504 RECORDS 



coarsest as in the finest. With each size of shot the space oc- 

 cupied by air was about 39 per cent, of the total space occupied 

 by the shot. 



Wm. S. Day, 



Sccntary. 



SECTION OF BIOLOGY. 

 November 12, 1900. 



Section met at 8:15 P. M., Prof C. L. Bristol presiding. 



The minutes of the last meeting of Section were read and ap- 

 proved. 



The name of one candidate for resident membership was read 

 and referred to the Council according to the By-Laws. 



The following program was then offered ; 



F. C. Waite, The Bermuda Toad. 



H. F. Osborn, The Phylogeny of the Rhinoceroses in 

 Europe. 



H. L. Clark, Further Notes on Bermuda Echinoderms. 



Summary of Papers. 



Bufo agua was introduced into the Bermudas from British 

 Guiana about 1885, and is now common throughout the colony. 

 This is the largest Anuran known, specimens 1 5 5 mm. in length 

 having been taken in Bermuda. It breeds there in brackish 

 marshes ; elsewhere in fresh-water pools. The spawning time 

 in Bermuda is not known, but young were found in July. 



Bermuda is the northern limit of its range, which includes 

 many of the Lesser Antilles (introduced), southern Mexico, 

 Central America, and South America south to Ecuador on the 

 west coast, and to Argentina (38° S.) on the east coast. 



There is a general belief that it is venomous. The secretion 

 of its cutaneous glands causes ulceration of mucous membrane, 

 and opaqueness of the cornea. Subcutaneous injections cause 

 convulsions, followed by death in frog, fowls and dog. 



During the discussion which followed, the facts were brought 

 out that this toad is a clumsy animal, jumps high rather than 



