72 



SCIENCE. 



[N. S. Vol. XV. No. 367. 



Two very brilliant meteors fell at 5.28 a. m., 

 ISTovember 15, and their patlis crossed each 

 other. One came from the radiant and the 

 other from below Leo and cut the trail of the 

 first under Canes Venatici. The trails were 

 30 degrees long. 



The hope was expressed that next year we 

 would be favored with a shower more brilliant 

 and comparable to the showers of 1833 and 

 1866. 



r. L. Tufts, 

 Secretary. 



TORREY BOTANICAL CLUB. 



The first paper on the scientific program on 

 December 10, 1901, was by Professor L. M. 

 Underwood on 'The Genus Gleichenia.' This 

 was illustrated by specimens and sketches, 

 showing the principal natural tj^pes. The 

 paper will be published in full in an early 

 number of the Bulletin. 



Mrs. N. L. Britton presented 'Notes on Ma- 

 coun's Recent Collections of Canadian 

 Mosses,' speaking of collections made by Pro- 

 fessor J. Macoun during the past summer in 

 the lower peninsula of Ontario between Lake 

 Erie and Lake Ontario. Special mention was 

 made of Seligeria campylopoda Kindb., pre- 

 viously known only from Owen Sound, but 

 now collected at Niagara Falls. This moss 

 ordinarily grows in pockets in limestone rocks 

 and being very small is easily overlooked. 

 Mrs. Britton alluded also to the synonymy of 

 Polytrichum Ohioense Een. & Card. This 

 species was distributed by Drummond in his 

 Musei Americani as Polytrichum pallidisetum 

 and is apparently the same as what was after- 

 wards recognized in the Manual of Lesquereux 

 and James as Polytrichum formosum, var. 

 pallidisetum, biit whether the original Poly- 

 trichum pallidisetum of Funlv is identical re- 

 mains to be determined. 



Dr. P. A. Rydberg in 'A Review of a Re- 

 cent Monograph of the Ranunculacese ' dis- 

 cussed the work recently written by Dr. K. C. 

 Davis. 



The fijial paper was by Mr. S. H. Burnham 

 and was entitled 'Notes on the Flora of the 

 Lake George Region.' Mr. Burnham referred 

 especially to Bidens Beclcii, an aquatic plant 



growing in five or six feet of water in muddy 

 streams, and to his experiences in collecting it 

 through the ice during the last week of No- 

 vember of the present year. He also alluded 

 to the restriction of Castalia iuherosa to the 

 streams flowing directly into Lake Champlain 

 while Castalia odorata alone is found in the 

 Lake George Basin. 



Marshall A. Howe, 

 Secretary pro tern. 



NORTHERN SECTION OF THE AMERICAN CHEMICAL 

 SOCIETY. 



The regular monthly meeting of the Sec- 

 tion was held on Tuesday evening, December 

 IT, in the Kidder lecture room of the Massa- 

 chusetts Institute of Technology. Professor 

 C. F. Chandler, of Columbia University, ad- 

 dressed the Society on 'The Electro-chemical 

 Industries at Niagara Falls.' After tracing 

 the historical development of electro-chem- 

 istry. Professor Chandler proceeded to discuss 

 the development of the Castner process for the 

 manufacture of sodium, sodium hydroxide, 

 peroxide and cyanide, and the utilization of 

 the chlorine from the salt for the manufacture 

 of bleaching powder. The Flail process for the 

 manufacture of aluminium together with the 

 electrolytic purification of bauxite was then 

 discussed and illustrated by a large number of 

 beautiful specimens. The preparation and ap- 

 plications of carborundum, graphite, phos- 

 phorus and calcium carbide were considered in 

 detail and were used to illustrate the rapid 

 development of the electro-chemical industries 

 at Niagara Falls. 



Henry Fay, 

 Secretary. 



DISCUSSION AND CORRESPONDENCE. 



-the measurement of wind AT SEA. 



To THE Editor op Science: In conducting 

 at sea the meteorological observations with 

 kites that have been described in Science, it 

 was necessary to deduce from the observations 

 on the ship and from the record of velocity 

 at the kite the true direction and velocity of 

 the wind at sea-level and in the upper air, 

 respectively. Knowing the resultant direction 



