32 



theory of the cause of moustrosities, and Mr. A. Hyatt gave an 

 account of the development of certain species of Polyzoa, illustrating 

 the same with drawings, showing the principle of propagation by 

 budding among the lower animals. 



Mr. Putnam also read extracts from a communication received from 

 Mr. Dexter, of West Barnstable, Mass., giving an account of the fish 

 farm where the monstrosities mentioned were raised. At Mr. Dexter's 

 place they had been very successful in raising trout and salmon. This 

 paper contains a very full description of a flsh farm with its breeding 

 house and ponds for the fishes of diflferent ages, and will be printed in 

 full in the May or June number of the Naturalist. 



Regular semi-monthly meeting, Feb. 15th. President in the chair. 

 The Records were read. Recent Correspondence and Donations were 

 announced. 



Edward S. Morse presented a paper from Mr. Harper Pease of 

 Honolulu, Sandwich Islands, entitled "Vertigo inhabiting Polynesia, 

 with descriptions of new species." He enumerates six species as 

 having been described from this region, and describes seven new 

 species. He adds in a letter, that he has "discovered that they are 

 distributed all over Polynesia, even on the Atolls, not elevated over 

 five or six feet above the sea." 



Mr. Morse then discussed the generic characters of this group, and 

 described some of the characteristics of our native species of vertigo. 



The President mentioned that the local committee of the American 

 Association for the Advancement of Science — the meeting to be held 

 in Salem, commencing on Wednesday, Aug. 18, ISG'J — had been 

 organized, and gave an interesting sketch of the Institution, with a 

 few reminiscences of some of those who were the active participants 

 of the earlier meetings. 



A number of geologists, who had been employed in the State Sur- 

 veys, had felt the necessity of stated meetings for the interchange ot 

 opinions and observations, and conceived that great benefit would 

 result therefrom in the px-osecution of their investigations. In re- 

 sponse to a circular issued by the members of the New York Survey, 

 eighteen gentlemen met on the 2d of April, 1840, at the Rooms of the 

 Franklin Institute, in Philadelphia, organized an association under the 

 name of "The Association of American Geologists," and continued in 

 session two days. At the third meeting in Boston, commencing on 

 Monday, April 5, 1842, a Constitution and By-laws were adopted, and 

 the objects of the association enlarged so as to embrace the collat- 

 eral branches of the Natural Sciences, and the name was changed to 

 "The Association of American Geologists and Naturalists." 



At the meeting in September, 1847, another important step was 

 taken, and the sphere of operations enlai'ged so as to embrace, hence- 



