THE MUSEUM. 



57 



watered until they become one solid 

 smooth mass. This artificial slide is 

 terminated by a long, narrow plain of 

 ice, just broad enough to allow of 

 three sledges passing each other, and 

 of sufficient length to enable a sleigh to 

 run by its own impetus to the foot of 

 the next hill. The hills and runs are 

 usually bordered by fir trees, which are 

 thickly hung with colored lights at 

 night. On the day of the party the 

 guests are conveyed to their host's 

 house in special sleighs, and there sup- 

 plied with rugs, furs and warm drinks, 

 the better to fortify them against the 

 intense cold. They then proceed to 

 the ice-hills and seat themselves by 

 twos in the long, narrow iron sleds, 

 which are rendered exceedingly com- 

 fortable by reason of the quantity of 

 cushions spread over them. Arrived 

 at the end of the descent, a sort of 

 "Musical Chairs" takes place, each 

 gentleman choosing a differeht partner 

 for the return run, and keen is the 

 competition among the men, each of 

 them striving to secure the belle of the 

 party as iiis companion. A good din- 

 ner is always provided by the host, and 

 the post-prandial sport by artificial 

 light is often the most enjoyable, and 

 certainly the most picturesque portion 

 of the whole entertainment. — CasselVs 

 Magazine for January. 



Death of Elliott Coues: 



Elliott Coues, the naturalist, died at 

 Baltimore on December 25, and in his 

 demise American science has lost an- 

 other of her greatest men. He was 

 born in Portsmouth, N. H. , in 1842. 

 His father Samuel Elliott Coues was 

 the author of several scientific treatises 

 of great value, so that Elliott Coues, 

 the younger came naturally to study 

 science. He graduated from the Col- 

 umbian University in 1861, and from 

 its medical department in 1863, and 

 entered the United States army as 

 medical cadet and was appointed by 

 Surgeon-General Hammond as assist- 

 ant surgeon in the United States army, 



retaining that office until his resigna- 

 tion in 1 88 1. His first post of duty 

 was in Arizona and then in Colorado 

 and Illinois. In both stations he in- 

 vestigated the natural history of the 

 region and published several important 

 papers. In 1873, he was appointed 

 surgeon and naturalist of the United 

 States Northern Boundary Commis- 

 sion, which surveyed the line along the 

 49th parallel from the Lake of the 

 Woods to the Rocky Mountains. After 

 his return to Washington he published, 

 in 1872, his "Key to North American 

 Birds," and in 1874, "Field Ornithol- 

 ogy." His reputation as a naturalist 

 now became thoroughly established 

 and he was appointed as secretary and 

 naturalist of the United States Geolog- 

 ical Survey under the late Dr. F. V. 

 Hayden. He edited the publications 

 of the Survey from 1876- 1880, mean- 

 while conducting explorations in the 

 west. He published "Birds of the 

 North-west" in 1874, "Fur-Bearing 

 Animals" in 1877, and "Birds of Colo- 

 rado Valley," 1878. He was ordered 

 by the war department to the frontier, 

 but his services to science was so im- 

 portant that he tendered his resignation 

 and continued his scientific career. He 

 was a member of most of the scientific 

 societies of the United States and many 

 of Europe. He was elected to the 

 chair of anatomy at the National Med- 

 ical College, in Washington, and pur- 

 sued some of his favorite studies for 

 ten years, teaching human anatomy 

 upon the broad basis of morphology 

 and upon the principle of evolution. — 

 Scientific American. 



Colours of Cowries. 



To Knowledge for December, Mr. 

 R. Lydekker contributes an article 

 upon the colours of cowries, illustrated 

 by a full-page photographic plate. The 

 interesting way in which the shells un- 

 der consideration change during their 

 growth from a thin-lipped form with a 

 spire, as well shown by a series of skia- 

 graphs in Science Gossip for June of 



