812 



SCIENCE. 



[N. S. Vol. XI. No. 282. 



new species, and seasonal variation in 

 Elainea by Dr. Allen and Mr. Chapman 

 with further papers on mammals, furnished 

 the bulk of contributions to this second 

 volume of the Bulletin. 



Professor Whitfield published further ob- 

 servations on the Calciferous Sandrock from 

 Lake Champlain, and a description of a 

 fossil barnacle from the Marcellus Shale 

 which challenged attention from the hith- 

 erto unrecorded early age for a cirripede in 

 American paleozoics. 



The results of expeditions now rapidly 

 appear in the succeeding bulletins, and col- 

 lections made in Texas, British Columbia, 

 West Indies, Mexico, Costa Bica, furnished 

 many papers on birds and mammals for the 

 third bulletin. Dr. E. A. Mearns contri- 

 buted four papers on small American mam- 

 mals, and a few further observations by 

 Professor Whitfield completed this volume. 

 Perhaps the most notable paper in this 

 series was that of Dr. Allen on a ' Eeview 

 of some of the North American Ground 

 Squirrels of the Genus Tamias.' 



In volume four of the Bulletin, com- 

 pleted in ]892, Entomology first makes its 

 appearance amongst these papers, a series 

 increased and continued by Mr. Beutenmiil- 

 ler in all succeeding publications of the 

 Museum. These papers were confined to 

 lists, for the most part, of collections in the 

 Museum, and were occasioned largely by 

 the new additions of specimens, secured in 

 the Edwards and Elliott cabinets of insects. 

 Oue paper of great usefulness was that de- 

 voted to Gall-producing Insects within 50 

 miles of New York City. Vertebrate Pa- 

 leontology now assumed importance in the 

 Museum, and the wonderful results of the 

 expeditions to the west led to the important 

 papers, in this subject, by Osboru, Wort- 

 man, and Matthews, a series developing in 

 later issues to extraordinary interest and 

 permanent importance. In this volume the 

 analysis of Frotooeras by Professor Osborn 



and Dr. Wortman was of especial value ; 

 Earle's Eevision of Coryphodon was a help- 

 ful systematic study. 



Dr. Allen and Mr. Chapman continued 

 their systematic and descriptive work in 

 ornithology and mammalogy, in which the 

 former's ' Geographical Distribution of 

 North American Mammals ' furnished a 

 splendid contribution to zoo-geography and 

 involved a large review of observations, 

 with an authoritative demarcation of the 

 districts and faunas in the mammalian oc- 

 cupation of North America. 



Volume fifth of the Bulletin contains sys- 

 tematic and descriptive articles and is con- 

 spicuously attractive, though perhaps fall- 

 ing somewhat below its predecessors in 

 interest. Wortman's and Earle's paper on 

 the ' Ancestors of the Tapir ' strikes a 

 strong note of original study, and Osborn 

 and Wortman's establishment of a new 

 genus Artionijx opened up some new lines 

 of vertebrate relationship. Beutenmliller's 

 ' Descriptive Catalogue of Butterflies found 

 within fifty miles of New York City,' was 

 distinctly useful. 



Volume sixth continued the interest 

 which was awakened in volume five. The 

 papers were valuable and involved very 

 diverse topics. The scientific treatment in 

 a few was typical, as in Dr. Wortman's 

 paper on the ' Osteology o( Patriofelis.^ 



The articles of this sixth volume formed 

 a veiy interesting series. A noticeable fea- 

 ture of the Bulletin was supplied bj^ the 

 Department of Vertebrate Paleontology and 

 three papers of importance issued from the 

 pens of Professor Osborn and Dr. Wort- 

 man. Amougst these the discussion of the 

 osteology and critical position of Patriofelis 

 challenged attention. It revealed an ani- 

 mal living in the later Eocene of aquatic 

 or semi-aquatic habits, provided with pow- 

 erful jaws, robust teeth, and probably de- 

 pending on turtles for its subsistence. The 

 Bridger basin swarmed with turtles, and 



