540 



SCIENCE. 



[N. S. Vol. VII. No. 172. 



The ornamentation on the utensils from the 

 Admiralty, Kaan and adjacent islands is judi- 

 ciously analyzed, and the conventional modifi- 

 cations of the human figure skillfully explained. 

 The wood-carving of New Ireland and the 

 masks worn in the festivals supply other pas- 

 sages with suggestive matter. The work is a 

 valuable contribution to the anthropology of the 

 regions mentioned. D. G. Beinton. 



SOCIETIES AND ACADEMIES. 



NEW YORK ACADEMY OF SCIENCES — SECTION OP 



BIOLOGY, MAECH 14, 1898. 



Mr. Beadney B. Griffin reported on the 

 Nemertina collected by himself in Puget Sound 

 and Alaska. After briefly reviewing the pre- 

 vious work upon North Pacific Nemertina, he 

 urged the priority of Stimpson's generic terms 

 Emplectonema and Diplopleura in place of 

 Eunemertes and Langia; he commented upon 

 the occurrence of closely related though dis- 

 tinct species on the west coasts of both Europe 

 and North America. The occurrence of Cere- 

 bratulas marginatus Renier was recorded. 

 Among the new species described is a new Cari- 

 noma which occurs abundantly and presents 

 two or three varieties, one of which burrows in 

 the hard clay among Pholads. The remaining 

 new species are distributed as follows : Cari- 

 nella 2, Amphiporus 4, Lineus 1. 



Mr. W. H. Hornaday described the destruc- 

 tion of bird life in the United States, from data 

 which he secured from all parts of the country. 

 Circulars containing the following questions 

 were sent out to trappers, guides, sportsmen 

 and naturalists in all parts of the United States : 



(1) Are birds decreasing in your locality ? 

 (2) How many birds are there now compared 

 with fifteen years ago ? (3) What are the most 

 destructive agents ? (4) Are any birds becom- 

 ing extinct? The answers came from all but 

 four States and Territories and showed sur- 

 prising agreement. The most destructive 

 agencies are sportsmen, plume-hunters, boys 

 after eggs, pot-hunters, fire, English sparrows, 

 etc. ; and through these it has been estimated 

 that there has been a decrease of 46 fo during 

 the last fifteen years. It was shown that game 

 and edible birds are becoming scarce, and that 



song birds are being used for food in their 

 stead ; that plume-birds are becoming extinct, 

 and that destructive agencies are increasing. 

 Mr. Hornaday concluded with an appeal for 

 more drastic measures in our game laws and 

 for their careful execution. 



Mr. N. R. Harrington reported on a collec- 

 tion made by himself of Crustacea from Puget 

 Sound, worked up by W. T. Caiman, University 

 College, Dundee, Scotland. The paper dealt 

 with sixty-three species, three of which were 

 new, and several little known. Perhaps the 

 most interesting part of the work related to a 

 parasite, Pseudioni giardi n. sp., of which male, 

 female and larva were all described from a 

 single specimen found on Eupagurus ochotensis. 

 A new species of amphipod, Polycheria osborni, 

 is interesting, because the only other known 

 representative of this genus is found in the 

 Antarctic region. The collection is divided up 

 as follows : Macrura, 15 species, thirteen of 

 these being shrimps; Brachyura, 34 species; Iso- 

 poda, 6 species; Amphipoda, 3 species ; Copepoda, 

 1 species. 



The final paper was given by Mr. H. E. Cramp- 

 ton on his experiments on insect grafting, and 

 upon one case in particular, where the colors of 

 scales of one species were imposed upon the 

 scales of another. Gary N. Calkins, 



Secretary of Section. 



NEW BOOKS. 



A Text-Book on Roofs and Bridges. Part IV., 

 Higher Structures. Mansfield Meeriman, 

 Henry S. Jacoby. New York, John "Wiley & 

 Sons ; London, Chapman & Hall, Ltd. 1898. 

 Pp. ix+276. 



Introduction to Electro-Chemical Experiments and 

 Practical Exercises in Electro- Chemistry. Felix 

 Oettel ; translated by Edgae F. Smith. 

 Philadelphia, P. Blakiston, Son & Co. 1897. 

 Pp. vii + 143, 75 cents ; and pp. vii+92, 

 75 cents. 



Alternate Currents in Practice. Translated from 

 the French of Loppe and Bouquet, by Fran- 

 cis J. MoFFETT. London, Whittaker & Co.; 

 New York, The Macmillan Co. 1898. Pp. 

 376. $5. 



La photographie et V etude des nuages. Jacques 

 BOYEE. Paris, Mendal. 1898. Pp. 80. 



