420 



seen in this country, had been found on Long Island, apparently 

 breeding — also that the European Saxicola is found breeding 

 in Labrador ; this had been called S. cenanthoides by Mr. Cassin, 

 who considered it a different bird from S. cenanthe, Linn. 



Two small bones exhibited to the Society were pronounced by 

 Prof. Agassiz to belong to the anterior portion of the anal fin of 

 some GhcBtodon, pi-obably of the genus Platax. 



Dr. Green tendered the resignation of his office of 

 Curator of Comparative Anatomy, which was accepted, 

 and Messrs. Whittemore, Lyman, and Kneeland were 

 appointed a committee to nominate a candidate to suc- 

 ceed him. 



Messrs. Francis H. Brown, and Jacob Burckhardt, of 

 Cambridge, were chosen Resident Members. 



December 1, 1858. 



Dr. C. T. Jackson, Vice-President, in the Chair. 



Dr. C. F. Winslow read a paper on " Comets and the 

 curvature of their tails," in which he discarded the ma- 

 terial theories heretofore entertained respecting the con- 

 stitution of the tails of these bodies, and set forth a 

 theory of luminous waves generated by the nucleus, 

 which are arrested, decomposed, and swept back into 

 space by the rays of light projected from the sun. 



Prof. Parsons read a memorial to be presented at the 

 next session of the Legislature by the Boston Society of 

 Natural History, the Massachusetts Historical Society, 

 the Massachusetts Society for promoting Agriculture, 

 and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, re- 

 questing the republication of Dr. T. W. Harris's work on 

 the " Insects injurious to Vegetation," with illustrations. 



