192 



SCIENCE. 



[N. S. Vol. XV. No. 370. 



fewer bites of the disagreeable leaf, soon re- 

 fusing it altogether. Here again individual 

 temperament is shown in the reaction of lar- 

 V£e in this respect. When spinning their co- 

 coons the larvEB of Samia cynthia and 0. pro- 

 methea are geotropic, for if the cocoon be in- 

 verted soon after the completion of the outer 

 envelope, the pupae are sometimes found re- 

 versed also, and may thus be imprisoned in 

 the cocoon; for the densely -woven (normally 

 lower) end of the cocoon is probably impene- 

 trable to the issuing moth. A series of ex- 

 periments are now being tried to determine 

 whether the peculiar coloration of male moths 

 in dimorphic species is due to sexual selection 

 on the part of the female. In the case of 

 Callosamia promethea there appears to be none, 

 for males are accepted even when female wings 

 are pasted upon them, or when their wings or 

 scales are entirely removed. In the case of 

 0. dispar, however, there is a decided selec- 

 tion against males whose wings have been cut 

 off; 57 per cent, of the perfect males succeed 

 in mating with the females, while only 19 per 

 cent, of the wingless males are successful. 

 The peculiar coloration of the males in these 

 cases has probably not been brought about 

 through the agency of sexual selection on the 

 part of the female, but may be due to race- 

 tendency toward variation in a definite direc- 

 tion unchecked by natural selection. 



Dr. Linville, in his paper, showed that the 

 investigation of the habits of Amphitrite or- 

 nata and Diopatra cuprea brings to light many 

 interesting adaptations. The first named lives 

 in U-shaped tubes in sand and mud, access to 

 food and water being possible at either end. 

 Additions to the tube are made at the ends 

 by the tentacles, which are continually draw- 

 ing in small masses of sand. However, there 

 is every indication that in this animal, where 

 no occasion exists for a protecting tube, con- 

 tiniied tube-building is merely incidental to 

 food-getting. Food is brought to the mouth, 

 which is always concealed, in the masses of 

 sand and in water currents created by the in- 

 ward-lashing cilia which thickly cover the 

 tentacles. Diopatra lives in a tough, mucus- 

 lined tube, with its deeper end bare and serv- 

 ing as an anchor, while its outer free end is 



studded with bits of shell and gravel. The 

 animal may expose its anterior portion while 

 searching for food and for suitable material 

 to add to its tube. Observations made in the 

 laboratory indicate that the animal chooses 

 these materials by tactile sense-organs in the 

 cephalic cirri. The particle is grasped be- 

 tween the palps or by the mandibles, or by 

 both, and is then conveyed with a fair degree 

 of precision to a place at the edge of the tube. 

 During the construction, Diopatra periodical- 

 ly ceases to build in order to 'glue' the gravel 

 and shell together. The mucous-secreting or- 

 gans are pads upon the ventral surface near 

 the head. These organs are brought in con- 

 tact with the inner surface of the tube by 

 long and vigorous contractions and expansions 

 of the trunk segments. All or nearly all of 

 the newly constructed portions are gone over 

 in this way before the animal renews its 

 search for new bits of gravel and shell. 



Henry E. Crampton, 



Secretary. 



THE BOSTON SOCIETY OF NATURAL HISTORY. 



An interesting exhibition of lantern slides 

 of 'New England Birds was given by Mr. 

 Reginald Heber Howe, Junior, at the meeting 

 of December 4, 1901. Among the more in- 

 teresting views shown was one of a phcebe's 

 nest built inside a barrel, and a series taken 

 on Seal Island, Maine, illustrating the breed- 

 ing-grounds and nesting-tunnels of the Leach's 

 petrel. A unique photograph was that of a 

 male chestnut-sided warbler standing on the 

 edge of its nest, in the act of removing excre- 

 ment of the young. A number of views were 

 shown of ospreys' nests, some biiilt, as along 

 the Maine coast, in trees by the shore, others, 

 as commonly in Rhode- Island, on cartwheels, 

 elevated on the ends of poles for the use of 

 the birds. 



At the meeting of December 18, Mr. John 

 G. Jack gave an account of forestry and gra- 

 zing in the Bighorn Reserve, Wyoming. The 

 great value of the forest for holding water, 

 and thus insuring a permanent water supply, 

 was pointed out, and the disastrous effects of 

 forest fires were illustrated by a series of Ian- 



