WHEREAS, It is understood that the question of admitting such specimens to the mails at merchandise rates is to be considered by the next International Postal Congress, which is announced to meet in Washington in May next:

Resolved, That the Academy of Science of St. Louis favors the adoption of an amendment to the present regulations which shall admit to the international mails

"Objects of natural history, dried or preserved animals and plants, geological specimens, etc., of which the transmission has no commercial interest, and the packing of which conforms to the general conditions concerning packages of samples of merchandise;"

Resolved, That the Postmaster General of the United States be and he is hereby respectfully requested to instruct the delegates from the United States to vote for the above or some similar amendment.

Mr. P. C. Compton, of St. Louis, was elected an active member.

APRIL 5, 1897.

Vice-President Engler in the chair, eighteen persons.

present.

Professor Frederick Starr spoke briefly of the Academy and its work, stating that the duties of an organization like the Academy of Science were threefold: first, to its members; second, to the scientific world; and, third, to the community at large; and with a minuteness of detail which showed a thorough knowledge of the past history of the Academy, Professor Starr reviewed what the Academy had thus far accomplished in each of these three directions.

A paper by Mr. Charles Robertson, on North American bees-descriptions and synonyms, was read by title.

Mr. H. C. Irish spoke on the relations of the unfolding of plants in spring to meteorological conditions, giving a historical resumé of the principal work in phenology thus far done in this country and in Europe, and presenting charts on which the vegetable periodicity for a series of years was contrasted with the temperature variations for the same years.

APRIL 19, 1897.

President Gray in the chair, twenty-one persons present. Dr. C. Barck read an interesting address on Helmholtzhis life and work.

Dr. C. R. Keyes presented in abstract papers on the relations of the Devonian and Carboniferous systems of the Upper Mississippi basin, and on the distribution of Missouri coals.

The President announced the death of Dr. J. M. Leete, and, on motion, a committee composed of Dr. Grindon, Mr. Harrison and Professor Nipher was appointed to prepare suitable resolutions for presentation at the next meeting of the Academy.

MAY 3, 1897.

President Gray in the chair, twenty persons present.

Mr. H. von Schrenk spoke of the respiration of plants, with special reference to the modification of those growing with their roots submerged in water. The lecture was illustrated by a demonstration of the liberation of carbon dioxide in respiration, from the roots of an ordinary flowering plant and from freshly gathered fungi, and the more usual aerenchyma structures were made clear by the use of lantern slides.

Professor F. E. Nipher described a simple means of measuring the resistance of a tube to a current of air, when compared with an accepted standard, by the use of a device similar in principle to the Wheatstone bridge used in electrical instruments. The apparatus, in the present instance, consisted of parallel tubes filled with air, connected by a tubular bridge, in the middle of which a drop of water was placed, so as to change position with the variations in the pressure of air on the opposite sides of the drop.

MAY 17, 1897.

President Gray in the chair, twenty-five persons present. The committee appointed at the meeting of April 19 presented the following memorial of the late Dr. J. M. Leete.

The St. Louis Academy of Science is once more called upon to record the death of one of its valued members. Dr. James M. Leete was born in Lockport, New York, in the year 1832. At the close of his early studies, he removed to Hines County, Mississippi, where he taught school for some time, thus

broadening his knowledge and sympathies by contact with his fellow-man in widely separated portions of our country, which breadth of sympathy was not lessened by four years' active participation in the war, and was in later life a prominent trait of his character. Returning to the North, he took up the study of medicine, was graduated from the University of Pennsylvania, and served two years in Blockley Hospital, Philadelphia, as an interne under the late Samuel D. Gross and other men whose names have become illustrious in the annals of medicine. He gained their respect by his close attention to and proficiency in his studies, and devotion to duty. At the breaking out of the war, he entered the Federal army as assistant surgeon. His ability and conscientiousness procured his promotion, and he became medical director of Crooke's Corps in Hunter's Division (the Sixth).

At the close of the war he chose this city for his home, and soon after joined himself to this Academy, remaining one of its most faithful and esteemed members until the end.

In 1871, he married Miss Cordelia Harrison. Two daughters, with their mother, survive him.

Three years since, his failing health induced him to seek another place of residence, and he died on April 17, 1897, at Mineral Point, Wisconsin.

Dr. Leete's personality was of that purposeful and energetic sort which leaves an impression on its surroundings. Public-spirited to an unusual degree, he harbored no selfish thought when the common weal was concerned, and, without expectation of remuneration or demand for recognition, gave much labor, time, and even occasional pecuniary assistance to objects which were of equal importance to all.

The St. Louis Academy of Science herewith tender to his bereaved family and friends their heartfelt sympathy in this our common loss.

Professor Nipher stated that he desired to add that Dr. Leete had furnished the means for carrying on the magnetic survey of Missouri during the years 1881-1882, expressing a desire that his name should not at that time appear in connection with the reports of the work done, which were published in Volume IV., No. 3, of the Academy's Transactions.

Mr. J. B. S. Norton read a paper embodying the results of an examination into the effects of the tornado of May, 1896, on trees about St. Louis, in which it was shown that, while ordinary winds have some influence on the form and strength of trees, in strong winds uprooting is caused by wet soil, weak spreading roots, and a large surface exposed to the wind. If the roots hold, breaks may occur in the trunk or branches, depending on the strength of the wood, the form of the tree, the mode of branching and the weight and resistance

Spreading

of foliage. While the edge of dry leaves presented to the wind offers little resistance, when foliage is wet and massed this may be very different. different. Local variations in these several factors make a comparison of different species difficult. It was shown that Acer dasycarpum was badly broken on account of its brittle wood and heavy foliage, while the weak-wooded Tilia and Liriodendron were also broken. topped trees, like Ulmus Americana, as a rule, were broken and uprooted, though the branches were only bent in the tougher-wooded individuals. As a general thing, conical trees, like Ulmus campestris, Liquidambar and most conifers, and the strong-wooded oaks, were little injured. Taxodium distichum, from its slender form, strength and elasticity, was injured least of all. It was shown that after the tornado, which occurred early in the vegetative period, most of the trees continued the summer's growth by producing new foliage shoots. While a few died from the inability to secure food, others indicate injury by flowering and fruiting more profusely than usual. It was shown that some of the trees which were broken have already begun to show serious decay where the branches were removed, so that the final injury can hardly yet be measured. The results observed here were compared by the speaker with those which have been reported from time to time in connection with severe storms elsewhere.

In the discussion of Mr. Norton's paper, Mr. von Schrenk submitted some interesting specimens, slides and drawings illustrating the formation of a double ring of wood in 1896, resulting from the refoliation of the branches, denuded shortly after the season's growth had begun.

The Secretary presented a paper by Frank C. Baker, entitled Critical notes on the family Muricidae.

JUNE 7, 1897.

President Gray in the chair, twenty persons present.

A paper by Robert Combs, entitled Plants collected in the District of Cienfuegos, Province of Santa Clara, Cuba, in 1895-1896, was presented, and the introduction was read by Mr. W. H. Rush.

Professor F. E. Nipher made some remarks on the difficulties yet involved in the theories of the ether.

OCTOBER 18, 1897.

Vice-President Engler in the chair, twelve persons present. The Secretary presented in abstract a paper by Frank Collins Baker, entitled The molluscan fauna of Western New York.

Professor H. A. Hunicke gave an informal account of recent progress in our knowledge of the constitution of steel, treating the subject from a chemical and microscopical standpoint.

NOVEMBER 1, 1897.

President Gray in the chair, twenty-six persons present. Dr. G. Hambach gave an interesting account of his impressions of the Hawaiian Islands, which he visited last summer, exhibiting a number of photographs, and some specimens of lava.

Dr. C. Barck gave a description of the volcano Haleakala and an account of his ascent of it.

NOVEMBER 15, 1897.

Vice-President Engler in the chair, six other members and one guest present.

Professor F. E. Nipher presented informally some of the results of his recent experiments on the stability of a pivotally mounted sheet in an air stream. He stated that he had used two surfaces, each having a vertical dimension of one foot, pivotally mounted on a vertical axis, the horizontal dimension of one surface being one foot and of the other forty-six and one-half inches. These pressure planes were exposed on the roof of a moving box car. It was stated that the results reached were very satisfactory, since the two planes gave nearly identical results when the distance of the pivots from the center was expressed in per cent. of the horizontal dimension.

Mr. Trelease presented notice of a proposal to amend