LITERARY NOTICES, 



279 



dian Institute depicts a year of progress dur- 

 ing 1888-89, and, according to the testi- 

 mony of competent witnesses, shows that a 

 wonderful amount of work was accomplished 

 in proportion to the small sum of money 

 which the society was able to command. 

 Twenty-four ordinary meetings and thirty- 

 six meetings of sections were held, at which 

 seventy papers in all were read. The archaeo- 

 logical report, by Mr. David Boyle, gives no- 

 tices of several features of research and of 

 the examination of a number of sites, and is 

 accompanied by a paper on French relics 

 from village sites of the Hurons, by Mr. 

 A. F. Hunter, and a Bibliography of the Art 

 and Archaeology of the Dominion of Canada 

 and Newfoundland, by Mr. A. F. Chamberlan. 



The work of the Geological and Nat- 

 ural History Survey of Minnesota in 1888 

 was prosecuted by two parties, one of which, 

 under Mr. Uly S. Grant, was occupied dur- 

 ing a part of the season in making collec- 

 tions of rock samples in certain typical crys- 

 talline formations in typical localities, and 

 afterward in the iron-ore beds ; and the 

 other, under Mr. Horace V. Winchell, spent 

 the whole season on the iron-ore beds. The 

 work added materially to the exact knowl- 

 edge of the geology of the northeastern part 

 of the State, and particularly to that of the 

 nature and relations of the iron-ores. A 

 general presentation of this knowledge, in a 

 somewhat systematic manner, has been at- 

 tempted in the report. The superintendent 

 of the survey, Prof. N. H. Winchell, is about 

 to enter on the preparation of a final report 

 covering the northern part of the State. 



Observations on Sexual Selection in Spi- 

 ders of the Family Altidm is a paper pub- 

 lished in the " Occasional " Volume of the 

 Natural History Society of Wisconsin, by 

 George W. and Elizabeth G. Peckham. The 

 investigation which it records is directed to 

 the origin — in spiders — of color, and its re- 

 lation to sexuality, concerning which two 

 general theories are offered by Mr. Wallace : 

 first, that natural selection modifies color in 

 the female for purposes of protection ; and, 

 second, that color may be produced or in- 

 tensified when there is a surplus of vital 

 energy, as in male animals generally, and 

 sometimes in the females, and more espe- 

 cially at the breeding season. Unusual fa- 

 cilities are offered for testing these theories 



by the Araneides on account of the great 

 numbers of their species and the wide dif- 

 ferences between the several groups in hab- 

 its • and in amount of ornamentation. The 

 study of several genera shows that, in the 

 sedentary groups of spiders, while many of 

 the species are plainly colored, there are 

 nearly as many that present the most beau- 

 tiful tints ; and some of the wandering and 

 very active groups are, for the most part, 

 clothed in somber hues. Again, no relation 

 is shown between the color development of 

 the females and their nesting habits. The 

 former observation is contradictory to the 

 supposition of a causal relation between vi- 

 tal activity and color development ; the latter 

 to that of the need of a protective coloring, 

 while nesting, by the female. A further ex- 

 planation of the sexual coloring is then 

 sought, with the conclusion that some groups 

 of spiders have reached a condition of close 

 harmony with their environment ; this har- 

 mony being brought about through the same 

 modifications of color, form, and habit as 

 are seen among insects, to the attainment 

 of the common ends of capture of prey and 

 protection from enemies. 



In Remarks upon Extinct Mammals of the 

 United States, Dr. R. W. Shufeldt publishes 

 studies illustrated, of Tinoceros ingens ; The 

 Ancestry of the Horse ; Ancient Whales and 

 Coryphodons ; Half- Apes and Lemurs ; the 

 Saber-Toothed Tigers, and Hairy Mammoths 

 and Sea-Cows. 



PUBLICATIONS RECEIVED. 



Allen, Harrison, M. D. A Clinical Study of the 

 Skull. Washington : Smithsonian Institution. Pp. 

 77. 



Almulac & Co., New York. The Rational Pro- 

 duction and Treatment of Milk. Pp. 20. 



American Naturalist, Philadelphia. Criticisms 

 of United. States Geological Survey, Paleontological 

 Department. Pp. 36. 



Ashmead, William H. New Ichneumonidae in 

 United States National Museum. Washington: Gov- 

 ernment Printing-Office. Pp. 64. 



Blackman. Frank W. Spanish Colonization in the 

 Southwest. Baltimore : Johns Hopkins University. 

 Pp. 79. 50 cents. 



Bloxam, Charles Loudon. Chemistry, Inorganic 

 and Organic, with Experiments. Philadelphia : P. 

 Blakiston, Son & Co. Pp. 799. 



Bodine, J. M., M. D., University of Louisville 

 Medical Department. The Four Commencements. 

 Pp. 19. 



Central Park Menagerie, New York. Report for 

 1889. Pp. 42. 



Chamherlin, T. C, Madison, Wis. The Coming 

 of Age of State Universities. Pp. 12. 



Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station. 

 Bulletin No. 102. Fungicides. By Roland Thaxter. 

 Pp. 7.— Annual Report for 1889. Pp. 280. 



