New-York tribune., 1874-04-13
SCIENCE.
nrocppDNcc or sOCIETIES.

PROCEEDINGS OF SOCIETIES.
San FRANCIsCo: MICRosCOPICAL SOCIETY; Marcn
N noDor was road nv DIR. j. II. Wythe upon the
Microspcctroscope and its availability as an s lnS
ment 0f research, illustrated Ol h"A"e' '
rN.Y1oNAI Ac ApEstY OF SCIENCES: WASHINGTON,
The regular annual session of this body Will be neiu
NJ tbe Smithsonian Institution, in Washington Oh
,be DIST of April. on which occasion the prlnc'P'l
business will consist of the election OF new mem
bors Those who have been nominated LOT V"lS
honor from whom the selection must pe mauS; are i
as follows: G. +. Chandler of NCW-io'h wy ID
Ga Eroncisco Cal: Asaph Hall Of Washington D.
C.: William Hardness OF Wasmngtoh, u. y, a,, ", W.
Hill Of Nyack \. " q. H1.I Malsn 1i Arthnr W.
Conn: Henry Morton OF HODORen, Nd; A'hui W
Wright of New-HaVen, Conn.,
AMERICAN PHLoSoPmCAL SOCIETY PHTLADEL-
pufA: March 2O.-Prof. Cope read a paper on the
PlaeopteriaG, group of Cyprinoid fishes character
istic of the photographic basin of Western Colo
RADIO Tue group differs from all those related to 1t
in the possession of fine osseous spnes OF the Ventra
fins and two closely united osseous spines IN the
front of the dorsal In of the species the re-
manning dorsal and some pectOral rays are simple
and osseous for a large part of their length. In the
oaseous ventral rays this group resembles the eX-
tinct S0urOdORfidG of the CretaceOus peil0u Iu!tt
genera were described, VIZ rago9'Tgsi Oope, Nun
boards or scales and LepdOmed1, Cope, win scales
aud no boards There are tour species lhIeSS VI VI
which had been brought TO hight by the naturglss G
Of Lieut. Wheeler's l. 5. Survey west oil the IVO'h
meridian.
PHILADELPHIA: ACADEMY OF NATURAL SCIENCES
March 3O-An essay entitled, Remarks on the Ter
tiary Clay of the Upper Amazon, observed by Prof
Orion, was presented by I. A.. Conrad. Prof. Leldy
read some notes on the localities at which masto-
dons and elephants have been discovered III Cau-
fornia with corrections of localities stated for re-
mains of other extinct mammala. Prof. Cope eX-
E 4r.a Ia nf "A
extinct hog of the genus Elothcriam, which had
been described IN the Bulletin of Hayden's Geoogi-
cal Survey of the Territories as f. rdnlOsum, Cope
The animal was as large the Indian rhlnoceros,
and is peculiar in the possession OF two osseOus
iuberosties on each side the front pair standing on
the chin and projecting into horns of much strength
March 1O-A paper was presented by VIM g.
Binney on the Anatomy OF ATi0lmGr aud Other
Pulmonate Mollusca. Prof L. d. Cope presented q
paper on the Reptilia collected by DR.. John Brans
ford while acting as surgeon TO the Nicaragua EX-
ploring Expedition. Mr.. Thos Meehan described
4he occasional elevation of the roots of trees
through the action of frost. Prof. Lapham of Wis
rOnsn thought that this effect was counteracted oy
the tap-rOot Mr.. Meehan thought the elevation Ol
tussoclls in swamps due TO the effect OF frost "A
vote of thanks accorded 10 Amelia PHestnau
for her presentation of books.
March I9.-Dr. Allen exhibited portion Of a bone
which had been found in a hernial sac OF the peri
tOneum of patient. He thought il to bc the NIB OF
- mammal OF the sic of the pOrcupine.
March A.-PTof. Cope made some remaT Ks on
the IchthyoloCv of the FTesh-water Lakes Of Utah
He stated that the material had been procured by
the United States Survey west OF the lOOth merldla
under Lieut. Geo. VI. Wheeler, and embraced Il
species. They are referable to only three families
the SdlmOHidG, CypIiHidG, and Cdt0st0mdG. 4 he
lake front is the SqipO rrgindt's. Grard, which main
1ains constant difference of fOrm from the noun
tain trout of Colorado, Montana. etc.-the Satno
glcuricis Cope. The other salmonoid is the Gorgeous
Hithdms0pii Girard. Prof Cope read paper on
notifications in the structure of the horns of deer
aud exhibited head of the common deer from New
Jersey in which the horns had nearly the form OF
those of the elk. He stated that this modification
was in accordance with the law of acceleratiOn
since the moose is the next genus in advance, while
the spike-hOrn represents state of retardatiOD
sembhng the first genus of the series, OF SHbTtO
Prof. Cope read paper on the occurrence Of UeoO-
ylOdOR OH the American coast