November 27,1894 — The Vice-President in the chair. 

 Seven members and eight visitors present. 



Jonathan Dwight, Jr., M. D., read a paper on ''The 

 Flora and Fauna of Sable Island." His remarks were 

 based upon observations made by himself on the island 

 during a period of sixteen days, the closing days of May, 

 and the beginning of June. 1894. He found three species 

 of Terns — the Common Tern {Sterna hirundo), the Arctic 

 Tern [Sterna paradiscea), and the Roseate Tern {Sterna 

 doiigalli) — on the island; the Common and Arctic Terns 

 were exceedly abundant, breeding in great numbers at 

 many places along the shore. The Ipswich Sparrow 

 {Ammodramus princeps) was tolerably abundant and was 

 breeding, and Dr. Dwight collected the first authentic nests 

 with eggs of this species. 



December 11, 1894. — The President in the chair. Five 

 members and four visitors present. 



The Lecture Committee presented a formal report 

 through Dr. J. A. Allen, the chairman, stating that ar- 

 rangements had been completed for a course of four 

 lectures to be given in the lecture hall of the American 

 Museum, as follows : 



1. January 8, 1895. " A Trip through the Lesser An- 

 tilles," by Frank M. Chapman. 



2. February 5, 1895. " Th e Great West a Half Million 

 Years Ago," by Henry Fairfield Osborn, Sc. D. 



3. March 12, 1895. " Hawaii, the Paradise of the Paci- 

 fic, " by William Libbey, Jr., Sc. D. 



4. April 2, 1895. "Ancient Earthworks in the Ohio 

 Valley," by Prof. Frederic W. Putnam. 



A paper by Mr. R. L. Ditmars was entitled " Notes on 

 the Genus Crotalus (Rattlesnakes), with a Brief Review of 

 the Genus." Mr. Ditmars stated the distribution of the 

 genus Crotalus in the United States, and gave notes upon 

 a live specimen which he had kept in captivity for over 

 three years. His remarks upon the secretion of venom 

 and exuviation by the various species were especially full. 



