Vol. XXV. No. 2.] 
POPULAE SCIEl!^CE NEWS. 
23 
me what this is? I found under cucumber-vines 
an eartli-colored bud, perliaps one-quarter of an 
inch long, about one-eiglith of an incli in diameter 
at tlie top, and tapering downward. A portion of 
the top comes off like portulacca, sliowing four 
blacliisii seeds. I have learned to distinguish sev- 
eral edible mushrooms by means of pictures and 
descriptions ; but if anyone wishes to learn, let 
him cool£ the mushrooms as he would a steak, and 
offer them to a cat. She will eat the " good "' ones 
as If they were meat. — Mary A. Avery, Sec. 
[We shall be surprised if a student so earnest as 
to continue her work with unabated interest, even 
when all the rest of the Chapter has departed, does 
not before long succeed in interesting enough 
others of like mind to reorganize a strong society. 
This plan of getting the cat to test the edibility of 
mushrooms, reminds us of Swiss Family Robin- 
son, whose wise father used to test all strange 
fruits by presenting them first to the pet monkey. 
iJoes it not show that mushrooms may be dis- 
uished by their odor? — Ed.] 
'41, North Plainfield, X. .J., [A].— Our Chapter 
BOW consists of eleven members. Our most inter- 
esting and extensive work has been with the differ- 
ent kinds of woods, and in mineralogy. In the 
former we became familiar with the structure and 
uses of the different varieties, and made a collec- 
tion of twenty-five specimens. Our work in min- 
eralogy has been the determination of specimens 
with the aid of Professor Crosby's table. A new 
interest in the world about us has certainly been 
excited. — Margaret Purdue, I'res. ; Miss C. B. 
Claypoole, Sec. 
[Yes, the "new interest"' always follows good 
work. Now, cannot your Chapter make a com- 
plete list of the woods and minerals of Plainfield, 
with descriptive notes of the most interesting dis- 
coveries? — Eu.] 
769, Chester, S. C, [A].— We have finished put- 
ting away a lot of algae received in exchange, and 
have a number of lichens ready to mount. We 
are also adding to our collection of minerals. I 
lately found a vermiculite here. It is a more 
"golden" mica than I remember to have seen 
before. — II. A. Green. 
811, Nyack, N. Y., [A].— ITie society numbers 
twenty-one active members. Eighteen meetings 
have been lield during the year. At the first 
meeting of the year we decided that at the first 
meeting of every month all members should bring 
specimens, and, if possible, give some informa- 
tion concerning them. For the second meeting a 
"specialist" should be appointed, who should 
prepare liimself on some subject of his own selec- 
tion, which should be announced in time to give 
the members opportunity to study the subject, 
that they might be prepared to discuss it. This 
plan worked weU and gave some very interesting 
meetings. On "specimen nights" there was, of 
course, a variety. Our "specialists" gave in- 
structive talks on granite, meteorites, mosses, 
glass, orchids, pearl oysters, mosaics, limestone, 
Indians, Louis Agassiz, the Azores, and the Na- 
tional Museum at Washington. The new year has 
commenced well, with additions to our member- 
ship.— E. Partridge, Sec. 
Agassiz established his famous school. ITie 
school buildings are still standing, and we have 
spent much time wandering over them. Among 
the many mottoes and proverbs hung about the 
rooms, this one in particular attracted our atten- 
tion : " Study Nature, not Books." — Fred Slocum, 
Sec. 
834, Peru, Ind., [B]. — We have gained one mem- 
ber, and have held sixteen meetings. At our last 
meeting J. F. Wittel exhibited some balls of cotton 
which he had grown from seed. We are prin- 
cipally interested in plants. My own observations 
during the summer have already been sent you in 
competition for the microscope offered by the 
editor of Popular Science News. Since then I 
have seen some interesting fungi, which were 
luminous at night. The first specimen was ob- 
served growing on the tie of a railroad, culvert, 
September 11. The second was found October 5, 
growing on a decaying beech stump in the woods. 
In both cases the weather was rainy, and the 
moisture seemed to be an aid if not a condition of 
their luminosity. — J. E. Walter, Sec. 
849, Boston, Mass., [H].—C1iapter 849 still lives, 
and its members are as much interested as ever in 
all that pertains to nature and the A. A., and have 
made considerable progress in botany, mineralogy, 
and geology. We have ten members. One of our 
most faithful workers. Miss M. Ella Pitcher, died 
during the year, and her loss is deeply felt by us 
all. Personally, I have been making an herbarium 
and studying botany. With good wishes to the 
A. A., Abbie F. Brown, Sec. 
821, New Bedford, Mass.— We have devoted our- 
selves especially to the study of sea-weeds and 
marine plants, and have excellent opportunities 
for this work at our home on Cuttyhunk Island, 
which is very near Penikese, where Professor 
851, Weybridge, England. — This is a "family 
Chapter." The ages of our children are nine, eight, 
and six. We find formal meetings too dry for so 
restless little mortals. Our "rendy-vous" is the 
3tun4> of a tree in the woods, alternating with a 
foot-stile in the meadow path. This year we have 
learned to recognize the notes of the robin, thrush, 
chaflinch, jay, and hawk. During the summer we 
collected all the different kinds of grasses that 
grew wild in the neighborhood, and have now 
forty-three varieties. This autumn we are collect- 
ing the various nuts and berries. Our "bunga- 
low" is in a small avenue of chestnuts, and on 
windy nights we are awakened by the rattling of 
the chestnuts on the roof as the pods burst and 
drop them. We are much interested in the many 
kinds of ftr-cones growing here. You may be 
interested to know that we live within two min- 
utes' walk of the Surrey home of Mr. Hancock, 
the great naturalist, who has recently died. We 
have spent hours in his garden — a collection of 
trees acclimatized from all parts of the world. 
Most of his valuable collections are in the New- 
castle Museum; but the birds in his house here 
are lovely, one case alone being valued at £100. — 
E. M. McDowell, Pres. 
852, W^illis, Montana. — The work of a "family 
Chapter" like ours is less regular, but not less 
interesting, than that of an organized society. 
All children are students of nature, if allowed to 
be so, and directed a very little; and we, the 
President and Secretary of Chapter 852, find our- 
selves pleasantly reviewing much while listening 
to the discoveries of the children, who have found 
a new flower, a curious insect, an interesting min- 
eral, or, possibly, a "lead." Think of that! You 
know mining is "in the air" of Montana. Our 
collections and our interest gi-ow apace. Wherever 
we may go. Chapter 852 of the A. A. will go with 
us, and livfi and flourish.— F. A. Reynolds, Sec. 
[ These little " family Chapters " are among the 
very best branches of the .\gassiz Association. 
What better means can any father and mother 
adopt of keeping their children with them in per- 
son and in spirit, than to unite thus with them in 
the daily study and observation of nature? — Eu.] 
880, Grand Rapids, Mich.— We spent our sum- 
mer on Mackinac Island, where many interesting 
observations were made and many valuable speci- 
mens taken. Here 139 species of birds, seven 
mammals, and eight reptiles were recorded. Bird 
migration began August 6, but it was not until the 
9th that birds became common. Wilson's black- 
capped warblers first appeared August 24. On 
the 25th they were abundant, and, in reduced 
numbers, were seen until September 6. Two 
Connecticut warblers and an olive-sided flycatcher 
were taken. Nine Cape May warblers were also 
captured. In the early morning of September 6 
the warblers appeared in immense numbers, thou- 
sands of them feeding along the edge of the bluff, 
and covering the bushes in one continuous flock. 
All the birds were moving restlessly, and every 
now and then three or four would rise up nervously, 
circling high over head, uttering loud calls, and 
settling reluctantly down again. After breakfast, 
much to our surprise, all excepting a few strag- 
glers were gone. Fifty diflerent species were 
observed. That afternoon gulls and terns were 
abundant, and we succeeded in taking one. — 
Gilbert White, Sec. 
[We commend this excellent report to the atten- 
tion of all our Chapters, as an illustration of the 
interest that attaclies to a simple relation of de- 
tails, as opposed to mere general statements. — Ed.] 
882, Bedford, N. Y., [A] .-Sickness and death 
among the families of members prevented our 
meetings during the winter of 1889-90, but we 
began to hold them again with renewed courage 
on April 7. Our meetings have been very inter- 
esting. We have been able by economy to keep a 
small balance in our treasury. Living specimens 
from stagnant water have been shown, one of 
them being identified as the larva of a gnat. Some 
unfamiliar spider cocoons were kindly identified 
for us by Mr. H. F. Bassett, of Waterbury, Conn. 
Specimens of native ferns, pressed plants, a few 
moths, some pretty galls, — Bodites bicolor, — and 
minerals have been added to our collection. A 
number of specimens of woods have been kindly 
prepared and presented to us by Dr. W. M. Rams- 
dell, of Brooklyn, N. Y. Papers have been read 
on "The Culture of Bacteria," "Spiders," "Hy- 
giene," " Water Crowfoot," " Music Among Ani- 
mals," "Northern Flora," and "Fruits." Three 
new members have been added. On the whole, 
we feel hopeful for the future of our society, and 
feel that we have been benefitted by the efforts 
we have made to obtain a closer insight into the 
wonders and mysteries of nature. — Eloise E. 
Luquer, Sec. 
883, North Weare, N. H., ( " Chestnut Hill " ) .— 
This "family Chapter" was formed on New 
Year's Day, 1890, with four members. Most of 
us are specially interested in botany, having for- 
merly belonged to a botanical society. We are 
preparing an herbarium. Among our flowers are 
two somewhat rare in New England — the Bhodo- 
dendrum maximum and the Cypripedium spectabile. 
One member, who is specially interested in spiders, 
noticed one species at work in this way : Having 
the radiating guy-ropes fixed, they began at the 
center to make a light staging, the lines being 
nearly an inch apart. Then they began at the 
