6) The West American Scientist. 
culturist in previous years, and his extensive field experiments 
inaugurated (through the same magazine) in many parts of the 
country, were the most extensive co-operative enterprises of the 
kind ever undertaken. Huis articles on food in the Century 
Magazine have gained him a wide reputation. He is now 
director of the Storrs Agricultural School Experiment Station in 
Connecticut and chief of the Experiment Station Bureau in the 
Department of Agricultureat Washington. In the latter capacity 
especially he has a large field for usefulness, and enjoys the con- 
fidence of practical farmers as well as of scientific workers. 
A specimen of Haliotis Cracherodii was recently seen in a San 
Diego shell store, with a brilliant red epidermis like that of H. 
rufescens. Another shell belonzing to H. corrugata possessed 
an equally curious epidermis, of a purplish or violet color. The 
color in both of these shells was natural and a most beautiful 
freak of nature. 
Boys will be strongly attracted by E. H. Barbour’s biography 
of a two-headed turtle, in S4 Micholas for May, and regret the 
“Queer Pet’s’’ early decease; and they will share with their sisters 
keen enjoyment of the mischievous ‘‘Cuff, the Orphan Bear-cub.”’ 
A new volume of Zhe Century began with the May number, 
the frontispiece cf which is one of Mrs. Foote’s pictures of the 
Far West, ‘‘Cinching Up.’’ The most timely papers are a series 
on ‘Samoa: Ths Isles of the Navigators.’’ The first is by Dr. HR. 
W. Whitaker, of the U. S. Navy, and is profusely illustrated. 
The second, also illustrated, is on “Our Relations to Samoa,”’ by 
Mr. Geo. H. Bates. The third paper in this series is a brief one 
by. Captain Erben of the. U. S Navy, who commanded. the 
‘“‘Tuscarora’’ when it took Steinberger to Samoa in 1875. 
From forty careful drawings of the planet Mars at the Lick 
Observatory in July and August, 1888, showing the details of the 
canals as seen through the great telescope, none has been seen 
doubled, as asserted and drawn by European observers of late 
years. The submerged continent had also reappeared in the 
great telescope in its former contour. 
Dr. David Dietrich, author of the extensive Forest-Flora, and 
curator of the herbarium of the University of Jena, died October 
23, 1888, in his ninetieth year. 
C. G. Pringle’s distribution for 1888 includes about 300 species 
of plants, mainly collected in the Mexican states of Chihuahua, 
Nuevo Leon, and Jalisco, Lists will be furnished on application. 
(His address is Charlotte, Vermont). 
On April 6th, 1889, at Wichita, Kansas, the Wichita Academy 
of Science was organized. Its object is ‘to promote the study of 
science and stimulate original investigation.” The correspond- 
ing secretary is Fred. L. Johnson, M. D. 
