286 



SCIENCE. 



[Vol. V., No. 114. 



such an interest in science as is indicated by 

 the presence of local scientific societies strong 

 enough to publish proceedings of some sort ; 

 and the result appears to be, that these societies 

 are not, to any appreciable extent, feeders of 

 the association. It is more probable that they 

 are oftener its children. Thus San Francisco 

 numbers but seven members ; Denver, two 

 only, losing one during the past year, which 

 has witnessed the publication of a whole vol- 

 ume of proceedings from the local society ; the 

 great city of Chicago has but thirty members, 

 even with an increase of four during the past 

 year; Davenport, Io., has only two ; Albany, 

 with its long-established Albany institute, only 

 fifteen, a loss of one during the year ; Buffalo, 

 with more than one society flourishing from 

 time to time, eleven, a loss of one member 

 during the year ; Poughkeepsie, five, a loss of 

 one ; Troy, twelve, a gain of three ; Wilkes- 

 barre, six, a gain of four during the past year ; 

 Milwaukee, four, a gain of one ; Toronto, 

 twelve, a gain of one; and Halifax, N.S., a 

 single member. 



University and college towns are very gen- 

 erally represented, but, excepting at large cen- 

 tres, by only three or four members. How 

 widely distributed the membership has become, 

 is shown by the significant fact that no less 

 than 597 places contribute to the list ; indicat- 

 ing clearly that the assembling of five hundred 

 or a thousand scattered members once a year, 

 must be an important factor in the advance of 

 science in this country, far more than it is 

 possible it should become in such a country, 

 for instance, as England. 



naval management is as great as it ever would 

 be under any other. 



Among recent naval orders, we note that of 

 Rear- Admiral Franklin to the command of the 

 European squadron. That this able officer, 

 who has been superintendent of the observa- 

 tory only about a year, should be so soon 

 relieved of his duties and assigned to another 

 station, will be a matter of regret to all those 

 friends of the observatory who hold to the 

 belief that its efficiency under an exclusively 



LETTERS TO THE EDITOR. 



*** Correspondents are requested to be as brief as possible. The 

 writer's name is in all cases required as proof of good faith. 



The carnivorous habits of the Rodentia. 



In recent numbers of Science several observers 

 have spoken of the habit possessed by the muskrat, 

 Fiber zibethicus, of feeding upon certain mussels to 

 be found at its places of resort. As already referred 

 to by one of these contributors, instances were brought 

 up before the Biological society of Washington, a few 

 months ago, of their destroying for food-purposes 

 carp in the carp-ponds. I wish to enter here but one 

 additional charge against this animal, which has been 

 the subject of so much abuse lately. Several years 

 ago, when I lived in a town situated upon Long 

 Island Sound, I saw upon a number of occasions, 

 when collecting during moonlight nights, muskrats 

 swimming along the stone wharves where the ship- 

 ping moored. It never struck me, however, that they 

 were in search of food, until I observed one, on one 

 occasion, dive, and return in a moment to the surface 

 with a fish in its mouth some five or six inches long. 

 I killed the animal in the act, and secured both fish 

 and rat. The former proved to be a specimen of 

 Gadus tomcod, — a fish which in early winter swims 

 sluggishly along close to the wharves in those lati- 

 tudes, and one easily captured, I imagine, by such a 

 good swimmer. 



The muskrat, however, does not stand alone in this 

 particular propensity among the Rodentia. While 

 collecting near Fort Wingate, N. Mex., a few days 

 ago, I was so fortunate as to capture alive a speci- 

 men of Hesperomys, of what species I am not posi- 

 tive as yet. This truly beautiful little animal was 

 taken from its nest in a tree in the immediate vicinity 

 of several lodges of Neotoma floridana. On arriving 

 home, about nightfall, it was consigned to a wooden 

 box in my study. My work-table in this room was 

 covered with things familiar to those who are ac- 

 quainted with the doings of a naturalist in the field. 

 Among them was a vessel containing coarse corn- 

 meal, used in skinning animals and birds. Near this 

 lay fresh specimens of pine-linnets, blue crows, and 

 several other birds, which I intended to convert into 

 skeletons. My Hesperomys escaped during the night, 

 and although he had been a prisoner but a few hours, 

 and presumably not hungry, he ate nearly the entire 

 body of one of my pine-linnets, never touching the 

 saucer of cornmeal which stood immediately by it. 



Next morning the contents of his stomach proved 

 his guilt. The flesh-eating habits of rats are too well 

 known to call for comment in this connection. 



R. W. Shufeldt. 



Fort Wingate, N. Mex., 

 March 20. 



Mr. Melville's plan of reaching the north pole. 



If you can spare the space in your journal, I would 

 like to make a few concluding remarks on Dr Boas' s 

 criticism of my proposed route toward the north 

 pole, and my theory thereon. 



Dr. Boas, in his letter to Science, confines me to 



