814 



SCIENCE. 



[N. S. Vol. XVIII. No. 4fi9. 



Mr. Eliot Blackwelder, an instructor in 

 elementary geology and paleontology in the 

 University of Chicago, accompanied Mr. 

 AVillis. 



Abstract of Report.— JJnder date of Sep- 

 tember 30, 1903, from Tientsin, China, Mr. 

 Willis reports that all preparations are 

 completed, that authority has been received 

 from the Chinese and German govern- 

 ments, and that with his associate, Mr. 

 Blackwelder, he is aboiit to leave for the 

 province of Shantung. Prom Shantung it 

 is proposed to go to Liautung. Mr. Willis 

 expects to return to Pekin January 1, 1904, 

 and as soon as may be thereafter to enter 

 upon a trip that will probably continue 

 until the end of June, 1904. 



HISTORY. 



WoETHiNGTON C. FoED, Library of Con- 

 gress, Washington, D. C. For an ex- 

 amination of the historical archives of 

 Washington. $2,000. 

 For the purpose of studying the his- 

 torical archives of Washington and ascer- 

 taining their extent and their character- 

 istics, Mr. Ford prepared a scheme of in- 

 quiry which was arranged in two divisions. 

 The first division included a general state- 

 ment of the contents of each repository of 

 archives, a statement of the place in which 

 it is contained, and the history of the col- 

 lection; also a statement of the funds 

 available for the maintenance of the col- 

 lection and of the conditions under which 

 documents are accessible. The second di- 

 vision referred to the preservation of the 

 collections and the arrangements for en- 

 larging them. 



Abstract of Report.— The purpose of this 

 grant was to defray the expense of making 

 a general survey of the archives of the 

 government and the preparation of a re- 

 port which would be helpfid to historical 

 investigators. Dr. Claude H. Van Tyne 

 and Mr. Waldo G. Leland began the work 



in JaJiuarj", 1903, following general sug- 

 gestions offered by Mr. Ford. They have 

 examined the manuscript material in every 

 branch of the government, and have pre- 

 pared a statement as to the nature and ex- 

 tent of the administration records, as well 

 as of the more important collections of his- 

 torical material. This description is now 

 nearly ready for printing. It will make a 

 book of 250 or 300 pages of the size of the 

 'Tear Book.' Wliile it does not attempt 

 to describe individual documents, but only 

 classes and collections of documents, it is 

 sure to be helpful to historical scholars 

 seeking material. 



P.iLEONTOLOGY. 



E. C. Case, State Normal School, Mil- 

 waukee, Wis. For continuation of work 

 on the morphology of Permian reptiles. 

 $500. 



Abstract of Report. — In connection with 

 the preparation of a monograph on the 

 Pelycosauria of the American Permian de- 

 posits. Professor Case spent most of the 

 summer in the British Museum and sev- 

 eral weeks in the museums of Paris and 

 Berlin in the study of the reptiles of 

 Permian age contained therein. The main 

 line of work resolved itself into a careful 

 comparison of the faunas of the deposits 

 of America, Eussia and South Africa. The 

 most important result was the demonstra- 

 tion that American forms are practically ' 

 completely different from those of Russia 

 and South Africa, the sole connecting 

 faunas being of the most primitive type, 

 and none, so far as known, being common. 

 This emphasizes the peculiarity of the 

 presence of a typical American Pelyco- 

 saurian in the deposits of Bohemia. Pro- 

 fessor Case also obtained many isolated 

 facts of moi'phology that will be of material 

 assistance to him in the studv of the fauna. 



