78 proceedings: biological society 



THE BIOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON 



The 545th meeting of the Biological Society of Washington was 

 held in the Assembly Hall of the Cosmos Club, Saturday evening, 

 November 20, 1915; called to order by President Bartsch with 50 

 persons present. 



On recommendation of the Council Leo D. Miner, E. 0. Wooton, 

 A. M. Groves, all of Washington, D. C, were elected to active mem- 

 bership. 



Under the heading Brief Notes: Mr. Lewis Radcliffe called atten- 

 tion to recent efforts of the Bureau of Fisheries in rearing shad in 

 ponds. Young fish thus raised attained twice the size of those of the 

 same age in their natural environment. Specimens of both kinds were 

 exhibited. 



The regular program consisted of three papers, as follows: Frederick 

 Knab, The dispersal of some species of flies; Alex. Wetmore, Notes 

 on the habits of the duck hawk; Elmer D. Merrill, Geographic relation- 

 ships of the Philippine flora. 



The 546th meeting of the Society was held in the Assembly Hall 

 of the Cosmos Club, Saturday evening, December 4, 1915; called to 

 order by President Bartsch, with 55 persons present. 



On recommendation of the Council Dr. R. W. Shufeldt, Washington, 

 D. C, and Arthur deC. Sowerby, Tien Tsin, were elected to active 

 membership. 



On recommendation of the Council the following resolutions were 

 read and adopted: 



Whereas: Dr. George M. Sternberg, former Surgeon General of the 

 U. S. Army, a distinguished worker in the biological sciences as applied 

 to medicine, long time an active member of the Biological Society of 

 Washington and its President during the years 1895 and 1896, has 

 passed from this life, therefore be it 



Resolved: That the Biological Society of Washington keenly regrets 

 his death and offers its warmest sympathy to Mrs. Sternberg, and 

 will always be grateful to his memory for the important part which 

 he took in the affairs and discussions of the Society and for the dis- 

 tinction which his eminent name adds to its list of past Presidents. 



Signed, L. 0. Howard, 



Frederick V. Coville, 

 Paul Bartsch. 



Under the heading Brief Notes, Exhibition of Specimens: Dr. O. P. 

 Hay exhibited the skull of a walrus from the southern Atlantic coast 

 of the United States and called attention to other specimens of walrus 

 from localities now far south of its present range. It was Dr. Hay's 

 opinion that the walrus had followed the retreating ice sheet northward. 

 Dr. L. O. Howard called attention to the cluster-fly (Pollenia rudis), 

 an insect resembling the house fly but collecting in houses in autumn 

 and leaving a yellow stain when crushed. Its life history was unknown 

 until recently, a foreign entomologist having now shown that the 



