May 26, 1905.] 



SCIENCE. 



807 



or cone and greatly reduces the expense 

 incurred in general electrolytic work. The 

 metals studied were cadmium, zinc, iron, 

 nickel, copper, cobalt and bismuth. 



Afternoon Session— 2:30 O'clock. 

 Vice-President Scott in the chair. 



The Bounded Sands of Paleozoic Forma- 

 tions: Gilbert van Ingen, Princeton, 

 N. J. 



Certain sandstones and dolomites of 

 Paleozoic age contain well-rounded grains 

 of detrital quartz having the mat surface 

 peculiar to sand which has been rounded 

 during transportation by wind. Some of 

 these sandstones are considered by the 

 author to be of desert origin, others to 

 represent fossil barrier bars and spits, still 

 others dunes. The sand of the dolomites 

 is believed to owe its presence in those 

 marine rocks either to flotation from a 

 barrier bar or spit or to transportation by 

 wind from a desert or dune-covered shore. 

 The evidence of these sand grains on paleo- 

 geographic conditions is briefly discussed. 



A Review of Lacroix's Work on the Mon- 

 tagne Pelee (with lantern illustrations) : 

 Professor Angelo Heilprin. 



The Mammalian Fauna of the Fort Union 

 Beds: Mr. M. S. Farr. 



The Marsupial Fauna of the Santa Cruz 

 Beds: Wm. J. Sinclair, Princeton, N. J. 

 The paper presents some of the more 

 important results of a study of the mar- 

 supials of the Santa Cruz formation of 

 Patagonia, which will be treated mono- 

 graphically in the forthcoming Volume 

 VII. of the reports of the 'Princeton Uni- 

 versity Expeditions to Patagonia. ' 



The large Santa Cruz carnivores are 

 shown to be true marsupials, belonging to 

 the same family as the Tasmanian wolf 

 Thylacinus. The suborder Sparassodonta 



is proved to have been based on a mistaken 

 assumption. Certain small forms com- 

 parable in size to the South American opos- 

 sums are included in the family Didel- 

 phj'ida?, but are not regarded as prototypal 

 to any of the existing opossums. A new 

 family is proposed for reception of the 

 Santa Cruz diprotodonts, the most primi- 

 tive members of which are shown to be 

 transitional to the Polyprotodontia. The 

 descent from common ancestors of certain 

 Australian, Tasmanian and South Amer- 

 ican types is suggested, and its bearing on 

 paleogeography briefly discussed. 



The Mutual Affinities of the Species of the 

 Genus Camharus: A. E. Ortmann, of 

 Pittsburg. 



The Faunal Relations of the Ryu-kyu {Loo 

 Choo) Islands: Dr. Henry A. Pilsbrey. 



Evening Session— 8 O'clock. 

 At the Free Museum of Science and 

 Art, University of Pennsylvania, President 

 Smith in the chair. 



Reason and Intelligence vs. Custom and 

 Habit in the Nutrition of the Body 

 (illustrated by lantern slides) : Pro- 

 fessor Russell H. Chittenden. 



A reception was given at nine o'clock in 

 the museum by the president and council 

 to the members of the society and the ladies 

 accompanying them. 



FRIDAY, APRIL 14. 



Morning Session— 10 :30 O'clock. 

 Vice-President Newcomb in the chair. 



The Secular Pcrturhations of the Earth: 



Mr. Eric Doolittle. 



It is well known that the earth and all 

 of the other planets move about the sun in 

 almost circular curves called ellipses. But 

 the size and shape of the path in which any 

 one planet moves are constantly changing 



