>dtf^- **>^x p^ * ric*. m ^s«r -♦ •• #» • * %r Vv# •iS '<^i (»-^ llfc^- >^^. WHITNEY LIBRARY, HARVAKD UNIVERSITY THE GIFT OF J. D. WHITNEY, Sturfjis Hooper Professor IN THE MUSEUM OF OOMPAKATIVE ZOOLOaY S-M-- Jk ^n. ' / THE CANADIAN NATURALIST AND ^uarteiljji Jouvnal of ^tifnct. WITH THE PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY OF MONTREAL: B. J. HARRINGTON, B. A., Ph. D. Editor. NEW SERIES,-Vol. 7- MONTREAL : DAWSON BROTHERS, ST. JAMES STREET. ^^ 1875. ^^^ The Editor of this Journal is responsible only for such communications as bear his name or initials. Entered, according to the Act of the Parliament of Canada, in the year One thousand eight hundred and seventy-five, by Dawson Brothers, in the OflSce of the Minister of Agriculture. CONTENTS. Pagb Annual Address of the President of the Ncatural History Society of Montre»1, Principal Dawson, LL.D., F.R.S., May, 1872 T Notes on some Results of the Solar Eclipse of December, 1871. By G. F. Armstrong, M. A., C.E 11 Impressions of Cuba. By G. F. Matthew, F.G.S 19, 75 Geological Features of Huron County, Ontario. By John Gibson, B.A 36 Notes on the Marine Clays occurring at the Railway Cutting on the left Bank of the Tattagouche River. By Rev. C. H. Paisley, M.A 41 Epizootic Influenza in Horses. By D. McEaChran, V.S 43 Impressions and Footprints of Aquatic Animals, and Imitative Markings on Carboniferous Rocks. By J. W. Dawson, LL.D., F.R.S 65 Notes on a Deep-Sea Dredging Expedition round the Island of Anticosti in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. By J. F. Whiteaves, F.G.S 86 On the Geological Relations of the Iron Ores of Nova Scotia. By J. W. Daw- son, LL.D., F.R.S.. 129 Descriptions of New Fossils from the Devonian Rocks of Western Ontario. By H. Alleyne Nicholson, F.R.S 138 Notes on Prototaxites • 173 Notes on a Journey through the North-West Territory, from Manitoba to Rocky Mountain House. By A. R. C. Sklwyn, F.G.S 193 Botanical and Geological Notes. By A. T. Drummond, B.A., LL.B., 217 Occurrence of Gigantic Cuttle Fishes on the Coast of Newfoundland. By A. E. Verrill 224 On some new or little known Fossils from the Silurian and Devonian Rocks of Ontario. By E. Billings, F.G.S 230 The Lignite Formations of the West. By George M. Dawson, Assoc. R.S.M. 241 Notes on the Occurrence of Foraminifera, Coccoliths, &c., in the Cretaceous Rocks of Manitoba. By Gt?orge M. Dawson, Assoc. R. S. M 252 On Recent Deep-Sea Dredging Operations in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. By J. F. Whiteaves, F.G.S ....257 On the Post-Pliocene Formation near Bathurst, New Brunswick. By Rev. C. H.Paisley, M.A 268 Two new Fossil Cockroaches from the Carboniferous of Cape Breton. By Samuel H. Scudder 271 On some new Genera and Species of Palaeozoic MoUusca. By E. Billings. • 301 Notes (?n Dawsonite. a new Carbonate. By B. J. Harrington, B.A., Ph.D.. 305 The Fluctuations of the American Lakes, and the Development of Sun-spots- By G. M. Dawson, Assoc. R.S.M 310 IV. CONTENTS. The Native Copper Mines of Lake Superior. By James Douglas 318 Notes on the Marine Fisheries, and particularly on the Oyster Beds of the Gulf of St. Lawrence. By J. F. Whitkavks. F.G.S 336 The Carnivorous Habit? of Plants. By Dr. Hookkr. C.B., D.C.L 349 The Theory of Atoms in the general conception of the Universe. By M. Wurtz. 373 On a Collection of Himalayan Birds. By J. F. Whiteaa'KS, F.G.S 394 On Fluctuations of Level in Lake Erie. By CoL Chas. Whittlksey 407 Life on the Deep-Sea Bottom. By Dr. W. B. Carpkntkr, F.R.S 421 Surface Geology of New Brunswick. By G. F. Matthkw, F.G.S 433 Notes on some of the Galena or Sulphuret of Lead Deposits connected with the Laurentian Rocks of Ontario. By H. G. Vennor, F.G.S 455 Geological Sketches of the Neighborhood of Hamilton. By J. W. Spencer. . 463 American Association, Meeting at Portland. Address of the President 148 The Evolution Theory 152 Calvert's supposed Relics of Man in the Miocene of the Dardanelles 155 On the Relations of the Niagara and Lower Helderberg Groups of Rocks and their Geographical Distribution in the United States and Canada 157 Breaks in the American Palaeozoic Series. 160 The Metamorphism of Rocks 162 On Staurolite Crystals and Green Mountain Gneisses of Silurian Age. . . . 163 On Circles of Deposition in Sedimentary Strata 163 The Proximate Future of Niagara 164 New Theory of Geyser Action as illustrated by an Artificial Geyser 165 The Chemical Composition of a Copper Ma tte 166 Embryology of Limulus. with notes en the Affinities 167 Genitalia and Embryology of the Brachiopoda 168 On some Extinct Types of Horned Perissodactyles 169 On a Sigillaria showing marks of Fructification 171 On the question " Do Snakes swallow their Young ? " 171 Gbological Society op London. The Upper Coal Formation of Eastern Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island in its relation to the Permian 303 Natural History Society. Annual Meeting 100, 106, 277 Annual Address of the President 1, 106, 277 Monthly Meetings 104, 273 Sommerville Lectures 109, 274 Reports of Chairman of Council 100, 111, 291 Reports of the Scientific Curator and Recording Secretary 101, 113, 294 Treasurer's Statement 102, 119, 299 Donations to the Museum and Library (1873-74), 275, 276 Field Day at Isle Perrot 103 Address to the Governor-General 106 CONTENTS. V. /, 1872. As the Society has done me the honor to elect me twice in succession to the office of President, and as ni}^ address of last year was occupied almost entirely '^with local details, I may be permitted on the present occasion to direct your attentioi in the first place to some general topics of scientific interest, and merely to notice our own more special work in the end of this address. From the many subjects to which your attention and that of kindred Societies has been called in the past year, I may select the following as deserving our attention : — (1) The present aspect of inquiries as to the introduction of genera and species in geo- logical time. (2) The growth of our knowledge of the Primor- dial and Laurentian rocks and their fossils. (3) The questions relating to the so-called Glacial Period. There can be no doubt that the theory of evolution, more es- pecially that phase of it which is advocated by Darwin, has greatly extended its influence, especially among young English and American naturalists, within the few past years. We now constantly see reference made to these theories, as if they were established principles, applicable without question to the explana- tion of observed facts, while classifications notoriously based on these views, and in themselves untrue to nature, have gained Vol. VII. A No. 1. 2 THE CANADIAN NATURALIST. [Yol. vil^. currency iu popular articles and even in text-books. In this way young people are being trained to be evolutionists without being aware of it, and will come to regard nature wholly through this medium. So strong is this tendency, more especially in Eng- land, that there is reason to fear that natural history will be prostituted to the service of a shallow philosophy, and that our old Baconian mode of viewing nature will be quite reversed, so that instead of studying facts in order to arrive at general princi- ples, we shall return to the mediaeval plan of setting up dogmas based on authority only, or on metaphysical considerations of the most flimsy character, and forcibly twisting nature into con- formity with their requirements. Thus " advanced" views in science lend themselves to the destruction of science, and to a re- turn to semi-barbarism. In these circumstances, the only resource of the true natu- ralist is an appeal to the careful study of groups of animals and plants in their succession in geological time. I have, myself, endeavoured to apply this test in my recent report on the De- vonian and Silurian flora of Canada, and have shown that the succession of Devonian and Carboniferous plants does not seem explicable on the theory of derivation. Still more recently, iu a memoir on the Post-pliocene deposits of Canada, now in course of publication in the Canadian MataruUsf, I have by a close and detailed comparison of the numerous species of shells found em- bedded in our clays and gravels, with tliose living in the Grulf of St. Lawrence and on the coasts of Labrador and G-reenland, shown, that it is impossible to suppose that any changes of the nature of evolution were in progress ; but on the contrary, that all these species have remained the same, even in their varietal changes, from the post-pliocene period until now. Thus the in- ference is that these species must have been introduced in some abrupt manner, and that their variations have been within nar- row limits and not progressive. This is the more remarkable, since great changes of level and of climate have occurred, and many species have been obliged to change their geographical dis- tribution, but have not been forced to vary more widely than in the Post-pliocene period itself. FiiCts of this kind will attract little attention in comparison with the bold and attractive speculations of men who can launch their opinions from the vantage ground of London journals; but their giadual accumulation must some day sweep away the fabric •_> No. 1.] ANNUAL ADDRESS. o of evolution, and restore our Euglisli science to the domain of common sense and sound induction. Fortunately also, there are workers in this field beyond the limits of the English-speaking- world. As an eminent example, we may refer to Joachim Bar- randc, the illustrious palseontologist of Bohemia, and the greatest authority on the wonderful fauna of his own primordial rocks. In his recent memoir on those ancient and curious crustaceans, the Trilobites, published in advance of the supplement to vol. 1st of the Silurian system of Bohemia, he deals a most damaging blow at the theory of evolution, showing conclusively that no sncli progressive development is reconcileable with the facts pre- sented by the primordial fauna. The Trilobites are very well adapted to such an investigation. They constitute a well marked group of animals trenchantly separated from all others. They extend throufih the whole enormous lenirth of the Palaeozoic period, and are represented by numerous genera and species. They ceased altogether at an early period of the earth's geologi- cal history, so that their account with nature has been closed, and we are in a condition to sum it up and strike the balance of profit and loss. Barrande, in an elaborate essay of 282 pages, brings to bear on the history of these creatures, his whole vast stores of information, in a manner most conclusive in its refuta- tion of theories of progressive development. It would be impossible here to give an adequate summary of his facts and reasoning. A mere example^ must suffice. In the earlier part of the memoir he takes up the modifications of the head, the thorax and the pygidium or tail piece of the Trilobites in geological time, showing that numerous and remnrkable as these modifications are, in structure, in form and in ornamenta- tion, no law of development can be traced in them. For exam- ple, in the number of segments or joints of the thorax, we find some Trilobites with only one to four segments, others with as many as fourteen to twenty-six, while a great many species have medium or intervening numbers. Now in the early primordial fauna the prevalent Trilobites are at the extremes, some with very few segments, as Agnostus, others with very many, as Para- doxides. The genera with the medium segments are more char- acteristic of the later faunas. There is thus no progression. If the evolutionist holds that the few-jointed forms are embryonic or more like to the young of the others, then on his theory they should have precedence, but they are contemporary with forms 4 THE CANADIAN NATURALIST. [Vol. vil. having the greatest luimber of joints, and Barrande shows that these last cannot be held to be less perfect than those with the medium numbers. Further, as Barrande well shows, on the principle of survival of the fittest, the species with the medium number of ioiuts are best fitted for the stru2:£:le of existence. But in that case the jn'imordial Trilobites made a great mistake in passing at once from the few to the many segmented stage or vice-versa, and omitting the really profitable condition which lay between. In subsequent times they were thus obliged to un- dergo a retrogade evolution, in order to repair the error caused by the want of foresight or precipitation of their earlier days. But like other cases of Lite repentance, theirs seems not to have quite repaired the evils incurred; for itw^as after they had fully attained the golden mean that they failed in the struggle, and finally became extinct. '•' Thus the infallibility which these theories attribute to all the acts of matter organizing itself, is gravely compromised," and this attribute would appear not to reside in the trilobed tail, any more than according to some in the triple crown. In the same manner, the pala3ontologist of Bohemia passes in review all the parts of the Trilobites, the succession of their spe- cies and genera in time, the parallel between them and the Cephalopods, and the relations of all this to the primordial fauna generally. Everywhere he meets with the same result ; namely, that the appearance of new forms is sudden and unac- countable, and that there is no indication of a regular progres- sion by derivation. He closes with the following somewhat satir- ical comparison, of which I give a free translation : " In the case of the planet Neptune, it appears that the theory of astro- nomy was wonderfully borne out by the actual facts as observed. This theory, therefore, is in harmony with the reality. On the contrary, we have seen that observation flatly contradicts all the indications of the theories of derivation with reference to the composition and first phases of the primordial fauna. In truth, the special study of each of the zoological elements of that fauna has shown that the anticipations of the theory are in com- plete discordance with the observed facts. These discordances are so complete and so marked that it almost seems as if they had been contrived on purpose to contradict all that these theo- ries teach of the first appearance and primitive evolution of the forms of animal life." No. 1.] ANNUAL ADDRESS. 5 This testimony is tlie more valuable, inasmuch as the annulose animals generally, and the Trilobites in particular, have recently been a favorite field for the speculations of our Englisli evolu- tionists. The usual argumentum ad ignorantiam deduced from the imperfection of the geological record, will not avail against the facts cited by Barrande. unless it could be proved that we know the Trilobites only in the last stages of their decadence and that they existed as long before the Primordial, as this is before the Permian. Even this supposition, extravagent as it appears, would by no means remove all the difficulties. Leaving this subject, we mav turn for a little to the growth of our knowledi^-e of the older faunas of the earth. A few years ago, when the last edition of Dana's Manual was published, the Potsdam Sandstone formed the base of the Palasozoic series in America, though Barrande in Bohemia and Salter and Hicks in Wales had disclosed lower horizons of life in those regions: now, in America, Palaeozoic life descends almost if not quite as low as that of Europe. The researches of Mr. Murray in Newfound- land, together with the study of the fossils by Mr. Billings, have revealed a lower Potsdam, while Messrs Hartt and Matthew by their praiseworthy explorations of the rich primordial fauna of St. John, have enabled us to establish the "Acadian Group " on the horizon of the loAver slate group of Jukes in Newfoundland, of the gold-bearing rocks of Nova Scotia, and of the slates of Brain- tree in Massachusetts.^ Mr. Billino*s, I have reason to believe, will shortly be able to lead us to still greater depths, and as he indi- cated at a recent meeting of this Society, to introduce us to the fossils of Sir William Logan's Huronian group. It is thus clear that the student of American geology has to add a new or rather very old chapter to his studies of the older rock formations. In connection with this subject. Dr. Sterry Hunt has raised some new and startling questions as to the class,ification of all the old Metamorphic rocks of Eastern America, and has excited not a little of that controversy, which, like competition in trade, is the life of scientific progress. Dr. Hunt naturally attaches a very great importance to the mineral character of the more crystalline sediments ; and in regions where fossils are wanting, and stratigraphy is obscure, he does well to claim precedence for his own special department of chemical geology ; though those of us who have been accustomed to regard mineral character, as an un- * Menevian of Salter, Etage D of Barrande. 6 THE CANADIAN NATURALIST. [Vol. vil. certain guide, and to place our reliance on superposition and fos- sils, will hesitate to give our adhesion to his views, except so far as thej may be established by these other criteria, while at the same time w-e must admit that Dr. Hunt has by his own labours immensely increased the value and importance of chemistry as an element in G;eolo2;ical reasoning's. Nor can there be any doubt that the promulgation of Dr. Hunt's views, in his address to the American Association last year, has given a new impulse to the study of this subject; and in the coming summer manry skilled observers will be engaged in putting to those ancient, crumpled and mysterious rocks, w^hich underlie or are associated with the fossiliferous rocks of Eastern America, the question, to what extent they will respond to the claims made on their be- half by Dr. Hunt. More especially we may look for much from the researches of Sir William Lo2;an, who, released from the de- tails of the business of the Survey, has been for some time ap- plying his unrivalled skill as a stratigraphical geologist to the further elucidation of the intricacies of the structure of the Eastern Townships of the Province of Quebec ; and whose matured re- sults, whether in strict accordance w^th those deduced from the previous work of the Survey, or modified by his later researches, will be of the utmost value with reference to the structure of the whole of Eastern America. The recent discoveries in the fossils of the primordial rocks have re-opened those discussions as to the terms Cambrian and Silurian which raged some years ago, between the late lamented Sir Roderick Murchison and his contemporary and survivor the venerable Sedgwick. Dr. Hunt has ably reviewed the history of this subject in the pages of the Canadian Naturalist^ with the view of enquiring as to the best nomenclature for the present ; and arrives at conclusions in harmony with those maintained by Sedgwick many years ago. I confess that I have myself long felt that the nomenclature introduced by the great authority of Sir E-oderick and the English Survey, and followed somewhat too slavishly on this side of the Atlantic, requires a reform, of which indeed Sir C. Lyell has to some extent set the example in the latest edition of his elements. When Sir Roderick Murchison was preparing the last edition of his '• Siluria," I had some cor- respondence with him on the subject, and ventured to urge that he should himself revise the classification of that work, wishins; at the same time to make similar changes in my " Acadian Geo- 1^0. 1.] ANNUAL ADDRESS. 7 logy," the second edition of wliicli was then in the press. But Sir Roderick was naturally umvilling to change the boundaries of that Sikiria which he had conquered and over which he had reigned, and I contented myself at the time with affirming that the Silurian system, as held by Sir Roderick, really consists of two groups, which should have distinct names ; but the question of the names I left to others. Dr. Hunt has now the credit of raising the question in a practical form, and I agree with him that the term Silurian sliould be restricted to the Upper Silu- rian of Sir Roderick, which constitutes a distinct period of the earth's history, equivalent to the Devonian or the Carboniferous. The Lower Silurian is really another distinct group, but to avoid multiplication of names, and as it formed the battle-ground of the Silurian and Cambrian controversy. I concur in the view that it may well have the name Siluro-Camhrian , while the name Cambrian or Primordial will remain for those great -and important fossil ifero us deposits extending downward from the Potsdam in America and the Tremadoc in England, and constituting an imperishable monument to the labours of Sedg- wick and Barrande. There remains one point still before leaving this subject. It is the gap between the fauna of the Primordial and that of the Laurentian — the latter still represented only by that Titan of for- aminifers, Eozbon Ccmadcnse. Barrande refers to this gap in his memoir above mentioned ; and I had hoped ere this time to have done something to bridge it over. I may here state in antici- pation of the results of researches still incomplete, (1) That in rocks of Huronian age in Bavaria and probably also in Onta- rio. Eozoon has been found. (2) In the middle and Upper Cambrian we know as yet few limestones likely to contain .such a fossil, but we have in Labrador species of Ai-cJiceoci/athus, one of which I have ascertained to be a calcareous chambered organism of the nature of a foraminifer; though there seems little doubt that others are, as Mr. Billings has shown, allied to sponges. (3) In the Cambro-Silurian, in the limestones of the Trenton group, animals of the type of Eozoon return in full force. The concentrically laminated fossils which sometimes form large masses in these limestones, and which are known as Stroma topor a, are mostly of this nature, though it is true that fossils of the nature of corals have been included with them. In the Silurian proper, we have the similar if not identical forms known as 8 THE CANADIAN NATURALIST. [Yol. vil. Coenostroma, and which according to Liudstrom^ form masses in the shales and limestones of Gothland a yard or more in diame- ter. In all these fossils the skeleton consists of a series of cal- careous layers connected with each other by pillars or wall-like processes. The layers are perforated with minute artifices, which are, however, less delicate and regular than in Eozoon, and have in the thickened parts of the walls, radiating tubes of the nature of the canals of Eozoon. (4) On a still higher horizon,, that of the Devonian, these organisms abound, so that certain lime- stones of this age in Michigan contain, according to Winchell, masses sometimes tv.'elve feet in length, and in one place consti- tute a bed of limestone twenty-five feet in thickness. A beauti- ful collection of these Devonian forms, recently shown to me by 3Ir. llominger, of the State Survey of 3Iichigan, who has worked out these fossils with great care, fully comfirms their foraminiferal affinities, and also shows that in some respects, these Devonian forms are intermediate between" the Eozoon of the Laurentian and the Parkeria and Loftusia of the Greensand and Eocene. We thus learn that these uio-antic represen- tatives of one of the lowest forms of animal life hive extended from the Laurentian, through the Hurouian, Cambrian and fol- lowing formations, down nearly to the close of the Palseozoic. I have no doubt, that when these successive forms are studied more minutely, they will show like the Trilobites, indications rather of successive creations than of evolution, though in creatures of so low organization the diiferences must be less marked. The point I now wish to insist on. is their continuance, from the Laurentian down to a comparatively modern geolo- gical period. For the third topic referred to at the beginning of this ad- dress, I have reserved little space. In the memoir in the Jour- nal of the Natural History Society already referred to, I have re-asserted and supported by many additional proofs that theory of the combined action of Icebergs and Glaciers in the produc- tion of our Canadian Boulder-clay and other superficial deposits, which, fortified by the great names of Lyell and Murchison, I have for many years maintained, in opposition to the views of the extreme glacialists. It is matter of gratification to me to find, in connection with this, that researches in other regions are rapidly tending to overthrow extreme views on the subject, and to restore this department of geological dynamics more o. No. 1.] ANNUAL ADDRESS. if nearly to tlie domain of ordinary existing causes. "Wliympcr, Bonney, and other Alpine explorers, have ably supported in Eng- land, the conclusion which after a visit to Switzerland in 1865, I ventured to affirm here, that the erosive power of glaciers is very inconsiderable. The recent German expeditions have done much to remove the prevailing belief that Greenland is a modern example of a continent covered with a universal glacier. Mr.. Milne Home, Mr. Mcintosh, and others, have ably combated the jDrevalent notions of a general glacier in England and Scotland: Mr. James Geikie, a leading advocate of land glaciers, has been compelled to admit that marine beds are interstratified with the true boulder clay of Scotland, and consequently to demand a succession of elevations and depressions in order to give any colour to the theory of a general glacier. The idea of glacial action as means of accounting for the drifts of central P^urope and of Brazil seems to be generally abandoned. Lastly, in a recent number of Silliman, Prof. Dana has admitted the neces- sity, in order to account for land glaciation of the hills of New England, of supposing a mountain range or table land of at least 6,000 feet in height, to have existed between the St. Lawrence and Hudson's Bay, while in addition to the imaginary N. AV. & S. E. glacier, flowing from this immense and improbable mass, there must have been a transverse glacier running beneith it up-, the valley of the St. Lawrence. Such demands amount, in my judgment, to a virtual abandonment of the theory of even very large local glaciers in America in the Post-pliocene period. . Thus there are cheering indications that the world-enveloping glacier, which has so long spread its icy pall over the geology of the later Tertiary periods, is fast melting away before the sun- shine of truth. With the exception of that which relates to the Post-pliocene, the geology of Canada has hitherto had to deal only with the more ancient formations. Now, however, there opens up to us a vast field of mesozoic geology in the far west. Already the ex- ploring parties of the Geological Survey are bringing the first fruits of this harvest. The first report of the survey on British Columbia and Vancouver Island is not yet published, but Mr. . Selwyn has given us a sketch of his work and that of his inde- fatis-able assistant, Mr. Richardson, in a most interestinc: and important communication to this Society, a conimunicatiorr which we hail as an earnest of the great things to be expected' 10 THE CANADIAN NATURALIST. [^^ol. VI 1. from the exploration of those great western territories of the Do- minion, whose grand, pliysical features of mountain and phiin so excite tlie imagination, and wliose structure and natural produc- tions are so different from those of our eastern regions, and therefore so stimulating to our curiosity. These explorations will, no doubt, serve not only to enrich the annals of science but also to disclose those sources of material wealth which will ere long attract large populations and capital to the Pacific Coast. \\\ the meantime, perhaps, no features ex- cite greater interest on the part of the geologist than the ap- pearance of a comparatively highly altered condition in sediments of no great geological age. and the occurrence of coal in Vancou- ver Island, associated with animal fossils of Cretaceous date and ■Tvith a flora composed of exogenous treos of very modern aspect. In addition to the papers on which the above remarks have been based, we have had two interesting communications from Prof. Nicholson of Toi-onto, whom we welcome as a valuable addi- tion to our band of workers. Dr. Hunt has contributed a paper on the structure of Mont Blanc; Mr. Billings has given us papers on the Fossils from the Huronian rocks, on the Taconic contro- versy, on the genus OholeJliwi and on new species of Palaeozoic Fossils ; Prof. Bailey has given us a p iper on the previously lit- tle known geology of the Island of Grand jNIanan ; and Mr. Mat- thew, one on the Surface Geology of New Brunswick. Dr. An- derson, of Quebec, has contributed a notice of a whale captured in the Gulf of St. Lawrence; Mr. iMacfirlane has given us his views on the classification of crystalline rocks; Dr. Carpenter has directed our attention to the death-rate of Montreal ; and Dr. Smallwood has reported on ^leteorologic il Results for 1871. T cannot conclude without referring to a new^ branch of scien- tific research undertaken by the Society in conjunction with the Department of Marine and Fisheries — that of dredging in the deeper and hitherto unexplored parts of the Gulf of St. Law- rence ; and we have to congratulate ourselves on important scien- tific results obtained in a manner equally creditable to the Go- Ternment, to the Society, and to its Scientific Curator, >lr. Whiteaves. A knowledire of the fauna of the Gulf has been ob- tained to a depth of 250 fathoms. Probably one hundred spe- cies have been added to the known inhabitants of our Canadian waters. Interestini>- facts have been obtained as to the distribu- tion and food of fishes : and the attention of the Government of No. 1.] ARMSTRONG — LAST SOLAR ECLIPSE. . 11 the Dominion lias been awakened to the value of researches of this kind. It is hoped that they will be renewed in the approach- ing summer with larger means and with apparatus ibr ascer- taining more correctly the temperature and composition of the water at great depths. In conclusion, we have much reason to be satisfied with the measure of success which has attended our work in the past year, and to take courage for the future. NOTES ON SOME RESULTS OF THE LAST SOLAll ECLIPSE. By George Frederick Armstrong, M.A. C.E., Professor of Engineering and Applied Mechanics, McG.ill University. The Solar Eclipse of the 12th of December, 1871, closed a series of such phenomena, presenting features of exceeding inte- rest to science. Commencing in 18G5, the Eclipses of that and, with one exception, the six succeeding years afforded opportuni- ties, such as will not again occur for some few years to come, of investigating some problems in Solar Physics by the aid of spectroscopic analysis : many of them being of the first order of importance. It may, therefore, be useful to sum up briefly the results that have so far been obtained. The untoward difficulties with which the expedition of Decem- ber, 1870, was called upon to contend, and wiiich partly arose from a hurried organization and partly from the more serious obstacle presented by unfavorable weather — the English suffering from both and the other observing parties from the latter cause only — were not, fortunately, encountered by the observers of the following year. The principle path of the Moon's shadow during the last Eclipse, as was the case in some previous years, did not traverse any por- tions of either Europe or America, but was confined to Australia, Ceylon and India. Parties of observation were accordingly sta- tioned on the Gulf of Carpentaria, at Trincomalee (Mr. Mose- ley's), at Bekul (Mr. Lockyer's party, with Col. Tennant, Mr. Davis, Capt. Maclear and Professor Pvespighi), at Avenashi 12 ARMSTRONG — LAST SOLAR ECLIPSE. [Vol. vil. (Mr, Pogson's), at Sboloor (Mr, Jannsen's), at Jaffna and a few other places of less interest. At the first named Station circumstaDces prevailed which were disastrous, as far as observation was concerned ; at all the others, however, complete success attended the work undertaken. The almost total failure, in the matter of trustworthy obser- vations, of the Eclipse — mainly visible in Northern Africa, Sicily and Spain — of the precedin;^ year had left physicists in a position of mucli doubt and perplexity as to a number of very grave questions of science. Those, therefore, who were interested in the solution of these problems were literally on tip-toe of ex- pectation as to what the Eclipse of which we purpose to speak mio'ht reveal. And it is encouraoini>; to know that the result has not been disappointing, and that we may now say that the questions that required an answer have received one, and that many differences of opinion among solar observers may thus be considered as finally decided and put at rest. It is not our intention at this time to attempt anything more than a passing notice of a few points that are of chiefest interest, and upon which light has been thrown by the observational work of the late Eclipse ; and among these will stand preeuii- nent such observations as deal with the nature and origin of the Corona, — that sheeny mane of striated and radial structure which, during an Eclipse, surrounds and adorns the Sun's hidden disc, and whose dazzling brilliancy in its more immediate neighbourhood shades off, at a remoter distance, into a halo of silvery grey and hazy indefinitcncss of vast dimensions. Next in importance to these mnj, perhaps, be regarded those observations which have to -do with the extent and position of the Sun's cliroinatosphcre (Respighi) — that gaseous envelope, that is, to whose absorptive powers upon the emenations of the light- giving Photosphere is due the presence of the dark lines of Fraiinhofer in the Solar Spectrum. And it may be as well to mention that the reason why so much curiosity centres in any spec- troscopic observations that it maybe possible to make of this enve- lope, unassociatcd irifh any other of the Sun's surroundings, is owing to the fact that its existence was first suggested by Pro- fessor Stokes, in 1849, on purely theoretical grounds, and was afterwards experimental!}" demonstrated in the reversal of the Sodium Spectrum by Kirchoff, but nevertheless its presence had not, before the two last eclipses, been, by actual observation, de- monstrated. No. 1.] ARMSTRONG — LAST SOLAR ECLIPSE. 13 Upon questions liaviug reference to tlic Prominences and other immediate surroundings of the Sun — phenomena which can be as well, if not more easily investigated at other times — it is not our intention now to offer any remarks. It may be said, then, that until the latter part of the year, ISTO, the spectroscope had failed to disclose the typical spectrum of that absorbing envelope, now call the cliromatosphcre.. But at the close of that year, Professor Young was successful in identi- fying it during the December Eclipse. It was known to be vapor- ous from its absorptive action, and might, therefore, be expected to yield a discontinuous sjyect mm of hvi^^ht lines, corresponding to the dark lines in that of ordinary sun-light. It was suspected also, by Secchi and others, to be shallow in comparison of its associated envelopes. Then again, owing to the amount of diffused light present and the extremely small angle such an object as it was supposed to be would subtend at the earth's surface (noti more than fu:o or three seconds), it was seen to be almost impracticable to obtain any spectroscopic view of it during ordinary daylight. In addition to this, the attention of observers during the preced- ing Eclipses of the series had been turned to the investigation of what were then more important matters. Hence it was that the spectrum of this member of the Solar surroundings remained undetected until Professor Young, of Dartmouth — of whom, as well as of the other American observers, it is only right to say that the work done by them has universally borne the impress of unfailing care and thoroughness, — succeeded, when observing in Sicily, in obtaining its unassociated spectrum. This discovery was thus reported by one of his fellow observers,. Professor Langley : — '' With the slit of the spectroscope placed '• longtitudinally at the moment of observation, and for one or ^' two seconds later, the field of the instrument w^as filled with '• bright lines. As far as could be kidded during' this brief '^ interval every non-atmospheric line of the Solar Spectrum '' showed bright." He adds, " w^e seem to be justified in " assuming the probable existence of an envelope (^the chromatos- '- phere) surrounding the Photosphere, and beneath the Chromo- ^' sphere, usually so called, whose thickness must be limited to '' two or three seconds of arc, (from nine to fourteen hundred '' miles), and which gives a discontinuous spectrum consisting of '- all, or nearly all, the Fraiinhofer lines, showing them, that is, '• bright on a dark ground.*' 14 ARMSTRONG — LAST SOLAR ECLIPSE. [Vol. vil. Upon the trustworthiness of this discovery, which, let it be re- niemberecl, refers to December, 1870, much unreasonable doubt was thrown by some members of other observing parties that had been less fortunate in their operations. However, the time of waiting was not long, for an opportunity of testing its correctness was expected in the following year. The Eclipse of 1871. the one, that is, wdth which we have par- ticularly to deal, was of short duration ; and Monsoon weather was, moreover, feared about the time of its occurrence. The sequel, however, showed that neither of these circumstances operated disadvantageously, for both Col. Tennant and Capt. Maclear, and perhaps Professor Kespighi, who is somewhat doubtful of the exact meaning of what he saw, were rewarded with a fine spectroscopic view of the Chromatosphere itself, and found it to be in all respects similar to the one already described ; and so these distinguished observers were, therefore, enabled fully to confirm the previous observation of Professor Young. It may be unnecessary to sbate that neither Mr. Lockyer nor Mr. Moseley were equally fortunate, since their failure can in no way detract from the w^eight of positive evidence obtained by others. Thus then was a prediction, based originally on theory and experiment, borne out by direct observation, and the infallibility of true scientific method once again vindicated. We must now turn our attention to the Corona and the facts which the late Eclipse has established as to its nature. The Corona consists essentially of two parts, of unequal extension and luminosity ; the shallower and brighter next the Sun ; the more extended and dimmer extending far beyond the outer margin of the former. It has been proposed to designate the smaller and brighter the' Corona proper, and the dimmer and more extended portion the JIalo ; a distinction that we propose to observe in what follows. Various theories have from time to time been propounded as to the nature and cause of the Coronal phenomena generally. One maintained that they are entirely of Solar origin ; another that they are due to the effects of the Earth's atmosphere and have no objective existence; w^hile a third attributed them to the effects of lunar diffraction or reflection. Tho Spectroscope, how- ever, in the hands of Mr. Huggins, told us some time ago that the Moon has no atmosphere. This last theory, therefore, had to be abandoned, and the contest was consequently reduced to a choice between the two others that remained. No. 1.] ARMSTRONG— LAST SOLAR ECLIPSE. 15 The principal questions then, pending at the time of the Eclipse of 1871, AYcre somewhat as follows : — What order of Spectra do the Corona and Halo give ? Are they of the same or of diverse orders, or are they blended ? At what distance from the Sun's limb can a spectrum be obtained and where is the bounding line, if any, between the Corona proper and the Halo ? Is the light of either or both polarised and, if ^o, how ? And finally, what spectroscopic indications are there of the presence of an, as yet, terrestrlallij unhiown form of matter in these wonderful solar appendages, if they be such ? To all these enquiries it is satisfactory to state that answers were forthcoming, and of such a kind as to put an end to specu- lation as to the coronal nature. In order to make what is to follow clear, it may be proper here to mention that Angstrom in the year 1867, when ?pectroscopi- cally examining the Aurora Borealis and Zodiacal light, found in both spectra a hrigltt green line, of wave length = 5567, sup- posedto correspond with ^ faint line numbered 1474 on Kirchoff's scale, and grouped by him among the four or five hundred lines of Iron ; but not as one of those that are charaef eristic of that metal. On one occasion when the sky was peculiarly phosphor- escent, Angstrom detected this same line, not only in the Zodi- acal light, but in all parts of the heavens ; and on each occasion it was present unassocidted with any other lines of iron ; a fact that may be construed as indicating the presence of some new form of matter, hitherto unknown, inasmuch as the only appear- ance of this particular line with which we are terrestrially ac- quainted is as a supposed hut insignificant member of the iron group. During the Eclipses of both 1869 and 1870, Professor Youno: announced that he had detected this same line in the Co- rona and Halo, and in a bright and characteristic form. And the matter to which this line is supposed to be due afterwards received the name of " 1474- matter.*' The import of this discovery, supposing it to be valid, cannot fail to be patent to the reader, for it reveals the existence of a new and mysterious form of matter, of which we had no previous conception, present alike in the Aurora, Zodiacal-light, Coronal appendages and even in the interstellar regions themselves ; we may say indeed everywhere and all-pervading. What, we at once ask, is its nature and what its function in the economy of nature ? But these are questions to which, as yet, we have no satisfactory reply. 16 ARMSTRONG LAST SOLAR ECLIPSE. [Yol. vii. The condition of our knowledge of the spectra of the Corona ,and Halo at the time of the eclipse of 1870, are well stated in Professor Young's summary. He considered that the spectrum of the Corona and Halo consisted of: — 1. "A continuous spectrum without lines, either bright or •'' dark, due to incandescent dust — that is, particles of solid or ■" liquid meteoric matter near the Sun." 2. "A true gaseous spectrum consisting of one (I4Ti) -or ^*more lines, whicli may arise from the vapour of the meteoric ^' dust, but more probably from a solar atmosphere through ^' which the meteoric particles mov^e as foreign bodies." 3. " A true sunlight spectrum, icltli its dark lines, formed by '' photospheric light reflected from the solar atmosphere and " meteoric dust. To this reflected sunlight is undoubtedly due ^' most of the Polarization." 4. " Another component spectrum that is due to the light re- ^- fleeted from the particles of our own atmosphere. This is a '• mixture of the three already named, with the addition of the ^' chromosphere spectrum, for while at tlie middle of the eclipse -" the air is wholly shielded from photospheric sunlight, it is of ^' course exposed to illumination from the prominences and upper -'' portions of the chromosphere." 5. " If there should be between us and the Moon at the mo- ^' ment of the Eclipse, any cloud of cosmical dust, the light re- '' fleeted by this cloud would come in as a fifth element." Such a spectrum, as will be seen, is, to use again Professor Young's words, " exceedingly complex." The correctness of these views was, as has been previously .hinted, fully established during the late Eclipse. And among the observations then made the chief place in importance must be given to those of Respighi and Janssen. The former, when .observing, adopted the original method of Fraiinhofer and placed the prism in front of the object glass, instead of in the position of .the eye piece of his telescope ; an arrangement whereby a series of overlapping coloured images of the observed object itself are formed, and not merely a number of coloured reproductions of the slit that is usually employed. M. Janssen on the other hand, while using the spectroscope in the place of the eye piece, did so without a slit ; — as did also Mr. Lockyer, who observed at Bekul. The telescope employed by Janssen was specially adapted to ensure a very much increased illumination of the image in its No, 1.] ARMSTRONG — LAST SOLAR ECLIPSE. 17 field of view. This telescope, although its aperture was 14 iuches, had a ibcal length of only 54 inches; a proportion calculated to produce images fourteen times as bright as in an ordinary instrument. His point of observation, Sholoor, in the Neilgherry Hills, also was at an unusual altitude. What each of tliese physicists was successful in seeing may be best gathered from their ow^u descriptions. Ilespighi says, in speaking of the coloured zones visible in his instrument when examining the Corona and Halo, that there waS " one in the red corresponding with the line C (Hydrogen) ; an- " other in the green, probably coinciding with the line 1474 of " Kirchoff's scale (the unhnown mutter), and the third in the blue, " perhaps coinciding with F (Hydrogen). The green zone was '' the brightest, the most uniform and the best defined. The red " zone was also very distinct and well defined, while the blue " zone was faint and indistinct. The li'reen zone was well '■ defined at the summit, thouuh less bright than at the base, *' its form was sensibly circular and its height about G' or 7'. " The red zone exhibited the same form, and approximately " the same heiuht as the i^Teen, but its lioht was weaker and ^' less uniform." He then goes on to say, "these coloured zones '• shone out upon a faintly illuminated ground without any " marked trace of colour. If the Corona or Halo contained rays " of any other colour, their intensity must have been so feeble " that they were merged in the general illumination of the " field." M. Janssen states his experience thus: " The reasons/' he says, "which militate in favour of an objective solar origin (i.e., " of the coronal phenomena) acquire an invincible force when we " examine the luminous elements of the phenomena. In fact " the spectrum of the Corona (and Halo) has not shewn itself " (in my telescope) continuous, as it has hitherto been formed, " (i.e., by those observers, who differed from Professor Young " in 1870), but remarkably complex. I have discovered in it " the bright lines, though much enfeebled, of hydrogen gas, " which forms the principal element of tlie prominences and " sierra ; the bright green line which has already been noted " during the eclipses of 18G9 and 1870, as well as some other " fainter lines ; and the dark lines of the ordinary solar spec- " trum, notably that of sodium. These dark lines are much " more difiicult to perceive. These facts prove the existence of Vol. VII. B No. 1. 18 THE CANADIAN NATURALIST. [Vol. vii. " matter in the sun's neighbourhood — matter revealing itself in ^' total eclipses, by|phenomenaof emission, absorption, and polari- '•' zation. But the discussion of the facts leads us yet further. " Besides the cosmical matter independent of the sun, which " must exist in the neighbourhood of that orb, the observations " demonstrate the existence of an atmosphere of excessive rarity, '' mainly composed of hydrogen, extending far beyond the chro- '' matosphere and protruberances, and fed from the very matter " of these — matter erupted with great violence, as we perceive '' every day. The rarity of this atmosphere, at a certain distance '•' from the chromatosphere, must be excessive ; so that its exist- '' ence is not in disngreement with the passage of certain comets '•' near the sun." Although Bespighi was only able to detect this coronal atmosjyhere, which he and Janssen were the first fully to make out, at a distance of 7' or 8' {ahoiit two hundred thousand miles) from the Sun's disc, both Capt. Maclear and Capt. Tupman nevertheless succeeded in tracing it spectroscopically as well as by polariscopic means, as far as 45' {iiearhj a million and a quarter miles) ; a distance from the Sun which is probably still very far within its true limits. One more point of interest yet remains, and that is the evi- dence of the polariscope. A few words will suffice. During the Eclipse of the preceding year, Mr. Eaynard and Mr. Pierce found the coronal atmosphere generally to be polarized radially. And this again was the case in Capt. Tupman's observations during the late Eclipse, when, as has just been said, he succeeded in detect- ing this peculiar state of the light, at a distance of over a million and a quarter miles from the margin of the Sun; showing that the Corona and Halo in all probability reflect solar light, as well as emit light of their own, and involving as a consequence the presence o^ matter in a region so remote from the Sun itself, A word as to the labours of the Photographers will conclude these remarks. It is gratifying to be able to say that, in spite of the brief duration of totality, seventeen good negatives were obtained, somewhat inferior, however, as showing the coronal extension, to those of Mr. Brother's Syracuse pictures of the preceding year, yet nevertheless, of great interest and value. Eight were taken at Bekul, three at Avenashi and six at Jaffna. Mr. Holi- day in addition to these made some useful hand drawings also of the passing phenomena of the Eclipse. uS^O. 1.] MATTHEW — IMPRESSIONS OF CUBA. 19 IMPRESSIONS OF CUBA. By Gr. F. Matthew. Haviag been recommended several years ago to try a sea voyage for the benefit of my health, I accepted the invitation of some very kind friends to visit Cienfuegos, a town on the south ^ide of Cuba. My voyage was made in the winter of 1866-67, and I remained two months and a half on the Island. The following pages contain a short description of such of the natural features of the country as still remain impressed on my memory, together with a few remarks upon its people, industries and vecretation. We sailed from New York on Christmas Day, and after being buffeted about by contrary winds for a fortnight, at length entered the trade-wind region and sped onward toward the West Indies. On entering this zone of "N. E. Trades," the pale misty sky of the North Atlantic is at once exchanged for one of" the clearest blue, and the ill defined horizon for one of the greatest distinctness ; so that the voyager is no longer left in doubt as to the line where sky ends and sea begins. The azure ocean in these latitudes hag a fascination for one accustomed to the dull green hues of our northern seas, while the floating:: gulf-weed with its miniature world of living forms, and the new kinds of fishes — reflecting from their sides in metal- lie tints the color of the waters in which they find a home — are sights upon which the eye dwells with ever increasing pleasure. With the charming weather which prevails on the southern coast of Cuba during the winter months, the voyager as he creeps along can thoroughly enjoy the ever-changing views presented by that magnificent range of mountains — the Sierra Maestra. This range extends along the coast from near Cape Maysi, the eastern extremity of the Island, to Cape Cruz, a distance of tAvo hundred and fifty miles, and has many sharp peaks of great height. For long distances it rises boldly from the sea, presenting beetling clifi's several hundred feet high. At the eastern and western ends of this elevated tract of land, walls of rock may be seen to extend for scores of miles along the 20 THE CANADIAN NATURALIST. [Yol. YU. mountaiu side. At the eastern end of tlie Island there are quite a number of them at different heights, and all seemingly quite horizontal. I suppose them to be old coral-reel's marking suc- cessive stages in the elevation of the land during the Pliocene and Post-pliocene periods. Mr. Sawkins, in his recently pub- lished Geology of Jamaica, speaks of an extensive limestone formation of the latter period in that Island, ascribing to it a thickness of 2,000 feet. Coral walls similar in aspect to those just described, but at lower levels, fringe the coast of Cuba further westward ; some are elevated a few hundred feet above the sea, while the tops of others are still washed by the ocean. The Sierra Maestra has, among its higher mountains, peaks, which in height exceed any of the Appalachian or Laurentian Mountains of North xVmerica. They are directly upon the sea- board, and being 8,000 feet high, present a far more imposing spectacle than those of any range in Eastern North x\merica. If one may judge from its jagged outline and steep sides, this range has been thrust up in comparatively recent geological times ; and if the movement which resulted in its elevation were cotemporary with those acting upon the ridges thrown up in the western part of the Island, it probably received its present form about the close of the Miocene period. When we sailed by it,, the whole southern side, with the exception of a very narrow strip along the shore, was of a uniform brown color. Tliere was thus little to divert the eye from the tiiin wreaths of mist which could be seen to gather in the cronies amon<»; the hioher crests, and which told so plainly the history of daily change in the tem- perature. In the early part of the day they appeared at elevated points along the mountain, and gradually increased among the upper valleys, and on the shoulders of the hills as the day wore on : till at length they combined in one continuous cloud belt, which hid from view the greater part of the range. Sometimes they would extend more tlian halfway down it sides; but in all cases the higher peaks peeped forth, or stood out boldly above the rol- ling sea of mist. Every hour after mid-day added to the density and extent of' the cloud-belt, till niiiht came and hid it from view. Next morning the whole body of cloud had disappeared from the mountains, hfjving been swept away to leeward during the night No. 1.] MATTHEW — IMPRESSIONS OF CUBA. 21 "by the trade winds ; but could still be discerned far off on the distant verue of the horizon in the direction of Jamaica. As soon as the hot sun made its power felt, and the wind drew in again off the sea, a new wreath of cloud began to gather along the side of the mountains, and increase as before. After passing Cape Cruz we were driven rapidly along the chain of keys which extends thence nearly to Trinidad, where a spur from the central mountain chain comes down to the coast. The mountains here, though not nearly so high as those at the eastern end of the Island, stand out prominently above the gene- ral level of the land, when seen from the sea. They do not extend to Cienfuegos; but on approaching that harbor, a low ridge may ^3 seen extending apparently without any break for a great dis- tance along the shore. On coming close to the land this appar- ent continuity is interrupted by a slight, inconspicuous indenta- tion, marked by a light-house ; this is the opening into Xagua Bay, upon the north side of which stands the town of Cienfuegos. The passage into the bay is narrow and tortuous, but very deep: at a point about half-way in, where it makes a right angle, a fort has been erected to command the entrance to the harbour. The spot is very wild and picturesque ; and, from its being on the line of an old highway through this part of the Island, it has received the name of Passa-cahaUos (Horse-ferry.) A very strong current runs past it, and the spot is a favourite fishing and bathing resort for the inhabitants of Cienfuegos. Steep ledsres of coral and shell-rag — furnishing shelter and a home to O CD CD delicate sea-weeds, crustaceans, thorny oysters and other mol- luscs — border both sides of the passage ; and the same rocks stand up in steep, but not very high hills on each side. They are a part of the long, but narrow ridge of limestone, which, for many miles, divides Xagua Bay from the Caribbean Sea. Judfiino; from the fossils it contains and the light color of the rock it belongs to the white limestone formation (Post-pliocene) described by Sawkins as covering large areas in Jamaica. It is u barrier reef raised upon the older Miocene beds (seen further inland,) but is now elevated a hundred feet or more above the sea. On the outside of the ridge, but near the passage leading into Xagua Bay, are some short sea-beaches, upon which numbers of shells are cast up by the waves, and are much worn by exposure •to the surf. 22 THE CANADIAN NATURALIST. [Vol. TIL Among those gathered here by Mr. R. M. Fowler and myself^ Mr. Kreebs of Saint Thomas, W. I., recognized the following species : — Murex coruneerui, Mart. Siromhus gigas, S. pugilis, Cassis, sp. Fasciolaria Tuldgra, Ranella Cubaniajia, d'Orb. Nassa Antillarum, d'Orb. Oliva reticulata, O. parvula, Mart. Columhella nitida, 3Iarginella avena, M. guttata, Dill. J/, apicina. Mart. Cgprxa, 5 sp. Xatica, 2 sp. Pyramidella dolalrata, L. Cerithium, sp. C. septemstriatiun, Nerita, 4 sp. Modulus perlatus. Dill. Turbo castaneus, Chemn. Trochus, sp. Fissurella Barhadensis, Emarginula octoradiata, Gml.. Patella pulcherrima ? Bulla maculosa. Mart. Pecten, sp. 1^. zic-zac, L. Lima, sp. Sp07idylus fimhriatiis, Men.. Perna alata, Chemn. Area Lister i, Pp. A. squamosa, Lam. Pectunculus, sp. Chama, sp. Cardium medium, Lucina pecten. Reeve. Ij. Jamaicensis, L ? L. I*ennsylva)iica,. Venus, sp. T". crenulata, Chemn.. Tellina radiata, L. T. Cayennensis, T. immaculata. Lam. Amphidesma, sp. Xagua Bay is a beautiful sheet of water, about fifteen miles- long and from three to five broad. Several small streams dis- charge into it, of which the Damuji at the western end is the most considerable. Owing to the narrowness of the outlet, the bay is occasionally (though rarely) so filled with fresh water, poured out by these streams during the rainy season, that the fish and Other marine animals living in it are destroyed in multitudes, and cast up on the beach. On its southern side the bay is in most places bordered by steep, rocky hills, among w^hich are secluded coves, once the hiding places of buccaneers. It had formerly a shallow entrance at the eastern end, now nearly filled up, but which, a century or two ago. was open enough for small vessels. In addition to the other advantages they found here, this passage often enabled these marauders to escape punishment. The town of Cienfuegos was founded by the Spaniards with the object of breaking up this nest of pirates, and has a mixed population of French and Spanish origin. On the north side of the bay the land is low, and the shor3 indented with numerous No. 1.] MATTHEW — IMPRESSIONS OF CUBA. 23 shallow coves. Between two of these the town is situated ; it is closely built, and contains about six or eight thousand inhabi- tants. Along the waterside it is bordered with warehouses and wharves; the former are seldom more than one storey high, but arc very spacious. Most vessels trading to this port load at the wharves, but such as are of large size move out from the shore to complete their cargoes, owing to the shallowness of the water on this side of the bay. The dwelling houses cover a slope extend- ing from some low hills of marl and sandstone to the shore. The soft yellow rock in these hills lies in beds inclined to the southward at an angle of about thirty degrees ; and water taken from the wells sunk in it is strongly brackish and bitter. The inhabitants of the town, therefore, depend chiefly upon supplies of rainwater, stored up in large tanks. Those who are not so fortunate as to possess cisterns are supplied by water carriers, who sell at a high price, agiia dulce (sweet water) procured from springs in the valley of the Damuji, and brought thence in lighters. This precious liquid costs about as much as ice does with us in summer-time. The geological formation, to which the yellow or buff-colored beds underlying Cienfuegos belongs, appears to be one of great thickness. I traced it in a northerly direction as far as Caunau, four miles from Cienfuegos, and did not then reach its limit. This was in a line nearly at right angles to the strike of the beds, and the intervening strata, where exposed, appear to have a very regular dip. The middle part of the series consists of beds, finer and more clayey — apparently also more calcareous — than those at the two places named. At Caunau the strata are quite compact and firm, becoming a coarse sandstone. For a mile or two back of Cienfuegos there are numerous fossiliferous layers in the more clayey part of the series, from which I obtained the following forms: — Balanus, sp,, BentaUinnf Ostrea, 7 sp., Anomla, sp., Pecten, 3 sp., Echinoids of two species (one a Scutelloid form,) also a' large Orhitoides, a sharks tooth, and parts of the test of a crab, including the claws and carapace. Mr. J. Lechmere Guppy of Trinidad, W. I., who has kindly examined these fossils, says they are probably of Miocene age. The formation in which they occur is evidently one of great magnitude and importance, and I have no doubt occurs at many other points in this part of the Island. I should think it to be a mile in thickness where I crossed it. It is probably limited 24 THE CANADIAN NATURALIST. [Vol. vii. by the Trinidad mountains to the eastward, and does not appear on the lower part of the Damuji, where an older series comes to the surface. The surface deposits both on this river and at Cienfuegos are of much interest, and especially the estuary-flats along the river itself. These flats exhibit the action of an ao-encv which has played an importint part in influencing the accumulation of estuary deposits in tropical regions. In approaching the outlet of the Damuji no break in the long green bank of foliage at the head of Xagua Bay enables one to divine where the river's mouth may be, but the entrance to the stream is betrayed by the flocks of pelicans and other natatory birds which seek their food on tlie Ion"; submerged bar extending out from the entrance. Even within the narrow opening, in what appears to be a broad tree- covered flat submerged bv rising waters, there is not for several miles any visible bank to the river, but the waters spread out freely over the mud-flats upon which the mangroves grow. These trees by their great stools of roots and by numerous descending branches which root in the mud, interpose a strong check to the. outward rush of the water when the stream is in flood, and cause it to deposit a great part of its sediment before reaching the seas. The mud-banks along that part of the Damuji upon wliich the mangroves grow are of a yellowish-brown or grey color, and contain shells of a small species of oyster, a mussel, a fresh-water cerite (JJerithidiu7ii), and a small conical univalve (^Melampus.) These shells and the smaller organisms entombed in the silt, would add greatly to the fertility of soils derived from the mud-flats, if, through the action of disturbing forces in the earth's crust, they become elevated above the sea-level. Such alluvial tracts exist in the valley of the Damuji, and the indications elsewhere of recent changes in the level of the land render it probable that they exist in most of the river valleys of Cuba. A short distance above the Ferry, where the main -road from Cienfuegos crosses the Damuji, an extensive flat occurs, elevated about ten feet above the river ; and at about the same level, near the town of Cienfuegos, there are surface deposits con- taining marine organisms. These bed rest upon clays, which con- form to the inequalities of the upturned and eroded Miocene strata, and are found at difl"erent heights, from the present sea level to fifteen feet above it. They cover the bottom and sides of a shallow depression in the land through which a small brook runs .^""o. 1.] MATTHEW — IMPRESSIONS OF CUBA. 25 -and enters Xagua Bay just west of Cienfuegos. The fossiliferous layers rest upon certain buif-colored clays which form the subsoil at many points near the town, and which are covered here and there to a depth of from three to four feet by quartz gravel and sand. The coarser deposits have the aspect of ancient beaches or Tidges, formed at the time when the depression in which they lie was a shallow cove extending behind the site of the town. The shells in these sand and gravel beds are all of littoral species, and the water in which they lived appears to have been subjected to more or less agitation; for they are worn and the valves of the lamellibranchiates are oenerally severed from each other. The great majority of the species occurring here as fos- sils are still living on the neighboring coast ; and from the rela- tions of the deposit in which they are found, as well as the thin- ness of the beds, their want of coherence, and slight elevation above the Bay, I had supposed them to be Post-pliocene ; but Mr. Guppy, to whom the shells collected here were referred, regards them as " probably Pliocene.'' The following are among the species occurring here. Murex brevifrons, Bulla striata, Stromhus gigas^ Ostrxa, sp. S.pugilix, Perna obhqua, Pgrida melongeva, Mi/tlluR, Sj>. Xerita tessellata ? Venus cancellata, Keriiinia virginea, Lucina costata ? Modulus lenticularis, L. tigrina (young), Cerithium versicolor, L. Jamaicensis, C. vulgatum, A^aphis rugosa. At Santa Lucia Brook on the Damuji Biver there is a deposit •of buff-colored, calcareous marl, which at some points nearly fills the little valley through which this stream runs. I had no means •of measuring its height above the river, which at this point is a tidal estuary, but think that it may be roughly estimated at one hundred feet. This calcareous mass contains leaves of the jucaro, or olive-bark tree, Bite ida JSuceras, the two mangroves i^/u'zoj^Aora mangle and Avicennia nitula, a fern, a palm ? and fragments of other plants. With these there were a few valves of a large spe- cies of oyster and some mussel shells, apparently the same spe- cies as that occurring in the surface beds at Cienfuegos. Intermediate in height between the marl of Santa Lucia brook and the deposits already described near the sea-level, there as another surface layer of a dark color exposed along the slopes 26 THE CANADIAN NATURALIST. [Vol. vii^ of the low hills on both sides of the Damuji. Beds of this nature fill the bottom and cover the sides of a small embayment of the land through which Labarinto Brook (the first one north of Santa Lucia) flows to the river. This deposit is not scarped into terraces like the alluvial flats at lower levels in the valley, but is spread with much regularity over the slopes descending to the river. The soils which it yields are called tierra negra (black earth), and are greatly relied upon for the production of' heavy sugar crops ; canes planted on them are less liable to suf- fer from drought than on other soils, and do not require renewal for a great number of years. Higher up on the hill sides about the Damuji, a yellow clay may be seen emerging from beneath the tierra negra, and ex- tending upwards — except where denudation has removed it — to the summit ridges on each side of the valley. These clays closely resemble those spoken of in connection with the Post-pliocene de- posits about Cieufugos, and correspond to them also in their re- lation to the overlying beds. They come to the surface at many points in the country around Cienfugos, and are evidently the oldest of the surface deposits in that district. In many re- spects they are analagous to the yellow loam which, according to Prof. E. Hilgard,-'^ " in most cases forms the subsoil of the Gulf States" being spread over a wide area in the basin of the Mis- sissippi. This deposit was greatly eroded and in many places entirely removed when the submerged tract upon which it was thrown down rose again sufficiently high to bring it within the influence of the ocean surf. Large tracts on the ridge westward of the Damuji have in this way been entirely stripped of their surface covering, leaving the subjacent limestone beds exposed to view. These now present a very picturesque appearance,, rising in pinnacles and sharp angular masses above the thin soil : worn as they are by the hot tropical rains which for cen- turies past have coursed down their sides, these marble pyramids have a striking resemblance to the white tents of a military en- campment. Elsewhere the sea has left upon this ridge and the shoulders of land projecting from it extensive gravel banks, giving further proof of the sweep of the sea over the low ridge separating the valley of the Damuji from the long dry gently sloping plain. * Am. Jour. Sci. Dec, 1871, No. 1.] MATTHEW — IMrRESSIONS OF CUBA. 2T which descends westward to the great Zapato Swamp. Siicb gravelly soils are usually accompanied by loamy lands, which are- often occupied as farms for the production of fruit and vegeta- bles, and, when exhausted, as pasture grounds for the herds or cattle used in working the estates. Other tracts of this nature are reserved as wood-lands to supply fuel to the sugar-mills. On all these higher swells and ridges, where gravel or sandy loam does not form the soil, — as well as on the slopes extending down toward the river, but above the land covered by tierni. ncgra — another kind of soildenomiuated ^t>>-ra co^omcZa prevails.. This deposit overlies the yellow clays, but I do not know whether it also passes beneath the tlcrra ncgra, or terminates at its borders. It is considered a valuable soil for the production of sugar : the canes grown upon it need to be renewed every three years, but the quality of cane-juice obtained from plants grown on this kind of land is regarded as much superior to that yielded by canes grown on the dark lands of the lower levels. Tierra colorada varies from cinnamon color to a chocolate-red, and its- peculiar tint appears to be developed by the disintegration of older surface deposits and limestones. The red color is brightest in those thin coatings of soil which only half conceal the white limestone ledges on the ridge west of the Damuji, and results from an abundant admixture of red oxide of iron. In following: these soils westerly beyond the ridge, and in the direction of the Zapato Swamp, the iron oxide predominates more and more, till at length the thin covering of earth is chiefly made up of little ferruginous nodules of the size of swan-shot. In this direction the soil looses its fertility, and the woods which cover the tierra colorada on the Damuji give way to wide wastes of dry laud covered with thin grass, and dotted here and there by clumps of low thorny bushes. The barrenness here seems in part due to the want of a subsoil, and the ease with which the surface waters escape into crevices in the limestone rocks below, leaving the soil to be parched by a hot tropical sun. The clay beds and gravel ridges, which are spread over the surface of the Miocene marls and sandstones between Cienfuegos and Caunau, yield pale buff colored soils, which are cultivated on the farms and small sugar plantations of that neighborhood ; but the tillage lands here do not appear to be so productive as those of the Damuji. The clay beds of Cienfuegos are worked for making tiles and brick of which there is a large consumption in. 28 THE CANADIAN NATURALIST. [Vol. vii. the town. In the waste heaps on the sides of the clay pits opened for this purpose, lie numbers of the shells of large snails which have buried themselves in the clay to remain during the dry season. The land shells of Cuba and indeed of the West Indies gener- ally, are of great interest to the naturalist ; not only on account of the profusion in w^hich they occur, but also from the great numbers of species and genera, and the very peculiar forms of some of them. Among the tropical snails, some like Helix Im- perator and H. Sagamore rival in the solidity of their shells the stony gasteropods of the ocean : many shells of the genera Pupa, Cyllndrella, Cydostoma, Chondropoma and Trochatclla are liighly colored and strongly marked, like the ocean snails. One Cylindrella has straightened out its last coil in the manner of Magilus, a marine form of the Indian Ocean ; while Glaiidina and Oleacina will pass for papery olive shells. The "agate shells" (^Achatina) are the giant pulmonates of Cuba and carry on their backs shells which are elegantly formed, prettily marked and of large size. I give here a list of a few species met with when collecting Post-pliocene shells near Cienfuegos, for the names of which I am indebted to Mr. Thomas Bland of New York, to whose article on the land shells of the "West Indies I shall have occasion to refer further on : — Helix auricoma, Fer. ; this species is quite abundant and shews considerable variation ; H. Bonplandii, Lam ; H. Poeyi, (young) ; H. Cuhensis, Pfr. ; Acliatina fasciata, Muhl, in several varieties, nearly as common as H. auricoma ; Cisula inculta, d'Orb; Helicina adspersa, Pfr. ; H. suhiJiaj-ginata, Gray ; Oleacina solidida, Pfr. ; Glan- dina, sp. The Damuji has a number of estuary shells, including a small species of oyster, multitudes of which cling to the roots and trunks of the mangroves ; also Cerifhidium, sp. ; Melamjyus coni- formis ? Balanus, sp., and Mytilits, sp. The shells of Cerithidium and MytiJus were found in small numbers in a fresh pond at the mouth of Labarinto brook in company with Planorhis, 4 sp. ; Physa, sp. ; Valvata, sp. ; the fresh-water cerite (^Cerithidimn) is an amphibious animal, climbing on trees, and may have crawled over the low bank which divides this pond from the river. On both sides of the Damuji, a series of strata are exposed, consisting chiefly of limestones, but apparently separated into two bands by an intermediate body of sandstones. The series as No. 1.] MATTHEW — IMPRESSIONS OF CUBA. 29 a whole was not well exposed at any of the points I visited ; but the limestones, which appear at the river side on the Constancia Estate, and are also exposed in the vicinity of the buildings on Concepcion Estate opposite to it, cannot be regarded as the same with those alluded to in the preceeding remarks on the surface geology of this region. The limestones there spoken of as crop- ping out on the ridge west of the Damuji are clearly underlaid by sandstones holding Cretaceous fossils ; and although sub-crys- talline, fine-<>rained and homogeneous, cannot be re • f Cauda-galli grit. Lower Devonian. < r\ ■ i ^ ^ \ Oriskany sandstone. / Lower Helderberg group of Vanuxem, including -^T ,,., . \ the Tentaculite limestone, or so-called Water- Upper bilurian, J ,. i ^- • • ^^ ^ lime sub-division. ( Onondaga formation, or Salina group of Dana. [■ Guelph and Gait limestones. ,,. ,,,,,.,• ! Niagara formation. ^ Middle bilunan. j ^^.^^^^ , f ^^.ticosti group. [ Medina " J Of the subdivisions of the Middle Devonian System only one is found in the locality under consideration. This is the Cornifer- ous limestone formation, which forms by far the greater portion of the underlying surface rock. The Ijower Devonian is not apparently represented in this County, although numerous frag- ments of the Oriskany sandstone are scattered here and there on the surface of the ground as angular and evidently lately detached erratics. The rocks of the Lower Helderberg group of the Upper Silurian series are, with the exception of the Tentaculite limestone or Water-lime beds, entirely wanting in Ontario. This division is described by Vanuxum as being essentially a dark blue magnesian limestone, with interstratified drab-colored beds which yield by calcination a very valuable hydraulic cement. It is met with in two localities in the County, and in each presents similar lithological characters. The Onondaga Salt group, or Salina formation of Dana, is found to extend under the whole No. 1.] GIBSON — GEOLOGY OF HURON COUNTY. 3T County, as far as can be ascertaiaecl by borings, forming the foundation rock, so to speak, of the Corniferous limestone, and where this is absent, immediately underlying the so-called Water- lime beds. The Guelph formation — the uppermost layer of the Middle Silurian series — is only observed by means of borings at a depth of about 1,000 feet from the surface of the ground, and underlying the most recent deposit of rock salt. Of the presence of the Clinton and Medina formations underlying the rock-salt and gypsiferous shales of the Salina group, we have but doubtful evidence ; and it is only by means of specimens of rock brought up by the sand-pump, during the operation of boring, that we arrive at the probability of their existence within the average depth of 1,150 feet from the surface. The more important exposures of rock observed within the limits of this district are given in the following list proceeding from north to south : — 1. The escarpments in Howick. 2. The outcrop on the falls of the Ashfield River. 3. The outcrop between the Townships of Ashfield and Col- borne. 4. The outcrop on the Maitland, one-half mile from Goderich. 5. The outcrop on the 1st lot of the 1st range of Colborne. 6. The outcrop on the Maitland, IJ miles from Goderich. The Corniferous limestone which is the essential rock-com- ponent of the above exposures, occupies in Ontario a superficial area of about 6,500 square nailes. It is, comparatively, a pure limestone, containing no traces of magnesia which to a great extent enters into the composition of many of our calcareous formations. Its beds are abundantly charged with organic remains, some of which are little more than aggregates of chalce- donic quartz with intermingled calcium carbonate. Numerous beds of chert or hornstone are also especially characteristic of these limestones, giving the name Corniferous to the formation. 1. Throughout the Township of Carrick, and extending south into Howick, occur numerous outcrops of limestone, forming escarpments from twenty to thirty -feet in height. These consist for the most part of blue and grey limestones of the Corniferous formation. Their sharp outlines and acute indentations seem to point to the existence of violent denuding agencies, probably contemporaneous with the re-clevation of Western Ontario to- wards the end of the Glacial Drift. 38 THE CANADIAN NATURALIST. [Vol. vii. 2. At the Mh of the AshSeld River, about a quarter of a mile from its mouth, occur thin beds of calcareous sandstones, interlaminated with silicious limestones, containing but scanty traces of animal life; the only species identified being Sj^irifera bimesialis (Billings). These fossiliferous beds immediately overlie the apparently unfossiliferous Tentaculite limestone, which, about two miles to the south-cast, crops out only a few inches above the waters of the Lake. 3. Where the boundary line between Ashfield and Colborne strikes the Lake, near Port Albert, there is a cliffy outcrop facing the water, of a few feet in thickness, which is observed at inter- vals along the shore for about a mile. The rocks here exposed are entirely destitute of fossils, and consist of the following suc- cession of beds : — 1. Yellow doiomitic limestone. 2. Thin beds of limestone filled with chert. 3. Dark grey sandstones more or less bitumi- nous. 4. Thin limestones, with numerous crystals of calcite. The lithological character of this outcrop at once indicates the existence of the Tentaculite limestone or Water-lime group. This formation is here found to rest directly upon the Salina shales and limestones, and to immediately underlie the Cornifer- ous formation, the intermediate portions of the Lower Helder- berg group being apparently u'lJ'epresented. In Western New York, and in some other localities in Ontario, where strata of this division are observed, a few fossils occur. The more charac- teristic forms met with are Leperditia alta, TentacuUtes ornatus, and Eurypterus remipes (DeKay) — the latter crustacean form having been also discovered, according to Keyserling, in the Upper Silurian limestones of the island of Oesel in Russia. 4. About half a mile from the town of Goderich, on the banks of the Maitland, beds of yellowish calcareous sandstone, and dark grey doiomitic limestones, holding lenticular crystals of calc-spar, are exposed for a considerable distance along the river margin. They belong to the Water-lime group, and are entirely destitute of fossils. 5. Ascending the river for nearly five miles, strata of yellowish limestone interlaminated with grey slaty limestone in thin layers are observed. They belong to the Corniferous formation, which, a few miles to the S. E., attains a total thickness of 200 feet, as shewn by the recent borings for salt. The absence of this formation a few miles to tlie westward where the Tentaculite No. 1.] GIBSON — GEOLOGY OF HURON COUNTY. 39 limestone forms the fundamental rock of the district, may be accounted for, partly by powerful denudation during the upheaval of this area from the sea-bottom, and partly by the south-eastern dip of the strata. Here the beds are replete with fossils in a more or less silicified condition, the more important species being as follow : — Zoophyta. Fistulipora Canadensis^ Billings. Favosites Basaltica, Goldfuss. Favosites Goihlandica, Goldfuss. 3Iichelinia convexa, D'Orbigny — the hemispherica, Shumard. large cell openings being eatire- Sifringopora 3Iaclurea, Billings. ly silicified in most instances. Jlisiufferi, Billings. Eridophyllum Simcoense, Billings, Zaphrentis prolifica^ Billings, and species of the following gigantea. genera : Fhillipsastrea, Clisio- Heliophyllum Eriense. phyllum^ Diphyphyllum and Cy- Catiadense, Billings. stiphyllum. Brachiopoda. Orthis Livia^ Billings. Stricklandia elongata^ Billings, for- Strophomena rhomboidalis, "Wahlen- merly Pentamerus elongatus of berg. Vanuxem. a?npla, Hall. Atrypa reticularis^ Linna?us, also Streptorhynchus Pandora, Billings. occurring in the Wenlock lime- Rhynchonella Thalia, Billings. stones of Great Britain, in Pentamerus aratus, Conrad. Sweden, Bohemia and in the Spirifera duodenaria, Hall. Ural Mountains of Russia. Lamellibranchiata. Conocardium trigonale, Conrad. Vanuxemia Tomkinsi, Billings. Gasteropoda. Lozonema CoUerana, Billings. Euomphalus de Ceivi, Billings. Of the Cephalopoda only one or two undetermined species oc- cur ; whilst the Crustacean representatives are included in the genera Phacops and Dalmannites. These fossil species are more or less common to the whole range of Corniferous limestone in the district to which the pre- sent observations are confined. Their specific characters have been minutely examined and described by E. Billings, F.Gr.S., of the Geological Survey of Canada, to whose very elaborate contributions to palaeontology the writer is chiefly indebted for descriptions of such fossil types as come under review in this paper. 6, Descendinsr the Maitland for three or four miles from the 40 THE CANADIAN NATURALIST. [Vol vil^ last-mentioned outcrop, limestone beds occur in cliffs skirting the river margin. The uppermost beds of grey limestone, holding intercalated crystals and silicified organic remains, belong to the Corniferous formation ; whilst the underlying strata of bluish limestone and fine-grained sandstone with irregular crystals of calc-spar, denote the presence of the Water-lime group. We have here exposed in one cliff two different formations belonging to two totally different geological periods ; the uppermost or Corni- ferous belonging to the Middle Devonian System, and the under- lying one or Tentaculite limestone being of Silurian age. The numerous intermediate formations, or those which in the seo- logical scale intervene between the formations in question, were being slowly deposited in other localities while the Tentaculite limestone was for ages above the level of the ocean, or at least formed the basin of a very shallow expanse of water, uninfluenced by any currents whatever. Then immediately subsequent to the deposition of all these formations preceding the Corniferous, the long stationary Tentaculite limestone was gradually submerged to a depth of several hundred feet, and on its unruffled surface was deposited the Corniferous sediment, which subsequently was upheaved above the ocean, remaining comparatively motionless until about to be covered by the waters of the Glacial sea. South of the Maitland river, no exposures of rock have been met with in Huron. Along the valley of the Bayfield we look in vain for the appearance of the underlying rock, the river through its whole course flowing over grey and blue clays of the Quaternary age. But even here something of geological interest awaits us. About three miles in a direct line from Lake Huron and lying partially buried amid the clays along the river margin, there is exposed what seems to be an outlier of a formation ap- parently higher in the scale than the Corniferous. Its beds are characterized by an extraordinary profusion of organic remains ; the uppermost ones containing vast quantities of fragmentary Crinoidal stems which mark in a special manner the presence of certain strata of Uie Hamilton formation. Viewing it alike from a lithological and a palasontological point of view, the infe- rence would naturally be that we have here an outlier of the Hamilton formation divided from the main area by denudation, and manifestly proving the former extension of these higher de- posits along the slopes of that synclinal, whose course from Lake Huron to Erie is a somewhat unique feature in the physical geology of Western Ontario. No. 1.] PAISLEY — MARINE CLAYS. 4B NOTES ON THE MARINE CLAYS OCCURRING AT THE RAILWAY CUTTING ON THE LEFT BANK OF THE TATTAGOUCHE RIVER. By Rev. C. H. Paisley. The deposit to which these notes refer is situated in Gloucester Co.j N.B., about 2-J miles from Bathurst, on the left bank of the Tattagouche River, where it is crossed by the Intercolonial Railroad. It is 60 feet'"^ above the river at low water, and 162 feet above the sea. The cutting that exposes the deposit is not entirely through, so that our information cannot be said to be complete. Near the highest part of the cut yet exposed, the bank presents a surface of about 40 feet, and gives the following section : Ft. Ins. 1. Soil bearing spruce and fir trees 1 — 2 2. Coarse gravel 6 — 8 3. Sand, which, with an occasional thin layer of reddish clay, reaches a thickness of 10-12 4. Yellowish clay 9 5. Reddish sand 1 3 6. Reddish-yellow clay with threads of sand 1 S To this depth the deposit seems to be non-fossiliferous. 7. Greenish sand with an occasional valve of Mya, and in- numerable minute fragments of shells, giving the bed such an appearance as is presented by the sand on the sea shore to-day 1 S 8. Coarse sand and reddish clay, so intermingled that, in .some places, it is impossible to detect any stratifica- tion. In the sand which, on penetration for 1 foot, is found to be stained with iron rust, and which on exposure for a few hours becomes hard as a soft sand- stone, occur occasional small angular fragments of quartz, slate, serpentine, &c., varying from 1 oz. to say 5 lbs. in weight. In many parts the clay assumes the form of nodular concretions, interstratified with * These measurements give the heights to the level of the Railway, so that to get the height of the top of the deposit it will be necessary to add about 40 ft. They are both taken from high water mark at Campbelton, Restigouche ; but the difference between that and the Bay Chaleurs is very trifling. 42 THE CANADIAN NATURALIST. [Vol. Vli. the sand, and varying from the size of a pea to that of a hen's egg. In other parts the stratum of clay can be detected only by its presence in certain shells when taken from the bank. Very fossiliferous. (See list of fossils below.) Varying from almost a thread to 2 9. Eeddish sandy clay. For fossils vide infra. Average thickness about 2 6 10. Red and blue clays. Tough. So interstratified as to present a beautiful banded appearance. An occa- sional Mya or Natica occurs, but so much decomposed as not to stand removal. This bed extends down- ward to the level of the road, say 5 or 6 feet, but how far below there is no means of determining 6 Although fossils are found sparsely in the lower part of No. 7 ■and in the upper part of No. 10, the fossiliferous layer may he said to consist of Nos. 8 and 9. In No. 8 I have found the following as determined hy Dr. Dawson, viz. : Saxicava rugosa. Macoma calcarea. Mya arenaria. Groenlandica. Also young shells of the same Cryptodon Gouldii (?). .{lioi very numerous). Natica clausa (affinis). M. truncata. Buccinum undatum. Ledapernula. Balanus crenatus. glacialis. Ilameri. Nucula tenuis (expansa) (scarce). 3Iytilus edulis. Aphrodite Groenlandica. In No. 9 I have found : Mya arenaria. Yexy abundant. Balanus crenatus. truncata. Rare, Ilameri. Nucula tenuis. Abundant. Young Mya in great abundance. As it is almost impossible to tell in which stratum of the fos- siliferous bed (i. e. whether in the sand or clay) the fossils occur), I will give the material with which they were filled when removed from position : Saxicava J Leda glacialis, L. j:)ern?i?«, Buccinum, Natica, Aphrodite Groenlandica, Balanus almost invariably with sand, Macoma calcarea and M. Ch'oenlandica sometimes with sand and sometimes in clay, but more frequently with the former, Mya arenaria, M. truncata, young Mya, Nucula tenuis, 3Iytilus edulis almost invariably with clay. I have examined a number of the clay concretions mentioned above, but have not been able to find in them any fossil remains. No. 1.] M'EACHRAN — EPIZOOTIC INFLUENZA. 4.3 The right-hand bank of the river I examined in a cutting made to the same level as that on the left, but found no fossils. The only exposure was a bed of coarse reddish gravel. The overseer of the railroad bridge now being built in the locality informed me that in digging 8 feet below the level of the river, he found that the rock to which he came inclined in oppo- site directions on opposite sides of the stream. If this be so the Tattagouche River will occupy the crack in an anticlinal axis, and the deposit examined in these notes will occupy the side dipping towards the sea. Bathurst, Nov. 19, 1872. EPIZOOTIC INFLUENZA IN HORSES. A paper on this subject was read by Mr. D. McEachran, Y.S., "before the Natural History Society in December last, and as the subject is one of much interest, we publish a somewhat lengthy abstract, being unable, from want of space, to give the paper ia full. Mr. McEachran begins by stating that diseases which attack a number of persons at the same time, and which are supposed to depend upon some atmospheric influence, are denominated epidemic ; while those of a similar nature, but occurring among the lower animals, are termed ejyizoofic. The term zymotic, sug- gested by Dr. William Farr, is, however, more frequently em- ployed in medical nosology than either of the above. In the greater number of these zymotic diseases the blood seems to be especially acted upon by poisons, and is found to undergo important changes, both chemical and histological. The poisons which are supposed to produce these changes are said to be of organic origin, either derived from without or generated within the body. In the living animal a double process is con- tinually going on, a building up, and a removal of waste mate- rial ; and while it is essential to have a regular supply of nourish- ment to maintain the body, it is equally requisite that the efl'ete or waste products be regularly and thoroughly removed. Other- wise the blood will be rendered unfit for performing its functions. It must appear evident that the atmosphere is liable to con- tain many impurities, derived from the decomposition of animal 44 THE CANADL\N NATURALIST. [Vol. vii. and vegetable matters. These entering the blood in the process of respiration, poison it, and produce such diseases as the one under consideration. The most careful chemical analyses fail to detect them, and we recognize them only in their effects upon the blood and system in general. Like all poisons, those producing zymotic diseases appear to be subject to certain general laws, the most important of which are, according to Dr. Aitken, (1) That they have all certain definite and specific actions ; (2) That they all lie latent in the system, a certain but varying period of time before their actions are set up ; and (3) That the phenomena resulting from their action vary in some degree according to the dose and the recep. tivity of the patient. Zymotic poisons have been divided into three classes, viz., 1. Paludal malarious poisons; 2. Animal malarious poisons; 3. Specific disease poisons. The first do not exert their influence upon domestic animals to the same extent as upon man. They result from the decomposition of vegetable substances, and may be carried by the wind to considerable distances, giving rise to agues, rheumatic fevers, and other diseases. The second arise from the decomposition of various animal substances. The winter season, when the dwellings of man and beast are too often overcrowded and ill ventilated, is favourable to their develop- ment. The blood becomes charged with them, and they exert a depressing influence upon the system. The third or "specific disease poisons," are derived from the bodies of animals suffering from the disease ; for the body once contaminated by the poison^ is capable of generating it and spreading the disease to others. Mr. McEachran here gives several extracts from Dr. Beale's book on "Disease Germs," relating more especially to the spread of infectious diseases ; but we must omit them and pass on to such points as the symptoms and treatment of Epizootic In- fluenza, using Mr. McEachran's own words as far as possible. As is generally known the present epizootic made its appear- ance in Toronto in the beginning of October, and there soon spread to such an extent as to completely arrest all business de- pending upon horses — scarcely a horse escaping. From Toronto it gradually extended in an easterly direction, until, on the 8th of October, one case was detected in this city. On the morning of that day my attention was directed to a peculiar deep cough affecting a mare belonging to a gentleman in this city. On ex- No. 1.] M-EACHRAN — EPIZOOTIC INFLUENZA. 45 amining her closely, I found that she presented symptoms indica- tive of influenza in which bronchitis was prominent. The gentle- man had bought a pair of carriage horses in Ontario which were both coughing ; but as they did not appear to suffer much, it was supposed to be the result of a slight cold contracted in coming from Toronto here. However, on examination, I found the same indications of influenza as in the mare. On the following day four cases occurred in a stable in the same street ; on the 10th, six more in different parts of the city ; and on the 11th as many more. By the 17th scarcely a horse in the city could be said to be free from it. To give an idea of the suddenness of its spread, I may mention that in one stable which I visited on Saturday evening, there was not a single case, but when I was sent for next morning, half the horses were affected, and before night the entire stock of about fifty had the disease. Symj^toms. — The period of incubation would seem to be very short ; but I think that I am right in saying that the time which the poison takes to become developed after its introduction into the system is short, say from one to three days. A peculiar deep cough early sets in, and in most cases there was a jcopious dis- charge from the nostrils. The discharge was generally thick and purulent ; in a few cases it had the peculiar orange colour which we find in typhoid fever, but often it was white and curdy. As a rule, however, it was the ordinary muco-purulent discharge seen in catarrhal affections. In old horses, especially in pro- tracted cases, blood was often mixed with it. There was occa- sionally also a purulent discharge from the eyes. The mucous membranes were swollen, soft, and generally of a pale buff colour, though in some old animals they had a distinctly yellow tinge, especially observable in the sclerotic coat and the lining of the eyelids — an indication of hepatic derangement. The throat in all cases was swollen, the thyroid and submaxillary glands slightly, but the mucous membrane of the fauces, posterior nares and epi- glottis considerably. This occasioned difficulty in swallowing, and brought on severe fits of coughing. Quantities of thick gummy sputa were frequently coughed up from the throat, but in several cases became so adhesive that death was occasioned by its obstructing the air passages. The typhoid form of fever was a prominent symptom. The mouth was hot, but not dry, being kept moist by the constant secretion from the throat, the pulse seldom over fifty-five to sixty, 46 THE CANADIAN NATURALIST. i[^ol. vil. the respiration rapid and abdominal, the flanks contracted and the extremities usually cold. In mild cases the appetite con- tinued fair, but the soreness of the throat often occasioned diffii- culty in swallowing. Debility was noticeable in a marked de- gree. The bowels were usually costive, but in some cases unduly relaxed. ^ As the disease progressed, debility increased, the appetite failed, fits of shivering came on, and a depressed line could be seen along the cartilages of the ribs ; the head protruded, the nostrils were distended and the pulse quick and irregular ; in fact, the symptoms of acute congestion of the lungs were pre- sented in a marked manner. In these cases it was found best to induce superficial circulation by increasing the clothing and rubbing and bandaging the legs. A difi"usible stimulant was also given by way of equalizing the circulation, and marked re- lief was afforded by stimulating the sides of the chest with an embrocation. If, however, the case were neglected, or improperly treated, pleuro-pneumonia of a typhoid type resulted. The ani- mal then stood with the head protruded, the ears drooping and cold, the fore-legs used as props, the breathing quick and shorty a depressed line from^the flank to the sternum, the cough muf- fled, and the act of coughing painful. In many cases thoracic eflfusion and aedema of the legs occurred to a considerable extent. This was seen more particularly in old animals, especially in secondary attacks. In some horses there were painful nodulous swellings along the sides of the chest and belly, and often in the groin and thigh ; the breath, moreover, had occasionally an in- tolerable odour. Post-mortem Examinations. — Several rather hurried post- mortem examinations were made, and showed that the respira- tory organs were diseased in a marked degree. The mucous membrane from the nostrils to the air-cells was thickened and soft, and the sub-mucus tissue, particularly at the posterior nares, thickly infiltrated. The epiglottis and laryngeal mem- brane were also thick and soft ; and in one case the entire fauces were black and gangrenous. The lungs were black and very much congested, the right lung in one animal being completely disorganized, and the chest about a quarter filled with discolored unhealthy serum. The pleura was thickened and covered by deposits of soft easily broken down lymph of a dirty whitish- yellow colour, with no adhesions. No. 1.] M'EACHRAN — EPIZOOTIC INFLUENZA. 47 The digestive organs did not show signs of any special disease, with the exception of the liver, which was much congested and easily broken up. The vessels of the brain and cord were slightly congested, and the heart invariably filled with large coagula of black grumous blood. The tissues generally were soft and flaccid, and decomposition set in very shortly after death. The blood showed the most marked signs of disease. Its colour instead of being scarlet was almost black, and the separa- tion of the serum from the clot was very incomplete. The white corpuscles were found to be much larger and much more nume- rous than in healthy blood ; while the red were small, irregular in outline, and not collected in meshes of the plasma. The lat» ter, moreover, were of a very light colour. We can at once see that blood in such a condition is incapable of nourishing and purifying the tissues. When examined with a high magnifying power, forms could be detected, of which Mr. McEachran says: " Whether these are disease germs, or the products of the action of germs still more minute, on the vital fluid and the tissues through which it passes, I am not prepared to say." Treatment. — In diseases of this class depletion ought not to be practised. The first point to be attended to is a supply of pure air ; the stables should accordingly be thoroughly ventilated and drained, and carbolic disinfectants used. The efficient action of the several emunctories should be encouraged, — in the case of the skin by cleanliness and increased clothing, in that of the bowels by laxative food, and in that of the kidneys by saline diuretics. The stable should have a temperature of about 65*^ F., and hot mucilaginous drinks immediately provided. Sulphite of soda has a beneficial action upon the blood. Some of the salts of potash, especially the nitrate, have also proved useful. Chlorate of potash makes a good wash for the throat, and bromide of potassium a still better one. The throat, and also the sides of the chest, when pleuritic symptoms are promi- nent, should be mildly blistered. Ordinary ammoniacal liniment may be used for this purpose. The nostrils should be frequently sponged with warm water containing carbolic acid; when the discharge was glutinous and obstructed the breathing, steaming the head proved beneficial. After the third day tonics and stimulants were required.. 48 THE CANADIAN NATURALIST. [Yol. vii. When, in the secondary stages, chills set in, increased clothing, rubbing and bandaging the legs, and the use of a diffusible stimulant (sesquicarbonate of ammonia, acetate of ammonia, with spirits of nitrous ether, hot beer, gin or whiskey) soon re- stored the balance of circulation, and the congestion and shiver- -ing fits passed off. At this stage the amount of exercise depends upon the strength of the patient and the state of the weather. So long as the animal's head is up, his attention easily attracted, and he feeds tolerably well, he will be the better of exercise in the open air. The appetite, moreover, must sometimes be coaxed, for while some horses would eat hay, others would only take soft food. Apples, carrots, potatoes, bread, boiled oats and boiled barley are the best things to offer them. In the third or dropsical stage, free scarification, or setons 'Under the chest, should be resorted to. Exercise, hard rubbing - of the legs, and tonics, — sulphate of iron, with ginger and gen- vtian, given morning and evening, substituting a diuretic every second mornino;. While the above remedies appear to have been useful, the •treatment that proved most ejQ&cacious consisted in good nursing with generous diet in an easily digested form, an abundant sup- ;^ly of pure air, and exercise regulated according to the capability tof the patient. No. 1.] GEOLOGY AND MINERALOGY. 49 GEOLOGY AND MINERALOGY. The Mineral Region op Lake Superior. — At the fifth moathly meeting oP the Natural History Society, held on Monday evening last, Feb. 2-4th, Prof. R. Bell, of the Geological Survey of Canada, read a paper on the Huronian and mineral-bearing rocks of Lake Superior ; an abstract of which will be found below. In addition to the sandstones of the South shore of the Lake, which are unaltered sediment?, in which traces of organic life have been detected, there are three well-marked groups of rocks •on the Canadian side. These are the Laurentian, the Huronian. and the Upper Copper-bearing series of Lake Superior. Reccat researches have shewn that Huronian rocks occur to a much larger extent than was formerly supposed, as bands alternating with Laurentian beds on both the North and South shores of the Lake. To the northward of liike Superior the Laurentian rocks for the most part consist of gray and reddish gneiss, with micaceous belts and mica schists. No minerals of any economic value have yet been found in these rocks, at this particular locality, nor do there seem to be any crystalline limestones. In the same region the Huronian rocks are mostly of a schis- tose character, the most common of which are greenish schists and imperfect gneisses, the whole formation being rich in useful minerals. A geological map, coloured in conformity with the latest dis- coveries, of the country lying to the north of the lake, and extending from its eastern point as far west as Lake Winnipeg, was then exhibited and explained somewhat in detail, the site of Lake Shebandowan being also pointed out. About two-thirds of this area consists of Laurentian beds, and the remainder of Huronian rocks. In these latter deposits almost every conceivable variety of schist is to be met with. Among them are micaceous, hornblen- dic, dioritic, porphyritic, siliceous, cherty, chloritic, felsitic and argillaceous schists ; more rarely dolomitic schists, and occa- sionally bands of magnetic iron ore and haematite. The lecturer Vol. VII. D No. 1. 50 THE CANADIAN NATURALIST [Vol. vii. stated that ia this region gold and silver veins are always asso- ciated with dolomitic schists. The principal vein, to the south- west of Shebandowan Lake, and others, were referred to as bearing out this statement. In the Hastings series of rocks o'old is also associated with dolomitic schists. Various isolated patches of granite and syenite, some a few yards and others many miles in extent, but always connected with Huronian rocks, were pointed out on the map. In these masses there is no stratification. In the Nipigon Basin, the Upper Copper-bearing rocks of Lake Superior attain their maximum development in Canadian territory. This area has the shape of an arrow head, with the apex pointed to the true North. The basin floor consists of marls, sandstones, &c., often covered with trappean outflows. The lecturer was disposed to think that this trappean outburst origin- ated from some point in Lake Superior. The direction of the flow, as indicated by wrinkles on the surfaces of beds, is from the centre outwards. The occurrence of these traps on all sides of the lake, and their general arrangement, which presents an appearance as if the masses had been pressed against the rocky margin of the lake basin, are supposed to favour this view. The overflow in the Nipigon Basin, too, becomes exhausted in recediog from Lake Superior. Unlike the Laurentian rocks, in which, as before stated, no useful minerals have been found, the Huronian beds contain ores of iron, copper, lead, gold, silver and nickel. Copper is most frequent in quartz veins which intersect dioritic schists of Huronian ao-e. The silver and s;old veins near Shebandowan occur in similar schists, and were discovered by Mr, P. McKellar in the spring of 1871. A letter from Mr. McKellar to Prof. Bell was then read, which gave a description of the details. The principal vein Mr. McKellar writes, is of quartz, and is from two to six feet in thickness. In addition to gold and silver it contains ores of all the metals we have cited above as occurring in Huronian rocks. At this locality, in addition to the dolomitic band associated with intrusive granite, a great variety of Huron- ian schists occur. A vein of calc-spar and quartz cuttiug through Huronian schists on mining lot 3 A, on the North Shore of Thunder Bay, and containing native silver and nickel ore, was next described. The main silver vein of Silver Islet belongs to the Upper No. I.] GEOLOGY AND MINERALOGY. 51 Copper-bearing series, and although it has been worked to a depth of 150 feet below the surface, no trouble has yet been experienced from flooding. Up to the middle of last summer about one million dollars' worth of silver has been taken from this mine. Various other silver-bearing veins and mines in rocks of this age were described briefly, but the space at our disposal will only allow of the bare mention of their names. Suffice it to say that the Algoma, Silver Harbor, Thunder Bay Silver mine^ Shuniah, Jarvis Island, McKellar's Island and McKellar's Point deposits were each noticed. In conclusion the lecturer said that the silver veins which intersect trappean rocks belong to two sets, one of which have a N. E. and the other a N, W. direction. At the close of the lecture a large number of specimens of the rocks of the district in question were exhibited and their pecu- liarities explained by Prof. Bell. Mr. A. R. C. Selwyn brought for comparison a series of gold- bearing rocks from Australia. Some of these were evidently of Lower Silurian age, and contained graptolites, &c. Mr. C. Robb asked whether the Silver Islet dyke had anything to do with the metalliferous character of the vein at that place. Prof. Bell said the popular notion was that it had, but that the trials which had been made on other veins crossing the dyke did not support this view. The dyke is peculiar in its composi- tion and contains a number of metals. In the course of the discussion v/hicli followed, Mr. Bell sug- gested that if it were desirable to have a shorter name for the Upper Copper-bearing series of Lake Superior, we might adopt that of the Nipigon Group, — J. F. W. — (^Montreal Gazette.') Native Iron Discovered by Nordenskiold in Green- land. — The masses of native iron discovered in 1870 by Nor- denskiold at Ovifak in Greenland are especially interesting ; for while on the one hand their mode of occurrence would lead one to consider them as terrestrial, their chemical constitution, though on the whole difl"erent from that of ordinary meteoric iron, in some respects, comes so near to it as to give some ground for con- sidering them as extra-terrestrial. Specimens have been examined by Nordenskiold, Wohler, Diiubree and Berthelot. The following is an abstract in a recent number of the Journal of the Chemical Society of a paper on the subject by A. Daubree (Compt. rend., Ixxiv. 1543-1550) : 52 THE CANADIAN NATURALIST. [Vol. vii. "Ill 1870 Nordenskiold discovered at Ovifak, in Greeland, tifteen huge masses of native iron, of which one block, calculated to weigh at least 20,000 kilograms, is supposed to be the largest specimen of native iron on record. The whole were found within an area of 50 square meters. A basaltic rock, in close proximity to the masses, contained many fragments of metallic iron, and the detached blocks were also partially encrusted with a rock of similar character ; there would appear to be no doubt but that the iron in the two situations was of identical origin. " Nordenskiold submitted portions of the iron to analysis, and found it to contain both nickel and cobalt : from this circumstance he con- cluded that it was of extra-terrestrial origin, Wohler, who also examined it, was of the same opinion. It must be admitted, however, that the intimate association of the iron with large eruptive masses in the neighbourhood tends to throw considerable doubt upon the accuracy of these conclusions. Several large specimens of iron from both sources were presented to the author, one of which he has care- fully examined. '' This specimen was of a deep grey colour, almost black, resembl- ing magnetite or graphitic cast-iron. It had a distinct cleavage, but tlie faces were not regular, and no distinct crystalline system could be seen. It wag not ductile, but broke under the hammer, giving a dark brown-red powder, which was strongly attracted by the magnet . On a polished surface a want of uniformity in structure was observ- able, the brilliant white crystals of schreibersite and brass-yellow crystals of troilite being distinctly visible. At other places the pre- sence of silicates produced deep green lithoidal patches upon the surface. When treated with cold water the powder yielded a small percentage of suljjhate and chloride of calcium with a trace of ferric chloride ; in this respect the present specimen differs from an ordi- nary meteorite, in which the occurrence of calcium chloride has not been previously observed. " The following are the results of a complete analysis : — Iron, metallic 40-94 Iron, combined with O, S, and P 30-15 Carbon, combined 3-00 Carbon, free 1 -64 Nickel 2-65 Cobalt 0-91 Oxygen 12-10 As, S, P, Si, Cu, H2O, &c 8-61 100-00 ''■ At the author's request Berthelot examined the same sample. He found that on ignition it gave off a certain quantity of carbon monoxide and dioxide, but that no gaseous hydrocarbons were evolved. He also carefully examined it for graphite, but found none," No. 1.] GEOLOGY AND MINERALOGY. 53 "These masses of iron from Ovifak are remarkable, not only from their large dimensions, but also from their chemical constitution, in which latter point, as well as in other physical characters, they are totally distinct from the general type of meteorites as at present known. The sharpness of the crystals of the silicates contrasts strongly with the confused crystallisation common in meteorites, to such an extent indeed that it is even possible to detect the cleavage and crystalline form characteristic of certain felspars, and by the aid of the microscope and polarized light to recognize an arrangement of the crystals such as is seen in labradorite ahd some varieties of dole- rite. Again, the large quantity of soluble salts and calcium sulphate is another distinctive character, as is also the fact that, although in meteorites, the iron is frequently combined with sulphur, phosporus, Ac, it is rarely if ever combined directly with oxygen, which latter is, in the present instance, the principal form of combination of the iron. This circumstance, as well as the presence of carbon, both free and combined, allies these specimens to the minerals known as car- bonaceous meteorites. " On the other hand, they differ still more widely from terrestrial species, such as dolerites and basalts, mure especially since they con- tain nickel, cobalt, and ferrous sulphide. " The author is inclined to think that these masses of iron are not of meteoric origin, but that they have been formed from basaltic rock, and erupted from exceptionally great depths. These basaltic rocks frequently contain as much as 20 per cent, of ferric oxide, and it is not impossible that during their passage to the surface, this oxide may have been partially reduced to the metallic state ; at all events, such a supposition would account for most of the phenomena ob- served. This reduction would be especially probable in Greenland, where large deposits of lignite occur, and the presence of carbon in the masses might perhaps be accounted for m a similar manner. Against this must be set the fact that these specimens contain matter which decomposes or volatilises at a very moderate heat, which would be incompatible with their passing through such a highly heated region, as the presence of crystallised and anhydrous silicates would seem to imply. " It has been noticed by Stammer and others that carbonic oxide, in presence of iron or iron oxide, produces, under certain circumstan- ces, a deposit of carbon, of which a certain portion combines directly with the iron, " This reaction the author has endeavoured to utilise as a syntlieti- cal method, not so much with the intention of preparing artificial meteorites, as to be enabled, by studying the phenomena which occur, to explain perhaps more satisfactorily the circumstances which at- tend the natural formation of masses of native iron." 54 THE CANADIAN NATURALIST. [Vol. vii. BOTANY AND ZOOLOGY Genera Lichenum: An Arrangement of the North American Lichens. By Edward Tuckerman, M.A., Pro- fessor of Botany in Amherst College. Amherst, 1872. — Many of our most industrious botanists have ne2;lected the lower forms of plant life. Possibly this is as much the result of the want of sufficient books of reference and of authentic collections, easily accessible, as of the greater patience and discrimination required in studying the lower organisms. Notably the Lichens have failed to excite enthusiasm : and yet how common and how con- spicuous many of them are ! The bare rock where no other life could thrive is often decked with variously coloured Lichens : on the ground amid the moss and on the old decaying stumps which too often stud the Canadian fields they are met with : our old palings have their coatings of them, dry and crisp ; and parasitic-like they roughen the bark of almost every tree. For- tunately for science in America they have not been altogether overlooked. We have long known that Professor Tuckerman, of Amherst College, has made them a subject of special study, and to him botanists from various parts of North America have sent their collections for determination or criticism. Anything from his pen is sure to evince great care and unsparing labour, and the volume before us, the result of long and patient study of these collections, is no exception. In the preface he in brief tells us that the work is "a final report to the friendly correspondents of the author on the vspecimens which for many years they have sent to him for determination ; and such determination implying a certain arrangement, the book is a further report upon what, after iinich labour, has commended itself to him as the best ascertained systematic disposition of the Lichens." The value of spores in the determination of genera and species is now well known, though minor distinctions depending on size, septation, and the number of spores in each spore-case have by some authors been allowed too much weight. Professor Tucker- man's views on this subject, which first appeared in a pamphlet published in 1866, on Lichens of California, Oregon and the Bocky Mountains, are that '' analysis scarcely indicates more than two well defined kinds of Lichen spores, complimented, in the highest tribe only, by a well defined intermediate one. In one of these (typically colourless) the originally simple spore, No. 1.] BOTANY AND ZOOLOGY. 55 passing through a series of modifications, always in one direction and tending constantly to elongation, affords at length the acicu- ■ lar type. To this is opposed (most frequently, but not exclusi- vely in the lower tribes, and even possibly anticipated by the polar bilocular sub-type in Parmeliacei) a second (typically coloured) in which the simple spore, completing another series of chano-es, tendino; rather to distention and to division in more than one direction, exhibits finally the muriform type," A con- sidenition of these spore and other distinctions has led to con.- siderable changes in the grouping of the species. A critical reference to these would interest the working lichenologist rather than the general student, and in this place we therefore need not more than say that the whole of these little organisms are, in the work before us, divided into five tribes whose characters are dependent chiefly on the external structure of the apothecium. These are sub-divided into families under which the genera are arranged. Beyond this, it will be sufficient to instance the changes in two familiar genera — the Parmelia of the old books, which is separated into Theloschistes, Parmelia and Pliyscia : and Lecanora which nowbecomes/^/acocZizmi, Lecanora and Rinodina. The book is replete with elaborate critical notes on the tribes, families, genera and species ; several new species, some of which are of interest to Canadians as occurring here, are incidentally described or referred to ; and what is of value in connection with the subject of geographical distribution, the range of species on this continent is frequently indicated. Prof. Tuckerman's labours have been purely scientific. There is not perhaps very much in the book to attract the general scientific reader, but among those who make the Lichens their study this volume wdll be much appreciated. — A. T. D. Larv^ of Worms and Echinoderms. — In a recent me- moir in the Transactions of the American Academy, Alexander Agassiz, shews that certain larvae named Tornaria, supposed to belong to star-fishes, are really young worms of the genus Balano- glossus. This, in his judgment, tends to destroy the slender basis of embryological resemblance on which Huxley had endea- voured to separate Echinoderms from other radiates and place them with certain worms in the so-called sub-kingdom Annuloida. If this is really so, it will tend to remove a perplexing anomaly of classification w^hich has already found its way into many text books of Zoology and Palaeontology. 56 THE CANADIAN NATURALIST. [Vol. vil. CHEMISTRY. Rubidium in Beetroot. — The average composition of the ash obtained from the beetroots of the North of France is the following : Potassium carbonate 30 per cent. Sodium carbonate 20 " << Potassium chloride 18 " <' Potassium sulphate 9 '' " Insoluble matter and moisture 23 " " Besides these substances, small quantities of iodine and brom- ine, and of rubidium, are contained in the ash. The above sub- stances may be separated by crystallization, or the potassium salts may be utilized first by converting them into the chloride and then into nitrate, by addition of sodium nitrate. After the separation of the greater portion of these salts by evaporation, &c., the rubidium may be precipitated from the diluted mother- liquor by addition of dilute solution of platinic chloride, or better by addition of a hot saturated solution of a potassio-platinic chloride. The precipitate obtained may be freed from the* po- tassium salt by washing with water, and then reduced in a current of hydrogen. The author (E. Pfeifier) estimates that ash froin the beetroot of the North of France contains about 1.75 grm. of rubidium chloride to the kilogram of ash. From this it follows that 1 hectare of land yields about 255 grains of rubidium chloride to every crop of beetroot. The rubidium chloride contained a trace of caesium, but no lithium was found in the ash. Tobacco from the same region contains potassium, rubidium, and lithium and traces of sodium, whilst rape-seed contains only potassium and sodium, but neither rubidium nor lithium. — Abstract in Jour. " Chem. >Soc." Gold in Sea-water. — According to E. Sonstadt, the pres- ence of gold in sea-water can readily be detected by several methods, although occuring in the very minute proportion of less than one grain to the ton. The solution of the gold is due to the presence of iodine, which, as Sonstadt showed some time ago, is liberated from the iodate of calcium existing in sea-water hy the action of putrescible organic matter. The methods employed No. 1.] CHEMISTRY. 57 by Sonstadt for the detection of the gold are exceedingly inter- esting and ingenious. According to the first method, he operates upon 150 or 200 cubic centimetres of water. Two or three decigrammes of ferrous sulphate are dissolved in the water, which is made acid by the addition of two or three drops of hydro- chloric acid. The solution is then heated in a glazed porcelain dish over a small flame, which is so arranged as to touch the under part of the dish, but should not produce ebullition. By this means a lustrous film of ferric oxide is deposited upon the bottom of the dish. The heat is kept up as long as the film increases, and the remaining liquid then poured ofi", the film washed with a little water, and 50 c. c. of strong chlorine water allowed to stand in the dish for an hour or two, and then evapo- rated down to a few drops, a drop of dilute hydrochloric acid being added towards the close of the evaporation. The liquid, which should be nearly colourless, is now poured into a test-tube containing a few drops of a solution of stannous chloride, and after a few minutes the liquid takes a bluish or purplish tint. The reaction is of course more distinct when larger quantities of water are used. Sonstadt says that he has sometimes failed to obtain the film of ferric oxide, but has been most successful when after the addition of the ferrous sulphate and hydrochloric acid to the water he has allowed the solution to stand for some hours exposed to the air. In his second method he takes from half a litre to a litre of sea-water, and after adding sufiicient barium chloride to produce about a grain of precipitate, allows the whole to stand for a day or two. The precipitate is then collected, dried, and after mix- ing with borax and lead, treated before the blow-pipe on charcoal and finally cupelled. In this way a yellowish-white button is obtained, having about the colour of an alloy of 60 parts of gold and 40 of silver. For the sake of confirmation, the button may be dissolved in a few drops of aqua regia and the solution evapo- rated nearly to dryness. A few drops of hydrochloric acid are now added, and the solution again evaporated in order to destroy the excess of nitric acid. When nearly to dryness a few drops of water are added, the mixture warmed, and, as soon as the argentic chloride has settled, a drop of solution of stannous chloride allowed to run down the side of the tube into the liquid, when the characteristic gold reaction is obtained. The precipitation of the gold by barium chloride is curious^ •58 THE CANADIAN NATURALIST. [Vol. vii. and explicable according to Sonstadt only " by supposing the gold to be present in the sea-water as an aurate, so as to be thrown down as aurate of barium. This view has much in its favour, and is greatly supported by the fact that if oxalic acid is added to sea-water some time before the addition of chloride of barium it is scarcely possible to detect gold in the precipitate formed. And this is easily to be understood, since oxalic acid reduces all gold salts." Sonstadt even goes so far as saying that it is conceivable that the method of precipitation with barium chloride might be em- ployed upon the large scale, by receiving the water at high-tide in large tanks and adding solution of barium chloride, the pre- cipitate being removed from time to time, during low-tide. The third method described by Sonstadt consists in the addi- tion of a few grammes of ferrous sulphate to a litre of sea -water, this being followed in a few days by the addition of solutions of stannous and mercuric chlorides. Mercury is thus precipitated, and as it subsides carries down the gold and silver in the form of an amalgam. " This method is open to objection, as being more troublesome than the preceding methods." For further details the reader is referred to the orio-inal article in the Chemical Mews. OBITUARY. ADAM SEDGWICK. Geology has lost her veteran leader ! While yet firm in intel- lect, full of kind and generous feeling, and occupied on the last pages of the latest record of his labours, in the ninth decade of a noble life, Sedgwick has gone to his rest. Under the shadow of this great loss we look back through more than half a century, and behold no more conspicuous figure in the front ranks of advancing geology than the strenuous master workman, the eloquent teacher, the chivalrous advocate of science, who has now finished his task. Severe illness, borne with fortitude, had gra- dually withdrawn him from scenes once brightened by his ever- welcome presence, but could not tame the high spirit, or cloud the genial sympathies which had won for him, more than for other men, the loving admiration of his fellows in age and fol- lowers in study. Rarely has a patriarchal life been crowned with such enduring and affectionate respect. l!fo, 1.] ' OBITUARY. 59 Born in 1 785, of a family long resident in a secluded York- shire Valley under the shadow of Wharnside, the boy early acquired the hardy habits and imbibed the free spirit of the north, and the man retained till his latest hour, a romantic love of the bold hills and rushing streams, amidst which he first be- came an observer of nature. Every homestead and every family in his native dale of Dent were treasured in his memory, and one of the latest of his minor literary essays was to plead against the change of the ancient name of a little hamlet situated not far from his birth-pi ace. Educated under Dawson, at the well-known school of Sedbergh, while Gough and Dalton were residing at Kendal, he proceeded to the great college in Cambridge, to which Whewell, Peacock, and Airy afterwards contributed so much renown. Devoted to the Newtonian philosophy, and especially attracted by discoveries then opening in all directions in physical science, he stood in the Jist as fifth wrangler, a point from which many eminent men liave taken a successful spring. He took his degree in 1808, became a fellow in 1809, was ordained in 1817, and for some years occupied himself in the studies and duties of academic life. His attention to geology was speedily awakened, and became by xiegrees a ruling motive for the long excursions, mostly on horse- back, which the state of his health rendered necessary in the va- cations. It was not, however, so much his actual acquirements in geo- logy as the rare energy of his mind, and the habit of large thought and expanding views on natural pheenomena, that marked him out as the fittest man in Cambridge to occupy the Woodwardian chair vacated by Hailstone. Special knowledge of rocks and fos- sils was not so much required as a well-trained and courageous intellect, equal to encounter theoretical difficulties and theological •obstacles which then impeded the advance of geology. The writer well remembers, at an evening conversazione at Sir Joseph Banks's, to which, as a satellite of Smith, he was admitted at eighteen years of age, hearing the remark that the new professor of geology at Cambridge promised to master what lie was appointed to teach, and was esteemed likely to do so effectually. In the same year Buckland, his friendly rival for forty years, received his appointment at Oxford, where he had previously begun to signalize himself by original researches in palaeontology. 60 THE CANADIAN NATURALIST. [Vol. vii.. At this time the importance of organic remains in geological reasoning, as taught by Smith, was not much felt in Cambridge, where a new born mathematical power opened out into various lines of physical research, and encouraged a more scientij&c aspect of mineralogy, and a tendency to consider the pha3nomena of earth-structure in the light of mechanical philosophy. This is very apparent in the early volumes of the Cambridge Philoso- phical Society, established in 1819, with Sedgwick and Lee for secretaries. Accordingly, the earliest memoirs of Sedgwick,. which appear in the Cambridge Transactions for 1820-21, are devoted to unravel the complicated phasnomena of the granite, killas, and serpentine in Cornwall and Devon ; and to these fol- lowed notices of the trap-dykes of Yorkshire and Durham, 1822^ and the stratified and irruptive greenstones of High Teesdale, 1823-24. In his frequent excursions to the north he was much interested in the varying mineral characters and fossils of the mag- nesian limestone, and the remarkable nonconformity of this rock to the subjacent coal, millstone grit, and mountain limestone ; and at length his observations became the basis of that large system- atic memoir which is one of the most valuable of the early con- tributions to the Transactions of the Geological Society. Begun in 1822 and finished in 1828, this essay not only cleared the way to a more exact study of the coal formation and New Bed sandstones of England, but connected them by just inference with the corresponding deposits in North Germany, which he visited for the purpose of comparison in 1829. To one of the equestrian excursions the writer was indebted for his first introduction to Sedgwick. In the year 1822 I was walking across Durham and North Yorkshire into Westmore- land. It was hot summer-time, and after sketchino; the Hig-h Force, in Teesdale, I was reclining in the shade, reading some easily carried book. There came riding up, from Middleton, a dark-visaged, conspicuous man, with a miner's boy behind. Oppo- site me he stopped, and courteously asked if I had looked at the celebrated waterfall which was near ; adding that though he had previously visited Teesdale, he had not found an occasion for viewing it ; that he would like to stop then and there to do so, but for the boy behind him, " who had him in tow to take him to Cronkley Scar," a high dark hill right ahead, where, he said, *' the limestone was turned into lump-sugar." A few days afterwards, on his way to the lakes, he rested for No. 1.] OBITUARY. 61 a few hours at Kirby Lonsdale to converse with Smith, who was engaged on his geological map of the district, and had just dis- covered some interestiuo; fossils in the laminated strata below the Old Red sandstone, on Kirkby Moor, perhaps the earliest obser- vation of shells in what were afterwards called the upper Ludlow beds. The two men thus brought together were much different, yet in one respect alike : alike in a certain manly simplicity, and unselfish communion of thought. Eight years after this Adam Sedgwick was President of the Geological Society, and in that capacity presented to William Smith the first AVollaston medal. The writer may be permitted the pleasure of this remin- iscence, since from the day when he learned the name of the horseman in Teesdale, till within a few days of his death, he had the happiness of enjoying his intimate friendship. Sedgwick had acquired fame before Murchison began his great career. After sharing in Peninsular wars, and chasing the fox in Yorkshire, the "old soldier" became a young geologist, and for 'many years worked with admirable devotion to his chief, and carried his banner through Scotland, and Germany, and across the Alps, with the same spirit as he had shown when bearing the colours for Wellington at Vimiera. Important communications on Arran and the north of Scot- land, including Caithness (1828) and the Moray Firth, others on Gosau and the eastern Alps (1829-1831), and still later, in 1837, a great memoir on the Palasozoic Strata of Devonshire and Cornwall, and another on the coeval rocks of Belgium and North Germany, show the labours of these intimate friends combined in the happiest way — the broad generalisations in which the Cambridge Professor delighted, well supported by the indefati- gable industry of his zealous companion. The most important work in the lives of these two eminent men was performed in and around the principality of Wales ; Sedgwick, as might be expected, lavishing all his energies in a contest with the disturbed strata, the perplexing dykes, and the cleavage of the lowest and least understood groups of rocks ; Murchison choosing the upper deposits exceptionally rich in fos- sils, and on the whole presenting but little perplexity as to suc- cession and character. One explorer, toiling upward from the base, the other descending from the top, they came after some years of labour (1831 to 1835) in sight of each other, and pre- sented to the British Association meeting in Dublin a general view of the stratified rocks of Wales. 62 THE CANADIAN NATURALIST. [Vol. Til. Thus were painfully unfolded the Cambrian and Silurian sys- tems, which speedily became, in a sense, the scientific property of the discoverers, and were supposed to be firmly separated by- natural and unmistakeable boundaries. They were, however,. not really traced to their junction, though Murchison stated that he had found many distinct passages from the lowest member of the Silurian system into the underlying slaty rocks named by Prof. Sedgwick the ''Upper Cambrian;" while Sedgwick admitted that his upper Cambrian, occupying the Berwyns, was connected with the Llandeilo flags of the Silurian system, and thence expanded through a considerable portion of South Wales (Reports of Brit. Assoc, 1835) . The Bala rocks were disclaimed on a cursory view by Murchison, the Llandeilo beds surrendered without sufficient examination by Sedgwick ; thus the tw^o king- doms overlapped largely ; two classifications gradually appeared -y^ the grand volume of Murchison was issued ; and then began by degrees a diiference of opinion which finally assumed a controver- sial aspect, always to be deplored between two of the most truly attached and mutually helpful cultivators of geological science in Ensiland : — " Ambo animis, ambo insignes pra'istantibus armis."' This source of lasting sorrow to both, if it cannot be forgotten, ought to be only remembered with the tenderness of regret. Familiar as we now are with the rich fauna of the Cambrian, and Silurian rocks, and their equivalents in Bohemia and America, it is not difficult to understand, and we may almost feel asain the sustained enthusiasm which welcomed the discoveries which seemed to reveal the first state of the sea, and the earliest series of marine life '' primaque ab origine mundi," almost to- complete the physical history of the earth. Starting with a o:eneral view of the structure of the Lake Mountains of the north of England, and the great dislocations by which they have been separated from the neighbouring chains (Geol. Proc. Jan. 1831). Sedgwick won his difficult way through North Wales to a general synopsis of the series of stratified rocks below the Old Bed sand- stone, and attempted to determine the natural groups and forma- tions (GeoL Proc. May, 1838). Three systems were named in order — Lower Cambrian, Upper Cambrian, Silurian — the work- ing out of which, stream by stream, and hill by hill, worthily tasked the energies of Bamsay and his friends of the National Survey for many useful years, after increasing ill-health had much reduced the field-work of the Professor. No. l.J OBITUARY. 65 But now he began to labour more earnestly than ever in the enlargement and settinor in order of the collections which were under his personal charge. In 1818, these consisted almost wholly of the small series bequeathed by Dr. Woodward ; now they have been expanded by the perpetual attention and genero- sity of Sedgwick, into one of the grandest collections of well- arranged rocks and fossils in the world. One of the latest acquisitions is the fine cabinet of Yorkshire fossils, purchased by Cambridge as a mark of loving respect for her great teacher in his fast decaying days. In this work of setting in order a vast collection gathered from various regions, and from all classes of deposits, Prof. Sedgwick,, with wise liberality, engaged the willing aid of some of his own pupils, and of other powerful hands brought to Cambridge for the purpose. Ansted, Barrett, Seely, M-'Coy, Salter, Morris, have all helped in this good work, and to their diligence and acumen were added the unrivalled skill and patience of Keeping, one of the best "fossilists" in Europe. Those who in this manner have concurred in the labours of their chief, one and all found in him the kindest of friends, the most considerate of masters — one who never exacted from others, and always gave to his assistants more than the praise and the delicate attention which their services deserved. The ample volumes entitled " British Palaeozoic Rocks and Fossils, 1851-5," by Sedgwick and M'Coy, must be consulted for a complete view of the classification finally adopted by Sedg- wick ; and further information is expected from the publication of a Synoptic Catalogue, to which Salter gave some of his latest aid. During his long tenure of a Fellowship in Trinity College, Prof. Sedgwick witnessed great changes in the mathematical training, and contributed as much as any man to the present favourable condition of Science in Cambridge. To defend the University against hasty imputations, to main- tain a high standard of moral philosophy, and a dignified pre- ference for logical induction to alluring hypothesis was always in his thoughts. Hence the "Discourse on the Studies of the University of Cambridge," at first an eloquent sermon, grew by prefix and suflix to a volume which he himself likened to a wasp — large in front and large behind, with a very fashionable waist. Under such feelings he spoke out against the " Vestiges of 64 THE CANADIAN NATURALIST. [Vol. VU. Creation" with a fervour of argument and declamation which must have astonished the unacknowledged author of that once popular speculation. Nor was he silent when the views of Dar- win came to fill the void places of biological theory, against which he not only used a pen of steel but made great use of his heavy hammer. The vigour — vehemence we may call it — of his pen and ton- gue in a matter which touched his sense of justice, morals, or religion, might mislead one who did not thoroughly know his truth and gentleness of heart, to suppose that anger was mixed with his honest indignation ; but it was quite otherwise. In a letter addressed to the writer, in reply to some suggestion of the kind, he gave the assurance that he was resolved " no ill blood" should be caused by the discussion which had become inevitable. He never failed in courtesy to the honest disputant whose arguments he mercilessly " contunded." Taken altogether, Professor Sedgwick was a man of grand proportion, cast in a heroic mould. Pressed in early life through a strict course of stady, he found himself stronger by that training than most of his fellow geologists, but never made them feel his superiority. Familiar with great principles, and tenacious of settled truths, he was ready to welcome and encourage every new idea which appeared to be based on facts truly observed, and not unprepared or unwilling to stand, even if alone, against what he deemed un- fair objection or unsubstantial hypothesis. This is not the place to speak of his private worth, or to in- dulge in reminiscence of his playful and exuberant fancy, the source of unfailing delight to those who knew him in his happier hours. Unmarried, but surrounded by plenty of cheerful relatives, his last hours of illness were soothed by sedulous affect- ion ; his kindly disposition no suffering could conceal ; his lively interest in passing events nothing could weaken. Ever " Against oppression, fraud, or wrong. His voice rose high, his hand waxed strong." With collected mind, on the verge of the grave, he would express, with undiminished interest, his latest conclusions on his own Cambrian system, purely as a matter of scientific discussion, free from all personal considerations. It will be well if this mode of treatment be reverently followed by those who while speaking of Protozoic and Palaeozoic Rocks, know enough to feel how much they have been benefited by the disinterested labours of a long and noble life. — From ^^ Nature y > THE CANADIAN NATURALIST AND ^uavtcvljj 3(ottvnat ot ^mxtt IMPRESSIONS AND FOOTPRINTS OF AQUATIC ANIMALS AND IMITATIVE MARKINGS, ON CARBONIFEROUS ROCKS * By J. W. Dawson, LL.D., F.R.S. The footprints and other markings of aquatic invertebrate animals and of fishes, are necessarily for the most part, less distinctive and importmt than those of land animals, both, because less characteristic in themselves, and because reproduced under similar forms in very different geological periods. The former peculiarity has caused them to be neglected as of little importance, or to be confounded with impressions of plants. With reference to the latter, I have myself shown that the impressions made by the modern King-crab faithfully represent the Protlclniites, Climactichnitts, and ^«sicA;u7es of the Primor- dial and Silurian, and similar comparisons have been made by Salter, Jones, Dana and others, between the tracks of modern Crust iceaus and worms and some of those in the oldest rocks. 1. Protichnites, Owen. The footprints from the Potsdam Sandstone in Canada, for which this name was proposed by Owen, and which were by him referred to Crustaceans probably resembling Limulus, were shown by me in 1862f to correspond precisely with those of * From SilUman^s Journal. f Canadian Naturalist, vol. vii. Vol. vii. e No. 2. 66 THE CANADIAN NATURALIST. [Vol. vil. the American Limulus (PoJi/j^hemus occidentalis). I proved by experiment with the modern animal that the recurring series of groups of markings were produced by the toes of the large posterior thoracic feet, the irregular scratches seen in Protichnites lineatus by the ordinary feet, and the central furrow by the tail. It was also shown that when the Limulus uses its swim- ming feet it produces impressions of the character of those named ClimacticJmifes, from the same beds which afford Protichnites. The principal difference between Protichnites and their modern representatives is that the latter have two lateral furrows pro- duced by the sides of the carapace, which are wanting in the former. • As Limuloid crustaceans are well known in the Carboniferous beds of Europe and America, their footprints might be expected to occur in rocks of this age, but the first I have met with were sent to me last summer by my friend Mr. Elder, of Harvard College, who found them quite abundantly in dark-colored flag- stones belonging to the Millstone Grit formation at McKay's Head in Nova Scotia (fig. 1). The animal which produced these marks must have been of small size (about half an inch in breadth), in this agreeing with the usual size of the Coal-for- mation Limuloids; and like the ancient Pro tichnite makers, it left no trace of the edges of the carapace, but a very distinct impression of a sharp pointed tail. Its posterior feet had three or possibly four sharp toes. There were besides several pairs of sharp-pointed walking feet. On the same slabs there are some series of marks, evidently made by the same kind of animal, which have no tail-mark, and there are tail-marks with only traces of those of the toes. It is worthy of notice that, though these tracks indicate the presence of the animal, no crusts of Carboniferous Limuloid crustaceans have yet been found in Nova Scotia. The sand in which the tracks now referred to were made was probably too hard to permit the swimming feet to make any impression. AVith respect to the absence of the marks of the sides of the carapace, I may observe that the genus Belinurus of the Carboniferous had the sides of the cara- pace less deep than that of the modern Limulus, and this may also have been the case with the more ancient Limuloids of the Potsdam. See as to this a letter by Prof Hall in the Canadian J^aturaUst, 1862. To Protichnites may perhaps be referred a very singular No. 2.] DAWSON — IMPRESSIONS AND FOOTPRINTS. 67 impression from Horton Bluff (fig. 2), which at first sight much resembles P. Scoticus, from the Primordial of Roxburghshire, though the Carboniferous specimen is larger and more compli- cated.* It seems to have been produced by the successive pressure of a pair of flat organs, crenated or toothed at the edges, rather than divided into separate toes. Its horizon is the Lower Carboniferous. It was collected by Prof. Hartt. The first species of Protichnites referred to above may be ' appropriately named P. Carhonarius, and the second P.Acadicus. They are, I believe, the first impressions of this kind found in the Carboniferous. 2. Pasiclmifes, Dawson. In a paper published in the Canadian Naturalist, 1864, I showed that the sino-ular bilobate markimi:s with transverse striae named Rmophycus by Hall, and found in the Chazy of Canada and the Clinton group of New York, are really casts of burrows connected with footprints consisting of a double series of transverse markings, and that a comparison of them with the trails and burrows of Limulus justified the conclusion that they were produced by Trilobites. I proposed for these and for similar impressions of small size found in the Carboniferous, the name given above. The Carboniferous examples I supposed might have been produced by the species of PhilUpsia found in these beds. A specimen recently obtained from Horton shows this kind of impression passing in places into a kind of Pro- tichnites, as if the creature possessed walking feet as well as the lamellate swimming feet which it ordinarily used. I can scarcely doubt that the Cruziana semlpUcata of Salter, and C. similis of Billino:s from the Primordial of Newfoundland, must have been produced by crustaceans not dissimilar from those to which Rusichnites belongs. To Rusichnites rather than to Protichnites ought perhaps to be referred certiin transverse linear impressions with a broad central groove from the Lower Carboniferous of Horton, which occur at that place under different modifications, and sometimes seem to change into light scratches or touches of feet employed in swimming, or end abruptly as if the animal had suddenly risen from the bottom. * Siluria, 4th edition, p. 153. 68 THE CANADIAN NATURALIST. [Vol. viL. Ai'enicoUfes, Salter. This genus may be held to include cylindrical burrows of worms with or without marks of minute setae. They occur in^ rocks of all ages, and are especially abundant in the Lower Carboniferous series of Half-way River, Nova Scotia, and in the^ Upper Coal-formation at Tatamagouche in the same province ;. those at the latter place showing minute scratches produced by the setge of the worms,* With the ordinary form at Hortort there occur very long and slender, thread-like forms of the same nature with those to which the name Nemertltes has been given. I have long been of opinion that many of the cylindrical markings which have been described as plants under the names PalcBOchorda, Bittliotrej^liis, Palceopliycus, Arthi'OjyJii/cus, &c.y are burrows of this kind, but the main difficulty seemed to be to- account for their branching in a radiate or palmate manner. I have recently met with specimens from the Primordial and Carboniferous which seem to explain this. They show a central hole or burrow from which the animal seems to have stretche($ and withdrawn its body in different directions, so as to give an appearance of branching and radiation, possibly due merely to the excursions of the same worm from the mouth of its burrow. No distinct examples of the Primordial and Silurian worm- trails known as Nereites, Mijrianites and Crossopodia, have yet occurred to me in the Carboniferous. Dipliduiites, Dawson. In the Journal of the Geological Society for 1861, I described a remarkable series of impressions found at the Joggins in the Coal-formation, on the surface of a sandstone holding footprints of reptiles. It consists of two rows of strongly marked depres- sions about one inch long and a quarter of an inch broad (fig. 3). These marks are placed close together in each row, and the rows are six inches apart, while the space between is somewhat smoothed" as if by a flat body drawn over it. The general appearance is somewhat that which would be produced by a heavy-laden toy cart six inches wide, and with broad wheels, notched or cogged at the edges, if dragged over firm sand. I suggested, in the paper above mentioned, that these singular markings might have * Journal of the Geological Society, vol. 11. INo. 2.] DAWSON — IMPRESSIONS AND FOOTPRINTS. 69 been produced by a large crustacean or by a gigantic worm, or by a serpentiform batrachian. I have since found a very perfect but smaller series on a sandstone of the Upper Coal-formation near Toney river, which in the varying distances of the impres- sions seems to show that they were made by prominent movable j)oints, while the absence of any mark or smoothing between the rows shows that the body of the animal was borne above the sand. I have hence been induced to suppose that these imprints may have been produced by the pectoral or ventral fins of fishes armed with strong spines, on which the creatures may have exe- 'Cuted a sort of walkins: movement when in shallow water. In my collection from the Joggins there is a spine which I have figured and described in my Acadian Geology under the name Gyracanthus diqylicatus, which if we can suppose it to have been •a pectoral or ventral spine, would produce precisely such impressions as those of the smaller series above mentioned. The impressions of the type of DipJichnites are known to me •only in the Carboniferous. Scerlclinites of Billings, from the Anticosti group,* has some points of resemblance to it, but is •essentially distinct. My species may be named D. cenigma. Rahdichnites, Dawson. Under this name I would designate the straight or slightly •curved marks usually striated or grooved longitudinally, and •either single or in pairs, which abound on some Carboniferous beds, and also in much older formations. At Horton Blufi", in beds holding remains of fishes, numerous footprints of crus- taceans and reptiles, and scratches which were probably made by the fins of fishes, these marks abound. They were evidently furrows drawn by pointed objects trailed over the mud, and reproduced in relief on the under surfaces of the beds next deposited. Some have been produced by rounded points and are semi cylindrical. Others are the work of chisel-shaped, pointed, notched or fimbriated organs, giving a variety of more •or less close subordinate grooves or striae. In some cases they pass into or are associated with punctures or impressions made perpendicularly like those last noticed, and this is especially the >t2ase with some of the smaller varieties. The whole of these * Report on Silurian Fossils of Anticosti, 1866, 70 THE CANADIAN NATURALIST. [Vol. vii^ impressions are probably marks of the spines and fins of fishes, striking the bottom or trailed over it. Some of the beds at Hortou Bluff are as completely striated in this way as if glaciated, only that the striae are individually more definite and are in all directions. It is worthy of note that these markings strikingly resemble the so-called Eophyton described by Torell from the Primordial of Sweden, and by Billings from that of Newfoundland ; and which also occurs abundantly in the Primordial of New Bruns- wick. After examinino' a series of these markino-s from Sweden shown to me by Mr. Carruthers in London, and also specimens from Newfoundland, and a large number in situ at St. John, I am convinced that they cannot be plants, but must be markings of the nature of Babdichnites. This conclusion is based on the absence of Carbonaceous matter, the intimate union of the markings with the surface of the stone, their indefinite forms, their want of nodes or appendages, and their markings being always of such a nature as could be produced by scratches of a sharp instrument. Since, however, fishes are yet unknown in beds of this age, they may possibly be referred to the feet or spinous tails of swimming crustaceans. Salter has already suggested this origin for some scratches of somewhat different form found in the Primordial of Great Britain. He supposed them to have been the work of species of Hijmenocuris. These marks may, however, indicate the existence of so die free-swim- ming animals of the Primordial seas as yet unkn )wn to us. Three other suggestions merit consideration in this connection. One is that algae and also land plants, drifting with tides or cur- rents, often make the most remarkable and fantastic trails. A marking of this kind was observed by Mr. G. M. Dawson last summer to be produced by a Lamiuaria, and in complexity it resembled the extraordinary jEnigmichnus multiformis of Hitch- cock from the Connecticut sandstones. Much more simple markings of this kind would sufl&ce to give species of Eophyton.. Another is furnished by a fact stated to the author by Prof. Morse, namely, that Liugulge, when dislodged from their burrows, trail themselves over the bottom like worms, by means of their cirri. Colonies of these creatures, so abundant in the Primor- dial, may, when obliged to remove, have covered the surfaces of beds of mud with vermicular markings. The third is that the Rabdichnite-markings resemble some of the grooves in Siluriam No. 2.] DAWSON — IMPRESSIONS AND FOOTPRINTS. 71 rocks which have been referred to trails of Gasteropods, as for instance, those from the Clinton group, described by Hall. An might be expected, the markings above referred to, when in relief, occur on the under sides of the beds. A few instances may, however, be found where they exist on the upper surfaces. On careful consideration of these raised impressions, I have arrived at the conclusion that they have been left by denudation of the surrounding material, just as footprints on dry snow sometimes remain in relief after the surrounding loose snow has been drifted away by the wind ; the portion consolidated by pressure being better able to resist the denuding agency. Such markings in relief on the upper surfaces of beds are, however, I believe, altogether exceptional. It seems idle to give specific names to markings of this kind. They have evidently been made by many different species of animals, but they afford no certain characters. Fig. 4 a to/, represents some of the forms most common in the Carboniferous beds. Imitative markings. Rill-marks are often very beautifully developed on the Car- boniferous shales and argillaceous sandstones, though not more elaborately than on the modern mud-banks of the Bay of Fundy,* and they occur as far back as the oldest Cambrian. f Some of these simulate leaves of ferns and fronds of Laminariae, and others resemble roots, fucoids allied to Buthotrephis, or the radiating worm-burrows already referred to. Shrinkage cracks are also abundant in some of the Carbonifer- ous beds and are sometimes accompanied with impressions of rain-drops. When finely reticulated they might be mistaken for the venation of leaves, and when complicated with little rill- marks tributary to their sides, they precisely resemble the Dic- tuolites of Hall from the Medina Sandstone. An entirely different kind of shrinkage- crack is that which occurs in certain carbonized and flattened plants, and which sometimes communicates to them a marvellous resemb- lance to the netted under-surface of an exogenous leaf (fig. 5). Flattened stems of plants and layers of cortical matter, when carbonized, shrink in such a manner as to produce minute * Acadian Geology, 2nd edition, p. 26. •f Salter, Journal of Geol. Society, vol. 12, p. 251. 72 THE CANADIAN NATURALIST. [Yol. VU. Fig' i.—Protichnites Carhonarins (nat. size). Carboniferous, Nova Scotia. V\g.2.—P.Acodicu>i, " " " Fig. 3. — Diidichniteg senipma iTQfXnaQdi). " " Fig. 4. — Rnhdichnites, different forms (nat. size). " " Fig. 5.— Carbonized plant with reticulated markings (nat. size) ; a, enlarged section of part of the same. Carboniferous, Nova Scotia. No. 2.] DAWSON — IMPRESSIONS AND FOOTPRINTS. 73 reticulated cracks. These become filled with mineral matter •before the coaly substance has been completely consolidated. A further compression occurs, causing the coaly substance to collapse, leaving the little veins of harder mineral matter pro- jecting. These impress their form upon the clay or shale above and below, ajid thus when the mass is broken open we have a ■carbonaceous film or thin layer covered with a network of raised lines, and corresponding minute depressed lines on the shale in 'Contact with it. The reticulations are generally irregular, but -sometimes they very closely resemble the veins of a reticulately veined leaf. One of the most curious specimens in my posses- sion was collected by Mr. Elder in the Lower Carboniferous of Horton BluflF. The little veins which form the projecting net- work are in this case white calcite ; but at the surface their pro- jecting edges are blackened with a carbonaceous film. Slicken-sided bodies, resembling the fossil fruits described by Oeinitz as Gulielmites, and the objects believed by Fleming and Oarruthers* to be casts of cavities filled with fluid, abound in the shales of the Carboniferous and Devonian. They are, no •doubt, in most cases the results of the pressure and consolidation •of the clay around small solid bodies, whether organic, fragmen- tary or concretionary. They are, in short, local slicken-sides precisely similar to those found so plentifully in the coal under- •clays, and which, as I have elsewheref shown, resulted from the internal giving way and slipping of the mass as the roots of •Stigmaria decayed within it. Most collectors of fossil plants in the older formations must, I presume, be familiar with appear- ances of this kind in connection with small stems, petioles, fragments of wood, and carpolites. I have in my collection petioles of ferns and fruits of the genus Trigonocarpum partially slicken-sided in this way, and which if wholly covered by this kind of marking could scarcely have been recognized. I have figured bodies of this kind in figs. 126 and 231 of my report on the Devonian and Upper Silurian plants, believing them, owing to their carbonaceous covering, to be probably slicken-sided fruits, though of uncertain nature. In every case I think these bodies must have had a solid nucleus of some sort, as the severe pressure implied in slicken-sliding is quite incompatible with a mere " fluid-cavity," even supposing this to have existed. •Journal of Geol. Society, .June, 1871. f Ibid, vol. x, p. 14. 74 THE CANADIAN NATURALIST. [Vol. viL Prof. Marsh has well explained another phase of the influence of hard bodies in producing partial slicken-sides, in his paper on StyloUtes, read before the American Association in 1867, and the application of the combined forces of concretionary action and slicken siding to the production of the cone-in-cone concre^ tions, which occur in the Coal-formation and as low as the Pri- mordial, was illustrated by the author in his Acadian Geology^ p. 676. Of course, as I have not seen the specimens referred by Prof. Geinitz to Gulielmites, but only the figures in his Memoir on the Permian plants of Saxony, I cannot offer any decided opinion as to their nature; but I have little doubt that the bodies mentioned by Mr. Carruthers are of the kind above referred to^ and would be found to have had a solid nucleus either organic or of some other kind. I may remark in conclusion that it would be well if collectors would give some attention to imitative markings and animal footprints of the kinds above referred to, as well as to their mode of occurrence with reference to the surfaces and material of the beds on which they are found. The labors of Duncan, Hitch- cock, Jardine, Salter, and other careful observers, show how^ much interesting information may thus be obtained, and many mischievous errors might also be avoided. In my own studies in fossil botany, I have made it a point to collect and study all markings resembling plants, as well as the effects of crumpling,, pressure, concretionary action, cyrstalization, shrinkage and slicken-siding upon actual vegetable remains ; and by so doing I have avoided the trouble and expense of describing and figuring some dozens of imaginary species; while it would be easy to point out in works of some pretension costly figures and elabo- rate descriptioDs based on imitative forms or distorted and other- wise altered fossils. No. 2.] 3IATTHEW — IMPRESSIONS OF CUBA. 75* IMPRESSIONS OF CUBA. By G. F. Matthew. (Continued from page 34.) The plan of the houses in and about Cienfuegos is very differ- ent from that of our own, and a few words about their arrange ment may be of interest. They are seldom more than one story hio;h, and in the better class of houses the roofs are in almost all cases covered with tiles. I have already made allusion to the use made of the clay in the vicinity of Cienfuegos for the manufacture of tiles and bricks. The bricks are of a yellow color, and are much broader and flatter than those used in Canada: large quantities are used for the walls and floors of houses, for paving the sidewalks, &c. The general arrangement of the apartment reminds one of the old Roman dwelling, modified to suit th.e requirements of the climate and the demands of modern civilization. In the centre is a paved court (patio) which corresponds to the atrium in being the heart of the structure. This court is usually adorned with flower-beds, a few ornamental trees and shrubs, and an aviary; and not unfrequently has beneath it a large cistern. In front of the court there is a closed veranda (comodor,^ generally used as a dining and sitting room; and which is shut off from the court by latticed doors. On the sides of the court are bed- rooms and store-rooms, while the back part of the building, which is shut off from the body of the house by a brick wall, is reserved for kitchen, laundry, &c. In the small court behind the main one are the apartments occupied by domestic slaves. In front of the veranda of which I have spoken, is the more substantial por- tion of the house, usually enclosed with brick walls, against which the veranda is built. In this part of the building there is on one side a very broad hall (zaguan), made so to accommo- date the family carriage, which stands here when not in use. It is shut off from the street by a large, heavy door, in which is a wicket, the only entrance to the house under ordinary circum- stances. On the other side of the main building is a large room (sala) devoted to the purpose of a parlour and drawingroom.. ^6 THE CANADIAN NATURALIST. [VoL Vli. Both it and the hall are open to the roof, and it has usually two large windows opening to the street, secured by longitudinal iron bars and heavy wooden shutters. In a climate so warm as that of Cuba, one principal aim in the construction of houses is to make them as cool as possible. The windows and doors opening upon the court are accordingly closed only with Venetian shut- ters, and there are open spaces just beneath the eaves. The floors are of brick, stone-flagging, or marble, carefully laid, in order that no harbor may be afi"orded to the reptiles and vermin which abound in a warm climate. In passing such a house in the day time, one finds the shutters closed, the great gate-like doorway fastened, and can see in it only the aspect of a prison. After nightfall, however, when the sea-breeze dies away, and the cool evening air settles around the town, Cienfuegos appears to wake up. The heavy shutters which hide the interior of the houses from view are thrown open, the rooms brilliantly lighted, and the passer-by is made acquainted with one phase in the social life of the Cubans. Within the parlour will be seen two rows of rocking-chairs arranged vis-a-vis. One row will be occupied by the ladies of the family, fan in hand, and in full dress ; the other, reserved for any friends who may "" drop in." These still, cool, balmy evenings are sure to find numbers of strollers and promenaders of both sexes in the streets. •On Sundays and Thursdays there are gatherings of the towns- people in the evening on the jy^iza, or public square, to listen to operatic music from the band, and give opportunity for more general intercourse than is aff'orded by the more select meetings in private solas. On such occasions both ladies and gentlemen -appear in full dress, the former with uncovered heads. Sunday is the gala-day of the week in this Island, and is chosen for public exhibitions and processions, theatrical entertainments and cock- fights, as well as for public and private balls. While the evening hours bring into view the sociable and fcishionable phase of Cuban life, a stroll through the streets in the early morning gives an insight into its devotional and domes- ^•tic aspect. When the dew is scarcely ofi" the ground, groups of females with their attendants may be observed wending their way toward the large double-gabled church on the side of the ]3laza. Such a group will consist of the signora and some of her daughters, accompanied by a black slave, who carries one or two •stools for the ladies and a mat to kneel upon in church ; for No. 2.] MATTHEW — IMPRESSIONS OF CUBA. 17' such accommodation as pews, to encourage exclusiveness and. somnolency, are not thought of in this hind, and those who will be luxurious, must protect themselves against the chill communicated from the bare stone floor, by mats or carpets, of their own. Another centre of attraction at this early hour is the market. Hither go the dark-skinned domestics with, their long, sack-like baskets of palm-leaf, to gossip, or make purchases. A Babel of tongues — if not for variety, at least for volubility — salutes the ear of one entering the building where the market is held, and a great deal more chaffering accompanies the purchase of a dinner, than a stolid and reticent Northerner would think necessary. Sweet potatoes and their gigantic relative the yam, are presented for sale in large quautities. Eggs and poul- try seem favourite articles of diet ; the poultry are always offered for sale alive, as a prudent housewife in Cuba would hardly ven- ture to buy plucked fowls, on account of the heat of the climate. As I did not visit Cienfuegos during the fruit season, I saw little in market; bananas, with a few oranges, mameys and limes- seemed the staple varieties. The fish offered for sale appear to^ be all of the spiny-finned orders (Acanthopteryges) : of these the Riihia, a beautiful rose-colored fish, not unlike a perch in its form, seemed an especial favorite. There were also prawns, crabs and small oysters. There is a large restaurant near the market where the countrymen (guajiros) may be seen sipping their coffee^ chocolate, or wine, at small tables distributed through the rooms- All appeared temperate and orderly, and there was no " bar." In the early morning hours, too, one may see these same giia- jiros, mounted on horse or mule, hawking their charcoal and maloja (green fodder) through the streets. As one of them appears in the early dawn approaching the city, mounted on his beast, with a great pannier or bundle on either side, the group looks not unlike an inverted pyramid, moving quietly yet swiftly towards you, and yet maintaining its equilibrium by some magical power. Another class, which one frequently meets with at this time of day, is the huxters, who traverse the city on foot, bringing sup^- plies to the doors of those who cannot visit the market. Among these are a number of Chinamen, who having served out their apprenticeship on the estates, and having a shrewd eye to business, obtain a little stock of vegetables and fruit, which they cry about town ; carrying their wares in trays suspended from the ends of 78 THE CANADIAN NATURALIST. [Yol. vii. a bamboo pole, resting on the shoulders — in true oriental fashion. They appear to be very thrifty and intelligent, but have other vices than opium-smoking, for they are avaricious and revengeful. The Chinese very soon take a higher position on the estates than the negroes with whom they labor. They are generally to be found employed where delicate manipulation or higher intel- ligence is required. Thus they work in the sugar-houses, while the negroes are generally sent to the cane-fields. If there is any carpentry or masonry to be done on the estates, the Chinamen are the ones to do it ; they are also frequently employed as land- scape gardeners, and show much aptitude and originality in improv- ing the surroundings of a planter's house. On a few estates some who have been long in the Island have risen to the responsible position of overseer of the sugar-house, receiving $2 to $3 per diem. Negro field-hands are invaluable to the Cuban planters ; for while the Chinamen have a bad trick of committing suicide when severely dealt with, the negro puts up with his hard lot, and works away, if not contentedly, at least with few attempts at open rebellion. Except for the tremendous labour exacted from them during the griuding-season, and the dependent position in which they are kept, the lot of the negro bondsman in Cuba is one of considerable animal enjoyment, and is such as to subject him to few of the cares of life. He is well fed and housed, and his children well cared for. If he desires to acquire a few additional bodily comforts, a small patch of land is placed at his disposal for cultivation, and he is permitted to raise pigs and poultry on a small scale for sale — all this, however, during good behaviour. If he is restive, thievish, or lazy, he is deprived of the chance of attending to his little farm, and, from neglect, all his luxuries vanish On the plantations, women, as well as men, are taken out to cut the cane, feed the crushers at the mill, and perform other work. During the grinding season, which lasts four or five months, the slaves are required to work sixteen hours out of the twenty-four. After the canes are ground they are not usually required to work more than eight or ten hours a day. Planters often employ the farming population of the country in clearing new lands where cane is to be planted, thus saving their slaves from exhausting labor, and curtailing their chances for running away. Oxen are extensively used as draft animals in Cuba. Large [No. 2.] MATTHEW — IMPRESSIONS OF CUBA. 79 numbers are required on an estate for ploughing the cane-fields, carrying the canes to mill when they are cut, and transporting the produce of the estates to market, or places of shipment. The Cuban oxen are about the size of our own : they are frequently jap, its contents were emptied as quickly as possible into a large ^^ THE CANADIAN NATURALIST. [Vol. vii • shallow tub ; and this was covered with a tarpaulin and placed in the shade. An ordinary thermometer, with a metal case and perforated base, was then plunged into the mud, and the whole was kept carefully shaded for a time. With one exception, the temperature of the mud was found to be from 37° to 38° Fahr., and this not alone in deep water ; for sand brought up from 25 fathoms, on the north shore of the St. Lawrence, also made the mercury sink to 38° or 37° Fahr. In the centre of the river, between the island of iVnticosti and the south shore of the St.. Lawrence, mud brought up from 200 fathoms, only made the mercury sink to from 43° to 45° Fahr. Either a warm cur- rent affects the temperature of the bottom at this point, or else my observations were inaccurate or defective, which latter as^ sumption is by no means unlikely. With a view of trying to get some information as to the nature of the food of some of the surface-feeding fishes, and especially of the herring and mackerel, towing nets were frequently used ; but comparatively few specimens were taken in these. Hempen tan- gles, similar to those devised by Captain Calver, were also em- ployed, and with much more success. The following is a brief sketch of some of the most interesting^ forms of animal life obtained during the expedition. During the. autumn of 1871, Mr. J. Gwyn Jeffreys, F.R.S., visited Montreal,, and went over the whole of the testaceous Mollusca with me. I am also indebted to Professors A. Aaassiz, A. E. Yerrill, and S. I. Smith for the identification of several critical species. FORAMINIFERA. Large quantities of these beautiful organisms were collected, especially from very deep water, but at present only a portion of these have been carefully examined. In "Mr. G. 31. Dawson's- paper on the " Foraminifera of the River and Gulf of the St. Lawrence," published in Vol. 5 (New Series) of this Journal, a list is given of fifty-six subspecies or varietal forms. Among the individuals collected last year in deep water are a number of large specimens to which it is difficult to attach any name, but which form a series connecting the subgenera Nodosaria, Dentalina, MarginiiUna and Cristellaria. One of the most remarkable of these IS a Marginulina with long spinous processes developed from the first chamber. It is probably M. spinosa of M. Sars. Cris- tellaria crejnclula and Trochammina incerta were collected m No. 2.] WHITEAVES — ON DEEP-SEA DREDGING. 8^^ comparatively shallow water (30 to 40 fathoms) ; and Bolivina punctata, Nonionina iimhiUcatula, Valvulina austr^iaca, and gigantic examples of a Triloculina allied to T. tricarinafay. (perhaps T. cryptella, D'Or,) reminding one of miniature beech- nut seed carved in ivory, were dredged in from 200 to 250 fathoms. By far the greater number of the St. Lawrence Foraminifera seem to have a wide range in depth. I have ex- amined large bagfuls of dredgings from more than fifty localities in the northern part of the Gulf, and out of fifty or sixty species or varietal forms, only four or five seem peculiar to deep water. Virgulina squamosa, Bolivina costata and squamosa, Nonionina umhilicatula, and the Triloculina previously mentioned are ap- parently only met with in from 200 to 300 fathoms water. 1m the St. Lawrence, Lagena distoma (typical), Bulimina pyrula and marginata, and Valvulina austriaca are jcharacteristic of deep water, but are very rarely met with in lesser depths- Glohigerina hulloides, though small, is not unfrequent at all depths ; but, curiously enough, Orhulina universa has not yet been found living in Canada. Although many of the Foramini- fera from the deep water are small and delicate, by far the largest specimens yet collected were taken in from 200 to 250 fathoms. This agrees with the result of Dr. Carpenter's observa- tions on board the ' Porcupine.' The Rhahdopleura figured by Mr. Dawson I believe to be an annelid tube, having examined the animal in a living state. POLYCYSTINA. DictyocJia aculeata and a species of Ceratosjyi/ris have been previously catalogued from the Gulf of St. Lawrence by Principal Dawson. Three additional species were dredged in upwards of 200 fathoms ; but these are at present undetermined. In Canada, Polycystina are not peculiar to deep water; for I have taken fine specimens from the interior of a species of Ualichon- dria, also from the stomach of Echinus drohachiensis, both collected from a little below low-water mark. Sponges. Several examples of the Grantia ciliata of 0. Fabricius were dredged from 96 fathoms in Trinity Bay, on the north shore of the St. Lawrence. It is the first sponge with calcareous spicules recorded from the Gulf. The straight spicules of the terminating, cone and the triradiate ones of the body of the sponge, make^ 90 THE CANADIAN NATURALIST. [Vol. vii. beautiful polariscope objects. Another species, which I at first thought referable to Bowerbanks genus Polymastia, occurred fre- quently in deep water. Since my paper in the 'Annals ' was written, the inspection of a copy of Dr. Wyville Thompson's new volume '^ The Depths of the Sea," and the receipt by the Society of Prof. H. A. Pagenstecher's paper entitled 'ZurkenntnissderSchwamme,' have enabled me to rectify this error. The sponge in question is evidently Thecophora semisiiherites of Dr. 0. Schmidt. The diagno- sis of the genus cited by Prof. Pagenstecher agrees well with St. Lawrence specimens. The character '' Rinde aus homogen ver- •dichteter Sarkode " (outer skin of a thickened and homogeneous sarcode) is a very conspicuous feature in the Canadian sponge, the spicules of which are uniformly spinulate fusiform. A mas- sive IlaUcJwndria, allied to panicea, but differing from it in some respects, was taken in 38 fathoms off Cape Rosier village. The larger spicules are like those of H. panicea, but it has, in ;&ddition to these, numerous small retentive bihamate ones. The remainder of the deep-sea sponges have yet to be identified. Hydrozoa. The Hydroid polyps collected were tolerably numerous. The following species have been recognized, but only a portion of the series has been carefully examined. (Athecata.) Coryne pusilla, Gaertner, Tuhularia indivisa, Linn. (Thecaphora.) Campanularia verticillata, Linn. Lafoea dumosa, FL " fruticosa, Sars. Salacia abietina, Sars. Sertularella rugosa, Linn. " tricuapidata, Alder. Sertularia pumila, Linn. " fiUcula, Ellis & Sol. " abietina, Linn. " argentea, Ellis & Sol. Ilydrallmania falcata, Linn, Thuiaria thuja, Linn. " articulata. Pallas. "1 ACTINOZOA. In the lowest order of this class, the Alcyonaria, the most in- teresting discovery was that of a fine series of Pennatuloe. About 50 or 60 living specimens were taken in the centre of the river between Anticosti and the south shore of the St. Lawrence, in depths ranging from 160 to 200 fathoms. In the largest speci- mens collected there are 40 pinnules on each side of the upper portion of the coenosarc ; but in average full-grown examples the number is less, and ranges from 30 to 35. On the back of the a^achis there is a central groove, on each side of which are nu- No. 2.] WHITEAVES — ON DEEP-SEA DREDGING. 91 merous but unequal, spinose, undeveloped polyps. The average number of polyp-bearing cells on each pinnule seems to be about 11, but varies from 9 to 16. The polyp-bearing cells are entirely separate, and are margined with bundles of spines. The 8 mesenteries and somatic chambers, as well as the 8 tentacles of •the polyps, can be well made out in the specimens collected. In one specimen examined by Mr. G. T. Kennedy the basal portion of the pinnules is filled with spheres of granular matter. The spicules of the lower half of the stem are elliptical or oblong, arid dicidedly constricted in the middle. The calcareous internal axis is somewhat longer than the coenosarc itself, and is recurved at the base. Large examples measure about 8 inches; but some are only 6 inches long, or even less. These latter specimens have as few as 21 pinnules on each side of the stem. My first impression, on examination of the Canadian Sea Pen, ■was that it differed materially from any described species, and that view was also taken by Prof. A^errill. But under the name PennatuJa plwspliorea Kolliker includes so many varieties and sub-varieties, and my specimens differ so much among themselves, that they may possibly rank as forms of that protean species. If P. acideata of Daniellssen be included among the synonyms of P. plwspliorea, so I think must my P. Canadensis. But if, as Prof. Verrill claims, P acideata is distinct from P. p>liospliorea, then the Sea Pen of the St. Lawrence must be called Pennatida aculeata, var. Canadensis. The species collected of the limited genus Alcyonium are three in number. One is probably A. ruhi forme, Ehr., another comes near A. carneum, Ag., and there is a third species, found exclusively in very deep water, which has yet to be determined. This last, however. Prof. A^'errill informs me, is not Eunepthya glomerata, as he at one time supposed. Besides these three there is another creeping Alcyonoid from deep water, apparently belonging to a genus near to Cornularia. Two species of Sea Anemone were dredged, attached to stones, in from 100 to 200 fathoms. One is Urticina crassicornis, and the other Urticina digitata of Muller. A creeping compound anemone, closely allied to Zoanthus, taken on stones at a depth of 212 fathoms, appear to be Epizoanthus Americanns. ECHINODERMATA. In the deep sea mud, at depths of from 100 to 250 fathoms, the following species occurred more or less abundantly. 92 THE CANADIAN NATURALIST. [Vol. vii. JScMzaster frag ills. (^Brissus fragilis, Dubea and Koren). Ctenodiscus crispatus, Duben and Koren. Amphiura, near to A. horeaUs, Sars. Opliiacantlia spiiiidosa, Mull. Ophiogli/pha Sarsii, Lutken, (large.) In 69 fathoms, oiF Sawhill point, a curious Asterid was dredged, which is probably the Korethraster hispidus of Wyville Thompson. A few specimens of Astropliyton Agassizii were col- lected from 60 fathoms mud, off Thunder River ; and Asteria» Greenlandicus, Steenstrup, was occasionally met with at depths of from 30 to 60 fathoms. Annelida. The whole of the deep sea worms collected have been sent to Pr. W. C. Mcintosh, F.L.S., (of Murthly, near Perth, Scotland) to whom I am indebted for the identification of the 12 species, of which a list is given below. In the deep sea mud, between 100 and 250 fathoms, the annelids determined so far, are as follows : Ammotrypane aulogaster^ Kaihke. Amphictene auricoma^ Mull. Amphtporus, sp. Ephesia gracilis^ Eathke. Eunoa nodosa, Sars. Goniada maculata, (Ersted. Lineus, sp. Liimbrinereis fragilis, Mull. Nothria conchylega, Sars. Praxilla gracilis, Sars. Sahella pavonia, Savigny. Terebellides Slroemii, Sars. Thelepus circinatus, Fabr. Trophonia plumosa, Mull. In addition to these. Dr. Mcintosh informs me, " there is a specimen of a small Balanoglossus, while a Lepidonotus, Nepthys, Maldane, Praxilla and Nothria, need determination." Of the 12 species at present identified, 11 are also found in the seas of the Shetlands. Crustacea. Although the Crustaceans collected are not very numerous in species, some of them are of considerable interest. The following is a list of those determined at present : (Decapoda.) Cancer irroratus, Say. Low water mark, Ellis Bay, Anticosti, and elsewhere. Chionocoetes opiJio, Fabr. Specimens of large size are not un- frequently met with, thrown ashore. Ill/as coarctata, Leach. Low water mark down to 60 or 70 fathoms. No. 2.] WHITEAVES — ON DEEP-SEA DREDGING. 93 Hyas aranea, Linn. With the preceding. Eupagurus Kroyeri, Stimps. Eupagurus pubescens, Stimps. Both common in shallow water. Sahinoea septemcarinata , Sabine. Occasional. Hippolyte Fhippsii, Kroyer. 90 to 100 fathoms, scarce. Hippclyte Fabricii, Kroyer. 125 fathoms, oft Cape Rosier. Hippolyte j^olaris, Kroyer. 38 fathoms, off" Cape Rosier. Hippolyte spina, White. 38 fathoms off Cape Rosier. Paiidalus annnlicornis, Leach. Frequent at all depths. (Amphipoda.) Epimeria coniger ? Fabr. Of large size in deep water. Eusiinis cuspidatus, Kroyer. Two examples. (ISOPODA.) 31unnopsis typica, M. Sars. 125 fathoms, off Cape Rosier lighthouse. (Pycnogonoidea.) Pycnogonuin littorale, Strom. (=-P. pelagicum, Stimpson.) Brought up by hempen tangles from 212 fathoms mud, between the East Point of Anticosti and the Bird Rocks. Nymphon giganteum, Groodsir. 125 fathoms, off Cape Rosier lio-hthouse. POLYZOA. Good specimens of the following species have been determined, from depths of from 90 to 250 fathoms ; but many interesting forms are at present unnamed : — Crisia eburnea, Linn. Gemellaria loricata, Linn. Idmonea atlantica, Forbes. Defrancia lucernaria ?, Sars. Alcyonidium gelatinosum, Pallas. Scrupocellaria scruposa, Linn. Cellularia ternata, Ell, & Sol. Caherea Ellisii^ Flem. Bicellaria ciliata. Linn. Acamarchis plumosa, Pallas. FLustra Barleei, Busk. Retepora cellulosa, var. elongata, Smitt. TUNICATA. The following is a list of the few species of this order at pre- sent identified by Prof A. E. Verrill : — Ascidiopsis complanatus (~=Ascidia compJanata, Fabr.) In 212 fathoms to the south-east of the east point of Anticosti. Eugyra pilularis, Verrill. In 50 fathoms off the St. John's River, Mingan. 94 THE CANADIAN NATURALIST. [Vol. vii=- Botri/Uus, a purple species, distinct from B. Goiddli, VerrilL Attached to Flustra Barleei :?, Busk, from 96 fathoms in Trinity Bay. Several examples of Amouvcecium glahnim, Verrill, were col- lected in and just outside of Gaspe Bay, where I had previously dredo'ed it in 1869. MOLLUSCA. In the 'Canadian Naturalist' for 1869, I published a cata- logue of 114 species of marine Mollusca inhabiting the Gulf of St. Lawrence, to the north of the Bay of Chaleurs. We now know localities for 150 species which inhabit the region in ques- tion. The shells collected last summer have been carefully studied ; and the following is a list of some of the most interest- ins: amono; them*. Terehratula septentrional is, Couth. In 112 fathoms, stones, off Charleton Point, Anticosti, and in 212 fathoms to the S.S.E. of the east end of that island. Terchratella Spitzhergensis, Davidson. 38 fathoms, stones, off Cap-Rosier lighthouse, alive, adult, and frequent ; 96 fathoms, in Trinity Bay, one young, but living example; 112 fathoms, off Charleton Point, Anticosti, one dead, adult. Most abundant in somewhat shallow water. Pecten Grcenlandicus, Chemn. Take alive in several localities in from 160 to 250 fathoms,- mud. Lima sulculus, Leach. Fine specimens in 38 fathoms, off Cap-Rosier lighthouse. Area pectunculoides, Scacchi (=^4. rai'identata, Searles Wood.) Dredged on the north shore of the St. Lawrence, also between Anticosti and the south shore, in 160 to 170 fathoms. The specimens were often living, and of large size for the species. New to the western side of the Atlantic. Area glacialis, Gray (==A. raridentata, var. major, Sars). A few dead examples of this shell were taken with the preceding one. Yoldia (? Fortlandia) thracia^formis, Storer. One living specimen occurred in 212 fathoms, S.S.E. of the east point of Anticosti, and a dead, but perfect one, in 125 fathoms, off Cap Rosier. * I am indebted to Mr. J. Gwyn Jeffreys, F.E.S., for the determin- ation of those species to which an asterisk is affixed. No. 2.] AVHITEAVES — ON DEEP-SEA DREDGING. 95 Yoldla (^PortlandkC) lucida, Loveo. Living iu seven of the localities examined, its range in depth being apparently from 150 to 250 fathoms. ^Yoldla (^Portlandla) frigida Torell. Frequent, living with the preceding. This and the preceding are new to America. Dacrydium vitreum, Moll. In 212 fathoms, mud, to the S.S.. E. of the east point of Anticosti, living. Cri/ptodon Goiddii, Philippi. Common, living, at all depths;, it ranges from 10 to 250 fathoms. Astarte lactea, Brod & Sow, Fine in several localities. Off Sawhill Point in 30 fathoms ; off Moisie village in 70 fathoms ; mouth of St. John's River, Mingan, in 50 fathoms; Gaspe Bay. The young is Astarte Bichai-dsonii, Beeve. Astarte. Two species of Astarte, both of the A. sulcata group, were collected in deep water. One, of which two speci- mens only were dredged (off Bear Point, Anticosti, in 1 12 fathoms), I at first thought to bo A. crebricostata ; the other is by far the most abundant mollusk of the greater depths of the northern part of the river and gulf of the St. Lawrence. Mr, Jeffreys says that this latter shell is Astarte sulcata^ var. minor. No specimens that I have seen, from American or European localities, exactly re- semble either of these shells; and in my judgement, both are new and good species. TeUina (^Maco?na) inflata, Stimpson, MSS. Perhaps M. fra- gills of Leach. Fine living specimens of a shell which the late lamented Dr. Stimpson gave to the writer some years ago, with the label " Macoma injiata, St. MSS,," were dredged in 70 fathoms, sand, off Moisie village, and at various depths iu other localities. ^Necera arctica, Sars. Several living specimens of this species (the largest of which measures upwards of an inch and a quarter in its greatest breadth) were taken in 125 fathoms, off Cap-Rosier lighthouse ; also in 200 fathoms, mud, Ellis Bay, Anticosti, bearing S^S.W,, 27 miles distant. Mecera obesa, ItOYen (=iN. pelhicida , Stimpson). Off Caribou Island, on the north shore of the St. Lawrence, nearly opposite Cape Chatte, living, in 170 fathoms, mnd. I regard both N.^ arctica and JSf. obesa as varieties of the European N. cusjndata, A^. arctica being adults of unusual size, and A^. obesa the young of the same species. In deference to Mr. Jeffreys's greater experience, however, I keep the two forms separate. N. arctica has not pre-- viously been found on the American coast. '•S6 THE CANADIAN NATURALIST. [Yol. vii. Uiriculus pertenuis, Mighels. la 25 fathoms, sand off Trinity Biver, also in Gaspe Bay ; abundant at both localities. (Probably = 11. turritus, Moller.) ^Utriculus hyalinusf , Turton (^^Diaijhana dehilis^ Gould). With the preceding, but rare in both places. ^Philine quadi-ata, Wood. Alive, from 212 fathoms, mud, to the S.S.W. of the east point of Anticosti. Philine lineolata, Couth. Gaspe Bay, and off the St. John's Hiver, Mingan, in 50 fathoms. Dentaliinn ahyssorum, Sars. Dead but good specimens of this species were dredged in three localities: — in 184 fathoms, mud, -^off Seven Island Bay ; also in 150 and 200 fathoms to the S.W. and S.S.W. of Ellis Bay, Anticosti. New to America. Siplionodentalium vitreum, Sars. Deep water, in several lo- calities, fine and liviog. Most frequent in 200 to 250 fathoms ; also new to the American side of the Atlantic. Margarita argentata, Gould (=M. glauca. Moll.) Off the mouth of the St. John's Eiver, Mingan, in 50 fathoms, and sparingly in other localities. Gaspe Bay. Margarita striata?, Brod. & Sow. A remarkable variety of this species, with three unusually prominent revolving ribs (so much so as to remind one of some of the Australian Trochococh- leas), occured in 70 fathoms, sand, off Moisie village. The type is abundant and large everywhere in the St. Lawrence in shallow water. Rissoa carinata, Mighels. Frequent, alive, from 96 fathoms In Trinity Bay. Rissoa castanea, Moll. With the above and elsewhere not unfrequent. Rissoa scrohiculafa, Moll. Collected in three localities, in from 125 to 250 fathoms, where it is large and fine. It occurs living, but of small size, in Gasp^ S^J? ^t depths of from 20 to 30 fathoms. Rissoella eburnea, Stimpson. One living and adult example, in 70 fathoms, off Mosie village. Lacuna glacialis, Moller. A living adult specimen of this species was dredged from 96 fathoms in Trinity Bay. Aporrliais occidentalism Beck. A remarkable thin and in- flated variety of this species was taken in 120 fathoms off Bear Head, Anticosti. The type is not uncommon throughout the Crulf, in from 20 to 50 fathoms. No. 2.] AVUITEAVES — ON DEEP-SEA DREDGING. 97 Eiilima stenostoma, Jeffreys. A single living adult was taken from 160 flitlioms, to the soutli-west of Ellis Buy, Anticosti. New to America. Asfi/ris HoIboUu, Moll. (= CoJumheUa rosacea, G\d.). Tri- nity Bay, 96 fathoms, also other localities. Banges from 20 to 100 fathoms. Buccinum ciludinn, 0. Fabr. Alive, in 112 fathoms off Charle- ton Point, Anticosti. Buccinum cyaneum ?, Brug. From 250 fathoms, mud, be- tween the east poiut of Anticosti and the Bird- rocks. Sijjho islandicus, Chemn. Only one living example of this mollusk was collected, from 112 fathoms, off Charletou Poiut, Anti- costi. Siplio Sarsii, Jeffreys. With the above but much more fre- quent ; also off Egg Island, in 70 to 80 fathoms. The epidermis is very different in these two species ; but it is difficult to separate them when the specimens are water worn. Troplion craficulatus, 0. Fabr. Off Cap-Rosier lighthouse, in 38 fathoms, stones, fine and living; also near the mouth of the St. John's Biver, Mingau. and in 50 fathoms, sand, but dead. Fasciolaria Ugata, Mighels. Two living examples were taken in Gasp<^ B^iy? near Cape Gaspe, on a stony bottom, in 20 or 30 fathoms. Twenty-five species of shells not previously known to inhabit the seas of the Province of Quebec were collected during the two cruises ; of these, twelve are new to the American side of the At- lantic. Fishes. The only fishes brought up in the dredge were a young speci- men of each of the following species : — Sehastes JVoroegicus. The Norway haddock. 96 fathoms, Tri- nity Bay. Anarrhichas hqms. The wolf fish. 112 fathoms, off Charle- ton Point, Anticosti. Agojius decagonus?, Schneid. With the preceding. It is estimated that, when the wdiole of the material collected has been examined with care and all the specimens are determined, upwards of 100 species of marine invertebrates new to the Gulf of the St. Lawrence can be added to its previously recorded fauna. Of these, from 30 to 40 species are new to the western side of the Vol YII. g No. 2, 98 THE CANADIAN NATURALIST. [Yol. vii. Atlantic, and a fewareundescribed. When it is considered that only five weeks were spent at sea, that during that time the or- dinary duties upon which the schooners were engaged (and some times unfavourable weather) often made dredging quite imprac- ticable, also that I was alone (so far as scientific help was con- cerned) nearly the whole time, I may be pardoned for thinking that the results of these investigations, so far as they go, are very encouraging and such as should stimulate to renewed exertions in so promising a field of inquiry. I have previously shown (in the 'Canadian Naturalist' for 1869) that a large proportion of the Greenland invertebrates, probably three fourths of the whole, range as fiir south as the northern part of the Gulf of St. Lawrence down to Gaspe Bay. In Canada many marine animals (such as, for example, the oyster and the two species of Crepidula which are found attached to it) occur a little to the south of the Bay of Chaleurs, but not in the Bay itself. A number of characteristic New-England sjDecies in- habit the coasts of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, most of which do not apparently range further north than the Bay of Chaleurs. On the Admiralty Charts of the Gulf of St. Lawrence, an irregular line of 60 fathoms soundings may be seen to extend from a little above the northern extremity of the Island of Cape Breton, round the Magdalen group, and thence, in a westerly direction, to Bonaventure Island. To the south and south-west of this line the water is uniformly somewhat shallow, while to the north, north-west, and north-east the water deepens rapidly, and in some places precipitously. Principal Dawson suggests that the Subcarbouiferous rocks of which the Magdalen Islands are composed, and which appear again on the mainland, in Bonaven- ture County, may possibly crop up under the sea in the area between the north-west side of Cape Breton and the mainland of New Brunswick, as well as that of the counties of Bonaventure and Gaspe, in the Province of Quebec. This may account, for the shallowness of the water in the area in question. Whether this is the case or not, it seems not improbable that the submarine plateau inside of this line of shallow soundings, may form a natural barrier to those arctic currents- which sweep down the Straits of Belle Isle in a south westerly direction, and may tend to deflect their course in a bold curve into and up the river St. Lawrence. In the centre of this river, opposite Murray Bay, about 80 J^O. 2.] WHITEAVES — ON DEEP-SEA DREDGING. 99 miles below Quebec, Principal Dawson has dredged quite a large series of Labrador marine invertebrates ; but how much further up the stream these salt-water denizens extend, we have yet to learn. North of the Bay of Chaleurs the fauna of the Gulf of St. Lawrence has a purely arctic character. The species of which it is composed are remarkable alike for their geological antiquity and for their wide range of geographical distribution In time, a few of them date back to as ancient periods as the Coralline •and Red Cras's, and a much laro;er number occur in the Post- pliocene deposits of both Europe and North America. It is •curious to observe that species which are found both living on the American coast to-day and fossil in the European Pliocene and Postpliocene, had a diiferent geographical range in former times from that which they are known to have now. Many of these arctic marine invertebrates are circumpolur in their distribution and not only inhabit both sides of the Atlantic, but are also found in the Northern Pacific. The preceding generalizations refer almost exclusively to the assemblage of marine animals charac- teristic of comparatively shallow water, the members of which range in depth from low-water mark up to about 50 fathoms. The deep-water fauna, at least that of the localities examined, is also decidedly arctic, but it has at the same time a much more Scandinavian aspect. Nearly all of the species which are now for the first time recorded as inhabitants of the Atlantic coast of America occur also in the seas of the north of Scotland, of Nor- way, and Spitzbergen, There is a striking similarity between the ■series of fossils from the Quaternary deposits of Norway (as catalogued by Sars) and the marine invertebrates of the deepest parts of the St. Lawrence. Pennatulce, Ctenodiscus, Trijyylus (^Schizaste?') fragilis, OjjJiiogli/jjha Sarsii, together with many species of mollusks, are common to both. Still it must be borne in mind that in the Quaternary deposits of Norwtiy a number of characteristic European invertebrates occur, which, so far as we know, do not live on the western side of the Atlantic. In the River and Grulf of St, Lawrence, generally sp3akiug, the number of species of marine animals which may be collected at or above low-water mark is very small ; few specimens, apparently, are washed ashore by storms. But there is a constant tendency in the opposite direction ; littoral and shallow-water forms are constantly being drifted down to lower levels, particularly shells 100 THE CANADIAN NATURALIST. [Yol. vii. (which are usually dead and empty) and the larger calcareous Polyzoa, such as Celleporaria incrassata and Myriozoum suh- gracile. Sometimes the Mollusca are living : on one occasion I dredged an example of Littorina rudis, apparently alive, but certainly with the operculum fitting tightly into the aperture, from upwards of 100 fathoms water. When such is the case, it is often difficult to separate the true denizens of the deep sea from those which are washed down from shallower water. Since the above was written, I have re examined the Canadian Thecaphorae, and find among them two examples of what seem to- be T. ihla of Wyville Thompson. It is the spicules of what I take to be this latter species that are spinulate fusiform ; those of T. semisuherites have yet to be studied. NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY. PROCEEDINGS FOR THE SESSION 1872-73. ANNUAL MEETING. The Annual Meeting was held on May 18th, 1872, the President, Principal Dawson, in the chair. After the minutes of the last annual meetino; were read, the President delivered the Annual Address. This will be found on pages 1 to 15 of the present volume. The Report of the Chairman of Council was next read by Mr. Gr. L. Marler, of which the following is an abstract. The num- ber of new members elected during the past session is eight, while nineteen names have, from various causes, been taken ofi" the list. This decrease was attributed partly to the inaction of the mem- bership committee and partly to the circumstance that the oper- ations of the Society are not as widely known as could be wished. A suggestion was ofi"ered as to the desirability of amalgamation with kindred societies, such as the Mercantile Library and the Fraser Institutes, and the advantages of such a plan were pointed out. The Annual Conversazione and the Field Day held during the past session have each resulted in some pecuni- ary loss, but it was thought that such meetings have a beneficial tendency, and that they should be continued. About 500 per- sons have visited the museum during the year, but as there was no officer residing on the premises during the first three months, an accurate record was not kept. One thousand dollars of the mortgage on the Society's buildings have been paid off, but there- No. 2.] NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY. 101 are still one thousand dollars due, aud it was recommended that immediate exertions be made to raise this sum in order to free the Society from debt. During the current year an unusual outlay (of $337) has been necessitated for repairs, painting and cleaniiiii-. The Report concluded with an expression of thanks to the other office holders. The Reports of the Scientific Curator, Recording Secretary and of the Editino- Committee of the 'Canadian Naturalist' were then read by IMr. J. F. ^yhiteaves, ot which a brief and condensed account is submitted. A deep sea dredging expedition to the Gulf of St. Lawrence, under the auspices of the Hon. the Minister of Marine and Fish- eries was successfully carried out on behalf of the Society. More than 100 species of marine animals, new to Canada, were col- lected. These have been for the most part studied, identified and labelled, and a report on the general results of the expedi- tion has been prepared for and published by the Department of Marine and Fisheries. Eight new specimens of Canadian birds have been added during the year. Fourteen species of birds and twenty-four of mollusca, collected by Mr. Richardson in British Columbia, have been presented by Mr. A. R. C. Selwyn. These have been mounted, labelled and incorporated into the general collection. Sir J. Duncan Gibb has kindly forwarded a large collection of British and exotic fossils. Mr. Peter Redpath has contributed a series of W. Indian sponges and alcyonoids. No cases being available to exhibit these, they have been carefully stored away, until a proper provision can be made for them. About three hundred species of recent shells have been mounted on tablets and labelled, and about 3 000 more have been roughly grouped in drawers preparatory to mounting. The want of additional cases for the museum was strongly urged, especially of one for the preservation and exhibition of alcoholic preparations. The publishers of the ' Naturalist ' having decided that the first No. of A^ol. 6 should bear date, September 1871, three numbers have been issued, and it was hoped that the fourth would be ready in July. As soon as the volume is finished new arrangements will be entered into between the publishers and the Society. The Treasurer, Mr. James Ferrier, jr., then submitted a statement of the financial position of the Society, of which the following is an abstract: , 102 THE CANADIAN NATURALIST. [Vol. Tir, P3 5^ CO 05 I— I CO o o >H o CO I— I in ft c T-' O C C C£ C ex: r- -* el o M q c q -+ C_ t- li^ 1—1 ^^ o" t-' »c c ^ ?■: J^-' r-I C^ oq m r-i CO ir: o cc C-q I^T co CO pf •t^ o ^ 1— 1 •M o ^ C^T (xl ^ 1— 1 P5 P5 W fe. cc • I^ 1^— n CO < 1—1 t-^ • to ^'~fi ' ^' ■ >, .G -m" '-> -»^ M . e- ^ "" i^-< ~~' ^ V(— 1 ■*^ r^ "C -^ ci /•— \ i^ cc ^ "S ^ -C r-: S r- 1 S 'O 7i Si C^ ^ ^ -J ;-i ^ ^.^ - - - I— 1 1—1 H o o o c O C^l o c ) c C^ i^ LT^ QC o ^ c •M c>q o q CO e Co 10 -^ -M ,- ( r— 1 cc o o CD CO ^ (M ^- , — i m ^ f m^ t rj v: v: t^- a • Cj P s. 'Jl fcj ■) ; ^ ^ ^ CS ^ ^ - ^ bi ) .1 :: i^ ^ -^ ^ ■ — "^ 1— 1 C > > ^-4 f- ^ c ^"^^ -I-; fcj c(=^ .s ^-s (^ O i-H ^ 1 -J r" H ^ C r— ' < c ■^ j§ a ^ e '^ ■ r ■ -^ > 7 \ y. y: h7 b X G jj ^ W ^•^■ = 1 '6c ?>^ C )hS c H C -T" > -» j: "b • ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ w /* ^ C — ■^ '-12 ^-i a: Ph H- ( t+i f^ -•^ 1-^ ^ p— c3 ^^ G m" ^« ^* VJ ^^ ^j .^ .^ ^ .J ^ -|j 'S ^ ^ ^ ^ - ^ « '- ^ ^ ^ "^ "^ -4^ P. h-i « £~- -* ^ v^ ^ 0^ Jh 6 "^ ~' "^ w ^ ■^ --. "^ "^ ^^ ^ "^ ■^ > ^ o c 83. H Pi p • No. 2.] NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY. 103 The various reports were adopted and ordered to be printed in this Journal. On motion of Rev. Dr. De Sola, seconded by Mr. J. H. Jo- seph, a vote of thanks to the President for the address, and for his continued and valuable services to the Society, was passed unanimously. The following gentlemen were then duly elected officers for the Session 1872-73: President. — G. Barnston. Vice-Presidents. — Principal Dawson, E. Billings, Dr. Small- wood, Rev. Dr. De Sola, A. R. C. Selwyn, His Lordship the Metropolitan, Dr. T. Sterry Hunt, Sir W. E. Logan, and Dr. P. P. Carpenter. Treasurer. — Mr. J. Ferrier, jun. Cor. Secretary. — Prof. P. J. Darey. Scientific Curator and Rec. Secretary. — Mr. J. F. Whiteaves. Council— (}. L. Marler, D. R. McCord, Prof. R. Bell, D. A. P. Watt, J. H. Joseph, E. E. Shelton, Dr. J. Baker Edwards, A. T. Drummond, and C. Robb. Library and Mcmbersliip Committee. — A. T. Drummond, Dr. John Bell, D. R. McCord, N. Mercer and Dr. B. J. Harrington. FIELD DAY, A field day was held at Isle Perrot on the first of June, 1872, which was numerously attended. On the spot. Dr. T. Sterry Hunt gave an account of the history of the Island, as well as a popular description of the Geology of the District. Mr. Whiteaves explained the nature of some of the fossils to be met with in the adjacent Potsdam sandstone and calciferous Sand-rock, and Dr. J. Baker Edwards made some remarks on the topography of the surrounding country. Prizes having been offered for the best Zoological or Botanical collections made during the day, the awards were made as follows : 1. For the largest named collection of animals, plants, or fos- sils. — open to all. Mr. J. B. McConnell, 70 species of flowering plants. 2. Ladies Prize, for the best named collection of wild flowers. Miss Morgan, twenty species. 3. Children's Prize. — Master Selwyn, for 37 un-named species of flowers. 104 THE CANADIAN NATURALIST. [Vol. vii. MONTHLY MEETINGS. 1st Monthly Meeting, held Oct. 28th, 1873. A paper on the Ferns of Ceylon, by the President, Gr. Barns- tqn, was read by the Rec. Secretary. Principal Dciwson made a communication on Fossil Footprints. A portion of a paper on the Island of Cuba, by G. F, Matthew, was read by the Recording Secretary. 2nd Monthly Meeting, held Nov. 25th, 1872. Major H. Mills and Alexander Ptobertson were elected mem- bers of the Society. D. McEachran, V.S., then read a paper on the prevailing Dis- ease amono- Horses. After some remarks upon this topic by Principal Dawson and Dr. J. Baker Edwards, Dr. P. P. Carpenter gave a verbal account of the life and labors of the late Dr. W. Stimpson, as a malacologist. Some concluding observations by Principal Dawson, on this last subject, terminated the proceedings. 3rd Monthly meeting, held Dec. 30th, 1872. A small collection of fresh water shells, made by Prof. Bell, at Fort Garry, was exhibited, and some remarks upon the species were made by Mr. AVhiteaves. Rev. Canon Baldwin, Dr. Wolfred Nelson, G. M. Dawson and John Taylor were elected resident members. Rev. C. H. Paisley's paper on Post Pliocene Beds at Bathurst, N. B., was read by the Rec. Secretary. Some comments and remarks on this essay having been made by Principal Dawson, and C.-Robb, The second paper on the list, ''on the Geology of Huron Co., Ont.," by John Gibson, B.A., was also read by the Secretary. Some discussion ensued, in which Principal Dawson, Prof. Bell and C. Robb took part. 4th monthly meeting, held Jan. 27th, 1873. Rev. John Empson, and A. H. Foord, F. G. S, were elected ordinary members. Mr. A. R. C. Selwyn, F.G.S.. made a communication '^ on some points in the Geology of Vancouver and Queen Charlotte Islands." Principal Dawson followed with a description of the Fossil Plants collected by Mr. Richardson. No. 2.] NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY. 105 Mr. E. Billm2;s made some remarks on the animal fossils of the two islands. Mr. Whiteaves also commented on the fossils exhibited, and also pointed out the salient features of interest in a small col- lection of recent shells from the same localities. The President, (Mr. Gr. Baruston), gave an interesting account of the uses to which the Coast Indians put various marine mol- lusca. He congratulated Mr. Richardson on the fine series of fossils collected duriug the past summer, and moved a vote of thanks to Mr. Selwyn for bringing the subject before the meeting, which was carried by acclamation. 5th Monthly Meeting, held Feb. 2-ith, 1873. Mr. Christian Hoffman was elected an ordinary member. A paper " On the Huronian and Mineral-Bearing Rocks of Lake Superior," was read by Prof. R. Bell. Some discussion followed after the reading of this communica- tion, in which Principal Dawson, Messrs. Selwyn, Robb and the author took part. Mr. Selwyn brought a series of rock specimens from Australia to compare with examples of the rocks and minerals from Lake Superior exhibited by Prof. Bell in illustration of his paper. 6th Monthly Meeting, held March 31st, 1873. Dr. C. F. Davies, Messrs. C. Gibb andE.Sawtell were elected resident members, and John Gibson, B.A. (of Almonte, Ont.) a non-resident member, Mr. J. F. Whiteaves read a paper '' On recent Deep-Sea Dredg- ing operations between Cape Rosier and the Magdalen Islands, with some notes on the marine fisheries of the Province of Que- bec." After some remarks by Principal Dawson and other members, the proceedings were brought to a close. 7th Monthly Meeting, held May 5th, 1873 (adjourned from April 28th, 1873.) Mr. J. Fraser Torrance was elected an ordinary member. A paper " On the Races of Northern Euroi:)e," was read by the Rev. Canon Baldwin. The Acting President (Principal Dawson) in moving a vote of thanks to the lecturer, took occasion to point out the close con- nection existing between ethnological and anthropological re- searches and recent investi«;ations into the newest stratified rocks 106 THE CANADIAN NATURALIST. [Vol. vii. He claimed that the facts collected up to the presectdate in each of these fields of inquiry, and especially late discoveries at Men- tone, all tend to throw doubts upon the great antiquity which some had assigned to the human family. ADDRESS TO H. E. THE GOVERNOR-GENERAL. On the occasion of His Excellency's first visit to Montreal, io October, 1872, the President and Rec. Secretary were deputed to call on His Excellency to request him to become the Patron of the Society, and to honour the Society with a visit. His Excellency, through his Private Secretary, kindly consented to become Patron of the Society, but regretted that in consequence of numerous engagements he would be unable to visit the Mu- seum on this occasion, but hoped to do so at some future time. At a subsequent visit to the city, the same deputation waited on His Excellency to invite him to inspect the Society's collec- tion. His Excellency was again compelled to postpone his visit^ but kindly consented to receive an address of welcome from the ojfficers and members. SESSION 18 73-74. ANNUAL MEETING. The Annual Meeting was held on Monday evening, May 19th, 1873, the Rev. A. De Sola, LL.D., in the chair. The minutes of the last Annual Meeting having been read, the address of the Acting President, Principal Dawson, LL.D., F.R.S., &c., was read by the Recording Secretary, as follows : ADDRESS OF THE ACTING PRESIDENT. Gentlemen, — Our present meeting closes the fortieth year of the existence of this Society, and it becomes us to consider to what extent the hopes of its founders, expressed in the motto, " Tandem fit surcuJus arho?-, " have been realized. A tree that can boast of forty annual rings of growth, in the soil and climate of Canada, should have attained to a goodly stature, should extend a wide and grateful shade, and should have borne some good fruit. Looking back upon the origin of the Society, we must confess that our growth has been slow, and has not kept pace with that of the great business community of Montreal, nor with that of similar institutions in the larger cities of the United No. 2.] NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY. 107 States, where, in many cases liberal and public and private endow- ments have given a magnitude and stability to the operations of kindred societies, which we have not been able to attain to ; and while we have many favors to acknowledge, it is my decided impression that the commercial and professional community of Montreal has not appreciated as it should the eiforts of this Soci- ety, nor treated it with the liberality which it deserves. In a city such as this scientific workers are necessarily few ; and the great majority of the people have little leisure even to give a passing attention to the objects of a society like this. Still those who do give to scientific pursuits either the intervals of leisure snatched from daily work, or the time which they may have earned for themselves or have inherited as a precious gift of for- tune, are from their exertions in this way doubly valuable as members of society ; and the professing and teaching naturalists whom we can number, are in their place indispensable both to our material and educational welfare. Further it is of great importance that the taste and intellect of all classes of the com- munity should be cultivated by an acquaintance with natural ob- jects ; and the existence of a society of this kind is at once one of the sure marks of high taste and culture, to which the city can- point with pride, and has a useful function in providing a rational, means of employing leisure as a counteraction to low and degrading places of amusement which too often spring up with a vigor and luxuriance of growth disproportionate to that of literary and scientific institutions. I consider it a matter of no small importance that our Museum represents to some extent the popular study of nature in this community. In the Zoology of Canada it is undoubtedly the most important collection in this country, and in other depart- ments it has much of value and interest. It provides the means of preserving, determining and exhibiting remarkable and interest- ing specimens which would otherwise be lost. Its doors are ever open to all who wish to know anything of our natural productions, and to strangers who desire to obtain some acquaintance with the aspects of nature in this country. Our Museum has now reached, a somewhat critical point in its history. When the Society re- moved into its present building, we seemed to have ample space for our then comparatively small collections. But the objects in our possession have grown until we are in need of much more room, and our collection is again beginning: to be crowded, while 108 THE CANADIAN NATURALIST. [Yol. VI 1. we lack means to extend our aceomcdation or even to utilize by new and improved cases the space that we have. With some changes of arrangement and additional cases, our present building might contain and exhibit the collections of the Society for several years to come ; but it would require an annual sum of at least $1,000 at the disposal of our curator, to provide for the neces- sary repairs, additicms and extensions. Were the public suffici- ently alive to the importance of the object, it should not be diffi- cult to realize this amount either by annual subscriptions or by a permanent endowment. In any case we should be prepared to consider within a few years the necessity of enlarging our Museum. Our Library has not kept pace with our Museum, and as it cannot in the nature of the case become a popular or general library, but must be mainly one for scientific reference and con- sultation, we are here again in a position which requires extrane- ous aid and endowments^ or the contributions of a large number of members. It seems evident, therefore, that if we are to emerge from the present slow and languid condition of our progress, we shall be obliged in the cour -e of not many years to appeal to the liberality of the friends of science on a still lar2:er scale than that which was necessary in the erection of our present building. Our journal, the Canadian Naturalist, begins with this year the seventh volume of the new series — fourteen volumes in all having been issued. Its present volume is under the able editor- ship of Dr. Harrington ; and our new arrangement with the pub- lisher enables us to give the journal gratuitously to each of our members, a change which it is hoped will greatly increase their interest in the work of the Society. It is not saying too much to affirm that the Naturalist should be in every Canadian library. It is the only work that affords a complete view of what has been done in the Geology and Natural History of the Dominion during the past fifteen years ; and in the case of all who wish to have means of reference with regard to the natural resources of our country, it must occupy a place side by side with the reports of the Geological Survey. That its list of subscribers is so small beyond the limits of the Society, is not creditable to the prac- tical good sense of our peoj^le ; since independently of other con- siderations there can be no question that the information which it annually contains would, in a practical point of view, many No. 2.] NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY. 109 times repay its cost. Its j^resent limited issue will in no great number of years, render it a scarce work, and I have no doubt that the time is not far distant when it will be difficult, if not impossible, to procure complete sets. The work of our last session may be summed up in the course of Sommerville lectures, and in the papers read at our monthly meetings. The former course — as usual largely attended — em- braced subjects of great interest, and we are much indebted to the lecturers for their aratuitous services in this matter to the Society. The list is as follows : — SOMMERVILLE LECTURES. 1. The Natural History of Ore Deposits, by Dr. T. Sterry Hunt. 2. The Life of an Oyster from a Man's standpoint, by Dr. P. P. Carpenter. 3. The Aborigines of New Brunswick, by C. Robb. 4. Man's Life in Montreal from an Oyster's standpoint, by Dr. P. P. Carpenter. 5. The Furs and Fur-bearing Animals of Canada, by Prof. Bell. 6. On the Chemical characters of the water available for the sup- ply of Montreal, by Dr. J. Baker Edwards. For next year I would suggest that possibly in addition to the Sommerville Course, we might provide a course or courses of evening lectures, not gratuitous, and by means of which the finances of the Society might be recruited. The papers read at our monthly meetings number twelve in all. Four of these, that on the Ferns of Ceylon, by the President, Mr. Barnston ; that on the Island of Cuba, by Mr. Matthew; the account of the Life and Labours of the late lamented Dr. Stimpson, by Dr. Philip Carpenter, and that on the Baces of Northern Europe, by Bev. Canon Baldwin, relate to subjects beyond our immediate field. The others were more or less Can- adian in their scope. Dr. McEachran gave us the result of his observations on the remarkable and mysterious disease which, with such marvellous rapidity, attacked the horses over nearly all Eastern North America, and the facts relating to the trans- mission and symptoms of which throw no little light on epidemics which afilict our own species. Mr. Paisley contributed some notes on the Post pliocene of New Brunswick, and Mr. Gibson on the Geology of Huron County, Ontario. Mr. Selw3"n kindly laid before us a valuable summary of the Explorations of Mr. Bichard- 110 THE CANADIAN NATURALIST. [Yol. vii. ■son in Yancouver and Queen Charlotte Islands, so ricli in new fossils and geological facts ; Prof. Bell gave us a similar resume of the recent discoveries in the metalliferous rocks of the North and West of Lake Superior. To these great Western regions the eyes of all men ar-e nov7 turned ; and the wonderful scientific and economic discoveries made in the western territories of the Uni- ted States, with the first fruits already realized in our own western territories, stimulate our hopes and expectations. I have had occasion lately, in connection with the departure of my own son into these regions as one of the pioneers of scientific exploration, to look over the literature of western geology ; and in doing so, I have been struck with the amount of good work achieved under difficult circumstances, in times previous to the annexation of these reo'ions to Canada. I would mention in connection with this the names of Dr. Bigsby, one of the earliest, and Dr. Hector, €ue of the latest explorers of the west, as well as those of Richard- son, Hind and others who come between. With reference to the first mentioned, who is still living and working ably and usefully, I may mention his admirable summary of the post-pliocene de- posits in the west, published in the journal of the Geological So- ciety many years ago, and I do so the more readily, as with reference to the theory of drift deposits, he anticipated much of what I have myself been endeavouring to illustrate in our jour- nal in the investigation of this difficult subject. Dr. Bigsby's paper of 1851 is still well worthy of perusal in connection with what has been done subsequently by geologists in the United States and in this country. . My own contribution on fossil foot-prints I may pass over without remark ; and in conclusion of this part of the subject would direct attention to the fact that Mr. Whiteaves has again represented Canadian science as a dredger in the deeper parts of the Gulf of St. Lawrence, reaching in this last expedition the deepest known part of the Gulf, and adding very considerably to our knowledge of its fa.una and many new facts bearing on the distribution and habits of useful fishes. The work was prosecu- ted under some difficulties, the double task of watching poachers on forbidden fisheries and of dredging in deep water, being evi- dently too much for any one cruiser. In future if this work is to be prosecuted as it undoubtedly should be, a suitable craft should be put at the exclusive disposal of the dredging party for the sum- mer mouths. If we are oblisred to leave the wide ocean to the No. 2.] NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY. Ill Oovernments of Great Britain and the United States, Canada should at least have the credit of thoroughly exploring the Gulf of St. Lawrence, one of the most interesting; inland vseas in the world; and it is to be hoped that the Honorable the Minister of Marine and Fisheries will follow up in this matter the work he has so well beoun. I have considered it my duty, in this address, prepared, as jou know, merely as the substitute of my aged friend, Mr. Barn- ston, one of the veterans in the study of natural history in this country, to dwell almost entirely on the special interests of the Society, and I would, in conclusion, earnestly bespeak in its be- half your warm and zealous countenance and aid, in order that it may enter on a new and vigorous career, and may in the year to roceedings of that body : REPORT OF THE CHAIRMAN OF COUNCIL. Your Council at the end of their year of office respectfully re_ port as follows : That the monthly meetings of the Society have not been very numerously attended — a fact greatly to be regretted and due perhaps to their having been called by postal cards, issued at the beginning of the year and containing a list of the meetings, with their dates. Your Council had hoped tliat this system would have attained its object, but it has apparently been unsuccessful. Your Council suggest that for the ensuing year, arrangements he made as early in the season as possible for the papers to be read at the monthly meetings and for the Sommerville course of Lectures : in this way contributors would have ample time to prepare their subjects and there could be some system adopted as to the order of the papers, &c. 112 THE CANADIAN NATURALIST. [Vol. Yii> Several necessary improvements have been affected, a new fur- nace having been put in, double windows obtained for the Lecture room, and the drainage attended to — But there are others equally needed to which your Council beg to draw your attention. Foremost amono- these are the thorouoli cleanins; which the staircase and the museum flat require and new additional cases for the Museum. The rooms of the Society have been let for eighty days during the past year to the Ladies' Educational Association for which the Society have received $120 exclusive of attendance. A special tariff" has lately been adopted by your Council for the hire of the rooms, it being so arranged that the rate shall vary accord" ing to the season and according to whether light or fuel is sup- plied or not. The Recording Secretary has been authorized to have cards printed explaining this tariff", and to have these put up in various parts of the building. It is with much regret your Council has to report that during the past year only 14 new members have been elected. Special eff'orts should be made to increase the list of members during the coming session. The Library and Membership Committee, ap- pointed some years ago, have so far apparently taken no. action in the matter. There have been about one thousand or more visitors to the Museum during the past year, a circumstance which it is thought is very encouraging. The debt on the building has been reduced by $1000, as was stated to be the intention of the Treasurer at the last annual meeting. The donations to the Library and Museum have not been as liberal as heretofore. This Spring, on the occasion of the Governor-General's visit to this city, an address was presented, to which a reply was for- warded by His Excellency, who has kindly consented to be its Patron. Arrano-ements have been made with Messrs. Dawson Brothers, and approved by the Society, whereby Dr. Harrington under- takes to edit the •' Canadian Naturalist.' Under the new ar- rangement a copy will be supplied to each member gratuitously. Your Council report that Messrs. Dawson Bros.' account of $653.92 is in a fair way of being reduced by special donations and by the collection of outstanding subscriptions to the journal. That extra exertions should be used to get more Lady Asso- ^0. 2.] NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY. 113 'ciates, and that efforts should be made to collect their outstand- ing subscriptions. The Council in retiring, desire to convey their thanks to the officers who have so efficiently carried on the business of the So- ciety during the past year. Montreal, 19th May, 1873. The subjoined report of the Scientific Curator and Recording "Secretary, was next read by Mr. Whiteaves. J8EP0RT OF THE SCIENTIFIC CURATOR AND RECORDING SECRETARY. During the greater part of the past Session, the work done lias been of an almost purely scientific character. After the last annual meeting, active preparations were set on foot towards car- rying out a second deep-sea dredging expedition to the Gulf of St. Lawrence. Before leaving the city, as the Society had pledged itself to give the fullest publicity to the results already obtained in a previous expedition, two papers embodying the latest studies of myself and others on the specimens collected were written. One of these was kindly read by Dr. Nicholson of Toronto, at the last meeting of the British Association, and the other was published in the ' Annals of Natural History ' for November, 1872. The months of July and August were spent in the prosecution of deep-sea dredging operations in the Gulf. The task was beset with many unforeseen difficulties, and the- time wasted, so far as I was concerned, was considerable. Still, the number of new and rare specimens collected was very large, a,nd many new facts beariug directly on the sea fisheries of that region, were amassed. Such books as were not accessible here, but which were essential to the correct identification of these marine invertebrates, were ordered from England, and most of the remainder of the session was devoted to the careful examina- tion of these specimens. A somewhat elaborate report on the results of the second series of investigations, was written for the Minister of Marine and Fisheries, and submitted on behalf of the Society. The document (of which copies are lying on the table) makes a pamphlet of 22 pages roval octavo. Besides some introductory matter, it contains, 1st, a diary kept during my absence, shewing how the time was spent ; 2ndly, as careful aa account as possible of the many specimens collected ; and ^OL. VII. H No. 2. 114 THE CANADIAN NATURALIST. [Yol. vii.- lastly, a series of observations on the sea fisheries of this Pro- vince, and on other practical subjects. Although doubtless very imperfect, it is yet hoped that on the whole this report will le- fleet no discredit either wpon the Society which I have the honour to represent, or on the Minister under whose auspices these investigations were conducted. In order to shew that during the past session important addi- tions have been made to our knowledge of the marine zoology ©r this Province, the following details may not be out of place. FORAMINITERA. — These microscopic organisms have been par- tially studied. The novelties detected are not very numerous so far. About ten new species or varietal forms can now be added. to the latest list published. PoLYCYSTiNA. — The few species collected in 1872 are pre- cisely the same as those dredged in 1871. Sponges. — There are about ten species new to our fauna in. the series collected last year. These are unusually curious and interesting. An attempt has been made to work up the whole group, and portions of many have been boiled in nitric acid, and the spicules carefully examined. The subject is one of great difficulty, however, and the trouble may be referred partly to the want of a series of accurately named British species for compari^ son, and partly to the fact that most of the spooges of the lower St. Lawrence are in all probability new to science. The appear- ance of Dr. Wyville Thompson's new book, ' The Depths of the Sea,' has thrown some light on several of these sponges. It is clear that some of the genera and species described in this volume are identical with specimens dredged in deep water ia . the St. Lawrence last year. Hydrozoa. — These simple corallines have been carefully ex- amined and studied. Twenty-three species have been recog- nised in last year's collection, and it is estimated that about ten more have yet to be identified. Actinozoa. — The eight or ten additional species in this group have been studied by Prof. Verrill and myself. The three kinds of Alci/onium collected are not yet determined witli any great degree of certainty ; one is apparently undescribed, as- is also a sea anemone of the limited genus Actinojysis. No. 2.] NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY. 115 EcHiNODERMATA. — The sea urchins and star fishes of the Gulf have also been critically re-examined, and a list of them published. The number at present known to inhabit the Gulf north of the Bay des Chaleurs, is about twenty-eight, nearly half of which are now for the first time recorded as denizens of our waters. Three critical species require further elucidation. Annelida. — All the marine worms collected in 1871 and 1872, have been sent to Dr. W. C, Mcintosh (of Murthly, near Perth) a well-known authority in this little studied group of animals. About twenty-four species have been already named, and in a short time it is hoped that the whole series will be identified. The collection made in 1872 is larger, and contains more species than that obtained in 1871. CrusTxICEA. — Thirty species of Crustacea, collected last sum- mer, have been named. Mr. S. J. Smith (of Yale College. New- haven, Conn.) has kindly Identified those which I had no oppor- tunities of determining here. Most of the species are new to the seas of the Province of Quebec. TuNiCATES. — The Tunicates collected, with two exceptions, were sent to Prof. Verril], wLo has made a special study of these animals. So far ten species have been identified. PoLY'ZOA. — Tills group has been partially studied and worked up by myself. About forty species have been made out with tolerable precision, but there is little doubt that the list will be greatly increased by a closer and more rigorous examination. " MoLLUSCA. — All the sea shells obtained last year have been critically examined and determined. About 150 species of marine testacea are now known to inhabit the seas of this Pro- vince. Fishes. — In conformity with a request from the Minister of Marine and Fisheries to that eifect, special attention was paid to the collection of facts bearing directly or indirectly upon the sea fisheries of the Dominion. With what success this part of my mission has been attended, those who have taken the trouble to peruse my report to the Government must decide. To sum up this portion of my report, about ninety species of marine animals, new to the Canadian fauna, have been collected, studied and determined during the past year. These have either 116 THE CANADIAN NATURALIST. [Yol. vii. been mounted on tablets, if dry preparations, or put into separate bottles with alcohol, if the nature of the specimens required that mode of treatment. The strain upon the eyes caused by pro- longed use of towing nets at sea, and in protracted microscopic work at the office, has been considerable. The correspondence involved, in order to attain successful results, has also taken up much time. It is much to be regretted, that in consequence of lack of funds, the Society has not been able to provide suitable cases, in which these and other alcoholic preparations can be exhibited to the public. At present the collections made in 1871 and 1872, as well as many other objects of great scientific interest and value, are almost unavailable to the student, and are wholly so to the general run of visitors, for want of proper accommodation. At intervals, when my eyes required rest, after close applica- tion to the microscope, some progress has been made in mounting my own collection of shells for the use of those who wish to consult it. About 300 species have been mounted on tablets and labelled. During the past year the donations to the Museum have been unusually small. So far as birds and mammals are concerned, this may have arisen from the state of the law on the subject. During the last session of the Quebec Legislature, eftbrts were made to induce the G-oveanment to permit the granting of licen- ses to enable naturalists to procure specimens of birds or their eggs for bona fide scientific purposes. Through the kindness of the Hon. James Ferrier, one of the most generous benefactors to this Society, the requisite clause was inserted in the Act for the protection of insectivorous birds. It is hoped that the eff'ect of this measure will ultimately be to largely increase the Society's collection of native birds and mammals. An interesting series of the Muridoe (mice, meadow-mice, rats, &c.) of this Continent has been received from the Smithsonian Institute, carefully named by Dr. Elliot Coues. The collection contains many species new to our Museum, and would have been a most valuable addition to the few North American mammals in our cases, but unfortunately the skins are so badly preserved that it was found to be impossible to mount them for public exhibition. As a cheering omen for the session just about to commence, it may be mentioned that advices have just been received of a No. 2.] NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY. IIT donation of sixty specimens of East Indian birds from Major G. E. Bulger, who has previously given many valuable and interest- ing donations of objects of various kinds from that part of the world. The consignment has been shipped by the Scandinavian, and may be expected at an early date. The additions to the library are about equal to the average of other years. The most important of them are illustrated mono- graphs on the sponges, hydrozoa, zoophytes, and sessile eyed crustaceans, purchased with a special view to working up the St. Lawrence species. Every year the Society becomes better known and appreciated by kindred associations in Europe and the United States. Did our finances permit, there are few scientific bodies in either of these countries with whom we should not exchange periodicals, reports, &c. For this and for other reasons an amount of correspondence is involved which occupies more and more of my time every year. Gentlemen, — the session which is now brought to a close ter- minates the first decade of my association with this Society. I am free to admit that, reviewing the past ten years, the hopes that I once entertained as to the future of this Institution have not been realized. The success or failure of this Society in par- ticular aifords, as it seems to me, a fair criterion of the value which the inhabitants of the city set upon higher education gene- rally. Yet how lamentably small has been the support or aid accorded to the Society by our wealthy citizens. For the last three years it has laboured under such a pressure of pecuniary difiiculties that during that time literally nothing has been spent on either the Museum or Library. The Hall, the Gallery and Museum have never been properly cleaned since the building was erected, and improvements which arc most urgently needed have been found impracticable, and abandoned for want of funds. That some interest is taken in the work which we are engaged in attempting to further, is manifest from the fact that upwards of 1000 persons have visited the Museum during the past twelve months. Were our collections made more worthy of this com- mercial and wealthy metropolis, and the building thrown open freely to the public, it is reasonable to suppose that the number of visitors to the Institution would be very largely increased. I should not have ventured to ofi"er these remarks, especially as similar ones have been dwelt upon in the able address of the Acting President, but that I had a special object in so doing. 118 THE CANADIAN NATURALIST. [Yol. vii. My desire has been to shew how many difficulties and obstacles I have had to contend with in the proper carrying out of the trust which for ten coDsecutive years you have reposed in me. Due allowance being made for many shortcomings and deficien- cies in the past, it is yet confidently hoped that if the work done during so long a time has been less than it ought to have been, the fault is largely attributable to that want of liberal patronage which might well have been accorded to a Society so deserving of the sympathy and practical assistance of all classes in the community. J. F. Whiteaves, F.G.S., &c. The Treasurer, Mr. James Ferrier, jr., submitted the follow- ing financial statement, and gave some verbal explanations of various details connected with it. No. 2.] NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY. 119 P5 ■5^ e5 i— I CO t—i O o o CO t— I t-H 1-^ ■_ t- t-s C 0* CO* r-H 10 00 -* 1— 1 C^ CO pf I— 1—1 C<] CO ^ CO w . ; jJ ¥¥ I—t Pi P5 p^ ■ H g-^ : P^ -< !-i - a . CO G C3 I- K w • -t-J •5 i °0 S -^ „ • 1-5 h-H g '-^ pq 2 i X ■ < ^g^gJiss 1— 1 P-i < cj 'r <^ ^ ^ ^ ^ E -^ 'y . <-H cr ^ -u ^ fee <_/ a> CO •f— 1 CO O! • i—t a CO CO rH .cT -»^ CD I— ( ^ ^ ^ w ^ ^ I—t i' "tj ce ^ c a> ^ ce ;-■ fO -♦^ 1— ■ 7: ;^ - ^ ^ ^ ^ CO S-i i5 ^ cc 1—1 5h pq "^ W i'-oooo'-H'^c; m (M Tt< ^ CO c C3 Oi CO CO in C^:i CO '^ CO C5 CO t- c CD CO CO — i ci cc C 01 c 1 — 1 t_ ^ ^ 1— 1 >i >i P >i S r- ^C5 a: fcr-l 5'^" .2 • -- ^ <^ 1— 1 Ch << ! • E- ^~ 'iS ^ S ', ;. - c ci 1— 1 1— 1 '■'6 hi r" •-H j_, ^ ^ w u t- •- E^ c 2 -t' :«• S F^ --S - - ^* p^pp^pcS s-^ 1-- T— H X f3 5 oce--^--- ^ "^ ~M •« & > ■i CC pq ^ c _ ce C " c^ c6 i:^ I— 1 tf<^ 1 - - :; :: :i :i :: CO fe ■+-> > 00 I—i i_ CO rH c 120 THE CANADIAN NATURALIST. [A^ol. \U^. Rev. Dr. De Sola made some remarks on the reports submitted, and urged the necessity of trying to popularize the papers read at the monthly meetings and the Somerville lectures. Dr. J. Baker Edwards asked if any arrangements had been made for holding a field day shortly, and pointed out the im- portance of continuing these pleasant social gatherings, as well as the desirability of trying to interest ladies in the work of the Society. It was moved by L. A. H. Latour, seconded by H. Rose, and: resolved : •' That the reports just read be adopted, printed and distribu- ted to the members." On motion of Dr. De Sola, seconded by Dr. J.Baker Edwards,., it was unanimously resolved : "That Dr. T. Sterry Hunt, F.R.S., be elected an honorary- member of the Society." It was moved by His Lordship the Metropolitan, seconded by- James Ferrier, jun., and resolved : " That the thanks of the Society be voted to Principal Daw- son for the preparation of the annual address." The following resolution, having been moved by (r. L. Marler,,, and seconded by R. McLachlan, was adopted unanimously. " That the Rule relatins; to the election of officers be sus- pended, and that Principal Dawson be elected President." Similar resolutions having been duly moved, seconded and: adopted, the following officers were re-elected by acclamation : Treasurer — James Ferrier, jun. Cor. Secretary — Prof. P. J. Darey, M.A., B.C.L. Scientific Curator and Bee. Secretarij — J. F. Whiteaves,. F.G.S., i:c. Messrs. G-. L. Marler and Prof. P. J. Darey having been ap- pointed scrutineers, the balloting for the remaining officers was- then proceeded with, and the following results were announced : Vice-Presidents — Rev. A. De Sola, LL.D. ; Sir W. E. Logan,. LL.D., F.R.S. ; G. Barnston; C. Smallwood, M.D., LL.D.^ D.C.L.; A. R. C. Selwyn, F.G.S.; E.Billings, F.G.S. ; His.: Lordship the Bishop of Montreal and Metropolitan ; C. Robb^ No. 2.] GEOLOGY, PALiEONTOLOGY AND MINERALOGY. 121 Council — Gr. L. Marler, D. A. P. Watt, J. H. Joseph, Prof. R. Bell, E. E. Shelton, D. R. McCord, Dr. B. J. Harrington, and the Rev. Canon Baldwin. On motion of G. L. Marler, seconded by J. H. Joseph, the following gentlemen 'were elected to serve as a library and mem- bership Committee : Dr. J. Baker Edwards, Dr. John Bell, D- McEachran, G. T. Kennedy, and L. A. H. Latour. GEOLOGY, PALAEONTOLOGY AND MINERALOGY. Report of the Geological Survey of Canada for 1871-72. A. R. C. Selwyn, F.G.S., Director.— This volume is one of special interest, as it cont:iins accounts of explorations by the Geological Survey in the regions beyond the " Mountains of the Setting Sun," — regions rocky and grand, but as yet little studied by the geologist. Besides a summary Report by Mr. Selwyn, indicating the general progress of the Survey, the volume contains the following : 1. Journal and Report of preliminary Explorations in British Colum- bia, by Mr. Alfred R. C. Selwyn. 2. Report on tlie Coal-fields of the East Coast of Vancouver Island, with a map of their distribution, by Mr. James Richardson. 3. Report of progress in Exploration and Surveys of country between Lake Superior and the Albany River, by Mr. Robert Bell. 4. Preliminary Report of Exploration and Surveys in the country between Lake St. John and Lake Mistassini, by Mr. AValter McOuat. 5. Progress Report of Exploration and Surveys in the Counties of Leeds, Frontenac and Lanark, in the Provinee of Ontario, with a plan of the Township of Marmora, showing the position of the worked Gold Mines, and the course of the Auriferous Zone, by Mr. H. G. Vennor. 6. Report of progress in Geological Investigation in New Brunswick,. by Professor L. W. Bailey. 7. Summary of Statistics of Mines and Mineral Produce of the Dominion, prepared from Oftieial Returns and other sources, by Mr. Charles Robb. From Mr. Selwyn 's Journal we learn the more than ordinary- difficulties with which the geologist has to contend among the rugged hills and rushing streams of British Columbia. 122 THE CANADIAN NATURALIST. [Yol. vii. In his report upon the geological structure of the country, Mr. Selwyn gives the following as a proyisional classification of the rocks : I. Superficial Deposits. II. Volcanic Series and Coal and Lignite '^Group of the 31an-land ; and the Coal-rocks oj Vancouver Island. III. Jackass Mountain Conglomerate Group. IV. ZTpper Cache Greek Group (^Marble Canon Limestones). V. Lower Cache Creek Group. VI. Anderson River and Boston Bar Group, and Upper Rocks of Leather Pass and Moose Lake. VII. Cascade Mountain and Vancouver Island Crystalline Series. VIII. Granite, Gneiss and Mica-schist Series of North Thompson, Al- breda Lake and Tete Jaune Cache, including the micaceous schists of the Cariboo district. Each group is then described in detail, and amongst other points it is interesting to note the highly crystalline character of many of the rocks which are shewn from their fossils to be of comparatively recent date. Mr. Selwyn's report contains a num- ber of valuable facts with reference to the soil, forests, game, &c., of British Columbia, and concludes with the following remarks : '' Tliough British C(/lumbia possesses considerable tracts of fine " agricultural and pastoral land, amply sufficient to produce all the ^' food her own population is ever likely to require, yet it is not " probable that she will ever hold a prominent position as an exporting '' agricultural country. ^Her chief resourses are her forests, her fisheries " and her mines ; and these are capable of almost unlimited develop- ^' ment. Her gold-fields, her silver veins and her coal-mines are yet " in their infancy ; her timber trade is in a similar condition, and her " fisheries, which may fairly be expected to rival those of the Atlantic " Provinces, have not yet extended beyond the supply of local reqire- <' ments. " There can scarcely be a doubt in the mind of any one who has " visited the country, that a bright and prosperous future is in store '^ for the Alpine Province of the great Dominion ; only to be realised, " however, when the iron road shall have brought her into closer com- «' munion with her elder sisters in the east. " Mr. Richardson's report contains much useful information about the coal-fields, as well as about the crystalline rocks, super- ficial deposits, crops, &c., of Vancouver Island. It is followed by a note by Dr. Dawson on the fossil plants collected by Mr. Richardson, and by analyses and notes, by Dr. Hunt, upon sam- ples of coal and crystalline rocks from Vancouver Island. No. 2.] GEOLOGY, PALAEONTOLOGY AND MINERALOGY. 123 We have not space to say much of the remainiag reports, though they are all valuable and interesting. Those interested in the economic geology of Ontario will do well to consult Mr. Yennor's report, which contains notes on the iron ores of Fron- tenac, Leeds and Lanark ; on the phosphate of lime in North Burgess, Bedford, and South Crosby ; and on the gold of Mar- mora. The mining statistics form a new feature in the Reports of the Survey, the importance of which cannot be over-estimated. Some of the figures given in the tables are undoubtedly too low ; but this is explained by the difficulty experienced in obtaining com- plete returns from persons engaged in mining. A 3Ianual of Paleontology. By Henry AUeyne Nichol- son, M.D., &c., &c.. Professor of Natural History, University- College, Toronto.^ This is a well executed and well illustrated octavo of 600 pages, presenting to the student a comprehensive, and, on the whole, accurate view of the subject of fossil organic remains, whether animal or vegetable. The introductory chapters contain some valuable general views on the subject of geology in its relations to palaeontology, after which the author proceeds to take up his main subject, that of fossil animals, arranged in zoological order. The classification is that of the modern English school of zoology, for whose shortcomings Dr. Nicholson is not to be held respon- sible, as no writer of an educational work on natural history for use in Great Britain can hope for success unless he conforms to the prevalent London fashion. Prof. Nicholson, however, rises altogether superior to this school in the wide view which he takes of his subject, giving importance not only to European but also to American fossils, and thus rendering- his work of far more value to the student in this country than any other English manual. Every group of animals to which we have had occa- sion to refer in this part of the Manual, is clearly and well repre- sented. The part devoted to fossil botany is less copious ; but students of that important but neglected subject may be thankful to find it represented at all, and on the whole a good general view is given of the successive floras, which are treated not in botanical * Blackwood & Sons, Edinburgh. 124 THE CANADIAN NATURALIST. [Vol. vii > but in geological order, an arrangement which has important ad- vantages, and might be applied to zoological palseontology as well. The concluding part of the work gives a good summary of his- torical palaeontology, and there is a useful glossary and a copious index. On the whole the work can be strongly commended to Canadian teachers and students, and to all those who are endea- vouring with such aid as they can obtain from books, to form collections of fossils. d. The supposed Diamonds in Xanthophyllite. — Consider- able interest was excited a short time back by M. Jeremejew's announcement that he had discovered diamonds imbedded in a rare Russian mineral known as Xanthophyllite. Wishing to verify Jeremiejew's observations, Dr. Knop, of Carlsruhe, has been quietly working at the subject, and has recently come to to the conclusion that the so called crystals of diamond are merely angular cavities, suggesting, it is true, the well-known forms in which the diamond is wont to crystallize, but nevertheless desti- tute of the veriest trace of diamond, or of any other mineral substance. It might, however, be fairly supposed that the cavi- ties, though now empty, originally contained certain crystalline materials which impressed their angular form upon these hollows. Some curious experiments by Knop lead, however, to an opposite conclusion. He obtained thin sections of xanthophyllite, which ^ when magnified 1500 diameters, appeared to be absolutely desti- tute of any of these angiilar cavities ; nevertheless, after treating the preparation with sulphuric acid, numerous cavities were recognized exactly similar to those referred in other cases to the presence of diamonds. In other experiments, fine lamellae of xanthophyllite were carefully examined in all directions under the microscope, and the entire absence of any crystalline impres- sions then determined ; the object was then touched with a few drops of concentrated sulphuric acid, and heated until white fumes appeared. The preparation, when cooled, was protected with a cover glass, and placed under the microscope, when it ex- hibited swarms of beautiful tetrahedral cavities, sharply defined, regularly formed, and arranged in parallel rows. From these and other observations, the author feels justified in concluding that the angular cavities in the Russian xanthophyllite have nothing to do with the presence of diamonds, but owe their origin merely to the corrosive action of acids. — Quarterly Journal of Science, No. 2.] * BOTANY. 125 A Maryland Oil Well. — A few years ago an oil well was started near Cumberland, Maryland ; but instead of striking oil, the pioneers came upon a gas chamber, and penetrated it. The gas was ignited, and continued burning. About a year ago, Mr. Haworth, of Boston, purchased the well, and obtained a patent for the manufiicture of carbon. The gas is allowed to burn against soapstone platos, on which the carbon is deposited in the form of soot. Six hundred and sixty burners are now in opera- tion, each burner consuming eight cubic feet per hour. By a mechanical arrangement, the soot is scraped and deposited in large tin boxes about 3 feet long, 1 J feet wide, and 1 J feet deep ; scrapers are passed along the soapstone plates every twenty minutes, and the boxes are filled on their fourth passage. A building twice the size of the present one is now in course of con- struction. It will have in use 1328 gas burners. The present consumption of gas amounts to about one-twelfth the whole quan- tity escaping from the well. The total consumption of gas by the burners of both buildings will be one-fourth of the whole. The carbon is generally used for the manufacture of ink. — Quarterly Journal of Science. BOTANY. Home Botany. — It is to be regretted that although every year a considerable amount of botanical research is made in the neijrhbourhood of Montreal, few results are chronicled. In this way much local botanical knowledge is lost, and much time is expended by new enthusiasts in finding out what had already been known to former workers in the sume department. Inas- much as the natural productions of one's own vicinity are of much greater interest than those of parts more remote, so it is allowable for Montreal botanists to study with peculiar enthusi- asm the flora of the mountain and regions lying within reach of a day's excursion. If the interesting discoveries that are made from year to year by new and older investigators in this limited and well-searched area, were regularly published in our local scientific magazine, the accumulated facts would gradually give us a thorough knowledge of the flora of the district, which would serve as an exploring shaft into the vegetable products of the country, to shew their nature from the highest to the lowest forms. The thorough study of such a district is of higher scientific value than the superficial investigation of a whole province. The im- 126 THE CANADIAN NATURALIST. [Vol. vii. provements taking place in this vicinity are producing great changes in the flora, causing the disappearance of many rare and beautiful species, and the introduction of hardy and noxious weeds. As lime goes on, the houses, creeping out block by block from the narrow area enclosed by the walls in olden times, fill up the vacant lots and fields. By degrees new drains and tunnels are drying up the pools where the jjondweeds grew, and duckweed mantled the surffice o'er with green, and the swamps and ravines DO longer afl'ord the moist and shady home for the orchids and moccasin flowers of former years. Further away from the din of busy industry, the farms and market gardens are rapidly encroaching on the woods and copses, while these again are being- robbed of their pristine character by the constant incursions of men and cattle, and thus, soon, the lover of flowers may look in vain for our sweet-scented pyrolas and slipper-plants, and be forced to say in the words of the old Scottish song, " The flowers of the forest are a' wede awa'." So rapidly is this process of encroachment on rural parts going on, that sometimes plants essentially of the country and fen, are surrounded and imprisoned by the advancing lines and forming squares of houses. Thus, specimens of the marsh five-finger, and buckbean or swamp gentian, and other swamp plants, could be seen only a year ago growing in a boggy lot between Richmond square and the Ft.R. track. The following are some examples which occur at the moment, of particular localities where some- what uncommon species of plants may be found : Orchis specta- hiUs, ravine head of University street ; Viola Selkirkii, amongst loose rocks at the base oF the east end of the Mountain ; Viola sagiftata, rising ground back of Hochelaga village ; Viola lanceo- lata, near Mde. Bruueau's, Montarville ; Atragene Americana^ brow of mountain above Ravenscraig, and summit of Beloeil mountain ; Uvularia sessili/olia, top of the Mountain, above Terrace Bank; Cratcegus oxi/cantha, the English hawthorn, St. Helen's Island ; Claytonia Virginica, woodland at the base of the east end of the Mountain, near the cemetery fence; Aralia trifolia, swamp in the cemetery; Aspidium fragrans, exposed rocks near the lake, Beloeil Mountain. These may furnish some localities new to many collectors in this neighbourhood, and other localities of somewhat rare species will be furnished in future numbers. Any one making known No. 2.] CHEMISTRY. 12T the occurreDce of uncommon species in particular localities will contribute much to the common knowledge of the flora of the district, and add greatly to the pleasure and profit of excursions and rambles in the neighbourhood of Montreal. J. B. CHEMISTRY. Waters of Prince Edward Island. — In Dr. Dawson's Report on the Geological Structure and Mineral Resources of Prince Edward Island, published in 1871, attention was called to the deficient supply of water to Charlottetowu, and suggestions offered with regard to obtaining a supply by means of boring. The question is one of much importance and has been too long neglected, for much of the water at present used there is totally unfit for drinking purposes. The ' American Chemist ' for May^ 1873. contains the following note by S. D. Hayes, of Boston : " There is probably no city of ten thousand inhabitants oq this continent, that is suffering more for want of pure water than Charlottetown, the capital of Prince Edward Island. The public and private wells of this city are unfit for use from the presence in them of animal matters in uncommonly large propor- tions, and they undoubtedly constitute the primary cause for some of the diseases prevailing among the people there. The inhabitants of this city are literally dependent upon a water cart or two and a spring just outside of the city limits for every drop of water fit to use for cookintj or drink; and this water, which is itself not by any means of the best, is sold from the carts for nearly one cent per gallon. For more than two years the City Council have had this matter under consideration, and the first complete analyses of their waters were made in November, the sources of the different specimens being unknown at the time. In recording only partial results of these analyses, it should be understood that the constituents called organic matter, consist of the volatile matters after correction and deduction of carbonio and nitric acids, water of composition, etc., belonging to the mineral and saline constituents determined by full analyses. One United States gallon (231 cubic inches) of these waters contained in grains : r • /^ • Total rceight Source of, c They are on the other hand probably newer than the auriferous pri- No. 2.] DAWSON — IRON ORES OF NOVA SCOTIA. 135 mordial rocks of the Atlantic coast. As they have afforded no fossils their age does not at present seem capable of more precise definition. With regard to the filling of the vein fissures, this, if coeval with the metamorphism of the containing beds or im- mediately subsequent thereto, would fall between the period of the lower Devonian and that of the lower Carboniferous, or within the Devonian age. The denudation connected with the Lower Carboniferous conglomerates and the fragments contained in these conglomerates, seem to imply that the ore-bearing slates were then in the same condition as at present. On the other hand the Lower Carboniferous sandstones themselves contain in places narrow veins of specular iron, which also occurs, as well as magnetic iron, in the fissures of the Triassic trap. On the west side of the East Kiver of Pictou, there occur rocks precisely similar to those of the Cobequid range, of which indeed they may be regarded as an Eastern continuation, and including an iron vein which must be regarded as the equivalent of that of the xlcadia Mine, which it resembles perfectly in mineral char- acter and mode of occurrence, differing only in the greater pro- portionate prevalence of the specular ore.* In New Lairg, a few miles from Glengarry Station, the most western portion of this vein known to me, contains much Ankerite, with strings of Specular iron ; and in large loose pieces there are indications also of red ore which is not visible in place. Farther to the eastward on the West Branch of the P]ast Eiver of Pictou, there ajjpears a band of quartzite thirty feet thick filled with veins of Limouite; but specular ore is not found at this place. Still farther to the eastward and near the east branch of the East River the specular vein attains a very large development, shewing in some places a thickness of twenty feet of pure ore. Its course is S. 60^ to 70" E. or nearly coincident with that of the containing beds; and as on the Cobequids, its attitude is nearly vertical and it appears to be thickest and richest in the risintr grounds. In one very deep ravine the bed of quartzite usually associated with the ore seemed to be wanting, and the Tein w IS represented by innumerable strings of Ankerite, forming a network in the slate. As in the Cobequid vein, masses of Mag- netic ore are occasionally mixed with the Specular. To complete * This vein was first described hy the late Mr. Hartley in the Report of the Geological Survey of Canada, 1870. 136 THE CANADIAN NATURALIST. [Vol. vii. the resemblance, loose masses of Limonite are found in the vicinity of the vein, giving rise to the expectation that a vein or veins of this mineral may be found to be associated with the specular ore. The ores of this vein in Pictou County are nearly pure peroxide of iron, containing from 64 to 69 per cent, of metal, and can be obtained in great quantity fioiu the outcrop of the vein where it appears on the rising grounds. *^ o Jj CL Jb Ideal Section^ showing the general relations of the Iron Ores of the East River of Pictou. 1. Great bed of Red Hematite. 2. Vein of Specular Iron. 3. Vein of Limonite. "(a) Older Slate and Qaartzite series, with Trap, &c. (h) Lower Helderberg- formation and other Upper Silurian rocks. (c) Lower Carboniferous of the East Branch of East River. (2) Limonite veins of the East River of Pictou. The valley of the East River of Pictou above Springville is occupied by a narrow tongue of Lower Carboniferous rocks, havinor at one side the slates containins; the ore last mentioned, and on the other a more disturbed country already referred to as containino- the o;reat Lower Helderbero: bed of Hematite. It is highly probable that the river valley follows the line of an old pre-carboniferous line of fracture, denuded and partially filled with the Lower Carboniferous beds, including large deposits of limestone and gypsum. At the line of junction of the Carbon- iferous and older rocks on the east side of the river, occurs the great Limonite vein of the district, forming a vein of contact of exceeding richness and value. It follows the sinuosities of the margin of the older rocks, and varies in thickness and quality in different places ; being apparently richest opposite the softer slates and where these are in contact with a black maniranesian limestone, which here, as in man}" other parts of Nova Scotia, forms one of the lowest members of the Carboniferous series. The ore is sometimes massive but more frequently in fibrous con- cretionary balls of large size, associated with quantities of No. 2.] DAWSON — IRON ORES OF NOVA SCOTIA. 13T smaller concretionary or " gravel" ore. In some places the ore of iron is associated with concretions or crystalline masses of Pyrolusite and Manganite. Denuding agencies in the Post-pliocene period have removed portions of the vein and its wells, and have deeply covered the surface in many places with debris. Hence the outcrop of the vein was originally marked by a line of masses of the ore too heavy to be removed by water. From the analogy of the other veins to be mentioned in the sequel, I was led to believe that the source of these masses would be found in the Lower Carbonifer- ous rocks, and so stated the matter in the first edition of Acadian Geology (1855). Subsequently, however, the vein h :ving been exposed in situ, and one wall proving to consist of metamorphic slate, it was described by Dr. Honeyman and by Mr. Hartley of the G-eological Survey as a vein in the Silurian rocks. Still more recently exploratory works conducted by Mr. Gr. M. Daw- son, with the aid of Mr. D. Fraser, have clearly proved that the vein follows the junction of the two formations. The ore of this vein is of the finest quality, affording from 62 to 65 per cent, of metallic iron. The more productive portions of this vein, as well as of the specular vein in its vicinity, are in the hands of the parties already referred to, in connection with the Hematite Ibed. (8) Limonite of Shuhenacadie, Old Barns and Broohfield. At the mouth of the Shuhenacadie Eiver, the lowest Carbon- iferous bed seen is a dark-coloured laminated limestone, in all probability the equivalent of the Manganesian limestone already referred to, as well as of the Manganiferous limestone of Walton, the Plumbiferous limestone of the Stewiacke, and the lower black limestone of Plaister Cove, Cape Breton.'^^ This limestone and the sandstones and marls overlying it, are traversed by large fissure veins, holding a confused aggregation of iron ores and other minerals, as Limonite, Hematite, Gothite, Sulphate of Barium, Calcite, &c., some of which appear sufficiently large and rich for profitable exploration. In the same formations, further to the eastward, at Old Barns, similar veins are found to be largely developed, and at Brookfield, fifty miles east of the Shu- henacadie, and apparently near the junction of the Lower Car- boniferous with older rocks, large surface masses of Limonite * See Acadian Geology 138 THE CANADIAN NATURALIST. [Vol. Vllo. appear to indicate an extensive deposit of similar nature, but "which has not, I believe, been yet so far opened up as to estab- lish its practical importance. (4) Iron Veins of the Triassic Traj?. Veins of Magnetite and Specular Iron occur in several locali- ties in the great beds of trap associated with the Triassic red sandstones of the Bay of Fundy, but so far as known these ores are insignificant in quantity. It will be observed from the above notes, that while the iroo vein of the Cobequid hills is at no great distance from the coal- field of Cumberland, with which it has now railway connection, the still larger and more important deposits of Pictou are very near to the extensive collieries of that district, and to railway and water communication, so that every facility appears to exist for their profitable exploration, and it may be anticipated that they will soon be rendered available for the supply of iron of superior quality, more especially to meet the large and increasing demand of the Dominion of Canada. DESCRIPTIONS OF NEW FOSSILS FROM THE DE- VONIAN ROCKS OF \YESTERN ONTARIO. By H. Alleyne Nicholson, M.D., D. Sc, M.A., F.R.S.E., Professor of Natural History in University College, Toronto. Having been engaged for some time in studying the fossils of the Corniferous Limestone of Western Ontario, I purpose in the present communication to give brief descriptions of some of the new forms which have come under my notice. I shall, however, simply give the descriptions, without illustrations, as I am pre- paring a detailed report upon the fossils of some of the Palaeozoic formations of Ontario, in which the species in question will be fully illustrated. I. ZaPHRENTIS FENESTRATA, n. sp. Corallum simple, cylindro-conical, curved. Tabula3 well de- veloped, remote, bending downwards as they approach the outer wall. Septa strong, equally developed, not alternately large and No. 2.] NICHOLSON — NEW FOSSILS. 139' small, apparently forty-eight in number. Epitheca thin, with a few shallow undulations of growth, but destitute of vertical stria) or costae. This species is closely allied to Z. gigantea, Lesueur, but ap- pears to be clearly distinct; though the above description is founded upon but a single specimen, which is .ill that I have as yet obtained. It differs from Z. gigantea in the greater pro- portionate thickness, and much smaller number of the septa^ and in the greater remoteness of the tabulae. Thus in Z. gigan- tea the septa are from seventy to one hundred and forty in num- ber, and they are alternately small and large; whilst their thick- ness is not particularly great, and the distance between the tabulae is not excessive. Z. fenestra ta is also a smaller form than Z. gigantea. From Z. j^^'oUfca, Billings, the present species is distinguished by its greater size and more cylindrical form, and the much smaller number of the septa, as well as by the fact that the septa are not alternately of different sizes. Zaphrentis patula of Edwards and Haime, possesses forty equal septa, but is of a much smaller size, and its shape is much more turbinate. Z. centralis, of the same authors, is also very much more diminutive in its dimensions. The tabulae of the circumference of the coral in Z. fenestrataj.^ where they bend downwards to meet the epitheca, appear to be clearly of the nature of highly developed dissepiments ; since they are not placed at exactly the same level in contiguous inter- septal loculi. The specific name is in allusion to the peculiar.- fenestrated appearance exhibited by portions of the coral from., which the epitheca has been removed, when the interseptal loculi are seen to be crossed at intervals of from two to three lines by the obliquely descending tabulae, producing the appearance of a series of oblong fenestrules. Length of the only specimen observed five inches (real length, probably nearly twice as much) ; diameter of summit one incb- and a half. Calice and fosette unknown. Locality and formation. — Corniferous limestone^ Port Col- - borne. Genus Blothrophyllum (Billings). '' Corallum simple, turbinate or cylindrical. Internal struc- - ture consisting of a central area occupied by flat transverse dia- phragms, an intermediate area with strong radiating septa, anc^^. 140 THE CANADIAN NATURALIST. [Yol. Vli. an outer area in which there is a set of imperfect diaphragms projecting upwards, and bearing on their upper surfaces rudi- mentary radiating septa. A thin complete epitheca, and a sep- tal fosette." (Billiogs, Canadian Journ., New Series, Vol. lY., p. 129.) The central space of the theca is occupied in corals of this genus, as in Amplexus, by flat or slightly flexuous tabulae, upon which the septa encroach slightly or not at all. Outside this central area is a narrow zone in which the tabulae are bent down- wards towards the base of the corallum, and are at the same time occasionally split or bifurcated ; whilst the continuity of the spac:s between them is interfered with by a series of strong septa. Outside this, again, is an outer zone formed by a series of tabulae which are directed upwards and outwards in an arch- ing manner, and which carry on tlieir upper surfaces a series of imperfect septa, their lower surfaces being simply costate or ridged. Lastly, the tabulae of this external zone are walled in by a thin but strong epitheca, with which the outer surface of the coral is invested. The genus differs from ZapJu^enfis in not having the septa prolonged inwards to, or near to, the centre, and in having the central tabulate area surrounded by an intermediate imperfectly vesicular zone, surrounded in turn by an exterior zone of arched tabulae and incomplete septa. From Amplexus it is distinguished by the possession of the exterior zone last mentioned, and by the septa being more largely developed ; whilst it is distinguished from CUsioj)hi/Uum by the first of the above-mentioned peculi- arities, and also by the fact that the tabulae of the central area are nearly or quite flat, and are not elevated into a conical pro- tuberance. The genus BlothrophyUum was originally defined by Mr. Billings (op. cif.), and the single species B. decorticatum was described. In addition to this previously recorded and very characteristic species, I have now to describe an allied form, B. approximatum, also from the Corniferous limestone of Western Ontario. II. Blotiirophyllum approximatum, n. sp.- Corallum of unknown length, cylindrical or cylindro-conical. The outer area consisting of strong arched diaphragms, curving upwards and outwards, distant from one another from half a No. 2.] NICHOLSON — NEAV FOFSILS. 1411 line to two lines, bearing upon their upper surface imperfect septa which extend from one tabula to another when the tabulae are remote by the former distance only, but which otherwise do not do so. Septa alternately large and small, distant from one another about a third of a line. Tabula3 of the central area closely approximated, from three to four in the space of two lines, flat or slightly flexuous, the septa only slightly encroaching on them. Epitheca with numerous constrictions of growth and encirchno' nnnulations, as well as obscure longitudinal striae, . Dimensions unknown, but certainly attaining a diameter of three inches. In most of its essential characters this species agrees with B. decorticatinn, Billings, of which perhaps it may turn out to be only a variety. It is, however, distinguished by the apparently constant peculiarity that the tabulae of the outer area are very closely set, much more closely than in B. decortlcatum. Thus, typical specimens of the latter exhibit only from three to five of the curved tabulae of the outer area in the space of an inch ; whereas examples of i^. approximatain present ho less ilum from ten to fourteen tabular in the same space. Whether this charac- ter is one of specific value or not, may be questioned, but I think it advisable to refer the specimens w^hich exhibit it, provisionally at any rate, to a new species. Locality and formation . — Corniferous Limestone of Port Col- - borne. Genus Heliophyllum (Hall). The genus Heliopliijllum is very closely allied to Cyatliopliyl- him, and the following are the definitions of it, given respectively by Milne Edwards and Haime, and by Mr. Billings : 1. '^ Corallum simple. Septal apparatus well developed, and producing lateral lamellar prolongations, which extend from the wall towards the centre of the visceral chamber, so as to repre- sent ascendins; arches and to constitute irre2;ular central tahulce,. and which are united towards the circumference by means of vertical dissepiments." (Milne Edwards and Haime.) 2. '• Corallum simple or aggregate ; radiating septa well de- veloped, obliquely striated on their sides by thin elevated ridges, which extend from the outer wall in an upward curved course towards the centre. These ridges are connected by numerous thin laminae, which divide the spaces between the septa into small sub-lenticular cells. The transverse diaphragms are thin^ 142 THE CANADIAN NATURALIST. [Vol. vii. 'flexuous, and confined to the central portion of the coral." (Billings.) The internal structure which distino-uishes corals of the genus ''Heliojjhyllum is thus of a somewhat complicated nature. The septa are well developed and extend nearly or quite to the centre of the theca, where they are often somewhat twisted ; but there IS no columella. A central tabulate area exists, but is of compa- ratively circumscribed dimensions. Externally to this tabulate urea, the interseptal loculi are divided into cells or small com- partments by the intersection of two sets of dissepiments having diiferent directions. The dissepiments of the first and most con- spicuous set are directed from the internal surface of the wall obliquely inwards and upwards towards the centre, in a succes- sion of arches, the convexities of which are turned upwards. These dissepiments doubtless correspond with that circumferen- tial portion of the tabulae, which is bent downwards towards the base of the coral in species of Zajjhrentis, ClUiophyllmn, Dipliy- pliyllmn^ &c. When these dissepiments are more or less imper- fect or have suffered destruction, they leave upon the flat sur- faces of the septa a corresponding number of arched strife or ridges. Similarly, in the calice of the coral these dissepiments appear on the free edges of the septa as so many short spines. The dissepiments of the second series are more delicate, more discontinuous, and much more variable in direction than those of the preceding series. Sometimes they are nearly vertical, or, in other words, are pretty nearly concentric with the theca. Sometimes they are not far from the horizontal, and intersect the dissepiments of the former series at a very acute angle. Most commonly they are directed inwards and downwards from the theca towards the centre, so as to cut the dissepiments of the preceding series nearly at right angles. Decorticated examples being due to the bifurcation of each primary septum at a distance of about a line and a-half above the base, and also to the inter- calation of new septa along both sides of a line which runs along the dorsal or convex side of the coral from top to bottom. This line is marked on the exterior by two primary septa, which form a prominent ridge externally and pass inwards to the centre of the coral. At the margin of the cup the septa are somewhat un- equally developed, being alternately larger and smaller, the larger primary septa being prolonged inwards to the centre ot the theca, where they become somewhat bent and twisted to- o'ether. No columella appears to be present, nor are there any tabuloe. The flat sides of the septa are furrowed with a succes- sion of deep grooves, about four or five in the space of one line, which are directed in an obliquely ascending and arching manner from the wall towards the centre, the interspaces between them beino' tumid and rounded, and thus imparting a crenulated ap- pearance to the outer edges of the septa when exposed to view. These arching grooves are not connected with lamellar dissepi- ments having a similar direction ; but the septa for some little distance below the cup are united by delicate transverse dissepi- ments. The epitheca is marked with a few annulatious of o-rowth, which are mostly very obscure, and with well marked costge or strict corresponding with the septa. In none of the specimens in my possession does the epitheca extend more than half an inch (often less) above the base of the corallum. Beyond this point to the margin of the calice, the edo'es of the septa are seen with their characteristic ci-enulated appearance, and united here and there by minute dissepiments. As already noted, the flattened convex side of the coral always exhibits two pre-eminently large septa, produced by the bifurca- tion of one, which run from the top to the bottom of the coral in a straight line. The remaining septa are directed obliquely from both sides towards this central pair ; so that new septa are inter- calated along this line in proceeding from the base to the calice. It is possible that these two septa may mark the position of a fosette in the cup ; but none of my specimens exhibit the inte_ rior of the calice, and I am, therefore, unable' to speak positively on this point. For the same reason I can say nothing as to the condition of the free edges of the septa internally. The total length of the corallum is from three-quarters of an inch to one inch, the diameter of the calice varying from half aa No. 3.] NICHOLSON — NEW FOSSILS. 145 .inch to nearly three-quarters. The calice is oblique, so that the srreatest leno-th of the coral is alons; its convex curvature. Petraia Logani is closely allied to Petraia (^TurhinoJopsis) ,pluriradialis, Phillips, with which I was at first sight disposed to identify it. It is, however, readily distinguished by the flat- tening of the convex curvature and lateral aspects of the coral, and by the smaller number of radiating septa. As regards other more minute characters, the published descriptions of P. pliiri- radiaUs are not sufficient to enable any closer comparison to be instituted with advantage between the two species. There exists also a singular, and in some respects inexplicable, .Tesemblance between the form here described under the name of P. Logani. and that described by Mr. Billings under the name of Heliophyllum exigimm (Can. Journ. New Series, Vol. Y. p. 261); at the same time that differences of such gravity exist that the two forms cannot be united under the same specific title, or even placed in the same genus. Without pretending at present to explain the discrepancies of observation here alluded to, it may be as well to present in a summary form the points of agreement and difierence which appear to exist between the twa ; species. 1 . Both corals are of the same general form and size, and occur not only in the same formation, but also at the same lo- cality. 2. Both corals are alleged to possess externally a couple of straight septal ridges, extending from the top to the bottom of the coral, and having the other septa directed obliquely towards this line on both sides. I have, however, never been able to de- tect this structure in the comparatively few specimens which have come under my notice, which I should feel disposed to refer to H. exiguum. 3. The number of septa in the cup appears to be about the same in both, though said to be sometimes as many as eighty in H. exiguwn, whilst they never appear to exceed sixty-five in -P. Logani. Whilst the above are the chief points of agreement, there are 'the following points of difference to be noted : 1. H. exiguum, though this is not specially alluded to, must possess more or less well developed tahulce ; but no traces of such structures can be detected in P. Logani, in broken specimens or in longitudinal sections. Vol. YII. k No. 3. *146 THE CANADIAN NATURALIST. [Yol. Vll.. '2. The septa in H. exiguum exhibit on their flat sides " about six obscure arched s^?'i<:c to one line." Those of i'. i/o^«?ii ex- hibit a succession of arched grooves of considerable depth, sepa- rated by somewhat tumid interspaces; and these grooves are only about four or five in the space of one line. Nor can it be supposed that this discrepancy is due to any confusion on my part between casts of P. Logani and the actual coral itself, . such a mistake being impossible in dealing with the well-preserved, specimens of the Corniferous formation. 3. The septa in P. Logani bifurcate regularly in proceeding: fjom the base to the cup, thus being always arranged in pairs in. the upper part of the coral; whilst no such arrangement is stated. as regards H. exiguum. 4. When looked at as seen in transverse sections of the cup,.. the septa of H. exiguum are seen to possess plain sides, as is the- case in Zajjhrentis ; whilst those of P. Logani are denticulated "with tooth-like dissepiments or spines, which rarely extend to the contiguous septum. It need hardly be said that the structures here alluded to are not to be confounded with the spines which occur on the free edges of the septa of H. exiguum^ as in the genus HeliophyUum in general. 5. The epitheca of H. exiguum is thick, deeply annulated, hardly showing the lines of the septa, and co-extensive with the outer surface of the coral. In P. Logani ^ on the other hand,, the epitheca is very slightly marked with ridges of growth, 'usually exhibits distinct costae, and never appears to extend to the mar- gin of the calice ; though it is certainly difiicult to say positively whether this last 'appearance is natural of is due to a partial de- cortication of the coral. Upon the whole, I think that the fossil here' described as Petraia Logani is distinct from previously known forms. Its reterence to Petraia is provisional, but it apparently cannot be referred under any circumstances to the genus HeliophyUum.. I have named it in honour of the eminent geologist, Sir William Logan, F.R.S. Locality and formation. — Not uncommon in the Corniferous Limestone of llama's Farm, Port Colborne. V. Alecto (?) Canadensis, n. sp. Polyzoaryadnate, attached parasitically to the exterior of corals, branching in an irregularly dichotomous manner. Cells in realitjr No. 3.] NICHOLSON—NEW FOSSILS. 147 uniserial, but so disposed by the turning of each cell-mouth to alternate sides as to look as if bi-serial. The terminal portion of each cell bent outwards ; the aperture circular. The cells tubular, elongated, slightly or not at 'a]\ expanded and not at all elevated towards their apertures. Five cells in the space of two lines; width of cell about one-tiftieth of an inch near the mouth. I havt con>iderable doubts as to the affinities of this extra- ordinary little fossil ; but T tliink it is certainly one of the Cyclostoniatous Polyzoa, and I sec at present no better course than to refer it to Alecto, Laniorovix. When not examined closely, the fossil presents a strikinu' resemblance to a Sertularian Zoo- phyte, exhibiting exactly the appearance of a number of tubular calycles or cells springing alternately from the two sides of a common canal or stem. When minutely looked into, however, it is seen that this is deceptive, and that the fossil consists really of an alternate or sub-alternate series of long, tubular, slightly flexuous cellules, each cell being nearly cylindrical, and having the terminal portion geniculated or bent outwards, in such a manner that the mouths of successive cells point in opposite directions. The difficulty in determining the systematic place of this fos- sil is much increased by the fact that it occurs solely in the form of casts, ramifying in the walls of moulds from which corals have been removed. It is, therefore, impossible to determine what was the texture of the coenoccium, whether calcareous or corneous; whilst the lines of division between the cells, where they come in contact with one anoti^er, are only very faintly and obscurely indicated. The form of the aperture of the cell ap- pears to have been circular, and its position terminal ; but some uncertainty attaches to both of these statements. Loadity and Formation. — Common, growing parasitically upon the corallites of Di})]n/plnj}luin arundinaceinn, or upon the epitheca of Flstnllpora Canadensis, in the former position gene- rally accompanied by a species of Splrorhis. Corniferous Lime- stone, Port Colborne, and Lot 6, Con. 3, Wainfleet. 148 THE CANADIAN NATURALIST. [Vol. vii. AMERICAN ASSOCIATION FOR THE ADVANCE- MENT OF SCIENCE. At the recent meeting of the American Association held at Portland, a large number of interesting papers were read, one of which, by Principal Dawson, is given in full in the present num- ber of this journal. We have, as yet, been unable to obtain full reports of the pro- ceedings ; but give a few abstracts of some of the most interest- ing papers and discussions, from the reports of the JS^ew York Tribune. ADDRESS OF THE PRESIDENT. The address of J. Lawrence Smith, the retiring President^ was read by Prof Putnam, the President being absent in Vienna, The following is given by the Tribune as the most significant portion : It is not my object to criticise the speculations of any one or more of the modern scientists who have carried their investiija- tions into the world of the imagination ; in fact, it could not be done in a discourse so limited as this, and one only intended as a prologue to the present meeting. But in order to illustrate this subject of method more fully I will refer to Darwin, whose name has become synonymous with progressive development and natural selection, which we had thought had died out with Lamarck 50 years ago. In Darwin we have one of those philoso- phers whose great knowledge of animal and vegetable life is only transcended by his imagination. In fact, he is to be regarded more as a metaphysician with a highly wrought imagination than as a scientist, although a man having a most wonderful know- ledge of the facts of natural history. In England and America we find scientific men of the profoundest intellects differing com- pletely in regard to his logic, analogies, and deductions ; and in Germany and France the same thing — in the former of these countries some speculators saying " that his theory is our starting- point," and in France many of her best scientific men not ranking the labors of Darwin with those of pure science. Darwin takes up the law of life and runs it into progressive development. In doing this he seems to me to increase the embarrassment which surrounds us on looking into the mysteries of creation. He is No. 3.] AMERICAN ASSOCIATION. 149 not satisfied to leave the laws of life where he finds them, or to pursue their study by logical and inductive reasoning. His method of reasoning will not allow him to remain at rest; he must be movins; onward in his unification of the universe. He started with the lower order of animals, and brought them through their various stages of progressive development until he supposed he had touched the confines of man ; he then seems to have recoiled, and hesitated to pass the boundary which separated man from the lower order of animals ; but he saw that all his previous logic was bad if he stopped there, so man was made from the ape (with which no one can find fault, if the descent be legitimate). This stubborn logic pushes him still further, and he must find some connectins: link between that most re- markable property of the human face called expression ; so his ingenuity has given us a very curious and readable treatise on that subject. Yet still another step must be taken in this linking together man and the lower order of animals : it is in connection with language ; and before long it is not unreasonable to expect another production from that most wonderful and ingenious in- tellect on the connection between the lansruase of man and the brute creation. Let us see for a moment what this reasoning from analogy would lead us to. The chemist has as much right to revel in the imaginary formation of sodium from potassium, or iodine and bromine from chlorine, by a process of development, and call it science, as for the naturalist to revel in many of his wild specula- tions, or for the physicist who studies the stellar space to imagine it permeated by mind as well as light — mind such as has formed the poet, the statesman, or the philosopher. Yet any chemist who would quit his method of investigation, of marking every foot of his advance by some indelible imprint, and go back to the speculations of Albertus Magnus, Roger Bacon, and other alche- mists of former ages, would soon be dropped from the list of chemists and ranked with dreamers and speculators. What I have said is, in my humble opinion, warranted by the departure Darwin and others have made from true science in their purely speculative studies ; and neither he nor any other searcher after truth expects to hazard great and startling opin- ions without at the same time courting and desiring criticism ; yet dissension from his views in no way proves him wrong — it only shows how his ideas impress the minds of other men. And 150 THE CANADIAN NATURALIST. [Vol. VIU just here let me contrast the daring of Darwin with the position assumed by one of the grejit French naturalists of the present day, Prof. Quatrefages, in a recent discourse of his on the phy- sical character of the human race. la referring to the question of the first origin of man, he says distinctly, that in his opinion it is one that belongs not to science ; these questions are treated by theologians and philosophers: "Neither here nor at the Museum am I, nor do I wish to be, either a theologian or a philosopher. I am simply a man of science ; and it is in the name of compara- tive physiology, of botanical and zoological geography, of geology and palaeontology, in the name of the laws which govern man as ■well as animals and plants, that I have always spoken." And studying man as a scientist, he goes on to say : " It is established that man has two grand faculties of which we find not even a trace among animals. He alone has the moral sentiment of good and evil ; he alone believes in a future existence succeeding this natural life ; he alone believes in beings superior to himself, that he has never seen, and that are capable of influencing his life for good or evil ; in other words, man alone is endowed with morality and religion." Our own distinguished naturalist and associate, Prof. Agassiz, reverts to this theory of evolution in the same positive manner, and with such earnestness and warmth as to call forth severe editorial criticisms, and by his speaking of it as a "mere mine of assertions," and " the danger of stretching in- ferences from a few observations to a wide field;" and he is call- ed upon to collect " real observations to disprove the evolution hypothesis." I would here remark, in defence of my distinguish- ed friend, that scientific investigatiou will assume a curious phase when its votaries are required to occupy time in looking up facts, and seriously attempting to disprove any and every hypothesis based upon proof, some of it not even rising to the dignity of cir- cumstantial evidence. I now come to the last point to which T wish to call the atten- tion of the members of the Association in the pursuit of their investigations, and the speculations that these give rise to in their minds. Reference has already been made to the tendency of quitting the physical to revel in the metaphysical, which, how- ever, is not peculiar to this age, for it belonged as well to the times of Plato and Aristotle as it does to ours. More special re- ference will be made here to the proclivity of the present epoch among philosophers and theologians to be parading science and No. 3.] AMERICAN ASSOCIATION. ^^^ r j Teligion side by side, talking of reconciling science and religion, as if they had ever been unreconciled.. Scientists and theologians may have quarreled, but never science and religion. At dinners they are toasted in the same breath, and calls made on clergymen to respond, who, for fear of giving offense, or lacking the fire and firmness of St. Paul, utter a vast amount of platitudes about the beauty of science and the truth of religion, trembling in their shoes all the time, fearing that science falsely so-called may take away their professional calling, instead of uttering in a voice of -thunder, like the Boanerges of the gospel, that " the world by wisdom knew not God." And it never will. Our religion is made so plain by the light of faith that the wayfaring man, though a fool, cannot err therein. No, gentlemen ; I firmly believe that there is less connection between science and religion than there is between jurisprudence and astronom}', and the sooner this is understood the better it will be for both, lleligion is based upon revelations as given to us in a book, the contents of wliich are never changed, and of which there have been no revised or corrected editions since it was first given, except so far as man has interpolated ; a book more or less perfectly understood by mankind, but clear and un- equivocal in all essential points concerning the relation of man to his Creator ; a book that affords practical directions, but no theory ; a book of facts and not of arguments ; a book that has been damaged more by theologians than by all the Pantheists and Atheists that have ever lived and turned their invectives against it — and no one source of mischief on the part of theolo- gians is greater than that of admitting the profound mystery of many parts of it, and almost in the next breath attempting some sort of explanation of these mysteries. The book is just what Richard Whatley says it is, viz.: "Not the philosophy of the human mind, nor yet the philosophy of the divine nature in itself, but, (that which is properly religion) the relation and connection of the two beings — what God is to us, what He has done and will do for us, and what we are to be in regard to Him." ^ ^ ^ Let us stick to science, pure, unadulterated science, and leave to religion things which pertain to it; for science and religion are like two mighty rivers flowing toward the same ocean, and before reaching it they will meet and mingle their pure streams, and ^ow t02;ether into that vast ocean of truth which encircles the sthrone of the great Author of all truth, whether pertaining to i52 THE CANADIAN NATURALIST. [Vol. Vll. science or to relioion. And I will here in defence of science as- sert that there is a greater proportion of its votaries who now revere and honor religion in its broadest sense, as understood by the Christain world, than that of any other of the learned secular • pursuits. THE EVOLUTION THEORY. This subject elicited a somewhat lengthy discussion, in which Principal Dawson, Prof. Morse, Prof. Swallow and Prof. Gill." took part. The following is the substance of Principal Dawson's and Prof. Morse's remarks : Dr. Dawson began by stating with some fullness of detail the demands upon our credence made by the advocates of the evolu- tion theory. Among other requirements of the theory, he said it must provide an explanation of the origin of life. To accomplish this the experiments of Bastian were brought forward. Refer- ring to these, he stated that no less an authority than Prof. Hux- ley, though an evolutionist, had denied their conclusive character and disputed the alleged results. We are expected to admit, in every department to which scientific inquiry relates, that in all things there has been a successive progress from the lower to the higher. Why should we make this admission? AVhat proof is there of it? The recent discoveries of embryology, showing the likeness of early forms of the embryo to other animals of the same families, furnished to the advocates of evolution no real ar- gument in its favor. They proved nothing. Admit, if you will,, the close resemblance of similar bones and general physical struc- ture in the ape and man, it is not the slightest evidence of^" identity. While it may be true that there is bone for bone in monkey and in man. still it remains tliat the bones of one are different from those of the other. The making of monkey and of man is explicable quite as readily, to say the least, on the theory of plan as on that of evolution. The history of the growth of an animal has been cited as the evidence of a development from a lower to a hiiiher form. But what are the facts in the case?' The egg grows into the animal, and that organism produces an-, egg again. This is revolution, not evolution. We are told to accept as a postulate that mind too is the re-^ suit of development ; that the moral as well as the material being is simply a consequence of the evolving process. I do not grudge- the naturalists who have adopted such theories the intellectual No. 3.] AMERICAN ASSOCIATION. 153 exercise which is involved, but I regret that much of their labor is wasted, and the results will be burnt when the fires of truth are applied to the chaff they are accumulating. This is not a question of physics that they are arguing, it is one of metaphysics, and it would be well for our children, as well as growing scientists, if they were taught more of mental and moral philosophy as a basis for such inquiry. But I thank the students who are thus^ engaged for some good results of their exertions. They have thereby succeeded in reducing the superfluous numbers of species, and have obtained far better views in respect to classification. Good results will also flow from the profound embryological researches of the day. But I am sorry for the investigators, for their reputations are at stake, and they have chosen a mistaken path. We are, however, approaching in our studies a correct theory.. After its appearance in geological history, every species has a plastic tendency to spread to its utmost limits of form. Then ensues a period of decadence until it may become extinct. Thi& has been set forth in some of my printed memoirs on the plants of the carboniferous series, I believe that a similar process is true of the human race. He referred to the skull of Mentone and its finely developed character — a grandly developed man cerebrally and bodily. The burial of his dead testified to his re- ligious belief. The people of the Cromagno skull age were of a similarly elevated character. The only point of difi"erence from men to-day was in the flattening of one of the leg bones This was perhaps a result of the habits of the tribe, running through forests in pursuit of game. It begins to be admitted that the man of Western Europe came in with the modern mammalia at the close of the glacial period. This was a period of decadence, and when the pliocene fauna were dying out and new forms were taking their places. The most ancient form of man is beyond the average standard of modern humanity. If the man of Cro- magno or Mentone had been sent to Harvard, he would have been graduated with the full honors of an average American student. Professor Morse rose and stated that the forty minutes allow- ed for this discussion would scarcely leave time to touch its salient points. It was a question whose bearings might consume a week in their consideration. But a few things might be said. Dr. Dawson and Professor Swallow had both misquoted Huxley^ 154 THE CANADIAN NATURALIST. [Yol. vii. who had said, in respect to|the ancient skull referred to, that it might have held the brains of a thoiio-htless savno-e, or it mi<'ht have contained those of a philosopher. Dr. Dawson had referred to only the differences in those remains from those of to day in respect to the flattened tibia. There were, however, several other characters of a similar nature which Dr. Dawson had not refer- red to, some of which had been discovered by Prof. Wyman, and had not yet been published. In the existing races of man the foramen magnum (the large opening at the base of the skull through which the brain communicates with the spinal cord) ex- hibited very little change of position in its relation to the rest of the skull, while with the higher primates (apes) this opening is very near the posterior portion of the skull. This was illustrated by a rapid drawing on the blackboard. In eleven ancient skulls from the shell heaps of Tennessee, t\\Q foramen magnum in every case was nearly an inch further back than in those of present ex- isting races. The powerful muscles on the sides of the head that move the jaws leave a distinct line at their upper points of attachment. These lines are called temporal ridges. In all present existing races a space occurs on the top of the skull, between these lines, of from three and a half to four inches. In the apes these muscles meet in the median line which rises into a bony crest so characteristic of the gorilla. There was a re- markable skull discovered by Prof. Wyman in the lowest beds of the ancient shell heaps of Florida. This has the temporal ridges approaching each other within a half inch at the top of the skull. If the high development of the skull referred to by Mr. Dawson was such as he states, it only curries man further back. Simi- larly in the light throw^n upon the history of man by the wonder- ful discoveries in archseology, where we meet with traces of an ancient civilization, with complicated language and manners, we €an surely believe in savage hordes pre-existing from which this ancient civilization has been evolved. As to ths early traces of man we must fully appreciate the rare possibility of their occurrence. Wherever you dredge in the waters of the present day the traces of man are among the rarest •^discoveries. The Lake of Haarlem, upon whose waters naval battles have been fought, and on whose shores a dense population has existed, was drained, and on its bottom not the slightest traces of man's existence were found. Prof. Morse dredged re- repeatedly for years off the shores of Maine, and no trace of man ."No. 3.] AMERICAN ASSOCIATION. 155 Tvas ever brought up, except a single spike. When we consider how abundant the material for such remains niust be now compared with those furnished by the simple methods of life and the sparse population of earlier days, the indications of man's existence in geoloiiical eras must be of the rarest occurrence. In fact, in such rocks as the drift, only the rude stone implements could be pre- served. Alluding to the brief moments left for the debate, Prof. Morse said there was but time to s.iy that the evolution theory, as compared with that of special creation, presented similar fea- tures to the uudulatory theory of light as compared ^vith the emission theory. Newton's theory required a new modifieatioa with every discovery in optics, until, as a writer said at that time, the emission theory is a mob of hypotheses. The undulatciy theory of Young not only explained all that was dificult to iSewion, but gave physicists the power of prevision. So with evolution ; it not only accounts for existing phenomena from the modification of a flower or the spot on a butterfly's wing to the genesis of the cs.olar system, but it has endowed naturalists with the gift of pro- phecy and enabled them to predict the intermediate forms afterwards discovered in the records of the rocks. Calvert's supposed relics of man in the miocene op the dardanelles. By Grorgk Washburn, Hobart College. Sir John Lubbock announced not lono; a^o that Mr. Calvert had discovered evidence at the Dardanelles of the existence of man in the Miocene period. He reported that 800 feet below the surface flint instruments had been found ; also, bones split lengthwise, but especially a fossil bone upon which had been en- graved a picture of a horned animal. The author, in company •with Mr. Forbes, Instructor in Mathematics in Hobart College, visited the spot last April, and found Mr. Calvert engaged in mining and ready to aid them. The deposits were found mid- "way between the Dardanelles and the plains of Troy. The hills rise abruptly about 800 feet above the Straits, and are cut by •deep ravines which exhibit the formation. The lowest formation exposed at this point is an argillaceous limestone nearly white, containing no fossils, of irregular thick- 2iess, and smooth, like pr,essed clay, on its upper surface. Above 156 THE CANADIAN NATURALIST. [Vol. vil^ this are irregular beds of earth and clay of different colors ; next is a deposit of white sea-sand 500 feet thick, which contains, at irregular intervals, pebble beds from one to four feet thick:, next is a bed of shell limestone at least 100 feet thick. These shells are of the brackish water variety. Tchinatheff, in his ^' Asia Minor," calls this Miocene. The fossils and flints were closely examined, and the investigators arrived at the conclusion that they were shaped by the action of water. Teeth of the mastodon and parts of tusks were found. The bones found were in so small fragments that it was not possible to determine them. Similar fragments of flint, exhibiting no other action than that of water, were found in abundance in the pebble formation near Dardanelles, and it was only a question of selecting from piles of stones those that happened to take a certain shape. Mr. Calvert has in his collection several bones split length- wise, with the marrow aone. This cannot be denied. But it is to be doubted if such bones proved the existence of human beings. They found in the hole of a jackal, on the plain of Troy, sheep' bones which had also been split lengthwise, and they inferred that if the bones were split they were the work of beasts. But. it is very doubtful if the bones found were broken in this way ; for they found that when one of the whole bones was dropped it broke lengthwise, and as all the marrow was gone, it resembled. the split bones. The bone with the supposed engraving is a fragment about eight inches in diameter, shaped like a flattened sphere, one sur- face smooth, the other rough. It has been called the bone of a, Mastodon or of a Dinotherium, but is so small that it cannot be determined. Mr. Calvert has had it about 20 years, but only lately, since he read Sir John Lubbock's book on bones in France, has he distinguished the engraving upon it. The smooth sur- face has some 50 marks, more than half which are grouped in the centre. Taken individually, they are peculiar and puzzling, but taken together, they can hardly represent a sketch of an animal, or show an evidence of design. They were unable to account in a satisfactory manner for the marks, but suggested' they might have been produced by worms when the bone was soft. They found the smooth upper surface of the underlying stratum of limestone was covered with exactly similar marks, m my groups of which made more striking pictures than those- found on the bone. One specimen is so marked that a vivid^ No. 3.] AMERICAN ASSOCIATION. 157 imagination can distino-uish the picture of a wild boar with a spear in his side, with the Greek letter I£ most clearly cut by the side of it. No one would dream of attributing all the marks upon the rocks to design, and he thought it equally unreasonable to so attribute the similar marks upon the bone to human agency. The author reports, therefore, in view of the facts mentioned above as to the flints, the split bones, and the marks upon the fossil bone, that they believe that Mr. Calvert and Sir John Lubbock (who had never seen the specimens) are mistaken in the conclusions to which they have come, and that they have not been able to find any evidence whatever at the Dardanelles in reference to the antiquity of man. •iON THE RELATIONS OF THE NIAGARA AND LOWER HELDER- BERG GROUPS OF ROCKS AND THEIR GEOGRAPHICAL DIS- TRIBUTION IN THE UNITED STATES AND CANADA. By Prof. Jamks Hall. The speaker, before proceeding to the discussion of the sub- ject, cited a paper read by Mr. A. H. Worthen at the Troy meeting of the Association, entitled, ''Remarks on the relative age of the Niagara and the so-called Lower Helderberg Groups," in which that writer proposed to drop the name of the latter group on the ground of its equivalence with the Niagara. The results of careful field investigation, and the study of the fossils over wide areas for 30 years, it undertakes to set aside, without offering the evidence of any new investigations, or of arguments which could be admitted as proof. Coming from a gentleman holding the position of State Geologist of Illinois, the matter was worthy of the careful attention of the Association. The speaker stated that this view was not original with Mr. Worthen, but was the prevalent opinion among geologists previous to the last 30 years, citing Prof H. D. Rogers and other authors, gi vino- some details in regard to the causes of the misunderstandinir of the geological structure of the country. Here, upon a map of i.he United States, the colored belts which indicated the forma- ^tioQS referred to, he first traced the Niagara group from its •typical locality at Niagara Falls, where the formation of shale .a©d limestone has a thickness of over 200 feet, to the eastern portion of the State, where from gradual thinning it sometimes ■.has a thickness of not more than 8 feet, and is known as the 158 THE CANADIAN NATURALIST. [Yol. viL. coralline limestone. The rock was nevertheless marked by the characteristic fossils, and its place in the series clearly preserved.. Eeturniug to the Xianara river, the speaker traced upon the map the course of the Niayfara "roup chrouuh Ontario to Cabot's ilead, thence by the islands of Lake Huron and the peninsula between Green Bav and Lake Michigan, and thence alono- the west shore of that lake to its southern extremitv ; from this point the formation e.xte.nds in a westerly and north-westerly direction through Illinois and Wisconsin, and thence int^ Iowa. Returninii' thence to the western end of Lake Erie, the Niagara formation was found composing some islands, and extending- south-westerly into the State of Ohio and into Kentucky. Over all this area the formation is well defined, and no one had ques- tioned its character. The same formation was also known ia Southern Illinois and Missouri, and likewise in Tennessee, where its integrity has been called in question. In Illinois and Ten- nessee it was claimed that the fossils of the Niagara formation are mingled with those of the Lower Helderberg group. He then proceeded to speak of the rocks of this group as known in. its best developments, in the Helderberg Mountains and on the banks of the Schoharie and Cobles Kil. The members of the formation are the Tentacalite limestone, the Lower Pentamerus limestone, the shalylimestone. and the Upper Pentamerus lime- stone, these together constituting a group quite unlike the Niag- ara group, while of the hundreds of fossils which they contain none are identical with those of the Niagara. These beds in the Schoharie Valley lie above the coralline limestone, which has been shown to be a continuation of the Niagara formation and to- be separated from that by a distinct formation known as the water-lime. On tracing this Lower Helderberg formation on the map, it was shown to thin out in its westerly extension until it was re- cognized only MS a simple band of. limestone without fossils. Here, returning to the Helderberg Mountains, the formation could be traced to the Hudson River Va-1 ley, and alons: this val- ley to the southern part of the State, thence through New-Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, and, thence into Tennessee. Throughout the greater part of this extent the fortnation is underlaid by the water-lime formation, and the purity and iden- tity of the formation has not been questioned. Looking to the north-east, the formation is known as lying unconformably over No. 3.] AMERICAN ASSOCIATION. 159^ lower rocks, and it had been traced as t'.ir as Gaspe on the St., Lawrence, and was known in Maine and New Brunswick. The formation could be traced from the -iSrd parallel to the 35th parallel, and this extent, taken in connection with the exposures from the erosion of anticlinals where the rocks are folded, will ' give us more than 2,000 miles of outcrop where the rocks were characterized by fossils, often in great numbers, and where the minsrlinji' with other fossils was unknown. After having thus^ hastily sketched the ground occupied by these groups of strata^ the speaker went on to consider their relations to eacii other^ showing sections at different points from the Schoharie Valley ta Central New York, and by a diagram tracing the lines of out- crop and comparative thickness of the several formations over this area. Then calling attention to the asserted mingling of the fossils of the two groups in Illinois and Tennessee, as claimed by Mr. Worthen, he asserted that from his own experience on the Mississippi River no such mingling of fossils is known, except in the debris of the formation ; that the Niagara formation, greatly thinned out, lies below the beds of the lower Helderberg beds, and the fossils are quite distinct. In Tennessee, Safford has shown that the formations are quite distinct, each character- ized by its own fossils. It \vas true that Safford had said that along the line of junction the fossils were sometimes mingled ; but, in the speaker's mind, the fact did not prove them cotempo- raneous ; for the Lower Helderberg beds with their living shells and other fossils might have been deposited directly upon the dead fauna of the preceding groups,' and thus an apparent ming- ling produced. That these formations were nowhere cotempo- raneous was proved by the great thickness of intervening beds in New York and Canada, where sometimes these intervening rocks were over 1,000 feet thick. He concluded by saying that in reversing the facts and considering the known range and extent of the Niagara and Lower Helderberg groups, their close approxi- mation of actual contact over large areas, and their wdde separa- tion elsewhere, there are no two groups of similar composi- ' tion in the entire palaeozoic series so clearly distinct and so un- ' mistakably traceable in their physical and lithological character, as well as in their contained fossils. t.\. t (. ., 160 THE CANADIAN NATURALIST. [Yol. vil. BREAKS IN THE AMERICAN PALEOZOIC SERIES. By Prof. T. Sterry Huxt. The author began by considerations on the value and signifi- •cance of breaks in the succession of strata and of organic re- mains ; he then referred to the classification of the palaeozoic rocks of the New York series, and showed that Hall in 1842, and again in 1847, pointed out the existence therein of a fauna older than what was then called Silurian by Murchison, or was .known in Great Britain, maintaining that our comparison with British rocks must commence with the Trenton limestone, the equivalent of the Llandeilo or Upper Cambrian of Sedgwick ('(Lower Silurian of Murchison). The rocks below this horizon in America were the equivalent of the Lower Cambrian of Sedg- wick, which, when they were found to be fossiliferous were •wrongly claimed by Murchison as part of the Silurian. He sketched the history of the introduction of the nomenclature of Murchison into our American geology, and then proceeded to show the existence of a break both stratigraphical and palaeon- tolo2;ical at the base of the Trenton. The contact between the ■calciferous siindrock and the unconformably overlying Trenton is seen in Herkimer County, N.Y,, according to Hall, The so- iCalled fossiliferous Quebec group of Logan, the primal and auroral of Rogers, which extends along the great Appalachian valley from the Lower St. Lawrence to Georgia, corresponds to the Lower Cambrian, and the Potsdam Calciferous and Chazy formations are its equivalents in the valley of the Ottawa and Lake Champlain much reduced in thickness. These are over- laid by the rocks of the Trenton and Hudson River groups (Upper Cambrian) which in various localities to the north over- lap the older fossiliferous rocks, and repose on the crystalline rocks, indicating a considerable continental movement corresponding to the break in palaeontological succession. The relation between these is explained by Logan as resulting from a movement pos- terior to the deposition of the Hudson River group, which pro- duced a great uplift of several thousand feet, extending for more than 1,000 miles. While showinsr that there have been move- ments in parts of the region since that period, the author rejects the explanation, and shows that the relation between the two is due to the fact that the Trenton and the Hudson River rocks ^0. 3.] AMERICAN ASSOCIATION. 161 *overlie unconformably the disturbed Quebec group or Lower -Cambriam. These two great series correspond to tlie rocks of the first and'secood faunas of Barrande. The second great break :is at the summit of the Hudson River group, and is marked by the ■■Oneida conglomerate in New York, and a simihir one in Ohio, •deseribed by Newberry, The rocks above, to the base of the Oorniferous limestone in the New York series, are the Upper Silurian of Murchison, or Silurian proper, and hold what is call- ^ed by Barrande the third fauna. As long since shown by Hall :they are, however, to be divided on palaeontological grounds into -two groups, the lower including the Medina, Clinton, and Niagara formations, and the upper what was named the Lower Helder- berg group. These are separated in New- York and Ontario by .the great noB-fossiJliferous Onondaga group, holding salt and gypsum, and deposited from a great mediterranean salt lake. " The close of the Onondaga was marked by another period of dis- turbance which, like that preceding the deposition of the Tren- ton, changed the levels and caused the ocean waters to spread alike over the Onondaga formation and the adjacent rocks, which had formed the ancient sea barrier. Then were deposited the Lower Helderberg limestones, followed by the Oriskany sand- stone, too'ether constituting a fourth natural division of our pa- ^laeozoie rocks. These strata were deposited unconformably over the Trenton and Hudson River rocks, in the St. Lawrence val- ley, and in various localities among the Appalachian hills in New Endand and the British Provinces. Over this whole reo;ion there are no known representatives of the second, and, except to the far eastward, none of the third, or Medina-Niagara fauna. "The fourth or highest Silurian fauna corresponds to the Ludlow rocks of Britain, or Upper Silurian of the Canada Survey ; while for the third fauna they have applied the name of Middle Silurian. The necessity for such a division in accordance with th? views of Hall is admitted, but the name is to be rejected, since the rocks. •immediately below it are properly not Lower Silurian but tapper C!ambrian, Evidence of a fourth break between the Oriskany and the Corniferous were mentioned, in the erosion of the former in New-York and Ontario, although to the eastward in Graspe, they form a continuous series. The author closed by a tribute to the memory of the venerable Sedgwick, the Nestor of British geologists, who died last Winter, and to the labours of Prof. JHall, who, in his vast work on our palaeozoic geology, has reared '-to himself an imperishable monument. WoL. VII. L No. 3. 162 THE CANADIAN NATIJ31ALIST. [Vol. Vlll.. THE METAM0RPHI8M OP ROCKS. By Prof. T. Sterry Hukt. The various changes which rocks undergo un^er the infiuence- of wat«r, air, and various gases, and their changes fn molecular • structure, were briefly noticed, and the use of the name of meta- morphic rocks, as now generally applied to esystattine strata,, considered. While some geologists had supposed that many or these, such as gneisses, green-stones, serpentines, talcose, an(J chloritic rocks were igenous products, more ©^r less modified by subsequent chemical precesses, others maintained that they were- formed by aqueous sedimentation, and subseqtieiitly cryst^illized.^. This was taught by Hutton, and when, early m tl^» century, the- crystalline rocks of the Alps were shown to re&t «pon uncrystal- line fossiliferous strata, it was suggested that the OTcrlying crys- tallines were newer rocks, which had undergone a metamorphismi- from which those directly beneath had been exempted. This^ notion spread until the great crystalline centre of the Alps was; considered to be in part of secondary and even of tertiary age.. The history of the extension of this notion to Germany, to the- British Islands, and to New England, was then sketched, and it was shown that similar crystalline rocks from supposed strati- graphical evidence came to be referred to formations of very ^iflferent ages in palaeozoic or more recent geologic trine. The author then detailed the course of study by which he had been* led to question this notion ; he showed that there was, according: to Faure, no longer any evidence in the Alps in support of the "view above noticed, that Sedgwick in England and Nicoll in> -Scotland had rejected the views of the palaeozoic age of the crys- talline schists regarded by Murchison as Cambrian and Silurian ;; and finally gave the observations by which he (the speaker) had satisfied himself that the crystalline rocks of the Green Moun- tains and the White Mountains, and their representatives alike in Quebec, New Brunswick, and in the Blue Ridge, were more ancient than the oldest Cambrian or primordial fossiliferous strata. He showed how folding, inversion, and faults had alike, in the Alps and in Scotland, led to the notion that these crystal- line rocks were in many cases newer than the adjacent fossilifer- ous strata, and mentioned that the subject would be furtber Illustrated by a paper on the geology of New Brunswick. No. 3.] AMERICAN ASSOCIATION. 103 ON STAUROLITE CRYSTALS AND GREEN MOUNTAIN ONE18SE* OF SILURIAN AGE. By Professor J. D. Daka. Prof. Dana has already published the fact alluded to by Per- cival, that cryfitals of staurolite arc found in mica schist at Salisbury, Conn., underlying directly the Stockbridgc limest-onc. Since then he has found them in Southern Canaan, and at a locality west of Housatonic River, but in this case the schifft overlies the limestone. This staurolite also contains ganic*tj«. The Stockbridge limestone is admitted to be Lower Silurian. Prof Dana is sure that the Canaan limestone is identical witb that of Stockbridgc. In any case there is no reason to doubt that the staurolites occur in the later p;irt of the Lower Silurian age, and strong reason for believing that these eehistfl ar« in aj;ye veritable Hudson River rocks. On this view the Hudson River or Cincinnati group in the Green Mountains — alike in Conneeti- cut, Massachusetts, and Vermont — includes beds of quartait^^ mica schist, cholritic mica slate, hydro-mica or talcos* slate, well characterized gneiss and granitoid gneiss. The order of these deposits at South Canaan, Tyringham, and efore they become effaced during or after the blastodermic .moult. On June 17 (the egge having been laid May 27) the periphe- ral blastodermic cells began to harden, and the outer layer — that destined to form the amnion — to peel off from the primitive band ^beneath. The moult is accomplished by the flattened cells of the blastodermic skin hardening and peeling off from those be- ;iieath ; during this process the cells in this outer layer losing their nuclei, and, as it were, drying up, contracting and harden- ing during the process. This blastodermic moult is comparable with that of Apus, as I have already observed, the cells of the J)lastodermic skin in that animal being nucleated. The paper eet f»rth that while the process above described resembled features in the development of the scorpion, and thus strengthened the supposition of Burmeister, that the Limulus is related to the epdders, nevertheless other features which Prof. Packard pointed out led him to believe that the Limulus is re- lated to the lower crustaceans, but is, like all the earlier or palae- ozoic types, oGmprehensive or synthetic, comprising certain fea- tures belonging .to higher forms, while yet holding its proper nffinities with the lower ones. He also confirmed the brilliant xesearches of A. Milne Edwards upon this representative of aa .raacient type. 168 THE CANADIAN NATURALIST... [Vol. Vli^, GENITALIA AND EMBRYOLOOGY OF THE BRACHIOPODA. By Prof. Edward S. Morse, of Salem, Mass. The papers read ou this subject by Prof. E.. S- Morse^ of" Salem, Mass, showed that the brachiopod.^5 were the only class oC animals of which the developmental history has been hitherto- unknown. So dark has been this department of zoology, that an eminent German naturalist, Oscar Schmidt,, published but a single figure of a young brachiopod as an important con- tribution to existino- knowledge. Lacaze-Duthier had been the only one to give a few figures of an embryo braxhiopod until. Prof. Morse last year contributed sketches of a native species^. confirmino; the investigations of the French naturaiist.. Before going further it may be well to give unscientific readerr. a notion of what kind of an animal the brachiopod is, and why so great interest centres upon this group. One of Cuvier's me- moirs, as early as 1 802, was upon one of this class of animals.- Hancock and Davidson of Enojland have eacli received aold medals from the Royal Society for their contributions on this^ subject. Eminent German naturalists have written memoirs-^ upon it. Prof. Huxley has made it the subject of special study^. The reason for this peculiar interest among naturalists is that the very earliest fossiliferous remains — those deposited in the most ancient rocks — are members of this class. They are more- over found in rocks of all subsequent ages, and are still living ib- the seas of the present day. Singularly enough, while all other- groups of animals have changed in their distinctive fea^ures^ andl many have become extinct, there are brachiopods of the present day that can scarcely be distinguished from their most ancient representatives. They are a closed type^ having no branches and may be therefore considered as a royal fiimily among ani- mals, their line of descent having been unbroken, and untainted since the very dawn of life. But like other ancient families^. their numbers have seriously diminished, and. their line is pro- bably in process of extinction. The brachiopod is a small animal, enclosed m a bivalve shell and adhering by a posterior appendage to the ocean, floor The possession of this bivalve shell has led all naturalists to indude- brachiopods among the mollusks. Three years ago Prof. Morse- after a long and patient study ^of the living forms, startled tliet r r No. 3.] AMERICAN ASSOCIATION. 16& world of naturalists by announcing his conviction that the ani- mals were not moUusks, and that they had no relations with shell fish whatever, but were true worms. Radical as was this inno- vation in classification, it received the sanction of several eminent naturalists, both at home and abroad. But before this new view could secure general acceptance, it was necessary that the obscure and almost unknown history of the animal from the egg to the adult should, be fully ascertained. This Prof. Morse has at last accomplished. He has succeeded in raising the brachiopod from the e^s: and has studied its internal and external structure in every stage of growth. So to speak, he has seen it in its infancy and childhood, and dissected every portion of it under the micro- scope, drawing, as he can, with one hand and writing a descrip- tion with the other, while his eye was glued to the instrument. Briefly then, the embryo commences life as a little worm of four segments, and after enjoying itself in swimming freely in the water for a while, attaches itself to the sea bottom by its posterior segment, and settles permanently. The middle segment then protrudes on each side of the head segment, and gradually in- closes it, thus producing the dorsal and ventral shell so charac- teristic of the entire class. This unlooked for, simple develop- ment could not have been predicated by any study of the adult animal, but remarkably sustains the homologies insisted upon two years ago by Prof. Morse in his papers upon the subject.. The present communication elicited warm approbation. ON SOME EXTINCT TYPES OF HORNED PERISSODACTYLES.. By Prof. Edward D. Cope, of Philadelphia. It is well known that the type of Mammalia of the present period, which is preeminently characterised by the presence of osseous horns, is that of the Artyodactyla Riiminantia. At the meeting of the Association of last year, held at Dubuque, I an- nounced that the horned mammals of our Eocene period were most nearly allied to the Proboscidians. I now wish to record the fact, as I believe for the first time, that the Perissodactyles of the intermediate formation of the Miocene embraced several genera and species of horned giants not very unlike the Loxolo- phodon and Uintatherium in their horned armature. While exploring in connection with the United States Geo- logical Survey of the Territories, I discovered a deposit of the ^70 THE CANADIAN NATURALIST. [Vol. vii. M «remains of numerous individuals of the above character, which included among other portions crania in a moderately good state of preservation. Most of these skulls are nearly or quite three ^eet in length, and mostly deprived of their mandibular portions ; these are quite abundant in a separated condition. The crania represent at least three species, while the mandible presents a vcondition distinct from that of Titanotherium or any allied genus. The teeth diminish rapidly in size anteriorly, and there is no dis- ^stema behind the canines, whose conic crowns do not exceed those of the premolars in length. To the genus and species thus charac terized I have elsewhere given the name of Symhorodon torvus. One of the crania, referred to under the name of Miohasileus -ophagus, is characterized by its strong and convex nasal bones and concave superior outline posteriorily, and by the presence of a massive horn-core on each side of the front whose outer face is continuous with the inner wall of the orbit, precisely as in the Loxolophodon cornutus. It stood above the eye in life, and diverged from its fellow so as to overhang it. In the specimen, which was fully adult, they were worn obtuse by use — length, about eight inches; thickness, three inches. The molar teeth ^iiflfer from those of Titanotheriura Proutii in having cross crests extending inward from the apices of the outer chevrons, each of ■which dilates into a T-shape near the cones. The third species is for the present referred to Megaceratops, vunder the name o^ M. acer. It has overhanging eye-brows and ithe vertex little concave, but the nasal bones are greatly strength- »ened, and support on each side near the apex a large curved ^iiorn core of ten inches in length with sharply compressed apex. These bones diverge with an outward and backward curve, and when covered with their sheaths must have considerably exceeded a foot in length. This was a truly formidable monster, consider- ably exceeding the Indian rhinoceros in size. The fourth species is allied to the last, and has well developed superciliary crests without horns. The latter are situated well anteriorly, and are short tubercles not more than three inches ia height. They are directed outward, and have a truncate ex- tremity. The type individual is of rather larger size than those of the other species. There are several crania referable to the three now named. The present one has been named Megacera- 4ops hiloceros. It was thought probable that some of the species based upon crania would be found to belons to the genus Sumhorodon. ^0. 3.] AMERICAN ASSOCIATION. ITl These animals show true characters of the Perisiodactyla in. their deeply excavated palate, solid odontoid process, third tro- chanter of femur, which has also a pit for the round ligament, ia the divided superior ginglymus of the astragalus, etc. •ON A SIGILLARIA SHOWING MARKS OF FRUCTIFICATION. By J. W. Dawson, L.L.D. The speaker explained in detail the nature of the leaf-scars •and marks of growth of this remarkable tree of the coal formation, and then proceeded to describe the scars left on the specimen in >question, which showed the girdles of scars left by the fall of the frurt. He showed that this could not have been of the nature of strobiles or cones, but must have been borne on sepa- rate modified leaves after the manner of some Cycads. The specimen belonged to a new species soon to be described by him, and closely allied to S. Lalayana of Schimper. ON THE QUESTION "DO SNAKES SWALLOW THEIR YOUNG?" By G. Brown Goodk, of Middletown University, Conn. This paper discussed the habit observed in certain snakes of allowing their young a temporary refuge in their throats, whence they emerge when danger is past. He stated that the question had been a mooted one since the habit was first discussed by Grii- bert White in his "Natural History of Selborne," published in 1789. Reference was made to the views of Sir William Jardine, M. C. Cooke and Prof. F. W. Putnam, as well as the recent dis- cussion of the subject in Land and Water. The question can only be decided by the testimonies of eye- witnesses. Through the courtesy of the editors of The American Agriculturist a note was inserted asking for observations. By this means and by personal inquiry the testimony of 96 persons had been secured. Of these 56 saw the young enter the parent's mouth, in 19 cases the parent warning them by a loud whistle. Two were considerate enough to wait and see the young appear when danger seemed to be past, one repairing to the same spot and witnessing the same act on several successive days. Four saw the young rush out when the parent was struck; 18 saw the young shaken out by dogs or running from the mouth of their dead parent; 29 who saw the young enter, killed the mother and found them living within, while only 13 allowed the poor parent to escape ; 27 saw the young living within the parent. But as they did not see them enter, the testimony is at least dubious. 172 THE CANADIAN NATURALIST.^ [VoL vii".. It may be objected that these are the testimonies of laymen,,, untrained and unaccustomed to observation. The letters are,, however, from a very intelligent class of farmers, planters, and;-, business men — intelligent readers of an agricultural magazine. In addition, we have the testimony of several gentlemen whose word would not be doubted on other questions in- zoology. There were given the statements of Prof. S. I. Smith of Yale College, Dr. Edward Palmer of the Smithsonian Institute, the Rev. C. L. Loomis, M.D., of Middletown, Conn., and others;, and the statement of the editor of The Zoologist regarding the Scaly Lizard of Europe (^Zobtoca vivipara), which has a similar habit. In the opinion of Profs. Wyman and Gill and other physiolo- gists, there is no physical reason why the young snakes may not remain a considerable time in the dilatable throat and stomach, of the mother. The gastric juice acts very feebly upon living tissues, and it is almost impossible to smother reptiles. Toads and frogs often escape unharmed from the stomach of snakes. If the habit is not protective, if the young cannot escape from their hiding place, this habit is without parallel ; if it is protective, a similar habit is seen in South American fishes of the genera Arius, Bagrus, and Geophagus, where the male carry the eggs for safety in their mouths and gill-openings. Since many important facts in biology are ac-cepted on the' statements of a single observer, it is claimed that these testi- monies are sufficient to set this matter forever at rest. The welt attested cases relate to the garter snake and ribbon snake (^Euta- iiia sirtalis and saiirita), the water snake (^Tropldonotus sipedon) ^ the rattlesnake (Caudisona horrida), the copperhead and moc- cassin (Agkistrodon contortrix and piscivorus), the massasauga (Crotcdus tcrgemimis), the English viper (^Pelias herns), and the mountain black snake (^Coluber Alleglianiensis) . It is probable that the habit extends through all the species of the genera re- presented, as well as throughout the family of Cwtalldm. It is noteworthy that all these snakes are known to be ovoviviparous, while no well attested case occurs among the truly oviparous, milk snakes (^Ophibolus), grass snakes (Liopeltis and Ci/dophis\ ground snakes (^S to re r let), or the smooth black snakes (^Bascan-^ ion constrictor') . It yet remains to be shown that the habit is^ shared by egg-laying snakes. Further observations are much needed, as the breeding habits of more than 25 North Americaik genera are entirely unknown No. 3.] NOTES ON PROTOTAXITES. 173 NOTES ON PROTOTAXITES. Mr. Carruthers, of the British Museum, having published iu the " Monthly Microscopical Journal," some criticisms on Pro- totaxites Logani from the Devonian of Gaspe, which he argues may have been a gigantic sea-weed, Principal Dawson replies m the same Journal. The following abstract of the reasons for regarding Prototaxites as a conifer is deserving of publication liere, as the species was first noticed in this Journal. . 1. 3Iode of Occurrence. — This alone should suffice to convince any practical palaeontologist that the plant cannot be a sea-weed. Its large dimensions, one specimen found at Gasp^ Bay being three feet in -diameter; its sendins; forth strong lateral branches, and gnarled roots; its occurence with land plants in beds where there are no marine organisms, and which must have been de- posited in water too shallow to render possible the existence of the large oceanic Algae to which Mr. Carruthers likens the plant. These are all conditions requiring us to suppose that the plant grew on the land. Further, the trunks are preserved in sand- stone, retaining their rotundity of form even when prostrate; and are thoroughly penetrated with silica except the thin coaly bark. Not only are Algse incapable of occurring in this way, but even the less dense and durable land plants, as Sigillaria? and Lepi- dodendra are never found thus preserved. Only the extremely durable trunks of coniferous trees are capable of preservation under such circumstances. In the very beds in which these oc- =cur, Lej)idod€ndra, tree ferns and FsUophyton^ are flattened into mere coaly films. Tiiis absolutely proves, to any one having ex- perience in the mode of occurrence of fossil plants, that here we ^liave to deal with a strong and durable woody plant. 2, Microscopic Structnre. — It would be tedious to go into the numerous scarcely relevant points which Mr. Carruthers raises on 4his subject. I may say in general that his errors arise from iieglect to observe that he has to deal not with a recent but a fos- sil wood, that this wood belongs to a time when very generalized and humble types of gymnosperms existed, and that the affinities •of the plant are to be sought with Taxineoe, and especially with -fossil Taxineae, rather than with ordinary pines. 174 THE CANADIAN NATURALIST. [Vol. vii^ Mr. C, after describing Prototaxites according to his own TiewB of its BtructurCj expresses the opinion that "the merest tyro in histological botany " may see that the plant could not be phaenogamous. JBut if the said tyro will take tho^trouble to refer to the beautiful memoir on the Devonian of Thuridigia, by Richter and Unger,* and to study the figures and descriptions of Apor- oxylon prhnigenlum,^ Stigmaria annular is^Calamopter is dehUisy. and Calamo»yrinx Deconlciis^ he will find that there are Devonian plants referred by those eminent palaeontologists to Gymnosperms and higher Cryptogams, which fall as far short of Mr. Carruthers*' standard as Prototaxites itself. Nothing can be more fallacious in fossil botany than compariwns which overlook the structures of those primitive palaeozoic trees which in so many interesting ways connect our modern gymnosperms with the cryptogams. It is scarcely necessary to reply to such a statement as that the fibres of Prototaxites have no visible terminations. They are very long, no doubt, and both in this and their lax coherence they conform to the type of the yews. In Mesozoic specimens of Taxoxylon which I have now before me, the fibres are nearly ae loosly attached and as round in cross section as in Prototaxites. In these, as in Prototaxites, water-soakage has contributed to make the naturally lax and tough yew-structure less compact, and to produce that appearance of thickness of the walls of the fibres which is so common in fossil woods. Disks or bordered pores in Prototaxites I did not insist on, the appearance being somewhat obscure; but Mr. Carruthers need not taunt me with affirming the existence of such pores in the walls of cells not iu contact. Pores, if not bordered pores,, may exist on such cells, and the wood cells of Prototaxites are in contact in many places, as may easily be seen, and even where they appear separate, this separation may be an effect of partial decay of the tissues. Mr. Carruthers converts the spiral fibres lining the cells of Prototaxites into tubes connecting the cells. This is a question of fact and vision, and I can only say that to me they appear to be solid, highly refracting fibres ; and under high powers, pre- cisely similar to those of fossil specimens of Taxoxylon from * Trans., Vienna Academy, 1856. f I have elsewhere compared Aporoxylon with Prototaxites, 'Jour. Geol. Soc' 1862, p. 306. Report on Devonian plants. No. 2.] NOTES ON PROTOTAXITES. J^"' H^. British Columbia, and to those seen in charred slices of modern, yews. I may further say that Mr. Carruthers' figure is in my judgment to a great extent imaginary. But what 0^ the arrangement of these fibres. It is true thaty. as I have stated, they appear in some cases to pass from cell to cell, and I hesitated to account for this appearance. The possibilities of such an appearance, as yet, perhaps, uuknown. in the plant-rooms of the Museum, result from the following con- siderations: (1.) In more or less crushed fossil plants, it is not unusual to see what are really internal structures appearing t<> pass beyond the limits of the cell-wall, from the mere overlapping of cells. I have good examples in the Mesozoic Taxoxyloa. already mentioned. (2.) In fossil woods the original cell-wall Ib often entirely destroyed, and only the ligneous lining remains,, perhaps thickened by incrustation of mineral matter within. la this case the original lining of the cell uiay seem to be an exter- nal structure. I have examples both in Mesozoic conifers and ia carboniferous plants. Long soaking in water and decay have thus often made what may have been a lining of wood-cells appear as an intercellular matter, or an external thickening of the walls.„ (3.) In decayed woods the mycelium of fungi often wanders through the tissues in a manner very perplexing; and I suspect^ though I cannot be certain of this, that some fossil woods have been disorganized in this way. At the time when my descrip- tion was published. I felt uncertain to which of these causes to attribute the peculiar appearance of Prototaxites. I have now,^. from subsequent study of the cretaceous Taxineae of British Columbia,* little hesitation in adopting the first and second ex- planations, or one of them, as probable. Mr. Carruthers does not believe in the medullary rays of Proto- taxites. The evidence of these is the occurrence of regular lenti- cular spaces in the tangential section, which appear as radiating^ lines in the transverse section. The tissues have perished; but some tissues must have occupied these spaces ; and in fossil woods the medullary rays have often been removed by decay, as one sometimes sees to be the case with modern woods in a partially decayed state. Mr. Carruthers shoujd have been more cautious in this matter, after his rash denial, on similar grounds, of me- * Report of Geol. Survey of Canada, now in course of publication^ The collections contain wood showing the structure of yew, cypresSj., oak, birch, and poplar, all irom rotks of cretaceous age. 176 THE CANADIAN NATURALIST. [Yol. vii. dullary rnys iu Sigillaria and Stigmaria, contrary to the testimony of Bronguiart, Goeppert, and the writer, and the recent exposure of his error by Professor Williamson. That the wood-cells have been in part crushed into the spaces left by the medullary rays is only a natural consequence of deca3\ The fact that the me- dullary rays have decayed, leaving the wood so well preserved, is a strong evidence for the durability of the latter. The approval •with which Mr. C. quotes from Mr. Archer, of Dublin, the naive statement that " the appearance of medullary rays was probably produced by accidental cracks or fissures," would almost seem to imply that neither gentlemen is aware that radiating fissures in decaying exogenous woods are a consequence of the existence of medullary rays, [or that water-soaked wood canuot be cracked iu this way.] Perhaps the grossest of all Mr. Carruthers' histological errors is his affirming that some of my specimens of Prototaxites. show merely cellular structures, or are, as he says, " made up of spherical cells." Now, I affirm that in all my specimens the distinct fibrous structure of Prototaxites occurs, but that in parts of the larger trunks, as is usual with fossil woods, it has been re- placed by concretionary structure, or by that pseudo-cellular structure which proceeds from the formation of granular crystals of silica in the midst of the tissues. Incredible though it may appear, I know it to be a fact, as all the specimens I gave to Mr. Carruthers had been sliced and studied by myself, that it is this crystalline structure which the botanist of the British Museum mistakes for vegetable cells. ^^ I think it right to state here that I not only gave Mr. C. specimens iu these difterent states of pre- servation, but that I explained to him their nature and origin. 3. Affinities. — In discussing these I must repeat that we must bear in mind with what we have to deal. It is not a modern plant, but a contemporary of that " ]3rotot3^pe of gymnosperms " Aporoxylon, and similar plants of the Devonian. Further, the comparison should be not with exogens in general, or conifers in general, but with Taxineae, and especially with the more ancient types of these. Still further, it must be made with such wood partly altered by water-soakage and decay and fossilized. These * In fossil-woods, the carbonaceous matter, being reduced to a pulpy mass, sometimes partly becomes moulded on the surfaces of hexagonal or granular crystals, in such a manner as to deceive very readily an observer not aware of -this circumstance. .":no. 2.] NOTES ON PROTOTAXITES. 177 ^necessary preliminaries to the question appear to have been alto- ,?gether overlooked by Mr. Carruthers. My original determination of the probable affinities of Proto- '"laxites, as a very elementary type of taxine tree, was based on the habit of growth of the plant — its fibrous structure, its spirally- !.'lined fibres, its medullary rays, its rings of growth, and its coaly ■'iDark, along with the durable character of its wood, and its ;inode of occurrence ; and I made reference for comparison to ^•other Devonian woods and to fossil taxine-trees. Mr. Carruthers prefers to compare the plant as to structure -with certain chlorospermous Algse, and as to size with certain gigantic Melanosperms, not pretended to show similar structure. This is obviously a not very scientific way of establishing affini- •ties. But let us take his grounds separately. He selects the ■little jointed calcareous sea-weed Halimeda ojnmtia, as an allied structure, and copies from Kutzing a scarcely accurate figure of the tissue of the plant as seen after the removal of its calcareous matter.^ He further gives a defective description of .this structure; whether taken from his own observation or from Kutzing, he does not say. Harvey's description, which I verified several years ago, in an extensive series of examinations of these cal- :careous iilgae, undertaken in cousequenceof a suggestion that Eo- zoon mio;ht have been an oro-anism of this nature, is as follows: — ■ °' x\fter the calcareous matter of the frond has been removed by acid a spongy vegetable structure remains made up of a plexus of slender longitudinal unicellular filaments constricted at intervals, and at the constrictions emitting a pair of opposite decompound, dicho- ". tomous, corymboso-fastigiate horizontal ramelli, whose apices co- here and form a thin epidermal or peripheric stratum of cells." It will be seen at once that this structure has no resemblance whatever to anything existing in Prototaxites, even as interpreted "by Mr. G., and without taking into account the fact that Hali- meda opuntia is a small calcareous sea-weed, divided into flat : reniform articulations, to which this structure is obviously suited, .as it would be equally obviously unsuited to the requirements of .-a thick cylindrical trunk, not coated with calcareous matter. In point of size, on the other hand, Mr. Carruthers adduces •Jiihe great Lessonia of the Anta rctic seas, whose structure, how- * A more characteristk: i '.can Algie." Wox. Til. L- veil in Harvej-'s " North Ameri- No. 3. l78 THE CANADIAN NATURALIST. [Vol. \U.. -ever, is not pretended to resemble that of Prototaxites except in-, the vngiie statement of a pseudo-exogenous growth. Lessonia I have not examined, but the horny Laminarice of our North American seas have no resemblance in structure to Prototasites,. Nothing further, I think, need be said in reply to Mr. Car- ruthers' objections ; and Nematojjhi/cus may be allowed to take its place along with a multitude of obsolete fucoids which strew the path of palasontology. As to Prototaxites, it is confessedly an obscure and mysterious form, whose affinities are to be dis- cussed with caution, and with a due consideration of its venerable age and state of preservation, and probably great divergence from any of our modern plants; and it is to be hoped that ere long other parts than its trunk may be discovered to throw light on its nature. Until that takes place, the above remarks will be sufficient to define my position in regard to it; and I shall decline any further controversy on the subject until the progress of dis- covery reveals the foliage or the fruit of this ancient tree, belong- ing to a type which I believe passed away before even the Car- boniferous flora came into existence. GEOLOGY AND MINERALOGY. Bone Cave in Kirkcudbrightshire. — It lias long been familiar to geologists that the western and southern coast-line of Scotland is pierced with caves of different levels, indicating for- mer successive lines along which the sea-waves worked. Unfor- tunately, owing to the want of limestone, or very calcareous rocks, these caves, as a rule, present none of that stalagmite- deposit which has elsewhere served so abundantly to cover over and preserve the remains of the ancient denizens of our country^ with traces of the presence of man himself. The caves usually open directly upon the coast, with free exposure to the air, so that the floors show nothing but damp boulders and pools of water from the drip of the roof. Recently, however, a renaark- able exception to these ordinary conditions has been observed on the wild cliff-line to the south-west of the bay of Kirkcudbright- The Silurian greywacke is there traversed with striags and veins of calcite along lines of joint and fracture, and at one point where an old sea cave occurs, the walls and floor at the cave mouth, and No. 3.] GEOLOGY AND MINERALOGY. 179 for a few yards inwards, have a coating of solid calcareous mat- ter. Beneath this coating in the substance of the breccia which extends across the cave mouth, as well as throughout the cave earth behind the breccia, a great quantity of bones, with traces of human occupation, have been found. A systematic investiga- tion of the cave, commenced last autumn, is being carried on under the direction of 3Ir. A. J. Corrie and Mr. W. Bruce- Clarke — the discoverers of tlie osseous layer. At the present time the following: amon many of our readers. He long ago felt the necessity of bringing: before the American student examples of those larger and rarer- fossils known to geological science, ot which only single specimens, existed. For this purpose he visited Europe, engaged accomplished workmen and commenced the foundation of a collection of casts,- With untiring patience and sagacity he secured the moulds of nearly everything of importance, at enormous expense, carrying his workmen from one museum to the other, and taking moulds of the choicest specimens, for a period of three years. The difficulties encountered in some of his experiences would^ form an interesting chapter. After many difficulties, he managed' to secure moulds of rare Megatherium, Glyptodon, Deinotherium,. Diprotodon, Sivatherium, Colossochelys, Mosasaurus, Plesiosau- rus, and many other unique specimens in European museums... Thorough and methodical in all his work, he felt that this col- lection of casts should be symmetrical and complete, as an educa- tional collection, and so was commenced the famous War(^ No. 3.] MISCELLANEOUS. 185^ collection of casts. Thousands of dollars were spent in buying especially choice specimens of the obtainable forms solely for the purpose of making casts from them, and the originals are still pre- served in his museum at Rochester. Every educational institution in the country may now possess perfect casts of the rarest fossils, forming exact facsimiles of the unique originals in the British Mu- seum, the Jardin des Plantes, and other foreign museums, besides a representative collection of all that is needed to illustrate geolo- gical history. From this important beginning, Professor Ward has gone on enlarging the usefulness of his work by adding to his stock, skins and skeletons of animals, fossils and minerals, and alchoholic specimens, so that institutions may provide themselves with col- lections accurately labelled and arranged, without sending abroad for the purpose. With the capital invested in so large an enterprise, rapid sales must be effected, and one not familiar with the scientific attain- ments of Professor Ward, and the sole desire that animates him, to spread far and wide the type collections so important for edu- cational purposes, might confound his occupation with that of the ordinary dealer in natural history objects, such as one may find in any large city. While in the latter case, however, with some laudable exceptions, the dealers offer simply the fortuitous gather- ings of sailors, comprising curosities, shells, and detached portions of animals, like turtles' shields, sharks' jaws, and the like, of no intrinsic value, the work in which Prof Ward is engaged is one of a solid scientific character. His outlays are immense, yet every- thing he does is done solely in reference to advancing science,. He has the endorsement of every naturalist in the country, and already the leading museums in the country are indebted to him for some of their choicest material. Every scientific man should visit Professor Ward's place at Rochester, New York, and see the bee-hive of industry he hag built up around him. We visited Rochester in February, solely for the purpose of examining the new industry. Here one finds several large buildings, besides sheds and yards devoted to re- ceiving, preparing and shipping specimens. There are twelve men constantly employed as taxidermists, osteologists, moulders and carpenters. Two of the osteologists he has brought from the Jardin des Plantes, Paris, where they had worked for a long time under the direction of eminent anatomists. The skeletons- ~186 THE CANADIAN NATURALIST. [Vol. Vll. and skulls prepared here are beautiful in their whiteness and the elegance of their mounting. In the University building is Professor Ward's zoological cabinet, still his private property, containing type forms of the animal kingdom. This is carefully labelled and is strictly an educational collection. In Cosmos Hall is a large room containing a large and valuable geological collection, particularly rich in Ammonites, fossil cuttle fishes, with the ink glands still preserved ; beautiful fossil fishes from the Lias of England and Grermany; fine Saurians in slabs ; Icthyosaurus, Plesiosaurus, Teleosaurus ; also the leg bones and other remains of the remarkable Dinornis from New Zealand ; Mastodon and other mammal remains, and an almost perfect skeleton of the rare Grlyptodon, the gigantic fossil armadillo. Great interest attaches to this collection since it contains the original specimens of many of his casts, which have already a traditional value, now that so many institutions possess them. This series of originals is of intense interest, and will alone give tone and character to any geological cabinet in which they may be incorporated. In this room may also be seen relief maps and various models of geological import ; many of these are familiar to College Professors through the descriptions and figures given in Ward's " Illustrated Catalogue." At the time of our visit he was packing a series of casts for the Syracuse University, and a Mega- therium was beins: cast for Dartmouth College. A cast of the skeleton of this latter huge animal may be seen in the Geological Hall of the Smithsonian Institution at Washington, where it was placed by Professor Ward, and copies of it are already in several other museums together with other of his specimens. The series of casts have been invaluable in advancing the study of geology, as their possession is just as important to the instructor in this department, as the possessson of the manikin and skeleton is to the successful teaching of human anatomy. The zoological portion of Professor Ward's establishment most interested us. Here all is on the same large scale. In bringing this collection together. Professor Ward has not only visited vari- ous portions of this country and Europe, Asia and Africa, but has correspondents all over the world, and is constantly receiving from them most varied and rare material. While we were there he had just finished the preparation of a giraffe, thirteen feet in lieight, and was unpacking boxes containing a moose from Nova Scotia, a caribou from Maine, a bear from Pennsylvania, a huge ^0. 3.] MISCELLANEOUS. 187 Ibasking-shark from the Atlantic coast; and, from Professor j\gassiz, a walrus, a small whale, and the rare Rocky Mountain goat, to be mounted for the Cambridge museum. One building is devoted to taxidermy. The upper room in this build inof is a wonder to behold ; han2:inf>; from the ceiliui»: are hundreds of skins, including Apes, Monkeys, Wolves, Bears, Hj^aenns, Lions, Tigers, Sloths, Ant-eaters, Armadillos, Buf- faloes, Deer, Elk, Moose, GiraflFe, Yak, Wild Boar, Peccaries; besides an immense collection of such animals as Kangaroos, Echidna, Wombat, Tasmanian devil, Ornithorynchus, Thylacinus,' and other rare skins. Some huge Alligators, Turtles, Iguanas and other reptiles completed the display. In an adjoining room are kept fishes, batrachians, and other specimens in alchohol ; among these are Lepidosteus, Amia, Menopoma, Spatularia, Scaphiorynchus, Aspidonectes, and other American species of anatomical interest. Still another building is devoted exclusively to the preparation of skeletons ; these are received with the flesh dried upon them, and are subjected to a long process of macera- tion and bleaching; over fift}" vats are ready to receive them* These vats are all systematically numbered, and the most pains- taking care is manifested to secure every bone so that each speci- men may be perfect. Custom work is combined with all this; and hundreds of specimens are received from the museums of Cambridge, Boston, Salem, Philadelphia, Albany, and many of our colleges, for the purpose of being properly prepared and mounted. We have dealt thus in detuil that the public may know the true character of the enterprise in which Professor Ward is en- gaged ; a«d the duty of every one interested in science and edu- cation to cordially sustain him. Professor Ward has by long study and by travel in foreign countries, as well as by his long experience as a professional teach- er of zoology and geology, fitted himself for the important and arduous task before him. He has received the unqualified endorsement of the leading naturalists, and his untiring devotion to the work, and the im- mense outlays he has made, should be widely known among those who desire to sustain in this country an institution where one may secure the material for the foundation of a museum, as well as examples for educational purposes. — E. S.Morse. — Ain. Nat. [We have received from Prof. Ward a catalogue of the osteo 188 THE CANADIAN NATURALIST. [Vol. viL logical specimens in his cabinet at Rochester. It is evidently pre- pared with much care, and, as each specimen has the price oppo- site it, will be very valuable to those wishing to procure osteolo- gical specimens for museums or private cabinets. — Ed. Can. Nat.'\ OBITUARY. GusTAV Rose. — This distinguished mineralogist and chemist died at Berlin, July 15, in the 76th year of his age. In hinu Germany and the world have lost a wise and noble man, — con- ceded by all to be the first in his science among the learned men of Germany. He was the younger brother of Heinrich Rose, the chemist, and the youngest of four sons of Valentin Rose-, who- was Assessor in the " Ober-CoUegium Medicum" of Berlin ; and grandson of Valentin Rose the elder, discoverer of the " Rose'- schen" metals. He early lost his father, and his excellent mother looked after the culture of four sons, whose youth fell upon hard and trying times. All four brothers served their country in the- war for freedom. Gustav, born on the 18th of March, 1798, and 17 years old at the date of the battle of Waterloo, did not go inte^ that battle, but made the march under arms from Berlin ta Orleans. At first devoting himself to engineering, he fell sick of lung, fever. During his convalesence he gave himself to scientific pur- suits, and this, as well as the influence of his brother Heinrich, led him to leave engineering and devote himself entirely to science. He went to Stockholm where Heinrich was already working under the immortal Bcrzelius. In 1823 he took up his^ residence in Berlin. In 1826, he became " Extraordinary," and in 1839, "Ordinary" Professor of Mineralogy in the University of Berlin, and, after the death of Weiss, Director of the Royal Mineralogical Museum. It was the privilege of Gustav Rose to travel extensively, in Scandinavia, England and Scotland, Italy and Sicily, France and Austria. In the year 1829, he made, with Humboldt and Ehren- berg, the famous tour to the Ural and Altai Mountains and the Caspian Sea, and beyond to the borders of China, a journey which first made known the mineralos-ical resources of the extensive Russian Empire. His researches on his native soil were confined to the Silesian Mountains. INo. 3.] MISCELLANEOUS. 189 ' G. Rose was the first in Germany to use the reflecting gonio- aneter in accurate measurements of the angles of crystals. He took an active part in the researches which led Mitscherlich to the important discovery of isomorphism. His work covered all ;y, the form and combinations of crystals, physics in its applications to crystallized substances, the chemical constitution of minerals, and their artificial formation. He was the great master in the art of crystallographic drawing. The science of the association of minerals in rocks, petrography, originated . with him. He was also the first to teach us the method of study- ing rocks by means of thin microscopic sections mounted on glass ..-slides, in which minerals invisible to the unaided eye are dis- closed. With a special predilection he devoted himself to the study of meteorites, those wonderful bodies which reach the earth from the depths of space. With his keen penetration he discovered the structure of the iron meteorites and the mineral components -of stony meteorites, and studied out the striking differences be- tween rock-making in a cosmic atom, and in the solid crust of the earth. It is worthy of remark that his best mineralogical discoveries were made not always on rare bodies, but often on those which had been long familiar and were common in collections. An ex- ample of this is his recognition of right and left-handed quartz crystals by their exterior forms; the complex twin crystals of the same species, etc. The secret of his success was that he did not observe simply form, but all the physical characters of the spe- cies ; when searching into nature's work, his mind grasped what- ever in the wide range of facts could serve as a key to the solu- tion of the difficult problem before him. During his later years his researches were devoted to the "king of stones," the diamond. Few mineralogists would have thought that the diamond yet offered unsolved problems. In his anxiety that his work should not be lost to science, only twenty-four hours before his death he •dictated to his son the results of his latest researches. Perhaps the final solution of the problem of the crystallization of the dia- mond was not attained by him ; but he was near reaching his aim. His life, in thought and action, reflected Bacon's maxim " Per- transibunt multi, sed augebitur scientia." He was a true student ■of nature, an eminent and effective worker for the progress of ■ science and the exposition of the system of nature. 190 THE CANADIAN NATURALIST. [Vol. vii. We can scarcely find a better example than in Gustav Rose of the joy from a growing knowledge of nature lasting to the even- ing of life. Looking back over his long life, he saw how many dark paths of science had been followed out and made clear. This filled him with delight and high hope. " You will yet have more light," he said to the young. "Much must perish, but science will continue to increase." He saw his co-workers and best friends, Mitscherlich, M.ignus, Haidin persons. For the transport of this party, together with all neces- sary — and some very unnecessary — baggage and supplies, we had seven Red River carts, three of them belono-ino: to our fellow tra- Tellers, one buck-board and sixteen horses, or Red River ponies- These were used either for saddle or harness, as occasion re- quired, and four or six of them were left to run loose, as spare- horses, so that each horse, as a rule, would not be worked for- more than half the day's journey, by which means, although tra- velling almost every day for eight, nine or ten hours, all the horses had time enough to feed and rest, and sore backs, sore shoulders and knocked-up horses, together with the delays and troubles so commonly resulting from these causes on a long jour- ney, were entirely avoided. During the whole journey we were favoured with remarkably fine weather. On the outward trip we were detained only one whole day by rain, and half a day only from the same cause on the homeward trip. We had a few wet nights, and snow fell on twO' or three days between the 11th and the 30th of September. The first frost was experienced on the 4th of September when the ther- mometer at 4 a.m. registered 28° Fahrenheit. On the 6th, at 6 a.m. it registered 26°. The next frost occurred on the 11th of September, the thermometer falling during the night to 20°;. and on the 23d of September the thermometer again registered 12° degrees of frost. Thence forward, frosty nights were of' pretty frecjuent occurrence, and on the 29th of October the steam- boats on the Red River were all frozen in. These, as I was in- formed, unusually early frosts, injured many if not all of the wheat crops on the upper Saskatchewan, and also some of the potatoes that were still in the ground. We met with no hair breadth escapes, no startling incidents,. and no accidents or casualties of any kind worth recordino;, nor did we experience any trouble or annoyance from the various- parties of Indians we fell in with on the road. The only real trouble which we experienced was occasioned by moscjuitoes and other flies, black-flies and sand-flies. I have seen and felt the- annoying attacks of these pests in various parts of the world ; the- valleys of the Columbia and Fraser Rivers are noted for them, and4 I used to think they could not be much worse than they are in. Australia and in various parts of Eastern Canada, but if any one desires to know what mose^uitoes and black-flies really can be, H No. 4.] SEEWTN — THE NOYTH-WEST TERRITORY. 199 can only say cross the Saskatchewan plains in August. Even the sharp frosts of September, though they lessened the activity of the mosquitoes, had no apparent effect upon that of the black-flies ; directly the sun rose, even though the ground was covered with snow, they were as virulent as in the hottest day in summer ; and I was credibly informed that horses have frequently died from the result of their attacks ; there is no doubt that they suf- fer frightfully from this cause, and if measures are not taken to protect them, rapidly become so poor and weak as to be unable to travel. Not many years ago, the region we traversed was swarming with buffaloes ; now their skulls whitening on the plain, and the deep worn and grass-grown tracks which traverse the prairies in all directions are the only evidence of their former existence. Not a single buffalo was seen during the journey, and very little large game of any kind, — only a few antelopes or cabri, one moose and one red deer. Foxes, wolves, badgers, skunks, minks and beavers were seen or heard occasionally. Muskrats are very abundant and swarm in the delta of the Saskatchewan. The officer in charoe at Cumberland House informed me that he had last year collected and sent away 240,000 skins of these animals. On the prairies, the little gopher or ground squirrel is almost equally abundant. It is about the same size as the Canadian chipmunk, and its habits appear to be similar to those of the prairie-dog of the southern prairies. Ijike them, they live in colo- nies underground on the open treeless prairies, and are generally seen sitting erect and motionless on their hind quarters either perched on the hillocks or in the grass near their burrows into which they quickly disappear at the least alarm. Their skin is of no value, and, except foxes, they have few enemies to contend with in the 'struggle for life.' Moles, judging from the large earth-mounds thrown up by them over extensive areas, though we did not see any, must be almost as numerous as the gophers. The moles seem invariably to select the tracts of deep, rich, black soil, and the gophers and badgers the intervening dry, sandy and gravelly ridges, so that between them the greater part of the sur- face is more or less burrowed, ridged and furrowed ; and where this is the case, the prairie, which would otherwise be as smooth and even as a lawn, becomes not only exceedingly rough and unpleasant to travel over on wheels, but also very dangerous to horsemen, and often fatal to the wooden cart axles. 200 THE CANADIAN NATURALIST. [Vol. vii. Of feathered game we could always procure while on the plains as much as we required. From Red River to Rocky Mountain House, prairie chickens abound ; ducks of various kinds swarm upon nearly all the lakes and pools, and geese are frequently seen, especially on the saline lakes. The geese are however not easily approached, and without a good dog to bring them out of the water, neither geese nor ducks when shot can be secured, ex- cept by wading through the broad belt of mud and high reeds by which nearly all the lakes are more or less encompassed. Cranes, bitterns, plovers, sand-pipers, snipe and other w^aders, as well as pigeons, black-birds, larks and a number of other small birds are plentiful on the prairies or in the swamps, or along the river val- leys, and crows and several kinds of hawks are also very common. On our passage down the river in September and October, large flocks of wavy's, grey, and black and white geese, and of the large blue cranes, were frequently seen flying southward, generally at a great height ; a few wild swans and pelicans were also seen pass- ing in the same direction. Between Fort Pitt and to near the Elbow of the North Branch, a good many magpies were seen along the river, but none were obse.ved elsewhere. I am told that these birds are very common on parts of the Qu'Appelle River and of the South Saskatchewan, but I believe they are not met with eastward of Red River. West of Cumberland or Pine Island Lake, where the Saskatchewan spreads out into a vast swampy delta, numbers of large white owls were observed sit- ting perfectly motionless, perched either on boulders or snags, or on some of the many small patches of bare sand just appearing above the level of the surrounding waste of water and swamp whicli w^as here seen stretching on all sides, as -far as the eye could reach. There are very few fishes of any description in the Saskatche- Tvan above its confluence with the South Branch, but from Fort a la Corne downwards to Lake Winnipeg, sturgeon, white-fish and other excellent varieties are abundant. So far as i could as- certain there are no fishes at all in any of the numberless lakes and pools on the prairies between Red River and Carlton. West and north-west of Carlton and Edmonton, however, and in most of the lakes, many of them of large size, along the water-shed between the MacKenzie and the Saskatchewan, white-fish are said to abound. Jack Fish Lake and Lake St. Ann are two of these lakes in which they are annually caught in large numbers. "No. 4.] SELWYX — THE NORTH-WEST TERRITORY. 201 Many of the lakes which we passed between Fort Ellice and €arlton, especially some of those in the Touchwood Hills, seem to be as well suited for fish as others do where they abound, and the cause of their partial and irregular distribution in the country is not very apparent, though perhaps a careful investio-atiou of the character of the waters in the difi"erent lakes would afford a satisfactory explanation of the circumstance. West- 'ward from the summit of the ascent to the second prairie steppe >of Palliser, the eastern slope of which forms the long range of low- hills extending from the Pembina Mountains to the Basquia Hills near Cumberland House, and including the Riding, Duck and Porcupine Mountains, the country on the route which we travell- ed, especially after crossing the Assiniboine River at Fort Ellice, is generally undulating or rolling, and often hilly : some of the :hills rise to from 200-300 feet, and occasionally to as much as -400 feet above the general level of the prairie, and afford from their summits extensive views of the surrounding country which everywhere presents a park-like aspect ; belts, patches and clumps of woodland with intervening grassy meadows, or wide stretches of open prairie interspersed with countless lakes and pools, are seen •on all sides, while the wonderful variety and beauty of the flower- ing plants, roses, lillies, gentians, lark-spur, a beautiful purple, aromatic mint like plant, buffalo-root, varieties of sunflowers and a host of others, lend an additional charm to the beauties of this pic- turesquely lovely landscape. The ridges, which do not appear to maintain any constant -direction or parallelism, as well as the hills, are all covered ■with drift sand and gravel, and scattered over them, resting on their flanks and summits, or partially imbedded in the soil, are numbers of angular ice-borne boulders or rock masses of enormous dimensions, consisting of limestone, granite, gneiss, mica schist and other metamorphic rocks. Absolutely level and open plains constitute but a small proportion of the total area of the region, while by far the larger part of it may be described as a vast billowy plain without either deep val- leys or prominent hills. Besides the lakes which have streams constantly flowing out of them, and which all contain fresh water, there are others, far more numerous, holding water of almost every degree of saltness. Some of these saline lakes are as much as three, four or five miles in length and often from one to two miles wide. They occur either in isolated, irregular basin- 202 THE CANADIAN NATURALIST. [Yol. vii. shaped hollows, or forming chains of lakes in broad, flat, valley- like depressions, often extending many miles, but closed in on all sides by rounded, drift-covered hills with grassy slopes. When: occurring in this manner, the lowest lake in the valley receives the drainage of the others, and I observed in all such cases, that while the water of the uppermost lake would be either quite- fresh or only very slightly saline, that in the lowest lake of the chain would be intensel}'- salt and bitter. This peculiarity may also often be observed as regards isolated lakes near each other- situated at different altitudes, and the traveller seeking good water should always look for it in those pools or lakes which occupy the most elevated positions, because the water in them is supplied by rain and snow alone, and not by drainage and percolation from higher levels. All the old voyageurs and traders in the country state that good water was formerly much more plentiful on the prairies than it is now, and in the course of our journey numbers of places were pointed out to me as the sites of pools or lakes^ formerly holding fresh water at all seasons, which are now only irregular shaped, flat-bottomed, dry depressions, clothed with a growth of long, coarse grass, and surrounded with a fringe of low willow bushes or banks of sand and gravel. This drying up of the country has been ascribed to various causes, but is generally supposed to be connected with the gradual destruction of the forests over large areas by fires. Whatever the effects may be of these destructive conflagrations in reference to the water supply of the region, there is no doubt that at different times almost every square mile of the country between Red River and the Rocky Mountains has been subjected to them, and that hundreds of miles of forest have thus been conveitei into wide and almost treeless expanses of prairie. And there is little room for doubt- ing that the tendency of this would be to gradually diminish the rain fall. The second and third prairie steppes, from Fort Ellice to Rocky Mountain House, may be said to be absolutely denuded of good timber. Between the Assiniboine and the Eno;lish River, 120' miles west of Carlton, or for a total distance of 400 miles, neither- oak, ash, elm, birch, spruce or pine trees were seen, and even the poplars are of small size, and suited for little else than firewood. Around the Little Touchwood Hills Fort, there is a small ex- tent of forest, in which the largest poplar trees attain a diameter of two feet, and in the same district there are also some fair- No. 4.] SELWYN — THE NORTH-WEST TERRITORY. 20S sized white bircli trees. On the English River, and thence westward, both alons: the banks of the Saskatchewan and of the northern tributaries, spruce, pine and tamarack of small size are tolerably abundant. Along the river, above Edmonton, large- spruce timber is plentiful and is annually cut in considerable quantities, and floated down the river for the supply of the posts and settlements below, as far as Carlton. The greatest extent of uniformly rich soil in all this vast region^ is certainly to be found on the first prairie steppe, which stretches in an almost level plain westward from Red River for about eighty miles to the base of the hills already mentioned as extend- ing from Pembina, in a northerly direction to near Cumber- land Lake on the Saskatchewan. Its lesser elevation, probably in no part exceeding 750 feet above sea-level, renders it still more favorable for the cultivation of wheat and other products liable to injury by early and late frosts. The general luxuriance of the vegetation, however, both on the second and third steppes,, over many hundreds of miles, at heights varying from 1,500 to 2,500 feet, amply testifies to the exceeding richness and fertility of the soil. Even on the hills and ridges where for the most part somewhat lighter and shallower soil prevails, and which might not be well suited for cultivation, there is, with few excep- tions, an abundant growth of the most nutritious grasses and herbs, on which all kinds of cattle thrive admirably ; while in the low lying flats and swamp beds an abundant supply of the finest hay can readily be secured for winter fodder in case of need- At present there are very few cattle in the country, and it is cus- tomary to house them and feed them on hay during the winter,, the prevailing belief being that they cannot otherwise survive. There is, however, every reason to believe that this is a mistake;, and that if a hardy race of cattle, suitable to the climate, were introduced, they would speedily become acclimated, and not only be able to survive, but that they would thrive through the win- ter without the aid of artificial feeding and shelter ; and if so,, vast herds might soon be reared on these rich and boundless pas- tures, reanimating the now deserted feeding grounds of the buf- falo, and not only becoming a source of large profit to the settler^ but also afibrding a ready and cheap means of providing for the Indians, who are now frequently reduced to the verge of starva- tion, owing to the annually increasing scarcity of the bufi'alo, upoa. \vhich they are at present entirely dependent. -204 THE CANADIAN NATURALIST. [Vol. vii. I took some trouble to enquire into this subject, and though I ifound the prevalent belief to be as T have stated, yet I was in- formed of several instances of cattle having been lost in the fall, and, in every case, they had not only survived but had been re- covered in excellent condition in the following spring. Such facts speak for themselves : but in any case the question is one of such immense importance to the country, that it seems to me to be well deserving the consideration of the Government "whether it would not be advisable to devote a sum of money for the purpose of practically and thoroughly testing it. The threat- ened and much dreaded Indian trouble in the North-West is, in reality, simply a question of food ; and if this experiment proved successful, it would certainly be the easiest possible means which could be adopted to overcome it. Intoxicated or hungry Indians are dangerous animals, and in this respect they do not differ much from their more civilized white brethern. Remove the causes which produce the intoxication and the hunger, with which they are now periodically afflicted, and I venture to say that very little trouble would be experienced in dealing with the Indians. To convert the plain Indians into tillers of the soil might never be accomplished, but to induce them to undertake pastoral pursuits, would, I conceive, not be attended with similar difficulties. At all events, the experiment is worth a trial ; and m.ay, I think, be said to offer a fair probability of success, if carried out with intelligence and energy. With the exception of the limited extent of land which is cul- tivated at the Hudson's Bay posts and at the various Mission stations, no cultivation has yet been undertaken on either of the higher prairie levels. We saw abundant proof, however, at Pitt, Victoria, Edmonton and Prince Albert, of the fitness of the soil and climate for the growth of cereals and of all kinds of vegetables which can be successfully grown elsewhere under similar condi- tions of elevation and climate. It would be impossible in any •other part of the world to find finer barley, wheat, potatoes, tur- iiiips, carrots, onions and cabbages than those we saw growing at V^ictoria and at the St. Albert R. C. Mission station near Edmon- Tton. Even at Rocky Mountain House, a hundred miles nearer the mountains, and according to my observataions 3,432 ft. .above the sea, barley, potatoes, turnips and onions were being vgrown successfully, while on the farm of Mr. McKenzie, 62 miles west of Fort Garry, the crops, which included wheat, barley, No. 4.] SELWYN — THE NORTH-WEST TERRITORY. 205- oats, rye, peas, beans (French and broad), potatoes, onions, car- rots, swedes, turnips, mangolds, cabbages and timothy grass, would,. I believe, compare favourably with the best crops of the same description, 'grown on the highest cultivated farms in any part of Canada or even in Britain. The returns given me by Mr. McKenzie of the following crops were, per acre, wheat, 30-40 bushels, oats,. 50 bushels, barley, 35-40 bushels, potatoes 300-400 bushels, tur- nips, 600-700, and peas, 20-25. Mr. McKenzie has 40 acres under cultivation, and no better or more practical illustration could be desired than is afforded by this farm, of what the soil of these magnificent prairie lands is capable of when cultivated, with intelligence and enterprise. I now propose to make some brief remarks in connection with, the incidents of our homeward journey, and upon the facts which were observed relating to the general character of the valley of the Saskatchewan and to the geological features displayed along- its course. The homeward journey or voyage, which, as I have already stated, was performed entirely by water, was commenced on the 13th September from Rocky Mountain House and termi- nated at Fort Garry on the 2nd of October. During this inter- val we accomplished about eleven hundred miles of river, and three hundred miles of lake navigation ; from Rocky Mountain House to Carlton in a half-sized, and from Carlton to Fort Grarry in a full-sized, Hudson Bay batteau. Between Edmonton and Carlton, a distance by the river of about 400 miles, our party- consisted of only five persons besides myself, and as none of the party had ever before descended the river, we had to find our way as best we could through the dangers and difficulties of the navisfation. consistins- of intricate channels, sand banks, shoals and rapids, none of which are, however, of a very formidable nature.. Four of the party worked at the oars, the fifth took the helm, and I acted as bowsman, and by noting the bearing and distances of' every bend, succeeded in making a tolerably accurate plan of the course of the river, sketching it in my note book to scale as we went along. Sometimes we were tempted by the prospect of a more direct course, to leave the main channel, and in almost every instance were landed on shoals or sand-bars, obliging us to retrace our steps at the expense of much laborious pulling, and poling against the current. Notwithstanding these mishaps, how- ever, we made a prosperous and tolerably rapid passage, reaching Carlton on the thirteenth day after our departure from Edmon- ^06 THE CANADIAN NATURALIST. [Vol. vii. ton, and thus averaging considerably more than thirty miles per •day, the time we were actually travelling being only eleven and a half days On arriving at Carlton, we found that a tull-sized l>atteau, well equipped and manned by five experienced half breed and Indian voyageurs, had just arrived with ^pieces ', i. e. goods, from Cumberland House, and would be starting on the return voyage on the following afternoon. I at once arranged with Mr. Olarke, the Hudson's Bay officer in charge at Carlton, to allow our party to proceed down the river in the boat. The same boat, but with three different crews, subsequently carried us the whole way to Fort Garry, a distance by Lake Winnipeg and Red Kiver of about eight hundred miles, and the termination of our journey, which by land and water had extended over about 2,400 miles, performed in eighty-two days of actual travel, or, includ- ing stoppages and detentions, in ninety-three days, without the ^id of stages, steamboats or railroads. Once during the voyage we narrowly escaped encountering an accident, which would certainly have been exceedingly unplea- sant, and might even have endangered the lives of the party. "This occurred during our traverse of Lake Winnipeg, on the evening of the 17th of October, when a violent gale overtook us while we were running for a group of islands far out on the lake. We did not succeed in reaching: these till Ions: after dark, and as they were quite unknown to any of our crew, the landing on them in safety in a dark night with a heavy gale blow- ing and a corresponding sea, became a somewhat difficult and liazardous undertaking; but it had to be attempted, so running between two of them we neared the shore of the one which looked most promising, and rounding a stony point on which the breakers were dashing with tremendous force, we fortunately succeeded in gaining a small sheltered cove with a sandy beach of only a few yards in extent. Had we missed this cove and been blown off the shore, we must almost certainly have gone upon the rocks, and our boat been dashed to pieces. Starting from Rocky Mountain House, lat. 52° 20' north, and long. 115° 10' west, the North Saskatchewan River runs in a gene- ral north-easterly direction till it reaches a point about 90 miles below Edmonton in lat. 54° 10' north, long. 111° 30' west ; it then sweeps gradually round to the south-east, on which course it runs with many minor bends, till it reaches " The Elhow,^^ lat. 52° 20' north, and longitude 107° west. At this point, as the No. 4.] SELWYN — THE NORTH-WEST TERRITORY. 201 name implies, a sharp bend occurs, again giving it a general north-easterly course, which it maintains to the vicinity of Cumberland Lake, where it a second time reaches the latitude of 54° north between the 101st and 103rd degrees of west longi- tude, thence a comparatively short south-easterly course of about one hundred miles, carries it to its mouth in Lake Winnipeg, while the three upper sections above described, have a nearly equal length of about 300 miles each. In this great distance of more than eleven hundred miles, as might be expected, the cha- racter of the country bordering the river exhibits considerable diversity. The most prominent features, however, may be sum- marised in the three words prairie, swamp, forest, and we may add vast, boundless, immense, illimitable, and yet scarcely convey an adequate idea of their greatness. The rapidity with which we were obliged to travel through this vast region in order to escape being overtaken by winter was a matter which I regretted exceedingly, as no time was af- forded for anything like minute investigation, or for the collec- tion of specimens ; and such notes as I was able to make upon the geology of the country are the result of observations of the most hurried description, and will probably add very little to the information which has already been supplied by the labours of Dr. Hector in his admirable sketch of the geological structure of the region published in the Journal of the Geological Society (Vol. XVII-1861) and which is the result of observations ex- tending over a period of nearly four years. I have already men- tioned the prevalence of drift-covered hills and ridges, strewn with large, ice-borne boulders. From Fort G-arry westward, on the route we travelled, no rock exposures were seen till within a few miles of Edmonton. An universal mantle of drift-sand, clay and gravel are spread over the face of the country but gradually diminishes in thickness towards the higher levels, though even where the drift is thin, the rocks are still concealed by a deep, rich, black soil. Without doubt, however, interesting exposures of the underlying strata might be found if sought for in the banks of some of the numerous creek valleys which we crossed between Carlton and Edmonton running from the high plain towards the river, but which, on the present occasion, we could not stop to examine. In connection with the distribution of the materials forming the drift some noteworthy facts were observed. Blocks, and often 208 THE CANADIAN NATURALIST. [Vol. vilV enormous rock-masses of Silurian limestone holding characteris- tic fossils are widely and abundantly distributed over the first and second prairie steppes. The ascent to the third prarie level which has an avemg-e elevation of from 1,900-2000 ft. above the sea, commences at the Thickwood Hills, 20 miles west of Cartlon and on it tlie limestone boulders do not appear to have reached further west than the longitude of Fort Pitt, and between Pitt and Edmonton not a single boulder of limestoae was observed either along the Saskatchewan River or on the plains. On the Saskatchewan above the the confluence of the Brazeau — a laro-e tributary coming in from the west about mid way between Rocky Mountain House and Edmonton — there are no boulders, and very few pebbles of either granite gneiss or mica schist. At Rocky Mountain House the pebbles and boulders in the drift which is there seen in contact with the coal-bearing rocks, as well as those seen along the river bed are nearly all of either coal- measure sandstone or conglomerate, or of varieties of hard quartzose and siliceous rocks, and though I searched carefully, I did not succeed in finding any of a granitoid or gneisic charac- ter. Small pebbles of grey and whitey-brown limestones holding^ fossils, but too fragmentary for determination, were alsa observed, but by far the larger proportion of the pebbles and boulders in the river at Rocky Mountain House, are composed of the hard siliceous rocks already mentioned, and many of these are traversed by cylindrical forms, having all the appear- ance of the ScoUtlius of the Potsdam sandstone formation. It may 'further be stated that along with the disappearance in ascending the river of the boulders of granitic, gneissic and micaceous rocks, the auriferous character of the drifts likewise dies out, and I was credibly informed that no gold could be found on the North Saskatchewan above Rocky Mountain House, though it had frequently been prospected for by experienced miners. The first gold washings which we saw in descending the river were rather more than forty miles below tho mouth of the Brazeau, and thence to Edmonton, and for some miles fur- ther down, more or less gold has been found on the bars and in the river banks, but always in a very finely divided state, shewing evidence of having been transported from afar. Even as low down as Carlton, gold can, I believe, be found, though not in quantities sufficient to pay for working. On the South Saskat- chewan, at the crossing place about twenty miles S.E.of Carlton, No. 4.] SELWYN — THE NORTH-WEST TERRITORY. 209 I washed out a few minute specks of gold from the gravel in tlie bed of the river, small red garnets and magnetic iron sand, con- stituting the bulk of the residue in thepannings. It would thus appear that the gold of she Saskatchewan has not been derived troiu the mountains at its source, but from the drifts composed of granitoid gneiss, or hornblendic and micaceous schist, which are spread over the face of the country, and which must them- selves have been in a great put derived from the denudation of the great belt of Laurentian and (Hher crystalline rocks which' extends from Lake Superior, north-westerly to the Arctic sea. Numerous fragments and large pieces of silicified wood are fre- quently met with along the shore of the river, derived from the Tertiary and Cretaceous rocks. Tn the banks of Red Deer River, Dr. Hector observed a bed of this silicified wood in which there were «ilicitied roots eighteen inches in diameter. I did not see any of it in aitii, but loose specimens of these fossil woods have been collected by Mr. Bell, Mr. George Dawson and myself from widely separated regions, and it will be both interesting and im- portant to know how far those from the North Saskatchewan correspond with those from the plains further to the south and with other recent and fossil woods from the western side of the Rocky Mountains. Dr. Dawson has already examined and compared some of the specimens referred to, and will doubtless be able to give some in- teresting information about them, but larger and more perfect collections will be required. From the Rocky Mountain House to Edmonton, and thence to a short distmce below Victoria there are numerous fair exposures of the strata at comparatively short intervals along the river ; soft, friable, green, grey and brown, concretionary sands-tones, alternating with blue and grey, arena- ceous and argillaceous shales, and layers and beds of lignite and bright, jet like brown-coal are the prevailing features in these ex- posures. In the shales, there are layers of nodules, or septaria, of clay iron ore holding numerous fragments of plants and containing an average of 34.98 per cent, of iron. At one place on the right bank of the river, about 40 miles below the confluence of the Brazeau, I found a seam of this jet-like coal which measured from 18 to 20 feet thick, in two exposures, rather more than four miles apart. In the first exposure which extends some 50 or 60 yards in length, but which, owing to the swiftness of the current running at its base, is not easily examined, the seam is almost Vol. VI r. o No. 4. 210 THE CANADIAN NATURALIST. [Vol. VU. ilat, and rises from the water in a nearly-Aertical cliff, exposing eighteen feet of apparently excellent coal. The bottom of the seam here was beneath the water and could not be examined ; above it, the cliff was not accessible and the rocks were concealed by slides of earth and other debris. The second exposure, which is no doubt a continuation of the same seam occurs in an arched form and shews eiahtecn feet of coal with one small, two to three inch parting of shale. The specimens collected were all taken from the surfdce, and it is not unlikely that beyond the influence of atmospheric action the coal in these seams will prove of better quality than is indicired by these specimens. At intervals, the whole distance from Rocky Mountniii House to Edmonton, 135 miles following the course of the river, and thenc3 to Victoria, 76.;' miles farther down the liver, similar rocks with coal seams ajid ii-onstoni' enncretions. were observed. Dr. Hector has separated tha Ediuiiiitoii coal i-ocks from those w^hich he saw nt Rocky Mount liu Mouse bv an interveniiiir area which he considered to be occupied by a somowriat higher sec- tion or division of" the Cret.iceous series. Me did not apparently see the thick seam oi' coal which I found, as already stated, below the Braze m River, about eighty-six miles fi-om Rocky • Mountain House, and numerous indications of other senns which I saw, probably also escaped his notice, as he descended the river in the winter, when many of the exposures along the banks must have been concealed by snow. At present I am unable to say whether the seams retain their thicknesses for long distances, or whether the numerous exposures and indications seen in the cliffs along the river, represent only more or less lenticular shaped patches repeated at different horizons and over large areas. Dr. Hector appears to incline to the latter idea. Below A^ictoria, the river valley widens considerably, and often rises by successive broad steps or terraces to the level of the prairies on either side : sometimes these terraces are quite bare, while at others they are pretty thickly clothed with small poplar trees, a few spruces and pines, and brushwood of willow, alder, and other shrubs. Occasionally the banks abut steeply upon the river, and afford imperfect exposures of the strata, which differ considerably from those met with at and above Victoria. Hard flao'gy sandstones and impure limestones, associated with soft blue and gray clay, with layers of large concretions of olive- brown cement stones, or septaria, seamed by veins of yellowish No. 4.] SELWYN — THE NOllTIl-W K8T TERRITORV. -H •calc-spar, and hokliiig fossil shells (^/aocenwiKs, kc), are here met with, but without associated coal or liunita beds, or, so I'm- as I observed, any plant remains. These are, I believe, a hiiiher series, and overlie the great brown-eoal and lignite forniatioti seen on the upper portion of the river. Similar strata are then seen wherever sections occur the whole distance to tlie Elbow, about fifty miles above Carlton. Hero (at the Elbow) the river leaves tlie eastern limit of the third or uppermost prairie level, formed by the Eagle Hills on the south, and by the Thickwoocl Hills on the north