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THE AMERICAN MUSEUM JOURNAL 



were used in later times in Mexico, but the 

 style of art is different. Jade is so precious, 

 however, that these objects probably out- 

 lasted all others and were passed down, so 

 that even in later times stones representing 

 earlier grades of civilization still existed. In 

 view of the Museum's extensive exploration 

 in southern Mexico in former years, this 

 acquisition of a series of the rarer art 

 objects from the same district is especially 

 valuable. 



At the annual meeting of the trustees of 

 the American Museum of Natural History, 

 held February 5 at the home of Henry C. 

 Frick, the board of officers was reelected for 

 the ensuing year — namely, President, Henry 

 Fairfield Osborn; First Vice-President, 

 Cleveland H. Dodge; Second Vice-President, 

 J, P. Morgan ; Treasurer, Henry P. Davison ; 

 Secretary, Adrian Iselin, Jr.; Trustees for 

 the class of 1921, Charles Lanier, Anson W. 

 Hard, Frederick F. Brewster, and R. Fulton 

 Cutting. The trustees adopted the largest 

 budget in the history of the institution, and 

 discussed plans for the extension of the use- 

 fulness of the Museum to industry, art, and 

 civic life in view of the deprivations in these 

 lines due to the European war. 



It has been found that the most interest- 

 ing specimens in the fish collections brought 

 back by the Congo Expedition are the cat- 

 fishes (Siluridse). Messrs. John T. Nichols 

 and Ludlow Griscom have just completed the 

 classification of representatives of this group 

 and find sixty-three species, including eight 

 species and four genera new to science. The 

 new forms will later appear described and 

 figured in the Bulletin of the American Mu- 

 seum. 



Two new acquisitions in the hall of public 

 health are models showing methods of con- 

 trol of certain insect-borne diseases in 

 Africa. The ticks which carry African tick 

 fever, or relapsing fever, are destroyed by 

 the very effective means of burning down 

 the native huts which they have infested. 

 The tsetse fly, carrier of sleeping sickness, 

 lives along the shaded banks of the rivers, 

 and one of the models shows men at work 

 clearing these areas. The models were made 

 from pictures taken by Mr. Herbert Lang in 

 the Belgian Congo. 



Among recent acquisitions the Library is 

 glad to acknowledge three works of moment 



both for subject matter and for their place 

 in the history of their peculiar branch of 

 science. The first is a two-volume folio set: 

 Buc'hoz, P. J., Premiere {-Scconde) Centurie 

 de Planches . . . representant au naturel ce 

 qui se tronve de plus interessant et de plus 

 curieux parmi les Animaux, les Fegetaux, et 

 les Mincrav.x. Paris, (1775), 1773-1781. 

 "Interessant et curieux" the volumes cer- 

 tainly are, and while any one trained in 

 present day realism might smile with a bit 

 of superiority over the "naturel," a con- 

 tinued perusal will cause him to grant the 

 naive and comprehensive claims of the title 

 page. The second acquisition, Ber Organis- 

 mus der Infusionstiere, Leipzig, 1859-1883, 

 is by Dr. Friedrich Stein, a pupil of Johan- 

 nes Miiller, founder of the modern school of 

 biology in Germany. This monograph has 

 long been needed by the Museum library. 

 The third acquisition, The Birds of Cali- 

 fornia, by William Leon Dawson, comes 

 through the courtesy of Professor Henry 

 Fairfield Osborn. The prospectus of this 

 work promises that it will be a comprehen- 

 sive bird book of great working value. 



A MOXOGRAPH on the RhjTichophora, or 

 weevils, of northeastern America by Messrs. 

 Charles W. Leng and W. S. Blatchley, has 

 recently been published. Not only has a 

 comprehensive treatment of these important 

 insects been needed for some time, but this 

 work is more than ordinarily useful because 

 the authors have succeeded, by means of 

 keys based on easily observed characters, in 

 making it available to those not already well 

 acquainted with the group. 



The entomological department of the Mu- 

 seum receives every year a large number of 

 letters from insect collectors inspired by the 

 erroneous idea that the collection and sale 

 of butterflies and moths is a very profitable 

 undertaking. This idea generally owes its 

 origin to the publication of fictitious stories 

 in periodicals or newspapers about persons 

 who have made money in this way, and the 

 writers ask for pamphlets or information on 

 the "business of butterflies" and the "but- 

 terfly markets." In order adequately to deal 

 with this considerable correspondence a cir- 

 cular has been prepared by the department 

 to be sent to inquirers. 



There has been published by the Museum 

 a four-page leaflet by Dr. Frank E, Lutz 



