498 



SCIENCE. 



[N. S. Vol. XIV. No. 352. 



The genus Ctenophytlia Dana {=Meandrina 

 Lamarck, 1801, + Pectinia (pars) Oken, 1815, 

 + Meandrina (pars) Lamarck, 1816, + Cteno- 

 phyllia Milne-Edwards & Haime, 1848, + Pec- 

 tinia Milne-Edwards & Haime, 1851 and 1857) 

 was proposed for four species, C. pectinata, C. 

 quadrata, C. pachyphylla and C. profunda. Dana 

 explicitly states that the septa are ' entire or 

 nearly so.' He also says, " This group appears 

 to be related to the Euphyllise and has been 

 placed in the same subfamily with them." 

 Dana was absolutely correct in his characteriza- 

 tion and in his understanding of the systematic 

 relations of the genus. The Ctenophytlia, per- 

 haps quadrata, of Whitfield differs utterly from 

 Dana's genus Ctenophyllia, and according to 

 nearly every modern student of zoophytes it 

 would not be placed in the same family. 



It can be seen, by examining the plates, that 

 the valleys and collines of the central portion 

 of the colony are directly continuous with those 

 of the surrounding portion. The differences 

 consist in the absence of pali, and in the larger 

 collines and larger valleys in the central por- 

 tion. The specimen merely shows the variation 

 which may take place within a single colony. 



The second paper is entitled, ' Some Observa- 

 tions on Corals from the Bahamas, with a De- 

 scription of a New Species,' Bull. Amer. Mus. 

 Nat. His., Vol. XIV., Art. XVIIL, pp. 223, 

 224, pis. XXXIII., XXXIV. (date, July 29, 

 1901). 



The ' new species ' described is named Di- 

 ploria geographica. It is merely a form of the 

 very abundant Diploria labyrinthiformis (Linn.) 

 emend. Esper (^^^ Diploria cerebriformis (La- 

 marck) ). The only difference is in its pos- 

 sessing more angular gyrations than are common 

 in D. labyrinthiformis. 



These two papers are reviewed because, in 

 my opinion, such errors should be corrected as 

 soon as possible. 



T. Wayland Vaughan. 



Smithsonian Institution, 

 Washington, D. C, Sept. 11, 1901. 



TWO UNKNOWN WORKS OF RAFINESQUE. 



Bibliography does not indicate that Rafin- 

 esque ever published a work entitled ' Florula 

 Lexingtoniensis,' or, in fact, it does not seem 

 known that such a work was even contem- 



plated by him. There has been discovered in 

 the herbarium of the Academy of Natural Sci- 

 ences of Philadelphia a single signature of a 

 work with the above title, consisting of pages 

 73-80 inclusive, and marked K. As the num- 

 ber of pages would indicate, it is a quarto, 

 though of small size. 



Perhaps this intended work met the fate 

 of the 'Western Minerva,' another of Eafin- 

 esque's Lexington attempts in literature, which, 

 with the exception of three copies, was sup- 

 pressed by the printer, because, it is said, the 

 amount of his bill was not forthcoming. It is 

 odd, in any event, that no mention of a ' Florula 

 Lexingtoniensis' was made in Eafinesque's other 

 writings. 



Another of Eafinesque's works of which no 

 record seems to have been made is the ' Ameri- 

 can Florist, ' of which at least two parts appeared, 

 as there are two copies of the second part in 

 the library of the above-mentioned institution. 

 This ' Second Series ' is also entitled ' Eighteen 

 Figures of Handsome American and Garden 

 Flowers. By C. S. Eafinesque, Philadelphia, 

 1832.' It is a large sheet, measuring from bor- 

 der to border 21J by 17^ inches, bearing illus- 

 ti'ations of Arctium latifolium, Poteria sangui- 

 sorba, Betonica officinalis, Pyrus malus, Bryonia 

 alba, Barbarea alliaria, Clinopodium vulgare, 

 Chrysanthemum leucanthemum, Fraxinus quad- 

 rangularis, Agrostema githago, Melissa officinalis, 

 Saxifraga granularis, Spartium scoparium, Bu- 

 plevrum rotundifolium. Primula farinosa, Alche- 

 milla alpina, Hedera helix, Cardamine pratensis. 

 The illustrations are much like those in his 

 ' Medical Botany,' but are printed in black ink. 

 They bear numbers 19-36, the first series, no 

 doubt, holding numbers 1-18. 



William J. Fox. 



Academy of Natural Sciences, 

 Philadelphia, Pa. 



RECENT ZOO-PALEONTOLOQY. 

 The present summer has been rich in paleon- 

 togical discoveries. The most notable event 

 is t^ discovery of the body of a frozen mam- 

 moth which is now being conveyed to St. 

 Petersburg. Expeditions in this country have 

 been sent out from many of the larger muse- 

 ums, and Professor Von Zittel has sent one of 



