590 



SCIENCE. 



[N. S. Vol. XV. No. 380. 



deciduous trees. Acts to prevent further cut- 

 ting of timber were passed in 1720, etc. At 

 present the town of Provincetown forbids pass- 

 ing out of certain beaten paths in the wooded 

 district, to prevent further loosening of the 

 sand. Hundreds of acres have been replanted 

 by the state, the lands of Provincetown having 

 been successively reserved as common property 

 of the colony, province and state; it is only 

 within a few years that the land in actual 

 occupation in and near the town has been 

 granted by the state to the occupants. In 

 reclaiming the sands, AmmopMla or beach 

 grass has been planted first, then bayberry, 

 then Pinus rigida, the native pine of the re- 

 gion. Sand-loving species have since become 

 well established as an undergrowth, but the 

 new growth shows no sign of ever equalling 

 the original. The same is true at Block 

 Island, where the original forest had become 

 established while the island was connected 

 with the mainland. The sand flora is remark- 

 able for the great areas closely covered with 

 Arctostaphylos Uva-Ursi; this, with Riihus 

 hispidus and some plants of Corema Gonradii, 

 is the chief means of forming the sand into 

 turf. The species collected in Provincetown 

 numbered ninety-four, among which Corema 

 Conradii seems not to have been recorded from 

 that town since Thoreau's visit in 1849. 



The third paper was a note by Mr. A. P. An- 

 derson on 'Tuckahoe or Indian Bread.' A 

 specimen was exhibited, a mass about two feet 

 long, made up of seemingly annual additions 

 indicating ten years' growth. Similar speci- 

 mens have been found in the South along roots 

 of oak and other trees, usually about two feet 

 below the surface, obtained chiefly when clear- 

 ing land of old stumps. Undoubtedly a 

 fungus growth, and probably a Sclerotium, it 

 has never been seen to produce spores. The 

 whole substance consists of a septated myce- 

 lium with abundance of white pectose. Eu- 

 rope contains the same species, and another 

 in China has been used there for many cen- 

 turies in medicine. Experiments by Mr. An- 

 derson showed that portions separated from 

 the roots of the host plant were alive in the 

 soil after a half-year. Wliere the cortex was 

 removed it was renewed. 



A note by Eev. L. IT. Lighthipe followed, with 

 a communication from Mr. C. L. Pollard re- 

 garding his new species Viola Angellw. He 

 exhibited a water-color showing its spring 

 and summer forms of leaf. An excursion for 

 its collection about the Orange Mountains was 

 suggested. 



Edward S. Burgess, 

 Secretary. 



THE LAS VEGAS SCIENCE CLUB. 



At the regular monthly meeting, held Feb- 

 ruary 13, Mr. E. L. Hewett presented the re- 

 sults of some studies of Navajo blankets, with 

 special reference to the origin and meaning 

 of the designs. Two blankets were exhibited 

 which showed the Suastika design, which 

 seemed to be especially prevalent among the 

 Navajos, and not to have been derived from 

 the older blanl^et-makers, the Pueblos. Un- 

 fortunately the most modern blanl^ets were 

 less beautiful and less interesting than the 

 old ones, because the introduction of diamond 

 dyes had led to the use of many inharmonious 

 colors, and the makers also seemed frequently 

 careless or ignorant of the meaning of the 

 symbolic figures, employing them in a hap- 

 hazard way. 



T. D. A. C. 



DI8GV88I0N AND CORRESPONDENCE. 



SONG IN BIRDS. 



To THE Editor of Science : Two articles on 

 song in birds have recently appeared in Sci- 

 ence, from the pen of Mr. W. E. D. Scott, of 

 Princeton University.* The first of these, at 

 least, has been widely read and freely quoted, 

 and as an amateur bird observer I do not like 

 to see such widely infiuential work passed by 

 without comment, so I beg to offer a few 

 criticisms. 



In the first article, Mr. Scott raises the 

 question as. to how the song of each bird orig- 

 inates — whether it is inlierited or acquired 

 by some sort of education. He then details 

 an experiment which was carried on, evidently 

 with great care, for a period of nearly five 

 years. Finally, he draws from his experiment 



* Science, October 4, 1901, p. 522, and January 

 31, 1902, p. 178. 



