820 
consisted in the main of an examination 
of the behavior of steel knife edges under 
pressure and with varying angles. By 
observing the electrical resistance of the 
surface of contact of the pressure plate and 
the knife edge, the effect of pressures vary- 
ing from zero to twenty thousand pounds 
was determined, the length of edge being 
about two inches. The superiority of the 
wide angle edges was clearly shown, con- 
firming the conclusion reached in previous 
investigations. Professor O. C. Marsh next 
gave an interesting account of recent visits 
to the Russian museums, in which, greatly to 
his surprise, he found no examples of dino- 
saurs. He held, however, that they would 
yet be found in the district represented by 
these museums. 
Professor Chittenden presented the re- 
sults of an elaborate investigation of the 
effects of borae and boric acid on nutrition, 
and Dr. Minot, who was formally introduced 
as a new member by the President of the 
Academy, having been elected to member- 
ship at the April meeting in Washington, 
read an interesting account of embryolog- 
ical investigations in which he has been en- 
gaged. Professor W. A. Rogers gave the 
results of his last determination of the re- 
lation of the yard and meter, depending 
upon a recent comparison of his own 
standard with one of the new prototypes 
in the Office of Weights and Measures at 
Washington. Professor Morse presented 
important results of the study of the ancient 
molluscan fauna of New England and Pro- 
fessor Verrill discussed cannibalistic selec- 
tion as a factor in evolution. 
The session on Wednesday morning was 
devoted to the transaction of business, 
members only being admitted. The im- 
portant event of the session was the formal 
acceptance, by the Academy, of the gift of 
$20,000 from Miss Alice L. Gould, daugh- 
ter of the late Dr. B. A. Gould, one of the 
charter members of the Academy. Miss 
SCIENCE. 
[N.S. Von. VI. No. 153, 
Gould had communicated her intention of 
making this gift in honor of the memory of 
her father and of his long connection with 
and interest in the National Academy, at 
the April meeting in Washington, but on 
Wednesday the deed of gift was formally 
presented, together with the conditions on 
which it was made and the names of the 
first trustees. Its acceptance was author- 
ized by the Academy and the trust assumed. 
The income of the fund is to be devoted to 
the encouragement of astronomical research 
and its management is tobe essentially like 
that of the Bache fund. The trustees selected. 
by Miss Gould were Professor Boss, Dr. 8S. C. 
Chandler and Professor Asaph Hall. 
In the scientific session that followed, 
Professor Hyatt reported progress in an in- 
teresting study in which he is engaged, 
upon the migration of land shells on the 
Hawaiian Islands. The material for this 
study had been obtained from an extensive 
collection of shells made by Rev. J. T. 
Gurlick while a missionary in the islands 
thirty or forty years ago. This collection 
had been so systematically made and the 
locations so carefully noted that Professor 
Hyatt was enabled to lay out on a relief 
model the various localities occupied by 
different species, and to indicate the paths 
along which their migrations must almost 
certainly have been directed. 
This paper was followed by an exhibtion 
by Professor Michelson of his new harmonic 
analyzer, which he had brought from Chi- 
cago to show to the Academy. In the latest 
form of the machine eighty elements were 
included, and it appeared to be capable of 
producing results correct to within about 
one per cent. The machine was put in 
operation, and its work, both in analysis 
and synthesis, was greatly admired. Mr. 
C. L. Norton presented by invitation a 
description of new apparatus, one for ther- 
mometer comparisons and the other for 
determining the heat of combustion. 
