744 



SCIENCE. 



[N. S. Vol. XXIII. No. 593. 



the eight previously recorded. James B. Pol- 

 lock discusses at some length ' Variations in 

 the Pollen Grains of Picea exeelsa,' and A. 

 M. Eeese describes the ' Anatomy of Crypto- 

 hranchus alleghaniensis.' Some comparisons 

 are made between the skeleton of this species 

 and that of the great salamander of Japan 

 but no deductions are made as to their generic 

 identity or differences. No reference is made 

 to Cope's description of the anatomy of 

 CryptohranchuSj though this is given at some 

 length with one or two good figures in his 

 Batrachia of North America. 



' The Museums Journal of Great Britain for 

 March contains a good account of ' The New 

 Zoological Institute at Breslau ' by W. E. 

 Hoyle. The idea of preservation of material 

 in the exhibition series is carried to the ex- 

 treme, for the museum is open to the public 

 but twice a week, and then for only two hours. 

 J. T. Wilson gives a description of the rela- 

 tions existing between the state and ' The Aus- 

 tralian Museum, Sydney, New South Wales.' 

 Professor Wilson concludes that in Australia 

 the only practicable form of museum admin- 

 istration is by a board of directors, or trustees ; 

 that municipal control is quite out of the 

 question, and that any autocratic form of 

 administration by a director, in the case of an 

 institution supported by public funds, would 

 not be tolerated. In this respect then Aus- 

 tralia would seem to differ from other parts 

 of the world where the best form of museum 

 administration seems to be by a responsible 

 director. Mr. Edward Lovett presents in some 

 detail a scheme for a folk museum and there 

 is a brief account of the meeting of the 

 Swedish Museums Association. Among the 

 notes is one stating that in the Hamburg 

 Museum the group illustrating a North Sea 

 oyster bank has been enlarged and reinstalled 

 and cases added showing the growth of pre- 

 cious coral and sponges. Hambui'g is cer- 

 tainly to be congratulated on having such a 

 progressive institution. 



The Zoological Society Bulletin for March 

 is styled the Aquarium Number and devoted 

 entirely to the New York Aquarium or mat- 

 ters thereto pertaining. Among other articles 



it contains the following conundrums : ' Are 

 Fishes Killed by Freezing ? ' ' Do Fishes 

 Sleep?' 'Do Fishes Hear?' 'Have Fishes 

 Memory ? ' The last three are answered in 

 the af&rmative, the first in the negative. And 

 yet we have known every fish in a large but 

 shallow pond to be killed during an unusually 

 severe winter, though the possibility is that 

 they died from lack of air. Fishes of the 

 pike family may eat but little in an aquarium 

 during winter, but in the New England states 

 many more pickerel are taken through the ice 

 than at any other season. There are interest- 

 ing articles on the ' Remodeling of the Aqua- 

 rium ' ; ' The Sounds Made by Fishes ' ; ' How 

 Fishes Change Color ' ; ' Four Tears' Change 

 in the Axolotl,' besides many notes. The 

 number is profusely and well illustrated. As 

 a parting shot we should like to express our 

 disbelief in green turtles or loggerheads ex- 

 ceeding 1,000 pounds in weight and would be 

 glad to see one of half that size. 



SOCIETIES AND ACADEMIES. 



THE TORREY BOTANICAL CLUB. 



The club met in the American Museum of 

 Natural History, March 13, 1906, at 8 p.m. 

 President Eusby was in the chair and thirteen 

 persons were present. 



A communication was read from Mr. Ells- 

 worth Bethel, of Denver, Col., stating that he 

 and Dr. Sturgis were at work on the fungi of 

 Colorado, and would soon publish their first 

 number, listing the Myxomycetes of the state. 



President Eusby presented the matter of 

 public -recognition by the club of the coming 

 tenth anniversary of the establishment of the 

 New York Botanical Garden, and the appoint- 

 ment of Dr. Britton as professor emeritus of 

 botany in Columbia, and of Professor Under- 

 wood as Torrey professor. 



Motion was made and seconded that a com- 

 mittee be appointed by the chair to make ar- 

 rangements for such an event. The motion 

 was carried, and the president appointed the 

 following committee: Miss Vail, Miss Marble, 

 Dr. Murrill, Dr. Curtis, Professor Eichards, 

 Dr. MacDougal and Dr. Barnhart. 



The first paper on the scientific program 



