394 



SCIENCE. 



[N. S. Vol. VII. No. 168. 



graph of a mantid which, mimics the coffee 

 flower. 



By Mr. Banks, a specimen Tetragonophihalma 

 dubia, collected in the District of Columhia, and 

 which is the first species of its family to be 

 found in the local fauna. 



By Mr. Schwarz, seeds of the sea grape of 

 Florida, Coccoloba uvifera, with specimens of 

 Pseudomus inflatus reared from the seeds by Mr. 

 Hubbard. 



Papers were read as follows : 



By Dr. Smith, a discussion of recent papers 

 on hemipterous mouth parts by Dr. Leon and 

 Dr. Heymons. Dr. Smith showed that in his 

 opinion the points brought out by these writers 

 substantiate his position that the hemipterous 

 beak is a maxillary structure, although both au- 

 thors start with the assumption that it is labial. 



The paper was briefly discussed by Messrs. 

 Cook, Banks, Howard and Gill, all taking is- 

 sue with Dr. Smith's conclusions. 



By Mr. Banks, on Tarsonemus in America, 

 describing T. pallidas n. sp., occurring on 

 Chrysanthemum at Jamaica, N. Y. , and col- 

 lected by Mr. Sirrine. 



By Mr. Cook, on a new family of Diplopoda 

 from Alabama, describing Desmonus earli and 

 the new family Desmonidse. 



L. O. Howard, 



Secretary. 



PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON. 



The 481st meeting of the Philosophical So- 

 ciety was held at the Cosmos Club at 8 p. m., 

 March 5th. The first paper was by Mr. A. Lin- 

 denkohl, of the United States Coast and Geo- 

 detic Survey, on ' The Specific Gravity of the 

 Waters of the Northeast Pacific Ocean.' The 

 salient points of the address were as follows : 



The discussion of temperatures and densities 

 is mainly based on observations by the ' Chal- 

 lenger,' ' Vitiaz ' and 'Albatross.' In the 

 deeper parts of Bering Sea a minimum of tem- 

 perature of 2°. 8 is found in 146 metres depth, 

 succeeded by a maximum of 3°. 5 at 410 metres, 

 thence a decrease to 1°.6 at the bottom. The 

 density increases from the surface to the bottom, 

 where it is as great, if not more so than in the 

 open Pacific. The cold zone about the Kuriles 

 is correctly ascribed by Makarof to the upheaval 



of cold water from lower strata. A feeble drift, 

 the Davidson Eddy, is found along the north- 

 west coast of America, and off the southern 

 coast of California a warm and saline body of 

 water is found in the summer to intervene be- 

 tween the coast and the cold California current. 

 The ' Challenger ' soundings indicate a constant 

 sinking to a lower level of the waters of the 

 South Pacific in their advance against the equa- 

 torial currents, attended by a rising of the 

 colder waters of the latter towards the surface. 

 The higher temperature and salinity in the 

 greater depths near the Gulf of Panama is 

 ascribed to the same cause. The greatest sur- 

 face density thus far found is by the 'Vitiaz,' 

 viz.: 1.0276 in Latitude 23° 50' North and Lon- 

 gitude 163° 16' East. 



The second paper was by Professor Frank H. 

 Bigelow, of the United States Weather Bureau, 

 who gave a paper on the results of balloon 

 ascensions in determining the temperatures of 

 the air. An account of the several phases of 

 the problem, produced by the diflerent stages 

 of condensation of the aqueous vapor in the 

 atmosphere, and a distinction of the types of 

 the vertical temperature gradient", introduced 

 the subject. Then a recital of the most impor- 

 tant voyages, and the statistics derived from 

 them, was made, showing the data we have tO' 

 work with. Next followed the details of the 

 reduction and combination of the observations, 

 and the method was explained of constructing 

 a network diagram giving the gradients from 

 the ground up to 16,000 metres and the heights 

 of the isotherms throughout the year. The 

 data was subdivided into High Areas, or Clear 

 Weather, and Low Areas, or Cloudy Weather, 

 and the courses of the gradients occurring in 

 the morning and the evening hours, respec- 

 tivley, were traced out. They diverge in the 

 lower atmosphere, but converge in the neighbor- 

 hood of 5,000 metres, whence a single line is 

 traced to the upper limit, where the temperature 

 has a nearly total constant fall from the ground 

 in winter and summer. Emphasis was laid 

 upon the fact that good mean results can be 

 obtained from inferior data by the method of 

 construction employed. 



B. D. Pkbston, 



Secretary, 



