Recent Proceedings of Societies. 



Academy of natural sciences, Philadelphia. 



April 10. — Professor Heilprin gave an account of 

 his recent tour in Florida. Starting from Cedar 

 Keys, the coast was closely followed, and the Honi- 

 osassa and Chisowhiska rivers were ascended for 

 three or four miles. On the banks of both rivers 

 were fine exposures of rock, that on the latter con- 

 taining plentiful remains of the nummulites collected 

 by Mr. Wfllcox, and described before the academy a 

 year ago. Tampa Bay was ascended from Gadsden 

 Point as far as Tampa, back of which was found the 

 locality visited by Mr. T. A. Conrad upwards of 

 forty years ago. The fossils described by him were 

 determined, and fine specimens obtained. The for- 

 mation is probably oligocene, or the base of the 

 miocene. At Eocky Bluff, on the Big Manatee 

 Eiver, the most southern exposure of miocene so far 

 determined was found. This and other determina- 

 tions made during the trip prove conclusively that 

 Agassiz' and LeConte's assertions that Florida is 

 simply a modern coral reef has no foundation in 

 fact. On the contrary, the peninsula is composed of 

 solid rock of the same geological age as that found 

 along the Atlantic border. From Punta Rasa the 

 Caloosahatchie was ascended for five days, when 

 Lake Okechobee was reached. The rocks on both 

 sides of the river, until within fifteen miles of the 

 lake, are literally crammed with fossils. About one- 

 half of the lake, which is about forty-five miles long 

 and thirty miles wide, was explored, the bottom 

 everywhere being found to consist of hard, clean 

 sand, without a trace of mud. The fauna was very 

 limited, consisting apparently of eight or nine species 

 of mollusks, two species of fishes, with a few an- 

 nelids and crustaceans. The lines on no map yet 

 examined present the boundaries of the lake cor- 

 rectly. The greatest depth sounded was fifteen feet, 

 although it was said that a depth of twenty-two feet 

 had been determined. The lowest atmospheric 

 temperature during the trip was 42°, the water at 

 the same time being 60". Although important geo- 

 logical results were obtained, the recent forms of 

 animal life collected were not as abundant as had 

 been anticipated, probably in consequence of the 

 severity of the past winter having driven the fishes, 

 etc., to more southern regions. Vast windrows of 

 dead fishes were found on the shore, without doubt 

 the result of the unusually low temperature which 

 had prevailed, and which, apparently, had extended 

 as far as the Caloosa River. South of this the vegeta- 

 tion was comparatively uninjured. The orange-trees 

 did not seem to be permanently damaged, although 

 the oranges were badly frost-bitten. Bananas and 

 pine-apples were even more seriously injured. A 

 brief sketch of the vegetation along the coast and 

 around Lake Okechobee was given. In answer to 

 Mr. McKean, the speaker stated that the canal con- 

 necting the Caloosa River with Lake Hickpochee is 

 seventeen or eighteen miles long in a north-easterly 

 direction. A continuation three miles long connects 

 the latter lake with Lake Okechobee, the surface of 

 which is said to have fallen several inches since the 

 flow into the canal has been established. The design, 

 however, is not so much to drain the lakes them- 

 selves as to drain and reclaim the surrounding 

 swamps or everglades. To hasten this work, surveys 



are being made for one or two outlets to the east 

 into the Atlantic Ocean. There is a steady flow into 

 the canals now in existence, which varv from four 

 to six feet in depth, and from twenty to forty feet 

 in width. Mr. Edward Potts stated that in a col- 

 lection of fresh-water sponges from Avalon, New- 

 foundland, formed for him by Mr. A. H. McKay, he 

 had found several new species, of four or five 

 genera, among which was one interesting form 

 apparently connecting the two great classes of fresh- 

 water sponges. These may be represented by 

 Spongilla with simple spicules, and Mayenia with 

 birotulate spicules, or those having small disks at 

 each end. The Newfoundland sponge has spicules, 

 the simpler forms of which are spindle-shaped, but 

 many of them are provided with accessory spines 

 which sometimes give them the character of birotu- 

 lates. The species will probably be named Spongilla 

 nova terrae. 



Calendar of Societies. 



Philosophical society, Washington. 

 April 10. — Garrick Mallory, Customs of every- 

 day life ; R. D Mussey, When I first saw the cholera 

 bacillus. 



April 14. — R. S. Woodward, On the position and 

 shape of the geoid as dependent on local masses ; 

 C. H. Kummell, On the use of Somoff's theorem for 

 the evaluation of the elliptic integral of the 3d species. 



Microscopical society, Washington. 



April 12. — Robert Reyburn, Life on the waters. 



American academy of arts and sciences, Boston. 



April 14. — Truman H. Safford, Star-places ob- 

 served at Williams college observatory in 1884, with 

 remarks on the present fundamental catalogues. 



Appalachian mountain club, Boston. 

 April 14. — A. S. Packard, Over the Mexican 

 plateau in a diligence ; E. C. Pickering, A summer 

 school of geodesy and topography. 



Publications received at Editor's Office, April 5-10. 



American museum of natural history, Central park, New York 

 City. Annual report of the trustees, for 1885-86. New York, W. 

 C. Martin, fir., 1S&6. 52 p. 8°. 



Appalachian mountain club, register of, for 1886. Cambridge, 

 John Wilson & Son, fir., 1886. 40 p. 24 . 



Clark, L.. and Sadler, H. The star-guide. London, Mac- 

 millan, 1886. 16+48 p., illus.tr. 8°. 



Cochin, D. L'evolution et la vie. Paris, M assort, 1886. 

 306 p. 16 . (New York, Christern, Si.) 



Hull. E. The survey of western Palestine. London, Com. 

 Palestine explor. fund, 1886. 10-I-145 p., 3 maps, 3 pi., illustr. 



4°- . 



Kirsch, Dr. Die bewegung der warme in den cylinderwandung- 

 en der dampfmaschine. Leipzig, Felix, 1886. 12-f-ioo p.. 7 pi. 

 8°. (New York, Stechert.) 



Lenval, Le Baron de. Quelques pensees sur l'education 

 morale. Paris, Plon, 1886. 169 p. 8°. (New York, Christern, 

 $1.65.) 



New York agricultural experiment station, first, second, 

 third, and fourth annual reports of the board of control of, for the 

 years 1882-85. Albany, Weed, Parsons & Co., fir., 1884. 348 p., 

 illustr. 8°. 



Patten, W. The embryology of patella. Wien, Holder, 1885. 

 26 p., 5 pi. 8°. 



Revue des deux mondes suite de la table generate, 1874-86. 

 Pans, Revue des deux mondes, 1886. 204 p. 8°. (.New York, 

 Christern.) 



Schilling, N. H. The present condition of electric lighting. 

 Boston, Cufifiles, Ufiham & Co.. 1886. 55 p. 8°. 



Shufeldt, K.W. Outlines for a museum of anatomy. (Bureau 



