ne ee ter it eng ee ee Be ee eee Ce ee eg eae By Be Ry Pneit natty ln ainnat tag = Death pitt yan Mretahants i Taare alt aM enile ow gM uw NNSA MeN tn a Pl IN RM opens.) th FAP seggherrenni. ae Ante ch, “es eee ne OT ON OEE OE CRA, hh BND Metin edinn te A lh om oe r Santee Be ih nal Bore Fly Ethene enpin en eo enn 5 fh San Ah Oe Ac memati hina e ea ediptanaeieatani te ee A Meet NAR Bone aR A Boh An entire Oe Dalton 29 pe Nl mars aaa ce ae SP DE PRI aD AL BNA es mt i IRAN roca =A x Ate A ym ns eshte Hi Daw etn sae PSone ante eae . :. “Sel shen rot Pt ant ten oy m P bes Oa See ie ta Se Ee ee eee a ee . Ae Pa end Robe i iepmininabiten Madedtedat Ee Te ee ed Te i et a ml tne YM Tt AN hen RS th 9 FF Maen Oo 00s, bade - we, angie 6 OR gin ry be BN ah NOB oe ALIN TN ORRIN Pi ee Pm ON Net NA ae MP al, nt Ae ts er OS aye, A etna nang a Meee oy anil J te OO INA att tren Ah hon Eye PO AS sehen ty FT PRE ane ema iy Rew a8 Pate A oh Pe 7d dois tage abe Tia A eM ethan one Py Motes WC Tp eae Bn ma rin Oath ve Pn ena hen BeNOR Ve Ss SN Cah RN a Bee I Cee + Ankenes Mes A aNd Beene tinea Swaadbiidetet ee patie ee a OA RD eer yt oe Pon AA ated otic Pi tha mie 9 np star ett ge et ee ae we ee ee ar ae Pte AN ad ht ee a res SPR Be Eo Bd nde getty that MGM sat REBT Radler Pad Sam * FH tape Be doe BH TAPS Mantes tS any oe LM ne Pegi he Aad ee Te Rte ek a ein ty, anilahaeem han ih as ee fo itin OR ane at ee ey MBA we ee oe Le Re Sts wake FF Bem A Bihar an Paes) em eg Mas ee Rae GR, Aah Fhe, Anite rmrnge. nett EEN AASB SID oi Papeliiatetabeer ciaaetil oine ta ae ee Serer simran nicateh en ee RIE, RO te, + swte & - Vyewinetetentm Ta MMe by ‘eaten | aero rane gett e ecilthee ice ee Oe eee Soe = Stee eaten ~s see “un aM ets SAR RNR NA RRNA AR Ae RTS thar The Sine Mae a ain en te 4 + tea nee tee stalk waite ® ate Debamataese tO mw Seay Aaa SAM VemCR AA AR eee MO ce TN RNR Ro ee an ee en Me te i rte Pet PO eA cee nie Bada Ho RLM ee atin Dod SO a? OC Rei Dae 2 poy Pm hg ge pet AP eGR Pia ESE I Sine Bisel oo cH ed oe et at ee oe te tN Rage sane g teal paty og aye Ee Fite se a Bin a Fl na ae eee ee ~ =i -~ eg OTe Te en nk ee Se te et ee Neha ne en Me ho i AB Beetle ee ee ee er ee Sp iaieaiatiiehaher: Laan terdeiiiedan th tertieeetetaak tate isens eras ast “pe Rete eee Fee PH 8 Sher eh es eRe ing eS RAN ewer a ee ee te Pe +p ee BOR ie Te ie ew entmeette e A = 7 7 rt = ~ . wee, pe - - - 7 : - - 7 is : : 7 - =- = - . - ~ Es ars + +s kala - WES 2S = = - nile - . wa z » “o*< - Ant . - _ “s) - . 4 a - = - 5 Eee 7 > 2 - . : P m # ee - 2 ~se 7 . =~ = = - = sat = oe OS . 2 - > pee = ~ “ - 7 oe a 7 - Es / . ‘ ' Zz tsa ay geat Sea. eee ee 2 Si = ; ae ARIES SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION NOILALILSNI NVINOSHLINS S31uvHY oa z & iis S) = = = bE = = = - v a a — = = ae, - = me a m y z Zz a Ne MLSNI NVINOSHLINS SAlYWYGIT_ LIBRARIES SMITHSONIAN INSTITUT .< = _< \ = = Sg > Sys WS S = : 8 Geg FN 2 2 = 2 = SX 2 E = > zi = Ca = ” = op) S me i ARIES SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION NOILNLILSNI NVINOSHLINS S3iuvY oe 2 = ae n . Sh Some z 6 We # eo ff = a = Pe sa. Zt 20 . = = Ss m™ as a Bo, ARIES SN S OQ = ): Ss oN w (3 | = SS SS O ‘| ke “T | Mt 3 IS S Ses) i, LN > | Ps = : = ~ 2 | pied Wilham Healey Dall || 4a LILSNI Nw | | en = Division of Mollusks i | c Sectional Library ls RIES § > SE AZREZEEREEE oO INSTITUTION GunnaKkEe b BY y-\\ aN | ay (ee a AW GX es "fl m Non De e iS m * g LILSNI NVINOSHLINS S3IYVHSII LIBRARIES SMITHSONIAN INSTITUT] z n z ae 7) z= ke as = pres W Pe x \ AS ay ae NS = Zz tp >, a D Wx — a D yp = o. = SL, : S = > = 2 iS = “ = ” -. 7) + RIES SMITHSONIAN _INSTITUTION NOILOLILSNI NVINOSHLINS SJ1uVUs a o59) hie 2 ae ” SS - aon tL Mi y a oH yf \ SS aS z LG = < = YS < oc ug fae i S “Uy on SF VO & Zi alin Po) = yp > ae = ALILSNI NVINOSHLIWS e z = Med = Fig Sy fe) =i ep) wm , se O 4 a = ae * RARIES INSTITUTION ie ~” o = <4 ec = a Xe ic O o ot Z AINLILSNI S3StYVudl CULT = ate? je = 7 “al wit YO) =| ie 3) = e ad 4 Bs oe - | x Wasco” - Zz IBRARIES SMITHSONIAN _ INSTITUTION We 7 3 PS eS OILALILSNI NVINOSHLINS S31YVYSII NSTITU ap) sa o= ml a O Pas SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION LLINLILSNI SMITHSONIAN IBRARIES SMITHSONIAN SRARIES ILNLILSNI NVINOSHLINS S3IYVNGIT LIBRARIES SMITHSONIAN SJIYVYEIT LIBRARIES INSTITUTION NVINOSHLIWS NOILNLILSNI LIBRARIES NOILALILSNI LIBRARIES INSTITUTION NOILNLILSNI INSTITUTION NOILNLIL INSTITUTION S3IYVUEIT LIBR SMITHSONIAN BRARIES ‘\ & SNI NVINOSHLINS S3INVYUdIT NVINOSHLINS S31uvual LIBRARIES SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION SMITHSONIAN SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION NOILMLILSNI SaIUVYGIT LIBRARIES NVINOSHLIWS SMITHSONIAN NOILALILSNI NVINOSHLIWS INSTITUTION SMITHSONIAN SMITHSONIAN NVINOSHLIWS SLALILSNI SRARIES NVINOSHLIWS INST Salk INST Sil. INST Sali ery COMETS eh PROCEEDINGS : Diviaton of OF THE Sectionc ongag Moston Society of Hatural History. aaa NeOuieg XO Vcb: LLL SIIIS 1I1S73S3-18 74. BOSTON: PRINTED FOR THE SOCIETY. 1874. PUBLISHING COMMITTEE. T. T. Bouv#. Tuomas M. BREWER. SAMUEL L. ABBOT. A. 8. PAcKARD, JR. Epw. BURGESS. PRESS OF A. A. KINGMAN. MUSEUM OF BOSTON SOCIETY OF NATURAL HISTORY, BERKELEY STREET. PRINCIPAL CONTENTS OF VOL. XVI. Epw. BurGEss. Custodian’s Report Epw. Picxerine. Treasurer’s Report ee Sato mores A. §. PackArpD, Jr., M.D. Californian Pualenide (Plate | Gp ee W. H. NILEs. Pionoineud at the Monson Quarry, Mass. : Robert RipGway. Catalogue of the Society’s Ornithological ellen! tion, Falconidee BRON Reichs of the Genera Miorastin: Goranvenien: Rupornis, and Glaucidium Mera ere ore T. M. Brewer, M.D. Description of the Nests and Tees of some Arizona Birds : : A. S. PACKARD, JR., M.D. Rare Myriapods t in Meceschiestts: T. Dwient, JR., M.D. Action of the Intercostal Muscles F. W. Purnam. Remarks on the Sai S. H. ScuppER. Rabbit-cats : T. M. Brewer, M.D. Remarks on the croup of ier mit a Tisanence T. Srperry Hunt. On the Crystalline Rocks of the Blue Ridge S. H. ScuppER. Remarks on Papilio Ajax . Tuos. Dwieut, Jr., M.D. Structure and Action of Striated Maes lar Fibre (Plate II.) . F. W. Putnam. Notes on the Genus Myxine . . : A. S. Packarp, Jr., M.D. Transformation of the Cotman Aes Fly (Plate III.) ; L. S. BurBANK. Surface Geology of North Carolina ¥. W. Purnam. Notes on Bdellostoma ALEX. MurrAy. Notice of a Gigantic Squid . B. P. Mann. Ona Monstrous Female Imago of Anisopteryx pPometaria: S. H. ScuppER. Ocelli in Butterflies A. Hyarr. Evolution of the Arietide Joun McCrapy. Observations on Ostrea virginiana, and a new Pavaite. H. Hagen, M.D. Origin of the “‘ Tailed Man.”’ lv CONTENTS. H. K. Morrison. New Phalenidz se B. P. Mann. Anisopteryx vernata and pometaria Tributes to the Memory of LOUIS AGASSIZ. . . . . . . 210, 211, . STERRY Hunt. Stratification of Rock-masses . R. Grorrt. Notes on the Noctuide . . F. PourTALES. Remarks on Crinoids . : A. ALLEN. Metamorphism produced by the pocung ee Tipe Beds ° M. BrREwER, M.D. Hybridism among the Ducks ata . P. Austin. Catalogue of Mt. Washington Coleoptera L. LEConTE. New Coleoptera . A. ALLEN. Geographical Variation in Nowalt AneHees Squires with a List of the N. A. Sciuride . H. Hacen, M.D. On Amber in North America T. Srerry Hunt. Deposition of Clays : Rospert Rripeway. The Lower Wabash Valley, and Fe) ‘Avia Thane T. SterrRyY Hunt. On Dr. Genth’s Researches on Corundum and its associated Minerals. S. KNEELAND, M.D. Remarks on the inonetees ua Tanieen Pec) oes Evidence for and against the existence of the so- called Sea-serpent. : F. W. Putnam. Notes on the Ophidiide and Ficratienties : T. M. Brewer, M.D. Notes: on the Nesting and Te of Lagopus leucurus : > - H. Hacen, M.D. The Odense Fauna ‘of Genre. F. W. Purnam. Remarks on the Family Nemophide . SAMUEL WELLS. A simple Heliostat . S. KNEELAND, M.D. On the Geology of the Pacific Rutivonde HUA Ue > 194 204 225 237 239 245 246 263 265 272 276 296 802 804 332 335 337 339 348 349 366 3874 375 PROCEEDINGS OF THE BOSTON SOCIETY OF NATURAL HISTORY. TAKEN FROM THE SOCIETY’S RECORDS. Annual Meeting. May 7, 1878. Vice-President Dr. Chas. T. Jackson in the chair. Thirty- five persons present. Mr. Edward Burgess presented the following report : — In the absence of the Custodian, the duty of presenting the usual Annual Report on the condition and operations of the Society falls upon me, and I may, I think, congratulate myself in being able to review a year which, on the whole, has been very prosperous. During the past year, two Honorary Members, one Corres- ponding and twenty Resident Members have been elected. Kighteen general Meetings of the Society, six of the Section of Microscopy, and six of the Section of Entomology, have been held. The average attendance at the former has been twenty-five, which shows, I am sorry to say, a diminished attendance, partly to be explained, perhaps as the effect of the “ great fire”, while the great number of lectures and other attractions in the city during the winter has also tended to PROCEEDINGS B. S. N. H.—VOL. XVI. 1 - Annual Report.) 2 [May 7, diminish our numbers. Nevertheless, as from sister Societies reports of similar decrease in the interest of their meetings reach us, we must believe that the causes referred to cannot wholly account for the fact in our own.case. There seems to be a feeling growing up among naturalists that Society meet- ings are unnecessary; they often do not care to hear the results of studies in fields outside of their own specialties, or they prefer to read the papers printed in a Society’s publica- tions, rather than to hear what is often an unsatisfactory oral abstract of their contents. But whatever the causes may be, it can hardly be doubted that the meetings, if rendered inter- esting, would do much to create and foster a taste for the study of Nature among our members, and I earnestly hope that your attention may be given to a subject I believe so important. Four courses of “Lowell Lectures” have been given during the winter, and a fifth, a course on Comparative Anatomy, by Mr. B. Waterhouse Hawkins, is in progress. The first course, The Principles of Zoology, by Prof. Edw. 8. Morse, had an average audience of sixty persons; the second, Min- eralogy, by Mr. L. 8. Burbank, forty persons; the third, Evenings with the Microscope, by the Rev. E. C. Bolles, two hundred and fifty persons; and the fourth, Chemical and . Physical Geology, by Prof. T. Sterry Hunt, one hundred and fifty persons. Mr. Hawkins’ lectures have had, thus far, an average attendance of fifty. 3 The “ Teachers’ School of Science ” has unfortunately been necessarily suspended this winter, but it is to be hoped, will be again in operation next season. The course of instruction in Botany by Dr. Farlow was completed last June, and the number of teachers attending remained undiminished to the end. The value of the school in advancing the study of Natural History can not be overestimated. We have published since the last Annual Meeting, two numbers of the Memoirs, one on the embryology of Limulus Polyphemus, by Dr. A. 8. Packard, Jr., and a description of 1873.] 3 jAnnual Report. Balenoptera musculus, by Dr. T. Dwight Jr. A third num- ber, containing a paper on the fossil Myriapods of Nova Sco- tia, by Mr. 8. H. Scudder, will be issued in a few days. Of the “Proceedings,” two parts, completing the four- teenth volume, have been issued, and the first part of Vol. xv.; the second part will be distributed in a few days. This part contains the printed record of meetings down to Janu- ary 1, 1873, besides which matter nearly sufficient for a third part, which will include reports of the meeting of last month, isin type. It will therefore be seen that our publications are in a comparatively. satisfactory condition. Six Societies have favored us for the first time with their publications :— Société Académique de Maine et Loire. . . . Angers. Société des Sciences historiques et naturelles de IP YEON sa ss Re aera ae nehn tes dace eth ema eo aac so Auxerre. Accademia Gioenia di Scienze Naturali .. . Catania. Naturwissenschaftliche Verein fiir Steiermark. Gratz. Société d’Agriculture, Industrie, Sciences et Arts dueDGpartmentdevla Hozere. 35). 5)... Mende. Scientific Association of Trinidad. .... . Trinidad. Important sets of publications have also been received from the Batarvaasch Genootschap van Kunsten en Weten- schappen, the Naturwissenschaftliche Gesellschaft Isis zu Dresden, the Scientific Association of Trinidad, and, espec- ially, the Société d’ Agriculture, Industrie, Sciences et Arts du Département de la Lozére, 4 Mende. We have also subscribed to several new scientific journals, among them Max Schultze’s Archiv fiir Mikroskopische Ana- tomie, of which we have obtained a complete set, and exchan ge with the “Lens”, published by the Illinois State Microscop- ical Society, of Chicago. No important change has been made in the Library since the last Report. One hundred and twenty-five volumes have been bound, but a large outlay for this work is still most nec- essary. Miss Foster has condensed the card catalogue, by the omission of cross references to such general words as “re- Annual Report. ] 4 [May 7, port” “memoir,” “monograph,” and the like, which will greatly facilitate its use. The pressing need of adding a gallery to the back library has been referred to in the Annual Reports for several years, and I hope for the last-time in vain. Many alcoves are run- ning over with thé rapidly multiplying publications of Societies, and until the new gallery allows a rearrange- ment of the library, nothing can be done for their relief. So, too, it is useless to correct the many false references of the card catalogue, until the rearrangement is effected. To complete our many incomplete sets of Society publica- tion, or scientific journals, much outlay is needed at once, as many of them are out of print, and are becoming more rare and expensive. We lack, also, many recent works in all de- partments. The additions to the Library during the year number 1338, which may be classified as follows : — 8vo. 4to. Fol. Total. Volumes 222 50 5 277 Parts 668 179 5 852 Pamphlets 167 22 189 Maps and Charts 20 Total 1338 During the year 532 books have been taken from the Li- brary by 101 persons. The chief improvement in the Museum has been the alter- ation of the cases in the upper galleries for the reception of the extensive collection of birds. Since the last Report the cases on the west side of the main upper gallery, and those around the galleries of the four corner rooms, have been al- tered. This work is therefore now completed, and the entire bird collection is already placed in the new cases. The railing eases around the lower gallery, containing birds’ nests and egos, have been exchanged with those of the upper, contain- ing the New England collection of insects, thus bringing both these collections into their appropriate places. New and admirable cases have also been made on the 1873.] 5 {Annual Report. entrance floor for the reception of the valuable Herbarium presented by John Amory Lowell, Esq. The superintendence of the exchange of the various col- lections of the two galleries occupied most of Prof. Hyatt’s time before his departure for Europe, in August. These changes, suggested and executed by Prof. Hyatt, enable the visitor, by entering the first gallery and passing around to the right, to study, in order, the Zoological collections, beginning with the sponges and passing to the higher groups. In this series, the birds will be represented by a type collection rep- resenting the principal modifications of the group, while the grand ornithological collection will be confined to the gallery above, and from its great size can never be of great value as an instructive public collection. That portion of the gallery unoccupied by the general collections, is reserved for the New England Faunal collections, which are quite complete, except in the group of Mammals. This, however, can be readily improved. The New England insects will occupy the railing cases around the gallery, the Coleoptera and Lepi- doptera being already displayed and identified as far as possi- ble, and the other groups will be added, I hope, before long. The position of assistant in the Museum, left vacant by the resignation of Mr. F. G. Sanborn last May, has been filled by Mr. James H. Emerton. Mr. Emerton entered upon his duties in June, and his work will show for itself throughout the remainder of this report. A beginning at a comprehensive system of labelling the collections has been made. Large labels have already been placed over the zoological collections indicating the class groups, and others will soon be added, showing the families or giving other information. This is an important step towards publishing a visitor’s catalogue, and will add greatly to the value of the Museum as a means of instruction. The Crustacea and a few other groups have also been la- belled with printed labels, and their neatness and legibility is so striking that it would be well to replace the old labels in a similar way, throughout the Museum. Annual Report.) 6 [May 7, The duplicates of all the zoological collections have been assorted by Mr. Emerton, and arranged in the basement or elsewhere, so that they are easily available for the many purposes to which they can be applied. Little has been done during the year in the collection of mammals, except the change of arrangement implied in the alterations of which I have already spoken. A Moose skin has been purchased and is now being stuffed for the N. E. collection. The principal work done in the bird collections has also been referred to. The transfer of these collections has been a work of much labor. Mr. Allen has given fifty days to their rearrangement, and much of Prof. Hyatt’s time was also devoted to the work, and important assistance has been given by Messrs. Emerton and Saltonstall. The collection seems quite free from Anthreni or other pests, and the new cases will easily preserve it in the future. Much work remains to be done in identifying and label- ling. Mr. Robert Ridgway has, during the winter, carefully studied and identified the birds of prey, and similar work is needed in other groups. Dr. Brewer has examined and identified the whole collection of skins, and distributed them in groups so as to be easily accessible. The species in this collection not represented among the mounted birds have been laid aside, and Mr. Arthur Smith has already nicely mounted a large number of them, and will continue the work until completed. Valuable donations have been received from the Smithson- ~jan Institution, principally a large collection of American waders, and from Messrs. Kumlien, Aiken and Bendire; be- sides numerous smaller gifts. A number of birds have also been purchased of Mr. Maynard for the New England Faunal Collection. The reptiles have been arranged by Mr. Emerton, and but little other work has been done. Quite a number of New 1873.] Tf [Annual Report.. England fishes have been stuffed and placed in the cases. For specimens in these classes we are indebted to Mrs. Rh. C. Greenleaf, Jr.. and to Dr. Kneeland, Mr. T. M. Coffin, and others, but especially tothe U.S. Fish Commission for a large number of specimens from Eastport. Mr. Sprague has been engaged during the greater part of the year with the insect collections, and has revised the Har- ris Coleoptera from the Carabide through the Elateride, besides arranging and naming the New England species to the same extent. Mr. Sprague has also examined and safely secured our collections of the other orders of insects. Dr. Hagen has kindly studied and identified the Harris Neurop- tera and pseudo-Neuroptera, and prepared an exhaustive re- port on these groups, which is in type for the Proceedings. Mr. Emerton is engaged in the arrangement of the spiders, when his other duties permit, and has greatly increased their number from his own extensive collections. Mr. Emerton has also arranged the biological collection in one of the wall- cases on the western end of the gallery. We are indebted to Mr. Sanborn for very large donations of insects of all orders, also to Mr. Ernest Papendiek for a fine collection of Kuropean Coleoptera carefully identified, and containing many rare forms, and to many others for smaller gifts. Dr. P. P. Carpenter is still engaged in the study of our Mollusca in Montreal. During the year he has devoted 592 hours to this work, which has been done slowly and thoroughly. The shells have been carefully compared with the Cuming collection, and the original authorities have been consulted. Since the beginning of the work Dr. Carpenter has arranged more than 1900 species, and has selected and mounted for the permanent collection 10,500 specimens. The remaining specimens have been named and distributed into about 90 series of various sizes, suitable for exchange or for colleges, schools, etc. The principal set has been pre- pared for the Chicago Academy of Sciences. Dr. Carpenter -Annual Report.] 8 ‘ [May 7, has chiefly been occupied with the larger and more showy genera, and has completed the Proboscidefera, the Toxifera and a few families of the Rostrifers and Opisthobranchiates, As for the remaining invertebrates Mr. Emerton has ‘labelled over 2000 bottles of Crustacea, and also many New England worms and radiates. He has mounted on plaster of Paris or wooden stands many corals and sponges, and pre- pared new labels for the former. Collections of marine invertebrates were made at Hast- port last summer by Messrs. Emerton and Saltonstall, and presented to the Society. No change has been made during the year in the collec- tion of the Microscopical department. I would suggest that as soon as possible a suitable person be employed to arrange this large collection, and put it in available order for stu- dents. The increasing duties of the members of the committee on Comparative Anatomy have not allowed them to devote so much time to their collection as in the last two years. The “homological series,” however, has been nearly completed, and several dissections and wet preparations have been added. ‘The series of hearts is now in good condition. During the winter new locks have been put on the cases in the two corner rooms, and the same should be done with the cases around the main hall, as the present fastenings are very inconvenient. It would be well, also, to introduce glass partitions at suitable points in the cases, as a prevention against dust. Much work has been done during the year on the collec-_ tion of fossils, which is now arranged in the best possible manner, for exhibition and study. Few additions have been made to the collection, a most valuable one, however, is a trunk of a Sigillaria from the Jogging Mine, Nova Scotia, presented by the Institute of Technology. The trunk is about six feet in height, and will make a striking object 1873.] 9 [Annual Report. in our entrance hall. A number of specimens have also been received from Mr. Ernest Papendiek. In the Botanical Department the chief work has been the transfer of the Lowell Herbarium to the new cases already mentioned. The other specimens have also been examined and dusted during the year, but the present cases are so poorly made that such an examination should be made every two or three months to preserve the collection. The Com- mittee reports the collection to be now as large, or perhaps larger, than it should be, and, until a catalogue is published it can be of little use to any one. Few additions have been made during the year, the most important being some fruits from the Sandwich Islands pre- served in alcohol, collected and presented by Dr. Kneeland. The collections of minerals is now in good condition, a very large and valuable addition, the collection of Rev. Mr. Beadle, of Philadelphia, has been made by purchase, a por- tion of the cost being subscribed by two members of the Society, and a part of the remainder obtained by the sale of duplicates. The specimens thus obtained, include many of large size and exceeding beauty, and when they can be placed on exhibition will greatly add to the interest of the collection. New cases will have to be constructed, however for its proper arrangement. Mr. Thos. Gafficld has presented a beautiful Japanese crystal globe to the collection. The ntmber of visitors to the Museum seems steadily to increase, quite a number of schools have also visited the collection with their teachers during the year. The Museum was open daily to the public during the Peace Jubilee, when the city provided two special police for its protection. Dur- ing the summer, owing to the neglect of the city government to send police officers on visitor’s days, considerable injury was done by visitors to the building and collections, it was therefore decided in October to close the doors until a per- Annual Report.] 10 [May 7, manent arrangement for protection could be made. The building was therefore closed for two weeks, during which time, owing to the exertion of the President and others, we were promised two policemen regularly on public days. The promise was however but ill kept, and often only one officer appeared, and he perhaps quite late, and the Museum was even necessarily closed several times during the winter. In March however, exertions were made to obtain police pro- tection which could be depended on, and since that time no difticulty has been experienced, two men being always in attendance. Mr. Edward Pickering presented the following report of the Treasurer for the past year: — Report of E. Pickering, Treasurer, on the Financial Affairs of the Society, for the year ending April 30th, 1878. Receipts. Dividends and Interest . 6 5 ; ‘5 $9,422.98 Courtis Fund Income 3 0 A 6 5 . 666.98 Pratt Fund Income. : 4 5 4 5 3 872.00 H. F. Wolcott Fund Income . 0 5 ° 3 ; 464.00 Walker Fund Income, one half 0 : ‘ 1,283.15 Entomological Fund Income . 2 c . 4 40.00 Bulfinch Street Estate Fund Income 5 5 5 : 1,632.00 Admission Fees : . 6 : : 5 5 1380.00 Annual Assessments . : 3 ‘ A 1,215.00 Lowell Institute ppbedy for Lectures sel Pes ips Scbae Wee 1,157.73 Miscellaneous Receipts. ° ° 5 5 O 870.31 J Cummins? sO) Onabloneire iiss tiie) iter onner mnt 298.39 $17,508.54 Accumulation of Walker Prize Fund . ; F ‘ 1,024.06 $18,532.60 Expenditures. Museum and Furniture . 5 . 5 S 5 : $1,166.49 Cabinet ; i ; 5 3 5 6 A ; A 2,042.87 Library 3 0 0 : 9 2 940.88 Memoirs and Publications e e e e $1,153.86 Less receipts . : . 5 0 ; - 809.82 —_—— 844.04 Gas. 5 0 6 0 2 5 ; : : 152.21 Fuel . : i ‘ 6 ; 6 4 - . d 5038.05 Repairs of Museum . ite 3 é 5 1,551.05 Lectures 4 5 4 5 : 3 1,157.78 Salaries : . 5 ; - . 5 C : - 5,775.18 Insurance . s ; 5 : 6 2 s 5 2.846.00 General Expenses i fe 5 5 5 ‘ 1,260.12 —_—— $17,189.62 Balance . ; ° ° ° 5 D ; 5 1,842.98 $18,582.60 e 11 1873.] [Annual Report. The following is a statement of the Property of the Society, ex- clusive of the Cabinet and Library. Museum. Museum and Furniture per last Report . 0 0 . Expended during the year : c luis ° : Walker Fund. Notes secured by mortgage . . . « « Walker Prize Fund. 18 Shares National Webster Bank . Philadelphia, Wilmington & Balt. R.R. Co. nee & Lake Chalet R.R. Co. Preferred. Cash . ° ° ° Bulfinch St. Bowie lean: 126 Shares Chicago, Burl. & Quincy R. R. Le: é 84 “ ‘Tremont National Bank. 5 6 2 “ Globe se 12 “ Ogdensburg & Tale Champlain R.R. Co. Preferred . ; 19 “ Phila., Wilmington & Balt. B.R. Co. . . Courtis Fund. 50 Shares Globe National Bank 30 Shares Philadelphia, Wilmington & Balt. R.R. Co. $400 U.S. 5-20 Bonds : : . S. P. Pratt Pung. 58 Shares Philadelphia, Wilmington & Balt. R.R. Co. x0) Norwich & Worcester R.R. Co. ‘ 10 <“ National Webster Bank . : 5 6 ‘ Boston National GG s 5 6 3 5 H, F. Wolcott Fund. 60 Shares Philadelphia, Wilmington & Balt. R.R. Co. 28 “ Ogd. & Lake Champlain R.R. Co. Preferred. Entomological Fund. § Shares National Webster Bank . Siem senate General Fund. uy Shares Bates ep uracrurine Co. Everett Mills ~ ‘ : 5 5 Hamilton Woolen Mills ‘ ‘ ‘ 6 380 66 80 ‘“ Washington Mills . : : : . 18 ‘** Cocheco Manuf. Co. ; : 5 5 5 2 ‘ Lowell Manuf. Co. See enluacomia iam. OO é : 4 ‘ Pepperell Manuf. Co. . c 0 ° 1 ‘“ Amoskeag Manuf. Co. ‘ 2 6 5 38 ‘ Essex County Manuf.Co. . 6 ° . 2 ‘* Manchester Print Works . 6 0 5 1 ‘“ New England Glass Co c 6 2 “ Merrimack Manuf. Co. 141 +“ Vermont and Canada R. R. Co., Pref. St’ k. 98 “ Michigan Central R.R. Co. . 50 “ Ogdensb’g & Lake Champl’n R. R. Pref. Stk. x0) 09 Philadelphia, Wilmington & Balt. R.R. Co. 24-5“ Boston & Lowell R.R. Co., . é 50 ‘“ Norwich & Worcester R. R. Co. 12 <“ United States Hotel Co. 20 ‘“ National Bank of Redemption 26 “ ‘Tremont National Bank A , ‘ 9 DO Mee Abas UG 6 4 , 6 CasGlobe ee Of : ‘ F 4 10 ‘“ National Webster “ 5 Q 5 Carried forward G a ° 3 $188,989.94 1,166.49 $140,156.43 41,105.00 $1,966.00 1,582.92 077.00 812.95 5,888.87 $15,980.75 10,122.00 257.12 1,281.50 1.088.75 ed 28,680.12 $6,256 00 1,827.50 8,502.50 $3,057.25 5,212.75 1,072.75 657.25 10,000.00 $8, Ovi he 70 3,031.25] 6,808.95 550.00 $1,700.00 38,000.00 7,000.00 8,000.00 7,800.00 1,800.00 8,228.69 1,134. 00 91,392.93 SS $332,084.80 Annual Report.] 12 [May 7, Brought forward é é “ 5 A é : $332,084.80 Cash on hand and Assets . : B 5 ‘ s ‘ $1,566.53 Amount of Indebtedness . A 4 A 5 5 3 1,047.70 518.83 Total Value of ER OpERyy, exclave oh eat ang se Library . : $332,603.63 The Fire of November, 1872, subjected the Society to the loss of $2,346.00, in consequence of assessments, and for premiums of insu- rance; and the following stocks received under the will of our bene- factor, W. J. Walker, have become valueless in consequence of the same event. 11 Shares Neptune Ins. Co. - 5 - - - - : : - - $8,160.00 1833s BOstonwe es 5 ; : A : : : j - 2,160.00 «« ‘Washington Ins. Co. - - Ser : : - : 960.00 Total. P 2 2 4 ‘ ‘ 2 ‘ - $6,280.00 All which is respectfully submitted, E. PickERING, Treasurer, Boston Society of Natural History. Boston, May 5, 1873. The report of the Nominating Committee, presented at the last meeting, was again read, and a ballot ordered. Messrs. Mann and Minot were appointed to collect the votes, and they reported that twenty-seven had been cast, all for the nominees of the committee. The following gentle- men were therefore elected officers for 1873-4. PRESIDENT, THOMAS T. BOUVE. VICE-PRESIDENTS, CHARLES T. JACKSON, M.D., R. C. GREENLEAF. CORRESPONDING SECRETARY, SAMUEL L. ABBOT, M.D. RECORDING SECRETARY, EDWARD BURGESS. TREASURER, EDWARD PICKERING. LIBRARIAN, EDWARD BURGESS. CUSTODIAN, ALPHEUS HYATT. 1873.] 13 [Packard. COMMITTEES ON DEPARTMENTS. Minerals. Geology. THOMAS T. Bouvk, Wo. H. NILEs, CHARLES T. JACKSON, M.D., JOHN CUMMINGS. L. S. BURBANK. Paleontology. Botany. THos. T. Bouvek, Wo. T. BRIGHAM, N.S. SHALER, CHARLES J. SPRAGUE, Ww. Hi. NILEs. J. AMORY LOWELL. Microscopy. Comparative Anatomy. EDWIN BICKNELL, THoMAS DwieGut, JR., M.D., R. C. GREENLEAF, JEFFRIES WYMAN, M.D., B. Joy JEFFRIES, M.D. J.C. WHITE, M.D. : Radiates, Crustaceans and Worms. Mollusks. A. S. PACKARD, JR., M.D., EDWARD S. MorRszE, A. E. VERRILL, J. HENBY BLAKE, ALEX. E. AGASSIZ. _ Levi L. THAXTER. Insects. Fishes and Repiiles. S. H. ScuDDER, F. W. Putnam, EDWARD BURGESS, S. KNEELAND, M.D., A. S. PACKARD, JR., M.D. RICHARD BLIss, JR. Birds. Mammals. THomas M. BREWER, M.D., J. A. ALLEN, SAMUEL CaBot, M.D., J. H. EMERTON, J. A. ALLEN, J. B. 8. Jackson, M.D. The following paper was presented : CATALOGUE OF THE PHALANIDA OF CALIFORNIA. No. 2. By A. S, Pacxarp, JR., M.D. The receipt of a valuable collection from Mr. Henry Edwards of San Francisco leads me to publish a number of new species con- tained in the collection, in addition to those described in these Pro- ceedines, Vol. xu, p. 881. A large proportion of the species received from Mr. Edwards are unique specimens from his collection, and I am much indebted to the liberal spirit he has shown in entrust- ing them to me for study. Thanks to his exertions, and the labors of Mr. J. Behrens of the same city, and Mr. Junius Holleman of Goose Lake, Siskiyou Co., Cal., and a collection made by Mr. A. Agassiz for the Museum of Comparative Zoology, as well as the account of Californian species given by M. Guenée, in his work on the “‘ Phalenites,” we are able to enumerate about 90 species from California, Nevada and Oregon. Though this is probably less than one-third of the number that will be found to inhabit California and the States adjacent, yet I think we have sufficient data to enable us to make a preliminary compari- son, our conclusions being strengthened by what we know of other Packard.] 14 [May 7, Lepidopterous families inhabiting the Pacific States (Oregon, Nevada and California, in distinction from the Atlantic States lying eastward of, and including, the Mississippi basin). I shall reserve for a final monograph of the family, now well advanced, a more com- plete discussion of the geographical distribution of our Lepidoptera, and itis hoped that much new material may: be accumulated, either to disprove or confirm the suggestions here thrown out, and which I wish to be simply regarded as provisional and tentative. I am also hampered in treating of the Californian Phalenid fauna by our scanty knowledge of the species of the Atlantic States, as the num- ber of species which I have been able to accumulate is very small: compared with those known to inhabit Europe. The Phalenidge (Geometrids) of California (including Oregon and Nevada) seem to be composed of four elements : 1. Of species of genera exclusively American (North and South). Such are Cherodes, Sicya, Hesperumia, Tetracis, Azelina, Gorytodes and Metanema. Certain species of these, with several of Tephrosia (a genus largely found in the New World) are the most characteristic of the Pacific slope of the United States. 2. The species next most characteristic belong to the following genera: — Halia, Tephrina, Selidosema and Heterolocha. Species of these groups occur in Europe, but especially (all except Halia which has a species, H. wavaria, living in northern Europe) in southern Europe, around the Mediterranean Sea, Western Asia, and Asia Minor; while species of Heterolocha occur in Abyssinia and South America (Quito). 3. The next group comprises a few arctic or circumpolar species of Coremia, Cidaria and Larentia, or of cosmopolite genera, such as Hypsipetes, Cidaria, Coremia, Eupithecia, Scotosia, Acidalia and Boarmia. 4. There are four species common to both the Pacific and Atlantic States, viz., Larentia cumatilis, Camptogramma gemmata, Tephrosia Canadaria and Azelina Hiibneraria. In the brief introductory remarks to the first part of this Catalogue (these Proceedings, Vol. x111, 381) we briefly alluded to the fact that some Californian Lepidoptera repeat certain features peculiar to the fauna of Europe. I find that there are but two forms strikingly European among the Phalenide, viz., Numeria Californiaria Pack. (wrongly described by me as Ellopia Californiaria, x11, p. 384), which is very near: the European Numeria pulveraria, and quite dif- 1873.] 15 [Packard. ferent from the Atlantic States NV. obfirmaria, and the genus Chesias, which does not, so far as yet known, occur in the Atlantic region.! But if we find a very few species which recall the European fauna, there are, on the other hand, many peculiar European genera which do not occur in the Pacific region. In other groups of Lepidoptera there are some species that recall European types; such, especially, are Papilio Zolicaon Boisd., representing the European P. Machaon, and the genus Parnassius, which does not occur in the Atlantic region. Going out of the Phalenide, we find a few European types of Bombycide which occur in California, and are not found in the At- lantic States, such as the genera Epicallia and Callarctia. On the other hand, we find in California no such development of the genus Lithosia as in Europe, no species of Zygena, no Psychide (except Phryganidia, an aberrant form); no such development of Hepialus, while Xyleutes robinie, as in the Atlantic States, represents the European Cossus ligniperda; moreover the various forms of Lasiocampa, and other allied genera, are far less numerous, if not quite wanting in the Pacific region .? We miss again in the Pacific States any species of Telea or Tro- pea, forms linking the Atlantic or northeastern American entomo- logical fauna with that of northeastern Asia (Telea being represented by the closely allied Antherea, and Tropea Luna being represented by T. Selene Leach). California has evidently not borrowed her insect fauna from northern China or Japan. In the Neuroptera we have strong European features, the genus Ihaphidia * occurring in the Pacific States, and not in the Atlantic, 17 also referred to a supposed species of Rumza. On further examination I find that this and the Maine species are types of a genus different from, though allied to, Rumia, and accordingly in the present paper call it Hesperumia. 2 L. carpinifolia Boisd. is, according to Grote, a species of Gastropacha. 3 Dr. Boisduval, who was the first to publish a lepidopterous fauna of California, enumerates the following species of Lepidoptera as being common to California and Europe: Vanessa Atalanta, V. cardui, V. Antiopa, Chelonia caja and C. Dahu- rica, Arctia (Phragmatobia) fuliginosa, Gonoptera libatrix, Phlogophora metricu- losa, Amphipyra pyramidea, Agrotis exclamationis, A. annexa, A. saucia, A. Jumosa, A. ravida, Cucullia asteris, C. lucipara, Plastenis subtusa, Noctua trian- gulum, N. plecta, Hadena pisi, H. protea, Monogona Hormos, Plusia festuce, P. questionis, P. ni. These are scarcely more distinctive of Europe than of America, some of them being common to the subarctic regions of the two continents, and others may yet prove to be distinct from the European species. 1 Rhaphidia has as yet only been found in Europe, northern Asia, and western North America (MacLachlan). i Packard.] 16 [May 7, while Boreus Californicus is more like the European B. hyemalis than our two Atlantic species. The crustacean fauna of northeastern America, with Limulus as its most remarkable feature, repeats that of eastern Asia; but on the other hand Dr. Hagen states that the European genus Astacus oc- curs in California, while Cambarus is only found east of the Rocky Mountains. Mr. F. W. Putnam informs me that of one hundred and seventy- three genera of fishes given by Giinther as inhabiting the seas about Japan, only about thirty-six are represented on the northwestern coast of America, and of these thirty-six the majority are also found in the Atlantic, while about eighty others of the Japanese genera are also represented on the southeastern coast of North America and in the West Indian seas, of which a number are found on the western coast of Central America as well. He also tells me that the fresh water fishes of northern Asia, when compared with those of other regions, more nearly resemble those of the northeastern parts of North America, though a number of the genera are also common to both North America and Europe. By the same authority I am in- formed that there is a striking resemblance between the reptiles and batrachians of northeastern Asia and northeastern America. My attention has been drawn to a consideration of these features in the geographical distribution of animals by a perusal of the able and suggestive essay by Prof. Gray on the distribution of Californian plants, in his address at the Dubuque meeting (Aug., 1872) of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and of Mr. Lesquereux’ able papers in Hayden’s Geological Reports on the Ter- ritories, 1872. The main features in the geographical distribution of land animals are apparently the same with those of plants. Prof. Gray shows that “almost every characteristic form in the vegetation of the Atlantic States is wanting in California, and the characteristic plants and trees of California are wanting here” (7.e.,in the Atlantic States). We may, on the whole, say of the Californian Lepidoptera, at least, as Dr. Gray remarks of the plants, that they are “as differ- ent from [those] of the eastern Asiatic region (Japan, China and Mandchuria) as they are from those of Atlantic North America. Their near relatives, when they have any in other lands, are mostly southward, on the Mexican plateau. ... The same may be said of the [insects] of the intervening great plains, except that northward 1873.] urd (Packard. and in the subsaline [insects!] there are some close alliances with the [insects] of the steppes of Siberia. And along the crests of high mountain ranges the arctic-alpine [insect-fauna] has sent southward more or less numerous representatives through the whole length of the country” (p. 10). He then refers to the “astonishing similarity ” of the flora of the Atlantic United States with that of northeastern Asia. Our actual knowledge of the insect species of northeastern Asia is most vague compared with the exact knowledge of the botan- ist, and the comparison we have drawn relates only to generic types. It is evident that the notion of continental bridges in quaternary times, connecting, for example, Asia and California, is quite unneces- sary, since there are, so farasis yet known, no forms characteristic of Asia in the Californian fauna, and the grand difficulty is to account for the presence of a certain resemblance to the European fauna in that of California. Here I think Dr. Gray has been the first to indicate a solution of the problem. Our knowledge of American fossil tertiary insects is at present almost nz/; we must, then, in the absence of any evidence to the eontrary, follow the conclusions of Gray with the later confirmation of Lesquereux. The ancestors of the Californian Parnassius, Rhaphidia, and other European forms, may have inhabited the Arctic tertiary continent, of which Greenland and Spitzbergen are the remains, and their de- scendants forced southward have probably lost their foothold in the Atlantic region, and survived in California and Europe, like the Sequoia in California. Something more than similarity of climate is needed to account for the similarity of generic forms; hence com- munity of origin, with high antiquity and a southward migration of 1 Dr. Leconte has noticed the similarity of our saline-plains beetles, containing so many species of Tenebrionide, to the fauna of the deserts and steppes of Asia. (Proc. Amer. Assoc. Adv. Sci., 1851. Albany meeting, 252.) He also states that “the only manner in which the insect fauna of California approaches that of Eu- rope, isin the great abundance of apterous Tenebrionide. But in this respect it does not differ from a large part of South America; and by the very form of these Tenebrionide, which bear no resemblance at all to those of Europe, the greater relation of the Californian fauna to that of the rest of America, is clearly proved.” Mr. Andrew Murray (On the Geographical Relations of the chief Coleopterous Faune, p. 36, 1871) also refers to this fact; the genus Hodes in California replacing the genus Blaps. Headds: ‘‘ other Heteromerous forms, reminding us of Mediterra- nean and Asiatic species, occur in California, and the whole of the northwest of America has a greater preponderance of the microtypal stirps than perhaps occurs east of the Rocky Mountains.”’? I should add that Mr. Murray, in explaining the term microtypal, states that ‘‘ the fauna and flora of our own land [Great Britain] may be taken as its type and standard.’”’ PROCEEDINGS B.S. N. H.— VOL. XVI. 2 NOVEMBER, 1873. Packard.] 18 [May 7, forms not of tropical origin, are the factors needed to work out the problem. That something of this sort has taken place in marine animals we know to be the fact. Certain forms now supposed to be extinct on the coast of New England and Scandinavia, such as Yoldia arctica Gray (Nucula Portlandica Hitchcock), are still living in the seas of Greenland and Spitzbergen. ‘The quaternary fauna of Maine indicates a much more purely arctic assemblage than is at present to be found. This is also the case with the Scandinavian quaternary fauna, according to the researches of Prof. M. Sars. As we have before shown, the cireumpolar marine fauna runs down along the coast of northeastern America and of Europe, and the‘forms common to the two shores have not come one from the other. Europe has not perhaps borrowed in quaternary times from America, but both have been peopled from a purely circumpolar fauna. If there has been any borrowing it has been on the part of Europe, since the fossil musk ox of France and Central Europe is said to be identical with the musk ox of Arctic America. So also on the coast of northeastern Asia and Alaska are circumpolar forms, which have evidently followed the flow of the arctic currents down each coast. The forms which are identical or representative on these two coasts are species derived from the circumpolar fauna; so the forms which are so strikingly similar in northern Japan to those on the coast of New England are, if we mistake not, also derived from the northward. I believe it to be a matter of fact that the Atlantic States species of insects which are common to the two countries, are, if not of circumpolar, at least of subarctical or boreal origin. From these facts we are led to accept the conclusions of Gray and Lesquereux, that co-specific or congeneric forms occurring in California and Europe and Asia, are the remnants of a southward migration from polar tertiary lands during tertiary, and even perhaps cretaceous times; and in proportion to the high antiquity of the migrations there have been changes and extinctions causing the present anomalies in the distribution of organized beings which are now so difficult to account for on any other hypothesis. For this reason it is not improbable that those species of insects which are more or less cosmopolite (and independently so of human agency) are the most ancient, just as some forms taxonomically the most remote are remnants of earlier geological periods. For exam- ple, the curious anomalies in the geographical distribution of Limulus, the genus only occurring on the eastern coasts of Asia and North America, accord with its isolation from other Crustacea. Geological 1873.] 19 [Packard. extinction has gone hand in hand with geographical isolation. It was a common form in Europe in the jurassic period, and in the next lower (permian) period but one (the triassic intervening), we find other Merostomata and a few Trilobites. We make these speculations, hoping that much light will be thrown upon the subject by studies on the rich tertiary insect beds of the west, and of the fossil insects in the arctic tertiary and cretaceous formations. Until then we must regard all foundations for these hypotheses as laid by the fossil botanist. Camptogramma fluviata (Hiibn.). Two females, i.e., C. gemmata (Hiibn.), now shown to be the female of C. fluviata by a writer in the “Entomologists’ Intelli- eencer,” 1858, as quoted in Newman’s “ Illustrated Natural History of [Peitish Moths,” p. 172. California (Edwards). Larentia 12-lineata n.sp. 3 ¢, 5°. An unusually small species, half the size of £. dilutata, and about as large as L. albulata of Europe. ¢ Antenne well ciliated. Head above whitish gray, in front dark brown; palpi brown at tip, paler below. Body and wings white, with a slight grayish tinge on costa of fore wings and on thorax. Wings of the same form as in C. dilu- tata, except that the apex of the fore wings is rather more pointed. Fore wings white, crossed by about twelve black thread-like lines, waved or scalloped, the outer ones mostly represented by venular black dots. ‘The inner lines are usually scalloped. All the lines are more distinct and broader on the costa, and angulated outwards more or less acutely just below the costa. Across the middle of the wings run three parallel lines finer and nearer together than the others. The marginal row of intervenular black spots distinct on both wings. Hind wings white, with four or five dark slightly marked lines, of which the two inner are scalloped, while the vanes outer are repre- sented by venular dark points. Beneath a little more dusky than above, with the lines on the inner half of fore wings wanting; a median double dusky line, ending in a dark clear spot on the costa and inner edge. ‘The lines beyond faint. The marginal black line distinct on both wings. Hind wings marked like fore wings. Discal dots indistinct on both pairs of wings. Abdomen dull whitish unspotted. Fore legs brown, banded with narrow white rings; hind legs whitish. Length of body 3, .33, 2, .80 inch; fore wing ¢, .45, 2, .40 inch. Packard.] 20 [May 7, This diminutive species seems to occur commonly in California, where it has been collected by Mr. Edwards. It also occurs at San Mateo, Cal., specimens having been collected by Mr. Alex. Agassiz (Mus. Comp. Zoology). It may be recognized by its small size and white, many lineated wings. From Guenée’s L. implicata it differs in the wings being entirely white and alsoin the markings as well as the smaller size. We have in the Eastern States a species very near to it, which I describe below as L. perlineata,! introducing the descrip- tion here for the sake of comparison. Larentia cumatilis Pack. Cidaria cumatilis Grote and Rob. Annals Lyceum Nat. Hist., IN. YY, vin (CAtprilS siz). Cidaria 4-punctata Pack. Proc. B. 8S. N. H., x1m, 385 (1871). I can find no differences between two specimens from the Atlantic States (one G. and R’s. type from Buffalo, and one from Maine, col- lected by myself), and twelve examples from California, collected by Mr. Edwards. It seems to be much more common in California than in the east. It is nearly related to, and congeneric with, Larentia polata Boisd. from Labrador and Arctic Europe. Cidaria nubilata Pack. Proc. B.S. N. H., x11, 400. One specimen from Springfield, Oregon, collected by Mr. Junius Holleman. Cidaria glaucata n.sp. 1 2. Of the size and form of C. nubilata Pack., but with the palpi much longer, being of unusual length, the second joint projecting out far- ther than the head is long, while the third joint is longer and larger than usual. Head whitish on vertex and front; palpi ash brown; 1 Larentia perlineata n. sp. 1 7,1 9, closely resembling in size, shape and mark- ings of wings Z. 12-lineata. The head is whitish gray above, in front dark brown; the palpi brown at tips above. The fore wings are white, crossed by numerous wavy fine lines about twelve in number, It differs chiefly from Z. 12-lineata, however, in the median line being much broader and more distinct, and with a broad ochreous shade between it and the line beyond. The hind wings are white, with the scalloped lines on the outer half of the wing very distinct, being continuous and a little diffuse. Beneath much as in Z. 12-lineata, but with four well marked lines in the hind wings, the innermost quite near the base of the wing. Abdomen whitish gray, unspotted. Legs, two anterior pair dusky above, hinder pair white. Length of body, ¢ .32, 2 .80; fore wing, ¢ .45, 2 .42inch. Albany, N. Y., May — 4th. (Lintner.) This small species is half the size of ZL. dilutata, and differs in having about twelve fine lines on the fore wings, and four or five unbroken lines on the hind wings. The median line on the fore wings being very distinct and with a brownish and ochreous shade beyond. 1873.] 91 (Packard. antenne minutely ringed with white and brown. Thorax and fore wings pale glaucous green. Fore wings with a brown squarish spot at base of submedian space; wing clear green beyond, just within the middle crossed by a broad compound band directed obliquely outwards towards the middle of the inner edge; the band is made up of two filiform slightly sinuated blackish and red lines, en- closing on each side of the median wavy smoky gray band a broad green band. Beyondis abroad clear space. A much sinuate submar- ginal smoky band starts from the inner angle, and after a long outward curve ends on the costa (just below which it is dislocated), at a dis- tance from the apex equal to the thickness of the thorax; some black and reddish scales are strewn along the edge of the band. From a squarish thickened portion, as if broken off from the band, reaches out towards the apical black streak, a similar short black stripe; a mar- ginal narrow thread-like black line. Fringe whitish, dark at the ends of bands. Hind wings whitish, with two parallel curved, slightly scalloped dusky lines, situated nearer the outer edge than usual. Both wings beneath pale whitish, concolorous with the upper side of the hind wings, with very faint indications of two outer parallel dusky lines common to both wings. Legs brown, ringed with white. Length of body .60, fore wing .70 inch. California (Edwards). This fine species may at once be known by the pale sea green thorax and fore wings, the latter with the obliquely broad band di- rected outwards, and by the unusually pale hind wings and under surface of both wings, as well as by the very long palpi. Hypsipetes viridata n.sp. 1 . Tn a perfect state of preservation. Closely allied structurally and as regards size to H. 5-fasciata, the palpi being long, and extended as far in front of the head as the latter is long; the outer edge, much as in H. 5-fasciata, being less oblique than in some other species; the third subcostal interspace is narrower than in H. 5-fasciata. Head, thorax and fore wings deep sea green, mixed with dull clear dark smoky ash, and some yellowish green and a few black scales. Palpi with no green scales, but black and pale ash, being darker below than above. Antenne finely ringed with white and blackish. Fore wings of a sea green ground color, with numerous fine transverse strige, crossed by five clear smoky ashen sinuous bands finely edged with black; the basal very short and narrow close to the base of the wing; the second line is narrow, ends farther from the base of the wing on inner than on costal edge, and is angulated outward conspicuously on Packard.] 29, ; [May 7, median vein. The third band is close to, and parallel with, the sec- ond, and twice as wide; it is bent outwards on the median and sub- median vein. A fourth faint narrow band close to third. The fifth, or submarginal line, is twice as broad as third, and very remote from the latter (which is within the middle of the wing); it is nearly straight on the inner edge, though curved outwards just below the costa, while the outer edge is deeply and subacutely scalloped be- tween the venules much as in ZH. 5-fasciata; the band is half as wide on the inner edge as on the costa. Fringe on both wings with a faint median line. Hind wings smoky, with two transverse parallel dusky lines. Beneath much asin #7. 5-fasciata, being smoky ash, with two dusky bands on both wings beyond the middle, broadest and darkest on costa, less curved and farther apart, and farther from outer edge than in H. 5-fasciata. A faint discal dot, better marked on hind wings. ' Abdomen and legs nearly concolorous with hind wings. Length of body .52, fore wing .67inch. California (J. Behrens). This handsome species may be readily recognized by the sea green color of the fore wings, and by wanting the apical oblique streak. Hypsipetes speciosatan.sp. 24. This is by far the largest and most showy species of this genus yet known to us. Body pale ash, with a luteous tinge; palpi long, brown. Fore wings pale green, arranged in broad bands alternating with equally broad blackish bands, varying as usual in width. The green band in the middle of the wing is partly, or almost wholly white. Six unusually distinct black bands; the insertion of wing black; the first band beyond very narrow, and bent outwards on the median vein; the second very broad and more regular than those beyond, bent outwards at right angles in the discal space; the whitish line is edged on each side by blackish interrupted lines, the spots varying much in size. The submarginal band also dislocated, and very irreg- ular, bordered internally with whitish; this band is merged towards the apex with the marginal band, consisting of a row of triangular spots. Fringe dark brown. Beneath costa paler than rest of wing, with five large square dark brown conspicuous spots. Hind wings smoky gray, beneath with two broad, submarginal dusky bands. Length of body (not including palpi) ¢ .54 inch; fore wing ¢ .73 inch. Mendocino City (A. Agassiz, Mus. Comp. Zool.). This showy species may be identified by the black and green bands on the fore wings, the central band more or less whitish, and by the large square costal spots on the under side. In one specimen the 1873.] 23 [Packard. margin of the fore wing is almost wholly black, with a short vein of whitish green spots. Melanippe Kodiakata n.sp. 1 &. A little smaller than, but closely allied to, M. concordata Walk.from New England. Body and wings blackish, body whitish beneath. Fore wings blackish on basal half, with greyish scales, and a zigzag line just before the black discal mark. Just beyond the discal dot a broad whitish band, wider on costal than on inner edge, diffuse externally; on the inside scalloped, and slightly excavated on the median vein, but not so much so asin M. concordata. Beyond this band are two obscure pale wavy lines, the outer ending on the costa, close to the apex (these are wanting in M.concordaia). Edge of wing with a narrower black line; fringe paler than in the other spe- cies, checkered with black. Hind wings with a broad white band, obseure on the hind edge, and angulated outwards just below the middle of the wing. Beneath both wings white, with wide black borders, but white at base, with a basal blackish shade; an outer blackish band enclosing the darker large distinct oval discal dot, and below this angulated outwards. Hind wings white, with a broad black border, and a narrow dark line just beyond the distinct black discal dot, which is much smaller than that on primaries. Legs blackish, ringed with white. Length of body .37, of fore wing .52 inch. Kodiak Is., Alaska (Edwards). A smaller species than M. concordata Walk., from Hudson’s Bay and New England; it differs in the white band on the primaries being much straighter on the inner edge, as it is much less excavated, and in having two greyish lines beyond, while the hind wings have a broad white band, where in MZ. concordata they are entirely black. Cleora umbrosaria n. sp. 1 ¢. Body and wings ash colored, or pepper and salt; vertex of head pale ash. Fore wings crossed by two scalloped lines, the scallops rounded, not pointed; the basal line straicht from the costa to the median vein, thence curved inwards to the inner edge of the wing; outer line begins on the outer quarter of costa, and follows a nearly straight course to outer third of inner edge, there being no great curve above the third median venule, as in C. pulchraria Minot and pellucidaria Pack., of the Eastern States. Discal dot black. Hind wings in my single specimen without any line; the wing is speckled with dark gray on the outer third. Beneath, the wings are uniform Packard.] 24 } [May 7, ash colored, the fore wings scarcely darker than hinder pair. No discal spots, or other markings. Length of body .55, of fore wing, .75 inch. California (Edwards). This seems to be a larger species than the two eastern ones, and differs in the outer line being nearly straight in its course, the scal- lops being well rounded, and in having no line on the hind wings, and no markings apparent on the under side of either pair. The fore wings are much produced at the apex, as in C. pellucidaria Pack. The antenne are broadly pectinated, as usual. Gorytodes uncanaria Guen. 1 ¢. Body and antennee (which are broadly pectinated) pale ash, con- colorous with the hind wings. Fore wings ash, speckled with brown, with two dark short longitudinal streaks, one on each side of the base of the median vein. ‘The costal half of the middle area of the wing occupied with a large low irregular triangular dark brown area, edged externally with darker; apex ending in a knob, in one speci- men produced angularly outwards, and connected with (sometimes separated from) an irregularly oval patch under the third median venule, and which is traversed by a longitudinal mesial white line. A sinuate white marginal line, beginning just before the apex, and ending on the inner angle, and edged within with dark brown. Fringe pale ash checkered with blackish. A black conspicuous dis- cal dot, in rubbed specimens centered with white. Hind wings pale ash, with a faint discal dot, and a dark narrow marginal line. Be- neath more or less marbled with dark speckles. Fore wings with two parallel white lines fading away below the costal region, a slight ochreous tint along the costa; a faint discal dot. Hind wings pepper and salt, with two dark, parallel, broad shades, angulated on the dis- cal interspace; the outer line nearly touching the edge of the wing; discal dot larger and more distinct than on fore wings. Length of body .60, of fore wing .75 inch. California (Edwards). A fresh specimen received from Mr. Edwards differs from certain others more rubbed (and which better agree with M. Guenée’s de- scription) in having the large oval brown spot below the median vein of fore wings distinctly united with the large costal triangular area, and in the more distinct bands on the under side of the wings. Gorytodes trilinearia n.sp. 2d. Whitish ochreous. A larger species than G. uncanaria, the an- tenne with much shorter pectinations, the palpi as long, but slen- derer, the wings of the same form, but with the apex of primaries 1873.] AS [Packard. more rounded, the wing being a little less faleate. Fore wings white at base, and traversed by three white zigzag lines, the basal one on the inner fourth of wing, with a large angle on the submedian space, the apex of the angle filled in with‘a few black scales, as also the outer side of the line (widest here) in the discal space; from the sub- median angle is thrown out a narrow white line, running through the middle of an oval ochreous patch. A longitudinal white streak in the discal space, and beyond a large lunate transverse white spot, the two forming a very distinct exclamation mark. Beyond two parallel zigzag white lines, the inner scalloped deeply below the first median venule; the outer is curved at the apex, and with a broad angle on the independent vein. Fringe white, checkered with dark brown. Hind wings white, fringe white. Beneath as above, but the hind wings are crossed by two irregular, rather distinct and broad bands of ochreous with black scales, and the base of the wing is faintly peppered with dark and ochreous scales. Length of body .66, fore wing. .82 inch. Nevada (Edwards) . Arizona (Dr. Palmer, from the Museum of the Department of Agri- culture at Washington). An exceedingly elegant moth, at once recognizable by the three white lines and the mark of exclamation in the discal space, and the narrowly pectinated antenne. ‘The specimen from Arizona is in bad condition, but does not seem to differ from the Nevada ex- ample. Panagra subminiata n.sp. 1 &. Differs from any other species known to me, by the vermillion red on the costa and veins, especially beneath, the upper side of body and wings being uniform ash, tinged faintly with vermillion. Front reddish ash, dull red on orbits; the greyish hairs projecting between the palpi well marked. Palpi stout and bushy, concolorous with the orbits, with a dark spot beneath; vertex grey, like the thorax. An- tenne reddish. Fore wings reddish ash, especially on the costa and veins. A linear pale brown interrupted curved line, ending in a wider costal spot. Discal dot, distinct, brown. Outer line forming a broad sinuate shade ending just before the costa. Fringe concolor- ous with the rest of the wing, with a faint pale line just beyond the middle. Hind wings a little paler than fore wings, speckled with brown scales ; fringe a little darker, as in fore wings. Beneath, both wings deeply tinged with vermillion, especially costa of fore pair and Packard.) 26 [May 7, entire hind wings, veins vermillion; between them finely marbled with ash and brown scales. Legs tinged with reddish. Length of body ? (abdomen wanting); of fore wing .63 inch. Goose Lake, Siskiyou Co., Cal. (J. Holleman). This fine species, communicated by Mr. Holleman, to whom the Museum of the Peabody Academy is indebted for a good many rare specimens from Northern California and Oregon, may at once be known by the reddish ash upper side of the body and the vermillion color of the under side of the wings, by the absence of the usual line on the hind wings, and by the outer line on primaries being diffuse, not sharply defined as usual. Halia 4-linearia n.sp. 2 ¢. Closely resembling H. wavaria, to which section of the genus it belongs, the wings being less falcate than in the other species, mar- cessaria and tripunciaria. The antenne are more broadly pectinated than in H. wavaria, being in this respect intermediate between H. wavaria and tripunctaria. Pale ash grey. Head, palpi and body being concolorous with the wings. Sore wings marked as in H. wa- varia, having four distinct costal brown spots, from which as many lines run parallel to each other to the costa; the second one includes the discal dot, but is straighter, not so much aneulated as in H. wa- varia, nor so wide just above the discal dot; the two outer lines be- come obsolete in the middle of the wing, but are indicated on the hind edge, the third being close to the fourth, while beyond is a small dusky patch. A row of intervenular black marks, fringe con- colorous with the rest of the wings. Hind wings with no marking, except the discal dot, which is quite distinct. Beneath pale ash, more uniformly so than in H. wavaria, tinged faintly with ochreous, deeper on costa of fore wings. Discal dots present on both wings, and three faint costal patches. Length of body .48; fore wing .64 inch. Sierra Nevada, Cal. (Edwards). Closely resembling H. wavaria, it differs in the more broadly pec- tinated antenne, the less angulated narrower second line on prima- ries, and the duller ash on under side of wings, which, especially the secondaries, are beautifully marbled in wavaria; in these respects it resembles the species of Macaria. Halia tripunctaria n.sp. 14,1 &. Antenne with much longer pectinations than usual, being much longer than in H. marcessaria. Palpias usual. Fore wings with the 1873.] a7 [Packard. apex more produced than in H. marcessaria, being acutely falcated. Abdomen without the two rows of black dots present in marcessaria. Fore wings uniform fawn color, body and hind wings paler. An inner straight brown line, edged externally with yellowish brown ; outer line slightly sinuate. Discal dot large oval lanceolate; two conspicuous dark spots midway between the outer line and the edge of the wing, one being subapical in position. Fringe on both wings a little darker than the wings themselves. No markings on hind wings, no discal dot. Beneath, a decided ochreous tinge, no lines, discal dots distinct on both wings; fringe considerably darker than the rest of the wing. differs from ¢ in the lines being farther apart. Length of body ¢ .50, 2 .50 inch; of fore wing ¢ .60, 2 .66 inch. California (Edwards and Behrens). ‘ This species differs from marcessaria Guen. and cineraria Pack., in the much more pectinated antenne and the absence of lines on the under side of the wings, which beneath are clear ochreous, not speckled with dark scales, while the two spots with the discal spot arranged in a triangle, gives it a characteristic appearance. Macaria Californiaria Pack. Proc. B. 8. N. H., xm1., p. 392. Two 2, collected by Mr. J. Holleman, differ from those previously described by me in some important respects; the present description therefore applies better to the more normal form of the species. Pale whitish grey. Orbits and palpi tinged with ochreous. Fore wings with four costal spots, from which more or less obsolete lines run in a faint series of dots across the wing, second spot the broadest, the discal dot forming a part of the line, third spot forming with a part of the line proceeding from it, a large irregular S extending to the middle of the wing, the line continuing beyond in an interrupted series of fine dots, and with a supplementary spot at the end of the S. Halfway between the S and the apex is a fourth small costal dot. Hind wings with an obscure discal spot, and a submarginal transverse shade; the wing is faintly mottled with smoky dots. Beneath both wings with fine transverse subochreous spots, the lines appear beneath of a smoky ochreous, the third line being less sigmoid than above, as it is curved outwards to the angle, and then goes obliquely and ina straight course to outer third of inner side. LDiscal dots distinct, as above. Hind wings with a distinct outer subochreous broad band near the edge of the wing. A row of dark dots along edge of both wings. Packard.] 28 [May 7, Length of body .82, fore wing .55 inch. Goose Lake, Siskiyou Co., Cal., (J. Holleman). It may be known by the S-like third costal spot, the more yellow- ish tint of the under side of the wings, and by the presence of an outer shade on hind wings. The sigmoid spot is much like the bent spot in the middle of the wing in Halia wavaria. Acidalia subalbaria n.sp. 1 &. Allied in general form to A. 5-linearia, but with the apex of fore wings much blunter, with the hind wings much shorter, and with the outer edge rounded, instead of angulated. Head and antenne white, front with a broad black band just below the insertion of antenne. Cream colored, being whitish with a very faint ochreous tinge, whiter and less speekled, with darker scales than A. 5-linearia. Primaries crossed by three light brown lines, the basal slightly curved, farther from the base of the wing than usual. The two outer lines much nearer together than usual, the inner one being narrower and less distinct ; both are less oblique than usual, and not waved. Discal dot obsolete. Hind wings with a discal dot, and beyond the two parallel outer lines same as on hind wings. Both wings with a nar- row black line at base of the whitish fringe. Beneath cream white, discal dots distinct on both wings, those on primaries largest ; beyond them a common diffuse dusky line, straight on fore wings. A fine narrow brown line at base of fringe. Legs white, fore femora and tibize blackish in front. Length of body .30, fore wing .47 inch. California (Edwards). In this species the wings are clearer whitish than usual, especially on the under side, and the two outer lines are nearer together than usual, while the hind wings are shorter, and with the outer edge less convex than usual in those species in which the hind wings are rounded instead of angulated. Acidalia rubrolinearia n.sp. 1d, 1 &. Closely allied to A. Californiaria. Dull reddish ash; the fore wings with four dull brick red wavy lines (three on hind wings). Body and appendages, including legs, a little darker than wings, especially on the under side of body, where there are black scales mixed with the brown ones. Palpi stout and bushy, with unusually long hairs. Antenne with long dense cilie ; beneath black, above pale brown. Wings a little darker at base than externally; fore ‘wings with a basal curved reddish brown line; an indistinct brown discal dot ; beyond three parallel dull reddish brown wavy lines, the. 1873.] 29 [Packard. inner twice as broad as the outer. An interrupted fine black line at the edge of the fringe on both wings. Hind wings with three lines, the inner straight, the broadest and darkest wavy, within which the wing is dusky. Fringe on both wings reddish snuff brown. Beneath, the wings are a little clearer than above, with the two middle lines very distinct, reddish brown, the inner less wavy than the outer, the wing within being dusky, edge of wing with the black line and fringe as above. Legs reddish brown, tarsi paler, though with scattered black scales. | Length of body ¢, .35, 2, .83 inch; fore wing ¢ .43, ? .43 inch. California (Edwards). This species is deeper brick red than usual, and the scales on the palpi are longer and more spreading than usual, with four brick red lines crossing the fore wings; the middle line on hind wings is much more waved than in A. Californiaria Pack. Hyria occidentaria n. sp. 1¢. Fore wings with much the same shape as in H. auroraria of Eu- rope, though the apex is slightly more rounded, while the hind wings have the outer edee more rotund. Antenne finely ciliated. Body and wings very pale fawn brown, tinged very faintly with vinous, vertex of head pale; front and palpi dark brown. Fore wings clear pale fawn, with the middle occupied with a broad dark hour-glass shaped band, wider on the front edge than on the inner; the inner side quite regularly hollowed out, the outer side produced outwards in the middle, with two acute parallel teeth, and a third below situ- ated farther within the wing; below this the band dilates on the inner edge, while on the costal side it goes nearly straight to the costa; a diffuse faint submarginal shade. On both wings a row of venular marginal black dots. Fringe long, silky, concolorous with the wing. Hind wings with same markings as on fore wings, but with the submarginal shade rather more distinct; the broad band has two larger teeth on the outer edge, and the shade beyond has two zigzag angles parallel with it. Obscure yellowish discal dots on both wings (distinct under a lens). Legs pale, fore femora and tibie dark, Beneath smoky, the bands being replaced by diffuse smoky lines. Length of body .24, fore wing .33 inch. California (Edwards). This fine species differs from an undescribed Texan species to which it is structurally closely allied, in having rather darker wings, with the submarginal band much darker, and the form of the middle band quite different. Packard.] 30 [May 7, Hunemoria n.gen. ¢. Allied to Nemoria, but the head is much narrower in front, and. not so broad on the vertex; in front the sides are nearly parallel. Palpi about as long as in Nemoria, but much stouter, slightly ascend- ing, third joint distinct, thick, rounded. Antenne pectinated nearly to the ends, the branches short, those in the middle of antenne about twice as long as the joints. Fore wings shaped much as in Nemoria, but rather more pointed at th eapex; outer edge straighter, hind wings long, much more rounded, and not angulated, as in Nemoria. The costal space of fore wings is very much narrower than in Nemoria. Abdomen shaped much as in Nemoria, being acutely pointed at the tip, which just reaches the anal angle of the hind wings. Hind tibiz swollen, with four stout acute spurs, while there are but two (terminal) in Memoria (male); a long large accessory tuft, as in Nemoria. Hind tarsi slender, nearly two-thirds as long as tibie, while in Nemoria they are half as long as tibie and stouter. The single species known is light green, with a single rather broad common line, not wavy and straight on the fore wings, curved on, the hind wings. Eunemoria unitaria Pack. 14d. Palpi pink; front red; vertex white and antennz white above; abdomen white; thorax and wings deep pea green, deeper than in most species of Nemoria. Extreme costal edge white. A single common white line crosses both wings; on the primaries it is straight and situated just beyond middle of wing; on hind wings it is well curved, and situated just beyond the middle of the wing. Fringe white, on the outer edge pinkish. Two anterior pair of legs reddish. Length of body .45, fore wing .53 inch. Nevada (Edwards). © The narrow red front, and structure of hind legs, the pinkish edge to fringe, and rather large size, are the distinguishing marks of this species. : Eunemoria tricoloraria Pack. 1 ¢. Antenne well pectinated, white above; palpi stout, red, white along the lower edge, wing much as in the eastern species, EH. rubi- vora (Riley sp.) Pack. Front duller red than palpi, vertex white, with a few reddish scales at base. Body and wings pea green. Fore Wings green, costa white, tinged with red at the base. Two curved, much wrinkled white lines cross each wing, nearer together and more waved than usual. Fringe green. Whitish at insertion, and at the ‘ 1873.] 31 [Packard. outer edge. Fore and prdolle tibise and tarsi reddish. Beneath fore wings pale, deeper green on the costal half; basal two-thirds of costa deep red. Hind wings whitish green. The outer line on fore wings faintly reappears. Abdomen wanting. Length of fore wing .40 inch. California (dwards). Chlorosea ! n. gen. Belonging apparently to the same group as Nemoria and Eunemo- ria, and less closely to Phorodesma. Head with the vertex not so broad in proportion as in Nemoria or Pseudoterpna; front moderately broad, less so, however, than in Nemoria. Palpi rather long and slender, projecting farther than usual beyond the front (though not nearly so much so as in Synchlora), slightly ascending; third joint small, but distinct. Antenne pectinated almost to the tip; branches about half as long in proportion as in Nemoria; in ? slender and filiform. Fore wings shaped much as in Nemoria, costa curved in the same manner, apex subacute, outer edge curved in much the same way. ‘The costal space is slightly narrower in proportion than in Nemoria, and the fifth subcostal or subapical space is small, being one-fourth as long as the wing, while in Nemoria it is much larger, being one-third as long as the costa of the wing. Hind wings of much the same shape as in Phorodesma and Pseudoterpna, not being produced and subangulated, as in Nemoria, or so long and fully rounded, as in Hunemoria; the apical region is full and rounded, while the outer edge is very straight. The abdomen does not reach the anal angle of the hind wings; its shape is much as in Nemoria. Hind legs unusually small, tibiz very slender and short, shorter than the tarsi, and with but a single terminal pair of spurs in both sexes. No essential difference between the sexes. Coloration much as in Nemoria. The known species are of larger size than usual in the allied genera. Palpi less ascending than in Nemoria, antenne one-half as widely pectinated, but wider than in Hunemoria. The hind legs are much as in Phorodesma, but there is but one pair of spurs, and the vertex is not so broad as in that genus, while the antenne are pectinated nearer the tip. Chlorosea Nevadaria n. sp. 1 ¢, 2 °. Pale pea green. Head whitish at the insertion of the antenne (which are white above), but greenish on the hinder edge of vertex; front pale greenish, pink on the orbits; palpi whitish; thorax green; 1 KAwpés, green; o7s, moth. Packard.] 32 [May 7, abdomen white. Both wings pale oreen; fore wings whitish on extreme edge of costa; an oblique, rather broad band, straight in its course, crosses the wing from just beyond the middle of the inner edge to the outer fifth of the costa; it is situated nearer the outer edge in the 2. No other markings. Hind wings slightly paler than primaries, with no markings. Beneath uniformly pale green, hind wings a little paler than primaries. Legs whitish, two anterior pairs of tibie pink. Length of body ¢, .55, 2, .45-.50 inch; fore wing d,.70, 2, 60- .68 inch. Nevada (Edwards). The smaller of the two ¢ has paler hind wings, and an entirely reddish front. The species may be recognized by the large size, the want of any markings on the hind wings, and by the very slender hind legs with the single pair of tibial spurs. Tephrosia nigroseriata n.sp. 2d. Differs from any other Californian species by its rust red color, and its two rows of black points. Palpi long and slender; antenne thick- ened, ciliated. Head and thorax pale rust red, concolorous with primaries. Fore wings not falcate, apex, bowever, subacutely pointed; outer edge full, convex; hind wings not so sinuate as usual on outer edge. Fore wings uniformly pale rust red, with obscure scattered dark scales, and a slight dark discal point; two series of black points, inner oblique, but not curved, angulated slightly on costa; outer row of submarginal venular black dots, and a corres- ponding series on hind wings. A row of fine black dots along the base of the fringe. Hind wings with no apparent discal dot, paler than fore wings, with no specks. Fringe concolorous with the rest of the wing. Beneath of the same tint as above, with the row of black submarginal dots common to both wings; no inner line. Hind wings much more speckled with black than above, and with a con- spicuous black dot. A dusky shade in the middle of the fore wings. Abdomen long and slender, passing beyond the inner angle of sec- ondaries. Length of body .55, fore wing .60 inch. California (Edwards). The pale rust red tint, and two distant rows of black points, will serve to distinguish this species from any described by Guenée. Tephrosia falcataria n. sp. 1¢. This species has remarkably faleate wings, the tip of the fore wings being acute, the costa being more bent down at the tip, and the outer edge excavated much deeper than usual; the costal area is wider, 1878.] , 33 [Packard. hence the four subcostal venules are shorter than usual, but their mode of branching off is the same, being much as in 7. nigroseriata Pack., to which the species is more closely allied than any other form ' known tome. Antenne well pectinated, dark brown, as usual, con- trasting with the rest of the body. Head, thorax and fore wings pale reddish fawn color; hind wings and abdomen much paler, much more whitish than in the other species. Fore wings with very uniformly reddish fawn, with no conspicuous bands or rows of spots and re- markably few scattered dark scales, the wings in all the other species known to me being more or less densely dusted. Discal dot small, black; a submarginal row of about six obscure dusky spots, arranged in a straight line parallel to the outer edge. A marginal series of black venular points. Fringe deeper reddish than wing itself. Hind wings almost whitish fawn, unusually clear, with a few faint scat- tered dark scales; a dark discal dot; fringe reddish, concolorous with that on fore wings; no other markings on the wing. Beneath both wings alike, a little less pale than hind wings behind, but tinged with reddish on the edges, and more specks. Discal dot and marginal row of dots as above. Fringe darker than rest of wings. Hind wings a little more dusted than primaries. Discal dot much larger and more conspicuous than above. Abdomen not spotted. Length of body .50, fore wing .64 inch. California (Edwards). Known by its unusually falcate primaries; its clear wings free from the usual bands and scales, and by its reddish hue. Tephrosia Canadaria Guen.? ¢. I cannot find any differ- ence between one rubbed ¢ specimen of this species, and individ- uals from New England, but others are needed for a more thorough comparison. Hemerophila latifasciaria n.sp. 1 ¢. Of medium size; antennz broadly pectinated, hind wings rounded, as usual well dentated. Body and wings pale ash; front with a round dark spot; palpi with the third joint black. Hind edge of prothorax, and hinder edge of the basal segments of the abdomen with a black band. Fore wings pale ash, with a broad curved basal blackish band; outer line slightly oblique; straight on the inner edge, curved inwards in the middle of the wing; thence going straight to the costa; this portion of the line is represented by three or four venular dots, the costal one being the largest, while the posterior two-thirds of the line is bordered externally by two diffuse parallel PROCEEDINGS B. 8. N. H.— VOL. XVI. 3 NOVEMBER, 1873. Packard.] Ot SOA ' [May 7, broad lines, the whole making a broad band. Costal edge speckled with dark ash. Outer edge scalloped, with a black point between each scallop. Hind wings concolorous with fore wings; two parallel slightly waved lines; beyond the middle of the wing a very distinct, nearly straight blackish line, with a supplementary brown shade beyond. A submarginal broad shade. A. black line follows the scallops. Fringe whitish. Beneath uniformly pale, costa with trans- verse dark strige, the outer band forms a smoky shade beneath, and on hind wings a smoky line. Legs ash, two anterior pairs of tibie and tarsi broadly banded with blackish. Length of body .60, fore wing .73 inch. California (Edwards). Metanema aurantiacaria n.sp. 1 &. Body ochreous, wings orange-ochreous. Palpi slender, passing slightly beyond the front. Fore wings orange-ochreous, no inner line apparent, outer line oblique, but in its course very straight, not bent on the costa; it is brick red in color, shaded inside towards the middle of the wing with deep ferruginous orange. No markings on the edge of the wing. A single line on hind wings, straight, not reaching the costa, and of the same color as that on the front wings. Beneath, the wings are of the same color as above, but a little clearer yellow and the lines faintly reappear, that on the fore wings being a little curved. : This species belongs to the same section of the genus as M. cervi- naria Pack., and is a little smaller, with the apex and angles of the wing more acute; behind the angles the wings are entire. There are no discal dots, and the moth is quite different from Guenée’s MW. for- Jficaria, which does not yet seem to occur in American collections. Length of body .60, of fore wing .77 inch. Nevada (Edwards). _ Recognized by the acutely angled wings, the straight ferruginous line, and the deep orange ochre of the wings. Eurhinosea! nov. gen. { Allied to Caustoloma. Head of medium size. Front very wide, much as in Caustoloma, the surface being convex, and the sides con- verging slightly in front. On anterior edge a pointed tuft of con- verging hairs extending between the palpi. ¢$ antennz subsimple, being ciliated, each joint widening anteriorly, the scales on the front edge being raised and spreading out; in ? much more filiform, slightly ciliated. Palpi remarkably long, second joint passing beyond the head by a distance about equal to the width of the front, third joint 1E%, well, ‘pis, ‘puvds, nose. 1873.] 30 [Packard. unusually long and pointed, as long as second joint is wide. Tongue feebler than in Caustoloma, but of about the same size as in Nemato- campa. Wings somewhat resembling those of Caustoloma, but not aneulated; fore wings with costa more convex than in Caustoloma, but just as in Nematocampa and Venilia; apex obtusely pointed; outer edge full convex, but not angulated; inner edge two-thirds as long as costa. Hind wings much like those of Caustoloma in outline; but not hollowed out below the apex, neither are they convex, but the edge is straight between the apex and middle of the wing. The venation differs from that of Caustoloma, which it resembles most, in the costal area being wider, and consequently the costal vein and first three subcostal venules shorter and more oblique, and they are nearer together. On the secondaries the second subcostal venule arises much farther than usual from the discal spot, a third of the way from the dot to the end of the vein, while in Caustoloma it arises at the dot. The venation of the secondaries is more like Nemato- campa. Hind legs long and slender, tibiz with four stout spurs. Abdomen long and slender, just reaching the anal angle. In style of coloration the genus reminds us of Caustoloma, and more remotely of Nemato- campa. ‘The body and wings are yellow, with fawn colored costal spots, and the edges of the wings are stained with fawn. In size the only species yet known is. intermediate between Caustoloma and Nematocampa. Its large, long, acute palpi, simple antenne with tri- angular joints, and its non-angulated wings, will distinguish the genus. Eurhinosea flavaria. 44,2 °. Body and wings deep ochreous yellow. Palpi brown on sides of second joint. Fore wings clear yellow, costa fawn brown at base, two costal brown spots in the middle of the wing, the inner oblique, the outer nearly straight. No lines in the middle area of the wing; a small discal dot (sometimes wanting), a minute dot on the origin of the third or lower median venule; outer edge of the wing below the apex broadly margined with fawn brown to, and enclosing, the anal angle, the band being as broad as the thorax. Hind wings con- colorous with the fore wings; a rather large dark dot close to the origin of the first subcostal venule, a triangular marginal patch just below the apex; otherwise no markings. Beneath, from a large basal costal spot, proceeds a fine curved line across the wing, and with a much curved one within, forms a ringlet. Beyond the con- spicuous dark discal dot a broad diffuse pale brown shade crosses the Packard.] 36 [May 7, wing, slightly scalloped externally; the shade does not connect with the outer costal spot; the marginal shade is dark on the oblique upper edge, but is fainter towards the anal angle than on the upper side of the wing. A faint row of diffuse smali spots between this shade and the middle shade. Hind wings with a very distinct discal dot. A narrow, fine, much curved line crosses the middle of the wing; another sinuate line midway between this and the margin; the - part just below the apex is oblong rather than triangular, as above. Fringe brown on both wings, with darker spots on ends of venules beneath ; towards anal angle of secondaries fringe becomes yellow- ish. The two 2 and one ¢ are paler, without the marginal dark band, while the lines below are well marked, the ¢ median shade of primaries being represented by a very distinct sinuate line, with three rude ringlets on the inside of the line, and the fringe is yellow- ish; in another specimen the lines are much more distinct. Length of body ¢, .45, 2, .40 inch; fore wing d, .50, 2, .50 ineh. Sierra Wenn (Edwards). This interesting species may be known by the non-angulated yellow wings, with the broad marginal shade, and the subtriangular spot on- hind wing, and the large discal dots on hind wing on inner third of wing. Sicya crocearia n.sp. 34,4 &. Sulphur yellow; palpi and orbits deep reddish orange; thorax sulphur yellow, concolorous with the primaries; hind wings pale yel- low, a little deeper than the abdomen. Primaries crossed by two light brown lines, the inner (often obsolete) oblique, scarcely curved and bent at right angles on the costa; the outer runs straight from just beyond the middle of the inner edge of the wing to the costa, on which it forks, ending just before the apex; beyond this line the wing is pale fawn brown, the apical region clear yellow. Hind wings with a single sinuate reddish or brown line, beyond which the wing is tinged with reddish, while within the line it is inclined to be whit- ish. Beneath whitish yellow, primaries more yellow than seconda- ries; the outer line a broad reddish orange band, with the wing beyond tinged with the same color, the apical region yellowish; a brown or paler curved line on hind wings, with a few brown flecks beyond, though those are often wanting. Legs pale, a little darker at the ends of tibie, or broadly ringed with dark brown. Length of body ¢,.45, @, .35-.50; of fore wing 3, .55, 2, .47- 72 inch. California (Edwards and Behrens) ; Nevada (Edwards). ‘1873.] 3T [Packard. The inner line is often obsolete, or represented by a few spots; the outer varying in depth of color, usually but little darker than the brown portion beyond. Hind wings sometimes yellowish, with a brown line. A large 2 from California, received from Mr. Behrens, differs from the others in having the outer line on fore wings obsolete between the median vein and the costa, and the lines brown, and hind wings more yellowish and speckled with brown scales. In a single ¢ specimen from California, the costa of fore wings is arched, the wings being much broader and fuller; a distinct dark tri- angular costo-apical spot, while the base of costa is reddish, the secondaries much more rounded, and the line nearer the middle of the wing, and distinctly scalloped, but I judge the three forms to be simple local varieties, as the markings vary considerably in this genus. The five Nevada individuals are smaller than the others, and with narrower wings. ‘This species differs from Sicya truncataria Gn., which it very closely resembles, in the more sinuate outer line on the fore wings, while the margin of the wing is deeper brown. Whether these differences are permanent cannot be determined unless we have more material. Hesperumia n. gen. Closely related to Angerona, agreeing with it in the strongly pec- tinated antennz, the branches reaching to the tip, and in the large, well developed head, which is quite free from the thorax; the palpi much the same, but a little larger and blunter. Fore wings more pointed at the apex, and less angulated in the middle of the outer edge. The subcostal venules are shorter, sent more direct to the costa, and the costal interspace narrower than in Angerona. Hind wings full, not sinuate, the sinus being almost obsolete. Hind legs as in Angerona, the spurs of the same relative size. The female is much smaller than the male, while in Angerona the female is consid- erably larger than the male. In its mode of coloration this genus recalls Rumia, hence our generic name. Hesperumia ochreata n. sp. Deep ochreous, with brown flecks, and a large discal rine. Head ochreous, becoming reddish on the sides and anterior edge of the front; palpi dark brown, especially on the tips, with ochreous hairs at base on under side; antennz brown, concolorous with the palpi. Front of the thorax deep ochreous, hinder portion, abdomen and legs much paler. Fore wings deep ochreous, more or less flecked with brown, sometimes the flecks are wanting; two lines, one crossing the Packard.] 38 [May 7, middle of the wing and forming a large discal ring larger than in the European Rumia crategata, and enclosing a pale dot; the line is a little sinuate, and is often obsolete, es ecially in rubbed specimens, leaving a distinct distal ring and costal spot just in front of it. An outer very sinuate row of spots, often obsolete, except on the costa. Wings brown. Hind wings paler than fore wings, with no markings, but a little deeper ochreous towards the outer edge. Fringe concolorous with the rest of the wing. Beneath on fore wings no lines or discal spot, but the outer costal brown spot is present, and there are brownish costal spots within. Hind wings same as above. Legs a little dusky at the femoro-tibial joints ; tibie a little dusky. Length of body ¢, .55, 2, .50 inch; of fore wing ¢, .72, 2, .62 inch. 1 ¢, 2 2, Sierra Nevada, Cal., and Nevada (Edwards). Metrocampa virido-perlata n.sp. 1d¢,1 2. More nearly allied to our eastern species than to the European, but still it differs in the two bands on fore wing being nearer together, the inner band crossing the base of the origin of the third median venule. Antenne the same. Thouch the moths expand equally, yet in both sexes the head is much smaller than in perlata, an unusual distinction, while in perlata and margaritacea the head of the ¢ (no 2 of margaritacea for com- parison) are of the same size. The Nevada species is also a little greener than our species. Red band below antennz, as in perlata. Until a large number of specimens are compared I shall consider the species distinct, though they would be easily confounded at first. Length of body ¢, .50, 2, .60 inch; fore wing d, .77, 2, 1 inch. Sierra Nevada, Cal., (Edwards). Selidosema juturnaria Guen. Alaska (J. Behrens); Colorado Terr., (Ridings, Coll. Amer. Ent. Soc.). Tetracis parallelia n. sp. Allied in general form to 7’. truxaliata. The two outer subcostal venules much shorter than in that species. A fresh specimen, though smaller (length of fore wing .42), from Mr. Behrens, is ochreous, though paler than in 7’. truraliata, with deep reddish ochreous lines on fore wings. Angle of hind wings well marked, though much less distinct than in 7’. truzaliata. California (Behrens). 1873.] 39 / [Packard. Eutrapela falcata n.sp. 1°. A slighter, though not smaller, moth than L. egrotata,) and with the wings much more angulated, and the apex of the fore wings much more falcate than in EH. transversata, or any other species known tome. Antenne slightly slenderer than in ZL. transversata. Pale ochreous. Head, body and wings, of the same hue. Fore wings with no lines, and with only a few scattered blackish speckles, a conspicuous black discal dot, and three subapical -black spots, one just behind the costal edge. Hind wings with a few scattered specks and a distinct black discal dot. Beneath marked, just as above, the three subapical and discal spots being reproduced. Wings a little more densely speckled with black, and the fore wings a little deeper ochreous. Length of body .65, fore wing .82 inch. California (Edwards). This fine species may be at once known by the very acute falcate apex, the want of lines on the wings, and the three subapical large black spots. The front of the head is ochreous, like the rest of the body. An egg retained on the end of the abdomen is apparently spheri- cal, with numerous high, and very distinct longitudinal ridges. Drepanodes Panamaria n.sp. 2 ¢. This species differs structurally in some important characters from the more northern species known to me. The wings are: a little shorter, and the apex much less falcate than usual; the first subcostal interspace is much shorter and smaller than in D. varus and sesqui- linea, and all the venules sent off towards the outer edge of the wing are shorter than usual. The hind tibie are greatly swollen, nearly twice as much so.as in D. sesquilinea, and the spurs are much shorter. Antenne broadly. pectinated, fully as much as usual. Body and wings pale yellow ochreous, and of the’ same shade as above and beneath, including the legs. Fore wings with traces of a narrow basal curved ferruginous line. An outer oblique pale ferruginous line straight in its course (not curved as usual), just below the apex. On the costa, just in front of the angle, is a geminate black spot, and another spot on the apex. Another larger spot between the first and second median venules, and a large round black patch on 1~ regard Cherodes as congeneric with Eutrapela clemataria Hiibner, and nubi- lata Pack.; C. egrotata(Guen.) should therefore fall into Hiibner’s genus Entrapela. Packard.] | 40 [May 7, the inner angle. Beyond the outer line the wing is fawn brown, and also the hind wings; the latter are crossed by a single faint narrow ferruginous straight line. Both wings have scattered black speckles. Beneath as above, except that there are no lines, but the brownish margins of both wings are as well marked as above. Minute discal dots above and below, on both pairs of wings. Fore tibie a littie dusky. Length of body .45, of fore wings .50 inch. Panama (Edwards). Revonnned, besides its singular structural features, by the edge of both wings being broadly shaded with pale fawn brown. This Tegcnoe of a Panama species of Drepanodes is appended, as the genus may yet occur in southern California, EXPLANATION OF PLATE 1. Fig. 1, bis. Larentia 12-lineata Pack. ‘6 ~6©2. +Eupithecia Nevadata Pack. « 8. Larentia cretaceata Pack. «~~ 4, ~Hyria occidentaria Pack. « 5. Hypsipetes albifasciata Pack. « 6-6. ©6(Cidaria glaucata Pack. ‘7. Melanippe Kodiakata Pack. «8. Larentia cumatilis (Grote). « 9. Phibalapteryx carnata Pack. ‘¢ 10. Melanthia brunneiciliata Pack. s¢ 11. Coremia lignicolorata Pack. «© 12. Scotosia Californiata Pack. « 13. Cidaria leoninata Pack. s¢ 14. Acidalia rubrolinearia Pack. ¢ 15. Acidalia subalbaria Pack. “¢ 16. Acidalia Californiaria Pack. ‘¢ 17. Acidalia 5-linearia Pack. ‘¢ 18. Acidalia rubromarginaria Pack. ‘* 19. Selidosema juturnaria Guen. “© 20. Tephrosia falcataria Pack. ‘© 21. Tephrosia ferruginosaria Pack. «¢ 22. Eutrapela falcata Pack. Gorytodes trilinearia Pack. Gorytodes uncanaria Guen, xox nN an nN bo tS B= Proc. Bost. Soc. Nat. Hist. Vol. XVI. Plate |. PACKARD, PHALAENIDA. 1873.] 41 [Niles. Dr. T. M. Brewer presented by title the following paper, which will appear in the Society’s Memoirs : — Catalogue of the Birds of Western and North Western Mexico, based on the collections of Grayson, Xantus and Bischoff; with the notes of Grayson and his biographies of several of the spe- cies. By Geo. N. Lawrence. Prof. W. H. Niles read an extract from a letter from Mr. A. T. Wing, concerning the continuance of the spontaneous fractures and movements of rock, at the quarry of Mr. W. N. Flynt, at Monson, Mass. An account of the character of some of the phenomena at the quarry had been previously communicated to the Society by Prof. Niles, and was published in the Proceedings, Vol. x1v., pp. 80-87. As there stated, the quarry is on a small hill near the village of Mon- son. The rock is gneiss, dipping westward at an angle of about eighty degrees. Joints running nearly parallel to the general sur- face of the hill divide the rock into beds varying in thickness from one inch and a half to several feet. These beds extend for long dis- tances unbroken by any divisional planes, and on that account are remarkably well adapted to manifest any lateral pressure to which _ they may be subjected. ‘That there is a lateral force exerted pow- erfully in north and south directions is evident from the facts. When portions of the beds are removed by quarrying the force which was originally distributed throughout the extent of the beds is concentrated upon the remaining parts. When the force becomes, by this concentration, greater than the strength of the rock, as is often the case, the rock is broken, often upheaved, and sometimes with violence and attended by explosions. He had requested Mr. Wing to observe and report such additional phenomena as might occur during his absence last year, and the present letter was in accordance therewith. “ The spontaneous fractures or breaks have been more frequent and on a larger scale during the past summer and autumn, than for any previous season, which is accounted for, I think, by the fact that the quarries have been worked more extensively. One occurred in the latter part of June, in the new quarry on the west side of the ridge, near where you took a sketch of a break, in the autumn of 1871, and again in the spring of 1872. The break extended about two Niles.] 42 [May 1, hundred and seventy-five feet, and was. about seventy feet back from the working face, and parallel to it. About ten thousand tons of rock were moved southward three-fourths of an inch. The break extended perpendicularly through several sheets or layers. The north end of the mass did not break from the pa- rent rock. But few days or evenings passed that a fracture did not occur and usually accompanied by reports. Within a few days, while a north and south split of about one hundred feet in length was being made in the old quarry, the stone suddenly freed itself, and the liberated side moved northward five-eighths of an inch, the south end still remaining fast. This liberated stone came in contact, in its movement, with a projection, causing the crack to deflect to the north-east and thirty feet beyond the wedges, breaking loose one hundred tons of rock in addition to that spkt off by the wedges, showing conclusively the north and south pressure. From the above observations I note the following facts, viz.: — “In June the mass of ten thousand tons expanded southward down the incline, the north or upper end remaining joined to the main ledge. At the lower end the amount of movement was three-fourths of an inch, but this movement gradually decreased in amount north- ward till it was imperceptible at the upper end. “In November, a mass of three hundred tons expanded‘ north or up the incline five-eighths of an inch, the south end being fast to the parent rock. The same decrease in the amount of movement was observed as in the break of June. ‘““T notice, furthermore, that the deeper we go in the rock the greater the amount of expansive movement.” Dr. Brewer announced the donation of nine species of birds from Chas. E. Aiken, Esq., and of the rare Micrathene Whitneyt and Harporhynchus crissalis from Capt. Charles Bendire. The thanks of the Society were voted to both gentlemen for these valuable gifts. 1878.] 43 [Ridgway. May 21, 1873. The President in the chair. Twenty persons present. Mr. Wm. T. Brigham, nominated at the previous meeting, was elected to fill the vacancy in the Committee on Ge- ology. ‘The following papers were read : — CATALOGUE OF THE ORNITHOLOGICAL COLLECTION OF THE Boston Society oF NAtTuRAL History. ParrIl. FaAt- conipz. By Rospertr RIpGway. The following list of the species and specimens of Falconide ccn- tained in the Museum of the Society is intended as one of a series of Catalogues which it is the plan of the Society to continue as fast as a careful preparation of the lists, based upon a thorough revision of the specimens, will permit. The series was commenced by a catalogue of the Spheniscide, by Prof. A. Hyatt, published in disci. Acknowledgements are due from the author to T. T. Bouvé, Esq., the courteous President of the Society, and to Dr. T. M. Brewer, Chairman of the Commitiee on Birds, for invaluable assistance which they rendered him in the preparation of this work, by kindly furnish- ing every facility needed. He is also under many obligations to Mr. J. H. Gurney, Curator of the Norwich Museum, England, and well known as the first authority upon Raptorial birds, for very much information concerning the identification of certain Old World species. The numbers affixed to the names in this catalogue correspond with those of Gray’s Hand List of Birds,? the nomenclature of which is mainly adopted. The arrangement, however, expresses the pecu- liar views of the present author, so far as they have become fixed, re- garding the classification of the family. 1 Proc. Bost. Soc. Nat. Hist., x1v., 237. * Hand List of the Genera and Species of Birds, distinguishing those contained in the British Museum. By George Robert Gray, Assistant Keeper of the Zoolog- ical Collections. Part 1. Raptores, Fissirostres, Tenuirostres and Dentirostres. London, 1869. i & Ridgway.] 44 [May a1, Family FALCONID A. Subfamily FALCONINZ. (Group Falcones.) Falco (Hierofalco) sacer Forst. a. var. candicans Gmel. (158.) 1438, ¢ ad. North Europe. Lafr. Coll., No. 435. 1440, 2 “ Greenland. F e “ 436. b. var. islandicus Briin. (159.) 1441, 2 ad. . Greenland. Lafr. Coll., No. 437. , 1442, Q « (13 ? 74 6 “& 488, 1443, — juv. CUD HinD ice Eek SSCs aaa c. var. labradora Aud. 11, 3 ad. Labrador ? Falco (Hierofalco) lanarius Linn. a. var. mexicanus Schleg. (179.). 1438, d juv. Mexico. Lafr. Coll., No. 434. b. var. polyagrus Cassin. (178.) 10, 2 ad. Sonoma Co., California. From Sm. Institution. — djuv. Sherman, Wyoming Ter.; C. N. Holden. Falco (Hierofaleco) cervicalis Licht. (172.) 1444, gad. Cape of Good Hope. Lafr. Coll., No. 440. é 1445, “ South Africa. ei 1446, rot 14 66 14 ee ce ce 442, 1447, d juv. Cape of Good Hope. “ 66 Sees 1448, ¢ ad. 23 “s ee os he 6 SSP ees Falco communis Gmel. a. var. communis Linn. (163.) 1430, ¢ ad. Europe. Lafr. Coll., No. 426. ce 1431, 2 “ « c “427, 1432, 3 juv. a “ “ cee 1433, 2 74 ce 6e &6 73 429, 9528,¢ ad. “ & & 8452, 1873.] 45 [Ridgway. b. var.anatum Bonap. (166 and sub 165.) 5, 2 juv. Vermont. Tracy Sheaf. Boe North America. 430, o ad. ‘ Gi? ee ae 6 6 1437, ¢ juv. co « Lafr. Coll., No. 433. eg, “c a ? Dr. A. Binney. ce. var. melanogenys Gould. (167.) 1435, ¢ ad. Australia. Lafr. Coll., No. 431. 1436, 2 « 66 66 66 “ 439, Falco aurantius Gmel. (185.) 1461, 2 ad. Brazil. Lafr. Coll., No. 457. 1462, 2juv. “ Ce nar Pte 458: Falco rufigularis Daud. (184.) 1463, dad. Brazil. Lafr. Coll., No. 459. Mi 2 Bolivia... “ % “ 460. HAG, oc, ° sein, ute cc VA GIL. Base. Gs —— ? “ Tehuantepec. °F. Sumichrast. Faleo (Hypotriorchis) cuvieri Smith. (183.) 1460, ¢. Cape of Good Hope. Lafr. Coll., No. 456. Falco (Hypotriorchis) severus Horsf. (182.) 1453, d ad. Manilla. Lafr. Coll., No. 449. Faleo (Hypotriorchis) lunulatus Leath. (181.) 1454, 2 juv. Australia. Lafr. Coll., No. 450. 1455, rot 66 66 66 66 66 451. — cc Smithsonian Institution (No. 13860.) Falco (Hypotriorchis) subbuteo Linn. (180.) 1456, ad. Europe. Lafr. Coll., No. 452. 1457, 66 66 66 66 66 453. 1458, juv. « fers een 6 Cra AA, Ridgway.] 46 [May 21, Falco (Dissodectes) ardesiacus Vieillot. 1469, 9 ad. Senegal. Lafr. Coll., No. 465. Falco (Aésalon) lithofalco Gmel. a. var. lithofalco Gmel. (492.) 1466, ¢ ad. Europe. Lafr. Coll., No. 462. 146 i fot 66 66 66 6c (73 4638. 1468, g 66 66 66 6c ce 464. 452, 0 juv. ef J. F. Bumstead: (Labelled F’. subbuteo.) b. var. columbarius Linn. (193.) 1459, 9 ad. North America? Lafr. Coll., No. 455. (Labelled “F’, subbuteo, young, Europe.”) 1470, ¢ “ Cuba. Lafr. Coll., No. 466. (Very dark.) 1471.9. -Guadeloupe. “Ys AGa- g “ San José, California. Jan., 1871. Wm. Holden. i, 6 “ - Boston: Wr. Ay Binney. 73, ¢juv. Dane Co., Wisconsin. 8S. Kumlein. ae et a «“ « Sept. 4, 1869. Ok Fe ven “ «“ Sept. 6, 1869. 71, 2 ad. Sonoma Co., California. 2 6c ree ? Q “ Spanishtown, Jamaica. W. T. March. 72,9 “ Boston. Dr. Binney. Falco (Rhynchofalco!) femoralis Temm. (194.) 1472, ¢ ad. Brazil. Lafr. Coll., No. 468. 1473, fof ce 66 66 66 & 46 9, 1474,djuv. “ OCC AON @ ad. South America? J. A. Reynolds. Q juv. 2 « >? A. Vattemare. 1 Rhynchofalco Nobis. Similar to Hypotriorchis, but frontal scutelle of the tarsus and toes large, well-defined, and scarcely interrupted in the region of the digito-tarsal joint. Two outer primaries with inner webs cut. Bill very strong, the cere more elongated than in Hypotriorchis and allied subgenera, its length on top being about one-third the chord of the culmen. Type, Falco femoralis Tem- minck. 1873.] 47 [Ridgway. Falco (Tinnunculus) alaudarius Gmel. a. var. alaudarius Gmel. (203.) 1475, d ad. Kurope. Lafr. Coll., No. 471. 1476, Q 66 66 66 6 66 472. Mags juv. . “ cS Ce ATS 1478, ¢ ad. India. G&A, — 3? “ Europe. Dr. Bumstead. — 9 es Dr. S. Cabot. b. var. rupicoleformis Wirt. (sub 203.) 9530, ——. South Africa. Lafr. Coll., No. 8454. c. var. japonicus Schleg. (sub. 203.) 1479, ¢d ad. Japan. Lafr. Coll., No. 475. 1480, 9 “ 73 és G3 “ 476. Falco (Tinnunculus) rupicolus Daud. (204.) 1481, ¢ ad. Cape of Good Hope. Lafr. Coll., No. 477. 1482,¢ “ South Africa. oe Seite CCUM oe 1483, 9 79 66 6c 66 66 479. Falco (Tinnunculus) rupicoloides Smith. 1484, 9 ad. Africa. Lafr. Coll., No. 480. Falco (Tinnunculus) punctatus Cuv. (206.) 1486, d juv. Madagascar. Lafr. Coll., No. 484. 1489, ? ad. « Esta eg SOAS 1490, ¢ juv. oh . se “486. 1491, 9 « “6 3 66 “& 487, | 1492, 9 6 3 6 3 “& AR88, Faleo (Tinnunculus) cenchroides Vig. (209.) 1485, d ad. Australia. Lafr. Coll., No. 481. 1486, 3 juv. « “8 fey ght AB 2: —- 9 ad. ‘s Smithsonian Institution (No. 13870). Ridgway.] 48 [May 21, Falco (Tinnunculus) sparverius Linn. (216 ezel. syn.) a. var. sparverius Linn. g ad. Guatemala. Van Patten. ee WR 6 66 SERS SG “ 66 eee a: 66 & NS ‘“ 66 — ¢ “ Costa Rica (Carmiol). Smithsonian Institution. 9531, ¢ “ North America. Lafr. Coll., No. 8455. TAOS Ue ef Ke ec (6 495. COE sparve: roides.”’) ¢ “ North America? ¢ juv. Guatemala. Van Patten. Peta Se A 6 6 Res Mente ce 6 “c Se 73 6 EEO mee ‘ 6 ES OF ee & 73 bt ate OMe 73 “c ae Orne 13 & SSR OR 6 6 Hee AOE é ‘ es Okc 3 46 1505, 2“ © Mexico. “Wate Colle Nona01 1504, 2 “ North America. Lafr. Coll., No. 500. — ¢ “ Yreka, California, May 21. (Vuille.) Smithsonian Institution (No. 21328). ? juv. United States. Lafr. Coll., No. 496. — ? “ North America. b. var. isabellinus Swains. (sub. 216.) 1493, d-ad. “Cuba”? Lafr. Coll., No. 489. 1499.01 9 ‘)Georeta: os se eae c. var. australis Ridgw. 1496, ¢ ad. Brazil. Lafr. Coll., No. 492. 1498, fol 66 66 66 66 66 494, 8459, Q & 66 66 66 66 ? 1873.] 49 [Ridgway. d. var. dominicensis Gmel. (218 excl. syn.) 1502, 3 ad. “North America.” Lafr. Coll., No. 498. (Locality erroneous !) — ¢ ad. Porto Rico (R. Swift). Smithsonian Institution (No. 364388). —— ¢ ad. Porto Rico. Bryant Coll., No. 171. Falco (Tinnunculus) leucophrys Ridew. 1495, ¢ ad. Cuba. Lafr. Coll., No. 491. 1503, S juv. Mens tuiics “CU 499. =“ United States.”) — ? « co (Remedios; N. H. Bishop.) Smithsonian Institution (No. 34235). Falco (Tinnunculus) sparverioides Vig. (sub 218.) 1494, ¢ juv. Cuba. Lafr. Coll., No. 490. HOOT 2. Ces onte aes oa 4975 1 CoNortheAmerica.:*) — ¢ & cs (Monte Verde; Wright.) Smithsonian In- stitution (No. 23545). Falco (Tichornis) cenchris Naum. (215.) 1487, ¢ ad. Morea. Lafr. Coll., No. 483. Falco (EKrythropus) vespertinus Linn. (213.) 1506, ¢ ad. Russia. Lafr. Coll., No. 502. 1507,2 “ Austria “ “ & 503, Falco (Chicquera) chicquera Daud. (195.) 1449, ¢ ad. Jondia. Lafr. Coll., No. 445. 1450, 5 Java. ae cs 446. Faleo (Chicquera) ruficollis Swains. (196.) 1451, ¢ ad. Senegal. Lafr. Coll., No. 447. 1452, 2 66 66 66 66 6c 448, PROCEEDINGS B. S. N. H. — VOL. XVI. 4 DECEMBER, 1873. Ridgway.) 50 - [May-21, Ieracidea berigora (Vig.). (199.) 1424,juv. Australia, Lafr. Coll., No. 420. 1495, —— & és 66 “ A991, Ieracidea occidentalis Gould. (200.) 1426, ¢ ad. Australia. Lafr. Coll., No. 422. 1427, Q 66 66 66 66 66 493. Teracidea noveezealandize (Gmel.) (201.). 1428, ¢ — Auckland. Lafr. Coll., No. 424. ; WSS, = G3 “ 3 & ADS, Ierax ceerulescens (Linn.). (219.) 1509, ¢ ad. India. Lafr. Coll., No. 504. SO, ee Sumatra. lLafr. Coll., No. 505. Sane gt site 2 Dr. S. Cabot. (“I. maylayensis.”) Ierax eutolmos Hodgs.? (220.) 1510," ¢ ad. India. Iafr. Coll., No. 506. (‘bengalensis, Briss.”) Ierax sericeus Kittl. (222.) 1511, ¢ ad. Philippines. Lafr. Coll., No. 507. (Group Polybori.) Milvago chimango (Vieill.). (80.) 1702, ¢ ad. Chile. Lafr. Coll., No. 697. — — “ « ? Dr. Vattemare. Milvago chimachima (Vieill.). (29.) 1703, ¢ ad. Brazil. Lafr. Coll., No. 698. 1704, 2 66 66 66 66 66 699. 1705,¢ juv. CO Vast CET OOS ere ee “ ? Dr. U. Cragin. (“Ibycter fasciatus Spix.”) Phalcobeenas megalopterus (Meyen). (32.) — 1706, $ ad. Bolivia. Lafr. Coll., No. 701. 1707, 2 juv. Chile. ee oy) Nef 1873.] 51 [Ridgway Polyborus tharus (Mol.). a. var. tharus Mol. (85.) 1709, 2 ad. Brazil. Lafr. Coll., No. 704. 1710, 2 juv. * cs o So 105s — f ad. T. Vattemare. ——— “ South America. Smithsonian Institution (No. 13924). b. var. auduboni Cass. (sub 35.) 1708, ¢ ad. “Brazil.” Lafr. Coll., No. 703. (Locality erroneous!) — ¢ “ Cape St. Lucas. Smithsonian Institution (No. 29454). Ibycter americanus (Bodd.). (25.) 1699, dad. Brazil. Lafr. Coll., No. 694. 1700, 2 66 66 66 66 66 695. — so * oo 8 BOW. Cragin. Ibycter (Daptrius) ater Vieill. (27.) 1701, — ad. South America. Lafr. Coll., No. 696. (Group Micrasturee.) Micrastur semitorquatus (Vieillot). (290.) tob4 9 ad. Brazil. Wafr. Coll:, No. 549. 1555, 2 66 66 oe 66 66 550. Micrastur mirandollei (Temm.). (291.) flapd,¢o ag.) brazil, “Jaf. Coll:, No. 548, Micrastur ruficollis (Vieill.). (292.) (See Appendix.) 1556, ¢ ad. Cordilleras. lLafr. Coll., No. 551. (Labelled “con- centricus Illig.”) 1558, —juv. Brazil. “ “553. (Rufous phase.) 1559, rot iT4 66 66 66 66 554, 66 6 1560, 2 ad. 66 (13 6 &“ 8655S. 66 66 fool. 9 ‘trans. Cire DO Ok c & 1562, 2 juv. 66 66 66 66 557, 66 6 —— —ad. Guatemala. Van Patten. (Gray phase.) ee juv. 66 : 66 66 66 SS — —_—- (Rufous phase.) Ridgway.] 52 Micrastur concentricus (lllig.). (sub 294.) 1557, ? ad. South America. Lafr. Coll., No. 552. (Group Herpetotheree.) Herpetotheres cachinnans (Linn.). (298.) 1317, — ad. Brazil. Lafr. Coll., No. 315. 1318, — ‘“ Cayenne. “ GE cone oegestiGe — — * — Brazil. Subfamily BUTEONINA. (Group Pandiones.) Pandion halisetus (Linn.). © a. var. halicetus Linn. (131.) 1303, —— kurope. Lafr. Coll., No. 301. 1304, = 6 ‘ & “ 309, 6. var. carolinensis Gmel. (182.) 1306,— ad. America. Lafr. Coll., No. 304. 1207, —= 66 66 6 %3 “ 3805, ——— a No label. 66 — — ad. Massachusetts? c. var. leucocephalus Gould. (133.) 1305, Australia. Lafr. Coll., No. 303. Nauclerus forficatus (Linn.). (249.) 1412, — ad. Lafr. Coll., No. 408. (Group Pernes.) Pernis apivorus (Linn.). (237.) 1389, —— India. Lafr. Coll., No. 385. 1390, —— 66 6 6c “ 386. 1391, Le ae (73 66 66 &c 387. 1392, —— ce rage dearemen axersy [May 21 1873.] 53 [Ridgway. Pernis ptilorhynchus (Temm.). (239.) 1393, —— Lafr. Coll., No. 389. Baza lophotes (Temm.). (227.) 1394, d ad. India. Lafr. Coll., No. 390. 1395, Q 66 66 66 66 66 391. Cymindis (Aviceda) subcristatus (Gould). (231.) 1396, dad. Australia. Lafr. Coll., No. 392. 1397, 2 66 66 66 66 66 393. Cymindis (Aviceda) verreauxi (Lafr.). (234.) 1399, —— Lafr. Coll., No. 395. Cymindis cayennensis (Gmel.). (252.) 1404, dad. Brazil. Lafr. Coll., No. 400. 1405, 2 “ South America. Lafr. Coll., No. 401. 1406, —juv. é se 202: — — ad. oo Ce SASL 50. Regerhinus uncinatus (lllig.) (253.) 1407, juv. Brazil. Lafr. Coll., No. 403. (Transition dress.) 1408, 66 66 66 66 66 404. 66 19 HA09) © Bogota. “ “ % ~405. (Buff-collared plumage.) 1410, “ Tropical America. Lafr. Coll. No. 406. (White- collared plumage. Labelled “ Western North Am.”) 12 South America. Lafr. Coll., No. 407. (Melanistic plumage.) — «* South America. Lafr. Coll., No. 8451. (Rufous- collared plumage.) (Group Elani.) Elanus leucurus. a. var. leucurus Vieill. (263.) 1418, — ad. Paraguay. Lafr. Coll., No. 414. 35,— “ Chile. — —— * « Smithsonian Institution (No. 13914). — @juv. Orizaba. és ut (No. 37693). Ridgway.] 54 [May 21, b. var. axillaris Lath. (261.) 1417, ad. Australia. Lafr. Coll., No. 413. Elanus melanopterus. b. var. minor Bonap. (259.) 1413, ad. Africa. Lafr. Coll., No. 409. 1414, juv. a se Bora thee 1415, 66 3 6é 66 Coe Anite 1416, eats 66 66 66 “& 412. Hianus (Gampsonyx) swainsoni (Vig.). (265.) 1419, dS ad. South America. Lafr. Coll., No. 415. 1420, 2 - & 3 “66 AG, — —“ No label. (Group Ictinie.) Ictinia plumbea (Vieill.). (267.) 1421, ad. Brazil. Lafr. Coll., No. 417. 1422, 66 (44 6é ce (74 418. 1423, juv. ae es e crt4d 9: ad. “2? J. N. Reynolds. Harpagus bidentatus (Lath.). (224.) 1572, ¢ ad. South America. Lafr. Coll., No. 508. 1513, 2 juv. Brazil. «6 BOQ. Harpagus diodon (Temm.). (225.) 1514,— ad. Brazil? Lafr. Coll., No. 510. 1515, 2 -“ | Guiana. cone 1516, —juv. Brazil. se ws hes 3 9533, peer ry {4 66 cé 79 6é 8457. Rostrhamus sociabilis (Vieill.). (251.) 1400,— ad. Brazil. Lafr. Coll., No. 396. 1402, rol be (13 66 6e 6 398. 1403, —juv. « « & & 399, 1873.] 55 Rostrhamus hamatus (lllig.). (sub 251.) 1400, — ad. Brazil? Lafr. Coll., No. 397. (Group Circee.) Circus ceruginosus (Linn.). (356.) 1666, ad. Europe. Lafr. Coll., No. 661. 1667, juv. ct = ss b. var. nattereri Pelz. 1362,— ad. Brazil. Lafr. Coll., No. 358. 1364, — juv. ef Se ‘ <5) 300: ee 6 Smithsonian Institution. (No. 13848). c. var. grisecocauda Ridgway. (See Appendix.) 1557, ¢ ad. Rio Seco, Mexico. Jan., 1866. Dr. Bryant. —— ¢djuv. Tehuantepec. Sumichrast. d. var. ruficauda Scl. & Salv. ad. Costa Rica. Smithsonian Institution. (No. 33509). e. var. pucherani Verr. (288.) 1363, — ad. “Brazil.” Lafr. Coll., No. 359. 9524, — “ ee ef «8448. Buteo (Rupornis) leucorrhous (Quoy &G.). (283.) —— ad. South America. Smithsonian Institution. (No. 13846.) — “ © ce Lafr. Coll., No. 367. Buteo pennsylvanicus (Wils.). (54.) ad. Locality unknown. Lafr. Coll., No. 349. Poaceae CE 13 be 3 6 “350, 27, 3 6 271, juv. A ce PROCEEDINGS B. S. N. H.— VOL. XVI. 5 DECEMBER, 1873. Ridgway.] 66 —— @juv. Cuba. Smithsonian Institution. (No ee Costa Rica. “ id (No —— ¢ “ Wisconsin, Sept. 9. T. Kumlein. — ¢ <3 74 ce DAS ce Buteo lineatus (Gmel.). a. var. lineatus Gmel. (53.) 1339 .—— f ad. 1341, ¢? ad. 1340, —juv. 66 a (May 21, . 23548.) . 83511.) North America. Lafr. Coll., No. 339. ée 6é ee 6e 838. Savanna, Georgia. “ | i Locality and donor unknown. 6e ce ce “ Wisconsin. T. Kumlein. Massachusetts. Dr. Binney. Buteo borealis. a. var. borealis Gmel. (46, excl. syn.) Ope —— ¢ juv. ? ad. 6e 66 1337, 2 ad. —— ? juv. —— ¢ ad. — ¢ ce Massachusetts. Dr. S. Cabot. ‘f Dr. Clapp. New Hampshire. J. G. Loring. New England. North America. Lafr. Coll., No. 335. No label. ce Wisconsin. T. Kumlein. b. var.calurus Cass. (48 et 49.) 1336.09 ad: 1338, —juv. Pye tapeae — o ad. sang — ° lanistic.) (73 if <4 North America. Lafr. Coll., No 334. 66 Sonoma Co., California. No label. Nevada. Smithsonian Institution. (No. 53221.) «“ “ «“ (No. 53213. Me- ¢ Buteo augur Riipp. (43.) 1325, ad. Abyssinia. Lafr. Coll., No. 324. 1326, “ 6 66 6é &e 325. 1873.] 67 [Ridgway. Buteo jackal (Daud.). (44.) 1327, dad. Africa. Lafr. Coll., No. 325. 1328, Q «6 66 66 66 “ 396, 1329,—juv. “ comme 0 327 Buteo ferox (Gmel.). (42.) 1332, juv. Himalaya. Lafr. Coll., No. 330. 1333, — 7 = s Saal. 1334, ees 66 66 66 ce 332. 1335, eines 66 66 6c 66 833. Buteo brachypterus Pelz. (41.) 1330,— . South Africa. Lafr. Coll., No. 328. 33, sHaRe 66 66 66 “« 399, Buteo vulgaris Bechst. (36.) 1321, ¢ ad. Europe. Lafr. Coll., No. 319. 1322, 2 “ 3 “ és “« 390, 1323, juv.- “ ene aye en 301k 1324, — 66 (73 6c 14 66 392. 564,— “ a Dr. 8. Cabot. (Labelled “A. palumbarius, juv.”) Buteo swainsoni Bonap. (50.) —— ?juv. Ft. Saunders, Wyoming Ter. Smithsonian Institu- tion. (No. 54324.) Buteo erythronotus (King). (61.) 1342, 9 ad. Straits of Magellan. Lafr. Coll., No. 340. 1343, —juv. South America. a: Yu: e341. (Bo va- rius Gould.) 1344, ¢ ad. South America. Lafr. Coll., No. 341b¢s. (Labelled “B, pterocles.’’) Buteo brachyurus Vieill. (284.) 1372, d ad. Brazil. Lafr. Coll., No. 368. nays, 9 « 66 66 66 “ 369, Ridgway.] 68 [May 21, Geranoaétus melanoleucus (Vieill.). (152.) 1300, 2 ad. Chile. Lafr. Coll., No. 298. 1301, ¢juv. Brazile Saige 15) 1302, — — ee es sf “300. 1547, ° juv. as Ke ¢ & $42. (Labelled “ Morphnus urubitinga.’’) — @ad. South America. A. Vattemare. 2 juv. 13 66 66 66 (Group Haliaéii.) Haliaétus leucocephalus (Linn.). (145.) — dad. Quincy, Massachusetts. N. B. Furnald. 430, 2 “ Locality unknown. Dr. Binney. — ¢ “ Bangor, Maine. (Type of Audubon’s figure !) Haliaétus albicilla (Linn). (144) 1286, ad. Europe. Lafr. Coll., No. 284. 1287, juv. se e oh ooo. Haliaétus leucogaster (Gmel.). (149.) 1291,¢ — Africa. Lafr. Coll., No. 289. 1292, 2 — CA Oe, OE eI) 1293, —juv. “ «eee bone 1294, fof 66 (79 (79 (74 (79 992, Haliaétus vocifer (Daud.). (150.) 1288, dad. Africa. Lafr. Coll., No. 286. 1289, 2 6c 66 66 (74 (73 287. 1290, 2 juv. Abyssinia. “ Oe ts 2885 Haliaétus (Polioaétus) icthyaétus (Horsf.). 1308, d ad. Java. Lafr. Coll., No. 306. 1309, 2 66 66 66 66 66 BOs Heliastur sphenurus (Vieill.). (157.) 1299, 2? juv. Australia. Lafr. Coll., No. 297. (184.) 1873.] 69 [Ridgway. Heliastur leucosternus (Gould). (156.) 1298, — Lafr. Coll., No. 296. Heliastur indus (Bodd). (155.) 1295, — ad. India. Lafr. Coll., No. 293. 1296, 2 66 (79 66 (75 rf 9 994. fone nav.“ yh 995. —— —ad. Malacca. Smithsonian Institution. (No. 13913.) — @¢ * Locality unknown. Jos. Coolidge. Milvus regalis Roux. (243.) 1379, 2 ad. Europe. Lafr. Coll., No. 375. — ? « Dr. Bumstead. Milvus govinda Sykes. (244.) 1380, 29 ad. Japan. Lafr. Coll., No. 376. Milvus migrans Bodd. (245.) 1385, — Egypt. Lafr. Coll., No. 381. Milvus affinis Gould. (246.) 1381, ad. Australia. Lafr. Coll., No. 377. 1382, juv. < Semen Se 1383, 6c (13 66 66 66 379. 1384, (73 66 66 (1 66 880. Milvus egyptius (Gmel.). (247.) 1386, — Lafr. Coll., No. 382. Heese VIN ce BRB. Milvus isurus Gould. (248.) 1388, ad. Australia. Lafr. Coll., No. 384. Ichthyoborus nigricollis (Lath.). (75.) 1348,— ad. South America. Lafr. Coll., No. 345. 1349, Bay GG 66 6 66 (14 (79 846. 1350, —juv. Brazil. is Cs BA Te — + * eT ae J. K. Reynolds. Ridgway.] 70 [May 21, (Group Aquile.) Aquila chrysetus. a. var. chrysetus Linn. (87.) 1266, d ad. Europe. Lafr. Coll., No. 264. 126 fe ec (79 66 ” 66 ce (<9 96 5. b. var. canadensis Linn. (sub 87.) 39, g juv. Lexington, Massachusetts. Dr. S. Kneeland. — @ad. No label. Aquila neevioides Cuv. (89.) 1268, juv. Cape of Good Hope. Lafr. Coll., No. 266. 1269, “ Australia. (3) SS 1270, — i ‘e “ 268. Aquila neevia (Gmel.). (92.) 1271,— ¥# Asia. Lafr. Coll., No. 269. 1272) = CI es ee) 1273, — a Be meaty fa bs 1274, juv. Asia. ¥: oy Te aa 1275, — Re ae RSs tas Dilicoe 1276,— Australia. “ 23 Rae uae 1277, juv. Bs es $e Ls Aquila audax (Lath.). (95.) 1278, ad. Australia. Lafr. Coll., No. 276. 1279, juv. «“ i heels Goa 1280, é¢ ce 66 74 be 978. Aquila vulturina (Daud.). (98.) 1281, ¢ ad. Africa. Lafr. Coll., No. 279. (“A. verreauzi.”) 1282,juv. “ yO) 0) « Aquila bonelli (Temm.). (99.) 1283, ?— Europe. Lafr. Coll., No. 281. 1284, juv. « tN 66h iSO R OE 1873.] 71 . [Ridgway. Aquila pennata (Gmel.). (100.) 1526, 2. Java. Lafr. Coll., No. 522. Spizaétus ornatus (Daud.). (102.) 1522, 2 juv. Brazil. Lafr. Coll., No. 518. 1523, fof 66 6c {5 66 66 519. 1524, 3 ad. “ eee) ee BOO. 9534, 6c 6c 6é 66 66 8458. Spizaétus tyrannus (Max.). (103.) fots.c ad. Brazil. Lafr. Coll., No. 514. 1519, 2 « cen 8D CT SRC OE Sp 1520, S juv. South America. “ Sor se OIG: ‘ 1521, 2 66 66 6c 6o (13 Hie — ¢ & Dr. W. Cragin. ‘Spizaétus occipitalis (Daud.). (106.) 1517, ad. South Africa. Lafr. Coll., No. 513. Spizaétus cirrhatus (Gmel.). -(111.) 1527, Sjuv. India. Lafr. Coll., No. 523. (“cristatellus Temm.’’) 1528, oes 66 ? 6 66 6 BDA, 66 6 1529, Q juv. 66 66 66 6 55, bs “ 130, o 66 3 6c “ 596, 1531, 0 * 66 6“ %3 “597, eoles2, (Glack) “ 2? « e eO2e bis. Spizaétus nipalensis (Hodgs.). (112.) 1525, 2. India. Lafr. Coll., No. 521. (“pulcher Hodgs., Lafr. type.’”’) Spizaétus (Spizastur) melanoleucus (Vieill.). (105.) 1533, — South America. Lafr. Coll., No. 528. 1534, ad. Guiana. we Oe Morphnus guianensis (Daud.). (143.) 1538, 2 juv. Guiana. Lafr. Coll., No. 533. 1539, a 66 13 6s Go sv — ¢ad. (oer Es Nev Cracin, Ridgway.] 72 ; [May 21, Morphnus (Thrasaétus) harpyia (Linn.). (142.) 1535, ¢ ad. South Ameriea. Lafr. Coll., No. 530. 1536, 2 14 & : 66 its 6c 531. Harpyhaliaétus coronatus (Vieill.). (125.) 1537, — South America. Lafr. Coll., No. 532. (Group Circaéti.) Spilornis bacha (Daud.). (126.) 1312,— Java. Lafr. Coll., No. 310. 1313,— « Ge erty eed: 1s Be yeh eae ee Le Spilornis cheela (Lath.). (127.) 1315, 2 juv. India. Lafr. Coll., No. 313. Spilornis holospilus (Vig.). (128.) 1316, d ad. Manilla. Lafr. Coll., No. 314. Circaétus gallicus (Gmel.). (119.) 1310,—-—__ France. Lafr. Coll., No. 308. — fad. Europe. “ Bae Circaétus thoracicus (Cuv.). (120.) 1311,—-— Abyssinia. Lafr. Coll., No. 309. Helotarsus ecaudatus (Daud.). (153.) 1285, ¢ ad. Cape of Good Hope. Lafr. Coll., No. 283. (Group Archibuteones.) Archibuteo lagopus. a. var.lagopus Gmel. (81.) 1319, ¢ juv. Europe. Lafr. Coll., No. 317. 1320, 2 ad. “ (Seed ae 6. var. sanctijohannis Gmel. (82.) 31,— ad. Locality unknown. W. Sohier. (Melanisiic.) —— —juv. No label. 1878.] | 73 [Ridgway. APPENDIX. REVISION OF THE FALCONINE GENERA, MICRASTUR, GERANO- SPIZA AND RUPORNIS, AND THE STRIGINE GENUS, GLAUCIDIUM. Based upon specimens in the Museum of the Smithsonian Institution, the Phila- delphia Academy of Natural Sciences, the American Museum, at New York, the Boston Society of Natural History, the Museum of Comparative Zoology, at Cambridge, and the Ornithological Cabinet of Mr. Geo. N. Lawrence. Genus Micrastur Gray. Brachypterus Lesson, 1837 (nec Kugel, 1794!). Type Falco brachy- pterus Temm. Micrastur G. R. Gray, 1841. Same type. Carnifex Less., 1842 (nec Sundevall, 1836!). Climacocercus Cabanis, 1844. Climacourus Bonap., 1849. _ Rhyncomegus Bonap., 1853. Cu. Form of Nisus, 2%. e., wings short, rounded and concave, tail very long, tarsi and middle toe long and slender, and cere as- cending. A distinct ruff around the face, as in Circus; inner webs of the primaries with their edges soft and woolly, as in the Strigide. Bill much compressed, nearly twice as deep as broad at the base, the culmen abruptly curved; commissure slightly lobed; end of lower mandible with a rounded terminal outline when viewed laterally, but in front divided by an angular notch; gonys strongly convex. Cere rather densely haired, the hairs on top recurved; nostril broadly oval, or nearly circular, against the anterior edge of the cere. Orbital region and superciliary shield perfectly bare, the latter very promi- nent, and exposed for its whole length, as in Falco. Tarsus more than twice as long as the middle toe, scarcely feathered below the knee; its scutelle of a hexagonal form, and arranged in longitudinal series; they are larger in front and behind than laterally, and - sometimes form a continuous frontal and posterior series of rather quadrate plates; top of toes with transverse scutellz to the base; web between base of outer and middle toes well-developed; claws of normal form, well curved, and exceedingly sharp. Wing short, very rounded, and very concave beneath, the primaries much bowed; third to sixth (usually the fifth) quills longest; first very much the shortest; five outer quills with their inner webs cut (rather deeply sinuated). Tail equal to, or longer than, wing, much rounded, or graduated. Ridgway.] T4 [May 21, The relationship of this well-characterized, and very remarkable, genus, is nearest to Herpetotheres,1 with which it agrees in osteological structure, besides in essential external features; but it differs from this in some minor points in the external anatomy, and more markedly in the nasal bones, which in the present genus are less completely ossi- fied than in Herpetotheres. It presents analogies with Circus and the Strigide in the facial ruff, with the Strigide in the character of the inner web of the quills, as well asin the dimorphic plumage of some of the species, and with Nisus in its general form and habits. Eight species are given in Gray’s Hand List (1, p. 31), but of this number only five are tenable. The M. castanilius (No. 295) is a Nisus (see Sclater and Salvin, Exotic Ornithology, pl. 18). MM. ruficollis Vieill. (No. 292), with xanthothorax Temm., as a synonym, M. guerilla Cass. (No. 296) and M. zonothorax Caban. (No. 297) are names for different phases of a single species; while No. 294 should stand as concentricus Vieill., the name gilvicollis Vieill. being a syn- onym of MM. rujicollis. The following synopses include all the valid species of the genus known at the present time ; the first giving the prime specific char- acters, the second giving the sets of characters which distinguish the species. The number of tail-bands cannot be relied on as a specific char- acter, since there is a great variation in this respect among different individuals of the same species. Thus, semitorquatus has in some specimens only four bands, and in others as many as seven; rujficollis has four to six; leucauchen has six to seven, and concentricus three to four. The number is greater in the young plumage than in the adult. A. — Inner toe appreciably shorter than the outer. a. Wing, 9.00 or more. 1. Black above, with a nuchal collar. Tail longer than the wing, . . . .- . . + « + MM. semiiorquatus. 2. Plumbeous above, without a nuchal coliar. ‘Tail shorter than the wing,. .. ..- . +++ 2 aaa b. Wing less than 8.00. 3. Throat and adjoining portions ashy in the adult; no nuchal collar,..0 (20... 3, \<. siskype, Rue 4, Throat and cresent behind the jaw, white, sharply de- fined; a nuchal collar of whitish spots, I. leucauchen. 1 Physta Vieill., 1816? Herpetotheres Vieillot, 1818. Cachinna Fleming, 1822. Macagua Lesson, 1881. Type Falco cachinnans Linn. 1873.] 5 [Ridgway. B. — Inner toe appreciably longer than the outer. 5. Wing less than 8.00. Tail shorter than the wing. Lower tail coverts immaculate white. JZ. concentricus. SYNOPSIS OF THE SPECIES OF MICRASTUR. A. — Inner toe appreciably shorter than the outer. Tail longer than _ the wing (except in M. mirandollet). a. Wing 9.00 or more; only four outer primaries with inner webs appreciably sinuated (constant ?). 1. M. semirorquatus. Wing, 9.70-11.20; tail, 9.80-13.00. Above plumbeous-black, or blackish brown, inter- rupted by a nuchal collar of white or ochraceous. Adult. Lower parts immaculate white or ochraceous. Young. Lower parts barred, or transversely spotted, with blackish. Hab. Whole of Continental Tropical America. 2. M. MIRANDOLLEI. Wing, 9.00—-9.30; tail, 7.80-9.00. Above uniform slaty plumbeous, without a lighter nuchal collar. Lower parts white, the breast some- times with faint crescentic marks of grayish. Young not seen. Hab. Brazil to Panama. b. Wing less than 8.00, five outer primaries with inner webs appreciably sinuated. 3. M.RvuFicotus. Wing, 6.30—7.30; tail, 7.00-8.00; tar- sus, 2.20-2.35. Adult without a light nuchal collar; crissum transversely barred. Adult. Above varying from slate-color to reddish sepia; head and neck uni- form grayish, the throat lighter; breast usually more or less rufescent. Beneath white, everywhere with regular, continuous, narrow bars of dusky slate. Young. Above dark sepia; pileum darker, and sep- arated by a nearly concealed whitish nuchal collar. Beneath, including the throat, pale ochraceous, or ochraceous-white, the breast, sides and tibie with narrow transverse bars of dusky brown, varying with the individual in number and distinctness. Hab. Whole of Continental Tropical America. 4. M. LEUCAUCHEN. Wing, 6.20-6.60; tail, 7.20-7.50; tarsus, 2.00—2.10. Adult with a nuchal collar of white spots; crissum transversely barred. Chin, throat, Ridgway.] B.— Inner toe appreciably longer than the outer. Tail shorter than the wing. c. Wing less than 8.00; five outer primaries with inner webs | appreciably sinuated. M. concentTRIcus. Wing, 7.10-7.55, tail, 6.30-6.50; -and anal region immaculate ; other portions trans- 76 [May 21, } and crescent curving upward behind the auriculars, pure white. Adult. Above umber- or sepia-brown, the top of the head usually darker. Beneath white, some- times tinged with ochraceous, the breast more or less washed with rufous, the whole surface, except the throat and anal region, narrowly barred transversely with blackish, the bars fainter in the reddish of the breast. Joung not seen. Hab. Brazil. tarsus, 2.25-2.45. Adult. Above uniform plumbeous- ashy, sometimes more bluish anteriorly, and without a lighter nuchal collar. Beneath white, the crissum versely barred with slate-color. Head plain ashy, the throat paler, and the pileum darker. Young not seen. Hab. Whole of Continental Tropical America. _ 1. Micrastur semitorquatus (Vieillot). Sparvius semitorquatus Vieill., Nouv. Dict. x, 1818, 322.— Jd. Enc. Meéth. 111, 1263. Micrastur -semitorquatus Scl. and Salyv., Ibis, 1839, 218— Jd. P. Z. S. 1869, 865. — Strickl., Orn. Syn. 1, 1855, 122.— Lawr., Ann. NOS Liycsre, AS: Sparvius melanoleucus Vieill., N. D. x, 1817, 327. — fd. Ene. Méth., 1267. ‘ Falco brachypterus Temm., Pl. Col. 116 (juv.) et 141 (ad.). Astur brachypterus Spix., Av. Bras. 1, 9.— Vig., Zool. J., 1, 338.— Steph., Zool. x111, pt. 2, 28. Nisus brachypterus Less., Man. Orn. 1, 98.— Id. Tr. Orn., 62. — Cuy., Rég. An., ed. 2, 1, 334.— Schleg., Mus. Pays-Bas, Astures, p. 52+ Accipiter brachypterus Gray, List B., Brit. Mus., 69. Micrastur brachypterus Gray, Gen. B., ed. 2, p. 6; fol., sp. 1, pl. 10, f. 1.—Id..Hand List, 1, 31, No. 290. — Pelzeln, Orn. Bras. rv, 398. Herpetotheres brachypterus Kaup, Monog. Fale. in Contr. Orn. 1850, 71. * 1873.) fr [Ridgway. Falco leucomelus (Illig.) Licht., Verz. Doubl., p. 62; 1823. Carnifex naso Less., L’Echo du Monde savant, année 9, p. 1081. — Id. Rev. Zool. 1842, 379. Sp. cH. Wing, 9.70-11.20; tail, 9.80-13.00; culmen, .80-1.00; tarsus, 3.10-3.40; middle toe, 1.60-2.05. 38d—6th quill longest; 1st much the shortest. Above plumbeous, black to blackish brown, in- terruptéd by a more or less conspicuous nuchal collar of white or ochraceous. ‘Tail with 4—7 narrow light bands, usually interrupted, the last terminal, the first concealed. Adult. Lower parts entirely immaculate, varying from pure white to deep ochraceous. Upper parts unvariegated; nuchal collar distinct. Young. Lower parts more or less barred or spotted with blackish; upper parts usually more or less obscurely barred, or spotted transversely, with ochra- ceous, or dull rusty. Specimens examined. Nat. Mus., 15; Philad. Acad., 7; Boston Soc., 2; Cab. G. N. Lawrence, 3. Total, 27. Hab. Whole of Continental Tropical America from Mazatlan and Vera Cruz to Southern Brazil. 2. Micrastur mirandollei (Schlegel). Astur mirandollei Schleg., Ned. Tijdschr, 1, 130; — Jd. Mus. Pays- Bas, Astures, p. 27. Micrastur mirandollei Scl. & Salv., P. Z. S. 1867, 759.— Id. P. Z. S. 1869, 365. — Gray, Hand List, 1, 31, no. 291. — Pelz., Orn. Bras, Iv, 398. : Micrastur macrorhynchus (Natt.) Pelz., Orn. Novara, 1865, p. 11. — Id. Orn. Bras., p. 7. Sp.cu. Wing, 9.00-9.30; tail, 7.80-9.00; culmen, .80-.85; tar- sus, 2.80-3.15; middle toe, 1.30-1.45. 5th quill longest; 1st shortest. Adult. Above uniform plumbeous, without a lighter nuchal collar; tail more blackish, narrowly tipped with white, and crossed by three narrow bands of white, transversely mottled with dusky, or pale grayish brown, the first concealed by the coverts. Lower parts, in- cluding the under side of the wing, and sometimes the maxille, con- tinuous white, the shafts of some of the feathers usually black; breast sometimes with faint crescentic transverse spots of pale grayish. Specimens examined. _Philad. Acad., 2; Cab. G. N. Lawrence, 2; Boston Society, 1. Total, 5. 1 All specimens seen from Tehuantepec and Mazatlan are pure white beneath, and those from Gautemala, Costa Rica and Panama deep ochraceous. Ridgway.] 78 ! [May 21, Hab. Northern South America, Eastern Peru (Sclater and Salvin); Brazil (Mus. Philad. Acad. and Boston Soc.) ; Rio Negro and Rio Brancho (Scl. and Salv.); Panama (Cab. G. N. Lawrence). 3. Micrastur ruficollis (Vieillot). Sparvius ruficollis Vieill., N. D., x, 322, 1817 (rufescent phase). — Id. Enc. Méth. m1, 1263.— Pucher., R. Zool. 1850, 91. Micrastur ruficollis Strickl., Orn. Syn., 1, 1855, 122. — Sel. and Salv. P. Z. S., 1869, 366. — Gray, Hand List, 1, 31, no. 292. Sparvius gilvicollis Vieill., Nouv. Dict. x, 1817, 323 (grayish phase.) — Id. Enc. Méth. 111, 1264.— Pucher., Rev. Zool. 1850, 91. Micrastur gilvicollis Pelz., Orn. Nov. 1865, 10 (Diagnosis, corrected synonomy, and remarks). — Jd. Orn. Bras., 399. Falco xanthothorax Spix., Av. Bras. 1, 1824, 19 (rufescent phase). — Temm., Pl. Col., 92. ; Astur sxanthothorax Vig., Zool. J. 1, 338. — Steph., Zool. x11, ise Bi Nisus xanthothorax Less., Man. Orn. 1, 96. — Jd. Tr. Orn., 58. — Cuv., Rég. An., ed. 2, 334. Accipiter xanthothorax Gray, List B. Brit. Mus., 69. — Cass., P. A. N. S. 1848, 88. Micrastur xanthothorax Gray, Gen. B. fol., sp. 2. — Bonap., Consp. I, 80.— Pelz., Orn. Bras., 399. Herpetotheres xanthothorax Kaup, Monog. Falc. in Contr. Orn. 1850, 71. Pelz... Orn. Nova 16505, 12. Falco trifasciatus Natterer, Cat. Msc., no. 954. (Pelzeln). Climacocercus concentricus, juv. Cabanis, Hse Fauna Per., 99 (not Falco concentricus of Illiger!). Falco concentricus Puch., Rev. Zool. 1850, 91, (not F’. concentricus of Iliger!). Micrastur guerilla Cass., P. A. N. 8. Philad. 1848, 87 (young plum- age).— Gray, Gen. B., fol., sp. 4. —Jd. Hand List, 1, 31, no. 296. — Bonap., Consp. 1, 30.— Pelz., Orn. Noy. 1850, 12. — Scl. and Salv., P. Z. S. 1869, 367. Climacocercus zonothorax Cab., Journ fiir Orn. 1865, 406. ~ Micrastur zonothorax Scl. and Salv., P. Z. S. 1869, 253, and 366. — Gray, Hand List, 1, 31, no. 297. _ Micrastur leucauchen Scl. and Salv., P. Z. S. 1869, 367 poe syn- onomy). 1873.] 79 [Ridgway. Sp.cu. Wing, 6.30-7.30; tail, 7.00-8.00; culmen, .50-65; tarsus, 2.20-2.35; middle toe, 1.10-1.25; graduation of tail, 1.50-2.00. (Ex- tremes of 37 specimens.) Adult without any nuchal collar and with the lower tail-coverts barred. Adult. [a. Normal plumage.] Above slate-color, sometimes more or less tinged with sepia, occasionally quite rufescent on the wings. Tail darker, with 4-6 narrow, inter- rupted bars of white. Head and neck, (all round), uniform ashy, darker on the pileum, paler on the throat. Lower parts, and lining of the wing, white, the whole surface about equally barred with dark slate; pectoral region often more or less tinged with rufous. (= gil- vicollis Vieill., and zonothorax Cabanus). [b. Rufescent plumage. | Above sepia-brown, with a rufescent cast, the pileum more grayish; tail darker, with 4-6 narrow bars of whitish; head, neck and breast continuous brownish, the tint rufous on the breast, more grayish on the pileum, and whitish on the throat. Lower parts white, with reg- ular transverse bars of dusky, about equal to the white ones in width ; erissum and lining of the wing similarly barred. (= ruficollis Vieill, and xzanthothorax Spix.) Young. Head, superiorly and laterally, brownish black, the auriculars more brownish; rest of the upper parts dark sepia-brownish, separated from the blackish of the head by a narrow, sometimes nearly concealed, nuchal collar of whitish; longer scapulars and inner secondaries sometimes showing obscure bars of lighter brownish, on either web. ‘Tail as in the adult. Be- neath, pale ochraceous, or ochraceous-white, the throat and anal- region purer white ; breast, sides, and tibize with more or less numer- ous narrow transverse bars of dusky brown, much more distant, sparse, and irregular than in the adult. (= guerilla Cassin.) Specimens examined. Nat. Mus.,11; Philad. Acad., 9; N. Y. Mus., 1; Boston Soc., 9; Mus. Cambridge, 2; Cab. G. N. L., 5. Total, 37. Hab. Whole of Continental Tropical America, from eastern Mex- ico (Jalapa) to southeastern Brazil and western Ecuador. The follow- ing localities represented by the specimens examined: — Guatemala, Costa Rica, Jalapa, Mexico, Guyaquil, Panama and Brazil. There can be no doubt that the rufescent plumage described above, and identified as rujicollis of Vieillot and xanthothorax of Spix, is a phase of the same species as the grayish plumage to which the names gilvicollis Vieillot and zonothorax Cabanis belong, as they are connected by a gradual transition in intermediate specimens contained in a large series. ‘This is the sole instance, to our knowledge, among the Fal- conide of a kind of dimorphism analogous to that seen in some owls, Ridgway.) 80 _ [May 21, (as species of Scops and Glaucidium, Syrnium aluco, etc). The amount of the rufous wash varies almost with the individual, so that it is impossible to separate specifically the two styles. In the young plumage (M. guerilla Cassin), the difference in the two phases is not so great as in the adult dress; but those of the rufescent style have a more or less appreciable wash of rusty across the jugulum. One specimen has the upper parts variegated by somewhat concealed transverse spots of whitish. The M. ruficollis, M. zonothorax, M. guerilla, and, spans also the WM. leucauchen of Sclater and Salvin’s paper in the Proceedings of the Zodlogical Society of London, 1869, (pp. 364-369) belong to this species. 4. Micrastur leucauchen (Temminck). Falco leucauchen Temm., Pl. Col. 36; 1823.— Pucher., Rev. Zooi. “11852, 91. | Astur leucauchen Less., Man. Orn. 1, 92.— Jd. Tr. Orn., 60.— Cuyv., Reg. An. ed. 2, 332. Nisus leucauchen Less., Tr. Orn:, 60. Accipiter leucauchen Gray, List B. Brit. Mus., 68.—Cass., P. A. N. S. 1848, 88. Micrastur leucauchen Bonap., Consp. 1, 30. — Strickl., Orn. Syn. 1, 123. ; Sp. cH. Wing, 6.20-6.60; tail, 7.20-7.50 ; culmen, .50-.55 ; tarsus, 2.00-2.10; middle toe, 1.00-1.10. Graduation of the tail, about 2.00. Chin, throat, and crescent extending upward behind the auriculars, along the lower half of the “ruff,” immaculate white, quite abruptly defined. Adult. Above umber-brown, sometimes tinged with sepia, interrupted by a nuchal collar of partly concealed white spots; top of the head usually darker. Tail darker, with 6-7 narrow in- terrupted bands of transverse white spots. Beneath white, some- times tinged with ochraceous, the breast more or less washed with rufous; the whole surface, except the throat and anal region, nar- rowly barred transversely with blackish, the bars fainter in the red- dish of the breast. Specimens examined. _Philad. Acad., 4. Hab. Brazil. The M. leucauchen of Sclater and Salvin (see above) is appar- ently not this species, which is well figured in Temminck’s plate, 1873.] 81 (Ridgway. above cited, but is to be referred rather to the gray phase of M. ruji- collis. 5. Micrastur concentricus (llliger). Falco concentricus Ilig. in Mus. Berol. Nisus concentricus Lesson, Tr. d’Orn. Climacocercus concentricus Caban., in Erich. Archiv. 1844, 1, 265. — Id. Tschudi, Fauna Per. 18 and 98.—/d. Schomb., Reise Guiana, 11, 735.— Burm., Thiere Bras. 11, 86. Circaéitus (Herpetotheres) concentricus Kaup, Isis, 1847, 260.— Jd. in Trosch. Arch. 1850, 1, 37. Micrastur concentricus Gray, Gen. 28, (excl. syn. Vieill.). — Bonap., Consp. 1, 30 (excl. syn. Vieill.).— Jd. Rev. Zool. 1854, 537. — Strickl., Orn. Syn. 1, 123 (in part). — Pelzeln, Orn. Nov. 1865, 1865, 9 (diagnosis, corrected synonomy and remarks). — /d. Orn. Bras., 399. Falco senex Natterer, in Mus. Vindob. (fide Pelzeln). Micrastur gilvicollis Scl. and Salv., P. Z. S. 1869, 368 (excl. synon- omy). Sp. cu. Wing, 7.10—-7.55; tail, 6.30-6.50; culmen, .60; tarsus, 2.25-2.45; middle toe, 1.00-1.08. Adult. Above uniform plumbe- ous-ashy, sometimes more bluish anteriorly. Tail black, with 3-4 very narrow, distant bars of white. Beneath white, the breast, sides, and abdomen barred with slate-color; tibiz with fewer, narrower bars of the same; crissum and anal region immaculate, and lining of the wing barred only along the exterior border. Throat plain pale ashy, or ashy white, this gradually paler than the cheeks, which are lighter ash than the crown. Specimens examined. Philad. Acad., 5; Boston Society, 1; N. Y. Mus., 1 (Amazon). Total, 7. Hab. Whole of Continental Tropical America. Brazil, (Mus. Bos- ton Soc.); Amazon, (N. Y. Mus.) ; Mexico, (Bonaparte) ; Bolivia, (D’Orbigny) ; Bahia, Guiana, Rio Negro, and Rio Janeiro, (Pelzeln). With a general or superficial resemblance to the gray phase of M. ruficollis (‘‘ gilvicollis” and “ zonothorax”’) this very distinct species may be immediately distinguished without comparison, by having the outer toe shorter than the inner, the tail shorter than the wing, and by the unbarred crissum of the adult plumage. Pelzeln is right in considering”it the true M. concentricus. PROCEEDINGS B. S. N. H.— YOL. XVI. 6 DECEMBER, 1873. Ridgway.] 82 [May 21, Genus GERANOSPIZA Kaup. Ischnoceles Strickl., 1844. Type, Falco gracilis Temm. (not Ischno- _ celis Burm., 1842). Geranospiza Kaup, 1847. Same type. Geranopus Kaup, 1851. Same type. ; Cu. Form very slender, the wings and tail very long, the head small, bill weak, and tarsi extremely elongated and slender. Outer toe very much shorter and weaker than the inner, and about equal in length to the posterior, its claw disproportionately small and weak. Tibio-tarsal joint flexible both backward and forward! Secondaries much developed, reaching nearly to the end of the primaries, and very broad. Bill much as in Nisus; nostril obliquely horizontal, oval. Tarsus about two and a half times as long as the middle toe, with frontal and posterior series of broad transverse scutelle, these often fused into continuous plates; claws normal. ‘Tibial feathers short and close, not plume-like. Wing long, but the primaries not much longer than the secondaries, the fourth to the sixth quills long- est, the first shortest, and much bowed; outer six with inner webs sinuated. Tail long, nearly equal to the wing, rounded, the feathers very broad. This remarkable genus is closely related to Polyboroides of South- ern Africa, with which it agrees in certain characters which separate them from all other Falconide, and mark them as very specialized members of the buteonine group. The excessive abbreviation of the outer toe, as compared with the inner, is shared by Heteropus (type H. malayensis Reinw.) an aquiline form belonging to the East Indian region; but the singular flexibility of the tibio-tarsal joint is probably found in no other genus, unless it may possibly exist in a less exag- erated degree in Melhierax of Africa, or still less developed in Uru- bitinga zonura of Tropical America. Mr. Gurney speaks at length, in his “‘ Descriptive Catalogue of the Raptorial Birds in the Norfolk and Norwich Museum” (London, 1864) of this peculiar feature in Polyboroides, and mentions Geranospiza as being nearly related in general form and other features. Through the courtesy of Professor Agassiz and Mr. Allen, of the Museum of Comparative Zodlogy, ag Cambridge, I have been permitted to examine an alcoholic specimen of G. cerulescens, and find that the singular feature above referred to is just as well developed in Geranospiza, thus confirming the rela- tionship hinted at by Mr. Gurney. 1878.] 85 [Ridgway. The following table will show more exactly the relationship aOR. these two remarkable genera : — Common Characters. Form very slender and elongated, fitted for a terrestrial life. Head small, bill weak, tarsi long and slender, and remiges and rectrices much developed, the secondaries very broad and elongated, but shorter than the longest primaries. Outer toe much shorter and weaker than the inner; tibio-tarsal joint flex- ible in both directions. ‘Tarsus more than twice as long as the mid- dle toe. Tail nearly as long as the wing, rounded. Coloration: — Ashy or blackish, the lower parts usually with white bars; tail black with white bands. GERANOSPIZA. Whole head normally feathered. Tarsi with a frontal and posterior series, or single row, of broad, regular, trans- verse scutelle. Hab. Tropical America. PotysororweEs. Whole side of the head naked, including lore, lower jaw, superciliary region and temporal region. ‘Tarsi reticulated, or covered uniformly with small longitudinally hexagonal scales. Hab. Southern Africa. SYNOPSIS OF THE SPECIES OF GERANOSPIZA. 1. G. G@RAcILis. Crissum whitish, plain, or sparsely barred. Wing, 11.00-15.25; tail, 9.75-12.50; culmen, .75-.80; tarsus, 2.95- 4.30; middle toe, 1.15-1.60. Deep plumbeous above, uniform, except on the wings; lower parts, and sometimes the wing-coverts, barred transversely with white; primaries, plumbeous-black, with an obscure _ plumbeous spot about the middle portion. Tail, deep ochraceous, narrowly tipped with white, the terminal half crossed by two distinct bands of black —the last subterminal; the intermedie crossed by about three bands each of black and whitish, of about equal width, the posterior light band having an ashy cast. Hab. Paraguay and Brazil. 2. G. CHRULESCENS. Crissum plumbeous or black, with or without bars. Wing, 10.00-13.80; tail 8.00-11.00; culmen, .68-.85; tarsus, 2.90-3.60; middle toe, 1.12-1.50. Uniform plumbeous or plumbeous-black, usually without white bars, but occasionally with faint ones on the lining of the wing, tibiz, or other portions of the lower parts. Primaries and tail black, the latter tipped with white, and crossed by about three distinct bands of white, much narrower Ridgway.] 84 [May 21, than the black ones. Inner webs of primaries crossed about the middle, by a single oblique series of large quadrate spots of white. a. Wing, 10.00-11.00; tail 8.00-8.50; culmen, .68-.80; tarsus, 2.90-3.10; middle toe, 1.12-1.35. Color, bluish plumbeous, without light bars, except on the tibiz and lining of the wing. Hab. ‘Tropical America south of Panama. ois, Ge Hap aah ple Oath aie tau wie ie cabaks var. cerulescens. b. Wing, 12.00-13.80; tail, 10.00-11.00; culmen, .80-.85; tar- sus, 3.30-3.60; middle toe, 1.40-1.60. Color, plumbeous- black, the lining of the wing, tibize, and crissum—sometimes entire lower parts— obscurely and narrowly barred, with white. Hab. Tropical America north of Panama. : aie Menai . var. niger. 1. Geranospiza gracilis (Temminck). Falco gracilis Temm., Pl. Col. 91,1823. Astur gracilis Vig., Zool. Journ. 1, 338. — Steph., Zool. x11, pt. 2, 26.— Gray, List B. Brit. Mus. 1844, 33. — Lafr., R. Z. 1848, 242.— Kaup, Ueb. Falk. Mus. Senk., 249. Nisus gracilis Less., Man. Orn. 1, 96; Tr. Orn., 63. Ischnocelis gracilis Strickl., Ann. N. H. x1, 409; Orn. Syn. 1, 1855, 124. Geranospiza gracilis Gray, Gen. B. fol., sp., 1; List B. Brit. Mus., 68; Hand List, 1, 31, no. 289 (in part).— Bonap., Consp., 30. Geranopus gracilis Kaup, Monog. Fale., in Contr. Orn. 1850, 65. — Pelz, Orn. Bras., 398. Hab. Eastern South America (Paraguay and Brazil). Specimens examined. Nat. Mus., 4; Philad. Acad., 3; N. Y. Mus., 2; Boston Society, 3. Total, 12. 2. Geranospiza ceerulescens (Vieillot). a. var. ceerulescens Vieill. Sparvius cerulescens Vieill., Nouv. Dict. «, 318; 1817. — Id. Ene. Méth. 111, 1262. — Pucher., R. Z. 1850, 90. Ischnoceles cerulescens Strickl., Orn. Syn. 1, 124. Falco hemidactylus Temm., Pl. Col. 3, 1820. — Max., Beitr. 111, 97. Astur hemidactylus Vig., Zool. Journ. 1, 338. —Steph., Zool. x111, pt. 2, 26. — Kaup, Ueb. Falk. Mus. Senk., 249. Nisus hemidactylus Less.. Man. Orn. 1, 96. —Jd. Tr. Orn., 63. — Cuv., Reg. An. ed. 2, 1, 333.— D’Orb., Voy. Am. Mer., 88.— Schleg., Mus. Pays-Bas. Astures, p. 53 (in part). 1873.] 85 [Ridgway. Ischnoceles hemidactylus Gray, Gen. B. fol. pl. 10, f. 6. — Hartl., Syst. Ind. Azar., p. 2. Geranospiza hemidactylus Bonap., Consp., 30 (sub J. gracilis). Geranopus hemidactylus Pelz., Orn. Bras., 368. Falco weidii brasiliensis Gray, Griff. Cuv., 238. Hab. Tropical America, south of Panama. Brazil (Mus. S. I., Boston Society, Philad. Acad. and Cambridge); Isle of Puna (Strick- land) ; Panama (Cab. G. N. Lawrence). _ List of specimens. Philad. Acad., 3; Cab. G. N. Lawrence, 2 (Napo and Panama); Boston Society, 2 (Brazil) ; Mus., Cambridge, 1 (Brazil). Total, 8. 6. var. niger Dubus. Ischnoceles niger Dubus, Bull. Ac. Roy. Brux. 1848; Ese. Orn., pl. 16.— Lafr., R. Z. 1848, 241. — Strickl., Orn. Syn. 1, 125. Geranospiza nigra Gray, Gen. B. fol., sp., 2.— Bonap., Consp., 30. Ischnocelis aterrimus Licht., Nomencl.,Mus. Berol., p. 4, 1854. Nisus hemidactylus Schleg., Mus. Pays-Bas, Astures, p. 53 (in part.). Hab. Tropical Am. north of Panama. Mazatlan (Nat. Mus.) Tehuantepec (Cab. G. N. Lawrence). Specimens examined. Nat. Mus. 4; Cab. G. N. Lawrence, 1 (Tehuantepec). Total, 5. Specimens from Panama are exactly intermediate between ceru- lescens from Brazil and niger from Mexico. Genus BuTro. — Subgenus Rupornis Kaup. Rupornis Kaup, 1844. Type Falco magnirostris Gmel. Cu. Similar to the smaller species of Buteo, but differing in hav- ' ing five, instead of only three or four, outer quills with their inner webs cut, and in the young plumage being scarcely different from the adult. The known species of this subgenus are but two in number, the R. magmrostris and R. leucorrhous —the former with several geo- graphical races usually recognized as species. They have usually been included in the genus Asturina along with the A. nitida. The latter, however, is quite distinct subgenerically, and more nearly re- lated to Leucopternis, another subgenus of Buteo. SPECIES AND RACES. 1. R.mMaanrrostris. Above umber, or grayish brown, the tail with black bands, and often tinged with rufous; inner webs of sec- Ridgway.] 86 [May 21, ondaries and primaries with more or less of rufous. Beneath whit- ish, usually tinged more or less with ochraceous, the anterior parts plain brownish (in adult), or longitudinally striped (in young), the posterior portion (from the breast back) transversely barred. Wing, 8.70-10.80 ; tail, 6.50-8.00; culmen, .70-.80; tarsus, 2.25-2.40; middle toe, 1.20-1.40. Hab. Whole of Tropical America. 2. R. LeEucoRRHOUS. Entirely brownish black, the tail coverts (upper and lower) and lining of the wing white, the latter with an ochraceous tinge; inner webs of primaries barred, or mottled trans- versely, with white. Tail faintly tipped with grayish, and crossed by 2-3 faintly indicated bars of grayish brown, passing into white on the inner webs. Inner side of tibiz chestnut-rufous. Wing, 7.80- 9.20; tail, 6.00-6.50; culmen, .65; tarsus, 2.25-2.35; middle toe, 1.25-1.30. Hab. Northern half of South America. 1. Buteo (Rupornis) magnirostris (Gmelin). Sp.cuH. Wing, 8.70-10.80; tail, 6.50-8.00; culmen, .70-.80; tar- sus, 2.25-2.40; middle toe, 1.20—1.40. Fourth and fifth, or fifth, quills longest. Tail rounded. Young and adult stages scarcely different. Above, plain grayish, vary- ing from pure ashy to umber, —the head most ashy; secondaries and primaries with more or less of bright rufous on their inner webs, this also conspicuous on the outer webs of the inner prima- ries, and usually narrowly and distantly barred with dusky. Up- per tail coverts white, barred with brown. Tail varying from pure cinereous to deep rufous, and crossed by from three to seven bands of dusky. Beneath white from the breast back, barred trans- versely with brown, usually of a reddish cast. Adult. Anterior lower parts plain brownish (always?). Young. Anterior lower parts striped with dark brown upon a whitish ground. (Tail bands more numerous ?) SYNOPSIS OF THE GEOGRAPHICAL RACES. A. — Tail grayish brown, or ashy, without any tinge of rufous. 1. Tail pure light ash, concolor with the back, the 3-4 broad black zones about equal in width to the gray ones; jugulum plain ash; lower parts pure white, broadly barred with reddish ashy. Wing, 8.50-9.50; tail, 6.50-7.00; tarsus, 2.25-2.40; middle toe, 1.20-1.30. Hab. Northern South America. : 1. ... . ». « » « Waka g@gmeromme 1873.] 87 (Ridgway. 2. Tail deep, rather brownish, ash, not decidedly lighter than the back; the 3-4 black bands about equal to the gray ones; jugulum plain brown, or rufous, in the adult, longi- tudinally striped in the young. Lower parts yellowish white, about equally barred with dull light rufous. Wing, 8.50-9.50; tail, 6.50-7.00; culmen, .75; tarsus, 2.20-2.50; middle toe, 1.15-1.20. Hab. Eastern South America. » var. natterert. 3. Tail ll Waskcdedly eer een ihe bale the 5-7 black bands equal to, or scarcely narrower than, the gray ones ; jugulum always variegated with whitish — transversely spotted in adult, longitudinally striped m young. Lower parts barred broadly with brown (varying from bright rufous to plumbeous-umber). Wing, 8.70-10.00; tail, 6.30-7.50; culmen, .75-.80, tarsus, 2.35-2.50. Hab. Southern and Middle Mexico. . . » . var. griseocauda. B. — Tail rufous, or much tinged ith aie 4. Black bands of tail nearly equal to, or only a little narrower than, the deep rufous ones; jugulum never (?) longitudi- nally striped, lower parts broadly barred with rufous. Wing, 8.70-10.00; tail, 6.50-7.50; culmen, .75-.80; tar- sus, 2.35-2.50; middle toe, 1.15-1.30. Hab. Region of Isthmus of Panama on et to pitt eae : var. ruficauda. 5. Black Bands of al aatagh narrower than the light rufous ones; jugulum always (?) striped longitudinally; lower parts very narrowly barred. Wing, 9.40-10.70; tail, 7.00- 7.75; culmen, .65—.85; tarsus, 2.40-2.60; Stille toe, 1.20- 1.35. Hab. Southern half of South America. Medea eye Se Sh ter eb Cee 8 eg var. pucherant. a. var. Magnirostris Gmel. DPepervier a gros bec de Cayenne Buff., Pl. Enl., 464. Falco magnirostris Gmel., S. N. 1, 282. Nisus magmrosiris Tschudi, F. P., Aves, p. 104. Rupornis magnirostris Cab., in Sunomb: Guian. m1, 737. Asturina magnirostris Sclater, P. Z. S. 1857, 261; 1858, 451; 1859, 147; 1860, 288.— Scl. and Salv., P. Z. S. 1866, 198; 1867, 589, 753+ 1869, 131. Astur macrorhynchus Pelz., Orn. Bras., p. 6; Iv., 463. Falco insectivorus Spix, Av. Bras., 1, 17, t. 8* (partim). Ridgway.] 88 {May 21, Cu. Wing, 8.50-9.50; tail, 6.50-7.00; tarsus, 2.25-2.40; middle toe, 1.20-1.30. Adult. Tail pure light cinereous, concolor with the back, crossed with three broad zones of black (sometimes a fourth in- dicated) about equal in width to the ash. Head, jugulum and whole upper parts, plain pale ash; no white on the lores; rufous on the outer webs of the quills not barred with dusky, or else only indis- tinctly so. Lower parts pure white, more broadly barred with red- dish ashy. Hab. Northern South America, from the Atlantic to the Pacific. Cayenne, (Buffon); Brit. Guiana (Schomb.); Rio Negro, Rio Bran- cho and Rio Madeira (Natterer); Venezuela (Gering); Mexiana (Wallace) ; E. Peru (Bartlett and Tschudi) ; Bogota (Mus. S. and G.) ; W. Ecuador (Fraser). Specimens examined. Nat. Mus., 3; Philad. Acad., 5; Boston Soc., 3; Cab. G. N. Lawrence, 2 (Bogota.) Total, 13. b. var. nattereri Sclater and Salvin. Falco magnirostris Max., Beitr., 111, 102.— Temm., Pl. Col. 86 (jwv. ). — Spix., Av. Bras. 1, 18 (an part). Astur magnirostris Pelz., Orn. Bras., p. 6; Iv, 463. Nisus magnirostris Burm., Syst. Ueb. 11, 76. Asturina nattereri Scl. and Salv., P. Z. S. 1869, 132 and 598; Ex. Orn. X -puvycuyy 70 4se09 “ULTOOLTT ‘sag “QuIOog Apurg a eee Fy : 7 + ° + -puRptoun jo ysvog Boe 2 URMoNT puers 9) >p) 99 “SUNOX /ULI[oorypy ‘s4yg ‘ouenq-oz10Ng *AqITVIO'T “ANIXAW JO SNHWIOUdS NGALHOIA FO SLINGWHYOSVOW HO WIAV.L Putnam. |] 134 [Noyv. 5, just beginning to develop as a fringe; at this stage there was al- ways a mass of fat in large flakes along the edge of the ovary, which was not present at any other stage. In those specimens where the ovary was simply a thin narrow band running along the side of the intestine, the eggs could be traced by using a lens. In two specimens from the Straits of Magellan no eggs could be traced, even by a careful microscopical examination made by Dr. Packard and myself, and though we could find no trace of spermatic cells, I am inclined. to consider these two specimens as males, with the testes undevel- oped, simply from the fact that in all other specimens with the ovary of no more corresponding development, minute eggs could always be made out. Prof. Steenstrup has called attention to the fact that the single specimen which he describes is the only instance when the eggs have been found with the hard, or horny, shell, and its little hooks for at- tachment, and it is singular that in all the specimens that have passed through my hands, embracing as they do many that have the eggs as large, and even larger than those figured by him, not one shows the least development of the horny covering, or of the hooks, though the large eggs are all enclosed in a tough mem- brane, which unquestionably is the stage just preceding the one which he describes. The large, or nearly mature, eggs are from ten to eighteen in number in all the specimens I have examined, either from Grand Menan or the Straits of Magellan; sixteen is the most usual number. In one specimen from Grand Menan the large eggs were sixteen in number, and measured .8 of an inch in length and 4in width. Ina very large specimen from the Straits of Magellan, of a total length of 214 inches, the large eggs were also sixteen in number, and measured .9 of an inch in length by .4 in width. The collection made in the Straits of Magellan by the Hassler Expedition, shows conclusively that the time at which the eggs are excluded is not the same with all the females, for in each lot of spec- imens collected, during the few weeks in March that the Expedition was in the Straits, there are females with the eggs in all the different stages of development, and the specimens collected at Grand Menan, probably from August to October, show the same to be the case. It is very probable, however, that the large eggs in all these specimens would very soon have attained their horny envelopes and hooks, and it is reasonable to suppose that in the Straits of Magellan many eggs 1873.] 1s [Putnam. are deposited by April or May, and that on the Grand Menan coast many of the eegs would be mature about the first of winter. The characters of the single species at present known,! I should express as follows. Myxine glutinosa Linn. | Blue above, whitish below. Head contained in total leneth from three and one half to four times; in length of abdomen from two to nearly three times. Tail contained in total length from six and one half to ten times. Lingual teeth from eight to eleven in each row. Habitat. Northern coasts of Europe, northeastern coast of North America, southern coast of South America. Variety septentrionalis. Head contained less than four times in total length. Dorsal fin commencing over the anus. Habitat. North- ern Atlantic. Variety limosa. Head contained four times in total length. Dorsal fin commencing forward of a point over the anus. Habitat. Northern Atlantic. Variety australis. Habitat. Southern coast of South America. As I have already stated, I consider these varieties as simply in- dicating the extremes of variation in the species, and its geographi- eal distribution, and not in any sense distinct forms. 1 The following are the characters which Dr. Ginther, in his eighth volume of Catalogue of Fishes in the British Museum, gives to the three species of the genus which he acknowledges : — 1. Myxine glutinosa Linn. [and of various authors, including the Gastro- branchus cecus of Bloch, the Myxine ceca of Blainville, and the Myzine limosa of Girard]. “ Hight or nine rather slender teeth in each of the two series; the two foremost strongest and more confluent at the base than the others.”’ * Coasts of Europe and North America.”’ [Ginther’s specimens were from the Firth of Forth, and from Newcastle.] 2. Myxine affinis Ginther. “ Bleven rather stout teeth in each of the two series, the two foremost strongest and more confluent at the base than the others. Body considerably more slender than that of MW. glutinosa.”’ “Habitat unknown. The single specimen is twelve inches long.” 3. Myxine australis Jenyns, Voy. Beagle, Fish., p. 159. “Ten or eleven slender teeth in each of the two series, the three foremost are strongest and confluent at the base, the other teeth remaining separate; in the sec- ond series the two innermost teeth are confluent at the base.” “Southern coasts of South America.’’ [Giunther’s specimens were from Sandy Point and the Tyssen Islands.] Packard.] 136 [Nov. 19, November 19, 18783. The President in the chair. Seventy-nine persons present. The following papers were read : — ON THE TRANSFORMATIONS OF THE COMMON HoUSE FLY, WITH NoTES ON ALLIED Forms. By A. 8. Packarp, JR., M.D. It is not a little strange that the history and transformations of the common House Fly are so little known. There is a vague idea that it breeds in the manure of stables, but no one in this country has in- vestigated its habits, and even Dr. Harris, by describing our common species under a separate name, seems to indicate that ours is not the common House Fly of Europe. In Europe, even, but little attention has been given to its habits. They are mentioned only in three works, one of which (by Bouché) was published during this century, with ficures so poor and inadequate as to be actually misleading. Having been fortunate enough to find the larve of this species in large numbers and then in inducing the adults to lay eggs in great abundance at our own pleasure, as it were, we make the attempt to clear up the history of the development and transformations of Musca domestica Linn. Bibliography. After Linneeus had described this species as the Musca domestica, DeGeer1 was the first to satisfactorily describe its transformations. He says that the larva lives in warm and humid dung, but does not say how long it lives in the egg, larva, or pupa state. He gives a good description of the larva, stating that its pro- thoracic stigma ends in six divisions, and adds, “ Ces larves, que sont absolument sans pattes, n’ayant pas méme ces mamelons charnus qu’on observe a celles de la viande [J/usca carnaria] et de quelques autres especes, se sont des cocques de leur propre peau, mais qui n’ont rien de particulier 4 offrir et les mouches en sortent peu de jours apres (p. 78, Tome 6, 1776). In 1834 Bouché? described the larva, remarking that it lives in 1 Carl De Geer. Mémoires pour servir a Vhistoire des Insectes. Stockholm, 4° 1752-’78. 2P. Fr. Bouché. Naturgeschichte der Insekten, etc. Berlin, 1834. 12°. The third work we have alluded to is by Keller; Geschichte der gemeiner Stubenfliege, 1764 and 1796. This last we have not seen. 1873.] 137 (Packard. horse’s and fowl’s dung, especially when warm. He does not, how- ever, state how long it remains in this state. After a fair description of the pupa-case, he says that 1t remains in this state from eight to fourteen days. His figures of the larva and pupa-case are very poor, not being recognizable; but this is the only time, so far as we are aware, that the insect has been figured in its preparatory stages. We have been unable to find any other references, of any import- ance from a biological point of view, to this commonest of insects. Embryology. During the month of August the House Fly is ex- tremely abundant, and as we, and others, have noticed, especially so in the neighborhood of stables. On placing one fly in confinement in the shade, enclosed in a glass bottle, she laid some time between six P. M., August 12th, and eight a.m., August 13th, one hundred and twenty egos. ‘They were deposited irregularly in stacks, as it were, lying loose in one or two piles at the bottom of the bottle. At eight a. M., August 14th, several were found hatched out and crawl- ing about the bottom of the bottle. In order, however, to obtain a large number of eggs, we placed a mass of freshly dropped horse manure, still warm, at an open window in the sun. This attracted large quantities of flies for three or four weeks succeeding, which laid eggs during that period. Immediately on exposing the manure on the morning of the 12th of August, the flies appeared and laid their eggs in masses in the crevices in the manure, working their way down mostly out of sight, and depositing bunches of eggs in various convenient places. These were found hatched out at about the same hour the next day. From several such experiments made on different occasions, we may regard the embryo as requiring twenty-four hours for perfection. In confine- ment it requires from five to ten hours more, and those larvee hatched in confinement are smaller than those reared from eggs deposited in warm manure. It is evident that heat and moisture are required for the normal development of the larva, as usual in all insects. Thus the egg state lasts for twenty-four hours, about the time of that of Musca vomitoria, according to Weismann,! who states that it lasts from seventeen to twenty-six hours. The egg is elongate oval cylindrical, a little smaller, more pointed at the anterior end than the posterior. It is .04-.05 inch long, and 1 Die Entwickelung der Dipteren im Hi, nach Beobachtungen an Chironomus, Musca vomitoria und Pulex canis. Zeitschrift fiir Wissenschaftliche Zoologie x111., p. 107-204. 1864. Packard.] 138 [Nov. 19, about .01 inch in diameter. The chorion is thin and structureless, but covered by an outer shell, which renders the ege quite opake, so as to prevent one from making out the earlier embryonic changes. It is evidently secreted and laid upon the chorion just before the ego is laid. Its surface is pitted with elongated hexagonal depressions, which cross the egg transversely. Compared with the eggs of Calli- phora vomitoria, the Meat Fly, they are rather smaller, those of the latter being .06 inch in length, and thicker in proportion, while the hexagons are in the Meat Fly larger and longer. ‘The eggs of both flies are dull chalky white. The micropyle is round, and easily perceived on twisting the egg under the compressor. The yolk granules are exceedingly fine, as in C. vomitoria, so that the yolk is quite dense. Owing to the density of the exochorion, as we may term the outer shell, it was impossible to observe the earliest embryonic changes, the formation of the blastoderm, and the primitive band. From one specimen hardened in alcohol, we succeeded in tearing off the exo- chorion by aid of the compressor and needles, an operation which we could not succeed in doing on recent eggs, as they invariably broke. This stage apparently agrees with that of Calliphora vomitoria, fig- ured by Weismann on Taf. v., figs. 65, 66. A more advanced stage, as seen through the exochorion, is repre- sented by Weismann’s figures 71 and 72. At a more advanced stage (Pl. 3, Fig. 1) the embryo is nearly fully formed. ‘The segments and locomotive spines crossing the under side of each segment are formed. The head is indicated; the two tubercles probably indicating the 1st maxille; the head is much larger compared to the size of the prothorax, than subsequently, and the dark Y-shaped twin spots indicate the formation of the cesopha- geal frame work. The anal spiracles are formed, but the spiracles are still somewhat rudimentary, though the Bene leading from them appear to be fully formed. Just before the embryo hatches, the body becomes more transpar- ent, and, as seen in Fig. 2, the main trachee can be traced through their whole length, with their lateral and cephalic branches. The rows of locomotive spines are very distinct. They can be easily seen in the egg in its natural state, but the figure represents the living egg with the exochorion removed, this covering having already split along the under side, just as we have seen it in C. vomitoria. 1873. ] 189 [Packard. We feel warranted then in stating that the embryological develop- ment of Musca domestica is in all its stages almost identical with that of Calliphora vomitoria, so elaborately worked out and copiously illustrated by Weismann, in his famous work. When the embryo is about to slip out of its eze-membranes, includ- ing the amnion, which we have observed to be as usual in the in- sects, it is quite active in its motions, the body moving to and fro within the shell. Undoubtedly this motion, accompanied by a twist- ing motion of the body, ruptures the exchorion. We did not witness the process of hatching of the House Fly, but have no doubt it is like that of the Meat Fly (C. vomitoria). A larva of the latter hatched under our eyes. The egg-shell split longitud- inally, and in one or two seconds it pushed its way out through the anterior end, and in a second or two more extricated itself from the shell. The shell scarcely changed its form, and the larva left the amnion within. The larva. First stage. (PI. 3, Fig. 3, 30.) In order to bring out more clearly the characters of this stage, we shall compare it with the freshly hatched larva of the Meat Fly (C. vomitoria), which we studied at the same time in order to test our work on the House Fly. The larva as soon as hatched, on being compared with that of the Meat Fly of corresponding age, differs from the latter in being slen- » derer, with the head in front rounder and narrower, while the poste- rior end of the body is rounder and narrower. The sutures in M. domestica are much less plainly marked, especially the three anterior ones. There are but seven rows of locomotive spines, where in C. vomitoria there are twelve, one for each segment (Weismann does not figure the last and minute row). Moreover, the spinules are less numerous than in C’. vomitoria. These rows of spinules appear more clearly than in the fully grown larve in both genera. ‘These differ- ences we would regard as good generic characters, and these are, with the other characters given below, the only differential characters by which to distinguish the larvee. The head is much less free from the succeeding, or prothoracic, seoment than in C. vomitoria, the suture behind being less distinct. The end of the body below the stigmata does not project so conspic- uously as in C.. vomitoria. There are also good generic characters in the trachee. In M. do- mestica the two main trachee are more sinuate, and do not taper so rapidly anteriorly, while the distance from the posterior commissure Packard.] 140 [Nov. 19, to the stigma is greater, and the dark terminal portion longer, than in C. vomitoria. The secondary branches are rather shorter than in C. vomitoria, and the two inferior medio-posterior tracheal twigs (Fig. 36) arise behind the posterior commissure. The tracheal twigs of the head are distributed much alike in both genera. The length of the freshly hatched larva of M. domestica is .07 inch. It remains in this stage about twenty-four hours. The second stage. (Fig. 4.) This stage is sionalized by the addi- tion of the prothoracic stigmata. This change must necessarily, though we did not perceive it, be accompanied by a moult of the first larva skin, as in Calliphora vomitoria, according to Leuckart} and Weismann (i. ¢.). The length of the larva at this stage varies from .15-.17 inch in length. It is considerably slenderer than in the first stage. We are inclined to think that this stage lasts from about twenty-four to thirty- six hours. One of these larve grew .05 inch in twenty-four hours. The third stage. As this last. stage does not differ from the preced- ing one in any important respects except size, the following descrip- tion will apply to both. The larva of J£. domestica differs from C. vomitoria in being proportionally longer and slenderer, more regularly conical, the body gradually increasing in width to the end, which is square. The prop- leg is small and inconspicuous as compared with that of the other genus, and cannot be seen from above when the larva is in motion. In Calliphora the body narrows towards the end, the stigmatal hollow is very well marked, with eight large subacute conical tubercles on the elevated edge of the round area, which in life is stuck outwards and upwards, presenting a cup-like hollow, at the bottom of which the stigmata are situated. They are large and tun-shaped, deep testaceous in color, with fine longitudinal whitish stripes; while in Musca domestica they are black, external, being situated in a very slight depression, and are very conspicuous. The anal spiracles in M. domestica (Fig. 5; 5a, still more enlarged spiracle of 4 younger larva than 5) are rounded, forming about three- fourths of a circle, with the opposing sides square, and a broad dark chitinous ridge, which becomes wider and darker with age. The openings are two, very unequal, the longer one apparently formed by the union of what were probably originally two openings. These 1 Die Larven zustande der Musciden. Archiv fiir Naturgeschichte, 1861, p. 60. 1873.] 141 [Packard. openings are very sinuous, the fissure guarded by dense projecting cones. This sinuate course of the spiracles is the most prominent differential character of the genus Musca. Fig. 6 shows their dispo- sition in Calliphora vomitoria, and Fig. 7 their arrangement in Sarco- phaga carnaria, being slenderer and situated farther apart in the latter genus. The spiracle on the prothoracic segment (Fig. 4c) is divided into six lobules, rarely into eight. I ig. 4d shows the end of one of these lobules, with a corrugated rim, and a central slight fissure for the admission of air. : | The head (Fig. 4a) is conical, about half as long as the protho- racic segment in the larva of the second stage, but much smaller proportionally in the fully grown maggot. The antenne are minute, conical, two-jointed, the terminal joint minute, acutely pointed. Below are two fleshy tubercles, probably representing the maxille, and a single one, representing possibly the labrum, or upper lip. The black horny mandibles are of the usual form of the family. The body of the maggot is much more transparent than in Calli- phora or Sarcophaga. ‘The region next the sutures, between the segments, is scarcely thickened, while it is conspicuously so in Calli- phora, and the tegument is smooth and shining, while in Calliphora it is opake and finely shagreened. » Length when fully grown, .25—.40 inch (while C. vomitoria meas- ures .55-.60 inch). It probably remains in this state about three or four days. The entire life of the larva is, then, from five to seven days. We are inclined to think that the larvee, if hard pressed for food, devour each other, as of four larvee put in a bottle, only two were found the day after. In the manure they eat up the decaying matter, leaving the bits of hay and straw. ‘Among the literally thousands of larvee which have passed under our eyes, we have not as yet been able to detect an individual in which the body had decidedly contracted and changed its form pre- paratory to the formation of the puparium, and are inclined to believe this to be a comparatively sudden act. _ For convenience in comparison, and to make this essay more com- plete, we give a brief description of the larva of Sarcophaga carnaria, the maggot of the common Flesh Fly, which has been known to be an inhabitant of this country for about a century, as DeGeer men- tions it in 1776, in his “ Mémoires,” as having been received from Packard.] 142 [Nov. 19, Pennsylvania. It is closely similar to Calliphora vomitoria, but a little longer. There are eleven divisions or lobules to the prothoracic stig- mata, where in Calliphora vomitoria there are nine. The locomotive spines are more acutely pointed. The anal spiracles are of the same relative size as in Calliphora, but the openings are much longer and narrower, and consequently farther apart, and the circular orifice in the peritreme is wanting; in both genera the peritreme is round, while in Musca it is somewhat hemispherical. The fleshy projections around the spiracular depression, and the two fleshy prop-legs are the same in the two genera, Sarcophaga and Calliphora, while the head and its appendages present no differences. ‘The only character by which to distinguish the larve of the two genera is in the form of the stigmata. The mode of life, and of taking food, is identical in the two; they differ but slightly in size, and here we have in the preparatory state of two allied genera, no specific characters devel- oped, the differential ones are generic in their nature. And yet the imagines are very different, with a number of specific characters separating them. The puparium (Fig. 8, ventral; 8a, dorsal view, enlarged) is reg- ularly cylindrical, at the fifth segment from the head beginning to taper regularly towards the head, the anterior end being distinctly pointed, the rudiments of the head and prothorax being small. Pos- teriorly the body is much rounded, full and obtuse, with no spiracular depression nor spines surrounding it, but the spiracles are situated conspicuously like little buttons on the end. On the dorsal side of the body is a single row of coarse granulations along the suture, be- coming beneath double, with fine lines crossing and connected with the granulations, the distance between the rows widening posteriorly. Numerous granulations, rather finer than those anterior, surround the rudiments of the prop-legs. A raised sharp prominent lateral ridge extends on each side from the mesothoracic segment on to the first abdominal. Prothoracic spiracles very minute, with usually six lob- ules, and not extending beyond the mouth parts. The prop-legs are represented by two oval flattened parallel contiguous tubercles, with a rather remote and obscure area on each side. The anal spiracles form black, round, flattened, button-like tubercles, the terminal seg- ment being smooth and shiny, and regularly convex. Length, .20-.27 inch. So remarkably similar is the puparium of JZusca domestica to that 1873.] 1438 [Packard. of Stomoxys calcitrans! (Fig. 10, dorsal; and 10 a, ventral view of an immature puparium, in which the pupa is very rudimentary, the ab- domen being continuous with the thorax) that it is difficult to give any characters by which to separate them. ‘The two most impor- tant ones are the following; the anal spiracles of Musca domestica (Fig. 9) are larger, much closer together, square on the opposing faces, and depressed in the middle, while those of Stomozys calcitrans are remote, round, and flat topped. (10c.) The lower side of the end of Stomoxys is darker and much more rugose, owing to trans- verse ridges, than in Musca, where it is comparatively smooth. Fig. 106 gives an idea of these ridges and transversely oval enclosures. The ridges lying between the spiracles and the region of the prop- legs are wanting in Musca domestica. In both genera the prothoracic spiracles of the pupa connect with similar projecting, slightly twisted, long acute points which are situ- ated on each side on the hinder edge of the metathoracic segment of the puparium. ‘These stigmata are not represented in either of the drawings of the puparia we here present. ‘The divisions of the pro- thoracic stigmata in the puparium of Stomoxys are five in number. The puparia of this species occurred more abundantly with us than those of the Domestic Fly, and were at first mistaken for them. The puparium of MW. domestica may at once be distinguished from Cal- liphora and Sarcophaga by the obtusely pointed (compared with those of C. vomitoria and S. carnaria) end, and the full rounded hind end, with the spiracles externally like buttons; also by its smaller size, and by the double row of large granulations, while in Calliphora and Sarcophaga there are twelve or more. In Musca, as well as in Stomoxys, when the pupa is formed, the hard frame work of the jaws of the larva rest next to the skin of the puparium, and always on the ventral side, and apparently in connec- tion with the old larva skin. When the fly pushes its way out of the pupa case, the anterior end of the latter splits off just behind the su- ture between the metathoracic and first abdominal segment. And often when the front end of the puparium is forced off, the ventral half, with most of the rudiments of the mouth-parts, remains attached to the case. A parasite found in the puparium of Musca domestica will be de- scribed at the end of this essay. 1 As has been noticed by Bouché (/. c., p. 56) as regards the larval state. Packard. ] 144 [Nov. 19, The puparium of Calliphora vomitoria is cylindrical, slender, flask- shaped, being thickest on the anterior third of the body, thence grad- ually narrowing to the posterior end and suddenly contracting, leav- ing a well marked neck, which is much darker colored than the rest of the body, which is of the usual dark red color. The spiracles are quite prominent, extending as far as the extreme tip of the head; they are of much the same form as in the larva, and with from twelve to thirteen deeply marked divisions. (In one larva there are nine lobules.) Two broad bands and a narrow linear accessory line of minute granulations cross each segment, and become curved a little ante- riorly along the dorsal line. The constricted end of the case is pro- vided with twelve prominent rugose granulated spines, with longitud_ inal ridges on the neck terminating between the spines; and along the ventral side of the neck is a ridge, less sharp and prominent than in Sarcophaga, and with larger granulations. The rudiments of the prop-legs consist of two lateral conical projections and a median furrow. ‘The projections are a little farther apart, and more slender than in Sarcophaga, but the differences are very slight. ‘The dorsal ridge ending between the two uppermost circum-anal projections is obscurely marked, while in Sarcophaga it is distinct and sharp. The divisions of the stigmata are very plainly and deeply cut, while in Sarcophaga carnaria there are no indications of the incisions, the edge being rugose, but not crenulated. This is the most important distinguishing mark in the puparia of the two genera. Length .30-.35 inch. The puparium of Sarcophaga carnaria (described from specimens received from Rev. Mr. 8S. Lockwood) is twice as’ bulky as that of Calliphora vomitoria. It is cylin- drical, not tapering so gradually posteriorly as in C’. vomitoria, and not contractéd at the end into so long a neck. ‘The twelve blunt spines surrounding the spiracular region are | much smaller, less conspicuous, and do not project, except the two lower ones, beyond the end of the puparium. The ridges ending Puparium of Sarco. between these spines are much higher and phaga carnaria. sharper than in C. vomitoria. The dorsal \ 1873.] / 145 [Packard.. ridge on this neck is much sharper and more pronounced than in C. vomitoria, and the impressed lines on the sides extend forwards to the suture between the penultimate and terminal segments of the body, the lines curving outwards anteriorly. ‘There is a well-marked pointed short ventral ridge behind the rudiments of the ventral prop- legs. This ridge is obscurely marked in the puparium of C. vomi- toria, except that the prothoracic spiracles are much less prominent, not projecting beyond the head, their extremities being just parallel with the end of the rudimentary mouth-parts. The edge of the spiracle is rugose, but I have been unable to distinguish any signs of lobules. The lines of pointed granulations are arranged much as in C. vomitoria. Length .50 inch. ‘ The pupa. (Fig. 11.) The pupa of JZ. domestica may at once be known by its broad spatulate labium or tongue, and the curved, al- most elbowed maxillary palpi. The antenne (Fig. 11d) are dis- tinetly three-jointed, with a large, stout bristle. Fig. 11a shows one of the legs with the trochanter hanging to it; Fig. 11 the wing, sur- rounded by its membrane; and Fig. 11c¢ the optic lobes, and their connection with the unorganized cornea and facets of the eyes; the outer surface of the eye being covered with fat cells, destined to form pigment cells, which finally turn reddish, The figures 12, 12a, 120, show the corresponding stage in the pupa of Stomoxys calcitrans; here can be seen the generic characters which separate this fly from the House Fly, ze., the elongated beak, the smaller, narrower, more pointed head. ‘The mouth-parts with the long maxille (mz) and mandibles (m), and the straight maxillary palpi, are shown in the enlarged view (Fig. 12 ¢). On removing the pupariupi we were able to obtain a portion of the semipupa of Stomoxys (Figs. 13, 13 a) z.e., the thorax, the head adher- ing to the pupa-case, and only the basal segment of the abdomen being brought to view; enough, however, to show that they were nearly of the form of those of the larve. This stage compares almost exactly with that of Calliphora vomitoria, as figured by Weismann, Tab. xu, Figs. 38, 39, 40. ‘This stage is intermediate between the larval and pupal, and may be properly termed the semipupa.! 1 Professor von Siebold, in his “Beitrige zur Parthenogenesis der Arthropoden,”’ 1871, p. 35, calls this stage pseudo-nymph. As this state is necessarily universal in all metabolous insects, it seems incorrect to regard it as a false or unusual state, and we therefore may be pardoned for retaining the name first proposed by us in 1866. (Proc. Bost. Soc. N. H., x, 279.) PROCEEDINGS B. S. N. H.— VOL. XVI. 10 FEBRUARY,. 1874. Packard.] 146 [Nov. 19, Similar intermediate stages have been shown by us to exist in the Hymenoptera, Lepidoptera, and Coleoptera, and in other Diptera. It shows that the distinction between the larval and pupal stages are as truly artificial as in the ametabolous insects. Fig. 13 is a dorsal view of the three thoracic segments, wiki the anterior leg attached, and the wings. The segments are very indis-_ tinctly marked. The prothoracic stigmata are very near together, though so widely separated in the fully formed pupa. Fig. 13 ais a ventral view of the same parts, the parts somewhat distorted; it also represents the wings, and the two hinder pairs of legs, and 13} the fore leg; the joints of the legs are clearly indicated. The next stage in the pupa of Stomoxys was much farther advanced, the thorax being formed much as in the mature pupa, as also the ab- domen. ‘The body is still much longer than in Fig. 12, the head nar- rower and freer from the body, and the vertex more elongated: The mouth-parts do not reach much beyond the anterior third of the body, while the wings reach only to the middle of the body (the head ex- cluded), and the hindermost legs only reach a little beyond the mid- dle of the body (the head excluded), and a little way beyond the end of the wings. Viewed dorsally, the thorax is much shorter than in the stage represented by Fig. 12, and the scutellum is short and small, being still quite rudimentary. The form of the eyes can just be distinguished, and the antenne can with difficulty be perceived. _ Fig. 12 represents the succeeding stage of the pupa of Stomoxys, which may be said to fairly represent the typical pupa condition of the cycloraphous diptera. At this time the body is pure white, the eyes are unchanged in color, and under low powers there are no traces of hairs to be seen. In this and the following stages the proportion in the length of the wings and legs, and mouth-parts, remains nearly the same. The wings reach to the middle of the abdomen, while the hind. legs just pass beyond the tip end of the abdomen. The mouth-parts reach to the second abdominal segment. The eyes and antennz are clearly indicated (the latter not shown in the drawing). The stages beyond differ but slightly, and form exceedingly gradual steps towards the imago.. They differ chiefly in the degree of maturity of the tegu- ment and hairs. In one example, in which the sutures are much more distinct than in Fig. 12, the body is slightly dusky, but the eyes are beginning to turn rosy around a portion of the edges. The hairs are also apparent. In a more advanced stage the eyes area deep scarlet, the hairs are brown, the wings and legs are dusky. 1873.] 147 [Packard. The prothoracic spiracle, with its black, corneous tip, is much the same in all the specimens. Having had more alcoholic specimens of the pupa of Stomoxys than of Musca, we have not been able to trace these stages in the latter genus, but doubt not that similar ones occur in all the Muscide. The imago. On leaving its puparium the fly runs around, with its wings soft, small and baggy, much as in the pupa. They reach a little beyond the middle of the abdomen, and are still pressed to the side of the body. It is pale, as in the puparium, and the colors are not set. The membranous portion of the front is constantly distend- ing as the fly walks rapidly about. When this part is contracted it forms a dull livid area, soft and fleshy, free from hairs. This portion suddenly distends into a bladder-like expansion, trapezoidal in out- line, equal in bulk to the rest of the head, and pushine the antenne down beneath out of sight. This thin membrane is evidently dis- tended with air, and its connection with the trachez, and the mech- anism of its movements, would form a miost interesting subject of inquiry. This part has been described by Mr. T. B. Lowne, in his work on the “ Anatomy of the Blow Fly,” and he is evidently cor- rect in regarding it as an organ for pushing away the end of the puparium when the pupa slips out of its case. The common House Fly, though so abundant, is difficult to distin- guish from the allied species. ‘The generic characters may be found in the mouth-parts, already described by authors. In the venation of the wing it differs decidedly from Sarcophaga, in the end of the me- dian vein being bent nearly at right angles, and in being regularly but slightly incurved, while in Sarcophaga, it is bent at a much lower angle, being much more oblique. From the genus Lucilia, which it much nearer approaches structurally, it differs in this vein being still bent at a greater angle, and in having the bent extremity more curved. In Stomoxys this vein is but slightly bent, thus widely differing, be- sides in its remarkably long horny beak, from Musca, with its short fleshy bilobed tongue. The body of MZ. domestica is black; the head has a longitudin. 1 reddish oval smooth area on the vertex, with the orbits and adjacent recion golden (or silvery in some lights); the hairs are black, and the antenne and plume are black. The thorax is black, tinged with golden gray on the sides, with three dorsal gray longitudinal bands, the middle one most distinct, the two lateral ones partially inter- rupted in the middle and continued on to the scutellum; there is a Packard. . 148 [Nov. 19, broad lateral golden gray band interrupted by the sutures. The base of the first abdominal segment has a yellowish band, interrupted in the middle. On the middle of the end of the two succeeding seg_ ments is a triangular mesial golden spot, with an oblique irregular band on each side, and farther down the sides golden; terminal seg- ment golden. Base of wings, scales and halteres yellowish-white. Legs black. The male differs from the female in the front between the eyes be- ing about one-third as wide as in the latter, while she is rather the smaller. Length .22-.32 inch. The species agrees in most particulars with Harris’ description of Musca harpyia in his “ Correspondence,’ and we are inclined to think that individuals of this species formed the subject of his de- scription. After comparing it with about a dozen specimens of Musca domestica received from Switzerland (through the kindness of Mr. 8S, H. Scudder), we cannot find that it differs in any respect from them. The golden color that Harris calls silvery, the reddish oval spot on the vertex, the black hairs on the thorax, are the same in specimens from America and Switzerland. Both also agree in the venation and form of the head and front. SUMMARY OF ITS HISTORY. The eggs are laid about one hundred and twenty in number, and in twenty-four hours the larve are hatched. There are three stages of the larval state, and consequently two moults. The first stage lasts about one day (twenty-four hours). The second stage lasts about one day. The third stage lasts three or four days. The entire larval state averages from five to seven days. The pupal state lasts from five to seven days. The period from the time of hatching to the exclusion of the im- ago lasts from ten to fourteen days in the month of August. Those larvze which were reared in too dry manure were nearly one- half smaller than those taken from the manure heap. For several days the larva living in this dry manure did not grow sensibly. Too direct warmth, but more especially the want of moisture, and 1873.] 149 ; [Packard. consequently of available semi-liquid food seemed to cause them to become dwarfed. Parasite of Musca domestica. While no insect parasite has yet been hitherto found, so far as we are aware, in the House Fly, it is, in fact, preyed upon by a Coleopterous larva. In one puparium we discov- ered a large hole which had been eaten through the crust in the an- terior third of the body. Another puparium, on being opened, was found to contain the pupa of a beetle, of which Fig. 14 a is a dorsal, and Fig. 14 aventral view. It is long and slender, with the abdomen unusually attenuate. Seen dorsally the prothorax is very broad, twice as broad: and nearly concealing the head. The wings were free, not laid on the body; the anterior pair short and broad, the hinder pair much longer and narrower. The segments of the abdo- men are convex, each side giving rise to a hair. The abdomen grad- ually narrows, the terminal segment being lunate. From under each side of it extends a remarkably long and large appendage ending in a long bristle. Szen ventrally the filiform ten-jointed antennz are widely inserted and diverge, extending along the front edge of the anterior wings, reaching a little beyond their middle. The hind tarsi extend to the middle of the abdomen. The two most interesting characters are the slenderness of the body, and the large long terminal abdominal appendages, which are rarely met with in Coleopterous pupz. From the sum of its charac- ters here given we should feel inclined at present to locate this re- markable pupa in the family of Dermestide, with whose characters it agrees better than any other group of which we know the trans- formations. Of the vegetable parasites of the House Fly, of which there are several, we cannot now speak. EXPLANATION OF PLATE III. Fig.1. Embryo of Musca domestica in an egg which has not been laid over twenty hours. Exochorion removed. Fig. 2. Embryo of Musca domestica still farther advanced, the egg having been laid about twenty-four hours; the exochorion ara removed, the embryo on the point of hatching. Fig. 3. Larva of Musca domestica just hatched; showing the distribution of the two main tracheex and the anterior and posterior commissures, (@, a) dorsal view. 3b, the same, showing the mode of origin of the pair of lower postero-median tracheal branches, seen from beneath. Fig. 4. Larva of Musca domestica in the second stage; sp, prothoracic spiracle; 4a, head; af, antennz; mx, maxille; md, mandibles; 4b, spiracles of Musca domes- Burbank.] 150 [Nov. 19, tica, divided into seven lobules. 4c, full grown larva of Musca domestica, showing the size of head relative to the prothoracic segment, with its spiracle; a, end of lobules of the spiracles; mouth enlarged. Fig.5. Two anal spiracles of Musca domestica. 5a, spiracle (much enlarged) of a younger larva than the subject of fig. 5, with a narrower peritreme, and the subcentral depression nearer the centre of the spiracle. Fig. 6. Spiracles of Calliphora vomitoria. Fig. 7. Spiracles of Sarcophaga carnaria. Fig. 8. Ventral view of puparium of Musca domestica. 8a, prothoracic spira- cles; 8b, end of body; 8a, dorsal view from two individuals of same puparium. Fig. 9. Spiracles of puparium of Musca domestica. Fig. 10. Puparium (immature) of Stomozxys calcitrans, dorsal view. 10a, the same, ventral view; 0, head-end enlarged; c, prothoracie spiracles. 10d, profile view of end of puparium of thesame. 10e, anal spiracles of the same. Fig.11. Pupa of Musca domestica. lla, leg. 116, wing. ile, optic ganglia. be, optic lobes, divided into two well marked divisions; oeg, upper cesophageal gan- glion, resting above the base of the optic lobes; e, eye in profile, and on the oppo- site side the unorganized mass of fat cells, out of which the optic fibres and cham- “bers of the eye are to be developed. 11d, antenna. Fig. 12. Pupa of Stomoxys calcitrans, front view. 12a, dorsal view. 120, lateral view. 12c, head much enlarged 3m, mandibles; mz, maxille; mp, maxillary palpi. Fig. 13. Thorax of semipupa of Stomoxys calcitrans, dorsal view, showing the three thoracic segments. s¢, the prothoracic stigmata; w, wing; Z,leg. 13a, ven- tral view of the same; 0, fore leg. Fig. 14. Pupa probably of one of the Dermestide, ventral view; 6, dorsal view of the end of the body; c, ventral view; d, antenna. 14a, dorsal view of pupa. Found in Puparium of Musca domestica. OBSERVATIONS ON THE SURFACE GEOLOGY OF NortTH CARO- LINA, WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO SOME PHENOMENA OF tHE Drirt OF THE NORTHERN UNITED States.) By L. S. BURBANK. Several years ago I had the opportunity to explore pretty thor- oughly the midland region of North Carolina; which includes the hilly or undulating country between the foot hills of the Blue Ridge on the west,.and the lowlands lying to the eastward of Weldon, Raleigh and Fayetteville. Some of the facts then noted appear to me to have an important bearing upon questions connected with the subject of the Northern Drift. I propose therofere, first, to present some of the facts ob- served; second, to consider their relations to the phenomena of the drift. My observations were made mostly in the counties of Wake, Gran- ville, Franklin, Guilford and Chatham, N. C. The rock formations 1 The principal points embraced in this paper were presented in a verbal com- munication to this Society Nov. 20, 1872. Plate 3 4 C AWALKERSC = yn . & = %) Pe SS \ ‘ } n ‘ ? nay, ail SS 2 5 ! sy LS cet wT s i “it “ ‘ iB Proc Bost Soc Nat Hist Vol XVI ocolaentec FORMATIONS OF THE HOL ‘| PACKARD, T RAN 1873.] 151 (Burbank. of a large portion of this region are strikinely similar to those of northern Massachusetts, east of the Nashua Valley. We find there the gneiss, passing by a gradual transition into mica and hornblende schists on the one hand, and on the other into metamorphic granites, sienites and greenstones, like those of northeastern Massachusetts. Among these latter rocks especially, there are found vast numbers of rounded, boulder-like masses lying partly buried in the soil. They are, however, always of the same kind as the rocks in place, above which they rest. I have observed enormous masses of this kind in Wake County, between Wake Forest College and Rolesville. Some “ of them far exceed in size any of the boulders of the New England drift, and yet have the characteristic form of boulders, not at all re- sembling the outcrop of ledges in the drift regions. These boulder-like forms are very numerous near the village of Oxford, Granville County, where I studied them carefully. In this locality they are very abundant in the small valleys or ravines formed by the washing away of the loose material by the rains. In many instances the boulder-like masses are scattered over the summits of slight elevations, from which a portion of the material derived from disintegration and exfoliation has been removed. That these rounded forms are not the result of attrition, but of chemi- cal and atmospheric agencies acting upon rocks of a concretionary struc- ture, is evident from their appearance and structure. Excellent illustrations of this concretionary structure are to be seen in many places in the excavations along the line of the North Caro- lina Railroad, in Guilford County. At one locality near Jamestown the excavation was made through a little hill of sienite, about fifteen feet in height above the grade of the road. The greater portion of the rock is entirely disintegrated to a greater depth than the excava- tion extended; but the central mass of the knoll is made up of con- cretionary masses of sizes varying from five or six feet to less than one foot in diameter. Some of the concretions have the form of almost perfect spheres. When the excavation was made, one of these masses was split through the centre, thus showing plainly the concentric lines of incipient exfoliation. The loose, decomposed ma- terial around and above these masses still retains its position as in the original rock. The trap dikes of this region also afford fine examples of the pro- duction of boulders of decomposition, as they have been aptly termed by Professor Hartt. On the road between Oxford and Hillsboro’, near the bridge over Tar River, a trap dike which traverses the Burbank ] 152 [Nov. 19, gneiss is filled with such boulders, which form a complete, but ex- ceedingly rough pavement, where it is crossed by the road. The masses of trap in this locality are more nearly uniform in size than the granitic concretions, and are seldom more than ten or twelve inches in diameter. So far as I observed, there were in this instance no appearances of a columnar structure in the trap. This fact may be an indication that what appears at the surface now was at, or near, the surface when the rock was consolidated, and the coneretionary structure developed under slight pressure. In some other localities, especially in the river valleys, trap in the form of columns of greater or less revularity may be seen standing above the surface, marking the course of the dike. T noticed a fine example of this kind in a dike which traverses the sandstone at Haywood, Chatham Co., near the bridge across the Haw River. In this case greater pressure may have given the columnar form. The undisturbed condition of the great mass of decomposed rock, which in this region covers the solid ledges, is shown by the veins and dikes which retain their original positions, and in many cases pro- ject above the surface, as just noticed in the case of trap dikes. The graphite vein near Raleigh may be traced for a great distance along the surface by the color it imparts to the soil. Granitic veins contain- ing fine crystals of orthoclase and muscovite are occasionally found retaining their original positions, but so far disintegrated as to allow the different minerals to be easily separated. ~* A small vein of this kind, which I examined carefully, appears traversing the decomposed gneiss in an excavation on the Raleigh and Gaston Railroad, about six miles from Raleigh. This vein extends quite to the surface, but not above it, and along its course at the sur- face very few fragments removed from the vein could be found. The granitic veins that I examined in this region were nearly all of a dike-like character, and quite unlike the great “endogenous ” veins, which, in Massachusetts and New Hampshire, yield the fine crystals of beryl, tourmaline, and other minerals. In their mineralogical character, in the structure and contents of the veins, and in many other particulars, the rocks of this region closely resemble those of northern Massachusetts east of the argillite band of Worcester county. It was this resemblance that first led me to make some comparative studies of the surface geology of these two regions. 1873.] 153) [Burbank. It is well known that facts similar to those here noticed, have been observed in many of the warmer regions of the globe. In Vol. rx. (p. 84), of the Smithsonian Contributions, Dr. Hitch- cock, under the title of Erosion, speaks of the disintegration of the rocks by aqueous and atmospheric agencies in the States south of Pennsylvania. On page 94 also occurs this remark: “ It is surprising sometimes to see to what depth the whole character of the rock will be changed, an how it will be disaggregated, so that aqueous agency can easily denude its surface.” Had Dr. Hitchcock fully accepted the Glacial Theory of the Drift, he could hardly have failed to give these facts more prominence in the discussion of the general subject. Among those who have more recently written upon this subject, I know none who have observed so accurately, or described so clearly, the phenomena of the decomposition of the rocks in place, as Prof. C. F. Hartt, in his recent work on the Geology and Physical Geog- raphy of Brazil. Prof. Hartt, however, finds evidence that in many of the cases which he has described the decomposed rock is now cov- ered by drift. This is not the case in the instances which I have observed in North Carolina; but the decomposed material remaining in place forms a covering over the solid rocks, averaging at a low estimate twenty-five or thirty feet in depth, even among the hard granitic rocks. Comparing with this the very small amount of disin- tegration which has taken place among similar rocks now exposed near the surface in the Drift regions, the conclusion seems unavoida- ble that the time which has elapsed since the drift period must be very short compared to the ages during which these solid rocks were undergo- ing decomposition by chemical and a'mospheric agencies. It may fairly be inferred that the rocks of eastern New England were, before the Glacial Period, decomposed and disintegrated to a very great depth; and thus the immense amount of material constitut- ing the glacial drift of this region may be accounted for. Prof. Shaler has shown that the mass of.the drift materials must have been “rent from the floor of the glacier as it moved along,” ! since the vast extent of the ice sheet precludes the notion of any- thing like lateral moraines He does not, however, controvert the generally received theory that the mass of the drift material has been produced by the mechanical action of ice in grinding and wearing away the solid rocks. 1See Proceedings of the Boston Society of Natural History, Vol. x11, p. 199. Burbank.] | 154 [Nov. 19, If we accept the glacial theory of the drift, we have to consider the effects that would be produced by a great ice sheet passing over a surface like that here described. It is evident that if in the first part of its course the mass of ice cut its way down to the solid ledges, sweeping the decomposed material before it, the vast amount of this ~ material would soon form a mountain ridge that must impede its pro- gress; and the ice being the lighter material would be lifted from the surface and pass over and leave beneath it a great portion of the de- composed mass. © If, according to the most probable theory, the glacial climate came on gradually, and in each successive year the ice sheet extended far- ther southward, the annual advance and retreat would still fail to sweep the ledges clear of decomposed materials, except in the high- est and most exposed situations. Valleys and ravines, especially in protected situations on the southern slopes of hills, instead of being excavated to a greater depth, would become filled with the materials of the terminal moraine, and these might remain undisturbed by the ice subsequently passing over them. The great bulk of the material would not be carried forward and deposited near the southern limit of the glacier’s extent, but would remain beneath the ice, to be gath- ered and thrown into ridges during the retreat of the ice sheet as a whole, at the close of the glacial period. The boulders of decomposition that have been referred to, the fragments of quartz from veins, and all undecomposed masses of rock in the material swept forward, would of course be more or Jess worn and changed in form; but the rounded forms of many of the larger boulders of the drift may, as we have seen, be accounted for in an- other way. The concretionary structure which has been referred to as determining the form and size of boulders, is, I believe, more com- mon in the crystalline rocks than has been generally supposed, though the frequent occurrence of this structure is a fact recognized by the best authorities in geology. Boulders of decomposition produced by weathering, which takes place at first along the joints, have been well described by Professor Hartt, and no doubt the rounded forms are, in many cases, produced in this way, independently of any thing like a concretionary structure. This is especially the case in rocks abounding in compounds of the protoxide of iron, which by their tendency to chemical change, aid in -1See Dana’s Manual of Geology, p. 98. 1873.1 155 [Burbank. the rapid decomposition of the rock. But this explanation will not apply in the case of the large boulder-like masses of granite and sienite so abundant in North Carolina, nor to the boulders ef similar rocks scattered everywhere over the soil in northeastern Massa- chusetts. The question will naturally occur whether the rocks throughout the region described in North Carolina may not have suffered decom- position to so great a depth, on account of some peculiarities in their chemical composition which do not exist in the rocks of the northern region referred to. To this it may be answered that many of the boulder-like masses show no more evidence of rapid change now tak- ing place than those of similar character in the North; and that after removing the decomposed rock to a great depth, a solid granite is reached which appears as well fitted for building purposes as that quarried in New England. Moreover, the phenomena of surface decomposition are far too extensive over large areas, and among all kinds of rocks, to be at- tributed to any local causes or peculiarities in the chemical character of the rocks. The conclusions which have been drawn from the facts observed, may be briefly summed up as follows : — 1. The time which has elapsed since the drift period must be very short compared with the previous ages during which the solid ledges were disintegrated by chemical and atmospheric agencies. 2. Boulders of the drift do not, in general, owe their rounded forms to attrition by glacial action, but while still in place, assumed these forms by disintegration and exfoliation. 3. Whatever the force or agency of the drift may have been, it did not produce the great bulk of the drift material by mechanical action in wearing and grinding down the solid rocks, but its chief action has been to carry forward and commingle the materials al- ready disintegrated. 1 Further researches into the chemical character of these rocks, and the nature of the changes that they have undergone, are very desirable in connection with this question, and I am glad to know that facts similar to those presented here, have recently engaged the attention of our highest authority on questions of chem- ical geology, Dr. T. Sterry Hunt. Putnam.] 156 [Noy. 19? Nores ON THE GENUS BpELLOSTOMA. By F. W. Putnam. Since making the remarks on Myzine, at the last meeting of the Society, Professor Agassiz has very kindly placed at my disposal the specimens of the allied genus Bdellostoma, which were obtained by the Hassler Expedition at Talcahuano, Chili, about the middle of April, 1872. These specimens were captured by the same means used by Profes- sor Agassiz in collecting Myzine in the Straits of Magellan, showing that the habits of the two genera are very similar. There are about two hundred specimens in the lot, and all of nearly the same size. The smallest one is thirteen inches in length, and is a female with minute eggs; the other specimens are about twenty inches in length. The general shape and anatomy of Bdellostoma is the same as that of Myzxine, as will be seen by the specimens and dissections on the table. The cartilages of the head are more developed, so that the parts composing the singular cartilaginous framework can be better made out. There is also a slight difference in the ovary and in the peritoneal outlet, and a modification of the branchial apparatus. The difference in the branchial apparatus of the two genera is at first sight apparently greater than is really the case when the struc- tures are compared. In Myzine there are six branchial sacs on each side, each sac having a direct communication through its inner wall with the esophagus, from which it receives water, the water being passed out by a duct leading from each sac to the single external opening on the side of the abdominal line; each lateral series of sacs sending ducts to the external opening on its respective side... In Bdellostoma cirrhatum, from the Cape of Good Hope and New Zealand, which is the species so admirably dissected by Miiller, there are either six or seven sacs on each side which receive water directly from the esophagus, as in Myzine, but the emptying ducts, instead of passing backward and downward to a common external opening, as in Myzxine, pass directly through the wall of the body, and thus there are as many external openings opposite the gill sacs on each side as there are sacs. In Bdellostoma polytrema, the species to which the speci- mens from Chili belong, there are ten sacs on each side, and each sac opens directly through the walls of the body as in B. cirrhatum. So that in this character the only difference between Myzine and Bdel- lostoma is, that the ducts in the former are elongated, all on one side leading to the same opening, while in the latter they are short and pass directly through the body wall, each for itself. 1873.] 157 [Putnam. In ALyzxine the duct leading into the end of the cesophagus has its external opening close by the side of the left branchial opening, and passes in front of the heart to the cesophagus. In both species of Bdellostoma this duct also passes in front of the heart, and its exter- nal opening is close by the last branchial opening on the left side, thus occupying a position still further removed from the median line of the abdomen than in AZyzine. In Myzine the branchial artery passes from the heart forwards along the under side and between the branchial sacs, giving off right and left branches as it passes each sac, each branch passing over the sac and entering it about in the centre of its posterior surface in close connection with the duct leading from the gill. In Bdellostoma cirrhatum, from Cape of Good Hope, figured by Miller, the branchial artery has the same course as in Myzine, but divides into a right and left branch after supplying the three pair of sacs nearest the heart, each branch giving off smaller branches to the sacs of its own side. In Bdellostoma polytrema, from Chili, | have in seventeen specimens found the branchial artery to be divided into right and left trunks to its very base, and each trunk immediately turns off to its respective side, crossing the first three sacs in its course, and passing along the under edyes of the rest, giving off branches from its upper surface to each of the sacs. Owen mentions that in a specimen of JB. cirrhatum the artery was divided to its base, but he does not mention the region from which his specimen came, nor the number of the gill sacs, and he may have had a Chilian specimen of the genus. It will be interest- ing to ascertain if this division of the artery is constant and charac- teristic of the Chilian species. In Myzxine the base of the long tongue is at the anterior branchial sacs, and in Bdellostoma cirrhatum, with its six or seven pair of gills, the same is the case, while in B. polytrema, with ten pair of gills, the tongue passes down between the first six or seven pair, and has its base in front of the next pair, leaving but three or four pair between the end of the tongue and the heart. In Myzxine the eges are developed along the free edge of the ovary» which extends as a fringe as the eggs increase in size, and the eggs of several stages of growth are always at the free edge. In the Chilian Ldellostoma the ovary, even when the eggs are very minute, is devel- 1 Under the name of B. heterotrema, Abh. Akad. Wissensch., Berlin, 1834. pl. vu, fig. 3. Putnam.] 158 [Nov. 19, oped as a broad band, and the eggs occupy a considerable portion, at least one-half, of the distance from the free edge, the large or mature eggs only extending from the walls of the ovary and forming the fringe, In Myzine the peritoneal outlet is single, and behind that of the intestine, and there is a small opening in the membrane over the terminal portion of the intestine, which allows communication from both sides of the intestinal canal with the peritoneal outlet. In the Chilian Bdellostoma this internal communication does not exist, but there are two peritoneal outlets behind the anal opening, affording direct passages from each side of the intestinal canal. The opening on the right side, which is the side occupied by the ovary, is larger than the other, and the left opening in Bdellostoma and the passage over the intestine in Myzine, are probably simply for the pur- pose of furnishing a passage for such eggs as may get pushed under the intestine to the left side. From this comparison of the details of the principal points in the anatomy of these two genera, it will be seen that all the modifications are very slight, and will not warrant the separation of the genera into distinct families, as proposed by some authors, simply from the difference in the position of the gill openings. I therefore agree with Dr. Giinther in retaining both genera in the family Myxinide. As was the case in MWyzxine, so in Bdellostoma, have I been unsuc- cessful in finding a specimen that is unquestionably a male, though in one specimen there are no eggs developed, and in place of the wide ovary there is a simple tube that here and there contains masses of cellular matter, much more developed posteriorly, which has the ap- pearance of a testis. With this exception all the large lot of speci- mens are undoubted females with the eggs in various stages of develop- ment, the same as noticed in Myzine. In several specimens the eggs are all very small, in others there are from fifteen to twenty that are much larger than the rest in the ovary, and in still other specimens the development of the egg case has commenced _on the large eggs, and the first formation of the hooks at the ends of the ege are seen as granulations, while in still other specimens, in which the large eggs are from an inch to an inch and a quarter in length, the red color of the case can be seen at each end of the eggs, showing the formation of the horny case developing from the ends to the centre. In one of the jars containing a number of the fishes that were very much decayed, I found among the mass two eggs which were probably just ready to be laid when the fish was caught. These 1873.] 159 (Putnam. evgs are one inch in length, and one-half an inch in width, and the anchor-shaped hooks, of which there are about eighty at each end, are about one-tenth of an inch in iength. At about one-fifth of an inch from one end of the egg case is a slight lip or groove round the ease, into which the Pie aes of the egg itself projects, so that on taking the egg from the case, a corresponding ridge is seen round its surface. The egg case is of a beautiful red color, quite tough, and of about the thickness of good writing paper; over its surface are a large number of minute granulations, which are made by projections of points of the shell leaving corresponding pits on its inner surface. On holding the empty case to a strong light and looking with a lens from the inner side, the base of the hooks can be seen to be arranged in four irregular rows round each end, and each hook has its base in a small depression from the outer surface. That all this complicated development of the egg and its mem- branes, and the formation of the horny case, with its granulations and projecting hooks, should take place in the delitate and thin membranous sac forming the ovary, and without the slightest trace of any glandular structure, is most remarkable, when we remember the complicated system of glands that is required to bring about the same structure in the development of the membranes of the eg¢ and its case in the oviparous sharks and skates. ‘This is still more in- structive if we recall the fact that the next higher form of fishes above the Myxinoids are the Lampreys, in which the eggs are small, thousands in number, and laid without being protected by cases. We thus have in the Myxinoids, the lowest form but one of all Vertebrates, a peculiar character in the formation of an egg case, and in the small number of eggs developed at one time, which is lost in the very next family above it to reappear, under a different mode of development, in the Selachians, a group in every respect Spates urally far above the Cyclostomes. In regard to the use of the hooks on the cases of the eggs of Myxi- noids, I believe that they are not so much for the purpose of attaching the eges after they have been excluded, as they are for holding the eggs together in a chain when dropped from the ovary into the ab- dominal cavity, and thus aiding in their exclusion; as it must be impossible for the eggs to be loose in the abdominal cavity without being united by their hooks; for, on gently floating two eggs together, their hooks united immediately with such tenacity as to render it almost impossible to separate them without destroying some of the Putnam.) 1 6 0 [Nov. 19, hooks, and if thus united in the abdomen, when one was excluded the rest would be obliged to follow, and the muscles of the abdomen would also act along the whole chain in the effort of exclusion. The groove about the end of each egg case is probably a further provision, in this most perfect structure, to allow the young fish to make its escape from its tough case, and it will probably be found that the absorption of the case takes place at this point, the end dropping off like a cap at the proper time. SPECIES OF BDELLOSTOMA. Bdellostoma cirrhatum Giinther.! Head (measured to last gill opening) about one-third of total length, and contained about one and one-third times in length of abdomen. ‘Tail contained nine times in the total leneth. Base of tongue between the anterior pair of gills. Grills six or seven on each side. Length, 34 inches.? ts Habitat, “ South Africa; New Zealand; ? Japan.” (Ginther.) Bdellostoma polytrema Girard.’ Head about one-third of total length,* and contained about one and one-half times in the length of the abdomen. ‘Tail contained seven to eight times in total length. Base of tongue between the seventh or eighth pair of gills. Gills ten on each side. Length from 13 to 22 inches. Habitat, Coast of Chili. 1] have assumed Dr. Giinther’s synonymy, and with him question the habitat of Japan for this species. 2 These proportions, length and characters, are derived from the figures of “Mil- ler. The number of lingual teeth I consider as of generic value. Giinther gives 12 or 13 to the outer row, and 11 to the inner in B. cirrhatum. In five specimens of B. polytrema I found 13 in the outer row and 12 in the inner. In another specimen I found only 12 teeth in the outer row, but the last tooth in the outer row is very small, and only developed in old specimens. 3 This is unquestionably the species described by Lacepede, under the name of Le Gastrobranche Dombey, and figured from a stuffed skin of a specimen collected by Dombey in Chili, but I do not see any more reason for adopting a French name than a common English name, and the law of priority must certainly be limited to a proper expression of the binomial system in scientific language. I have therefore adopted the name bestowed by Girard. 4 In a specimen only thirteen inches long, the head was not quite one-third of the total length. 5 Girard gives the gill openings as fourteen on each side, but it is very probable that a few of the mucous pores were counted as Dr. Giinther suggests. 1873.] 1 6 1 [Murray. The Rev. Mr. R. C. Waterston gave an account of the habits of the Prairie Dog (Cynomys ludovicianus). A living specimen which Mr. Waterston had brought to exhibit to the meeting could not, unfortunately, be induced to leave his nest; some excellent figures were, however, shown. The Secretary read the following extracts from a letter communicated by Prof. Jules Marcou: — St. Joun, NewrounDLAND, Nov. 10, 1873. My Dear Sir: —The following account of a remarkable marine monster, which made its appearance off the shores of this island, and of a severed arm or tentacle of the same, now in my possession, will I dare say be interesting to you, and also to Prof. Agassiz, to whom I should like to offer it. On or about the 25th of October last, while a man by the name of Theophilus Picot was engaged at his usual occupation of fishing, off the eastern end of Great Bell Island in Conception Bay, his attention was attracted to an object floating on the surface of the water, which at a distance he supposed to be a sail, or the débris of some wreck, but which proved upon nearer inspection to be endowed with life. Picot, on observing that the object was alive, to satisfy his curiosity pushed his boat alongside, and I believe struck at it with an oar or boat-hook, whereupon the creature’s fury seemed to be aroused, and it struck at the bottom of the boat with its beak, and immediately after- ward threw its monstrous tentacles over the boat, which probably it might have dragged to the bottom had not Picot with great presence of mind severed one (or more) of the tentacles with his axe. A part of this tentacle or sucking arm I have now in my possession, im- mersed in spirits. I send you with this letter a couple of photo- eraphs of the said tentacle, and a few of the small denticulated sucking cups, all of which I hope will reach you safely. Picot represents the body of the animal to have been about sixty feet long, and its general diameter as not less than five feet. The breadth of the tail he represents as at least ten feet.. He states that when the creature found itself mutilated it made off backwards, or tail foremost, after the manner of squids, darkening the water over a large space with inky emissions. ‘The enormous proportions given _ above might appear to be exaggerations, were they not to a great PROCEEDINGS B. &. N. H.— VOL. XV". 11 MARCH, 1874. Murray.] 1 62 [Nov. 19, extent borne out by the fragment of the animal which was severed, » and of which the photograph will give you a fair idea. The tentacle measured on the 31st of October, when I first saw it, after it had been several days in strong brine, and shrunk in consequence, seven- teen feet; but was said to have measured nineteen feet previously, When it was first landed at a place called Portugal Cove, in Concep- tion Bay, and within nine miles of St. John, some six feet was cut off the inner end of this arm, and Picot asserts that the original incision was at least ten feet from its articulation with the body. Ac- cordingly the whole length of the arm must have been from thirty- three to thirty-five feet, The beak of the creature Picot described as being about the size of a six gallon kee. The Rev. Mr. Gabriel, now residing at Portugal Cove, but who formerly resided at a place called Lamalein, on the south coast of the island, states that, in the winter of 1870 and 1871, two entire cuttle fish were stranded on the beach near that place, which measured re- spectively forty and forty-seven feet. The man Picot says he saw the animal very distinctly for some time after it had been mutilated, swimming stern foremost with its tail above the water’s edge, and that its general color was a pale pinkish, resembling that of the common squid. The following is an exact copy of the memoranda I made on first inspecting this remarkable tentacle on the 31st of October. The total length of the fragment from the last. incision to the extremity, seventeen feet. The extremity of the arm or terminating two and one-half feet is flattened, and somewhat in shape like a narrow pad- dle, tapering toward the end to a sharpish point. The thickest part of this terminal appendage is about six inches in circumference. The inner fourteen and one-half feet is rounded in form, varying in thickness from three and one-half to four inches in diameter, or about the ordinary size of a man’s wrist. On what I shall eall the ventral side of this fourteen and one-half feet, there is a set of small tubercles or mammillz which, at the end nearest the articulation, ‘ are about two feet apart, but become much closer and more numerous towards the extremity. Some small valve-like sucking denticulated cups are distributed along the area near the tubercles. At the extreme point of the paddle-shaped extremity, and also at its junction with the rounded part, there is a cluster of small denticu- lated sucking cups, each cluster containing from fifty to seventy in- dividual cups. The smallest of these is not larger than the head of 1878.] 163 {[Mann. a pin. The broad paddle-like part between the two clusters is armed with a double row, twelve in each, of gigantic suckers, without teeth, each measuring about one and one-fourth inches in diameter. The whole tentacle, as coiled up for the photograph, measured two feet, four and one-half inches on the longer diameter. The photo- graph is one-fourth the natural size.’ Iam, my dear sir, yours very truly, ALEX. Murray. The Secretary exhibited photographs of two volcanic erup- tions at Colima, Mexico, also kindly communicated by Prof. Marcou. Section of Entomology. November 26, 1873. Mr. Edw. Burgess in the chair. Fourteen persons present... . The following communication was read : — DESCRIPTION OF A Monstrous FEMALE IMAGO oF ANISOPTERYX POMETARIA, WITH REMARKS ON THE Pupa. By B. PickmMan MAnn. On the 9th of November, 1873, I caught a female Anisopteryx pometaria Harr. descr., which has two aborted wings on each side, and has pectinated antenne. ‘The normal female is wingless, and has simple antennz. In this specimen the right fore wing is about 6.5 or 7 millimeters long; a fraction of a millimeter thick at the base, and as far as the middle; dilated at the middle into a flattened spheroidal bunch; thence slender to the tip. The right hind wing is about 3mm.long and 1 mm. wide. The left fore wing is about 3.5 mm. long, and 0.5 mm. wide. The left hind wing is about 4.5 mm. long, and nearly 1.5 mm, wide. All the wings are clothed with scales, and have somewhat the appearance of fur tippets. 1A mutilated specimen has since been taken alive in Coomb’s Cove, which per- haps is the same individual referred to in the letter. Its body is said to have been as large round as a hogshead, and ten feet in length; the long arms measured forty- two, and the shorter, six, feet in length. See Am. Nat., Feb., 1874, p. 122; and Sill. Am, Journ., Feb., 1874, p. 158.—E. B. Mann.} 164 [Nov. 26, When I examined the pinned specimen, although it was still alive, the right hind wing was turned so that it pointed forward, and every time that I tried to push it into its proper position it sprang back. All the other wings point backwards, but could be moved. The wings could not have been of any use for flight. The antenne are fully 6 mm. long, possibly a little more. I counted in the left antenna fifty-one joints. Each of the joints bears upon each side a tuft of fine hairs 0.4 to 0.6 mm. long. To make sure that this was a female, I pressed the body so as to cause the terminal segments of the abdomen to protrude. The anal opening was protected on each side by a narrow chitinous band, with recular outline, as in other females. There ~vas no semblance of clasping organs, so far precluding the idea of hermaphroditism. On pressing the abdomen more forcibly I burst it, and dislodged some egos. Other egos which were forced out remain attached to the mass of viscera, and can be seen now on the specimen. ‘These eggs are clearly similar to the well-known eggs of the species. I carried the fresh and living female to Mr. §. H. Scudder, who acknowledged that my observations were correct. The specimen is preserved in my collection (Written No. 3085). On page 465 of Harris’ “Treatise on Some of the Insects Injuri- ous to Vegetation,” edition of 1862 (page 335, 1841; page 362, 1852), Harris says that the chrysalis of the female of A. pomeiaria is “ desti- tute of a covering for wings, which is found in the chrysalis of the males.” I find a like statement in Riley’s Second Missouri Report (1870), page 97, probably a quotation, although the main subject of Mr. Riley’s article seems to be A. vernaia. On the 17th of June, 1872, 1 collected two or three varieties of larve descending from elm and apple trees, and undertook to raise one hundred and fifty of these larvee to the imago state. I paid little attention to them for more than a year, at the end of which time I found in my jars one hundred and forty earthen cocoons and twelve excluded female imagos of A. pometaria, then erroneously called A. vernala. J opened about 30 cocoons from one of the jars into which I had put larve of a certain description, marked in my collection No. 3057, and found among them but ten well-formed and undeveloped pupa, for n most of them the imagos were out of the pupa-skin and dead. All the developed imagos which I determined were females. A few of the undeveloped pupz were entirely misshapen, or partially de- 1873.] 165 [Scudder. formed. In each one of the well-formed pupz (and in such skins of others as are capable of examination), the wing cases are fully de- veloped externally, even to such a point that in all which I examined for the purpose, six or more, I counted the eight veins of the wings as ridges, and distinguished the fifth or intermediate vein as arising from the discal nervure. Yet it was evident that there were no wings under the cases in some, at least, because in them I could see the sutures between the abdominal rings showing through the wing eases. Five of the pup thus examined vary in length from 9 mm. to 7 mm., and in breadth from 4 mm. to 3 mm., or from the largest to the smallest of all the pupe which I extracted. I carefully removed the dry and brittle pupa-skins from five of these pupse, under the microscope, and found no wings beneath the cases. I opened the bodies of the five imagos extracted, and found eggs in each, so there can be no doubt that these are females. Yarris’ saying, therefore, if I understand it, is erroneous. I extracted three well-formed and undeveloped pup from the jar in which the larvee of the other description had been put, marked No. 3058, and found besides some dead imagos in some of the cocoons. All the imagos are wingless females, which are mainly, almost uniformly, of one size, and on the average much smaller than the imagos of 3057, but I see no characteristic difference between the two. ‘The wing cases of these are fully developed externally, like those of No. 3057. Pupe from 7 to 6 mm. long, from 4 to 2.5 mm. broad. I made sure that these are females by the same tests as used before. I have placed the emptied cocoons and the others, as well as the extracted imagos, pup, and pupa-skins, in my collection, with name and numbers corresponding, and will gladly verify my observations by exhibiting the specimens. Mr. 8. H. Scudder called the attention of the Section to a Hesperian, in which ocelli were present. In a memoir published in 1831 by the Berlin Academy of ‘Science, Klug has reviewed the families of insects in which ocelli are present. He states that they are wholly wanting in the rhopalocerous Lepidop- tera, even in the Hesperians, and this assertion has been received up to the present time. But in the male of the Papilio Accius of Smith- Abbot a single ocellus is found in the middle of the front, consisting of a slight eminence as broad as the base of the antennz, smooth and Hyatt.] 166 [Dec. 3, lenticular; in the female, however, this eminence is divided into three minute points, which together are of the same size as the single ele- vation of the male; this seems to show that the male ocellus is formed of three elements united. In all the heterocerous Lepidoptera which possess ocelli, these are two in number, and are placed one behind each antenna, probably therefore on the vertex. This difference is not extraordinary, for among the Hemiptera some groups -possess ocelli below, some above the eyes, a difference still greater; while in other groups they are wholly wanting. In the genus Larema, to which Papilio Accius Sm.-Abb. belongs, two other species have been examined, L. Pattenti and L. Hianna. In the male of the former (the only sex examined) the ocellus resembles perfectly that of Z. Accius; but there is not the slightest trace of ocelli either in the male or female of the latter; nor do they exist in the neighboring genera, so far as these have been examined. December 3, 1873. The President in the chair. Fifty-five persons present. The following papers were read : — EVOLUTION OF THE ARIETIDS. By A. Hyarr. My researches continued during the past fourteen years upon the Ammonites of the Jura, but. more especially upon the family of Arie- tidz, have led to the following results. The parent form of the family, which includes the genus or group Arietes, of Von Buch, and the series to which Scipionianus belongs,} 1This, however, does not include the group of Amm. angulatus, Charmasset, Leigneletii and Boucaultianus. These, by their young and adult forms, are dis- tinctly separable from any of the true Arietian forms. The young have a stout, smooth whorl, followed by a stage in which the ribs are developed, and pass con- tinuously over the abdomen. In the next stage the sides become flatter, the ribs on the abdomen divided by a channel, and in all the forms except angulatus or catenatus, the involution is notably increased. In the first old age stage the ribs again become confluent on the abdomen, and in the last stages almost or entirely obsolete. This stage compares in form and all its characteristics, with Boucaultia- nus, the last representative of this special series. Catenatus and angulatus occur at Lemur with tortilis immediately above planor- bis, and below the Angulatusbed. Angulatus with Charmassei and Leigneleti in the Angulatusbed, Charmassei continuing on into the Bucklandibed, succeeded by Boucaultianus in the Tuberculatusbed of Oppel. 1873.] UO [Hyatt. is the species known as planorbis in England, and psilonotus in Ger- many. In tracing the different series of species, it has been found that the forms differ in their adult characteristics, sometimes very decidedly, and in other instances hardly any definite line can be drawn between those of the same series. ‘Thus Arnioceras, comprehending forms as distinct as the miserabilis of Quenstedt, and the Ceras of Giebel, may be described as one species; again torus, tortilis, Liassicus and Nodo- tianus are all distinct forms, and yet undoubtedly derivatives of the common stock, torus. It would be entirely ridiculous to describe the latter series as one species, but the former can be for the most part included under the name of Amm. falcaries Quenstedt. The differ- ence is explained by the study of development. Leaving out the first, or egg stage, common to all Ammonoid forms, and the Goniatitic, or second stage, common to all the Am- monites proper, the subsequent, or smooth stage, in Arnioceras mis- erabilis and its derivatives, occupies a notable proportion of the umbilical whorl, and has a peculiar form resembling that of the adult planorbis. The adult characteristics are slowly and methodically added after this stage of growth. Some individuals barely attain the form common to the genus; others, however, reach beyond this, and add by growth channels, and otherwise modify the form. In all cases, however, no sudden changes are made by the growth; each adult passes through a normal course of development, and the differ- ent characteristics distinguishing this or that variety or species, is gradually acquired, no-abrupt changes being remarked. In Caloceras, however, while all the young forms resemble torus, there is great latitude in the assumption of the adult form and char- acteristics, and differences, even in forms which must be regarded as varieties of the same species, are introduced suddenly during the later stages of growth. The study of the adult individuals in Arnioceras would enable an observer to unite them, perhaps even into one species, as Quenstedt and others have done, an1 the study of the young would lead to a parallel result; but in Caloceras, while the consideration of the adults alone would lead to the distinction of numerous species, the investi- gation of the development alone would indicate here, as in Arnioce- ras, only one species. Throughout the Ammonoids, we find everywhere instances of these two methods, the slow accumulation of differences, according to the Hyatt.] 168 (Dec. 3, Darwinian theory, and their quick or sudden production, according to the law of acceleration, as explained by Cope and the writer, and subsequently by Mivart. ‘The gaps between forms or species, may be largely explained by the latter mode of development, if the necessary care is taken to study the earlier stages, which should show the close genetic connection of the distinct adult forms, and explain thereby the absence of the intermediate varieties. By carefully ob- serving these principles, it is possible to trace the entire family of the Arietide to one variety of one species, the smooth variety of Psiloce- ras planorbis. The species are evolved from this single form in series of various kinds, some forming lines passing up through the various subsequent formations from the planorbisbed, giving origin in their turn to other series, and some remaining single. Thus the whole picture is comparable to a genealogical tree, the trunk represented by the smooth psilonotus, which originates in the Triassic formation, and giving rise on either side to a fan-shaped array of branches, each branch representing a series of forms or species, and quite often having smaller branches of its own. In each case the point of origin of the branches or series is near the point of origin of the branch from which they spring, whence the fan-shaped arrangement alluded to above. Farther, each series perfects or car- ries a certain series of characteristics common to itself, and a certain series common to the whole family. The first distinguish it as a genus or group, and the latter are the parallel or mimetic characteristics which are recularly produced in each individual, and each series, according to the place of the indi- vidual in the series. Thus psilonotus is smooth throughout life, Arnioceras is smooth for a certain period in the young, then adds ribs, and a keel, then channels. The adult Conybeari adds tubercles on the ribs, which appear in a young stage of Coroniceras, a later appearing series, and then in the last number of its own series becomes more involute; this greater degree of involution appearing as a young characteristic in the last series of the family Asteroceras. The old age changes observable in psilonotus are very dpohe they - become greater and more distinct in Caloceras, and succeeding series; finally in the last members of the series of Coroniceras they seriously affect the entire form of the adult, and in Asteroceras the adult of | | ‘ | : n 1873.] 169 [Hyatt. Collenotii has precisely the same form as the old Coroniceras irigona- tum or Asteroceras obiusum, and is also smooth. | Thus we have the common characteristics of the family produced independently, and in distinct series one after another in regular order in the species of each series, first in the latest member of the Conybeari series, then in the Arnioceras branch, again reproduced in Coroniceras, a descendant branch. Then reduced to a young char- acteristic, and finally abandoned, together with the channel and the form of the whorl and ribs which were also first elaborated in the adults of the Conybeari series, and Arnioceras, and replaced by char- acteristics which have first made their appearance in the old age of these very species themselves. Thus the whole group may be compared to an individual taken out of either the highest and latest occurring member of the lower branch, Conybeari, or out of the centre of the Arnioceras branch, in Coroniceras. These have in each individual a smooth stage, or:planor- bis stage, then the adult with keeled, channeled, ribbed, tuberculated stage, followed by an old age in which all of these disappear, and the whorl becomes smooth, the sides convergent, the abdomen narrow and acute. The young, therefore, compares with the adult of psilonotus, the adult possesses the characteristics elaborated by successive additions in the growth of the species which intervene between the individual and the point of origin of the series to which it belongs, and the old age points out the changes which must subsequently take place in its own series when the climax of development is reached, and the series is declining. In other words, a series of species has, like an individual, a certain store of vital power which enable it for certain periods, more or less prolonged, to evolve new forms and new characteristics, but which in the end fails, and in place of farther progress in that direc- tion we find an evolution of degraded forms, which compare exactly with the retrograde metamorphoses of the individual. Size, which indicates vegetative growth, and the power to take in, and assimilate large quantities of nutritive matter, which is usually ealled vital power, corroborates the above. The size of the individual increases from psilonotus, which rarely exceeds four or five inches, to Conybeari, which attains the enormous diameter of over three feet. Again, in the Arnioceras branch, the first appearing forms are very McCrady.] Ai ri 0 [Dec. 8, small, only an inch or two in diameter, and steadily increase to Coro- niceras trigonatum, sometimes two feet in diameter, and then decrease in Asteroceras gradually te Collenotii, which again hardly exceeds two inches. . The individual grows by constant addition of characteristics, or parts, and declines by the loss in those characteristics or parts, first of the power to perform their functions, and then by their obsolescence. Series of species, on the other hand, progress by the evolution of forms which, in their adult condition, add certain common or parallel characteristics in regular order, and then decline by the evolution of a series of forms exhibiting the obsolescence of the same parts or organs, each form inheriting at an earlier age the old age characteris- tics of the parent until finally none of the adult characteristics re- main even in the young. OBSERVATIONS ON THE Foop AND THE REPRODUCTIVE ORGANS OF OsTREA VIRGINIANA, WITH SOME ACCOUNT OF BUCEPH- ALUS CucuLUS Nov. SreEc. By Joun McCrapy. During the year between September, 1868, and September, 1869, J had frequent occasion to examine points connected with the natural history of Ostrea virginiana in Charleston, 8. C. The specimens examined were almost all what are known there as Millpond Oysters, and are grown under circumstances very similar to those depended on to produce the “green oyster” of the European markets. One especial feature of this mode of culture is that the animal is fattened upon a mud bottom, where it remains imbedded so as usually to be invisible in the thick layer of low organic forms, carpeting the whole surface of the mud in unbroken continuity, wherever this mud is found. This organic layer therefore covers many square miles along the coast of South Carolina alone, and furnishes the exhaustless sup- ply of food upon which the oysters fatten. The layer itself, when- ever I have examined it, seems to consist chiefly of a yellowish organic film, which upon microscopic examination, presents the ap- pearance of a sort of endless convoluted frill attached everywhere along one border, and free along the other: the convolutions in their natural healthy condition presenting somewhat the aspect of the upper surface of cumulo-stratus. In this frill, which indeed seems to constitute the whole organism, which I shall provisionally call Chthamoctistes cumulus, I could never make out any structure. It \ 1873.] 171 [McCrady. presented the appearance of a uniformly homogeneous organic film, in which irregular strie often showed themselves apparently due to the convolutions, and the transparency of the film. The exception to this uniformity, which I observed, was the normal and regular exist- ence of granules or nuclei, usually with a disposition to form clusters, and which on one occasion, at least, I observed to be liberated (ap- parently by the dissolution of the surrounding film), and which then appeared as a swarm of dancing cellules with something like a Brownian movement. Upon the layer of Chthamoctistes cumulus, the particles of mud brought by the tide are continually depositing themselves, so that it is slowly undergoing burial by this constant accumulation. Never, however, is this burial complete, for it grows upward as fast as it is buried, and if the mud beneath the layer be examined, the presence of Chthamoctistes may be traced downward to a considerable depth, mixed with a constantly increasing propor- tion of mud, so that it is impossible to say exactly where the deposit of mud begins in such a section, or where the traces of Chthamoctis- tes disappear. Indeed, my observations led me to conclude that the whole mass of these mud banks bordering the southern estuaries, would prove to be made up of a sort of organic framework furnished by the endless conyolutions and furbelows of Chthamoctistes, with its instertices gradually filled in by constantly deposited mud particles. As the deposit grows, the superincumbent weight increases, the healthy and normal appearance of the Chthamoctistes ceases to be traceable in the lower parts, and the mud appears then more com- pact, but still contains traves of organic life in the form of granules and apparently detached pieces of the endless Chthamoctistes frills. The upper healthy portion of the Chthamoctistes growth is ten- anted everywhere by Diatoms and sporules of Alge in countless numbers, and in less quantity by various forms of Rhizopoda; and all through the mud beneath, the lifeless shells and skeletons of these organic forms are found in abundance. Many examinations of the alimentary canal of the oyster prove that it is the Diatoms and spores of Algz which constitute its food. The former, especially, are found perfect, or nearly perfect, in the stomach and anterior portion of the intestine, and, as empty skeletons, compose nearly the whole mass of the rejectamenta found in the rectum. A few Rhizopods now and then are found, and also a few antherizoids, which latter do not ap- pear to suffer any diminution of vitality in the stomach and anterior portion of the intestine. McCrady.] Le [Dec. 3, Reproductive Organs. Though my attention was directed specially to the subject of the fertilization of the ova in the oyster, I was never able to procure any light on the subject. Davaine was similarly unsuccessful in O. edulis, His determination, however, that the dyster is hermaphrodite was fully borne out by my observations; which all tended to show that the male organ consists in every part of a solid branching stem, con- sisting wholly, as far as I could ascertain, of spermatocysts; and that this stem was everywhere completely surrounded and enclosed by the ovary, consisting usually of a granular common yolk-mass, in which are scattered at intervals everywhere germinative vesicles of various sizes, and with no enclosing membrane, so that they may be broken up by pressure into fragments which immediately each assume the spheroidal form, and then appear only as germinative vesicles of a smaller size. ‘The spermatozoa are developed, or begin to be de- veloped, and assume their perfect free form often long before the ova would be considered, according to the analogy of other animals, as ready for impregnation, that is, while they are still only scattered germinative vesicles everywhere enclosed in a common yolk mass. The spermatozoa may be seen in their aggregated, or even their free condition, actively moving about among masses of this granular yolk- substance enclosing many germinative vesicles, without exhibiting any attraction for them, and without the appearance of any change in the young vesicles themselves. The spermatozoa have, as de- scribed by Dr. Burnett, an ovo-globular head and a delicate tail, which I did not succeed in tracing but once to its extremity, and which always seemed to me rather short. The ova were observed by Davaine in a subsequent condition, in which they were no longer simple germinative vesicles embedded in a common yolk mass, but a condition in which each such simple vesi- cle appears to be surrounded by a separate yolk of its own. But he was unable to ascertain whether or not the egg of the oyster ever presents the ordinary form among animals, viz., a vitelline membrane enclosing a yolk, within which are found a germinative vesicle, con- taining a nucleus, or nucleus and nucleolus. Nor did he succeed in discovering whether, as in other Acephala, the ova ever became en- closed each in a separate and usually pyriform sac of the ovarian membrane. I was fortunate in having the opportunity to observe the ova in 1873.] il i 3 [McCrady. both of these advanced conditions, as well as in that which Davaine observed; and there is also recorded among my notes an observation upon an old oyster in which, notwithstanding the absence of any observable germinative vesicles, the yolk had undergone its regular segmentation into distinct yolk masses; while a young oyster exam- ined at the same time contained similar perfectly separated yolk masses, each surrounded by a vitelline membrane, and containing a very distinct simple germinative vesicle (Lut without nucleus or nucle- olus), easily separated from the yolk. ‘This observation may mean that oysters become sterile so far at least as the female products of the generative organs are concerned, with advancing age.} In reference to these more advanced stages of the egg in the oys- ter, not hitherto:observed, so far as I am aware, by any one, I prefer to vive an extract from my journal of observations written at the time of observation. “Hxamined to-day (April 23, 1869) a good-sized mill-pond oys- ter. It was quite lean, and the shell whitish, but it had the black mantle and the yellow color. It was opened immediately after being taken out of the water of my aquarium and the heart was beating at Fig. 1. Egg of O. virginiana in various stages. g, germinative vesicles. y, yolk. c, egg-capsule. 1 In such a case we may, however, suspect the possible existence of a Partheno- genesis. There is no known reason why yolk-mass should not in all cases be germ- mnass, and of the nature of a bud, capable under favorable circumstances of developing into a new individual; but ordinarily overcome and assimilated as food by the superior vitality of the embryo, resulting from the contact of the sperma- tozoa with the germinative vesicle. This seems to me the direction in which we should look for the explanation of such Parthenogenesis as appears to exist in the female Bee. McCrady.] Al Hi 4 [Dec. 3 the rate of nineteen or twenty pulsations a minute. This is much more than the rate of beating observed in oysters which have been some time out of the water, in which Bese are long intervals of rest between the beats. “The examination of the ovary proved very interesting, for I found numerous ova, all provided not only with germinative vesicle, but with one or more Wagnerian vesicles, and these often containing a dot. This is quite different from Davaine’s results, as he never was able to establish the existence even of the Wagnerian vesicle at any point of the growth. Moreover, the ova were lodged in distinct pyriform sacs, precisely as is usually the case in other Lamellibranchi- ates, and of this also Davaine makes no mention. The shape of these sacs was precisely that of a Florence flask, and the neck quite long. One view in profile was accidentally obtained, showing clus- ters of. these pyriform ovisacs standing out from the membrane of the ovary. “It is quite impossible that there should be any error as to the existence in this case of the Wagnerian vesicles, as they were much jarger than the yolk cells, and of a quite different appearance, being seemingly mere specializations of the substance of the germinative vesicle, and like it quite transparent. ‘The dot within these Wagne- rian vesicles appeared to be a congeries of granules. — “‘T endeavored next to ascertain whether or not spermatozoa were present, but could not satisfy myself on this point, as my eye had become fatigued, and no disposition I could make of the light enabled me to discover whether the minute dancing cellules, which were quite numerous, had or had not a tail.” This observation makes it evident that the egg of the oyster does pass through a stage in which it has an ectoblast, mesoblast, ento- blast, and entosthoblast, like other ova, and that it also, like the ova of other Lamellibranchiates, has a stage in which it is lodged in a distinct pyriform saccular diverticulum of an ovarian membrane. This latter pomt was confirmed by several other recorded observa- tions, in some of which the sac existed, though the germinative vesi- cle contained neither nucleus nor nucleolus. . I am therefore led to doubt the conclusion arrived at by Agassiz in the case of Tubularia (Parypha) cristata, where there is a similar obscurity, that in that case the ovum passes into the embryo without the intermediation of a stage characterized by the crdinary complica- tion of structure. 1873.] TS) [McCrady. The ege of the oyster, therefore, appears to pass through the fol- lowing phases. 1. A phase in which there are only germinative vesicles embedded in a common mass of yolk, exhibiting no differentiation into distinct yolk masses. . 2. A later phase, in which each germinative vesicle has appropri- ated its proportionate share of yolk, which gradually becomes sur- rounded with a vitelline membrane. 3. A phase still later, in which each complete ovum may consist of ectoblast, mesoblast, entoblast, and entosthoblast, and is lodged ina distinct pear-shaped ovisac, attached by its narrow and rather elon- gated neck to an ovarian membrane. 4, Spermatozoa have been observed to be present in the ovary at every one of these stages, without the appearance of any of the phenomena of impregnation. It must, however, be here remarked that the only observation of the spermatozoa in the ovisac phase was in a specimen in which there was neither nucleus nor nucleolus re- corded as observed in the germinative vesicles. It is evident that the evolution of perfect spermatozoa antedates that of perfect ova, though these former may continue to be seen in the reproductive organ up to the time when the ova have nearly reached maturity. The spermatozoa may be seen in an active state when the ova are as yet scarcely determinable. Again, we cannot affirm that at the stage of actual maturity of the ovum, any spermatozoa are present. The case is still further complicated by the fact that in the climate of Charleston the spawning time of the oyster seems to extend from May to November, the spawning being heaviest from about the mid- dle of June to the middle of September. At almost any time during the summer it is possible to find individuals with very immature ova. It remains a question, therefore, whether self-impreenation is not actually barred by some not yet known provision, and whether the spermatozoa are not freely discharged into the water to be wafted to other individuals, whose ova may be ready for fertilization. The closely gregarious and crowding habits of the oyster render this alto- gether possible, and in cases where the sexual products have flowed from a tumid generative organ on pressure by the finger, I have ob- served at one time the extrusion of ova only, at another, the extru- sion of spermatozoa only. McCrady | 1 76 [Dec. zi Bucephalus cuculus nov. spec. In total ignorance of the observations of von Baer uport Bucepha- lus polymorphus, and of those of Lacaze-Duthiers upon Bucephalus Haimeanus. or that Claparede had observed what was probably an advanced freely swimming stage of the latter species, in July, 1868, I found in the oysters of Charleston a closely allied entozoon. My observations, though not sufficiently detailed to be of any great inter- est, nevertheless probably indicate at least a new species, and are, I believe, the first record of this remarkable entozoon in America. On the 23d of July (1868), I examined six oysters as to the con- dition of their reproductive organs. My journal records that only one of them was in egg; two others being plentifully supplied with spermatozoa; while the remaining three, including the largest, had their reproductive organs filled in every direction with a peculiar par- asitic srowth. As soon as I opened the organ I was struck with the white fibres brought up by the knife, as something I had never seen before. With the microscope I soon ascertained the presence of various stages of the development of a vermiform larva, provided in its most advanced form with two long tentaculiform organs at one extremity, the portion to which they were attached being distin- guished from the rest of the body by a marked constriction. The cavity within the body was very evident, but no evidence could be obtained that even in the most advanced form it extended to either extremity. The part bearing the tentacula was not only separated by a marked constriction from the body, but seemed to be provided with lip-like folds, such as frequently appear at the oral extremity of the gastrostyle of a Hydroid Medusa. ‘The opposite extremity of the body was truncated, and I observed some appearances which I thought might be due to the animal’s attaching itself by this trun- cated extremity, and behaving like a hydroid larva, lengthening and shortening its body, the lower parts of which could be considerably elongated. Round, embryos, like the outline, fig. 1, were observed, but in this instance these were detached from the others, and it could only be surmised that they really were the youngest stage of the same ani- mal. The outlines 2, 3,4, and 5, and one representing the same stage as fig. 6, were satisfactorily traceable to the cysts, where they were observed to be enclosed usually three in the same cyst. Six days after (July 29), I found another oyster infested by the same parasite; my notes represent the generative organ as filled with 1873.] : 177 [McCrady. the fibres found in the previous examples. These were more partic- ularly examined and proved to be nodose branching tubes, recalling forcibly the branching stems of Hydroids, being occupied like them by a fleshy parenchyma enclosing a canal, d (except in ‘young branches, like fig. 8, e), and expanding at irregular intervals into Fig. 2. 1-8, stages in the development of Bucephalus euculus. 7, extremity of tentacu- lum. 8, sporocyst. a, apparent cavity. 6, opake nucleus. c, already formed worm with tentacula?. d, central canal, e, young branch without canal. PROCEEDINGS B. S. N. H.— VOL. XVI. 12 MARCH, 1874. McCrady.] 178 [Dec. 3, round ovoid, or ellipsoidal chambers. ‘These chambers sometimes — exhibited what seemed to be a mere cavity, formed by an enlarge- ment, as at a, of the central canal, sometimes to have this cavity filled with an opaque nucleus darker than the other parts, as at b. In no case did I observe any contractility, such as would have been in- volved by the formation of these narrowings and widenings of the tube under the microscope. Indeed, the impression left upon me by the distinct resistance of the tubes to the knife was that they would probably prove chitinous. The species, therefore, is, in respect of the rigidity of its tube, more in accord with the observations of Baer and Siebold upon B. polymorphus, than with those of Lacaze-Duthiers upon 6. Haimeanus. Again, as at c, would sometimes be seen a worm far advanced in development, and in the larger ellipsoidal cysts were several still more advanced stages. I was, however, prevented from continuing the observations; and this will account for the meagreness of detail in the drawings marked 7 and 8, of which the former represents a worm liberated by the breaking of the tubular stems during removal. My journal records that the tentacula are remarkably long and extensile, and that they appeared bristling along their whole length with pointed cells, having a general resemblance to lasso-cells, but that I could find no appearance of a lasso either within or without these cells. I have’no recollection of a ventral aperture or sucker, and my journal does not even allude to any fea- _ ture of appearance which might be so interpreted. Of course I do not consider this conclusive that there was none, and I have there- fore abandoned the generic name (Hydricuculus) I had given to the parasite, and have assigned it to the genus Bucephalus von Baer. Meagre as are these details and drawings, they appear to me to in- dicate quite a distinct species from B. Haimeanus. The younger stages show a proportion between the size of the budding tentacula and that of the body, quite different from what appears in the draw- ings of Lacaze-Duthiers. These tentacular buds are much shorter and stouter in proportion, and the body also stouter and shorter than in B. Haimeanus. On the other hand, the advanced larva, fig. 7, seems to be considerably narrower and longer than the other species, and its tentacula shorter. This difference, however, may be due to age. Though I observed fine transverse striations, the more distinct constrictions of the animal’s outline presented to me none of that reoularity indicated by Lacaze-Duthiers. They seemed to be mere irregular contractions of the body wall at different points, no one of 1873.] 1 K 9 [McCrady which extended completely round the body.1 The only permanent transverse constriction I observed was that separating the tentaculi- ferous extremity from the rest of the body. Finally the rigidity of the tube seems to separate this species from B. Haimeanus, and to approximate it to B. polymorphus; an approximation borne out by the presence of those bodies in the tentacula which reminded me of lasso-cells; something like which seem to be present in Baer’s fresh water species, but not in the B. Haimeanus, though the latter, like our B. cuculus, belongs to the sea, and is found in the oyster (Osirea edulis) of Europe, as B. cuculus is in O. Virginiana. The appearance of the oysters infested by this parasite is precisely that described by Lacaze-Duthiers. Instead of the creamy or yel- lowi&h tint of the healthy ovary, this part of the animal, on removing the shell, seems covered by a transparent tissue, beneath which are seen indistinctly the branching tubes, which in this position have rather a brown appearance, agd do not appear white, as they seem when removed from the organ. According to my observations, the whole generative organ is filled by the branchjng growth of this sporocyst, but I did not observe the parasite in any other part of the body. Moreover, in such oysters, though not specially sickly in appearance, and only less fat than their healthy companions, I did not find any trace whatsoever of either ova or spermatozoa; and I understand the presence of this parasite as completely destroying, for the time at least, the fertility of its victim. It is quite conceivable that the years of short spawn, said to be frequently noticed by those concerned in oyster culture, may be due to unusual abundance of these parasites in those years. I had no means of ascertaining whether the parasite proves fatal to the oyster. As I have said, no very distinct signs of sickness are observable. Of the oyster, from whose reproductive organ the parasites sketched in figs. 7 and 8 were taken, I find the following remark in my journal, “ This oyster was taken out of the mudeyesterday morning” (July 29th, time of wri- ting), “and stood all day and all night upon my microscope table without water, but in the shade.” In the summer of Charleston this is a severe ordeal for a healthy oyster, yet the next sentence records: ‘His heart was beating, and he seemed in pretty good condition not- withstanding this treatment. He was not, however, so fat as many of the oysters are even at this time, and an examination of the genera- 1 By an error in the woodcutting, one of the constrictions in Fig. 6 does appear to be continuous across, but this is not the case in my original drawing. 3 McCrady.} | 180 {Dec. 3, tive organ found it filled with the fibres ” of our parasite. It must be ‘borne in mind, however, that the standard of comparison here is the degree of fat usually retained by healthy oysters in summer, and this is far below what they exhibit in winter. On the whole, all oysters may be said to sicken during the time of reproduction, and I do not think that the individuals I have found thus infested, could be said to be much more sickly than they would have seemed from the effects of their own reproductive procésses. In the one case they. seem to give their winter’s gain to the development of their own off- spring, in the other, to this cuckoo-like worm. In all probability the oyster is completely freed from its intruding guest before the winter sets in. Such fibre# in such number, if introduced with an oyster into the mouth of man, would probably soon make themselves known as something very different from the oyster itself, and yet I have never heard of their being noticed in winter, notwithstanding the enormous consumption of these animals as foods The fact also that Claparede found a Bucephalus (which he identifies with B. Haimeanus under the name of Cercaria! Haimeana) on the coast of Normandy, between the © middle of July and the end of September, freely swimming in the - sea by means of exceedingly lively strokes of the long appendages, which I have called tentacula for want of a better name, seems to indicate that in the latter part of the summer these parasites abandon their temporary abode in Ostrea edulis and Cardium rusticum, perhaps to seek another; as even in this more mature condition, Claparede found no traces of sexual organs, and but little advance upon the simple structure figured by Lacaze-Duthiers. My own observations were all made in the latter part of July. I do not find any record of the time of Lacaze-Duthiers’ observations. + In its free condition Claparede several times found this Bucephalus attached to the underside of the disks of Sarsias and Oceanias, and in one instance, probably by some accident, the long tentacula had been lost. He saw, however, nothing to indicate that the Medusez furnished for it more than a temporary harborage. In Mnemiopsis Leidyi, A. Agassiz has frequently observed! “a long flesh-colored, cylindrical worm, with five longitudinal white lines 1 Pagenstecher asserts that these larve are not true Cercariz, and that while a Distoma may develop from their body, their tentaculiform extremity develops anew into a germ-sack. I know not on what facts this statement rests. I quote it from Cobbold’s Entozoa, p. 30, having not yet seen Pagenstecher’s “ Trematoden und Trematoden-Larven.” 1873.] 181 [McCrady. extending the whole length; the mouth by which it is fastened to the jelly-fish (to the inner wall in the upper part of the long furrow, near the eye-speck) occupying the whole of the anterior part. This mouth can be closed, extended to a point, and when inserted in the sub- stance of the jelly-fish, it is expanded again like the mouth of a trum- pet, and the worm is firmly fastened.” These worms, he tells us, are sluggish in their movements, and exhibit only slow contractions of their bodies when detached, though they will live several days after being separated: He cannot refer them to any of the genera de- scribed, though he regarded them as resembling a leech more than anything else. It is curious that the only jelly-fish I have observed in the pond where these infested oysters were bred, was the Mnemuopsis littoralis, whose development I traced in 1857, and described under the name of Bolina. But they were taken in the month of April, and no par- asites of any kind were observed upon them; nor have I observed Bucephalus cuculus in any later stage of growth than that described in this paper. The great size of A. Agassiz’ worm (its length vary- ing from an inch to an inch and a half), and its five white lines, are very unlike the parasite of the oyster. But the Cercariz, to which group of larval forms Bucephalus belongs, appear to be all young of Trematoda, and in our ignorance it is well to bring into comparison with each other all the facts we can collect. GENERAL REMARKS. The remarkable fact that in the case of Bucephalus the “ sporo- cyst” is a branching stem, in which is formed a continuous canal, has, so far as I am aware, no analogy, except among the Hydroid Medusz, and some Polyzoa and Tunicata. Among the Hydroids, the :ciliated embryo, as in Melicertum, according to A. Agassiz’ observations, sometimes simply elongates into a worm-like shape, enlarged at one extremity, and enclosing a simple cavity of nearly the same form as the embryo. By the enlarged extremity these em- bryos attach themselves, and continue their growth, sometimes even put out lateral buds before the formation of a polyp-head. Here, therefore, we have an embryo in the form of a branching stem with central canal, and soon clothing itself with stiff chitinous sheath. In other Sertularians, and the case which I recall was, I think, an Obelia, a colony may, according to my. observations, McCrady.] 182 [Dec. 3 - e throw out from its stem a multitude of long branches without polyp- heads, evidently, according to my interpretation, in consequence of conditions unsuitable to its ordinary mode of sustentation and growth. ‘The long branches thus thrown out seem to be efforts to secure a more suitable location; and usually, according to my impres- sion, do not appear unless the polyps are in a sickly or dying condi- tion. The fact seems to indicate that the branching stem of the Sertularian is really the persistent embryo, or planula become arbo- rescent. In this state it normally produces by gemmation polyps which remain in sarcoceenonia, if I be permitted the term, with the ramifying embryo; and in Antennularia and Aglaophenia, as Allman has shown, the ramifying embryo also produces in the accessory cel- lules, rhizopodous sarcode extensions of its substance, containing lasso-cells; whence it is easily conceivable that by these alone the embryo might capture and digest its food; while in Hincks’ genus Ophiodes, these accessory bodies take on a remarkable development so as to present the form of tentacula, capable of varied movements. Prof. Allman even advocates the view that the paleozoic Graptolites are the horny stems of such nematophorous, polypless embryonic forms, and his view is worthy of most attentive consideration. How- ever that may be, the facts forcibly indicate that among the Sertula- rians the branched polyp stem, with its numerous and often annular articulations, is a branched vermiform larva, capable of independent existence under favorable circumstances. And this interpretation is supported by the phenomenon of frustulation, which also we owe to Allman, and which is probably the complement of that development of long branches observed by myself in Obelia, or an allied genus. In this case the ccenosare of the long branch transversely divides it- self spontaneously into small frustules resembling planule in all re- spects except the want of cilia! These next escape from the rup- tured extremity of the chitinous sheath of the branch, find new places of attachment, and without being themselves metamorphosed, give out buds which develop hydroid polyps at their free extremities. So that the embryo is still capable of multiplying itself by a process peculiar to itself. We may doubt, therefore, whether the stems of the Tubularians are indeed always strictly homologous with those of the Sertularians. They are frequently produced. from a polyp al- ready formed; and it is singular that similar frustules observed by All- man in Corymorpha, actually developed directly into polyps, instead of producing the polyp through the medium of a bud. 1878.] 183 [McCrady. My own incomplete observations upon Bucephalus cuculus left me under some doubt whether in that case, as in the Hydroids, there was not actually a frustulation of the entire contents of the sporo- cyst, in the production of the more advanced stage. The more defi- nite observations of Lacaze-Duthiers seem, however, to settle the question that the process is one of internal gemmation, and this coin- cides with what is observed in other Cercarian forms. Nothing of this kind has been observed among Hydroids, unless we admit the case of supposed “Allecogenesis,” contended for by Haeckel; in which he regards the young Cunina as budded out from the columella of Geryonia, upon which they are found. Notwithstanding my recogni- tion of Haeckel’s creat abilities, and his extremely valuable labors as an original investigator, I cannot admit his interpretation of these observations. It is*impossible to imagine that a remarkable form like Cunina should be developed by gemmation, both from a Turritopsis and a Geryonia; and that notwithstanding there should be no more than a specific difference between the Cunina from the one, and that from the other; and nothing proves more forcibly the profoundly dis- organizing tendency of the Darwinian view of an indefinite and practically lawless tendency to variation and transmutation, than that so able an observer should propound’ such a view of the facts in this case. There is, in my opinion, no evidence from the observations of Fritz Miiller and Haeckel, that there is any gem- mation at all. The fact observed by both appears to be that the very youngest form of the larval Cunina is a very small planula, which adheres so closely to the epithelium ‘of the stomach of its host, as to appear merely as a thickening of that membrane. When, as a beginner in embryological research, I made the mistake of sup- posing the parasitic Cunina larve to be young of Turritopsis, I was misled by the analogy of Tubularia nursing its own embryos, but cor- rected my mistake in the later stages of my research. That Prof. - Haeckel can imagine my first interpretation more correct than my second, I can only explain as one of the miracles wrought by the hypothesis of transmutation. Not only is the budding of one sex- ually mature form from another and a different sexually mature form, a thing so contrary to what we know of development, and so unparalleled by all our observations as to require incontrovertible proof, before it could be accepted, but the assumed fact depended on for proof in this case, namely, the origination of an animal as a bud from the mere thickening of a mere epithelium (an already quite McCrady.} 1 84 [Dec. 3, highly specialized structure) is equally unsupported by all we know of development, and utterly incongruous with the known processes of gemmation among the Hydroid Meduse. But the fact that Cunina is, during its larval existence, a parasite, deriving its nourishment from the stomachs of other Medusz of vari- ous forms, various genera, various families, and even various orders, such as Aegina, Liriope, Carmarina, and Turritopsis, and taking such positions either within or without the stomach, as will render it pos- sible to procure the food there elaborated, is important as multiplying the evidences that parasitism is not confined to any particular class or group of special animal forms; and that we must recognize not only parasitic Insects and Arachnida, parasitic Crustacea, parasitic Gaste- ropoda, parasitic Worms, and parasitic Actinie, but that the habit of parasitism is not even foreign to the class of Acelephe. Parasitism is indeed the universal condition of finite existence. The special connection of this discussion with my present subject is, that the analogies of Bucephalus with the Hydroids, remote as they are, have led me to reflect that Leukart’s Celenterata have been very much neglected in the general movement of recent sys- tematists to revive the simple classification of our ancestors, and to incorporate all the low forms of animal life in the all-embracing group of Worms. ‘The typical Hydra itself is remarkably vermiform, and so also are many Ctenophore, and there is not a single Aca- leph or Polyp which is not equally or more vermiform than any single Echinoderm. Yet the naturalists, who have not been deterred by the enormous difficulties of the case, from favorably entertaining Huxley’s proposal to associate the Echinoderms with the Annelides, have not hesitated to leave the Celenterata behind. But certainly the movement in question cannot be complete until the great sub-kingdom of Worms has absorbed into itself not only the Annelides, Rotifers, Gephyrie, Platyelminthe, Nematoda, Polyzoa, Brachiopoda, ‘Tunicata and Echinoderms, but these much overlooked Acalephz and Polypi. These last are not only fully as vermiform as the Echinoderms, but the Hydroids and Discophore have, in their planula form and its modifications, a vermiform embryological basis, which has no radiate characters. There is a stage more or less vermiform, succeeding the ege stage, in nearly all animals. Well marked indications also of bilateral symmetry have been pointed out by various observers throughout the groups of Polypi and Acalephe. ‘The general absence of an anus is no objection, for besides the differentiation between the | | | | | | 1878.] 185 [McCrady. trumpet-shaped tube and the remainder of the ordinary oral-ana opening, which we see in Siphonactinia, and less distinctly in Cerian- thus, we must recollect that many Platyelminths and some Nematodes are similarly deprived of an anus, and that the former, in many points of their structure, recall the type of organs seen in Acalephe though they present this type in a highly differentiated condition. The group of Vermes, even as generally received, and excluding the Echinodermata, appears to me a heterogeneous collection of re- markable forms, some of which can hardly be said to have any close homologies with the others, and to agree with them in little else than a general vermiform appearance, and the possession of some similar structures, which may prove to have no closer relations with each other than the arms of Brachiopoda with the gills of Fishes, or the fin-like organs of Loligo with those of Amphioxus. The Annulata or Annelida and Rotatoria have the closest affinities with the Arthro- podous Articulates. The Gephyrian Vermes have undoubted and long recognized connections with the Echinoderms, and. these, with embryological considerations, have induced Huxley to associate the latter with the Annulata. But there is another view which may give quite a different result without separating the Gephyrians from the Echinoderms; I mean the view that the Gephyrians are an aber- rant outlying branch of the Radiate, as the Cirrhipeds are of the Articulate, and the Chitonide and Dentalium of the Molluscan type. The very larve of the Echinoderms which have furnished the argu- ment for associating the latter with the Vermes, have really very decided affinities with Ctenophorous Meduse, as Agassiz claimed, and the typical affinities of the Acalephe with Echinoderms are so close that any disposition made of the one group must eventually carry the other along with it. Just as the Gephyrians probably constitute an aberrant group o Echinodermata, the Platyelminths (Trematodes, Turbellarians and Cestodes), may constitute another such aberrant group with more or less affinities with the Acalephe, especially the Ctenophore. The question whether Cuvier, mistaken though he was as to the true affinities of the Polyzoa, the Rotatoria, and most of the other organ- isms included in the provisional group of Infusoria, had not, never- theless, a more just conception of the limits of the morphological possibilities of the type which he not very happily named Radiata, than his successors, is yet an open one; and a thorough discussion of it must be had before we can accept the Vermes as anything ° McCrady.] 186 [Dec. 3, but a provisional group, very similar in character to that popular classification by which all low forms of animal life are included to- gether as worms or vermin. Pe Before associating all vermiform animals together, in a single group, we ought to recollect how great an obscurer of typical charac- ter is Parasitism; Mimicry being an extreme illustration. Parasitism is indeed the universal condition of all finite being. All animals and plants known to us are parasites of the earth; but many are, besides, close parasites of other animals and plants, and all animals and plants are, in the large sense, parasites of other ani- mals and plants. Sexual union should be regarded as a form of temporary parasitism, marriage as a permanent form of parasitism. Many organic forms also live attached to other bodies, whether or- ganic or inorganic; others live beneath the earth in caves, or in the soil, mud, rock, or wet sand, as burrowers, either freely, or.in struc- tures formed by their bodies for protection; all these, though forms of parasitism upon the earth, are very different from those other forms of parasitism upon the earth, in which the animal moves freely upon or above the surface of the ground, either through air or water. We find, moreover, that when an animal has, at one period of its exist- ence, habits of parasitism very different from those affected by its nearest allies, that then it differs more or less from the morphological norm of its nearest allies during the same period. The young Star- fish, which enjoys a free existence in the sea, as a wandering geo- parasite, during its larval stage, develops the complex and remarkable structure of Brachiolaria or Bipinnaria; while other, and even closely allied species, which pass the same period, as parasites upon their mother, or attached to foreign bodies, develop nothing but obscure rudiments of this Brachiolarian organism; and pass more or less di- rectly into the form of the starfish. The subject itself is capable of cosmical development. In the Animal Kingdom many other exam- ples might be adduced, did space permit; among them I may notice the peculiar structures developed by young placental Mammalia, in consequence of their parasitism upon the womb of the mother; as well as the corresponding structures developed by the mother in con- sequence of the same parasitism, which otherwise sometimes leaves impressions of a permanent character upon her organization, so that all her offspring are apt to resemble the first born. These structures developed by the female mammal are strictly comparable as effects of parasitism to the galls developed in plants, in consequence of the 1873.] 187 Be [McCrady. parasitic presence of insect ova; and to the cysts formed by the tis- sues of animals, in consequence of the presence of entozoa. In fact, all parasitism may be considered as bi-polar in its effects, though often the effect on the one or the other party, is inappreciable. ‘The variability of animals and plants under domestication is due to the addition of a form of parasitism upon man, which we call domestica- tion, to their ordinary geo-parasitism; and we have no right to infer from this, equal variability in their ordinary state, unless we can show equal change and variability of parasitic conditions. It is change of parasitism which induces change of structure; as we see in the cases of the Lernzans, the Cirrhipedia, Dentalium, and the Gaster- opod parasite of Synapta, among many others; and I believe that if animals have, in the course of their genealogical history, undergone great modifications of form, they have done so in consequence of great change from one kind of parasitism to another widely different. The consequent change of structure may have had a suddenness, compar- able to that of the metamorphosis of an insect, or may have been more gradual, according to the rate of change in the conditions of parasitism. If, moreover, the change of parasitic conditions were geographic, the consequent change of structure might include a whole fauna, involving the sifting action of “Natural Selection.” 1 If the change embraced the whole earth, the structure of all animals and plants would have been affected simultaneously. But especially it is to be noted, that while these changes of struc- ture may be very extraordinary, they have their limit. So far as we know, they never involve the potentials of the form changed, or the ratios of these potentials to each other; that is what I may call the Logos of the form. What is subject to modification is not this Logos, but the relative degree in which its various potentials may be realized. Especially the generative system, though subject to functional dis- turbance by great changes of parasitic conditions, is not thereby transmuted into a new generative type. No true sexual bar seems to be thus produced between allied lineages. Now all Trematodes are zoo-parasitic, 7. e., parasitic upon other ani- mals, and we should expect in their case a wide departure from the form of their nearest allies among merely geo-parasitic animals. I do not hesitate therefore to compare the Trematodes with the Radiata in general, but especially with Echinoderm larve, more especially with 1 Which is only one of the modus operandi of Organisis, and has nothing to do with Evolution, or with the Origin of Species. McCrady.] -188 [Dec. 3, ° Brachiolaria (as we know its history from the admirable research ot Alexander Agassiz), and with such Acalephz as the Ctenophore and fEginide. The so-called caudal appendages of Bucephalus and the Cercariz, including two stumpy lobes, or long tentacula, one on each side of an intermediate lobular unpaired organ, I compare with the anierior extremity of Brachiolaria, which in the early stages of that larva is its posterior extremity. ‘The unpaired lobe, especially, is developed into a long flat tail in the next stage of growth, like the anterior projection of Brachiolaria, and the long streamers of Bipin- naria. The warty adhering organs on this anterior projection of Brachiolaria (which is also trifid, like the caudal extremity of Cerca- ria) are probably homologous with the suckers of such forms as Poly- stoma, and are analogously used to anchor the larva while undergoing resorption into the young star-fish. The digestive system of the Trematodes would then require to be interpreted as in the condition of that of Brachiolaria, before the mouth is formed, and when the opening subsequently to be restricted to the functions of an anus, fulfils also those of a mouth. Possibly the ventral sucker of the Cer- carla may be a specialization of the depression on the ventral surface of Brachiolaria preceding the formation of the mouth. But however that 'may,be, this synthetic condition, in which a single opening fulfils at once the functions of mouth and anus, is precisely that which we see, not only in Turbellarians, but among all Acalephz; more espe- cially for our; present purpose among Ctenophore, which not only bear their sense organs at the opposite pole, but in a large number of forms present two remarkable tentacula, which I compare with those of Bucephalus, and also (since they are lodged in special tubular chambers) with the single peculiar proboscis of the Nemertians. When the water-tubes are sprouting, as two horns, from the blind digestive tube of Brachiolaria before the mouth is formed, we have a. condition of the digestive system nearly identical with the ordinary biramic form among Trematodes; while again the isolation of the water system from the digestive among Trematodes and Cestodes, is merely an advance in specialization upon the synthesis of the two systems in Ctenophoree; we can still directly compare the one case with the other, for the single or double contractile vesicle and open- ing of the water system at a, point opposite the mouth in Trematodes, Cestodes and Nemertians, correspond precisely in formation and position to the two contractile “celiac apertures” of Ctenophore, so well figured and described by Agassiz, and which also have an excre- 1878.] ® 1 89 [McCrady. tory or depuratory office. Finally the hermaphroditism of Platyel- minths finds itself repeated, though in a sone less specialized form, among the: Ctenophore. The Planarians, which seem among Radiata to be analogues of Gasteropoda among Mollusca, though not parasites upon other ani- mals, have a parasitism upon the earth involving habits wholly differ- ent from those of the Ctenophore, yet present a digestive system eminently similar in type to that of Ctenophorz. Moreover, the water system in Cestodes, and among Trematodes and Turbellarians, both the digestive and water systems are, like the same systems in Echinoderm larva, Ctenophorz, and all other Acalephe, merely hollowed out in the solid body. All these forms indeed, as well as the Polypi, are Ceelenterata. The body cavity of Echinoderms seems to be a special modification of the right water-tube of the larva, and to be itself part of the water system. At any rate, such cavity here and among the Nemertians and Nematelminths is a mere specialization, and sinve, by general consent of naturalists, it presents no bar to the association of these animals with the Celenterate Planarians, it can present none to an extension of Leukart’s Celenterata, so as to in- ‘clude in it all the Echinoderms, Gephyrians, Nematelminths and Platyelminths, and so to bring us back to the Radiata of Cuvier, emended of course by the elimination of Polyzoa, Rotatoria, pseudo- helminths generally, and Infusoria. The existence of a vascular system sometimes with pulsatile en- largements, among Echinoderms, Gephyrians, and Nemertians, is, like the body cavity, a mere advance in specialization. The usually close connection of this system, where it exists with the water system, points to its interpretation as a specialization of that system; which indeed, among Acalephs and Polyps, performs both functions. Similarly I regard the highly developed nervous system among Gephyrians and Platyelminths as mere advances in specialization, which like the efitire apparatus of spines, hooks, exsertile proboscides and highly developed muscular system, the external organs of gener- ation and the existence of a true coitus, among the Helminths, must be attributed to the requirements of their modes of parasitism. The Nematoda seem to be specialized upon the basis of the Cerca_ rian form. At least that interpretation is suggested by the frequently lobed caudal extremity, which is sometimes bilobed or tri-lobed, as in Gordius and Pseudalius; while Leptodera appendiculata and Filaria appendiculata very strikingly recall Bucephalus in their caudal appen- McCrady.] 190 "[Dec. 3, dages. The great difficulty is presented by Sagitta: but here we have a Nematode with very extraordinary conditions of parasitism, which make it the analogue among Radiata of the Pteropoda among Mollusca. An extraordinary form therefore we may naturally expect, and find it no bar to the assignment of Sagitta to the same branch of the Animal Kingdom with which its nearest allies connect them-— selves. . ; On the other hand, the Annulata proper are undoubtedly, as Cuvier taught, members of the great Articulate series, having the distinctly arthro-cylindrical body, which is archetypal in that series. The same remark applies to the Rotatoria, which hold a position in respect of the Crustacea and Arachnida, analogous to that held by the Annulata proper to the Myriapoda and Insecta. The Leeches at the base of the Articulate series seem to be analogues of the Lam- preys at the base of Vertebrata, and to have similar conditions of parasitism. The approximation of the Gephyrians to the Echinoderms I have treated as a matter of course; their embryology is the same, but they . differ in the parasitism of their adult condition. I include among them Balanoglossus and Phoronis, the latter being a polypoid form allied to the Sipunculide. The extraordinary variety of form and structure among Gephyrians, affords an excellent field for the study of the modifying effects of extraordinary conditions of parasitism. The progress of real knowledge is not usually cataclysmal. Emerson.] 216 (Jan. 7, of animal structure, he saw such wonderful consistency in every part, that he never for a moment doubted that all were parts of one vast plan, the work of one infinite, all-compre- hending Thinker. He saw no place for. accident, none for blind, unthinking, brute or vegetable selection. Though he was aman of the rarest intellect, he was never ashamed to look upwards and recognize an infinitely higher and more comprehensive Intellect above him. In his earliest years and through childhood, he was sur- rounded by animals,— fishes, birds and other creatures, — which he delighted to study, and with whose habits and forms he thus became perfectly familiar. His education, in all respects, was very generous and thorough. He spent his early years in some of the most distinguished schools and colleges in Germany; and he had the good fortune to be made early a student of the two great languages of ancient times. He became familiar, by reading them in their native Greek, with the high thought and reasoned truth and grace- ful style of Plato, and the accurate observations and descrip- tions of Aristotle, the nicest observer of ancient times, and justly considered the father of natural history. Probably no work has been more suggestive to him than Aristotle’s History of Animals ; and probably his own breadth of conception and largeness of thought, upon the highest subjects, were due, in no inconsiderable degree, to his early familiarity with Plato. He also read some of the best Latin authors, and wrote the language with great ease. No one who, early, has the time and opportunity, and who desires to become a thorough naturalist, or a thinker on any subject, should neglect the study of these two languages. From them we borrow nearly all the peculiar terms of nat- 1874.] DUT. [Emerson. ural science, and find the originals of almost all the words which we use in speaking on ethical, metaphysical, sesthetical and political subjects, and no one can be sure that he per- fectly understands any of these words unless he knows them in their original language. I dwell upon this subject, because I believe that the early study of language, especially of the ancient languages, is far too much undervalued. We use language, not only in our communication with others, but in our own thoughts. On all subjects of science, or whatever requires accurate thought, we think in words, and we cannot think, even within our- selves, upon any subject, without knowing the words to ex- press our thoughts. He who is most fully and familiarly acquainted with the richest language and the thoughts that have been expressed by it, has the power of becoming not only a good thinker but an eloquent speaker. No greater mistake can be made, in the early education of the future naturalist, than the neglect to give him a full and familiar acquaintance with the words by which thought can be car- ried on or communicated. . Agassiz’s mother-tongue was French, but both this and German were in common use in the Pays de Vaud. He lived, for years afterwards, in several parts of Germany, and thus attained, without special study, the rich language which 1It is a matter of the greatest satisfaction that the only true mode of learning language, the natural one, by word of mouth from living teachers, is becoming common; the language itself first, and afterwards the philosophy of it—the rules. It is most desirable that this mode of learning the ancient languages should be in- troduced, to learn first the language, to read and understand it, and afterwards the rules. Indeed I would not recommend the study even of Greek, if most or much of the time given to it had to be thrown away upon the grammar. The true mode, Agassiz’ mode, of teaching on all subjects, is becoming more and more common. Emerson. 218 [January 7, we Americans have to give so much time to acquire; and he lived, long, a studious and laborious life in Paris, where he became intimately acquainted with Cuvier and other distin- guished naturalists, and perfectly familiar with the French language in its best form. More than once, when he was — putting his note-book into his pocket, he told me he knew not whether he had made his’notes in German or in French. Agassiz’s universality of study and thought suggest a pre- cious lesson. It is never safe to give one’s self entirely to one study or to one course of thought. The full powers of the mind cannot so be developed. Nature is infinite; and a small part of one kingdom cannot be understood, however care- fully studied, without some knowledge of the rest. Neither must a man allow himself to be a mere naturalist. Every man ought to seek to form for himself, for his own hap- piness and. enjoyment, the highest character for intelligence, and for just and generous feeling, of which he is capable. He is not a mere student of a department of nature. He is a man; he must make himself a wise, generous and well- informed man, able to sympathise with all that is most beau- tiful in nature and art, and best in society. It would be a poor, dull world, if all men of talent were to educate them- selves to be mere artisans, mere politicians, or mere natu- ralists. Agassiz took a large, comprehensive view of the whole field of natural history ; his thorough education and intimate acquaintance with the works of the highest men in several walks, Von Martius, Cuvier, Humboldt, and others, made it possible for him to do it, and he then fixed on certain depart- ments, and, for the time, he gave himself entirely to one. sy ee ar 1874.] 919 [Emerson. As a future inhabitant of America, it was fortunate for him to have been born, and to have grown up, in one of the free cantons of Switzerland. He was thus accustomed to treat men as equals; and thus his perfect familiarity and his free- dom from all assumption were as natural to him as they were graceful and winning. He looked down upon none, but felt a sympathy with every thing best in every heart. The reality of these: great human qualities gave a natural dignity which his hearty and ready laugh could never diminish. Every one was drawn toward him by what was best in himself. With the greatest gentleness he united a strong will, and with a resolute earnestness, untiring patience. His great object was truth, and, as he never had any doubt that it was truth, he may have been impatient, but he never felt really angry with those who opposed it. Mr. Agassiz had, for several years, the great advantage and privilege of being an assistant, in the deseription and delinea- tion of fishes from Brazil, to Von Martius, the genial and elo- quent old man of Munich. In him he had the example of a man, who, with great resources as a naturalist, had, for many years, given himself, in a foreign country, to the study of a single department of Botany, without, however, shutting his eyes to any thing that was new and remarkable in any page of Natural History. To one who was a good listener and never forgot what he heard, what a preparation must this have been for his own expedition, many years after, to the sources of the Amazon, to which he was invited by the Em- peror of Brazil, in which he was assisted by the princely aid of his own friends, and from which he brought home a greater number of new species of fresh water fishes than were ever before discovered by one individual, thus carrying forward x Emerson. ] 220 [January 7, that work upon the fishes of Brazil, his first work, which he had published when he was twenty-two years old. He spent the leisure of several years in examining the reefs and dredging.in the waters of the coast of Florida and other parts, always bringing home stores of new species and genera, and completing the history of innumerable known ones. What a preparation were these years for the great Hasler ex- pedition, in which the depths of the ocean were very fully explored, and innumerable objects, new and old, were brought up, showing that the bottom of the ocean is any thing but barren, and throwing new light upon the geology of recent and of ancient times. Whenever Mr. Agassiz undertook a special work, he pre- pared himself for it by a careful study of whatever had been done in that particular line by all others. He had seen, every- where, indications of the action of ice. He determined to investigate. He began by reading all he could find upon the subject, and then set himself to observe, patiently and care- fully, what was taking place in the glaciers themselves. He gave the leisure of several years to this examination, and then felt himself ready to observe the effects of similar ac- tion in former ages and distant regions. The opinions of such an observer, after such a preparation, cannot be without authority and value; and it is not surprising that he should not himself have been willing to yield them ‘to those of others who had never given the same study to the subject. When he wrote his wonderfully complete work upon the American Testudinata, he began by studying whatever had been written in regard to that group of animals, and he fur- nished himself, by the liberal aid of many friends, with im- mense numbers of specimens, so that he had ample means of 1874.) Ds 21 [Emerson. satisfying himself in regard to almost every question that could be asked, as to structure or habits. Such a work will not need to be done over again for many years. It can never be entirely superseded except by a work showing greater dil- igence, greater fidelity and better powers of nice observation and faithful description. Let no one who has not carefully examined this, and his other papers in the “ Contributions to the Natural History. of the United States,” 1 venture to speak of his incompleteness. His example as a teacher has been of inestimable value, as showing the importance of the best and largest possible preparation, teaching by things really existing and not by books, opening the eye to the richness and beauty of nature, showing that there is no spot, from the barren sea-beach to the top of the mountain, which does not present objects at- tractive to the youngest beginner, and worthy of, and reward- ing, the careful consideration of the highest intellect. The town of Neufchatel, near which Mr. Agassiz was born, and particularly the hills behind it, give fine views of natural scenery. From a hill, not two miles from his former home, I had a view of the lake and the plains and mountains be- yond, which I now recall as one of the widest, most varied and most exquisite, [ have ever seen. Agassiz thus grew up to a love of the beautiful. This love of the beautiful in nature has been increasing from the most ancient times to the present. It is more gener- ally felt and more fully enjoyed now than ever before, and in 1 In speaking of the thorough execution of the work in these four volumes, we ought not to forget the aid he received from the exquisite skill in drawing and engraving of Sonrel, who wore out his eyes in the work, and of Burckhardt and Clark. Emerson.] 992. [January 7, this country, apparently, more than in any other. , More per- sons leave the cities, as soon as they begin to grow warm and dusty, to enjoy the country or the seaside, the mountains or the lakes; and they enjoy rationally and heartily. Who has — done more than Agassiz to increase this enjoyment? With thousands, it is becoming not merely the enjoyment but the study of the beautiful. Collections of shells, curious animals, minerals, sea-weeds, and flowers, are becoming, like libraries, not only sources of pleasure to the eye, but of delightful study, whereby a nearer approach is made to the very foun- tain of enjoyment; we not only see and feel, we begin to un- derstand. The more we see of the uses, of the wonders, of the structure, the more profound is our enjoyment? Who has done more than Agassiz to awaken this enjoyment? In 1855, with the aid of Mrs. Agassiz, who, from the. be- ginning, did a great deal of the work, Mr. Agassiz opened a _ school for young ladies. For this he was, in all respects, admirably well qualified. The charm of his manner, his per- fect simplicity, sincerity and warm-heartedness, attracted. every pupil, and won her respect, love and admiration. He knew, almost instinctively, what we teachers have to learn by degrees, that we cannot really attract, control and lead a child, and help to form his habits and character, without first loving him; that nothing in the world is so powerful as real, disinterested affection. He gave, himself, by lectures most carefully prepared, an how’s instruction, real instruction, every day. All his pupils retain their respect and love for him, and some keep the notes they made of his talks, and read them with delight. The school was continued for seven years, with great success, attracting pupils from distant parts of the country. 1874.] 223 [Emerson One of the secrets of his success as a teacher was, that he brought in nature to teach for him. The young ladies of a large school were amused at his simplicity in putting a grass- hopper into the hand of each, as he came into the hall; but they were filled with surprise and delight, as he explained the structure of the insect before them, and a sigh of disappoint- ment escaped from most of them when the lesson, of more than an hour, closed. He had opened their eyes to see the beauty of the wonderful make of one of the least of God’s creatures. What a lesson was this to young women prepar- ing to be teachers in the public schools of the Commonwealth, showing that in every field might be found objects to excite, and, weil explained, to answer, the questions, what? and how? and why? which children will always be asking. He had all the elements necessary to an eloquent teacher : voice, look and manner, that instantly attracted attention; an inexhaustible flow of language, always expressive of rich thoughts, strong common sense, a thorough knowledge of all the subjects on which he desired to speak, a sympathy with others so strong that it became magnetic, and a feeling of the value of what he had to say, which became and created en- thusiasm. He thus held the attention of his audience, not only instructing and persuading them, but converting them into interested and admiring fellow students. His mode of teaching, especially in his ready use of the chalk and the blackboard, was a precious lesson to teachers. He appealed at once to the eye and to the ear, thus naturally forming the habit of attention, which it is so difficult to form by the study of books. Whoever learns this lesson will soon find that it is the teacher’s part to do the study, to get com- plete possession of what is to be taught, in any subject, and Emerson. ] 224 (January 7, how it is to be presented, while it ‘is the part of the pupils to listen attentively and to remember. This they will easily do, and, to show that they do remember, they may be easily led to give an account, in writing, of what they have heard. Every lesson will thus be not only an exercise of attention — and memory, but a lesson in the English language, proper in- struction in which is very much needed and very much neglected. Whenever a pupil does not fully understand, the teacher will have the opportunity, while he is at the black- board, of enlarging and making more intelligible. Wherever the teacher shall be successful in adopting this true and natural mode of teaching, the poor text-books which now infest the country will be discontinued, and those who now keep school will become real teachers; school keeping will be turned into teaching. When this method is fairly in- troduced, we shall hear no more of long, hard lessons at home, nor of pupils from good schools who have not learned to write English. The advent of Agassiz is to be considered a most import- ant event in the Natural History of the country. The ex- ample of his character, his disinterestedness, his consecration to science, his readiness to oblige even the humblest and most modest, his superiority to self-interest, his sincerity and ab- sence of all pretention, his enthusiasm in all that is noble — all these recommended not only him, but the science he pro- fessed. Never was a life more richly filled with study, work, thought; and all was consecrated, not to the benefit of him- self, but to the promotion of science for the good of his fellow creatures. For many years Mr. Agassiz has seemed to live only for the advancement of natural history, by the building up of — 1874.] OS [Waterston. his Museum, for which he had collected materials, of the greatest possible diversity, which would, properly cared for and arranged, form a Museum superior in numbers and vari- ety to any similar collection in the world. Shall this great _ work be allowed to fail ? Let every person who honors the memory of Agassiz, say No! Let every one who regrets that the great main support of the noble structure is taken away, resolve that it shall not fail, Bur that, so far as depends on him and what he can do, IT SHALL GO ON AND BE BUILT AND FILLED, AND STAND FIRM, A GLORIOUS TEMPLE OF SCIENCE FOREVER. REMARKS OF REY. MR. WATERSTON. In response to an invitation from the chair, the Rev. Mr, R. C. Waterston spoke of Prof. Agassiz’s connection with the Centennial Anniversary of the birth of Humboldt. At a meeting of the Boston Society of Natural History, June, 1869, it was moved and voted that a celebration of the Centennial Anniversary of the birth of Alexander von Hum- boldt, by this Society, is highly desirable. It was also sug- gested that Professor Agassiz be invited to deliver an ad- dress upon the occasion. The invitation was extended to Professor Agassiz and accepted Various circumstances connected with that memorable occasion, at a time like the present, come to the mind with peculiar power. In Professor Agassiz’s public address, his introductory re- marks were, “I am invited to an unwonted task. Thus far I 1The Committee appointed at the meeting in June, to make all desirable ar- rangements, were, R. C. Waterston, Jeffries Wyman, N. B. Shurtleff, Samuel Kneeland and Samuel H. Scudder. To this Committee was afterwards added T. W.. Higginson. PROCEEDINGS B. S. N. H. — VOL. ‘XVI. 15 APRIL, 1874, ~ Waterston.] 226 [January 7, have appeared before the public only as a teacher of Natural History. To-day, for the first time in my life, I leave a field in which I am at home, to take upon myself the duties of a biographer.” Thus this Society had the privilege of inviting Professor Agassiz to a duty (most nobly fulfilled), which without this invitation in all probability he would never have entered upon. That being, as he himself expressed it, the first time in his life he had undertaken such a task; it was also, as we now know, destined to be the last. This event which, on every account, had great interest, for these reasons possesses a solemn and sacred import. That anniversary we would keep in grateful remembrance, forming as it does, in connec- tion with many reminiscences, an added and, may we not say, an indissoluble tie between us and him. At the time when the invitation was extended to Prof. Agassiz, he was overwhelmed with work; while, by previous labor, both body and mind had already been overtaxed. Under such circumstances, it would have appeared next to impossible for him to comply with the request of the Society, yet so desirous was he to meet their wishes that he under- took the task. On the 8th of June Mrs. Agassiz wrote: — “Though your letter touched and gratified me deeply, it made me very anxious, too. I could almost have wished the occasion had not arisen, for it alarms me to see the way in which work accumulates upon Mr. Agassiz, whose health is no longer so good as it used to be. “Tt seems as if it would be easy for him to talk of Hum- boldt, and so, out of the fulness of his heart, it would; but on such an occasion, the address must include a very careful review of all the facts of his life, of his relation to science 1874.) 9927 [Waterston. through three-quarters of a century; it must be accurate as well as comprehensive, and even Humboldt’s most intimate friend could not prepare it without a good deal of care and research. I do not say this because I would dissuade Mr- Agassiz from it; on the contrary, it seems to me a duty, which, since it arises, he cannot avoid; and I think he fully intends to undertake ‘it, though not without many fears lest he should not rise to the grandeur of the occasion. “Mr. Agassiz begs me to say that he has the greatest desire to further the project to the utmost of his power, and only fears, as I have said, to fall short of his own wishes, and the expectations of those who are willing to entrust him with such a responsibility.” On the 3d of July Prof. Agassiz wrote as follows: — “or weeks past I have intended every day to write you, but the fact is that just now I have scarcely time to breathe, and with the sincere desire of accepting the invitation ten- dered to me through you, I have been trying to free myself in some degree of the tasks before me. It is not so easy to do this as it seems. “ However, I write now to say that I will do my best so far as it depends upon me, to make the Anniversary of Hum- boldt worthy of his memory, and servicable to science in the country. The task will be a difficult, and in some respects a painful, one to me, none the less because of my personal rela- tions with him. But I will do my best, and I beg you to believe that the confidence placed in me by those who wish to make this occasion a marked day, has gratified and touched me deeply. “JT wish you would express thissentiment in my behalf, and add that my great cause of hesitation has been the fear that I might not satisfy the expectations of those who have thus honored me. Believe me, «Ever truly yours, “Louis AGassiz.” » Waterston.] 228 (January 7, In a note dated July 21st, he says, “J have been completely prostrated this week.” Yet notwithstanding this exhaustion (doubtless far beyond what was imagined by his most intimate friends, and, added to this, serious illness among the members of his own family, his son leaving for Europe, on account of his health, the very day upon which the address was delivered), Professor Agassiz most conscientiously devoted himself through the sultriness of an intensely hot mid-summer, to the work of preparation. Few are probably aware what a mind like his would, under such circumstances, consider requisite. Noth- ing was to be taken for granted; not even the memory of former investigations would be accepted without passing through the process of examination. Every step was to be measured, with critical exactness, through the long progress of Humboldt’s scientific career. Is there not exemplified in this fact, one of the marked characteristics of Prof. Agassiz’s mind? Absolute thorough- ness; sifting every question and principle down to its first elements; tracing every thought, from its earliest germ through each successive development, until the’final result is reached. In order to secure freedom from all interruption during these researches, he asked for a room at the City Library, — which was readily granted. Here he could gather about him papers and books, which during his absence would remain undisturbed. Mr. Winsor, the efficient and obliging Super- intendent, tells me that for more than a month Prof. Agassiz passed at least three or four days of each week, from nine o’clock in the morning until generally three o’clock in the 1874.] 929 [Waterston. afternoon, and that during this time he called for more than two hundred volumes in different languages, always desiring to read each work as it originally came from the mind of the author. Thus every work which Alexander von Humboldt ever wrote passed under careful review; not only every vol- ume, but every pamphlet, with the exception of one, which could not be found in this country. On the 4th of September he wrote me, “T have only yesterday finished gathering my materials, and have not yet begun preparing my address.” He adds —“ My friends will never know what anxieties I have to go through on this occasion.” Six days after this I received the following: — “Nahant, Sept. 10th, 1869. “My Dear Sir: | | “T have succeeded this evening in bringing to a close my draft of an address; not exactly as I would like to deliver it but such as I may be compelled to read should the occur- rences of the day unfit me for an extemporized discourse, which I believe might be more effective.” It would thus appear that even after the address was written, he hoped to give, not what he had embodied in manuscript, but the result of which that would be the basis, in the form of an extemporized discourse, for which, as all know from his constant habit of speaking without notes, he possessed the very highest qualifications. However, to meet every contingency, he adds: — “As I go to-morrow to Cambridge, I will try to have my illegible manuscript set in type, that I may myself be able to read it. At the same time I shall see how my diagrams are Waterston.] 230 [January 7, progressing, and if satisfactory, forward them at once'to the Music Hall. _ Very truly yours, “5 About Elk Rapids, and thence nearly up to the mouth of the Judith River, the continued “ appearance of coal, burnt earth, pum- ice stone, salts,’’® etc., is noted, beyond which is no mention of these phenomena. It hence appears that these metamorphic phenomena begin on the Missouri at a point some distance below Fort Berthold, probably near Fort Clark, and extend thence, with occasional inter- ruptions, nearly to the Judith River ; that near Fort Berthold, be- tween the mouths of the Little Missouri and Yellowstone, and be- tween the Yellowstone and Elk Prairie Creek, and also at a locality some distance above the Musselshell, are districts where the metamor- phism produced by the burning out of the lignite beds forms a strik- tng feature in the topography of the country. Both above and below the Musselshell. for a considerable distance, owing to an extensive outcrop of the cretaceous beds at this point, none of this metamor- phism appears to have been observed. Dr. Hayden has reported the occurrence of one seat of this met- amorphism west of the main chain of the Rocky Mountains, on the 1 Lewis and Clarke’s Exped., Vol. 1, p. 190. 2 Ibid., p. 201. 3 Ibid., p, 203. 4 Tbid., p. 208. 5 Ibid., p. 229. 6 Ibid., p. 230. PROCEEDINGS B. 8. N. H. — VOL. XVI. 17 MAY, 1874. Allen. ] 258 [January 21, Gros Ventres Fork of the Snake River. In describing this locality, he says: “ To-day the tertiary strata begin to assume a good deal of importance. We have the brick-like materials which result from the burning out of the lignite beds. There were also masses of indurated clay, covered with vegetable remains and impure lignite beds; in- deed, all the indications which the lignite tertiary beds present on the east side of the mountains.” } How far to the northward of the Missouri River these burned out lignite beds extend, I have been unable to determine. That they do not-extend far in this direction seems probable, from the fact that no mention is made of them in any reports of the surveys of the 49th parallel ; neither does Hind refer to them in his report of the geology of the Assinniboin and Saskatchewan Rivers. The valley of the Musselshell, and the dividing ridge between the Musselshell and Yel- lowstone, is apparently all cretaceous, and these metamorphosed beds are hence limited to the vicinity of the Yellowstone River; neither do they occur in the valley of the Yellowstone above the mouth of Tongue River. As already noticed, their western limit, in the basin of the Yellowstone, is the dividing ridge between the tributaries of the Big Horn and Rosebud Rivers, while they extend southward along the eastern base of the Big Horn Range to the sources of the Shyenne, and thence eastward to the Black Hills and the valley of the Little Missouri. ‘They appear to occur not only along this river throughout nearly its whole extent, but along all the tributaries of the Yellow- stone east of the Big Horn. ? The time during which this peculiar metamorphism has been act- ing extends back to a very remote period, this igneous material, in a water-worn state, occurring in the drift that covers the general sur- face of the country, often many miles from the nearest seat of meta- morphic action, as well as in the terraces that border the larger i Hayden’s Rep. Geol. Expl. Missouri and Yellowstone, p. 86. : 2 Pumice stone, it is well known, occurs in isolated, erratic fragments in Colo- rado, near the base of the Rocky Mountains, and it hence becomes an interesting question to ascertain whether it originated in the lignite region to the northward, or in the volcanic districts of Montana, or whether the lignite beds in Colorado have not at some points also been on fire, giving rise to these materials. The ques- tion may perhaps also arise as to whether the volcanic fragments in the terraces of the Yellowstone and its tributaries did not perhaps come from the volcanic district to the westward. From the appearance of the materials, however — the baked clays as well as the scoriaceous matter —I had not, while on the ground, any doubt of their being formed by the burning out of the lignite beds of the immediate vicinity in early post-tertiary times. 1874.) ., 959 Allen. streams. Hence it must have begun anterior to the close of the drift period, its beginning antedating the terrace epoch; and that it still continues there is abundant evidence. Of the explorers who have visited this region, Lewis and Clarke appear to have been the first who gave any intelligible account of these interesting phenomena. They not only described in consider- able detail the appearance of these metamorphic materials, as the preceding quotations from their narrative have already shown, but correctly ascribed their origin to the combustion of the coal beds of this region, being guided in part to this decision, doubtless, by find- ing some of them actually on fire. Nicollet, in his account of his journey up the Missouri, in 1839, refers to these burning coal beds, but he seems not to have seen them himself, and his knowledge con- cerning them was in some respects vague and erroneous, and his theories respecting their origin rather visionary. He says: ‘| have now reached the proper place to treat of a very interest- ing phenomenon observed in the midst of this cretaceous group. It manifests itself by the occasional appearance of a dense smoke at the top of some conical hill, or along a line of country bounded by the horizon, so as to awaken the idea of distant voleanoes; hence, I have chosen to call them pseudo-volcanos. The smoke from these hills and the crevices in the plastic clay, is said to last at the same spot for a long time — say two or three years; indicating at them a large accumulation of combustible materials. It is not, to my knowl- edge, accompanied by luminous vapors, and is silently wafted along the valley, which it mournfully shrouds.” “Before proceeding to account for the appearances and circumstances attending these smoking hills,” he continues, ‘I must add a few more facts concern- ing their traditional and recorded history. There were none when we ascended the Missouri, in 1839; and so would seem to have been the case at the passage of Lewis and Clarke at the beginning of this century.1 But previous to my arrival, since the memorable expedi- tion last referred to, and during a period of three years, they were seen (as my information goes), by many intelligent persons engaged in the fur trade, all of whom are naturally observant, and most of them of unquestionable authority. J have no doubt, therefore, of the existence of these hills.” ‘I believe,” he says further, “and it is 1 Anerror. See Lewis and Clarke’s Exped. Vol. 1, p. 181. Allen.] - » 260 (January 21, also the opinion of my friend, Prof. Ducatel, to whom I submitted my specimens, that these pseudo-voleanic phenomena may be com- pared with those described as occurring in other parts of the globe, under the name terraines ardens; although they are not here accom- panied by the emission of flames.” } Vague rumors of burning coal beds on Powder River seem to have been a long time current before their existence was positively estab- lished by the visits of scientific observers. Lieut. Warren, in 1858, in a letter to the Hon. Geo. W. Jones, relating to his exploration of Nebraska,? thus alludes to them : ‘‘ Everywhere throughout this [the lignite tertiary] formation, beds are to be found sometimes of a thick- ness of six and seven feet, and those on Powder River are said to be still on fire over large areas, and in many places are entirely burned out.” They seem, however, to have been first described by Dr. Hines, who visited them in 1859, while attached to General Ray- nold’s expedition. The locality is the Clear Fork of Powder River, and he describes it as follows: “Hight miles below our yesterday’s camp we discovered the stratum of coal 3 (lignite) on fire. Consider- able smoke issued therefrom, having a strong sulphurous smell. The heat at this point was so intense that we could not stand within twenty feet from whence the smoke issued. A thick layer of sand- stone lying immediately above it, four feet, was completely calcined. From this point, at the same elevation, to some distance below the mouth of Clear Fork, I noticed the red color given to the banks by the burning out of the coal bed. Here and there were portions that had escaped. The origin of the fire I was unable to account for, un- less it contains within itself the elements of spontaneous combus- tion.” 4 Lieut. Maynadier also makes brief reference to the same locality,® . and Gen. Raynolds speaks of Powder River as deriving “its name from the sulphurous vapors rising from the burning beds of lignite.’ © ‘ 1 Rep. Hydrogr. Basin Upper Mississippi, pp. 39, 40. 2 Letter (an 8vo pamphlet, pp. 15), p. 6, Jan. 29, 1858. 3 A bed six feet thick, and of excellent quality, ‘‘somewhat resembling Cumber- land coal,’’ exposed for a long distance on Clear Creek, near its junction with Pow: der River. ; 4 Haydens’ Rep. Geol. Expl. Yellowstone and Missouri, p. 96. 5 Raynold’s Rep. of the Exploration of the Yellowstone River, p. 8, 1868. 6 Ibid., p. 129. . 1874.] 261 [Allen. Dr. J. P. Kimball, Chief Medical Officer of the Northern Pacific Railroad Expedition of 1873, described to me a locality he visited a few years since near Fort Berthold, where a lignite bed had burned in for a distance of fifty yards and was still on fire. The ground was considerably heated, and the overlying clays baked and red- dened. Lieut. P. H. Ray, Chief Commissary of the same Expedi- tion, informed me of a similar locality on the,Little Missouri, some fifty miles above where we crossed it, which he visited in 1871. He camped on it and found the ground quite warm, although it was late in the season and the weather very cold. ; From other reliable sources I have received additional accounts of beds seen in a state of ignition, and some smokes we saw in July on our right as we crossed the Little Missouri Bad Lands, and supposed at the time to be signal fires of the Sioux, were afterwards attributed to burning beds of lignite. The origin or cause of these subterranean fires seems somewhat obscure, but it is evident that they must have arisen from more than a single cause. Several instances are well known of the lignite beds having: taken fire from the burning of the prairie grass by the Indians; in some cases these fires lasting for several years. On Heart River the lignite beds exposed in the banks of the stream are said to some- times take fire in this way, and to burn until a rise of the water reaches the exposure and extinguishes the fire. It is also probable, as suggested by Dr. Hines, that the lignite beds contain in themselves the elements of spontaneous ignition, and that in earlier times the fires may have originated in this way. The slopes of the buttes and ridges in which the lignite seams are exposed are usually destitute of vegetation, being in most cases almost vertical, so that it seems in many cases highly improbable that the fires could have reached them from the burning of the adjacent prairies. The theory of Mr. Nicol- let, that these fires may be due [ “ are evidently due,” he writes | “to the decomposition, by the percolation of atmospheric waters to them, of beds of pyrites, which, reacting on the combustible materials, such as lignites and other substances of a vegetable nature in their vicin- ity, give rise to a spontaneous combustion”! may not be wholly im- probable. It is well known that beds of true coal, when once ignited, will burn for many years, the fires penetrating to a great depth into the 1 Nicollet’s Rep. Hydrogr. Basin Upper Mississippi, p. 40. Allen.] 262 [January 21, earth, as has happened in the great coal fields of Pennsylvania, of England, Germany and elsewhere. Although it seems almost impos- sible that a sufficient supply of oxygen to support combustion could reach these fires, it is well known that they are in reality exceedingly difficult to extinguish, and that they will smoulder for years when every effort has been made to smother them by closing every communica- tion with the external air. I have, however, met with no account of any extended metamorphic action attending these burning coal,seams such as always attends the burning of the lignite beds of the Upper Missouri country. This difference is doubtless owing to the different condition of the enclosing shales of the true coal and the lignite beds. In the former the strata are usually already indurated, and are not readily modified by heat ; in the latter they consist of soft clays and sands, which are easily influenced by heat, speedily becoming baked and reddened when exposed to great heat, like the brick-clays when subjected to heat in a brick-kiln. As an illustration of how readily these clays become indurated by even moderate heat, I may mention a familiar incident of camp life. Owing to the violence of the winds in the region under consideration, it is often necessary to build the camp-fires in little pits to protect them from the wind, when the walls of these pits, after exposure to the fire for but a single day, become indurated to a considerable depth. An apparently similar combustion of coal-seams in the Celestial Mountains has been described by Semenof;! and in the mountains of the Upper Zaraphan and the Tian Shan ranges by Severkof,? the earlier, vacue descriptions of which led Humboldt to suppose these regions were seats of volcanic action. The influence of the metamorphism above described upon the to- pography of the country where it occurs is by no means slight. Not only do the baked, indurated clays and sands give their own preva- lent bright red tint to the landscape, but they arrest or greatly retard the erosion of the buttes and ridges whose summits they compose. Over areas of thousands of square miles in extent they thus in great measure determine the surface contours, and protect the hills from an otherwise rapid demolition by the agency of aqueous denudation. 1 Journ. Roy. Geog. Soc., Vol. XXXyV, p. 213. 2 Ibid., Vol. XL, pp. 395, 396. Also quoted in Nature, by Howarth, Vol. rx, p. 142. 1874.] 263 [Brewer. Dr. T. M. Brewer remarked on some noticeable cases of supposed Hybridism. Hybrids among the various forms of the duck tribe are by no means of rare occurrence, and in several instances have been de- scribed as new species. The specimens described by Audubon as Anas breweri, the like of which has never since been obtained, is pre- sumed to have been a cross between the wild Mallard and the Gad- well, or grey duck (Chaulelasmus streperus). Several remarkable cases of hybridism, where the evidences of the parentage on both sides are well marked, have been recorded with great care. In avery large proportion of these the common Mallard figures as one of the parents. Somewhere about the year 1843, in company with my friend Prof. Baird, I found a race of ducks of uncommon size in a farm-yard in Carlisle, Pa. They were said to be, and their appearance tended to confirm the statement, a cross between a male Canvass-back and a female tame Mallard. The race was quite as productive as the pure, unmixed Mallard, and existed at that time in several generations, preserving with a remarkable deeree of uniformity the marking of their origin. Some of these were imported into Massachusetts ; but, although at first they promised well, the breed is lost. Whether it is _ still preserved at Carlisle, I do not know. A second instance is one more involved in doubt as to the reality of its being a case of hybridism. Yet that it is one appears to be a very general impression. Under the name of the Green-backed Mallard, Anas maxima, Gosse described a wild duck shot near Savanna-le-Mar, in the island of Jamaica. Mr. G. R. Gray, after inspecting the specimen, pronounced it to be a hybrid. Against this judgment, Mr. Gosse, however, contends. His reasons for regarding it as a good species are, that it is a not uncommon kind in Jamaica, and is one well known to the negro gunners, — that others precisely similar have been known to occur in the neighboring waters, and that this identical variety was known and described more than a hundred years ago. Mr. Gosse quotes’ from a Ms., which states that a Mr. Thistlewood shot, Nov. 19th, 1753, a duck identical with his speci- men. The duck described by Gosse as Anas maxima weighed four and one fourth pounds. Its head and neck is a velvety purple, changeable to sea-green. ‘The other colors are a rich chocolate with Brewer.] 264 (January 21, purple reflections, and purple-brown with brilliant green reflections, and a demi-collar of pure white. This same form has since been obtained by Mr. Bell, near New York, and by him described as Fuligula viola. ‘The opinion has been expressed, perhaps on insufficient ground, that this remarkable duck is a cross between the Mallard, Anas boschas, and the Muscovy, Cai- rina moschata. Mr. George N. Lawrence, who includes this as a spe- cies in his list of the Birds of New York, does not regard its being a hybrids, as established by the evidence. He objects that this form is always a wild bird, and cannot therefore well originate from the Mus- covy, which is not found wild north of Mexico. In all that have been seen, there is a remarkable uniformity of coloration somewhat resem- bling the Mallard, but not in any respect like the Muscovy Duck. The bill is the bill of an Anas, and not of a Cairina. Mr. Lawrence is quite sure that a mongrel breed, between the domestic duck and the common Muscovy would, in all instances, show unmistakable marks of the latter parentage. He thinks, therefore, that the Muscovy must be rejected from its parentage, and urges that no other presents itself of which the product could be so large. A pair shot afew years since late in November, at South Hempstead, Long Island, is in Mr. Law- rence’s possession. The male weighed six and one-fourth pounds, and the female four and three-fourths. Two years since I purchased from Hon. Arthur W. Austin, of West Roxbury, for the Mount Auburn Cemetery, three ducks, one male and two females, of what is known among bird-fanciers as the Cayuga Lake Duck. It is not a common bird, yet is by no means unknown to bird-fanciers. ‘This flock of three has been increased to nine at Mount Auburn, and all of the additions are exactly like their parents. They are very gentle and tame, but will not permit any intercourse with them on the part of the other ducks, either Mus- covy or Aylesbury. Unfortunately the drake died and the flock has only a single young drake, and the past season nearly all the eggs proved unproductive. The drake that died combined in a remarkable degree the charac- teristic peculiarities of the male Mallard and the female Muscovy. It has the bill, the glossy green, with purple reflections, on the head _ and shoulders, of the male Mallard, with the curling tail feathers found in no other duck — unless the maxima be admitted to be a good spe- cies,— than the Mallard, and the black body and large size of the Muscovy. It wants the white wings of the wild Muscovy, and has a 1874.] 265 [Austin. breast that properly belongs to neither parent. The origin of this hybrid is not known. Individuals of this race are known to attain the weight of eight pounds each. That a variety so obviously a hybrid should thus be known to reproduce itself with so much exactness, may perhaps be taken into consideration in connection with Anas maxima. It is very different in plumage from that bird, and so far is suggestive that the origin of the latter, if a hybrid, must have been different. But its remarkable reproduction of children of uniform coloration with their parents is also suggestive that the mazima may, after all, have been a wild hybrid of some unknown origin, and in like manner able to repro- duce its own peculiar combination of form and colors. Nor is it safe to argue that its size necessarily proves an original parentage as large as itself. The race of hybrids between the Canvas-back and the Mallard, in Carlisle, was nearly twice the size of either parent, and this is equally true of the Cayuga. Section of Entomology. January 28, 1874. Mr. H. K. Morrison in the chair. Eleven persons present. The following paper was read :— CATALOGUE OF THE CoLKOPTERA OF Mt. WasuineTon, N. H., BY EK. P. Austin; witH Descriptions OF New SPECIES, BY J. L. LEConte, M.D. In the summer of 1870 I visited Mt. Washington for a couple of days, but became convinced that the favorable season for collecting Coleoptera there was much earlier than the middle of August, as very few beetles were to be seen. Last summer I had an opportunity to go again, and started earlier, though not as soon as I desired, and, as I believe, two weeks late for the best collecting. I reached the mountain on the 19th of July, camping a short distance below the Half-way House, as Mr. Sanborn’s old camp among the rocks appeared too bleak, and was on the Austin, ] 9g 66 ’ (January 28, mountain just ten days; about half of that time it was too rainy to collect. As the collections made embrace so many species, I think it would be interesting to present a list of them to the Section, and, at the suggestion of friends, I have added all the species which I have been able to learn have been found in the vicinity. ‘The materials for this have been a collection by Mr. S. H. Scudder, a list of species taken near the foot of the mountain, by Mr. S. Henshaw, and a list of White Mountain species from Mr. G. D. Smith. To all species not taken by myself I have appended the name of the authority. I regret not to have been able to see Mr. Sanborn’s collection, which would doubtless have added quite a number of species, but hope at some future time to be able to present a more complete list, and with a view of making it as perfect as possible, I shall be much obliged to any one possessing Coleoptera from Mt. Washington to send me a list, or the specimens themselves for determination. I am under obligations to Mr. Ulke, of Washington, D. C., for assistance in determining the species, and especially to Dr. LeConte, who determined a number of species sent for that purpose, and made descriptions of a number of new species which will be found at the end of this list. Species referred to in the descriptions are marked with an asterisk. CICINDELIDE. Nebria sahlbergu Fisch. Under stones near the summit and along the streams. Nebria pallipes Say. With the last, but much more abundant. Calosoma frigidum Kb. Near the summit. Cicindela longilabris Say. One specimen in 1870, about two- thirds up the mountain. Cicindela vulgaris Say. (Scud’r.) a 12-guttata De}. a ancocisconensis Harr: : Carabus serratus Say. (Foot of (Smith.) 2 mountain, Henshaw.) CARA Carabus chamissonis Fisch. Not common, under stones, near Notiophilus sibiricus Mots. Not the summit. I have also seen rare under moss and small _ a specimen from Mt. Desert, stones near the summit. Me., and it may doubtless be Nebria suturalis Lec. Near the found on all the higher peaks summit, under stones, rare. in New England. Specimens 1874.] taken in July had _ probably wintered in the perfect state, as it was taken much later, quite immature in 1870. Lebia pumila Dej. Cymindis unicolor Kb. Moun- tain streams, rare. Cymindis cribricollis Dej. (Foot of mountain, Henshaw.) Calathus ingratus De}. “¢ mollis Schaum. Rare, near summit. Platynus sinuatus De}. on vicolon Dex: ge cupripennis De}. Me rujficornis Lec. a obsoletus Say. octocolus Mann, stigmo- sus Lec. Pierostichus honestus Say. es coracinus Newm. sf punctatissmus Rand. Several specimens taken un- der chips and bark in the woods, near the Half Way House. Pterostichus lucublandus Say. iB luczotti Dej. Com- mon under stones. Pterostichus hudsonicus Lec. Common. — Pterostichus mandibularis ee. Common. Amara hyperborea Dej. Decid- edly the most abundant species under stones; specimens were also taken on grass, apparently eating it. Amara similis Kb. Only a few specimens taken; it was much more common in 1870. 267 (Austin. Eurytrichus piceus Lec. (Foot of mountain, Henshaw.) Bradycellus cugnatus Gyll. ss cordicollis Lec. Harpalus pleuriticus Kb. ‘¢ laticeps Vee. mountain, Henshaw.) Stenolophus conjunctus Say. Patrobus tenuis Lec. “ —rugicollis Rand. (= an- gicollis, a misprint which has been perpetuated in all lists and notices since published.) Rare. Trechus micans Lec. Bembidium simplex Lec. ae scopulinum Kb., geli- dum Lec. Bembidium nitens Lec. « versicolor Lec. ag cautum Lec. (Known before only from Colorado.) Bembidium mutatum Gemm., az- illare Lec. Bembidium 4—maculatum Linn. The above species of Bembidium were nearly all taken along the streams, and as no special pains were taken to collect them, several other species may have been overlooked. (Foot of DYTISCIDA. Hydroporus niger Say. lacustris Say. Laccophilus maculosus (Scudder.) Acilius fraternus Harris. Rhantus binotatus Harris. Gaurodytes leconte: Cr., discolor Lee. Germ. Austin.] Gaurodytes parallelus Lec. In the mountain streams, common, All the other species were from pools near the summit. GYRINID. Gyrinus sp. (Scudder.) HYDROPHILIDA. Hydrobius fuscipes (Linn.) Cercyon sp. STAPHYLINIDA. Homalota 2 sp. Tachinus sp. Tachyporus jacosus Say. var.* Boletobius 2 sp. Quedius sp. Baptolinus melanocephalus Nord. Peederus littorarius Grav. Dianous nitidulus Lec.* Stenus sp. Oxyporus 5-maculatus Lec. Ancyrophorus planus Lec. In moss, along streams, abundant: Anthophagus verticalis Say. Rare in same localities. Lesteva pallipes Lec. In moss, rare, found quite abundantly on Mt. Tom, Mass., in similar situations. Olophrum sp. Micredus austinianus Lec*. In moss, along streams, not rare. Anthobium dimidiatum Mels. On flowers in the greatest abun- dance. Anthobium n. sp. Besides the above, quite a number of Staphylinide were 268 [January 28, taken, which have not yet been determined. PSELAPHIDS. Near Decarthron abnorme Lee. the foot of mountain. SILPHID#. Silpha marginalis Fabr. shaw.) Anisotoma alternata Lec. s indistincta Lec. Lnodes globosa Lec. Agathidium exiguum Mels. 8 pulchrum Lee. [pre- viously known only from Cal- ifornia. Leconte. ] Brathinus nitidus Lee. In drift wood on the mountain streams, not rare. Brathinus varicornis Lec. With the preceding, one specimen. (Hen- SCAPHIDIID&. Scaphisoma terminatum Mels. ENDOMYCHID&. Phymaphora pulchella Newm. CUCUJIDA. Cucujus clavipes Fabr. Summit, one specimen. NITIDULID4. Byturus unicolor Say. Cercus pennatus Murr. Epurea infuscata Mak). “¢ flavomaculata Makl.* Ips 4-guttatus Fabr. var. 1874.] COCCINELIDE. Hippodamia parenthesis Say. (Smith.) Coccinella 5-notata Say. (Scud- der.) Harmonia picta Rand. Anisocalvia similis Rand. (Sm.) Anisocalvia 12—maculata Gebl. Psyllobora 20-maculata Say. Hyperaspis signata Oliv.; normata Say. (Scudder.) BYRRHIDZ. Simplocaria metallica Er. One specimen taken at the summit It was found in the greatest abundance under stones near the six-mile mark, on the car- riage road, in August, 1870, but not a single specimen was to be found in the same place last year, probably because it was too early. Byrrhus geminatus Lec. Byrrhus kirbyi Lec.? Taken quite abundantly under stones, near Willis’ Seat. Cytilus varius Fabr. var. locality as above. Same LUCANIDE. Platycerus depressus Lec. (Seud- der. Henshaw.) ; SCARABAID#. Aphodius jfimetarius Linn. On ‘carriage road, near summit. Aphodius fossor Linn. (Smith.) Geotrupes splendidus Fabr. (Hen- shaw.) 269 [Austin, | Phyllophaga fusca Frohl. (Hen- shaw.) Trichius affinis Gory. On flowers, not common. BUPRESTIDA. Dicerca lurida Fabr. (Scudder.) Ancylochira maculiventris Say. Melanophila longipes Say. “ Julvogutiata Harr. Chrysobothris dentipes Germ. a trinervia Kb. scabripennis (Seudder.) Agrilus torpidus Lec. One speci- men from the west branch of Peabody River, near foot of mountain. Lap. ELATERID. Epiphanis cornutus Esch. Cryptohypnus sanborni Horn. Very abundant under stones. Cryptohypnus abbreviatus Say. & lacustris Lee. Elater apicatus Say. *¢ luetuosus Lec. “ pedalis Cand. “ pullus Cand. “ —mixtus Hbst. Agriotes limosus Lec. Dolopius pauper Lec. Campylus denticornis Kb. Sev- eral specimens flew into my camp in the early part of the evening. A single specimen was taken under a stick. | Oestodes tenuicollis Rand. Near foot of mountain. Austin.] Eanus costalis Payk.; vagus Lec. On flowers, rare. Eanus estriatus Lec. On flowers, rare. Eanus pictus Cand.; maculipen- nis Lec. On flowers, rare. Sericosomus incongruus Lec. On flowers and at summit, com- mon. Oxygonus obesus Say. (Scudder.) Corymbites virens Schr.; kendalli Ger. (Scudder.) Corymbites resplendens Esch.; erarius Rand. Near summit, abundant. Coraieics fulvipes Bland ? spinosus Lec. - insidiosus Lee. Ut medianus Germ. “6 triundulatus Rand. Common. Corymbites propola Lec. ae hieroglyphicus Say. a eripennis Kb. DASCYLLIDA. Macropogon piceus Lec. Two specimens. Heretofore known only from the Pacific coast. Cyphon pallipes Lec? LAMPYRIDA. Ceenia basalis Newm. Eros sculptilis Say. “© modestus Say. Lucidota atra Fabr. Photinus corruscus Linn. “nigricans Say. 270 [January 28, TELEPHORIDA. Podabrus diadema Fabr. “¢ piniphilus Esch. “ spuneticollis Kb. “ — Jevicollis Kb. | Telephorus carolinus Fabr. a oriflavus Lec.* 6 imbecillis Lec. var. 2 Jraxini Say. 6 curtisit Kirb. _ Malthodes fuliginosus Lec. CLERID. Clerus dubius Fabr. « — nubilus Klug. PTINIDA. Dorcatoma pallicornis Lec.* One specimen found running on an old stump near Halfway | House. CERAMBYCID. Hylotrupes (Callidium) ligneus Fabr. (Scudder. “ Alpine.”) Rhopalopus sanguinicollis Horn. (Smith.) Calloides nobilis Say. (Scudder.) Xylotrechus colonus Fabr. (Hen- shaw.) Xylotrechus undulatus Say. One specimen near foot. Pachyta monticola Rand. On flowers, not rare. Acmeops bivittata Say. Was found in the greatest abun- dance on flowers in the vicin- ity of Willis’ Seat, but not a 1874.) single specimen was seen at a distance from that place. It occupied the flowers of the Mountain Ash, to the exclu- sion of almost all other insects: often a dozen were seen on a single bunch of flowers. Acmeops proteus Kb. Near sum- mit, common. Gaurotes cyanipennis Say. (Sm.) Leptura plebeja Rand. «¢ subargentata Kb. On flowers, not rare. Leptura instabilis Hald.+ (Smith; one specimen.) Leptura sexmaculata Linn. “canadensis Fabr. (Hen- shaw.) Leptura hirtella Lec. *“¢ proxima Say. “ tibialis Lec. « pedalis_ ~— Lee. abundant. Leptura vibex Newm. (Smith.) “ — sphericollis Say. Very common. Leptura mutabilis Newm. Monohammus scutellatus Say. Graphisurus pusillus Kb. Pogonocherus penicellatus Lec. of mixtus Hald. Very CHRYSOMELID&X. Orsodachna children Kb. On flowers, common. Syneta ferruginea Germ. Say. Flowers, rare. Adozus vitis Linn. Phyllodecta vulgatissima Linn. Plagiodera tremule Fabr. tripla 271 (Austin. Luperus meraca Say. Trirhabda tomentosa Linn. Disonycha pennsylvanica Ml. Crepidodera helxines Linn.; nana Say. Crepidodera robusta Lec.* Also two undetermined species. Epithrix cucumeris Marr. TENEBRIONIDA. Phellopsis obcordata Say. One specimen under bark in the woods, near west branch of Peabody River. Upis ceramboides Linn. (Scud- der.) Centronopus calcaratus Fabr. (Henshaw.) CISTELID®. Isomira 4-striata Coup. - PYROCHROIDA. Dendroides concolor Newm. ANTHICID&. Nematoplus collaris Lec. MELANDRYIDA. Canifa pallipes Mels. Scotodes americana Horn. specimen, near summit. * Emmesa connectens Newm. Sev- eral specimens were taken at the camp, running on logs, One which were burning at one end. Prothalpia undata Lee. With preceding. Scotochroa atra Lec.* One speci- men with last. Orchesia castanea Mels. LeConte.] MORDELLIDZA. Anaspis nigra Hald. Flowers. 6 flavipennis Hald. Flow- ers, common. Anaspis rufa Say. Flowers, com- mon. Mordella scutellaris Fabr. Mordellistena scapularis Say. CEPHALOIDA. Cephaloon lepturides Newm. On flowers, and occasionally in the woods, on moss or rocks. Cephaloon ungulare Lec.* With the preceding. 272 [January 28, . PYTHID”. Pytho niger Kb. ‘« strictus Lec. (Smith.) Salpingus virescens Lec. Sum- mit, not rare. : CURCULIONIDA. Pissodes affinis Rand. « dubius Rand. Lepyrus colon Linn. Near sum- mit, rare. . Anthonomus erythropterus suturalis Lec. Polygrdphus rufipennis Kb. Xyloterus bivittatus Kb. Say.” OEDEMERID&. Ditylus ceruleus Rand. (Smith.) APPENDIX, BY JOHN L. LEContTs#, M.D. Tachyporus jocosus Say; arduus Er. A variety of this species, nearly black, with the prothorax dark brown towards the sides, was collected by Mr. Austin. The pubes- cence of the elytra and dorsal surface of the abdomen is unusually well preserved, and quite sericeous. Dianous nitidulus sp. nov. Black, shining, with a bluish lustre, strongly but sparsely punctured; prothorax one half longer than wide, widest before the middle, where it is rounded on the sides; disc with two vague transverse impres- sions, one near the tip, the other behind the middle; elytra as wide as the head, a little longer than wide, convex, with a small, oval, yel- low spot just behind the middle, and nearer the side than the suture; abdomen strongly margined, finely punctured, with two long anal fil- aments at tip. Length, 4.7 mm.; .18 inch. White Mountains, Oregon and British Columbia. Remarkably different from D. cerulescens and chalybeus by the punctuation being deep and sparse, as in Stenus kiesenweiteri of Ku- rope. Otherwise it resembles D. chalybeus, but is more slender. In the ¢ the sixth ventral segment is broadly and strongly emargin- ate. 1874.] 273 [LeConte. Microedus austinianus sp. nov. Black, shining, thinly clothed with fine, short pubescence, protho- rax wider than long, sides and anterior angles rounded, posterior angles obtuse, disc broadly convex, alutaceous, sparsely and obsoletely punctulate, sides narrowly flattened towards the base, which is straight; elytra a little wider than the prothorax, three-fifths as long as the abdomen, outer angle rounded, sutural rectangular; rather depressed, finely punctured, with a large, ill-defined, dark brown spot extending from the base to the middle; exposed part of abdomen obsoletely punctulate, alutaceous, sides flattened. Length, 3.6 mm.; .14 inch. Several specimens collected in the White Mountains, by Mr. Aus- tin; it also occurs in Vancouver Island. The antenne are about one- half the length of the body, slightly thickened externally; third joint a little longer than the second, which is equal to the fourth; sixth to the tenth subtriangular, a little longer than their width; eleventh one- half longer, oval, rounded at tip. Under surface finely punctured, legs brown. I have established this new genus upon an insect resembling in form Coryphium angusticolle of Europe, as figured by Duval (Gen. Col. Europ. ii, pl. 24, fig. 120), but differing from that, as from the other genera of Omalini having subulate maxillary palpi, by the penultimate joint less swollen, being more than one-half longer than its thickness at the distal end, and by the last joint slender, and acic- cular, being only a little shorter; the mandibles are acute and curved at tip, armed with a sharp tooth beyond the middle. The head is much swelled beneath on each side, and the space between the gular sutures is very narrow. ) Epurea flavomaculata Miklin, Bull. Mosc., 1853, p. 205. A remarkable species, which has been heretofore found only in Alaska. It is easily recognized by the body being black above, with the side margin of the prothorax and elytra yellow; the latter each marked with two yellow spots near the suture, one behind the base, the other, smaller, behind the middle. Telephorus orifiavus sp. nov. Black, finely, scarcely perceptibly pubescent with short gray hairs; head in front of the eyes shining yellow, behind dull black, finely alutaceous; prothorax yellow, shining, with a broad black dorsal vitta, one-half wider than long; anterior margin rounded; basal mar- gin slightly rounded, narrowly reflexed, sides nearly straight, nar- rowly reflexed; angles rounded, disc moderately convex; elytra not PROCEEDINGS B. S. N. H.— VOL. XVI. 18 MAY, 1874. LeConte.] 274 {January 28, much wider than the prothorax, finely scabrous-punctate; antenne, palpi and thighs black; tibie and tarsi piceous, ungues cleft; lower part slender, nearly as long as the upper. Length 6.5 mm., .26 inch. White Mountains, Mr. Austin. The second joint is about two- thirds the length of the third. This species resembles in appearance T. angulatus and lineola, but is readily known by the head being yel- low in front of the eyes. ‘ Dorcatoma pallicornis sp. nov. Oval convex, black, shining, uniformly finely punctulate, thinly clothed with very short pruinose pubesceuce; elytra with two nearly entire strize at the sides, and an obsolete short stria behind the hu-. merus; antenne testaceous, first joint black. Length 3 mm.,.13 inch. ‘One specimen; much larger than our two other species, with the punctures uniform and finer, and the pubescence shorter. Crepidodera robusta sp. nov. Reddish brown, shining, oblong and convex, prothorax nearly twice as long as wide. Sides narrowly margined, broadly rounded, disc smooth, basal impressions deep and strong, tramsverse impres- sion distinct; elytra but little wider than the prothorax, strongly punctured in rows; antenne rather stout, two-thirds as long as the body; second and third joints equal. Length 23 mm., .09 inch. One specimen, White Mountains, Mr. Austin. Easily known by the robust form, the prothorax being hardly narrower than the elytra. Scotochroa atra sp. nov. Elongate, rather depressed, black, clothed with fine, short, pros- trate pubescence; head and prothorax finely and densely punctured, the latter one-half wider than long, narrowed in front, rounded on the sides and apex; truncate feebly bisinuate and finely margined at base, which is slightly flattened each side; hind angles rectangular; elytra scarcely wider than prothorax, elongate, gradually rounded and narrowed behind, finely less densely punctured; antennz at base, and tarsi piceous. Length 5 mm., .2 inch. ‘ One specimen, White Mountains, Mr. Austin. An uncharacteris- tic looking insect belonging to the Serropalpus group of Melandry- ide, which, I regret to say, warrants on examination the founding of a new genus, allied to Carebara and Spilotus, agreeing with them in having the middle coxze not contiguous, the maxillary palpi with the second and third joints not dilated, and the pubescence short, pros- trate. It differs from the former by the smaller head, slender anten- ne, and triangular, less securiform, last joint of the maxillary palpi. 1874.] 975 [LeConte. The characters therefore are: Body elongate, finely punctured, clothed with fine prostrate pubescence; head rather small, eyes con- vex prominent, transverse, rather finely granulated; mandibles bifid at tip; maxillary palpi moderately long, last joint wider than second and third, triangular; antenne slender, longer than head and protho- rax; second joint a little shorter than third. Prothorax narrowed in front, rounded on sides, feebly bisinuate and finely margined at base. Elytra paraliel, gradually rounded and narrowed behind. Legs short, feeble, tarsi slender, penultimate joint bilobed, first joint of hind tarsi as long as the others united. A second species of this genus is indicated by a specimen from Oregon, too mutilated to permit of generic determination in my former investigations. It is in form and size similar to the species above described, but differs by the prothorax more distinctly bisinuate behind, the hind angles better defined, and by the antenne being testaceous at base, and at the extremity of the last joint. It may be called S. basalis. Cephaloon ungulare sp. nov. Very elongate, testaceous or piceous, finely punctured and pubes- cent; antennz slender, scarcely thickened externally, joints 9-11 longer, especially in the ¢, claws pectinate, with the appendage slender, curved and acute at tip. Length 11-13 mm. ;- .44-.50 inch. White Mountains and Lake Superior: resembles in form C. leptu- rides, but is more slender, with the antenne longer and nearly fili- form; the claws are rather stout, and strongly pectinate as in that species, but the appendage is slender, curved and acute at tip, as in most Meloides. T received from the Rev. A. Matthews a specimen collected in Vancouver’s Island, which, on more careful examination, proves to be quite distinct; it may be known by the following characters: — C. tenuicorne sp. nov. Above testaceous, head behind the antenne, sides of elytra and under surface piceous; antenne a little longer than the head and prothorax; (¢) slender, slightly thickened externally, joints 3-7 slender, elongated (third longest), ninth and tenth shorter than eighth, wider than the preceding ones, eleventh nearly twice as long as the tenth. Length 12 mm.; .48 inch. The appendage of the claws in this species is broad and rounded at tip, precisely as in C. lepturides; the form is also broader and stouter, resembling the figure of the Siberian C. variabile Motsch. Allen.j 276 {February 4, (Amur Reise, 11, 141, tab. ix, fig. 16), and the antenne are also similar in having the intermediate joints elongated. The fifth ven- tral is more strongly emarginate than in the ¢ of the other two species. The following table will serve to distinguish the three species known to me: A. Appendage of claws broad, rounded at tip :— Outer joints of antenne gradually broader, not elongated. 1. lepturides. Four outer joints slightly wider, joints longer, especially the inter- mediate ones. 2. tenuicorne. B. Appendage of claws slender, curved, acute :— Antenne very long and slender, nearly filiform. — 3. ungulare. February 4, 1874. Vice-President, Mr. R. C. Greenleaf, in the chair. Forty-four persons present. The following paper was read : — On GEOGRAPHICAL VARIATION IN CoLoR AMoNG NortH AMER- ICAN SQUIRRELS; WITH A LIST OF THE SPECIES AND VARIE- TIES OF THE AMERICAN SCIURIDEZ OCCURRING NORTH OF Mexico. By J. A. ALLEN. Some months since! I had the pleasure of calling the attention of the Society to the subject of geographical variation in size, propor- tions and color among North American birds, and of illustrating the subject by an exhibition of specimens. At the same time I also re- ferred incidentally to variations of a similar character among North American mammals. As remarked on these occasions, the law of ge- ographical variation in size with locality (representatives of the same species decreasing in size with the altitude and latitude of the local- ity) was satisfactorily established by Prof. Baird in 1857 and 1858, 1 At the meetings of April 17 and June 19, 1872. 1874.} OT [ Allen. in ‘respect to both mammals and birds. The occurrence of variations in the proportion of parts and in color at certain localities among in- dividuals of the same species, was also at the same time brought to notice, and again alluded to by Prof. Baird in 1866. These observa- tions led to a further examination of this interesting subject, and the discovery of hundreds of additional facts of a similar character. The instances noticed prior to 1866 proved to be by no means exceptional cases, but to be the result of other geographical laws of variation, as universal and almost as well pronounced as that of the variation of size with locality. These I have termed the laws of (1) the enlarge- ment of peripheral parts at the southward; (2) of the increase in intensity and extent of dark colors at the southward, and (8) increase of color with increase of humidity, or the correllation of in- tensity of color with the mean annual rainfall.1_ I now propose to re- fer more especially to the variation of color with locality among the North American Sciuride, and to briefly notice some of the results that have attended a recent examination of the group. : First, in respect to the increase in intensity of color from the north southward. Among the squirrels this increase is finely illustrated in Sciurus hudsonius and in Tamias striatus, representatives of which from the southern parts of New York and Pennsylvania are much more highly colored than are those from northern New England and 1 See Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool., Vol. 11, pp. 229-242, 369-375, April, 1871;— vid. Vol. 111, pp. 114-119, July, 1872. Also, Proc. Bost. Soc. Nat. Hist., Vol. xv, pp. 156-159, Sept., 1872 (Communicated Apr. 17, 1872) ; — Ibid. xv, pp. 212-219, Dec., 1872 (Communicated June 19, 1872); — Amer. Nat., Vol. v1, pp. 559-560, Sept., 1872. For other reference to the subject see CouES (Dr. ELLIOTT), Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci., Phila., 1872, p. 60, July, 1872; RipDGWAY (ROBERT), Amer. Journ. Arts and Sci., 3d Ser., Vol. Iv, pp. 454-460, and Vol. v, pp. 39-44, Dec., 1872, and Jan., 1873; containing a further development of the subject of geographical variation in color, and the addition of many new corroborative facts. Also the critique of Dr. Coues, on Mr. Ridgway’s article (Amer. Nat., Vol. vil, pp. 415-418, July, 1873), and Mr. Ridgway’s reply (Ibid., pp. 548-555, Sept., 1873). In this connection I feel called upon to notice briefly Mr. Ridgway’s important paper in the American Journal of Arts and Science, and his defence of it in the American Naturalist. In respect to the original article, the general laws of geo- graphical variation in color, previously worked out by others, are here restated without any intimation whatever that anything had been previously done on the subject. The ample apology, however, subsequently made, renders it clear that this omission was an inadvertance rather than any intended wrong, and would not be here alluded to except for its historical connection with a matter now to be noticed. In his reply to Dr. Coues’ rather pointed criticism, his anxiety to exon- erate himself, seems (to me, at least,) to have misled him into a somewhat unfair statement of the points at issue as respects the originality of some of my own work. Allen.] 278 [February 4, the British Provinces. Sciurus carolinensis is perhaps a still more marked example, in which the color varies from the light pure gray of the upper parts in New England specimens, with a restricted pale yellowish brown dorsal area, to the rusty gray dorsal surface of the Florida type, in which the whole upper surface is usually strongly yellowish-rusty. This increase of color southward is, however, still more strongly marked in the fox squirrels of the Mississippi Basin, the so-called Sciurus ‘“ ludovicianus.” In specimens from Ohio, Northern Illinois, Southern Michigan, Wisconsin and Iowa, the lower parts are pale fulvous, varying in some specimens to nearly white. In Southern Illinois, and at St. Louis, Mo., the color has increased to a strong bright fulvous, while in specimens from lower Louisiana the color has become reddish fulvous or deep orange. At the same time, the color of the dorsal surface becomes proportionally darker at the southward, through the greater breadth of the black annulations at the tips of the hairs, the dorsal surface in Louisiana specimens being many shades darker than in those from the Upper Mississippi. This variety also finely illustrates the variation in color seen in speci- mens from comparatively dry and moist regions, its habitat ex- tending up the Missouri and its western tributaries to a point consid- erably above Sioux City. Beginning with Ohio specimens and pass- ing westward, we find an increase of color in those from Northern Illinois, Wisconsin and Iowa, west of which point the color rapidly As I have felt it proper to notice this already somewhat at length in the Amer- ican Naturalist (Vol. vill, pp. 227-229, April, 1874), I need not go into details here. Suffice it to say, then, that he seems to have failed to appreciate the differ- ence between calling attention to a few instances of variation with locality in respect to proportions and color, and their combination with hundreds of others of a similar character, and noting their correlation with differences in the phys- ical conditions of the localities at which these variations occur. In short, I think © he hardly fairly states the case when he assumes that Prof. Baird, in stating, in 1866, that the representatives of certain species of birds in Florida and Lower Cal- ifornia had relatively larger bills than their more northern relatives, and that in several instances the western representatives of certain species had longer tails than their eastern relatives, anticipated my announcement in 1871 and 1872 of a law of enlargement of peripheral parts to the southward, including in birds the lengthen- ing of the tail and claws, as well as the lengthening and enlargement of the bill (the lengthening of the tail really occurring at the southward, rather than at the westward); or, in stating again that the birds of the plains were apt to present a bleached or weather-worn appearance, and were darker again on the Pacific Coast, that he also anticipates my announcement of the laws of the greater intensity, depth and extent of the dark colors southward, and their increase also in depth and extent at localities varying in longitude with the increase of atmospheric hu- midity. 1874. eg) [Allen. decreases in intensity, Nebraska specimens being much paler than those taken on the same parallel near the Mississippi River. Speci- mens from the Indian Territory are also very much paler than those from St. Louis, as are Texas ones than those from Louisiana. Even between specimens from the prairies of northwestern Louisiana and others from the lowlands of the same State, near the Mississippi River, the difference in color is very strikingly marked. The variation in color occurring in representatives of the same species at localities differing in longitude, is well shown in quite a number of groups. But few specific forms, however, have a sufli- ciently wide range to illustrate the variations that obtain along a given parallel’throughout the whole breadth of the continent, the Sciurus hudsonius group being the only instance among the squirrels. Oth- ers, however, show the transition that obtains in passing from the moist, fertile prairies of the Mississippi Valley to the dry plains, or from the deserts and mountainous districts of the interior to the moist recion bordering the Pacific Coast north of the parallel of 40°. Spermophilus tridecem-lineatus furnishes a good illustration of the dif- ferences in color that occur between representatives of the same spe- cies living on the moist, fertile prairies and those inhabiting the dry, barren plains, those from Hlinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota and Iowa being much darker than those from Western Nebraska, Western Kansas and Colorado. Even specimens from Eastern Kansas are much darker than those from the middle and western portions of the same State. In this species the color is varied, in passing from the prairies to the plains, not only by the lighter shade of the dark ‘ground color, but by the considerably greater breadth of the light spots and stripes in the specimens from the plains. The Spermophi- lus grammurus group (composed of the S. grammurus, S. Beecheyi, S. Douglass, etc., of authors) illustrates not only a similar variation in intensity of color between the inhabitants of dry and moist regions, but also a somewhat changed style of coloration. Beginning with the nearly uniformly gray or grizzled type of Texas and Southeastern New Mexico, we pass to the more rufous or reddish phase of the cen- tral portions of the Rocky Mountains (in Colorado), which also has an increased amount of hoariness on the sides of the neck and shoulders, to the form west of the Sierra Nevada Mountains, typically represent, ing the Spermophilus Beecheyi, in which the hoariness forms broad lateral bands separated by a narrow brown medial stripe. This form in Northern California passes into the so-called Spermophilus Allen.] 280 [February 4, Douglassi, which differs chiefly from S. Beecheyi in having the medial stripe darker, or nearly black. But two of the most instructive and interesting groups of the Sciuride, in this connection, are those of which the common Sciurus hudsonius and Tamias quadrivitatus are respectively familiar exam- ples, the former ranging over the northern half of the continent, and the latter extending over the western half of North America and Eastern Asia. In the Sciurus hudsonius group, we have at the east the well-known chickaree (S. hudsonius), extending westward to the Plains, and northwestward to Alaska, with its brighter and smaller southern form in the eastern Atlantic States. On the arid plains of the Platte and Upper Missouri Rivers it presents a markedly paler or more fulvous phase, well illustrated by specimens from the Black Hills. This form becomes even still paler and more fulvous at the eastern base of the main chain of the Rocky Mountains, between lat- itude 43° and 47°, where it begins to pass by insensible stages of gradation into the so-called Sciurus Richardsoni of the Rocky Moun- tains north of 45°, and the so called Sciwrus Fremonti of the Rocky Mountains south of about the same parallel. In the collections made in Western Wyoming, near the Yellowstone Lake, occur many specimens which are so exactly intermediate between the three forms (S. hudso- nius, S. Richardsoni and S. Fremonti) whose habitats here meet, that it is impossible to say which of the three forms they most resemble. At the same time specimens can be selected which will form a series of minute gradations from the pale form of hudsonius from the Plains, on the one hand, to the Richardsoni and Fremonti forms on the other. To the southward of this district we soon pass into the region of the typical Fremonti, and to the westward and northward into the habitat of the Richardsoni type. Even the country about the sources of the Gros Ventres Fork of the Snake River, is already within the range of the true Richardsoni1 The habitat of S. Richardsoni extends from the main chain of the Rocky Mountains, north of latitude 44°, to the ' Cascade Range. Here it becomes mixed with S. Douglassi, which scarcely differs from S. Richardsoni, except in being a little darker 1 While the prevailing color above in S. hudsonius is light yellowish-brown, vary- ing to bright ferrugineous along the middle of the back, in S. Richardsonz it is dull rusty or dark chestnut-brown, and in S. Fremonti pale brownish-gray. The prevailing color of the tail in §. hudsonius is usually yellowish-rusty, varying to dark ferruginous, with broad annulations of black; in S. Richardson it is black, varied more or less with rusty; in S. Fremonti black varied with gray. 1874. 281 [Allen. above, and in having the ventral surface more or less strongly tinged with buff, varying in different specimens from cinerous to pure buff. This form prevails from the Cascade Range to the Pacific Coast, southward to Northern California, and northward probably to Sitka. In Northern California the S. Douglassi meets the range of the true S. Fremonti, between which two forms there is here the most gradual and intimate intergradation. In this group we have hence four forms which, in their extreme phases of mutual divergence, appear as di- verse as four good, congeneric species need to, but which, at points where their respective habitats join, pass into each other as gradually as do the physical conditions of the localities at which their extreme phases are developed. The Tamias quadrivitatus group! presents an equally or even more striking range of variation in color, and also varies to an unusual de- gree in size. Beginning at the northward, we find that specimens from as far south as Pembina, and thence northward, are quite undis- tinguishable from specimens from Northeastern Asia, or the so-called Tamias “ Pallasi” (T. Paliasi Baird = T. striatus of most European authors). ‘This form is found to only a limited extent south of the northern boundary of the United States, where on the plains of the Upper Missouri it passes into the blanched, pallid form of 7. quadri- vitaius (T. quadrivitatus, var. pallidus nobis,— see beyond), and further westward into the true 7. quadrivitatus of the Rocky Mountains, and still further westward into the so-called 7. Townsendi of the Pacific Coast. In this group the greatest pallor is reached on the plains of the Yellowstone, and in the deserts of Nevada, Utah and Arizona. In the central portions of the Rocky Mountains (Colorado and portions of New Mexico) a form is developed distinguished by its generally bright, strong colors, but especially for the rich fulvous tints of the sides of the body, to which there is but a slight tendency either in the north- ern form or the pallid form of the plains. Both, however, very grad- ually pass into the rufous-sided type, the pallid form wherever the plains approach the mountains (as along the eastern base of the Rocky Mountains, the Uintah, Sierra Nevada, and others of the more south- ern ranges), gradually becoming fulvous, while the darker northern form grades into the larger fulvous race of the more northern portions of the Rocky Mountains in Montana and Idaho. This larger fulvous race west of the main divide soon begins to assume a duller, more 1 Tamias quadrivitatus, T, Pallasi, T, Townsendi and T. dorsalis of American authors. Allen ] 282 . [February 4, fuscous shade, deepening finally into the very fuscous form (T. Town- sendi) of the region between the Cascade Range and the Pacific Coast. In this form the general color increases so much in depth as to become dusky yellowish-brown, and both the light and the dark stripes become obscure, and occasionally almost entirely obsolete, through the gradual accession of color. Between the extreme phase of this fuscous type and the extreme phase of the pallid type of the plains, in which the stripes are sometimes again partially obsolete through the extreme lightness of the general color, the differences are very great indeed. Yet in placing the scores of specimens I have had the opportunity of examining in a geographical series, or arrang- ing them simply according to their localities, a most thorough and minute intergradation becomes at once apparent. The difference in size, too, between northern and southern specimens is also unusually great; the pale, southern form of the plains, and the extremely bright, fulvous form of Colorado and New Mexico, being very much smaller than the northern, darker form, or than the fuscous type of the north- west coast. As corroborative evidence that these varied types of coloration are but geographical races, it becomes interesting to observe that the light and dark and the fulvous and rufous forms, respectively of the different species, occur over the same areas. With the fuscous type of Tamias quadrwitatus occur the dark types of Sciwrus hudsonius, and the dark-backed form of Spermophilus grammurus, and also a peculiar, dusky form of Arctomys and of Lepus, and a dark form of Spermophi- lus Richardsoni. On the plains occur pallid forms of Sciurus “ludo- vicianus,”’ Sciurus hudsonius, Tamias quadrivitatus, and Spermophilus fiichardsoni. With the fulvous type of Tamias quadrivitatus occurs a rufous form of Spermophilus grammurus; but the form of Scutrus hudsonius, occurring over the same area, presents the exceptional condition of a minimum amount of rufous. Taking the mammals and the birds of the continent collectively, we may recognize, in a general way, at least five more or less well- marked areas characterized by certain peculiarities of color variation, and also a correlation between these areas and the prevalent tenden- cies of color increase and the amount of aqueous precipitation. Other lesser areas, characterized by certain peculiarities of color variation, will doubtless be recognized when the material at hand is sufficient to admit of a more detailed examination of the subject, such indications, in fact, being already more or less apparent. The first region we 1874.] 983 [Allen, propose now to define is that of the Atlantic Slope, which will include not only the country east of the Alleghanies, but a large part of the British Possessions, extending westward at least as far as Fort Simp- son, and thence northward and westward to Alaska, including, ap- parently, all of that territory north of the Alaskan Mountains, with an annual rain-fall throughout the whole of this extended region of about thirty-five to forty-five inches. Over this region (to which we may give the general term of Ailantie Region) the colors may be re- garded as of the average or normal type, those of other regions being either of a diminished or increased intensity. The second region will embrace the Mississippi Valley, or more properly the Mississippi Basin, and may hence be termed the Mis- sissippt Region. Here the annual rain-fall reaches forty-five to fifty- five inches, and over a small area east of the Lower Mississippi even exceeds sixty inches. The tendency here is so often to an increase of fulvous and rufous tints, that we may regard this as the distinctive chromatic peculiarity of the region, these tints reaching their maxi- mum in the limited area of greatest humidity, but a general increase in intensity of color is also more or less characteristic of the region. A third region embraces the central portion of the Rocky Mountains, and being developed most strongly within the present territory of Colorado, and being also mainly included within that territory, may be termed the Colorado Region. The tendency here again, as com- pared with the immediately adjoining districts, is to a general increase of intensity of color, with also a marked inclination to the develop- ment of rufous and fulvous tints, this region being also within the in- fluence of a comparatively high temperature, at least in summer. The humidity is here less than in either of the other regions already de- fined, the annual aqueous precipitation’ amounting to only about twenty-four to thirty inches; but it is yet greatly in excess of that of the districts immediately surrounding it. The fourth region may be regarded as made up of the arid plains and deserts of the great central plateau of the Continent, including not only the “ Great Plains,’ usually so called, but the deserts and plains of Utah, Nevada, Western Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, and southwestward to Lower California, and may hence be appropri- ately termed the Campestrian Region. 'The annual rain-fall is gener- ally below fifteen inches, but rangés, at different localities, from three inches to twenty. Here a general paleness of color is the distinctive feature. The fifth region begins on the Pacific Coast Allen.] 284 [February 4, at about the 40th parallel, embracing a comparatively narrow belt along the coast from Northern California to Sitka. Its peculiarities are most strongly developed west of the Cascade Range, north of 45°; they also prevail eastward nearly or quite to the main chain of the Rocky Mountains. It may hence be termed the Columban . Region. With an average annual rain-fall of fifty-five to sixty-five inches, the prevalent tendency in color is to dusky and fuscous rather than rufous tints. The district between the Cascade Range and the main chain of the Rocky Mountains presents features that may almost entitle it to rank as a distinct region, as might also the region of maximum rain-fall in the Mississippi Region. The southern half of Florida is also perhaps entitled to recognition as a distinct region, being characterized by excessive humidity and a sub- tropical intensity of color. It may also be necessary to eventually recognize as distinct districts the almost rainless portions of the Campestrian Region. In respect to the correllation of intensity of color in animals with the degree of humidity, it would perhaps be more in accordance with cause and effect to express this law of correllation as a decrease of intensity of color with a decrease of humidity, the paleness evidently resulting from exposure and the blanching effect of intense sunlight, and a dry, often intensely heated atmosphere. With the decrease of the aqueous precipitation, the forest growth and the protection af- forded by arborescent vegetation gradually also decreases, as of course does also the protection afforded by clouds, the excessively humid regions being also regions of extreme cloudiness, while the dry regions are comparatively cloudless districts. In addition to the tendency to change of color with locality, there is another phase of color variation that requires, in this connection, a passing notice, — namely, Melanism. It is now well known that al- most every species of mammal may be expected to present melanis- tic individuals, instances of its occurrence in the majority of the North American species being now well established. Indeed, the very fact of a melanistic phase of coloration may be looked upon as almost a priori evidence that the individuals presenting it belong to a melanistic race of some species whose normal color is some other tint than black, as Prof. Baird lone since remarked in respect to the American squirrels. It has been supposed that the tendency to me- lanism is more prevalent at the northward; but such does not appear to be necessarily the case. Among the Sciuride, for instance, a 1874.] . 285 [Allen. group rather remarkable for a tendency to melanistic varieties, the black and dusky forms are as often southern as northern. In some species melanistic individuals are as rare as are the cases of albin- ism, as in Sciurus hudsonius, the species of Tamas, and in many of the Spermophilt, while in others they are sometimes the common, if not the prevalent, form over a considerable area, as occurs in Sciurus carolinensis and Sciurus cinereus. Melanism is also of frequent occur- rence in Sciurus Aberti, and in Spermophilus grammurus, which pre- sents a melanistic form both in Texas and Lower California. Sperm- ophilus Parry: has also a black race along the Youkon River, and frequent instances of melanism are well known in all the species of Arctomys. In numerous instances these melanistic individuals and melanistic forms have been described as distinct species, while in re- ality they are generally so sporadic in their occurrence as to render them hardly worthy of recognition, even as varieties. The gradual increase of our knowledge in respect to the character of these melanistic forms, and especially in regard to the extent and character of geographical variation, necessarily leads to the modifica- tion of our views in respect to the status of many forms that have formerly passed current as more or less well-established species, and also to consequent changes in nomenclature. The representatives of few groups are more variable in respect to color, even among individ- uals of the same species inhabiting the same locality, than the arbo- real squirrels. Add to this the considerable amount of geographical variation that obtains among them, and the very considerable changes attendant upon season in respect to the character of the pelage, and we shall no longer feel surprised at the profusion of synonyms that attach to many of the species. In respect to the North American members of Sciurus, Prof. Baird, in his excellent monograph of the eroup published in 1857, found it necessary to reduce the number of species from twenty-four, the number recognized by Audubon and Bachman in 1854, to ten well-established species and two doubtful ones, several of his own species, in this reduction, sharing the fate of those of previous authors. Jn undertaking recently a monographic revision of the American Sciuride, I have found it necessary to still further reduce the specific forms to jive, recognizing, however, seven geographical varieties in addition, making the whole number of rec- ognized forms twelve. As illustrative of the bearing of the class of facts already noticed, I subjoin herewith a synoptical resumé of the species and varieties of the Sciwride of North America found north Allen.) 286 [February 4, of the Isthmus of Panama.t The synonyms cited will doubtless be sufficient to render clear the changes of nomenclature here intro- duced (the names of the United States species used in Baird’s Mam- mals of North America being always given), the detailed descriptions of the forms recognized, and the discussion of their character and relations being reserved as the subject matter of the more extended memoir referred to above. Genus SCIURUS. 1. Sciurus cinereus. a. var. cinereus. Sciurus cinereus Linn., Syst. Nat., 1, 64, 1758.—Baird, Mam. N. Am., 248, 1857. Hab. Atlantic States north of Virginia. b. var. niger. Sciurus niger Linn., Syst. Nat , 1, 64,1758. —Allen, Bull. Mus. Comp. ZOol; Th 1 (6, US el. Sciurus vulpinus Gmelin, Syst. Nat., 1, 147, 1788. — Baird, Mam. N. Am., 246, 1857. Sciurus capistratus Bosc., Ann. du Museum, 1, 181, 1802.— Bachman, Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond., v1, 85, 1835. Hab. Atlantic States south of Virginia; Gulf States west to Texas ? 1T should here state that the following résumé, as well as the proposed mono- graph, is based mainly on the immense stores of material that for many years have been accumulating at the Museum of the Smithsonian Institution, and which have been kindly placed in my hands by Prof. Baird for elaboration. In addition to this rich material, I am also permitted the use of that contained in the Museum of Comparative Zoology, which, so far as the forms of Eastern North America are concerned, far exceeds that of any other collection. The material at my command hence ranges from thirty to several hundred spécimens of each of the greater part of the species of North American Sciuride. As indicative of the recent increase in the material at the Museum of the Smithsonian Institution, I may add that while in 1857 there were but two specimens of Sciurus ‘‘ Fremonti”’. extant, I have had access to more than fifty skins, many skulls and to specimens in alcohol; the five specimens of Sciurus ‘‘Richardsoni”’ have been increased to forty; of Spermophi- lus Harrisi, from three to thirty-five; of Spermophilus Richardsoni, fron none to above seventy, etc. Of Spermophilus tridecem-lineatus I have had before me about one hundred and sixty; of the Sciurus hudsonius group, upwards of two hundred and fifty; and of the Tamias quadrivittatus_group, nearly one hundred and seventy-five, and very large and satisfactory series of nearly all the other species mentioned in the following synopsis. 1874.] 987 [Allen. c. var. ludovicianus. Sciurus ludovicianus Custis, Barton’s Med. and Phys. Journ., 11, 43, 1806.—Baird, Mam. N. Am., 251, 1857. Sciurus macroura Say, Long’s Exped., 1, 115, 1828. Sciurus magnicaudatus Harlan, Faun. Am., 178, 1825. Sciurus texianus, subauratus and Audubont Bachman, Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond., vi, 86, 87, 97, 1838. Sciurus occidentalis Aud. and Bach., Jour. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila., VIII, 317, 1842. Ms Sciurus rubicaudatus and Sayi Aud. and Bach., Quad. N. Am., 1, 30, 274, 1851. Sciurus limitis Baird, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila., vir, 331, 1855. Hab. Mississippi Basin, west to the Plains. 2. Sciurus carolinensis. a. var. carolinensis. Sciurus carolinensis Gmelin, Syst. Nat., 1, 143,.1788.— Baird, Mam. N. Am.; 256, 1857. Sciurus cinereus Schreber, Sdugt., rv, 766, 1792 (mec. Linn.). Hab. Southern Atlantic and Gulf States. b. var. leucotis. ““Sciurus pennsylvanicus Ord, Guthrie’s Geog., (2d Am. Ed.,) 11, 292, TStor? Sciurus niger Godman, Am. Nat. Hist., 11, 136, 1826. Sciurus leucotis Gapper, Zool. Journ., v, 206, 1830. Sciurus fuliginosus Bach., Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond., vr, 96, 1838. Sciurus migratorius Aud. and Bach., Quad. N. Am., 1, 265, 1849. Hab. United States east of the Plains, except the South Atlantic and Gulf States. 8. Sciurus fossor. Sciurus fossor Peal, Mam. and Birds U. 8. Exp., 55, 1848. Sciurus Hermanni Leconte, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila., v, 149, 1852. Hab. Pacific Coast, from the Columbia River to San Diego; only west of the Cascade and Sierra Nevada Mountains. 4. Sciurus Aberti. a, Sciurus dorsalis Woodhouse, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila., vr, 110, 1852 (nec Gray). Allen. 288 [February 4, Sciurus Abertt Woodhouse, Ibid., 220, 1852. — Baird, Mam. N. Am., 267, 1857. Hab. Southern Colorado, New Mexico, and portions of Arizona. Sciurus castanotus [casianonotus| Baird, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila., VII, 832, 1855. — Ibid., Mam. N. Am., 266, 1857. Hab. San Francisco Mountains. 5. Sciurus hudsonius. a. var. hudsonius. “Sciurus hudsonius Pallas, Nov. Sp. Glir., 376, 1778.”— Baird, Mam. N. Am., 269, 1857. ‘Sciurus carolinus Ord, Guthrie’s Geog. (2d Am. Ed.) 1m, 292, 1815,” Sciurus rubrolineatus Desm., Mamm., 1, 333, 1822. Hab. North America, east of the Rocky Mountains; Alaska. b. var. Fremonti. Sciurus Fremonti Aud. and Bach., Quad. N. Am., 111, 237, 1853. — Baird, Mam. N. Am., 272, 1857. ? Sciurus mollipilosus Aud. and Bach., Prec. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila., 1, 102, 1841. 7 Hab. Rocky Mountains, south of about latitude 43°, and westward to the Pacific Coast. c. var. Richardsoni. Sciurus Richardsoni Bach., Proc. Zool. Soc., Lond., v1, 100, 1838. — Baird, Mam. N. Am., 273, 1857.” Hab. Western slope of Rocky Mountains, north of about lati- tude 44°, and westward to the Cascade Range. d. var. Douglassi. Sciurus Douglassi Gray, Proc. Zool. Soc., Lond., rv, 88, 1836.— Bachman, Ibid, vi, 99, 1838. — Baird, Mam. N. Am., 275, 1857. Sciurus lanuginosus Bach., Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond., 7, 101, 1838 (par- tial albino). Sciurus Townsendi Bach., Journ. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila., virr, 63, 1839 (Ms. name). Sciurus Belchert Gray, Ann. and Mag. Nat. Hist., x, 263, 1842. Sciurus Suckleyi Baird, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila., vir, 333, 1855. Hab. Cascade Range, westward to Pacific Coast, and from North- ern California north to Sitka. 1874.] 289 [ Allen. Genus SCIUROPTERUS. 6. Sciuropterus volucella. a. var. volucella. “Sciurus volucella Pallas, Nov. Sp. Glir., 351, 353, 359, 1788.” Pieromys volucella Desm., Mamm., 11, 343, 1822:— Baird, Mam. N. Am., 286, 1857. Hab. North America, south of about the isotherm of 40° F. b. var. hudsonius. Sciurus hudsonius Gmel., Syst. Nat., 1, 153, 1788. Pteromys hudsonius Fischer, Synop., 365, 1825.— Baird, Mam. N. Am., 288, 1857. Pteromys sabrinus Rich., Zool. Journ., 111, 519, 1828. _ Pieromys alpinus Wagner, Suppl. Schreber’s Saugt., 111, 230, 1843. Pteromys oregonensis Bachm., Journ. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila., vir, 101, 1839. Hab. Northern North America, north of about the isotherm of AO? EK. Genus TAMIAS. 7. Tamias striatus. Sciurus striatus Linn., Mus. Adolphi Fred. Regis., 1, 8, 1754. Tamias striatus Baird, 11th Rep. Smith. ase, 55, 1857. — Ibid., Mam. N. Am., 272, 1857. “Tamias americanus Kuhl, Beitr. zur Zool., a 1820.” Sciurus (Tamias) Lysteri Rich., Faun. Bor. Am., 1, 181, 1829. Hab. Northern Maine to Virginia on the Atlantic Coast; in the interior north to the northern shores of Lakes Superior and Huron; west to the Missouri River. 8. Tamias quadrivitatus. a. var. Quadrivitatus. Sciurus quadrivitatus Say, Long’s Exped., 11, 45, 1823. Hab. Rocky Mountains, and westward in the mountain ranges to the Pacific Coast. b. var. pallidus.} Tamias quadrivitatus Baird, Mam. N. Am., 297, 1857 (in part only). 1 The small, pale form of the high, dry plains of the interior. PROCEEDINGS B. S. N. H.— VOL. XVI. 19 JUNE, 1874, Ailen.] 290 {February 4, Hab. The Great Plains, and the desert region generally of the in- terior of the continent. c. var. Pallasi. Sciurus striatus (in part only) of the older authors. Tamas Pallasi Baird, 11th Rep. Smith. Inst., 55, 1857. Hab. Northeastern Asia; northern North America, west of Lake Winnipeg, south to United States; not west of the main chain of the Rocky Mountains. d. var. Townsendi. Tamias Townsend: Bachm., Journ. Phil. Acad. Nat. Sci., virr, 68, 1839. — Baird, Mam. N. Am., 300, 1857. Tamias Hindei Gray, Ann. and Mag. Nat. Hist., x, 264, 1842. Tamas Cooperit Baird, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila., viz, 334, 1855. Tamias quadrimaculatus Gray, Ann. and Mag. Nat. Hist., 3d Ser., XX, 435, 1867. Hab. Pacific Coast, from Northern California north to Sitka? and east to the Cascade Range. é. var. dorsalis. Tamias dorsalis Baird, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila., vit, 332, 1855. —Ibid., Mam. N. Am., 300, 1857. Hab. Arizona; Utah. / 9. Tamias lateralis. Sciurus lateralis Say, Long’s Exped. R. Mts., 11, 46, 1828. Spermophilus lateralis Baird, Mam. N. Am., 312, 1857. Hab. Rocky Mountains, from New Mexico northward (to latitude 57°, according to Richardson). Genus SPERMOPHILUS. 10. Spermophilus Harrisi. Spermophilus Harrisi Aud. and Bach., Quad. N. Am., 111, 267, 1854. — Baird, Mam. N. Am., 313, 1857. Hab. The Great Interior Basin (Utah, Nevada, Arizona?) and Lower California. 1874.] 991 [Allen. 11. Spermophilus Franklini. Arctomys Franklini Sabine, Linn. Trans., x111, 587, 1822. Spermophilus Franklini Baird, Mam. N. Am., 314, 1857. Hab. Northern Illinois northward to the Saskatchewan. 12. Spermophilus tereticaudus. Spermophilus tereticaudus Baird, Mam. N. Am., 815, 1857, Hab. Fort Yuma, California. 13. Spermophilus tridecem-lineatus. a. var. tridecem-lineatus. Sciurus tridecem-lineatus Mitchell, Med. Repos., xxi, 248, 1821. Spermophilus tridecem-lineatus Baird, Mam. N. Am., 316, 1857 Gn part only). Arctomys Hoodu Sabine, Linn. Trans., xx1, 590, 1822. Hab. The prairies of the United States, from Arkansas north- ward to the Saskatchewan. b. var. pallidus. Spermophilus tridecem-lineatus Baird, Mam. N. Am., 316, 1857 (in part only). Hab. The dry plains and deserts of the interior westward to the Great Basin. 14. Spermophilus mexicanus. Sciurus mexicanus Erxleben, Syst. Anim., 428, 1777. Spermophilus mexicanus Baird, Mam. N. Am., 319, 1857. Hab. Southwestern Texas and Southern New Mexico, southeast- ward into Mexico. 15. Spermophilus spilosoma. a. var. spilosoma. Spermophilus spilosoma Bennett, Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond., 1, 40, 1835. — Baird, Mam. N. Am., 321. 1857. Hab. Western New Mexico west to the Pacific Coast. b. var. obsoletus. Spermophilus obsoletus Kennicott, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila., 1863, 157. Allen.] 292 [February 4, Hab. Eastern base of the Rocky Mountains north to Western Wyoming. 16. Spermophilus Parryi. a. var. Parryi. Arctomys Parryi Rich., Parry’s Second Voyage, App., 316, 1825. Spermophilus Parryt Baird, Mam. N. Am., 323, 1857. Hab. Northern parts of the continent, from Hudson’s Bay to Behring’s Straits; also on the islands of the Asiatic side of the Strait. b. var. kodiacensis.! Hab. Island of Kodiac. ce. var. erythrogluteia. Arctomys Parryt var. 3. erythroglutera Rich., Faun. Bor. Am.,1, 161, 1829. Hab. Northwestern America south to Puget Sound. 2d. var. phoenognatha. Arctomys Parryi var. y. phenognatha Rich., Faun. Bor, Am., 1, 161, il}748), Hab. Shores of Hudson’s Bay. 17. Spermophilus Richardsoni. a. var. Richardsoni. Arctomys Richardsoni Sabine, Trans. Linn. Soc., x111, 589, 1822. Spermophilus Richardson Baird, Mam. N. Amer., 325, 1857. Hab. Plains of the Saskatchewan southward to the Upper Mis- souri, and west to the Rocky Mountains. b. var. elegans. Spermophilus elegans and armatus Kennicott, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila., 158, 1863. Hab. From eastern base of Rocky Mountains to a little west of Fort Bridger. 1A form with cinerous lower parts, less fulyous above, and more busby tail, from the Island of Kodiac. 1874.] 293 [Allen. 18. Spermophilus Townsendi. a. var. Townsendi. Spermophilus Townsendi Bach., Journ. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila., v111, 611, 1839. Hab. Plains of the Columbia. 6. var. mollis. Spermophilus mollis Kennicott, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila., 1863, 157. Hab. Northern Rocky Mountains, from about lat. 45° north into the British Possessions. 19. Spermophilus grammurus. a. var. grammurus. Sciurus grammurus Say, Long’s Exped. R. Mts., 11, 72, 1823. Spermophilus grammurus Baird, Mam. N. Am., 310, 1857. Spermophilus Couchii Baird, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila., viz, 332, 1855.—Ibid., Mam. N. Am., 311,1857. (Black form from Texas.) Spermophilus Buckleyt Slack, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila., vir, 314, ‘1861. (Melanistic form from Western Texas.) Hab. Western Texas and New Mexico west to Sierra Nevada Mts. b. var. Beecheyi. Arctomys (Spermophilus) Beecheyt Rich., Faun. Bor. Am.,1, 170, 1829. Spermophilus Beechey: Baird, Mam. N. Am., 307, 1857. ? Spermophilus macrourus Bennett, Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond., 1, 41, 18338. (Melanistic.) Hab. West of Sierra Nevada Mts. from northern California south to Lower California. : c. var. Douglassi. Arctomys ? (Spermophilus?) Douglassi Rich., Faun. Bor. Am., 1, 172, 1829. Spermophilus Douglassi Baird, Mam. N. Am., 309, 1857, Hab. Pacific Coast from Northern California to Puget’s Sound. 20. Spermophilus annulatus. Spermophilus annulatus Aud. and Bach., Jour. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila., _ vii, 319, 1842. Hab. Plains of Colima, Mexico. Allen.] 294 [February 4, 21. Cynomys ludovicianus. “Arctomys ludovicianus Ord, Guthrie’s Geog. (2d Am. Ed.), m1, 292, 303, 1815.” Cynomys ludovicianus Baird, Mam. N. Amer., 331, 1857. Cynomys socialis and grisea Raf., Am. Month. Mag., 11, 45, 1817. Arctomys missouriensis Warden, Descrip. U. 8., v, 627, 1820. Arctomys latrans Harlan, Faun. Am., 306, 1825. Hab. The great plains east of the Rocky Mountains, from south- ern Texas nearly to the British Boundary. 22. Cynomys columbianus. “Arctomys columbianus Ord, Guthrie’s Geog. (2d Am. Ed.), m1, 292, 302, 1815.” Anisonyx brachyura Raf., Am. Month. Mag., u, 45, 1817. Arctomys Lewisi Aud. and Bach., Quad. N. Am., 11, 32, 1853. Cynomys Gunnisoni Baird, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila., vir, 334, 1855.—Ibid., Mam. N. Am., 335, 1857. Hab. The parks and plains within and west of the Rocky Moun- - tains to the plains of the Columbia. 23. Arctomys monax. Arctomys monax Linn., Syst. Nat. (10th ed.), 1, 601, 1758. — Baird, Mam. N. Am., 339, 1857. Arctomys empetra Schreber, Saugt., rv, 143, 1774. Arctomys pruinosus Gmelin, Syst. Nat., 1, 144, 1788. “Arctomys melanops Kuhl, Beitr., 64, 1820.” Hab. Eastern North America, from Hudson’s Bay to Virginia, and west to the Missouri River. 24. Arctomys caligatus. Arctomys caligatus Eschscholtz, Zool. Atlas, 11, 1, 1829. Arctomys pruinosus Richardson, Zool. Journ., 111, 518, 1828 (nec Gmelin). (In part only.) Arctomys okanaganus King, Narr. Back’s Journ., 11, 257, 1836. Hab. . Puget’s Sound northward, west of the Rocky Mountains. PASI Arctomys flaviventer. Arctomys flaviventer Aud. and Bach., Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila., 1, 99, 1841. — Baird, Mam. N. Amer. 343, 1857. Hab. Rocky Mountains, west to the Pacific Coast. 1874.] 995 [Hitchcock. Prof. C. H. Hitchcock gave an account of the Helderberg Rocks of New Hampshire. From the discovery of char- acteristic fossils, especially a Pentamerus, perhaps the PP. Knightii, these rocks seem to belong to the lower Helder- berg series. Prof. Hitchcock, with the aid of map and diagrams, described in. detail the geology of the northern portion of Grafton Co., N. H., in which the Helderberg rocks occupy three areas in the neighborhood of Littleton, North Lisbon, and Lyman. Mr. 8. H. Scudder exhibited a large series of drawings of Georgian Insects, principally of the transformations of Lepi- doptera, executed by Abbot more than fifty years ago. One collection was painted for Dr. Oemler, of South Carolina, and has recently been purchased by friends for the Society; it consists of nearly two hundred colored drawings of Lepidoptera, very few of which are given in the work of Sir James Edward Smith. Another collection formerly belonged to Mr. Raddon, of England, and was afterwards given to Dr. Asa Gray, who has identified the plants figured, and has now transferred it to the Society’s library; it is composed of about the same number of sheets, mainly representing the transform- ations of Lepidoptera, nearly all distinct from those in the first series, or those published by Smith. Mr. Scudder added a brief account of other similar collections, especially of those in the British Museum, and gave a short sketch of Abbot’s life. The thanks of the Society were voted to Dr. Gray for his very valuable gift. The amendments to the By-Laws, proposed at the last meeting, were then discussed, and the question being put to vote, the following amendments were adopted : — That the following Section be added to the By-Laws: — “Srotion II. Or THe ELECTION oF OFFICERS. “ Article 1. Whenever any existing or anticipated vacancy in the list of officers is to be filled by election, a Nominating Committee By-Laws.] 296 [February 18, shall be appointed by the Society at a stated meeting, to bring in at a subsequent meeting one or more nominations of persons to fill each such vacancy; but additional nominations may also be made in any other way. “ Article 2._ No person shall be elected to any office until his nomination has been under consideration by the Society for at least two weeks.” And, in consequence, that Sections II to X of the By-Laws become Srcrtions III to XI, respectively. SECTION Ley Articles 7 and 8. That the words ‘Committees on Departments of the Museum’ be substituted for the word ‘ Committees, where this word occurs for the first time in each of these Articles. Section V. Article 2. That the word ‘of’ be changed to ‘on’ after the word ‘ Commit- tee.’ Section VI. Article 1. For the words ‘Committee on Publications,’ read ‘Publishing Committee.’ February 18, 1874. The President in the chair. Fifty-seven persons present. eS The following papers were read : — On AMBER IN NortH AmeERICA. By Dr. H. A. HAGEN. It may, perhaps, not be inopportune to draw the attention of American geologists to an American paper published fifty years ago, and treating of an interesting geological fact in a very interesting manner, and nevertheless almost entirely overlooked since, at least by all foreign naturalists. 1874.] 297 [Hagen. Dr. G. Troost, of Baltimore, Md., published in the third volume of Silliman’s American Journal of Science in 1821, a paper entitled, “ Description of a variety of amber, and of a fossil substance sup- posed to be the nest of an insect, discovered at Cape Sable, Magothy River, Ann Arundel Co., Maryland.” The title of the paper may have its share in its oblivion, because the paper contains much more than is indicated by it, and gives an elaborate account of the geological formation at Cape Sable, of the successive situation and thickness of the strata, and a scientific de- termination of their mineralogical contents. All statements of the author concerning European amber, proving a perfect acquaintance with the matter, are well founded, and, considering the time of pub- lication, are rather remarkable. Fifty years ago the geological strata containing the fossil called amber (Bernstein), and still more, all the strata connected with it, were hardly studied. Born in the country where most of the amber known has been found for centuries, and initiated.in the study of the subject by my grandfather and my father, both authors of valuable papers about amber, I have myself studied’ this curious fossil and the palzontological remains very often admirably preserved in it. By mere accident I became aware of the existence of Dr. Troost’s paper, entirely unknown to European naturalists, and of course over- looked in every bibliography concerning amber. Two valuable scientific periodicals + had published short extracts of the quoted paper; nevertheless, at the time, these extracts were overlooked, for these periodicals rarely contained geological mat- ter. As the paper of Dr. Troost seemed to be exceedingly interest- ing, I presented a translation to the Physico-Oeconomical Society of Koenigsberg, Prussia, now for years the centre of all works and studies concerning the amber of Europe. This translation was pub- lished in the Society’s Memoirs, 1871, Vol. x1, with a learned and interesting report from its most competent member, Dr. G. Berendt, which report, together with somewhat more detailed written remarks by the same geologist, induced me chiefly to present this communi- cation. 1Schweigger Jahrbuch der Chemie u. Physik, 1822, p. 484. Karsten Archiv, Vol. VI, p. 416. Hagen. ] 298 [February 18, The geological profile of Cape Sable in Maryland, according to Dr. Troost, is formed as follows: — 15-70 feet thick. Sand, the lower part with a coarse ferrugineous sandstone. Mixture of lignite and sand with amber. 34-4 a Lignite. 15-20 Sand with large nests of pyrites, or instead, of shaly clay. 5-12 ss Earthy lignite with pyriteous wood, and large fragments of bituminous trees; with streaks and nests of gray clay, pebbles of greasy quartz and insect nests of earthy amber. 2-5 ee Argillaceous sandstone, with small masses of pyrites. 4 o Whitish gray clay, exempt from pyrites. White sand, in which the water is so abundant as to render it difficult to penetrate lower. Comparing this profile with the profile of the coast of Samland, in Eastern Prussia, there is no resemblance to be found except in the occurrence of amber in sandy strata, and the ageglutinations of the sand by iron oxide (or iron oxide hydrate), similar to the so-called krantlayers in Eastern Prussia. Whether the sand has any similarity to the glauconite (Griin Sand) of the‘amber strata in Prussia, is still entirely unknown; the agglutination being only a secondary process, to be found in sands of the most different formations. A striking difference between the amber strata in Eastern Prussia, and those in Maryland, is the occurrence of the lignite only below the amber strata in Maryland, only above the amber strata in Hast- ern Prussia. This difference, and the immediate neighborhood of amber and lignite, would perhaps indicate the occurrence of amber in Maryland as homologous with the occurrence of amber in the so-called striped sand belonging to the lignite layers of Eastern Prussia. This supposition is supported by the fact quoted in the first note at the end of Dr. Troost’s paper, which runs as follows: — 1874.] 999 [Hagen. “According to Hotsman, who has examined the Prussian mines, the amber seems not to be in contact with the pyrites, but the mines are worked in a bed of coarse sand below.” Mr. Hotsman, by the way, a person entirely unknown in Prussia, seems to have visited the mines worked twenty-four years at the end of the last century, near Great Hubnicken. These mines were undoubtedly situated in lignite strata, and only those strata could have been chosen for a comparison with the Maryland strata, and not at all those later discovered in a ereater depth in the so-called blue earth, which is always below and never above the coarse sand. I am sorry that there is not a piece of Maryland amber at hand. But the determination by Dr. Troost is to be accepted as correct, because the remarks of the author prove his acquaintance with this fossil, the more so as retinasphalt from the Magothy River, at Cape Sable, was chemically analyzed by him, and the analysis published. (c. f- Gmelin Handb. Chemie, 1866, p. 1836.) A scientific opinion concerning the relation of the amber strata in Maryland, and the stratum of the blue earth in Eastern Prussia, is still impossible, and necessarily depends on a careful and more ex- haustive examination of the American locality. It seems evident that the strata, twenty to twenty-five feet thick, at Cape Sable, be- long to tertiary lignite-bearing strata, a fact corroborated by later published geological maps, giving the geological formation of Mary- land as eocene and miocene, analogous to the geological formation of the Samland coast in Eastern Prussia. Even the first stratum of Dr. Troost, the fifteen to sixty or seventy feet sand above the amber stratum, is apparently not to be separated from the lignite stratum. The word alluvium, used in the beginning of the paper, designates only what Werner calls aufgeschwemmte Gebirge — alluvial moun- tains — and not the terms alluvium and diluvium used at present as counterpart of the tertiary rocks. As the only rich bed of amber in tertiary layers now known is that on the coast of Samland in Eastern Prussia, a more thorough exami- nation of the locality of Cape Sable would afford perhaps a great interest for science and commerce. For practical purposes it would be important to ascertain whether the bed of amber is sufficiently rich to be worked, or whether the pyrites could not be used with profit for the manufacture of sulphuric acid. With regard to the scientific question, it would be necessary to form a complete collection of samples of the different strata. A Hagen.] ' 300 [February 18, careful comparison of these samples with the Prussian strata would afford a great deal of interest. In this connection the following ques- tions would be of prominent importance. American scientific literature, so far as I know, affords very little concerning amber found in America. The Geology of New Jer- sey by George H. Cook, State Geologist (Newark, 1868, p. 283), says, amber is found irregularly distributed in all parts of the marl region. Specimens have been seen from marl pits in every county of the region, but there is no certainty of finding other specimens in the same localities. Pieces enough to have filled a barrel are said to have been taken from one marl pit at Shark River, about twelve years ago, but since that, in looking over many hundred tons of marl there, not a fragment was found. The mineral is yellow in color, but is not so compact or lustrous as good specimens of foreign amber. Dana’s Mineralogy mentions amber, and Appleton’s American Ge- ologist, Vol. 1, p. 445, gives as localities, Amboy, N. J., Gayhead, Martha’s Vineyard, Mass., and Cape Sable, Md. Mr. H. D. Rogers, in his Description of the Geology of the State of New Jersey, Philadelphia, 1840, mentions twice, pp. 180, 185, the occurrence of amber. There is also a mention of American amber in Silliman’s Amer. Journ., X, 171; xvut, 292. For these few data I am indebted to Mr. W. Holden, of Marietta, Ohio. Almost all my attempts to see pieces of amber found in America have been unsuccessful. The University collections in Cambridge and New Haven do not possess specimens. According to a communica- tion from Mr. Ph. R. Uhler, in Baltimore, amber is found in Mary- land, about twenty-five miles from Baltimore, in a lignite bed, but in very small quantities, and he did not succeed in finding any one possessing specimens. Through his kindness I obtained a small piece from Pennsylvania, which, however, was declared not to be amber at all, by the most experienced authorities in Prussia. Later I was favored by Dr. Endlich, from Reading, Pennsylvania, with two small pieces of true amber. But as no locality was given, and as the pieces formerly belonged to an apothecary, who profes- sionally used to keep some amber in store, I can not consider these pieces as of undoubted American origin. The discovery of amber in larger quantities in America would be of the greatest interest. It orld certainly contain here, as in Europe, fossil remains, and promote the knowledge of the fossil fauna and flora in a remarkable manner. ‘The so-called insect nest and the 1874.] 30 1 [Hunt. doubtful fruit mentioned by Dr. Troost, seem to prove that these strata are not without paleontological remains. It may not be well known to American students, (as the amber formation is a very local one, and rich only in eastern Prussia), that the flora and fauna in- cluded in the amber itself, or in the strata just above, have a decided North American character. Professor Goppert, of Breslau, the eminent botanist, goes even so far as to identify some of the amber plants with some living ones in North America. I should add, that his opinion is not shared by other German naturalists, and is even positively contradicted for some species. Nevertheless, the similarity is rather striking. ‘The amber fauna, mostly consisting of articulata, gives an analogous result. A fossil amber-genus of white ants, Ter- mopsis of Professor Heer, is represented by a single living species in North America; and of a very remarkable Psocid, also found in am- ber, Amphientomum, a species was discovered not long ago by Dr. A. S. Packard, Jr., in New England. It would be out of place to dwell more on these analogies here, though many other facts are at hand. It may be that amber, which also occurs in Greenland, will be discovered in the southern and western parts of the United States. When I first saw the shores of the Lakes Huron and Michigan, and the Island of Mackinaw, I was so struck by their resemblance to the shores of my native country, the very locality where amber is found, that I could not help thinking that here also amber would be discovered. I conclude by recommending to American geologists this interesting seological question. The accidental circumstance of my birth in the, as yet, richest amber country, convinced me of the advantages which geologists may derive from a careful study of this singular mineral. Dr. Chas. Pickering remarked that in 1826 specimens of amber, claimed to have been brought from the region of the Chesapeake and Delaware Bays, were plenty in Philadelphia, Dr. Sterry Hunt observed that the glauconite or green- sand marl of New Jersey, and along our eastern coasts, is generally of cretaceous age, as in Hurope; although glauco- nite is by no means confined to that horizon, since he had analyzed and described glauconites of Cambrian age, viz. . from the Potsdam of the Mississippi Valley, and from the Hunt.] 302 [February 18, Levis formation near Quebee. In Finland also these ancient glauconites are found, while from Vermont he had examined a glauconite of later tertiary age. Dr. Hunt had also re- ceived from the late Dr. Torrey a kind of fossil resin from the marl-pits of New Jersey, which had not yet been studied. He referred farther to the well-known frequent occurrence of a resin-like substance in the more recent coals and lignites of the west, and said Dr. Newberry had observed a similar matter in the paleozoic coal of Perry Co., Ohio. These bodies are perhaps none of them identical with amber, but so nearly related to it as to be of interest in this connection. Dr. Hunt had also described a hard infusible resin in the plant-bearmg Devonian sandstones of Gaspé, on the Gulf of St. Lawrence, found cementing together grains of coarse sand, and constituting about one-half the weight of the rock. It resembles amber, but is perhaps more nearly related to the substances named scleretinite and middletonite. Tuer DEPOSITION OF CLAYS. By Dr. T. Sterry Hunt. It is known to chemists that many bodies insoluble in water, when in a finely divided state, remain for a long time in suspension in that liquid, and readily pass with it through the pores of paper filters; but that the addition to the water of a small portion of acid or saline matter prevents this passage, and, moreover, causes the suspended matters to subside rapidly, leaving the liquid clear. This tendency, which shows itself in many uncrystalline substances, such as, for example, hydrated titanic and stannic acids, and a certain modifica- tion of hydrated ferric oxyd, is also very noticeable in clays. Itisa well known fact that clayey waters will remain turbid for days, but may be readily rendered clear by the addition of a little salt or alum, which soon causes the clay to settle. The turbidity of such a water is, in fact, a mark of the purity or freedom from soluble salts. Prof. E. W. Hilgard has lately applied this property to the mechanical analysis of soils, separating the clay from the sand by suspension in pure water, and afterwards precipitating it by the addition of com- mon salt. He employed for this purpose one and a half parts of salt to one hundred of water, but found that the half of this quantity, or 1874.] 303 [Hunt. even less, would suffice to cause the ready precipitation of the clay from the water. The first notice of the geological significance of this fact occurs, so far as Iam aware, in the Report of Messrs. Humphreys and Abbot on the Physics and Hydraulics of the Mississippi, published in 1861, where, in the Appendix A, page xr., Mr. Sidell, having exam- ined the turbid waters of the river near its mouth, found it to con- tain about one two-thousandth of suspended matter, chiefly clay, which required from ten to fourteen days to subside. He, however, observed that the addition to it of a portion of sea-water, or of com- mon salt, alum, sulphate of magnesia or sulphuric acid, sufficed to render the turbid water clear in from twelve to eighteen hours. He thus explained the ready precipitation of the suspended clay when these turbid waters come in contact with the salt waters of the Gulf, causing great deposits of fine mud, and helping us to understand the origin of the accumulations of argillites and clay slates which are met with in various geological formations. ‘This action of salt water has lately been insisted upon by an English author, who is apparently not aware of the observations and conclusions of Mr. Sidell. The latter, who does not appear to have followed farther this curious phenomenon suggests that it may be explained by some action of the salts upon a portion of dissolved organic matter, the coagulation of which may precipitate the suspended clay; but experiments show that it is inde- pendent of the presence of organic substances. An explanation is, however, I think to be found in the researches of Guthrie on the formation of Drops, published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society for 1864 (Vol. x1v). In studying the size of drops of water falling from a small sphere of ivory, he found that the cohesion of the water was diminished when it held saline matters in solution, as was shown by the smaller size of the drops. This was verified by experiments with solutions of various strengths of nitre and of chlorid of calcium. It was found that the addition of eight parts of the latter salt to one thousand of water, reduced by one- ninth the size of the drops, as determined by their lessened weight. These results show a diminished cohesion of the liquid to the ivory sphere, from which it was by the force of gravity made to fall. The cohesion, in virtue of which the extremely attenuated particles of clay are held suspended in water in opposition to gravity, is, in like manner, so far reduced by the addition to the water of a portion of saline matter, that gravity and cohesion rapidly assert themselves Ridgway.] 304 [February 18, among the suspended particles, which come together and soon sub- side, leaving the saline liquid clear. The precipitation of suspended clays is very rapid when a strong solution of salt is made use of. THe Lower WaxspasH VALLEY, CONSIDERED IN ITS RELATION TO THE FAUNAL DISTRICTS OF THE EASTERN REGION OF NortH AMERICA; WITH A SYNOPSIS OF ITS AVIAN FAUNA. By Ropert Ripeway. Part I.— General Preliminary; Relation of the Lower Wabash Valley to the Faunal Districts of the Eastern Region of North Amer- ica ; local characteristics of its Avian Fauna. The present paper is intended as a step toward supplying an im- portant deficiency in our knowledge of the geographical distribution of the birds of the Mississippi Valley. In this undertaking encour- agement is given by the success of Mr. Allen’s treatment of the avi- fauna of adjoining portions,! as well as by the hope that a gap exist- ing between the local lists of the Atlantic States and those States along the western border of the Mississippi may be filled. It is the purpose to here present a condensed review of the birds belonging to a section of the country which is of great interest to ornithologists, from the fact that it is as yet comparatively a terra in- cognita as regards our knowledge of the details of its bird life. No portion of the Eastern Region of North America presents a richer field for ornithological research. This arises from its unusually favorable physical conditions and consequent diversity of natural productions, for no portion of the continent is more replete with both animal and vegetable life. The wild regions of the Far West have been almost exhausted of novelties in this line through the agency of numerous Government Surveys which have traversed them in every direction, while the States bordering the Atlantic have been pretty thoroughly worked up by the zealous efforts of 1 The titles of Mr. Allen’s papers on the birds of localities in the Mississippi Val- ley, are the following: — I. Notes on the Birds observed in wetieee Iowa (July 1 to Sept. 20 — 108 spe- cies), Northern Illinois (June—94 species) and Richmond, Wayne Co., Indiana (June — 72 species). Mem. Bost. Soc. Nat. Hist., Vol. 1, pp. 491 — 526. II. List of Birds observed in Leavenworth, Kansas, from May 2 to May 11, and at Topeka, Kansas, from May 11 to May 24, 1871; with annotations. Bulletin of the Mus. Comp. Zool., Cambridge, Mass., Vol. 111, No. 6, July, 1872, pp. 122-131. (121 species.) 1874.] 305 [Ridgway. various local naturalists; but the long-settled and easily-accessible district here treated, has, to the present day, been neglected. In his valuable work on the geographical distribution of North American birds! Mr. Allen notes in the following words the lack of information in regard to the avifauna of the region of which the lower | Wabash Valley is a part:—“ The data are tolerably full only for the region embraced between the St. Lawrence and the Upper Lakes on the north, and the Ohio River and Virginia on the south. Much is also known, however, in regard to the other Atlantic States; but in respect to the whole region of the lower Mississippi and the Gulf States, the recorded facts bearing upon this subject are lamentably few. The importance of complete and carefully annotated lists of the birds of many localities in the South Atlantic and Gulf States, and in the Mississippi Valley, is hence clearly manifest” (p. 391, italics are ours.) Although the lower Wabash Valley does not appar- ently come within the region indicated above in a geographical sense, yet it is demonstrable that it is strictly a part of it as far as its natu- ral productions are concerned. The field of this paper comprises the area drained by the Wabash River and its tributaries, both in Illinois and in Indiana, as far north as Vincennes, and lies between parallels 38° and 39° North latitude. The greater part of the investigations upon which it is based have, however, been made in the vicinity of Mt. Carmel (Wabash County) and Olney (Richland County) in Illinois, and on the Indiana side of the Wabash River directly opposite the former locality: Occasional excursions to the southward not having revealed the slightest differ- ence in the avifauna from that of the three points mentioned, it is presumed that its character is quite homogeneous throughout the whole extent of the district named. In fact, though the distance from the Ohio River to the nearest point on the Gulf of Mexico is fully six hundred miles, no very marked change can be noticed in either the fauna or flora in proceeding southward along the Missis- sippi, until the alligator (A. mississippiensis), long moss (Tillandsia usneoides), evergreen magnolia (JZ. grandiflora), live oak (Quercus virens) and fan-palm (Chamcrops) are first found, at a certain lati- tude (somewhere near the parallel of 33°), which marks the northern limit of the sub-tropical belt of the Gulf coast. Of course the char- acteristic southern species gradually become more abundant, to the 1 Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology, Cambridge, Mass., Vol. 11, No. 3, pp. 375-425, 1870. PROCEEDINGS B. S. N. H.— VOL. XVI. 20 JUNE, 1874. Ridgway.] 306 [February 18, southward, but nearly all extend northward well into the Wabash Valley. The vegetation of the lower Wabash Valley if not essentially southern has a very decided impress of the southern character, the subtropical forms mentioned above being the main desiderata. Among the forest trees the pecan (Carya oliveformis) extends up the Wabash as far as Terre Haute; the bald cypress (Taxodium dis- tichum) forms a swamp in Knox Co., Indiana, covering seventeen thousand acres;! the catalpa (C. bignonioides) is a common under- wood throughout the bottom-lands south of Vincennes; while the tupelo gum (Nyssa uniflora), water locust (Gileditschia monosperma), southern hackberry (Celtis mississippiensis) and lyre-leafed oak ( Quer- cus lyrata) are more or less abundant in the woods. The tropical family Bignoniacee has four representatives, viz., Catalpa bignonior- des, Bignonia capreolata, Tecoma radicans and Martynia proboscidea —all abundant —only one other species (Zecoma stans, found in Florida) occurring in the United States. Besides these southern plants, the Cocculus carolinus, several southern species of Smilax and Cuscuta, the Hibiscus grandiflorus, Cabomba caroliniana, Nelumbium luteum (growing in great abundance and magnificence) and a host of other strictly southern species attest the decidedly southern na- ture of vegetation of the lower Wabash.2, Among the southern reptiles the following species have been found near Mt. Carmel:? An- cistrodon piscivorus (the dreaded “cotton-mouth” or moccasin of south- ern plantations), Hutcenia fairey), E. dorsalis, E. proxima, Tropidonotus . erythrogaster, T. transversus, Heterodon cognatus, Coluber confinis, 1 Wabash County, Illinois, contains 128,420 acres; 69,853, or more than one-half of this area is woodland, most of which is primitive forest. (County assessment of 1873.) 2 In this connection the reader is referred to the following papers by the writer, published in the American Naturalist: —Notes on the Vegetation of the lower Wabash Valley.—I. The Forests of the Bottom Lands, Voi. vi, Nov., 1872.— II. Peculiar Features of the Bottom Lands, Vol. v1, Dec., 1872.— III. The Woods and Prairies of the Upland Portions, Vol. vi1, March, 1873. 3 In giving the above list of Ophidians, I must acknowledge the valuable assist- ance rendered me in this line by my friend Mr. Lucien M. Turner, of Mt. Carmel, who has collected many of the species named, and has them in his possession. The doubtful of these have been determined by Professor Cope, so that their identifi- cation is authentic. My authorities for the other species are Mr. Kennicott’s list in the first volume of the Illinois Agricultural Report (1853, pp. 591-593), and the invoice sheets and specimens in the Smithsonian Collection. The total number of species of serpents known with certainty to be found in Illinois, is about 45; this number no doubt will be increased to considerably more than fifty species. 1874.] 307 ) [Ridgway. Ophibolus sayi, Osceola elapsoidea, Abastor erythrogrammus and Cych- lophis cestivus. In addition to these, other collectors, chiefly Mr. Ken- nicott, have obtained the following species in different portions of Southern Illinois:-— Tropidonotus woodhousi, Regina grahami, Ophi- bolus doliatus, O. evansi, Diadophis arnyi, Haldea siriatula, Farancia abacurus, Virginia valeria, V. elegans, Celuta helene and C. vermis. Of the seven species of lizard which are known to be inhabitants of Illinois, four of them (Ophisaurus lineatus, O. ventralis, Lygosoma later- ale and Ameiva sex-lineata) are chiefly southern. Among the mammals the southern Vulpes virginianus and Lynx rufus largely preponderate over, if they do not replace, the northern V. fulvus and L. canadensis. There also oceur Neotoma floridana, Hesperomys aureola, H. (Oryzo- mys) palustris, and Reithrodon humilis —all emphatically southern species. The avian-fauna of this section is as quite decidedly southern as the reptilian-fauna and the flora. Mr. Allen considers twenty-four species of birds as peculiar to the ‘‘ Louisianian Fauna.” Of this num- ber only ten remain to be discovered in Southern Illinois. Few of these ten species have been found so far as one hundred miles away from the coast, since their distribution is governed by other conditions than those of climate. They are mostly pelagic or littoral species, which of course never go inland, and tropical land-birds which in the United States are confined to the hot Gulf-coast. The species are the following: — Puffinus obscurus (strictly pelagic); Platalea ajaja, Ibis alba, Demiegretta ludoviciana, Chamcpelia passerina, Quiscalus major, Picus borealis, Sitta pusilla, Helinaia swainsont (known only from Georgia and Florida) and Helminthophaga bach- mannit (known only from lower South Carolina and Cuba). Of these, Ibis alba and Demiegretta ludoviciana will probably yet be found in Southern Illinois, since they have been traced quite as far to the northward both on the Atlantic coast and west of the Mississippi. Platalea ajaja may possibly occur, since Plotus anhinga and Tantalus loculator, equally characteristic of the Tropics, are quite common. Picus borealis and Sitta pusilla are without doubt yet to be found among the yellow pines (Pinus mitis) and red cedars (Juniperus virginianus) which grow abundantly in many localities south of Wa- bash County. Quiscalus major and Chamepelia passerina are hardly to be looked for, for evident reasons. The remaining fourteen have already been detected, the following being the species: Peucea esti- valis (common, breeding; known before only from Georgia and aid- Ridgway.] 808 [February 18, joming portions of Florida and South Carolina); Cyanospiza ciris (one specimen); Protonotaria citrea (a very abundant and character- istic summer bird in the bottom-lands); Dendroica dominica (not rare, breeding); Antrostomus carolinensis (not rare, breeding?); Campephilus principalis (rare — but probably as numerous as it is anywhere, and breeding); Conurus carolinensis (formerly excessively abundant, but now exceedingly rare, except in certain bottom-lands, and breeding) ; Catharista atrata (occasional) ; [ctinia mississippiensis (very abundant on the prairies, and breeding); Nauclerus Sorficatus (excessively abundant on the prairies, and breeding); Elanus leucurus (one pair noticed in summer at a lagoon in the bottom-lands) ; Tantalus loculator (quite common, — breeding ?); Plotus anhinga (rare as far north as Mt. Carmel, but common towards. the Ohio, — breeding ?); Porzana jamaicensis (not rare, breeding); and Graculus dilophus var. Jfloridanus. Besides these, the writer has also found the Asturina nitida (var. plagiata), a hawk of tropical America not previously found within the United States (see “American Naturalist,” Vol. v1, July, 1872, p. 430), though it was obtained by Lieut. Couch on the Mexican side of the Rio Grande, and has since been found breeding in Arizona, by Capt. Bendire. The great mass of the birds, however, are mainly those character- istic of the “ Carolinian Fauna,” as defined by Mr. Allen (pp. 394, 395), all of these being abundant, with the exception of some species belonging to the littoral and pelagic series,! which, of course, are not found at all. The following species of this fauna are permanent residents in the lower Wabash Vailey, and are as abundant in win- ter as in summer : —Cardinalis virginianus, Thryothorus ludovicianus, Lophophanes bicolor, Centurus carolinus, Rhinogryphus aura, Parus carolinensis and Thryomanes bewicki. The last two species Mr. Allen omits from his list, but they are strikingly characteristic of the 1 What I term the Atlantic littoral series is a group of birds composed of four terrestrial and several aquatic species. which are never found away from the salt marshes or beaches of the Atlantic coast. These species are the followi’g: — Am- modromus maritimus, A. caudacutus, Passerculus princeps, Corvus ossifragus, Tringa canuta (?), Hematopus palliatus, Rallus crepitans, etc. This series is rep- resented on the Pacific coast by a corresponding one composed of Passerculus Corvus caurinus, Aphriza virgata, Heterosceles brevipes and Hematopus rostratus and niger. The littoral series is to be distinguished from the pelagic series, com- posed of various Longipennes and Anatide. The latter, like the aquatic forms of the littoral series, are more nomadic, and are apt to follow large water-courses inland, many of them being found about the Great Lakes. 1874.] 309 [Ridgway. Carolinian Fauna, although the latter appears to be very rare east of the Alleghanies. The extremes of temperature in winter and summer, which are perhaps greater in the Mississippi Valley than in corresponding lati- tudes of the Atlantic States, no doubt explain why the northern species extend so much farther south and the southern ones so much farther north, in their respective seasons of migration, in the former region than in the latter. In short, there are more northern birds in winter and more southern ones in summer. The sedentary fauna associates in summer with one possessing a decided subtropical im- press, while in winter it mingles with the aretic series. The resident Cardinalis virginianus, Lophophanes bicolor, Parus carolinensis, Thry- othorus ludovicianus, T’. bewicki and Centurus carolinus associate in summer with Cyanospiza ciris, Guiraca caerulea, Peucea esiivalis, Protonotaria citrea, Dendroica dominica, Conurtis carolinensis, An- trostomus carolinensis, Campephilus principalis, and such southern forms, while their winter companions are Agiothus linaria, Loxia americana, L. leucoptera, Plectrophanes lapponicus, P. pictus, P. niva- lis, Pinicola canadensis, ete.; Astur atricapillus, Nyctea scandiaca and Nyctale acadica, may be seen in winter, where in summer Astur- ina plagiata, Ictinia mississippiensis, Nauclerus forficatus, Elanus leucurus, and Strix pralincola replace them. ‘There is likewise an extensive overlapping of the western and eastern faune, since the eastward extension of the Missouri plains, in the modified form of the Illinois prairies, causes many of the western species to range as far at least as the Wabash River. The eastern species pass thei and reach as far west as the Missouri River— many of them to the Rocky Mountains, or even well into that range itself. The western element in the Illinois bird-fauna is thus rendered con- spicuous by the abundance of Chondestes grammaca, Collurio excubiio- roides and Hremophila alpestris, which breed plentifully almost every- where; Vireo bellii is common, locally, even on the most eastern prairies in the State; Stwrnella neglecta is sparingly scattered over the same area, while on those of the central and western portions Spizella pallida is found. Xanthocephalus icterocephalus is common, even abundant, in suitable sections, nearly throughout the State; Helmin- thophaga celata is abundant in the Wabash Valley during both the spring and fall migrations. Scolecophagus cyanocephalus is occasional in winter, while Falco polyagrus and Buteo swainsoni occur nregu- ‘ Ridgway.] 310 i [February 18, larly at various seasons! ‘This overlapping of the faune from the four points of the compass, in consequence of the central geographi- eal location of the State, accounts for the peculiarly rich and varied nature of the Illinois Avian Fauna. . In studying the bird-life of Southern Illinois, the ornithologist from the Atlantic States is at once impressed with many points wherein it differs from that to which he has been accustomed in the East. In summer he misses the chant of the song sparrow (Melospiza melo- dia),? and the merry gabbling song of the house wren (Tvroglodytes edon); these seem to be entirely replaced by the Chondestes gram- maca, a\western species possessing an unrivalled song, and the Thryomanes bewicki, with a loud, clear chant similar to but much finer than\ that of Melospiza. In the meadows the “ dick-sissels ” (Euspiza americana) are abundant, the males perching upon the fence stakes as they. pour forth their rude but incessant ditty; around the border of the old fields the rich musical chant of the Peucea est- valis is heard; in the groves the fine robin-like, but well-sustained, song of the vermilion tanager (Pyranga estiva) delights the ear, while troops of tufted titmice (Lophophanes bicolor) and Carolina chick- adees (Parus carolinensis) rove noisily through the woods. Among the shade trees of the town-parks, and along even the Jusiest streets, red-bellied and red-headed woodpeckers (Centurus carolinus and Melanerpes erythrocephalus) sport without fear, while the blue jays (Cyanura cristata) descend from the orchard into the yards to pick up scraps of food from the very doorsteps. If he leaves the town and visits the wild woods in the “bottoms,” the birds are as unfamiliar as the scenery. The cerulean warbler (Dendro- 1 As might be expected from their habits of life and facilities for migration, there is but a small mixture of the western element in the Iinois reptilian-fauna. Still, Hutenia parietalis occurs plentifully in the Wabash Valley, and Bascanion jflaviventris is found in other portions of Southern Illinois. Both of these species belong to the Western Region south of 40°. There may be other western forms found in the State, of which I am not aware. 21n Southern Iowa, according to Mr. Trippe (Proc. Bost. Soc. Nat. Hist., Oct., 1872, p. 237), the song sparrow is ‘abundant in spring and fall, but not observed to breed, Shy and retiring, a complete contrast to the eastern. song-sparrow.” In Southern Illinois this is also the case, the species being there a winter sojourner, abundant, but very retiring, inhabiting almost solely the bushy swamps in the bot- tom-lands, and unknown as @ song bird. The same are also probably its habits throughout Illinois and the adjacent districts. This is a remarkable instance of variation in habits with longitude of one geographical race, since in the Atlantic States it breeds abundantly as far south at least as the parallel of 38°, and is besides one of the most familiar of the native birds. 1874.] 811 [Ridgway. ica cerulea) is abundant —but secure from the reach of shot — in the tops of the tall trees; around any pond the prothonotary and yellow-throated warblers (Protonotaria citrea and Dendroica dominica) may be seen, the one flitting through the bushes, the other creeping around and hanging from the branches which bend over the water. In the dark, damp portions of the forest are heard the rich liquid notes of the Louisiana water thrush (Seiurus ludovicianus) and cardinal-like song of the Kentucky warbler (Oporornis formosus). On the prairies! Henslow’s bunting (Coturniculus henslowi) and the shore lark (Hremophila alpestris) are the most characteristic birds, along with Vireo bellu, Sturnella neglecta, Chondestes grammaca, Collurio excubitoroides (the two latter also common birds in cleared districts of the wooded portions), and Euspiza americana; while the eracefully floating flight of swarms of swallow-tailed kites (Vau- clerus forficatus), and the beautiful evolutions of Mississippi kites (Ictinia mississippiensis) form a sight to be witnessed elsewhere only on the prairies of the South-west. . In winter the birds are even more numerous than in summer, though the increase in the number of individuals is accompanied by a diminution of the species. From about one hundred and fifteen to over one hundred and fifty species remain during the winter, the number varying considerably according to the character of the sea- son; the former number represents about the minimum of winter residents, or the number found in severe winters, and the latter the maximum of mild winters. Of course quite a large proportion of them are more or less rare; but at least fifty species are represented by a perfect host of individuals. Among the brush-heaps, in the new clearings, in the briary scrub overgrowing neglected fields, in the shrubbery along the fences, and particularly in the bushy swamps in the bottom-lands, the sparrow tribe literally swarms, the most abundant species being the Spizella monticola, Melospiza melodia, M. lincolni, M. palustris, Zonotrichia albicollis, Z. leucophrys and Junco hyemalis, each represented by multitudes; associated with these excessively abundant species are plentiful numbers of Pipilo erythrophthalmus, Cardinalis virginianus, Passerella iliaca and Thryothorus ludovicianus, besides a few of Spizella pusilla. In the woods are troops of Lophophanes bicolor (the most abund- ant and noisy of all our birds), nearly as many of Cyanura cris- tata, an abundance of Parus carolinensis, Sitta carolinensis and Den- 1See American Naturalist, Vol. vu, April, 1873. Ridgway.] S12 [February 18, droica coronata, a fair sprinkling of Sitta canadensis, and now and then a Sayornis fuscus and Turdus pallasi; while in very mild winters the Seiwrus noveboracensis is often seen. Of woodpeckers eight species (Picus villosus, P. pubescens, Sphyropicus varius, Hylo- tomus pileatus, Centurus carolinus, Melanerpes erythrocephalus and Colapies auratus) are abundant. Many of the foregoing species are nearly constant inhabitants of the door-yards and orchards, even in towns, the most familiar ones being Junco hyemalis, Zonotrichia leucophrys, Z. albicollis, Spizella monticola, Cardinalis virginianus, Lophophanes bicolor, Parus caro- linensis, Cyanura cristata and Dendroica coronata. With few exceptions, the birds of the bottom-lands are different from those usually found in the dryer and more open districts. In summer they are very difficult to procure, owing to the fatigue and various anoyances endured in the search for them; the value of the few obtained, however, will almost surely compensate for all the trouble experienced. Going into these heavy, luxuriant woods upon awarm day in June or July, they are so perfectly silent as to ap- pear at first entirely uninhabited. No sooner has one come to this conclusion, however, than a yellow-throated vireo (V. flavifrons) flits across the path, for this bird is always upon the alert for intruders, and the individual in question has heard your approach. Alighting on a prominent twig he stretches out his neck, and peers curiously at you; if satisfied, he vanishes into the maze of foliage; but if his curiosity develop into suspicion, he suddenly breaks the silence with his harsh, scolding notes, which startle from their noon-day siesta all the little birds in that part of the woods. It is the well-known signal of the presence of an enemy, and soon the springing of light twigs and jostling of leaves, with an occasional twitter and chirp, makes you suddenly aware that there are birds all around. Among the numerous little fellows which are now and then detected peeking slyly at you, as they hop cautiously among the branches, or flit, with as little noise as possible, through the foliage, may be distinguished two sets, one keeping near or upon the ground, the other de- scending from the tree-tops to the lower branches. The most conspicuous member of the former class is the Kentucky warbler (Oporornis formosus), while his companions are the hooded, worm- eating, prothonotary, and blue-winged yellow, warblers (MJyiodioctes mitratus, Helmitherus vermivorus, Protonotaria citrea and Helmintho- phaga pinus), and large-billed water thrush (Seiwrus ludovicianus). {G 1 i : 1874.] Silty [Ridgway. These are the chief terrestrial species, the oven bird, or orange- crowned thrush (Seiurus aurocapillus) and Carolina wren (Thryotho- rus ludovicianus) being about the only ones which ever reinforce them. The arboreal series consists chiefly of “wood warblers ” (Den- droice), instead of “ground warblers,” (Geothlypee) and “worm- eating warblers” (Vermivoree). D. cerulea is by far the most common species, and with it are seen D. dominica, Mniotilta varia, Setophaga ruticilla, Parula americana, and occasionally D. pinus. Lanivireo flavifrons, Vireosylvia olivacea, V. gilva, and several Empi- donaces (E. acadicus, E. traillii, and occasionally E. minimus — the former most abundant, the latter rare) about complete the list of small birds which are most likely to be observed — though the scarlet tanager (Pyranga rubra) may flash across an opening in the foliage, and alighting on a bare twig, sit as if intended for pure orna- ment, his intense scarlet plumage with velvety-black wings and tail contrasting richly with the green background of foliage. This spe- cies is mentioned the more particularly because the vermilion tanager (P. estiva), so common in the dry or upland woods, is rarely, if ever, seen in the forest of the bottom-lands. It will be noticed that in this fauna the Fringilline element is entirely wanting, but this becomes a component part as soon as an open copse or glade in the woods is reached. Then we find it represented by Cardinalis virginianus, Pipilo erythrophthalmus, Spizella pusilla and Cyanospiza cyanea; few, if any, other [’ringillide ever occurring at this season in the bottom-lands along with these species. In addition to the foregoing, few birds are likely to be met with during the sultry mid-day; but towards evening, when their retreats grow cooler, every variety of animal life wakens into activity. Squir- rels (Sciurus ludovicianus and S. carolinensis) scamper through the tree-tops; several species of Cicada deafen the ear with their screech- ing, trilling and sawing notes; and birds which have been hidden and silent during the warmer part of the day leave their places of con- cealment and become noisy. The pzeet, isip and pit of various war- blers is heard among the canes or thé spice-wood bushes; the peerless whistlings of the Zhryothorus ludovicianus and the rich song of the Seiurus ludovicianus — so full of power and sweetness —is heard from a neighboring swamp. Perched upon the outstretched arms of a huge sycamore, whose old, dead, snow-white branches over- hang a lagoon, sits a great crested fly-catcher (Myiarchus crinitus), uttering the screaming whistles and irritable twitter so characteristic * Ridgway.] 314 [February 18, of the species and so much in harmony with the wildness of a virgin forest. Parakeets (Conurus carolinensis) occasionally commence their screeching notes, and now and then a solitary individual — more rarely a small flock — dashes by as it pursues its rapid, erratic flight through the trees. Oftener, however, they may be heard on every hand, but the closest and most persevering search will fail to discover one of them, since their green color renders it almost im- possible to distinguish them from the thick foliage in which they are hidden. The yelping “log-cock,” or “ black wood-cock ” (Hylo- tomus pileatus) is sure to be now and then seen or heard, while a glimpse at a noble ivory-bill (Campephilus principalis) is a possible sight. As the evening shades thicken, and the stars come out, the melancholy notes of the whip-poor-will (Antrostomus vocif- erus) are heard, occasionally answered by the louder voice of the chuck-will's-widow (A. carolinensis); at intervals we hear the plain- tive, wailing notes of the wood pewee (Contopus virens), and the monotonous lisping note of the Empidonax acadicus; while the utterances of these twilight birds— all expressive of great solitude — are accompanied by the rasping of the katydids aud the chirp of crickets. These nocturnal voices of the forest of the bottom-lands continue without intermission through the night, though in the neigh- borhood of the bayous or “ ponds” they are drowned by the chorus of frogs, whose notes range from the delicate peep of a warbler to the hoarse bellowing of a bull. These, in turn, are frightened to silence by the harsh discordant squawk of the great blue heron (Ardea herodias), as, startled, he flies up at one’s approach. Before the frogs resume their clatter one hears the little screech owl (Scops asio) wailing tremulously. The loud echoing hoot of the barred owl (Syrnium nebulosum), and the hoarser, more gutteral utterance of the great horned owl (Budo virginianus), are heard at intervals until morning, when they are relieved by the gobbling and yelping of the wild turkeys (Meleagris sylvestris) and the various notes of the other birds which usher in the day. 1874.] 315 (Ridgway. Part Il. Consideration of Climatic Influence upon Color, as mani- fested in the Birds of the Lower Wabash Valley. The law of increased intensity of color to the southward is al- ready well understood;! and that the birds of the Mississippi Valley are more brightly colored than individuals of the same species from parallel latitudes on the Atlantic coast is another law which Mr. Allen’s observations in Eastern Kansas have developed and which my own in Southeastern Illinois confirm. On pages 113 and 115 of Mr. Allen’s paper, cited at the beginning of this article, that gentleman tells us that “in the woodlands of Eastern Kansas a decided general tendency to a greater intensity of color than at the northward was noticed, in accordance with the law of the increase in intensity of color to the southward, which in several* species was especially marked. The males of the common indigo bird (Cyanospiza cyanea) were not only much more than ordinarily lustrous, but the females shared the blue tint of the males to an unusual degree.” The cardinal found there “makes a decided approach to the thick-billed race of this bird found in Lower California (C. zgneus auct.).” In regard to this law there is a striking analogy, with minor dis- -tinctive features to be noted afterwards, between Eastern Kansas and Southeastern Illinois. Specimens of Cardinalis virginianus from Mt. Carmel and Olney are as intensely red as those from Florida while this tint is at the same time much purer; they have also about the same general size and form, while the dimensions of the bill are similar. Males of Pyranga estiva? are of a far richer vermilion than those from Washington, D.C., and resemble more nearly ex- 1 Jn this connection see especially the following works : — ALLEN, Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool., 11, No. 3, pp. 233-236.— Jb., Do., Vol. 111, No. 6, p. 114.— 1b., Proc. Bost. Soc. Nat. Hist., Vol. xv, pt. 2, Dec., 1872, p. 214. RipGway, Am. Journ. Sci. and Arts, 3d ser., Vol. rv, Dec., 1872, p. 454; Jan., 1873, p. 39. — ib., American Naturalist, Sept., 1878, p. CouEs, Am. Nat., July, 1873, p. 417. 2Tn the Colorado province of the United States and the contiguous portions of Western Mexico, is a well-marked geographical race of this species, characterized by much larger size, and purer, though lighter, red colors. In the opinion which they pass upon its merits as a valid race, several authors (see Coues’ “‘“Key to North American Birds” p. 111, and Maynard’s “ Birds of Florida.”’ pt. 11, p. 85) are at fault, evidently because their conclusions were not supported by the examinations of specimens and comparison of them with the eastern form. Dr. Coues has made this comparison since the publication of his “‘ Key,’ and the race is consequently recognized in his later ‘‘Check List’’ (p. 23, No. 108a); but for the benefit of those who persist in ignoring it, the following facts are presented: (1.) Eastern specimens Ridgway.] 316 [February 18, amples from tropical America. Centurus carolinus frequently has the entire lower parts tinged with red, the belly bright scarlet, and the lower part of the head strongly tinged with the same color; the amount of this red tinge is about the same as in the Florida form, but its tint is a pinkish scarlet mixed with salmon-pink, instead of dingy purplish, on a duller ground. JZelanerpes eryihrocephalus often has the abdomen strongly washed with salmon-pink, with touches of brighter reddish. In males of Geothlypis trichas the yellow of the lower parts is generally nearly continuous, being seldom interrupted by a large creamy-whitish abdominal area, as is universally the case in specimens from the States along the Atlantic Coast. In this fea- ture they incline decidedly to G. melanops Baird (= var. melanops — see Am. Journ. Sci. and Arts, Dec., 1872) from Eastern Mexico. The quail (Ortyz virginianus) is represented by a style intermediate between that of Southern Florida (var. floridanus Coues) and the common form of the New England and Middle States. Many males have as much black as the Florida birds, but less plumbeous and more rufous. One (No. 961), in my own collection, from Mt. Car- mel, has the black jugular collar almost as wide as in the var. cuban- ensis, from Cuba and the bill is as large as that of any Ficrida_ example with which it has been compared. In general size the quails of Southern Illinois average a trifle larcer than those from Florida. It is somewhat difficult to decide to which district — the Gulf Coast or the Plains — the lower Wabash Valley inclines most in the matter of climatic variation in color, its intermediate geographical location making it rather neutral in this respect. After careful study, how- ever, it has been found that in the birds of the densely wooded portions thé Gulf-coast impress is more marked, while on those of the prairies the modifications characteristic of the Plains are more perceptible. of var. estiva never approach the characters of var. cooperi, and it is only in Mid- dle Mexico and on the Upper Rio Grande, that the two begin to intergrade, which they there do just like all other con-specific regional representatives along the line of junction of the provinces they respectively inhabit. (2.) Having seen a sufii- cient number of specimens of both forms, I am prepared to maintain that the char- acters of var. cooperi are as tangible and constant as those of any other geographi- cal form of any American species. Indeed, they are so apparent that the type specimens are labelled in Dr. Coues’ own handwriting ‘‘P. hepatica,” which would seem to suggest that they looked somewhat different to him from P. estiva. ‘The form was also mentioned under the name of “Pyranga hepatica Swains.,’’ in his ‘¢ Prodrome of a work on the Ornithology of Arizona Territory ”’ (p. 35). The P. cooperi is a large-billed, long-winged, long-tailed race, peculiar to Western Mexico and the Arizona district, and holds an exactly parallel relation to P. estiva that Myiarchus coopers of the same region does to MV. irritabilis of Eastern Mexico. 2S ASE Ci ee 1874.] Sen _ [Ridgway. As above noted, quails from the heavily-wooded portions in the vicinity of the Wabash River exhibit the dark colors and thick bills of the Florida specimens; on the other hand, those from the wide prairies of the central and western portions of the State incline al- most as decidedly toward var. texanus of the southwestern plains; the latter is typical as far north as the Republican River, in Kansas. The shrike (Collurio) is apparently much more like excubitoroides than ludovicianus, since J have yet to see a specimen from Southern Illinois — even from the immediate vicinity of the Wabash River — which inclines at all toward the Gulfcoast form. The Cardinal (Cardinalis virginianus) has the size and exact pro- portions throughout of the Florida bird; but the colors are very much purer though equally intense. In colors the resemblance is closer to specimens from the Rio Grande, which, however, incline more toward var. coccineus, of Eastern Mexico, in possessing a more robust bill and narrower black frontlet. The difference from the Kansas form is very remarkable considering the nearness to each other of the two localities. J have examined Mr. Allen’s specimens from Ft. Leaven- worth, and they seem to be almost typical var. igneus! The Peucca cestivalis is precisely like that from Florida and Georgia. In Kan- sas they have, apparently, only P. cassini, a very distinct species. Among the chickadees I have never seen a specimen which inclined toward P. atricapillus, much less toward yar. septentrionalis; all are P. carolinensis, a very distinct species. In regard to the meadow larks (Stwrnella) some very curious facts have been observed bearing directly upon the nature of the relation- ship which the S. magna and S. neglecta bear to each other. Throughout the wooded districts all these birds are pure magna, with songs and other notes precisely like those of the same species found along the Atlantic coast, and not approaching in the least degree, either in habits, notes or plumage, the S. neglecta. In size they are more like those from Florida than those from more nearly the same latitude to the eastward, while their colors are slightly purer, richer, and more sharply contrasted; but there is no tendency to the peculiar features of S. neglecta. On the prairies, however, the songs of meadow larks may be heard which I have been unable to distinguish from those of the western birds, and they are very probably of that species. These songs are in the proportion of about one to half a dozen listened to in the course of an hour, the others being the ordinary notes. Whether these birds with the song of S. neglecta are really that species or merely denote the commence- Ridgway.] he 318 [February 18, ment of modifications toward that form, I have failed to decide by the securing of specimens. I strongly incline to the epinion that the former is really the true state of the case, since in Southern Iowa the two species occur together on the same prairies, and yet each preserves its own characteristics of habits, notes, etc., without mixing or otherwise interfering with the other. (in this connection see T. Martin Trippe, in Proc. Bost. Soc. Nat. Hist., Vol. x1v, pt. 11, Dec., 1872, p. 229.) Part Ill. The times of Migrating and Nesting of the Birds of the Lower Wabash Valley. The return of the birds which have passed the winter to the south- ward commences almost with the year, but the species that arrive in January are those which in mild winters are resident, such as Rhino- gryphus aura, Ectopistes migratoria, and various water-fowl. February ushers in but few land-birds, the Seiurus ludovicianus being about the only true non-resident one. In March they begin to arrive in earnest, and from this the number increases until about the 20th of April, after which there is a gradual falling off, but very few spe- cies making their first appearance in May. The height of the “warbler season” is about the 20th of April, when the fruit trees, both cultivated and wild, are in full blossom,.during which time the trees literally swarm with the various species of this tribe, engaged in catching the insects which infest the flowers. The summer sojourn- ers do not begin to depart until about the middle of September, but by the end of that month the majority of them are gone. Dendroica do- minica remains until the 13th of September; D. estiva until the 27th; Seiurus aurocapillus, Vireo flavifrons, V. olivaceus and Oporornis formo- sus remain until well along in October; Dendroica palmarum has been shot October 15th; Tvrochilus colubris was observed Oct. Ist; Chetura pelagica stays as late as Oct. 20th; Stelgidopteryx serripennis has been observed on the 17th; Galeoscoptes carolinensis on the 15th; Cyano- spiza cyanea about the 15th; Guiraca cerulea on the 6th; Contopus virens on the 15th; Coccygus erythrophthalmus on the 19th; C. ameri- canus on the 15th. The return southward of species which breed farther north commences before the summer sojourners begin to leave. Empidonax minimus and Seiurus noveboracensis are common in August, but these two species may possibly nest in small numbers. The latter sometimes remains through mild winters. Most of the winter birds come in October, but in one season the snow bird Junco 1874.] 319 [Ridgway. hyemalis arrived as early as September 26th, though another season it had not appeared as late as the 20th of October. None of them remain longer than the early part of April, the last lingering individ- uals of the snow bird and purple finch (Carpodacus purpureus) departing by the 10th. It is a curious fact, and one which perhaps has been noted before, that many species of the migratory warblers pass northward through the country east of the Alleghanies and return southward through the Mississippi Valley, and vice versa. Dendroica castanea, D. black- burnie, D. maculosa and Myiodioctes canadensis are abundant in autumn, but I have never seen a specimen of either in the spring, when all are common in the Atlantic States. On the other hand, Perissoglossa tigrina, D. cerulescens, D. palmarum and Oporernis agilis, are more or less abundant in spring, but rare or wanting in autumn. D. pennsylvanica, though it comes in spring and remains all summer, is yet abundant only in the fall when the young (in the green and white plumage) in some years outnumber all the other species together. According to Mr. Brewster it has never been taken in this plumage in Massachusetts. The following table of migrations is condensed from the record of four years’ observations at Mt. Carmel, and shows the earliest and latest arrival of sixty-two species noted during that time. TABLE OF MIGRATIONS. Spring Arrivals. Species marked with an asterisk (*) sometimes remain all winter. 1. *Anas boschas. January 15. 2. *Ectopistes migratoria. cf 15-Feb. 25. 3. *Dafila acuta. cs 20. 4, *Branta canadensis. ws 20—Feb. 14. 5. *Mergus americanus. oh 20. 6. *Spatula clypeata. Kf 20. 7. *Aythya americana. ie 25. 8. *Nettion carolinensis. February 1. 9. *Mareca americana. 18-28. 10. Seiurus ludovicianus. Ss 20: 11. *Avx sponsa. cs 25. i2. *Querquedula discors. et 28. 13. *Grus canadensis. March 1-4. 14. * “ americanus. BS 15. *Bucephala albeola. te neil Ridgway.] 16. IV. 18. 19\ 20. BOE: 22. 23. QA. 25. 26. 27. 28. 29. 30. 31. 32. 33. 34. 35. 36. aap 38. 39. 40. Al. 42. 43. AA. Ad. 46. 47. 48. 49. 50. 51. 52. 53. 54. 55. 56. Graculus floridanus. * Charadrius virginicus. Spizella socialis. Actodromus maculatus. Tachycineta bicolor. Progne subis. * Harporhynchus rufus. * A ctiturus bartramius. - Regulus calendula. Mniotilta varia. Hirundo horreorum. Polioptila cerulea. Chetura pelagica. Numenius longirostris. Slelgidopteryx serripennis. Dendroica dominica. Petrochelidon lunifrons. Dendroica eestiva. Vireo noveboracensis. Tyrannus carolinensis. Dendroica palmarum. Antrostomus vociferus. * Galeoscoptes carolinensis. Icterus baltimore. tS SPUTIUS: Cyanospiza cyanea. Vireo flavifrons. Empidonaz trailiit. c acadicus. Myiarchus crinitus. Turdus mustelinus. Vireo philadelphicus. . Pyranga rubra. is estiva. Geothlypis trichas. Euspiza americana. Vireo olivaceus. ° Protonotaria citrea. Icteria virens. Dendroica pennsylvanica. Oporornis formosus. 320 [February 18, March 1-7. 12. - 13-19; remains until Sept. 20. 15. 15-24; remains until Sept. 20. 20-28; remains until Sept. 8. 21-26. 28. April 1-9. (13 1-15. 2-5. 2-10; remains until Sept. 20. 3-11; remains until Oct. 20. 4A. 8-12; remains until Oct. 17. 9-18; remains until Sept. 13. 10-20; remains until Sept. 20. 14-22. 15. 15-21; remains until Sept. 9. 16-23; remains until Oct. 15. die 18-24; remains until Oct. 5. 19-22; remains until Sept. 14° 19-25. 19; remains until Oct. 15. 19; remains until Oct. 15. ie £9. 19-26; remains until Sept. 10. 19-21; remains until Oct. 20. 20-23; remains until Sept. 20-29; remains until Sept. 27. 20-30; remains until Sept. 16. 22-30. 22; remains until Oct. 15. 23. 23-May 4. 26. 28; remains until Oct. 15. ge, ee Oy Cae ae re We i CeO ee 16. Le 18. 19. 20. Dolichonyx oryzivorus. Coccygus americanus. Chordeiles popetue. Dendroica tigrina. - Contopus virens. Hedymeles ludovicianus. 321 (Ridgway. April 29-May 7. “ 99-May 14. May 2-8. 66 8. “ 6-7; remains until Oct. 15. ‘* 8; remains until Oct. Autumnal Arrivals. Sphyropicus varius. Ampelis cedrorum. Junco hyemalis. Eremophila aipestris. Certhia americana. Dendroica coronata. Sita canadensis. Regulus satrapa. Melospiza palustris. Zonotrichia albicollis. Carpodacus purpureus. Zonotrichia leucophrys. Spizella monticola. Curvirostra americana. Passerella iliaca. Anthus ludovicianus. Troglodytes hyemalis. Aquila canadensis. Melospiza melodia. Plectrophanes lapponicus. September 15-29. Uo 18. “ 26-Oct. 21. WC 26-—Oct. 12. oe 29-Nov. 2. October 1—4. 66 Os 46 >. 66 8. oe 9-10: Os 20 — Nov. 8. Oe 15. we 20 — Nov. 1. Ob DO. ce Dike September 15. JE 3-Dee. 25. 66 5. October 15. ae 20: In order to show the relation between the return of birds from the south and the vernal change in the vegetation, I give the following dates of the leafing and flowering of plants at Mt. Carmel, as noted in the spring of 1872.1 They hardly show the usual time of these species, for the season happened to be one later than usual. Species. Date of leafing. Date of flowering. Acer rubrum. April 12. March 20. “ dasycarpum. ea OU April 8. “6 sacharrinum. rion — Carya alba. is te, — — 1 From observations made by Dr. J. Schneck. PROCEEDINGS B. S. N. H. — VOL. XVI. 21 JUNE, 1874. ‘ . | Ridgway.]. oan [February 18, | Species. Date of leafing. Date of flowering. Cercis canadensis. April 20. April 10. Prunus serotina. Ce bs [See Be Cornus florida. £6 20. — * Fraxinus americana. — April 12. Liriodendron tulipifera. April 4. _ Persica\vulgaris. sO, April 12. Pyrus malus. ci ty dee) Quercus iba. St lee kee — Syringa vulgaris. Sa), April 12. Ulmus americana. ~~ March 20. Aquilegia canadensis. April 20. — Claytonia virginica. * SAO April 12. Erythronum\americanum. 20: — Geranium maculatum. ; Crs Bi — Hepatica triloba. — March 31. Iris versicolor) April 13. _ Podophyllum peltatum. March 380. ——— Rubus villosus.\ April 10. — — Sambucus canadensis. March 20. — Sanguinaria canadensis. April 12. April 14. As the peach ordinarily blooms at Mt. Carmel about the twentieth of March — sometimes even as early as the first of that month — it must be borne in mind that the spring of 1872 was unusually back- ward and that the first leafing and flowering of the above species usually takes place two or three weeks earlier than the dates above given. The nesting season begins with March and ends in October, though only one species (Ortyx virginianus) has been noticed breeding in the latter month and but afew (Corvus americanus and certain Rapto- res) in the former. From the middle of April to the middle of June is the most productive season to the odlogist. Eggs of Buteo borealis have been obtained at Mt. Carmel on the sixth of March, the nest being commenced early in February. On the first of April Cyan- ura cristata, Turdus migratorius, Sialia sialis and Parus carolinensis often have eggs, while Sayornis fuscus, Harporhynchus rufus, Ceryle alcyon, Quiscalus eneus and a few others are building their nests. Collurio excubitoroides, Zenaidura carolinensis, Cardinalis virginianus and Spizella socialis also lay their first eggs in April, either of them often as early as the middle of the month. All the other species nest in May, June and July, though in the latter month very few nests in- 1874.] By3) [Ridgway. deed — and those chiefly of Zenaidura carolinensis, Ortyx virginianus and Chordeiles popetue— can be found. ‘The first of these nests until the latter part of September, while of the next species I have found a nest full of eggs in the early part of October. Part VI. Catalogue of the Birds of the Lower Wabash Valley, arranged according to their Relation to the Seasons ; with Summary. The following tables are believed to express very nearly the rela- tionship of the seasons to the several groups of birds characteristic of each. They will of course be modified to some extent by the results of future observations, but the fact that they have been drawn up from the experience of several years’ continued observations war- rants the belief that they are approximately accurate. A. — SPECIES FOUND IRRESPECTIVE OF SEASONS. a. Regularly resident —all breeding. © OG ligs 8 oe S S <8 33 Be Sr ecules ae wae sk a a Paes Se ibiplety cae 1. Turdus migratorius. i 2. Muimus polyglottus. 3. Stalia sialis. 2 4. Lophophanes bicolor. 1 5. Parus carolinensis. 2 6. Sitta carolinensis. 1 7. Thryothorus ludovicianus. 3 8. TLhryomanes bewickit. 3 9. Telmatodytes palustris. 4 10. Troglodytes cedon. (?)1 5 11. Collurio excubitoroides. 4 12. Chrysomitris tristis. 2 13. Poocetes gramineus. 2 14. Passerculus savanna. 3 15. Spizella pusilla. 6 16. Cardinalis virginianus. 5 17. Pipilo erythrophthalmus. 6 18. Hremophila alpestris. 3 19. Molothrus pecoris. 7 . 20. Agelaius pheniceus. 8 21. Xanthocephalus icterocephalus (?). 9 1 These queries signify that it is not absolutely certain that the species are found throughout the year. Ridgway.] 324 [February 18, e \ SS § Ss = SS eS | Sc eee 838 S8 = § gv ot | Bie Mesa Ss S83 S8 as 3 8 ws 2 as an & Be | Ss Sf hanes, Ss = = = ° 22. Stutmella magna. 7 23. ¢ neglecta. 8 24. Quiscalus cencus. ; 10 25. Cyanura cristata. 9 26. Corvus carnivorus. 10 27. 6 americanus. 11 28. Sayornss fuscus. 11 aie) 12 30. 12 ol. nee 32. 5 33. 13 34. 1 35. Melanerpes erythrocephalus. 15 36. Colaptes auratus. 16 37. Conurus carolinensis. 17 38. Strix pratincola. 13 39. Syrnium nebilosum. 18 40. Bubo virginianus. 19 41... Scops asio. |\ 20 42. Falco sparverius. 21 43. Circus hudsonws. 6 44, Nisus cooperi. \ 22 45. CO Ise US. iy) 23 46. Buteo borealis. | 24 47. co hineatus. | 95 : 48. Haliaétus leucocephalus. 7 49. Pandion carolinensis. 14 50. Rhinogryphus aura. 15 51. Ectopistes migratoria. 4 52. Zenaidura carolinensis. 16 53. Meleagris sylvestris. 26 54. Bonasa umbellus. 27 55. Cupidonia cupido. 28 56. Ortyx virginianus. 29 57. Aigialites vociferus. nd 58. Philohela minor. 18 59. Gallinago wilsoni. 5 60. Actiturus bartramius. 19 61. Tringoides macularius. 20 62. Rhyacophilus solitarius. 21 63. Botaurus lentiginosus. 22 eee a a0 [Ridgway. 5 RS iS ‘Sis = S S a5 Se cee, Pee 2 ss £8 as SOS S = S < S a> eS Shall co Sees a) ~”H nD nL e/a (8 | 85 64. Grus canadensis. 6 65. FRallus elegans. 23 66. «¢ virginianus. 24 67. Porzana carolina. 25 68. Fulica americana. 26 69. Aix sponsa. 27 70. Lophodytes cucullatus. 7 71. Erismatura rubida. 8 72. Anas boschas. 9 b.. Irregularly resident — breeding doubtful. 1. Falco polyagrus. ap “« anatum. 3. “ ~~ columbarius. 4. Buiteo pennsylvanicus. 5. “ swainsoni. . SUMMARY OF RESIDENT SPECIES. As abundant at one season as another ore : 29 species. Most abundant insummer . ; : : : POH a Most abundant in winter . : 3 ; A ‘ fo at Most abundant during spring and fall migrations . ps i Bie Found irregularly throughout the year : : : SR Ne Total number of species permanently resident 77 B. — SPECIES FOUND ONLY IN SUMMER. ‘ a. Summer sojourners — all breeding. 1. Turdus mustelinus. Abundant. *2. Harporhynchus rufus. ¢ *3. Galeoscoptes carolinensis. Very abundant. 4. Polioptila cerulea. Abundant. 5. Cistothorus stellaris. Common ? * The species marked with an asterisk probably occasionally remain all winter. \ \ \ Ridgway.] 6.\ Mniotilta varia. \Protonotaria citrea. Helmitherus vermivorus. lelminthophaga pinus. Fi chrysoptera. Purula americana. Devdreca cestiva. € pinus. i discolor. domunica. cerulea. ¥S pennsylvanica. Seiurus\aurocapillus. é udovicianus. Oporornts formosus. Geothlyp philadelphia. “ \ trichas. Icteria virens. Myiodioctes mitratus. Setophaga ruticilla. Progne subis. Petrochelidon lunifrons. Hirundo horreorum: Tachycineta bicolor. Cotyle riparia. Stelgidopteryx serripennis. Vireosylvia olivacea. es gilva. Vireo noveboracensis. “bellu. Lanivireo flavifrons. Pyranga rubra. “ cesta. Coturniculus passerinus. 6 henslowt. Chondestes grammaca. Spizella socialis. Peucea estivalis. Euspiza americana. Guiraca cerulea. [February 18, Abundant. ce Common. Abundant. Not common ? 66 Very abundant. Not common. 73 Common. : Very abundant. Not common. Abundant. &¢ 6 Not common. Abundant. (73 Common. Abundant. Extremely abundant. ce 66 Abundant. Very abundant. Common. Extremely abundant. Abundant. 66 ee Common. Abundant. Very common. Abundant. te ce oe Very abundant. Common. Very abundant. Rare? 1874.] oot [Ridgway. 46. Cyanospiza cyanea. Abundant. 47. Icterus baltimore. fe 48. ¢ spurius. . 49. Tyrannus carolinensis. ss 50. Myarchus crinitus. as 51. Contopus virens. ms 52. Empidonax acadicus. Ms 53. tf traillir. Common. 54. Chordeiles popetue. G 55. Antrostomus carolinensis. & ? 56. xf vociferus. Abundant. 57.. Chetura pelagica. Excessively abundant. 58. Trochilus colubris. Very abundant. 59. Coccygus americanus. Very common. 60. «& —— erythrophthalmus. Not common. 61. Nauclerus forficatus. Very abundant. 62. Ictinia mississippiensis. Abundant. 63. Phalaropus wilson. Not common? 64. Ardea herodias. Abundant. 65. Herodias egretta. ue 66. Garzetta candidissima. Rare ? 67. Ardetta exilis. as 68. Butorides virescens. Abundant. 69. Nyctiardea gardeni. Rare? 70. Nyctherodias violaceus. Common ? 71. Porzana noveboracensis. eet 72. “« jamaicensis. eee *73. Gallinula galeata. aay 74. Graculus floridanus. Common. 75. Plotus anhinga. KS 76. Sterna hirundo. Rare ? 77. ae’ forstert. ne? 78. “ antillarum. 6a 19, <-" ‘regia. oi: 80. Hydrochelidon fissipes. Common. b. Summer yvisitants— probably not breeding. 1. Cyanospiza ciris. 1 specimen, June, Wabash Co. 2. Elanus leucurus. 1 pair, July, Wabash Co. 3. Astwrina plagiata. 1 specimen, Aug., Richland Co. 4. Catharista atrata. Occasional. Rilgway.] 328 {February 18, 5.\ Himantopus nigricollis. Occasional. 6. \ Recurvirostra americana. i 7. EOE loculator. Common in latter part of summer and \ early fall. 8. Tis falcinellus. Occasional. > Frorida cerulea. Occasional. 10. Gadlinula martinica. “ 11. Chrecocephalus atricilla. . “ 12. Pelecanus erythrorhynchus. “ \ \ SUMMARY OF SUMMER BIRDS. Found eee of seasons. : ; : : : it ee Found only in summer . : : : : é : : 92 \ wan. Total number of species found in summer ; . = tos Of these probably not breeding . 5 : : : 12 \ —— \ Number of species breeding . : » 155 \ C. — Founp ONLY IN WINTER. \ a. Winter sojourners—regularly resident. 1. Regulus satrapa. Abundant. 2. Satta canadensis. Sometimes very common. 3. Certhia americana.* Common. 4. Troglodytes hyemalis. ee 5. Anthus ludovicianus. Very abundant. 6. Dendroica coronata. Extremely abundant. 7. Seiurus noveboracensis.* Common. 8. Ampelis cedrorun.* Extremely abundant. 9. Carpodacus purpureus. ‘ a 10. Chrysomitris pinus. Usually very rare; sometimes common. 11. Zonotrichia leucophrys. Very abundant. 12. albicollis. ° se 13. Junco hyemalis. et be 14. Spizella monticola. Extremely abundant. 15. Melospiza melodia.* Very abundant. 16. “ - palustris.* Extremely abundant. 17. Passerella iliaca. Very common. * Species in this list marked with an asterisk may possibly breed in small num- bers, since most of them may be occasionally seen during the summer. OR, TA a> Ser ee wre IEE 1874.] 329 , [Ridgway. 18. Scolecophagus ferrugineus. Extremely abundant, at times. 19. Sphyropicus varius.* Very common. 20. Fulix marila. Abundant. 21. « affinis. as 22. ne collars. a 23. Bucephala americana. ie 24. s albeola. fs 25. Larus argentatus. re 26. “¢ delawarensis. “ 27. Chrecocephalus philadelphia. Common? 28. Colymbus torquatus. Abundant. 29. “ _ septentrionalis. Common? 30. Podiceps cornutus. oh 131. te cristatus. apres 32. ae holbollit. $4 6. Winter visitants— of irregular occurrence. 1. ?Parus atricapillus. Very rare? 2. Collurio borealis. 4 « 3. Loxia americana. Sometimes common. 4, “¢ leucoptera. a é 5. Pinicola canadensis. Extremely rare. 6. Aigiothus linaria. ac ot 7. Plectrophanes nivalis. Extremely rare—accidental ? (1 spec.) 8 a lapponicus. Extremely abundant. 9 fs pictus. Common on the prairies. 10. Scolecophagus cyanocephalus. Accidental. 11. Nyctale acadica. Extremely rare? 12. Nyctea nivea. Common on the prairies. 13. Astur atricapillus. Rare. 14. Aquila canadensis. Rather common. 15. Archibuteo sanctijohannis. Abundant. SUMMARY OF WINTER BIRDS. Found irrespective of season . ° : : : : : 75 Found only in winter . : . : : é : : . 47 Total number of speciesin winter. : 122 [The number much increased (to about 150) in mild winters by accessions from lists C. 0, and D.] Ridgway.) } 330 [February 18, D. TRANSIENT VISITORS — (passing through in spring and fall). ee Turdus fuscescens.* Abundant. “\ qlicie. “ ‘6 swainsoni. “ “ \ pallasi.t “ Regulus calendula.t «s Helminthophaga ruficapilla. Very common. (Noted in fall.) a celata. Very common. (Most common in spring.) | peregrina. 3 66 66 8# Hee 66 «6 Perissoglossa tigrina. Common? (Spring.) Dendroica maculosa. Abundant. (Most common in fall.) cc | sf \ blackburnic.. Common. ee ot ie i \striata. Abundant. Bee . \castanea. Common. as eae es cerulescens. Common. xt airens. Abundant. (Both spring and fall.) m palmarum. (Most common in spring.) Oporornis agilis. Common? (Spring only?) Myiodioctes canadensis. Abundant. (Most common in fall.) ¢ pusilus. Not common. Vireosylvia philadelphica. Rather common. (Noted in fall.) Lanivireo solitaria. Very rare? Melospiza lincolni. Rather common. Hedymeles ludavicianus.* Rather common. Dolichonyz oryzivorus. Abundant. Empidonaz minimus.* Common. . flaviventris. Rare? Squatarola helvetica. Charadrius virginicus. Abundant. Legialitis melodus. eG semipalmatus. Macrorhamphus griseus. Pelidna americana. Actodromus bonaparteit. Abundant. af maculatus. oa minutilla.* ie * Species thus distinguished may occasionally breed, being seen, at times, during the summer. + These species remain in very mild winters. 1874.) 331 | [Ridgway. 36. Hreunetes pusillus. 37. Calidris arenaria. 38. Symphemia semipalmata.* 39. Micropalama himantopus. 40. Gambetta melanoleuca. Abundant. 41. flavipes. ce 42. Tryngites rufescens. 43. Limosa fedoa. Common. 44, “ hudsonica. Common. 45. Numenius longirostris. Common. 46. tt hudsonicus. 47. fe borealis. 48. Phalaropus hyperboreus. 49. Gs fSulicarius. 50. Grus americanus. 51. Cygnus americanus. Boat “ buccinnator. 53. Anser hyperboreus.t 54. “ albatus.t 55. “ cerulescens .F 56. “ gambeli.t 57. Branta canadensis.t Seen December 10th. 58. “ — hutchinsi.t Common. Do: “ ~~ bernicla. Seen December 10th.t 60. Anas boschas.* + 61. “6 obscura.t 62. Dafila acuta.t 63. Nettion carolinensis.t 64. Querquedula discors.* t 65. Mareca americana.t 66. Chaulelasmus streperus.t 67. Spatula clypeata.* t+ 68. Aythya americana.t 69. «© vallisneria.t 70. Mergus americanus. t 71. 2 serrator.t 72. Graculus dilophus.* + Common. Hunt.] 3382 he GENERAL SUMMARY. Found irrespective of season . . : , : : : 77 Found only in summer : ; ; . : : - 0 92 a > WAGER aks : : : : : : : 47 + spring and fall.‘ Total number of species : : - 288 Number of species breeding, . : : - : about 155 Number of species wintering, : : : ; . about 155 Second and final action was taken on the following change in the Constitution, Art. VI, viz.: that after the words “ma- jority of votes,” the words “of members present ” be inserted, and the proposed change was adopted. . The thanks of the Society were voted to Mrs. J. J. Glover for a collection of paleontological, ethnological, and other specimens. March 4, 1874. The President in the chair. Forty persons present. Mr. Bouvé introduced the subject of Dr. Genth’s theory of the metamorphism of corundum, which has lately been pub- lished, and explained the meaning of the terms metamorphism and pseudomorphism as used in mineralogy, and, in conclud- ing, called upon Dr. Hunt for his views on the question. On Dr. GENTH’s RESEARCHES oN CORUNDUM AND ITS ASSOCI- ATED MINERALS. By Dr. T. STERRY HoNT. The speaker, while praising the industry and chemical skill dis- played in the paper of Dr. Genth, insisted upon the importance of some clear definitions as to replacement, alteration and association in the mineral kingdom, for the lack of which he conceived the learned author, in common with many others, had fallen into errors, and had been led to conclusions wholly uutenable. The name of 1874.1 aoe [Hunt. pseudomorphs, or false forms, is given to mineral masses resulting from very unlike processes. Of these, the first class has a very simple origin. In a vein where the process of filling up by deposition is occasionally varied by the opposite process of solution, the re- moval of certain crystals from their matrix leaves cavities which are afterwards filled up by another species. An example of this is seen in the well-known cubes of chalcedonic quartz cast in the moulds of fluorite. The silicification, or so-called petrifaction, of wood, is the result of a similar process. The pores of the wood are in the first place filled with silica, while the woody fibre remains. This is sub- sequently removed by decay, leaving a porous mass, the cast of the original spaces in the wood; but in many cases this, in its turn, be- comes filled up, and there thus is at last produced a solid mass, in which both the pores and the fibre of the wood are represented by silica. The second class of pseudomorphs is illustrated by the alteration of feldspar, and various feldspathides, which by a loss of protoxyd bases with a portion of silica, and the taking up of water, are converted into kaolin. The change of chalybite and pyrite into limonite, and of cuprite into malachite, are examples of similar processes; all of which take place under atmospheric influences. Analogous alterations may be produced in veins as a result of changes in the composition in the circulating waters, as when crystals of pyromorphite, a phosphate of lead-oxyd, are converted into galena. Changes of this kind being effected from without, nuclei of the unaltered species are often found in the centre of the altered ‘ crystals. This process is obviously very different from replacement, and is properly designated epigenesis. The notion of epigenic alteration has been extended to a great number of cases which have nothing in common either with it or with replacement, but are simply examples of the association or envelop- ment of different and unlike species. This envelopment is of two kinds: as an example of the first, carbonate of lime crystallizing from solution in the midst of silicious sand may include so much of this that the resulting crystals, though having the geometrical forms of calcite, contain less carbonate of lime than sand, as is seen in the so-called crystallized sandstone of Fontainebleau. ‘The nature of the process is not, however, in all cases, so obvious as this; but it is clear, from numerous examples, that small proportions of certain substances may, in the act of crystallizing, give their own forms to large and pre- Hunt.] 334 [March 4, dominating quantities of foreign matter. From the analysis of such mixtures chemists have concluded an epigenic change, more or less complete, of the crystal. A good example of this is seen in certain orthoclase crystals which include a large admixture of -cassiterite. Besides these cases of asymmetrical envelopment, we have those of symmetrical envelopment. The occurrence of red tourmalines en- closed in green ones, and of muscovite in margarodite, are clearly cases of the deposition of one mineral upon another in the slow growth which takes place in veinstones. In these also, by a process which is often seen in the crystallization of certain species, such as saltpetre, hollow or skeleton crystals are formed. The erystals of tourmaline from Paris in Maine are in many cases prismatic tubes, which are either empty or filled with mica. In like manner, erystals of beryl are found which are filled with orthoclase, and similar shells of zircon and of galena enclose calcite. The envelope is often ex- ceedingly thin, and in the case of some species may be removed by such selective solution as often takes place in mineral veins, leaving the enclosed mineral with the form of the mould. The greater part of all the examples of replacement and envelop- ment known have been described as cases of pseudomorphism by epigenesis, and the advocates of the doctrine of transmutation have not hesitated to assert, upon this supposed evidence, the conversion of almost every mineral species into some other, and to extend this view to rock-masses, declaring that the great part of all the so-called metamorphic or crystalline rocks are the results of an epigenie pro- cess; a doctrine which has been embodied in the dictum of Prof Dana, that “regional metamorphism is pseudomorphism on a broad scale.” For an illustration of this doctrine and its legitimate conse- quences, see the speaker’s presidential address before the American Association for the Advancement of Science in 1871, and in the Amer- ican Journal of Science for July, 1872, his reply to Dana’s criticisms thereon. While the advocates of this doctrine maintain that a mass of granite or diorite may be converted into serpentine or limestone, and that a limestone may be changed into granite or gneiss, which may, in its turn, become serpentine, it is evident that it makes little differ- ence what mineral species is taken for the starting point. Dr. Genth, - unlike his predecessors, takes his departure from corundum, and from various facts in the association and envelopment of minerals found accompanying it, is led to conclude that there have been formed 1874.] 335 [Kneeland. from it by epigenesis spinel, tourmaline, fibrolite, cyanite, paragonite and other micas, chlorite, and probably various feldspars. According to him great beds of micaceous and chloritic schists have resulted from the transformation of corundum, and even the beds of bauxite, a mixture of hydrous aluminic and ferric oxyds allied to limonite, which abounds in certain tertiary deposits, were once. corundum or emery, from which they have been derived by a retrograde metamor- phosis; a striking example of the strange conclusions to which this doctrine of epigenic pseudomorphism may lead. The speaker had not only carefully studied Dr. Genth’s paper, but through the courtesy of this gentlemen, had examined with him the extensive collection of specimens upon which the conclusions an- nounced by Dr. Genth have been based, and while bearing testi- mony to his accuracy and skill as a chemist and mineralogist, maintained that all of the phenomena in question are nothing more than examples of association and envelopment, as above explained. All of the facts regarding the corundum-bearing veins described by Dr. Genth, have their parallels in the granitic veins with beryl and tourmaline, so common in the Montalban, or White Mountain rocks of North America, and in the calcareous veinstones, with apatite, pyroxene, phlogopite, and graphite, of the Laurentian rocks, both of which classes of veins have elsewhere been described by the author. Dr. 8. Kneeland exhibited a dress and pouch made by the natives of the Gold Coast, Africa, and several photographs of the Ashantees and Fantees, now brought to notice by the war between the former and the English. The Ashantees are on that portion of the Gold Coast, in Upper Guinea, bounded north by the Kong Mts., south by the Atlantic, east and west by large rivers, from 5° to 9° 30’ North latitude. Since the beginning of this century, they have been the most powerful kingdom of native Africans, having reduced the Fantees, between them and the sea, to subjection, and having had several encounters with the English on the coast, almost always gaining the victory, and when defeated causing heavy loss to the enemy. ‘They number more than a million people, and their soil is extremely fertile; they are ingenious manufacturers, and export large quantities of gold dust, no doubt washed down from the Kong Mts. to the north. The Fantees are on the coast, of which the interior region is occu- Kneeland.] 3836 [March 4, pied by the Ashantees. Their country is also fertile and populous, and they have important trading stations on the coast; they are a fine looking race, more muscular but less warlike than the interior tribes, and are known by the small scarifications on the back of the neck and upper part of the cheeks. . A few years ago they became involved in a war with the Ashan- tees, and obtained the aid of the English, who had a small fort in one of their towns; but, in spite of this aid they were overpowered, and the whole country became a part of the Ashantee empire, with the consent of the English. Cape Coast Castle is the capital of the British settlements on the coast of Guinea, and has a population of about 10,000. The town is ivrecularly built; the climate is very damp and unhealthy, and ‘is more deadly to the invading whites than the weapons of the native tribes. From this are exported gold dust, palm oil and tortoise shell, brought down by the natives. There are strong fortifications on a granite rock projecting into the sea, once nearly taken by the Ashantees. Before the English, the Dutch paid a subsidy for the privilege of the trade; the former refused to pay the subsidy, and to allow the Ashantees free trade with the coast. The Ashantees attacked the Fantees, and drove them into ‘Coast Castle, under the very guns of the English, who were obliged to assist the Fantees— hence the present war. ‘The stories of the English victories he believed greatly exaggerated, as this warlike and numerous people, aided by their unhealthy climate, would render any victory, and especially the cap- ture of Coomassie, their capital, a dearly bought one. The sand in the streets of the coast towns, and the sand on the shore, is rich with gold; the natives work the gold-bearing earth till it caves in, and then they leave it, fearing the displeasure of their gods, which they think is thus displayed. The nuggets belong to the king, the dust to the people. The king of Ashantee is allowed three thousand three hundred and thirty-three wives; a photograph of one of whom was presented, also others of Ashantee musicians and Fan- tee princesses. ‘The dress and pouch were made by the Mandingoes, an interior tribe to the north of Liberia; they are very skilful tan- ners and workers in leather, using for tanning the bark of the mangrove. 1874.) 337 [Kneeland. March 18, 1874. The President in the chair. Sixty-one persons present. The following papers were read : — Dr. Samuel Kneeland read a paper illustrated by diagrams and specimens, on the “Evidence for and against the exist- ence of the so-called sea-serpent.” Though an animal so named has been seen by many credible wit- nesses on the coasts of Norway and New England, and has been popularly believed in for centuries, all the researches of naturalists have failed to discover any remains of such a creature, or to obtain any satisfactory information as to its size, proportions, appearance, or habits. There is, doubtless, much exaggeration in the popular de- scriptions of the animal; but in view of the great mass of testimony in favor of its existence, the fact that we are by no means cognizant of all the forms of life in the ocean, and also the certainty that in former geological ages more than one type existed to which this ani- mal may bear some resemblance, it is fair to assume that there may be a portion of truth at the foundation of this question. After tracing the history of the animal from Pontoppidan in the middle of the 18th century to the present time, and enumerating the numerous references to its appearance in Europe and America, and quoting Prof. Owen’s remarks against its existence, he brought in review the various alleged sources of error; none of these seemed to him pr obable, considering the practised oe of the principal wit- nesses in marine objects. After showing that this animal could not be referred to fishes nor to serpents, nor to any described form of living reptiles or mammals, he drew attention to the fact that many early geological types had been transmitted to the present time, with or without interruption — such as the Cestracion, Lepidosteus, Chimera, Percopsis, Lingula, ete. For the last thirty years it has been believed that the closest affinities of the “‘sea-serpent ” were with the enaliosaurians of the secondary age, and especially with Plesiosaurus. The Mosasaurus, a marine saurian of the cretaceous epoch, seems to fill up still better the requirements of this animal. PROCEEDINGS B. S. N. H.— VOL. XVI. 22 JULY, 1874. Kneeland.] 338 [March 18, Prof. Agassiz, in 1849,in a lecture in Philadelphia, is reported to have said, “I have asked myself whether there is not such an animal as the sea-serpent. There are many who will doubt the existence of such a creature until it can be brought under the dissecting knife; but it has been seen by so many on whom we may rely, that it is wrong to doubt any longer. The truth is that if a naturalist had to sketch the outlines of an Ichthyosaurus or Plesiosaurus from the remains we have of them, he would make a drawing very similar to the sea-serpent as it has been described. There is reason to believe that the parts are soft and perishable, but I still consider it probable that it will be the good fortune of some person on the coast of Nor- way or North America to find a living representative of this type of reptile, which is thought to have died out.” In his ‘‘ Geological Researches,” 1871, Prof. Agassiz writes, twenty- two years later, “If there exists any animal in our waters not yet known to naturalists, answering to the description of the ‘sea- serpent,’ it must be closely allied to the Plesiosaurus. The occur- rence in the fresh waters of North America of a fish, the Lepidosteus, which is closely allied to the fossil fishes found with the Plesiosaurus in the Jurassic beds, renders such a supposition probable.” The undoubted rarity of such an animal would account for the failure of any fragment to find its way into collections; many ceta- ceans are so uncommon that only single specimens have ever been seen by naturalists, and some have been entirely unknown until within fifty years. Inhabiting the ocean, the chances of its body floating long enough for any part to be cast on shore would be very ‘small; the rocky coasts which it seems to frequent are unfavorable for the accidental casting up of any fragment. In the present crea- tion, were it not for the persecution of man, the bones of seals and whales, of the beaver, of the cougar, of monkeys and elephants, would hardly ever be found in the places thickly inhabited by them. The non-occurrence of any fragments, therefore, is of little weight in disproving the existence of an animal, even of man himself. The cetacean Zeuglodon of the tertiary fulfils some of the indica- tions of the prevalent idea of the sea-serpent, and there is no reason @ priori why a slender and lengthened mammalian form should not _ exist among the present cetaceans. ‘The marine saurians of the sec- ondary were replaced by the marine mammals of the tertiary and present ages. On the generally admitted laws of paleontology there would be a greater probability of the Zeuglodon than of the Plesio- =e SS 1874.] 339 [Putnam. saurus type descending in a modified form to the present epoch; and either, in the vast expanse of ocean, might for ages escape the exam- ination of naturalists: The probability is that this animal belongs either to some secondary form greatly modified, of enaliosaurians, perhaps intermediate between these and the ophidians, or to a terti- ary Zeuglodont form, with reptilian affinities, ike Elasmosaurus, intermediate between Plesiosaurus or Mosasaurus, and the elongated cetaceans. He thought a careful weighing of the evidence showed that such an animal is not a zoological absurdity, and that from paleontology (if we discard the testimony of many credible witnesses), we may even conclude that it is a possibility—and, he believed, a probability— that some form, intermediate between the marine saurians of the secondary and the elongated cetaceans of the tertiary has come down to the present epoch, and will eventually come under the notice of naturalists, and prove, in this as in many other cases, that widely spread popular beliefs in natural history, especially when professing to rest upon credible testimony, have generally for their foundation some portion of scientific truth. He believed there were at least two species of the creature (which he styled Eremotherium), one in the northern and another in the southern ocean. Dr. Hagen said that he had, in 1839, accompanied Prof. Rathke in his visit to Norway to collect evidence in regard to the sea-serpent, the reality of which no Norwegian doubts, and Dr. Hagen expressed himself convinced of its existence. NoTEs ON OPHIDIIDH AND FIERASFERIDZ, WITH DESCRIPTIONS or New SPECIES FROM AMERICA AND THE MEDITERRANEAN. By F. W. Putnam. OPHIDIUM. Two species of this very interesting genus inhabit our southern coasts. One of these, first mentioned by Mitchell, under the name of Ophidium barbatum, was afterwards described and figured under the name of O. marginatum by DeKay, from a single specimen taken in New York waters. The other species, which I believe to be un- described, I name O. Holbrooku, in memory of the late Dr. J. E. Holbrook of Charleston, S. C., one to whom science is deeply in- debted for the results of his labors on the reptiles of North America Putnam.] 340 [March 18, and on the fishes of our southern waters, and one whose memory is deeply cherished by those who were honored with his friendship. Ophidium marginatum DeKay. A single specimen of this rare fish is in the Agassiz Collection. It is in rather poor condition, but sufficiently well preserved to estab- lish the fact that DeKay’s description and figure are quite correct, and to enable the heretofore unknown character of the air-bladder to be made out and thus settle the validity of the species. The species is very closely allied by its external characters to O. barbatum and O. Broussonetii from the Mediterranean, but differs in a very marked manner from them in its air-bladder. The air-bladder, which is represented of natural size in the fol- lowing cut (a, view from above; 0, from below; c, from the side), is thick, flattened above, and bulg- ing below, about two-thirds as wide as it is long; slightly con- tracted at its anterior portion, where it is closely united to three small, thin and flat bones, which penetrate its substance but do not enclose the side walls, by the extension of the lateral bones, as in O. Vasalli. Posteriorly the bladder is rounded, with a slight notch in the hind margin, and just forward of this notch, on the under side, is a round foramen covered by a very thin mucous membrane. Ophidium*Holbrookii sp. nov. The only specimen I have seen of this species was collected by Mr. C. J. Maynard, at Key West, Florida, in 1872. Externally it cannot be distinguished from Mediterranean specimens of O. Brous- sonetii, with the exception that when placed side by side with them it is seen to be a slightly deeper fish. The barbels, length of the maxillary, proportions of the eye and of the head are about the same, and it also has the black margin to the dorsal and anal fins in com- mon with several other species. The air-bladder, however, is of a different shape, being very long and pointed, with a posterior portion that is easily detached, while in O. Broussonetii the air-bladder is oval, and is quite firmly attached along the vertebral column. Had I examined but a single specimen of O. Broussonetii and a single specimen of O. Holbrookii, I should hardly have dared to consider the difference in the shape of the air-bladder as one that would — 1874.] 341 [Putnam. prove of specific importance, but two specimens of Broussonetii agree precisely in their bladders, and the well known and singular variation of this organ in the species of the genus, as shown by the dissections of Miller, is quite convincing in the determination of the present species. As in Broussonetii, the front part of the bladder is firmly attached to the anterior vertebre, but in Holbrookii this part of the bladder is thicker, and is penetrated by a small bone on each side anteriorly, and firmly united to the processes of the fourth vertebra. The shape of the air-blad- der is given in the accom- panying figures; a, repre- senting the surface that lies along the vertebral column; 4, as seen from _ the ie aids, and c, giv- ing the rofile. The air- bladder is without a pos- terior foramen, and in this respect, as well as in its being more elongated than those having the foramen, the species is more closely allied to O. barbatum, Broussonetii and brevibarbe. The 0. brasiliense, with which the species should be compared, is said to have only the dorsal fin edged with black, and very short barbels. The air-bladder of this species is not known. - The teeth on the jaws are about the same in all the species of the genus I have examined, but there is a slight variation in those of the palatines, and more especially of the vomer, O. Holbrooku having a considerably less number of the rounded vomerine teeth than any of the other species mentioned below. The following are the characteristics of the several species of the genus Ophidium which I have had an opportunity of examining. The species were first determined from their air-bladders by the aid of Miiller’s figures. I cannot refer any of the specimens to O. bar- batum from the Mediterranean, and I have not seen O.. brevibarbe and O. brasiliense, both from the Brazilian coasts. O. Broussonetii Miiller. Inner barbel about two-thirds the length of the outer. Outer barbel equal to the distance from the centre of the eye to the point Putnam.] 342 [March 18, of the operculum. Maxillary reaching to the posterior margin of the eye. Length of the eye equal to the distance from its posterior mar- gin to the ridge of the preoperculum. Head one-sixth of the total length of the fish. Dorsal and anal with a black margin. Gill-rakers four. Air-bladder long, oval, without a foramen. Mediterranean. 7 , Agassiz Collection. No. 2542. Mediterranean. (One specimen. 6 inches.) Agassiz Collection. No. 4826. Nice, Prof. C. Gegenbaur. Re- ceived December, 1864. (One specimen. 64 inches.) O. Holbrookii Putnam. Inner barbel nearly two-thirds the length of the outer. Outer barbel equal to the distance from the centre of the eye to the point of the operculum. Maxillary reaching to the pesterior margin of the eye. Length of the eye equal to the distance from its posterior margin to the ridge of the preoperculum. Head one-sixth of the total length of the fish. Dorsal and anal with a black margin. Gaill- rakers four. Air-bladder long, pointed, without a foramen. Gulf of Mexico. Boston Society of Natural History. No. 1117. Key West, Florida, C. J. Maynard, 1872. (One specimen. 6 inches.) O. marginatum DeKay. Inner barbel not over one-half the length of the outer. Outer barbel about equal to the head in length. Maxillary hardly reaching to the posterior margin of the eye. Length of the eye very slightly more than the distance from its posterior margin to the ridge of the preoperculum. Head hardly one-sixth of the total length of the fish. Dorsal and anal with a black margin. Gill-rakers four or five (four on one side and five on the other of the single specimen examined). Air-bladder short and broad, with a foramen on the under side. Atlantic coast of North America from New York southward. Agassiz Collection. No. 2544. Charleston, 8. C., Dr. J. E. Hol- brook. (One specimen. 63 inches.) ; O. Rochii Miiller. Inner barbel very nearly equal to the outer in length. | Outer barbel fully equal to the head in length. Maxillary reaching consid- erably beyond the posterior margin of the eye. Length of the eye equal to about two-thirds of the space between its posterior margin 1874.] 343 & [Putnam.. and the ridge of the preoperculum. Head one-seventh of the total length of the fish. Dorsal and anal not margined with black. Gill- rakers four. Air-bladder pear-shaped, with a posterior foramen. Mediterranean. Agassiz Collection. .No. 4327. Nice, Prof. C. Gegenbaur. Re- ceived December, 1864. (One specimen. 54 inches.) O. Vasalli Risso. Inner barbel very nearly as long as the outer. Outer barbel fully equal tothe head in length. Maxillary reaching considerably beyond the posterior margin of the eye. Length of the eye equal to about two-thirds of the space between its posterior margin and the ridge of the preoperculum. Head slightly more than one-seventh of the. total lenoth of the fish. Dorsal and anal not margined with black. Gill-rakers four. Air-bladder globular, with a posterior foramen. Mediterranean. Agassiz Collection. No. 4329. Mediterranean. (One specimen. 7 inches. ) Agassiz Collection. No. 4828. Nice, Prof. C. Gegenbaur. Re- ceived December, 1864. (One specimen. 64 inches.) FIERASFER. For several years I have had in my possession eight specimens of the interesting genus of Fierasfer, which were given by Prof. Verrill from a number belonging to the Yale Museum, and collected at Panama by Mr. Bradley, in 1866. ‘They were all obtained alive from pearl oysters, and fully prove the parasitical habits for which this genus of fishes is noted.!. These specimens show so great a variation in their dentition and relative length of the head to the body, as to convince me that some of the species now acknowledged will prove to be unworthy of specific rank. On comparing these Panama specimens with several from the Atlantic coasts, I could not find any character by which they could be separated, and I am forced to admit that our North American species, now for the first time re- corded, is the same on both sides of the continent, making one more instance of the occurrence of the same species on the Atlantic and Pacific waters of the central portion of America. 1Jn the Museum of Comparative Zodlogy there is one valve of a pearl oyster from Panama, in which a specimen of Fierasfer dubius is beautifully enclosed in a pearly covering deposited upon it by the oyster. Putnam.] % 344 [March 18, I regret that I have but a single specimen of the genus from other regions for comparison, as it is impossible to distinguish the American fish by description alone from the following species: F.acus Kaup, from the Mediterranean and the Atlantic coast of Europe; F. afinis Gunther, from unknown locality; and F. caninus, Giinther, from unknown locality. From the description and figures given by Richardson of his Oxybeles Homei, from the Island of Timor and Australia, I cannot dis- tinguish any characters by which the American species can be sep- arated, and if it were not that I have the opportunity of comparing them with a single specimen taken from a starfish collected at the Kingsmills Islands, I should be much inclined to consider the Amer- ican fish the same as F. Homei. The Kingsmills specimen, however, has so much larger, more numerous and more crowded teeth on the jaws, and has the central vomerine teeth so much larger than in the American specimens, and also has the anus slightly forward of the root of the pectorals, while in the American specimens it is directly under them, and is also a more slender fish with dark cross bars, that I believe it to be distinct from the American species, and the same as the one described by Richardson. Dr. Giinther, in his characters of F’. Homei, states that the gill membranes leave one half of the isthmus uncovered; but the Kingsmills specimen agrees with the American specimens in having the membranes united forward of the isthmus, and leaving it entirely exposed. Fierasfer dubius sp. nov. Head from one-seventh to one-eighth of the total length. Depth of head about one-half of its length, width about one-third. Mouth extending slightly beyond the eye. With the exception of two to four teeth in the front of the upper jaw, which are larger than the rest in the jaw and equalling the largest teeth of the lower jaw in size, the teeth in the under jaw are larger than those in the upper. Vomer with from three to six large teeth forming a central row, of which two or three are always much larger than the rest. Pectorals about one-half the length of the head. Vent under the base of the pectorals. Dorsal fin low but distinct. Anal fin much more devel- oped than the dorsal, with its longest rays about in the middle of the fish, where the depth of the fin is equal to about one-half the _ depth of the body. At this portion of the fin the distant joints of the rays can be distinctly seen with a good lens. A short line of 1874.] 345 ' [Putnam. mucous pores commences over the operculum and extends above the silvery patch on the side to under the commencement of the dorsal. Color, in spirits, uniform light brown, with a short silvery band made by confluent spots along the sides of the abdomen. Air-bladder extending the whole length of the abdominal cavity and slightly constricted behind. ; ( From Pearl Oysters, collected in the Bay of Pan- 8 specimens, ama, by F. H. Bradley, 1866. From the Yale Museum, 34 to 44 ins.{ No. 545. (These specimens are now in the Peabody in lenoeth. | Academy of Science, and in the Agassiz Collection. No. —(4381.) | 1 specimen, From a Holothurian collected at Key Bisquan, Flor- 43 inches jis by Theodore Lyman, 1856. Agassiz Collection. in leneth. (No. 4332. From a large Holothurian collected at Tortugas, Florida, by G. Wurdemann, March 19, 1858. Agassiz Collection. No. 2547. 1 Sa 1 specimen, } Cape Florida, G. Wurdemann, 1857. Agassiz Col- 34 inches. 5i inches. (lection. No. 2470. 1 specimen, Tortugas, Florida. G. Wurdemann, March, 1858. 4 inches. (¢ Agassiz Collection. No. 2546. 1 specimen, New Providence, Bahamas. F. G. Shaw. Received 32 inches. ¢ April 22,1861. Agassiz Collection. No. 4333. : eae } Locality unknown. Agassiz Collection. No. 4334. 3 inches. Fierasfer Homei Kaup. Oxybelis Homei Rich. Voy. Ereb. and Terr. Fishes, p. 72, pl. 44, f. 7-18. Fierasfer Homei Kaup. Apod. Fish., p. 158. A specimen of Fierasfer taken from a starfish collected at the Kingsmills Islands is probably of this species. The head is one-eighth of the total length, and its depth is a little more than one-half of its length. The depth of the body is less than one-half the length of the head. The pectorals are about one- half the length of the head. The gill membranes are united forward of the isthmus, leaving it uncovered. Vent slightly in ad- vance of base of pectorals. Dorsal fin very low. Anal more devel- oped than the dorsal. Teeth on the jaws large and crowded, several in the upper jaw larger than the rest in the same jaw. Vomer with a Putnam.) 346 {March 18, a central group of four large teeth. The general color is greyish with distinct darker cross bars, and a silvery band of spots along the sides of the abdomen. This fish is of a darker color, with distinct bars, and with larger teeth, than #’. dubius, and with a more anterior position of the anus- 1 specimen, From a starfish collected at the Kingsmills Islands: 3 inches } son Pacific, by Andrew Garrett. Agassiz Collec- long. tion. No. 43835. ECHIODON. Echiodon dentatus. Fierasfer dentatus Cuv. Regne Anim. Echiodon Drummondii Thomp. Proc. Zool. Soc., 1837, p. 55. Trans. Zool. Soc., 11, p. 207, pl. 38. Though the genus Echiodon was established by Thompson without the knowledge that the fish he founded it upon was the same as Cuvier’s Fierasfer dentatus, I think the generic name should be adopted for this species, as the presence of a distinct caudal fin, and the peculiar dentition are characters of more than specific value. I have been unable ‘to find the least indication of a caudal fin in Fierasfer dubius after careful microscopical examination, all the specimens showing the tail without caudal rays, and with the last dorsal and anal rays projecting beyond its fleshy end. ENCHELIOPHIS. In the year 1865 Dr. E. Haeckel sent to Professor Agassiz a very interesting collection of Mediterranean fishes. These specimens were all named except the single example which is the subject of these remarks, and though I can scarcely believe it possible that so distinct a form can have escaped the notice of all the many writers on the fishes of the Mediterranean, yet I must confess my inability to find any description that applies to it in the works at my disposal, and, in order to call.attention to the form, I have ventured to place it in the genus proposed by Miiller for the reception of a fish that may be characterized as Fierasfer without pectoral fins. Of course there is a possibility of the fish now under consideration being well known to Mediterranean ichthyologists as the young of some one of the many species found there, though from the general character of the specimen I believe it to be a perfect, though perhaps not an adult, form. ’ 1874.] 847 [Putnam. The perfect development of the bones.of the head, the distinct rays of the dorsal and anal fins, and the ossification of the caudal vertebre, all give it the appearance of a perfect form, and its char- acters, so far as they can be traced without a dissection, which would destroy the specimen, shows the fish to belong to the family of Ophidiide, as defined by Giinther. The structure of the head, gill opening, position of the teeth on the jaws and on the vomer, and the po- sition of the dorsal and anal fins, are similar to Fierasfer, but the body is not compressed as in that genus, be- ing, on the contrary, nearly cylin- drical, though the head is compressed and shaped much like Fierasfer. The genus Encheliophis was pro- posed by Miiller for the reception of a fish from the Philippines, which, if it were not from his statement that the pectoral fins were wanting, would be placed in the genus Fierasfer, and as the fish now under consideration has very similar characters,! and as I N ean find no trace of pectoral fins, I : have referred it to the genus rather » , than risk the creation of a generic as well as a specific synonym. Encheliophis tenuis sp. nov. The outline figures here given rep- resenting the fish of natural size, and also the head enlarged, will serve to | A\ call attention to the form, and give if the general characters of the fish. Ni 3 The total length of the specimen i is eight inches. Body naked, nearly cylindrical, slightly constricted back of the head, greatly elongated and terminating in a thread-like tail. Gill-openings wide, and as in 1 With the exception of the cylindrical body, and it may be that the strong spir- its in which it has been preserved has much to do with its present shape. Brewer.] ’ 348 [March 18, Fierasfer. Teeth on jaws small but distinct. Vomerine teeth ina ~ bunch with larger ones in the centre, as in Fierasfer. No pecto- rals, no ventrals. ‘The dorsal fin commences posteriorly to the anal. The anal fin commences immediately after the short abdomen. Dorsal and anal rays very delicate,! but distinct and wide apart, extending along the thread-like tail. No membrane can be traced connecting the rays, though one probably existed in life. The upper angle. of the operculum is produced as a minute and delicate spine. The height of the head is about equal to one-half of its leneth, and its lencth is contained thirty-four times in the total length of the fish. The diameter of the eye is equal to about one-fourth the length of the head, and is greater than the interorbital space. Agassiz Collection. No. 4330. Mediterranean, at Messina, Dr. E. Haeckel, 1865. : Note ON THE NESTING AND Eaos or LAGOPUS LEUCURUS. By Dr. T. M. BREWER. I have recently received the fragments of a set of eggs of the white-tailed Ptarmigan, Lagopus leucurus, and some interesting notes in relation to its breeding habits, from T. Martin Trippe, Esq., the well known ornithologist. Fortunately one of the eggs, though broken into a dozen fragments, admitted of being put together suffi- ciently to give the exact size, shape, and all the peculiarities of the ego. This egg is 1.70 inches in length, by 1.21 inches in breadth, is oval in shape, one end being but very little smaller than the other. The ground color is a rich creamy drab, and the surface of the egg is pretty uniformly marked with small rounded dots of dark chestnut. These are about equally distributed over the entire egg, and are nowhere confluent. The egg procured by Mr. J. A. Allen, and de- scribed in the North American Birds, is without doubt correctly identified, and the estimate of its length only varies from this speci- men a tenth of an inch, the breadth being the same in both. Mr. Trippe writes me: “ The eggs were found June 28, 1873, on a high ridge a thousand feet above the timber line, near the Chicago lakes, about fifteen miles from Idaho Springs. ‘The nest was merely a slight depression in the ground, lined with a few white feathers from the mother’s breast, which was quite bare. The eggs were eight in num- ber, and the bird had evidently just begun incubating. She was so tame that I sat down on the grass by her side and lifted her off the 1The woodcut represents the rays very much thicker than in the specimen. a“ JG. Ours AGASSIZ and the Humboldt Anni- versary, 225. WELLS, SAMUEL. Ona simple helios- tat, 376. ae anoee ia icterocephalus, 309, 323 Xiphasia 366, 369. 5 setifer, 369. Xiphogadus, 366. Zenaidura carolinensis, 322, 324. Zonotrichia albicollis, 311, 312, 321, 328. teuconhae 311, 312, 321, ee ee ee re RIES SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION NOILALILSNI NVINOSHLINS S31 uy = = =i ee = WA E 8 : e : SS 2 = 2 7: 3 \ > : . | * we 3 ze E 5 4 LILSNI - SMITHSONIAN INSTITU > ” = _ ae : o yk gg Pe. . a = w , Je 4 RN = a G SW 3 = cS = c = . oO 2 iidey), ey EN Es O aay a ae .RIES SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION NOILALILSNI NVINOSHLINS S3IYVW wes ey mz ih Pie z ; i ¢ W ° w O . = > = ” ae wm agate 3 w” / ,RIES SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION. NOILALILSNI! S3I1uYVi ee 9) > op) a op) is aa es ” a oe = ties ss oc ac = & = a5 a : S = rs) = Shh sai Uaaleat a os z i LiLSNI_ NVINOSHLINS S3!dvugdi1 LIBRARIES SMITHSONIAN _ fos = fe ca | ae 105) ~ w = 188) =o) = Pe) =. 2 Ay ies = a a ic ii a o saa De eee o Z wee \RIES SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION NVINOSHLINS S3IY¥VvYy 7) eae w = ” an = ee = | th 2 ” z ; J _ NVINOSHLIWS LIBRARIES SMITHSONIAN INSTITU rate fp = ” S | ” wd w Lu wo Gulz: a a a i 2 ae = a S WN fc = S ‘- —_ “i wm faa faa a 4° iS) Bt — O ea @) Nos} ‘RIES SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION NOILNLILSNI NVINOSHLINS S3IUVE = i SON = a AG = EY MY = : 2 i py wast am E- 22) G 2 Z Z NVINOSHLINS S3IYVYGIT LIBRARIES SMITHSONIAN NVINOSHLINS SA3I1uVvudl ie A i INSTITU] = = ee < \ tg 5 1 uf fg = Zz (Moy “4a a oy * 2 Gy = E Gb = > il = =. = ma?) ma ” bs Tp) ARIES SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION NOILONLILSNI NVINOSHLIWS ; ny > ad 3S oN nes as ores Ll - WwW St Se ne = me Gf 3 : : : be if = ce f& Gj vat fe = oc _ o tify wo) = = co g cy % Rigo 3 ae igen Se ILSNI_NVINOSHLIWNS S3IYVYdIT LIBRARIES SMITHSONIAN INSTITU | Bae) e. 2 Le z Bi ir > é] eI >] = > o) 3 SP, 5 > Ke > rag ~, = E ed ee Sad m g ae a ; ae oa. = ” =< pup R | ES SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION NOILALILSNI NVINOSHLIWS Sa ldyv — 73 tf, = : 2 yy? : 8 8 Wh ? g z 2, i. i ce z > SY = — Z Se : : NVINOSHLINS S3!IYVYGIT LIBRARIES SMITHSONIAN INSTITUT NOILALILSNI NOILNLILSNI NOILNLILSNI RIES SMITHSONIAN _INSTITUTION NOILNLILSNI > N NVINOSHLINS S3I1YWY " YVYGIT LIBRARIES SMITHSONIAN YvudiT_ LIBRARIES TITUTION ITUTION ‘WANNA 3 9088 01276 3959