July 17, 1896.] 



SCIENCE. 



present knowledge of the case, it would seem 

 that there is considerable encouragement for 

 any village or city within the productive area 

 to drill wells, expecting to obtain gas in suffi- 

 cient quantity to be of great importance for 

 domestic purposes. " 



' A preliminary catalogue of the Invertebrate 

 Paleontology of the Carboniferous of Kansas,' 

 by Mr. Bennett, based on university and survey 

 collections, with additions from the reports of 

 Beede and Prosser, finishes the text. 



The large number of sections, ' all drawn to 

 an exact scale,' add greatly to the clearness of 

 the presentation of the subject. The physio- 

 graphic features are well illustrated by a num- 

 ber of half-tones, and the final plate is a pre- 

 liminary geologic map of Kansas. 



Finally, it might be mentioned, that the pub- 

 lication of these investigations, which were 

 conducted almost entirely by Prof. Haworth 

 and students of the university, indicates very 

 clearly the advanced nature of the instruction 

 given by the Geological Department of the 

 University of Kansas. 



Chakles S. Prosser. 



SCIENTIFIC JOURNALS. 



THE JOURNAL OF COMPARATIVE NEUROLOGY, 



VOL. VI., NO. 2, JUNE, 1896. 



The Comparative Anatomy of the Insula: By 

 Tracy Earl Clark. The importance of the, 

 insular region in the human brain, and in par- 

 ticular its supposed relation to the speech cen- 

 ters, have led to a thorough investigation of the 

 morphological relations of this area in all 

 groups of the mammals. The insula is pres- 

 ent in the Primates, Carnivora, Proboscidia, 

 Ungulata and Cetacea, though with great varia- 

 tion in size and fissuration. The insula and the 

 claustrum may be considered as parts of the 

 same cortical area ; the claustrum may be pres- 

 ent without the insula ; both may be present or 

 both may be absent. The primitive insula, if 

 such exists, is a somewhat elevated area of 

 greater or less size surrounded by a circumin- 

 sular fissu.re and located in the Sylvian fossa or 

 in the fissure, if the fissure is continuous with 

 the rhinal. The paper is illustrated by five 

 plates. 



Bevieiv of the Golgi Method: By Oliver S. 



Strong. In this paper Dr. Strong undertakes 

 a critical review from the technical side of the 

 method of Golgi and its subsequent modifica- 

 tions. The writer speaks with authority born 

 of long and successful experience with the 

 method. The 28 pages which constitute this 

 instalment of the paper are devoted chiefiy to a 

 full translation of the technological portions of 

 Golgi' s original memoir. 



Two author's abstracts by Prof. B. G. Wil- 

 der : The Dorsal Sack, the Avlix and the Di- 

 encephalic Flexure and The Ectal Relations of 

 the Right and Left Parietal and Paroccipital Fis- 

 sures, a brief editorial on the recent action of 

 the American Neurological Association concern- 

 ing Anatomical Nomenclature and the usual 

 book reviews complete the number. 



SOCIETIES AND ACADE31IE8. 

 ACADEMY OF NATURAL SCIENCES OP PHILA- 

 DELPHIA, JUNE 16, 1896. 



The following papers were presented for pub- 

 lication : ' On a collection of fishes obtained 

 in Swatow, China, by Miss Adele M. Fielde,' 

 by Cloudesley Eutter. ' On a collection of 

 fishes made by the Eev. Jos. Seed Roberts, in 

 Kingston, Jamaica,' by David Starr Jordan and 

 Cloudesley Rutter. 



Prof. Edw. D. Cope continued his report on 

 the vertebrate remains from the Port Kennedy 

 Bone Fissure. Among the Mustellidse were 

 five new species of the genera Lutra, Mephitis, 

 Osmotheriimi and Putorius. They were rep- 

 resented by at least forty individuals and were 

 described and named. Remains of the largest 

 known tortoise from this section of the country 

 were described as belonging to a new species of 

 Clemmys. C. insculpta was also represented, 

 together with a new box tortoise belonging to 

 the genus Loxaspis. A close ally of the black 

 snake, genus Zamsenus, was also described. 



JUNE 23, 1896. 



Rev. H. C. McCook, D. D., reported a series 

 of observations of the California Trap-door 

 Spider, Cteniza Californica, made by Dr. Da- 

 vidson, who had been able to determine the 

 time required for the construction of the bur- 

 row in confinement, and other matters con- 

 nected with the life history of the animal. It 



