638 



SCIENCE. 



[N. S. Vol. VIII. No. 201. 



the details of the equipment, their usual defects, 

 accidents, shortcomiDgs, and methods of rem- 

 edy, as well as of their every-day management. 

 It is an admirablehit of very useful book-making, 

 and its notice in this place is entirely justified 

 by its scientific character and completeness, as 

 well as by its intrinsic value in its place and for 

 its purpose. 



R. H. T. 



SCIENTIFIC JOURNALS. 

 The American Naturalist for October opens 

 with an article by Mr. John Murdoch, describ- 

 ing the relation between the Eskimos of Port 

 Barrow, northwestern Alaska, and the animals 

 of their country. Mr. G. W. Field's article on 

 methods of planktology describing work carried 

 out in The Rhode Island Experiment Station is 

 reprinted from the Report of the Station. Mr. 

 C. R. Eastman discusses some new points in 

 Diniehthyid Osteology, and Professor Com- 

 stock and Dr. Needham continue their treatise 

 on the wings of insects. There is a note on 

 the variation of the teleutospores of Puccinia 

 windsoriss, by Mr. J. A. Warren, and editorially 

 the plans for a marine biological station in 

 Canada are discussed. Thirty-four pages are 

 devoted to reviews of literature and scientific 

 news. 



Terrestrial Magnetism for September is almost 

 entirely devoted to the recent International 

 Conference on Terrestrial Magnetism and At- 

 mospheric Electricity, reported in a recent issue 

 of Science. A full account of the proceedings 

 of the Conference is given, likewise the words 

 of welcome addressed to those attending it by 

 the President of Section A, Professor W. E. 

 Ayrton, and the opening address of the Presi- 

 dent of the Conference, Professor A. W. Riicker. 

 The following papers presented to the Confer- 

 ence are printed in full: 



Establishment of Temporary Magnetic Observa- 

 tories : W. von Bezold and M. Rykatsohew. 



Eelative Advantages of Long and Short Magnets : 

 E. Mascart. 



Questions to be addressed to JIagnetio Observa- 

 tories : M. Esohenhagen. 



SystematiscUe Erforschung der Saecular Varia- 

 tion : A Schmidt (Gotba). 



Magnetic Observations in the Azores : Albert, 

 Prince o£ Monaco. 



Mouvement diurne du pole nord d'un barreau 

 magn^tique : J. B. Capello. 



Expression of the Earth's Magnetic Potential : A. 

 Schuster. 



Earth Currents, Atmospheric Currents and Mag- 

 netic Perturbations : S. Lemstrom. 



Interpretation o£ Earth Curient Observations : A. 

 Schuster. 



Magnetic and Electrolytic Actions of Electric 

 Eailways. 



SOCIETIES AND AGADE3IIES. 



ENTOMOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON, 



OCTOBER 20, 1898. 



Under the head of short notes and exhibi- 

 tion of specimens Mr. Pratt exhibited a speci- 

 men of Phyciodes tharos which had been taken 

 at electric light at night. Mr. Schwarz showed 

 a dry flower stem of the bear-grass showing the 

 work of the Buprestid beetle Thrincopyge am- 

 hiens Lee, the single stem indicating the entire 

 life history of the beetle, which works in the 

 center and does not appreciably injure the 

 plant. Some discussion followed upon the 

 bear-grass and the allied Yuccas and Dasylirions 

 of the arid region, more particularly in regard 

 to the destruction of flower pod by cattle 

 in spite of the especially protective growth. 

 Mr. Heidemann showed three species of Ara- 

 didffi new to the District of Columbia, viz., 

 Aradus crenatxis Say, A. breviatus Bergr. and 

 A. inornatus Stal., with comments upon their 

 habits and characters. He also showed speci- 

 mens of Calisius pallices Stal., from Florida, a 

 species hitherto known only from South Amer- 

 ica and which must now be added to the fauna 

 of boreal America. Mr. Ashmead remarked 

 that he had found this last species under the 

 bark of dead orange trees killed by frost. Mr. 

 Howard called attention to an outbreak of the 

 chinchbug upon the lawns in the city of Brook- 

 lyn during the months of July and August last, 

 pointing out that the sudden appearance of this 

 insect in enormous numbers in the center of a 

 densely populated city, hundreds of miles from 

 any previous point of destructive appearance 

 and in the middle of a summer characterized 

 by excessive precipitation and upon closely-cut 

 lawns which had been frequently watered, af- 

 forded an instance entirely unprecedented in 

 the history of the species. 



