362 



SCIENCE. 



[N. S. Vol. I. No. 13. 



in the collection of littoral, pelagic and 

 deep-lake types, wluch characterizes the 

 best marine work, and the final results 

 promise to be of the greatest interest and 

 importance. 



Me. Aethur Bibbins, who has been en- 

 gaged during the past year in investigating 

 the fauna of the Potomac Formation, in the 

 interest of the Woman's College of Balti- 

 more, has made a considerable collection of 

 reptilian remains, mostly from the vicinitj^ 

 of Muirkirk, Md. The specimens represent 

 the four species of Dinosaurs described by 

 Professor Marsh under the names of Allo- 

 saurus, Pleuroccelus and Priconodon. A tibia, 

 probably that of Allosaurus, measures 10 

 inches in width and 32 inches in length, 

 although the ends are lacking. A single 

 tooth seems to be referable to Astrodon 

 Johnsoni, Leidy, which was based on a tooth 

 found at Bladensburg, Md. The conditions 

 are very unfavorable for collecting, as the 

 specimens occur in a tough clay, often at a 

 considerable depth, and are much scattered. 



De. S. W. Williston, of Lawrence, Kan- 

 sas, has in press a work, entirely rewritten, 

 on the classification and structure of North 

 American Diptera. It will contain tables 

 of all the North American genera, including 

 those from Central America and the West 

 Indies, together with descriptions of larvEe, 

 habits, anatomy, etc. It will appear next 

 autumn. In its preparation he has had the 

 assistance of Messrs. Aldrich, Townsend, 

 Snow and Johnson, who have kindly pre- 

 pared or revised the tables of the families 

 with which they are best acquainted. 



At the second open meeting of the Royal 

 Society, on February 28th, Prof. W. F. R. 

 Weldon opened a discussion on variation 

 in animals and plants, his remarks being 

 based on the report of a committee, consist- 

 ing of Mr. Francis Galton, Mr. F. Darwin, 

 Professor Macalister, Professor Meldola, 

 Professor Poiilton and Professor Weldon 



himself, its object being to conduct statistical 

 inquiries into the measurable characteristics 

 of plants and animals. The first part of 

 the report which was presented was de- 

 scribed as ' an attempt to measure the death 

 rate due to the selective destruction of 

 Careimts mcenas (the shore crab) with respect 

 to a particular dimension.' Another pajier 

 bearing on the subject under consideration 

 was presented by Mr. H. M. Vernon, on 

 ' The Effect of Environment on the Develop- 

 ment of Echinoderm Larvie: An Experimen- 

 tal Inquiry into the Causes of Variation.' 

 An interesting discussion followed, in which 

 Mr. Thiselton Dyer, Professor Raj' Lankes- 

 ter. Professor A. Agassiz, Mr. Batesou, Sir 

 H. Howorth and the chairman took part. 

 There seemed to be a prevailing doubt as to 

 the suitability of mathematical methods in 

 biological research. 



Peof. H. W. Conn conti-ibutes to the 

 March number of the American ]!^aturalki an 

 account of the Cold Spring Harbor Biologi- 

 cal Laboratory, of which he is the director. 

 The article is illustrated by four plates, 

 showing the buildings and location. The 

 laboratory was organized by Prof. F. W. 

 Hooper as a branch of the Brooklj^n Insti- 

 tute of Arts and Sciences, and held its first 

 session in July and August, 1890, under the 

 direction of Dr. Bashford Dean, now oi 

 Columbia College. The Cold Spring Labo- 

 ratory does not rival the Wood's Holl Lab- 

 oratoiy in the amount of research work ac- 

 complished, but offers exceptional facilities 

 for students requiring instruction. 



APPEOPEIATIONS FOE THE U. S. GEOLOGICAL 

 - SUEVEY. 



The appropriations for the U. S. Geologi- 

 cal Survey for the fiscal j'ear 1895-96, as 

 made by Congress at its last session, will 

 enable the bureau to continue its work un- 

 der favorable circumstances. The appro- 

 priations for topography, geology, paleon- 

 tology and chemistry are the same as those 



