754 THE AMERICAN NATURALIST. (VoL. XXXIX. 
tion, their methods of work, their losses or successes, in a calling 
now almost past. “When the trade was at its height, there were 
occasionally fair fortunes made, and the crews at times were well 
paid. The life was frequently one of great privation, and at times 
of deep denial and not a little danger. There was, however, much 
of fascination in the pursuit of seals, whales, and other creatures of 
the far north, and one cannot help a feeling of regret that these 
days have passed away never to return.” 
G. M. A. 
Notes.— In a paper by Miss M. J. Klem, entitled “ A Revision of 
the Palzozoic Palaéchinoidea, with a Synopsis of All Known Species” 
(Trans. St. Louis Acad. Sci., vol. 14, no. 1, May 5, 1904) there are 
a number of conclusions drawn to which attention should be called. 
These are mainly apparent refutations of the principles of develop- 
ment given by Dr. R. T. Jackson and Dr. T. A. Jaggar in their 
paper on “Studies of Melonites multiporus” and by Dr. Jackson in 
his paper “Studies of Palzéchinoidea ” (Bull. Geol. Soc. Amer., 
vol. 7). These apparent refutations seem to arise from a miscon- 
ception of the principles of development as given in those papers. 
On page 2 of Miss Klem’s paper the statement of the above au- 
thors that “the interambulacral area of the adult of Melonites when 
perfect, consists of two plates at the ventral termination ” is claimed 
to be incorrect and. she maintains that it always terminates in three 
plates when the specimen is perfect, citing figures 6, 8, 12, and 13 in 
proof. In these sixteen drawings in which the line marking the ven- 
tral border of the perfect specimen is shown but four times (in 64, 
6d, 12¢, 13¢) the completion of the adambulacral plates laterally to 
show the impingement of the ambulacral plates is lacking, a feature 
which would give much more definiteness to the whole series of 
figures. In these sixteen drawings all of which are claimed to show 
the invariable termination in three plates, four areas show termina- 
tion ventrally in two plates (figs. 6a, 62, 6c, 8c). This substantiates 
the point in question, that when perfect the area terminates in two 
plates as shown by Jackson and Jaggar. The other figures repre- 
sent cases in which there are three or more plates ventrally which 
according to Jackson and Jaggar are wanting in the plates found at 
the ventral part of a complete specimen. On page 3 is a statement 
of doubt concernin 
trally. 
power of resorption perfectly clear. 
A SE 
t the end of the page is this statement: ‘Furthermore, if resorp- 
