August 15, 1913] 



SCIENCE 



243 



disk tube are difficulties in the use of the appa- 

 ratus. 



A more extended account of the work may be 

 found in The Physical Beview, Vol. I., No. 4, 

 2d series, April, 1913. 



An Experimental Investigation of the Belation 

 letween the Aperture of a Telescope and the 

 Qnality of the Image Obtained ly It: Feed 



VORHIES. 



Through research work carried on at the State 

 University of Iowa, the conclusion has been drawn 

 that astronomers are able to detect certain details 

 upon the planet Mars. A twenty-four-inch tele- 

 scope, as used by Professor Lowell, seems to be 

 capable of giving these details as distinctly as can 

 be obtained with a telescope of larger aperture. 

 Selpful and Harmful Iowa Birds: Fked Bern- 



INGHAUSEN. 



The Food Sabits of the Slcunlc: Frank C. 



Pellett. 

 A Further Study of the Home Life of the Brown 



Thrasher, Toxostoma rufens (Linn.) : Ira N. 



Gabrielson. 



The paper is a summary of the data obtained 

 by watching from a blind the feeding of the 

 young throughout one day. The total number of 

 feedings was 169, of which 85 were by the male 

 and 84 by the female. The following figures show 

 the percentages of the various insects, etc., which 

 comprised the food. Grasshoppers, 17.51 per 

 cent.; May beetles, 29.95 per cent.; cutworms, 

 13.36 per cent.; cherries, 8.75 per cent. Miscel- 

 laneous insects made up the remainder. From the 

 data at hand it seems that the thrashers are de- 

 cidedly beneficial. 



Nest Boxes for Woodpeckers: Frank C. Pellett. 

 A review of three years' successful experiments 

 in attracting birds that supply no nesting material 

 to artificial nesting sites. Three species not here- 

 tofore known to occupy boxes have reared their 

 families in boxes of special pattern. 



On Certain Features in the Anatomy of Siren 



lacertina: H. "W. NoRRis. 



Apropos of conflicting statements as to the 

 presence of a maxilla and an operculare (splenial) 

 in the skull of /Siren the writer flnds both present, 

 but in a much reduced condition. Connected witli 

 the antorbital cartilage are two muscles (mm. 

 retractor et levator antorbitalis) which with the 

 cartilage form an apparatus for regulating the 

 size of the choana. These two muscles have their 

 homologues in Amphiuma. The ramus palatinus 



posterior facialis innervates a small vestigial 

 muscle that has its origin on the fascia between 

 the quadrate cartilage and the lateral edge of the 

 parasphenoid bone, and its insertion on the lateral 

 border of the ceratohyal cartilage. 

 Life History Notes on the Flwn curculio in Iowa: 



E. L. Webster. 



A summary of insectary notes on the insect 

 made in 1910 at Ames. These, taken with some 

 field observations made by C. P. Gillette at Ames 

 in 1889, give a fairly accurate account of the 

 seasonal history of the insect in central Iowa. 

 Additional Mammal Notes: T. Van Hyning. 



The following species to the faunal list of Iowa 

 have been added: 



Firmly established : Canada porcupine, Erethizon 

 dorsatus Linn.; Lemming mouse. Cooper's mouse, 

 Synaptomys cooperi Baird; western harvest mouse, 

 Beithrodonomys dychei Allen ; pekan, fisher, Mus- 

 tella permnntii Erxleben. Now living in the state: 

 American otter, Lutra canadensis Screber; Amer- 

 ican badger, Taxidea americana Boddaert; Can- 

 ada lynx. Lynx canadensis Guldenstadt; American 

 panther, cougar, puma, mountain lion, Felis con- 

 color Linn. Additional to the catalogue: chick- 

 oree, small red squirrel, Sciurus hudsonicus Pallas; 

 star-nosed mole, Condylus cristata. 



The following have been listed for Iowa in Bull. 

 Field Col. Mus. Zool. Sur., Vol. 1, and may be 

 looked for: Feromyscus michiganensis Audubon 

 and Bachman, wood mouse; Feromyscus leucopus 

 Rafinesque, wood mouse; Tamias quadrivittatus 

 neglectus Allen, chipmunk; Scalops argentatus 

 Audubon and Bachman, mole. 

 Color Inheritance in the Horse: E. N. Went- 



WORTH. 



Factors are recognized in horse color. The 

 terminology of Sturtevant is used in part. C^ 

 red or yellow basic pigment, possibly partially 

 diffuse; ff^^ Hurst's factor or black; B = re- 

 striction factor producing bay. This is the prin- 

 cipal new feature in the paper. B restricts black 

 to the extremities, i. e., eye, mane, tail, lower 

 limbs, etc. The ability of the chestnut horse to 

 carry this factor and in mating to blacks to 

 produce bays explains a phenomenon that has 

 been more or less of a stumbling block. Factors 

 for gray pattern, roan pattern, dappling pattern, 

 white stockings and blaze in face, and for piebald 

 and skewbald markings are identified. Browns 

 are distinguished from bays by the presence of 

 the dappling factor. Tables showing results of 

 over 12,000 matings are appended. 



