778 



SCIENCE. 



[N. S. Vol. II. No. 49. 



PSYCHE, DECEMBER. 



Prof. Vernon Kellogg discusses the nomen- 

 clature of the venation of the wings in insects, 

 with special reference to the veins in Ephe- 

 meridfe termed premedia and postmedia by 

 Comstock, which the author does not regard as 

 independent veins ; illustrative figures are given. 

 Dr. A. Davidson gives some notes on the nest 

 and parasites of a California bee, Prosopis vari- 

 frons, one of the parasites being described as 

 new by Ashmead. By the aid of a new figure, 

 Mr. H. G. Dyar corrects his former account of 

 the arrangement of the hairs in the larva of 

 Apatelodes torrefacta, and discusses the number 

 of its stages. Miss C. G. Soule describes the 

 early stages of Deidainia inseripta, and Mr. F. H. 

 Sprague records the capture of the large Acrid- 

 ian, Schistocerca americana, near Boston, Mass. 

 An account (already published in Science) is 

 given of the insect collection of the United 

 States National Museum, and the Proceedings 

 of the Cambridge Entomological Club for Oc- 

 tober are added. In a supplement are illus- 

 trated papers from the New Mexico Agricultural 

 Station by Cockerell, Baker and Gillette de- 

 scribing various insects, with some account of 

 their habits. 



SOCIETIES AND ACADEMIES. 



BIOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON, 249TH 

 MEETING, SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 16. 



Prof. Barton W. Evermann presented a 

 paper on the fishes of the Missouri River Basin. 



In its relation to the distribution of its fishes 

 the Missouri Basin may be divided into three 

 parts, viz.: 1. The western or mountainous 

 portion, which is heavily timbered with co- 

 niferous forests, which has an abundant rainfall, 

 and whose streams are clear, cold and pure. 2. 

 The middle belt, extending from the forest 

 covered mountains on the west to the western 

 limit of abundant rainfall and deciduous forests 

 on the east, a broad region with limited vegeta- 

 tion and rainfall, large areas of alkali soil which 

 erodes very easily, and whose streams are shal- 

 low, shifting and full of alkali and solid matter 

 in suspension. 3. The eastern belt, covered 

 with deciduous trees, possessing abundant mois- 

 ture, and whose streams are fairly clear and 

 pure, though not cold. 



The total number of fishes known to occur in 

 the Missouri Basin is 140 species, representing 

 24 families and 68 genera. 



The principal families represented are the 

 following: Cyprinidte, 49 species; Percidse, 20 

 species; Catostomidse, 15 species; Centrarchidae, 

 12 species; Siluridse, 10 species. 



The great majority of the species are found 

 only in the eastern belt, over 100 of the 140 

 being found only east of the 102d meridian. 

 Only 11 species are characteristic of the western 

 belt, and only 45 species are known from the 

 Missouri Basin portions of North Dakota, Mon- 

 tana, Wyoming and Colorado. 



In the middle belt there are few species and 

 all the fishes there have a more or less bleached 

 appearance, as a result of the peculiar environ- 

 ment of the alkaline water. Perhaps the best 

 example of bleaching is seen in the flat-headed 

 minnow {Platygohio gracilis) which, of all fishes, 

 seems best adapted to these conditions. 



One of the most interesting results of the 

 field work upon which the paper was based was 

 the definite determination of the westward 

 limit of spiny-rayed fishes. West of the 96th 

 meridian only a dozen species of this large 

 group are known. Three species were found 

 as far west as 98°38', while only a single speci- 

 men {Etheostoma ioivse) was found as far west as 

 100°30'. 



Dr. Frank Baker spoke of the nomenclature 

 of nerve cells, calling attention to the unsatis- 

 factory character of the terms hitherto proposed 

 for the elementary units of the nervous system. 

 The following were especially mentioned : 



Neuron (Waldeyer), has the form of a collec- 

 tive ; neurodendron (Kolliker), cumbrous and 

 not characteristic of all stages ; neura (Rauber), 

 has the form of a plural. 



The term 7ieure seems better and lends itself 

 well to combination. The cells of the nerve 

 roots (cellules radiculaires, von Gehuchteu), 

 could be called ritizoneiires, the columnar cells 

 (cellules des cordons), axoneures; commissural cells 

 (cellules des voics courtes) would be zygoneures ; 

 long-path cells like those of the pyramidal 

 tract (cellules des voies tongues) would be ma- 

 arodromic neures, from Gr. /ioKpoc, (5p<i,uof, long 

 course. Rhizoneures could be divided into 

 neures of sensation, xsthesioneures and neures 



