6 24 Selected Articles in Scientific Seri.ils. [July, 1882. 



Mr. S. H. Scudder spoke of an interesting discovery of older 

 fossil insects west of the Mississippi. 



Geographical Society of the Pacific, San Francisco, March 

 29. — The secretary read a letter from the president of the Board 

 of Trade, requesting the Geographical Society to discuss the 

 merits of the Nicaragua Interocean canal The following gen- 

 tlemen were appointed a committee to act thereon : Captain Oli- 

 ver Eldridge, Andrew McFarlane Davis, William Aldnch, B. B. 

 Redding and Thomas E. Slevin. A paper entitled " Memoir on 

 the River and Harbor of Guayaquil," was then read by Thomas 

 E. Slevin, LL.D. The president gave notice that a paper would 

 be read at the next meeting by B. B. Redding on the Gallapagos 



American Geographical Society, April 13. — The president, 

 Chief Justice C. P. Daly, delivered an address upon Spain, Straits 

 of Gibraltar and Tangiers in 1881. 



Middlesex Institute, March 14 and 21. — Mr. R. Frohock de- 

 livered the third and fourth lectures of the course on the " Mor- 

 phology of Leaves," and the " Arrangement of leaves on the 



March 28 and April 4.— Mr. F. S. Collins lectured on the 



April 11.— Mrs. A. J. Dolbear explained the " Morphology of 

 stamens and pistils " and " .Estivation." 



April 12, Regular Monthly Meeting.— Informal remarks were 

 made by President Dame and others. Resolutions of respect to 

 the memory of Professor Thomas P. James were read, ordered 

 to be placed on record, and a copy to be sent to the family of the 

 honored deceased. A committee on floral exhibitions for the 

 current year was appointrd, and the executive committee in- 

 structed to arrange with the Essex Institute for a joint field ex- 

 cursion in the Middlesex fells in June. 



Biological Society of Washington, May 26th. — The follow- 

 ing communications were made: — Exhibition of Eskimo carvings 

 of animals by E. W. Nelson. Appeal for an exploration of the 

 molluscan Fauna of the District of Columbia by Win. H. V»l 

 Exhibition of a rare Arctic bird, the Spoonbilled Sandpiper (tu- 

 rynorhvnchus fiygmoHis), by T. H. Bean, M. D. Air sacks or 

 vertebrates, by R. M. Shufeldt, M. D. About mules, by Professor 



Appalachian Mountain Club, May 12.— The report of Mr. 

 J. B. Henck. Jr., the delegate of the Club to the Alpine Congress, 

 held at Milan last summer, was read. f 



Mr. W. M. Davis read a paper on the little mountains east or 

 the Catskills. 



A paper by Henry L. Stearns, entitled " An Ascent of P^e 

 Peak," was read. 



