Apbil 17, 1896.] 



SCIENCE. 



579 



and its management is the highest test of 

 his capabilities. Every species fi-om a 

 single locality, in whatever permanent col- 

 lection it may be, should be registered upon 

 a separate card giving name, systematic 

 position, terrane, locality, number of speci- 

 mens, source whence obtained, place of dis- 

 position in museum, museum register num- 

 ber, and, if a type published or even a 

 specimen especially referred to in a publi- 

 cation, an exact reference should be given 

 to page and plate. Such cards should be 

 arranged alphabetically, and without regard 

 to any other classification. By the aid of 

 this catalogue, the curator is in the position 

 to know just what material the museum 

 has in stock, and can respond promptly to 

 requests for the loan of material, siuce the 

 place of any specimen can be ascertained at 

 once. The bulk of the fossil collections 

 being arranged stratigraphically, faunal 

 geologists and paleontologists will be able 

 to secure promptly any desired information 

 without the necessity of referring to the 

 catalogues, while other students of extinct 

 life can refer to any or all the species of a 

 group in the museum by the aid of the 

 catalogues. The cards of this catalogue in 

 use in the U. S. Museum are 4^x6 f inches. 



Additional aid can be given the systematic 

 biologist by providing a generic catalogue 

 grouped into classes. Only those genera of 

 which there is material in the museum will 

 have representation in this catalogue. On 

 these cards may also be given the type 

 species and its locality and the place of 

 original description. 



The Duplicate collection exists for exchange 

 purposes only, is constantly changing, and 

 requires no attention except in the matter 

 of preservation of identifications. 



In Recording the specimens in the U. S. 

 National Museum, each lot of fossils is 

 given a general accession number as soon 

 as received, and later, when the material 

 has been studied, each species from a single 



locality is given a permanent ' museum 

 register number.' The latter, when practic- 

 able, is written upon each specimen, and op- 

 posite this number in the record book is 

 entered the name, locality, date and any 

 remarks pertinent to its history. To 

 fossils brought together by the U. S. Geo- 

 logical Survey are attached small, round, 

 green or yellow tickets, upon which are 

 written numbers referring to the ' locality 

 book.' This method is preliminary to per- 

 manent record. Either system permits the 

 assembling in one tray for study, all the 

 material of a species from many localities, 

 without danger of confusing their history. 

 " Specimens can be named at any time, but 

 the locality once lost, the otgect becomes 

 comparatively valueless. The record of 

 donors should be accurate and complete so 

 that the specimens from any given source 

 can be traced at once to their location." * 



Types and illustrated specimens should 

 have in addition to the museum register 

 number, some conspicuous mark to call at- 

 tention to their great scientific value, and 

 to guard against loss. In the U. S. 

 National Museum a small, green, diamond- 

 shaped ticket is pasted on each specimen ; 

 this being a method long in use by Prof. 

 James Hall. Charles Schucheet. 



U. S. National Museum, 



Washington, D. C. 



THE FLOW OF TEE CONNEOTICUI BIVEE.f 

 There is a general and doubtless well- 

 founded belief that the cutting of the for- 

 ests is injurious to the flow of the streams 

 whose basins are thus denuded. This be- 

 lief is based upon the common experience of 

 men long familiar with the streams in ques- 

 tion, and is also supported by theory. Few 

 opportunities, however, exist for definitely 

 measuring the effect that is produced, for 

 the reason that upon very few streams have 



* Goode. (loc. cit., p. 58.) 



t Read before the American Forestry Assoeiati«a, 



