proceedings: biological society 233 



The degree of decomposition depends upon the species, kinds of parts, 

 organs and products of the plants that contributed to the deposit origin- 

 ally, the efficiency and duration of action, chiefly of the biochemical 

 agencies during the peat stages, and the efficiency and duration of the 

 action of the dynamochemical agencies during the coal stages. The 

 greater the efficiency of the agencies during the biochemical stages and 

 of the dynamochemical agencies, and the longer the time of their activi- 

 ties, the greater the concentration of the more resistant components. 



The paper was illustrated by lantern slides from photographs of thin 

 sections of the various grades of coal. 



Robert Anderson, Secretary. 



THE BIOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON 



The 496th regular meeting was held at the Cosmos Club, March 16, 

 1912. 



Under the head of Brief notes and exhibition of specimens, H. M. Smith 

 exhibited a lantern slide picture of a bluebird that was found frozen 

 fast in the opening of a hollow tree. 



T. A. Palmer reported that about 250 elk have been captured during 

 the winter in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, and in Yellowstone Park and 

 its vicinity and have been transferred to National and State game 

 preserves in other parts of the country. 



The regular program consisted of three communications. E. W. Nel- 

 son presented translations of two extracts from the Monarquia Indiana, 

 A Spanish work by Juan de Torquemada, published in 1723. The orig- 

 inal edition was published at Seville in 1615. The first extract was an 

 account of the Zoological Garden kept by Montezuma at the time of 

 the conquest by Cortez. This large garden contained animals of all 

 kinds indigenous to the country, and included also human albinos, dwarfs, 

 and cripples. The care of the captive birds alone required the attend- 

 ance of 300 servants. The fish-eating birds required 250 pounds of fish, 

 and the flesh-eating mammals, the killing of 500 fowls each day. The 

 Spaniards were greatly astonished at the display. 



The second extract from the book was an account of a great hunt 

 given by the Aztecs in honor of the Viceroy Don Antonio de Mendoza 

 in 1540. On the day of the hunt more than 15,000 Indians went out 

 very early in the morning and surrounded over five leagues square of 

 land. They advanced from all sides and by noon had formed a circle 

 man to man in the midst of which were a prodigious number of deer, 

 rabbits, and coyotes. On account of the vast amount of game, open- 

 ings were made in the circle and a part of the animals permitted to escape. 

 The lines were then reformed and the people moved up until the enclo- 

 sure was little more than a half league square and the Indians formed 

 a wall two or three men deep. The killing then began and resulted in 

 the destruction of 600 deer, 100 coyotes, and great multitudes of foxes, 

 hares, and rabbits. The prong horn antellope was mentioned among 



