Vol. XXV. No. 6.] 
POPULAR SCIENCE NEWS. 
85 
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burg, the fifth from Athol, and the rest from Lu- 
nenburg : 
Thalictrum purpurascens. 
Proserpiuaea palustris. 
Ludwigia palustris. 
Sanicula Marylandica. 
I^iatrix scariosa. 
Alisma plantago, var. Americana. 
Cypripedium pubescens. 
8. Xyris flexuosa. 
9. Dulicliium spathaceum. 
10. Scirpus validus. 
11. Gymnosticlmm hystrix. 
12. Selaginella rupestris. 
Mr. George S. Stone, of Worcester, who is col- 
[lecting material for the "Flora of AVorcester 
County," has visited us, and we sent him a list 
"of the plants known to this locality. The red 
V birch (Betula nigra), which so many have doubted 
in our list, was acknowledged by Mr. Stoue when 
he saw it. Dr. Asa Gray, to whom a specimen 
was sent, also admitted it. 
Ornithology. — Our ornithologists have made a 
very good record, from which a few selections are 
made : 
1. Three nests of the blue-headed vireo {Vireo 
solitarius) were recorded. 
2. A nest of the oven bird (Siurua auricapil- 
Ztts), for which we have searched so long, was 
; found. 
3. Titlarks (Anthus Pennsylvanicua) , not at all 
common in tliis section, were recorded. 
4. The record of tlie nest and eggs of a black 
and white weeper (Mniotilta varia) is the first for 
a number of years. 
5. A specimen of the black-throated bunting 
(^Spiza Americana) made its first recorded appear- 
ance in Worcester County. 
6. Two specimens of the Hudsonian titmouse 
(Parus Hudsonicus) were taken at North Ashburn- 
ham, and are the first ever found in Worcester 
County. 
The last tiiree facts are vouched for by Mr. 
Reed of the Worcester Natural History Society. 
Geology. — In our geological work we are inex- 
perienced and need a leader. We have prepared a 
map of Fitchburg, and one of each of the six 
adjoining towns, and have placed thereon the 
roads and streets, preparatory to locating the 
ledges. Boulders have claimed our attention 
thus far, of which we will mention three. On 
Wanoosnoc Hills is a rocking t>oulder with a base 
of about eight by ten feet, and five feet thick; 
(estimated weight, twelve tons. On the north- 
westerly side of Wachusett we found a granite 
boulder with a pentagon for a base, whose sides 
average eight feet and altitude is eleven feet, rest- 
ing on another granite boulder nearly cubical, 
whose sides are seven feet. This was very inter- 
esting, as we had never found anything like it 
before. A third boulder, in Ashby, resembles an 
inverted frustrum of a pyramid. It rests on a 
square base of about five feet, is fifteen feet high, 
and the upper base has sides of twelve feet in 
lengtli. Two dlflferent parties, acting indepen- 
dently, report that it is their opinion that the 
boulder on Rollston Hill came from the western 
part of Merrimack County, N. H., since they 
found in Bradford, Newbury, and Warner ledges 
of the same composition, during their summer 
vacations, the oblong crystals of feldspar making 
identification easy and accurate. The geology of 
this locality is hard, and we amateurs must of 
necessity work slowly; and we sincerely hope 
that tlie facts we collect may be useful to those 
who, having made geology a study, are able to 
read the pages of Nature's book intelligently and 
rapidly. — E. Adams Hartwell, Cor. SeC. 
71, Plaiuville, Conn., [A]. — Chapter No. 71 still 
lives and is prospering. We have added fourteen 
new names to our list of members dm-ing the 
year, and we now number tliirty-eight. Have 
held fifteen meetings, all of which have been very 
interesting and quite well attended. An excur- 
sion was made November 1 to Middletown for 
minerals. Our preference for the mineral king- 
dom arises, possibly, from the fact that our Pres- 
ident is a mineralogist, and is very instructive and 
entertaining in and out of our meetings. He has 
a large cabinet, and invarial)ly brings into our 
meetings some specimens about which he can 
always give a deal of information. We have a 
cabinet consisting mostly of minerals, but during 
the year have received eighty-one specimens of 
wood. Difl'erent varieties of plants have been 
brought in. This is our first year, and we have 
enjoyed it immensely. — Sec. Chapter 71. 
81, Brooklyn, N. Y., [B]. — During tlie past year 
we have held ten business meetings, and have met 
once a week for study. In tlie beginning of tlie 
year, realizing the great need of a microscope, we 
decided to have an entertainment, which was 
given on the 6th of March. The proceeds of this 
entertainment enabled us to procure a very good 
microscope and some books, which aided greatly 
in the study of Coleoptera. We are now devoting 
ourselves to the study of ants, in connection with 
wiiich we are reading Lubbock's book on ants, 
bees, and wasps, and are looking forward with 
pleasure to a lecture on this subject to be given 
by Prof. John Mickleborough. — Grace L. New- 
comb, Sec, 133 Herkimer street. 
83, Canaan, Conn., [A]. — In the issue of Febru- 
ary 19, 1890, of our local paper an article appeared 
in which it was the intention of the writer to 
draw out some expression of opinion from the 
people of this village on the subject of organizing 
a scientific society. It had the desired eft'ect, and 
on Friday evening, February 25, an informal meet- 
ing was held at the residence of one of our citi- 
zens, at which it was voted to establisli a Chapter 
of the Agassiz Association. At the next meeting, 
March 7, a constitution and by-laws were adopted, 
and oilicers elected as follows : President, Vice- 
President, Treasurer, Recording Secretary, Cor- 
responding Secretary, and Curator. Since that 
date we have held meetings monthly. On Octo- 
ber 7 a committee was appointed tq %i-range for a 
course of lectures during the winter. At the next 
meeting a programme comprising eight lectures 
was submitted and adopted. Over 130 season 
tickets at one dollar each were sold. This is the 
first course of lectures ever held here, and it was 
a success in every respect. I>ast spring we had a 
class of five in determinative mineralogy. One of 
our number is a member of the Buffalo Corre- 
sponding Chapter of the A. A. — .Joseph S. Adam, 
Sec. 
87, New York, N. Y., [B] .—Eighteen hundred 
and ninety was rather a dull, quiet year. But 
this has not brought us to a standstill by any 
means. The large majority of members maintain 
a keen interest in the Chapter's welfare; its or- 
ganization has not weakened, and the work still 
goes on steadily. At the present time there are 
fifty-three active members enrolled. The consti- 
tution and by-laws of the Chapter have been 
amended and simplified to facilitate the routine 
business. The duties and responsibilities of the 
Board of Trustees have been multiplied. Through 
the kindness of Mr. William S. Miller the Chapter 
now occupies a cosy room in the basement of 141 
East 40tli street, quite large enough for the mu- 
seum and library, and the dark-room and work- 
bench for the pliotographers. The Cliapter meet- 
ings were lield monthly, and generally informally. 
Of tlie regularly announced subjects, we remember 
particularly the tallv about the trap-door spider, 
wlieu we were shown a curious little mud-house 
and many interesting pictures of Cteniza fodiens 
and his relatives ; the practical demonstration of 
several of the photo-printing processes; the ser- 
mon on "Ethics in Photography"; the amusing 
scientific experiments, done after the instructions 
given by the Popular Science News ; and the 
lecture on "Wood and Its Formation," illustrated 
by specimens and sketches. On December 10 Mr. 
H. Buclier delivered a public lecture at Union 
Square Hall under the auspices of the Chapter. 
" The Swiss Glaciers " was the subject of the lec- 
ture. The stereopticon views exhibited showed 
excellent work in picture-taking and picture-mak- 
ing by this member of the Chapter. Two Chapter 
excursions were held last season. The fli'St, on 
Decoration Day, was to Little Falls, N. J., our 
old stamping-ground. Little Falls has never 
proved of much account for collecting, but its 
romantic scenery and wild glory fascinate us 
thither year after year. Of the many interesting 
observations made, I may recall what interested 
and amused the entire party for a while. It is 
not often tliat the leaping of fish is to be observed 
by city folk, and on this occasion there was a fine 
display of tlie phenomenon. The fish were bass 
of varying sizes; the "jump" was one of six or 
seven feet. The second excursion was a stage 
ride from Fort Lee to Alpine, N. J., over the Pal- 
isade Mountain road. This proved a most delight- 
ful sort of excursion. Frequent halts were made 
during the journey to allow the excursionists to 
wander about for pleasure or in quest of new 
"things." The camera did the most work that 
day. Several good pictures were obtained of a 
big boulder, set high upon a rocky pedestal, on 
the Palisades near Englewood. Concluding, I 
will present a summary of the Treasurer's report : 
The receipts during 1890 amounted to $265.45; 
expenditures, $254.26 ; we carry forward a balance 
of $11.19.— C. F. Groth, Sec. 
94, West Somerville, Mass., [A].— Early in the 
year we joined the Massachusetts Assembly, and 
in March Secretary Ballard kindly sent us an invi- 
tation to an exhibit of glass models of flowers in 
the Harvard Botanical Gardens. We studied bot- 
any up to June, and after the vacation began 
geology, which we find very interesting. Our 
President kindly procured us some tickets to a 
very interesting course of lectures on the " Sub- 
marine Animals of Massachusetts Bay," given by 
Dr. J. W. Fewkes. We still continue with the 
same interest, and wish a bright year to the Asso- 
ciation in general.— Miss Margaret Kidd, Pres. ; 
Percy E. Brown, Sec. 
100, Hartford, Conn., [B].— The winter of 1890 
was unusually warm. In January chickweed and 
dandelions were found in blossom by some of our 
members. On February 8 a number of tadpoles, 
and blossoms of the winter aconite — wild in Great 
Britain, but a garden flower here— were brought 
to the meeting. On February 15 we had peach 
and cherry blossoms, raised from twigs kept in 
water in sunny windows. On April 12 we took 
our first walk, in search of fox-sparrows, which 
are known by their scratching iu the leaves. We 
