28 THE NAUTILUS. 



anatomy of Hawaiian land snails at the Academy of Natural 

 Sciences of Philadelphia for the past nine months, has re- 

 turned to Honolulu. He expects to resume his studies in 

 Philadelphia next September. 



PROF. T. D. A. COCKERELL, of the University of Colorado, 

 returned from England early in July, stopping at New York., 

 Philadelphia and Washington on his way to Colorado. 



MR. FRANK C. BAKER, curator of the Museum of Natural 

 History, University of Illinois, will spend the summer in 

 Wisconsin, continuing his study of the molluscan fauna under 

 the auspices of the Wisconsin Geological and Natural His- 

 tory Survey. 



DR. FRED BAKER has joined an expedition for work on the 

 fauna of Lower California. 



OIL INJURING OYSTERS. A suit for $200,000 has been 

 brought against the Mexican Petroleum Corporation for dam- 

 ages done to some of the oyster beds of Narragansett Bay. 

 The question of sewage has also entered largely into the dis- 

 cussion. The oyster industry of the bay began to decline in 

 1914 and has steadily deteriorated ever since. Prof. T. C. 

 Nelson of Rutgers College, and biologist of the Shell Fish 

 Commission of New Jersey, said that oil was responsible for 

 the death of the oyster "sets" in 1916 and 1917. There seems 

 to be a general complaint that oil and sewage is gradually 

 destroying the marine life of our bays and harbors. During 

 the winter even marine birds, such as the little auks, were 

 brought to the museum with their feathers thoroughly satur- 

 ated and discolored by oil. C. W. J. 



