594 



SCIENCE. 



[N. S. Vol. XXIV. No. 619. 



island an adult would approach and seize a 

 young on the outskirts of the flock. At other 

 times attacks would be made on young just 

 coming up the beach from the water, while 

 several times those that for some hours had 

 been unmolested near the center of the island 

 were apparently without provocation set upon 

 and left in a dying condition. The main 

 point of attack was the back of the head. To 

 this region a number of severe blows were 

 given with the point of the bill, after which 

 it was grasped between the mandibles of the 

 adult and the bird was pulled about until the 

 skin and flesh were cut through to the skull. 

 Sometimes the young fell on its back with 

 feet convulsively kicking in the air. In this 

 position the carpal joint of the wing and the 

 breast seemed to be the points at which blows 

 were mainly aimed. If the young escaped 

 by running or was left apparently lifeless but 

 subsequently revived and made off during the 

 absence of its persecutor it was at once at- 

 tacked by any other adult that happened to 

 be near. 



I am unable to convince myself that this 

 destruction of their young was due to molesta- 

 tion of the colony, as has been suggested to 

 me, but I have no other explanation to offer, 

 unless it be impatience at the toll of regurgi- 

 tated fish that the young levy upon the old. 



I wish to inquire whether this murderous 

 action on the part of the herring gull or of 

 other birds has been noted in other colonies 

 and whether any plausible explanation of it 

 can be given. Henry L. Ward. 



Public Museum, Milwaukee. 



an unusual meteor. 



To THE Editor op Science: In connection 

 with the sinuous trail left by the meteor de- 

 scribed by E. E. Davis in your issue for 

 August 3 and discussed by Professor Abbe in 

 that for September 14, I might remark that a 

 similar phenomenon was seen and sketched in 

 the case of a fine meteor seen in Ontario on 

 July 5, 1898, a full account of which is to be 

 found in the Transactions of the Astronom- 

 ical and Physical Society of Toronto for 1898, 

 page 74. C. A. Chant. 



Toronto, October 16, 1906. 



A correction. 



Mr. Bassler, of the U. S. National Mu- 

 seum, has called my attention to a serious 

 error of mine on page 1,209, foot-note, of 

 the Thirtieth Annual Report of the Indiana 

 Department of Geology and Natural Re- 

 sources. In discussing two species of corals, 

 Cystelasma rugosum and C. quinqueseptatum 

 Ulrich, figured and named, but without formal 

 descriptions, by Mr. Ulrich in Professional 

 Paper 36 of the United States Geological 

 Survey, the foot-note states : ' These specimens 

 are neither described nor do they have the 

 internal structure shown.' The statement re- 

 fers to both species instead of 0. rugosum. 

 It was intended to apply to C. rugosum but 

 not to C. quinqueseptatum. As it is the state- 

 ment is untrue, as the internal structure of 

 C. quinqueseptatum is clearly and accu- 

 rately shown in Mr. Ulrich's figures. This is 

 a reflection upon Mr. Ulrich which was not 

 intended and for which I wish to apologize. 



The great accuracy with which Mr. Ulrich 

 portrays the characters observed and his un- 

 usual powers of discrimination are well known 

 and I would be the last one to question them, 

 especially when I had not examined the speci- 

 mens figured, as was the case in this instance. 

 Printed slips will be sent to all those receiving 

 copies of the separates of the paper (' Fauna 

 of the Salem Limestone of Southern Indi- 

 ana ') in which the error occurs. Inasmuch 

 as it is impossible to reach all those receiving 

 the bound volumes, it will be a favor if those 

 having them will note the correction in the 

 book. 



J. W. Beede. 



SPECIAL ARTICLES. 

 A NEW ARTEMIA AND ITS LIFE CONDITIONS. 



The classic observations and experiments 

 of Schmankewitsch thirty years ago on the 

 Artemias of certain salt pools near Odessa 

 (Russia) clothe this curious phyllopod genus 

 with a peculiar interest to zoologists and to 

 students of species-forming. This interest 

 has been renewed by the occasional reconsid- 

 eration of Schmankewitch's data, and more 

 rarely by the actual reexamination of Artemia 



