LVIII BIOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON. 



neath. The rivers of Kamtschatka abound greatly in salmon, and 

 eagles are in consequence particularly numerous.* 



Sixty-First Meeting, April 5, 1S84. 



The President occupied the chair. Forty members were present. 



The Secretary gave notice of tlie following amendment to be 

 proposed to the Constitution: tJiat ex-preside7its of the Society shall 

 be ex-officio members of the Council. 



Dr. Leonhard Stejneger read a paper On the Shedding of the 

 Claws in Ptarmigan, f exhibiting specimens of Lagopus albus and 

 L. ridgwayi ViS illustrating his remarks. Some of the, specimens had 

 short claws, others long ones, while in others the claws were loose 

 and ready to slip off. The long claws are assumed in summer, and 

 in the winter are supposed to be useful in aiding the birds to walk 

 on the snow — in fact, being similar in action to snow-shoes. He 

 stated that Dr. Coues had observed the same phenomenon in the 

 Lemming, Myodes. 



Prof. C.V.Riley remarked that this curious adaptation of structure 

 could doubtless be explained by the Lamarckian idea — that it had 

 probably resulted from a direct need of tliis animal. 



Mr. William H. Dall read a paper on The Fishery Exports of 

 San Francisco in 1883.]; He showed that these consisted of dried 

 shrimps to the value of ^82,891, prepared by the Chinese for ex- 

 portation to China and other countries where "Chinese congregate, 

 such as Australia and Peru. The shells are used in China as a 

 fertilizer to the value of $26,288. Abalone products were exported 

 to the value of about $26,000, of which about $8,000 is for the dried 



* 1884. Stfjnegkr, Leonhard. Fia det yderste CEsten, II, Andre fjorten 

 Dage i. Kamtschatka. <^Naturen, Christiania, VIII, Jan., 1884, pp. 5-10, figure 

 of eagle, p. 7. 



I 18S4. .Stejneger, Leonhakd. On tlie Shedding of tlie Claws in the 

 Ptarmigan and Allied Birds. <; American Naturalist, XVIII, Aug., 1S84, p]5. 

 774-776. Ibis, London, 5 ser., Ill, Jan., 18S5, pp. 50-52. , 



J 1884. Dall, William II. Notes on Fishing I'roducts exported from 

 San Francisco, Cal., during the year 1883. <^Bull. U. S. Fish Commission, TV, 

 pp. 125-8, 1884. 



