Decembes 5, 1919] 



SCIENCE 



525 



school of hygiene and public health of Johns 

 Hopkins University. About three weeks ago 

 the writer moved his department, that of 

 biometry and vital statistics in the school of 

 hygiene, into McCoy Hall, occupying the 

 whole of the second floor of that building. 

 On Thanksgiving Eve the writer had com- 

 pleted the removal to this building of all his 

 private scientific library comprising roughly 

 some fifteen thousand reprints and pamphlets. 

 In the fields of biometry and genetics this 

 library was in some respects unique owing to 

 the fact that the writer began his activities 

 in the field of biometry nearly twenty years 

 ago when that branch of biological science 

 was just getting under way, and consequently 

 there was a completeness to the collection in 

 that field which makes its total loss a catas- 

 trophe of overwhelming significance to the 

 writer's scientific work. 



In addition all the accumulated unpub- 

 lished records of the writer's work for the 

 past twenty years were completely destroyed. 

 This included the records of his work in the 

 genetics of poultry for ten years at the Maine 

 Agricultural Experiment Station. 



This second loss is, of course, wholly 

 irremediable. The purpose of this note is to 

 appeal to workers in the fields of genetics, 

 biometry and vital statistics, to help in 

 remedying the first loss in so far as it can be 

 remedied by sending to the writer duplicates 

 of such of their reprints as they may have 

 available and which they were kind enough 

 to send him before. Any help in this 

 direction will be deeply appreciated. 



Eaymond Pearl 



School or Hygiene and Public Health, 

 The Johns Hopkins Univebsitt 



somatic variation 

 The undersigned are making a study of 

 somatic variation, using for this purpose the 

 duplicated portions of double monsters. We 

 are especially interested at the present time in 

 securing photographs or accurate sketches 

 showing the color markings on double-headed 

 calves or other double monsters in mammals 

 characterized by color patterns. Any infor- 

 mation as to the existence of such specimens 



from which records of this nature might be 

 obtained would be greatly appreciated. 

 Leon J. Cole, 

 Jessie Megeath 

 Department of Genetics, 

 TJniveesity of Wisconsin 



steindachneridion 



In 1888^ we created the genus Steindach- 

 neria for three species of large catfishes from 

 eastern Brazil; St. amhlyura E. and E., from 

 the Eio Jequitinhonha, St. doceana E. and E., 

 from the Rio Doce and St. parahyhw Stein- 

 dachner, from the Rio Parahyba. Our at- 

 tention was at once called to the fact that 

 Goode, in Agassiz' " Three Cruises of the 

 Blake," had mentioned with a brief descrip- 

 tion and no type, if we recall correctly, a 

 Macrurid under the name Steindachneria. 

 With the rules governing nomenclature in 

 those benighted times Goode's name had no 

 standing and we wrote Goode calling his at- 

 tention to the fact. Goode replied October 1, 

 1888 : " Steindachneria has never been pub- 

 lished, though the diagnosis of the genus has 

 been lying in manuscript for nearly two years. 

 So we will change the name. It is not of the 

 least consequence." 



When Goode and Bean's " Oceanic Ichthy- 

 ology " was issued it appeared that Goode's 

 intentions in regard to the Macrurid Stein- 

 dachneria had not been carried out. There 

 upon^ we proposed the name Steindachnerella 

 for the Macrurid. 



Times and rules have changed. Dr. David 

 Starr Jordan recently wrote us the catfish 

 must have a new name. We sent him the 

 letter of G. Brown Goode whereupon Jordan 

 replies, " Goode's letter is very nice and char- 

 acteristic. But under our present rules a 

 nomen seminudus holds. ... I recommend 

 that you give a new name to the South 

 American genus." 



Reluctantly and with effort we submit to 

 changing opinion, realizing that it is a long 

 time since we began to give names to the 

 fresh water fishes of South America. There- 



^Troc. Cal. Acad. Sci. (2), I., 137. 

 2 Am. Naturalist, 1897, p. 159. 



