2 24 Notes and News- [April 



noti by the legislative committee — viz , that but ten collector's commis- 

 sions shall be in force at any one time. 



The collection of birds in the Museum of Comparative Zoology at 

 Cambridge numbers 33,000 specimens, about^ooo of which are mounted 

 and on exhibition, and represent not far from 3000 species. In conse- 

 quence of financial embarrassments which the Museum has recently ex- 

 perienced, the increase of the collection is likely to be for the present 

 seriously checked ; but it is to be hoped that this unfortunate state of 

 affairs maybe of short duration. The museum contains much valuable 

 ornithological material, including several thousand birds in spirits, and 

 a very good suite of skeletons, both mounted and unmounted, besides a 

 very fair oological collection, which includes that of the late Dr. T. M. 

 Brewer. 



Mr. J. A. Allen, who for twenty years has had charge of Mammals and 

 Birds at the Museum of Comparative Zoology at Cambridge, and where 

 for fifteen years he has held the position of 'Assistant in Ornithology,' 

 has accepted the curatorship of Mammalogy and Ornithology in the 

 American Museum of Natural History, Central Park, New York City. 

 He will enter upon the duties of his new position about May 1, after 

 which date his address will be as here indicated. Dr. C. Hart Merriam 

 sailed for Europe January 1, for the purpose of spending several months 

 in scientific study at Brunswick, Germany. His return is expected within 

 a few weeks. 



We learn with deep regret of the untimely death, by accidental drown- 

 ing in the river Don, of the well-known Russian naturalist and traveller, 

 Dr. N. Severtzow, a Corresponding Member of the A. O. U. Dr. Severt- 

 zow became first known to the scientific world through the publication of 

 the results of his explorations in Central Asia in 1857. He promptly 

 espoused the Darwinian doctrine of evolution, and is especially known for 

 his valuable publications on the geographical distribution of the animals 

 of Turkestan. 



At the January meeting of the Ridgway Ornithological Club, papers 

 were read on ' The Hummingbirds of California,' by B. T. Gault, and 

 ' Notes on Some Australian Birds,' by Robert Ridgway, and at the Febru- 

 ary meeting a paper on 'The Vireos of Michigan,' by Dr. Morris Gibbs. ' 



Juvenile and amateur publications in Natural History appear in differ- 

 ent parts of the country with bewildering frequency, not less than twelve 

 or fifteen such publications having started within the last twelvemonth. 

 Most of them aim to cover a wide field, and treat of ornithology only 

 incidentally, but several are exclusively ornithological. One of the latest 

 to claim attention is 'The Young Ornithologist,' published and edited in 

 Boston bv A. A. Child, an eight-page monthly sheet, of which Vol. I, No. 

 1, bears date February, 18S5. 



