434 
Committee to Nominate Officers of Section: 
The Vice-President and Secretary and , 
Charles Sedgwick Minot, Theodore Gill, F. 
M. Webster. f 
The scientific papers presented were as 
follows: 
The Spread of Land Species by the Agency of 
Man with special Reference to Insects. Ad- 
dress of Vice-President Dr. L. O. 
Howarp. Printed in Screncn, Sept. 10th. 
(1) On the Relationships of the Nematognaths. 
By Turopore Gitt, M.D., LL.D., Pro- 
fessor of Zoology, Columbian University, 
Washington, D. C. 
The Nematognaths have been considered 
by most ichthyologists to be most nearly 
related to the Ganoids or even associated 
with them in the same order. Their entire 
structure, however, indicates that they are 
most nearly related to the Plectospondyls, 
and they may even associate in the same 
superorder for which the name Ostariophysi 
of Sagenmehl may be adopted. 
(1) On a Collection of Cephalopoda from the 
Albatross Expedition. By Wa. E. Hoyte, 
Owens College, Manchester, England. 
(6) On the Sarcostyles of the Plumularide. 
By Prorsssor C. C. Nurrine, A.M., Iowa 
City, Iowa. 
The morphology of the Sarcostyles has 
been investigated by various writers from 
the middle of the century to the present. 
They are composed of ectoderm, endoderm 
and, according to most writers, a solid 
axial rod. 
A body cavity was described by one of 
the earliest writers and redescribed by the 
present writer. The Sarcostyles are un- 
doubtedly degraded ‘persons’ of the hy- 
droid colony. 
The function of these structures is not 
well understood. It appears to be partly 
defensive, partly prehensile and partly of- 
fensive. The function of scavengers and 
SCIENCE. 
(N.S. Von. VI. No. 142. 
digestive organs has also been ascribed to 
them. 
(8) Notes on the Development of Drasteria 
erechtea, By Prorgessor F. M. WeestEr, 
Wooster, Ohio. 
The paper gives the results obtained 
from rearing larvee from the eggs to adults, 
and shows the individual variation of each, 
both in habit and appearance, the latter 
being the object of the studies. 
(9) Brood XVI. of Cicada septendecim in Ohio. 
By Proressor F. M. Wexesrer, Wooster, 
Ohio. 
The paper deals with the occurrence 
of Brood XVI. of Cicada septendecim in 
Ohio, in 1897. The area over which it 
has been observed is indicated; the in- 
fluence of natural enemies is discussed 
and the probabilities of its becoming ex- 
tinguished are explained. 
(10) Notes on the Embryology of the Pig. By 
Dr. CHARLES SEDGWwick Minot, Read- 
ville, Mass. 
(1) The Hypophysis, There is a true 
infundibular gland, which is homolo- 
gous with the saccus vasculosus of Tele- 
osts, and is identical in form and connec- 
tions with the embryonic saccus. The duct 
of the gland becomes a solid stalk. 
There is also a true hypophysis, which 
develops a vestibule and gland-tubes ho- 
mologous with the same parts throughout 
the vertebrate series. 
(2) The Cardinal Vein. It is a striking 
peculiarity of transverse sections of pig- 
embryos that in the region of the Wolffian 
body no distinct vein appears, correspond- 
ing to the cardinal vein, usually found on 
the dorsal side of the Wolffian body. This 
is due to the fact that in the pig the cardi- 
nal vein, after entering the cephalic end of 
Wolffian body, breaks into a multiplied 
sinus, in which are lodged the Wolffian 
tubules. Another peculiarity of the cardi- 
nal vein is that it does join the jugular to 
