DECEBrBEK 16, 1898.] 



SCIENCE. 



861 



The noteworthy features of the pons are 

 the preservation of the identity of the py- 

 ramidal tracts ; the fewnesss of the .essential 

 fibers of the pons ; the greater relative de- 

 velopment of the dorsal portions and the 

 insignificance of the posterior longitudinal 

 fasciculus. 



Mr. Taylor concludes that " There can be 

 no question from our study, as -weW as from 

 that which has gone before, that the simi- 

 larity between the braiu of the anthropoid 

 apes and of man is one of the most striking 

 and interesting facts of which we have 

 knowledge." 



FEESH-WATER PEAELS OF THE UNITED STATES. 



Mr. George F. Kunz's paper on the 

 Fresh-water Pearls and Pearl Fisheries of 

 the United States, recently issued by the 

 United States Fish Commission, is of very 

 general interest. The early history of Unio 

 pearls in Korth America is given, and the 

 extent to which they were used as orna- 

 ments by the aborigines will be a surprise 

 to many. Enormous numbers have been 

 found in the mounds of Ohio, one opened 

 by Mr. Moorehead containing ' a gallon of 

 pearls,' and another excavated by Profes- 

 sor Putnam nearly two bushels. It may be 

 added that through the length of time they 

 had been buried their value from a commer- 

 cial standpoint had been lost. The various 

 pearl-gathering fevers that have, from time 

 to time, prevailed in different localities are 

 described, and one can scarcely wonder at 

 them when the chance of making a lucky 

 'find' is considered, even though, as in 

 other lotteries, the blanks far outnumber 

 the prizes. The pearl-button industry which 

 has arisen in some of the Western States 

 has assumed considerable proportions, em- 

 ploying over 1,500 people, and, between the 

 search for pearls and the use of the shells 

 for making buttons, the Unios in many 

 localities are threatened with extermina- 

 tion. 



THE WASHINGTON MEETING OF THE AMER- 

 ICAN ornithologists' UNION. 



The recent meeting of the American Orni- 

 thologists' Union — -as may be seen by the re- 

 port of Secretary Sage in the last number 

 of this Journal — was characterized by 

 the large number and wide scope of sub- 

 jects covered by the papers presented, rang- 

 ing as they did from those of a popular na- 

 ture to the strictly scientific. Among the 

 former Mr. Chapman's delightful descrip- 

 tion of a visit to the Bird Rocks of the Gulf 

 of St. Lawrence easily stands first, accom- 

 panied as it was by fine illustrations of the 

 feathered inhabitants of this ancient and 

 historic bird colony. Although the num- 

 bers of birds have sadly diminished since 

 Jacques Cartier wrote that these islands are 

 as full of birds as any meadow is of grass, 

 yet enough remain to make a goodly show- 

 ing, and the white lines of nesting gannets 

 still form an impressive sight. 



Dr. T. S. Roberts, of Minneapolis, and Mr. 

 W. L. Bailey, of Philadelphia, exhibited a 

 number of views of birds and their nesting 

 places, some of them veritable triumphs of 

 patience and ingenuity over natural ob- 

 stacles. This photographing of wild birds- 

 and the studj' of their habits cannot be too 

 strongly commended to our younger orni- 

 thologists, not only because it furnishes 

 plenty of good work near home, fraught 

 with no harm to the birds, but because we 

 need to know much more than we do of the 

 habits and life histories of even our com- 

 monest birds. The Robin, for example, is 

 a bird so common as almost to be treated 

 with contempt, and yet Mr. Brewster and 

 Mr. Widmann have shown us how much 

 there is of interest about it. 



Mr. Witmer Stone, on the part of the 

 Committee on Bird Protection, presented 

 an extensive report encouraging as indica- 

 ting the growth of sentiment throughout 

 the country. Unfortunately, however, the 

 question of protecting the birds is much 



