﻿MAY 
  19, 
  1922 
  PROCEEDINGS 
  : 
  BIOI^OGICAIy 
  SOCIETY 
  253 
  

  

  pothetical 
  Paleocene 
  group. 
  Hence 
  Dr. 
  Gregory's 
  contention 
  regarding 
  the 
  

   evolutionary 
  status 
  of 
  the 
  Notharctid 
  group 
  is 
  not 
  well 
  founded. 
  This 
  

   conclusion 
  Gidley 
  has 
  substantiated 
  by 
  a 
  restudy 
  of 
  the 
  Eocene 
  Primates, 
  

   and 
  finds 
  that 
  the 
  Notharctids 
  could 
  not 
  have 
  given 
  rise 
  to 
  any 
  modern 
  le- 
  

   murs, 
  and 
  because 
  of 
  their 
  advanced 
  stage 
  of 
  development 
  cannot 
  be 
  con- 
  

   sidered 
  a 
  close 
  connecting 
  link 
  between 
  the 
  Primates 
  and 
  the 
  Insectivores 
  as 
  

   advanced 
  by 
  Gregory. 
  Mr. 
  Gidley, 
  on 
  the 
  other 
  hand, 
  concludes 
  that 
  since 
  the 
  

   subfamily 
  groups 
  of 
  the 
  Eocene, 
  which 
  were 
  represented 
  in 
  the 
  Paleocene, 
  are 
  

   found 
  to 
  be 
  almost 
  as 
  clearly 
  marked 
  in 
  their 
  special 
  lines 
  of 
  development, 
  

   the 
  origin 
  of 
  these 
  groups 
  is 
  still 
  more 
  remote 
  and 
  the 
  order 
  of 
  Primates 
  and 
  

   its 
  families 
  have 
  been 
  established 
  longer 
  than 
  has 
  generally 
  been 
  conceded. 
  

  

  Mr. 
  Gidley's 
  paper 
  was 
  discussed 
  by 
  Dr. 
  T. 
  S. 
  Palmer. 
  

  

  J. 
  M. 
  Aldrich: 
  An 
  entomologist 
  in 
  Alaska 
  (illustrated). 
  The 
  speaker 
  

   visited 
  Alaska 
  last 
  summer 
  for 
  the 
  purpose 
  of 
  making 
  a 
  collection 
  of 
  insects 
  

   of 
  the 
  interior 
  for 
  the 
  National 
  Museum. 
  He 
  went 
  by 
  steamer 
  to 
  Seward, 
  then 
  

   up 
  the 
  new 
  government 
  railroad 
  to 
  Fairbanks, 
  and 
  returned 
  the 
  same 
  way. 
  

   At 
  the 
  time 
  of 
  his 
  visit 
  there 
  was 
  an 
  unfinished 
  portion 
  of 
  the 
  railroad 
  of 
  some 
  

   SO 
  miles; 
  he 
  rode 
  a 
  horse 
  across 
  this, 
  but 
  it 
  has 
  since 
  been 
  practically 
  com- 
  

   pleted. 
  Economic 
  conditions 
  in 
  the 
  interior 
  of 
  the 
  territory 
  he 
  described 
  as 
  

   very 
  bad 
  on 
  account 
  of 
  the 
  abandonment 
  of 
  gold 
  mining 
  in 
  the 
  last 
  few 
  years. 
  

   It 
  was 
  hoped 
  that 
  the 
  completion 
  of 
  the 
  railroad 
  would 
  reduce 
  operating 
  

   costs 
  enough 
  to 
  warrant 
  a 
  resumption 
  of 
  mining, 
  upon 
  which 
  all 
  other 
  ac- 
  

   tivities 
  of 
  the 
  interior 
  depend. 
  

  

  Alaska 
  as 
  far 
  as 
  seen 
  by 
  the 
  speaker 
  is 
  almost 
  wholly 
  forested 
  but 
  the 
  tim- 
  

   ber 
  aw^ay 
  from 
  the 
  coast 
  is 
  thin 
  and 
  small. 
  The 
  rainfall 
  is 
  very 
  heavy 
  along 
  

   the 
  extreme 
  coast, 
  but 
  behind 
  the 
  first 
  ranges 
  it 
  is 
  much 
  less, 
  and 
  over 
  the 
  

   main 
  expanse 
  of 
  territory 
  it 
  is 
  about 
  ten 
  or 
  eleven 
  inches; 
  even 
  at 
  the 
  coast 
  

   north 
  of 
  the 
  Aleutian 
  peninsula 
  it 
  is 
  very 
  light. 
  Agriculture 
  however 
  has 
  been 
  

   begun 
  in 
  some 
  sections. 
  Crops 
  grow 
  best 
  in 
  the 
  interior, 
  on 
  account 
  of 
  the 
  

   hotter 
  summers 
  ; 
  the 
  region 
  of 
  Fairbanks 
  has 
  considerable 
  possibilities 
  if 
  a 
  pop- 
  

   ulation 
  were 
  there 
  to 
  consume 
  the 
  farm 
  products. 
  Lack 
  of 
  market 
  at 
  pres- 
  

   ent 
  makes 
  the 
  business 
  impracticable. 
  

  

  Entomologically 
  the 
  abundance 
  of 
  mosquitoes 
  is 
  one 
  of 
  the 
  chief 
  features. 
  

   These 
  insects 
  make 
  life 
  a 
  burden 
  during 
  their 
  season, 
  June 
  and 
  July, 
  neces- 
  

   sitating 
  various 
  adaptations 
  for 
  protection 
  on 
  the 
  part 
  of 
  the 
  human 
  species. 
  

   Horseflies 
  and 
  several 
  other 
  kinds 
  of 
  blood-sucking 
  flies 
  are 
  abundant 
  at 
  

   times 
  or 
  in 
  particular 
  regions. 
  The 
  relations 
  of 
  the 
  fauna 
  are 
  with 
  the 
  

   Canadian 
  zone 
  of 
  the 
  northern 
  part 
  of 
  the 
  United 
  States 
  and 
  the 
  higher 
  

   Rocky 
  Mountains 
  in 
  the 
  States; 
  another 
  element 
  follows 
  the 
  Pacific 
  ocean 
  

   southward 
  along 
  Puget 
  Sound 
  and 
  the 
  coast 
  of 
  Washington 
  and 
  Oregon 
  ; 
  no 
  

   doubt 
  other 
  elements 
  extend 
  to 
  Greenland 
  and 
  westward 
  across 
  Siberia, 
  

   but 
  these 
  are 
  almost 
  wholly 
  unknown. 
  

  

  Lantern 
  slides 
  were 
  shown 
  illustrating 
  the 
  vegetation, 
  islands, 
  mountains 
  

   and 
  glaciers, 
  as 
  well 
  as 
  the 
  new 
  railroad 
  to 
  the 
  interior. 
  

  

  Dr. 
  Hadwinn, 
  of 
  the 
  Biological 
  vSurvey, 
  was 
  introduced 
  by 
  Dr. 
  L. 
  O. 
  How- 
  

   ard. 
  Dr. 
  Hadwinn 
  campared 
  the 
  region 
  discussed 
  with 
  the 
  tundra 
  region 
  

   in 
  which 
  his 
  collecting 
  was 
  done. 
  

  

  63 
  1st 
  meeting 
  (42nd 
  annual 
  meeting) 
  

  

  The 
  631st 
  regular 
  meeting 
  and 
  the 
  42nd 
  annual 
  meeting 
  of 
  the 
  Biological 
  

   Society 
  of 
  Washington 
  was 
  held 
  at 
  the 
  Cosmos 
  Club, 
  December 
  10, 
  1921. 
  

  

  