March 19, 1897.] 



SCIENCE. 



487 



SOCIETIES AND ACADEMIES. 



BIOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON, 272D 

 MEETING, SATUKDAY, MARCH 27. 



C. H. TOWNSEND spoke of ' The Distribution 

 and Migration of tlie Nortliern Fur Seal,' giv- 

 ing a summary of the results obtained from a 

 study of the log books of pelagic sealers, and 

 illustrating his remarks by a chart showing the 

 location of the seals on the Asiatic and American 

 coasts at different seasons. The two herds, the 

 American and the Asiatic, did not mingle, and 

 the migrations of the former were much the 

 more extensive of the two. 



Charles Louis Pollard discussed ' What Con- 

 stitutes a Type in Botany,' arguing in favor of 

 recognizing multiple types when necessary. He 

 suggested the abolition of the expression ' dupli- 

 cate type,' on the ground that all specimens on 

 which the original diagnosis is based must be of 

 coordinate rank as actual types. 



Lester F. Ward gave a ' Description of Seven 

 Species of Cycadeoidea from the Iron Ore De- 

 posits of Maryland,' saying that up to Novem- 

 ber 4, 1893, but a single species was known, 

 based on four specimens collected by Philip Ty- 

 son before 1861. In 1893 Mr. Arthur Bibbins 

 began work in the iron ore beds, under the aus- 

 pices of the Woman's College of Baltimore, and 

 up to the preset time he had procured no less 

 than 59 specimens. These belonged to seven 

 different species, but at present there was no 

 reason to recognize more than the one genus 

 Cycadeoidea. 



F. A. Lucas, 

 Secretary. 



ANTHROPOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON. 



The 260th meeting of the Society was held on 

 March 2, 1897. 



Dr. H. Carrington Bolton read a paper en- 

 titled ' The Language used in Talking to 

 Domestic Animals.' He discussed the subject 

 under the various animals controlled by man, 

 dogs, horses, cattle, sheep, swine and poultry, 

 and gave illustrations from nearly every coun- 

 try in Europe and every State in the Union. 

 His essay, which elicited much discussion, will 

 appear in full in the American Anthropologist. 



The discussion was by Professor Lester F. 



Ward, W. H. Blodgett, P. B. Pierce, Dr. Frank 

 Baker, Mr. Walter Hough, Dr. J. H. McCor- 

 mick and others. 



J. H. McCORMlCE, 

 General Secretary. 



MEETING OF THE N. Y. SECTION OP THE AMERI- 

 CAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY. 



The New York Section of the American 

 Chemical Society held its regular meeting on 

 March 5th. 



The following papers were read : 



' Note on the Volumetric Estimation of Lead,' 

 by J. H. Wainwright. 



'Electrolytic Production of Alkali Nitrites,' 

 by Wm. M. Grosvenor. 



' Method of Drying Sensitive Organic Sub- 

 stances,' by C. C. Parsons. 



' Chemistry of the Sanitary Control of Milk 

 Supplies,' by E. J. Lederle. 



' Quantitative Separations by Sodium Nitrite,' 

 by Gilette Wynkoop. 



' On the Composition of Beet Sugar Ash,' by 

 C. F. A. Meisel. 



' Determination of Lead in Lead Ores, ' by 

 Kichard K. Meade. 



The meeting was well attended, and much 

 interest was shown in the papers read. 



DuEAND Woodman, 



Secretary. 



the GEOLOGICAL CLUB OF THE UNIVERSITY OF 

 MINNESOTA, FEBRUARY 20, 1897. 



Mr. Warren Upham read a paper entitled 

 ' The Topography and Glacial Geology of the 

 City of St. Paul.' 



Attention was directed to the remarkable 

 northeastward loop of the Mississippi river, 

 here interrupting its general southeastward 

 course. The rock formations beneath the drift 

 have a horizontal stratification, being, in ascend- 

 ing order, the St. Peter sandstone, Trenton lime- 

 stone and Trenton shales. The observed thick- 

 ness of the shales is about 145 feet, their highest 

 outcrop being 260 feet above the river or 945 

 feet above the sea. Above these bed rocks the 

 glacial and modified drift deposits form the sur- 

 face, and rise in morainic hills and smoother 

 ridges from 200 to nearly 400 feet above the 



