mammals. The accumulation of the latter would most certainly be of great benefit, but a large collection of the former would simply duplicate the museums of Philadelphia and Boston.

Our strictures are wholly due to a desire to awaken the directors of this museum to the importance of avoiding the errors of their predecessors. There is no reasonable excuse for a board of management which, at the present day, repeats the mistakes which have characterized the past history of all the museums with which we are acquainted, either in this country or Europe. We recommend especially to their perusal a short article upon the "Scientific Institutions of North America," by George Bentham in his Annual Address to the Linnæan Society, for 1867, and the various articles frequently published upon the proper management of museums and kindred topics in "Scientific Opinion" and "Nature."

Efforts are, however, being made to change this state of affairs, and we hope to report in our next notice that the American Museum is, in all respects, worthy of the name that it has taken, and of the city that should have a museum unequalled by any in the country.

NATURAL HISTORY MISCELLANY.

BOTANY.

FRAGARIA GILLMANI. — In a note on this plant by Mr. Gillman, page 312, it is stated that Dr. Asa Gray considers that the "well developed leaf on the scape, proves to be the distinguishing character of the species." It is not clear whether this refers to F. "Mexicana," or F. “Gillmani;” but to show that neither can lay claim to this character exclusively I enclose a leaf of F. vesca, in which are not only well developed leaves on the scape, but better developed leaves than I have yet seen on F. “Gillmani."

In my note on F. “Gillmani” last year I stated that leaves on the scape, or flowers on the runners were poor characters to found species on, because a flower scape is nothing but an erect runner, and a runner but a viviparous scape. In this specimen, now sent, you will see this illustrated by the rudiments of roots, as well as leaves on the scape. - THOMAS MEEHAN.

[We understand Dr. Gray to have remarked that all the specimens he has seen ofechtendal's F. Mexicana have leaf-bearing scapes, and same thing; and that he has no decided conviction European F. vesca which has assumed this condi

or an aboriginal form, which in either case is

THE POPULATIon of an old PEAR TREE.*—The author in these charming stories of insect life relates his experience with various forms of insects which visited an old pear tree in his garden, weaving in many satires on human life, and an occasional sly thrust at professional entomologists who look on bugs simply as bugs and not as part and parcel of nature. It is an admirable book to place in the hands of boys and girls. The illustrations are capital, reminding us of the grotesqueness and strong effects seen in Doré's drawings on wood, and form a marked feature and attraction of the book.

THE AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY.t-Under this title there has been established in the city of New York a museum in whose list of trustees we recognize many names well known to the citizens of the metropolis. While we honor these gentlemen for their public spirit we do not see even from their report how it was that they thus suddenly became possessed of such a determined desire to found a museum.

We believe that New York will eventually possess the finest and largest museum in the country, just as they now have the most beautiful park. There is, however, one mistake which we might notice, the futility of amassing fragile collections, building cases, having zoological gardens, etc., without at the same time appointing men who are competent to use them for the benefit of the public. From what we have seen of the efforts of the directors, or whoever has in charge the large collections in the third story of the arsenal building, we should say that they do not seem to possess even that slight knowledge which five minutes criticism from any competent scientific man would have given them. We have never in our experience of the unscientific attempts to build museums seen anything so entirely unfit for its purpose as the large two-storied case which occupies the centre of the arsenal hall. No one but a phys ician, or a committee of such, well acquainted with hospital practice and hygiene, would presume to attempt the erection of a hospital. Engineers are generally called upon to build railroads and steam engines, but in natural history all this is reversed, and we do not seem to have yet learned that it requires a naturalist to plan a natural history building. We understand, however, that efforts are being made to place some well qualified naturalists in charge of the executive department, and we hope to see a change in this respect before the next report is published.

The menagarie will afford materials for the formation of a collection of comparative anatomy which would be both amusing and instructive to visitors, but this does not seem to have been thought of. The board of management, also, appear to be drifting to stuffed skins of birds and

The Population of an old Pear Tree: or Stories of Insect Life. From the French of E. van Bruyssel. Edited by the author of the "Heir of Redclyffe." With numerous illustrations by Becker. 12mo, pp. 221.. New York. Macmillan & Co. 1870.

† First Report of the Trustees.

Since the above was written, we have become aware, also, that the Commissioners have taken professional advice as regards the construction of their cases.

mammals. The accumulation of the latter would most certainly be of great benefit, but a large collection of the former would simply duplicate the museums of Philadelphia and Boston.

Our strictures are wholly due to a desire to awaken the directors of this museum to the importance of avoiding the errors of their predecessors. There is no reasonable excuse for a board of management which, at the present day, repeats the mistakes which have characterized the past history of all the museums with which we are acquainted, either in this country or Europe. We recommend especially to their perusal a short article upon the "Scientific Institutions of North America," by George Bentham in his Annual Address to the Linnæan Society, for 1867, and the various articles frequently published upon the proper management of museums and kindred topics in "Scientific Opinion" and "Nature."

Efforts are, however, being made to change this state of affairs, and we hope to report in our next notice that the American Museum is, in all respects, worthy of the name that it has taken, and of the city that should have a museum unequalled by any in the country.

NATURAL HISTORY MISCELLANY.

BOTANY.

FRAGARIA GILLMANI. — In a note on this plant by Mr. Gillman, page 312, it is stated that Dr. Asa Gray considers that the "well developed leaf on the scape, proves to be the distinguishing character of the species." It is not clear whether this refers to F. "Mexicana,” or F. “Gillmani;” but to show that neither can lay claim to this character exclusively I enclose a leaf of F. vesca, in which are not only well developed leaves on the scape, but better developed leaves than I have yet seen on F. "Gillmani."

In my note on F. "Gillmani" last year I stated that leaves on the scape, or flowers on the runners were poor characters to found species on, because a flower scape is nothing but an erect runner, and a runner but a viviparous scape. In this specimen, now sent, you will see this illustrated by the rudiments of roots, as well as leaves on the scape. - THOMAS MEEHAN.

[We understand Dr. Gray to have remarked that all the specimens he has seen of Schlechtendal's F. Mexicana have leaf-bearing scapes, and that F. Gillmani is the same thing; and that he has no decided conviction as to whether it be the European F. vesca which has assumed this condition and habit in Mexico, or an aboriginal form, — which in either case is curious.

EDS.]

NEW PLANTS. In my botanical rambles this last May two new plants came under my own observation. One of them which we have made known as Viola erecta, was found near Williamstown, Mass., and is a va riety of V. Selkirkii, differing from that species in its larger size and in its leaves being strictly erect and not lying flat upon the ground. The other which was discovered at Binghamton, N. Y., and called by us Geranium album, has a white flower with yellow anthers and leaves, but little hirsute characteristics which mark it as a distinct variety of G. maculatum.-H. M. MYERS, Williamstown, Mass.

PALMS OF THE SANDWICH ISLANDS. In the interesting popular account of palms, contributed by Dr. Seemann to the "Gardener's Chronicle," It is mentioned that three species of Pritchardia are known from these islands, namely, P. Martii and P. Gaudichaudii (briefly noticed by Martius under the name of Livistonia, from very imperfect materials furnished by Gaudichaud), “and an undescribed species enumerated by Horace Mann." It is farther noted that, none of these species are yet introduced into cultivation. There is, however, no evidence to show that the palm noticed by the late Mr. Mann is different from one or the other, not to say both. of Gaudichaud's; and it is here well known that Mr. Mann brought a stock of seed of his palm, from which numerous young plants were raised both in this country and at Kew. Of these the best developed specimen known belongs to the collection of H. H. Hunnewell, of Wellesley, Mass. THE IRRITABILITY OF THE STAMENS IN THE BARBERRY, according to Jourdain ("Comptes Rendus" April 25th), is suspended by chloroform. A bit of cotton sprinkled with chloroform, and introduced into the glass bell-glass which covered the plant operated on, produced tetanic rigidity of the filaments in one minute; but exposure to the air soon restored the irritability, unless the action of the chloroform had been continued ten or twelve minutes, in which case the vitality of the flowers was greatly impaired or destroyed. - Academy.

ZOOLOGY.

THE FUTURE OF NATURAL SCIENCE. We had heard it stated that henceforth physical discovery would be made solely by the aid of mathematics; that we had our data, and need only to work deductively. Statements of a similar character crop out from time to time in our day. They arise from an imperfect acquaintance with the nature, present condition. and prospective vastness of the field of physical inquiry. The upshot of natural science will doubtless be to bring all physical phenomena under the dominion of mechanical laws; to give them, in other words, mathematical expression. But our approach to this result is asymtotic; and for ages to come possibly for all the ages of the human race-nature will find room for both the philosophical experimenter and the mathematician. Tyndall's notice of the "Life and Letters of Faraday" in the

Academy.

-

THE PIGEON HAWK.- Mr. Samuels, in his work on the " Ornithology and Oology of New England," says that he never saw a nest of this bird, and never heard of but one instance of its being found in New England, but he adds that it doubtless breeds here. This may be true, but it seems to me almost as though he really could not have inquired into the matter, for in this very town (Amherst, Mass.), I know of three positive instances of the nest being found; they all were in holes of trees; in two there were four eggs, and in the other five; the last mentioned one was discovered this year; there can be no doubt as to the identity of the eggs, so I do not hesitate to show this fact. The bird seems to be comparatively common here. It seems to me as if this bird is so often here, and found to breed here, it must be that some other town or state in New England receives its due share of attention.-WINFRID STEARNS, Amherst, Mass.

THE FLIGHT OF BIRDS AND INSECTS.-M. Marey has recently shown that birds and insects fly in a totally different manner. In birds the extremity of the wing describes a simple helix, while in insects it passes through a series of lemniscs (lemniscates, or figures of eight). The author has studied this intricate subject by means of two very ingenious machines, one of which, by a very simple arrangement, indicates very precisely the flight of an insect; while the other made to be placed on the back of a bird, transmits all the movements of the wing to a receiver which faithfully records them. - Cosmos.

PÆDOGENESIS IN THE STYLOPIDE. - Professor von Siebold has discovered that the so-called female of Xenos is in reality a larva, and that it produces its young by germ balls like those of the larva of Cecidomyia (Miastor) which produces larvæ like itself during the winter months, but in summer undergoes the usual transformations of these gall flies. This child-reproduction, in individuals without true ovaries, was aptly termed by Von Baer "Pædogenesis."-Siebold and Kölliker's Journal of Scientific Zoology.

CURIOUS CONDUCT OF A SHARP-SHINNED HAWK.-On the 6th of April, while wandering along the Shabbaconk Creek, near Trenton, N. J., I sat down on a convenient mat of dead grass to observe the movements of the "red-fins" (Hypsilepis cornutus), swimming in the clear waters before me, and to note also, the movements and colors of some "darters" (Hololepis erochrous Cope) that I had caught and bottled. While thus engaged my attention was called to the great tameness of a small hawk (Accipiter fuscus). It had evidently been visiting the grass, on which I was now sitting, gathering from it materials for lining a nest which I soon discovered near the top of a high beech tree, not fifty yards distant. When the bird found that I was not disposed to move off, he skimmed away over the meadow and perched upon the fence skirting it. Presently he sailed towards me near the ground and lit by a small tuft of grass. Walking around this he scratched the ground away from the roots, and then seiz