856 



SCIENCE. 



[N. S. Vol. V. No. 126. 



and when it is further considered that they are 

 quite deficient in nitrifying organisms, it is 

 fair to conclude that at least a portion of this 

 excess of nitrogen which they contain is assimi- 

 lated directly from the vegetable mold without 

 previous oxidation to nitric acid. Data was ad- 

 duced which showed that the addition of phos- 

 phatic fertilizers tended to diminish the actual 

 percentage of nitrogen in the crop harvested. 



At the end of the regular program Professor 

 Warder exhibited some photographs which 

 showed the power of various chemical sub- 

 stances to absorb X-rays, and explained the 

 technique of the manipulation. 



V. K. Chesnut, 

 Secretary. 



ENTOMOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON, MAT 

 13, 1897. 



The President announced the death, on May 

 3d, of Martin L. Linell, an active member of 

 the Society. 



Mr. B. E. Fernow referred to the recent 

 increase of pin holes in timber from the 

 Southern States, caused either by some Ptinid 

 beetle or a Scolytid, and discussed the possi- 

 bility of preventing damage by some system of 

 timber management. 



Dr. E. F. Smith showed Beijerinck' 8 recently 

 published paper on the ' Cecidiogenesis and 

 alternation of genera of Cynips calicis,' and 

 briefly reviewed the work. 



Mr. Schwarz exhibited specimens of the 

 Meloid beetle, Phodaga alticeps Lee, and 

 read a letter from Mr. Hubbard detailing the 

 habits of this insect. 



Mr. Schwarz presented a paper entitled ' Two 

 genera of beetles new to the United States.' 

 The genera are Cylidrella, family Trogosi- 

 tidae, discovered by Mr. H. G. Hubbard at 

 Yuma, Arizona, preying upon a Scolytid in 

 Parkinsonia wood, this genus having been 

 founded by Dr. Sharp upon a single species, C. 

 mollis, found by Mr. Champion in Guatemala ; 

 and Latheticus, family Tenebrionidse, found by 

 Mr. Hubbard under Mesquite bark at Indio, in 

 the Colorado desert of California, the only 

 other species of this genus, L. oryzee Water- 

 house, having been found in rice brought to 

 England from India. 



Mr. Banks presented a paper entitled ' Three 

 new lace- winged flies,' in which the following 

 species were described : Chrysopa sabiilosa, C. 

 Fraterna and Leucochrysa americana. 



Mr. Howard presented a communication on 

 ' An interesting wax insect from California.' 



Mr. Ashmead presented a paper entitled 

 ' The genera of the Encyrtinse,' which reviewed 

 the history of the subfamily and included a 

 table of the known genera, to which he had 

 added nine. 



L. O. H. 



ANTHROPOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 



The 264th regular meeting of the Anthropolo- 

 gical Society was held Tuesday, May 4, 1897. 

 Dr. George M. Kober read a paper entitled 

 ' Progress and Achievements in Hygiene,' in 

 which he gave a resume of the various attempts 

 to introduce sanitary measures, either general 

 or specific, in various countries at divers times, 

 and noted the good results which followed, 

 many of them being permanent in character. 



The marked immunity of the Jews was noted, 

 and how it had continued even to the present 

 day, as evidenced by the extremely low mor- 

 tality ; this condition of affairs was attributed 

 not so much, to rigid enforcement of the laws 

 of health prescribed by the Hebraic law as to 

 their racial sobriety producing of a sturdy con- 

 stitution, capable of resisting disease to a con- 

 siderable degree. The author then recited in- 

 cidents tending to prove the assertion that the 

 desire to prevent diseases was innate in the hu- 

 man race. The relation of medicine and re- 

 ligion, the medicine dance, the disposal of the 

 dead, cremation and other forms of primitive 

 practices were given in detail. 



A ' General Discussion upon Sanitation among 

 Primitive Peoples ' then followed. Mr. Geo. 

 E. Stetson said that in equatorial Africa there 

 was an absence of filth in persons and places, 

 and spoke of the misconception concerning the 

 climatic and physical conditions of Africa. The 

 endemic and introduced diseases were then 

 noted. The general discussion was then taken 

 up by Professor L. F. Ward, Drs. McGee,. 

 Woodward, Magruder and McCormick. 



J. H. McCormick, 

 General Secretary. 



