REPORT OF THE CUSTODIAN

OF THE

BOSTON SOCIETY OF NATURAL HISTORY,

EMBODYING THE REPORTS OF THE LIBRARIAN AND CURATORS

OF THE SEVERAL DEPARTMENTS,

FOR 1868-69.

IN my last annual report I alluded to a topic which although not directly connected with the operations of the Society, seemed to demand its earnest attention. I refer to the refusal of the State Legislature to act upon the petition of the Society's Council for an extension of the proposed new edition of Dr Gould's Invertebrates of Massachusetts. Owing to the necessary and most fortunate delay in the publication of this work, an opportunity offered itself for a renewal of our plea, before a committee and a legislature more open to reasonable suggestions; and to-night I am happy to state that although the cost of the original edition was found to be largely in excess of the estimates, a Resolve was introduced into the House of Representatives on the twentieth of April last, both supplying the requisite deficiency, and authorizing an increased edition of eight hundred copies. Four hundred copies were to be given to this Society for distribution "to foreign public institutions of a similar nature,

PROCEEDINGS B. S. N. H.-VOL. XIII.

1

JUNE, 1869.

by direction of its Council and in behalf of the State," and one hundred copies to the editor, Mr. Binney, "to be distributed among conchologists in this and foreign countries, in behalf of the State"; this resolve was referred to the Committee of Finance, who have, as yet, taken no formal action upon it; I am assured, however, that there is little doubt of their favorable report and of the final success of the measure.

The history of the past twelve months differs little from that of the preceding year. There have been twenty general meetings of the Society, ten of the Section of Entomology and six of the Section of Microscopy. At the general meetings the average attendance of members has been thirty-three, at those of the Section of Entomology nearly twelve, and at the Microscopical meetings nearly eight. This does not include ladies who attended nearly one half of the general meetings in response to a recent invitation of the Society. So few, however, availed themselves of the opportunity, that should they be included, the average attendance at the general meetings would only be increased to thirty-five. One hundred and five scientific communications have been presented by forty-nine persons, viz., sixty-seven communications by thirty-six persons at the general meetings; thirty-three communications by thirteen persons at the meetings of the Entomological Section, and five communications by three persons at those of the Microscopical Section. The following are their titles:

ALLEN, J. A. Notes on Birds observed in Western Iowa, in the months of July, August and September; also on Birds observed in Northern Illinois, in May and June, and at Richmond, Wayne Co., Indiana, between June third and tenth. June 3, 1868. Catalogue of the reptiles and batrachians found in the vicinity of Springfield, Mass., with notices of all the other species known to inhabit the State. December 2, 1868.

Appendix to a paper on the reptiles and batrachians of Massachusetts. January 20, 1869.

ATWOOD, CAPT. N. E.

Observations

upon

the habits of the sperm

whale. June 3, 1868.

Description of Carcharias tigris Atw. January 20, 1869.

Remarks upon the history of the halibut and other edible fish. April 7, 1869.

BICKMORE, A. S. Notice of some birds from the Island of Buru. November 18, 1868.

Remarks on the animal of Nautilus pompilius. November 18, 1868. On a collection of shells of Nautilus of various ages. December 2.

1868.

Remarks on the Babirusa and its distribution. December 2, 1868.

BLAKE, W. P. Remarks upon the Ainos. June 17, 1868.

BREWER, DR. T. M. Remarks upon the death of Mr. John Cassin. January 20, 1869.

BRIGHAM, W. T. Notes on Hesperomannia, a new genus of Hawaiian Compositæ. (With illustrations.) May 6, 1868.

Notice of a new and remarkable eruption of Mauna Loa on the Hawaiian Islands. June 3, 1868.

Remarks upon Mr. N. S. Shaler's Considerations concerning the absence of distinct evidences of glacial action in the valley of the Yukon River, Alaska. November 4, 1868.

Remarks at the announcement of the death of Mr. Horace Mann. November 18, 1868.

On the results of Mr. Mann's study of the Hawaiian Flora. November 18, 1868.

The eruption of the Hawaiian Volcanoes, 1868. (With illustra tions.) December 2, 1868.

Volcanic manifestations in New England. April 7, 1869.

BROWN, DR. F. H. Some observations on the fauna of Madeira. December 2, 1868.

BURGESS, E. On the habits of Anisomorpha buprestoides. February 24, 1869.

COLBY, DR. E. P. Note on the habits of Bryaxis luniger Lec, November 25, 1868.

COPE, E. D. On the Reptilian orders, Pythonomorpha and Strep

tosauria. January 20, 1869.

Descriptions of extinct fishes previously unknown. February 3,

1869.

COUES, DR. E.

1868.

Synopsis of the Birds of S. Carolina. October 7,

CRESSON, E. T. Descriptions of North American Bees, No. I. December 2, 1868.

Descriptions of North American Bees, No. II. January 20, 1869. Notes on Mexican Pompilidæ, with descriptions of new species. March 24, 1869.

DALL, W. H. Remarks upon the Natural History of Alaska. November 4, 1868.

DOLE, S. B. A synopsis of the Birds hitherto described from the Hawaiian Islands. February 3, 1869.

FROST, CHARLES C. A further enumeration of N. England Fungi. May 20, 1868.

GAFFIELD, T. On the accidental presence of water in glass stoppers. March 3, 1869.

GREENLEAF, R. C. Remarks on the double plate of Aulacodiscus oreganus. March 10, 1869.

List of Diatoms from Ashley River, S. Car. March 10, 1869.

HAGEN, DR. H. Rectification of a previous paper on Hodotermes japonicus. October 28, 1868.

Notice of an imago of Morpho Ilioneus with a caterpillar's head. November 25, 1868.

Upon the manufacture of microscopes. March 10, 1869.

On the diseases of injurious insects. March 24, 1869.

On the recent manufacture of cheap objectives for microscopes. April 14, 1869.

HILLS, LUTHER. Notice of a new locality for minerals, in Auburn, Me. July 1, 1868.

HOY, DR. G. R. On the nidification of Cooper's Hawk. April 7,

1869.

Notes on the Rough-winged Swallow and the Yellow-bellied Flycatcher. April 21, 1869.

HYATT, A. Remarks upon Mr. Shaler's Considerations concerning the absence of distinct evidences of glacial action in the valley of the Yukon River, Alaska. November 4, 1868.

On the gradual involution of Cephalopods during life. December 2, 1868.

JACKSON, DR. C. T. Analysis of Petrosilex from Melrose. June 3, 1868.

Description of the beds of Apatite in North Burgess, Canada West. June 17, 1868.

Description of a new locality for tin ore in Winslow, Me. January 20, 1869.

JEFFRIES, DR. B. Joy. Remarks upon the discovery and structure of Euplectella speciosa. May 6, 1868.

Remarks upon the projection of after-pictures. June 3, 1868.

Upon the principle of the Thaumatrope. July 1, 1868.

Observations on the vision of Fishes and Amphibians. December 16, 1868.

Remarks upon experiments with after-images. February 17, 1869. On the method of accommodation in the eyes of birds. April 21,

1869.

MCGUIER, HENRY. On the evidences of the antiquity of man, deduced from the excavations at High Rock Spring, Saratoga, N. Y. April 21, 1869.

MANN, B. P. On the preservation of larvæ in carbolic acid. November 25, 1868.

MANN, HORACE. Notes on Alsinidendron, Platydesma and Brighamia, new genera of Hawaiian Plants; with an analysis of the Hawaiian Flora. (With illustrations.) December 2, 1868.

MARSH, O. C. Observations on the metamorphosis of Siredon into Amblystoma. September 16, 1868.