American Journal of Science, December.—The temperature of the moon, by S. P. Langley, with the assistance of F. W. Bery. With this memoir the authors complete the researches begun at the Allegheny Observatory in 1883 and continued during the next four years. The main outcome is that the mean temperature of the sunlit lunar surface is much lower than has been supposed, most probably not being greatly above 0° C.—The Lower Cretaceous of the South-West, and its relation to the underlying and overlying formations, by Charles A. White. The chalk formations constituting the so-called “Texas Section” are here referred to two natural divisions, which may be designated the Upper and Lower Cretaceous respectively, although not necessarily the exact equivalents of the corresponding European strata. Their fossil contents show that each represents an unbroken portion of Cretaceous time, while the palæontological contrast between the two indicates that there is a time hiatus between them. But this hiatus is no greater than exhibited in others of the mountain uplifts in the same region, and not so great as it is in some cases.—On the hinge of Pelecypods and its development, with an attempt toward a better subdivision of the group, by William H. Dall. Three fundamental types of hinges are described, and on these is based a new classification comprising the three orders of Anomalodesmacea with five sub-orders, Prionodesmacea with eight sub-orders, and Teleodesmacea with eleven or more sub-orders.—The magnetism of nickel and tungsten alloys, by John Trowbridge and Samuel Sheldon. The question is here discussed whether nickel and tungsten alloys magnetized to saturation increase in specific magnetism as different kinds of steel alloyed in small proportions with tungsten or wolfram are known to do. The tabulated results show that tungsten greatly increases the magnetic moment of nickel, if the alloy be forged and rolled, but has small influence if simply cast; nor do changes in the amount of tungsten appear to cause corresponding changes in the magnetic properties of the alloy.—Note on the measurement of the internal resistance of batteries, by B. O. Peirce and R. W. Willson. The authors' researches show that the value of the resistance of a cell obtained by the use of alternate currents is always smaller than that obtained by other methods, but the application of the method of alternate currents “fatigues” all but the so-called constant cells. In most cases there is a tendency in the internal resistance to decrease as the strength of the current which the cell is delivering increases.—Papers were contributed by Robert T. Hill and R. A. F. Penrose, Jun., on the relation of the uppermost Cretaceous beds of the Eastern and Southern United States, and on the Tertiary Cretaceous parting of Arkansas and Texas; by W. E. Hidden and J. B. Mackintosh, on sundry yttria and thoria minerals from Liano County, Texas; and by O. C. Marsh, on the skull of the gigantic Ceratopsidæ.