May 2, 1902.] 



SCIENCE. 



709 



other Small Objects for Museums,' and the 

 fourth instalment of 'Hygiene as a Subject for 

 Museum Illustration' gives the scheme of 

 arrangement for the domestic, conununal and 

 dwelling divisions. There are a description of 

 'The Stone-Age Gallery,' British Museum, and 

 a note on the 'Transvaal State Museum,' from 

 which it appears that England has granted 

 about £8,000 for its completion. If Great 

 Britain can give this sum for this far-away 

 Museum, it would seem as if the United States 

 with its claim to be the richest nation in the 

 world might provide a new ISTational Museum. 



The American Museum Journal for March 

 contains an abstract of the annual meeting of 

 its trustees, a note on 'A Fossil Armadillo 

 from Texas,' the program for 'The Interna- 

 tional Congress of Americanists ' and a note on 

 the remarkable beetle, 'Hypocephalus armatus 

 Desmarest.' The 'Guide Leaflet' accompany- 

 ing the number is by J. A. Allen and is devoted 

 to ' North American Ruminants.' It comprises 

 twenty-eight pages, an account of the 

 group, containing much information, and is 

 abundantly illustrated from living animals and 

 from the museum groups. The title page and 

 index to Vol. I. of the Journal is also issued. 



SOCIETIES AND ACADEMIES. 

 BIOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON. 



The 353d meeting was held on Saturday 

 evening, April 5. 



Franli Baker and F. A. Lucas discussed the 

 question, 'Is the Area of Muscle Insertion an 

 Index of Muscular Power ?' Frank Baker stated 

 that it had been assumed in discussing the 

 flight of birds that because one bird had a 

 larger area of wing muscle than another it 

 necessarily exerted much more power in flight, 

 while there were other points to be considered, 

 such as the character or quality of the muscle 

 fibers and their nerve sxipply. Dr. Baker then 

 proceeded, with the aid of numerous lantern 

 slides, to show that the internal structure of 

 muscle varied much, so that one muscle might 

 have vastly more power than another of equal 

 bulk, while again there might be a vast differ- 

 ence in the contractile power of the individual 

 fibers. The rapidity with which a muscle 



might contract and relax, and the energy or 

 force it might expend in doing this, would be 

 influenced by the manner in which the nerves 

 were distributed, and this, the speaker showed, 

 varied very much. The powerful water beetles 

 were cited as affording an example of peculiar 

 nerve distribution probably correlated with the 

 exercise of great strength, and it was stated 

 that investigation would probably show that 

 there were decided differences of nervation 

 between birds of rapid flight and those slow 

 of movement, and that other factors besides 

 mere area of muscle insertion entered into the 

 question of power exercised by flying animals. 



F. A. Lucas, in presenting his side of the 

 question, said that while he agreed with Dr. 

 Baker that the area of miiscle insertion was 

 not necessarily a measure of muscular power, 

 in certain cases he thought it might be. In 

 estimating the amount of power expanded by 

 birds in flight, he had. used the area of the keel 

 of the sternum as a rough index of the force 

 used. Mr. Lucas explained that in all birds the 

 main muscles that raised and depressed the 

 wings arose from the sternum and acted in the 

 same way. In birds which flew by strokes of 

 the wings, and whose flight was undeniably 

 powerful, the breast muscles and sternal keel 

 were in direct ratio to the apparent force, 

 while the muscle insertions on the humerus 

 were also large. In birds which sailed, like 

 the albatross, the sternal keel and breast 

 muscles were small. In certain birds, such as 

 the tinamous, the quality of the muscle was 

 poor, although the quantity was ample, and in 

 such cases the character of the humerus and 

 its small attachments for muscles showed that 

 such was the case. The speaker illustrated his 

 remarks by diagrams of the humeri of various 

 birds, and one showing the sternum of the 

 albatross as it actually was and as it would be 

 did the albatross employ a force proportionate 

 to that of the humming-bird, concluding that 

 he felt justified in using the size of the sternum 

 in birds as a measure of the power used. 



W. P. Hay presented a paper on 'The Sub- 

 terranean Fauna of the United States,' illus- 

 trating his remarks with lantern slides. He 

 showed the areas in which caverns occur, 

 described the manner in which caverns are 



