48 
THE MUSEUM. 
the Chapter rode in a large wagon, filled with 
straw and buffalo robes, kindly loaned for the 
purpose by a prominent merchant of this 
city, to Haledon Quarry, a charming place in 
the suburbs of Paterson. After our arrival 
the Chapter immediately dispersed the dif¬ 
ferent committees to attend to their work. 
Committee on specimens were especially suc¬ 
cessful in finding specimens of sandstone and 
trap rock, for at this place the trap rock lying 
on top of the sandstone is plainly seen, as is 
also shown the result of the glacial period. 
At the foot of the precipice is a pool where 
one member collected fresh water crayfish 
and a turtle, and some other things. 
After our refreshments the committee on 
entertainment was called to order. First was 
read the first report of the Agassiz Associa¬ 
tion, followed by Longfellow’s poem on Agas¬ 
siz’s fiftieth birthday. Then a rdsumd of L. 
Agassiz’s life, after which one of the Doctors 
gave a description of the museum established 
in one of the Elizabeth Islands, off the coast 
of Massachusetts, by Agassiz, and also of his 
having had the pleasure of hearing the great 
naturalist lecture at the Smithsonian Institu¬ 
tion some years ago. That ended our literary 
exercises. It being nearly dark, we decided 
to go to our homes, which we did, laden with 
specimens of all sorts, and especially with 
bunches of the beautiful dogwood. I think 
that one and all were very much pleased with 
our first field-day. H. C. Crosby, 
Sec’y Chap. 761. 
For the past few weeks this Chapter has 
been making observations on the habits, etc., 
of the seventeen-year locust, for which Druid 
Hill Park of this city affords an excellent 
opportunity. The trees in the Park are liter¬ 
ally covered with them, and under some 
trees the cast-off shells and dead locusts lie 
in heaps two or three inches deep. The 
English sparrows kill thousands of them by 
biting off the head. They do not appear to 
care about any other part of the locust. The 
locusts seem to be most numerous in low and 
damp grounds .—Report of Chapter 762, Balti¬ 
more, Md.,June 9th, 1885. 
In the opening article of this number Prof. 
Cope tells, in his inimitable way, the manner 
in which he discovered his celebrated Loxolo- 
phodon cornutus, one of the most singular 
beasts which roamed the earth thousands of 
years ago. 
A careful examination of the philatelic 
articles received up to June 1st, has resulted 
in the awarding of the first prize to Mr. Wm. 
A. Jefferis, of New York city. The essay is 
published in this number. The best essays 
on the subjects of autographs and botany, 
for which competition closed on July 1st, will 
be published at an early day. 
The Biographical Sketches_ of prominent 
scientists and collectors of the world, accom¬ 
panied by finely engraved portraits, which 
are now appearing in The Museum, consti¬ 
tute an attractive feature of the magazine. It 
is pleasant to know something definite about 
the great men whose names are So familiar 
to us. These interesting biographies, which 
are written expressly for The Museum, by 
persons who are eminently qualified for the 
work, will be continued indefinitely. 
The pages of The Museum are open to all, 
for the expression of opinions, the announce¬ 
ment of discoveries and the interchange of 
views on scientific subjects. We trust that 
the opportunity thus offered will be embraced 
by our readers who have anything of interest 
to communicate. We would particularly call 
the attention of members of the Agassiz As¬ 
sociation and other young naturalists to the 
list of prizes offered for essays on various 
subjects. Now is the time to study the habits 
of the seventeen-year cicada, the only oppor¬ 
tunity until the year 1902. We want an essay 
from every Chapter, giving the results of 
original observation and describing the habits 
of this exceedingly interesting insect. Com¬ 
petition on this subject closes on August 
the 1 st. 
