380 



SCIENCE. 



[N. S. Vol. I. No. 14. 



development. The yearly volume of the 

 R. S. C. is thus both a stimulant and a tes- 

 timony to scientific progress. 



To even outline the character of the woi-k 

 done by the local societies just enumerated 

 would occupy a good deal of space. In some 

 cases the name indicates the general trend 

 of inquirj^, but for the most part this can 

 only be learned by consulting reports. The 

 Entomological Society, of Canada has long 

 had a reputation for steady and painstaking 

 work, and the commendations that it won 

 at the Centennial Exposition (1876) were 

 not undeserved. The Natural History Soci- 

 ot}^ of Montreal has two courses of lectures 

 every winter ; the regular monthly meet- 

 ings yielding papers that are strictly scien- 

 tific, while the Somerville lectures (founded 

 by a Presbyterian minister more than half a 

 century ago ) are of a more popular character . 



The two latest of these Somerville lectures 

 were delivered by Prof. Saunders, Superin- 

 tendent of the Central Farm, Ottawa, and 

 Dr. Eobert Bell, F. G. S., of the Geological 

 Survey, their subjects being ' The Resources 

 of the Soil,' and ' The Mammals of Canada,' 

 respectively. Dr. Bell's lecture, which was 

 delivered on the 16th ult., covered an im- 

 mense habitat or succession of habitats, 

 and was the result of personal observation 

 from the international frontier to the ex- 

 treme north. The members of the Survey 

 have traversed the vast region between 

 Hudson Bay and the Rocky Mountains, some 

 of them having spent seasons in the Yukon 

 country, others in the Barren Lands. Dr. 

 Bell went on two expeditions to Hudson 

 Bay. In his lecture he spoke of the moose, 

 the red deer, the reindeer, the Rocky Moun- 

 tain sheep, the antelope, the arctic bear, the 

 seal, the walrus, the whale, the porpoise, 

 the beaver, the cat family, the fox, in his 

 varieties and the smaller laammals, es- 

 pecially the fur-bearing species. He men- 

 tioned the domestication of wild animals 

 by the aborigines, and suggested the follow- 



ing of their example. The lecture was 

 perhaps rather economic than scientific; 

 though, as largely the result of personal 

 observation, it had a greater value than - 

 most popular lectures. 



A Montreal society that has been doing 

 good work in an unostentatious way is the 

 Society for the Studj- of Comparative Psy- 

 chology, of which Professor T. W. Mills, 

 M. D., author of a work on ' The Dog,' may 

 be said to have been tlie founder. Most of 

 the papers read at the Society's meetings 

 are based on observations of the habits of 

 animals, several of the members being, like 

 the president, Dr. Mills, connected with the 

 Veterinary College, affiliated to McGill 

 University. At the last meeting (on the 8th 

 ult.), Mr. A. Dell read a papei* on the Evo- 

 lution of Language, Mr. C. A. Bautelle an- 

 other on Habit. In both observations of 

 animals were used (in part) for illustration. 

 Mr. B. K. Baldwin read a paper on the re- 

 lation between the intellectual status of the 

 horse and his owner, in which he showed 

 that by sympathj^ and kindness lower races 

 attained greater control over their horses 

 than higher races without those qualities. 



Another society that has been doing some 

 quasi-scientific work is the Folk-Lore, or 

 rather the Montreal Branch of the American 

 Folk-Lore Society. It meets at the houses 

 of members monthly, when papers are read 

 and discussions take place. At the last 

 meeting, Dr. D. S. Kellogg, of Plattsburg, 

 N. Y., gave an interesting paper on the 

 Folk-Lore of the Lake Champlain Valley, 

 the importance of which was increased by 

 the fact that everj' belief, usage, sajdng and 

 tradition mentioned had been collected by 

 the essayist in the course of an extensive 

 practice. In almost every case, the source 

 of the story or incident was mentioned. 

 Dr. Kellogg's paper admirably exemplified 

 how profitably a busy pi'ofessional man, of 

 scientific habit of mind, may utilize his spare 

 quarts d' heures and odd moments. J. T. C. 



