270 



SCIENCE. 



[N. S. Vol. XV. No. 372. 



case and making a list of Dumeril's names for 

 future reference, it was found that among 

 them was one called Pleurotomarius, founded 

 on the animal of Pleurotoma Lamarck. This, 

 if the above obnoxious custom were adopted, 

 would oblige us to reject Pleurotomaria J. 

 Sowerby, and its equivalent Pleurotomarium 

 Blainville, for the well-known archaic genus 

 of mollusks which has been accepted by every- 

 body since 1821. The type of Pleurotomarius 

 Dumeril, furnished by Froriep in his transla- 

 tion of 1806, is Pleurotoma babylonia La- 

 marck, which is the type of Lamarck's genus 

 Pleurotoma, 1799. 



David Griffiths described, under the title 

 'A Seed Planter,' the peculiar method by 

 which the seeds of Plantago fastigata are en- 

 abled to obtain a foothold on the baked plains 

 of the southwest. The seeds of this plant 

 are very abundant and are scattered far and 

 wide, accumulating in every little depression. 

 After the slightest shower these seeds are sur- 

 rounded by a thick mucilaginous layer which, 

 as it dries and shrinks, creates a minute pit 

 under each seed, into which it sinks and is 

 covered with dust and buried ready to ger- 

 minate and send down a rootlet after the next 

 shower. 



F. A. Lucas presented 'A Phase of the Blue 

 Fox Question,' referring to a paper read be- 

 fore the Society two years ago, in which he 

 described the methods of trapping blue foxes 

 devised by Mr. James Judge and employed on 

 St. George Island of the Pribilof group. Lie 

 recalled that males only were kept in the en- 

 deavor to make the foxes polygamous and his 

 remark that the results of the experiment 

 would be awaited with interest. The present 

 communication gave the observations of Mr. 

 Walter I. Lembkey, Treasury Agent, showing 

 that after four years of trapping there was no 

 evident increase either in the total number of 

 foxes, or in the number of females, The en- 

 tire paper will be given later in Science. 



Eodney H. True discussed at some length 

 'The Physiology of Sea Water' and a synop- 

 sis of the paper will be found in the account 

 of the meeting of the Society of Plant Mor- 

 phology and Physiology given in Science. 

 F. A. Lucas. 



NATIONAL geographic SOCIETY. 



The meeting of January 10 was devoted al- 

 most wholly to business affairs. The follow- 

 ing named gentlemen were elected to serve as 

 managers for the ensuing three years: Alex- 

 ander Graham Bell, Henry Gannett, A. W. 

 Greely, Angelo Lleilprin, Eussell Hinman, W 

 J McGee, GifPord Pinchot and Otto H. Titt- 

 mann. The secretary's report showed an in- 

 crease in membership, the total being over 

 2,600. 



At the meeting of January 24 Dr. L. A. 

 Bauer, in charge of the Division of Terrestrial 

 Magnetism, U. S. Coast and Geodetic Survey, 

 gave an account of the magnetic survey of the 

 United States now being prosecuted. The im- 

 portance of an accurate knowledge of the va- 

 riation of the magnetic compass was dwelt on 

 at some length. 



The present survey involves a determination 

 of the compass variation throughout the 

 United States and the publication of the re- 

 sults in such form as shall be most useful'to 

 those interested. Stations about 25 miles 

 apart have been established for the purpose of 

 ascertaining the compass variation, while four 

 magnetic observatories have been installed at 

 the following named places: Oheltenliam, 

 Md. ; Baldwin, Eans. ; Sitka, Alaska, and 

 Honolulu, Hawaii. At these observatories 

 complete records of all the magnetic elements 

 will be obtained. 



The second paper of the evening was by Mr. 

 James Page of the Ilydrographic Office, Navy 

 Department, on Ocean Currents. Mr. Page 

 showed that an intimate relation existed be- 

 tween the general atmospheric circulation and 

 the system of ocean currents, and that the 

 latter were due directly or indirectly to the 

 frictional action of the wind. The rate of 

 drift of ocean currents varies greatly; in ex- 

 treme cases it might be as much as 75 to 100 

 miles in 24 hours, but generally it is very 

 much less, not more than 20 to 30 miles in 24 

 hours. A. J. Henry, 



Secretary. 



SCIENCE CLUB, university OF WISCONSIN. 



At the December meeting of the Science 

 Club of the University of Wisconsin, Decem- 



