June 1, 1900 "J 



SCIENCE 



867 



The last paper of the evening was read by 

 Dr. F. "W. Clarke and was entitled: 'The 

 Action of Ammonium Chlorid on Certain Sili- 

 cates ' by F. W. Clarke and George Steiger. 



A brief outline of the method of decompo- 

 sition of some zeolites by heating with ammo- 

 nium chloride in a sealed tube, was first giv«n. 

 It was shown by the experiments that two of 

 the formulfe hitherto given, to Scolecite, Natro- 

 lite and Prehnite must be abandoned . Scolecite 

 and Natrolite give almost identical ammonium 

 compounds, calcium having been replaced in 

 the one case and sodium in the other. They also 

 show these two zeolites to be probably salts of 

 orthotrisilicic acid. In the case of Prehnite the 

 results were quite different, two experiments 

 giving only .17 per cent, in the one case and 

 .22 per cent in the other, of ammonium, in the 

 product formed by their treatment. This dif- 

 ferent action shows that Prehnite can no longer 

 be classed with the former two. In the case of 

 Pectolite the results were so irregular that 

 definite conclusions could not be drawn from 

 the facts at hand. Some figures were given 

 and a formula suggested. 



William H. Kbug, 



Secretary. 



BIOLOGICAL SOCIETT OP WASHINGTON. 



The 325th regular meeting, the last for the 

 season, was held on Saturday evening. May 

 19th. Mr. C. H. Townsend spoke at length on 

 ' The Recent Cruise of the Albatross among the 

 South Pacific Islands, with Remarks on the In- 

 habitants and their Customs,' illustrating his 

 remarks with numerous lantern slides. The 

 speaker described the route followed, the 

 method of sounding and dredging, and noted 

 the additions made to our knowledge of the 

 depth of the ocean. The peculiarities of some 

 of the islands were given, including those of 

 the typical atolls. Mr. Townsend then de- 

 scribed the inhabitants of some of the groups of 

 islands visited, calling attention to the fact that 

 each group possessed its own type of house 

 and canoe. In conclusion the speaker gave an 

 account of his trip across the island of Fiji, 

 giving high praise to the manner in which the 

 group was ruled by the English. 



F. A. Lucas. 



THE ANTHROPOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF WASH- 

 INGTON. 



The 305th regular meeting of the Anthropo- 

 logical Society was held Tuesday, April 24, 

 1900. 



The meeting was designed as a memorial of 

 Frank Hamilton Cushing, Vice-President of the 

 Section of Technology, whose recent death had 

 deprived the Society of one of its most brilliant 

 members. 



The following resolutions, prepared by a 

 committee of the Board of Managers of the 

 Society, were presented : 



Whereas, Our colleague and friend, Frank 

 Hamilton Cushing, Vice-President of the Sec- 

 tion of Technology in the Anthropological So- 

 ciety of Washington, has been removed from 

 our midst by death — 



Resolved, That the members of the Anthropo- 

 logical Society of Washington unite in an ex- 

 pression of deep sorrow at his untimely death. 

 An enthusiastic investigator, an acute observer, 

 a genius in grasping the thoughts of primitive 

 men, a master in exposition, and a tireless 

 worker, his contributions to the science of man 

 are many and brilliant. 



To unravel and correlate the fading myths of 

 a well nigh extinct race, he gave the best years 

 of his unselfish life, braving disease, danger and 

 death itself in his work as a pioneer ; and in his 

 death while yet in his prime and in the midst 

 of his noblest work the science has suffered a 

 grievous loss. An active member of this So- 

 ciety from its foundation, he was a frequent 

 contributor to our proceedings ; his contribu- 

 tions were of surpassing originality, embodying 

 rich and unique experience and the results of 

 profound study, always expressed in felicitous 

 form ; so that his death closes forever one of our 

 richest sources of instruction and inspiration. 



The loss to the science and our Society is a 

 loss to mankind ; the world is poorer to-day be- 

 cause the life of Frank Hamilton Cushing has 

 passed from it. 



To his bereaved family and sorrowing friends 

 we tender our heartfelt sympathy. 



J. H. McCORMICK, 



P. B. Pierce, 

 W. H. Holmes, 



Commiltee. 



