93 [Winslow. 



Tongue of S. varim. Free portion twenty millimetres in length, of 

 which thirteen are occupied by the horny tip ; general shape of soft por- 

 tion a flattened oval with the ends truncated ; there are no appearances 

 of rugae on its surface ; its greatest breadth is four millimetres, and 

 thickness one and a half, the horny portion is triangular, less acutely so 

 than in P. villosus, two and a quarter in breadth and one in thickness 

 at the base, its upper surface slightly concave and the under surface 

 convex. The posterior half of sides smooth, the anterior half with 

 numerous soft horny fragments, those nearest the base projecting 

 backward. Cornua of hyoid bone extending also half way from the 

 occiput to the vertex, and not converging at the tips. The general 

 shape of the whole tongue is not much unlike that of the robin, the ciHated 

 edges show an analogy to the Meliphagidae and indicates that the sap 

 of the trees pecked by them may form a portion of their food. In the 

 stomachs of the six individuals examined by me fragments of the inner 

 bark were found in all, so that it can hardly be presumed to have been 

 accidentally introduced. It is e\'ident from the shape of the tongue 

 that it is not used as a dart, in the manner of the true woodpecker, to 

 draw out insects from their lurking places, but that these are seized by 

 the bill as in other insectivorous birds. Insects, however, probably form 

 their chief diet, as all the stomachs examined also contained insects, the 

 quantity of which was greater than that of the fragments of bark; in 

 one bird there were two larvae of a boring beetle so large that there 

 was not room for both in the stomach at once and one remained in 

 the lower part of the oesophagus. If these were, as is probable, 

 the larvae of the Saperda, they would do more damage than twenty 

 woodpeckers, and I sincerely hope that the birds are not to be 

 exterminated unless it is clearly demonstrated that the injury 

 caused by the destruction of the bark is not more than compensated 

 by their destruction of noxious insects. 



Dr. C. F. Winslow read an elaborate paper on the general 

 causes which have produced the present irregularities of the 

 earth's surface ; he believed these irregularities to be due to 

 sudden depressions and revulsions of the crust, by which the 

 earth becomes reduced in size, the result of a repulsive cos- 

 mical force. 



Rev. E. B. Eddy presented two specimens of Anastase, a 

 mineral never before discovered in this country. It occurs 

 at the Dexter Lime Rock, Smithfield, R. I., and is always 

 associated with crystallized quartz, Nacrite, Acicular Natro- 

 lite and Pearl Spar. The rock is Dolomite. The needles of 

 NatroHte penetrate the quartz crystals in every dii-ection, 



