374 



SCIENCE 



[N. S. Vol. XXX. No. 7CS 



Lilje its associate, it is a strictly littoral form 

 and probably does not extend below tidal 

 limits. 



Ohthamalus stellatus was first described by 

 Poli in 1Y95 from specimens taken on tbe 

 coast of Sicily. It is so abundant on some 

 parts of the French coast that Pruvot' 

 recognizes a " Chthamalus zone " as one 

 subdivision of the littoral zone. The same 

 species is common upon the southern coast 

 of England, being " in parts, even more nu- 

 merous than the Balanus halanoides," ac- 

 cording to Darwin. The other localities listed 

 by Darwin include points as remote from one 

 another as Ireland, China, Oregon, the Eed 

 Sea and the Eio Plata. Gruve^ likewise in- 

 cludes Iceland and Patagonia, so that the 

 species may truly be regarded as cosmopolitan. 



It is surely difficult to explain how this bar- 

 nacle has been so long overlooked upon our own 

 Atlantic shores. It is hard to believe that the 

 present species has been habitually confused 

 with Balanus halanoides by the long succes- 

 sion of field naturalists and systematic zool- 

 ogists who have exploited the shores of New 

 England for over a century. These men erred 

 rather in the direction of discovering' too many 

 new species than in ignoring well-established 

 ones. An alternative explanation is that 

 Chthamalus has only recently invaded New 

 England waters, just as we know that various 

 other species have done within recent years. 

 The mollusk Litorina litorea and the actinian 

 Sagartia luciw are doubtless the most striking 

 local examples of this phenomenon, though we 

 have strong evidence for a few other cases. 

 From the comparatively small size of the local 

 examples, and their' unworn appearance, as 

 compared with the older specimens of Balanus 

 halanoides, the writer was at first tempted to 

 think that the immigration had only reached 

 local waters during the present season. He 

 has, however, found a few specimens on stones 

 which had been collected three years ago. 



The local examples, in large part at least, 

 seem to belong to the variety " fragilis " of 



' Archiv de Zoologie Experimentale et G4n4rale, 

 Tome v., 1897. 



' " Monographie des Cirrhip&des," p. 201. 



Darwin, as did the specimens received by the 

 latter author from" Charlestown " (= Charles- 

 ton?). A characteristic of this variety is the 

 smooth, delicate appearance of the valves, re- 

 ferred to above as distinguishing local speci- 

 mens. At Woods Hole, I have found few 

 having the rugosity, the weathered aspect,, 

 or even the whiteness of Balamis halanoides^ 

 Our local representatives of the species are- 

 so much darker in color and so much smoother 

 in appearance than the associated Balanus as 

 to be plainly distinguishable from the latter,, 

 even at considerable distance. Thus the eon- 

 fusion of the two, said to have been commonly 

 made by English collectors, seems incredible- 

 here.' The largest specimens which I have 

 seen have not exceeded 10 mm. in diameter at 

 the base. 



Not being a specialist in the difficult group- 

 of Cirripedia, I grant freely the possibility 

 that I have made an error in my specific de- 

 termination. The species in question is, how- 

 ever, a Chthamalus in any case, and C. stel- 

 latus is the only one hitherto listed from the 

 North Atlantic. The interest of its discovery 

 in local waters would not be lessened, but 

 rather increased, if it were shown that we had 

 to do with another member of the genus. 



F. B. Sumner 



THE SEVENTH INTERNATIONAL CONaRESS 

 OF APPLIED CHEMISTRY 



The Seventh International Congress of Applied 

 Chemistry convened in the Great Albert Hall, 

 London, on May 27 last under the patronage of 

 the King of England. 



'Ihe vice-patron, the Prince of Wales, accom- 

 panied by the Princess, presided. In opening the 

 congress he spoke of the pleasure experienced by 

 His Royal Highness, King Edward VII., in having 

 the congress meet in London and his own appre- 

 ciation of the significance of the passing of the 

 " rule-of -thumb " period in modern civilization, 

 the close relationship between science and com- 

 merce and the important bearing such conferences 

 had in promoting the peace of the world. His 

 remarks were greeted with cheers from the diplo- 



'Of course the two genera are distinguished by 

 much more fundamental characters than mere 

 appearance. 



