1883. } Proceedings of Scientific Societies. 695 
— The King of Italy has conferred on Professor James Hall, 
of Albany, the decoration of commander of the order of St. Mauri- 
tius and St. Lazarus. He has also presented Dr. T. Sterry Hunt, 
of Boston, the decoration of officer of St. Mauritius and St. 
rus. 
— A despatch from Berlin says that William Charles Hartwig 
Peters, the German naturalist and traveler, is dead. Professor Pe- 
ters was born in Coldenbiittel, Schleswig, April 22, 1815. He - 
studied in Copenhagen and Berlin. He became known to the 
public by his exploration, from 1842 to 1847, under the auspices 
of the Prussian Government, of Mozambique, which he described 
ina work of four volumes, published between 1852 and 1868. 
From this work Bleek compiled his “ Languages of Mozambique” 
(London, 1856). Professor Peters was connected for many years 
with the medical department of the University of Berlin, and in 
1857 he succeeded Lichtenstein as Professor of Zoology and 
Director of the Zodlogical Collections. Professor Peters resem- 
bled an Englishman or Dane rather than a German. His temper- 
ament was rather sanguine, and his mental and physical move- 
ments more rapid than is usual with the Germans. He was an 
accute zoologist. and an untiring worker. His most important 
contributions are in the department of Vertebrata. He leaves a 
considerable family. 
20: 
PROCEEDINGS OF SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES. 
Nationa Acapemy or Scrences.—The annual stated session 
of the National Academy of Sciences was held in Washington, 
D. C., commencing Tuesday, April 17, 1883, at I1 A. M., at the 
National Museum. The following papers were read : 
1. On the genesis of metalliferous veins, by Joseph LeConte; 
2. On the composition of the venom of serpents, by S. Weir 
Mitchell and E. T. Reichert: 3. On the change in the properties 
Atoms and Atomic groups caused by a change in the position 
of a molecule, by Ira Remsen; 4. On the nascent state of oxy- 
gen, by Ira Remsen; 5. On barometric gradients, by Elias 
Oomis; 6. On the structure of the skull in Hadrosauride, by 
D. ope; 7. Determination of the inequalities of the moon’s 
Plement to Delaunay’s “ Theorie du Mouvement de la Lune,” by 
N W: Hill; 8. Maxima and minima tide-predicting machine (ex- 
hibition 
tn, Photography, by H. A. Rowland; 15. Some experiments 
Pon a method of forming a visible image of the solar corona, by 
