LXVI BIOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON. 



a brief account of the history of medicine among the Chinese, ac- 

 cording to their own authors, discussed their theories in regard to 

 the nature and causes of disease and the action of remedies. Their 

 ignorance of anatomy and the consequent effects upon their theory 

 and practice was shown. The materia medica of the Chinese was 

 then considered in detail, its pecuharities, as well as its resem- 

 blances to our own, present and past, as illustrated by the collections 

 of Chinese drugs now in the possession of the U. S. National Mu- 

 seum. 



A paper by Mr. Wiley Britton on the Buffalo Gnat of Ten- 

 nessee was read, in which the author stated that its habitat, in his 

 opinion, was confined to the Mississippi Valley, below the mouth 

 of the Ohio river. It generally makes its appearance about the 

 first of April, and remains from two to four weeks ; it destroys an- 

 nually considerable numbers of live-stock, particularly mules and 

 horses, which, however, could be protected by thorough greasing. 

 The bite of this gnat is poisonous, causing a swelling somewhat 

 like a bee sting. Prof. C. V. Riley stated that this gnat is a species 

 of Siinuliitin. 



Dr. Bean read a paper entitled The White Fishes of North 

 America. -'"^ The speaker said there were twelve species indigenous 

 to North America, besides the "Inconnu," which is not properly a 

 white-fish, though related to it. He introduced into the list Core- 

 gonus lavaretus, the German " Marina." He made a few general 

 remarks concerning the wide distribution, great abundance, and im- 

 portance of the white fishes as food, and stated the range of each 

 species, its maximum size and weight, and its variations through 

 age and conditions of habitat. A brief key to the species, intended 

 to facilitate their speedy identification, and based upon natural 

 characters only, was included in the paper. 



Dr. Thomas Taylor exhibited a new micrometer of his own in- 

 vention for measuring accurately and instantly to the 1-2000 inch 

 the thickness of any object. In a second communication he stated 

 that Pseudo Bacteria were produced by the heating of blood at a 

 comparatively low temperature, and proposed to make experiments 

 for the purpose of deciding whether a continuous fever of four or 



* 1884. Bean, Takleton H. The White Fishes of Norlh America. 

 <^Trans. Amer. Fish Cultural Association, 13th meeting, 1884, pp. 32—39. 



