58 



SCIENCE. 



[N. S. Vol. VIII. No. 185. 



At half-past three o^clocTc. Vice-President Barnard, 

 before the Section of Mathematics and Astronomy : 

 ' Development of Astronomical Photography ;' Vice- 

 President Blue, before the Section of Social and 

 Economic Science : ' The Historic Method in Eco- 

 nomics ;' Vice-President Packard, before the Section 

 of Zoology : 'A Half-century of Evolution, with 

 Special Reference to the Effects of Geological Changes 

 on Animal Life. ' 



At half-2>ast four o'clock. Vice-President Smith, be- 

 fore the Section of Chemistry : subj ect to be announced ; 

 Vice-President Fairchild, before the Section of Geol- 

 ogy and Geography : ' Glacial Geology in America ;' 

 Vice-President Cooley, before the Section of Mechan- 

 ical Science and Engineering : subj eot to be announced. 



On Monday evening Professor Wolcott 

 Gibbs will make the address of the retiring 

 President, his subject being 'On Some Points 

 in Theoretical Chemistry.' President Eliot 

 will address the Association at Harvard 

 University on Friday evening, and it is ex- 

 pected that illustrated lectures will be given 

 on "Wednesday evening on the Boston Park 

 System and the Metropolitan Water Supply 

 and Sewage System. 



The scientific work of the sections will be 

 practically confined to two days, Tuesday 

 ■ and Thursday, excursions having been ar- 

 ranged for Wednesday, Friday and Satur- 

 day. As we have already stated, the ex- 

 cursion on Wednesday will be to Salem, 

 where the Association will be the guest of 

 the Essex Institute, while on Friday it will 

 be the guest of Harvard University by invi- 

 tation of the President and Fellows. On 

 Saturday excursions have been arranged 

 to Riverside, Wellesley, Concord and Lex- 

 ington ; various excursions have also been 

 planned to follow the close of the meeting. 



THE BREEDING OF ANIMALS AT WOODS 



SOLL DURING THE MONTH OF 



31 AY, 1SD8. 



The opening of the Biological Laboratory 

 of the United States Fish Commission 

 made it possible for a number of natural- 

 ists to work at Woods HoU during the 

 month of May, and it is hoped that the 



abundance of animal life may attract 

 others to the shore in 1899. 



The temperature of the water during the 

 mouth of May rapidly rose from 46 to 57 

 F. To this remarkable physical change 

 both the fauna and flora responded, and 

 the biological facies were materially altered. 



Vertebrates. — The winter forms gradu- 

 ally disappeared and the familiar types of 

 the warmer months began to arrive. The 

 lampreys (Petromyzon viarinus'), ripe with 

 eggs, were taken during the latter part of 

 the month at East Taunton. Spiny dog- 

 fish (Squaliis acanthias) were taken in Vine- 

 yard Sound, and Raja ocellata was abundant 

 throughout the month, though probably 

 not breeding. The transparent young of 

 the common eel were frequently taken on 

 the surface and in the shallow water. The 

 fishermen say that the adults descend the 

 streams while the alewives are passing up. 

 This migration to the sea happens about 

 the 12th, when there is the heaviest run, 

 although many may be taken on subsequent 

 nights. If the sky is clear and cloudless 

 the catch is never so large as when dark 

 and stormy. Late in the month several 

 barrels of menhaden (Brevoortia tyrannus) 

 were taken at Cuttyhunk, while throughout 

 the month the skimming-net caught multi- 

 tudes of young herring {Glupea harengus). 

 Fund'ulus heterocUtus, ripe with eggs, was 

 captured in great numbers at Falmouth on 

 the 13th, where were also found two species 

 of stickleback (Gastei-osteus bispinosus and 

 Apeltes qiiadracus), both sexually mature. 

 An abundance of breeding pipe- fish {Sl- 

 2}hostoma fuscum) were seined from eel-grass 

 on May 13th, and they have been found, 

 with pouches filled with eggs, as late as 

 July 13th. The first mackerel {Scomber 

 scombrus) was taken on May 3rd. A few 

 butter- fish {Rhombus triacanthus) were taken 

 in a trap at Cuttyhunk on the 11th, though 

 reported at West Dennis on the 5th. They 

 spawn in June. 



