each order. The Dendrocœla are divided into two divisions, Acarena and Carenota, the former having no distinct head, which those of the latter group possess. We should judge this to be a character of much less importance than those derived from anatomical characters, which forbid such a division. Following it, the author separates Planaria gonocephala from the other freshwater Planariæ and places it with such forms as Cephalolepta and Planaria oceanica, Darwin! There is also a large number of genera hitherto considered sufficiently well established, which are entirely ignored by M. Schmarda, as Prosthiostomum, Dendrocælum, Procerodes, Fovia, Bdelloura, Geoplana, and Rhynchodemus. The new genera of Dendrocoela are Dicelis, Prostheceraus, Homaloceraus, Goniocarena, Carenocerous, and Sphyrocephalus. Of these several have been previously established under different names. Prostheceraus may be adopted, as Quatrefages' name Proceros is preoccupied. Goniocarena is Dugesia Girard, Carenocereus is Nautiloplana Stm., and Sphyrocephalus is Bipalium.

The Nemertinea are subdivided upon more certain grounds than the preceding order, but we are at a loss to understand why the proboscis should not be considered as the mouth, as it is certainly the aperture through which food is introduced into the body. Oken's name Borlasia is adopted (although it is exactly synonymous with Lineus, Sow.) and made to include Amphiporus, Acrostomum and Baseodiscus of Diesing. A new genus, Loxorrhochma, is established for the Polia coronata of Quatrefages. The figures are excellent, showing well the colors, which among these animals form the most reliable specific characters, and notwithstanding errors of nomenclature and arrangement, we have to thank M. Schmarda for an exceedingly interesting and beautiful work. w. s.

4. A Supplement to the Terrestrial Air-breathing Mollusks of the United States and the Adjacent Territories of North America;" by W. G. BINNEY. Boston, 1859. 8vo, pp. 207, and 6 colored plates. (Extracted from the Journal of the Boston Society of Natural History.)— This much needed supplement to Dr. Binney's great work contains the additions and corrections which have accumulated in the rapid progress of the science during the seven years which have elapsed since the publication of that work. Several doubtful species which were omitted in that work have since been investigated, and are now included or referred to their proper place in the synonymy. Besides these, we have figures and descriptions of all the recently discovered species, of which the number is large, particularly among those of the Pacific coast. These are placed together in the first part of the volume. The writings of foreign authors upon our land-snails are properly discussed, and their descriptions reprinted in full wherever there was any doubt as to the species to which they should be referred. Thus the whole subject is thoroughly posted up to the date of Jan. 1st, 1859, and the work forms a most acceptable contribution to American conchology.

W. S.

5. Catalogue of the Recent Marine Shells found on the Coasts of North and South Carolina; by J. D. KURTZ. 8vo, pp. 10. Portland, Me., 1860. This catalogue shows the results of the author's researches in the conchological fauna of our southern coast made in the years 1848-52. The number of species given is 204, an increase of 78 over that given

by Prof. Gibbes in his catalogue published in Tuomey's "Geology of South Carolina," published in 1848. Several species are mentioned as occurring on the marl-bottom off the N. C. coast which have not been hitherto observed north of Florida. Four new species are briefly described, viz., Venus trapezoidalis, (which is perhaps the same as V. pygmæa,) Arca Holmesi, Scalaria rupicola and Chemnitzia textilis; and several new ones are mentioned by name only. Capt. Kurtz has also contributed very largely to our knowledge of the marine animals of the same coasts, in other departments, as our zoological archives abundantly show. w. s. PROCEEDINGS PHILADELPHIA ACAD. NAT. SCI., 1859. p. 281, Resolutions on the death of Thomas Nuttall.-A new Unio from the Isthmus of Darien; I. Lea.Additions to the Coleopterous Fauna of Northern California and Oregon; J. L. Le Conte. p. 294, Notes and Descriptions of Foreign Reptiles; E. D. Cope.-p. 297, A new Myalina and Posidonia from the Carboniferous of Texas; W. M. Gabb. -p. 297, New birds from Cape St. Lucas; J. Xantus. p. 299, Notes on Birds collected at Cape St. Lucas by Mr. John Xantus; S. F. Baird.-p. 306, Mineralogical Notices; W. J. Taylor.-p. 310, New Histerida; J. Leconte.-p. 317, Contributions to American Lepidopterology, No. 2; B. Clemens. p. 329, On the soft parts of certain Unionida; I. Lea.-p. 331, Descriptions of three new species of exotic Uniones; I. Lea.-Notice of Shells collected by Xantus at Cape St. Lucas: P. P. Carpenter. p. 332, Catalogue of the Venomous Serpents in the Museum of the Academy, with notes on the families, genera, and species (new genus, Teleuraspis); E. D. Cope.-Index to vol. for 1859.

Transactions of the Am. Philos. Society (Philadelphia). Vol. XII (new series), Part II, contains:-Art. XI. Della Correlazione delle Forze Chimiche Colla Rifrangibitita delle Irradiazione; Di ZANTEDESCHI.-Esperimenti Eeguiti Col Calorico Solave.-Art. XII. Geological sketch of the estuary and freshwater deposit of the Bad Lands of the Judith, with some remarks upon the surrounding formations; by F. V. HAYDEN, M.D.-Art. XIII. Extinct Vertebrata from the Judith River and Great Lignite Formations of Nebraska; by JOSEPH LEIDY, M.D.-Art. XIV. A sketch of the Botany of the Basin of the great Salt Lake of Utah; by E. Durand. —Art. XV. Observations on the Magnetic Dip in the United States; by Prof. ELIAS LOOMIS.

REPORT OF THe Twenty-eightH MEETING OF THE BRITISH ASSOCIATION FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF SCIENCE, held at Leeds, Sept. 1858. London, 1859.-Contains the following zoological papers of more general interest:-On the Anatomy of the Araneidea, particularly of their Spinning organs (2 plates); R. H. Meade.-Various reports of Dredging committees.-On the reproductive organs of Sertularia tamarisca; Allman.—On the Migration of Birds; Collingwood.—Anatomy of the Brain in some small quadrupeds; Garner.-On the formation of the Cells of Bees; Tegetmeier.

DET KONGELIGE DANSKE VIDENSKABERNES SELSKABS SKRIFTER, 5te Raekke, Naturv. og Math. Afdeling, 4de Binds. Copenhagen, 1856-59.-Contains the following zoological papers:-Coroctoca and Spirachtha, Staphylines which bring forth living young and are domesticated with a Termite (with 2 plates); J. C. Shiödte.-On the Hectocotyle forms of the Octopod genera Argonauta and Tremoctopus (with 2 plates); J. J. Sm. Steenstrup.-Attempt at a monographic exposition of Sergestes, a genus of Shrimps, with remarks upon the organs of hearing in the Decapod Crustacea (5 plates); H. Kroyer.—On Mephitis Westermanni, a new "Stinkdyr" from Brazil; J. Reinhardt.-5te Binds, 1ste Hefte, 1859: Additamenta ad historiam Ophiuridarum,-descriptions of new or little known species of Serpent-stars; 1st and 2d parts, 7 plates, (new genera, Ophiocten, Ophionereis, Ophiactis, Ophiostigma, and Ophioblenna); Chr. Fr. Lütken.

W. S.

6. New Zoological Journal.-Dr. H. F. WEINLAND, already well known to American zoologists, has commenced, Oct. 1, 1859, at Frankfort on the Maine, a monthly journal (8vo, 16 pp.) entitled Der Zoologische Carten. Organ für die Zoologische Gesellschaft.

IV. ASTRONOMY AND METEOROLOGY.

1. Supposed intra-Mercurial planet.-The announcement of M. Le Verrier that the existence of one or more planets within the orbit of Mercury is rendered highly probable by his computations on the movement of the perihelion of Mercury, has called out former observations of the transits of bodies over the sun's disc, in addition to those mentioned in vol. xxviii, pp. 445 and 446 of this Journal.

(1.) Dr. Lescarbault at Orgères (Dept. Eure et-Loir), France, observed with a telescope, March 26th, 1859, a small black circular spot moving across the upper limb of the sun, at a rate which would occupy 4h 26m 48s to traverse the entire disc. Its apparent diameter was less than a quarter that of Mercury in transit. M. LeVerrier thinks the observation worthy of credit, and computes that on the supposition of a circular orbit the time of the planet's revolution around the sun is 19d-7, and the inclination of its orbit 12° 10'. Its greatest elongation from the sun would not exceed eight degrees, and its light be less than that of Mercury. This planet seems however insufficient to account for all the movement of the perihelion of Mercury.-Comptes Rend. Acad. Sci., Jan. 2, 1860.

(2.) Mr. Benj. Scott, of London, states that about midsummer in 1847, he chanced to turn a telescope towards the sun then near its setting, and saw on the sun's disc a well defined black spot, which was not to be seen there at sunrise the next morning. Its angular diameter appeared as large as that of Venus. Mr. Scott mentions that a similar body, or spot, was seen by Mr. Lloft, January 6, 1818.

2. Mr. Alvan Clark's New Micrometer for measuring large Distances, (Extracted from the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society for July 1859). At the monthly meeting of the Society in June, Mr. Alvan Clark, of Boston U.S., exhibited a micrometer invented by himself, which is capable of measuring with accuracy any distance up to about one degree. It is also furnished with a position-circle. Its character is essentially the same as that of the parallel-wire micrometer; but it has some peculiarities not, it is believed, previously introduced, and on which its wide range depends.

The most remarkable of these peculiarities consists in its being furnished with two eye-pieces, composed of small single lenses, mounted in separate frames, which slide in a grove, and can be separated to the required distance. A frame carrying two parallel spider-lines, each mounted separately with its own micrometer-screw, slides in a dove tailed grove in front of the eye-pieces; and, by a free motion in this frame, each web can be brought opposite to its own eye-lens.

In using this micrometer, the first step is, to set the position-vernier to the approximate position of the objects to be measured. Then the eye-lenses are separated till each is opposite to its own object. The frame containing the webs and their micrometer-screws is then slid into its place; and, the webs having been separated nearly to their proper distance by their free motion in the frame, they are placed precisely on the objects by their fine screws, the observer's eye being carried rapidly from one eye-lens to the other a few times, till he is satisfied of the bisection of each of the objects by its own web. The frame is then removed for

reading off the measure by means of an achromatic microscope, on the stage of which it is placed. One of the webs is brought to the intersection cross wires in the eye-piece of the microscope; and by turning a screw (the revolutions of which are counted), the frame travels before the microscope, and the other web is brought to the intersection of the cross-wires. The parts of a revolution are read off by a vernier from a large divided circle attached to the screw.

The advantages arising from the peculiar construction of this micrometer are the following:

1. Distances can be observed with great accuracy up to about one degree, and the angles of position also.

2. The webs, being in the same plane, are free from parallax, and are both equally distinct, however high the magnifying power may be.

3. The webs are also free from distortion and from color.

4. A different magnifying power may be used on each of the objects; which may be advantageous in comparing a faint comet with a star. 3. New Double Stars discovered by Mr. Alvan Clark; communicated by the Rev. W. R. DAWES. (From Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, xx., p. 55. Second series.)

All the double stars in this series may be considered as good testobjects for telescopes of from 6 to 8 or 9 inches aperture. But it is not merely as such that they are interesting: they become especially so from the fact that they are all situated in the northern hemisphere, and all but one at more than 30° from the equator. They consequently attain a good altitude at Pulkova; notwithstanding which they have escaped the acute search of M. Otto Struve with the 15-inch refractor, in addition to the previous one by his father with the Dorpat telescope of 96 inches aperture. Either, therefore, they have recently undergone considerable change; or, if not, it appears that objects of great difficulty and delicacy may be detected with very perfect telescopes of smaller size, which have escaped the most diligent scrutiny with far larger instruments. The whole of these objects were discovered by Mr. Clark with his own object-glasses of 8 and 8 inches aperture, and five of them in my own observatory, during his visit to me last summer; since which I have met with seven others, of similar character and situation; and it should be mentioned that none of the objects recorded are below Struve's eighth magnitude for the larger star; all smaller, of which many have been found, having been systematically rejected. It appears, therefore, that there is still much oc

SECOND SERIES, VOL. XXIX, No. 86.—MARCH, 1860.

cupation for telescopes of moderate dimensions, even in this department of astronomy, which might reasonably have been supposed to have been long since exhausted. The distances stated in the list are from my own

recent measurements.

Haddenham, Thame, November, 1859.

4. Notice of the Meteor of Nov. 15, 1859; by Prof. E. LOOMIS.-In the last No. of this Journal, p. 137, I gave a brief notice of this meteor, but from want of space was compelled to limit myself to a brief summary of results. I have received a large amount of documents relating to this meteor, most of which however are too indefinite to be of much value. I now proceed to present a brief summary of what appear to me the most reliable observations.

At New Haven, Ct., Judge W. W. Boardman saw the meteor descend at an angle of 25° to 35° with the vertical, and it passed from his view at the edge of the dome of a steeple in azimuth S. 35° 34' W. Continuing the meteor's path down to an altitude of 3° or 2°, we have S. 37° W. for the azimuth of the place where the meteor would have disappeared to him had his view been unobstructed.

At New York city Mr. Tatham was riding in the Bowery, and saw the meteor descend at an angle of 20° with the vertical, and in a range with the middle of the street opposite the Old Bowery theatre. According to the map of the city, this direction was S. 2740 W. The diameter of the meteor appeared to be about one-third that of the full moon.

A correspondent of the Evening Post, walking down Broadway, saw the meteor disappear in azimuth S. 25° W.

Mr. Gould, also in Broadway, saw the meteor disappear behind a building in azimuth S. 234° W.

Mr. Pirsson, also in Broadway, saw the meteor disappear behind a high building in azimuth S. 21° W.

Mr. Bradley, also in Broadway, reports that the meteor disappeared in azimuth S. 16° W.

Several other observers agree as to the general direction of the meteor, but their statements are less precise than those of the preceding. As Mr. Bradley's observation differs materially from the others, I reject it, presuming that his memory must have been in fault, either in respect to his point of observation, or that of the meteor's disappearance. The mean of the other four estimates is S. 244° W., or allowing for the effect of the high buildings which obstructed the view of three of the observers, the mean would be about S. 26° W. This result differs five degrees from my former estimate; a difference which is explained by my having obtained two new observations, and by my rejection of Mr. Bradley's observation.

At Washington, the apparent path of the meteor was vertical, and its point of disappearance was estimated at four degrees north of east.

A gentleman four miles west of Dover, Del., was riding towards Dover. His wife saw the meteor; he only saw the smoky trail which he describes as a nearly vertical column, with its base 20°, and its top 40° from the horizon; direction due east.

Mr. Parsons, at Salisbury, Somerset county, Md., saw the meteor descend in a slanting direction to the earth, when it exploded with a dull sound. Its direction was from the N.E.