1897.] Proceedings of Scientific Societies. -181 
The Society elected the following officers for the coming year: Presi- 
dent, C. S. Minot; Vice-President, S. I. Smith ; Secretary-Treasurer, 
G. H. Parker; Executive Committee, J. S. Kingsley, Bashford Dean. 
Many papers were left unread on account of lack of time. Probably, 
in the future, papers will be admitted only from actual members ; they 
will be limited to fifteen minutes; and the authors will be requested to 
omit all historical reviews and details of observations, and to confine 
themselves to the broader conclusions and generalizations. 
Boston Society of Natural History.—January 6, 1897.—The 
following papers were presented ; Mr. A. W. Grabau, “ The Sand Plains 
of Truro, Wellfleet and Eastham ;” Prof. W. M. Davis,“A Geographical 
Classification of Coastal plains.” —SamurL HENSHAW, Secretary. 
January 20.—The following paper was read: Prof. W. O. Crosby, 
“The great fault and accompanying sandstone dikes of Ute Pass, 
Colorado.”—Samurt HENSHAW, Secretary. 
New York Academy of Science, Biological Section.—De- 
cember 14, 1896, Prof. J. G. Curtis, Chairman, in the Chair. Dr. Ar- 
nold Graf made a preliminary report on “Some New Fixing Fluids ;” 
Mr. J. A. McGregor read a paper entitled “An Embryo of Orypto- 
branchus.” 
The embryo described is about 16 millimetres long, and is the first 
to be recorded of this speeies. 
Prominent among its external features are the excessive amount w 
yolk, the marked ventral flexure in the cervical region, and the very 
early and almost simultaneous appearance of the two pairs of limbs. 
The dorsal surface is pigmented, the pigment cells being arranged in 
transverse bands, one band over each metamere of the body. ; Lateral 
line sense-organs can be distinguished. Among the most striking in- 
ternal characters may be mentioned the dorso-ventral flattening of the 
notochord, the late appearance of entoderm and alimentary organs gen- 
erally—due doubtless to the great mass of the yolk. The primordial 
skull is unusually well-developed. The auditory vesicle has an endo- 
lymphatic duct ending blindly immediately under the skin on the top 
of the head. Along the sides of the body a system of organs occur 
which are probably homologous with the embryonic sense-organs de- 
scribed by Beard in the sharks. aay 
Dr. J. L. Wortman spoke of the “ Ganodonta,” a new and primi- 
tive suborder of the Edentata from the Eocene of North America. 
One section or family of the suborder, viz., the Stylinodontidee, 1s COM- 
posed of Hemigamus, Psittacotherium, Ectoganus and Stylinodon, and 
