February 27, 190:?.] 



SCIENCE. 



353 



Although handsome specimens of these cy- 

 cad, or Bennettitalean trunks were found in 

 this country between Baltimore and Washing- 

 ton as early as 1851, they were not observed 

 to present any new structural details, and 

 remained, as in Europe, among the rarest of 

 fossils until the discovery in quick succession 

 some ten years ago of nimierous additional 

 Maryland specimens, and the first of the 

 highly important new localities in the Black 

 Hills and Wyoming. At this time superb 

 trunks from the Black Hills were obtained 

 by the Smithsonian Institution, while still 

 others of importance were collected by Pro- 

 fessor Macbride, of the Museum of the State 

 University of Iowa. In the meantime Pro- 

 fessor Marsh became deeply interested, and 

 with remarkable foresight and success secured 

 for the Museum of Yale University the most 

 extensive and valuable of all cycad collec- 

 tions. Yet another interesting series of 

 trunks is that from central Wyoming belong- 

 ing to the State University at Laramie. 



The macroscopic study of the American 

 material has been carried on by Professor 

 Lester F. Ward, and its structural investiga- 

 tion by the writer. 



The preliminary studies of the latter thus 

 far published include in part the discovery 

 of the leaves with their structure and pre- 

 foliation, additional facts concerning ovulate 

 fructification, and, of most importance, the 

 form, prefloration and principal structures of 

 the bisporangiate strobili. These, like the 

 ovulate cones, owe their marvelously perfect 

 preservation, in large measure, to their pro- 

 tected position among the old leaf bases. 

 They are found unexpanded, but quite mature 

 and complete in every detail. Moreover, the 

 features present indicate with exactness the 

 appearance that must have been presented in 

 life by the strikingly handsome expanded 

 flower or strobilus, which was in some species 

 nearly, or even one foot in diameter. 



The mierosporophylls, or staminate fronds, 

 bear pollen in sori of a structure identically 

 comparable with those of the tree ferns of the 

 genus MarafHn, and are the first of their type 

 yet discovered. Their interest from an evo- 

 lutionary point of view is, therefore, very 



great, furnishing as they do the most direct 

 evidence yet brought to light of the derivation 

 of the Gymnosperms from ancient Marat- 

 tiacean Pteridophytes bearing asexual spores. 

 But, at the same time, the plan and other 

 characters of the entire strobilus suggest 

 much as to the possible manner and method 

 of the evolution of the Angiosperms. In ad- 

 dition, these studies have already brought 

 about a better understanding of the true char- 

 acter of various related but hitherto proble- 

 matical fossil casts and impressions. 



G. R. WiELAND. 



Yale University Museum, 

 February 5, 1903. 



CURRENT NOTES ON METEOROLOGY. 



SCIENTIFIC INVESTIGATIONS BY WEATHER BUREAU 

 MEN. 



One of the most noticeable, and one of the 

 most satisfactory, signs of the development of 

 the United States Weather Bureau is the 

 steady increase in the amount, and the no less 

 steady improvement in the quality, of the 

 original scientific investigations carried on by 

 the rank and file of the Weather Bureau ofli- 

 cials and observers. This encouraging advance 

 is due largely to the energy and enthusiasm 

 of the present Chief of the Weather Bureau, 

 and of the more prominent ofiicials of the 

 service, notably Professors Abbe, Bigelow, 

 Marvin, Henry and others. The two annual 

 ' Conventions of Weather Bureau Officials ' 

 have doubtless also helped much towards this 

 same end, for at these meetings there is oppor- 

 tunity for the reading of papers, for discus- 

 sions, and for the promotion of a feeling of 

 fellowship and of a spirit of scientific ambi- 

 tion which are most desirable. The Proceed- 

 ings of the second annual convention of the 

 officials of the Weather Bureau (Bulletin No. 

 31) is a volume containing a large amount 

 of information of interest to every one who 

 is working along meteorological lines, but the 

 most striking feature of it, in the mind of the 

 present writer, is the evidence it gives of 

 original investigations carried on by Weather 

 Bureau men. Space forbids any attempt at 

 a review of this ' Bulletin.' Indeed, a mere 

 enumeration of the titles of the papers read 



