﻿ACADEMY 
  OF 
  SCIENCES. 
  283 
  

  

  Mr. 
  Stearns 
  read 
  the 
  following 
  paper 
  : 
  

  

  Remarks 
  Suggested 
  by 
  Dr. 
  J. 
  E. 
  Gray's 
  Paper 
  on 
  the 
  " 
  Stick 
  

   Fish," 
  in 
  "Nature," 
  Nov. 
  6th, 
  1873. 
  

  

  BY 
  ROBERT 
  E. 
  C. 
  STEARNS. 
  

  

  At 
  a 
  meeting 
  of 
  this 
  Academy 
  on 
  the 
  3d 
  of 
  February, 
  1873, 
  certain 
  switch- 
  

   like 
  rods, 
  being 
  the 
  axes 
  of 
  some 
  polyp-form, 
  as 
  well 
  as 
  the 
  general 
  characters 
  

   of 
  Alcyonoid 
  Polyps, 
  were 
  considered 
  and 
  discussed, 
  for 
  the 
  purpose 
  of 
  tracing 
  

   by 
  analogy 
  and 
  determining 
  the 
  relations 
  and 
  position 
  of 
  the 
  specimens 
  under 
  

   consideration 
  at 
  that 
  time 
  ; 
  and 
  it 
  may 
  be 
  remembered 
  that 
  a 
  paper 
  was 
  read, 
  

   in 
  which 
  was 
  given 
  at 
  considerable 
  length 
  a 
  resume 
  of 
  what 
  had 
  appeai'ed 
  in 
  

   the 
  columns 
  of 
  Nature, 
  in 
  the 
  way 
  of 
  notes 
  and 
  comments 
  by 
  several 
  learned 
  

   gentlemen. 
  

  

  These 
  rods, 
  switches, 
  or 
  wands, 
  as 
  the 
  specimens 
  had 
  been 
  variously 
  called, 
  

   were 
  first 
  brought 
  to 
  the 
  notice 
  of 
  the 
  Academy 
  on 
  the 
  5th 
  of 
  June, 
  1871, 
  

   when 
  specimens 
  were 
  presented 
  to 
  the 
  Museum, 
  and, 
  so 
  far 
  as 
  an 
  opinion 
  was 
  

   expressed 
  at 
  that 
  time 
  in 
  a 
  general 
  way, 
  the 
  specimens 
  were 
  placed 
  near 
  the 
  

   group 
  to 
  which 
  it 
  has 
  been 
  subsequently 
  proved 
  that 
  they 
  belong. 
  

  

  On 
  the 
  4th 
  of 
  August, 
  1873, 
  Dr. 
  James 
  Blake 
  submitted 
  an 
  entire 
  specimen 
  

   of 
  the 
  polyps, 
  of 
  which 
  the 
  rods, 
  etc., 
  are 
  the 
  central 
  stalks 
  or 
  axes 
  : 
  that 
  is, 
  one 
  

   of 
  these 
  rods 
  or 
  switches 
  was 
  presented 
  by 
  him, 
  with 
  the 
  investing 
  soft 
  or 
  fleshy 
  

   covering, 
  which 
  proved 
  it 
  to 
  be 
  either 
  a 
  Pavonaria, 
  or 
  closely 
  related 
  to 
  that 
  

   genus. 
  Accordingly, 
  I 
  published 
  a 
  description 
  placing 
  it 
  in 
  the 
  genus 
  Pavo- 
  

   yiaria, 
  and 
  gave 
  it 
  the 
  specific 
  name 
  of 
  " 
  Blakei," 
  {Pavonaria 
  Blakei) 
  and 
  the 
  

   same 
  was 
  printed 
  in 
  the 
  Mining 
  and 
  Scientific 
  Press 
  of 
  this 
  city, 
  August 
  9th, 
  

   1873. 
  

  

  Before 
  the 
  succeeding 
  regular 
  meeting 
  of 
  the 
  Academy, 
  which 
  took 
  place 
  

   August 
  18th, 
  1873, 
  through 
  access 
  to 
  more 
  recent 
  literature 
  bearing 
  on 
  the 
  

   subject, 
  I 
  perceived 
  at 
  once 
  that 
  not 
  only 
  was 
  the 
  species 
  new, 
  but 
  that 
  its 
  sep- 
  

   aration 
  generically 
  was 
  warranted, 
  and 
  the 
  sub-genus 
  VerrilUa 
  was 
  made 
  by 
  me 
  

   to 
  receive 
  it 
  ; 
  and 
  a 
  description 
  of 
  the 
  genus 
  and 
  species 
  was 
  read 
  at 
  that 
  meet- 
  

   ing, 
  and 
  printed 
  copies 
  of 
  my 
  paper 
  (dated 
  August 
  20th) 
  were 
  sent 
  to 
  various 
  

   authors, 
  societies, 
  and 
  scientific 
  journals, 
  in 
  advance 
  of 
  the 
  regular 
  publication 
  

   of 
  the 
  Academy's 
  Proceedings. 
  

  

  Among 
  the 
  many 
  scientific 
  gentlemen 
  who 
  had 
  discussed 
  the 
  character 
  and 
  

   relations 
  of 
  the 
  so-called 
  switches, 
  Dr. 
  P. 
  L. 
  Sclater, 
  of 
  the 
  Zoological 
  Society, 
  

   kindly 
  gave 
  publicity 
  to 
  Verrillia 
  Blakei, 
  in 
  Nature, 
  for 
  October 
  9th, 
  1873. 
  

  

  In 
  the 
  same 
  journal, 
  of 
  date 
  Nov. 
  6th, 
  1873, 
  Dr. 
  J. 
  E 
  Gray, 
  of 
  the 
  British 
  

   Museum, 
  publishes 
  a 
  communication 
  " 
  On 
  the 
  stick-fish, 
  [Osteocella 
  septentrion- 
  

   alis) 
  and 
  on 
  the 
  habits 
  of 
  sea-pens," 
  in 
  which 
  he 
  refers 
  to 
  a 
  specimen 
  presented 
  

   to 
  the 
  Museum 
  by 
  Mr. 
  Coote 
  M. 
  Chambers, 
  and 
  of 
  which 
  he 
  says 
  : 
  " 
  Unfortu- 
  

   nately 
  the 
  specimen 
  did 
  not 
  arrive 
  in 
  a 
  good 
  state 
  for 
  exhibition. 
  The 
  greater 
  

   part 
  of 
  the 
  animal 
  portion 
  had 
  been 
  washed 
  off, 
  probably 
  by 
  the 
  motion 
  of 
  the 
  

  

  