February 10, 1899.] 



SCIENCE. 



217 



Die Spiele der Menschen. Karl Geoos. Jena, 

 Gnstav Fischer. 1899. Pp. iv + 538. Mark 10. 



Zoological Results honed on Material from New Britain, 

 New Guinea, Loyalty Islands and Elsewhere, collected 

 during the Years 1S95-1S97. ARTHUR WiLLEY. 

 Cambridge University Press. 1899. Pt. 2. Pp. 

 121-206. 12s. 6d. 



Lectures on the Eooluiion of Plants. DoUGLAS Hough- 

 ton Campbell. New York and London, The 

 Macmillan Company. 1899. Pp. viii + 319. 

 $1.25. 



3Iental Arithmetic. J. A. McLellan and A. F. 

 Ames. New York and London, The Macmillan 

 Company. 1899. Pp.x + 138. 



Neto York State 3Iuse^im. Forty-ninth Annual Re- 

 port of the Regents, 1895. Vol. 2, Report of State 

 Geologist, Albany. University of the State of 

 New York. 1898. Pp.738. 



Physical Chemistry for Beginners. Dr. Ch. Van 

 Derventer. With an Introduction by Profes- 

 sor J. H Van't Hope. Translated by Bertram 

 B. BOTHROW. New York, John Wiley & Sons ; 

 London, Chapman & Co. 1899. Pp. x + 154. 

 $1.50. 



SCIENTIFIC JOURNALS AND ARTICLES. 

 The Auh for January is an unusually large 

 number, and consequently is a little late in mak- 

 ing its appearance. It commences with Mr. 

 Chapman's discussion of the ' Relationships of 

 Ainmodramus maritimus and its Allies, ' which is 

 followed by Mr. O. B. Warren's ' Chapter in the 

 Life History of the Canada Jay.' Mr. Ober- 

 holser has a paper on ' The Blue Honey-Creep- 

 ers of Tropical America,' for which the new gen- 

 eric name Cyanerpes is proposed, and Dr. Gill 

 considers the generic names Pediocxtes and Foo- 

 esetes, concluding that they must give way to 

 Pedioecetes and Pooecetes. Many new species 

 and subspecies are described, a New Sylocichla 

 by Mr. Oberholser, a number of new forms from 

 Mexico by Mr. Nelson, and several new species 

 and subspecies of N. A. Fringillidse by Mr. Ridg- 

 way. Under the caption ' Truth versus Error,' 

 Mr. Elliot and Dr. Allen continue the discussion 

 of the propriety of correcting mis-spelled scien- 

 tific names. Mr. Witmer Stone presents a 

 long report, very encouraging in parts, on 'The 

 Protection of North American Birds,' and, 

 finally, is the Ninth Supplement to the A. O. 

 U. Check List. This contains a long list of 



changes, the most startling of which, perhaps, 

 is at the outset, where the generic name for 

 the Loons is decided to be Gavia and the family 

 name Gaviidx. 



The contents of The American Journal of 

 Science for February are as follows : 



'Contribution to the Study of Contact Metamor- 

 phism,' by J. M. Clements. 



'Origin of Mammals,' by H. F. Osborn. 



'Chemical Composition of Tourmaline,' by S. L. 

 Penfield and H. W. Foote. 



' Littoral MoUusks from Cape Fairweather, Pata- 

 gonia, by H. A. Pilsbry. 



' Thermodynamic Relations for Steam, ' by G. P. 

 Starkweather. 



' Descriptions of imperfectly known and new 

 Aotinians, with critical notes on other species. III,' by 

 A. E. Verrill. 



' Volumetric Method for the Estimation of Boric 

 Acid,' by L. C. Jones. 



SOCIETIES AND ACADEMIES. 

 THE TEXAS ACADEMY OF SCIENCES. 



The midwinter meeting of the Texas Acad- 

 emy of Science was held in Austin during the 

 last week of December. The program was as 

 follows : 



Tuesday, December 27th. — (1) ' Do the Reac- 

 tions of the Lower Animals due to Injury 

 indicate Pain Sensations?' Professor W. W. 

 Norman, University of Texas. Numerous ex- 

 periments upon living animals were described 

 in detail and the conclusion reached that so far 

 as the invertebrates and the lower vertebrates 

 are concerned the reactions due to injury do not 

 necessarily indicate pain. (2) ' Three Recent 

 Gifts to the University of Texas,' Dr. W. J. 

 Battle. The gifts described in this paper con- 

 sisted of, 1st, a storage amphora from the cellar 

 of the Courts of Justinian in Constantinople ; 

 2d, a stone bearing an inscription recording the 

 gift of a crown to one Lysagoras by the people 

 of Ilium, and 3d, a twelfth century manuscript 

 of the Gosisels from the Island of Prinkipos, 

 Sea of Marmora. These interesting objects 

 were presented to the University by the Hon. 

 Alexander Terrell, late Minister of the United 

 States to Turkey. 



Wednesday, December SSth. — (1) ' Some New 

 Measurements of Electric Waves,' Regent R. 

 S. Hyer, Southwestern University. This valu- 



