Januakt 24, 1908] 



SCIENCE 



147 



Waves and Rays in Physics : Doris W. Hering. 

 The author pointed out the extent to which 

 waves or rays have dominated in explaining 

 the transmission of a disturbance through 

 space, as many as seven different kinds of 

 waves having been employed, and no less than 

 twenty-one different kinds of rays. The most 

 fruitful generalization was Fourier's analysis 

 of wave motion in his " Theorie Analytique 

 de la Chaleur " ; the boldest contention was 

 that of Fresnel in advocating transverse vibra- 

 tion to produce waves of light ; the most recent 

 and comprehensive generalization was Max- 

 well's electromagnetic theory of light. The 

 recent great increase in the number and 

 variety of " rays " has been attended by a 

 great deal of charlatanism. 



Tool Steel-making in Styria: E. F. Bohler. 



Reviewed the development of Styrian steel 

 trade from prehistoric and Roman times up 

 to our own days. The paper emphasized a 

 number of special features characteristic of 

 Styrian steel which are so many reasons for 

 its superiority: (1) Crucibles used but once, 

 (2) extreme purity of ores, (3) extensive or 

 exclusive use of charcoal, (4) special skill of 

 workmen in hammer- and heat-treatment. 



The works, founded 1446, are now decidedly 

 up-to-date; have pyrometric control; electric 

 melting and hardening furnaces ; latest phys- 

 ical testing methods, metallography. 



As a consequence extensive use of Styrian 

 steel in the five continents, for tools, rifles, 

 shells, etc., also field guns, motor cars. Hun- 

 dreds of tons of high-speed steel shipped to the 

 United States yearly. 



Electrolysis of SHico-Fluoride Solutions: Dr. 



E. F. Kern. 



The author first of all took up the prepara- 

 tion of the electrolytes, current density, etc., 

 and showed numerous specimens including 

 metallic surfaces of lead, nickel, iron, copper 

 and silver deposited from silico-fluoride 

 and other solutions for comparison. The 

 method on a commercial scale for the purifica- 

 tion and desilverization of lead is employed at 

 Trail, B. C, and elsewhere. 



William Campbell, 



Columbia Univeesitt Secretary 



DISCUSSION AND COBBESPONDENOE 

 A brittle-star new to the woods hole region 

 Through the kindness of Mr. George M. 

 Gray, the well-known collector of the Marine 

 Biological Laboratory at Woods Hole, Mass., 

 I am enabled to make an interesting addition 

 to the list of echinoderms known from the 

 Woods Hole region. A single specimen of a 

 brittle-star was dug out of the mud between 

 Ram and Devil's Foot Islands in August, 1907. 

 It was taken to the laboratory alive and in 

 good' condition, but in the course of a few 

 hours it shed its disk, leaving only the mouth 

 parts attached to the arms. The disk, as well 

 as the remainder of the animal, was preserved 

 in formalin and the specimen was subsequent- 

 ly sent to me by Mr. Gray for identification. 

 There is little doubt that it is an excellent 

 example of Ampliioplus abdita (Verrill), a spe- 

 cies previously known only from Long Island 

 Sound. It is recorded from near New Haven 

 and from Thimble Islands, by Professor Ver- 

 rill, and there are specimens in the Museum 

 of Comparative Zoology from Noank, Conn. 

 The Woods Hole specimen measures about 

 6.5 mm. across the disk, and the arms are 

 between 80 and 90 mm. in length. It differs 

 from Professor Verrill's very complete descrip- 

 tion, and also from the specimens in the Mu- 

 seum of Comparative Zoology, in three impor- 

 tant particulars: (1) the arms are noticeably 

 shorter in proportion to the diameter of the 

 disk; (2) the scales of the disc are coarser and 

 the six primary plates at the center are con- 

 spicuous; (3) the color is uniformly gray in- 

 stead of variegated or yellowish-brown. It is 

 greatly to be hoped that further search will 

 bring to light more specimens at Woods Hole, 

 of this mud-loving species, for it will be in- 

 teresting to see whether the above-mentioned 

 peculiarities are at all constant. It would 

 also be of great interest to investigate the 

 cause, method and consequence of disk-shed- 

 ding, a habit known to be frequent in the 

 family to which Amphioplus belongs, but con- 

 cerning which we know almost nothing. 



Hubert Lyman Clark 

 Museum of Comparative Zoology, 

 November 14, 1907 



