr. K. Martin. pp. 24, 2 plates. 1880. From the author oiai über die Organization von ik ary - un Bemerkungen über die Natur der Wallstein e, Meyer. Von. Dr. K. statin, "Wismar. (Aus dem Archiv. des Ver. der Freunde der Nat turg. in Mecklenburg Jabrg. 31-) 8vo, pp. 32, 1 plate. Neubranden nburg, 1877. sia the a Ichthyologische Beiträge (1x.) Von. Dr. Sieindachner. 1. Uber eine Sammlung von képre koga asain a priam car. II. Uber zwei neue Ago us-arten u1. Uber einige Fischarten aus dem nördlichen beas gesammelt vom Prof, Dybow ki. (Aus dem Lxxxi Bande der Sitzb. der k. 1880. ] Botany. 889 Akad. med Wissensch. 1. Abth. Juli-Heft. Jahrg. 1880.) pp. 29, 6 plates. From the auth To abil and Geological Anie i the S of the a Plateau of Utah, to aie Re eport of Capt. CED (Dep. Int, U. S. Gèol. and Geog. Surv. Rock j Contributions to the anatomy of the genus Pentremitės, with description of new species. By Dr. G. cag oo Trans. St. Louis Acad. of Sciences). 8vo, pp- 16, 2 plates. From the a Etude i ell at ý ‘Paléontslogique des Terrains Jurassiques du Eontugas par ane se ffat pp. 12, 72. Premiére Livraison. Lisbon, 1880. Fr " Messi sur les Poissons Fossiles des lignites de Sieblos. T. C. Winkler, pp. 24, 2 plates Description ot st tg Restes de Poissons es des terrains triassiques des en- virons de Wirz T. C. Winkler, pp. 41, plate, 5. Not ae foe de n tai de p oligocene inférieur et moyen du feiboure Par T. C.Winkler. age (Three Extracts of the Archives de Musée Teyler, Vol. v, Livr. 2). Harlem F880. From the author. Anales del Museo Nacional dé “México. Tome 2. 4t», pp. 57, 3 plates. From the museum. Spolia Atlantica. Bidrag til Kundskab om Formforandringer hos Fiske under deres Væ xt o g: Ugy ikling særligt hos nogle af Atlanterhavets Hjsfiske af Dr. Chr. Lütken. (Ext. Vidensk. Selsk. Skr: 5. Række, natur. og math. Afd. xii, 6). 4to, pp. 198, 5 plates. Copenhagen, 1880. From the author :0:—— GENERAL NOTES. BOTANY.! Tue Botany oF a City Square.—Manhattan Square, in New York city, comprises a desolate and broken area of eighteen acres on the west side of Central Park, at Seventy-seventh street and Eighth avenue. It presented, a year ago, the appearance of a basin with an irregular marginal shelf of higher ground and with a ridge of gneissoid rocks running in from its south-eastern cor- ner, upon whose summit stood the American Museum of Natural History. It was otherwise varied by artificial mounds formed of huge gneiss blocks split and blasted off from the original hill na ie rose up where the museum now stands, and its sides, in many places presented steep banks formed from similar frag- mwi confusedly heaped up in precipitous and jagged piles. The lowest part of this ground was covered by a stagnant pond whose periodical putrescence became both offensive and dangerous. With the bare shoulders of rock protruding in naked bosses here and there, the general aspect of the square was particularly for- lorn and unfortunate. The complaint of the health officers in conjunction with a revival of the original intentions to make this __ Spot an appropriate outlier of Central Park, both healthy and _ attractive, resulted in some municipal efforts to secure these ends. Earth was carted in, the sightless slopes of stone were covered over, the pond filled up, the bare tables of rock hidden, and an attempt made to change the abrupt and angular outlines into ! Edited by Pror. C. E. Bessey, Ames, Iowa. 890 General Notes. | December, smooth and graceful contours. Whether the results secured were at all proportionate to the time and money expended, is one of those public problems whose solution is best referred to the professional politician. Certainly one result, not aimed at, was to introduce into the square an army of plants whose luxuriant and rapid growth soon covered it with a mantle of waving weeds Curious to ascertain how many plants flourished upon this limited and forbidding area, the author, at such times as he was at liberty to collect them, began a systematic search over it, and although conscious that want of time interfered with its completeness, yet its extent has caused some surprise, ee may prove of interest to a wider circle of students and collector It may be premised. for the sifoFinition of those to whom Man- hattan Square, in New York city, is a zerra incognita, that the immediate district about it is a representative purlieu of a great city, where clusters of shanties alternate with half-finished blocks of handsome houses or stores, the whole a transition phase to a larger and denser population. Not twenty blocks away the shall pelr or e it, be extermina te he semi- alluvial bottoms of some of the pit-like depressions, and the fer- tile blanket of soil lying over the low swells of rock in the neigh- borhood, have been appropriated by squatters for kitchen gardens, and assume in summer an almost rural aspect. The following is a catalogue of the plants collected in Manhattan Square, New York city, in the summer of 1880 Ranunculacee. Ranunculus acris. Crucifere. Sisymbrium officinale, Capsella son a canescens, Lepidium virginic Brassica nigra, Hyperi ricum eet Caryophyllacee. sted (A. Woodw wisrad. I paean, Stellaria media octiflora, one specim Mollugo verticillata. ae roe gerne) Malvacee. Malva rotundifolia, Abutilon avicennz. : ` Geraniacee. Geranium carolinianum, Oxalis stricta. Impatiens fulva, Simarubacea. — Ailanthus glandulosus. : ; Anacardiacee. _ Rhus glabra, Rhus toxicodendron. zy Vitacee, Ampelopsis quinquefolia. 1880. | Botany. one Leguminose. Trifolium agrarium, Melilotus alba, p pratense Apios tuberosa. cc Rosace@. patentia — Rubus canadensis, “e nadensis, RET vaste. Crassulacee. Penthorum sedoides. Onagracee. Epilobium palustre, var. lineare, (Enothera biennis. Umbellifere. Daucus carota. Caprtfoliacea. Sambucus canadensis. Composite. Vernonia noveboracensis, Bidens frondosa, Eupatorium perfoliatum, ; chrysa anthemoides, Aster simplex, Leucanthemum vulgare, nove angliæ, Achillea millefolium, «4 ericoides; Galinsoga parviflora, “ tradescanti, Maruta cot “ multiflorus, Graphalium decurrens S, p “ acuminatus, Antennaria margaritacea, Erigeron canadense, Cirsium arvense, Salidsgo cna Rdndie: « — lanceolatum, nemoralis, Lappa officinalis, T tenuifolia, Cichorium intybus, Ambrosia artemisiæfolia, Lactu uca canadensis, Xanthium scariola, Hel ii pm a Mulgedium acuminatum Bidens cernua, Taraxacum dens- leonis. ampanu i Cah E, Plantuginacee. Plantago major. Bignoniacee. Catalpa bignonioides. i Scrophulariacee. Verbascum blattaria, Mimulus ringens, i - thapsus, Veronica sp. ? | Linaria vulgaris, nee Verbena urticifolia, Verbena hastata. _ Labiate. me europeus, var. ome Brunella vulgaris. Salvia lyrata, one specim Scutellaria lateriflora, Leonurus cardia Collinsonia canadensis, Nepeta glechoma Cinol ocás. Convolvulus arvensis, Ipomæa purpurea. Solanace@. Solanum nigrum, Datura stramonium. Datura tatula, ` Asclepiadacee. | Asclepias cornuti. Phytolaccacee. Phytolacca decandra. 892 General Notes. [ December, Chenopodiacee. Chenopodium urbicum ? Chenopodium album, sd ambrosioides, Atriplex patula, var. hastata. ' botrys, Amarantacee. Amarantus caudatus, Amarantus retroflexus. 7 albus, Polygonacee. Polygonum orientale, Polygonum pennsylvanicum, s persicaria, n dumetorum, var scandens hydropiper, n sagittatum, bed acre, „Rumex crispus, “ aviculare, var. erectum, « — acetosella. Euphorbiacee. Euphorbia mcculata, Acalypha virginica. Cannabinee. Cannabis sativa, Smilacee, Smilax rotundifolia. Cyperacee. Cyperus strigosus, Filices. Aspidium spinulosum ? * Onoclea sensibilis. The great body of the recently introduced plants are made up of the Amaranths, Chenopodia, Ambrosiæ, Atriplex, Polygona, especially P. orientale, Erigeron, and Datura. These attained sur- prising proportions, and both in size and numbers resembled diminutive forests. Many of the wilder species doubtless were here previous to its present occupancy, and the water-loving plants remained in the moist precincts of the old partially obliterated pond. The Graminez, about five species, were omitted.—Z. P. Gratacap. i A Disrermous Acorn.—lIn a collection of acorns of Quercus prinus Linn. var. monticola Michx., found near Diamond Hill quar- ry, R. I., I noticed one much larger than the others, which were all large, even for the species. I put these acorns ina little paper box in a drawer which I keep for such fruits. In a few days the warmth of the room caused it to germinate, when I noticed two radicles protruding. [ then removed the acorn to a bit of per- . forated cardboard above a tumbler of water, and watched the growth. Afterwards I made a dissection and found, as I expected, two equally. developed seeds, each separable into its own two cotyledons, as shown by the accompanying’ figures. It will be _ remembered that the ovary of the oak is three-celled and six- — ovuled, and that in ripening only one cell remains, and this is- _ filled by one seed. Here two have been equally developed. _ find in Masters’ Teratology the same thing recorded of Corylus, but nothing is said of Quercus, hence it may be well to record _ this instance. This phenomenon must not be confounded with . — - poly-embryony, r multiplication of embryos in oxe seed, as iñ _ Citrus. In this case while we see an abnormality indeed, it Botany. 893 2.—Same with covering removed showing two seeds. — Dispermous vat eonan wo plu- | mules and two radicles, 4.—One of the seeds on pores tone displayed. — So . Fic, 3.—One seed removed. results merely from the retention in the fruit of some of the parts seen in the ~~ but usually obliterated afterwards. —W. W. : ier. ia ae . L, Oct. 15, 1880. 894 General Notes. [December, BoranicaL Notes.—In the prospectus of the Botanical Gazette for 1881, the editor takes strong ground in favor of more physi- ological ‘work, and “would gladly devote half of its space” to papers and notes in this department of Botany. It is to be hoped that the editor may succeed in his laudable undertaking. It cer- tainly is high time that we have a botanicai journal in this coun- try devoted entirely to such work. A very useful “ Synoptical Table for the Determination of Fibers of Vegetable Origin” is published in the August-September number of the Botanical Ga- zette. It is from Vetellart’s work, “Sur les fibres employes dans lindustrie.”’ In the September “ Torrey Botanical Bulletin,” John Williamson contributes a readable account of the “Ferns on the Cumberland.” The discovery of Adiantum capillus-vene- ris in Southern Kentucky was confirmed. A new and enlarged edition of Rattan’s “ Popular California Flora” e just appeared, from the house of Bancroft & Co., of San Francisco. It will prove quite valuable to the beginners in botany in central Cali- fornia. Many of the more difficult orders, as for example, the Coniferæ, Gramineæ, Cyperaceæ, Salicaceæ, Composite, ete. are entirely omitted as toò hard for the beginner. The second volume of the “ Botany of California,” by Sereno Watson, has just appeared. It will be noticed more fully hereafter. In the American Fournal of Science and Arts for October, Dr. Gray briefly notices two recent Swedish contributions to Pomology. ne of these records the results of trials made of varieties of apples and other fruits, with a view to determining the northern limit of their hardiness. More than eight hundred varieties were tried, the investigation extending over a period of twelve years. Our American fruit growers would doubtless do well to acquaint themselves with these works ——The more important articles in Caruel’s Nuovo Giornale Botanico Italiano for July, are by Jatta on the lichens of Central Italy; D on the periodical spon- taneous movements of the stamens of Ruta bracteosa and Smyr- nium rotundifolium and Cugni on the germination of oily seeds. The “ Catalogue of Pacific Coast Fungi,” by Dr. Harkness — and J. P. Moore, published under the direction of the California Arey of Sciences, is a most -creditable one. The only other in the country (for this catalogue is practically confined to Can. whose fungi have been as fully catalogued is North Carolina, Dr. Curtis having done for his State in 1367, what the : Lance of she present catalogue have in 1880 done for theirs. ZOOLOG Y.! = ` Tue METAMORPHOSIS oF Actinorrocua2—Schneider first tonal that the larva (Actinotrocha) of the Gephyrean, Phoronis, 1'The departments of tiveness and Mammalogy are conducted by Dr. ELLIOTT Cours, U. S. A., Wa shi t D, C. 2 Abstract of a paper poi parte the American Association for the Advancement se = uf Szience, in Boston, — 1880. 1880. | Zoölogy. 895 passes into the adult condition through the development of a deep pouch-like invagination of the ventral body-wall which be- comes attached to the stomach, and is at length suddenly evagi- nated, dragging out into its cavity a long U-shaped loop of the intestinal canal, and thus producing the remarkable flexure of the latter in the adult. This pouch after its evagination forms the greater part of the body; the opposite or dorsal side of the larva becomes much shortened, and is only represented in the adult by the short interval between the mouth and the anus. A study of two species of Actinotrocha occurring in Chesapeake Bay (to be elsewhere more fully described), suggests the following «xplana- tion of the significance and origin of this strange metamorphosis: Considerations which for want of space cannot be here detailed, leave little doubt that the primitive forms among the Gephyrea are those which, like Thalassema or Bonellia, have the mouth and anus at opposite extremities of the body. Forms like Pho- ronis or Phascolosoma, in which these two openings are near the same extremity, are evidently derivative; in the case of Phoronis, at least, I assume this structure to have been brought about by the flexure of a primitive form into a U-shape (in order, perhaps, to void excrement through the mouth of the tube inhabited by the worm), and the subsequent obliteration of external evidences of this flexure through coalescence of the two parts of the body thus flexed. Such a habit of flexure may be actually observed among some Polycheta and Holothurians; and in the latter case several stages in the obliteration of flexure by coalescence may be observed. The Polychztous larva, Mitraria, affords a further illustration of this point. Through whatever process we assume the peculiar flexure of the intestine to have been effected, it is clear that the pouch of Actinotrocha, doth before and after its evagination, is a develop- ment of the ventral region of the body. And it follows that in the adult the ventral region is greatly in excess of the dorsal, while in the larva they are externally nearly equal. The pouch of the larva is evidently a provision to admit of extensive increase in the ventral region as a preparation for the adult structure, with- out changing the external form of the body, and thus without im- pairing the adaptation of the larva to its Pelagic life. Thus the creature is enabled to pass at once, by a single leap, as it were, ‘om one set of conditions to an entirely different set, without having to pass through intermediate stages. Evidently a great Saving of time and energy is thus effected. : pouch is probably to be regarded as a specialization of a primitive simple infolding of the ventral body-wall. he meta- morphosis is in reality a sudden and extreme flexure of the larval body, and may be considered as the ontogenetic repetition of a habit of adult ancestral forms.—Admuna B. Wilson. 896 General Notes. [ December, OCCURRENCE OF THE WEB-FINGERED SEA-ROBIN ON THE COAST oF Maine.—I wish to place on record the occurrence on the coast of Maine of Prionotus carolinus (Linn.) Cuv. and Val., the web-fingered sea-robin. ave a specimen which I obtained from a fisherman who took it in a seine with other fishes off Harpswell in Casco bay, on June 26th of this year. The fisher- man informs me that another specimen was obtained at the same time. This species seems never to have been mentioned as occurring so far north before. Storer in his “‘ History of the Fishes of Mas- sachusetts,” 1867 (Mem. Amer. Acad.), states that it occasionally occurs in Massachusetts bay. Goode and Bean in their “ Cata- logue of the Fishes of Essex County, Mass.” (Bulletin of the Essex Institute, Vol. x1), mention specimens taken at Salem.—ZL. A, Lee, Brunswick, Maine. THE LITTLE STRIPED SKUNK CLIMBING.—It may not be uninter- esting to know that one alone of the skunk family, so far as I have observed, possesses the faculty of tree climbing; the Mephitis pu- torius. This is a well established fact,as the numerous specimens captured, with one exception, all have been taken from trees, and the species is common, only less abundant than the Mephitis mephitica, the climbing proclivity is too often put to the test for the animal’s good. I am not aware that this habit has ever been mentioned in published works; nor do I think that it is known outside of this State—G. W. Marnock, Helotes, Texas. VORACIOUSNESS OF CHORDEILES POPETUE Bartrp.—While out gunning a few evenings ago, I shot a specimen of the above spe- cies, that was flying very low. Just in the dusk of evening, I was surprised to find the bird so heavy and so large. The next morn- ing when I came to take the skin off, I found the cause of the weight and enlargement was principally due to the food the crea- ture had taken. I took from the food sacks as many insects as I could hold in the hollow of one hand, and counted them. To my astonishment I found over six hundred. There were gnats and flies of several species, ants, small beetles and the legs of grass- hoppers. I think these birds ought to be encouraged as insect _ exterminators.—F, L. Harvey, Ark. Ind. Univ., Fayetteville, Ark. LEECHES ON A TurTLE—To-day I found a turtle thirteen centi- meters long and seven centimeters wide, on which were two hun- dred and forty-nine leeches. One of these, attached to the left side of the neck, was of adult size. The others averaging about three mm. in length in the contracted state were divided in three groups. The largest situated in the fold above the right hind leg. contained one hundred and forty-three. The next above the left ne hind leg contained ninety-two. The last above the right fore leg contained thirteen.— Wm. Herbert Rollins, 12 Beacon street, Boston. 1880. } Zoblogy. 897 THE ORGANS OF SMELL IN InsEcts.—A recent number of Sie- bold and Kolliker’s Zeitschrift, contains an article by G. Hauser, on the minute structure of the sense organs in the antenne of different insects, which throws much new light on the functions of the an- tennz of insects. He concludes that the organs of smell consist in insects, z. e., all the Orthoptera, Pseudoneuroptera, Diptera and Hymenoptera, also ina large part of the Lepidoptera, Neuroptera and Coleoptera: 1. Of the antennal nerve; 2. Of a terminal per- ceptive apparatus, which consists of rod-bearing cells arising from _ hypodermis-cells, with which a nerve-fiber connects ; 3. Of an ap- paratus consisting of a pit ora cone filled with a serous fluid, which are to be considered as simple infoldings and projections of the epidermis. He then discusses the mode of evolution of these organs, considering the fact that the males of all orders of insects have more developed antennz than the females, the latter being the more sluggish and living in more retired and concealed places, while the males have more active habits, sharper senses, and are more likely to find the females, and thus ensure the main- tenance of the species. ACTION oF ACIDS AND COLOR LIGHT on MARINE INVERTEBRATES. —M. Yung has recently investigated the effects of alkaline or acid media on Cephalopoda, and with results pretty similar to those of M. Richet with crayfish. The animals are extremely sensitive to the action of mineral acids; where litmus hardly announces the presence of an acid, a young poulpe will immediately give signs of great pain. But more is required to prove fatal, With one cc. in two litres of water, sulphuric, nitric, or hydrochloric acid proved fatal (in from two to four and a half hours) to Eledone moschata; but not to oxalic acid. Sulphuric acid was the least toxical of the mineral acids. Of the much less energetic organic acids, tannic acid acts most rapidly. The alkalies range as follows in (decreas- ing) order of toxical power :—Ammonia, potash, soda, lime, baryta; the action of ammonia being extremely rapid. M. Yung, has also verified, in the main, for marine animals, the results of his former experiments on fresh-water animals, regarding the in- fluence of colored light on animal development; finding violet and blue light stimulant, while red and green retards the growth; yellow comes nearest to white.—English Mechanic. Tue THORAX oF THE BLow Fry.—An essay on this subject by Arthur Hammond, treats especially of the limits of the several seg- ments of the connate thorax of the Diptera. The author enters fully into the history of the different opinions relative to the morph- ology of the thorax, and then considers the structure of the thorax in other insects. He calls attention to the fact that in the Lepidoptera and Hymenoptera, the development of the segment is Proportioned to that of the wings, and shows that the same rule holds good in the Diptera, the metathorax being as obsolete as the VOL, XIV,—NO, XII. 58 898 General Notes. [ December, long appendage it carries. He then examines the evidence de- rived from a study of the muscular and nervous parts, and from the phenomena of development. The work is thoroughly well done, but of such a nature that it-cannot be abstracted. The two plates evince excellent artistic skill. THE SWIMMING-BLADDER OF FisHEs.—In a recent note to the Paris Academy, Prof. Marangoni gives the results he has arrived at in a study of the swimming-bladder. He states, first, that it is the organ which regulates the migration of fishes, those fishes that are without it not migrating from bottoms of little depth, where they find tepid water; while fishes which have a bladder are such as live in deep, cold water, and migrate to deposit their ova in warmer water near the surface. Next, fishes do not rise like the Cartesian diver (in the well known experiment), and they have to counteract the influence of their swimming-bladder with their fins. If some small dead and living fishes be put in a vessel three- quarters full of water and the air be compressed or rarefied, one finds in the former case that the dead fish descend, while the living ones rise, head in advance, to the surface. Rarefying has the opposite effect. Fishes have reason to fear the passive influence due to hydrostatic pressure; when fished from a great depth, their bladder is often found to be ruptured. Thirdly, the swimming- bladder produces in fishes twofold instability, one of level, the other of position. A fish, having once adapted its bladder to live at a certain depth, may, through the slightest variation of pres- sure, be either forced downwards or upwards, and thus they are in unstable equilibrium as to level. As to position, the bladder being in the ventral region, the center of gravity is above the center of pressure, so that fishes are always threatened with in- version; and, indeed, they take the inverted position when dead or dying. This double instability forces fishes toa continual gym- nastic movement, and doubtless helps to render them strong and agile. The most agile of terrestrial animals are also those which have least stability. Zooocicat Norr’—From his study of the mollusks of the Challenger expedition, the Rev. R. B. Watson concludes that ” 1880. ] Anthropology. &99 ocean bottom. Spallanzani’s experiments on the regeneration of the head of gasteropods have been confirmed and extended by Carriéreé, whose experiments show that the eyes, tentacles and labial processes may be completely regenerated, but not the pharynx or the brain, the destruction or removal of which causes the deatli of the animal. Bees, wasps, &c., have been found to possess a spur at the apex of the first pair of tibize, whose function it is to clean the tongue and perhaps the antenne also. n odoriferous apparatus has been discovered by Von Richenau in Sphinx ligustris, consisting of a bunch of colorless hair-like scales - lying in a fold on each side of the first abdominal segment. Ac cording to a notice in the Journal of the Royal Microscopical Society, the organ could be extruded from the fold by pressure. The aperture has the form of a cylindrical tube, and here a strong musky scent was perceptible, which did not occur elsewhere. The scales are visible with the naked eye. Girard’s La Phyl- loxera is a little closely-printed brochure of 120 pages, giving a résumé of all that is known in France concerning this dreadful pest. It is accompanied by a map of France, showing the dis- tricts more or less infested. Some points in the developmental history of the lamprey eel are briefly discussed by Dr. W. B. Scott, in Zoologischer Anzeiger (Nos. 63, 64). No. 66 of the same use- ful periodical contains a notice of a viviparous Chirodota (C. vivi- ara = C. rotifera). In our last number Fabre’s discovery of parthenogenesis in a wild bee, Halictus, was noticed; we now have to record the discovery claimed by J. A. Osborne, in Nature for Sept. 30, of parthenogenesis in a beetle, Gastrophysa raphani. r. Osborne possessed a living beetle reared from an unfertilized egg. The embryology of the gar-pike (Lepidosteus) has re- cently been studied by Messrs. Balfour and Parker, of England, from eggs supplied by Mr. A. Agassiz. They find that the seg- mentation of the egg is complete as in the sturgeon, and that the nervous system is formed by a solid thickening of the exoderm, as in the bony fishes, and not by the closure of a groove, as in the sturgeon; while the general relation of the embryo to the yolk, and the general characters of the germinal layers are pre- cisely like those in the bony fishes. ANTHROPOLOGY.! New ARCHAOLOGICAL ENTERPRISES.—In addition to the suc- cessful institutions, both national and local, for the exploration of our American antiquities, two new enterprises have been set on foot with every promise of success, the Archeological Institute of America and the Lorillard Mission to the ruined cities of Cen- tral America. Of the former we have a full account in the first annual report of the executive committee, 1879-80, with a study of the houses of the American aborigines, by Lewis H. Morgan ; ‘Edited by Prof. Oris T, MAson, Columbian College, Washington, D. C. * goo : General Netes. [ December, description of the ancient walls on Monte Leon, Italy, by W. J. Stillman ; and archeological notes on Greek shores, by Joseph Thacher Clarke. The plans and scope of the Lorillard expedi- tion are clearly set forth in two articles in the North American Review for July and August, to wit, Ruined Cities of Central ` America, by the editor, Mr. Allen Thorndike Rice; and The Ruins of Central America, by M. Desiré Charnay, who has the exploration in charge. We mention these two works together because they seem to represent the two sides or the two schools of American interpretation with reference to the earthworks of the Mississippi valley, and the ruins of Mexico and Central America. In the introduction of the Archzological Institute Re- civilization, and that has left no trustworthy records of continu- ous history.” Again, we are informied that the committee are in accord with Mr. Morgan, and that they have taken steps to send an agent to Colorado and N. Mexico to observe the Pueblo life, as an introduction to the comprehensive study of Mexico and Yucatan. The fact that Mr. Bandelier is to be that agent is a sufficient guarantee not only of exhaustive work, but of the line of research to be prosecuted. In the Lorillard expedition we are to have “ adequate conceptions of the stately edifices of monument- al Mitla, or of Palenque, with its magnificent palace, its terraces and temples, its pyramids and sculptured ornaments.” It is not the province of the editor to treat with partiality either of these views, but to let the authors speak for themselves. Ce The Central American undertaking is despatched under the joint | auspices of the Government of the United States and of France. The expenses will be defrayed by Mr. Pierre Lorillard, of New York, the original promoter of the enterprise, and by the F rench Government. The expedition is under the direction of M. Desire Charnay, author of “ Cités et Ruines Américaines” (Paris, 1863). It is thoroughly equipped and is provided not only with the means of photographing bas-reliefs and inscriptions, but of making care- ful casts by the process of M. Lotin de Laval. . Copies of these casts will first be presented to the Smithsonian Institution and to the French Government. The collection in France will be named after Mr. Lorillard, and the French Minister has conceded to the orth American Review the privilege of publishing the earliest accounts from M. Charnay. Mr. Rice in speaking of Uxmal, writes: “It is as yet impossible to determine, with any approach to certainty, the ends which its ruined edifices were designed to serve, but is at least highly probable that they were originally © palaces, temples, council-halls and courts of justice; possibly — some of them may have been monasteries or community houses, in which the ascetics of a religion analagous to that of Budha lived in common.” Again, “ These bas-reliefs would of them- 1880. | Anthropology. gol selves appear to be enough to confute the theory according to which Palenque, Uxmal, and the other sites of ruins in this por- tion of the American continent are only ‘ pueblos,’ groups of ew Mexico.” M. Le Plongeon copied many beautiful frescoes from the walls of these structures, among them a picture of a frail hut of poles with thatched roof, which he supposed to have been the residence of some of the lower class of people. M. Charnay, who does not scruple to call Bourbourg and Le Plongeon fools, will find it difficult to take good care of his own self-control in a land that has turned the heads of many smart people. Reverting to Mr. Morgan’s paper in the Report of the Arche- ological Institute, we find that he bases his interpretation of Mex- ican and Central American architecture upon a study of the com- munal system of all our aborigines. Commencing with the “ iong- house” of the Iroquois, the Mandan circular lodge, and the im- mense structures of the Columbia river tribes, he proceeds to New Mexico and Arizona, where we have in the pueblo the climax of this communal life, and to the works of the Sciota valley, where the earthworks stand for embankments on which to erect long- houses. The pueblos, the mound structures, and the great stone edifices of middle America were joint tenement houses, in the na- ture of fortresses, and the plan of life within the last named must be sought in the present pueblos, assisted by the light of tradition. At the epoch of the Spanish conquest they were occupied, and were deserted by the Indians to escape the rapacity of the Span- ish military adventurers, by whom they were oppressed beyond endurance. Mr. Morgan carefully examines the Casa del Gober- nador, and the “House of Nuns,” Uxmal, in the light of his own theory. The remarks on the method of constructing vaulted ceilings over a solid core of masonry are exceedingly valuable p. . At the close of the article he takes Professor Rau to task for endorsing the palace and city theory of Mr, Stephens, and introduces epithets which we regret to see one American anthropologist using with reference to another. The work of the Archeological Institute is carried on by means of the subscrip-. tions of the members, the annual fee being ten dollars. Those o our readers desiring to correspond with the Institute must ad- dress Mr. Edward H. Greenleaf, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, ass, We may be allowed to hint that the simultaneity and success- ion of the complex elements of civilization are not made out suf- ficiently to allow one to be dogmatical. It is within the range of possibility that the lines of simultaneity may resemble the iso- therms rather than the parallels of latitude. In that case commu- nism in living and a gentile system of kinship might coexist with a high or a low stage of something else, say the mechanic arts or the fabrication of implements. Again, the separation of a people 902 General Notes. [December, into the regulative and the operative class may begin lower down in Mr. Morgan’s scale than we have thus far been aware of. If so, it is not impossible that the gentile system and communism may have been associated with as much caste as would divide the tribe into the governing and the governed? | Far be it from us to detract from the merit of our greatest generalizer in sociology ; but it cannot be denied that the argument for the, mere communal function of the earthwork and the Central American ruins is based upon analogy only. JAPANESE MytTuoLtocy.—We are indebted to Prof. E. S. Morse, for the following extract from the Tokio Times, of May 22, by J. W. McCarthy: “In few countries in the world can the adventurous wight who wishes to peer into the future have his desire so easily gratified, and in so many different ways, as in Japarf. While in western nations divination is merely a subject of research and speculation amongst scholars, or, at most, is found at intervals in rural districts, far from the busy haunts of men, startling the apostle of nineteenth century civilization with its twelfth century superstition, here in Japan it is a living force, exercising its influence on the trader, the farmer, pilgrim, and even on the course of love itself. Nor is it confined to the poor and lowly; members of the higher classes, and the wealthy, do not disdain to make use of the diviner—an he is equal to the task. For a ¢empo or even a mon, he will tell the poor maiden whether her love is faithful, or the coolie whether his pilgrimage will prosper; while for his noble patrons - he can perform an elaborate ceremony, in some cases possessing even religious sanctions of the most solemn kind, for which he 1s quite ready to accept a hundred, five hundred, or even a thousand en. “On this subject, a passage, almost as applicable to Japan as to China, may be quoted here from Dr. Dennys’s little work or the the most enthusiastic spiritualists at home. The coincidences of practice and belief are indeed so startling that many will doubtless see in them a sort of evidence either for their truthfulness, or for a common origin of evil.’ 1880, | Anthropology. 903 “Tt is not intended at present to describe more than one mode of divination; but it isthe mode which is universal among the lower classes, and which can be seen at work every day in the temples and elsewhere. The materials are very simple. small rectangular or oblong box is filled with slips of bamboo, each about six inches in length, and having a number written on the end. These can be shaken out, one by one, through a hole in the end of the box; and, according to the number on the first stick, the diviner selects rom a drawer in a cabinet, close at hand, a printed slip of paper containing the inquirer’s fate. The boxes vary according to age and sex; but the number of boxes in the possession of one temple aay exceeds sixteen, eight for the various ages, and two for the sexes, with corrésponding drawers in the cabinet. The stock in trade being so small, and the divining pee generally holding some other occupation about the temple, he can afford to sell his wares cheaply. Yet on festival days he must receive a large sum. At the temple between Kawasaki and the sea, the writer has seen as many as two hundred persons draw the divining sticks— Miku- Ji wo hiku, as it is called—in an hour, and all of them seemed to treat the ceremony with the utmost seriousness and solemnity, generally stepping out before He prak the stick, and elevating their hands in prayer to the i “This form of divination seems to be connected with Bud- dhism, as we find it also used in joss-houses in China. The box and sticks are rarely found among the possessions of an itinerant fortune-teller,and even then he is regarded as an impostor, or a priest who has been discharged for misconduct from his temple. In China, it is said, street fortune-tellers frequently train birds to select these sticks, thus adding an amusing element to the cere- mony is Ín conclusion, translations of a few slips ‘of paper, thus selected, may not be uninteresting. It will be observed that the style is somewhat oraculař, and the fates decline to descend from the general to the particular. But papers are frequently drawn in which traders are recommended what to invest in and what to avoid: “1, To a man of twenty-eight years :—At first evil, then good: wealth will be scattered and lost. Misfortune will come suddenly; and opriti will take place with wife and brethren. o a woman of thirty-seven. -—During spring and summer, the ites are unfavorable; but in autumn and winter things will go well. The expectations of youth will not be realized in old age. “*3. To a youth of nineteen :—This world and the things thereof — pass rapidly away, and it is ill to change present occupation for a new one. Sickness, when it comes, will do so with a heavy hand. Sa loa gti of sixteen: -—Disappointment at first, but early 904 General Notes. { December, marriage brings early wrinkles: and the countenance of the god- dess of mercy will ever afterward be favorable. “On another occasion we may possibly describe other forms of divination.” BURIAL OF THE DEAD.—The third in the series of Introductions to the study of the North American Indians, issued by the Bureau of Ethnology of the Smithsonian Institution, is a study of mortu- ary customs by Dr. H. C. Yarrow, U. S.A. In the preface Ma- jor Powell defines the work of the Bureau and the value of a study of mortuary customs in order to comprehend the philosophy of the people among whom they are practiced. Dr. Yarrow, after quoting from a circular issued by him three years ago, containing a series of questions upon burial customs, prooeeds ‘to give a ca: KOENA of burials, which we produce in full: Inhumation in pits, graves, holes in the ground, mounds, ae. sad caves. 2. Cremation, generally on the surface, occasionally beneath, the resulting ashes or the bones being placed in pits, in the ground, in boxes placed on scaffold or trees, in urns, or some- times scattered. 3. Embalmment, or a process of mummifying, the remains be- ing afterwards placed i in the earth, in caves, mounds, or charnel- houses, 4. Aerial sepulture, the bodies being deposited on scaffolds or trees, in boxes or canoes, the two latter receptacles supported on scaffolds or posts, or on the ground, . Aquatic burial, beneath the water or in canoes, which were turned adrift. This order is not observed in “the volume, the sub-divisions of the subject occurring as follows: Inhumation ; burials in cabins, wigwams, or houses, called ‘“ lodge-burial ” ; stonegraves, or cists ; burial in mounds; cave burial; mummies ; urn-burial ; surface burial ; cairn- burial ; oe partial» «cremation, by which a -clay mold is taken ; burial above ground ; box burial; tree and urial ; ; partial scaffold burial, and ossuaries ; superterrene and aerial burial in canoes; aquatic burials; living sepulchres (by which is meant exposure to birds and beasts of f prey); and can-. nibalism. The volume of 114 pages is made up of quotations from published works and from the author’s correspondence illus- trative of the kinds of material which he is most anxious to gather for a large and exhaustive work on mortuary customs. Commu- nications should be addressed to Dr. H. C. Yarrow, Bureau of Ethnology, Washington, D. C. THE American ANTIQUARIAN.—The editor of this journal has widened its scope somewhat by introducing papers on Orienta archeology. Number four concludes the volume and the second year. The contents are as follows: 1880. ] Geology and Paleontology 905 The aie caves of La Crosse valley, by Edward Brown. The theogony of the Sioux, by Stephen a x iggs irae mytholo ogy, by Rasmus B. Ander: crifices in ancient times. Trata., ty Poe ' Gratacap. Peakiistoric relics of Lowndes county, } Miss., by Albert C. Love, In the oriental department we have notes from Selah Merrill, A. H. Sayce and O. D. Miller. The correspondence, editorial notes, archeological notes, linguistic notes, art and architecture, and exchanges are unusually full and valuable. Mounn Re ics From ILttnois.—Dr. P. R. Hoy, of Racine, Wis- consin, sends us photographs of a cranium taken from one of a group of mounds near Albany, Illinois. The tumuli are on the summit of a high ridge overlooking the Mississippi river. The one from which the skull was exhumed is about eight feet high, and forty feet in circumference. The skeleton was in a sitting posture at the base of the mound, the soil about it being of a darker color than that of the ridge below. On the top of the cra- nium was an inverted dish, holding about as much asa good sized tea-cup, the depth being just ‘half the diameter. The out- side is covered with fine basket markings, and four shields cross- barred, two of them with a central ring, are embossed at equal distances on the outside. ANTHROPOLOGICAL News.—The “ Archiv für Antropologie has introduced a department of abstracts from anthropological litera- ture foreign to Germany. Dr. Emil Schmidt, of Essen, Rhenis Prussia, has charge of that portion relating to America. He is very anxious to receive copies of all publications relating to our special subject. The last number reviews the Peabody Museum, the Davenport Academy, the American Antiquarian, and the NATURALIST. GEOLOGY AND PALAONTOLOGY. Tue Devonian Insecrs.—Mr. S. H. Scudder has recently pub- lished a memoir on the oldest known insects, those found in the Devonian of New Brunswick. The locality from which the specimens were obtained, is not far from the town of St. Johns, from shales very rich in vegetable remains, and was dis scovered - by the late Prof. C. F. Hartt. Six species are described by Mr. Scudder, and as may be supposed, are of considerable babel: A stratigraphic section by Professor J. W. Dawson accompanies the memoir. Mr. Scudder’s conclusions are as follows “ It only remains to sum up the results of this madd of ` the devonian insects, and especially to discuss their relation to later or now existing types. This may best be done by a separate consideration of the following points : “There is nothing in the structure of these earliest known insects to interfere with a former conclusion that the general type of wing structure has remained unaltered from the es times. Three 906 General Notes. [ December, of these six insects (Gerephemera, Homothetus, Xenoneura) have been shown to possess a very peculiar neuration, dissimilar from both carbeniferous and modern types. As will also be shown under'the tenth head, the dissimilarity of structure of all the devonian insects is much greater than would be anticipated ; yet all the features of neuration can be brought into perfect har- mony with the system laid down by Heer. “The earliest insects were hexapods, and as far as the record goes, preceded in time both arachnids and myriapods. “They were all Jower Heterometabola. “They are all allied or belong to the Neuroptera, using the word in its widest sense. “Nearly all are synthetic types of comparatively narrow range. “ Nearly all bear marks of affinity to the carboniferous Palzo- dictyoptera, either in the reticulated surface of the wing, its longi- tudinal neuration, or both. “ On the other hand they are often of more and not less com- plicated structure than most Palzodictyoptera. “ With the exception of the general statement under the fifth head they bear little special relation to carboniferous forms, hav- ing a distinct facies of their own. “The devonian insects were of great size, had membranous wings and were probably aquatic in early life. The last state- ment is simply inferred from the fact that all the modern types most nearly allied to them are now aquatic. “Some of the devonian insects are plainly precursors of exist- ing forms, while others seem to have left no trace. The best ex- amples of the former are Platephemera, an aberrant form of an existing family ; and Homothetus which, while totally different in the combination of its characters from anything known among living or fossil insects, is the only palæozoic insect possessing that peculiar arrangements of veins found at the base of the wings in Odonata typified by the arculus, a structure previously known only as early as the Jurassic. Examples of the latter are Gere- phemera, which has a multiplicity of simple parallel veins next the costal margin of the wing, such as no other insect an- cient or modern is known to possess; and Xenoneura, were the relationship of the internomedian branches to each other and to the rest of the wing is altogether abnormal. “If, too, the concentric ridges, formerly interpreted by me as possibly representing a stridulating organ, should eventually be proved an actual part of the wing, we should have here a struc- ture which has never since been repeated even in any modifie orm. “They show a remarkable variety of structure, indicating an abundance of insect life at that epoch. “The devonian insects also differ remarkably from all other 1880. ] Geology and Palecntology. 907 known types, ancient or modern; and some of them appear to be even more complicated than their nearest living allies. “We appear, therefore, to be no nearer the beginning of things in the devonian epoch than in the carboniferous, so-far as either carboniferous types in support of any special theory of the origin of insects. “ Finally, while there are some forms which, to some degree, bear out expectations based on the general derivative hypothesis of structural development, there are quite as many which are altogether unexpected, and cannot be explained by that theory without involving suppositions for which no facts can at present be adduced.” America’s Coat Suppty.—Mr. P. W. Sheafer, of Pottsville, writes as follows respecting the supply of coal of the United States, and the methods of mining it: The coal resources of Great Britain are all developed now, and in process of depletion ; whilst in this country when our four hundred and seventy square miles of anthracite are exhausted, we have more than four hun- dred times that area, or 200,000 square miles of bituminous, from which to supply ourselves and the rest of mankind with fuel. The coal product of the world is about 300,000;000 tons annually. The North American continent could supply it all for two hun- dred years. With an annual production of 50,000,000, it would require twelve centuries to exhaust the supply. But with a uni- form product of 100,000,000 tons per annum, the end of the bitu- minous supply would be reached in eight hundred years, What the annual consumption will be when this continent supports a teeming population of 400,000,000 souls, as will be the case some day, must be left to conjecture. But with half that population, as energetic, restless and inventive as our people in this stimula- ting climate have always been, under the hopes of success, such a country as this constantly holds out to tempt ambition and reward enterprise, it is a very moderate estimate, guided by the actual output already reached in Great Britain, to suppose that there will be ample-use for one hundred pei tons a year of bituminous coal for home consumption a We have about three hundred ae forty oe and produce h 20,000,000 tons per annum, or about 60,000 tons each. Great Britain has nearly four thousand collieries, and ines 132,000,000 tons, or 33,000 tons per colliery. The greater the yield per colliery the less the expense in mining. If we decrease the num- ber of mines and increase their capacity not only to raise the coal, but to exhaust a constant current of foul air and dangerous gases, clouds of powder smoke and millions of gallons of water, we will reduce the cost of mining. Most of the anthracite mining in the | United States is now done at a less depth than five hundred feet 908 General Notes. [ December, vertical; but as the coal nearer the surface becomes exhausted, the mines must go deeper and become more expensive, — Proceed- ings of the American Association for Advancement of Science, 1879. THE NorTHERN WasATcH Fauna.—The following species have been received from Mr. Wortman from the beds of the Wind er group, subsequent to the publication of my last notice of his discoveries (1) Esthonyx spatularius, sp. nov. Represented by five molar and premolar, and two incisor or canine teeth, appar- ently belonging tq one individual. These are about the size of those of E. bisulcatus, but present several differences of detail. Thus the basin of the heel of the last inferior molar is not obliquely cut off by a crest which extends forwards from the heel, but is surround- ed by an elevated border, which rises into a cusp on the external side. The incisor-canine teeth are more robust than those of E. bisulcatus, one of them especially having a spoon-shaped crown, with the concave side divided by a longitudinal rib, on which the enamel is very thin. The enamel descends much further down on the external than the internal side of these teeth. The rodent- like tooth does not accompany the specimen. Length of base of läst inferior molar, .009; width anteriorly, .005 ; length of crown of canine-incisor No. 1, .009; width of do. at base, .005; length of crown of second canine-incisor at base, .o12; width of do., .006. (2) Didymictis leptomylus; represented by the posterior three in- ferior molars. These indicate a species of smaller size than the D. protenus, with the tubercular molar relatively narrower, and perhaps longer. The anterior part of the latter has the three cusps well defined and close together, and behind them is an ob- lique longitudinal cutting edge. The middle of the posterior margin rises into a tubercle. The anterior cusps of the tubercular sectorial are elevated ; the heel has a strong external cutting edge and internal ledge. Length of tubercular sectorial, .009 ; width of do., .005 ; length of tubercular, .007; width of do. in front, .0035. (3) Hyopsodus speirianus, sp.nov. Founded on a portion , of a mandibular ramus supporting the last three molars in perfect preservation. It is distinguished by its very small size, since it is considerably less than the Æ. vicarius (H.? minusculus), and by the equality in size of the molars. The heel of the third molar 1! NATURALIST, Oct. (Sept.), 1880, p. 745. 1880. | Geography and Travels. 909 Messrs. Scott and Osborne, has made important additions to our knowledge of the Eocene Vertebrata —E. D. Co ope. GEOLOGICAL News.—Mr. Hébert has recently published in the gain Rendus an account of the geology of the British Chan- 1. e last number of the Palzontographica contains two roni memoirs: Roëmer on a Carbonaceous chalk formation of the West Coast of Sumatra; and Branco on the development . of the extinct Cephalopoda. M. Filhol having finished his work on the extinct Vertebrata of San Gerand le Puy, is about to pub- lish one on those discovered at Ronzon. The Powell Survey has just published Capt. Dutton’s report on the Central Plateaus of the Colorado drainage. GEOGRAPHY AND TRAVELS. PROCEEDINGS OF THE GEOGRAPHICAL SECTION OF THE BRITISH AssociaTion.—The British Association for the Advancement of Science, held its fiftieth meeting at Swansea from the 25th of Au- gust to the Ist of September. The President of the Geographical Section, Lieutenant General Sir J. H: Lefroy, F. R. S., in his opening address, en at length on the progress of discovery on our Own contin In other tee geography was the pioneer of civilization and commerce. Here for the first time she had been outstripped, for the telegraph and the railway had tracked the forest or prairie, and traversed the mountains by paths before unknown to her. Within living memory no traveler known to fame had crossed the American continent from East to West except Andrew Mac- kenzie in 1793. No traveler had reached the American Polar sea by land except the same illustrious explorer and Samuel Hearne. The British Admiralty had not long before instructed Captain Vancouver to search on the coast of the Pacific for some near Ne ce with a river flowing into or out of the Lake of the ood s In proceeding to notice the extensive explorations and surveys undertaken by the Government of the United States and of Canada, he alluded to the great aid afforded the former by the physical features of the region of their trigonometrical survey mame sharp rocky peaks, bare of vegetation, rise to altitudes of 0,000 to 12,000 feet at convenient distances, in an atmosphere of ier tad purity; whilst in the British territory a vast region, wholly wanting in conspicuous points, is to be laid out in town- ships of uniform area. The law required that the eastern and western boundaries of every township be true astronomical merid- ians, and that the sphericity of the earth’s figure be duly allowed for, so that the northern boundary must be less in measurement than the southern. All lines are required to be gone over twice 1 Edited by ELLIS H. YARNALL, Philadelphia. gto General Notes. | December, with chains of unequal length, and the land surveyors are checked by astronomical determinations. In carrying out this operation, which will be seen to be one pigeat nicety, five principal meridians have been sl d in part traced—the 97th, 102d, 106th, I toth and 114th; and napa base lines connecting them have been measured and marked. One of these, on the parallel of 52° 10',is one hundred and eigthy-three miles long. The sources of the Frazer river were first reached in February, 1875, and found in a semi-circular basin completely closed in by glaciers the thermometer below the temperature of freezing mercury, and lived for the last three days, as he expresses it, “in the anticipation of a meal at the journey’s end.” We are still im- perfectly acquainted with the region north of the parallel of 50° in British Columbia, where the Canadian engineers have long been searching for a practicable railway line from one or other o to the Pacific. These passes are, the Yellowhead at an elevation of 3645 feet, the Pine river at 2800 feet, and the Peace river said to be only 1650 feet above the sea. The Dominion Government has recently adopted a line from the Yellowhead pass to Burrard inlet, which may be made out on any good map by following the course of the Thompson and Frazer rivers. Dr. Dawson has recently explored the Queen Charlotte islands. He regards them as a partially submerged mountain chain, a con- tinuation northwestward of that of Vancouver’s island, and of the Olympian mountains in Washington territory. An island one hundred and fifty-six miles long and fifty-six wide, enjoying a temperate climate, and covered with forests of timber of some value Sais Abies menziesii) is not likely to be left to nature much longe The Abbé ‘Petitot has recently made some remarkable explora- tions in the Mackenzie river district, between the Great Slave lake and the Arctic sea. Starting sometimes from St. Joseph’s mission 7 t. Theresa on Great Bear lake; sometimes from Notre Dame de Bonne Espérance on the Mackenzie, points many hun- dreds of miles asunder, he has, on foot or in canoe, often accom- panied only by Indians or Esquimaux, again and again traversed that desolate country in every direction. He has passed four winters and a summer on Great Bear lake and explored every ‘part of it. He has navigated the Mackenzie ten times between Great Slave lake and Fort Good Hope, and eight times between the latter post and its mouth. We owe to his visits in 1870 the disentanglement of a confusion which existed between the mouth of the Peel river (R. Plumée), and those of the Mackenzie owing 1880. | Geography and Travels. QI to their uniting in one delta, the explanation of the so-called Es- quimaux lake, which, as Richardson conjectured, has no exist- ence, and the delineation of the course of three large rivers which fall into the Polar sea in that neighborhood, the “ Anderson” discovered by Mr. Macfarlane in 1859, a river named by himself the Macfarlane, and another he has called the Ronciére. Sir John Richardson was aware of the existence of the second of these, and erroneously supposed it to be the “ Toothless Fish” river of the Hare Indians (Beg-hui-la on his map). M, Petitot has also traced and sketched in several lakes and chains of lakes, which supports his opinion that this region is partaking of that operation of elevation which extends to Hudson’s bay. He found the wild granite basin of one of these lakes dried up and discov- ered in it, yawning and terrible, the huge funneled opening by which the waters had been drawn into one of the many subterra- nean channels which the Indians believe to exist here. These geographical discoveries are but a small part of l’ Abbé Petitot’s services. His intimate knowledge of the languages of the Northern Indians has enabled him to rectify the names given by previous travelers, and to interpret those descriptive appella- tions of the natives which are often so full of significance. He has profoundly studied their ethnology and tribal relations, and he has added greatly to our knowledge of the geology of this region. It is, however, much «to be regretted that this excellent traveler was provided with no instruments except a pocket watch and a compass, which latter is a somewhat fallacious guide in a region where the declination varies between 35° and 58°. His method has been to work in the details brought within his personal knowledge or well attested by native information on the basis of Franklin’s charts. M. Petitot expresses his opinion that the district of Mackenzie river can never be colonized—a conclusion no one w 10 has visited it will be disposed to dispute; but he omits to point out that the mouth of that river is about seven hundred miles nearer the post of Victoria, in British Columbia, than the mouth of the Lena is to Yokohama, and far more accessible. It needs no exceptional climate of the Peace river valley. As regards the extent to which the soil is now permanently frozen round the North Pole, Sir Henry Lefroy states that Erman, on theoretical grounds, affirms that the ground at Yakutsk is frozen to a depth of six hundred and thirty feet. At fifty feet be- 912 l General Notes. [December, low the surface it had a temperature of 28° 5 F. and was barely up to the freezing point at three hundred and eighty-two feet. It is very different on the American continent. The rare oppor- tunity was afforded me by a landslip on a large scale in May, 1844, of observing its entire thickness near Fort Norman, on the Mackenzie river, about two hundred miles further north than Yakutsk, and it was only forty-five feet. At York factory and Hudson’s bay it is said to be about twenty-three feet. The recent extension of settlements in Manitoba has led to wells being sunk in many directions, establishing the fact that the permanently frozen stratum does not extend so far as that region, notwith- standing an opinion to the contrary of the late Sir George Simp- son. Probably it does not cross Churchill river, for Sir H. Le- froy was assured that there is none at Lake à la Crosse. It de- pends in some measure on exposure. In the neighborhood of high river banks, radiating their heat in two directions, and in situations. not reached by the sun, the frost runs much deeper than in the open. The question, however, to which Sir John Richardson called attention so long ago as 1839,is well deserving of systematic inquiry, and may even throw some light on the profoundly interesting subject of a geographi- cal change in the position of the earth’s axis of rotation. ; e Saskatchawan is now navigated from the Grand Rapids, near Lake Winnipeg to the base of the Rocky mountains. The impediments to navigation on the Nelson river have been found to be insuperable, and a company has been formed to make a rail- way from the lowest navigable point to the mouth of the Church- hill river. The land around Hudson’s bay is rising at the rate of five to ten feet in a century, The mouth of the Churchill affords far su- perior natural advantages for shipping the agricultural products of the Northwest territory than York Factory. MICROSCOPY .! Tue NATIONAL Socreties.—The American Society of Micro- scopists, held its third annual meeting at Detroit, on the 17th to ioth, of August last, under the presidency of Prof. H. L. Smith, of Geneva, New York. Regular morning and afternoon sessions were held during the three days; and, in all, fourteen papers were read, eight on microscopy proper, and six on natural history sub- jects connected with the use of the microscope. Included in the latter number is the very elaborate and interesting Presidents Address, delivered by Prof. Smith, on the subject of Deep Sea Life. A soirée was held in a public hall one evening, which was well attended, and was as fully calculated to accomplish its object of public entertainment and popular instruction in the powers an application of the microscope, as could reasonably be expected 1 This department is edited by Dr. R. H. Ward, Troy, N. Y. 1880. ] Microscopy. 913 under the disadvantage of very limited time and opportunities for preparation. No executive business of very general interest and radical importance was transacted, except, perhaps, the adoption of a rule prohibiting the publication elsewhere of papers read before the Society in advance of their appearance in the official proceed- ings; an experiment which is not likely to be successful, as its ope- ration, if persisted in, will, according to the experience of other or- ganizations, greatly limit the activity of the Society itself without materially increasing the importance attached to its printed pro- ceedings. Mr. J. D. Hyatt, of New York, was elected president, and the time and place of holding the next annual meeting were left to the selection of the executive committee. The American Association for the Advancement of Science met in Boston on the following Wednesday, August 25th, and continued in session for eight days. It is safe to say that no such and discussions on other subjects, and of enjoying the general privileges of a memorable week. Much field work was done by various members, on the seashore and elsewhere. A soirée was given at the usual rooms of meeting, during one evening, but no attempt was made to render it a popular exhibition. A. ervey, of Taunton, Massachusetts, was elected chairman for the next meeting, which will be held at Cincinnati. Probably no thoughtful person who attended both meetings this summer, the American Society of Microscopists at Detroit, and the subsection of microscopy, A. A. A. S., at Boston, failed to notice the nearly equal division of strength between the two conventions. he personal attendance at the meetings was about equal, though mainly of different individuals; the number of papers read was VOL, XIV,—NO, XII. 59 914 General Notes. [December, precisely the same, and it is only fair to say that in interest and importance they were very evenly divided. It is obvious that if the strength of the two meetings could have been combined in one, the result would have been far more adequate and satisfac- tory. This reflection has derived force from the well known fact that in the Microscopical Congress at Indianapolis, nearly half the voices were in favor of joining with the A, A. A. S., instead of forming a separate society, the latter course being adopted in the critical vote by a majority of one. From first to Jast, it has been great and conceded importance to combine all our strength in one enterprise; but the obstacles which originally rendered this impossible, still remain, and it is evident that indiscreet contro- versy might increase and perpetuate the difficulties it was: de- signed to remove. It would be absurd to ask persons accustomed to attend the meetings of the great society, and highly valuing its opportunities for intercourse with a large number of leading minds in various departments of science, to abandon that for any narrow organization, however attractive might be its field. On the other hand the new society could not profitably be united with the old, as has been proposed, without a more cordial and general support of such a procedure than could at present be hoped for.. The subordination to greater interests, which would be encountered in uniting with the great society, would be more than counterbalanced, in many minds, by the social and scientific advantages gained; and the fact that many of the papers read would be excluded from the Proceedings by a necessity whic admits only contributicns new to science, would be of little con- sequence, since popular papers gain an earlier and a wider distri- bution through the popular journals; but a more serious difficulty arises from the localities in which the meetings of the A. A. A: S., are sometimes held. The large and powerful society can afford to appoint meetings, not unfrequently, for the sake of cultivating local interest in science, in localities which would be unavailable for the microscopical meetings. A joint meeting at Boston would have given a large increase of vitality; the same will not be equally true of all other localities. j If for these or any other reasons, it should be impracticable to combine the two societies at present, the greatest advantages would doubtless be secured by such a policy as would show, on both sides of the question, a reasonable and considerate regard for the interests of the other. The very large minority at Indianapo- lis acquiesced in the formation of a new society with the under- standing that the times and places of meeting were to be so chosen as to best accommodate those who might wish to attend both. This policy, if fully carried out, would not prevent meeting at the same place when expedient, and would not require it when some other correlated place would be advisable. It would give many of the advantages of union, with entire freedom from its 1880. ] Scientific News. 915 difficulties. Itis the least that could in reason be asked, or that could in common courtesy be granted as a means of ‘securing a cordial and harmonious support for the new society. | New Locat Socigeties.—The Central New York Microscopical Club was organized some months since, at Syracuse, New York. e Lancaster, Pennsylvania, Microscopical Society, J. W. Crumbaugh, M. D., president, was organized February. gth. The Elmira Microscopical Society was organized May 13th, with S. O. Gleason, M. D., for president, and D. R. Ford, Ph.D., vice- president, and T. J. Up de Graff, M. D., secretary and treasurer. The Fort Wayne Microscopical Society held its first meeting, September 18th, with F. W. Kuhne, president, C. A. Dryer, M.D., and C. W. McCaskey, M. D.; vice-presidents, C. L. Olds and L. R. Hartman, secretaries, and Paul Kuhn, treasurer. The Microscopical Society of Central Illinois. was organized at Springfield, Illinois, September 23d, F. L. Matthews, M. D., being the first president, and T. B. Jennings, secretary. _ The Reading, Pennsylvania, Society of Natural Sciences, which has been in existence for over ten years, held a series of micro- scopical meetings, of the soirée order, last winter, which were quite successful, and which will probably be continued. __ :0: SCIENTIFIC, NEWS. — At the late meeting of the American Association at Boston, Prof. A. Hyatt gave a popular lecture on the transformation of Planorbis as a practical illustration of the evolution of species. The lecture was illustrated with stereopticon views. After the lecture Mr. Carl Seiler threw some microscopical illustrations upon the screen. Prof. Hyatt spoke substantially as follows: The word evolution means the birth or derivation of one or more things or beings from others, through the action of natural laws. A child is evolved from its parents, a mineral from its constituents, a state of civilization from the conditions and surroundings of a preceding age. While evolution furnishes us with a valuable working hypothesis, science ‘cannot forget that it is still on trial. The impatience of many when it is doubted or denied, savors more of the dogmatism of belief than of the judicial earnestness of investigation. Every individual differs in certain superficial characters from the parent forms, but is still identical with them in all its fundamental characteristics. This constantly recurring relationship among all creatures is the best established of all the | laws of biology. It is the so-called law of heredity, that like tends to reproduce like. There seems to be only two causes which produce the variations which we observe; one is the law of heredity, the other is the surrounding influences or the sum of 916 - Scientific News. [December, the physical influences upon the organism. The first tends to preserve uniformity, the second modifies the action of the first. The law of natural selection asserts that some individuals are stronger and better fitted to compete with others in the struggle of life, than are others of the same species ; hence they will live and perpetuate their kind, while the others die out. An errone- ous impression exists that Darwinian doctrines are more or less supported by all naturalists who accept evolution, but it is far from the truth. The Darwinian hypothesis is so very easy of applica- tion, and saves so much trouble in the way of investigation, that it is very generally employed without the preliminary caution of a rigid analysis of the facts, and it is safe to say that it is often _ misapplied. A great amount of nonsense has been written about its being a fundamental law, in all forgetfulness that we are yet to find a law for the origin of the variations upon which it acts; it cannot be the primary cause of the variations, for the laws of heredity are still more fundamental. The speaker then described the situation and character of Steinheim, where numerous shells of the Planorbidz are found in the strata, which have been very series has its own set of characteristic differences, and its own peculiar history. It isa fair inference from the facts before us, that the species of the progressive series, which become larger and finer in every way, owe their increase in size to the favorable physical condition of the Steinheim basin. Darwinists would say that in the basin a battle had taken place, which only the favored ones survived. Mr. Hyatt endeavored to present, in a popular manner, the life-history of a single species, the Planorba levis, and its evolution into twenty or thirty distinguishable forms, most of which may properly be called by different names and considered as distinct species. He also endeavored to bring the conception that the variations which led to these different species were due to the action of the laws of heredity, modified by physi- forces, especially by the force of gravitation, into a tangible form. ere are many characteristics which are due solely to the action of the physical influences which surround them; they vary . with every change of locality, but remain quite constant and uni- form within each. — Dr. E. L. Trouessart communicates a valuable essay in de- fence of the doctrine of derivation to No. 16 (October) of the Revue Scientifique. He states the position of the objectors to 1880. ] Proceedings of Scientific Societies. 917 this doctrine to consist in the assertions, that (1) no palzontol- ogist has shown the transition of one species into another; and (2) that the geological record should furnish the history of such changes had they taken place. To this the author of the paper replies (1) that many intermediate forms connecting widely separated living types have been discovered by paleontologists. (2) That the geological record is too imperfect to furnish all the transitions that the theory of derivation requires. (3) That obser- vation of actual transition is not necessary in ‘evidence, since there is reason to believe that transformations have proceeded more rapidly under some circumstances than others, and through changes transpiring during embryonic life. In support of the latter hypothesis, he cites the writings of Dall (1877) and Selys Longchamps (1879) on Sa/tatory Evolution. — An interesting discovery has been made at Edge Lane quarry, Oldham, England. The quarrymen, in the course of their excavations, have come upon what has been described as a fossil forest. The trees number about twelve, and some of them are two feet in diameter. They are in good preservation. The roots can be seen interlacing the rock, and the fronds of the ferns are to be found imprinted on every piece of stone. The discovery has excited much interest in geological circles round Manchester, and the “ forest” has been visited by a large number of persons. The trees belong to the middle coal measure period, although it has been regarded as somewhat remarkable that no coal has been discovered near them. The coal is found about two hundred and fifty yards beneath. Prof. Boyd-Dawkins, of Owens College, has visited the quarry.—London Times. — Dr. Asa Gray left London for Paris last month, and is probably now botanizing in Spain. :0:— PROCEEDINGS OF SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES. Boston Society oF NATURAL History, Oct. 6.—Mr. S. H. Scud- der gave an account of the geology and paleontology of the Lake basin of Florissant, Colorado, famous for its insect and plant re- mains. Oct. 20.—Mr. J. A. Allen spoke of the distribution of the birds of the West Indies, with special reference to those of the Carib- bee islands. The President showed specimens of the carbonifer- ous centipede, Euphoberia, some of gigantic size, and discussed their relationship to living and extinct types. Dr. W. F. Whit- ney described the structure of the so-called “sucking stomach” of Butterflies. Nov. 3.—Prof. E. S. Morse spoke on the Ainos of Yesso, show- ing some of their implements, etc.; Mr. Scudder exhibited an in- 918 Proceedings of Scientific Societies, [ December, teresting carboniferous fossil’ from Illinois; Mr. Hyatt described the molting of the lobster; while Mr.. Putnam showed a remark- able piece of. pottery from an Arkansas mound, and referred to the supposed resemblances between the pottery from these mounds and from Peru. NEw YORK ACADEMY OF Sciences, Oct. 11.—Mr. A. A. Julien gave the results of recent observations on mountain-sculpture in the Catskills, Oct. 18.—Prof. Newberry described the great deposits of crys- . talline iron ore in Southern Utah ; and Pref. Martin exhibited and read notes upon specimens of the fossil leaves contained in the tufa of Brazil. Oct. 25.—Prof. T. Egleston read a paper on American pro- cesses for the manufacture of copper APPALACHIAN Mountain CLUB, Boston, Oct. 13.—Prof. G. Lanza ~~ an account of a sojourn in Andover, Maine. Mrs. L. D. ychowska described’ Bald hill, Campton, N. H.. Carter dome, Huntington ravine and the Montalban ridge were described by Mr. W. H. Pickering; and Prof. C. E. Fay remarked upon a pē- culiar feature of Mt. Lincoln, Franconia mountains, N. H. MIDDLESEX Scientiric Frerp Cius, Oct. 13.—The Club held its first regular, megHae since its adjournment for the summer months. L: L. Dame read a paper on the “ Preservation of our Native Plants.” The reading was followed by discussions. Nov, 3.—The. President, Henry L, Moody, read a paper on “ Mimicry of Insects.” The Club, adopted measures looking to the establishment of a museum to illustrate = Natural History of Middlesex county. ` ` AMERICAN PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY, Philadelphia, March ee A communication was received, entitled “ Nodal estimate of the Velocity of Light, by P. E+ Chase.’ ” Mr. Phillips read a paper de- AHA two very old and curious maps of North and South America. Dr! Greene communicated a paper “ On the action of hydrochloric acid and of chlorine on acetobenzoic anhydride.” April 2.—A paper was read, entitled “ On the Origin of Planets,” by Daniel Kirkwood. \pril 16M Hall dédéribed! casts’ from the State Geological useum May Foe Robinson read a’ biographical memoir of the late M. Michiel! Chevalier. A paper entitled “Second Contribution to the History’ of the Vertebrata of: the TO ornon of Texas, by E; D; Cope,” was presented. May 21.—Mr. Phillips presented 2 a paper on “Some recent dis+ coveries of Stone Implements: in: Africa ‘and Asia” v Peo ‘Cope remarked’ on the: Lower. Tertiary formations, © 1880. | Selected Articles in Scientific Serials. - Org i June 18.—Mr. Blodgett made some observations on “ Certain features of industrial migrations.” July 16.—Prof. Cope presented a paper “On the Genera of the Creodonta? Aug. 20.—Two papers were presented, entitled “ Notes respect- ing a re-eroded channel-way ” and “ Notes on some features of the Geology of Scott and Wise counties, Va.,” by J. J. Stevenson. Sept. 17—Mr. H. G. Jones pre a paper entitled “ Notes on the Cumberland or Potomac Coal basin.” Mr. Lesley pro- posed another Egyptian etymology in Greek, viz, the name of the Eleusinian Sun God, Jaxyos from azu in the Sphinx name of the “iS morning sun god Horus:—Hor-m-azu, The sun on the orizon. ——:0: SELECTED ARTICLES IN SCIENTIFIC SERIALS. QUARTERLY JOURNAL OF MicroscopicAL Sciexce—October: Larval Forms: their nature, origin and affinities, by F. M. Balfour. (An attempt to study the relations of the larve of Echinoderms, mollusks and worms, and to determine the characters of the com- mon prototype, Pilidium coming nearest to this form in the course of its conversion into a bilateral form; the Trochosphere being a completely differentiated bilateral form in which an anus has become developed, The bilateral symmetry of the larva of Echinoderms is supposed to be secondary, like that of many Ccelenterate larve.) The Eye of Pecten, by S.J. Hickson. (Its anatomy is exceedingly complicated, and exhibits all the most important structural elements of the eyes of the higher Vertebrata, but the mode of formation of the molluscan eye is essentially different from that of the Vertebrata, and the resemblance in the adult is merely accidental, not homological.. The Pecten is proba- bly capable of appreciating very diffused light, for the close ap- proximation of the lens to the retina makes it exceedingly im- probable that any image is formed upon the latter; so that its visual power would hi enable it to avoid its enemies.) On the terminations of nerves in the epidermis, by L. Ranvier. On the termination of the nities in the mammalian cornea, by E. Klein. ~ ANNALES DES SCIENCES apie ea August. On the Meta- morphoses of Bryozoa, by J. Barrois. Researches in the fauna of southern regions, by A. Milne-Edwards (based on the Rie intel ical distribution of the penguins, with a map and plate). ZeITSCHRIFT FUR “WISSENSCHAFTLICHE ZooLoGtE—Sept. 10. The anatomy of Distomum hepaticum, by F. Sommer (richly illus- trated). Description of the nervous system of Oryctes nasicornis in the larva, pupa'and beetle stages, by H. Michels (elsewhere noticed), 920 Selected Articles in Scientific Serials. (Dec., 1880. JENAISCHE ZEITSCHRIF FUR NATURWISSENSCHAFT—October 5. On the direction of the pollen tubes in the AEDEP, by M. Dalmer. On the gill-bearing Tritons, by O. Ham AMERICAN JOURNAL OF SCIENCE AND Arts—November. Re- markable marine Fauna occupying the outer banks off the south- ern coast of new England, by A. E. Verrill. Revision of the land snails A the Paleozoic era, with descriptions of new species, by J. W. Dawson. Extension of the T Formation in Mahut, by W. O. Crosby and G. H. B PsycHE, Cambridge—July. Chemical change of coloration in Butterfly’s wings, by W. H. Edwards and J. M. W wiles August.—The Trophi and their chitinous supports in Gracil- laria, by G. Dimmock. With the usual bibliographical record, so valuable a feature of this journal. GroLocicAL MacazinE—October. Volcanic Eruption and Earthquakes in Iceland within historic times, by T. Thoroddsen. Tue FIFTEENTH VOLUME OF THE AMERICAN NATURALIST.—We would call the attention of our subscribers to the fact that the present al contains 926 pages, or 120 more than the pre- ceding volum We shall doain the coming year the reviews of progress in different departments of natural science, and from the papers in hand and those promised can give the assurance that Volume XV, will, at least, not be inferior in variety and interest to its pre- decessors. As during the past fourteen years, we continue to invite the contributions of original notes and articles, and items of scientific news, and ask our friends to call the attention of those in any g stimulus in their reading and observations in the field. The larger our subscription list, the more matter and illustrations can we offer tò our patrons. We have pleasure in announcing the purchase of the subscrip- tion list and good will of the ‘‘ American Entomologist,” which will in future be represented by a new department of the NAT- URALIST, to be devoted exclusively to Entomology. It will be conducted by the distinguished scientist, Dr. C. V. Riley, whose accession to our editorial corps, we think, constitutes an im- portant era in the history of the AMERICAN NATURALIST. "0: aeaee eee oe ERRATA,—On page 64, for Ogoowé read Ogowé; page 144, for Naverbine read ambwe. i INDEX. Abbe, C., meteorology and locust pest, 735. Abbott, Č. So on stone implements of New Jer- Abang in Abyla a pentagona, 450. Natural Sciences, Philadelphia, a7 117, 356, 793- Aciiihetum, be rm, dis us, 892, Acridotheres. kte, 306. Actinotroc f, 894 African tape ation, 64, 143, 748, A oe 617 Aimara languag Alfillerilla, 493. Alge, or 735- rome mblystoma punctatum, 372, 377; 594 738. KAA iets, geograp phy T Central, ruins of, 359. North, botan yof, 2 hology of, 2 American anthropology i in 1879, ree America’s coal supply, § merica’s ie ey » 907. me saa aed pe ag sr 490, Amphioxus Tanesdlatus, vid 73. SA Pa — 364. peal rvesting, 669. Anthus ludovicianus, 489. Anthers, transformation of, into ovaries, , Anthropology, 56, 134, 216, 297, 348, sn "45°, 533, 603, 676, 40, 813. Anthropology at the American ee 740. Anura, 1 Aphredoderus sayanus, 211, Ache garis, fertilization of, 731. re hag o Hall’s second, 332. 2a eaan 44, 546. » 45°. Arenaria grenlandica, 444. Argynnis idalia Bacillus, 365, Ki cabs 291. Bal. n Pe song ime y ce ou, on t prajane idy ol of New animals, 130. 140. on ra! on OEN, 524. on ish porron on bird arrivals at DIe 525. on bird migrations, 527. Barnard, W. S., on mic dynamics, 233 Barrows, cham # ica, 217. Bascanion constrictor, 207. Bathyurus, eye of, 505. Batrachia, 168. : extinct, pagis polytrema, 599. i F. E. a on rales. 1, W. J., on fertilization of Gwis by hum- ming birds, 126. fertilization of flowers by insects, 201. peed grizzly, 673. eauchamp, WM , on Bythinia tentaculata, Bees, ge Piney tothe. @ Han of, 363. illin tongue of, 271 ne Agen mble, 288. ees, € eaning appara Bennett, A. W., on jeraha De i 204. Bernicla Pag ee 397- Bessey, C. E., di hism ‘spermum Tonio on gae gress in American bonny 1879, 862. Litho- Binué river, 686. Birds, food ‘of, 44 ee a erlzation of flowers by, 362. of Orego tarsus oad Sa of, 882, with teeth, bing Blind crustacea, 2 Blood, Apea g wrni p Blue bird, Western Ba Bohemian wax-win Bone, ethmoid and Kurbinate, 287. Botany, historical sketch of, 443. of California, 5 of No ey America, ay imag 25. rogress in Ameri th a 862. South fee ‘California, Brachiopoda, fossil, , 282. Brassica nigra, 49 rendel Fs Hirorkcal sketch of botany, 443- on the! botany a a > ed 25. anthers into Broo! on the nau Brown, A. E., pon Budding in in free medusa Benia gree esa their th die ag: y's x of butterfly's 7 emk, Burial a the dead, 904. Petr age flexuosa, 384. istoric man, 61. reptiles and battachia of, 295. - Call, R. ‘nu = Anodontz, 7 529 M ones, 207. rs gence spretus, 875. Camas roo! Fa geological aioin of, 42. aag r prehistoric, 58, Ca rom: erida, SA Carci iid American, x in 10m, oh Carnivora, fossil, 833. Carpodacus californicus, 491. 922 Caton, J. D., domestication of deer and birds, 393. on the ge a crane, 773. Cats, extinct of America Celastrus scandens, 364. ` Cell Son 65. hei Cepa OMi of, ephalopods, diia of acids, etc., on, 897. eee pied 600, of, 602. yo nianus, AA Cetonia Chæ nating worms, &85 : Chapman, H. C Cis placeiita of Elephas, 376. hinana a pinas 49i. tristis, 491. Ci — mexicanus, 487. Clover, pin, 493. Clepee mirabilis, p579 * Coal ig? os N Am Cobza, ization of by i Shine, 669 Coccus lac a, 783: Cock ri ek a 133. » 524. Ceecilia, 286, Ccelenterates, 503. Colletes, 55. Collurio — 491, Colo esert, botany of, 787. map of, 728. Twin lakes of 858. Coloreodon an cephalus 60. Coney A. J., on oa the ome e yei the h bee, 271. ieee verge nae ob tad Edel on extinct cal ts of America, 833. _om Miocene seen of ei p a 60, on Northern Was: fauna, 908, on the sieu bes of Oia, gos a ull of Empe 5 us òf F iroids, wings Soon aen "of acd nG cephala, 383. ° notice of ‘Traquair’s Platysomide, ano- ‘corrections of i of ys geological maps genealogy of American Rhinoce- S run a = stant, origin sei usi Crab, hore seo oe a Index. Cross-fertilization, 668. Cc ill, red, 491. fcrpesbi ; fasten, 509, 519 fenockioed. 5 copepod, two of bloodjin, 603. ` geographical pairs 209: arval pirat new Phyllopod, 53- pc eae living in trees, 450. in, 450. SEA pores ogg aieo ntes of, 803. » 469. : ricana, 491 3 rabiata 519. Dall, W. H., on progress concerning American Mollusca in 1879, 426. Danais T Darte ras food of, Darw bees, 48 Pepa explorations, 830. undin ngs, 887. Deer, do f, 393 mule, ‘6s Delaware e river, A eblog of, 819. Dendræca -e 489. duboni, 489. conta j nigrescens, 489. Dero limosa, 422. i Desmids, influence of light on, 444. Devonian insects Diamond, artifi ficial formation of, 456. Didymictis a altidens, 746. tylu vir ideleene 373. Donar. island o Dragon flies aighe of, 132, 594. Drosera, 291. Duck, 640. Echini, ning of, 725, 758. Ectoderm Eel, male.” Eft, red, 373 373; Hes : ephant, placenta of, 376. Ktubepolegy, conipuretive, 96, 242, 662, 871. of Crustacea, 500. Emerton, J. H., on on breeding habits of spiders. : Empedocles, skull ig 304. mpusa nace, é fA Endlich, F. M Inland of Dominica, 761. English birds, ‘es % Ratceanionicat Commission, U- Si, 753 ' Entomophthora clpho ot 804, ` = genus of Rbinoverontide; ago, | tinct Batrachi j rimosa, 804. Da diifavontiation in, 198. ; 493- m; 493. Eutænia si girre * on ws 319, 398: A. Hyatt, on, 915. 725» 7585 of lectin Hrs. ete E ae nm otin oo ia ocætus, meagan iE ge 878. a _ Exoderm, ae ae ' Eye of Pecten, 919. e eieta Index. Fecundity in ma i. _ of Dain: 833. Fentllees, Indian, 473. Fewkes, J. W., on oem 617.. Fiber zibethicus, 52 Filaria restifottiin; 391. Finch, 635 Fishes, Californian, 366. of, 697. a Pacific coast, 595. viviparous $97 swede a b adder of, 603, 898. Fish abet wk, 52 a habe id, 531. Fitch, yey ssioctoaion collections of, 228. vi flights Flowers, pmt korca of, by humming birds, 126, fertilization of, by ee 201, 8 rtilized by bees, 28 Bagh os aid ma pee of flowers, 517. F catcher blue ai ded; 490. Flying fish, Fly-trap, tia Foramina o temporal and parietal bones, 287. Forbes, S. A., on food of birds, 448. on food of a prota 697. Forest, fossil Carbonifero vith with, 127. fone era splendens, pe 5 Doa anthropology in, 815. ranklin search expedition, Bar. Freia paue Frog g ee bini, SS: Fungi, 51. Fn me destroyers, 3 363; ong 575, 630, 804 Seni, g bento lumi engi Gadus morrhua, 524. ala, Permian, Pa. Gardner, A S., age of ey ob b99. formation, 565. aa e of Vertebrates, 296. geol Generation, Sn, alternation ne be ing Nghe st. of — of Wis _Geothlypis macgilivay, 490. Gerard, W. x, ade: on the leather turtle, 129. o* Gordius, 813. Grasshopper, 735- aiaa oe Gress soar of Colorado desert, 7r Serie a oe. è 923 Grosbeak, evening, 49T. rose brea: sted, 521. Grus ee 108, nadensis, 108, oii ar — 8x n, S. tuary wee of, 755- Halictus A Oa, Halitherium cap es Sin Harvey, F. L., on Chordeilan $ pete nko op Hayden, F. V., new map of on Twin | shes of Galoa; 858. rS: Poor de Survey, 3 Helix as vival. 297. Helminothophaga celata, 489. erring, 518. Hesperiphona vespertina, 491. Hessia 86 es, ., on microscopic crystals in plants, 720. Hill, un , mimicry in snakes, 6 Hippa talpoidea, development of, 500. Hippidium spectans, irundo bicolor, oe Gang s compres: m, 691. use fly, proboscis of, 153. 309, pi parana Hyatt, A., on Sale in the shell of Limnza megasoma are oduced by confinement, 51. Hybrid nerk -< sng la Hydra, 450. Hyra vasacciense, Fh vortmanni, 747 aad organisms in ce sheet in New sae 60, Ichthydiu um Ahsap 674. eee ng fy, 4 a Indians, Pis lo, 60 nfusori: Insect destroying es 1 Insects, age A =. 363, $16, 5 fertilizing E Intermedium im of Birds, 82, Iridoprocne icolor, 54. Isaria pee 517. ene inl — apan, beetles of, 55. eee ach a jelly. fish, fresh i Ari vater, 739. Segera 'O. B. Oregon, 485. dan, DiS. von Aying fish, 805. Kangar aroo, 729. ste fossils ae 542. : $ Kinglet, golden-crowned, 487. OH f ruby-crowed, 87. Kingsley, J. S., American carcinolegy in ie an abnormal foot of omen me on saysiapedl 594. 924 Kingsley, J. S., on Te distribution of on Grobben’ s development of oina A eee hg poh on Crustacea, | Kunze, R, E., Lac, 472, 782. Lambdotherium popoagicum, 746. Lancelet, 1, 73. Lance-points, eae Pa 744. ramie formation, 565. oe Ty 56 on Pg ee grosbeak, 521. of E echinoderms and worms, | T R e, > . Lee, L. A., on the sea robin in Maine waters, Leidy, atic worms, 421. peeh ear PA 597 Leucifer, so hg jung s a nauplius, 806. Libinia, lar of, 80 Lignite, 5 i Lilium parryi, 517. Limnæa megasoma, 51. Limpet, 431. Limulus, A bl of, 2 ructure ot brain of, 445. Lion, BE nibero od a 142. Lippincott yJ- S.,0n evolution, 319. Lithology, 150. ` Lithospermum longifiorum, 417. izard, embryology of, 585. forked-tailed, 55. sondis cardinalis 362. p Eng ee, New Manan 127. Lccilagsed, R. n Californian esea and Fare coast he pot Lockwood, S., = bis, 5 habits of foe snake, nn note on a black robin " white-bellied swallow, s4. vitality of Helix aspera, 214. Lophiodon calcicutus, RA m, ie Lombrici. i pars assi o » 873. Lum, J. K., on 7 fie wing, 521. Machærodus, "e Mackerel, frigate, gare reg , G., on the proboscis of the house fly, Maize rust, 5. reals 497- ress of, in U.S. in 1879, 161. ee é Manatee, 5, 71 Man, fossil, f adag Marnock, G. a on climbing habits of little Marti , I. C., on New Mexican locust tree, Mason, 2 `N. Ns on use of collodion in cutting sec- thropology i in 1879, 348. Massachusetts, 5 sepals F. pad i on S terranean ne mate of, NE, ieee 207. Mergulus : prera ~ Index, Mexi h 7. QOI Mexicans, ancient, 679- > POER 65. icroperca punctulata, 699. Microscopical societies, 912 Microscopic sections of soft tissues, use of collo- ion in cutting, 825 slides, se of, eax Miller, A., on ant battles Milner, J: ‘W. Arines EE of, 227. Mimicry i 2 insects, 2 nakes, bys. chactee, ina moth, 600. Minot, C. Me arti yee on a a, embryol- on ions mish biologe Aitferentia- tion, 208. Minot, H. D., on English birds compared with American, 61, Miocene fauna of — , 60. Lid Mad of, 2 oein 49. cae Mathes, Faeres 426. Mollusks, deep-sea a, 898. regeneration of head of, 899. Monks, Sara T P E Bs habits of salaman- ers on Batvachia, 738. Moose sgi Morris, G. K., on a harvesting a orse, E. S, = T par archeology, 656. mounds of Japan, 4 3 Moths entrapped by Physianthus, 48, 128 ous appe aga n, 899. Mound builders, 216, 298. relics A in Illinois, 905- Mounds, shell of Ta apan Mudge, B. E, obituary’ entice of, 70. Mule, fertile, 532 Muller, b 48 Musca baaa 153. men pret My odioctes pusillus, 490. pe hae gl of, 602. Myriopods. 594. Myxine, 599. Naides, 421 Nauplius < — ka, geology oi 439- cy: a exican aed tree, 127. ewt, 371, 738. New York city, pecans of, 889. New Zealand, g logical survey of, 140. ipus, 286. Ohio, nests and eggs of birds of,,122. | Ornithopsis, 142. Index. Osborn, H. L., on Arenaria grænlandica, 444. on a color variety of chipmunk, p peen yo = ae or insects, 215. Ouzel, water, 487. Oyster, 6 development of, 428, 510. Oxyænidæ, 839 et coast, fishes of, 595. ackard, A.S. Jr.,on mothe entrapped by Phy- on the cotton worm moth in Rhode Island, 53. r% Phyllopod ronan 53. nature of sea serpent, 150. ee eye of Eaha, 212, on peor Pee oko h from Wy- ron structure of brain of Limulus, 44 ees of te? eye of trilo- pro tective patency in a moth, eye and brain = Cermatia pe Palzemonetes vulgaris, P ao Sara progress of, in U, S. I Palzosyo bordik 6. Palzosyaps br 134. S Pandion caroli laess, 528. alia ta, J0. Parrya kenana 312 - Parthenogenesis in bees, 812. asserculus sandwichensis, 491. a domesticus, 130, 2 mus pagum of areta X Pecten, e eye of, wedi hid Penguin, moltin e beak of, $ _ Penhballow, D. — mag clot, 553- Peesi Supercili Perch, pirate, 211. ced of Cari, 597- Per anocepha Peruvian pa maes esar a Phase aa s 504 of ara o desert, el cross-fertilization of, 668 effects of sales on, 516. effects of electricity on growth of, 518. fertilization of, = insectivorous, New Foundland, ea s PA na ra eas of, on Crustacea, 52. -Polariscope, crystals for, 146. Polyctenes, 667. Sogn te = Polyonyx macrochel Polyxenes fasciculatus, arr. Potato ieee ote: Pourtales, Sbituary notice of, 694. ell, J. W., on Pueblo Indians, 603. pave: 501. Pre-adamites, 605. Prentiss, A. N., on insect-destroying fungi, 575, 30. Preservative fluid, 369. Pristina flagellum, 425. Prozluru: rus, 837. Protoplasmic dynamics, 233. Protopsalis tigrinus, 745. Protozoa, Prunus andersonii, 789. Psaltriparus animes, 488. Psorosperms, Pterotrachea organ of taste of, 297. eae Indians, 678. Pyranga ludoviciana, 491. as prinus, dispermous seed of, 892. Racer snake, eit of tail in, 54. Rana palustris, 5 Ranunculacee, Repone of age ty mollusks, 899. egulus a ps “i Reil, ‘Island ee peri a de Hera ad ghee 610. ealogy of, 610. ean main filiformis, ey Rh San AATAS war i on yb ae PR I, 73- article on convolution of trachea fey ‘eae Robi ~ egg 7 lack, 52 Rodentia, fossil, 6o. Rollins, W- È m on syne areek — rs: a Russell, ,on Triassic form WS, n J. A., on Ichthydium ocellatum, 64 phos aon ate fof young fishes, on Symph: ara yar a75 perch att 810. =e a Rhipi dodendron ida the pna on Parin fasciculatus, 811. Sabre-toothed cats, 845. Salamanders, Salamander, Eriopmen of, 438. Salix, 422. Salmo, 366. Salmon, 531. nae of, 214. Saxifraga Aapan: tl 569. ‘Scalops aquaticus, 52. Scapanus Sekak, S. cae ed lizard, 54. ont gv + gg eto Hadh inin, | Sciurus ERE 523. Scolopendrella gratie, 375. » 375» _ Torpedo californica, 926 7 pis cal is, 599. ss yg 50. Shad, 5 i ie dy ‘Swallowing young, 739. Shells, 4 ~~ nad Cane of, 806. Sign language, oo oe Siler, A. L., on mammals of Utah, 673. Silybum marianum, 592. Sitta aculeata, 488. canadensis, 488. Skunk, ayes striped, climbing habits of, 896. Skylar Slade, E roa ‘fish hawk, 528. Slide, , growin g A Smilodon, 838, 852, 854 Smith, Erminnie ote nal amber, 179. Smith, G. D obituary notice of, 756. Snails, an ocomotion of, 296. Snake, pine, 528. ms vibration of tail of, 54. owing its young, 532. Snakes, aa of, 206. o-headed, 54 Sole b wt Sparrow, Alaskan, , 9r capping, o 35- ipping . Englis h, eae sh, 30, 313; 368, pon Oregon, 635. Spermatozo6n, 103, 215 Spiders of America, 468. breeding habits of, 595. embryology of, 585. stridulating, 740. Spiders’ webs, 464. ee: “embryology of, 479. C, J., on insects caught by the Physi- ge 128, Squilla, 503 Stegosaurus rus, ungulatus, 302. Sterna fosteri, 738. Stillman, n J. M. on onl oho c, 782. : roscoggin glacier Streptocephalus floridanus, iy n OS matopo heisene aa Bicuspis, 746. Swallow, violet-green, 490; r is belled, oe Symphyla ES. Syphilis among savages, 533. Tanager, scents, 491. Tardigrades, 593- Te li mountain, 858. 4em, Foster’s, 738 ogy of, 684. Theromor pha 5 304. Thompson, L., on moths entrapped by Physi- anthus, 48. Thrushes, food oo 448. Thryothurus s , 488. Titan, chestnut backed, 488. weer, 487. Tea si a on a in Ranuncula- on flowering of Saxifraga sarmen- wintering ol robin, 60x. Torrey, By © of animals, 13 130. n migrations of dragon flies, 132, - Tragulas faranicus, 395. : I esige 492. Index, —— W. , carnivorous, habits of bees, 363. owers by hum- ing bir : eat fertigation "GE yR 731. of Muller’s humble bee a ' dysteologist 3 288, Triassic a ae of U. S., Trichodina, 1 Trichopetalum be 376. ” park mani, 489. Le iy pa ikio, 146. Turdus 486. pei ag +4 ge te ust x gy Kage Turtle, leath Twin lakes of gee 858. Uncia, 857. Unionide Ustilago Utah, clit dwellings in ganner rn, 68r, of gp n, 673. aani i beds of, 3 Uta thalassina, 296. Veeder, M. A., organisms in ice, 388 on pets onan of e for jä Vertebrates, embeyolbg of, 3 fossil, of Vertebrate eine y of Tadia, 818. Viola, bakin a solitaria, 490. Virginian deer, 394. Vitis berlandieri, it californica, 496 Vivipatenn heke 297- i Vorce, C. 3 on separation of foraminifera from ane nd, I Wap Warbler, 48. yar Te , on sexual differentiation in Epigæa fist 'ig 8. Wasatch Tertiary fauna, Water, sei eens Kanik from, 227. f New York, 139. emian, 521. Whale, shooting of, 292. White, C. A. , on progress of invertebrate palzon- tolo; = U.S. Tog 1879, 250. on En yroa = ry wg ae ag in pte shell of Lim- Whitma oc. O., on flying fish, 641. iaia s pee fluid, 369. Wills bondig | in, 671. rE, si on ? metamorphosis of Actinotro- Wilson, TW , Fost ern, 738. Wind ow bad hes l a Wisc archzeo of, 680. peer wt weekend S 637. Worms, aquatic, 421. turbellarian, 1 193. a Wright, R: R., on Rb aan a parasite on OR age ol ecturus, I ren, 489, à Wooden, new map of, 62. Tuun E. H., on Hall’s second Arctic expedi- on, 332. Pin RA an insecticide, 133. Aran whipplei, 495.