1294 Scientific News. [ December, 
International Congress at Washington which is to determine a 
common prime meridian, is not, perhaps, an absolutely disinter- 
ested one. England desires the ratification of the decision of the 
Scientific Congress held last year at Rome, which adopted the 
meridian of Greenwich —E£xch. 
— A useful pamphlet is Mr. John A. Ryder’s tract “On the 
preservation of embryonic materials and small organisms, together 
with hints upon imbedding and mounting sections serially. Ex- 
tracted from the annual report of the Commissioner of Fish and 
Fisheries for 1882.” The principal object of this essay, says the 
author, is to afford directions to collectors desiring to preserve 
the embryos of the lower vertebrates, fishes and amphibians in 
‘such a condition as wili enable the investigator to use them in his 
researches. “As ordinarily preserved in alcohol such objects are 
next to worthless, either for figuring or dissection, as well as 
totally useless for microscopic. preparations.” 
— The U. S. Geological Survey is engaged in a bibliography of 
North American geology. The work when completed will give 
the title of each paper with the title-page of the containing book 
and the number of plates, the whole being arranged alphabeti- 
cally by authors. It is also intended to prepare at the same time 
a number of more restricted bibliographies, each covering a di- 
vision of geological literature. The plan includes abbreviated 3 
titles of papers with references to the pages on which the special 4 
subjects are treated, the entries in each bibliography being arranged 
alphabetically by authors, ° BA 
~ — The editor of Papilio announces “that unless a more self- 
sacrificing and less impecunious and business-like editor can be 
found, Papilio will probably cease to exist at the end of this year. 
We hope that relief will be sent to the editor and publisher, a 
Eugene M. Aaron, lock box 916, Philadelphia, Pa., and would add 
apropos of entomological journals in this country, that if the three 
now published could be consolidated into one, it would be bett 
in all respects. We still need a well sustained entomo! 
journal, such as ornithologists possess in the Auk. : 
— At the meeting of the Entomological Club of the simet 
tion to the historical associations connected with the eae 
which the club then met. “On that very spot, in the old Mus 
of Natural History, Thomas Say, poor in pocket, though r 
brain, put up his bed under the skeleton of some large mall 
and this for months was his only home. There also he 
the illness which resulted in his death.” shies 
— The Museum of Comparative Zodlogy has sr a 
third in its series of bibliographies to accompany ~*~ 
from embryological monographs, compiled by Alexander 2 
Walter Faxon and E. L. Mark.” is part isa DIDIn E 
Acalephs, by J. Walter Fewkes, and bears date” of July, 
