570 



SCIENCE. 



TN. S. Vol. II. No. 44. 



with that in Amphioxim (ccelom). The 

 simple epithelium covering the germinal 

 epithelium, together with that covering the 

 sexual ducts, is, as a whole, homologous 

 with the somatopleuric and splanchno- 

 pleurie epithelium covering the sexual 

 glands of Amphioxus. 



In the afternoon no Sectional meetings 

 were held, the time being given to a lecture 

 by Prof Scott (Princeton) on the Tertiary 

 Lakes of North America and their Mam- 

 mals, which was illustrated by lantern slides. 

 The lecturer pointed out that paleontology 

 must be founded upon exact stratigraphy, 

 and then gave an account of the Ameri- 

 can Tertiaries, indicating their European 

 equivalents. Especially dwelt upon were 

 the remarkable continuity of the American 

 Tertiary horizons, their vast geographical 

 extent, and the abundance and excellent 

 preservation of their mammals. Many 

 phylogenetic series maj' be worked out with 

 great completeness, and from these may be 

 deduced important laws as to the mode of 

 development among mammals and their 

 migration from one region to another. 



In the evening a very large and brilliant 

 audience, including the Queen and Queen 

 Eegent of Holland, assembled in the Con- 

 cert Hall for the lecture of Dr. K. Bowdler 

 Sharpe, of the British Museum, upon ' Some 

 Curiosities of Bird Life.' The lecture was 

 illustrated by a remarkable series of lan- 

 tern slides painted by the Dutch artist 

 Keulemans. 



After Dr. Sharpe's lecture a reception to 

 the Congress was given by the members of 

 the students' club ' Minerva,' in their 

 spacious and luxurious club house. 



WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 18TH. 



The second plenary session of the Con- 

 gress was opened at 10 A. M. Professor 

 A. Milne Edwards then delivered a lecture 

 upon the resemblances of the fauna of the 

 Mascerene islands and that of certain is- 



lands in the south Pacific. The lecturer 

 pointed out the importance of the study of 

 sedentary animals for the solving of distri- 

 butional problems. The former existence 

 of flightless birds in Madagascar and the 

 neighboring islands has long been known. 

 In 1889 M. Sauzier exhumed a large quan- 

 tity of bones, which enabled Newton, 

 Sclater and others to confirm the accounts 

 of the traveller Leguat. The researches of 

 Forbes, Newton and Hutton were then 

 considered. These show that the Mascarene 

 islands were formerly part of a great land 

 area, which has been submerged beneath 

 the ocean. 



M. E. L. Bouvier (Paris) presented are- 

 port upon Dr. Herbert H. Field's plan of 

 bibliographical reform and for the estab- 

 lishment of a central bibliographical bureau 

 for zoology. The recommendations of the 

 report are: (1) An International Bureau 

 shall, as soon as possible, give effect to Dr. 

 Field's plan for the reform of zoological 

 bibliography. (2) National committees, 

 established in each country, under the 

 auspices of the zoological societies, will 

 cooperate to simplify the work of the 

 Bureau and to facilitate the reform. (3) 

 Iij order to supply the Bureau with the 

 necessary resources, the national committees 

 will obtain subscriptions from individuals 

 and learned societies. (4) An International 

 Commission shall be appointed by the Con- 

 gress to audit the accounts, assure the per- 

 manence and supervise the operations of 

 the Bureau. This commission shall be 

 composed of seven members, each of a dif- 

 ferent nationality ; it shall report to the 

 International Zoological Congress, and shall 

 be renewable, in alphabetical order, a,t each 

 meeting of the Congress. 



These recommendations were unani- 

 mously adopted and the following com- 

 mission was then appointed: For England, 

 Prof. S. J. Hickson ; for France, Prof. 

 K. Blanchard ; for Germany, Prof. J. W. 



