245 
THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES 
one hundred and third meeting of the National Academy 
of Sciences of the United States of America was held in New York 
n Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, November 15, 16, and 17. 
Business and scientific sessions were held at the American 
“Fossil Calcareous Algae f the Panama Canal Zone with 
reference to Reef-building Algae” and a t by Dr. B 
Rose, of the Carnegie Institution of Washington, spoke on 
“Recent Explorations in the Cactus Deserts of South America,” 
being a portion of the investigation of cacti conducted by him in 
cooperation with Dr. Britton. The department of botany of 
olumbia University was represented by a paper by Professor 
0 
Wednesday afternoon was given to a visit to the New York 
Zoological Park and the New York Botanical Garden, the mem- 
bers being taken by motor-cars from the Museum of Natural 
History to the Adeineececn eran of the New York Zoo- 
logical Park, where lunch was served at 1:45, and after an in- 
spection of portions of the zoological pee the motor-cars 
proceeded at 3:30 to ee Range No. 1, and the members 
passed through houses Nos. 1-8 for an inspection of tropical 
and desert plants, thence to a Museum Building, where the 
library, laboratories and herbarium were inspected, and thence 
to the Mansion, where tea was served in the board room at 4:30 
by Mrs. Marquand and Miss Billings, of the Women’s Auxiliary, 
Mrs. Thompson and Mrs. Britton. The weather was perfect. 
A GIFT OF BRAZILIAN ORCHIDS 
The Garden has received from Dr. Y. de Oliveira Botelho, 
Brazilian Delegate to the Panama-American Scientific Congress, 
