SCIENCE 



[N. S. Vol. XXXVII. No. 960 



rapidly lost by the latter group, whicli had a 

 much accelerated evolution." With this con- 

 clusion the trend of recent work on the Per- 

 mian Tetrapoda by Case, Williston, Moodie 

 and Broom, seems to be in accord. 



Wm. K. Gregory 



American Museum op Natural History 



SOCIETIES AND ACADEMIES 



THE BIOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON 



The 508th regular meeting was held in the 

 assembly hall of the Cosmos Club, February 22, 

 1913, with President Nelson in the chair and 76 

 persons present. 



The program consisted of a lecture by Edmund 

 Heller on ' ' Hunting with Eainey in Africa. ' ' 

 The communication was chiefly descriptive of the 

 maps and numerous lantern slides exhibited and 

 also of the physical features and vegetation of 

 the country as well as the animals secured dui'ing 

 the expedition. 



The 509th meeting was held March 8, 1913, 

 with Vice-president Paul Bartsch in the chair and 

 37 persons present. 



Under the heading ' ' Brief Notes, etc., ' ' "Wm. 

 Palmer exhibited the head of the small devil ray 

 {Mobitla olfersi) and a plaster cast made from 

 the same, and explained the feeding habits of this 

 fish. A. C. Weed gave some further account of its 

 habits, and Theodore Gill added some historical 

 notes about devil fishes. 



Barton W. Evermann reported results of the 

 sale of blue fox skins from the Pribilof Islands at 

 Lampson's (London) auction of March 7. The 

 384 skins offered sold at an average price of $56, 

 the highest price being $85. 



The regular program consisted of two communi- 

 cations. J. W. Gidley gave an account of a fossil 

 camel recently found in America north of the 

 Arctic circle. The only bone found was a phalanx. 

 The species was an extinct one and its occurrence 

 so far north was regarded as further proof that 

 there once existed land connection between the 

 continents by way of Alaska. The paper was dis- 

 cussed by Messrs. Wilcox, O. P. Hay, Weed, Gill, 

 Evermann, Lyon and others. 



The second communication was by Paul Bartsch 

 on "Some Eemarkable Philippine Mollusks ob- 

 tained by the U. S. Bureau of Fisheries Expedi- 

 tion. ' ' Specimens of the mollusks described were 

 exhibited by the speaker. 



The 510th meeting was held March 22, 1913, 

 with Vice-president Bartsch in the chair and 50 

 persons present. 



Barton W. Evermann reported the executive 

 order of President Taft made March 3, 1913, 

 setting aside the entire chain of the Aleutian 

 Islands as a wild mammal and bird reservation. 

 The reservation is to be under joint charge of the 

 Departments of Agriculture and of Commerce. 



A. D. Hopkins announced the recent organiza- 

 tion of a new scientific society. The Society for the 

 Advancement of Forest Entomology in America. 



The regular program consisted of two communi- 

 cations : 

 Eecent Progress in the Study and Culture of the 



Common Eel: Hugh M. Smith. 



This was a comprehensive outline of the recent 

 discoveries concerning and the completed life his- 

 tory of the common eel. Statistics of the com- 

 mercial uses of the eel and the methods employed 

 abroad for its propagation and distribution were 

 given. Numerous lantern slides were shovm. 

 Tree-Shrews: Marcus Lyon, Je. 



This paper was based upon a study of many 

 specimens of these squirrel-like insect-eating ani- 

 mals. Of less than 800 known specimens in mu- 

 seums, the British Museum possesses 355, the U. S. 

 National Museum 24, and about 100 are in other 

 collections. The paper was illustrated by lantern 

 slides. Messrs. Bartsch and Wm. Palmer took 

 part in the discussion. 



The 511th meeting was held AprU 5, 1913, with 

 President Nelson in the chair and 43 persons 

 present. 



Under the head of Brief Notes, Paul Bartsch 

 reported observations on the habits of the two 

 common toads of the District of Columbia, Bufo 

 americanus and Bufo fowleri. 



Henry Talbott made some remarks on the prob- 

 able agency of man in the dispersion of animals 

 during the later geological ages. The regular 

 program consisted of two communications: 



A Commercial Aspect of Paleontology : by a Lay- 

 man: Henry Talbott. 

 The Zoological Besults of the Denmark Expedi- 

 tion to Northeast Greenland: Frits Johansen. 

 The speaker, who accompanied the expedition, 

 gave an account of climatic conditions and the 

 fauna and flora encountered. Mannpals and birds 

 received the principal attention. Maps and nu- 

 merous lantern slides were used. 



D. E. Lantz, 

 Seeording Secretary 



