February 5, 1904.] 



SCIENCE. 



225 



fliat' facts must be cited before many of the 

 stock examples of ' useful adaptations ' can be 

 cast out. And from this standpoint a number 

 of Morgan's examples of non-useful adapta- 

 tion fail to convince. Thus, why may not 

 the different colors in the mouths of the male 

 and female hornbills be useful in sexual selec- 

 tion? Morgan assures us that these differ- 

 ences in the colors are useless since they can 

 not be seen, but on the other hand, from what 

 we know of the habits of huge-billed birds, it 

 is quite possible that during nuptial antics the 

 bills are widely open. Again, Morgan admits 

 that the green color of a frog is probably use- 

 ful, but believes useless the black pigment 

 lining the body cavity. He does not show that 

 it is useless, in spite of our lingering suspicion 

 that a black screen behind a thin body wall 

 might well be useful in collecting warmth, or 

 even in protecting from light delicate viscera. 

 So, also, we are not convinced that gray hair 

 and retreating chin are altogether useless or- 

 gans, for it is quite possible that there is some 

 foundation for the popular belief that they are 

 adverse to sexual sentiment, and may thus, 

 after all, play a useful part in selection. 



Bashford Dean. 



in Alkaline Solutions- of lodin/nby E. L. G. 

 Forster; 'Iron Salts in Voltameter Solutions,' 

 by J. M. Bell. 



SCIENTIFIC JOURNALS AND ARTICLES. 

 The Journal of Physical Chemistry, No- 

 vemher. ' History of the Water Problem ' 

 (Mrs. Pulhame's theory of catalysis), by J. 

 W. Mellor. A sketch of Mrs. Pulhame's 

 ' Essay on Combustion,' published in 1Y94, in 

 which appears the first clear statement of the 

 influence of water on chemical transforma- 

 tions. ' An Apparatus for the Electrolytic 

 Determination of Metals, Using a Rotating 

 Cathode,' by E. S. Shepherd. By this means 

 the copper in chalcopyrite was determined 

 electrolytically in from twenty-five to forty 

 minutes. ' Solubility of Calcium Sulfate in 

 Aqueous Solutions of Sulfuric Acid,' by E. 

 K. Cameron and J. F. Breazeale ; ' The Solu- 

 bility of Magnesium Carbonate in Aqueous 

 Solutions of Certain Electrolytes,' by F. K. 

 Cameron and A. Seidell. Decemher. ' Ac- 

 tion of Sodium and Potassium Amalgams on 

 Various Aqueous Solutions,' by Gustave 

 Fernekes ; ' The Rate of Formation of lodates 



SOCIETIES AND ACADEMIES. 

 THE WASHINGTON ACADEMY OF SCIENCES. 



The annual meeting of the Washington 

 Academy of Sciences was held on Wednesday 

 evening at the Cosmos Club and the following 

 officers were elected for the ensuing year: 



President — Charles D. Waloott. 



Vice-Presidents — From the Anthropological So- 

 ciety, D. S. Lamb; Areheological Society, J. W. 

 Foster; Biological Society, B. W. Evermann; 

 Botanical Society, F. V. Coville; Chemical Society, 



F. W. Clarke; Entomological Society, W. H. 

 Ashmead; Geographic Society, A. Graham Bell; 

 Geological Society, G. K. Gilbert; Historical So- 

 ciety, W J McGee; Medical Society, C. W. 

 Eiohardson; Philosophical Society, C. F. Marvin. 



Secretary — Frank Baker. 

 Treasurer — Bernard E. Green. 

 Managers: 1905 — L. 0. Howard, 0. H. Titt- 

 mann, Carroll D. Wright; 1906— C. W. Hayes, 



G. W. Littlehales, C. Hart Merriam; 1907— Geo. 

 M. ICober, Gififord Pinchot, P. A. Lucas. 



PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON. 



At the 33d annual meeting, December 19, 

 1903, Professor C. F. Marvin, of the Weather 

 Bureau, was elected president; Messrs. Abbe, 

 Hagen, Littlehales and Day, vice-presidents; 

 Mr. B. E. Green, treasurer; Messrs. Hayford 

 and Wead, secretaries, and Messrs. De Cain- 

 dry, Paul, Winston, Bauer, Briggs, Fischer, 

 Harris, Eosa and Abbot as members of the 

 general committee; on this committee are also 

 ex officio Past Presidents Dall, Walcott, Eath- 

 bun and Gore. 



The secretaries' and treasurer's reports 

 showed the society to be in a prosperous con- 

 dition. 



The 577th regular meeting was held Jan- 

 uary 2, 1904, President Marvin in the chair. 



Mr. E. G. Nutting presented by invitation 

 a paper on ' The Electron Theory of the Eadi- 

 ation of Gases,' pointing out how this theory 

 explains various peculiarities in "the spectra 

 of gases. 



Mr. C. G. Abbot then described work of the 

 past two years at the Smithsonian Astrophys- 



