Apeil 13, 1917] 



SCIENCE 



367 



' ' The Physical History of the Upper Mississippi 

 Valley During the Late Paleozoic, ' ' by Francis M. 

 Van Tuyl. 



"The Climatic History of Alaska, from a New 

 Viewpoint," by EUot Blackwelder. 



"An Improved Form of High Vacuum, High 

 Speed Mercury Vapor Air Pump" (lantern). 



"A Simple Demonstration Tube for Exhibiting 

 the Mercury Hammer, Glow by Mercury Priction 

 and the Vaporization of Mercury at Eeduced Pres- 

 sures" (demonstration). 



"Visible Color Effects in a Positive Bay Tube 

 Containing Helium" (demonstration, lantern), by 

 Chas. T. Knipp. 



"A Study of Indoor Humidity" (lantern). 



"The Rate of Combustion of Some Illinois 

 Coals" (lantern), by F. D. Barber. 



"Derivatives of Iso-Oamphoric Acid," by Glen 

 S. Skinner. 



The officers elected for the ensuing year are as 

 follows: Dr. J. C. Hessler, James Millikin Univer- 

 sity, Decatur, President; James H. Ferris, Joliet 

 Vice-president; Professor T. L. Hankinson, State 

 Normal School, Charleston, Treasurer; Professor 

 J. L. Pricer, State Normal University, Normal, 

 Secretary. J. L. Peicek, 



Secretary 



NoEMAi, III. 



SOCIETIES AND ACADEMIES 



THE BIOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON 



The 564th meeting of the society was held in the 

 assembly hall of the Cosmos Club, Saturday, Jan- 

 uary 27, 1917, called to order at 8 p.m. by Presi- 

 dent Hay with 45 persons present. 



Under the heading of brief notes, Messrs. W. L. 

 McAtee and A. Wetmore made remarks on certain 

 misconceptions as to the notes of some common 

 species of birds and as to a theory of the migration 

 of birds. 



Under the heading exhibition of specimens. Dr. 

 O. P. Hay showed a metacarpal of a horse with 

 well-developed lateral metacarpals, and three fused 

 metacarpals of a cow each with well-developed 

 digits. 



Dr. L. 0. Howard commented on an enthusiastic 

 antimosquito convention, which he had lately at- 

 tended in New Jersey. 



The regular program consisted of two communi- 

 cations : 

 Exploitation of Neglected Aquatic Sesources: H. 



M. Smith. 



Dr. Smith called attention to many forms of 



fishes not used as food by the American public, but 

 which are of pleasing taste and good food value. 

 Many of these have long been used for food by 

 Europeans, especially about the North Sea. He 

 gave a brief rgsume of the discovery, disappear- 

 ance, rediscovery of the tUefish and of its success- 

 ful introduction to the consxmier through exploita- 

 tion by the Bureau of Fisheries. He then described 

 the dogfish and its habits destructive to other fish 

 and the losses caused by it to fishermen. He told 

 of the efforts now being made by the Bureau of 

 Fisheries to market the dogfish as a food. Under 

 the name of grayfish it is now being successfully 

 canned and marketed by some of the New England 

 fisheries and by some of the salmon canneries on 

 the Pacific coast during the winter months when 

 salmon are unattainable. The canned meat not 

 only constitutes one of the cheapest forms of pro- 

 tein now available, but the livers of the dogfish 

 yield a valuable oil; the oviducts, eggs; and the 

 skin a leather which has many possibilities. Dis- 

 cussion by Messrs. Ames, Bean and Doolittle. 

 Showers of Organic Matter : W. L. McAtee. 



Under this heading Mr. McAtee gave a review 

 of the various apocryphal and authentic instances 

 in which hay, grain, various insects, encysted ani- 

 malcules, worms, frogs, toads, fishes and birds had 

 fallen from the sky. The explanation was offered 

 that the objects had been carried aloft by violent 

 currents of air. 



The 565th meeting of the society was held in the 

 assembly haU of the Cosmos Club, Saturday, Feb- 

 ruary 10, 1917, called to order at 8 p.m., by Presi- 

 dent Hay with 30 persons present. 



Two formal communications were presented: 

 A Mortality of Fishes on the West Coast of Flor- 

 ida: H. F. Tayloe. 



During the months of October and November, 

 1916, vast numbers of fishes were kiUed in the re- 

 gion mentioned, by some obscure cause. It ap- 

 pears to be a recurrence of the phenomenon ob- 

 served in 1844, 1854, 1878, 1880, 1882, 1883, 1908. 

 Of the dead fishes 63 species, representing 37 fam- 

 ilies, were identified. The animals killed were con- 

 fined, with the exception of king crabs, sea urchins 

 and sponges to the class Pisces. Various suggested 

 causes were examined; foul Everglade water, dis- 

 eases and volcanic eruptions are inadequate expla- 

 nations. Evidence at hand seems rather to show 

 that the cause of mortality was the release of oc- 

 cluded bottom gases by small seismic disturbances, 

 or possibly by abnormally large numbers of Peri- 

 diuii. Mr. Taylor's paper was illustrated by Ian- 



