Januaky 13, 1899.] 



SCIENCE. 



69 



Mr. N. H. Haened and Dr. J. C. Morris 

 spoke of the effect of a plentiful supply of water 

 on the growth of trees. 



October 25. Dr. Daniel G. Brinton made a 

 communication, illustrated by specimens from 

 the Academy's collections, on the ethnography 

 and resources of the Philippine Islands. 



Professor J. Wharton James, by invita- 

 tion, spoke of the Enchanted Meza and con- 

 sidered the statements of Professors Libbey and 

 Hodge on the subject. He believed that, while 

 there was evidence of the former presence of 

 man on the Meza, the weight of testimony was 

 entirely opposed to his ever having had perma- 

 nent places of abode there. 



Professor Libbey, who was present, being 

 called on by the President, recounted his ex- 

 perience in exploring the Meza and dwelt on 

 the care with which he had reached his results. 

 He declared that the cairn described by Hodge 

 and Lummis has been built by himself. He 

 agreed with Professor James that the top might 

 have been temporarily occupied, but he was 

 sure it never was a place of residence. 



November 1. Me. Stewardson Brown de- 

 scribed the results of a recent botanical explora- 

 tion of the South Mountain region of Somerset 

 County, Pa., a district curiously distinct in its 

 vegetation. The characteristic plants were 

 enumerated. 



Mr. Joseph Willcox spoke of the use of 

 fresh-water mussels in the manufacture of pearl 

 buttons. 



November S. Mr. H. A. Pilsbry described 

 the physical characters of the Koan Mountain 

 region of North Carolina, and dwelt in detail 

 on the mollusca collected there. Even when 

 the species are widely distributed they are here 

 remarkable as presenting mountain modifica- 

 tions varying from racial characters to those 

 of distinct species. The carinated forms of 

 Polygyra, for instance, are extremely character- 

 istic and found nowhere else. The district, 

 in fact, has more peculiar species than any other 

 outside the tropics. He was at a loss to account 

 for this individuality. 



Mr. Arthur Erwin Brown called attention 

 to the specific characters of the Ourang, his 

 observations being based on specimens in the 

 Zoological Garden of Philadelphia and the 



museum of the Academy. He believed in the 

 existence of two well-marked species, the 

 Simla Satyris of Liunajus and the Simia Wurmbii 

 of Geoffroy St. Hilaire. 



November 15. BIr. S. D. Holman communi- 

 cated the life-history of Pleuromonas as observed 

 in covered life-slides. 



Mr. Philip P. Calvert and Dr. Benjamin 

 Sharp spoke on the subject of cutaneous respira- 

 tion. 



November S3. Dr. A. F. Witmer, under the 

 auspices of the Anthropological Section, made a 

 communication on involution and the diseases 

 of senility, dwelling on the atavistic tendency 

 to certain diseases with special reference to 

 forms of neurasthenia and their pathological 

 conditions. 



Dr. Henry C. Chapman spoke of the modern 

 theory of the neuron, placing himself on record 

 as believing that it rests on no foundation 

 whatever. 



November S9. A symposium was held on the 

 natural history of the Philippines illustrated by 

 specimens from the Academy's collections. Mr. 

 Pilsbry spoke of the distribution and characters 

 of the mollusca; Mr. Witmer Stone of the birds 

 and mammals ; Mr. Stewardson Brown of the 

 plants; Dr. Henry Skinner of the lepidoptera, 

 and Mr. P. P. Calvert of the dragon-flies. 



Mr. Stone placed on record the recent finding 

 of a small rodent, Oryzimiis palustria, in New 

 Jersey. It had been discovered in 1816 by 

 Bachman in South Carolina, and the specimen 

 belonging to the Academy, described by Harlan, 

 had been regarded as incorrectly labelled, re- 

 peated search having failed to find the form in 

 New Jersey until a week ago, when a number 

 were collected in the southern part of the State 

 by Mr. Henry W. Warrington. 



December 6. Dr. Florence Bascom called 

 the attention of the meeting to the determina- 

 tion of rock constituents with special reference 

 to optical methods, the application of polarized 

 light to the work being particularly dwelt on 

 and illustrated. 



December 13. Dr. J. C. Morris presented, in 

 connection with the meeting of the Biological 

 and Microscopical Section, a history of micro- 

 scopic study and the develoiDment of microscopes 

 and microscopic preparations during the last 



