Maech 4, 1904.] 



SCIENCE. 



381 



same titles arranged according to subject, and 

 here tlie matter of judicious choice of main 

 aaid subheading, the distribution of titles 

 among them, and cross-referencing, are of es- 

 pecial importance. In some cases, as, for 

 instance, the heading ' Electric spectra,' too 

 little subdivision has been made, while in 

 others, for example, infra-red work, too many 

 and not sufficiently distinct subheadings have 

 been introduced. Cross-references and a list 

 of the subdivisions of the subject index would 

 be a great addition; and the more frequent 

 insertion, as is done in some cases under ' ab- 

 sorption spectra,' of a few words of explana- 

 tion as to the scope and character of the work 

 would add greatly to the usefulness of this 

 part of the volume. 



In spite of these faults, however, and in 



spite of the fact that Kayser's ' Handbuch ' 



will doubtless contain more references, this 



bibliography should be of considerable value. 



C. E. M. 



SCIENTIFIC JOURNALS AND ARTICLES. 



The American Naturalist for December, 

 1903, presents the third of the series of ar- 

 ticles on ' Adaptations to Aquatic, Arboreal, 

 Eossorial and Cursorial Habits in Mammals,' 

 the present being by H. W. Shimer on ' Fos- 

 sorial Adaptations.' These are fewer in num- 

 ber than those for other modes of life, but 

 among them the writer fails to include the 

 use of the tail as a tactile organ, making the 

 mistake of supposing it to be ' a useless ap- 

 pendage.' W. -Patten gives a valuable paper 

 ' On the Structure of the Pteraspidae and 

 Cephalaspidffi ' with the purpose of strength- 

 ening his theory on the genetic relationship 

 between the vertebrata and arthropoda, and 

 James G. Needham describes ' An Out-Door 

 Equipment for College Work in Biology.' 

 Unluckily, all colleges are not so well situated 

 as that of Lake Porest. W. McM. Wood- 

 worth has a most interesting ' Preliminary 

 Report on the Palvlo Worm of Samoa, Eunice 

 viridis (Gray.)' W. E. Hitter gives 'Further 

 Notes on the Habits of Autodax luguhris,' 

 including the important information that this 

 species breeds in holes in trees. The con- 

 cluding paper, by Wihnatte P. Cockerell, de- 



scribes ' A Trip to the Truchas Peaks, New 

 Mexico.' The number contains the ' Quar- 

 terly Record of Gifts, Appointments, Retire- 

 ments and Deaths.' 



The American Museum Journal commences 

 its fourth volume with the January number; 

 it contains much information as to new ex- 

 hibits, including notes on ' The Behavior of 

 the Minerals and Gems of the Morgan Col- 

 lections toward Radium and Other Sources of 

 Light,' ' The Long-tailed Japanese Fowls,' 

 ' The Draught Horse in Action,' ' Extraordi- 

 nary Ants ' and ' The Exhibit of Chuckchee 

 Clothing.' The skeleton of the great Perch- 

 eron, mounted by S. H. Chubb, is the best 

 mounted skeleton we have ever seen and shows 

 what may be done in this direction. The 

 Supplement, Guide Leaflet No. 13, is an illus- 

 trated General Guide to the American Mu- 

 seum of Natural History. 



SOCIETIES AND ACADEMIES. 



ANTHROPOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON. 



The twenty-fifth annual meeting was held 

 January 12. The following officers were 

 elected : 



President — Dr. D. S. Lamb. 

 General Secretary — Walter Hough. 

 Curator — ^Mrs. Marianna P. Seaman. 

 Treasurer — P. B. Pierce. 



Councilors — Dr. George M. Kober, J. D. Mc- 

 Guire and Dr. J. Walter Fewkes. 



The 254th meeting was held January 26. 

 Dr. W J McGee reported progress of the 

 various expeditions to secure examples of in- 

 teresting tribes for the Louisiana Purchase 

 Exposition. It is intended to have at St. 

 Louis families of Central African pygmies, 

 Tehuelches of Patagonia, and Ainos of Hok- 

 kaido, and members of tribes of the United 

 States engaged in ancient industries. A 

 model school for Indians will be another at- 

 tractive feature. 



The first paper was by Professor W. H. 

 Holmes, the title, ' One of the Great Stone 

 Buildings of Yucatan.' The paper was illus- 

 trated by a superb model made for exhibition 

 at St. Louis. Professor Holmes said that the 

 architecture of the natives of America is not 



