DECEMBER 8, 1899. ] 
mage of Somateria spectabilis: Arthur H. 
Norten ; The Summer Molting Plumage of 
Hider Ducks: Witmer Stone; An Oregon 
Fish Hawk Colony: Vernon Bailey ; The 
Sequence of Plumages and Molts in Certain 
Families of North American Birds: Jona- 
than Dwight, Jr. ; The Ranges of Hylocichla 
fuscescens and Hylocichla f. salicicola: Regin- 
ald Heber Howe, Jr. ; On the Occurrence of 
the Egyptian Goose, (Chenolopex cegyptiacw) 
in North America: Frank C. Kirkwood ; 
Further Remarks on the Relationships of 
the Grackles of the Subgenus Quiscalus : 
Frank M. Chapman; A Peculiar Sparrow 
Hawk: William Palmer; The Require- 
ments of a Faunal List: W. HE. Clyde Todd ; 
Language of the Birds: Nelson R. Wood ; 
A New Wren from Alaska: Harry C. Ober- 
holser ; The Molt of the-Flight-Feathers in 
various Orders of Birds: Witmer Stone ;- 
Some Cuban Birds: John W. Daniel, Jr. ; 
On the Orientation of Birds: Captain Ga- 
briel Reynaud, French army. 
The next meeting will be held in Cam- 
bridge, Mass., commencing November 12, 
1900. 
Joun H. Saaz, 
Secretary. 
DEMONSTRATING THE CURVE OF THE BASE 
BALL IN PHE LECTURE ROOM. 
Tue limited space in the lecture room, 
and the presence of one’s audience makes a 
demonstration of curve pitching difficult 
even if one has the necessary skill. If the 
curve is to be made at all apparent ina 
limited space the ball must be exceedingly 
light, and the axial rotation very rapid. 
I have found the ordinary oak-ball or oak- 
apple very suitable for this purpose. The 
rough surface gives the necessary friction, 
and the ball itself is as light as an egg shell 
and much stronger. 
A strip of rubber band about 15 ems. long 
and 0.5 em. wide is wound under tension 
around the ball (two or three turns are 
enough), and the ball ‘ catapulted’ forward 
' SCIENCE. 
851 
by means of /the remainder of the band as 
shown in the figure. The ball will rise, 
drop, or curve to oneside, according to the 
position in which it is held.. A total de- 
flection of 45° is easily obtained, and when 
pitching the rise (which is the case shown 
in the figure) the ball, starting in a hori- 
zontal direction, will sometimes ascend half 
way to the ceiling. This curve is the most 
striking of course, as the attraction of grav- 
itation is overcome. It shows to the best 
advantage when thrown directly away from 
the observer, but this of course is difficult - 
in the lecture hall. 
These oak balls are also very suitable for 
showing the suspension of a ball in an air 
jet. 
R. W. Woop. 
THE ANNUAL REPORT OF THE SECRETARY 
OF AGRICULTURE. 
Tue report of the Secretary of Agricul- 
ture for 1899, just issued, shows that the 
Department has had a prosperous year and 
that the volume of its practical and admin- 
istrative work has largely increased. At 
the same time there has been advancement 
in a number of lines of technical and scien- 
tific work. 
The extension of the Weather Bureau 
service around the Carribean Sea has been 
abundantly successful in noting the first 
indications of cyclones and forecasting their 
movements. Warnings of cold waves have 
been particularly successful during the past 
year. <A climate and crop service has been 
successfully established in Cuba and Puerto 
Rico, and similar work in Alaska has been 
extended into the interior. The records of 
