Ebe TUniversirs of ChicagoPrice $U00 founded by john d. rockefeller Single CopiesPer Year 5 CentsUniversity RecordPUBLISHED BY AUTHORITYCHICAGOXTbe TUniversitE ot Cbfcago ©teasVOL. V, NO. 41 PUBLISHED EVERY FRIDAY AT 3:00 P.M. JANUARY 11, 1901Entered in the pqst office Chicago, Illinois, as second-class matterCONTENTS.I. Reports from the Zoological Club. By Dr.C. M. Child 365-367II. Official Notices ------ 367III. Calendar 368REPORTS FROM THE ZOOLOGICAL CLUB*Prepared by DR. C. M. Child.The first meeting of the quarter, October 17,was devoted to a paper by Miss Mary Hefferan,giving the results of her researches on the variationof the teeth on the jaws of Nereis. This paperwill appear in full elsewhere.At the second session of the club, October 31,Mr. R. S. Hillie gave an account of some experimental work upon the reactions of Arenicolalarvae, which was carried on by him during thelast summer at Woods Holl. The following is abrief abstract of Mr. Lillie's paper."In the swarming stage (in which three setiger-ous trunk segments are present) the larvae arepositively heliotropic and negatively geotropic,and in consequence collect at the surface of thewater on the light side of the dish. After thefourth segment has appeared the cilia are lost, thelarvae settle to the bottom, and the heliotropismbecomes negative. The heliotropic response isdue to the rays at the blue end of the spectrum,the red rays being apparently inactive.*Meetings of the Autumn Quarter, 1900. :"The normal reactions of the swarming larvaeare altered under the following artificially inducedconditions : (a) rise of temperature of the sea-water, (5) dilution or concentration of the sea-water within certain limits, (c) alteration of the^chemical constitution of the medium. Rise oftemperature above 350 is followed by loss ofheliotropism and a gradual settling of the larvaeto the bottom ; on cooling, however, heliotropismand negative geotropism largely reappear. Indilute or concentrated sea- water the heliotropismin a large proportion of larvae is altered frompositive to negative ; the same happens in slightlyacidulated sea-water (though the effect here soonpasses off and positive heliotropism reappears),and also in artificial solutions containing NaCl,CaCl2, and MgCl2, in certain proportions." Solutions of different salts affect ciliary andmuscular movements in definite and characteristicways. A fact, of particular significance is that inthe same, solution one form of motility may beaffected very differently from the other. Pure.|- n NaCl solutions immediately arrest ciliarymovement and cause a liquefaction and dissolution of the cilia ; towards muscular movement itssection is decidedly less injurious. The poisonouseffect of the pure solution is, however, diminishedby dilution, and also by the addition of smallquantities of other salts, especially CaCl2 andMgCl2. Solutions containing two salts in favorable proportions preserve ciliary and muscularactivities for considerable periods, each form ofactivity having its own characteristic optimumsolution which differs from that of the other.366 UNIVERSITY RECORDPure CaCl2 solutions and pure MgCl2 solutions,and their mixtures, quickly arrest muscular activityand cause the larvae to become perfectly rigidwithin -a few minutes ; while ciliary movementmay continue in these solutions in some cases forhours after muscular movementJias ceased. Thelarvae, although capable of swimming about activelyin these solutions, quickly lose all power of heliotropic orientation as their power of muscularmovement disappears ; and in a short time theybecome collected in small groups or clumps, as aresult of their inability to effect the muscularmovements necessary to disengage them from thecontact and adhesion of other larvae. The factthat ciliary activity can continue (in some casesfor many hours) in solutions in which all muscularmovement is impossible, proves that these twoforms of contractility are essentially very different.," Solutions containing three salts in suitable proportions are much more favorable than those containing only two/ In solutions of the composition4bccf«NaCl+55ccy«MgCl2-f 5cc^>«CaCl2,larvae may remain living and capable of growthfor so long a period as two weeks. Mixtures ofthe above three salts are the most favorable ; thepresence of KC1 is injurious since potassiumacts as a specific poison on muscular tissue. Thethree most essential metallic ions for the life-activities of these organisms are apparently Na,Ca, and Mg ; K in very small proportions is probably also necessary."On analysis of the normal swimming movements of the larvae it appears that ciliary andmuscular movements play separate and independent parts. Propulsion is effected exclusively bythe action of the cilia ; while heliotropic orientation is a purely muscular phenomenon with whichthe cilia have nothing directly to do. That thisis so is proved i) by direct observation, whichshows that the cilia never exhibit a greater degreeof activity on one side of the body than on theother, while the muscles of the more stronglyilluminated side always show stronger contractionsthan those of the other; 2) by the fact of heliotropic orientation of the larvae in later stages afterthe cilia have disappeared ; and 3) by the factthat all power of heliotropic response is lost insolutions that remove muscular contractility without at first interfering with ciliary movement."At the meeting of November 14, Mr. G. A. Allenreviewed a recent paper by Duncker on variation 1in Palaemonetes, and Miss Minnie Enteman recounted her observations on the behavior ofPolistes. Some of the more important points ofthis paper may be mentioned here :" Polistes, our common paper wasp, constructsfor a nest a single flat plate of hexagonal ; cells,without an external covering. This renders observation on its habits and instincts very easy.Among the facts gathered concerning the activities of the larval, pupal, and imaginal life, themost interesting relate to those of the newly excluded worker." 1. Fear is very generally exhibited, the youngworker retreating precipitately when a strangeobject is presented to it; but this gradually diminishes with the repeated appearance of the awe-inspiring object. If an edible bit be presentedthe worker will, after five or six trials, come up,touch it with the antennae and exhibit"2. The feeding instinct. This consists incrushing the food in the mandibles, extracting andswallowing its juices, and when it has reached avpulplike consistency, distributing it to the feedinglarvae, which, occupy, the cells of the nest. Thehabit has been thought to arise by imitation of thequeen or an older worker, but that it is independent of such example is proved by the fact, that itis acquired in all its perfection by wasps whichhave had no association with others of their kind."3. The locality study. This is a mere desultory alternation of short flights and strolls bymeans of which the wasp comes in contact withobjects surrounding its nest. It appears to usethese objects, to some extent as landmarks, butexperiments indicate that the olfactor^ sense isalso an important factor in guiding it." 4. To a certain extent the wasp remembers.This is indicated by the way in which it accustoms itself to the appearance of strange objects, ,and its behavior when a change is made in itsnest."5. Wasps learn nothing from ancestors. Instinct and individual experience account sufficiently for their complex activities and theirapparent cooperation is due entirely to the accident of being born in the same nest."At the session of November 28, Mr. C. M.Child gave a brief account of some zoologicalobservations made during a recent trip to Floridaand showed a number of specimens collected.UNIVERSITY RECORD 367Following this Mr. E. R. Downing discussed" Recent Experiments on Sea Urchin Eggs," referring chiefly to the work of Driesch.The last session of the club during the AutumnQuarter was held December 12. This was devoted to a paper by Mr. C. C. Adams, entitled" Geographical Distribution of Variations in Io"The paper was illustrated by a number of lanternslides, showing series of the shells from differentlocalities. The following abstract gives an outlineof Mr. Adams' work on this form :"The gasteropod genus lo is found only in theheadwaters of the Tennessee River and its tributaries. By the aid of a grant from the American Association for the Advancement of Sciencethe Clinch and Powell Rivers were explored andthe following facts concerning its geographicaldistribution and variations were found."These shells are remarkably variable, all intermediates being found between a smooth shell(lo fluvialis Say) and a very spinose shell (lo spi-nosa Lea). The extremes of variation do notoccur promiscuously in all localities, but are quitedefinite in their occurrence. In the headwaters ofboth streams the smooth, shells form the dominant population, but further down stream, in thecase of the Clinch within 60 miles, the entire shellpopulation changes from a smooth to a veryspinose shell. In the intermediate region theshells are mixed, smooth, spiny and intermediate."The headwater shells in the Powell are moreglobular * arid relatively stable, have low or nospines, distance between spines small and slightlyvariable. Down stream the shells are less globularand relatively variable, spines high and fairlystable, distance between spines wide and variable." In the Clinch the headwater shells are moreglobular (similar to those in the head of thePowell) and relatively variable, low or no spines,distance between spines small and slightly variable. Down stream the shells are less globular and relatively stable, spines are high and variable,distance between spines wide and stable."Thus these parallel streams have paralleldifferences in their lo shells." ,OFFICIAL NOTICES.In view of the coming of Madame Sarah Bernhardt and M. Coquelin the Romance Departmenthas decided to give a series of explanatory readings of Rostand's play "L'Aiglon." Thesereadings, to which all members of the Universityare invited, will be conducted by Assistant Professor Maxime Ingres and begin on Monday,January 14, at 4:00 p.m., in the Lecture room,Cobb Hall. Admission cards may be obtainedat the Information Office of the University. Eachauditor is requested to procure a copy of the play.The Courses of Open Lectures to be given byDr. 0. L. Triggs on "An Introduction to theStudy of Painting" and Mr. Ernest Ingersoll on"Phases of Animal Life and Intelligence" willbe given in Kent Theater instead of Haskell Assembly Room.The class for the study of works of art in theChicago galleries will meet Dr. Triggs at the ArtInstitute, Saturday morning at nine o'clock.The names of the following persons have beenproposed for membership in the Graduate Club :Miss Henrietta Becker, 5604 Jackson av.Miss Elizabeth H. Dunn, M.D., 5525 Monroe av.Miss Anna Bushnell Pratt, Green Hall.Mr. Samuel Bower Sinclair, Quadrangle Club.Mr. F. M. Walters, 5753 Drexel av.Miss Alice N. Wilcox, 5329 Greenwood av.368 UNIVERSITY RECORDTHE CALENDAR.JANUARY 11-19, 1901.Friday, January 11.Chapel- Assembly : The Divinity School. Chapel,Cobb Lecture Hall, 10:30 a.m.Mathematical Club meets in Room 35, RyersonPhysical Laboratory, at 4:00 p.m.Assistant Professor Dickson reads : " Concerning theabstract group isomorphic with the general linearfractional group, with a discussion in particular ofthe groups of orders 60, 168, 504."Mr. A. R. Schweitzer reads " On an interesting function of a real variable."Saturday, January 12.Meetings of University Ruling Bodies, HaskellOriental Museum :The Faculty of the Junior Colleges, 8: 30 a.m.The Faculty of the Senior Colleges, 10:00 a.m.The University Council, 11:30 a.m.Sunday, January 13.settlement sunday.Vesper Service is held in Kent Theater at4:00 P.M.The address is given by the Reverend F. E. Dew-hurst.Monday, January 14.Chapel- Assembly : The Junior Colleges. Chapel,Cobb Lecture Hall, 10:30 a.m. (required ofJunior College students).Mr. Ingersoll lectures in Kent Theater at 4:00p.m. on "Our Wild Neighbors." (Illustrated.)Dr. F. W. Gunsaulus gives the first of a series ofLectures before the Divinity School on " Modern English Poets," in Congregation Hall,Haskell Museum, at 4:00 p.m.Assistant Professor Ingres, reads from Rostand's DAiglon in the Lecture room, CobbHall, at 4:00 p.m. Tuesday, January 15.Chapel- Assembly : The Senior Colleges. Chapel,Cobb Lecture Hall, 10: 30 a.m. (required ofSenior College students).Dr. Triggs lectures in Kent Theater at 4:oop.Mvon " Early Italian and Modern Pre-RaphaelitePainters." (Illustrated.)Botanical Club meets in Room 24, Botanical. Laboratory, at 5:00 p.m.Dr. H. C. Cowles discusses contributions to theecology of plant tissues and organs during 1900.Wednesday, January 16.Division Meetings are held at 10:30 a.m.Pedagogical Club meets in Haskell AssemblyRoom at 8:00 p.m.Professor Coulter speaks on "Some principles involved in teaching science." A cordial invitation isextended to all interested.Thursday, January 17.Chapel- Assembly: The Graduate Schools. Chapel,Cobb Lecture Hall, 10:30 a.m.Semitic Club meets. at the President's house at7 : 30 P.M, , ,,„...., ,..,...,.. ¦.,. ¦.Professor Price reads on " The text of lonah." Discussion opened by Mr. Bode.Friday, January 18.Chapel-Assembly: The Divinity School. Chapel,Cobb Lecture Hall, 10:30 a.m.Romance Club meets in X3 c, Cobb Lecture Hall,at 4:00 p.m.Assistant Professor Howland reads on "RecentFrench dictionaries."Saturday, January 19.Meetings of University Ruling Bodies, HaskellOriental Museum :The Board of the University Press, 8: 30 a.m.The Board of Student Organizations, Publications, and Exhibitions, 10:00 a.m.The Faculty of the Divinity School, 11:30Material for the CALENDAR must be sent to the Office of Information by THURSDAY, 8:30 A.M., in order to be published inthe issue of the same week.