January 12, 1900.] 



SCIENC:^. 



77 



BECENJ ADDITIONS TO THE A3IERICAN 

 MUSEU3I. 



The second portion of the Cope collection 

 containing the Fishes, Amphibia and Reptilia 

 has recently been acquired by the American 

 Museum of Natural History as the munificent 

 gift of President Jesup. It includes 350 de- 

 scribed species, represented in the majority of 

 cases by the type specimens. The Amphibian 

 collection is from the Permian formation of 

 Texas, and represents many years' work by 

 Cummings and other collectors. There are 

 also large numbers of primitive reptiles belong- 

 ing to the Proganausauria and other groups. 

 The Trias is fairly well represented, mainly from 

 Pennsylvania. The Jui-a is represented by col- 

 lections both from the Colorado Sandstones and 

 from the Como Beds. The former are the most 

 valuable and in the most complete condition, in- 

 cluding, especially, the type of Camarasaurus 

 and types of other genera v/hich Professor 

 Cope described but never worked up. The 

 Kansas Cretaceous is represented by a very 

 large collection of Mosasaurs and Pterosaurs 

 in fairly good condition and including many of 

 Cope's types. From the Laramie is an especially 

 fine Hadrosaur, a complete skeleton of Diclo- 

 nius capable of being mounted, also remains of 

 the Ceratopsia. From other parts of the Mes- 

 ozoic and from the Tertiary are a great variety of 

 reptile remains more or less complete, including 

 some fine Belodontia, Crocodilia and Chelonia. 

 This supplements the very large reptilian col- 

 lection already made by the American Museum 

 which will now be worked up for the first time. 



At the same time there has been presented to 

 the Museum, by Messrs. Havemeyer, Iselin, 

 Dodge, James and Osborn, the valuable Pam- 

 pean collection purchased by Professor Cope at 

 the Paris Exposition of 1878. This was the 

 first large exhibition in Europe from the Argen- 

 tine Republic ; it includes several entire skele- 

 tons, especially those of the great sabre-tooth 

 tiger, Machserodiia, and of Lestodon, and parts 

 of the skeleton of Toxodon, also the carapace 

 of several of the armored Edentates. This 

 collection was mounted for exhibition in Paris 

 and very carefully packed at the time of its 

 purchase bjf Professor Cope ; it has never been 

 unboxed since. 



Dr. O. P. Hay, formerly of the Field Colum- 

 bian Museum, who for some time past has been 

 working in the National Museum, has accepted 

 a position in the American Museum as Assistant 

 Curator of Vertebrate Paleontology and will be 

 especiallj'' engaged in the arrangement of the 

 Cope Mesozoic collection ; he will enter upon 

 his duties January 15th. 



SCIENTIFIC NOTES AND NEWS'. 



Mr. G. K. Gilbert, of the U. S. Geological 

 Survey, has been elected president of the Ameri- 

 can Association for the Advancement of Science, 

 to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Pro- 

 fessor Edward Orton. 



With the close of the year. Assistant Charles 

 A. Schott, who for nearly fifty years has been 

 the distinguished and energetic chief of the 

 Computing Division of the Coast and Geodetic 

 Survey, retired from that important position 

 in order to devote his whole time to special 

 scientific work. Under Mr. Schott's careful 

 supervision and training has developed a corps 

 of skilled computers equalled by no other 

 scientific bureau. To his labors, perhaps, more 

 than to any other one man's, is due the high 

 scientific character of the results which the 

 Survey has given to the world. The completion 

 last year of the great arc, begun over a quarter 

 of a century ago, marks an epoch in the history 

 of the Division, and, the beginning of the tri" 

 angulation on the 98th meridian, would seem 

 to be a fitting occasion for relieving Mr. Schott 

 of the burden which he has borne for so many 

 years. His official career has been coincident 

 with the development of the Survey, and his 

 untiring zeal and fidelity have done much to 

 bring about its present standard. Assistant 

 Schott will now devote himself to the discussion 

 of the eastern oblique arc (Maine to Louisiana) 

 and a similar arc in California. His successor 

 is Assistant John F. Hayford, who for several 

 months past has occupied the position of In- 

 spector of Geodetic work, and has thus had 

 general supervision, under the Superintendent's 

 direction, of the field geodetic operations. His 

 assumption of the duties of chief of the Com- 

 puting Division in addition to his previous 

 duties gives him the supervision of the geodetic 



