November 10, 1905.] 



SCIENCE. 



607 



The geological department of the British 

 Museum has recently purchased and placed 

 on exhibition a fine specimen of Ichthyosaurus 

 acutirostris Owen, from the Upper Lias of 

 Holzmaden, Wurtemberg. The specimen is 

 remarkable as containing between its ribs the 

 skeletons of no less than six foetal young, as 

 in the cases described by E. Fraas. It is sup- 

 posed that these skeletons have been displaced 

 from their natural position by crushing dur- 

 ing the process of fossilization. On the other 

 hand, it may be suggested that they in their 

 struggles forced a way into the body cavity, 

 and were thus, perhaps, the cause of their 

 mother's death. Beddard has lately described 

 such an instance in the recent skink, Chalcides 

 lineatus (Proc. Zool. Soc, London, 1904, II., 

 p. 145) ; he, however, admits the possibility 

 that extra-oviducal foetation may be normal 

 in some reptiles, and ' may be in part respon- 

 sible for some of the legends concerning the 

 swallowing of their young by various reptiles 

 for protection's sake.' 



The experimental locomotive of Purdue 

 University, Schenectady No. 2, which has re- 

 cently served in an important study designed 

 to determine the value of very high steam 

 pressures, is to be sent to the Schenectady 

 works of the American Locomotive Company 

 early in November for the purpose of being 

 fitted with a Cole superheater. It is expected 

 that the engine will be returned with its new 

 equipment early in January. During the ab- 

 sence of Schenectady No. 2 from the testing- 

 plant, a New York Central Atlantic type en- 

 gine is to be installed upon the plant for use 

 under the direction of the Master Mechanics' 

 committee on front-ends. It is the purpose 

 of this committee to repeat upon an engine of 

 large size the experiments made under the 

 patronage of the American Engineer upon 

 Schenectady No. 2, for the purpose of deter- 

 mining the constants in such equations as 

 may be necessary to the logical design of all 

 portions of the front-end mechanism. The 

 Master Mechanics' committee having the mat- 

 ter in charge consists of H. H. Vaughan, 

 superintendent motive power, Canadian Pa- 

 cific Railway, chairman; Mr. F. H. Clark, 



general superintendent motive power, C. B. 

 & Q. R. R. ; Mr. Robert Quayle, superinten- 

 dent motive power and machinery, C, & N. W. 

 Railway; Mr. A. W. Gibbs, general superin- 

 tendent motive power, Pennsylvania Railroad ; 

 Mr. W. F. M. Goss, Purdue University; Mr. 

 G. M. Basford, American Locomotive Com- 

 pany. 



The first course of lectures for the season 

 1905-1906 to members of the American Mu- 

 seum of Natural Ilistory will be given ac- 

 cording to the following program. The lec- 

 tures will be delivered on Thursday evenings 

 at 8 :15 o'clock, by members of the scientific 

 staff of the museum and will be fully illus- 

 trated by stereopticon : 



November 9, Mr. Frank M. Cliapman, ' The Bird 

 Life of Florida.' 



November 16, Mr. Louis P. Gratacap, ' New- 

 foundland: Its Scenery and People.' 



November 23, Dr. Edmund Otis Hovey, ' North- 

 ern Mexico: Its Deserts, Plateaux and Canyons.' 



December 7, Professor Henry Fairfield Osborn, 

 ' The Museum's Rocky Mountain Explorations of 

 1905.' 



December 14, Professor Albert S. Bickmore, 

 ' The Philippines — Manila.' 



December 21, Professor Albert S. Bickmore, 

 ' The Philippines — Luzon.' 



The Army and Navy Journal calls atten- 

 tion to the fact that among the most valuable 

 results of the American military occupation 

 of the Philippines is the large and growing 

 collection of maps of the islands prepared by 

 officers of the army. These maps show in 

 detail the roads, trails, rivers and mountain 

 passes in nearly every part of the archipelago, 

 and had they been in existence when the army 

 began its campaign of pacification in the terri- 

 tory the difficulties of that undertaking would 

 have been greatly lessened. During the dom- 

 ination of the Spanish little or nothing was 

 done in that line, and they never had an ac- 

 curate map, even of the larger islands. Nearly 

 all the maps, sUoh as they were, were prepared 

 by the friars, whose work was performed with- 

 out regard for its usefulness in military opera- 

 tions. But when the United States Army 

 entered the territory it immediately instituted 

 a comprehensive system of map making, with 



