216 



SCIENCE. 



[N. S. Vol. VII. No. 163. 



modifying causes. Driftwood, the fuel supply, 

 and the presence or absence of materials from 

 which to construct the lamp must also be con- 

 sidered. The cause of the large lamps com- 

 ing down so far in latitude on the east is on 

 account of the dipping of the isotherms. The 

 lamps of Labrador are a case in point. There 

 are three kinds of Eskimo lamps — the house 

 lamp, the small lamp for temporary use by 

 hunters and travellers, and the mortuary 

 lamp. 



The second paper, by Mr. Rene de Saussure, 

 on 'A New Method of Plotting Maps and 

 Charts,' was omitted on account of the au- 

 thor's inability to be present. 



The third paper, by Professor J. H. Gore, 

 was entitled ' Gheel, a Colony of the Insane.' 

 This last paper was both highly interesting and 

 instructive, but n'o abstract of it is available at 

 the present moment. E. D. Preston, 



Secretary. 



GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON. 



At the regular meeting of January 26, 1898, 

 one of the principal communications was on 

 the Montreal meeting of the Geological Society 

 of America, by Mr. David White and Mr. 

 Whitman Cross, both of the United States 

 Geological Survey, a subject which has already 

 been fully reported in these columns. There 

 was also some discussion of the paper that was 

 read by Mr. Cross at the preceding meeting. 



Mr. G. K. Gilbert, United States Geological 

 Survey, gave a description of the Pueblo (Colo.) 

 folio of the Atlas of the United States, a folio 

 just completed. The ground that he went over 

 is fully covered in the printed descriptions to 

 accompany the folio. W. F. Moesell. 



U. S. Geological Suevey. 



THE ENGELMANN BOTANICAL CLUB. 



The club met at the Shaw School of Botany, 

 St. Louis, on January 13th, thirty-four members 

 present. The following officers for 1898 were 

 elected : President, William Trelease ; Vice- 

 Presidents, Geo. W. Letterman, Henry Eggert ; 

 Secretary, Hermann von Schrenk. 



Professor L. H. Pammel briefly discussed the 

 flora of Iowa, giving an account of the topog- 

 raphy and climatology, and their bearing on 



the distribution of plants in that State. He- 

 spoke of a series of ponds which had dried 

 to such an extent that the collected humus- 

 burned when lighted. These ponds had been 

 flooded last year and a surprisingly large num- 

 ber of aquatic plants had apparently survived 

 the drying process. 



Mr. J. B. S. Norton spoke on the coloring: 

 matter of some Borraginaceee. He described 

 some specimens of Plagidbothrys Arizonica, 

 which stained paper a violet-purple, and attrib- 

 uted this to alkanin. The occurrence of this 

 dye in other North American Borraginaceee was- 

 discussed. 



Mr. H. von Schrenk presented some notes on 

 the dry-rot fungus, Merulius lacrymans, which 

 had been found in the beams of a building in 

 which the floors had fallen in. He exhibited 

 specimens of the fungus collected in fallen 

 cypress logs in northwestern Mississippi. 

 Some other fungi collected in that region were 

 discussed. Hermann von Schrenk, 



Secretary. 



NEW BOOKS. 

 The Sim's Place in Nature. NoRMAN Locktee. 

 New York and London, The Macmillan Co. 



1897. Pp. xvi+360. 12s. 



Various Fragments. Herbert Spencer. New 

 York, D. Appleton & Co. 1898. Pp. 208. 

 $1.25. 



The Mystery and Romance of Alchemy and Phar- 

 macy. C. J. S. Thompson. London, The 

 Scientific Press, Ltd. 1897. Pp. xv+335. 



The Barometrical Determination of Heights. F. 

 J. B. CoEDiEO. New York and London, 

 Spon& Chamberlain. 1898. Pp.28. $1.00. 



Traits de zoologie concrete. Yves DelAGB and 

 Edgaed Hi;ROUARD. Volume V. Les ver- 

 midiens. Paris, Schleicher Freres. 1897. 

 Pp. xi+372. 



Le Bationnel. Gaston Milhaud. Paris, Al- 

 can. 1898. Pp. 179. 2 fr. 50. 



Energetische Epigenesis und epigenetische Ener- 

 gieformen. George Hirth. Munich and 

 Leipzig, G. Hirth. 1898. Pp. xiv+218. 



Outlines of Sociology. Lester F. Ward. New 

 York and London, The Macmillan Company, 



1898. Pp. xiii+301. $2.00. 



