110 



SCmNOE, 



[N. S. Vol. XI. No. 264. 



'Facts and Theories of Telegony,' which gives 

 a brief review of the subject in general and of 

 the recent experiments by Professor Ewart in 

 particular. Edward Thorndike in a 'Note on the 

 Psychology of Fishes' tells of a simple experi- 

 ment by which it was shown that the common 

 Fuudulus could readily learn the proper route 

 of escape from the compartment of an aquarium 

 in which it was confined. C. E. Mead dis- 

 cusses ' Collops bipunctatus as an Enemy of the 

 Colorado Potato Beetle,' concluding that it is an 

 important agent in protecting the potato crop. 

 ' The Egg-Carrying Habit of Zaitha' is described 

 by Florence W. Slater, and Robert T. Edes 

 treats of the ' Relation of the Chirping of the 

 True Criclcet (Oecanthusnivens) to Temperature,' 

 showing that the rapidity of the chirps in- 

 creases with the temperature. ' Regeneration 

 in the Hydromedusa, Oonionemus veriens^ is dis- 

 cussed in detail by T. H. Morgan, whose experi- 

 ments show that, although pieces smaller than 

 one-eighth of the medusa may make new in- 

 dividuals having the medusa form, the remod- 

 eling does not include the internal organs. 

 Richard C. McGregor has an article on ' Salvinia 

 coccinea, an Ornithophilus Plant,' describing the 

 manner in which pollination is effected by 

 humming birds, and the sixth instalment of 

 ' Synopses of North Americau Invertebrates,' by 

 W. P. Hajr, is devoted to the Astacidee. The 

 reviews are numerous, and under Correspond- 

 ence Henry B. Ward puts in a plea for the use 

 of Mesenchyme. 



The Journal of the Boston Society of Medical 

 Sciences for December has for its first article an 

 abstract of a paper by Charles S. Minot on the 

 'Classification of Tissues,' which takes the 

 ground that this should be based on embryo- 

 logical data. W. F. Whitney describes some 

 'Malformations of the Kidneys,' and Thomas 

 D wight some 'Remarkable Skulls.' The final 

 article ' Experiments on Saphrolegnia ferax, 

 and their Application to the Trout Hatchery,' 

 by J. H. Cunningham, Jr., is of much interest 

 to fish culturists. 



The Osprey for December opens with some 

 ' Notes from Northern Counties of California,' 

 illustrated by Milton S. Ray ; this is followed 

 by a reprint of J. E. Harting'a article on ' The 



Largest Bird that Flies,' which is the subject 

 of some interesting editorial comment. There 

 is a brief biographical sketch, with portrait, of 

 the late D. W. Prentiss. The editorial columns 

 contain a description of the recent meeting of 

 the American Ornithologists' Union, and among 

 the letters is the prospectus of the Third Inter- 

 national Ornithological Congress, to be held in 

 Paris during the coming year, and a record of 

 the bird arrivals at Dawson. 



SOCIETIES AND ACADEMIES. 



NEW YOBK ACADEMY OF SCIENCES. 

 SECTION OF GEOLOGY AND MINERALOGY. 



At a meeting of the section on December 18, 

 1899, in the absence of the Chairman, Professor 

 J. J. Stevenson was elected temporary chair- 

 man. Twenty-six persons were present. 



Professor J. F. Kemp presented a paper on 

 ' Recent Theories Regarding the Cause of Gla- 

 cial Climate.' During the subsequent discussion 

 of this paper by Professors R. E. Dodge, D. S. 

 Martin aud others, Professor Stevenson called 

 attention to the fact that the great excess in the 

 area of the peat bogs on the surface of the earth, 

 during the present period, over that of the 

 swamps which prevailed during the Carbonif- 

 erous, shows the little foundation for the hy- 

 pothesis of an excess of carbon dioxide in the 

 atmosphere during the formation of the coal. 

 Dr. Julien also pointed out, in reference to the 

 theory of the refrigerating influence of the ab- 

 sorption of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, 

 during the decay of rocks, that this effect may 

 have been more than offset by the heat pro- 

 duced during the accompanying absorption of 

 oxygen. 



Professor Kemp then read a paper on ' Meta- 

 morphosed Dikes in the Mica Schists of Morn- 

 ingside Heights.' This paper was discussed by 

 several members. Dr. Julien acknowledged 

 the resemblance of this outcrop of black horn- 

 blende schist to a sheared dike, produced by its 

 strong contrast in color with the enclosing light 

 gray micaceous gneiss, and by the sharp lines of 

 separation of the schist from the highly tilted 

 beds on either side, as if thrust up from below. 

 Yet this is but one of hundreds of exactly sim- 

 ilar outcrops in New York and Westchester 



