1896. NOTES AND COMMENTS. 155 



followed to see whether the retardation is temporary or permanent. 

 Similarly he finds femininism may be transient or lasting. Dr. Ammon 

 had previously stated that the Greeks imitated nature, and thus the 

 origin of the classic hermaphrodite can be explained in a simple 

 manner, and without obscenity on the part of the artists. Infantile 

 individuals, from nineteen to twenty-two years of age, should not be 

 regarded as anomalies ; most are retarded cases who will develop in 

 course of time. This temporary kind of infantilism is chiefly found in 

 individuals of short stature and smooth body. Permanent infantihsm is 

 rare, but occurs among men of all heights. Femininism, as manifested 

 by the development of the breasts, is not rare among boys, but 

 usually it is only temporary, and eventually disappears completely. 

 When the growth does not soon stop, it develops to a pronounced 

 extent, and breasts comparable to those of young girls of fifteen are 

 developed ; in this case it remains permanent, but does not influence 

 the other organs, which develop normally. 



North American Mammals. 



One of the most interesting and important of a number of 

 recently published papers on the North American mammals is from 

 the pen of Dr. Hart Merriam, and deals with the bears {Pyoc. Biol. 

 Soc, Washington, vol. x., p. 65). The author states that after an 

 examination of a very large series of skulls, he is convinced that the 

 generally accepted classification is quite inadequate. Four new" 

 species are described, three of which are bears of huge size, inhabiting 

 various parts of Alaska and the adjacent islands, while the fourth 

 is the black bear of Florida, In the classification proposed, five 

 distinct types are distinguished ; of these subdivisions the first in- 

 cludes only the polar bear, which is regarded as a distinct genus, 

 Thalaretos, the second comprises the black bears, forming a sub- 

 genus Etiarctos, while the remaining three, including the grizzlies and 

 three of the new species, are placed under Ursus. The new forms are 

 described in some detail, and the paper is iUustrated by a number of 

 rather unsatisfactory reproductions of photographs of skulls. A com- 

 plete treatise, of which this paper is only a preliminary summary, is 

 promised. 



Another paper by the same writer, published by the United 

 States Department of Agriculture, consists of a synopsis of the North 

 American weasels. No less than twenty-two species, of which half 

 are new, are recognised ; whether such a multiplication of specific 

 names is necessary or desirable seems somewhat questionable. Two 

 chief types are distinguished, the first including the boreal species, 

 which do not range south of the northern states, the second, the 

 southern forms, only one of which extends up to the lowest boreal 

 zone. Between these main divisions occur two intermediate forms, 

 which are particularly interesting from the fact that in both of them 



