564 



SCIENCE. 



[N. S. Vol. III. No. 67. 



two feet. I could hear a pronounced rattle as 

 the material was dragged down the shore, and 

 several boulders as big as hen's eggs were 

 rolled three to four feet. Following the with- 

 drawal of the water was a series of waves pro- 

 duced by the prow and sides of the boat. 

 These waves, some of which were a foot high, 

 occurred in sets of three, three more noticeable 

 sets, followed by many smaller ones. They 

 sorted material up to the size of a walnut. 



In streams, such as this one, which form the 

 paths of commerce for many cities, the erosion 

 produced by the combined passage of craft of 

 all kinds must be a not-inconsiderable factor. 



G. W. TOWEE. 

 U. S. Geological Survey, Washington, D. C. 



SCIENTIFIC LITERATURE. 

 The Polar Hares of Eastern North America, with 



Descriptions of New Forms. By Samuel N. 



Rhoads. Am. Naturalist, March, 1896, pp. 



234-239. 



The Polar Hare of North America was 

 separated from that of Scandinavia by Leach 

 as long ago as 1819, since which date its specific 

 distinctness has been admitted by nearly all 

 mammalogists. Still, Mr. Rhoads finds it neces- 

 sary to reestablish its claim to recognition, and 

 also to drop the time-honored name glacialis 

 conferred by the naturalist Leach, who de- 

 scribed it, and to substitute therefor the name 

 arcticus, under which it was mentioned by 

 Capt. John Ross, commander of the expedition 

 which brought back the specimen. Capt. Ross 

 was not a naturalist and made no claim to 

 technical knowledge of zoology, but iu his re- 

 port on the expedition he mentioned, under the 

 heading ' Zoological Memoranda,' a number of 

 mammals and birds. Among these the Polar 

 Hare naturally found a place. His brief account 

 of this animal begins with the words: 'Species 

 Lepus arcticus, Leach,' from which it is to be 

 inferred that Leach, who gave him the name, 

 at that time intended to use it. Capt. Ross 

 stated further : ' ' Dr. Leach thinks it [the 

 Polar Hare of Baffin Land] to be very distinct 

 from the common White Hare of Scotland 

 (Lepus albus, Brisson) and equally so from the 

 Lepus variabilis, Pallas. See Appendix, No. 

 V." — showing that all he knew of the animal 



came from Leach. Leach contributed to Capt. 

 Ross' report a chapter entitled, 'Descriptions of 

 the New Species of Animals Discovered by His 

 Majesty's Ship Isabella in a Voyage to the 

 Arctic Regions' (Vol. II., pp. 169-179). Leach's 

 name glacialis, followed by a Latin diagnosis 

 and English description, occurs on page 170, 

 while the name arcticus, as published by Ross, is 

 on page 151 of the same volume. 



Briefly stated, the facts seem to be these : 

 Leach, the naturalist, discovered that the 

 American Polar Hare is different from the 

 European and described it under the name 

 arcticus, which name he changed before the re- 

 port was printed, perhaps while it was passing 

 through the press, to glacialis. Capt. Ross pub- 

 lished the name and facts communicated to him 

 by Leach, and the sequence of chapters gave 

 him twenty pages priority. The question is, 

 shall the name of a new species, given by a 

 naturalist of repute and accompanied by a 

 proper diagnosis, be set aside because an acci- 

 dent of sequence brings another name a few 

 pages earlier in the same publication. This 

 question Mr. Rhoads answers in the affirmative. 

 The verdict of other naturalists on the same 

 point is of interest. A hasty examination of the 

 literature shows that ten persons have used the 

 name arcticus, while thirty-six have used the 

 name glacialis, as follows : 



AUTHOES WHO MENTION THE AMERICAN POLAR 

 HARE UNDER THE NAME ARCTICUS. 



Eoss, 1819 Trouessart, 1880 



Gray, 1843, 1867 Coues, 1884 



Gen-ard, 1862 Murdoch, 1885 



Fitzinger, 1867 True, 1887 



Allen, 1875, 1877 Ehoads, 1896 



AUTHORS WHO MENTION THE AMERICAN POLAR 

 HARE UNDER THE NAJIE GLACIALIS. 



Leach, 1819 Gray 4 Ray, 1850 



Sabine, 1823 Audubon &Bachman, 1854 



Jameson & Scoresby, 1823 Baird, 1857 



Parry, 1824 Osborn, 1859 



Richardson, 1825, 1829 Bernard J. Ross, 1862 



1836, 1839 



Harlan, 1825 Murray, 1866 



J. C. Ross, 1825, 1826 Chenu, 1867 



Godman, 1826 Brown, 1868, 1875 



Lesson, 1827, 1842 Dall, 1870 



Hamilton Smith, 1827 Allen, 1871 



