Recent Proceedings of Societies. 



Archeological institute, London. 

 June 3. — Mr. E. P. Pullan read a paper on the 

 iconography of angels. After a few words on the 

 existence of angels, Mr. Pullan said we ought to 

 learn all that was possible of their nature, in order 

 to be able to symbolize them in painting and sculp- 

 ture. There were ranks and degrees, and the chiefs 

 of the holy hierarchy were named ; but for the pur- 

 poses of iconography the author preferred the classi- 

 fication of the herald Eandle Holme. The earliest 

 representations of angels were on diptychs : they 

 were winged, as were the cherubs on the Ark and in 

 Solomon's Temple. Wings symbolized power and 

 swiftness. The manner in which angels were habited 

 by artists of all periods was gone into, and numerous 

 examples cited of the employment of angels in 

 sculpture as corbels, and in connection with the deco- 

 ration of altar-tombs in England. In Italy, however, 

 Mr. Pullan showed that the iconography of angels 

 could be best studied, and especially at Monreale, 

 in the grand series of Byzantine angels, and at 

 Assisi in the stately creations of Cimabue. The 

 angels of Giotto were too naturalistic ; but those of 

 Fra Angelico, Perugino, and the Delia Robbia were 

 unsurpassed. In conclusion Mr. Pullan referred to a 

 design for the decoration of the dome of St. Paul's, 

 in which the various orders of angels shown gave an 



idea of their modern iconography. In a letter to 



Mr. Pullan, Mr. Hartshorne drew attention to the 

 question of the osteology of angels as depicted, in- 

 dicated, suggested, or evaded in art, and showed that 

 even Michael Angelo had apparently tacitly agreed 

 to let that matter take its chance under the drapery. 

 This seemed very well in the cases of celestial crea- 

 tions floating, hovering, attendant, or quiescent, but 

 hardly met the difficulty of the bony structure of 

 such a figure as that of St. Michael, always in vigor- 

 ous action both in wings and arms. Mr. Hartshorne 

 supposed that even the greatest artists and anatomists 

 shrank from the presumption of attempting to so 

 arrange the human skeleton as to make it suitable 

 for the requirements of the extra limbs assigned by 

 the canons of religion and art to the different grades 

 of the heavenly hierarchy. This matter pro- 

 voked a discussion, in which Messrs. E. S. Poole, 

 H. S. Milman, J. Brown, T. H. Baylis, and others 

 took part, the general opinion being that it would 

 not do to inquire too closely into the question of the 



representation of beings purely symbolical. Mr. 



Poole made some observations on the simultaneous 

 movement of art in Egypt and Assyria in the seventh 

 century B.C., and its possible connection with the 

 rise of Greek art (Athenaeum). 



Natural science association, Staten Island. 

 June 12. — The following notes upon the Mollusca 

 of the island, by Sanderson Smith, were read, and a 

 list of the species thus far found on Staten Island 

 was presented. The list will be published separately. 

 The previous catalogue of the Mollusca of Staten 

 Island, prepared by the late Dr. J. W. Hubbard of 

 Tottenville, and Sanderson Smith, and printed in the 

 Annals of the New York lyceum of natural history 

 in May, 1865, contained 115 species and varieties, 

 including one species of Physa and one of Succinea 

 unnamed. The present list contains the same num- 

 ber. The unnamed Succinea and Physa have been 



omitted, as well as Petricola dactylus, which is hard- 

 ly worthy of being considered even a variety of P. 

 pholadiformis. Against these three losses stand 

 three actual additions, — Littorina irrorata, Planor- 

 bis trivolvis, and Pholas costata. Besides these 

 three additions, three species — Teredo dilatata, 

 Solen ensis, and Anomia ephippium — have disap- 

 peared from the list, as probably erroneous identifi- 

 cations, being represented by Teredo navalis, Ensa- 

 tella Americana, and Anomia glabra. These three 

 additions, three losses, and three changes of identifica- 

 tion, represent all the real alteration in the list. 

 But if the nomenclature alone is regarded, it will be 

 found, that, out of the 109 species and varieties re- 

 maining, only 53 still retain the names applied to 

 them in 1865 ; and of the 56 changes, 46 are of the 

 genus only, 3 of the species only, and 7 of both 

 genus and species. These extensive changes are due 

 partly to the great activity which has of late years 

 been directed towards the distinction and character- 

 ization of differences which had previously been 

 either unnoticed or not considered of generic impor- 

 tance, and partly to the enforcement of the laws of 

 priority in nomenclature, and the reduction of many 

 names to the rank of synonymes. Many of these 

 names had been proposed before 1865, though not 

 generally accepted ; but, on the whole, these num- 

 bers, 56 new against 53 old names, pretty fairly 

 represent the amount of practical change in the last 

 twenty-one years. To those who may feel alarm at 

 the difficulties added to the study of natural history 

 by these extensive changes of nomenclature, it may 

 be suggested, that, of the causes given for them, the 

 discovery of old and forgotten names may be con- 

 sidered as exhausted ; the reduction of species to 

 synonymes tends to diminish the stock of names to 

 be ordinarily borne in mind ; while the creation of 

 well-considered genera gives much more aid in help- 

 ing us to appreciate the mutual relations of different 

 forms than is equivalent to the inconvenience caused 

 by unaccustomed and often more cumbrous names. 

 So great, too, has been the amount of labor expended 

 of late years upon improved classification and generic 

 subdivision, that the work may be considered as 

 in a great measure accomplished for a considerable 

 time to come, leaving to naturalists, as their princi- 

 pal duty, the adjustment of newly discovered species 

 or new observations to the framework already pre- 

 pared for them. Mr. Hollick showed monstrosi- 

 ties in the fruit of Carya tomentosa. 



Publications received at Editor's Office, June 14-19. 



Bourru, H., et Burot, P. Action a distance des substances 

 toxiques et medicamenteuses. Paris, Bailliere, 1886. 23 p. 

 8°. (NewYork, Christern, 35 cents.) 



Cauvet, D. Procedes pratiques pour l'essai des farines. Paris, 

 Bailliere, 1886. 97 p., illustr. i2°. (New York, Christern, 85 

 cents.) 



Deniker, J. Atlas manuel de botanique. Paris, Bailli'ere, 

 [1886.] 32-I-4C0 p., i 9 i pi. 4 . (New York, Christern, $10.) 



Frost, P. Solid geometry. 3d ed. London, Macmillan, 

 1886. 24+408 p., illustr. 8°. 



Kedzie, J. H. Solar heat, gravitation, and sun spots. Chicago, 

 C. Griggs & Co., 1886. 12+304 p., illustr. 12 . 



McEwen, J. W. Protobiology ; or, The source of organic 

 life. Philadelphia, The author, [1886.J 12 p. 16 . 



Rosny, L. de. Les Coreens apercu ethnographique et histo- 

 rique. Paris, Maisonneuve, 1886. 91 p., illustr. 24 . (New 

 York, Christern, 50 cents.) 



Roux, V. Traite pratique de gravure heliographique en taille- 

 douce, sur cuivre, bronze, zinc, acier, et de galvanoplastie. Paris, 

 Gauthier-Villars, 1886. 4+44 p. 12. (New York, Christern, 

 45 cents.) 



