July 26, 1901.] 



SCIENCE. 



149 



tion and progress of the work, the preparation 

 of which was undertaken in 1890. Financial 

 support has been given by the British Associ- 

 ation, the Royal Society and the Zoological 

 Society, while the authorities of the British 

 Museum have afforded continual assistance. 

 The work will be to the student of animal life 

 what the ' Index Kewensis ' is to the botanist, 

 and indeed far more, as the last-named work 

 refers only to Phanerogams, whereas the ' In- 

 dex Animalium ' will include all groups of 

 animals and both recent and fossil forms. The 

 portion of the work already completed and in 

 the press covers the period from 1758-1800 and 

 consists of 61,600 entries. 



The Society of German Engineers, in Berlin, 

 has undertaken the preparation of an interna- 

 tional technical dictionary to be published in 

 English, French and German. 



SCIENTIFIC JOURNALS AND ARTICLES. 



The Journal of the Boston Society of Medical 

 Sciences completes its fifth volume with the 

 double number for May 23 and June 4, the 

 index to the volume being issued with this 

 number. From a small 16mo the Journal has 

 grown to a volume of over 500 pages, although 

 it shows at the same time the modern tendency 

 towards specialization by containing more bac- 

 teriological and pathological papers than for- 

 merly. There is, however, much of general 

 interest as well as important contributions to 

 our knowledge of anatomy and physiology. 



The Plant World for June contains ' Botaniz- 

 ing in Bei-muda,' by'^Marshall A. Howe ; ' Sug- 

 gestions for the Study of the Hawthorns,' by 

 W. W. Ashe, which notes that in place of ten 

 species formerly recognized we know that at 

 least 120 species occur on the Atlantic coast ; 

 'Cuban Uses of the Royal Palm,' by William 

 Palmer, and ' Botanizing in and around a 

 Lake,' by E. L. Morris, besides briefer articles, 

 notes and reviews. The supplement devoted 

 to 'The Families of Flowering Plants,' bj^ C. 

 L. Pollard,' treats of the Mimosacete, Cresalpini- 

 acefe, and the Papilionacese. The number is 

 well illustrated. 



SOCIETIES AND ACADE3IIES. 

 ONONDAGA ACADEMY OF SCIENCE. 



At the June meeting Mr. Chas. G. Rogers 

 presented a series of observations made during 

 March, April and May, on the dates of arrival 

 of birds on their spring migration, the blue-bird 

 being first seen on March 15, and the robin ap- 

 pearing three daj'^s later. 



Mr. Geo. D. Lynch read a paper on ' Hawks,' 

 in which he described the food, and the nesting 

 and defensive habits of Cooper's hawk, the 

 sparrow hawk and the red-shouldered hawk, 

 illustrating his remarks Avith specimens of skins 

 and eggs of each of the three species. 



Principal John D. Wilson read a paper em- 

 bracing his observations on a family of blue- 

 birds. He constructed a box in the shape of a 

 prism about six inches square and fifteen inches 

 deep, two opposite sides stopping about two 

 inches short of the top, thus forming two en- 

 trances, protected from rain by a projecting 

 roof, A narrow shelf was placed just beneath 

 each entrance. Sparrows seemed unable to 

 utilize the box for nesting purposes and so left 

 it alone. They gathered about, however, when 

 the young birds began to appear at the entrances, 

 but were soon driven away by the parent birds. 

 After the young were hatched they seemed to 

 be fed solely by the mother, who invariably 

 entered and left the nest by the opening on the 

 south side. The male entered either opening 

 indifferently, never brought food, and usually 

 brought out excreta from the nest. Mr, Lynch 

 spoke of similar observations on a robin's nest. 

 The young birds were fed entirely on cater- 

 pillars, while the parent birds ate freely of 

 cherries, monopolizing one tree, and even brush- 

 ing their wings against the head of any person 

 attempting to climb the tree. 



Mr. Horace W. Britcher spoke briefly of the 

 habits of some of the forms of life inhabiting a 

 small springtime pond in which a form of the 

 fairy shrimp {Branchippus gelUdus Hay '?) occurs. 

 The pond is usually dry from July to November. 

 Larval Branchippus appear in February, and 

 eggs are deposited during late April and early 

 May, the water becoming so warm hy the middle 

 of May that the Branchippus are rapidly killed, 

 A vear ago eggs were collected and an attempt 



