712 



ISCIENCE. 



[N. S. Vol. XI. No. 279. 



group. Besides those terpenes which have the 

 ring-structure in the molecule, there are sub- 

 stances which have long chains of carbon atoms. 

 Apparently such compounds should be classified 

 with fatty compounds, but so closely do they 

 resemble the terpenes in their properties and 

 chemical behavior that they are placed with 

 them instead. Citral or geranial, an aldehyde 

 found in largest quantity in oil of lemon-grass, 

 is such a substance. Citral is of importance be- 

 cause it is the starting-point in the synthesis of 

 ionone, the artificial violet perfume. The won- 

 derful progress in our knowledge of the ter- 

 penes and of their derivatives is the work of 

 scarcely more than ten or fifteen years at the 

 most. There is great activity still, and among 

 those chemists who have taken a prominent 

 part in the labor should be mentioned Wallach, 

 Baeyer and Tiemann. 



Six persons were elected active members of 

 the Academy. 



■ William Teelease, 



Recording Secretary. 



THE TOEEEY BOTANICAL CLTJB. 



At the meeting of Torrey Botanical Club on 

 March 13, 1900, a paper was read by Dr. P. A. 

 Rydberg, on the ' Phytogeography of Montana.' 

 He divided Montana into three regions, the 

 Great Plains, constituting about one-half of the 

 State, and the sub-Alpine and the Alpine re- 

 gions, the last constituting those isolated peaks 

 which exceed 9000 feet. The characteristic 

 plant-coverings of each region, termed forma- 

 tions, were classed under the usual groups as 

 Xerophytic, Mesophytic, Hydrophytic, and 

 Halophytic, which were fully discussed. 



Dr. Eydberg's paper was followed by re- 

 marks by Judge Brown on the beauty of the 

 mountain flora, and by Dr. Britton on the 

 Dodge expedition of 1897, of which the paper 

 is a result. Dr. Rydberg said in answer to 

 Dr. Underwood that the Montana flora extends 

 but little westward of the State. Dr. Under- 

 wood referred to the interest attaching to any 

 possible influence of hot springs upon the 

 flowering-time of plants growing near, and 

 called attention to the very early flowering of 

 Ranunculus Cymbalaria along ditches supplied 



with hot water baths near Syracuse, New 

 York. 



Edwaed S. Buegess, 



Secretary. 



BIOLOGICAL society OF WASHINGTON. 



The 322d meeting was held on Saturday, 

 April 21st. L. O. Howard exhibited, with ex- 

 planatory remarks, ' Some New Illustrations 

 of Insects,' comprising series illustrating the 

 dificrent genera of mosquitoes, the species of 

 flies presumably connected with the carriage of 

 germs of diseases of the intestinal tract, and of 

 fig caprification in California. 



F. W. True spoke of ' The Newfoundland 

 Whale Fishery,' his remarks being illustrated 

 by lantern slides. The fishery for finback 

 whales carried on at Snook's Arm, Notre Dame 

 Bay was described in some detail, the speaker 

 stating that a small, swift steamer was em- 

 ployed which cruised in the adjacent waters 

 where the whales were taken by means of a 

 harpoon gun. After being killed the whales 

 were towed to the harbor and by the use of a 

 steam winch hauled out upon an inclined plane 

 where the blubber was rapidly removed. 



F. A. Lucas. 



DISCUSSION AND CORRESPONDENCE. 



THE OFFICIAL SPELLING OF POETO EICO. 



To THE Editoe of Science : — Some time 

 since there appeared in your paper a contribu- 

 tion from a distinguished Washington geog- 

 rapher to the effect that President MoKinley 

 had issued an order that the name of the island 

 of Porto Rico should be spelled ' Puerto ' Rico. 

 There likewise appeared in the National Geo- 

 graphic Magazine for December, 1899, an anony- 

 mous personal communication stating in effect 

 that I was the only government ofiicial who 

 adhered to the form Puerto Rico. 



I beg to inform you that in an Act of Con- 

 gress passed April 11th and signed by the Presi- 

 dent of the United States, April 12, 1900, ' to 

 provide revenues and a civil government for 

 Porto Rico, ' the word Puerto was stricken out 

 wherever it occurred and Porto substituted 

 therefore. The President's signature to this 

 bill and the statutory act of Congress settles 

 the spelling of the name of the island. Puerto 



