August 29, 1884.] 



SCIENCE. 



185 



by Dr. A. C. Peale. The extinct volcanoes of the 

 Kocky Mountain and Cascade ranges will form the 

 subject of continued study by Capt. C. E. Dutton, 

 U.S.A., assisted by Messrs. Diller and Van Hoesen. 



Economic geology. — The commissioner of 

 Indian affairs having requested, and the secretary of 

 the interior having directed it, an examination of the 

 coal-lands of the Great Sioux reservation in Dakota 

 will be made by Mr. Bailey Willis and assistants. In 

 Colorado, especially in the Kokomo, Silver Cliff, and 

 Denver districts, work will be continued by Mr. S. F. 

 Emmons, assisted by Messrs. Cross, Dun, Eakins, 

 Hillebrand, Rodgers, and Schonfarber. 



District of the Pacific. Topography. — This 

 work, which has been in progress for two years, will 

 be in charge of Mark B. Kerr, assisted by Messrs. 

 Bicksecker and Ahern. The topographical and geo- 

 logical survey, carried on under the auspices of the 

 Northern Pacific railway in Montana and Washing- 

 ton Territory by Prof. R. Pumpelly, having been dis- 

 continued, the maps, field-notes, and material have, at 

 his instance, been turned over to the U. S. geological 

 survey. These explorations, covering some forty-two 

 thousand square miles, will thus be utilized and made 

 public on the standard scale of the survey. 



Geology. — Dr. Becker, assisted by Messrs. Mel- 

 ville, Raborg, and Turner, will continue the geological 

 exploration of the cinnabar deposits of California. 



(General work of the survey.) 



Statistics and economic geology. — Last year Mr. 

 Albert Williams, jun., collected a large amount of 

 mining statistics, which were issued under the title of 

 the 'Mineral resources of the United States.' No 

 volume published by the survey has been more eagerly 



sought for, or given more general satisfaction. It is 

 proposed to issue one of these volumes yearly, thus 

 bringing the mining statistics annually up to date. 



Paleontology. Vertebrates. — The vertebrate 

 paleontology of the north-west will be further investi- 

 gated by Prof. O. C. Marsh, assisted by Messrs. Willis- 

 ton, Bostwick, Hermann, and Barbour. Inverte- 

 brates. — Dr. C. A. White, assisted by Messrs. J. 

 B. Marcou, L. C. Johnson, and Frank Burns, will 

 carry on investigations among mesozoic and tertiary 

 forms. Mr. C. D. Walcott, with the assistance of 

 Messrs. Cooper Curtice and J. W. Gentry, will inves- 

 tigate the paleozoic fauna. The work on the fossil 

 lamellibranchiata, begun by Professor James Hall, 

 will be promoted by the assistance of the survey. 

 Paleobotany. — Dr. Newberry will continue his 

 work on the fossil flora of the north-west, and Prof. 

 W. M. Fontaine his researches on mesozoic botany ; 

 while general paleobotany will be in charge of Mr. 

 Lester F. Ward, assisted by Mr. O. C. Ward. 



Chemistry.— Since the organization of the laboratory 

 of the survey, its work has grown enormously, almost 

 precluding original investigations by the mass of 

 economic questions demanding solution. The work 

 will continue to be directed by Prof. F. W. Clarke, 

 assisted by Messrs. Chatard, Gooch, Barns, Hallock, 

 Manners, Whitfield, Erni, Chase, and Howard. 



Forestry. — The work of mapping the forest dis- 

 tricts of the United States will be continued under 

 the direction of Mr. George W. Shutt. 



Publications. — Mr. W. H. Holmes will continue 

 to supervise the preparation of the illustrations of 

 various kinds for the survey publications, on the sat- 

 isfactory and artistic character of which so much 

 depends. He will be assisted by qualified collabora- 

 tors. 



RECENT PROCEEDINGS OF SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES. 



Academy of natural sciences, Philadelphia. 



July 15. — Mr. Thomas Meehan remarked that in 

 many composite flowers the pollen is ejected from 

 the apex of the staminal tube, and it became a mat- 

 ter of interest to ascertain the mechanism by which 

 this is accomplished. The flowers of Compositae are 

 much frequented by pollen-collecting insects, honey- 

 gatherers seldom resorting to them. It is difficult, 

 therefore, to watch the flow of pollen in the open air, 

 as it is collected by the insects as fast as it appears. 

 Some flowers of Helianthus lenticularis Dougl. were 

 gathered, and, for the purpose of study, placed in 

 saucers of water in a room where insects could not 

 disturb them. In this way it was observed, that, 

 after the corolla tube had reached its full length, very 

 early the following morning the staminal tube com- 

 menced to grow beyond the mouth of the corolla, and 

 by about nine a.m. had extended to a distance of one- 

 fourth the whole length of the latter. The pollen 

 then commenced to emerge through the upper por- 



tion of the staminal tube, which, the stamens narrow- 

 ing, left the apices free. During the day the pollen 

 continued to pour out, until by nightfall a large 

 amount had accumulated at the apex of the tube. 

 The morning of the second day the arms of the 

 pistil emerged, and commenced to expand : and at once 

 the staminal tube commenced to descend. At the 

 end of the third day the staminal tube had retired 

 entirely within the tube of the corolla, and, with 

 the pistil, had begun to wither. A careful examina- 

 tion shows, that, through the whole course, the col- 

 umn of united anthers remains entirely of the same 

 length, the filaments only being elastic. These 

 stretch fully one-half their length. They are at- 

 tached to the tube of the corolla at the inflated por- 

 tion, a short distance above the akene, and extend to 

 about midway between this point and the end of the 

 tubular portion at the base of the limb; but, when 

 the anther-tube is extended, the filaments occupy the 

 whole of the space. Thus pollen could fall on the 

 stigma of the previous day's flower; but, as this is 



