JANUARY 18, 1901.] 
tracting its juices, which are then swallowed by 
the worker. When the mass has reached a 
pulp like consistency it is distributed to the 
feeding larve which occupy the cells of the 
nest. This habit has been thought to arise by 
imitation of the queen or an older worker, but 
that it is independent of such example is proved 
by the fact that it is acquired in all its perfection 
by wasps which have had no association with 
others of their kind. 
8. The locality study. This is a mere desul- 
tory alternation of short flights and strolls, by 
means of which the wasp comes in contact with 
objects surrounding its nest. It appears to use 
these objects to some extent as landmarks, but 
experiments indicate that the olfactory sense is 
also an important factor in guiding it. 
4. In a way the wasp remembers. This is 
indicated by its behavior when a change is 
made in its nest, and also by its accustoming 
itself to the appearance of strange objects. 
5. Wasps learn nothing from one another. 
Instinct and individual experience account en- 
tirely for their complex activities, and their ap- 
parent cooperation is due to the accident of be- 
ing born in the same nest. 
At the session of November 28 Mr. C. M. 
Child gave a brief account of some zoological 
observations made during a recent trip to 
Florida, and showed a number of specimens. 
Following this, Mr. E. R. Downing discussed 
“Recent Experiments on Sea-Urchin Eggs,’ re- 
ferring chiefly to the work of Driesch. 
The last session of the club for the autumn 
quarter was held December 12. This was 
devoted to a paper by Mr. C. C. Adams, enti- 
tled ‘Geographical Distribution of Variations 
in Jo.’ The paper was illustrated by a number 
of lantern-slides, showing series of the shells 
from different localities. 
The following abstract gives an outline of 
Mr. Adams’s work on this form: 
The gasteropod genus Jo is found only in the 
headwaters of the Tennessee River and its 
tributaries. By the aid of a grant from the 
American Association for the Advancement of 
Science the Clinch and Powell Rivers were ex- 
plored and the following facts concerning its 
geographical distribution and variations were 
discovered : 
SCIENCE. 
113 
These shells*are remarkably variable, all in- 
termediates being found between a smooth 
shell (Jo fluvialis Say) and a very spinose shell 
(Io spinosa Lea). The extremes of variation do 
not occur promiscuously in all localities, but 
are quite definite in their occurrence. In the 
headwaters of both streams the smooth shells 
form the dominant population, but farther 
down stream, in the case of the Clinch River 
within 60 miles, the entire shell population 
changes from a smooth to a very spinose shell. 
In the intermediate region the shells are mixed, 
smooth, spiny and intermediate. 
The headwater shells in the Powell are more 
globular and relatively stable, have low or 
no spines, distance between spines small and 
slightly variable. Down stream the shells are 
less globular and relatively variable, spines 
high and fairly stable, distance between spines 
wide and variable. 
In the Clinch the headwater shells are more 
globular (similar to those in the head of the 
Powell) and relatively variable, low or no 
spines, distance between spines small and 
slightly variable. Down stream the shells are 
less globular and relatively stable, spines are 
high and variable, distance between spines 
wide and stable. 
Thus these parallel streams have parallel 
differences in their Jo shells. 
C. M. Cuip, 
Secretary. 
DISCUSSION AND CORRESPONDENCE. 
THE U. 8. NAVAL OBSERVATORY. 
TO THE EDITOR OF SCIENCE: Every reader 
of SCIENCE must have been greatly interested 
in two recent editorials discussing the Naval 
Observatory at Washington and its work, but 
many of them will regret that where so much 
is said and so well said, the real meat of the 
controversy is left untouched, although in the 
last paragraph it seems to be ‘scented.’ Is it 
not true that the question in the minds of most 
thoughtful people is—what, in the name of 
reason is the use of having the Observatory for 
astronomical research under the Navy Depart- 
ment, any way ?—why not just as well a geo- 
logical survey? If this question be pertinent 
it cannot be impertinent and why do scientific 
