Personal and Scientific News. 397 
activity, resulting in the destruction of the city of St. Pierre 
on Martinique, and several villages, and the estimated loss, on 
both islands, of about 30,000 people. The most remarkable 
phenomena attended these eruptions. Along with clouds of 
ash and streams of lava, vast quantities of explosive gas were 
emitted. This gas was the chief agent in the almost instan- 
taneous death of the inhabitants of St. Pierre. It flowed from 
the crater enveloping the surrounding country. It was a suf- 
focating canopy, which on explosion, which was not delayed, 
set fire to the city and utterly destroyed all life within its reach, 
whether animal or vegetable. It spread over the harbor and 
destroyed a number of vessels that were at anchor. These 
also suffered from the falling of bombs and finer molten mat- 
ter. This eruption is the most remarkable in America within 
historic time, and ranks with Vesuvius and Krakatoa. 
THe Sprinc MEETING oF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF 
SciENCEs was held in the lecture room of the National Muse- 
um at Washington April 16-18, inclusive. Below is a list of 
the papers offered: 
I. Evolution of the Titanotheres III. Models and Restorations, 
Henry F. Osporn 
Il. Homoplasy and Latent Homology. A Correction, 
Henry F. Ossorn 
III. Evidence that North America and Eurasia Constituted a 
Single Zoological Realm during the Mesozoic and Cen- 
ozoic, and that Correlations can be Established as a Basis 
for Uniformity of Geological Nomenclature, 
Henry F. Oszorn 
IV. Monograph of the Bombycine Moths of America, including 
their Transformation; with a Revision of the Known 
Genera. Part III. Sphingicampide, 
ALPHEUS S. PACKARD 
V. On the Coral Reefs of the Maldives, ALEXANDER AGASSI” 
VI. On the Theory of the Formation of Coral Reefs, 
ALEXANDER AGASSIZ 
VII. Psychophysical Fatigue, 2 - J.McK. CatrTeLt 
VIII. On Some Optical Properties of Asphalt, Epowarp L. NicHois 
IX. The Classification of the Sciences, CHARLES S. PEIRCE 
X. The Postulates of Geometry, .. - CwHartes S. PEIRCE 
X17 2 Lhe Color System; ./.=..6.-)0.- - CHARLES S. PEIRCE 
XII. The Compulsory fotteductian of the French Metrical Sys- 
tem into the United States, - - WruiitamM SELLERS 
XIII. The Disintegration of Comets, - = AsapH HAtt 
XIV. A New Computation of the Coefficients of Precession and 
Nutation, - = - = IRA IBSEN STERNER 
Introduced by AsapH HALL 
XV. The Distribution of the Stars, - - E. C. PICKERING 
XVI. The Variability in Light of Eros, - - E.-C. PICKERING 
