256 NOTES; 
Academy, had never thought of exceeding an expenditure of 
$25,000. But this site alone, as he had been assured by competent 
judges, exceeded in value $150,000. A meeting of the Trustees 
will be held to-day, when the body will wait upon Mr. Lick person- 
ally, and express the thanks of the Academy for his munificent 
As a preliminary expression of gratitude, on motion of Dr. 
Hewston, the rules of the Academy were suspended, and Mr. Lick 
was elected a life member. 
Professor Davidson read a paper, which embodied the results of 
laborious research, on the probable periodicity of rainfall, being 
illustrated with diagrams. He believes in a law of periodicity, but 
the problem of establishing it was an intricate one, and it had not 
been developed by the observations of a century. The observa- 
tions of twenty-one years in California had afforded no direct 
_conclusions. 
Dr. Hewston read an exceedingly interesting paper, descriptive 
of the marine animal, a species of Limnoria, which has recently 
appeared in the harbor and commenced its ravages on the wharves, 
threatening the certain and speedy destruction of the whole works 
of the city front, unless some effective means are adopted for arrest- 
ing its depredations. Specimens were also submitted to the in- 
spection of the Academy, under the microscope. 
Mr. Dall read a paper on the avi-fauna of the Aleutian Islands. 
Science in this state has met a loss in the death of Dr. Henry 
C~ Perkins, of Newburyport, one of the trustees of the Peabody ` 
Academy of Science. He devoted much time to microscopical 
and astronomical studies. One of the leading physicians in this 
state, he also found time to study science practically. He died 
very suddenly, February 3d, aged 69. 
Tue eminent botanist, Professor John Torrey, died March 10th, 
of pneumonia after a short illness. We can now but refer 
the severe loss botanical science in America has suffered from his 
death. 
-Proressor Sepewick, the celebrated English geologist, died on 
the 27th of January, aged eighty-seven years. His scientific es- 
_ Says were published mainly in the Transactions of the London 
