Seeders Neely Lee, RE ner ee ket es) a at a if c % «il *. ; re t ca | . ; j £ i { a — entero t } iw "ate 1 a. , { " a . i NF oe N iS WN ~ fi THE AMERICAN JOURNAL OF SCIENCE AND ARTS. CONDUCTED BY PROFESSOR SILLIMAN AND BENJAMIN SILLIMAN, Jr. VOL. XLVII.—OCTFOBER, 1844. NEW HAVEN: Sold by B. NOYES.—Boston, LITTLE & BROWN and W. H.S. JORDAN.— New York, WILEY & PUTNAM, C.S. FRANCIS & Co., and G. S. SILLI- MAN.—Philadelphia, CAREY & HART and J. S. LITTELL.—Baltimore, Md., N. HICKMAN.—London, WILEY & PUTNAM.—Paris, HECTOR BOSSANGE & Co.—Hamburgh, Messrs. NESTLER & MELLE, ge ne aia PRINTED BY B.L. HAMLEN. cONIAN {nN <* ie. STy TU ies uF: 1s ey ee Mid , ye Bon conn ie ete 25 Oe . (og foe ope Seer! Bare ai “y ‘ve wee r ek Art, I. Il. ill. Vi. VIL. XII. CONTENTS OF VOLUME XLVII. NUMBER I. A’Memoir of William Maclure, Esq., late President of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia; by SayueEL Georce Morton, M. D.—(with a portrait,) © Researches in Elucidation of the Distribution of Heat over the Globe, and especially of the Climatic Features pecu- liar to the Region of the United States; by Samus. For- ry, M. D.—(with two plates,) siep ty tee as es A new Method proposed for computing Interest ; Be GEO. R. Perxins, A. M., - = : i 5 . Catalogue of the Fishes of Connecticut, arranged accord- ing to their natural families; by Rev. James H. Lins- Ley, A. M., - 3 - E a “ , . Action of some of the Alkaline Salts upon the Sulphate of Lead; by J. Lawrence Smirtz, M. D., - - Observations upon the Dip of the Magnetic Needle; by Prof. THomas Hopart Perry, - - - - . Astronomical Operations performed at the Imperial Ob- servatory of Pulkova; translated from the Bibliotheque Universelle, of October, 1843, by Jas. Nooney, Jr., A. M., Abstract of the Proceedings of the Fifth Session of the Association of American Geologists and Naturalists, . On the composition of Corals and the production of the phosphates, aluminates, silicates, and other minerals, by the metamorphic action of hot water; by J. D. Dana, . Address delivered at the Meeting of the Association of American Geologists and Naturalists, held in Washing- ton, May, 1844; by Prof. Henry D. Rocers, - . Remarks on the Gulf Stream and Currents of the Sea; by Lieut. M. F. Maury, U.S.N., - 2 é . Abstract of the Proceedings of the Thirteenth Meeting of the British Association for the Advancement of Science, A notice of some of the more important Articles contain- ed in Berzelius’s Rapport Annuel Sur les eet de la Chimie, - - - - « ‘ ii Mew Page. 18 51 5d 8] 84 88 94. 135 137 161 182 187 ze iv CONTENTS. XIV. Bibliographical Notices :—De Candolle’s Prodromus sys- tematis naturalis Regni Vegetabilis, sive Enumeratio con- tracta Ordinum, Generum, specierumque Plantarum huc usque cognitarum, juxta methodi naturalis normas diges- ta, 198.—Walpers’s Repertorium Botanices Systematice : Kunth’s Enumeratio Plantarum omnium hucusque cogni- tarum, secundum Familias Naturales disposita, 200.— Endlicher’s Mantissa Botanica, sistens Generum Planta- rum Supplementum Tertium, 201.—The Botany of the Voyage of H. M. ship Sulphur, during the years"836-42, 202.—Fielding’s Sertum Plantarum, or Drawings and Descriptions of Rare or Undescribed Plants, from the author’s Herbarium: Jussieu’s Cours élémentaire de Botanique, 204.—Jahresbericht tber die Arbeiten fur Physiologische Botanik im Jahre, 1841: Anatomia Plan- tarum Iconibus Illustrata: Crania gyptiaca, or Observa- tions on Egyptian Ethnography, derived from Anatomy, History, and the Monuments, 205.—Ehrenberg’s Re- searches on the Distribution of Microscopic Life, 208.— Rigg’s Experimental Researches, Chemical and Agricul- tural, 211. MiscELLANIES.—Notes on the Cretaceous Strata of New Jersey and parts of the United States bordering the Atlantic, 213.— On the probable age and origin of a bed of Plumbago and Anthracite, occurring in mica schist near Worcester, Mass., 214.—Hydrous Borate of Lime: Anatase, 215.—Pennine : Talc: Dioptase : Beaumontite, 216.—Sismondine, a new min- eral: Description by Captains Cook and Flinders of Birds’ Nests of enormous size on the coast of New Holland, 217.— Festival in honor of Berzelius, 218. ' P Arr. I. Researches in Elucidation of the Distribution of Heat I. NUMBER II. over the Globe, and especially of the Climatic Features peculiar to the Region of the United States; by Samven Forry, M. D.—(concluded,) - - - * On the Condition of Equilibrium between Living and Dead Forces; by Ropert Henry FauntTLeRoy,~ - - o* « age. 221 241 Til. IV. VI. VU. XIII. XIV. XV. XVI. XVII. XVIIL. CONTENTS. Vv ; 4 Page. Address delivered at the Meeting of the Association of American Geologists and Naturalists, held in Washington, May, 1844; by Prof. Henry D. Rocers,—(concluded,) 247 Comparison of Gauss’s Theory of Terrestrial Magnetism with observation; by Prof. Ex1as Loomis, — - - 278 . Selections from an Ancient Catalogue of objects of Nat- ural History, formed in New England more than one hundred years ago; by Jonn Wintuprop, F. R.5S., 282 . Abstract of a Meteorological Register for 1832-43, kept at Rio de Janeiro; by Joun Garpner, Esq., - 290 Report on Ichnolithology, or Fossil Footmarks, with a De- scription of several New Species, and the Coprolites of Birds, from the valley of Connecticut River, and of a supposed Footmark from the valley of Hudson River ; by Prof. Epwarp Hircscocx, LL. D.—(with two plates,) 292 Discovery of more Native Copper in the town of Whately in Massachusetts, in the valley of Connecticut River, with remarks upon its Origin ; by Prof. Epwarp Hircu- coer, LL.D. 2 = - - - - - - 322 . Secular Acceleration of the Moon’s Mean Motion; by James H. Corrin, - - - - - - 324 . Review of Alger’s Phillips’ Mineralogy, and Shepard’s Treatise on Mineralogy, - - - - - 333 . Discovery of the Yttro-Cerite in Massachusetts ; by Prof. Epwarp Hircscock, LL. D., - - - - 351 . Review of the New York Geological Reports, - 354 On the Measure of Polygons; by Prof. Gzorce C. Wuir- LOCK, - - - - : - - : 380 On the Discovery of Fossil Footmarks; by James DEANE, Me 1, - - - : - : - - 381 Rejoinder to the preceding Article of Dr. Deane ; by Prof. Epwarp Hitcucocr, - - - : - - 390 Answer fo the “ Rejoinder”’ of Prof. Hitchcock ; by James Deane, M.D.,_ - - - : - - - 399 On the Unionide of the River of the Country of the Iguanodon ; by Gipreon AtcerNon Manrett, M. D., BRS. 05 | = : - - - - - 402 On a supposed New Species of Hippopotamus; by 8. G. Morton, M.D., - - - - - - - 406 vi CONTENTS.» XIX. Bibliographical Notices :—Morton’s Inquiry into the dis- tinctive characteristics of the aboriginal race of America, 408.—The Journal of the Boston Society of Natural His- tory, 411.—Fownes’s Actonian Prize Essay, 413.— Beck’s Manual of Chemistry: Smith’s Principles of Chemistry, 414.—New Books received, 415. MiscELLANIES.—Extract of a letter from Prof. Hitchcock respect- ing the Lincolnite, 416.—Singular crystals of Lead from Ros- sie, N. Y.: Dipyre, 417.—Blowpipe characters of the sup- posed Pyrrhite of the Azores: Formula of the Pink Scapo- lite of Bolton: Head of Carpinchoe: Natural Polariscope, 418.—A new Comet: Fluorine in Bones, 419.—New Project for Reforming the English Alphabet and Orthography, 420. ERRATA. Page 105, bottom line, for ‘‘ baryta 72,” read “76.” ‘¢ 187, line 13 from top, for ‘* Progrée,” read ‘‘ Progrés.” « 208, line 13 from bottom, for “‘ xv1,” read ‘ xiv1.” ¢ 282, line 8 from bottom, read ‘‘ Robert C. Winthrop, Esq.”’ & 294, line 14, for “‘ Saurdoidichnites,”’ read ‘* Sauroidichnites.”’ = line 22, for “five,” read “ four.” te & line 25, for two,” read “ one.” “Tine 27, for ‘thirty three,” read “ thirty four.”’ s 308, line 5, for ‘Fig. 10,” read ‘ Fig. 10a.” sc 314, line 13, for “‘ Slate,” read ‘‘ Sandstone.” “ 315, line 15, and page 316, line 7, for ‘fig. 9,” read ‘Plate IV.”’ © 317, under Pachydactyli, insert a new species, ‘5, O. tuberosus.”’ “ 318, line 9, for “ thirty two,” read “ thirty four.”’ s 300, note, for “ p. 136,” read “ p. 36.” Y ‘ The Portrait o ced so as to face (OE be pu t Pa rmtine) ae "t * 5 Us 5 rtrait OL ¥ ’ Hinmar THE AMERICAN - JOURNAL OF SCIENCE, &c. Arr. I—A Memoir of William Maclure, Esq., late President of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia; by SamuEL Georce Morton, M. D., one of the Vice Presidents of the Institution.* [Read before the Academy, July 1, 1841.} TO ALEXANDER MACLURE, Esqa., anp To Miss ANNA MACLURE, THIS MEMOIR OF THEIR ILLUSTRIOUS BROTHER IS MOST RESPECTFULLY INSCRIBED BY THE AUTHOR. Tue most pleasing province of biography is that which com- memorates the sway of the affections. ‘These, however variously expressed, tend to the diffusion of religion, of virtue and of know- ledge, and consequently of happiness. He who feeds the hun- gry, or soothes the sorrowful, or encourages merit, or disseminates truth, justly claims the respect and gratitude of the age in which he lives, and consecrates his name in the bosom of posterity. The benefactions of a liberal mind not only do good of them- selves, but incite the same spirit in others; for who can behold the happy results of useful and benevolent enterprise, and not feel the godlike impulse to participate in and extend them ? * We ought long since to have laid this memoir before our readers, only a small part of whom probably have ever seen it. Mr. Maclure may be considered as the father of American geology, and was a most efficient patron of all other branches of science.—Eds. Vol. xtvi1, No. 1.—April-June, 1844. 1 2 Memoir of William Maclure. The study of natural history in this country, thought late in attracting general attention, has expanded with surprising rapidi- ty. Thirty years ago all our naturalists were embraced in a few cultivators of botany and mineralogy, while the other branches Were comparatively unheeded and unknown. ‘The vast field of inquiry was devoid of laborers, excepting here and there a soli- tary individual who pursued the sequestered paths of science, fill- ed with an enthusiasm of which the busy world knew nothing. How widely different is the scene which now presents itself to our view! We see the unbounded resources of the land brought forth to the light of day, and made to minister to the wants and the intelligence of humanity. Every region is explored, every locality is anxiously searched for new objects of utility, or new sources of study and instruction. In connection with these gratifying facts, it will be reasonably inquired, who were they who fostered the early infancy of science in our country? Who stood forth, unmindful of the sneer of ignorance and the frown of prejudice, to unveil the fascinating truths of nature? Among the most zealous and efficient of these pioneers of dis- covery was Wituiam Macwure. This gentleman, the son of David and Ann Maclure, was born at Ayr in Scotland, in the year 1763; and he there received the primary part of his education under the charge of Mr. Douglass, an intelligent teacher, who was especially reputed for classical and mathematical attainments. His pupil’s strong mind readily acquired the several branches of a liberal education; but he has often remarked, that from childhood he was disposed to reject the learning of the schools for the simpler and more attractive truths of natural history. The active duties of life, however, soon en- grossed his time and attention ; and at the early age of nineteen years he visited the United States with a view to mercantile em- ployment. He landed in the city of New York; and having made the requisite arrangements, returned without delay to Lon- don, where he commenced his career of commercial enterprise as a partner in the house of Miller, Hart & Co. He devoted him- self to business with great assiduity, and speedily reaped a cor- responding reward. In the year 1796 he again visited America, in order to arrange some unsettled business of the parent estab- lishment: but in 1803 we find him once more in England, not, Memoir of William Macelure. 8 however, as a merchant, but in the capacity of a public function- ary; for Mr. Maclure was at this time appointed a commissioner to settle the claims of American citizens on the government of France, for spoliations committed during the revolution in that country. In this arduous and responsible trust Mr. Maclure was associated with two colleagues, John Fenton Mercer and Cox Barnet, Esqs.; and by the ability and diligence of this commis- sion, the object of their appointment was accomplished to general satisfaction. During the few years which Mr. Maclure passed on the Conti- nent in attention to these concerns, he took occasion to visit many parts of Europe for the purpose of collecting objects in natural history, and forwarding them to the United States—which from his boyhood had been to him the land of promise, and subse- quently his adopted country. With this design “he traversed the most interesting portions of the old world, from the Mediterra- nean Sea to the Baltic, and from the British islands to Bohemia. Geology had become the engrossing study of his mind; and he pursued it with an enthusiasm and success to which time, toil and distance presented but temporary obstacles. Instructed by these researches, Mr. Maclure was prepared, on his return to the United States, to commence a most important scientific enterprise, and one which he had long contemplated as the great object of his ambition, viz. a geological survey of the United States. In this extraordinary undertaking we have a forcible example of what individual effort can accomplish, unsustained by govern- ment patronage, and unassisted by collateral aids. At a time when scientific pursuits were little known and still less apprecia- ted in this country, he commenced his herculean task. He went forth with his hammer in his hand and his wallet on his shoulder, pursuing his researches in every direction, often amid pathless tracts and dreary solitudes, until he had crossed and recrossed the Alleghany mountains no less than fifty times. He encoun- tered all the privations of hunger, thirst, fatigue and exposure, month after month, year after year, until his indomitable spirit had conquered every difficulty, and crowned his enterprise with success. Mr. Maclure’s observations were made in almost every state and territory in the Union, from the river St. Lawrence to the A Memoir of William Maclure. Gulf of Mexico; and the memoir which embraced his accumula- ted facts, was at length submitted to the American Philosophical Society, and printed in their Transactions for the year 1809.* Novel as this work was, and replete with important details, its author did not suspend his researches with its publication, but re- sumed them on a yet more extended scale, in order to obtain ad- ditional materials, and test the correctness of his previous views. In after life he often recurred with pleasure to the incidents con- nected with this survey ; some of which, though vexatious at the time, were subsequently the theme of amusing anecdote. When travelling in some remote districts, the unlettered inhabitants see- ing him engaged in breaking the rocks with his hammer, suppo- sed him to be a lunatic who had escaped from confinement; and on one occasion, as he drew near a public house, the inmates, be- ing informed of* his approach, took refuge in-doors, and closing the entrance held a parley from the windows, until they were at length convinced that the stranger could be safely admitted. Incidents of this kind, and many others which occurred to him, appear to have influenced the following remarks in the Preface to his Geology : “ All inquiry into the nature and properties of rocks, or the relative situation they occupy on the surface of the earth, has been much neglected. It is only since a few years that it has been thought worth the attention of either the learned or un- learned ; and even now a great proportion of both treat such in- vestigations with contempt, as beneath their notice. Why man- kind should have so long neglected to acquire knowledge so use- ful to the progress of civilization—why the substances over which they have been daily stumbling, and without whose aid they could not exercise any one art or profession, should be the last to occupy their attention—is one of those problems perhaps only to be solved by an analysis of the nature and origin of the power of the few over the many.” Notwithstanding that Mr. Maclure thus felt himself almost alone in his pursuits in this country, he did not relax his ardor in the cause of science, but continued to extend and complete his geological survey ; which, after receiving his final revisions, was again presented to the Philosophical Society on the 16th of May, * This memoir is entitled, ‘Observations on the Geology of the United States, , explanatory of a Geological Map.”’ It was read January 20, 1809, and is publish- ed in the sixth volume of the Society’s Transactions. Memoir of William Maclure. 5 1817, eight years after their reception of the original draft. ‘The amended memoir was now republished, both in the Society’s Transactions and in a separate volume, accompanied by a colored map and sections; and while it placed its author among the first of living geologists, excited a thirst for inquiry and comparison which has continued to extend its influence over every section of our country. It is not proposed, in this place, to analyze this valuable contri- bution to American science. It may be sufficient to remark, that every one conversant with geology is surprised at the number and accuracy of Mr. Maclure’s observations ; for the many surveys which have been recently conducted in almost every state in the Union, have only tended to confirm his correctness as to the ex- tent and relative position of the leading geological formations of this country; while the genius and industry which could accom- plish so much, must command the lasting respect and admiration of those who can appreciate the triumphs of science. In the evening of his days Mr. Maclure beheld with unmixed pleasure, the progress of geology in his adopted country: he saw state af- ter state directing geological surveys under the supervision of zealous and able naturalists: he rejoiced to observe how their observations harmonized with his own; and it was among his most pleasing reflections, as age and infirmity drew near, that he had once trodden almost solitary and unheeded, that path which is now thronged with votaries of science and aspirants for honor. In truth, what among temporal considerations is more remark- able and gratifying than the progress which has been made in elucidating the geology of this country during the past thirty years? So extended a field, so many obstacles, and so little pat- vonage, seemed at first view to present insuperable difficulties ; and it was feared, and not without reason, that while every part of Europe was explored under the patronage of national govern- ments, the vast natural resources of this country would long re- main unsearched and unimproved ; not for the want of zeal and talent, but from a deficiency of that encouragement which is ne- cessary to great and persevering exertion. Happily, however, the day of doubt has passed; and our state governments now vie with each other in revealing those buried treasures which minister so largely to the wealth, the comfort and the intelligence of man. *’ The time which Mr. Maclure allotted to repose from his geo-* logical pursuits was chiefly passed in Philadelphia; where he 6 Memoir of Wiliam Maclure. watched the rise of a young but promising institution, devoted exclusively to natural history, and numbering among its members whatever our city then possessed of scientific taste and talent. This institution was the Academy of Natural Sciences of Phila- delphia; and as its history, from this period, is inseparably con- nected with the life of Mr. Maclure, let us briefly inquire into its origin and progress. The Academy was founded in January, 1812, at which period a few gentlemen, at first but seven in number, resolved to meet once in every week for the purpose of conversing on scientific subjects, and thus communicating to each other the results of their reading, observation and reflection. Although Mr. Maclure was absent from the city at the initia- tory meeting, he had no sooner returned than his name was en- rolled on the list of members; and from that hour and with this circumstance the prosperity of the institution commenced. Ar- rangements were soon after entered into for the delivery of courses of lectures, chiefly on chemistry and botany ; and the library and museum were at once replenished with books and specimens from Mr. Maclure’s European collections. On the 30th of December, 1817, Mr. Maclure was elected Pres- ident of the Academy ; to which office of confidence and honor he was annually reélected up to the time of his death, a period of more than twenty-two years. Under his auspices the Journal of the Academy (which now numbers eight octavo volumes) was commenced with energy and talent ; and such was his interest in its progress, that a consider- able portion of the first volume was printed in an apartment of his own house. Among the most ardent of Mr. Maclure’s colleagues at this time was Mr. Thomas Say, a gentleman who united in a remarkable degree the love of science and the social virtues. Enthusiastic in his favorite studies, and possessed of a singular tact for detect- ing the varied relations of organized beings, he early attracted the notice and secured the esteem of Mr. Maclure ; and the friendship which thus grew up between them, continued unaltered by time or circumstance to the end of life. How much the Academy and the cause of natural history owe to the united efforts of these gentlemen, [ need not declare; for not only here, but wherever * their favorite pursuits are loved ond cultivated, their names will be inseparably interwoven with the records and the honors of science. @ Memoir of William Maclure. 7 - During the year 1817 Mr. Maclure chiefly occupied himself in the publication of his Geology in a separate volume ; after which he devoted himself with assiduity to the interests of the Acade- my. Previous to the year 1819 he had already presented the in- stitution with the larger part of the fine library he had collected in Europe, embracing nearly fifteen hundred volumes; among which were six hundred quartos and one hundred and forty-six folios on natural history, antiquities, the fine arts, voyages and travels. The value of these acquisitions was greatly enhanced by the fact that they were possessed by no other institution on this side of the Atlantic. 'The Academy therefore derived from this source a prosperity and permanence which, under other cir- cumstances, must have been extremely slow and uncertain ; while science at the same time received an impulse which has never fal- tered, and which has been subsequently imparted to every section of our country.* In the winter of 1816-17 Mr. Maclure visited the West Indies, for the purpose of ascertaining by personal observation, the geol- ogy of that chain of islands known as the Antilles. With this view he visited and examined nearly twenty of these islands, in the Caribbean Sea, from Barbadoes to Santa Cruz and St. Thomas inclusive. He bestowed especial attention on those portions of the series which are of volcanic origin, of which the Grenadines form the southern and Saba the northern end of the chain. The results of this voyage of observation, in which he was accompa- nied by his friend Mr. Lesueur, were submitted to the Academy on the 28th of October, 1817, and soon afterwards published in the Society’s Journal.+ In 1819 Mr. Maclure’s active mind was again directed to Eu- rope. Embarking at New York he went direct to France, and not long afterwards to Spain. He was induced to visit the latter country on account of the liberal constitution promulgated by the Cortes, which promised a comparatively free government to a country long oppressed by every species of bondage. His plan was to establish a great agricultural school, in which physical la- bor should be combined with moral and intellectual culture. His views were almost exclusively directed to the lower and conse- quently uneducated classes, whom he hoped to elevate above the * Notice of the Academy of Natural Sciences, p. 13. t Journal of the Academy of Natural Sciences, Vol. I. 8 Memoir of William Maclure. thraldom® to which they had been subjected by the institutions of their country. He purchased of the government 10,000 acres of land near the city of Alicant; and having repaired the build- ings, and placed the estate in complete order, he prepared to com- mence his scheme of practical benevolence. Scarcely, however, were these arrangements made, when the constitutional govern- ment was overthrown, and the old institutions, with all their abu- ses, were again imposed upon this unfortunate country. The pro- perty which Mr..Maclure had purchased from the Cortes had been confiscated from the church; and as the priesthood were now re- invested in their estates, they proceeded to dispossess him without ceremony or reimbursement. Disappointed and mortified by this adverse termination of his plans, Mr. Maclure abandoned them as hopeless, and prepared to return to the United States. Before doing so, however, he visit- ed various parts of southern Spain, chiefly with a view to scien- tific investigation. But even in this unoffending employment he found himself surrounded by new dangers, which compelled him to relinquish much that he had proposed to accomplish; and his feelings, and the causes which gave rise to them, are forcibly ex- pressed in a letter to his friend Professor Silliman, dated Alicant, March 6, 1824. “‘T have been much disappointed in being prevented from exe- cuting my mineralogical excursions in Spain, by the bands of powerful robbers that have long infested the astonishingly exten- ded surface of uncultivated and inhospitable wilds in this natural- ly delightful country. Not that I require any money worth the robbing to supply me with all that I need—for the regimen which I adopt for the’ promotion of my health, demands nothing but wa- ter and a very small quantity of the most common food—but these barbarians have adopted the Algerine system of taking you, as a slave, to the mountains, where they exact a ransom of as many thousand dollars as they conceive the property you possess will enable you to pay.’* On returning to the United States in 1824, Mr. Maclure was still intent on establishing an agricultural school on a plan simi- Jar to that he had attempted in Spain. At this juncture the set- tlement at New Harmony, in Indiana, had been purchased by the eccentric author of the Social system; and many intelligent per- * American Journal of Science, Vol. vii1, p. 187. Memoir of William Maclure. 9 sons, deceived by a plausible theory, went forth to join the Utopi- an colony; and Mr. Maclure himself, willing to test the validity of a system which seemed to promise something for human ad- vantage, resolved to establish, in the same locality, his proposed agricultural school. He did not, at the same time, adopt all the peculiar views of this fugitive community, to many of which, in fact, he was decidedly opposed ; but he consented to compromise some of his opinions in order to accomplish, in his own phrase, “‘the greatest good for the greatest number.” For this purpose he forwarded to New Harmony his private library, philosophical instruments and collections in natural history, designing, by these and other means, to make that locality the centre of education in the West. That the Social scheme was speedily and entirely abortive, is a fact familiar to every one; but Mr. Maclure having purchased extensive tracts of land in the town and vicinity of New Harmony, continued to reside there for several years, in the hope of bringing his school into practical operation. In leaving Philadelphia for New Harmony, Mr. Maclure in- duced several distinguished naturalists to bear him company, as coadjutors in his educational designs; and among them were Mr. Say, Mr. Lesueur, Dr. Troost, and a few others, who had already earned an enviable scientific reputation. For various reasons, which need not be discussed in this place, the school did not fulfill the expectations of its founder, who was at length constrained to relinquish it; and the less reluctantly, as the approach of age and the increasing delicacy of his consti- tution admonished him of the necessity of seeking a more genial climate. We accordingly find him, in the autumn of 1527, em- barking for Mexico in company with his friend Mr. Say. They passed the winter in that delightful country, and employed their time in observing and recording the various new facts in science which there presented themselves; and on the approach of sum- mer they returned to the United States. | Mr. Maclure was so pleased with the climate of Mexico, and so solicitous to study the social and political institutions of that country, that he determined to return the same year; and with this intent he visited Philadelphia, proceeded thence to New Ha- ven, and presided for the last time at a meeting of the American Geplasical Society in that city on the 17th of November, 1828. Of this institution he had also long been President, and took an Vol. xtvur, No. 1.—April-June, 1844. 2 10 Memoir of Wilkam Maclure. active interest in its prosperity, which was strengthened by his regard for his friend, Professor Silliman—a man justly esteemed for his zealous and successful exertions to advance the interests of science, not less than for his extensive acquirements and his many virtues. On this occasion Mr. Maclure declared his intention to bring back with him from Mexico a number of young native Indians, in order to have them educated in the United States, and subsequently diffuse the benefits of instruc- tion among the people of their own race. This benevolent ob- ject, however, was not accomplished ; for in the ordering of Prov- idence he did not live to return. From New Haven Mr. Maclure proceeded to New York, and embarked for Mexico. 'Time and distance, however, could not estrange him from that solicitude which he had long cherished for the advancement of education in his adopted country; and from his remote residence he kept a constant correspondence with his friends in the United States, among whom was the au- thor of this memoir. Mr. Say died in 1834 at New Harmony ;* and Mr. Maclure was thus deprived of one of his oldest and firmest friends. 'The loss seemed for a time to render him wavering as to his future plans; but convinced on reflection that his educational projects in the west could be no longer fostered or sustained, he resolved to transfer his library at New Harmony to the Academy of Nat- ural Sciences. This rich donation was announced to the Socie- ty in the autumn of 1835; and Dr. Charles Pickering, who had been for several years librarian of the institution, was deputed to superintend the conveyance of the books to Philadelphia; a trust which was speedily and safely accomplished. This second library contained 2259 volumes, embracing, like the former one, works in every department of useful knowledge, but especially natural history and the fine arts, together with an éxtensive series of maps and charts. * Mr. Say was one of the founders of the Academy; and among the last acts of his life, he provided for the further utility of the institution by requesting that it should become the depository of his books and collections. ‘This verbal request was happily confided to one whose feelings and pursuits were congenial to his own; and the Academy is indebted to Mr. and Mrs, Say for some of its most val- uable acquisitions. - An interesting and eloquent memoir of Mr. Say was written by Dr. Benjamin Horner Coates, and published under the auspices of the Academy in 1835. Memoir of William Maclure. 11 - Mr. Maclure’s liberality however was not confined to a single institution: the American Geological Society, established as we have already mentioned at New Haven, partook largely of his benefactions, both in books and specimens; and in reference to these repeated contributions Professor Silliman has expressed the following brief but just and beautiful acknowledgment: ‘“ This gentleman’s liberality to purposes of science and humanity has been too often and too munificently experienced in this country, to demand any eulogium from us. It is rare that affluence, libe- rality, and the possession and love of science unite so signally in the same individual.’’* Since the year 1826 the Academy had occupied an edifice in some respects well adapted to its objects; but the extent and value of the library, suggested to Mr. Maclure the necessity of a fire-proof building. In order to accomplish this object, he first transferred to the Society a claim on an unsettled estate for the sum of five thousand dollars, which was followed in 1837 by a second donation of the same amount. Meanwhile, having ma- tured the plan of the new Hall of the Academy, and having submitted his views to the members, he transmitted in 1838 an additional subscription for ten thousand dollars. Thus sustained by the splendid liberality of their venerable President, the Society proceeded without delay in the erection of a new building. The corner-stone was laid, with due form, on the 25th of May, 1839; on which occasion an appropriate ad- dress was delivered by Professor Johnson. ‘The edifice thus aus- piciously begun, was conducted without delay to completion ; and the first meeting of the Society within its walls was held on the 7th day of February, 1840. Mr. Maclure had fervently desired and fully expected to revisit Philadelphia ; but early in the year 1839 his constitution suffer- ed several severe shocks of disease, and from that period age and its varied infirmities grew rapidly upon him. Under these cir- cumstances he became more than ever solicitous to return to the United States, to enjoy again the companionship of his family and friends, and to end his days in that land which had witness- ed alike his prosperity and his munificence. He made repeated efforts to accomplish this last wish of his heart ; and finally arranged with his friend Dr. Burrough, then United States Consul at Vera Cruz, to meet him at Jalapa with * American Journal of Science, Vol. 111, p. 362. 12 Memoir of William Maclure. a littera and bearers, in order to conduct him to the sea-coast. Dr. Burrough faithfully performed his part of the engagement ; but after waiting for some days at the appointed place of meet- ing, he received the melancholy intelligence that Mr. Maclure, after having left Mexico and accomplished a few leagues of his journey, was compelled by illness and consequent exhaustion to relinquish his journey. Languid in body, and depressed and disappointed in mind, Mr. Maclure reluctantly retraced his steps ; but being unable to reach the capital, he was cordially received into the country house of his friend, Valentin Gomez Farias, ex-President of Mexico, where. he received all the attentions which hospitality could dic- tate. His feeble frame was capable of but one subsequent effort, which enabled him to reach the village of San Angel; where, growing weaker and weaker, and sensible of the approach of death, he yielded to the common lot of humanity on the 23d day of March, 1840, in the seventy seventh year of his age. Thus closed a life which had been devoted, with untiring en- ergy and singular disinterestedness, to the attainment and diffu- sion of practical knowledge. No views of pecuniary advantage, or personal aggrandizement, entered into the motives by which he was governed. His educational plans, it is true, were repeat- edly inoperative, not because he did too little, but because he expected more than could be realized in the social institutions by which he was surrounded. He aimed at reforming mankind by diverting their attention from the mere pursuit of wealth and ambition to the cultivation of the mind; and espousing the hy- pothesis of the possible “equality of education, property and power” among men, he labored to counteract that love of supe- riority which appeared to him to cause half the miseries of our species. However fascinating these views are in theory, man- kind are not yet prepared to reduce them to practice ; and with- out entering into discussion in this place we may venture to as- sert, that what religion itself has not been able to accomplish, philosophy will attempt in vain. Mr. Maclure’s character habitually expressed itself without dissimulation or disguise. Educated in the old world almost to the period of manhood, and inflexibly averse to many of its es-. tablished institutions, he was prone to indulge the opposite ex- tremes of opinion, and became impatient of those usages which appeared to him to fetter the reason and embarrass the genius of a be Memoir of William Maclure. 13 man; and while he rejoiced in the republican system of his adopted country, he aimed at an intellectual exaltation which, to common observation at least, seems incompatible with the wants - and impulses of our nature. Fully and justly imbued with the importance of disseminating practical truth, he strove through its influence to bring the seve- ral classes of mankind more on a level with each other, not by invading the privileges of the rich, but by educating the poor ; thus enforcing the sentiment that “knowledge is power,” and that he who possesses it will seldom be the dupe of designing and arbitrary minds. With asimilar motive he endeavored to inculcate the elements of political economy, by the publication of epistolary essays in a familiar style, which have been embodi- ed in two volumes with the title of Opinions on Various Sub- jects. They discover a bold and original mind, and a fondness for innovation which occasionally expresses itself in a startling sentiment; but however we may differ from him on various questions, it must be conceded that his views of financial opera- tions were remarkably correct, inasmuch as he predicted the ex- isting pecuniary embarrassments of this country at the very time when the great mass of observers looked forward to accumulating wealth and unexampled prosperity. Let it not be supposed that Mr. Maclure’s benevolent efforts were restricted to those extended schemes of usefulness to which we have so often adverted. Far, very far from it. His indi- vidual and more private benefactions, were such as became his affluent resources, influenced by a generous spirit. He habitually extended his patronage to genius, and his cordial support to those plans which, in his view, were adapted to the common interests of humanity. There are few cabinets of natural history in our country, public or private, that have not been augmented from his stores; and several scientific publications of an expensive character, have been sustained to completion by his instrumen- tality. While in Europe he purchased the copperplate illustra- tions of some important works both in science and art, with the intention of having them republished at home in a cheaper form, in order to render them accessible to all classes of learners. Among these works was Michaux’s Sylva, which has been published, since his death, in conformity to his wishes. Mr. Maclure was singularly mild and unostentatious in his man- ner; and though a man of strong feelings, he seldom allowed his 14 Memoir of William Maclure. temper to triumph over his judgment. Cautious in his intimacies, and firm in his friendships, time and circumstance in no degree weakened the affections of his earlier years. Though affable and communicative, Mr. Maclure was much isolated during the last thirty years of his life; partly owing to a naturally retiring dis- position, partly to the peculiarity of some of his opinions, in respect to which, though unobtrusive, he was inflexible—but mainly to that frequent change of residence which is unfavorable to social fellowship. Hence it is that of the thousands who are familiar with his name in the annals of science, comparatively few can speak of him from personal knowledge. In person he was above the middle stature, and of a naturally robust frame. His constitution was elastic, and capable of much endurance of privation and fatigue, which he attributed chiefly to the undeviating simplicity of his diet. His head was large, his forehead high and expanded, his nose aquiline; and his col- lective features were expressive of that undisturbed serenity of mind which was a conspicuous trait of his character. Those who knew him in early life, represent him to have been remarkable for personal endowments; a fact which is evident in the full-length portrait now in possession of his family, painted by the celebrated Northcote.* Such was Witt1am Macture, whose long, active and useful life is the subject of this brief and inadequate memorial. His remains are entombed in a distant land, and even there the spirit of affec- tion has raised a tablet to his memory. But his greater and more enduring monument, is the edifice within whose walls we are now met to recount and perpetuate his virtues. Wherever we turn our eyes we behold the proofs of his talent, his zeal, his munificence. We see an institution which, under his fostering care, has already attained the manhood of science, and is destined to eonnect his name with those beautiful truths which formed the engrossing subject of his thoughts. We see around us the collections that were made with his own hands, vastly augmented, it is true, by the zeal of those who have been stimulated by his example. Here are the books which he read—to him the fountains of pleasure and instruction. Here has he concentrated the works of nature, the sources of knowledge, the incentives to study ; and, actuated * See the head affixed to this memoir, which is taken from a copy of North- cote’s picture. Memoir of William Maclure. 15 by his liberal spirit, we open our doors to all inquiring minds, and invite them to participate, with us, in these invaluable acquisi- tions; and while we regard them asa trust to be transmitted to posterity, let us honor the name and cherish the memory of the man from whom we derived them. The death of Mr. Maclure was announced to the Academy of Natural Sciences on Tuesday evening, the 28th of April, on which occasion the following resolutions were unanimously adopted : Resolved, That the Academy has learned with deep concern the decease, at San Angel, near the city of Mexico, of their venerable and respected President and benefactor, William Maclure, Esq. Resolved, 'That although his declining health induced him to reside for some years in a distant and. more genial clime, this Academy cherishes for Mr. Maclure the kindest personal recol- lections, and a grateful sense of his contributions to the cause of science. Resolved, 'That as the pioneer of American geology, the whole country owes to Mr. Maclure a debt of gratitude, and in his death will acknowledge the loss of one of the most efficient friends of science and the arts. Resolved, That as the patron of men of science, even more than for his personal researches, Mr. Maclure deserves the lasting regard of mankind. Resolved, 'That a member of the Academy be appointed to prepare and deliver a discourse commemorative of its lamented President. Resolved, 'That the Corresponding Secretary be requested to communicate to the family of Mr. Maclure a copy of these reso- lutions. Mr. Maclure died before he had accomplished a// his views in respect to this institution ; for, looking forward, as he did, to re- newed personal intercourse with its members, he intended to in- quire for himself into the most available modes of extending its usefulness. "This, as we have seen, was denied him; but the spirit of science which was inherent in him, has descended upon his brother and sister; and to these estimable and enlightened individuals, we owe the consummation of all that their brother had proposed in reference to the Academy, which will be here- after enabled to devote its resources exclusively to the advance- ment of those objects for which it was founded. 16 Memoir of William Maclure. List of the published works and memoirs of Mr. Maclure. The following list embraces the separate works (two in num- ber) and miscellaneous papers written by Mr. Maclure during his residence in the United States. It is not presumed that the list is complete; for it is more than probable that he contributed something to the periodical journals of England, France, Spain, and perhaps of Mexico, while resident in those countries. A reference to the following essays will show how exclusively Mr. Maclure’s mind was devoted to matiers of fact, seldom in- dulging in hypothesis, and never yielding himself, at least in his writings, to purely imaginative reflections. 1. Observations on the Geology of the United States of America, with some Remarks on the Nature and Fertility of Soils, &c. Philadelphia, 1817. 8vo. This is a corrected reprint from the Transactions of the American Philosophical Society. _ 2. Opinions on Various Subjects, 2 vols. 8vo. This work is epis- tolary, and was chiefly written in Mexico. It embraces re- flections on many subjects, but is mainly devoted to Political Economy. Memoirs in the Journal of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Phil- adelphia : 1. Observations on the [Geology of the] West India Islands, from Barbadoes to Santa Cruz, inclusive. Vol. I, p. 134. 2. Essay on the Formation of Rocks; or an Inquiry into their probable Origin, and their present Form and Structure. Vol. I, p. 261. Memoirs in the American Philosophical Transactions : 1, Observations on the Geology of the United States, explanatory of a Geological Map. Vol. VI, p. 91. 1809. 2. The same Memoir, corrected and extended. Vol. I, New Se- ries, 1817. d Memoirs in the American Journal of Science and Arts, conducted by Professor Silliman : 1. Hints on some of the Outlines of Geological Arrangement. Viol typ; 208." 2. Conjectures on the probable changes that have taken place in the Geology of the Continent of America, east of the Stony Mountains. Vol. VI, p. 98. 3. Miscellaneous Remarks on the Systematic Arrangement of Rocks, and on their probable Origin.. Vol. VII, p. 261. 4. Notice of the Anthracite Region of Pennsylvania. Vol. X, p- 205. — - Mg - — Memoir of William Maclure. 17 5. Remarks on the Igneous Theory of the Earth. Vol. XVI, p- 351. 6. Geological Remarks relating to Mexico. Vol. XX, p. 406. The same periodical also contains many detached observations, and fragments of letters communicated to the editor of that work. Memoirs published in the Journal de Physique, de Chimie et d’His- toire Naturelle, Paris: l. Extrait d’une Lettre de M. William Maclure, a J. C. Delamé- therie, sur la Geologie des Etats Unis. Tome 69, p. 201. (1809.) 2. Observations sur la Geologie des Etats Unis, servant a expliquer une Carte Geologique. Tome 69, p.204. (1809.) This last memoir is a translation from the original in the 'Transac- tions of the American Philosophical Society. Nors.—The Hall of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadel- phia is situated at the corner of Broad and George streets—forty five feet front on the former, and eighty five feet in depth on the latter. The building is fire-proof, and presents a single saloon with three ranges of galleries, beneath which, in the basement, is a lecture-room capable of accommodating four hundred persons. The institution was founded in 1812, and incorporated in 1817, and enjoys a perpetual exemption from taxation by legislative enactment. The Museum embraces extensive collections in every department of of Natural History, arranged according to the most approved systems, viz. ; 2,500 Minerals. 3,000 Fossil Organic Remains. 10,000 Species of Insects. 2,400 Species of Shells. 1,000 Species of Fishes and Reptiles. 1,300 Species of Birds; a small but valuable collection of Quadru- peds, and an extensive series of Comparative Anatomy. The Herbarium contains about 35,000 species of plants, arranged according to the natural system. The Library embraces 7,000 volumes, and is always accessible to members, and to visitors attended by members, excepting only those occasions when the Academy is open to the public, viz. on the after- noons of Tuesday and Saturday. Admission free of charge. Vol. xtvu1, No. 1.—April-June, 1844. 3 18 Dr. Forry on the Climate of the United States, §*c. Arr. II.—Researches in Elucidation of the Distribution of Heat over the Globe, and especially of the Climatic Features pecu- liar to the Region of the United States; by Samue. Forry, M. D., Author of “The Climate of the United States and its Endemic Influences,” Editor of “The New York Journal of Medicine and the Collateral Sciences,” etc. CiimaToLoey, notwithstanding of the highest interest to man in every conceivable relation of his present existence, has, in the wonderful advancement of human knowledge during the current half century, especially as regards the natural sciences, by no means kept pace with the progress of its kindred branches. With us, the barren work of M. Volney on the climate of the United States, written forty-five years ago, when this French savant made a flying visit through our country, is still quoted by every writer on this topic. To Baron Humboldt is due the dis- tinguished credit of having first generalized the various meteoro- logical data, which had been accumulated in different parts of the globe; but so little do philosophers seem to have profited by these deductions, that even Charles Lyell, Esq., in his “ Princi- ples of Geology,” when speaking of the mild climate of Europe, says—‘‘but this region, constituting only one seventh of the whole globe, proved eventually ¢o be the exception to the general rule.” Now it will be a leading object of this paper, contrary to the opinion here advanced on such high authority, to demonstrate the harmony of the laws of climate throughout the globe.* The merit of being first to establish, on an extensive scale, a system of meteorological observations, with a view to the elucida- tion of the climate of the United States, is due to the Medical Bureau of the Army; and these registers date back regularly to the year 1819, when Dr. Joseph Lovell was the Surgeon General. The only instruments used at first were a thermometer and vane; and to these, the observations were long confined, with general notices of the weather. At the present time, however, observa- tions are taken on a more extended scale, comprising the barom- eter, the thermometer attached and the thermometer detached, * In presenting the present analysis of our various writings on the laws of tem- perature of the United States, we have not hesitated, as regards the dry details of mere facts, to adopt the language used on previous occasions. ee PLATE 0, illustratmg the yeneral Laws of (=) Temperature throughout the United States. oe on +P: as £ l t snoting as, FUHoward vy Wi SHONAAN, govoneaensyenens tty ee, — —— ee LSS = ee SST Y ————eULF oF MEXIC Sad March PLATE 00, exhibitmg the different Laws of Temperature at Key West & Fort Snelling. Jan. Feb. April. May. June. July. Arig’. Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec. Curves of the Seasons. 90° : pas i go° S se \ i dsotivernrvatt Derg of Bey ESE Nn (<—je SSS SS RS SS SS SSS 2 AS eS Se eS ae eee eee mins SS ai os ‘ -— - | \ \ = a; = ~ . | —_— ——}— | = =a = ‘e 5 ° ete es - 2 | 60° =o = ‘ aE : : + + + s = = i te Ts ic — 50° | aA ae “ = i a ae SSS ee eo Se ane a eo ial ses cos ea —— SS = =—— =e eS 40° -—Hh ——— | i - ae : eal - ; - = = | q i | | 30° | e = aa = i | ie | 1 | 10° | hk cme | o° ff : I = + 1 = = 3 0° | Se : 10° =) : = - i = 20° "4 te a5 = - _] = : = i a =<, el _ JM Atwood Sc. ~~ ees 5 <= > ie a. tae Re ee eae Dr. Forry on the Climate of the United States, Se. 19 the pluviometer, Daniell’s hygrometer, the wet bulb, and obser- vations upon the clouds, the clearness of the pins a the force and direction of the winds.* These data were allowed to accumulate in the Medical Bureau for twenty years, before any comprehensive attempt was made to determine their relations to one another, and to deduce from them general laws; and it fell to our lot, under the direction of the present Surgeon General, Thomas Lawson, Esq., to present a systematic arrangement of these isolated facts, embracing the climatology of a vast district, extending from the oldest settle- ments on the Atlantic ‘shores to the farthest outposts of civilized occupation, even to the coasts of the Pacific. ‘Thus were pre- sented, under the sanction of the War Department, unlike all other treatises on the same subject, which are generally loosely written and made up of the most vague and general statements, deductions based upon precise instrumental observations. As regards the phenomena of superficial terrestrial temperature, let it here suffice to refer to its dependence upon two classes of causes, viz. those resulting from celestial relation, and those pro- duced by geographical position. 'The former, which may be called the primary constituents of climate, result from the globular figure of the earth, its diurnal motion upon its axis, and the obliquity of its motion in an elliptical orbit in regard to the plane of the equator. Now, if this class of causes solely controlled the phenomena of terrestrial temperature, climates might be classified with mathematical precision; but the effects produced by solar heat are so much modified by local causes, that the climatic fea- tures of any region can be determined only by observation. It is these last, the secondary constituents of climate, that we have chiefly to do with, in the present inquiry ; and among these geo- graphical or local causes, the following may be regarded as the principal :—1. The action of the sun upon the surface of the earth. 2. The vicinity of great seas and their relative position. 3. The elevation of the place above the level of the sea. 4. The *The Medical Bureau procured a number of Daniell’s hygrometers from Lon- don—an instrument characterized by beauty, simplicity, and portableness; but, however well it may be adapted to the humid climate of England, experience soon demonstrated its inapplicability to the arid atmosphere of the United States, with the exception perhaps of our southern borders ; and hence has been imposed upon the Department, the necessity of using the wet bulb thermometer in deter- mining the hygrometric condition of the air. 20 Dr. Forry on the Climate of the United States, 8c. prevalent winds. 5. The form of lands, their mass, their prolon- gation toward the poles, their temperature and reflection in sum- mer, and the quantity of snow which covers them in winter. 6. The position of mountains relatively to the cardinal points, wheth- er favoring the play of descending currents or affording shelter against particular winds. 7. The color, chemical nature, and radiating power of soil, and the evaporation from its surface. 8. The degree of cultivation and the density of population. 9. Fields of ice which form, as it were, cireumpolar continents, or drift into low latitudes. It is these causes that determine the devia~ tions of the zsothermal, isocheimal, and isotheral lines from the same parallels of latitude. In the investigation of the laws of climate, a range of subjects so multifarious as to comprise almost every branch of natural philosophy, is embraced; but its true province is properly re- stricted to a general view of these subjects, which if based on legitimate deductions of observed phenomena, should enable us to reduce the infinite variety of appearances presented to us in nature, to a few general principles. It is by means of this gen- eralization that the subject will be elevated to the dignity of a science. Climate comprises not only the temperature of the at- mosphere, but all those modifications of it which produce a sen- sible effect on the physical and moral state of man, as well as on all other organic structures, such as its serenity, humidity, changes of electric tension, variations of barometric pressure, its tranquillity as respects both horizontal and vertical currents, and the admix- ture of terrestrial emanations dissolved in its moisture. Climate, in a word, constitutes the aggregate of all the external physical circumstances appertaining to each locality in its relation to organic nature. In the present inquiry, however, our labors will be restricted almost wholly to the mere physical laws of climate. As the climate of every region has an inseparable relation with its phys- ical characters, it follows that in the investigation of its climatic features, a geographical description becomes an essential prelimin- ary ; but, in the present instance, the country to be described is of so vast an extent as to preclude any thing beyond the most general outlines. It was well remarked by Malte-Brun, that “the best observations upon climate often lose half their value, from the want of an exact description of the surface of the coun- Dr. Forry on the Climate of the United States, §c. 21 try.” Presuming that our readers are sufficiently well acquainted, for the present purpose, with the physical features of the vast region stretching from the Atlantic to the Pacific, and from the Gulf of Mexico to the inland seas on our northern frontiers, the descriptions will be limited to such parts alone as are essential. One of the most striking characteristics of the physical geogra- phy of the United States, and which, it will be seen, induces the , most remarkable modifications of climate, is the existence of those great inland basins of water which lie on our ncrthern frontier: Of so vast an extent are these ocean-lakes, that one of them (Lake Superior) has a circuit, following the sinuosities of the coast, of 1,750 miles. The basin of the St. Lawrence is truly a region of “broad rivers and streams,” containing, it is estimated, an area of 400,000 square miles, of which 94,000 are covered with water. From the western extremity of Lake Superior to the Gulf of St. Lawrence, the distance is about 1,900 miles. These ocean-lakes have been estimated to contain 11,300 cubic miles of water,—a quantity supposed to exceed more than half of all the fresh water on the face of the globe. The deepest chasms on the surface of either continent are presented perhaps by the depression of these lakes; for though elevated near 600 feet above, the bottom of some is as far beneath, the level of the ocean. Lakes Huron and Michigan, which have the deepest chasms, have been sounded to the amazing depth of 1,800 feet without discovering bottom. The following table, which gives the mean length, breadth, depth, area, and elevation of these several collections of water, is taken from a recent report made by Douglas Houghton, Hsq., state geologist of Michigan. Mean Mean Mean |Elevation above Collections of water. | _length breadth depth level of the sea, Area in ‘in miles. | in miles. | in feet. in feet. square miles. Lake Superior, 400 80 | 900 596 32,000 Green Bay, 100 20 | 500 578 2,000 Lake Michigan, 320 70 {1000 578 22,400 Lake Huron, 240 80 {1000 578 20,400 Lake St. Clair, 20 18 20 570 360 Lake Erie, 240 AO 84 565 9,600 Lake Ontario, 180 | 35 | 500 232 6,300 River St. Lawrence, 20 940 Aggregate, 94,000 i Se 22 Dr. Forry on the Climate of the United States, &§c. With these preliminary remarks, we are prepared to enter into a detail of the numerical results furnished in the several systems of climate pertaining to the United States. The military posts furnishing the thermometrical data will consequently be classi- fied as under— Genera] divisions of the United States. Systems of climate. ( 1st Class.—Posts on the coast of New England, extending as far south as the har- bor of New York. | 1. Northern. < 94 « Posts on the northern chain of lakes. oa Posts remote from the ocean and in- land seas. 1st Class.—Atlantic coast from Delaware Bay to 2. Middle. Savannah. Badin Interior stations. lst Class.—Posts on the Lower Mississippi. 3. Southern. ; 2d. ie Posts in the Peninsula of East Florida. These general divisions, intended as well to facilitate descrip- tion as to express the operation of general laws, may be regarded, in a great measure, as arbitrary. ‘The northern embraces a re- sion characterized by the predominance of a low temperature ; in the southern, a high temperature prevails; while the middle exhibits phenomena vibrating to both extremes. Each of these general divisions, as exhibited in the table above, is subdivided into well marked classes or systems. As the present paper will not allow the admission of extensive tables of figures, the writer is obliged to confine himself to mere results, referring the reader who may be more curious on this subject to the author’s work, ‘‘ The Climate of the United States and its Endemic Influences,” which contains a series of exten- sive tabular abstracts of instrumental observations. 'These re- sults are obtained from observations made at the various military posts between 24° 33/ and 46° 39’ of north latitude, embracing a space of 22° 6’, and an extent of longitude stretching from the Atlantic to the Pacific. The thermometrical observations were made thrice daily ; and as the mean of each month is cal- culated from 90, and of each year from 1,095 observations, the numerical ratios, it is believed, will give an approximation to the truth as near as can be realized by ordinary observation, and a mean sufficiently correct for every contemplated purpose. 'The results, at the majority of the posts, are based on from five to ten thousand observations. Dr. Forry on the Climate of the United States, §c. 23 1. The Northern division.—As this region presents the greatest diversity of physical character, so it exhibits the most marked variety of climate. Hast of the chain of great lakes, there are several mountain ranges, which, with the exception of a few summits, seldom attain a height of more than 2,500 feet above the level of the sea; and of this elevation, perhaps one half is formed by the table-lands upon which the ridges rest. Above the falls of Niagara, the region of the lakes is elevated 600 to 700 feet above the ocean, but there are scarcely any ridges that deserve the name of mountains. This immense tract is, with the exception of the eastern states, nearly altogether in a state of nature, being still covered with its dense primeval forests. But the most striking characteristic in the physical geography of this division, is that produced by its vast lakes or inland seas. We here behold a chain of lakes presenting a superficial area of 94,000 square miles, with a mean depth of 1,000 feet in the principal lakes, the details of which have just been given. __ In accordance with the diversity in the physical geography, we find that on the sea-coast of New England, the influence of the ocean modifies the range of the thermometer, thus equalizing the temperature of the seasons. Advancing into the interior, the extreme range of the temperature increases, and the seasons are violently contrasted. Having come within the influence of the great lakes, a climate like that of the sea-board is found; and proceeding into the region beyond the modifying agency of these inland seas, an excessive climate is again exhibited. And if we continue our route as far as the Pacific Ocean, a climate even more mild and equable than similar parallels in Western Europe, as will be satisfactorily demonstrated, will be presented. The variations of the isotheral and isocheimal curves—the lines of equal summer and of equal winter temperature, as illustrated in Plate I,—thus afford a happy illustration of the equalizing ten- dency of large bodies of water. Hence the former division of the surface of the earth into five zones, as regards its temperature, has been superseded in scientific inquiries, by a more precise arrangement. Places having the same mean annual temperature are connected by isothermal lines, and the spaces between them are called isothermal zones. It is thus seen that, notwithstanding the mean annual tempe- rature presents little variation on the same parallels, four striking 24 Dr. Forry on the Climate of the United States, &c. inflections of the isotheral and isocheimal lines are exhibited in rapid succession, constituting two systems of climate, viz. that of the Atlantic Ocean and the great lakes, which pertains, compar- atively speaking, to the class of mild or uniform, and that of the intervening tract and the region beyond the lakes, characterized. as climates emphatically excessive or rigorous. The difference of climate, as the mean annual temperature is nearly the same, is, therefore, owing to the unequal distribution of heat among the seasons, as is well illustrated in the accompanying map. At the posts on large bodies of water, the mean temperature of winter is higher and that of sammer lower than in the opposite localities ; but these results are more satisfactorily evidenced by comparing the difference between the mean temperature of winter and sum- mer, and the warmest and coldest month in each system of cli- mate. ‘Thus Fort Brady, at the outlet of Lake Superior, shows a difference of only 42°-11 between the mean temperature of win- ter and summer, while Hancock Barracks, half a degree farther south, in the State of Maine, distant only one hundred and fifty miles from the sea-coast, exhibits a disparity of 469-19; and com- paring the warmest and coldest month, the difference of the for- mer is 47°°22, and that of the latter 54°70. Again, Forts Sul- livan and Snelling, in opposite systems of climate, are very nearly in the same latitude, the former at Eastport, on the coast of Maine, and the latter at the junction of the St. Peter’s and Mississippi, Iowa. At Fort Sullivan, the difference of winter and summer is 39°°15, and that of the warmest and coldest month, 43°-87; while at Fort Snelling, these ratios are respectively 56°°60 and 61°86. Fort Howard is also in the same latitude, but as it is situated at the extreme point of one of the smaller lakes, (Green Bay, Wiskonsan,) the temperature is partially modified, these averages being 50°-05 and 54°-11. Next come four posts, all of which are nearly on the same parallel, three being of the class of uniform climates, and one of that of excessive. Of the former, two, Forts Preble and Constitution, are on the ocean, and the other, Fort Niagara, is on Lake Ontario. At these posts, in the order just named, the difference between the mean temperature of winter and summer is respectively 41°-03, 36°°33, and 419-73; while, on the other hand, at the excessive post, Fort Crawford, Wiskonsan—a point a few minutes farther south than the three former—the difference is 50°-89. The results at Salem, Massa-~ Dr. Forry on the Climate of the United States, §c. 25 chusetts, based on thirty three years’ observation by Dr. Holyoke, though not directly under the influence of the ocean, confirms the same law, the difference between the mean temperature of winter and summer being only 41°-66. At all these points, the contrast in the difference of the mean temperature of the warmest and the coldest month, is equally striking. The next points of comparison, as lying on the same parallel, are Forts Wolcott and Trumbull on the Atlantic, and Council Bluffs, Fort Armstrong, and West Point, in the opposite localities. The difference be- tween the mean temperature of summer and winter at Fort Wol- cott, Newport, Rhode Island, is 36°'55, and at Fort Trumbull, New London, Connecticut, it is 32°56; while at Council Bluffs, near the junction of the Platte and Missonri, it is 519-35—at Fort Armstrong, Illinois, 49°-05—and at West Point, N. Y., 40°°75. Between the two posts on the ocean and the two far in the inte- rior, the difference between the mean temperature of summer and winter presents a disparity of from 15° to 17°; and as respects Fort Trumbull and West Point, which are precisely on the same latitude, the difference between these two opposite seasons, not- withstanding the latter is not more than fifty miles from the ocean, is 8°-19 less at the former post. As regards the difference be- tween the mean temperature of the warmest and coldest months, these laws find confirmation in every instance. So remarkable is the influence of large bodies of water in modifying the range of the thermometer, that although Fort Brady, at the Sault St. Marie, Michigan, is nearly 7° north of Fort Mifflin, near Philadel- phia, and notwithstanding the mean annual temperature is more than 14° less, yet the contrast, in the seasons of winter and sum- mer, is not so great at the former as at the latter. Fort Columbus, in the harbor of New York, offers, in some respects, an exception to the laws just developed, the range of the thermometer being greater than at some points farther north. As these results, which are based on nine years™®bservations, made on an island free from any agency which large towns may exercise, are doubtless correct, some causes of a local nature must exist to produce this effect. It is more than probable that this locality, in consequence of the configuration of the coast, does not lie in the direction of the most prevalent ocean-winds, and that hence its temperature is but partially modified. Vol. xtvm, No. 1.—April-June, 1844. 4 26 Dr. Forry on the Climate of the United States, &c. The climate of Fort Snelling, which is the most excessive among all the military posts in the United States, resembles that of Moscow in Russia, as regards the extremes of the seasons, not- withstanding the latter is 11° farther north; but at Moscow the mean temperature both of winter and summer is lower—that of winter being as 10°-78 to 15°-95, and that of summer as 67°°10 to 72°°75. At Edinburgh, Scotland, in the same latitude as Mos- cow, the difference between the mean temperature of winter and summer, is, on the other hand, not one-third as great, being only 17°-90; and even at North Cape, on the island of Maggeroe, in latitude 71°, which is the most northern point of Europe, this difference between the two seasons, so great is the modifying influence of the ocean, is no more than 19°:62, while at Uleo, in the interior of Lapland, the difference between the mean tempe- rature of summer and winter is 45°-90. In these comparisons of the Northern division, no particular reference has yet been made to Fort Vancouver, in Oregon Ter- ritory. ‘This region bears the same climatic relation to our coast and to that of Eastern Asia, as the western coast of Europe does. The mean annual temperature is about 10° higher than that of the posts on the same parallel on our own coast. So mild and uniform are the seasons at Fort Vancouver, that the difference be- tween the mean temperature of winter and summer is only 23°-67, a mean which is less than that of Italy or southern France, and only about two-fifths of that of Fort Snelling, Iowa, notwith- standing the latter is nearly 1° farther south. This contrast is well exhibited in Plate 1; for while the mean temperature of spring, summer and autumn, at Fort Vancouver, is about the same as at Fort Wolcott, Rhode Island, the winter line comes nearly as far south as Fort Gibson, Arkansas. But even this compari- son, at first view, falls short of the reality ; for, as regards the dif- ference between the mean temperature of winter and summer, the contrast is less at Fort Vancouver flan at Cantonment Clinch near Pensacola, or Petite Coquille near New Orleans. These results, however extraordinary they may appear, find, as will be seen, an explanation in physical causes. The next point demanding attention is the difference between the mean temperature of winter and spring, which is much the sreater-in the excessive or rigorous climates. ‘Taking places in the same latitude and in opposite systems of climate, it is found Lis | ae so Dr. Forry on the Climate of the United States, §c. = 27 at Fort Brady to be 189-42, while at Hancock Barracks it is 249-49; at Fort Sullivan it is 179-16, while at Forts Snelling and Howard, it is respectively 30°-83 and 24°10, the latter being partially modified by Green Bay; at Forts Preble, Niagara, and Constitution, and the city of Salem, the ratios are 18°-42, 16°-77, 16°-83 and 17°-89, and at Fort Crawford, on the other hand, it is 25°-83 ; and lastly at Forts Wolcott and Trumbull, it is 14°-71 and 11°-67, while at Council Bluffs, Fort Armstrong, and West Point, it is respectively 27°:47, 23°-99 and 18°-82. Fort Colum- bus, as in the preceding comparisons, stands as an exception, its ratio, notwithstanding it is lower than any one in the opposite class, being the highest in its own, with the exception of two posts. The peculiarity in the increase of the temperature of spring, as manifested in the vegetable kingdom, constitutes a fea- ture which strongly characterizes excessive climates; for, as Baron Humboldt remarks, ‘‘a summer of uniform heat excites less the force of vegetation, than a great heat preceded by a cold sea- son.” Accordingly we find that in these excessive climates, (un- like the uniform ones on the ocean and lakes, in which the air is moist and the changes of the seasons slow and uncertain,) summer succeeds winter so rapidly that there is scarcely any spring, and vernal vegetation is developed with remarkable suddenness. At Fort Vancouver, the difference between the mean temperature of winter and spring is only 6°-67, which is about one third of the difference observed at the posts in our modified climates on the same parallel, and little more than one fifth of the difference ex- hibited in the excessive climate of Fort Snelling. Another feature which characterizes these two systems of cli- mate remains to be considered, viz. the mean annual range of the thermometer. Comparing the posts on the same parallel, the followiyg relations are found :—At Fort Brady, on the one hand, the range is 110°, and at Hancock Barracks, on the other, it is 118°; at Fort Sullivan it is 104°, while at Forts Snelling and Howard, it is 119° and 123°; at Forts Preble, Niagara and Con- stitution, it is respectively 99°, 92° and 97°, while at Fort Craw- ford, on the same parallel, it is 120°; and lastly at Forts Wolcott and Trumbull, it is 83° and 78°, while at Council Bluffs, Fort Armstrong and West Point, it is 120°, 106°, and 91°. Fort Co- lumbus, as before, presents an exception. In further elucidation of the law regulating the extremes of temperature, the four fol- 28 Dr. Forry on the Climate of the United States, §c. lowing posts, which are all nearly on the same parallel of 41° 30% the first two being on the ocean, and the last two far in the inte- rior, remote from large bodies of water, may be adduced as strik- ing examples: Highest. Lowest. Mean annual range. Fort Wolcott, Newport, R. L., Bemis Bmiee tense “ Trumbull, New London, Ct., 87. iS ener Council Bluffs, near the conflu- ence of Platte and Missouri, 104 amis wieicee oS _Fort Armstrong, Rock Island, Ill., 96 .—l0 . . 106 These results, it may be necessary to add, axhibit the average range of a series of years. The extreme range, for example, at Fort Brady, during a period of eleven years, (from 1820 to 1830 inclusive, ) is 130°, the mercury sinking in 1826 as low as —37°, and rising in 1830 to 93° Fahr. At Fort Snelling in 1821, the mercury sunk to —32°, and in 1827 rose to 96°, being a range of 128°. At Fort Howard, in 1823, it rose to 100° and sunk to —38°, being a range in the same year of 138°. At Fort Craw- ford we find the mercury in 1820 noted as high as 99°, and in 1821 as low as —36°, being a range of 135°; at Fort Armstrong, - in 1821, as low as —28°, and in 1830 as high as 98°, being a range of 126°; and lastly at Council Bluffs as low, in 1820, as —22°, and in 1822 as high as 108°, being an extreme range of 130°. At the last named post, the thermometer rose every year above 100°. When the Southern division of the United States comes under investigation, it will be seen that the mercury there seldom rises as high as in our northern regions. Hence it follows that latitude alone constitutes a very uncertain index of the character of climate; for although two places may have the same mean annual temperature, and thus be on the same isothermal line, yet the distribution of heat among the,seasons may be extraordinarily unequal. So much, indeed, may the phenomena of superficial terrestrial temperature, as depending on the position of the sun, be modified by local causes, that a classi- fication of climates, or a system of medical geography, having for its basis mere latitude, is wholly inadmissible. It is thus seen that the climatic features of the coast of New England and of the region of the great lakes, exhibit a striking resemblance, while those of the third class of the same division are very dissimilar. In the climate of the third class of posts, dis- Seay Raekeh ~ Dr. Forry on the Climate of the United States, §c. 29 tinguished by great extremes of temperature, by seasons strongly contrasted, and a corresponding dryness of the atmosphere, (un- like the first two classes, in which the air is moist and the chan- ges of the seasons slow and uncertain,) a constant and rapid suc- cession is observed among the seasons. Summer, for example, succeeds winter so rapidly that there is scarcely any spring, the influence of which is surprisingly manifested in the vegetable kingdom. As the summers of the third class are remarkable for extremes of temperature, the mercury often rising in June, July, and August, to 100° Fahr. in the shade, so the winters are equal- ly characterized by extreme severity. From November to May, cold weather prevails, the ground being often covered with snow to the depth of three or four feet, and the general range of the thermometer being from the freezing point to 30° below zero. The lowest temperature, taking the mean of a month, occur- red at Forts Howard and Snelling. At the former, the mean of the month of February, 1829, at 7 o’clock A. M., is —3°-17, and the mean of December, 1822, at Fort Snelling, is —3°61. This, it is to be observed, is merely the average of the morning observations for the month. Although the extreme severity of the winters at the posts remote from large bodies of water, has been already fully illustrated ; yet the following remarks made by Surgeon Beaumont when stationed in 1829 at Fort Crawford, Wiskonsan, which is in the latitude of Fort Wolcott, R. 1., may be added in further elucidation: ‘“‘ The month of January was re- markably mild and pleasant, the ground dry and free from snow, and the Mississippi unusually low and unfrozen. February was extremely cold, the weather clear and dry, and the thermometer ranging during the month from the freezing point to 23° below zero. From the Ist to the 16th, the mercury stood every morning, with the exception of three, (the 6th, 7th, and 8th,) between — 4° and —23°, and did not rise above 20° above zero during these days. On the 2d, 3d, 4th, 5th, 9th, 10th, 11th, 13th, 14th, and 15th, the mercury at sunrise stood respectively at 14°, 16°, 4°, 16°, 239, 18°, 20°, 18°, 10°, 6°, and 4° below zero; and on the 9th and 14th, it continued under —8° during the 24 hours. Du- ring the month the prevailing winds were northerly and dry, and the proportion of fair and cloudy weather was—clear twenty-two days, cloudy three, variable one, and snowy two. The mean depth of snow was about six inches. ‘The month of March has 30 Dr. Forry on the Climate of the United States, &c. been unusually cold and dry, with one or two light falls of snow, which, with the previous coat, has just been dissolved by the warmth of the solar rays without any rain. The ice on the Mis- sissippi, which broke yesterday, {March 30th,] is now moving off en masse.” Scarcely does a winter elapse that the Hudson River is not fro- zen over even in the vicinity of the city of New York; while Philadelphia, and even Baltimore, lying on the same parallels which in Europe produce the olive and the orange, have their commerce often interrupted from the same cause. The Delaware, which is the latitude of Madrid and Naples, is generally frozen over five or six weeks each winter. Even the Potomac becomes so much obstructed by ice that all communication with the Dis- trict of Columbia by this means, is suspended for weeks. Fur- ther north, the mouth of the St. Lawrence is shut up by ice during five months in the year; and Hudson’s Bay, notwithstanding it is in the same latitude as the Baltic Sea, and of thrice the extent, is so much obstructed by ice, even in the summer months, as to be comparatively of little value as a navigable basin. We find, however, even on our northern coast, a climate com- paratively mild. As Nova Scotia is perfectly insular, with the ex- ception of a neck of land eight miles wide, and is so much inter- sected by lakes and bays that nearly one-third of the surface is under water, the mercury seldom rises above 88° in summer, or sinks lower than 6° or 8° below zero in winter. In addition to this, some influence must be exercised by the Gulf Stream, which strikes upon this part of the coast, “in tides of from 60 to 70 feet, overflows the country to the distance of several miles, and con- verts the mouths of streams, fordable at low water, into extensive arms of the sea, where whole fleets may ride at anchor.” The meteorological phenomena of Canada, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Newfoundland, according to the data furnished in the British Army statistics, are in perfect harmony with the laws of climate developed in the United States. The climate of Nova Scotia, from the causes just stated, exhibits a marked con- trast to that of Lower Canada on the same parallels. In New- foundland, the climate is similar to that of Nova Scotia; but the summers, in consequence of the melting of the icebergs on the coast, are less warm, of shorter duration, and subject to more sud- den vicissitudes. In Canada, remote from the Lakes, the climate eds ae Dr. Forry on the Climate of the United States, §c. 31 is of the most excessive character. At Quebec, when walking along the streets, the sleet and snow frequently freeze in striking against the face; and here too the alternations of temperature are so sudden, that the mercury has been known to fall 70° in the course of twelve hours. Cold weather sets in as early as Novem- ber, from the end of which month till May the ground remains covered with snow, to the depth of three or four feet. When the winds blow with violence from the northeast, the cold becomes so excessively intense, that the mercury congealed in the ther- mometer serves no longer to indicate the reduction of temperature. Wine and even ardent spirits become congealed into a spongy mass of ice; and as the cold still augments, there follows conge- lation of the trees, which occasionally burst from this internal ex- pansion, with tremendous noise. During winter, the general range is from the freezing point to 30° below zero. The seasons do not, asin more temperate regions, glide imperceptibly into each other. In June, July, and August, the heat, which often at- tains 95° Fahr., is frequently as oppressive as in the West Indies. On our western coast, the extremely modified climate of the region of Oregon, on a parallel five degrees north of the city of New York, has been already illustrated. During a year’s obser- vations at Fort Vancouver, the lowest point is 17°, and the whole number of days below the freezing point, are only nine, all of which are noted in January. We are told by Mr. Ball, of the State of New York, by whom these observations were made, that he commenced plowing in January of the year 1833. “The vegetables of the preceding season,” he says, ‘‘ were still standing in gardens untouched by the frost. New grass had sprung up sufficiently for excellent pasture. * * * Though the latitude is nearly that of Montreal, mowing and curing hay are unnecessary, for cattle graze on fresh-growing grass through the winter. * * * Winters on the Columbia River are remarkably mild, there being no snow, and the river being obstructed by ice but a few days during the first part of January. Grass remained in sufficient per- fection to afford good feed ; and garden vegetables, such as tur- nips and carrots, were not destroyed, but no trees blossomed till March, except willow, alders, etc.” 2. Middle division.—This division comprises two general sys- tems of climates, which bear, in some degree, the same meteoro- logical relation to each other as the modified climate of the great 32 Dr. Forry on the Climate of the United States, §c. lakes and the coast of New England does to that of the third class of the same division. ‘The posts furnishing the meteorological data of the Middle division are the following :—Fort Mifflin, near Philadelphia, Washington City, Jefferson Barracks, near St. Lou- is, Fort Monroe or Old Point Comfort, in Virginia, Fort Gibson, in Arkansas, Fort Johnston on the coast of North Carolina, Au- gusta Arsenal, Georgia, Fort Moultrie, Charleston Harbor, and Fort Jesup, near Sabine River, Louisiana. 'The laws of climate devel- oped in the preceding division, do not find so happy an illustra- tion in this one; for-as the physical causes act less prominently, the effects are less marked. ‘These posts cannot be happily ar- ranged into the two classes of uniform and excessive climes, as the majority of them are of a mixed character. Fort Mifflin and Washington City do not properly pertain to either class, being in a measure under the influence of the Atlantic, while the south- western stations experience the powerful agency of the Gulf of Mexico. As we proceed south, the seasons become, asa general rule, more uniform in proportion as the mean annual temperature increases. Although the thermometrical results given at Wash- ington City, fairly place it in the class of excessive climates, yet on following the same parallel westward, a still greater contrast in the seasons is exhibited. ‘Thus the difference between the mean temperature of winter and summer at Jefferson Barracks, notwithstanding it is about half a degree further south than Wash- ington City, is L°-80 greater; and on comparing Fort Gibson, Ar- kansas, with Fort Monroe on the coast of Virginia, though the latter is 1° 15’ north of the former, the difference at Fort Gibson, in the same respect, is 39°69 greater. Fort Johnston, on the coast of North Carolina, which is 0° 32/ north of Augusta Arsenal, Geor- gia, also exhibits a less extreme in the opposite seasons. Fort Mifflin, near Philadelphia, shows a greater contrast in the opposite seasons, (so all-powerful is the equalizing influence of large bod- ies of water,) than any one of the following posts, all being from two to seven degrees farther north, viz. Brady, Sullivan, Preble, Niagara, West Point, Constitution, Wolcott, and Trumbull; and Washington City exhibits greater extremes than the three last named. The general laws in reference to the difference between the mean temperature of winter and spring, already revealed in the Northern division, are here confirmed. Jefferson Barracks shows eT. bd hath ae Silver. 8% Mercury. Q Copper. gf Iron. OE ithe hk Lead. c. containing. Fixtracted from the Journal Book of the Royal Society, Vol. XV, p. A451 to 487. June 27, 1734. Mr. Winthrop presented several curiosities from New England, as contained in the following list, which being read he had the thanks of the Society. ‘These curiosities are a part of a large col- lection shewn at several meetings during the subsequent winter, and the whole catalogue to which these numbers refer, is entered after the minutes of the day. , Quadrupeds. 1. Omitted. Serpents. 2. Fel Serpentio caudisoni. Four grains for a dose, cure all sorts of fevers and agues, taken in a spoonful of spring water. The gall liquid is preserved for use, by dropping it on the fine powder of chalk. Fish. 3. The fins of the dog-fish of the size of a dog, with four short legs, and the tail like a fish. °Tis a sort of seal. 4. Stones out of the head of a codfish; which powdered are given for the strangury and gravel. Shells. 7. A-sort of Nerites, which never grow larger. The Indians boil them and make strengthening broth of them. 9. A larger sort of Nerites; one with very small Balam growing upon it. 14, Buccinum nostro productione, with a chain of their ovaries, which are sometimes twenty or thirty yards long. ‘i * The Nos. which are omitted are all given in the manuscript, but the entries are so entirely unimportant that we have stricken them out, as we found that by retaining them we should swell the article to an inconvenient length; they are ,of this description, e. g— No, 12. Small Buccina,” and the like.—Eps. 284 Ancient Catalogue of Objects of Natural History. 15. A piece of the shell of the Poquahauges, a rare shell-fish, and a dainty food with the Indians. The flesh eats like veal; the English make pyes thereof; and of the shell the Indians make money. This piece is worth two pence. 16, 17, 18, 19, 20. The same, of different values. They are call- ed Wampampeege. 21. Young Poquahauges, Pectunculus fasciatus. 22. The wreaths of the Buccinum, of which the indie make their money or white Wampampeege. 28. Clams, white. Their broth is most excellent in all imtermitting fevers, consumptions, &c. These clams feed only on sand. 29. A very curious sort of gold-coloured pearl shells on the sea-coast near the shore. Those with marks are such as have born pearls ; which powdered make the best testaceous powder in the world. 30. Unripe pearls, which in time would have become (31). 31. Bright pearls, which are produced in the same shells (80). 32. Some of the larger sea pearl shells, which are often found in deeper waters three times as large, and bear larger pearls. N. B. Almost all the lakes, ponds, and brooks, contain a large fresh« water clam, which also bears pearls. The Indians say they have no pearls in them at certain seasons: but at the season when they grow milky, the pearls are digested in them, which causes their milkyness. 33. Shells of the razor-fish, (Solares,) which calcined the Indians mix with bear’s grease, and therewith cure the piles. They drink the water, in which they are boiled together with the powder of the shells. Insects. 34. Moths. A fine large butterfly with velvet wings, furbelow’d, and eyes on them like the rounds on peacock’s feathers. Vegetables. 36. Some red cedar wood rotten, from the middle of a post, which was sound on the outside; which shows that the common opinion that cedar never rots is false. 38. Touch-wood; being the bark of the red oak. ‘The Indians kin- dle fire with it, by striking two flints together. 40. A sort of Sena from Elizabetha Island, New England. It dies an excellent black, and grows in great plenty. Prinos glaber. 41. Leaves of a plumb, which grows in swampy ground. It is an evergreen, that dyes an exceeding fine shining black :_ and it surpasses Sena. 42. An evergreen, with which the Indians cure the dropsy and stran- gury, boiling the leaves and small branches in spring water, when they are sick, and drink it in fevers. It grows plentifully in the country, and bears aspicy red berry, which the turtle-doves and partridges eat. Ancient Catalogue of Objects of Natural History. 285 43. Roots of the sassafras tree, which the Indians boil and drink in fevers. 44, A root called by the Indians dram-root ; because it warms their stomach like a dram. 45. Bloody root, (Sanguinaria.) It grows on the banks of Quine- baug River. The juice is like blood. The Indians use it in consump- tions and fevers, to cure the bite of the rattlesnake, the bloody flux, &c. 46. Sunkucesowange, a root, with which the Indians cure cancers in the breast. 47. Squianange, a root, with which the Indians cure consumptions. 49. Mountain roots from Connecticut. The Indians chew them to expell wind. 50. Myrtle berries, of which are made candles and soap. (Myrica.) 51. One of the candles and pieces of the soap (of 49). 53. Indian beans bearing very long pods. 54. Pods, seeds, and silk of the silk-grass. It grows every where in North America, and in New England. The poorer sort of people make beds of it. Fine hatts, &c. may be made thereof. (Asclepias.) 55. The wool and seed of one sort of snake-weed, which grows al- most every where in New England. It bears a purple red flower like the columbine. After the leaves of the flower fall off, it shoots out into long buttons at the top, which in autumn open, and contain this wool. The Indians cure the bite of the rattlesnake with the root, and stop bleeding with the wool. 56. Nutts from their resemblance called negro-heads, which grow on trees in Bermudas and Barbadoes. 58. Beach plum-stones, which never grow higher than the knee on the barren sand-beach. It is a very pleasant fruit. ‘59. A sort of Agaric, which the Indians use as touch-wood, and burn a small place with it behind their ear upon the vein, and say they never have the toothache afterwards on that side. 62. A sort of indigo made out of the wild indigo wood, which grows all over New England. The juice of this plant rubbed on horses, &c. keeps the flies from stinging them. Fossils. 64. Fragments of shells dug up thirty feet deep in making a well three miles from the sea: great quantities of other shells were found in the same place. No water was found. 65. A piece of red cedar petrified in a short time. Earths, Clays, §§c. 70. A grey whitish earth with red streaks, containing cinnabar or & ? 71. A reddish grey earth, a leader to cinnabar ? Vol. xtvu, No. 2.—July-Sept. 1844. 37 286 Ancient Catalogue of Objects of Natural History. 72. A flesh-coloured earth from the Gay-head, where are divers col- oured ochres. 73. A light red earth, wherewith the Indians paint their faces when they go to war: from the Indians from the inland parts. 74. A reddish earth from Quinipiack, used internally for bruises. 75. A red earth (containing iron?) with which the Indians paint themselves. They bring it a month’s travel up the country. 80. Earth that will swim, from Connecticut River, near Thirty Mile Island. : [Nos. '76 to '79 and 81 to 91 are only different colored clays, mostly from “ the inland parts.” ] Soft Stones. 92. A grey sandstone, like grindstone, not far from where the natu- ral whetstone are found. 97. Dark reddish stones with black talc, from Newayunck near the sea. Slates. 100. A slate which the Indians scrape into water and drink, when they have received any bruise. 101. A silver-coloured slate, which calcined is of a fine gold colour. 104. A sort of blew slate, containing alum, from the inland parts. 107. A fissile stone with mica, which burnt looks like €. Another sort of it resembles ©. 109. A bright shining flakey mineral like burnished steel, from the woods at 'Tantinsquese. 115. A soft flakey greasy stone from Point Juda. Marble and harder Stones. 116. Two sorts of whitish grey marble, from the uplands. 117. White stones of the marble kind, near the Massachusetts. 118. A stone used in building, containing granates from Connecticut Island in Naraganset Bay. 128. A blewish stone coated with a greyish green, the sides parallel, from the uplands. 140. Heavy brown glittering stone between Wachuset Hill and Con- necticut. 143. A black stone with specks of Marcasite, from Tantinsquese. 144. Fragments of black, greenish and white stones, brought by the Indians from the uplands. Pebbles. 145. Round pebbles, like No. 149, from near the same place, but where they are all of this form. When polished they are transparent as crystal. Ancient Catalogue of Objects of Natural History. 287 149. Oblong white pebbles, with an amethyst line, from the beach on Fisher’s Island: where they are all of this form. 150. Blew and white flat pebbles, from a spring, where there is a quantity of them. 151. Reddish irregular pebbles, from an iron-spring, where all the stones are of the same sort for a good way where the water flows. 153. Reddish bowlder stones, of which consists a great hill in the upland parts. 155. Small irregular stones, which compose a small beach at the southwest corner of Long Island. Alumen plumosum, ( Asbestos.) 158. The stone, between which the Alumen plumosum is found. It makes the best furnaces that can be, bearing the fire beyond any thing known. It is found near Plainfield, on Quinebauge River, and also in several other parts of the country. (See No. 159.) 159. Alumen plumosum. The stone (No. 158) where this is found, makes the best furnaces in the world. It will endure the strongest fires, Talc. 165. A gold talc, taken up in a swamp, where it is in great plenty. [ Nos. 166 to 181 all the same—* gold, silver, and blewish talc.” Spars. 182. White spar from the top of a very high hill in the uplands. 184. A white spar, as it is found upona small beach in a fresh-water pond up the country. 185. White spar, with black gritt, containing steel; near Colchester. 191. A flesh-coloured spar, a leader to richer oars. 196. Spar with a blewish stone adhering, from the high cliffs of Sandwich beach. 207. Fragments of dark reddish and black spars, from Clam-Pudding Pond, in Plymouth colony. 210. Flakes of an odd sort of spar. 211. Shining spar, found in great engy in the place it comes from in the uplands. 212. Spar from near the Spar-hill. 216. Stone composed of different coloured small grains of spar, with mica intermixt, leaders to ores. 218. Spar, a leader to ?/. 219. A white spar with flakes of pyrites, a leader to 2/ and kh, from Poquanock. 220. White spar, a leader to kh. 221. Crystal spars from the bottom of a well of fine water. 288 Ancient Catalogue of Objects of Natural History. Ludus. 225. A Ludus like that of Paracolono, and doubtless equal to it, and as good. Regular Stones. 226. Mineral Bozoars, from the uplands. 227. Clay generated in the form of horse shoes, from the bottom of Connecticut River. (Doubtless clay-stones.—EDs. ) 228. Otites from Martha’s Vineyard. 229. A sort of Otites. (Probably fossil shells.) 230. Several pieces of eagle stones. Precious Stones. 231. Large granates, as big as nutmegs, c. © and ¢. 232. Several sorts of granates, and a piece of —_ with some gra- nates in it, c. ©. Crystals. 234. Pieces of crystal, from an entire hill of it in the inland parts. 236. Yellow crystals in pomied squares, from the high white rock called Lanthorn Hill. Sand. 237. Amethyst sand flung up by the waters of a spring near Nau- meaug, three miles from the beach, where a large quantity of the same sort is found. 238. Amethyst sand, from the beach near Pequott, below the har- bour’s mouth, containing gold. 246. A white gritty sand from the side of a large fresh-water pond, used by the English to whet their sythes with it. _[Nos. 239 to 245 and 247 to 257, white, gray, brown and black sands. | Salts. 258. A sort of nitric earth of a darkish colour, with mineral sparkles in it, brought by young Hyams, the sachem’s son, from Shawshawnitte- wange. 259. Alum stone, up in the country. 260. A vitriolic earth. Sulphurs, §c. 262. Sulphur from the inland parts near the great high mountain, Monadnuck. It is apprehended that hereafter, by some accident or other a volcano will break out thereabouts. There is 9 earth in many other places of the country, the effects of which may have been the cause of several earthquakes which have happened there. 263. Coal from a swamp’s side. 264. A sort of jet or coal from the side of a swamp. Ancient Catalogue of Objects of Natural History. 289 Ores of Metals. = 2 x 267. Copper ore, from Nyamesis, near Merimancke River, thirty miles from Boston. 268. A copper ore, green and shining. Ei 274. A rich iron ore from Pettiquamscutt. 275. Iron ore from near Providence, called bogg ore. 276. A sort of hematites from the upper lands above New Haven. 277. Loadstone from near Acqunck. 278. A bright natural steel ore, very magnetic. 280. Steel ore from near Tantinsquese. 286. A brownish, flakey iron ore, from the banks of Hartford riv- ulet. 289. A dark iron stone resembling /Mtites. 293. Small smooth stones like vetches, from the bottom of Merimanke Biver.c.,\@\. 295. A gold tale, c. ¢, from Connecticut. 303. A greenish and black stone, c. ¢ and 2/. 304. A mineral sand from Concord, in New England, c. g and 2. 306. Tin ore near Lyme. [ Nos. 307 to 318 are only sand and spar c. 2/.] h, &c. 319. Fine lead from the upland parts. 320. Fine black lead c. 1 of €, from Tantinsquese ; which makes fine furnaces and crucibles. 321. Spar, in which the black lead grows. 323. A sort of bismuth, from Hudson’s River above New York. Marcasites, (Pyrites.) 327. Fragments of greenish sulphureous marcasite, from Mount Tom and Holyoke, each side Connecticut River. 329. A rich marcasite of C. 330. A marcasite of 9, near Mendum. 331. Cubic mareasites c. C. 333. Marcasites from among the black lead, from Tantinsquese. N. B. One sort of pyrites always relents in moist air. 340. Pyrites c. 9, from Acqunck-hill. 345. Black and white speckled metallic stones, from a pond’s side in Fisher’s Island. 290 Meteorological Register at Rio Janeiro for 1832-43. 348. A black mineral, very heavy, from the inland parts of the country. (Is this the Columbite ?*) 351. A black mineral resembling burnt wood. Artificial things. 352. A bundle of Indian candles, or splinters of pitch-tree. 353. Alba mater. Additions to the preceding Catalogue. 354. Shawshaws, ashell. Pectunculus fasciatus. 364. A piece of pewter half melted by lightning, and a piece of the shelf it stood on, half shattered but not burnt, with a Belemnites found two feet deep in the ground underneath. The earth was black round the hole, and had a strong sulphureous smell. And the smoke continu- ed half an hour after in the room, though nothing was set on fire. Art. VI.—Abstract of a Meteorological Register for 1832-43, kept at Rio de Janeiro; by Joun Garpner, Esq.—(Commu- nicated by I. W. Anprews, Professor of Mathematics and Nat- ural Philosophy in Marietta College, Ohio.) Durine a recent short sojourn at Rio de Janeiro, I received from Mr. Gardner, an intelligent merchant of that city, an abstract of a register which he has kept for the last thirteen years. Although limited to a single daily observation of the thermometer, and the general state of the weather, yet I have thought it worthy of pre- servation in a permanent form, and with that view forward it for insertion in the American Journal. 'The thermometer was ob- served each day at 12 o’clock. Its location was in the second story, within the room, but close by an open window. The tem- perature I should judge to be but little different from that of the external air, in a place protected from direct and reflected heat. * It has been supposed that the original specimen on which Mr. Hatchett made the discovery of columbic acid was sent in this invoice, and that some hint as to the locality from whence it came might be had; but we find no other entry than this which corresponds at all with what Mr. Hatchett says, which is— Upon referring to Sir Hans Sloan’s catalogue, I found that this specimen was only de- scribed as ‘a very heavy black stone with golden streaks,’ which proved to be yellow mica; and it appeared that it had been sent with various specimens of iron ores to Sir Hans Sloane, by Mr. Winthrop of Massachusetts. The name of the mine or place where it was found is also noted in the catalogue ; the writing however is scarcely legible—it appears to be an Indian name, (Nautneauge.)” We must therefore rest content probably in ignorance of the exact locality of that interesting specimen ; although mineralogists have, on what evidence does not appear, considered New London as the locality.—Eps. dt 291 Meteorological Register at Rio Janeiro for 1832-43. MonrTHs. Jan’y, |83°1/82-5|83°5 \Feb’y, |85°2'87-0/84:0 March, |81°4\83:3/81°3 April, |76°3)80-7/78'3 May, |73°5)74:3)77-5 June, /73°3)'73:3/70-0 July, |72:0/72:2)/73:5 August, '73°5)76:0/72°7 Sept’r, |75:0/78-3)76°7 Octob’r, 75:6)79°0|75'3 Noy’r, |78:0|83:0'76:0 Dee’r, |80-0\84:0|80'7 Av’age,|77:2|79'5|77'3 MEAN TEMPERATURE AT NOON. 82:0 84:7 (78:5 76°3 73°6 71:3 74:0 75:0 72°4 76:0 ere 789 76:7 1832.| 1833,| 1834.) 1835.} 1836.) 1837, 83:5 82-0 85:2'79'8 82°7'78-6 156 15°5 71-1.73:5 70-8, 68-0 74:3,70°0; 15'8'712'5 72°1'74-1) 75:0'77-0 16°3'77-0 79-9,78:0 76° 8755 .| 1839. 80:6 76:0 1840.| 1841. 84-7 81:3 718-8 843.840 82:2'79-5 7'7-9 80-5 76:2,74°5, 72°4/71- 71-5713 72-9 777 77-0 1842,| 1843. t Aver- age. Mean of lowest Mean number of fair days. range. rainy days. 83.6868 80:0.77-6 45-1783 ai5:3'71'1 74:3 68-9 13°3,74-5) 71:4°76°6 77-5781 78:3 78:1 | | ‘4.82°8 @ iMean of highes ol range. 88°3 86°9 17:8 82:7 74:5'78°9 71°7/76°1 12°8)75°7 84:0 '73°0'78°8 74:9'80'3 ‘7'76-0,77-0,'76'5 83:6 778) 80-3 82:0 80-686'9 85:1 80-6869 77-2826 76-0/19.5 78:220°5 7161120-9 72:9119-3 70:2.20°1 68:122'1 67-622-6 66-8222 70:0)19°1 70:8119:3 72-9117-3 715-3118-8 721:20°1 . |Mean number of (=p) <2) © = Mean number of Or oD cloudy days. 4-50 5: 50) 5:25 57D 4-17 3:83 3°16 4°58 5905 5°83, 3:83 4°58 4°66.4:17 9915 5:00 5°75 5:92 6'16,6:58 4:41)7:83 4:9115°45 ls a YEARS. B = S eee oe 1832, | 227 | 83 | 56 1833, | 276 | 40 | 49 1834, | 285 |59 |'71 1835, | 288 | 52 |'75 1836, | 210 |'79 |'76 1837, | 245 | 60 | 60 1838, | 228 |70 | 67 1839, | 219 | 67 |79 1840, | 231 | 67 | 68 1841, | 256 | 50 | 60 1842, | 258 | 48 | 59 1843, | 273 | 35 | 57 Av’age, '241:359.2 64:8 292 Prof. Hitchcock on Ichnolithology, or Fossil Footmarks. Arr. VII.—Report on Ichnolithology, or Fossil Footmarks, with a Description of several New Species, and the Coprolites of Birds, from the valley of Connecticut River, and of a suppo- sed Footmark from the valley of Hudson River; by Prof. Epwarp Hircucocr, LL. D. of Amherst College. (Read before the Association of American Geologists and Naturalists, at Washing- ton, May 11, 1844.) IcHNOLITHOLOGY, or as it is denominated by Dr. Buckland, Ich- nology, has only recently been admitted as a branch of paleon- tology. It was a great advance upon our previous knowledge, when Cuvier demonstrated experimentally, “that when we find merely the extremity of a well preserved bone, we are able, by a careful examination, assisted by analogy and exact comparison, to determine the species to which it once belonged, as certainly as if we had the entire animal before us.’ But if this principle was, and still is, doubted by some able men, still more sceptical should we expect them to be, and still more sceptical they have actually been, as to the position that we are able to determine the character of an animal from its footmark. Yet this is the funda- mental principle of ichnolithology. Even here however, we find that so far as one tribe of animals are concerned, the saga- cious mind of Cuvier has anticipated this principle. ‘ Any one,” says he, “ who observes merely the print of a cloven hoof, may conclude that it has been left by a ruminant animal, and regard this conclusion as equally certain with any other in physics or morals. Consequently this single footmark clearly indicates to the observer the form of the teeth, of the jaws, of the vertebra, of all the leg bones, thighs, shoulders, and of the trunk of the body of the animal which left the mark. It is much surer than all the marks of Zadig.” It required only to extend this principle to other tribes of animals, to constitute ichnolithology in its pre- sent state. Whether it can be confided in as implicitly in regard to other animals as in regard to the ruminants, is questionable. Nor is it probable that Cuvier, when he wrote the above, had any idea that tracks would ever be found in solid rock sufficiently per- fect to indicate the animal that made them; much less without any other evidence of their existence. The difliculty of con- ceiving how tracks could be petrified, has indeed been with most NT Son eereeaiand WoL, XLVI NOW. PLAY al} t eee 3 isis \ ‘ = , WT Nt VOL, XEVIT IL, PLAVE fy Prof. Hitchcock on Ichnolithology, or Fossil Footmarks. 293 minds the grand objection to their existence. And yet, almost any brick kiln will furnish examples of the perfect preservation of footmarks, rain drops and other impressions made upon the clay in a plastic state, and which has been subsequently indurated by heat. The earliest trustworthy description with which I am acquaint- ed of fossil footmarks, was given by Rev. Dr. Duncan in the eleventh volume of the Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh for 1828. They occur on the new red sandstone of Dumfriesshire, in Scotland, and were made by tortoises. They are figured by Dr. Duncan, and also by Dr. Buckland in his Bridgewater ‘Treatise. In 1831 Mr. G. P. Scrope found numerous small footmarks on the layers of the forest marble north of Bath in England. They are figured in the Journal of the Royal Institution of London for 1831, as well as in Dr. Buckland’s Bridgewater Treatise. They exhibit traces not merely of the claws of the animal, but of his tail or stomach. In 1834 an account was published of tracks upon the new red sandstone of Saxony, near Hildberghausen. The largest tracks were those of an unknown animal, to which the provisional name of Chirotherium was given, from the resemblance of its track to the human hand. The fore foot in some specimens, was eight inches long and five wide, and the hind foot four inches long and three inches wide. They were supposed by Dr. Hohnbaum and Prof. Kaup, who first described them, to have been made by a marsupial animal. But the investigations of Mr. Owen on the gigantic Batrachians of the new red sandstone, render it extreme- ly probable, although not certain, that the Chirotherian tracks were produced by animals of this description. Of one genus of this tribe, the bones of the head, pelvis and scapula have been discovered, and the animal called Labyrinthodon by Mr. Owen, must have been at least as large as an ox. He must have been larger to have made some of the tracks on the Saxon rock, and especially those nine inches long and six inches wide, upon the rocks of England, more recently discovered.* M. Link had early suggested that some of the German tracks were made by gigantic * Specimens of these impressions in the rock are now in the cabinet of Yale College, and also in that of Amherst College. Vol. xtvu, No. 2.—July-Sept. 1844. 38 294 Prof. Hitchcock on Ichnolithology, or Fossil Footmarks. Batrachians. He regards them as having been produced by four species. MS The first account of the fossil footmarks on the new red sand- stone of Connecticut river, was published by me in 1836, in the January number of the American Journal of Science. Seven species only were described, of which five were three-toed, and two species four-toed. ‘I'wo species were pachydactylous, or thick-toed, and five leptodactylous, or narrow-toed, the difference between the two classes being very striking. These tracks were boldly, perhaps rashly denominated Ornithichnites, or stony bird tracks. But when I came to give an account of a much larger number of species, in my Final Report on the Geology of Massa- chusetts, I changed this name to Ornithordichnites, or tracks re- sembling those of birds; and Saurioidichnites, or tracks resem- bling those of Saurians, as more in conformity with the cautious spirit of true science than the former name. My Final Report was published in 1841; and having in the four preceding years devoted much time and attention to the sub- ject of footmarks, I was enabled to describe and figure of the nat- ural size in that work, no less than twenty seven species. At the meeting of the Association of American Geologists at Boston in 1842, I gave an account of five species more, and figures of these, also of the natural size, were given in the first volume of their Transactions. In the present communication I propose to describe four species more, although I shall be obliged to strike two from the previous list, so that the whole number of species which I consider established to the present time, is thirty three. It was to be expected that when it was announced that bird tracks,—some of them four times larger than those made by the ostrich,—existed as low down as the new red sandstone, all geolo- gists would receive the statement with great scepticism. They would not have been true to their principles if they had suffered any thing but the most overwhelming proofs to satisfy them. For no trace of birds had hitherto been found deeper than the Wealden formation. I was well aware, when I first published on the sub- ject, with what incredulity my conclusions would be viewed. To a person not familiar with the details of paleontology, there is not any thing very remarkable in the statement, that birds existed at the period of the new red sandstone, and left their footmarks on its layers; and accordingly, the community in general had only Prof. Hitchcock on Ichnolithology, or Fossil Footmarks. 295 to look at the specimens in order to be satisfied that such was the origin of the tracks in question. Nay, many of these specimens were so striking, that scarcely any observer needed to be told that they were bird tracks. Four out of five, I presume, would draw this conclusion at once. Indeed Ihave sometimes enquired of boys from ten to twelve years of age, when showing them specimens for the first time, what they thought of them; and the usual re- ply has been, ‘‘they are bird tracks, made when the rock was soft.” Accordingly, I have found that whenever these impres- sions have been found in the valley of the Connecticut, and at whatever period, this has been the almost invariable conclusion. In my first account of this subject in the Journal of Science, I stated that “this is the conclusion to which the most common observer comes at once, upon inspecting the specimens. But the geologist should be the last of all men to trust to first impressions” —and it was not till after long and careful investigation, that I felt prepared to maintain this opinon before the scientific public. Among the means by which so general an acquiescence has at last been obtained in this interesting conclusion, was the appoint- ment, by this Association, of a large and able committee to visit the localities. Their candid report was republished in Europe, and undoubtedly carried great weight with it. Another means was the visit of several distinguished foreign geologists to the lo- calities, such as Dr. Daubeny and Mr. Lyell; who, on their re- turn, expressed their adhesion to the views which I had advocated. But the recent discovery of the Dinornis of New Zealand, has probably done more than any thing else, to remove the objections of such men as Richard Owen, Dr. Mantell and Mr. Murchison ; men eminently qualified to judge of the merits of such subjects. The deep interest manifested of late in these footmarks on both sides of the Atlantic, has led to a more minute inquiry as to their original discovery, than was made during the period when more obloquy than honor was connected with the subject. Several individuals have complained to me that I have not, in my printed accounts of the footmarks, mentioned their names, as having discovered them earlier than any whom I have men- tioned. In the newspapers of this country, also in several ar- ticles of the American Journal of Science,* in the London, Ed- * Vol. xxi, p. 241, and Vol. xv, pp. 179 and 185, 296 Prof. Hitchcock on Ichnolithology, or Fossil Footmarks. inburgh and Dublin Philosophical Magazine,* in Mr. Murchison’s. Anniversary Address for 1843, before the London Geological So- ciety,t and in the Proceedings of that Society, which are copied into most of the scientific journals of Europe, representations have been made which I feel bound to notice, because they con- vey wrong impressions, and, unintentionally I doubt not, do me injustice, and moreover imply injustice on my part towards oth- ers. It is there stated, that Dr. James Deane not only originally discovered but explored these footmarks; ‘‘expressing then his own belief, from what he saw in existing nature, that the foot- marks were made by birds,” and that when he communicated the discovery to Professor Silliman and myself, both of us ‘ad- mitted the plausibility of his statements, yet remained incredu- lous as to inferences, ascribing the origin of these remains to accidental causes; and it was only after accurate models were transmitted to them, that the real truth was obvious.” Now such statements, made in almost every instance by those whom, up to this hour, I have the honor to regard as my friends, certainly convey the impression, that when I commenced the study of footmarks, the subject had been so far investigated by Dr. Deane, that he was able, on scientific grounds, to form the grand conclusion that they were the tracks of birds; nay, that my scepticism was overcome by his efforts. If all this be true, then I have not given him the credit which he deserves, in my accounts of the footmarks. In my first paper on the subject, [ say, that ‘my attention was first called to the subject by Dr. James Deane of Greenfield, who sent me some casts of impres- sions on a red micaceous sandstone, brought from the south part of Montague for flagging stones. ‘Through the liberality of the same gentleman, | soon after obtained the specimens themselves, (which I then describe as containing impressions,) precisely re- sembling the impressions of the feet of birds. Indeed, among the hundreds who have examined these specimens, probably no one doubts that such was their origin.”” Ia my Report on the Geology of Massachusetts I added nothing more, except to attach Dr. Deane’s name to a beautiful species. In order to do justice to all concerned, I feel myself vagal to give a brief statement of the facts connected with the discovery * Vol. xxi, p. 186. t P. 107. Prof. Hitchcock on Ichnolithology, or Fossil Footmarks. 297 and investigation of these footmarks. I do this with great re- luctance, not only because it is difficult to speak of one’s own la- bors unexceptionably, but especially because I shall be brought into some apparent collision with Dr. Deane, between whom and myself there has existed to this time an uninterrupted friendship. But really I do not see how I can do justice to myself or to oth- ers, without detailing the facts; and I cannot believe that any reasonable man will complain, if the facts are carefully stated. About the year 1802, (possibly a year earlier or later,) Mr. Pliny Moody of South Hadley, in Massachusetts, then a boy, turned up with a plough upon his father’s farm in that place, a stone, containing in relief five tracks of the Ornithoidichnites fu- licoides, (see Plate 48, fig. 55 of my Final Report ;) and it was put down as_a door-step, because it contained tracks, and the neighbors used facetiously to remark to Mr. Moody, that he must have heavy poultry that could make such tracks on stone. After Mr. Moody (junior) had left home for school or college, Dr. Elihu Dwight of South Hadley purchased this stone, because it con- tained these tracks. It was retained by him nearly thirty years, when I purchased it for my cabinet, I think in 1839. Dr. Dwight used pleasantly to remark to his visitors, that these were probably the tracks of Noah’s raven. In 1834, some gentlemen in Greenfield united their contribu- tions to obtain flagging-stones for one of their streets. Mr. Wil- liam Wilson was the agent who procured them; and when they were brought from the quarry in Montague, in the spring of 1835, he noticed very distinct tracks upon them, which he referred to “the turkey tribe,” though destitute of the hind toe. He pointed them out to several of his neighbors, among whom was Dr. Deane, as he thinks ; though he does not claim having suggested to him that they were made by ‘the turkey tribe.” That idea was doubtless original with both, as it seems to have been with others in different parts of the valley, and originated in a sort of resemblance—not very close indeed—between these tracks and the foot of a turkey; although of course no geologist would en- tertain such an opinion, since he knows that our present animals did not exist in the red sandstone days. It was about the same time that Dr. Deane called my attention to the subject in the fol- lowing letter, dated March 7, 1835. 298 Prof. Hitchcock on Ichnolithology, or Fossil Footmarks. “Jn the slabs of sandstone from Connecticut river in Montague or Sunderland, lately brought here, 1 have obtained singular ap- pearances, new to me, although I presume not to yourself. One of them is distinctly marked with the tracks of a turkey (as-I be- lieve) in relief. ‘There were two of the birds side by rine ma- king strides of about two feet.” “T was anxious to see the die from which these mapas were struck, and it has now arrived. The tracks, four in num- ber, are perfect, and must have been made when the materials were in a plastic state, and at what period [ leave you to tell. I am no geologist, but yet know that geologists derive much satis- faction from contemplating these remains. I do not know but they may be familiar to you; but if you desire it, I will endeavor to prevent their being converted to the use for which they were brought here.” My answer, bearing date March 15th, was as follows: “Tt would be a most interesting fact, if the suggestions you make as to the impressions on sandstone, should prove true. For I recollect but a single similar fact in geology, and that is the tracks of a tortoise on the sandstone of Scotland, described in the American Journal of Science a few years ago. JI am not without strong suspicion, however, that the case you mention may be a very peculiar structure of certain spots in the sandstone, which I have often seen in a red variety of that rock. The layers of rock having this structure, sometimes present an appearance resem- bling the foot of a’bird. But Iam satisfied that it is not the result of organization, though I confess myself unable to say pre- cisely from what principle it has resulted. But perhaps the case you mention is not of this sort, and J should be quite glad to see the speciraens ; if you can prevent their being defaced for a month or two, until I shall visit Greenfield, I shall be much obliged to you.” The peculiar structure of the sandstone in some places, re- ferred to in the above letter, still remains to me inexplicable. A specimen of it may be seen in the Massachusetts State Collec- tion, No. 1793. This letter was written before Dr. Deane had sent me a cast of the tracks. And hence my scepticism, since I had repeatedly known a peculiarity of structure in rocks to be mistaken for tracks. Prof. Hitchcock on Ichnolithology, or Fossil Footmarks. 299 On the 20th of March, Dr. Deane replied to my letters, re- peating his belief that these marks were “the real impressions of the feet of some bird, probably of the turkey species ;” and stated that the tracks were in a row, and that the layers of rock were bent downward beneath them. In support of this opinion, soon after he sent me a cast of the tracks, with a reiteration of the same views. Ere long I visited Greenfield, and as soon as I saw the impressions, I perceived that an interesting field of research was opened before me. 'They certainly appeared to be tracks; and bore a striking resemblance to those of large Gralle, or wading birds. But I knew that such opinions were opposed by very strong geological analogies; and I suspended my judg- ment until I could investigate the matter. It would not answer to rest so important conclusions upon a single specimen, however distinct: for I had too often found that first impressions in geolo- gy were fallacious. Dr. Deane had, indeed, expressed his opin- ion that they were bird tracks. But as he had declared himself in his letter unacquainted with geology, and had even referred the tracks to birds similar to those now living, showing thus that he did not appreciate the strong geological objections to his opinions, and since also his reasons for his opinions were only such as a cas- ual inspection of the specimens would force upon every one, viz. the indentations made by the tracks, their general resemblance to the feet of birds, and their existence in a row—facts which I afterwards found produced the same convictions upon almost all who saw them—I confess, without meaning to detract at all from the high respect I entertain for Dr. Deane, that his opinion made no impression upon me. I took hold of this ques- tion, therefore, not as one already settled, but as one requiring the most careful examination to decide. I visited every accessi- ble sandstone quarry, and soon brought to light several other species of tracks; among which were those enormous ones, which I have called giganteus and tmgens—the former four times larger than the track of an ostrich. I also sought for the tracks of living animals upon mud and snow, and for their feet in menageries and museums. And this work was commenced alone, and for years has been continued alone. Who, indeed, could give me any instruction in the science of tracks? In what volume is it contained? In the volume of nature only; and ' i: 300 Prof. Hitchcock on Ichnolithology, or Fossil Footmarks. there have I been obliged to eke it out as well as I could. A large part of several years has been devoted to this work. If in any thing I can lay claim to originality and original discovery, it is here. Dr. Deane, Dr. Barratt, Col. John Wilson, Col. David Bryant, N. P. Ames, Esq. and Prof. Henry Hanmer, have, indeed, very kindly sent me interesting specimens, several of them new; and Dr. Barratt gave the name to one species; but the rest have all been described by me, and most of them dis- covered by me, inno less than sixteen quarries scattered through the valley of the Connecticut. Yet the labor of these investigations has not been the most trying part of the work. I had advanced opinions that seemed to most geologists improbable and extravagant; and the same incredulity could not but be extended to all my scientific efforts. He only who has been obliged to sustain an unpopular cause for years, and has felt the misgivings and heart-sickness of such a state, can appreciate my sufferings from this cause, during the long conflict. It cannot, therefore, be thought strange, that T should manifest a lively sensibility to any statements that seem to me to detract from my just claims on this subject.* It seems to me from this full view of the case, that I may re- gard the following positions as established. 1. If to find the footmarks, and to form and express the opin- ion that they were made by birds, constitute their original dis- covery, then Mr. Moody and Dr. Dwight of South Hadley can fairly lay claim to it earlier than any others. 2. If to prove by long and laborious investigations, what is the true nature of these impressions, may properly be regarded as their discovery, in the sense in which that term is understood by scientific men, then I may lay claim to it—since the only help which I have received in these researches has been in the communication of specimens. In a popular sense, indeed, he who first finds a specimen in natural history, may be called the original discoverer; and in this sense I have always spoken of Dr. Deane, Mr. Moody, and Mr. Wilson, as original discoverers. * Prof. Silliman from the very first decidedly sustained my views, and they were fully adopted afterwards by Prof. Buckland in his Bridgewater Treatise, Had I not received the support of these gentlemen, it seems to me that I must have giv- en up the contest in despair. " Prof. Hitchcock on Ichnolithology, or Fossil Footmarks. 301 But up to the time of the publication of my Final Report, which contains the fullest account of these footmarks, I am sure that no other person but myself had attempted to examine them as a matter of science. 3. While we must admit that Mr. Moody, Dr. Dwight, and- Mr. Wilson, were original discoverers of the footmarks, much higher credit is due to Dr. Deane. He did not content himself with speaking of them as objects of curiosity, but took measures to bring them under the notice of those whose professional busi- ness it was to examine such objects, and even took casts of them. Nor did his interest in them ever diminish; and though he modestly styled himself ‘no geologist,” yet such a descrip- tion would by no means apply to him at a subsequent date; and the Transactions of this Association, as well as the pages of the American Journal of Science, show, that within a few years past, he has actively explored and described several interesting cases of footmarks. And furthermore, I entirely acquit him, and indeed all others, of doing me any intentional injustice in this matter—as I trust they will acquit me of a desire to claim more than is my due. At any rate, the facts, as I understand them, are now before geologists, and to their decision I hope cheerfully to submit. From this long and unpleasant digression, I return to the his- tory of Ichnolithology, since the discovery of footmarks in Mas- sachusetts and Connecticut. I ought to remark, that although the account of the footmarks of this country was not published as early as that of the Saxon Chirotheria, yet no account of the latter had reached this coun- try till my paper was in press. Their almost simultaneous dis- covery on both continents turned the attention of geologists to the subject, and, as was to be expected, many new cases have since been brought to light. In the summer of 1838, tracks of Chirotheria, tortoises, and Saurian reptiles, were discovered in the new red sandstone of Storeton Hill, near Liverpool, in England. Another species of Chirotherium was found near Tarpoly, and in all, five or six species of smaller reptiles occur in the English quarries. In 1840, tracks of “amphibious quadrupeds, probably allied to crocodiles, monitors, or other Saurians,” were found in a quarry Vol. xtvi1, No. 2.—July-Sept. 1844. . 39 302 Prof. Hitchcock on Ichnolithology, or Fossil Footmarks. in the city of Liverpool.* In 1839, Dr. O. Ward described foot prints and rain drops on the new red sandstone of Grinshill Hill, in Shropshire. ‘These have only three toes armed with claws, and seem to correspond to those in the valley of Connecticut ‘River.t In 1842, Mr. Hawkshaw described tracks in the same rock at Lymm, in Cheshire. They were those of the Chirothe- rium, of Crustaceans, and others “resembling the feet of birds.” Some of them show the impressions of the papille of the feet of the animal—a fact. noticed in my Final Report as occurring in one specimen of the Ornithoidichnites from Wethersfield in this country.t In Professors Leonhard and Bronn’s Journal of Mineralogy, Geology, &c. for 1839, Dr. Cotta has described some singular footmarks in new red sandstone, some twenty or thirty miles from Leipsic, in Saxony. They are two toed, or rather some- what like a horse-shoe. He did not find them in succession, and yet seems quite confident that they are tracks. He found them only in relief, and I cannot but have a suspicion that they are concretions, as I have met with some of this kind, which, when considerably weathered, bore a strong resemblance to a horse-shoe. It is hazardous, however, on such a subject, to risk an opinion without having seen a specimen. And they seem, moreover, to be recognized as tracks by M. Feldman, who has lately described a smaller species of the same kind near Jena, in connection with tracks of Chirotheria and ‘numerous tridigita- ted imprints, disposed parallel to one another.”$ In Dr. Buckland’s anniversary address before the London Ge- ological Society, for 1841, we find an account of the tracks of deer and large oxen upon mud, beneath a bed of peat in Pembray, in Pembrokeshire, and to the east of Neath. This fact supplies an important link in the evidence by which the reality of fossil footmarks is proved. For here we are certain that tracks have been preserved upon unconsolidated mud for centuries, and we know that this mud needs only to be hardened to become rock with footmarks. * Rep. of British Association for 1840, p. 99. t Ibid. for 1839, p. 75. + Ibid. for 1842, p. 57. § Geologist for January, 1843, p. 18. Prof. Hitchcock on Ichnolithology, or Fossil Footmarks. 303 Before the London Geological Society in November, 1842, Mr. H. E. Strickland gave an account of certain impressions upon the lias bone bed in Gloucestershire, which, in his opinion, were made by fish, or invertebrate animals. The straight grooves and small pits, he thinks, may have been formed by fish,. striking against the bottom, or probing the mud for food with its nose. The curved grooves he refers to an acephalous mol- lusk, the Pudlustra arenicola, and certain tortuous tracks to an- nelidous worms.* in June, 1843, Dr. Buckland gave an account before the Lon- don Geological Society of certain ‘ Ichthyopodolites, or petrified trackways of ambulatory fishes upon sandstone of the coal for- mation,” in Flintshire, England. They consist of curvilinear scratches disposed symmetrically at regular intervals on each side of a level space about two inches wide, which in his opinion may represent the body of a fish, to the pectoral rays of which animal he attributes the scratches. They follow one another in nearly equidistant rows of three scratches in a row, and at inter- vals of about two inches from the point of each individual scratch to the points of those next succeeding and preceding it. In this country two new localities of tracks have been dis- covered of late, which are of no small interest. In rocks of the carboniferous series in Nova Scotia, Mr. Logan has found tracks of areptile of unknown species. This is the first example, I believe, of tracks below the new red sandstone; and, indeed, I am not aware that we have had any previous evidence of the existence of reptiles as low as the carboniferous group. Our associate, W. C. Redfield, Esq., has during the last year discovered the Ornithoidichnites tuberosus in the new red sand- stone of New Jersey, in connection with fossil fish. The speci- men which he showed me is of the most decided character, and inspires the hope that other developments in regard to tracks may be expected from the red sandstone series extending through New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, and North Car- olina.$ * Lond. Ed. and Dub. Phil. Mag. for Jan. 1844, Supplement, p. 531. + Philos. Mag. for March, 1844, p. 230. ¢{ Am. Journal of Science, Vol. xtv, p. 358. § Ibid. Vol. xtv, p. 134. > hal cd Swe ma 304 Prof. Hitchcock on Ichnolithology, or Fossil Footmarks. Another of our associates, Dr. David Dale Owen, has recently shown most conclusively, that the supposed human footsteps on the limestone of the Mississippi valley, are of artificial origin. This was a demonstration greatly needed; since some distin- guished transatlantic geologists were inclined to regard them as the veritable footsteps of men, coeval with the rock that contains them, although I am not aware that that opinion was ever adopted in this country. Having thus brought up the history of ichnolithology to the present time, so far as I know it, I proceed to detail some new facts that have fallen under my notice since the last meeting of this Association, in relation to the footmarks of this country. And first, I shall describe a few new species that have been found on the sandstone of Connecticut River. The first is a large species of Ornithoidichnites, occurring upon the hard impure limestone of Chicopee Falls in Springfield, along with the Sauroidichnites polemarchius, minttans, and others. It will be seen in the sequel, that some interesting facts are associa- ted with this track. I dedicate it tomy friend, William C. Red- field, Esq., the successful investigator of our fossil ichthyology, and ingenious expounder of the world’s meteorology. DESCRIPTION. Ornithoidichnites Redfieldit. 'Toes three, all pointing forward, spreading 70° ; leptodactylous, yet having claws from an inch to an inch and a half long; length of the middle toe and of the foot, thirteen and a half inches; length of the step, thirty inches. Shown (of one fourth the natural size) on fig. 1.* Although I have seen several tracks of this species, I have found only one example of them in succession, and therefore the length of the step may not be given very accurately above. This is the first example in which I have found claws upon a narrow-toed or leptodactylous track. And in this case the claws do not appear upon the surface where the animal trod; but upon splitting off some of the rock beneath, through the layers that were depressed by its weight, the claws are obvious. Copies of the extremities of two of the toes of one track, with the claws, * All of the drawings on the Plate accompanying this article are reduced to one fourth of the natural size. Prof. Hitchcock on Ichnolithology, or Fossil Footmarks. 305 are given on figs. 2 and 3, where the rock was split through. We must not judge from these figures that they show the actual width of the animal’s toes, for the curvature of the layers of stone extends usually much farther laterally than the width of the toe; yet the tapering at the end shows that the toes had claws. In the American Journal of Science for January, 1844, Vol. xivi, Dr. Deane has given a description, with drawings, of some very interesting slabs of tracks, which he discovered at T'urner’s Falls. They were remarkably distinct and very numerous; and yet it was easy to trace the consecutive tracks, so as to show be- yond question that they were all made by bipeds. Among them the most common was the Ornithoidichnites fulicoides, of which I gave an account two years ago to this Association, when IJ ex- pressed some slight doubts whether it were made by a biped ora quadruped. This slab shows most unequivocally that it was by the former. So that, up to the present time, we have no certain evidence that more than one species of the tracks in the Connec- ticut valley (viz. the Batrachoidichnites Deweyi,) were made by quadrupeds. Among the tracks figured by Dr. Deane, were two varieties re- sembling the O. fulscoides, but smaller; and he leaves it to me to decide whether they are distinct species. ‘The variety of me- dium size he represents as exhibiting a stride almost twice as great as that of the fulicoides ; and I have little doubt, from what I have seen of the tracks of living and extinct animals, that they must be specifically distinct. But, as I have no specimen, and the slab has been disposed of to the British Museum, I dare not attempt to describe it from casts. Of the smallest variety I have a specimen, and think it unquestionably distinct. It is a much more slender and delicate species than the fulicoides ; the toes spread less by 20°; and although both of them are pachydac- tylous, J cannot discover in the small track any evidence of a membranous margin to the claw, which has led me to arrange the former under the pterodactyl. The new species I describe as follows. ; Ornithoidichnites gracillimus. ‘Toes three, all in front, spread- ing 60°: pachydactylous: claws and tuberous swellings distinct ; impression of a double headed extremity of the tarso-metatarsal a ee 306 Prof. Hitchcock on Ichnolithology, or Fossil Footmarks. bone more or less obvious: length of the foot two and a half in- ches: length of the step six inches. Shown, with impressions of the heel, on fig. 4. ; On several other tracks, at the locality from which this slab was taken, the marks of the heel, or extremity of the tarso-metatar- sal bone, are obvious; and I am satisfied that the Ornithoidich- nites cuneatus, named by Dr. Barratt, and given in my Final Re- port, is only the O. fulicoides, or Sillimanii, with this impression, that gives it the wedge-shape characteristic of the species; al- though I have never seen a specimen of the O. cuneatus distinct enough to show the phalangeal impressions. I think, therefore, that we must erase the cuneatus from the catalogue of species. To the next species I attach the name of my friend Dr. Sam- uel L. Dana, too well known, by his various scientific labors, to need my encomium, but to whom, as will appear in the sequel, Iam ‘deeply indebted for his labors in relation to Ichnolithol- ogy. Ornithoidichnites Dane. "Toes four; three in front, spread- ing 95°: leptodactylous: fourth or hind toe projecting opposite the external toe; short, and making but a faint impression: heel large, and making a deep impression: whole track thick, and ap- parently made by a heavy animal. Length of the foot, ten in- ches. Shown on fig. 5. This track was found on gray micaceous sandstone, at a new locality, pointed out to me by Dr. Wright of Montague, about half a mile east of the bridge over Connecticut River into Green- field, and on the Boston road. 'The same slab contains the Or- nithoidichnites elegans. Only a small surface of rock is exposed, and I could not get sight of the next track ; so that the length of the step cannot be given. And had it not been quite peculiar, I should not found a species upon a single specimen. I am in some doubt whether to refer this species to the divis- ion Ornithoidichnites or Sauroidichnites ; since it is not quite certain that a fourth toe exists, the impression being rather faint. But if that toe projects opposite the external toe, it approaches the Ornithoidichnites tetradactylus, though much larger, and with an enormous heel. But if the hind toe were a little farther back, and projected more nearly at right angles to the middle toe, it would ally the track to the Sauroidichnites minitans. And this Prof. Hitchcock on Ichnolithology, or Fossil Footmarks. 307 leads me to remark, that I fear the terms Ornithoidichnites and Sauroidichnites convey an impression of a wider distinction than exists between these two subdivisions. For in fact they pass in- sensibly into each other, and, with a few exceptions, all probably were made by the same tribe of animals. The next new species I have to propose, is a very distinct, though very anomalous one. I call it a Sauroidichnites, because it has somewhat the aspect of the foot of a Saurian; and yet it has but three toes, whereas a Saurian has always four, and gene- rally five. Sauroidichnites abnormis. "Toes three, all directed forward: the lateral ones diverging about 30°, and connected by a base two inches long, the base and the inner toe appearing like a single bent toe: middle toe with a deep impression along its anterior part, but scarcely distinguishable on its posterior part. Heel extending backwards nearly an inch, ona line with the outer toe. Length of the middle toe, nearly three inches; of the foot, four inches; and of the step, eighteen inches. Fig. 6 shows the right foot, and fig. 7 the left foot. This remarkable track was found by Dr. Deane at the same place as the specimens already referred to, viz. a little above Tur- ner’s Falls in Gill. It is very distinctly impressed upon a gray, perfectly smooth, micaceous sandstone; and fortunately there are several tracks showing the right and left foot most distinctly. At first, I thought it was probably a perfect example of the Sauw- roidichnites tenuissimus, described in my Final Report, of which I possess only imperfect specimens. But it is impossible to make them out identical. Anomalous as is this track, there is a fact still more anomalous, in the very distinct specimens before me. In two instances, and these are all that I possess, while the middle toe of the left foot lies in the direction in which the animal moved, that of the right foot is tured nearly 45° towards the left hand, as is shown on fig. ~8, which was copied by a pentagraph from the specimens. Had this singular inflection existed in both feet, I should have sup- posed it a law of the species. But nature is not so partial as to bestow a peculiarity upon one organ, and withhold it from the twin organ. And I suspect that the animal’s right foot might have been injured, so as to give it an inflected position! may 308 Prof. Hitchcock on Ichnolithology, or Fossil Footmarks. On the shale of Turner’s Falls, Dr. Deane has recently found a specimen of what I have called, in the first volume of the Transactions of this Association, the Sauroidichnites Deweyi, (p. 261,) and it confirms still farther the opinion there expressed, “that this is the track of a quadruped.” Fig. 10 shows the tracks as they appear on this specimen, and they very probably were made by a small Batrachian ; so that, upon a review of the whole subject, I think this track ought to come under the T'etra- podichnites, and be denominated Batrachoidichnites Deweyt. 1 am further satisfied that the Ornithoidichnites parvulus of my Re- port is the same as the B. Deweyi, and I shall accordingly strike out the first named species. COPROLITES OF BIRDS. I now proceed to the most interesting discovery which has been made during the past year, in relation to the fossil footmarks of this country. I am able to state with great confidence, that the coprolites of birds have been found in connection with these tracks; and although the details of the subject are somewhat pro- lix, yet the curious results to which they lead, and the fact that no coprolites of birds have hitherto been found, will be my apol- ogy for giving them in full.* These coprolites were found in connection with the Ornithoid- ichnites Redfieldii, in hard calcareous rock, at Chicopee Falls, in Springfield. 'The spot where they were found seems to have been a resort for the bird that formed this track; for the tracks interfere with one another, and occur in successive layers. In the midst of them I found a few ovoid flattened bodies, about an inch in diameter, and perhaps two inches long, of a dark color, and considerably softer than the enclosing rock, which is very hard and compact. When broken crosswise, they usually exhibit a mere or less perfect concentric arrangement, or sometimes per- haps a little convoluted, as shown on figs. 9 and 10, which were drawn from specimens a little broken on one side. They adhere so strongly to the rock, that I have not been able to determine precisely their external appearance. * The results of Dr. Dana’s chemical examination of the fecal relics will be given in connection with the present paper of Prof. Hitchcock ; but we are reluc- tantly compelled, for want of room, to postpone until our next No. the full details of Dr. Dana’s analysis, which will appear-in Jan. 1845, as a distinct article—Eps. Prof. Hitchcock on Ichnolitholozy, or Fossil Footmarks. 309 If this coprolite be examined with a glass, small black grains may be seen in some parts, which resemble small seeds, and which one cannot but strongly suspect to be seeds, that passed undigested through the animal. \ I have not been able to deter- mine this point.certainly, from having so small a quantity of the substance. But it strongly confirms the above suggestion, that the same conclusion was made by Dr. Samuel L. Dana, to whom I sent a small fragment for another purpose, as will appear in the sequel, though I said nothing to him of the seeds. I quote his remarks on the subject. ‘I want to say a word about the black grains, &c., in the coprolite. In the unbroken bit, about as big as a hazle nut, I think I can discover an evident tendency to con- volution; so that these black masses would, if the thing could be unrolled, lie for the most part in the same plane, though in the interior of the bit the black grains are more promiscuous. I call these grains ; for, if you examine them, they nearly all approach the form of an apple seed. ‘They may be raised out of the little shell of carbonate of lime, sometimes crystalline, which surrounds each. Others have the form of stems. ‘The black matter of these grains is carbonaceous. ‘They consist, when that is burned off, of phosphate and carbonate of lime. Now allow me a word of speculation. I cannot but think these black grains are seeds, which have passed undigested through the intestines, and have assumed, in the passage, such position as these foreign bodies would, and often do, in the feces.” The external characters of these nodules corresponding so nearly to those of coprolites, I felt a strong desire to have them subjected to a most thorough and careful analysis. Some years ago, when I suspected that I had found some coprolites with the footmarks, Dr. Dana suggested to me, that, if dropped by birds, they might contain uric acid. This thought seemed to me wor- thy of being pursued; and since I had the highest opinion of Dn Dana’s analytical skill, I requested him to undertake the ex- amination of this substance, with the suggestion respecting uric acid inmind. He consented, and after bestowing a great deal of time and labor upon the subject, he has presented me with some of the most unlooked for and beautiful results that I have ever seen derived from chemical analysis. Dr. Dana’s earlier results gave— Vol. xxvii, No. 2.—July-Sept. 1844. 40 saga pe 310 Prof. Hitchcock on Ichnolithology, or Fossil Footmarks. Water, organic matter, urate and volatile salts of am- monia, ‘ ‘ ‘ . : ; = 10.20) Chloride of menlyern < ‘ ‘ ° » > 6h Sulphates of lime and magnesia, . " ; ot Ae Geues Phosphate of lime and magnesia, ... . . 39.60. Carbonate of lime, ’ : ‘ , 5 sy a ain Silicates, ‘ : , , , ; ‘ « ABOF 100.00 ~ In subsequent experiments he verified the existence of uric acid, as well as of muriate of soda and of ammonia. | For many very curious and interesting comparisons and analo- gies, reference must be had to the paper in full, to appear in the ensuing No. of this Journal. This appears to me to be a most beautiful example of the ap- plication of chemistry to geology. A few ounces of a dark color- ed substance are dug out of a quarry, in the sandstone of Chico- pee river, and put into the hands of the chemist. Bringing to bear upon it the searching power of analysis, he is conducted to the very remarkable conclusion, that it is the excrement of an animal dropped perhaps hundreds of thousands of years ago. But the clue line leads him still farther. Detecting about half a per cent. of a peculiar acid—the uric, in the coprolite, he is led to infer, by fair reasoning, that it is the coprolite of birds, rather than of any other animal. Nay, he goes still farther, and shows that it must have been derived from a particular kind of birds, viz. the omnivorous. ‘Truly this may be called a scientific miracle—a resurrection from the dead, and among the many analogous mir- acles wrought in the nineteenth century I know of scarcely any more marvellous than this! I might add here, that if we are not mistaken in supposing the coprolite to contain seeds, the fact lends confirmation to the con- clusion of Dr. Dana, that it was dropped by an omnivorous, in- stead of a carnivorous bird. Had it been mostly composed of comminuted animal matter, as some coprolites are, we should have found some discrepancy between the fact and the results of anal- ysis. But now the mechanical composition harmonizes with the chemical; and I may add, both correspond with the eeigeie deduced ain the history of the footmarks. The progress of light and evidence in respect to these foot- marks it is interesting to trace. When first discovered, so striking * Prof. Hitchcock on Ichnolithology, or Fossil Footmarks. 311 was their resemblance to the tracks of living birds, that every one not familiar with geology, who had ever seen their tracks upon snow, or mud, at once pronounced the fossil footmarks to have had the same origin. A careful examination, both of the fossil and living footmarks, forced me to the conclusion that the first and most obvious impression regarding them was sustained by fair scientific analogies. But there were two objections to these views, that yet remained unanswered; and which prevented several of the ablest geologists and comparative anatomists of Europe from falling in with them. The first was, that the tracks were too large to have been made by a bird. The second was, that animals of so high an organization as birds could not have existed so early as the new red sandstone period. ‘The discovery of the Dinornis, and examination of the anatomical structure of the Apteryx, and other struthious birds of southeastern Asia, have unexpectedly removed both these difficulties. In regard to them, says Prof. Owen, ‘“‘the metatarsal bone of the Dinornis Nove Zealandie is fully large enough to have sustained three toes, equivalent to produce impressions of the size of those of the Ornithichnites giganteus of Prof. Hitchcock. It seems most reasonable there- fore, to conclude that the Ornithichnites are the impressions of _ the feet of birds, which had the same low grade of organization as the Apteryx and Dinornis of New Zealand, and these latter may be regarded as the last remnants of an apterous race of birds, which seems to have flourished at the epoch of the new red sand- stone of Connecticut and Massachusetts.”* To all this we can now add the evidence of the coprolites; and I see not what more is wanting, except the bones, to complete the argument. Nor am I by any means certain but that we already have these,—the pro- perty of Prof. Silliman, and figured in my Final Report. It would not be’ strange, if these fragments should pass under the eye of Richard Owen,—the man on whom so deservedly the mantle of Cuvier rests, and who was able to construct the Dinornis from a single fragment of the shaft of a bone,—I say, it would not be strange, if out of these fragments he should be able to place be- fore us some Dinornis of sandstone days. * American Journal of Science, Vol. xv, p. 186. t July, 1844 —In the Lond. Ed. and Dub. Phil. Magazine for May of this year, we have an abstract of Prof. Owen’s last paper on the Dinornis, read before the Zoological Society of London last November, founded on a second box of bones * . 312 Prof. Hitchcock on Ichnolithology, or Fossil Footmarks. While on this subject, may I be allowed to delay long enough to state one or two very curious facts, that have lately fallen un- der my notice, as related by Capts. Cook and. Flinders. They relate to some nests of birds discovered by these voyagers on the coast of New Holland, of enormous size. I have long been in the habit in my lectures, of reading these accounts as a part of the poetry of footmarks, in connection with others manifestly fabulous. But since the history of the Dinornis has appeared, the question has arisen in my mind, whether the statements of these navigators must not be true. ‘The nest seen by Capt. Cook, was on a small island in about 14° south latitude, on the northeast coast of New Holland. In his visit to the island he was accompanied by Sir Joseph Banks. ‘At two in the afternoon,” says he, ‘there being no hopes of clear weather, we set out from Lizard Island to return to the ship, and in our way landed upon the low sandy island with trees upon it, which we had remarked in our going out. Upon this island we saw an incredible number of birds, chiefly sea fowl. We found also the nest of an eagle with young ones, which we killed; and the nest of some other bird, we knew not what, of a most enormous size ; it was built with sticks upon the ground, and was no less than six and twenty feet in circumference and two feet eight inches high.”—“'To this spot we gave the name of Hagle Island,” &c.* Similar nests were found by Capt. Flinders in King George’s Bay, on the southeast coast of New Holland, in about 35° south received from the missionaries. They have enabled him to establish five distinct species ; the largest of which, ten feet high, he calls Dinornis giganteus. The smallest was four feet high, called the D. didiformis. ‘*'These data,’’ says the ab- stract, ‘‘showed that the trifid foot-print of the D. giganteus must have exceeded in size the Ornithichnites giganteus and O. ingens of Prof. Hitchcock, and that the Dinornis didiformis must have left im pressions as large as those called Ornithichnites tuberosus. ‘The author warned his hearers against inferring identity of species, or even genus, between the extinct Struthionid@ of tke alluvium of New Zealand, and those of the Trias of North America, on account of correspondence of size and number of toes, which the modern genera Casuarius, Rhea, é&c. proved to be in- sufficient grounds.” It seems then, that Mr. Owen regards the footmarks of this country as clearly referrible to the family Struthionide ; and this probably is as specific an account of the authors of the footmarks as will ever be attained. Who could have imagined that light, on such a subject, could have come from New Zea- land; and that too, as a fruit of missionary labor! Truly there is a web of har- mony uniting all the parts of this world’s history. * Cook’s first voyage in Kerr’s Collection of Voyages and Travels, Vol. xm, p. 318. . Prof. Hitchcock on Ichnolithology, or Fossil Footmarks. 313 latitude. I quote his account from the 23d number of the Quar- terly Review, p. 27. “ They were built upon the ground, from which they rose above two feet, and were of vast circumference and great interior ca- pacity ; the trunks of trees and other matter of which each nest was composed being enough to fill a cart.” Now I see no more reason for doubting this than any other fact related by these voyagers. I take it we may regard them as true, and no exaggeration. Equally certain is it, that we know of no other bird, except the Dinornis, that could have required so enor- mousa nest. But for that bird it would not be larger than would be necessary and convenient, as any one may see by drawing a nest of that size and an apterous bird ten feet high by the side of it. It was built too upon the ground, where an apterous bird would build. Is it not probable therefore, that this was the nest of the Dinornis; and if so, that this bird still survives in New Holland, if not in New Zealand? The north island of New Zea- land is some 5° farther south than King George’s Bay, and nearly 30° farther south than Eagle Island. In the warmer climate of New Holland therefore, this bird may be yet alive, although ex- tinct in New Zealand. But I understand that there is no decisive proof that it does not still live in New Zealand. Mr. Owen does indeed express the opinion that it has been extinct perhaps two centuries. Yet some English sailors declare that they have seen it, and the missionaries do not attempt to decide the point. Capt. Cook’s voyage was performed about the year 1770, and Capt. Flinders’ in 1801. Ido not yet despair therefore, of having the zoological cabinets favored with something more than the bones of the Dinornis; and possibly the menageries may stand some chance of getting this bird alive. If he be indeed still alive, we may expect, as Mr. Williams, the missionary who sent the bones to Dr. Buckland, facetiously remarks, that there will be a crusade got up among the naturalists to go and take him. When he reaches this country, I shall propose that he be taken to the banks of the Con- necticut, to see if he can follow the footsteps of his great progeni- tor of sandstone fame. The impressions of rain-drops, connected with the footmarks, deserve notice because they have so important a bearing upon our reasoning as to the circumstances under which the tracks were “ 314 Prof. Hitchcock on Ichnolithology, or Fossil Footmarks. formed and preserved. But the whole history of the rain-drops de- serves a separate communication, and a more careful collection of specimens than has yet been made. Suffice it to say in this place, that these impressions are quite common at many of the localities of footmarks, though not in them all. Large slabs can sometimes be obtained beautifully filled. ny Some facts connected with the footmarks of the. Gosinentiies valley, throw light upon the question whether the sandstone on which they are found has been tilted up since its deposition. But this subject will be more conveniently and pertinently intro- duced in another paper, which I propose to present to the Asso- ciation. Supposed Footmark on the Slate of Hudson River. I now advance to a part of my subject which will probably be received with more hesitation than the positions already pre- sented. In the year 1837, I suggested, in the American Journal of Science, that I had found some marks on the flagging stones of the city of New York, which might have been made by a didactylous quadruped. In company with W. C. Redfield, Esq. I visited very many of the streets of New York and Brooklyn, where the rock containing the supposed tracks is extensively used in the sidewalks ;, but the impressions were not found to be numerous, though occasionally to be met with. I obtained liberty to remove the best slab I could find, which was twenty eight by forty four inches, and it is now in my cabinet. How- ever, upon re-examination I became sceptical in regard to my first views of the impressions, and I feared, also, that by bring- ing forward what appeared to myself a doubtful case, I should render the community still more incredulous in regard to the Ornithichnites; so that I judged it best to say no more about the New York impressions. Still the idea has always haunted me that they must be the result of organic agency ; and a re-exam- ination of them recently has so satisfied me on this point, that I venture, with no little diffidence, to bring the case before the Association, The rock that contains these impressions is quarried in im- mense quantities for flagging stones in the counties of Ulster, Greene, and Albany. It belongs to the Hie division of rocks, as they are called in the New York geological survey, and as Prof. Hitchcock on Ichnolithology, or Fossil Footmarks. 315 Mr. Redfield informs me, to the Hamilton group. It contains one peculiar fossil in considerable abundance, exactly resembling an aunelidous worm, but whose nature has not been ascertained, although it is often very distinct. This group of rocks also contains plants, according to Prof. Mather, who has described the rock in his report. It is a hard, gray, rather thick bedded sand- stone, of a very enduring character. Fig. 9, is an exact reduced copy, with the pentagraph, of the slab in my possession. The impressions upon it appear to have been made with a blunt object, nearly of the size of a man’s finger, and as much rounded. I regard these marks as resulting from the agency of animals for the following reasons. 1. The impressions are for the most part arranged in nearly parallel rows; the axis of the impressions lying nearly crosswise to the direction of the rows. Thus on fig. 9, we can trace the rows if I mistake not, AB, CD, EF, GH, LM,NO,PR,ST; although some of the impressions are a little out of line. 2. The impressions, like the Ornithoidichnites, appear to have been produced by some body pressing on a surface of mud, rather than by a body interposed between two layers of mud. 3. There is such a general resemblance between the impres- sions, as to prove them to have originated from the same general cause. And yet they are of different sizes in the different rows, but uniform for the most part in the same row. 4. A large part of them are in pairs; one of each pair being considerably shorter than the other, and the axes of the two im- pressions diverging pretty uniformly about 40°. On several parts of the slab they are but imperfectly preserved. Had they all been retained, I apprehend that they would be found universally in pairs, since those most distinct are so. 5. I know of no other agency but the feet of animals, to which these impressions can be referred. They belong to no variety of ripple marks, nor to the mud furrows and wave lines of Mr. Hall, nor could they have resulted from lateral pressure, or the deposi- tion of vegetable or animal remains. But they exhibit a general resemblance to the tracks of animals. But what class of animals could have produced such tracks ? Most probably an animal with didactylous feet in which one of the toes is longer than the other. It had occurred to me that they 316 Prof. Hitchcock on Ichnolithology, or Fossil Footmarks. might possibly have been made by Crustaceans. But 1 am inform- ed especially by Mr. James D. Dana, that these animals never advance in such a manner as to produce impressions resembling those on the rock. It would seem as if these must have been made by an animal extending its didactylous feet almost at right angles to its body, so as to make a row of tracks on each side. For we shall find that several of the rows of tracks on fig. 9 correspond to each other. ‘Thus the row AB corresponds to EF; CDto LM, and GH nearly to NO. There are indeed a few tracks upon this slab which could not be brought into such an arrangement, but they may belong to other rows partially ob- literated. Yet Ihave so little confidence in any suggestions I can make as to the tribe of animals by which these impressions were made, that I shall describe them without a name, presuming however that it must have been some animal that crawled along the bottom of the ocean. Description.—Rows of tracks two; parallel; about a foot apart. Feet didactylous; toes diverging about 40°; unequal in length, blunt; length from two to three and a half inches; lying nearly at right angles to the direction in which the animal moved. I ought not to omit to mention, that in many points there is a striking resemblance between the impressions just deseribed, and the Ichthyopodolites described by Dr. Buckland, and noticed in another part of this paper. The bluntness of the impressions in New York seems, moreover, to be a strong objection to their having been made by the fins of any such fish as now inhabits the ocean. : I have been struck, also, with a paper read by Mr. Pearce be- fore the London Geological Society, in March, 1843, on the loco- motive and non-locomotive Crinoidea. 'The foot in the former class is sometimes bifurcated and terminated in a minute blunt point. It is possible that here we may have the origin of the marks under consideration.* CLASSIFICATION OF FOOTMARKS. Having now given all the facts concerning footmarks with which I am acquainted, I offer the following systematic arrange- * Phil. Mag. for January, 1844, p. 58. tier a a pa ‘TS, 2 Prof. Hitchcock on Ichnolithology, or Fossil Footmarks. 317 ment of the species. I include them all in the class Ichnolites, or stony tracks; and this class is subdivided into four orders, founded on the number of feet in the animal that made them. Class IcHNOLITES. I. Order Potypopicunires, or many-footed tracks. 1. On the forest marble near Bath in England. 2. On the slate of Hudson River. IL Order T’errapopicunites, or four-footed tracks. d 1. Several species made by Chirotheria, or the Labyrinthodon most probably, in Germany and England. 2. By Saurians in England. 3. By Tortoises in Scotland and Germany. 10 or 12 spe- A, Other Batrachians besides the Labyrinthodon { cies in all. in Germany. 5. Batrachoidichnites Deweyt, at Middletown, Connecticut, and Gill, Massachusetts. III. Order Diroprcuntres, or two-footed tracks. (1.) In Massachusetts, Connecticut, and New Jersey. a. Sub-Order Sauroidichnites, or tracks resembling those of Sau- rians. 1. S. Barrattii. 7. S. minitans. 2. S. heteroclitus. 8. S. longipes. 3. S. Jacksonii. 9. S. tenuissimus. A. §. Emmonsii. 10. S. palmatus. 5. 8. Baileyi. 11. S. polemarchius. 6. S. abnormis. b. Sub-Order Ornithoidichnites. 1. Pachydactyli. 1. O. giganteus. 3. O. expansus. 2. O. Sillimani. A. O. gracillimus. 2. Pachydactylo-Pterodactyli. 1. O. Lyelli. 2. O. fulicoides. Vol. xxvu1, No. 2.—July-Sept. 1844. 41 318 Prof. Hitchcock an Ichnolithology, or Fossil Footmarks. 3. Leptodactyli. 1. O. ingens. 9. O. isodactylus. 2. O. elegans. 10. O. delicatulus. 3. O. elegantior. 11. O. minimus. 4. O. Deanii. 12. O. tetradactylus. 5. O. tenuis. 13. O. Dane. 6. O. macrodactylus. 14, O. gracilior. 7. O. divaricatus. . 15. O. Rogersi. 8. O. Redfieldii. In all thirty two species. (2.) In Europe. 1. In Shropshire and Cheshire, England, three-toed; but I have no other evidence of their biped character. 2. Two species in Saxony of unknown animals. IV. Order Apopicunirtes, or footless tracks. AeiBy “Bish In Gloucestershire and Flintshire, 2. By mollusks. England. 3. By annelidous worms. T'wo or three remarks may perhaps be needed concerning the preceding tabulation of the footmarks, especially those of the valley of the Connecticut. The number of species may seem to some so large as to excite the suspicion that the characters on which they are founded are merely imaginary. But it should be recollected that these tracks have been obtained from a region ~ eighty miles long and several miles broad, from more than six- teen quarries, and that they were not produced by birds that were cotemporaries, but which existed through a long series of centu- ries. Thus, at T'urner’s Falls we find tracks on layers dipping 40°, and separated from each other not less than eighty rods on the surface, and of course forty rods in perpendicular thickness ; and how long it would take to deposite layers of fine sandstone and shale forty rods thick, let those familiar with the rules of ge- ological arithmetic calculate. ‘Taking the rate at which lakes fill up in Scotland as the basis of the estimate, it would require more than one hundred and thirty thousand years; and admitting a much more rapid rate of deposition, we should have time enough to expect a great,variety of animals to have trod upon the different layers. Imay have founded some species upon uncertain charac- * ters, and it would be strange if better specimens should not remove Prof. Hitchcock on Ichnolithology, or Fossil Footmarks. 319 some of them from the list. But in general, when new specimens are brought under my eye, I find little more difficulty in distin- guishing the different species, than in distinguishing the species of plants or animals; and hence I feel a good degree of confidence that the characters of these footmarks are constant and distinct. And if an attempt should be made to mark out the European footmarks into species, I predict that their number will be found greater than geologists now imagine. My next remark relates to the large number of the names of distinguished scientific men, which I have ventured to attach to the footmarks of New England, in most cases without consulting them, as a testimony of respect. My apology is, that as advanc- ing years admonish one how few more opportunities he will have to bear witness to the valuable services of those scientific breth- ren with whom he has been long allowed to labor, and as long acquaintance enables him better to appreciate how great must be his labors and sacrifices, especially in this country, who devotes his life to science,—as experience teaches all this, I say, he feels an increasing desire to give the world some token, however fee- ble, that he highly honors those who are doing so much for the welfare of the human family. It may be proper for me in this connection to state a few facts in relation to the collections that have hitherto been made of the fossil footmarks of New England. I early transmitted a few specimens and a few casts to the London Geological Society, and more recently a much larger collection of casts and speci- mens to the Hunterian Museum in London; another to the Rev. W. B. Clarke of England; another to the Mineralogical Institute at Heidelberg; another to Dr. Tamnau of Berlin; and another to the Garden of Plants in Paris, although I have never learnt whether the latter has been received ; and I have mentioned that some very fine slabs had been recently translated to the British Museum by Dr. Deane. In this country the best collection, ex- cept my own, is in the Massachusetts collection of rocks in Boston. \ A very good collection of casts and specimens is pos- sessed by the Military Academy at West Point, and by F'rancis Markoe, Jr. Esq. at Washington. The collection of Prof. Silliman is also considerably full, as is that of Prof. Adams of Middlebury College. But I may be allowed to say, that my own collection in Amherst College is the only one that approaches to complete- 320 Prof. Hitchcock on Ichnolithology, or Fossil Footmarks. ness yet made. That contains the originals from which the thirty four species have been described and figured. It consists of specimens of all sizes, from two or three inches square toa slab twenty three feet long, containing seven most distinct tracks of the huge O. giganteus in succession. There are also the rain-drops and the coprolites. At present the number of speci- mens is one hundred and fifty. ’ As it is now becoming very difficult to obtain good specimens, such as are wanted in large collections, I may be allowed to say, that I know of a few places where probably with considerable labor very good specimens may be obtained, and I will attempt it if desired. Such is the history of footmarks. When Dr. Duncan in 1828 gave a brief account of the tortoise tracks of Scotland, he was by no means aware what a curious field he was opening to geol- ogists. And the numerous cases that have been brought to light within the last sixteen years, now that the attention of geologists has been directed to the subject, illustrates a quaint remark of Dr. Macculloch, that we need to be taught to see. And now that geologists have their eyes open to this subject, we may an- ticipate many more curious facts and results. And really this new field promises much fruit to geologists. It has already learnt them to be cautious in asserting the non- existence of land animals from the absence of their remains in a formation. In the valley of the Connecticut, for instance, more than thirty species of such animals, some of them of giant size, have left no other certain evidence of their existence save their footprints and a few coprolites. And we can hardly believe that birds were the only vertebral animal that dwelt in that valley during the red sandstone period. It would be illogical, indeed, to infer from hence that we know almost nothing respecting the fauna of the ancient world from exhumed relics. But it does teach us caution in our inferences as to the proportions of differ- ent classes. This subject, too, has more than one valuable moral. . It shows us that the most trivial movement of ours may make an impres- sion on the globe that shall be brought out ten thousand ages hence with unimpaired freshness—that shall in fact be immortal. No geologist will think it at all extravagant to speak of the pe- riod when these tracks were impressed on the new red sandstone Prof. Hitchcock on Ichnolithology, or Fossil Footmarks. 321 as tens and even hundreds of thousands of years ago. And yet they are as distinct and fresh as if made yesterday upon the mud; while mixed among them, we see the petrified rain-drops that fell at that same remote era. Really, in such facts one sees almost a realization of the ingenious thought of Prof. Babbage, founded on the equality of action and reaction, that “the air is one vast library, on whose pages are forever written all that man has ever said, or woman whispered; while the waters and the more solid materials of the globe bear equally enduring testimony of the acts we have committed.” In these footmarks, also, human ambition may read a lesson of an opposite character. A desire to leave our names inscribed with honor upon the world’s history, is the almost universal pas- sion. And to gratify it, what immense sacrifices of peace, health and life have in all ages been made! But among those who have been most influential at court, and most bold and successful on the battle field, how few have had their names transmitted to posterity. Over by far the greatest part has the wave of oblivion rolled ; and even though Babbage’s principle be true in theory, their intrigues, their valor, and their ephemeral renown will never be recovered. “Not a track remains,” says Dr. Buckland, “ora single hoof, of all the countless millions of men and beasts whose progress spread desolation over the earth. But the reptiles that crawled upon the half finished surface of our planet, have left memorials of their passage enduring and indelible.” And we may add, that the proudest monuments of human art will moulder down and disappear; but while there are eyes to behold them, the sandstone of the Connecticut valley will never cease to re- mind the observer of the gigantic races that passed over it while yet in an incipient state. ‘‘ Reptiles and birds, a problem ye have solved, Man never has,—to leave a trace on earth, Too deep for time and fate to wear away.” And is it strange that the geologist should manifest a deep and even enthusiastic interest, when he discovers and attempts to decipher these curious archives of new, unknown, and peculiar animals that peopled the world untold ages before man became its possessor? How deep the interest of the antiquary, when he discovers and attempts to unroll some ancient papyrus that discloses a new and earlier chapter in a nation’s history, or tells 322 Discovery of more Native Copper in Whately, Mass. of the former existence of some race before unknown! And if an event deepens in interest the farther back it lies in the hoary past, how vastly in this respect do geological researches take the precedence of historical! For the chronologist can ascend the stream of time only a few thousand years; while the geologist makes his starting point the commencement of chronological dates, and the period of man’s existence on the globe is too short as yet to form even an unit by which to measure the almost im- measurable past. And yet the solid strata reveal to him the his- tory of those ages, so near the birth of time, with all the dis- tinctness of yesterday ; and he finds the laws by which Jehovah governed the universe then, engraved, like those given on Sinai, upon tables of stone. Arr. VIIl—Discovery of more Native Copper in the town of Whately in Massachusetts, in the valley of Connecticut River, with remarks upon its Origin ; by Prof. Epwarp Hircucock, LL. D. (Read before the Association of American Geologists and Naturalists at Albany, April, 1843.) In my Final Report on the Geology of Massachusetts, (Vol. II, p. 422,) as well as in some previous publications, [ have mention- ed the occurence of a mass of native copper, weighing seventeen ounces, in the drift of Whately, and I there express the opinion that it was derived from the trap of the Connecticut valley, in which, as well as in the associated sandstone, there exist veins of copper ore, such as the red oxide, the green carbonate and the pyritous. But within a few days, Dr. Bardwell of Whately has shown me another specimen of the native copper weighing sixteen ounces, found in drift, in such a part of that town as makes it excedingly difficult to see how it could have been derived by the force which accumulated the drift from any trap range; and I have been led to take a new view of the subject, which may have an important bearing in an economical respect. In order to make intelligible the situation of these masses of copper when found in the drift, I must describe the position of Whately. The town extends westward from Connecticut River some six miles, and its eastern half is nearly level and underlaid Discovery of more Native Copper in Whately, Mass. 323 by sandstone, covered by drift. In the western half, we find hornblende and mica slates, syenite and granite. Where these rocks emerge from the sandstone, the land rises, though not very rapidly, into hills a few hundred feet high. And it was along the line of junction between the sandstone and primary rocks, that the first piece of native copper was found; but the last one occurred in a ploughed field (as did the first) two miles farther to the west, that is, among hills and in the primary region. Now had they been brought from any trap range within the valley of the Connecticut, they must have been carried, especially the one last found, in a nearly southwest direction. But the direction taken by the drift in all the region was southerly, or usually a little southeast, as is shown by the boulders and the striz on the rocks; and I have never met with a single example in which any block has been transported southwesterly. Nor do any fragments of trap or sandstone occur as far west in the primitive region as the locality of the recently found native copper. Lincline, therefore, to the opinion, that neither of these specimens originated in the trap or the sandstone, but in the primary rocks to the north of the places where they were found. ‘The region is one in which the primary slates have been greatly disturbed by the protrusion of syenite and granite, and therefore one where we might look for mineral veins as well as for the powerful agency of heat. Large veins of galena, with some pyritous copper and manganese, do in fact occur in the northwest part of Whately and Williamsburg, and a powerful vein of quartz with manganese exists in Conway, nearly north from the localities of the copper. If this view should turn out to be correct, it may be that a val- uable deposit of copper will one day be found in the region above described ; and it is chiefly to turn the attention of observers to that region, that I have presented these considerations. The native copper above described is mostly coated by the green carbonate and the red oxide.(?) The last specimen dis- covered was partially covered also with crytals of quartz deeply implanted. The extremities of these have all been broken off in efforts to cut the specimens into pieces, but their lower extremity may still be seen in the only fragment of this fine specimen which can now be found, and which I lay upon the table with the for- mer specimen uninjured. 324 Secular Acceleration of the Moon’s Mean Motion. Art. 1X.—WSecular Acceleration of the Moon’s Mean Motion ; by James H. Corrin, late Tutor in Williams College. Ir is one of the discoveries of modern astronomy, that the moon is slowly gaining time; that is, that it performs its revolu- tions now in less time than formerly. It is not two hundred years since Dr. Halley wishing to know the precise length of a lunation, went back to the ancient Chaldean observations, intend- ing to ascertain how many new moons had occurred between that time and his own, and then to divide the time by this number, which would give the average length of each. But he was sur- prised to find that a lunation in those days was considerably longer than now. By comparing the Chaldean, Alexandrian, Arabian, and present observations, he found that the lunar period grew successively shorter. When incredulity in regard to the fact was succeeded by con- viction of its truth in the minds of astronomers, it became an in- teresting question to account for it. ‘The most plausible theory, and one which was generally adopted for about a century, was that the moon revolved in a resisting medium, which would cause it gradually to fall toward the earth, and thus by reducing the size of the orbit, make the periodic time less. But the fact that bodies so extremely tenuous and vapory as comets are proved to be, pass through this medium with little or no resistance, seemed and was truly an objection to the theory. It was reserved for La Place, about sixty years ago, to explain the true cause of the acceleration, and by a refined and skillful analysis to calculate its amount theoretically. I propose in this article to investigate the cause, and arrive at the result by a dif- ferent and perhaps more simple process, though I believe equally rigid. Owing to the attraction of the other planets, the earth’s orbit is gradually becoming less and less elliptical, or nearer and nearer to a circle; so that the sun is every year about 394 miles nearer to the centre of the ellipse than it was on the year before. At this rate the orbit would become a circle in 40315 years; an event however that can never take place, for long before such a period of time shall elapse, the change in the shape, which is only an inequality of long period, will have reached its limit, and the eccentricity of the orbit will again increase. hit dB alli OT Ay os Secular Acceleration of the Moon’s Mean Motion. 325 It is well known that the sun’s attraction diminishes the moon’s gravity toward the earth, and thus increases its periodic time ; and if it can be shown that the effect is greater than it would be if the earth revolved in a circle at the same mean distance from the sun, it is manifest that so long as the present change in the shape of the earth’s orbit goes on, the moon’s periodic time must grow less and less. Let S (fig. 1) represent the sun, E the earth, AEB a portion of the earth’s orbit, and BCAD the moon’s orbit regarded as a circle. As gravitation varies in- versely as the square of the distance, when the moon is at D it isdrawn away from the earth by the difference in the attractive forces of the sun on the earth and moon, and when it is at C, the earth is drawn away from it by the same cause. In both cases the tendency is to diminish the moon’s gravity toward the earth. But when the moon is at A or B, its distance from the sun is the same as that of the earth, and conse- quently the sun’s attraction on them is equal, but not being in the same direction it tends to draw them near- er together, and thus to in- crease the moon’s gravity toward the earth. The moon being thus Fig, 1. Go mm” is = drawn toward the earth in some parts of its orbit, and from it in others, it might seem rather difficult to determine whether on the whole it was drawn toward or from the earth. If we reflect Vol. xtvu1, No. 2.—July-Sept. 1844. 42 326 Secular Acceleration of the Moon’s Mean Motion. however, that by increasing the sun’s attractive power, it might draw the moon entirely away from the earth, causing it to as- sume an independent orbit, like Venus, it is obvious that the in- fluence, whether great or small, is on the whole to draw the moon away from the earth, or diminish its gravity toward it as already remarked. We will demonstrate that such must be the influence of the sun’s attraction in a more rigid manner, and show how great it is compared with the earth’s attraction on the moon. And let us first see what ratio exists between the attractive forces of the sun and of the earth on the moon when it is near quadrature, as at Aor B. These points are selected because the moon is then at its mean distance from the sun, and consequently the sun’s at- traction is a mean, and equal to its attraction upon the earth. If we take the quantity of matter in the earth as the unit by which to measure other quantities of matter, that of the sun will be 354936, which number we will call S. Then since gravita- tion is directly as the quantity of matter and inversely as the square of the distance, = : See >: the earth’s attrac- tion ; the sun’s attraction. Or if we take the earth’s attraction on the moon as the unit by which to measure other attractions, 1 1 Sa ° y] ; the proportion becomes EB? * Spe::! : the sun’s attraction on the moon at the point A or B, or its mean attraction for the whole an em S x EB? orbit, which is therefore equal to >See (i To investigate the subject generally, let the moon be at any point M of its orbit, and let’ the sun’s attraction on it at that point be represented by ™. Resolving this force into two others in the directions ME and ES, the proportion for the former or addititious force will read SM : ME: :m : the addititious force ME = gy To find the mean addititious force for the whole of the moon’s orbit, we may substitute for » its mean value above 2 : . SXEB : obtained (1), viz. Sz» and for SM its mean value SH, and for ME its equal EB. 'The expression for the mean addititious Sx EB3 2). force will then read “SEs” ( Secular Acceleration of the Moon’s Mean Motion. 327 The proportion for the other force into which m was resolved, viz. in the direction ES, will read SM : SE::m: the force re- SE . quired = ayy. But the earth is attracted by the sun in the same direction ES, and it is the difference of the attractions only that exerts any disturbing influence on the moon in this direction. We will therefore find how much the attraction of the sun or the earth is, and subtract one from the other. By the laws of gravity SE? ; SM?::m : the sun’s attraction at the distance SE. SM? Hence the earth is attracted with a force equal to Spe Re- ducing the fractions to a common denominator and subtracting SE*—SM3 we haveisara Sk? xSM by involving both sides of this equation, rejecting the third and fourth terms in the right hand member on account of their small- ness, and transposing, we have SE?—SM*=3SE? XEF. Sub- stituting this value in place of the numerator of the above frac- 3SE? x EF 3EF tion, it becomes SE xsm ™ which is equal to Su and is m Now SM=SE—EF very nearly ; and the disturbing force in the direction ES. Resolving this force into two others, one in the direction EM and the other at night angles to it, i.e. in the directions EG and GS, the proportion for the former or ablatitious force will read SE: EG or (since the 3EF triangles EGS and EFM are similar) ME: EF'.:— "Tepe. SD?~(a—z)?~ a? 'at** ai © ae? By adding the two series together, and omitting all terms ex- cept those written down on account of their smallness, we have 1 1 Pas walla . SE**SD*—at as L 1 2 12y? In like manner SN? +SH? a3 chivaik: 2 2 Hence Seep te ee » and the mean (ap2® 2 value of the four is ae eee) Now by the properties of the ellipse, CH? =SH x EF =(a+2z) X(a-—2r)=a?-2?. | And in like manner, CE? =a? —y?. Therefore CH? + CE? =2a? —(«?+y?"). ; Or by transposition 2? +y? =2a? —(CH? +CE?). But by properties of the ellipse, CH? +CE?=a?+2, and 62 =a? —e?. Therefore 2? +y?=2a? — (2a? —e?)=e?, 330 Secular Acceleration of the Moon’s Mean Motion. ‘Substituting e? in place of (x? +y? ) in ce foregoing expres- sion for the mean value, it becomes = ae .._ This expression contains only constant quantities, and since “ED and HN are any conjugate diameters, it is true for the whole orbit. Therefore the first term in our proportion, which we wished to find, viz. the mean of the reciprocals of the cubes of the radii vectores of 1 an ellipse, is rts eer The mean distance of the earth from the sun is passer to the semi-transverse axis of its orbit, and the second term in our pro- 1 portion is therefore rat Multiplying both these terms by @* to 3 render the proportion more simple, and stating it in form, it reads 3e? thus, 1+ =r the diminution if the earth revolved in a circle at the same mean distance, which we have shown to be ;4, of the earth’s attrac- tion. In this proportion the second and fourth terms are con- stant; therefore if the first varies, the third must vary in the same ratio. Now we remarked near the commencement of the article, that e, the eccentricity of the earth’s orbit, is diminishing about ,,1;; every year, and as the squares of numbers where the difference is small vary about twice as much as the numbers themselves, e? diminishes about ,,2;; ina year. Further, e is ae about ;'; of a, and consequently — —> is about ;;,; of 1; there- 1::the actual diminution of the moon’s gravity : fore the annual diminution of the Ase term in the proportion is zoere Of za55 Of the second, and the third must diminish by the same fraction of the fourth. But the fourth term is ,3,; of the moon’s gravity toward the earth. Hence the annual diminution Maige third term is ,,2,- 03> Of oe moon’s gravity toward the earth. ‘That is to say, the sun dimin- ishes the gravity of the moon toward the earth less and less eve- ry year by the value of this fraction, which therefore expresses the annual increase of gravity. This variation in gravity affects the moon’s periodic time in two ways; Ist, by contracting its orbit so that it has a less dis- tance to travel; and 2d, by increasing its absolute velocity. The first is obvious, and to show its amount let ¢ represent the moon’s gravity toward the earth on any given year, and r the Secular Acceleration of the Moon’s Mean Motion. 331 mean distance ; also let mm represent the annual increase of grav- ity, and z the diminution in the distance occasioned thereby. — wh r— represent the distance on the succeeding year, and ae zee the gravity, viz. g increased by the laws of gravitation in the inverse ratio of the square of the distance, and also by the quantity m. Now it has been demonstrated,* that in circular orbits where the radius varies from a variation in the force which retains the revolving body in its orbit, the centrifugal force will vary in the inverse ratio of the cube of the distance; and since the centripetal and centrifugal forces must be equal, : 1 rT? Therefore — 5 ‘Gog 7g G Gap tm. Expanding, omitting the higher powers of z on account, of their smallness, and multiplying by r?, we have 1. 1 ee ° sv po Fae 23 Pam LLL Hence ee é ili Clearing of fractions and omitting the higher powers of 2, er? —2ert=gr? —3gra+mr? —d5mre. Hence gre=mr? —5mre. And gr=mr —5me. Reconverting the equation into a proportion, Simiur—be ia. hind by multiplication and composition, etbmimiir: x. Now. mis s7ssssa70 Of g, and therefore x is 5355555337 08 ry. Hence the contraction of the lunar orbit, even if the moon’s absolute velocity remained unchanged, would reduce its periodic time by the amount of the latter fraction annually. But we shall presently show that the absolute velocity is increasing annually by the same fraction. If this is so, it follows that from both causes combined its sidereal period must decrease annually by about double the aforesaid fraction, so that the moon must pass over a greater number of aoetees every year than it did on the year preceding by about ;7552sss0¢: At the commencement of the present century the moon’s mean motion was such as to carry it through 13 sidereal revolutions * See Stewart's Mathematical and Physical Tracts. bt , eP so that when the moon arrives at locity than when it left A. And this 332 Secular Acceleration of the Moon’s Mean Motion. and 132° ina year. Hence the annual acceleration is kena to avaseesots Of 13 revolutions and 132°, which is about 51, of 1”; a quantity quite too small to be noviekthe in a single year, but which increasing like other uniformly accelerated motions as the square of the time, becomes quite conspicuous in the lapse of cen- turies. According to our calculation it would amount to over 4° in 2000 years, though from the comparison of ancient with mod- ern observations this appears to be too great. It remains to demonstrate the truth of the principle which was employed above hypothetically. To show generally that the absolute velocity of the moon is increased when the orbit contracts, and diminished when it di- lates, let us suppose it, revolving in the larger circle DAH, to have arrived at the point A, when ow- Fig. 3. ing to an increase in the attractive ~~" power of E it isdrawn along the curve AB into the circle BIC. As a line drawn from E to any point F' in the line AB, makes the angle EF'B acute, the motion must be accelerated along it will be moving with a greater ve- increased velocity will be retained so a long as it revolves in the smaller circle. When it has arrived at C, let the attracting power of E be diminished so as to allow the moon to recede along the curve CD into its former orbit. The angle EGD being now obtuse, the attraction of E holds the moon back and retards its motion just as much as it accelerated it along the curve AB. The principles of central forces enable us to find the precise ratio of the velocities in the two circles, which we will suppose to be the orbit of the moon in two successive years. We have already observed, that the centrifugal force varies in- versely as the cube of the distance. But it is well known that it is also proportional to the square of the velocity divided by the distance. ‘Therefore if V represent the velocity in the outer eir- cle, and V’ in the inner, we have bh ol Beanie Ye EH: * Els*'EH * ED? Review of Alger’s Phillips’, and Shepard’s Mineralogy. 333 from which we can easily deduce Bb HE Ve But we have shown that EH is greater than EI by ;+35s'saa75 ; therefore V’ is greater than V by the same fraction; or in other words, the velocity of the moon increases ;-55s's557% annually, and our former assumption is thus proved to be correct. Art. X.—Review of Alger’s Phillips’ Mineralogy, and Shep- ard’s Treatise on Mineralogy.* Tue past six months have been remarkable in the history of American mineralogy. In the April number of this Journal, we noticed the first production of the season, by J. D. Dana, of this place. Early in June last, Phillips’s Mineralogy, by Fr. Alger, made its appearance at Boston, and towards the latter part of July, the second edition of Prof. C. U. Shepard’s “ Trea- tise” left the New Haven press. Mr. Alger’s work exhibits great labor in searching out the late discoveries from foreign and American journals. The original * 1. An Elementary Treatise on Mineralogy, comprising an Introduction to the Science. By Wittiam Puitiires, F.L.S.,M.G.8.L., &c. &c. Fifth edition, from the fourth London edition ; by Robert Allan: containing the latest discov- eries in American and Foreign Mineralogy with numerous additions to the Intro- duction ; by Francis Alger, Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sci- ences, of the National Institute for the Promotion of Science, of the Boston Society of Natural History, etc. 8vo, pp. 150 and 662. Boston, William D. Ticknor & Co. 1844. $3. 2. A Treatise on Mineralogy. By Cuartres Upnam SueEparp, M. D., Prof. of Chemistry in the Medical College of South Carolina, &c. &c. Second edition. 12mo, pp. 168. New Haven, A. H. Maltby, 1844. Note.—As a portion of this edition is bound up with the descriptive part of the first (1835) in two volumes, it may be supposed that a new edition of the entire work has been prepared, particularly as the title on the back reads “ Treatise on Mineralogy, by C. U. Shepard, second edition, 1844, price $1.50.” Although it might appear to the author that the facts were obvious, still we think that the ex- act state of the case should have been mentioned. ‘The following appears to be the author’s explanation on this point. “In giving the characters of the species, (p. 106 to the end,) I have appended (within parentheses) to each, the most interesting information of various kinds, which has been brought forward since 1835, with a view to supply the principal deficiency which the use of the treatise might occasion to such as wish to employ it, in connection with my general work on descriptive mineralogy of that date.””— Adver. to the new edition of the Introduction, New Haven, June, 1844. Persons still desiring the two treatises can obtain them bound together as a sin- gle volume. Vol. xtvu1, No. 2.—July-Sept. 1844. 43 ! conan 334 Review of Alger’s Phillips’ Mineralogy, Treatise by Phillips has been enlarged by three hundred pages, and more than one hundred additional figures. ‘The introduc- tory chapters have been somewhat extended, a table of formulas for chemical composition added, and full accounts inserted of American localities. Mr. Alger’s successful labors in the additions he has made, lead us the more to regret that he should have engrafted them upon a work so old asthe Treatise of Mr. Phillips. With all his assi- duity and skill, the faults of the original are too apparent, and we feel assured that the editor would have done a greater favor to the science, if he had abandoned his assumed patron, and given us his own ideas in his own way. Mr. Phillips’s great good sense and accurate knowledge made his Treatise, in 1819 and 1823, the most popular one on mineral- ogy which had ever appeared in the English language, perhaps we might say, with truth, in any language. It is certain that the same qualities which gave character to the first three editions, would, after the lapse of nearly a quarter of a century, have led to the adoption of a method more in accordance with the present advanced state of knowledge. The classification of the species in Phillips was based on the chemical principles of the day, and bears at the present time strong marks of antiquity. So great have been the changes in chemical science, that we can now hardly imagine how the spe- cies should ever have fallen into such strange associations, unless perchance they had cast lots among themselves for their places. The first two classes are, 1. Harthy minerals, 2. Alkaline earthy minerals. When an earthy mineral contains a trace of an alkali, like feldspar, it goes into the second division ; otherwise, it falls into the first. As the alkalies are isomorphous with certain bases not alkaline, it occasions singular unions, and as strange dissever- ings of families and species. The following paragraph explains the system of arrangement in Class I, (p. 1.) ‘This class includes those minerals which consist of one earth or more, united with definite proportions of water, and sometimes with common metallic oxides, as of iron and manganese, and rarely with an acid. These latter substances, however, are fre- quently to be regarded as mere mixtures of accidental and varia- ble constituents of the species described. We shall begin with silica in its purest form, as being the oldest and most abundant Aids bel 8 7 ut Se At erg and Shepard’s Treatise on Mineralogy. 335 mineral, and as affording the most simple arrangement; and then proceed to such as, by the most authentic analyses, appear to consist chiefly of silica. Those of which alumina forms the greatest proportion succeed, as being the earth next in age and abundance. Magnesia follows; then such minerals as consist primarily or in part of zirconia or glucina, or lastly of yttria and thorina.” Independently of the loose principles of arrangement here laid down, it sounds like the fancies of days long gone by, this making silica the ‘oddest’ mineral, and alumina “ next in age !”” The work begins with the species in the following order :— Quartz, opal, karpholite, alumocalcite, garnet, idocrase, canthite, Gehlenite, Prehnite, stilbite, Heulandite, Davyne, Laumonite, zoisite, epidote, &c. ; a strange commingling of minerals, whether we consider the principles of chemistry or natural history. From quartz and opal, the first transition is to karpholite, a hydrous silicate of alumina and manganese ; next to alumocalcite, a variety of opal; then to the complex anhydrous earthy mineral garnet : soon follows Prehnite, stilbite, Heulandite, &c., hydrous species ; and then the wanderers, zoisite and epidote. Take another place in the system, where we find the following order, (p. 192, &c.)—Feldspar, ryacolite, petalite, spodumene, Latrobite, agalmatolite, glaucolite, mesotype, Thomsonite, Peris- terite, leucophane, mesole, &c. After feldspar and ryacolite we find nothing of the other feldspar minerals, anorthite, albite, &c., so ably investigated by Abich; these occur many pages off: but there follows spodumene, and soon after, the zeolites, me- sotype and Thomsonite; next, Thomson’s Peristertte, (nothing but an iridescent feldspar from Perth, U.C.;) after this, another zeolite, mesole. On page 221 and beyond, E’leolite is followed by Hauyne ; then hydrous anthophyllite, a hydrous mineral near steatite in its characters ; next antrimolite, a zeolite ; Pericline, one of the feld- spars, (which by the way has been shown of late by Gmelin to be identical with albite ;) Labradorite, albite, other feldspar min- erals; and then the hydrous silicate, analcime. There is still some appearance of system in this arrangement, for these miner- als contain an alkali. Such incongruous connections prove the fallacy of adopting any general principle as an implicit guide in classification. They cannot be looked upon with much compla- 336 Review of Alger’s Phillips’ Mineralogy, cency in the present state of science. We observe farther, that anthophyllite, shown of late to have the same general formula with hornblende, is separated from it by fifteen or twenty species of very various characters ; and many more, separate bronzite, hy- persthene, acmite and Cummingtonite, from augite. Automolite and dysluite, having the same general formula with spinel, are yet twenty pages off. But farther illustration is unnecessary. Whatever may be said of chemical systems of classification, surely this has little to recommend it, failing as it does of all the advantages of system, and not even securing the benefits of an al- phabetical arrangement. The remaining classes are less objec- tionable. 'The class of metals and metallic ores might have been conveniently subdivided into orders, including each the ores of a metal, instead of forming, as now, an unbroken series. ‘The or- der in which the metals succeed one another is quite at variance with the teachings of chemistry. We are confident that Mr. Alger has not done justice to his own science in the classification adopted; and certainly not to Mr. Phillips, in presenting the views of twenty years since under ' his name in 1844. The table of formulas for the composition of minerals added to the volume by Mr. Alger, are given mostly in mineralogical sym- bols. Concerning these formulas, we read in the Preface : ‘““‘Chem- ical formulas have occasionally been given when employed by the analysts themselves, or in stating the composition of some of the more complex species, particularly of the metals ; but for the pur- poses of mineralogy, they should not be generally introduced to the exclusion of the mineralogical signs, which answer all the ends desired in making known the proximate constituents of the species, and do not involve a knowledge of chemistry beyond that which most students should possess.’ Justice is hardly done to the mineralogical symbols, in implying that they make known only the proximate constituents of the species: for the information con- veyed relative to the composition is as definitely stated as by chemical symbols; and a better knowledge of chemistry appears to us necessary to understand the former than the latter. The mineralogical formula for Boltonite (Alger, p. cxxx,) MgS?, conveys as definite an idea of its constitution to the chemist, as the corresponding chemical formula, Mg*Si2. The index (?) after S, implies that the atoms of oxygen in the silica are > an 6 tevceniing te a mite team and Shepard’s Treatise on Mineralogy. 337 double the number in Mg, (magnesia,) and in translating it into the chemical formula, MgS? becomes, as above, Mg?Si?, (3 parts of magnesia and 2 of silica,) an expression less easily printed, but more readily understood by the uninitiated: ‘The mineralogical formula would be read by the student as bisilicate of magnesia; but few would know that this bisilicate of magne- sia consists of 3 atoms of magnesia and 2 of silica, as is read at once from the chemical symbols. Thomson and Beudant are in general the authorities referred to for the formulas, although Thomson’s many errors are well known. ‘The late chemical treatise of Rammelsberg has con- tributed somewhat to these tables, and so far they are unques- tionable authority. The descriptions of the species are given with fullness, and valuable remarks added respecting the uses of such as are em- ployed in the arts. In no part of the work do Mr. Alger’s labors appear to better advantage than in the numerous interesting items of information which he has brought into his descriptions, evin- cing a minute and familiar acquaintance with minerals both in the closet and field. The extensive enlargements of this part of the work must have required great labor, and in general evince discrimination and judgment. The long lists of American local- ities render it a convenient work for the field, and the complete- ness of the information given relative to the chemical, physical, and economical characters of minerals, makes it as well a valua- ble text-book for the lecture room. Nearly all that is new regarding American species has already been noticed in the late numbers of this Journal. The following are the characters of the Beaumontite of Dr. Jackson, cited from pages 497, 498.* Beaumontite. Crenated Hydro-silicate of Copper. C. T. Jackson. ‘“<'This mineral was obtained from the old carbonate of copper mine of Chessy, France, in 1832. It was regarded as a hydrated silicate of copper, but subsequent analysis proved it to be a crenated hydro-sili- cate of copper. The analysis of a specimen which had effloresced by exposure to the air yielded to Dr. Jackson :—Silica, 21-0; deutox- * See also this Journal, Vol. xxxvuz, p. 398. 338 Review of Alger’s Phillips’ Mineralogy, ide of copper, 46°8; crenic acid, 15°8;* water, 10-0; alumina and iron, 4°4; carbonic acid and loss, 2°0 ; = 100-0. “Jt has the following characters. Forms stalactitical; color blue- green, when fresh, but greenish-white when dry. Specific gravity 1:88. Soft pulverulent when dry. ; “Tn the close tube gives off an abundance of water, when heated ; the recent specimens giving the largest proportion. Heated to redness a portion of the copper is reduced, and the mineral in the tube is found to be a mixture of portions of copper with yellow and white powder. Before the blowpipe, on charcoal, it first decrepitates a little, then shrinks, leaving numerous cracks in it, and at last partially fuses and becomes yellow and white. On being levigated, yields particles of metallic copper. With soda, fuses, giving a button of copper. With acids, it gelatinizes, and the solution is green and turns blue by excess of am- monia. When mixed with water, and sulphydric acid gas is passed through it, the copper separates as a sulphuret, and crenic acid and silica may be obtained by evaporating the solution to dryness. The crenic acid may be separated from the silica by a solution of carbonate of ammonia. } “Tt occurs in stalactites on the roof of the mine, and is continually forming by infiltration through the porous sandstone rock. When re- cently obtained, it contains a much larger proportion of water, which it loses by exposure to dry air.” The hydroborate of lime or borocalcite of Mr. Hayes, brought by Mr. Blake from 'Tarapaca, Peru, is named Hayesine by Mr. Alger, in honor of Mr. Hayes. The account below of Glauberite from 'arapaca is cited from page 616. Glauberite. “This mineral was among the specimens brought by Mr. Blake, from the province of Tarapaca, in Peru. From a qualitative examina- tion, Mr. Hayes ascertained that it contained sulphuric acid, soda and lime. He afterwards submitted it to analysis, and found it to be iden- tical with glauberite. It gave him the following results : Ratio. Sulphuric acid, - - 57220 11-44 2 Soda, - - - 21°324 5°33 1 Lime, - - - 20-680 5:90 1 Protoxide of iron, - 444 99-668 * With a small portion of phosphoric acid. and Shepard’s Treatise on Mineralogy. 339 “There is a slight deficiency in the quantity of soda, but this salt evidently consists of one atom sulphate of soda, one atom sulphate of lime. This is the composition of the variety from Villa Rubia, in Spain, originally analyzed by Brongniart. Formula : NSI-+-CalSl, or as stated by Mr. Hayes, NaS+-CaS. ‘It occurs in extremely brilliant, colorless and transparent crystals, imbedded in hydrated borate of lime, or Hayesine. They are in the form of elongated oblique rhombic prisms, simply replaced on their obtuse terminal edges, by single planes.” The Ledererite of Dr. Jackson, which Mr. Alger retains as a distinct species, is described as follows, on pages 214, 215. Ledererite. °e C. T. Jackson. (Am. Jour. of Sci., Vol. xxv, 78.) “This mineral is composed, according to the analysis of A. A. Hayes,* of silica, 49°47; alumina, 21:48; lime, 11:48; soda, 3:94; phosphoric acid, 3°48; oxide of iron, 0°14; water, 8-58. ‘Sp. gre 2710, E=—6. “* Jt occurs in crystals which are sometimes colorless and transparent, but usually white and opake, or only translucent on the edges, some of them being of a pale salmon color. The crystals are in the form of hexahedral prisms, deeply replaced on their terminal edges, or termi- nated at both extremities by hexahedral pyramids, having at their sum- mits a small plane termination, perpendicular to the axis of the prism ; indicating a regular hexahedral prism for the primary form. This form is further indicated by the separation of faces of cleavage made visible by exposure to heat. Before the blowpipe, according to Hayes, it becomes white, and divides at the natural joints; at a higher tempe- rature it fuses into a white enamel, which can be rendered more vitreous by continuing the blast; a few bubbles are disengaged when it is thus treated. In the matrass, a slight empyreumatic odor is perceptible. Its inferior hardness and specific gravity, but more especially its py- rognostic characters and chemical composition, clearly separate it from the species hydrolite, or gmelinite, to which it has been referred: one consisting of bisilicates of alumina and lime, silicate of soda, with six per cent. phosphate of lime, and only 8°58 water; the other, by Mr. Connell’s analysis, of bisilicate of alumina, tersilicate of lime, soda and potash, no phosphoric acid, and 21°66 per cent. water. ‘“* Some of the crystals are elongated, and measure one third of an inch in the direction of the prismatic axis, but most of them possess * Am. Jour, of Sci., Vol. xxv, p. 84. 340 Review of Alger’s Phillips’ Mineralogy, nearly equal dimensions in the opposite direction, or they are some- times even in low flattened prisms. The secondary planes on the edges incline on M, at an angle of 130° 5’, and towards each other, at 142° 10’, as determined by the reflective goniometer, by M. Dufrénoy, of the School of Mines in Paris. Ledererite was discovered by Dr. Jackson and the editor, between Cape Split and Cape Blomidon, Nova Scotia, in the cavities of amygdaloid, accompanied by calcareous spar, mesotype, analcime and stilbite. It has become a very rare mineral, and is no longer found at the locality.” There seems to be no sufficient reason for supposing the phos- phoric acid, detected by Mr. Hayes, essential to this mineral. According to Rammelsberg, its chemical formula differs from that of gmelinite only in presenting one third as much water. The inclination of the pyramidal planes on M, in gmelinite, acgording to Rose, is 130° 27’, which is near the same angle in Lelbiatite as above given. The new mineral Pyrrhite is stated on pp. 625, 626, to have been recognized among some minerals brought from the Azores by Prof. Webster ; the following is the account of it. Pyrrhite. *“« This exceedingly rare and beautiful mineral, hitherto found only in Siberia, and of which but a single specimen comprising eight crys- tals, is known to mineralogists, has been recognized among the inter- esting substances recently brought from the Azores, by Prof. J. W. Webster. The specimen was placed in Mr. Teschemacher’s hands for examination by Prof. Webster, and was supposed, by both of these gentlemen, to be a new substance. On comparing it with pyrrhite, as described at page 176, Mr. Teschemacher was at once convinced of its identity with that substance. He has furnished the following descrip- tion. Form, beautifully perfect regular octahedrons; color, deep orange-yellow ; transparent on the edges, with a brilliant vitreous lus- tre. Hardness equal to that of feldspar. The crystals are from one half to two lines in length, and they are superimposed on a white feld- spar, or albite. ‘The minutest crystals are quite transparent. One of these exposed to the oxidating flame of the blowpipe, became opake, retaining its orange color, but duller. Changed to the reducing flame, it melted without frothing, and assumed a deep, dull indigo-blue color, which could only be distinguished from black in a bright light, and on the minute edges of the fused crystal. With borax, it melts into a dark brown glass, apparently colored by iron. “Tt is probable that the mineral contains some titaniate, and that the blue color almost instantly assumed by the assay, is owing, as Kersten and Shepard’s Treatise on Mineralogy. 341 has shown, in the case of some of the titaniferous silicates, to the for- mation of blue oxide by the loss of oxygen in titanic acid. Prof. Webster has the subject in hand for a chemical analysis, and he has taken measures to procure a larger supply from the locality.” Several recent analyses were made for the treatise in the course of its progress, which were also sent by the analysts to Mr. Dana, and were quoted in reviewing his work. We could have wished that Mr. Alger had used his judgment more unsparingly in condemning species that are bad. We run over his book, alluding to some errors which seem of sufii- cient importance to demand at least a passing remark—especially those that may convey abroad a wrong impression with regard to American species. Cyprine, (p. 22.) This mineral is united by Mr. Alger with garnet instead of idocrase, in consequence of an analysis by Mr. Richardson,—evidence of no weight, inasmuch as garnet and idocrase are admitted by chemists to have the same compo- sition. The structure of Cyprine is identical with that of ido- crase, from which it ditfers only in its light blue color. Xanthite, (p. 32.) Xanthite is retained as a species. We have seen crystals the same in form with those of zdocrase, and there appears to be no doubt of their identity. Fibrolite, (p. 108.) ‘This mineral is united with kyanite. The fibrolite of Count Bournon from the Carnatic has long been con- sidered Bucholzite, with which it is probably identical. ‘The name fibrolite was early applied in this country to a variety of kyanite in short fibrous prisms, supposed at the time to be identi- cal with Bournon’s mineral. Dawvidsonite, (p. 121.) Rammelsberg states that this mineral, according to the investigations of Breithaupt, Plattner and Lam- padius, is nothing but beryl. Lampadius obtained for its compo- sition, silica 66°10, alumina 14°58, glucina 13-02, magnesia 1-16, peroxyd of iron 0-52, water 0-80.* Hudsonite, (p. 127.) The Hudsonite of Beck, here admitted to the rank of a species, is identical with augite in eel: and is near Hedenbergite in chemical characters. Thulite of Thomson, (p. 131.) This species, here retained, though hesitatingly, is now considered a rose-colored epidote. * Handworterbuch, 1, 189. Vol. xtvu1, No. 2.—July-Sept. 1844. 44 342, Review of Alger’s Phillips’ Mineralogy, Later analysts do not discover the cerium supposed to be detected in it by Dr. Thomson. Polyadelphite of Thomson, (p. 135.) This mineral, from Sus- sex Co., N. J., is nothing but a yellowish granular garnet, as is readily seen at the locality. Compare the analysis, p. 135, with the composition of garnet, on pages 23, 24 and 25 of our author. Marmolite of Nuttall, (p. 153.) This mineral, from Hoboken, N. J., is still continued asa species, although long since determined by Shepard to be identical in composition with serpentine. 'The analyses of Vanuxem* and Lychnell} lead to the same conclusion. Boltonite, (p. 154.) This mineral has been united by Mr. Al- ger with Picrosmine, and we think without sufficient reason, as the Boltonite, according to Thomson’s analysis, is anhydrous, while Picrosmine contains nearly seven and a half per cent. of water, and its resemblance in other respects is not very close. Boltonite. Picrosmine. Silica, 56°64 Silica, 54:88 Magnesia, 36°52 . Magnesia, 33°34 Alumina, 6-07 Protox.Mang. 0-42 Protox. Iron, 2°46 Protox. Iron, 1:39 Water, 7°30 101:69, Thomson. —— 97:33, Magnus. Talc, Chlorite, Soapstone, (pp. 155, 150.) ‘Talc and chlorite are united in one species by Mr. Alger, and steatite separated from talc. The investigations of Lychnell have shown that steatite (soapstone in the arts, speckstein of the Germans) is identical with tale in composition, and that both are anhydrous. 'The soap- stone of Cornwall, (saponite,) confounded by Mr. A. with steatite, is a hydrous species, quite peculiar in its butter-like consistence when moist, and its white earthy appearance on drying. Chlo-— rite contains 8 to 12 per cent. of water, and is wholly distinct from tale. Von Kobell separates chlorite on chemical grounds into the two species, chlorite and ripidolitet Nacrite, which is united, in the work before us, with talc, has the unctuous feel of this mineral, but is aluminous instead of magnesian. Danburite of Shepard, (p. 172,) is a doubtful species, as stated in Vol. xuiv, p. 384, of this Journal. * J. Acad. Sci. Philadelphia, iii. tT K. Vet. Ac. Hand. 1826. t+ Erdmann’s Jour. xvi. and Shepard’s Treatise on Mineralogy. 343 E'smarkite, (p. 176.) This mineral, described by Erdmann, is identical with Dr. Jackson’s Chlorophyllite, (see p. 62,) which differs in composition from Bonsdorffite, (or Hydrous Iolite,) and Fahlunite, only in containing less water. Nuttallite, (p. 220.) Nuttallite has been considered a distinct species on the ground of 'Thomson’s analysis. But its erys- tallization is the same with scapolite, and, until examined by another chemist, it should not rank as a species. In Mr. Alger’s work it occupies a distinct place, some fifteen pages in advance of scapolite, from which it is separated by elzolite, Hauyne, hy- drous anthophyllite, periclin, Labradorite, albite, analcime, soda- lite, &c. . Elleolite, (p. 221.) Elzolite, which is here continued as a species, Scheerer has shown to be identical with nepheline, both in composition and structure.* Calstronbaryte, (p. 306,) E’mmonsite, (p. 309.) These are admitted mechanical mixtures, and might better be rejected than retained with a query. Giéthite, (p. 355.) Distinct from Limonite, with which it is united, in containing less water. The formula of Limonite (Brown Iron Ore, ) is Pe?H°, while that of Gothite is FeH. Titaniate of Iron (Menaccanite,) Crichtonite, Ilmenite, (pp. 378—380.) 'These minerals are admitted as distinct species. The compounds of titanic acid and iron are so various, that many more might be added; and as they are all isomorphous, it ap- pears preferable to unite them under one species, making the dif- ferent compounds varieties. ‘The analysis given of Hystatite, (p. 379,) is that of Menaccanite, according to Von Kobell, the au- thor quoted. Von Kobell gives Mosander’s analysis of Hystatite as follows: Titanic acid, 24:19; protoxyd of iron, 19°91; per- oxyd of iron, 53-01; lime and magnesia, 1:01; silica, 1:17.+ The Washingtonite of Shepard (p. 602) is identical nearly with the variety Hystatite. Torrelite of Thomson, (p. 384.) The Torrelite from Middle- town is the common columbite of that place. In crystallization it is identical with the Bodenmais columbite. Mr. Alger has not distinguished the kimito-tantalite (Ferro-tantalite) from the co- * Poggendorf’s Annalen, xlix, p. 359, 1840. + Grundziige der Mineralogie, p. 318, Nurnberg, 1838. 344 Review of Alger’s Phillips’ Mineralogy, lumbite of Bodenmais, lately shown to be distinct in psn 200 as well as composition.* Silicates of Manganese, (p. 395.) 'The silicate and sesquisili- cate of manganese from Franklin, N. J., established as species by Dr. Thomson, and here retained, are believed to be only im- pure or half decomposed varieties of the common bisilicate of manganese, (Kieselmangan of the Germans.) Torrelite of Renwick, (p. 418.) ‘This supposed species was long since shown to be an impure ferruginous jasper. Arsenate of Iron, (p. 373,) Scorodite, (p. 599.) These are one species, the analyses of the former being the correct compo- sition of the latter. One of these analyses is repeated under Sco- rodite. Ter-arseniet of Cobalt, (p. 446.) This species is considered. by Berzelius as a mechanical mixture, probably of cobaltine and sulphuret of bismuth.t Pimelite, (p. 455.) This mineral is clay colored with oxyd of nickel, and not a distinct species. Biotine, (p. 607.) Brooke has studied the crystals of this mineral, and shown them to be identical with anorthite.t Breislakite, (p. 608.) This mineral was supposed to contain copper as a principal ingredient, as is stated in the work before us. But Jate examinations have shown that it is not an ore of copper, and is not far removed from the hornblende family.$ Pickeringite, (p. 616.) ‘The analysis by Thomson of speci- mens supposed to be this species, should not be permitted to throw doubts over the results of our own chemist, Mr. Hayes. Dr. Thomson must have either made some error in his analysis or have examined some other species. Stellite, (p. 624.) 'The Pectolite of von Kobell and Stellite of Bergen Hill, N. J. have been united by Alger, as was done also by Dana. To these Mr. Alger has proposed to add the stellite of Thomson ; and the three united he calls steliite. But we should * See this Journal, Vol. xxx11, p. 149, on the identity of Torrelite of Thomson with columbite, by z D. Dana; alee Ratnmeleberes Handworterbuch, vol. ii, p. 195, where he states that it has essentially the same composition with the Boden- mais columbite. t Rammelsberg’s Handwé6rterbuch, ii, 274. Berz. Jahresb. vii, 175. { Phil. Mag., vol. x, 1837. § Rammelsberg’s Handw6rterbuch, supplement, p. 32, and Shepard’s Treatise on Mineralogy. 345 hesitate to place the stellite of Dr. Thomson, containing six per cent. of water, with pectolite, believed, as Mr. Alger states, to be anhydrous. He also suggests that the mineral is an anhydrous lime-mesolite, an unfortunate name, as it creates confusion to extend the name mesolite to an anhydrous mineral ; for on no principle yet discovered, can the one (hydrous) be isomorphous with the other. 'The crystals of Bergen Hill, examined by Mr. ‘Teschemacher, are stated by Mr. Alger to have had the form of mesolite, and on this ground the name is proposed. F'rankenheim suggests that pectolite is a tremolite with part of the lime replaced by soda. Still farther examination is required before the identity of the Bergen Hill mineral with pectolite can be considered as established. The important subject of polarization of light is very briefly treated by Mr. Alger, and is scarcely mentioned by Dana and Shepard. It may be said, that as a branch of optics it has only remote relations to mineralogy, and ought to be reserved for the class room of the professor of natural philosophy. 'T'o say nothing of the elegant and attractive nature of the subject, and the ease with which some of the more striking phenomena are made con- spicuous to a class of mineralogical students, we cannot deny that it has a most important bearing on the determination of min- eralogical species. By its means we often derive important aid in determining the system of ecrsytallization to which a mineral be- longs, and in distinguishing species that otherwise might be thought identical. A single instance may serve to illustrate our remarks. 'The spe- cies mica, as is well known, has been divided into hexagonal and oblique or common mica, belonging to different systems of crys- tallization. This division, which was based on crystallographic grounds, has been confirmed by the optical properties of the two minerals. But further, the hexagonal mica of Henderson, N. Y. has been found to have the optical relations of binaxial mica, and therefore, instead of having a hexagonal primary like other hexa- gonal mica, its primary is a right rhombic prism, and it is hence entitled to rank as a distinct species.* * Mr. Alger has so placed it as magnesian mica, from the large proportion of this earth found in it by Meitzendorf, (Pogg. tv1i1, 157, 1843.) ‘The same name has been given to hexagonal mica, as magnesia is its characteristic ingredient. Dana proposes the less objectionable name of rhombic mica. 346 Review of Alger’s Phillips’ Mineralogy, This discovery sets in a strong light the importance of making the optical properties of minerals, the subject of inquiry in deci- ding on identity, when from the nature of the case the evidence can be obtained. . We regret that this subject has been so summarily treated in these three works. We might easily extend these remarks, for many things of mi- nor importance are passed over without notice. Our object is not to undervalue Mr. Alger’s labors, which we esteem highly, and we take pleasure in assuring the student of mineralogy, that he can- not open the book without finding much to reward him for his perusal. 'The adoption of false and antiquated principles of clas- sification, leading to absurdity in some cases, and the want of a discriminating courage in the rejection of bad and doubtful spe- cies, are its most prominent faults. Had Mr. Phillips lived to this day, he would not we are sure have retained the divisions of the science which were current in England when he wrote, and although we will not pretend to say that he would have followed either Mohs or Necker, or any other modern author, it is certain he would not have closed his eyes to the beautiful natural relations of species, which have been point- ed out by the progress of mineralogical science during the last ten years. ; But we must hasten to say a few words relative to the “ Trea- tise” by Prof. Shepard. ‘This is a second edition of the first part of the treatise by the same author, published in 1832, with some additional information comprised in the table of species. The classes and orders of Mohs are retained, but there is no division into genera. ‘** While so much uncertainty exists relative to many of the species, and while such different views are likely to prevail respecting the gen- era, the application of a systematic nomenclature to minerals can scarce- ly be received with approbation. Indeed it has thus far been met with decided tokens of discouragement, not only, as might have been expect- ed, from learners, but from the more experienced cultivators of the study. An additional reason for its disuse appears to be, that the number of spe- cies in the mineral kingdom is so small, that the memory requires less artificial help to retain a distinct conception of the relations of the spe- cies, than in the departments of zoology and botany, where the cases are not few in which a single order contains several times as many spe- and Shepard’s Treatise on Mineralogy. 347 cies as the entire mineral kingdom. It is for this latter reason a matter of doubt, whether a systematic nomenclature, analogous to that in the other departments of natural history, will ever be adopted in mineralogy. ** The trivial names only, therefore, are employed in the present work ; and in those few cases where none such have ever been applied to well established species, the attempt has been made for the sake of uniform- ity, to supply the deficiency. In the descriptive part of the work, the leading synonyms will follow (in smaller type) the trivial names adopt- ed for each species.” —p. 94. It is well known that Prof. Shepard is a disciple of Mohs, in relation to the determinations and arrangement of minerals. Chemical evidence has therefore with him no decisive weight, unless it is corroborative of natural history characters. But hap- pily Prof. S. has not been so far consistent as to banish the blow- pipe and the test-case, and he still resorts to analysis in deter- mining the nature of minerals, although in regard to classifica- tion, he would supersede its results if they were at war with the characters of natural history. Difference of constitution is with this class of naturalists an accident, with which the mine- ralogical student has little to do. He knows quartz and dia- mond by their hardness, gravity, and lustre, rather than by the silica of the former and the carbon of the latter. It is however no valid objection to the chemical method, that in describing a bird or a fish we do not dwell on the carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, and oxygen, which enter into their composition, or the phosphate of lime which gives stability to their bones; for, there is a wide and irreconcilable distinction between the re- sults of vital force in the production of organized forms, and those of molecular attraction which govern the characters of crystallized minerals. ‘The one is organic and vital; the other purely chemical. On this difference are founded two great sys- tems of natural knowledge, and any attempt to overlook it or undervalue its importance, must lead to error. Gravitation is not more essentially connected with astronomy, than chemistry with mineralogy ; and the student who is ignorant of the composition of his minerals, might with equal profit possess a cabinet of glass of divers hues. It is said that many blind per- sons have a delicacy of touch, which enables them to distin- guish, not form only, but colors, and that they may even appre- ciate the beauty of a picture, yet we see in this fact no argument for the rejection of vision in estimating the value of works of art. 348 Review of Alger’s Phillips’ Mineralogy, Chemical characters alone are perhaps as insufficient as charac- ters purely physical, in the determination of minerals. Were all minerals distinctly crystallized, the naturalist would have a strong argument in support of his views, rendered doubly forcible by the principles of isormorphism and dimorphism. To the chemist, rutile and anatase, Sillimanite and kyanite, white iron and iron pyrites, carbonate of lime and arragonite, gar- net and idocrase, are identical substances. But the laws of di- morphism (the development of which the mineralogist owes as much to chemistry as to physics) establish them as distinct. We have already expressed the opinion, that a new method was in store for mineralogy, which should combine all that was essential and truly important, both in chemistry and natural history, with- out a blind adherence to either, and the results of every year seem to add new strength to the opinion. We do not wish to be considered as criticising the arrangement of species in the table contained in Prof. Shepard’s little volume, which is in the main unexceptionable. Our remarks are aimed rather at the exclusive adherence to a so called natural history method on the one hand, and the neglect of chemical evidence on the other. 'The volume before us bears evidence of the errors to which the former must of course lead, and also to the impos- sibility of a consistent adoption of the latter principle. The introductory chapters of the book will be found clear and useful to the general student, but the tables for determination are too brief to enable the learner, who is wholly unacquainted with the science, to determine a species with facility, and by no means supply the want of full descriptions and figures, and yet we infer that the small volume is intended to go alone as a complete trea- tise. 'Take an example of the mode of arrangement of characters. Ti. *13. Apatite, 50 3-2 Hex. prs., mas. gran. L. vit. C. various. (Splendid xls. at Hammond, St. Lawrence Co., N. Y.) This is all the information which the author thinks necessary to enable the learner to determine this species. In carrying out his views of having a trivial name for every species, Prof. Shepard has found it necessary to drop several old and well established names, chiefly because they convey a notion of the chemical constitution of the mineral. We observe the following changes of this sort. Oxacalcite for oxalate of lime, of and Shepard’s Treatise on Mineralogy. 349 Brooke, (the expurgation of chemistry in this case, is quite in- complete, ) kraurite for green iron ore, Selbite for carbonate of sil- ver, Beresofite for red lead ore or chromate of lead, Carinthite for yellow lead ore or molybdate of lead, &c. We think an author who feels compelled in justice to Count Bournon, to revive the obsolete trivial name of fibrolite and substitute it for the well es- tablished and universal Bucholzite, should hesitate before rejecting other original and unexceptionable terms for the mere “sake of uniformity.” A glance at the list of species will enable us to show how the principles adopted by the author work in practice. If the science of chemistry had never been heard of, we think this list might have been somewhat shorter even than now. Quincite. 'This earthy hydrous silicate of magnesia is here re- » tained as a species, although even on chemical grounds it is hardly distinct from Meerschaum. Lincolnite. 'This species, which was proposed by Prof. Hitch- cock, has been generally considered as only Heulandite. Mr. Al- ger has written a very satisfactory paper on this subject in Vol. xLvI, p. 235, this Journal; the specimens on which Mr. Alger’s opinion was founded and which were measured by Mr. 'Tesche- macher with the reflecting goniometer, were received from Prof. Hitchcock himself, and others were obtained from the State collec- tion, where they were deposited by Prof. H. Mr. Shepard cannot object to this conclusion, founded solely on crystallographic char- acters. Fibrolite. Under this name Prof. Shepard includes the species Bucholzite and Sillimanite. We have already presented (Vol. XLVI, p. 382) the chemical evidence which in our opinion would be sufficient to unite kyanite and Sillimanite, (as Mr. Connell had pre- viously proposed, ) but the crystallographic evidence for their sepa- — ration is as good as in the case of Arragonite and calcareous spar. Prof. Shepard says, (p. 138,) “The American Bucholzites belong to Sillimanite; nor have we any valid ground for maintaining Sil- limanite distinct from fibrolite,” &c. As the question must be decided, as far as it concerns our author, on purely natural his- tory grounds, without regard to any chemical evidence, (however cogent that may seem to others,) we would only say, that until the diagonal cleavage and distinct crystalline form of Sillimanite Vol. xiv, No. 2.—July-Sept. 1844. 45 ’ 350 Review of Shepard’s Treatise on Mineralogy, &c. (a figure of which we have given 1. c.) are shown to be identical with the fibrolite of Bournon, or the Bucholzite of others, we must maintain its claim to rank as a distinct species. Danburite. Weare at aloss to decide whether this species is proposed by the author on chemical or natural history grounds; if on the former, the evidence is inadmissible by the principle laid down; if by the latter, it requires further investigation, as the re- sult 6 Mr. Shepard’s analysis is far from satisfactory. Goshenite. 'Thisisanew name for the same mineral Crees the author has before described (this Journal, Vol. xxx1v, p. 329) as phenakite, and which he afterward (Vol. xiu1, p. 364) recalled. It was first noticed by Col. Gibbs in this Journal, as a “‘ beautiful rose emerald,” (Vol. I, p.351;) it is also white and bluish. Prof. Shepard considers it as belonging to the rhombohedral system, and its planes seem to render it probable that the inference is cor- rect. Without more perfect crystals we cannot consider it dis- tinct until an analysis shall decide its composition. | Ledererite.. The sphene of Grenville, Canada, and Hammond, N. Y. is still retained under this name. The greatest confusion exists in most of the books in relation to the figures of this mine- ral, but a comparison of the crystals from Hammond with figure 229 of Mohs’s Mineralogy, (2d ed.) will convince the most skep- tical that the identity is complete. The figure given by Prof. Shepard in this Journal (Vol. xxx1x, p. 357) will be seen to cor- respond with the figure of Mohs, only that it is inverted and the planes differently lettered.* The slight discrepancy of the angles (about 1°) is no doubt due to the imperfection of the specimens measured, forbidding the use of the reflective goniometer and rendering the common instrument more uncertain than usual. We believe Prof. Shepard is alone in maintaining this mineral as a distinct species. Washingtonite. 'This name for a variety of axotomous. iron should not be retained, as the mineral is identical in composition with the hystatite of Breithaupt. Chathamite. Here we have a new species proposed, on as far as we can see, purely chemical grounds, and these we conceive will be found untenable. But we copy the description, (p. 158.) * Or see this Journal, Vol. xxv1, p. 136, where this figure is placed in its normal position. hy gage Cabo d Bremer inte Discovery of Yitro-Cerite in Massachusetts. 351 “ Chathamite. H. 5:5. G. 6:226. Mas. fine gran. Fract. un- even. C. tin-white to steel-gray ; rarely tarnished ; bluish gray. Streak grayish-black. (Lo. Chatham, Ct. cobalt-mine. Before the blowpipe emits fumes of arsenic, and with borax gives a blue bead. Arsenic, 70; iron, 17:70; nickel, 12°16; cobalt from 1:4 to 13 p.c.)” In this Journal, Vol. xx1x, p. 242, Mr. Booth has given an anal- ysis of an ore of nickel and cobalt, from Riechelsdorf, which gave, nickel, 20°74; cobalt, 3°37; iron, 3°25; arsenic, 72:64, from which he deduces the formula, (Ni,Co,F'e)As*. Now it is well known that nickel, cobalt and iron may replace each other in any propor- tion, and hence the hypothetical formula RAs? may be used to express the composition of white nickel, which is undoubtedly the ore analyzed by Prof. Shepard, and here called Chathamite. From these few notes it will be seen how difficult it is to follow out consistently the principles espoused by Prof. Shepard, and we regret this the more, because few men in this country have culti- vated mineralogy with equal zeal, activity and success. Ameri- can mineralogy, in particular, is greatly indebted to him for many personal explorations made with much labor and a wide range of travelling. His tact in bringing out, fitting up, and arranging American minerals is unrivalled ; but we cannot discern any valid reason why we should insist on keeping closed one half the shut- ters of an ill-lighted apartment, admitting the rays only through the leaded diamond-glass of a single Gothic window. » Yale College Laboratory, August 1, 1844. Art. XI.— Discovery of the Yttro-Cerite in Massachusetis ; by Prof. Epwarp Hircucocr, LL. D. (Read to the Association of American Geologists and Naturalists at Albany, April, 1843.) In looking over recently some neglected duplicates of rocks and minerals collected many years ago in Massachusetts, my eye accidentally fell upon one exactly resembling specimens of yttro- cerite, which I had received from Sweden. It occurs in thin veins running through granitic gneiss, and presents the peculiar and striking purple color of the Swedish mineral. It corresponds also in hardness and in structure; and I have little hesitation in pro- nouncing them identical from these characters alone. Unfor- 352 Discovery of Yitro-Cerite in Massachusetts. tunately, however, the label is lost; and my memory does not serve me to recall the locality, except that I have an impression that it was found in Worcester County, and the specimen corres- ponds with some of the rock there. I notice also in it fragments of pyrope, which occurs in that county. I have an indistinct recollection of throwing it aside as a poor specimen of purple. fluate of lime; not being then familiar with the yttro-cerite. I place the specimen from Massachusetts and one from Sweden on the table, that the members of the Association may compare them. I have made a few chemical trials to ascertain whether this mineral contains hydrofluoric acid, cerium, and yttria, and now give the results. The powder was moistened with concentrated sulphuric acid in a platinum crucible, covered with a glass plate, and subjected to a moderate heat, when the glass was decidedly corroded by the hydrofluoric acid. Before the common blowpipe the mineral melted into a dark greenish glass, without decrepitation. With borax, its powder formed an orange yellow bead when hot, which, on cooling, lost nearly all its color, passing through one or two shades of yellow- ish green. . In nitric and hydrochloric acid, the mineral was more or less soluble by long digestion and the application of heat. A solu- tion in nitro-muriatic acid exhibited the following effects with reagents. Potassa gave a white abundant precipitate, insoluble in excess. Carbonate of potassa gave a white abundant precipitate, slightly soluble in excess. Bicarbonate of potassa gave a similar precipitate, slightly solu- ble in excess. Ammonia gave a white abundant precipitate, soluble in excess. Carbonate of ammonia gave a like precipitate, nearly all solu- ble in excess. Red prussiate of potassa gave a yellow abundant precipitate, insoluble in hydrochloric or nitric acid. Yellow prussiate of potassa gave an abundant blue precipitate, insoluble in hydrochloric and nitric acid. Hydrosulphate of ammonia gave a gray precipitate, which be- came darker on standing. Discovery of Yitro-Cerite in Massachusetts. 353 Oxalic acid gave a white precipitate, insoluble in hydrochloric acid. ‘Phosphate of soda gave a white abundant precipitate, soluble in nitric acid. It is well known that the above reagents produce almost pre- cisely the same effect upon cerium and yttria, and the results correspond with their behavior in solutions of these substances, as given in the late work of Parnell on Chemical Analysis, ex- cept that the precipitate by ammonia is insoluble in excess, instead of being soluble; that by hydrosulphate of ammonia is gray, instead of white; that by oxalic acid is insoluble, instead of being soluble in hydrochloric acid; that by yellow prussiate of potash is yellow, instead of white, and there is a blue pre- cipitate by the red prussiate of potash, whereas neither cerium nor yttria produces any. ‘There can hardly be a doubt, however, that this last result proceeds from the presence of iron; and per- haps the other deviations from the usual action of the reagents , on cerium and yttria, may be explained by the presence of for- eign ingredients, as it was impossible to separate the mineral en- tirely from its gangue. It may be too, that the same cause ren- dered the mineral fusible, although when pure it is infusible per se. Upon the whole, too many characters correspond to the yttro-cerite to allow us to refer it to any other species; and yet the facts that have been stated, throw some doubt over this con- clusion. But as the existence of this mineral in New England is a matter of great interest, I have thought the specimen de- served this brief communication.* * Dr. C. T. Jackson has analyzed this mineral since the above paper was writ- ten, and found it to correspond essentially with the Swedish yttro-cerite. Its composition is as follows: Lime, - - - - - - 0:347 Yittria, - - - - - - 0-155 Oxides of cerium and lanthanium, - cae gt 0-133 Alumina and oxide of iron, - - - 0-065 Silex and silicate of cerium, - - - 0-106 Fluorine, - - - - - - 0:194 1-000 Proceedings Bost. Nat. Hist. Soc. 1844, p. 166. 354 Review of the New York Geological Reports. Arr. XII.—Review of the New York Geological Reports. (Continued from Vol. xiv1, p. 157.) New York System.—In the first part of the review of the New York Reports, it has been shewn that the older paleeozoic or pro- tozoic rocks of Murchison form the characteristic geological fea- tures of the state of New York, and hence they are designated the New York system by the state geologists. 'These, therefore, es- pecially demand, and will now receive, a more detailed notice. As avast multitude of facts have .been accumulated by the able individuals who have prosecuted this survey during the last seven years, we can of course only cull from these, those forma- tions which, either from their geographical extent, economical importance, or peculiar geological interest, will occupy most of our attention, while the minor, partial formations can receive on- ly a passing glance. The following list presents, in a tabular form, the divisions and subdivisions of all the rocks embraced in the New York system: Geographical subdivis- wons. CuampPpLain Division Onrarto Division. = ee) Ertir Division. DIOR wrmore Systematic subdivisions, founded upon the fossil and lithological characters. . Potsdam sandstone. . Calciferous sandrock. . Black River limestone group, embracing the Chazy and Birdseye. Trenton limestone. . Utica slate. . Hudson River group. . Grey sandstone. Oneida or Shawangunk conglomerate. . Medina group. . Clinton group. . Niagara group, including shale and limestone. . Onondaga-salt group. . Water-lime group. 12 13 14, 5: 16. HELDEREERG SERIES. H Pentamerus limestone. Delthyris shaly limestone. Encrinal limestone. Upper Pentamerus limestone. 18. Oriskany sandstone. . Cauda-galli grit. . Schoharie grit. . Onondaga limestone. . Corniferous limestone. . Marcellus slate. Moscow shales. Ludlowville shales. . Hamilton eroup,} Boca limestone. . Tully limestone. . Genesee slate. Portage sandstone. . Portage or Nunda group, ; Gardeau flagstones. Cashaqua shale. . Chemung group. Review of the New York Geological Reports. 355 With regard to the geographical divisions of this table, they are to be regarded rather as grouping for local convenience than as a natural classification founded upon the distribution of fossils. ‘The time has, perhaps, hardly arrived for the construction of a perfect chronological paleontological table, but it is probable that it would recognize seven divisions, or rather three principal divisions, with intervening transition series, thus : PROTOZOIC ROCKS, OR NEW YORK SYSTEM. . Potsdam sandstone. . Calciferous sandrock. . Black River limestone. . Trenton limestone. . Utica slate. . Hudson River group. Oneida conglomerate. . Medina sandstone. . Clinton group. . Niagara group. . Onondaga salt group. . Water limestone. . Pentamerus limestone, and Catskill shaly limestone. . Oriskany sandstone. 15, Caudigalli and Schoharie grits. 16. Onondaga limestone. 17. Corniferous limestone. 18. Marcellus slate. 19. Hamilton group. 20. Genesee slate. (21. Portage group. Transition Series. 22. Chemung group. Transition Series. First on Lower Division. are Sy Transition Series. WWF SONA WMH Sreconp or Mippue Division. Transition Series. Turrp oR Upper Division. : i a aN = Taking into account the persistency of leading formations throughout the United States, the uniformity of condition, exclu- siveness and peculiar character of species in the strata embraced in the three principal divisions ; and at the same time considering the doubtful position which the transition series holds in the system, and the apparent connecting links which they form between the lower and upper rocks, this seems to us, at present, the most con- sistent and satisfactory classification of these American paleeozoic rocks. We proceed with the description of the minor divisions in the ascending order. Potsdam Sandstone-—(No. 1 of Pennsylvania and Virginia Reports.) This rock, the base of the New York system, and the connecting link between the non-fossiliferous rocks below and the fossiliferous above, is interesting as being the oldest rock contain- ing organic remains at present known in this country, and as 356 Review of the New York Geological Reports. making us acquainted with the earliest forms of organic existence to which geological science can point back. Here is a representation of one of the Plate 68, p. 268, Emmons’s Report. lowest and oldest fossils now known in this country. And what is worthy of note, though a species peculiar to the Potsdam sandstone, it belongs to a genus which has survived all the changes upon | the earth, and, as Mr. Conrad justly re- marks, has lived through all ages of or- ganic existence; even at this day, it is _ eS an inhabitant of the ocean. Lingula antiqua. At Birmingham in Essex Co., N. Y., at a place called the High Bridge, this Lingula is abundant, though obscure, in the Pots- dam sandstone ranging through the strata to the depth of seven- ty feet. There is another fossil in this rock between Wilna and the Natural Bridge, in Jefferson Co., N. Y., which Prof. E. says resembles the so-called F'ucoides demissus, but no figure is given of it. The lower part of this rock is usually a conglomerate contain- ing sometimes, as Dr. E. informs us, masses of quartz as large as a peck measure. ‘The upper part is usually a white friable sandstone, a yellowish brown compact sandstone or a hard quartz rock. 'The entire thickness of the mass on the Canada slope is three hundred feet, and the belt of country which it occupies av- erages about fifteen miles. At De Kalb in St. Lawrence Co., the Potsdam sandstone is el- evated by disturbing forces acting from beneath, and ‘‘ seems also to have been subjected to lateral pressure, by which the strata are folded around each other ;” but in general this rock is even bed- ded. It rests directly either on gneiss or granite, and borders the hard crystalline rocks on the N. and N. W. along the line of road leading from Ogdensburg on the St. Lawrence, to Plattsburg on Lake Champlain. ‘The most interesting locality for the geolo- gist to examine it, ison the Au Sable River, near Birmingham and Keesville, where he can observe its characters in fossils, and contemplate its stratification in frightful gorges. Its western equivalent is not yet fully determined. Along the Wisconsin River, towards its mouth, a sandstone is visible close- ly resembling the Potsdam sandstone of New York in external Review of the New York Geological Reports. 357. aspect; and since it crops out three hundred feet below beds of fossiliferous limestone, known to be the equivalent of the Tren- ton limestone of New York, there is a great probability of the identity of the two rocks; still the paleontological evidence is Wanting, since the Wisconsin sandstone has not yet yielded any fossils. | From the reports on Michigan this formation seems to exist on Lake Superior. At its junction with the overlying calciferous sandrock the Potsdam sandstone puts on a variety of aspects ; sometimes it is a calcareous breccia, sometimes a dark brown iron mass, in hand specimens resembling a graywacke ; and again a dark slaty sand- stone with impressions of fucoids. ‘At the Falls of Montmo- renci, this rock is stained with carbonate of copper, which gives it the aspect of one of the varieties of new red sandstone.” (Em- mons’s Report, p. 103.) The typical mass, which gives name to the rock, occurs at the Potsdam quarries, on the De Grasse River, St. Lawrence Co.— They furnish the most valuable building stone in the state; in- deed, Prof. E. maintains that few materials could compete with it, if situated near a market, on account of its being so perfectly workable and manageable, and at the same time so even-bedded. Calciferous Sandrock.—(No. 2 of Pennsylvania and Virginia Reports.) The predominating rock of this formation is, as the name denotes, a sandy limestone. It has usually a fine crystal- line structure, intermixed with earthy matter and small masses of of calcareous spar. It consists, according to Emmons, of the fol- lowing divisions: Fucoidal layers, calciferous sandrock, drab- colored layers, or water limestone, cherty beds, geodiferous strata filled with a species of Orthis, encrinital beds, mass containing Bellerophon and other univalves, oolitic layers; in all attaining a thickness of between two hundred and fifty and three hundred feet. Sometimes the entire mass is absent. Fossils are both rare and obscure in this formation. 'Those which have been observed and are confined to this rock are rep- resented on the succeeding page. Plate 2, fig. 1, Ophileta levata. Fig. 2, O. complanata. Fig. 3, plate of the head of an Encrinite, very abundant in the upper part of the calciferous sandrock at Chazy. Fig. 4, Ortho- ceras primigentum. Vol. xtvu1, No. 2.—July-Sept. 1844. 46 358 Review of the New York Geological Reports. Plate 2, p. 36, Vanuxem’s Report. Plate 84, p. 312, Emmons’s Report. Review of the New York G'eological Reports. 359 Besides these, there have been found in the calciferous sand- rock, Lingula acuminata, Pleurotomaria, Scalites angulatus, (Pl. 84, fig. 1,) Maclurea labiatus (fig. 2,) M. striatus (fig. 3,) Bellerophon sulcatinus (fig. 4,) Orthis (fig. 5,) and Orbicula, (fig. 6.)* The best localities for studying this rock and its fossils are in the valley of the Mohawk near Canajoharie, Fort Plain, and at Chazy, Clinton Co. On the south, the calciferous sandrock ranges from the termina- tion of the lakes bounding New York and Vermont to East Can- ada creek ; its outcrop being chiefly north of the Mohawk, and resting immediately on the primary, concealed however to a con- siderable extent, by alluvion. West of this, in Herkimer Co., it shows itself, on the surface, only over a very limited area on the margin of W. Canada creek. Further west it disappears until it emerges again to the surface between New Hartford and Whites- town in Oneida Co., at first in a very narrow strip, but after reach- ing Fish Creek its superficial area suddenly expands in a sweep towards the north, and then, contracting again, it reaches the south- eastern shore of Lake Superior. On the north it rests on the Potsdam sandstone, and is coextensive with that formation, form- ing a belt along the St. Lawrence ten miles wide, and extending thence into Canada. Anthracite in the form of drops occurs Seely in the cal- ciferous sandrock, and excavations have been made near the Noses to the depth of sixty feet, in the hopes of striking a work- able bed, without success. So long as anthracite coal was con- sidered a product of more ancient date than bituminous coal, there might have been some encouragement given to such a work ; but now that geological research has demonstrated the fact that both these varieties of coal belong to one and the same geological epoch, it is certain that all attempts to discover anthracite associa- ted with this rock, or indeed with any of the members of the New York system, must be equally fruitless with the explorations made for bituminous coal within the same geological limits. * The original figures illustrating the subject of this paper having been kindly loaned to us, and some of them being in groups, we have been obliged to copy a considerable number of figures not referred to in this review, because they could not-be detached from the tablets in which they are contained without considera- ble trouble and expense. Moreover, they may be of some interest, being addi- tional figures of the same deposit. 360 Review of the New York Geological Reports. Here we have a striking example of one of the grand negative truths of geological science—one, the vast practical utility of which, because of a passive character, and because it merely fur- nishes experience to save the expenditure of immense sums of money and labor, without amassing wealth, is but little appre- ciated. West of Little Falls some fine cabinet specimens of copper pytites have been procured in blasting the rock for the coal. It yields the finest quartz crystals known. Sulphate of barytes is also found in it at the west end of Little Falls. Many of the warm springs of the United States have their origin, according to Vanuxem, at the bottom of the calciferous sandrock. This formation seems to have a great range, extending in a N. W. and 8. W. direction through the Atlantic states. Black River Limestone, (No. 2 of Pennsylvania and Virginia Reports, ) including the Chazy, Birdseye, and Mohawk lime- stone, viz. those rocks which form cliffs on Black es from its head toits mouth. The lower part, or Chazy limestone of Emmons, is a dark, thick-bedded limestone, from thirty to one hundred feet thick, characterized by the Maclurea, pl. 73, fig. 1, closely allied to Kuomphalus, a Trochus, and Columnaria sulcata, (fig. 2.) Above this lies a dove-colored limestone about ten feet thick, every where distinguished by its peculiar fossil—the so-called Fucoides demissus, (fig. 4, next page, ) now considered by Dr. E. to belong to the Polyparia, on account of its internal structure and the perforation of the outside of the hanging stem. The tail of a trilobite (Pl. 73, fig. 3) was also found in the Birdseye limestone; also Orthoceras multicameratum and Ellip- solites ? The Birdseye limestone passes upwards into a dark limestone, which affords at Isle La Motte a beautiful marble. On the Mohawk the upper layers, or transition to the Trenton limestone, have an interlamination of shale, and contain the re- mains of large Orthoceras, the Actinoceras of Bigsby and Diplo- ceras of Conrad ; also Strophomena alternata and ee like ceratites, Cohmariariy sulcata. The middle portion, or Birdseye limestone, is the most constant in its character, and affords generally a fine rock for construction and the manufacture of pure lime. Review of the New York Geological Reports. 361 ac} ae i] 2 foe) wt oS i re) St a isp) 5 = (o) 5 ae n es) i) =] S Ga —— 9, Vanuxem’s Report. = 2 362 Review of the New York Geological Reporis. At Frankfort, Kentucky, a rock of a very similar aspect oc- curs and is quarried extensively for tombstones. Mr. Vanuxem considers it identical with the Birdseye limestone of New York. The lower magnesian limestone of the Wisconsin River, inter- posed between the sandstone and fossiliferous limestone already referred to, and containing oolitic layers, is most probably the equivalent of the Black River limestone or the calciferous sand- rock. Trenton Limestone—(No. 2 of Pennsylvania and Virginia Reports.) No rock of the New York system seems to be better characterized than this, and none affords a richer harvest to the paleontologist. The inferior rocks, we have seen, furnish occa- sionally organic remains, but they are few and far between, and for the most part obscure ; but here the catacombs of an entomb- ed world of animated existence suddenly bursts upon our view ; not mutilated, dispersed and unintelligible, as one might expect, considering the date and condition of the deposite,—but standing out in bold relief, even detached and complete, with the minutest details of organization preserved in all the perfection of life, in- viting us to the contemplation and study of the anatomy and physiology of races, the aborigines of this terrestrial globe, and leading us thence to deduce inferences regarding the condition of our earth at this remote palzozoic period. The western exten- sion of this and the overlying beds of the Champlain divisions, are indeed but a calcareous aggregation of Mollusca and Polyparia, and have furnished to the cabinets of the curious a greater variety of fossil specimens, and more prolific subject for the research of the naturalist, than any of the superincumbent, more recent forma- tions. The Trenton limestone in New York is, for the most part, a dark or black fine-grained limestone in thin layers, separated by beds of black slate. It passes also into a grey, crystalline lime- stone, particularly the upper beds; and then affords a good mate- rial for architectural purposes. The black variety is usually too shaly to be a durable building rock, but where it is free from ar- gillaceous matter, as in some localities, it is compact, and then sus- ceptible of a good polish. The organic remains peculiar to this formation, which have the widest range, are here represented. Review of the New York Geological Reports. 363 1. Isotelus gigas. 2. Strophomena deltoidea. 3. Favosites Lycoperdon. : Mh ee SSS SS === op 4d ‘p ae “rodoxy s,uiexnue A The same or very analogous species as figures 1, 2, and per- haps 3, occur in the lower part of the blue limestone formation of the West. | Plate 100, fig. 2. Calymene senaria. 6. Ceraurus pleureran- themus. 7. Trinucleus tessellatus ? Fig. 2, closely resembles the Dudley trilobite, Calymene Blu- menbachi, but supposed to be distinct from it and described by Mr. Conrad under the name of C. senaria; it is one of the most abundant fossils of this rock. Bucklers and post-abdomens of it 364 Review of the New York Geological Reports. (i \ ( 5 vy Mi \ a i HM if Dl oo G y Plate 100, p. 390, Emmons’s Report. are especially numerous. Dr. E. thinks it is confined to the Trenton limestone. A trilobite occurs in the West so like this, that it is hardly possible to distinguish them; it is found at Cincinnati, Ohio, and also at Madison, Indiana, even three hun- dred or four hundred feet above the Graptolite beds and strata containing Triarthus Becki. If it really is the same species, it holds a higher position or has a greater range than in New York. Fig. 7, is also exceedingly abundant, particularly near Glen’s Falls. We think it somewhat doubtful whether it be the true tessellatus. The western tessellated trilobite, found near high Review of the New York Geological Reports. 365 water of the Ohio, opposite Cincinnati, has been referred to the same species; it is however most probable that it is distinct both from this and the 7’. caractaci. " Fig. 6 is not so common as the preceding, but it evidently has a wide range, as it has been found in Wisconsin on Sec. 5, T. 5, N. R. 1 W. of 4th P. M. These are the univalves of the Trenton limestone most wor- thy of note, on account of their wide range. ysodoy ssuowmy ‘ggg ‘d ‘TOT 381d; Plate 101, fig. 2, Pleurotomaria lenticularis. 3, Subulites elon- gata. 6, Bellerophon bilobatus. Vol. xtvu1, No. 2.—July-Sept. 1844. 47 366 Review of the New York Geological Reports. Fig. 3 occurs also in the hills at Cincinnati. Fig. 6 is, to all appearance, the same as the Caradoc fossil of the same name rep- -resented in Murchison’s Silurian System. If so, it is one of the few species whose absolute identity on both sides of the Atlantic can be established. A Pleurotomaria, considered the same as fig. 2, has also been found both in Iowa and Ohio. Here are some of the bivalves of the Trenton limestone. / "y ii ¥; Zs Plate 105, p. 394, Emmons'’s Report. \ 1. Strophomena sericea? 2. Orthis pectinella. Plate 106, p. 395, Emmons’s Report. Plate 105. 3. Orthis striatula. iii Wis Plate 106. 3. Strophomena alternata. The true S. sericea is a Caradoc fossil ; if this be identical with it, then there is another point of specific identity established be- tween the American and English fossils. A fossil closely allied Review of the New York Geological Reports. 367 to this, occurs in abundance near high water of the Ohio at Cin- cinnati. _ Orthis pectinella abounds, according to Dr. E. in the Trenton limestone of Jefferson County. This fossil differs only in size and the number of ribs from one found in the hills at Cincinnati. It is also closely allied to O. callactis of the Cara- doc of England; the interval between the ribs is greater and the ribs fewer in the cadlactis than the pectinella. The Orthis striatula cannot be distinguished from a small and delicately ribbed shell found in great numbers in the lower part of the hills of Cincinnati. Dr. E. informs us that it is as constant at all the localities of the Trenton rock, which have been examined, as any fossil hitherto observed. Both the western and eastern fossil are hardly distinguishable from the O. canalis of the Car- adoc. It is possible that several species have been confounded under the name of the Strophomena alternata : as Dr. E. remarks, alter- nate fine and coarse markings are possessed by more than one species. A vast number of individuals, embracing four or five distinct forms, are found in the hills on the Ohio between Cin- cinnati and Madison, which have more or less of this character. Several of the same occur also in Iowa and Wisconsin. Plate 107, p. 396, Emmons’s Report. This Pleurotomaria (Plate 107, fig. 6) is common in the grey limestone at Watertown. It is no doubt identical with a species found at Cincinnati. 368 Review of the New York Geological Reports. Plate 109, p. 397, Emmons’s Report. 1. Pleurotomaria., 2. Delthyris expansus. Casts of a Pleurotomaria rather more slender and elongated than figure 1, occur in the lead-bearing rock of lowa. The Del- thyris expansus, (fig. 2,) appears identical with a species found at Eagle Point, Iowa. The foregoing figures of the Trenton limestone, have been selected from their close analogy to western species. Of the remaining fossils of this formation we can only give a list. Isotelus planus, Bumastis Trentonensis, (fig. 1, p. 364,) Ca- lymene ; Illenus Trentonensis, (fig. 3, p.364,) Trocholites ee aed Review of the New York Geological Reports. 369 ammonius, (fig. 1, p.365,) Znachus undatus, Cyrtoceras pilosum, (fig. 4, p. 365,) Cameroceras Trentonense, (fig. 4, p. 368,) Ortho- ceras multilineatum, (fig. 7, p.368,) O. Trentonense, Bellerophon punctifrons, (fig. 5, p. 365,) B. profundus, Nucula inflata, (fig. 2, pl. 106, p. 366,) NV. faba, (fig. 5, p. 366,) Pterinea undata, (fig. 1, p. 366,) P. orbicularis, (fig. 3, p. 368,) Strophomena se- ricea, (fig. 1, pl. 105, p.366,) Orthis leptenoides, Delthyris ? Airypa extans, (fig. 6, p. 366,) A. bisulcata. The above are fig- ured and described. _ The best localities for studying the Trenton limestone and its fossils, are Trenton Falls on West Canada Creek, Fort Plains on the Mohawk, Watertown on Black River, Glen’s Falls on the Hudson River, Plattsburg and Essex near Lake Champlain. Its principal outcrop is along West Canada Creek and the Mohawk, extending from three miles west of Little Falls up the valley of the Mohawk to Boonville, thence down the west and south ter- race of Black River to Lake Ontario. It usually rests either on the calciferous sandrock, or Birdseye limestone. In Lewis and Herkimer counties it borders on the primary, but its junction can- not be seen by reason of the diluvium. On the east side of the primary range it appears only in isolated patches, on the west shore of Lake Champlain, Glen’s Falls, and a few other places in the valley of the Hudson. Its greatest thickness is four hundred feet. To the east it thins out and becomes blended with the overlying shales. Ores of lead and zine are not uncommon in the east and west joints of the Trenton limestone, hence Faton’s name of metal- liferous limerock ; but they have not been found in profitable quantities. From the facts here given regarding the range of the organic remains, it appears evident that the Trenton limestone has its representative both on the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers, but as there is some difference of opinion on this subject amongst geolo- gists, the arguments will, probably, be more fully discussed here- after. The ‘Trenton limestone has usually been considered equivalent to the Caradoc sandstone of England, but Dr. E. is inclined to regard it as the American representative of the Bala limestone ; in proof thereof he cites the following list of fossils from Murchi- son’s work, p. 308: Orthis anomala, Schlot., O. Actoniz, O. canalis, O. compressa, O. Flabellulum, O. lata, O. Pecten, O. protensa, O.tes- 370 Review of the New York Geological Reports. tudinaria, Dalm, Bellerophon bilobatus, and Leptena sericea. If fossils are to be received as evidence, these, says Dr. E., go far to confirm this view. Now on comparing this list with the fossils of the Trenton limestone given in the New York Reports, we find only two common to the rocks in question, viz. Leptena sericea and Bel- lerophon bilobatus, and closer observation might perhaps even prove these to be distinct from the English fossils of this name. Moreover these very fossils are not peculiar to the Bala limestone, but are also Caradoc and Llandeilo species. Indeed the very list referred to is given by Murchison to show that the Bala limestone cannot be considered as belonging to a system distinct from the Silurian, inasmuch as these species are common also to the lower Silurian, viz. to the Caradoc sandstone and Llandeilo flags. How- ever, Dr. E. founds his principal proof of the geological position of the Trenton limestone on other grounds; inasmuch as it lies beneath rocks equivalent to the Llandeilo flags, viz. the Utica slate. But when we investigate the evidence of this equivalency, we find it rests solely on lithological character.* The truth is, there is not yet a sufficient number of facts before us to enable geologists to decide upon their minuter points of identification. Here terminate the important limestone deposits of the Cham- plain division ; above are chiefly shales and sandstone. Utica Slate, (No.3 of Pennsylvania and Virginia Reports.) Li- thologically this deposit is not distinguishable from the black slate intercalated with the Trenton limestone; in fact, the geolo- gists look upon it as a continuation of the same sedimentary ac- tion, but distinguish it as a separate formation in consequence of its embracing a few peculiar fossils. 1. Triarthus Beckit. 2. Graptolites dentatus. * Mr. Hall says he has detected a small Lingula in the Utica slate, very similar to one found in the Llandeilo flags. Review of the New York Geological Reports. 371 The Triarthus Beckit, one of these, does not seem to differ essentially: from a small trilobite found in great abundance in a gray marlite near high water of the Ohio River at Newport, op- posite Cincinnati. The Graptolites dentatus is another of these.* At Cincinnati there are two Graptolite strata; one some ten or fifteen feet above high water, and one near the reservoir, some two hundred and twenty-five feet higher, containing probably two distinct species ; and all probably differ slightly from the Utica slate species here figured. . Some of the state geologists regard this curious fossil as a ma- rine plant. Mr. Mather in his Report, (p. 393,) speaking of this organic remain of the Utica slate says, ‘These are mostly plants (Graptolites) of which there are at least five species. One species is serrated on one side, another on both sides like the teeth of a saw. One species is serrated with a long and extremely delicate awn-like appendage, extending from the smaller extremity of the serrated leaf, and one of them is branched.” Mr. Conrad recog- nizes two species as the F'ucoides serra and EF’. dentatus. 'T'wo other species slightly resemble F'. ineatus and EF’. ramulosus. And Mr. Vanuxem has the following paragraph regarding them, (p. 63;) “The illustration of this rock by its Graptolites, is there- fore left for the geologist of that district. We shall merely state that the ramose nature of two of the species of these singu- lar bodies, found at Alexander’s bridge below Schenectady, at Norman’s-kill below Albany, and at Hudson City, shows that their origin is vegetable, not animal as conjectured by some nat- uralists. Their chemical composition confirms their vegetable nature; no animal ever existed whose material was almost en- tirely carbon, as is the case with these fossils.” These gentlemen view these organic remains in a very differ- ent light from all former naturalists who have described them, as will appear from the following extract from Mr. Murchison’s work on the Silurian System, (p. 694.) “« Graptolites.—These fossils have been alluded to as good tests of the age of the strata in which they occur. It has further been shown that they are usually found in deposits, which from their * This fossil has occasionally been found in the slaty part of the Trenton lime- stone. 372 Review of the New York Geological Reports. structure were well suited to the habits cf the family of ‘sea pens,’ of which they form a genus. They were named Grrapto- lites by Linneeus, and have since been partially described under different names, by Wahlenberg, Schlotheim, Hisinger, Nilsson and Bronn. The Danish naturalist Beck, who is preparing a monograph of them, has supplied me with the following sketch. From his remarks it appears that one of the species, very charac- teristic of the upper Silurian rocks, occurs abundantly in Nor- way and Sweden. Dr. Beck intended to name this species Grap- tolithus virgulatus, but not yet having printed his monograph, he authorizes me to use any other term, and therefore I adhere to the name of Gt. Ludens?s, which was adopted before I received the description of the learned Dane. It does not however, ap- pear certain that there is any real distinction between this fossil of the Ludlow rocks, and the Prionotus Sagittarius, Hisinger. The fossil fig. 3, is not adverted to by Dr. Beck. It seems more like Prionotus foliam, (Hisinger,) but differs from that species in the number of foliations, and I therefore venture to suggest the name G‘. foliaceus. This species was found in the calcareous flags of Meadowtown, near Shelve, Salop,’ (Llandeilo flags.) Fig. 4 of the same plate being unknown to Dr. Beck, he has, as above stated, named it after me. The G‘. Murchisonii occurs in the lower Silurian rocks and volcanic grits of the Llandrindod Hills, Radnorshire.” “These pen-like, serrated fossils have a great vertical range in the older or ‘ protozoic’ rocks, being found from the lower part of the Ludlow formation, down to very ancient beds in the Cam- brian System, in which they were collected for example, by Prof. Sedgwick in Abereiddy Bay, North Pembroke. They there prove that the lines of slaty cleavage coincide with the original laminee of deposition, along which these fossils are arranged.” Note on Graptolites ; by Dr. Brcx. “ Graptolithus, Linn., Iter. Scan. Wahlenberg, Hisinger, &c. Esquisse d’un Tab. des Petr. de la Suede, p. 28. “‘ Orthoceratites, Wahlenberg, Schlotheim, Nacht. Pet. I, p. 56 to 58, f. 3. ‘“‘ Priodon, Nilsson, Bronn, Lethzea Geognostica. “* Lomatoceras, Bronn, ib. p. 55. “ Prionotus Nilsson, Hisinger, Lethea Suecica, pp. 113, 114. Review of the New York Geological Reports. 373 “Very different opinions have been entertained as to the place which the Graptolites hold in the series of living beings, but that of Prof. Nilsson may come nearest to the truth, who conceives the Graptolite to be a polyparium of the ceratophydian family. Yet I am more inclined to regard them as belonging to the group Pennatuline, the Linnean Virgularia being the nearest form in the present state of nature to which they may be compared. * “Tam now acquainted with six or seven species of Graptolites, all occurring in the oldest fossiliferous strata, where they are as- sociated with Trilobites, Orthoceratites, &c. Of the species above alluded to, five belong to Scandinavia, and of the other two, one is peculiar to Bohemian and the other to French strata. The three specimens given me by Mr. Murchison belong to two spe- cies, Nos. 1 and 2 being identical, and agreeing with the Norwe- gian species, which in my monograph I have named G'raptoh- thus virgulatus ; but as the memoir is still unpublished, Mr. Murchison may change the name if he thinks it desirable. The species No. 4 is new, and Mr. Murchison’s name is adopted.” GENERIC CHARACTERS OF GRAPTOLITHUS. Class Potyrt. Order Ocracrinta (?) Ehrenberg. Family PennatuLipes? Genus Graprotiruus, Linn. “ Polyparium indivisum, elongatum, sublineare, acuminatum, obtusiusculum, stata fossili, compressissimum, serratum. “ Polypi alternantes cum tubulo communi eentrali communi- cantes, in fossilt statu sepissime secatt, rarius bifaru, oblongt, acuminate. ‘‘When the stem is cut off, the distinct bodies of the single polypes are seen alternating, and showing different forms when cut in different directions. “Tn the first edition of his Systema Nature, (1736,) Linnzus published a generic group under the name Graptolithus. The first species he described several years afterwards in his travels in Scania, (p. 147,) where also a rude figure is given. This is the most common form of Graptolites in the Scandinavian transi- tion formations, and as described and named first may be taken as the typical form of the genus. ‘When Linneus introduced spe- cific names, this species of Graptolite was also named for the first Vol. xtvi1, No. 2.—July-Sept. 1844. 48 374 Review of the New York Geological Reports. time, in the twelfth edition of the oar as Nature, Vol. iit, p- 174, No. 7, as G. scalaris. ‘In the last mentioned work, the genus Graptolithus is repro- duced; but several fossil bodies, and even inorganic markings and veins in the rocks being united as species under the same generic denomination, the real typical form was nearly lost by this intermixture. This confusion was carried still further in the thirteenth edition by Gmelin, where even all the true Grapto- lites were omitted. Wahlenberg restored the genus, all the forms given by him being those fossil bodies which belong to the typi- eal species of the transition formations, but he only gave a super- ficial account of the subject. Schlotheim referred them to the genus Orthoceratites, and several other authors who followed added no original matter. Prof. Nilsson of Lund, undertook a monograph of the species of Graptolites found in Sweden. But he was prevented by circumstances, into which I need not here enter, from continuing his investigations on fossil remains, and some brief remarks only were published by him on this interest- ing genus, in the proceedings of the Physiographical Society of Lund. In that notice he proposed a new name for the genus, altering it to that of Priodon, a name not only objectionable as being unnecessary, but as having been already employed by Cuvier for a genus of Acanthopterygian fishes, of the family T'euthede. ‘“‘Since that time no attempt has been made to write a mono- graph. Prof. Bronn, of Heidelberg, in his Lethea Geognostica, again however changed the name of the genus to Lomatoceras, a name already given to an insect.”* It appears then that the European naturalists class the Grapto- lites with the corals. 'The ramose nature of some of the species does not in our opinion form a serious objection to this view of the genus, since the branching form is eminently characteristic of many Polyparia. 'The chemical argument in favor of their vegetable origin, presents perhaps a greater difficulty ; but may not the carbonaceous matter have resulted from the peculiar con- dition and circumstances attending the deposit? 'The Utica slate has often a notable quantity of carbon in its composition, and * The above extract regarding an obscure point in natural history, will be inter- esting to those of our readers who may not have access to Mr. Murchison’s work, since there is so great a diversity of opinion respecting the true nature of Grap- tolites. Review of the New York Geological Reports. 375 might not these fossils, originally perhaps of a fleshy nature, have been transformed into carbon, somewhat in the same way that calcareous bodies have become siliceous during the process of petrifaction? Or might not, by the action of some chemical affinity, the less stable elements of the Polyparia have been re- moved and the carbon alone left ? Prof. Emmons gives five figures of fossils of the Utica slate besides those already enumerated, viz. Nuculites scitula, Cypri- cardites sinuata, Nuculites poststriata, Avicula , Lingula rectilateralis. Besides these there occur in it A. T’rocholites. According to Mr. Vanuxem the following fossils are common to the Utica slate and Trenton limestone; Orthis striatula, Strophomena alternata, Lingula ovalis, Favosites Lycoperdon, Isotelus gigas, Calymene senaria. The range of the Utica slate is more extensive than that of the underlying Trenton and Black River limestone, since it is not only coextensive with these formations on the Mohawk and Black River, but extends further east, and forms, by Mr. Mather’s account, a large portion of the slates of the Hudson valley. In- deed there are red and brown slates on the east side of the Hud- son, which he refers to this formation, that range from Canada through Vermont, New York and New Jersey across Virginia. Near Fort Plain, Utica, Hudson, the deep gorges at Rodman and Loraine, and Glen’s Falls, are the best localities for the ex- amination of the Utica slate. In the valley of the Mohawk and Black rivers, the Utica slate forms the surface rock ; through it, by uplifts, the inferior masses protrude. Some of the best grass and dairy lands of the state, have been derived from the degradation of these slates. North of Little Falls, thin layers of fibrous sulphate of stron- tian have been observed by Vanuxem, running parallel with the slate. Some small seams of lead ore traverse the Utica slate, but no regular veins exist. Various unsuccessful explorations have been made in this formation in the valley of the Hudson for coal, and considerable sums have been expended in consequence of having found thin layers and small lumps of anthracite init. Of course all such attempts must inevitably result in disappointment and loss, for reasons previously stated. ‘The thickness of the Utica slate is not accurately known. It is supposed to be from seventy-five to one hundred feet. 376 Review of the New York Geological Reports. Hudson River Group, (No. 3 of Pennsylvania and Virginia Reports,) embraces the shales and sandstones of Loraine, Frank- ford and Pulaski, together with the Salmon River rocks. This is the group to which the name grauwacke was originally applied ; it has a very wide range and great thickness. IJts maximum thickness is not less than seven hundred feet. In New York the group consists of shales and shaly sandstones, with their courses of limestone, the upper portion very fossiliferous. Its lithological character changes, however, going west. ‘The beds ‘in Ohio, which contain similar fossils, consist of grey and green- ish grey marlite, interstratified with blue fossiliferous limestone. In the upper Mississippi, it appears as a magnesian limestone. The fossils by which the shales of Pulaski and Salmon River are readily recognized, according to Vanuxem, are here repre- sented. Plate 9, p. 65, Vanuxem’s Report. 1. Pterinea carinata. 2. Cyrtolites ornatus. 3. Pentacrinites Hamptonii. Both the Piterinea carinata and Cyrtolites ornatus occur in § the hills at Cincinnati. Yj Weare not aware of this Pen- ‘\ yy tacrinites having yet been found in the West. Plate 113, fig. 2. Avicula demissa. 3. Pleurotomaria, ( Tur- ritella obsoleta ?) A. Orthis testudinaria ? This long spiral Plewrofomaria, which is found in the soft ar- gillaceous mass near the top of the rock, (grey sandstone of Lo- raine,) is evidently the same which is found in Wisconsin in great numbers, in a stratum near the junction of the magnesian lime- stone and underlying grey limestone. The Avicula demissa belongs to the lower part of the grey sandstone, and is also a Cincinnati fossil. With regard to the Orthis testudinaria? it is impossible to decide from figures on its identity with fossils from other locali- ties; the New York geologists have not yet been able to deter- mine whether it is distinct from a Trenton species, which it closely resembles. Review of the New York Geological Reports. 377 yuodoy ssuowuy ‘Fop 4 ‘EIT Id SIN \ Se SE SSSsy S Sas, Plate 112, p. 403, Emmons’s Report. txt 378 Review of the New York Geological Reports. Plate 112, fig. 1. Trinuclews caractacit. 2. Strophomena. 3. Strophomena nasuta. The first of these fossils is found towards the upper part of the Loraine shales. Dr. E. thinks it is identical with the true carac- tact of the Caradoc ; it also resembles a Cincinnati species, but we are not at present prepared to subscribe to the identity of either of these species. The two Strophomena are, as far as can be determined by comparing figures with fossils, the same as two species common both in Ohio, Indiana, Iowa and Wisconsin. WaT bs Plate 114, p. 405, Emmons’s Repo Cypricardia angustifrons. Review of the New York Geological Reports. 379 The Cypricardia angustifrons is doubtless the same as the Cincinnati species with which it was supposed to be identical. The following fossils are also considered characteristic of this group. Cypricardia modiolarrs, (fig. 4, pl. 112, p.377,) C. ovata, (p. 378,) Nucula , Orthis Actonie, O. crispata, (fig. 5, pl. 113, p. 377,) Orthis equalis, stems of Crinoidea, Graptolites ser- ratus, G. scalaris. Those which are common to this group and the Trenton limestone are, Calymene senaria? Strophomena se-~ ricea, Orthis striatula. The Triarthus Becki has also been found in this formation. The Hudson River group, asalready remarked, has a wide range; itis, in fact, one of the universal deposites ; but the two masses Into which it has been divided, viz. the upper and lower, are not coex- tensive with one another. The lower division or Frankfort slate, is the most persistent mass, being developed both in the valley of the Hudson and Mohawk, while the upper Pulaski and Salmon River shales and sandstone are fully developed only in the latter region. The width of the belt of country occupied by the Hudson River group, is considerably greater than that of any of the pre- ceding members of the Champlain division. In the valley of the Hudson, its average width is about twenty-five miles. Between New Jersey and the Great Bend of the Hudson, it ranges nearly north and south, passing thence in acurve to Lake Ontario, whose general direction is northwest, up the valley of the Mohawk and down that of Black River. According to the report of Prof. M. an anticlinal axis ranges from near New Baltimore, by Saratoga Lake, to Baker’s Falls. East of this axis the strata of this group are upturned and con- torted, and dip to the east southeast. West of it they are but lit- tle disturbed. 'The same beds on the west side of the axis have a different aspect on the east side. ‘The cause which deranged their position, has also modified their mineralogical character. The lower argillaceous rocks of this group, afford in some places a fire-stone suitable for lining furnaces arid fireplaces; some of it might also be employed for roofing slates, but none is wrought for this purpose. Anthracite in small particles occurs in the gray- wacke of this group. Veins traverse the rocks filled with quartz, carbonate of lime and satin spar. Near the falls of Salmon River, the gray sandstone of this group affords grindstones. Near Red Hook village and Hyde Park, the slaty grits are worked into flag- ging stones. ‘The upper fossiliferous portion of the Hudson River 380 On the Measure of Polygons. group is doubtless represented in the West by the upper beds of blue limestone and marlite of Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky and Ten- nessee, and the lower part of the magnesian lead-bearing rock of Iowa and Wisconsin. The English equivalent must be some part of the Caradoc sandstone. F'rom the great change in the organic remains at the termina- tion of this group, the New York geologists consider this the line of division between the lower and higher portion of the New York system. D. D. O. (To be continued.) Art. XIII.—On the Measure of Polygons ;. by Rev. Grorce C. Wurrttock, Professor of Mathematics and Experimental Sci- ence in the Genesee Wesleyan Seminary. Let a, b,c,...7, k,l, (fig. 1,) be the sides taken in order of any polygon P. Divide the polygon into triangles, (A, 5), (A, c), (A, d),... (A, &), by diagonals drawn from The the junction A, of the first and last sides, to ; the extremities of the other sides. From A let fall the perpendicular p upon the produc- tion of any side c: we then have 2Ztri. (A, ¢)=cp. But p is evidently the sum of the projections of the sides a, 6, preceding ¢, upon a line per- pendicular toc; therefore p=a cos.(a, p)+bcos.(b, p) =asin.(a, c) +bsin.(6, ¢); whence, 2tri. (A, c)=acsin.(a, c)+bcsin.(6, c). From what precedes it is obvious that the double areas of the triangles constituting the polygon will be 2(A, b) =absin.(a, b). 2(A, c)==acsin.(a, c)-+-besin.be. 2(A, d)=adsin.(a, d) +-bdsin.(b, d)+-edsin.(c, d). é&c. *&c. &e. 2(A,k)=aksin.(a,k)--bksin.(b,k) 4+-cksin.(¢,k) + ...+-7ksin.( j,k); .". by addition there results for the double se 2P =absin.(a,b)+acsin.(a,c)-+-adsin.(a,d)+ ... +-aksin.(a,k) + besin.(b,c)+-bdsin.(b,d)+ ... + bksin.(6,4) +cedsin.(c,d)+ ... +cksin.(c,k) + &c. --jksin.( j,/). Dr. Deane on the Discovery of Fossil Footmarks. 381 Therefore, the pouste area of any polygon is equal to the sum of the products of its sides, save one, taken two and two, multi- plied into the sines of the angles embraced by the sides forming the products severally. This beautiful theorem is essentially that given by Hutton under the article Polygonometry. It is remarkable, that obvi- ously useful as it is, itis not to be found in any other of our popular works on mathematics. The above demonstration is more analytical and vastly more simple than that given by Hut- ton. An interesting form for the mensuration of the regular polygon will immediately result from the preceding by put- ting == eS i Sy aky and. (a, b)=e, (a, c)\=2e,... (a, k)=(n—1)e, &e., nm denoting the number of sides, we have 2P= (sin.e+sin.2e+sin.3e+... +sin.(n—l)e) . a? ; +sin.e+sin.2e+ ... +-sin.(m—2)e -+sin.e-+... ne sp + &c. -+sin.e or 2P =[(n —1)sin.e+(n —2)sin.2e+ ...+sin.(m —1)e].a?. Arr. XIV.—On the Discovery of Fossil Footmarks ; by James ‘Deane, M. D. A DEFINITE settlement of the priority of claims to the discovery of footprints in the sandstone of Connecticut River, is due to the parties preferring these claims, and to the cause itself. It is remarkable that these striking impressions, abounding in almost every sandstone quarry, should have escaped observation so long. It is true they have been noticed by many old quarry- men in the service of the canal companies, and by others, but without the slightest comprehension of their origin or charac- ter. Although they were formerly seen, they were nevertheless as much unknown to the learned world as when concealed in the depths of the earth. 'The eye of science had not seen, nor the Vol. xivir, No. 2.—July-Sept. 1844. 49 382 Dr. Deane on the Discovery of Fossil Footmarks. light of intelligence dawned upon them until the present day. But when the obvious meaning was once established, when the master-key to unlock the mystery was found, the true pinion became a subject of profound interest. In the spring of 1835 there was brought to the village wiht I reside, a quantity of stratified sandstone for economical uses. One of these slabs was deeply impressed with the feet of two kindred birds walking in parallel lines, which were exceedingly dis- tinct and beautiful. hese impressions were generally seen, and for atime attracted much curiosity ; but the novelty soon subsided and they were forgotten, so far as I know, by all but myself. The remarkable phenomena presented by these astonishing indications of ancient existence, induced me to secure the title of the speci- mens; and the interpretation of this new language was so intel- ligible, that I straightway resolved to communicate my conclu- sions to several distinguished geologists. The acknowledged reputation of Prof. Edward Hitchcock of Amherst College, in- duced me in the first instance to correspond with him. Accord- ingly, on the 7th of March, 1835, I addressed him a letter, from which the following quotations are derived. “In slabs of red sandstone, &c. I have observed singular ap- pearances, new to me, although I presume not to yourself.* One of them is distinctly marked with the track of a turkey (as I be- lieve) in relief. There were two of the birds side by side, making strides of about two feet. “T was anxious to see the die from which these impressions were struck, and it has now arrived. The tracks, four in number, are perfect, and must have been made when the materials were in a plastic state, and at what period I leave you to tell.” The intelligent reader who honors me with a perusal of these statements, is requested to notice the unequivocal expression of my opinions; for so far as they go, they constitute the essential doctrine that the impressions were made by bzrds, and assert the condition of the rock at the period when the impressions were made. ‘These are fundamental principles, and setting aside the hasty and erroneous opinion of the particular variety, the results of nearly ten years of investigation have not modified them, but they have been confirmed by every subsequent discovery. * Prof. H. was at that time geological commissioner to the state of Massachusetts. Dr. Deane on the Discovery of Fossil Footmarks. 383 Mr. H. replied, that the only authenticated instance of fossil footprints. was that of a tortoise upon the sandstone of Scotland, but added, ‘I am not without strong suspicion however, that the case you mention may be a very peculiar structure of certain spots in the sandstone; which I have often seen in a red variety of that rock. ‘The layers of rock having this structure sometimes present an appearance resembling the foot of a bird. But Iam satisfied that it isnot the result of organization, although I confess myself unable to say precisely from what principle it resulted. But perhaps the case you mention is not of this sort,” &c. My belief was not shaken by the incredulity of this answer. Conscious now that it was a genuine discovery, and that my con- clusions were correct, I immediately despatched a second note to Mr. H. in which I made a positive declaration, (in italics,) ‘“ that in my mind there is not a doubt but they are real impressions of the feet of some bird.’ 'To rebut the supposition of accident, I remarked that ‘‘there are more tracks to be seen in the lot, which I suppose to be a continuation of the line. This fact would be a strong argument against these appearances being formed from accidental circumstances.” As an additional fact I stated, that ‘on examining the opposite side of the slab, I find that the weight of the bird did perceptibly elevate that portion opposite the tracks. This happens to them all.” I likewise reiterated my unchangeable conviction “‘ that these impressions are genuine, and if so they prove an interesting subject for the geologist.” This declaration shows that although I was not a practical geol- ogist, I was nevertheless able to appreciate the results indicated by these extraordinary relics. No reply was returned, but the subject grew more intensely interesting as it was more intimately studied. In April, 1 address- ed a third and elaborate communication to Mr. H. illustrated by diagrams and by accurate models of the impressions. Unfortu- nately I have no copy of this (to me) important essay, and the ori- ginal is lost. I also addressed a duplicate to the senior editor of this Journal, who replied, “‘ the facts you state, illustrated by the cast and by the diagram, are very striking, and appear to carry considerable probability with them that these impressions are real tracks. I know of no antecedent improbability, certainly of no impossibility in the case. While turtles and other amphibie were sporting in the shallows of islands, birds might flit or walk 884 Dr. Deane on the Discovery of Fossil Footmarks. about upon the ground, or wade in a soft beach or bed of mud, leaving their tracks to be filled or consolidated.” Although it is now nearly ten years since this letter was writ- ten, its contents are vividin my memory. It was a demonstration of facts; an attempt to prove from them by the aid of analogical reasoning that these splendid footprints were those of extinct birds. The truth was before me, and unbiassed by preconceived notions I believed it; and I still maintain that these three letters, written without a ray of knowledge other than was derived from philo- sophical inductions, contain the fundamental principles and doc- trines applied to the science of these organic remains. It needed » not the subtleties of technical learning to comprehend their mean- ing, and I from the first asserted the affirmative propositions, that the impressions were those of birds; that they were alternate and consecutive tracks; that each line of footprints was characterized by an individuality that carried with it unquestionable proof of animal origin ;* that they were made when the stratum was in an impressible state; that the stratum was actually depressed be- neath the weight of the bird, and that upon the superior stratum the feet were exhibited in relief, é&&c. &c. I did not indeed pro- ceed to a mechanical arrangement into classes and orders, but the law of discovery was as fully exemplified by these perfect relics, as it now is after years of successful exploration. Subsequent researches have sustained the sentiments of these letters, and although the numbers and varieties of impressions have become greatly multiplied, still the irreversible principles that apply to the original examples, apply equally alike to all others. Nor did Mr. H. reply to this third letter; but he subsequently saw the specimens, and admitted the correctness of my views, which he has since repeatedly done; views which have never been refuted by persons competent to appreciate them. 'The love of possession might have induced me to retain so rich a treasure, yet I presented it to Mr. H., permitting him however, at his press- ing solicitations, to reimburse the purchase money. Self-love too, might have induced me to establish the honor of original discovery by recording its history, but I yielded this point to him in the im- plicit confidence that he would render the subject and myself im- partial justice. Ina letter dated Sept. 15th, 1835, he informed me * Third letter. Dr. Deane on the Discovery of Fossil Footmarks. 385 that in a paper he was about to publish in this Journal, he should “not fail to acknowledge his indebtedness to me for the first dis- covery.” The performance of this pledge consisted in the re- mark, that “his attention was first called to the subject’ by me, but no mention whatever was made of my relations to the dis- covery. Had the facts in connexion with this discovery been duly ac- credited, the necessity of appearing upon these pages to vindicate my claims, and to recover a field too inconsiderately surrendered, would happily have been obviated. I look upon a controversy, as this will doubtless seem to be, with unmitigated aversion, ‘To Mr. H. I am conscious of no unkindness. Iam bound by many obligations to him; and he will understand that my motives are not to assail his reputation, but to sustain my own. ‘This recla- ’ mation therefore, must be ascribed to the prerogative of self-de- fence, which will be justified by additional facts and particulars. The grand results of the researches of Mr. H. were published in his Final Report to the Legislature of Massachusetts, which professedly embodied all facts related to the subject, up to the time of its publication in 1841, yet no allusions are made to the foregoing correspondence; every fact associated with my labors being omitted. The only mention of me in this voluminous es- say, is in the description of the original slabs, as having been ““ nointed out” by me to him, and in dedicating a particular varie- ty to my name asa testimony of respect for having “ first called his attention” to the subject of fossil footmarks. I felt the cold- ness of these ambiguous compliments, for in his conclusions from the facts, and elsewhere in this learned work, its author was compelled by controlling necessity, to adopt facts, opinions and arguments which were emphatically expressed to him ere his scepticism had been dispelled; yet I did not complain. My explorations about the year 1841 were crowned with the discovery of several varieties of bipedal, quadrupedal and vege- table impressions of peculiar beauty and value, which I presented to Mr. H., as has been my invariable custom with every new va- riety, that the collection in Amherst College might be complete. In alluding to my repeated remittances, he wrote, “if you do not stop discovering new specimens, my forthcoming paper will be as long as the article on footmarks in my Final Report.” Now this paper, read before the Association of American Geologists, 386 Dr. Deane on the Discovery of Fossil Footmarks. and published in the first volume of Transactions, contains but a bare allusion to the fact. Most of these specimens were of remark- able interest, and many of them were single examples. Of the expenditure of time and money in procuring these fossils, I need only say, that these items were by no means inconsiderable, but I was laboring for the love I bore the cause. The results of my exertions at this period, were well calculated to illustrate the per- fect analogy between the extinct and existing races of birds, for no example had hitherto been seen that displayed the order of articulations, and the form and insertion of the talons.* Without these indispensable features, the true characters of no impressions can be determined; for all others are more or less imperfect. During the sitting of the Association, &c. in May last, a com- ’ munication appeared in the Northampton newspaper, circulating extensively in the neighborhood of Amherst, from a correspond- ent in Washington, alluding generally to the business before that learned body, and particularly to so much of the address of Mr. H. on footmarks as relates to their discovery. The obvious im- port of the allusion to this subject, was to weaken the validity of my claim, by conferring the honor of discovery on a Mr. Moody and some others; Mr. M. having seen imprints in the year 1802. The particulars relating to Mr. M. were full, while the only notice of myself was the somewhat equivocal expression, that the sub- ject was first “pointed out” to me by a Mr. Wilson, in 1834, (I never saw them until 1835,) and by me in turn to Mr. H.!| Thus in stereotype phrase, making me a mere negative instrument be- tween the pretended discoverer and his historian. When | knew that the authorship of this letter was due to Mr. H., when its ob- ject was apparent, I could not repress the consciousness of my humble efforts to supply him with materiel for his periodical me- moirs. I felt the injustice of this deliberate attempt to place me in a position, not only subordinate to himself, but to another to whom I declare I was never under an obligation of any nature whatsoever ; and after all that had passed between Mr. H. and * In the thirty-sixth plate of the Final Report, the claws of this enormous foot are drawn long and sharp like a bodkin, and are inserted far back into the inferior surface of the fleshy protuberance of the joint. These discoveries prove the mis- take of this inference, the claws of this and most other varieties being thick and blunt, and comparatively short, and their insertion conforms to that of living birds without the least deviation. é ie \ a rR tht 4 Dr. Deane on the Discovery of Fossil Footmarks. 387 myself; the manner and matter of this publication, filled me with vexation and astonishment. I supplied Mr. H. for that paper alone no less than three or four new varieties of these im- pressions, and since the publication of his Final Report, he has with perhaps a few exceptions derived from me, as I believe, his new varieties of sandstone fossils. Antecedent to the delivery of this identical address, no other notice was taken of my correspondence or of my labors in this geological field ; but from the force of circumstances, its author has at this late time of day, detailed some additional and impor- tant parts of the historical evidence, applying to it however, an exclusive interpretation. With singular zeal to mete out a fair equivalent of justice to the original observer, it is not a little unaccountable that he was so tardy in the performance of the act. The specimen of Mr. Moody was purchased in 1839, and although the Final Report and other able treatises appeared subsequently, still the paramount claims of Mr. M. have ever been overlooked.* In the year 1842, I remitted to Dr. Mantell of England, a small but very fine collection of footmarks, with a private communica- tion detailing the obvious meaning of these fossils and incident- ally alluding to my relation to the discovery.t The greatest scep- ticism then existed in England, as to the inferences drawn from this discovery, and it was therefore an unexpected compliment to me that my communication was presented by Dr. M. to the no- tice of the London Geological Society, and that this gentleman afterwards wrote to me in reference to its reception, “it can- not fail, sir, to be gratifying to you, to know that your brief but lucid description, illustrated by the highly interesting suit of spe- cimens, has placed this important subject before the geologists of England ina most clear and satisfactory point of view, and that the thanks of the Society were warmly and unanimously expressed for so valuable a communication.” Mr. Murchison, the president, * Tam utterly unable to comprehend the claim of Dr. Dwight, resting solely on the fact of having purchased the specimen of Mr. Moody. With respect to the claims of the other gentlemen I have no remark to offer. + At the instance of the senior editor of this Journal, through whom the com- munication was made. Always entertaining a firm belief in the ornithological origin of these impressions, Prof. Silliman was solicitous to dispel the incredulity of certain English geologists, through the instrumentality of perfect specimens, when such might be obtained. It was the more gratifying to comply with his wishes, inasmuch as they harmonized with my own. 388 Dr. Deane on the Discovery of Fossil Footmarks. in his annual address likewise alluded to the letter in handsome terms, and with entire impartiality defined the distinction between the claims of Mr. H. and myself; and he paid a just tribute of respect to Mr. H. ‘for the great moral courage exhibited by him in throwing down his opinions before an incredulous public.” It may be merely a concurrence of circumstances, but until the publication of this correspondence, Mr. H. did not urge any ex- clusive claim on his own behalf, or on that of his numerous sub- ordinates. Now the most inexplicable part of this address is this, that hav- ing arrayed a company of original discoverers, Mr. H. should en- tirely cancel their claims, by appropriating to himself the honor of original discovery on the assumed ground of science! In Sept. 1835, after he had settled upon his scientific nomenclature, he acknowledged to me that I was the original discoverer, and the spirit of his early correspondence testified to the sincerity of this admission. 'The deliberate assumption, that although others had found these important fossils, he only had discovered them, pene- trated me with a keen sense of its injustice.* It was enforced by allusions, degrading me on the ground of incompetency to under- stand a self-evident truth. In my first letter to Mr. H. I admitted that I was not a geologist, and this admission he turns into a keen weapon against me. I also, most unscientifically, suggested the variety of bird that made the impressions, and he alludes to this as corroborating evidence of incompetency ; he even thinks that Mr. Wilson did not suggest this idea to me, and that it was orig- inal with me! Mr. H. should be slow to taunt an associate or an adversary on the score of hasty and erroneous conclusions. Even on the subject of these footmarks, Mr. H. himself is not quite clear of mistakes, for he has dropped several of his species, after a full and scientific description of them; and it is my delib- erate opinion that the cause would suffer no injury if the list was still much more condensed. Nay, he has repeatedly com- mitted the disqualifying error with which he charges me, ‘of referring the tracks to birds similar to those now living.” In the twenty ninth volume of this Journal, p. 327, Mr. H. compares a particular variety of footmarks with those of the “ turkey,” as having “‘a similar foot ;” and in the succeeding page, he affirms * See Report of the doings of the Association at page 113 of this volume. Dr. Deane on the Discovery of Fossil Footmarks. 389 that another variety ‘“ might have been produced by that portion of the Gralle denominated Cursores.”” And in his Northampton letter he says that the Dinornis of New Zealand, which he con- jectures is an existing bird, ‘“‘ was probably of a similar character to the bird that made the footmarks on the sandstone.” In con- nection with my inability to comprehend the meaning of the ori- ginal fossils, Mr. H. alludes to himself as one whose “ profes- sional business it was to examine such objects,” and repudiates the idea that my opinions could make an impression upon him, although he had hitherto repeatedly acknowledged the correct- ness of my views. I acknowledge that accidentally blundering upon a thing, irre- spective of those mental relations, that appreciate causes from the results of causes and effects, does not constitute a claim to original discovery. But are we to infer that the history of these impres- sions would still be a blank, had not the scientific pen of Mr. H. recorded it? Was his agency an indispensable requisite in promulgating a knowledge of their existence and character? If this be true, his exclusive claim is impregnable. If the applica- tion of science to this subject, consists in arbitrary classification ; in the adoption of terms of non-committal import in essential par- ticulars; in applying to the acknowledged footmarks of birds, terms which belong exclusively to reptiles; in founding species upon distorted and doubtful examples ; in throwing doubts around self-evident truths, and in the adoption of erroneous conclusions, and the assumption of theories, then the claim of original discov- ery rests upon a broad basis. But, if by science is understood the comprehension of an eternal truth, unbiassed by theory, then is this claim less unquestionable. Mr. H. performs an act of injustice to himself, if he entertains for a moment any belief that had he not published the history of this discovery, I should not have done so; and I now question him, if notwithstanding his science and my supposed incompetency, he was not under the lively apprehension that I should precede him in this matter? This is indeed true, and no fallacy of argument can overthrow the simple fact, that if I had not found or discovered the foot- prints, put it in either contingency, neither would Mr. H. nor either of his numerous company of claimants, have fownd or discovered them. Vol. xtvu1, No. 2.—July—Sept. 1844. 59 390 Prof. Hitchcock’s Rejoinder to Dr. Deane. In the pride of honorable learning, Mr. H. has too far underra- ted my humble exertions to elucidate the history presented by the eloquent imprints upon the sandstones of the Connecticut River. Who first might have seen them is unimportant, so long as the world was none the wiser; who first proclaimed their true mean- ing, the candid reader must determine. I accord to Mr. H. the highest considerations of respect, for the ability and zeal with which he has followed up a subject which, personally, I must always maintain was begun by me with an earnestness that gave no indications of too hastily abandoning it. I have hitherto re- frained, contrary to the advice of many friends, from entering upon the defence of my labors in this beautiful department of geological science; and it is with pain and reluctance, that I per- form that service now, for by the common standard of observation, I am sensible that these statements must clash with other views, entertained by one whose friendship I appreciate, and should deeply regret to lose. Greenfield, Mass., August 17, 1844. Art. XV.—Rejoinder to the preceding Article of Dr. Deane ; by Prof. Epwarp Hircucocx. Tue editors of this Journal having kindly put into my hands a proof-sheet* of Dr. Deane’s paper on the Discovery of Fossil Footmarks, I feel bound to rejoin a few remarks; seconding earnestly the desire of the editors, that this discussion may close with the present number. — The extraordinary claims advanced by Dr. Deane, and his se- vere personal crimination, render it necessary for me to be some- what more specific and plain than I have been on some points. TI avoided these details in my Report, (called my ‘“ Address” by Dr. D.) in order to save his feelings; and I now make them, as he says he made his, “not to assail his reputation, but to sustain my own.” * By special agreement between the writers of these discussions, their re- spective proofs are mutually read, each receiving that of his antagonist, the object being to close the discussion in the present number, and then to submit the cause.—Eps. Prof. Hitchcock’s Rejoinder to Dr. Deane. 391 Inow understand this gentleman to claim, not only the ori- ginal discovery of these footmarks, which in a popular sense I awarded to him, but their first scientific investigation ; that his “three (first) letters, written without a ray of knowledge other than was derived from philosophical inductions, contain the fun- damental principles and doctrines applied to the science of these organic remains ;” that in my Final Report on Massachusetts, I was ‘compelled by controlling necessity, to adopt facts, opinions and arguments, which were emphatically expressed to me ere my scepticism had been dispelled;” and that it was only an “implicit confidence” in my readiness to render him “impartial justice,” that led him to yield to me the liberty to record the history of the footmarks. If this is indeed a correct view of the case, then I am far more culpable and dishonorable than Dr. Deane represents me; though his charges of injustice are very severe. But let us look for a moment at the facts. Early in the spring of 1835, (not 1834, as Dr. Deane says is stated in my Report, of which unfortunately I have no copy, having returned the proof,) a cloven specimen of sandstone, con- taining peculiar impressions, was brought to Greenfield, through the agency of Mr. Wilson,* and laid by the roadside in the street. Dr. Deane, whom I had known asa respectable young physi- cian, with a predilection for scientific pursuits, sent me an ac- count of them; declaring his unhesitating belief that the im- pressions were “‘ the tracks of a turkey,” stating at the same time that he was “no geologist,” and presuming that these appear- ances, though new to him, were not so to me; and expressing a willingness to have them preserved for me if I desired it. What now would be the conclusion of a geologist from such a letter :— a geologist who had sometimes been led away by respectable men long distances in vain, to see supposed tracks on stone? From the known scientific taste of such a man, he would, in- deed, hope that the impressions were something more than dilu- vial furrows, or veins of segregation ; but he would see at once that Dr. Deane was unacquainted with the history of organic re- *® How unfortunate have I been in my efforts to avoid intimating that Dr. Deane derived his opinions from Mr. Wilson! In consequence of a letter received from him just before my Report went to press, in which he manifested much sensibility on this point, I added those explanations in which he now sees only ‘a taunt to an associate.” But jealousy is argus-eyed. aw 392 Prof. Hitchcock’s Rejoinder to Dr. Deane. mains, or he would not have referred these markings to a living species or even genus of birds ; secondly, that he was not aware but that the tracks of birds were common on stone; thirdly, that of course he could not know about the Scottish tracks, the only then known example in the world; and finally, that he had not made, nor intended to make, any scientific examination of these tracks, and therefore that his opinion concerning them was the result of casual inspection, and of no more consequence than the opinion of any respectable sagacious man who was not acquaint- ed with the subject. Such certainly were my conclusions; and accordingly on the 15th of March I replied, expressing a desire to have the specimens’ preserved, and suggesting that perhaps they might prove to be something else than tracks. On the 20th of March Dr. Deane sent another letter, saying—‘“I received your letter this morning, which excites my curiosity more than ever, relating to those tracks.” He then says, that he had ex- amined them anew, and presents similar conclusions to those in his former letter. As he was stimulated to this examination by the facts in my letter, and ashe could have had only a few hours for his new examination, I saw nothing to alter my im- pressions derived from his first note, or to need areply. A few days afterwards, I received from him two plaster casts of the im- pressions, with a note, I think, though I have no recollection of _ its contents ; and unfortunately the original cannot be found on the files of Prof. Silliman or myself. It is easy for Dr. Deane to magnify the importance of this lost document ; but I am sure it contained no new facts or reasoning not in his previous letters. Certain Iam that it made no impression on me; though the casts excited stronger desire to see the specimens. My doubts were not in the least diminished by any of his letters, just be- cause his first letter showed conclusively that he was not enough acquainted with the subject to judge correctly concerning it, and had given it only the slightest examination. In a few daysI visited Greenfield, and found that the specimens had not been removed from the streets; nor did Dr. D. express any unwilling- ness to let me have them; nor then, or at any subsequent time, did he intimate that he intended to investigate the subject, or publish its history ; and since he asks the question, I state most decidedly, that at no time up to this hour, unless my memory de- ceives me, have I had the least apprehension or suspicion that he Prof. Hitchcock’s Rejoinder to Dr. Deane. 393 might anticipate me in giving an account of the tracks; or that he had any intention or wish to do so.* Indeed, excepting a single specimen, [ had all the facts in my possession, and how could I fear that any one could publish them? I knew that Dr. Deane’s examination consisted only of an occasional inspection of two or three specimens of one species as they lay in the streets. I knew that he had not visited a single quarry, nor had searched for the tracks of living animals in museums and by the rivers. His opin- ion, therefore, had no weight in removing my doubts; and even * Postscript.—On seeing this statement in my manuscript, Prof. Silliman kindly reminded me of the following extract from my letter to him of July 30th, 1835, which, without explanation, seems to justify the suspicions of Dr. Deane, and did probably originate them. After saying that I did not wish to announce my con- clusions “ until I well understood the case,’’ I add: ‘‘ My intention is, to offer you a paper on the subject for the January number of the Journal. I shall give to Dr. Deane the credit of having first put me on the track after these relics; but I hope you will delay his descriptions until you receive mine: as I am sure I shall be able to present a more full and satisfactory view of the case than he can do.” And this was written in reply tothe following request from Prof. Silliman, in a letter of July 22d, 1835 :—‘‘I suppose you have seen the so-called bird tracks on red sandstone, near the ichthyolite locality. Dr. James Deane of Greenfield sent me a plaster cast and a description, which I would publish if I were sure there is no mistake in the affair. Will you give me your opinion; for I should not like to make a stare about birds as early as the new red sandstone, and then be laugh- ed at as was for his .’ From this letter I understood that the idea of publishing this description originated with Prof. Silliman, and not with Dr. Deane. And as I was proceeding with the investigation of the case, I thought I might re- quest him, on the score of personal friendship at least, to delay his publication till I had finished my researches and made out my account, especially as my opin- ion seemed important to him in coming to a decision, and I did not wish to have that made public till I could mature and fortify it much more. I supposed that of course the descriptions must be those of Dr. Deane, similar to those he had sent me,—only first impressions from a single specimen,—and I had proceeded so far in my examinations, as to make me feel that it was no vanity to say, that my final account must be more satisfactary than any he could produce from the means lL knew him to possess, or rather without any specimens. I confess, (and I hope naturalists will not judge me too severely here,) that I did feel a desire, when I found how rich a field I had entered, to bring out its first scientific description ; and not to have geologists prejudiced against the whole subject by a premature account, which, even with Prof. Silliman’s skill, with the means in his hand, must have been scanty and crude. A letter from him of August 6th, in reply to mine, could not but confirm my impressions that the idea of publication was his own. He says—“I am much gratified that you are seriously at work upon the turkey tracks or bird tracks of whatever kind they may be; and you may rest assured that I shall publish nothing upon the subject until I receive it from you. I will, therefore, expect you to do justice to Dr. Deane, as you are perfectly ac- quainted with the circumstances; and if you see Dr. Deane, I will thank you to 394 Prof. Hitchcock's Rejoinder to Dr. Deane. after seeing the specimens, I suspended my judgment till I could, in the first place, examine all the quarries of sandstone within my knowledge, to find every variety possible ; secondly, till I had examined all accessible works on organic remains, and all the important collections of the same in the country, to see if these impressions could not be referred to some of them; thirdly, to explore in books and in nature all the cases of the sliding of strata upon one another, of veins of segregation, and clay veins, and of mud furrows; of concretions, ripple marks, and septaria, and unequal disintegration of rocks for the same purpose ; fourth- intimate to him what I have said. My impressions are so strong in favor of the genuineness of the discovery,—judging only from the imperfect copy I have in plaster,—that I feel exceedingly desirous to have the matter investigated ; and Ido not know in whose hands it can be better placed.’ It appears, then, that I was apprehensive Prof. Silliman, instead of Dr. Deane, was about to anticipate me in announcing the footmarks, For had I supposed the latter gentleman to have sent a communication to the Journal, I could have hardly had the impudence to request that it might be thus unceremoniously set aside ; nor would Prof. S. have endured such an interference with his duties as an editor. And further, in a letter to Dr. Deane of Sept. 15th, I told him that I should not pub- lish till the January number of the Journal of Science ; which I should not have done, if I had feared he would anticipate me, since the October number was still open for papers. If Prof. Silliman should make the charge upon me which Dr. Deane has, I could hardly vindicate myself. But I repeat, that I am not con- scious of ever having had fears that the latter intended to anticipate me, whatever may have been the fact as to his intentions. But admit that a treacherous mem- ory has deceived me; nay, suppose he had actually published all that he ever wrote about that one cloven specimen; it would still be no less true than it now is, that I made the first scientific examination of the footmarks ; which is all that Iclaim. I will add, that not until quite recently, although years of pleasant and friendly intercourse have passed between Dr. Deane and me, have I had an inti- mation that he was not fully satisfied with the credit which I have awarded him. I am glad to have had my attention called to the early letters of Prof. Silliman on this subject; for the extracts above given show, that Dr. Deane’s plaster casts and letters produced essentially the same effect upon him as upon myself; viz. a stronger desire to see the specimens; but they neither removed his “scepticism,”’ nor prevented his “‘ feeling exceedingly desirous to have the matter investigated.” I have been also struck with the distinctness and accuracy of his early opinions upon the footmarks, formed, as he says they were, from an “imperfect copy in plaster’’ of one species, and with a full knowledge of all the geological objections to their ornithic character; which fact makes a world of difference in estimating the value of those opinions. And were he to demand of me, even at this late day, the amende honorable for omitting to notice those opinions in my papers, I could hardly refuse it ; presuming that on his part he would admit the omission to have been unintentional. His attention was called to the subject about as early as mine; and had he taken the field, the public well know that my labors would have been unnecessary. Prof. Hitchcock’s Rejoinder to Dr. Deane. 395 ly, to examine the feet and tracks of living animals in museums, menageries, and on mud and sand, for the same purpose. ‘This was the work which must be gone through before my “scepti- | cism’’ was removed, so that I could venture ‘to throw down my opinion” that these were bird tracks “ before an incredulous pub- lic.” In this work I spent aconsiderable part of the ensuing seven months; nor was it participated in at all by Dr. Deane to my knowledge after I obtained the specimens; and before that peri- od he could not have done it in the few days that elapsed after his attention was called to them before he gave his opinion. In- deed, during the five succeeding years, in which I toiled alone in this untrodden field, I have no evidence that he did any thing on the subject, except occasionally to inquire what progress I made init. Here was the tug of the war; and if he had in- tended to claim the first and highest honors of victory, he should have been there shoulder to shoulder, or rather before me in battle. Now in view of this statement, I appeal to naturalists every where, (for they are the only competent jury in such a case,) whether I have not given to Dr. Deane all the notice and credit which belong to him? What could I have said more, unless I had stated what I know to be false, viz. that his reasoning and facts convinced me, and that he had scientifically examined the subject? He speaks slightingly of my aflixing his name to one of the species. But naturalists know that this is one of the highest honors which they can render to those who aid them by specimens or otherwise; and they never do it unless they conceive the person has unusual merits, because they thus asso- ciate him with veterans in science. I appeal too to naturalists to say, whether the only honor I can justly claim in this ‘seven years’ war,” consists, as Dr. Deane maintains, in carrying out and illustrating, and very clumsily too according to him, his splendid generalization, ‘derived from philosophical inductions,” that these markings are “real impressions of the feet of some bird, probably of the turkey species.” To show that I have always been of the same opinion, as to assistance derived from any who preceded me in this matter, I quote a sentence from a Report on Ornithichnites for 1836, which I sent at the close of that year to this Journal, but which was subsequently withdrawn. I say there, that ‘‘it would be strange, 396 Prof. Hitchcock’s Rejoinder to Dr. Deane. if on a subject so novel, where one has to grope his way without any assistance from the labors or opinions of his predecessors, some modifications of early opinions should not be necessary as new facts are brought to light.” Dr. Deane thinks it strange that I should have been so tardy in awarding justice to those who preceded him in the discovery of these tracks; and he speaks of them (Dr. Dwight, an aged and respectable physician; Mr. Moody, a farmer, but a man of public education ; and Mr. Wilson, an ingenious mechanic) as not having “the slightest comprehension of the origin or char- acter” of the tracks. I did not, indeed, think it necessary to name them till some of them intimated to me that they ought to have been mentioned. But one important object is hereby ac- complished. However incompetent they are, they certainly dis- covered these tracks earlier than Dr. Deane, and came to the same conclusion as he did, as to their being bird tracks, and for similar reasons; and I might name fifty others, who, upon look- ing at my specimens, have expressed the same views at once ; so that it does not require scientific investigation to reach this conclusion. But it does demand it to establish the conclusion ; and this is what I claim to have done independently. Dr. Deane also manifests great sensibility because I quoted his first letter to show what he terms his “incompetency.” Let him understand that I charge him with no intellectual incom- petency to investigate this subject. On the contrary, I have a high opinion of his ability for such a work. But I do maintain, that at the time he discovered the tracks, he did not understand the subject in its connection with geology, simply because he had not studied it. And my proof is, his first letter. If, as a geologist, he had examined the subject before I took it in hand, and given his opinion as the result of his investigations, I could have no apology for omitting to notice that opinion. I was com- pelled therefore to publish that letter, or lie under the imputa- tion of having acted dishonorably. In his letter to Dr. Mantell, read before the London Geological Society, he stated that when he first found the tracks he was ‘‘aware that footsteps of ani- mals upon rocks were unknown, or at least controverted occur- rences,” (I impute the discrepancy between this statement and his acknowledged ignorance of the subject in his first letter to me, toaslip of memory,) and that the scepticism of Professor el een Se Prof. Hitchcock's Rejoinder to Dr. Deane. 397 Silliman and myself was overcome by his efforts. That distin- guished society understcod of course, that Dr. Deane was as much of a geologist in 1835 as in 1842, and the result was just what might be expected; for while those high-minded men, Dr. Mantell and Mr. Murchison, whose opinion is law in the geo- logical world, awarded me some compliments, they represented me as having acted only a subordinate part in respect to the foot- marks, and made the impression unavoidable, that I had with- held from others the full measure of justice. With the data be- fore them, their impressions were perfectly correct; and they have gone forth over the whole geological world. To remove them, at least within a limited sphere, has been the grand motive for presenting the statements now made, and especially the letter under consideration. I must leave the future historian of science to complete the work, if he judges I have made out my case. As to Dr. Deane’s efforts to bring discredit upon my published labors concerning the footmarks, I can only say, that none can feel their imperfection more deeply than myself; and it does not become me to doubt, that had he undertaken it, the work would have been more satisfactorily done ; and if he now obtains the chief honor of it, I could wish he had had the labor, and thus several years of my life have been saved for other purposes. I will add however, that as to most of his criticisms, [ am confident he never would have made them, had he ever carefully examined my large collection of specimens, or even other quarries, besides the four or five within six or eight miles of his residence. This then is a brief summary of my positions. I declare most emphatically, that I have never received any assistance from Dr. Deane in investigating the footmarks, previous to the publication of my Final Geological Report, except specimens; and that his early opinion as to their origin had no effect whatever in remo- ving my doubts, or in leading me to my final conclusions, be- cause that opinion was not the result of scientific examination, but of the occasional inspection of a single cloven specimen as it lay for a few weeks in the highway—and because I found that the same opinion had been entertained by others many years earlier, and was indeed forced upon every intelligent man, by the first inspection of good specimens. I further maintain, and have endeavored to show chiefly from his own letters, that in 1835, when that opinion was given, he was not familiar enough Vol. xtvu1, No. 2.—July-Sept. 1844. 51 ND, 398 Prof. Hitchcock’s Rejoinder to Dr. Deane. with geology to appreciate the necessity of those researches in relation to segregated and clay veins, mud furrows, ripple marks, disintegration, concretions, organic remains, slides, faults, &c., which in the first instance cost me months and finally years of labor, and without which, no geologist would ever admit these markings to be bird tracks, although, as the results were chiefly negative, they were scarcely noticed in my papers. I maintain that I first, and for several years alone, made these investigations in relation to the tracks of this country, and therefore may claim to be the discoverer, in a scientific sense, of fossil bird tracks; and to admit the claims of Dr. Deane to a priority to myself in all these respects, and thus make me a mere humble expounder of his views, does me great injustice, and affixes a most unmer- ited stigma of illiberality and unfairness upon my character. On the other hand, I acknowledge, and from the first have ac- knowledged—according to the strictest rules observed by natu- ralists in these matters—my great indebtedness to him for calling my attention to the subject, and for specimens. I admit him to have been in a popular sense, the original discoverer of the footmarks; and had it not been for his scientific discernment, probably they would still have remained undiscovered. I admit that since he has turned his attention to this branch of geology, he has shown unusual ability as an observer, and produced some highly creditable papers on the footmarks; and by saying that he was not familiar with the subject in 1835, I merely echo the sentiment of his own letter, and mean not the slightest disrespect to his character. I have thus written plainly, but I would hope not unkindly. If so, 1 charge it to the language rather than my heart. It is the most unpleasant discussion, on several accounts, in which I was ever engaged ; and I have tried every possible way to avoid it, consistently with a sense of duty to myself, my children, and others. Had I been alone concerned, I should have borne in silence what seems to me the cruel injustice of having the fruits of several years of hard labor taken from me and transfer- red to another, just as I seemed on the point of gaining the hard- fought battle. But the desire of leaving some legacy to one’s children and friends is lawful; and if I cannot leave to my fam- ily, and the institution with which I am connected, a name free from dishonorable imputations, and a modicum of scientific rep- Dr. Deane’s Surrejoinder to Prof. Hitchcock. 399 utation, I can leave them nothing. If the claims now set up are acknowledged, a taint of dishonorable suspicion will attach to me, and the credit be wrested from me, of the most original and laborious scientific efforts of my life—and that too by friends! For in spite of the needless severity of Dr. Deane’s article, I will still believe him sincere and honest in maintaining his claims. And now that we have referred our cause to the scientific public, he will, if he chooses, find me ready to reciprocate the offices of private intercourse and friendship. [hope the Editors of the Journal. will not consider all the space devoted to this discussion as lost to their readers. For it seems to me that the principles examined, are important to the decision of many cases of a similar character which are frequently occurring. Amherst College, Sept. 16, 1844. Arr. XVI_—Answer to the “‘ Rejoinder” of Prof. Hitchcock ; by James Deans, M. D. THe preceding rejoinder being in the main repetitions of for- mer statements, I had deemed any farther refutation unnecessary, but I am compelled to think a few brief explanatory remarks are indispensable, relating chiefly to matters of fact. _In the first place, the date 1834 was not quoted by me from the Report of Mr. Hitchcock as he affirms, but from his Northampton letter. 2. I never declared that the impressions were the tracks of a turkey, but of some bird, probably of the turkey species. It was the expression of an opinion, not of a fact, and I have shown that this loose comparison has often been made by Mr. H. 3. I solemnly reaffirm that Mr. Wilson never gave me infor- mation concerning the original discovery, and the statement that this gentleman pointed out the specimens to me, is unjust. 4. The circumstance of not removing the slabs is at most a negative argument of little moment. I had secured them from injury; they were large and heavy, and distant but a few yards from my study. But the true reason of this apparent negligence was, not that the specimens were indifferent to me, but that I had determined to present them to Mr. H. 400 Dr. Deane’s Surrejoinder to Prof. Hitchcock. 5. The assertion that Mr. H. was apprehensive I should anti- cipate him in revealing the discovery, is supported by fact. The denial of this statement renders it imperative upon me to state further, that without my knowledge or concurrence, Mr. H. soli- cited the delay of my annunciation, on the ground that he could perform this service in a more satisfactory manner than I could do. ‘This will doubtless be considered a severe charge, but I have a right to sustain my cause with facts when urged by ne- cessity. Mr. H. complains of the needless severity of my arti- cle, or of what he terms my criminations; but they have been alleged openly, and with open right of defence, and under a full conviction of the responsibility attached to them. But a covert interference with my personal concerns, and the attempt to frustrate the record of my discoveries, has awakened in me above all things else, the consciousness that injustice had been done me; for what advantage would be a hundred discoveries in science, if by influence and persuasion the channel of com- munication should be stopped ? 6. The accusation of appropriating the honor of scientific in- vestigation which belongs to Mr. H. demands a few words. I beg Mr. H. to examine candidly whether I have really made such an assumption. It cannot be true that I have ever attempt- ed to wrest from him the great distinction he has acquired in developing the history of footmarks. No man would be more sensible of the presumption of such an act than myself. I only maintain that the first link in the chain of discovery was con- structed by me, and that although Mr. H. has prosecuted the subject with brilliant success, still the primary step, most impor- tant of all, and absolutely indispensable to him, was first taken by me. His attention was aroused by my repeated letters, and I cannot reverse the opinion that his scepticism was overcome by my exertions. 7. I cannot perceive the necessity of ringing the changes upon my admission of being no geologist. The sincerity with which it was made should have saved me from the severity of criticism. I candidly admit that I am no geologist now. I make not now, nor have ever made any pretensions to a knowledge of this noble science, and I might challenge the proof of having ever made the slightest pretensions to the honor of the discovery in question. In my letter to Dr. Mantell I ‘did not claim it. My language Dr. Deane’s Surrejoinder to Prof. Hitchcock. A01 was, that when the footmarks first attracted my attention I wrote certain letters, but failing to produce a confirmation of my un- wavering belief, the real truth was only obvious when I had con- structed accurate models of the impressions. Mr. H. lays great stress upon the five years of labor bestowed upon the investigation of footmarks. This is true, but it was a labor that most men would willingly endure when backed by the patronage of Massachusetts. He was adequately compen- sated from her treasury, and his expensive work was published by her liberality. Mr. H. declares that I never made explora- tions until the publication of his Final Report. I will now take the like freedom, and assert the belief that he has not done so since, except in a limited degree, and although he has published several papers upon this subject, he is greatly indebted to other sources for his materials. 8. It is strictly true, that when I wrote my first letter to Mr. H. I had no knowledge that fossil tracks were known, but I wrote in a general sense, that while the discovery was in my own hands I was aware of the fact. I did indeed quote from memory, but had the circumstance been subjected to reflection, most certainly I never should have committed what I now per- ceive to be, in the strictest sense, an error. And now finally, in closing this unpleasant controversy, I as- sure Mr. H. of my willingness to meet him in the same spirit of conciliation he has offered to me. Whatever may be the merits of our discusggon, whatever may be the conclusions to which an impartial public may come, still the unexplored field of discovery is ample for us both, and for all others that may choose to enter it. Even now I have before me anew development of these marvellous footsteps, on a scale so stupendous and sublime, as to be well calculated to extinguish the jealousies and selfishness which are among the great infirmities of humanity. Greenfield, Sept. 24th, 1844. 402 Unionide of the Country of the Iguanodon. Arr. XVII.—On the Unionidae o f the River of the Country of the Iguanodon; by Gingeon Aucernon Mantety, M.D. F.R.S. &c. Clapham Common, England, Aug. 24, 1844. TO PROFESSOR SILLIMAN. My dear Friend—Although but a few weeks have elapsed since the publication of ‘“'The Medals of Creation,” in which it is remarked, that “‘in number, variety, and beauty, the Unionide which inhabit the. rivers of North America, present a striking contrast with the few and homely British fresh-water muscles ; and that in a fossil state there are no shells of this family at all comparable with those of the United States,” I have great pleas- ure in acquainting you that the above observations may now be modified, for I have discovered in the Wealden strata of the Isle of Wight a species of Unio as large and massive as are the splen- did shells of the Ohio and the Mississippi. You will probably remember that when you so liberally sup- plied me many years since with a fine series of the recent spe- cies, that | expressed a hope of sooner or later proving that the lakes and rivers of the country of the Iguanodon were tenanted by Mollusca as gigantic as those of America; that wish is now realized. You are aware that several small species of Unio oc- cur in considerable numbers in the sandstones and limestones of Tilgate Forest, and also enter into the composition of some of the varieties of Sussex marble; but the largest gpecies hitherto described (the Unio Mantelli of Dr. Fitton) does not exceed two inches in length by one in altitude. During a brief sojourn in the Isle of Wight a few weeks since, I re-examined the Weal- den deposits which emerge from beneath the lower arenaceous strata of the chalk, along the southern shore of the island, and extend from near Fresh-water Gate towards Atherfield; a line of cliffs peculiarly interesting to me, from the fine section ex- posed of the laminated sandstones and shales of the Wealden; and which in that locality abound in the fossil remains of rep- tiles, mollusca, and plants, peculiar to that formation. On my late visit innumerable fragments of fossil wood were exposed along the strand, having been washed out of the fallen masses of strata by the waves, which at high tides dash against and under- mine the base of the cliffs. At low water numerous trunks of Unionide of the Country of the [guanodon. A03 trees, from ten to twenty five feet in length, and from two to four or five feet in circumference, were lying prostrate half im- bedded in the sand, and partially encrusted with fuci, and flustre, and corallines. A microscopical examination demonstrates that these trees belong to the Conifere; and this inference is corrob- orated by the discovery of several small cones belonging to three or four species of Pinus or Abies. Here then we have the re- mains of a petrified pine forest, which once grew in the country of the Iguanodon; for the bones of that reptile, and of others equally gigantic, are associated in considerable numbers with the fossil trees. 'The trunks of these trees are converted into a com- pact calcareous stone of an ebony color, often permeated by py- rites, and having the bark in the state of friable lignite ; but this investment is soon washed away, and the exposed stems are left bare, their surface displacing the ligneous structure with knots, and remains of branches. I observed one portion of a trunk which indicated a tree of considerable magnitude—not less than ten or eleven feet in circumference. From among the remains above described, I obtained several examples of a large bivalve, having the external configuration of an Unio ; but all the specimens were closed shells, filled and firmly cemented together by compact stone, and the structure of the hinge was altogether concealed. With considerable difficulty I have succeeded in separating the valves of one pair of shells, and have developed the characters of the hinge most satisfacto- rily, by which. the nature of these bivalves is clearly demonstra- ted. These shells are in a remarkably fine state of preservation. The ligament remains entire ; even the color of the original is not entirely obliterated; and traces of the thick internal pearly or nacreous coat of the shell remain. The following descrip- tion embraces the essential character of these inhabitants of the lakes and rivers of the country of the Iguanodon; the specific name is intended to designate their geological habitat—the Weal- den formation. Unio Valdensis, (G. A.M.) 'The form of this species is ovate, the anterior extremity more rounded than the posterior, which is somewhat narrowed by the ligamental slope. Length (antero- posterior diameter) five inches; height (from summit to base) three inches; diameter (depth or greatest thickness of the united valves) two inches. Equivalves subequilateral; the posterior A404 Unionide of the Country of the [guanodon. half being nearly one fifth longer than the anterior, and com- pressed above along the margin of the ligamental space. The substance of the shell is very thick and strong, and marked externally with concentric longitudinal striz or grooves. The summit is rounded, rather antero-dorsal, slightly inclined for- wards, and the beaks or umbones decorticated, as in most of the recent shells of the genus. The base or circumference is entire ; and the margin or internal lip smooth and thick. The ligament is external and post-apicial ; its horny character is still preserved, and its surface is marked with transverse ruge, as in a recent state! The inner surface of the shells is smooth, with the ex- ception of a few irregularities produced by the nacreous deposit being of unequal thickness. The structure of the hinge and the number and situation of the muscular impressions do not materially differ from those of several recent species; in the rel- ative situation of the two cardinal teeth and the lateral tooth- plates, the fossil approaches nearer to the American Unio purpu- riatus,* than any recent species with which I have been able to compare it. Unto Vaupensis, (G, A. M.) Wealden formation, Isle of Wight. Fig.1. View of the left valve, and part of the right seen above : closed.—(Re- duced sketch; for dimensions, see bottom of p. 403.) ‘ w,w. Decorticated umbones. z. Ligament. * So named in the British Museum collection. Unionide of the Country of the [guanodon. A05 Fig. 2. Right valve cleared.—(Reduced sketch.) a. Single cardinal tooth. 6. Doublecardinal tooth. c. Lamellartooth. d. An- terior muscular imprint. e. Posterior muscular imprint. jf. Muscular imprint of foot. g,g,g. Palleal imprint. Fig. 3. Right valve cleared.—(Reduced sketch.) A variety of the above, or perhaps a sexual difference. This shell is shallower than the above, and may have been a male and the others females. The annexed outline of the right valve (fig. 2) will convey an idea of its character. The tooth-plate is very strong and thick; the cardinal teeth are well developed; there is a deep fosse or hollow beneath the lateral plate. ‘The anterior muscu- lar imprint is deep, and in front of the cardinal plate; having the lesser impression, produced by the attachment of the retractor muscles of the foot, on its inner aspect. ‘The posterior imprint Vol. xtvu, No. 2.—July-Sept. 1844. 52 406 On a supposed New Species of Hippopotamus. is placed at the extremity of the lamelliform dental plate. The palleal impression is distinctly marked, and extends parallel with the margin of the shell, from the anterior to the posterior muscu- lar imprint. The prevailing tint of the shells is a reddish taw- ny color; when recent they must therefore have closely resem- bled some of the richly colored species of the Ohio. ‘The weight of a pair of shells, cleared of the stone, is eleven ounces avoir- dupois. This interesting addition to the fauna of the Wealden, tends to confirm the opinion I first advanced in my Illustrations of the Geology of Sussex, namely, that a great proportion of the strata comprehended in that formation, was deposited in the bed of a vast river which flowed through a country inhabited by colossal reptiles, and clothed with forests of palms, ferns, and coniferous trees. With great regard, my dear friend, yours most faithfully, Gipron ALGERNON ManrTELu. Art. XVIII.—On a supposed New Species of Hippopotamus ; by S. G. Morron, M. D.* Ir is about six months since I received from my friend Dr. Goheen an extensive series of skulls, of mammiferous and other animals, from Western Africa. ‘They had been obtained by him during a residence of several years at Monrovia, where he had officiated as colonial physician; a situation which gave him great advantages for procuring the natural productions of that region. Among these crania were two of a Hippopotamus, of small size, from the river St. Paul’s. Although nothing could be more manifest than the difference between the head of this animal and that of the common species, I have hesitated to pub- lish it, from a fear that some one else may already have done sO; for { could hardly convince myself that so remarkable a species was wholly unnoticed in the systems. Having, however, search- ed the latest Kuropean works on zoology without finding any ac- count of this interesting animal, I venture to submit the follow- ing facts in relation to it. * From the Proceedings of the Acad. Nat. Sci. Phil. Feb. 1844. On a supposed New Species of Hippopotamus. A07 HirroporTamus MINOR. Incisors, a or comet Canines, ae Dental Formula : 2 a — atl 338 False Molars, =k Molars, oe Length of the skull, measured from the anterior ex- tremity to the notch between the condyles of the nehes. occipital bone, ae errr ek i elt lati eB Zygomatic diameter, Pi OAS | at eG a Parietal diameter, UR LE py SR A ORS Distance between the ibe’ over the surface of the skull, Bitiumaiieer ht dere) spn Rake lee osio i sspepteewe Bag Vertical diameter of orbit, - - - - - - ® Horizontal diameter of orbit, sth: oye Ooo det ides These measurements have been taken from a very old indi- vidual, in which the sutures are entirely obsolete, and the teeth worn almost to the level of the jaw; and the contrast in size, be- tween this and the large or common species, (familiar to every one as the H. amphibius, but recently divided into two species, the H. capensis and H. Senegalensis,) will be manifest to every one. 'The difference, however, is not only in size, but in all the proportions of the head, as the subjoined drawings will show. mn te ~ “IK | } j “yy, Ml wi ip In the H. minor there is a uniform converity of the upper sur- face of the cranium, from orbit to orbit, and between the occiput and ossa nasi; while in the common species the orbits are re- markably elevated, and the intermediate surface is concave. The 408 Bibliography. orbit is placed about midway between the occiput and snout, and the latter is consequently short; while in the large species the orbits are placed about one third the distance between the occiput and snout. The H. minor has only two canines in the lower jaw; the false molars are proximate to the canines ; and the base of the zygome is in the same plane with the upper maxilla. The second skull of this species (which is of the same length as the other) is that of a younger animal; for the sutures are open, and the teeth in the process of changing from the deciduous to the permanent set. ‘The posterior molars are only partially protruded, and rise obliquely from the jaws, like those of the Elephant and Mastodon. Dr. Goheen, who assured me from the first that he could find no notice of this animal in the systematic works, has obligingly favored me with the following memorandum in relation to it. “This animal abounds in the river St. Paul’s, and varies in weight from four hundred to seven hundred pounds. It is slow and heavy in its motions, yet will sometimes stray two or three miles from the river, in which situation it is killed by the natives. It is extremely tenacious of life, and almost invulnerable except- ing when shot or otherwise wounded in the heart. When in- jured it becomes irritable and dangerous, but is said by the na- tives never to attack them when in their canoes. ‘The negroes are very fond of the flesh, which seems to be intermediate in flavor between beef and veal.” My comparisons with the common Hippopotamus have been made on four specimens, (three of which are fully grown, ) two from the vicinity of the Cape of Good Hope, and two from the Senegal River. Paice: 2 Art. XIX.—Bibliographical Notices. 1. An Inquiry into the distinctive characteristics of the aboriginal race of America; by Samvet GErorce Morton, M. D.—Turning aside from the many systems that would derive the American race from the various tribes in the old world, Dr. Morton in his able essay gives us reasons for the belief that they are distinct from all other nations, and that in spite of some singular diversities among themselves, they are originally from one and the same stock. The physical characteristics and osteological conformation present a uniformity that is indeed aston- Bibliography. 409 ishing, inasmuch as it prevails through such an extent of country ; and the few differences with which we meet must be regarded rather as ex- ceptions than as reasons for doubting the general conclusion. The comparison of ‘nearly four hundred crania, derived from tribes inhabiting almost every region of both Americas,” affords in a greater or less degree the same characteristics in all; ‘‘ the square or rounded head, the flattened or vertical occiput, the high cheek bones, the ponderous maxillz, the large quadrangular orbits and the low rece- ding forehead.” ‘‘ This remark is equally applicable to the ancient and modern nations of our continent; for the oldest skulls from the Peru- vian cemeteries, the tombs of Mexico, and the mounds of our own country, are of the same type as the heads of the most savage existing tribes. Their physical organization proves the origin of one to have been equally the origin of all. The various civilized nations are to this day represented by their lineal descendants, who inhabit their an- cestral seats, and differ in no exterior respect from the wild and uncul- tivated Indians; at the same time in evidence of their lineage, Cla- vigero and other historians inform us, that the Mexicans and Peruvians yet possess a latent superiority, which has not been subdued by three centuries of despotism.” (p. 5.) The remains of the ancient Peruvians around Lake Titicaca, from the peculiar form of the head, at first led Dr. Morton to doubt their identity with the other races of this continent; but the researches of M. D’Orbigny have satisfactorily proved that this difference arose only from a custom prevalent among them, of applying lateral compression to the skull. As the heads thus altered are universally those of men, and are found interred in the most elaborate tombs, it is regarded as a mark of distinction. Our author, in carrying out his argument, next proceeds to trace many points of resemblance in the moral and intellectual natures of the different tribes. ‘The same keen love of war, untiring vigilance, and cruelty in their religious ceremonies, characterize them all. Brought for a long time into close contact with civilized nations, their social con- dition and manner of life remain almost unchanged. And yet among these rude tribes are found ‘a people whose attainments in the arts and sciences are a riddle in the history of the human mind. The Peru- vians in the south, the Mexicans in the north, and the Messayas of Bo- gota, between the two, formed these temporary centres of civilization, each independent of the other, and equally skirted by wild and savage hordes.” To these nations Dr. Morton gives the collective name of the Toltecan family, “ for although the Mexican annals refer their civiliza- tion to a period long antecedent to the appearance of the Toltecas, yet the latter seem to have cultivated the arts and sciences to a degree un- 410 Bibliography. known to their predecessors. And as the appearance of the Incas in Peru was nearly simultaneous with the dispersion of the Toltecas in the year 1050 of our era, there is reasonable ground for the conjecture that the Mexicans and Peruvians were branches of the same Toltecan stock.” The strange diversity among the intellectual attainments of the various branches of this family, have led philosophers to account for it by sup- posing a plurality of races. But he inquires, whether we do not ob- serve equally striking contrasts in the wild Arab of the desert, and the Saracen amid the luxury and refinement of Spain. ‘\ Dr. Morton dwells upon the general deficiency in maritime enterprise that marks all the American nations. They seem never to have ad- vanced beyond the rudest style of canoe, and he quotes from De Azara a curious fact in illustration of this subject. On the discovery of the Rio de la Plata, its shores were found inhabited by two different na- tions, who from their inability to cross the river, had never in any way communicated. The manner of interment, which with few excep- tions is universal among these tribes, is so different from that practiced by any of the inhabitants of the old world, as to identify them as a peculiar and simple race. The body is placed in a sitting position, with the knees drawn up against the chest, the arms bent, and the chin supported by the palms of the hands. ‘The remains in the sepulchres around Lake Titicaca abundantly prove that this custom has existed from ancient times. Dr. Morton next inquires if these leading charac- teristics do not prove the race aboriginal to America. The Eskimaux have long been admitted to belong to the Mongolian family, but no sim- ilarity can be found to justify the idea that they are the connecting link between the polar inhabitants of Asia and the American tribes. Their physical, moral and intellectual characteristics are quite distinct. The common theory that this continent was peopled by immigration from Asia, is not only controverted by the total dissimilarity in appearance of the races, but it requires us to suppose “‘ one continued chain of col- onies during a long succession of ages” making their way over a tract of eight hundred miles, and among a great variety of languages; and, inquires Dr. Morton, ‘‘ how does it happen that during the lapse of three hundred years, since the discovery of America, there has not been an authenticated immigration from Asia?” Many of the same objections are urged against the theory of a Ma- lay origin ; and the comparison of languages only heightens the diffi- culties. ‘‘ Once more,” says our author, “I repeat my conviction that the study of physical conformation alone excludes every branch of the Caucasian race, from any obvious participation in the peopling of this continent. In fine, our own conclusion long ago derived from a patient examination of the facts thus briefly and inadequately stated, is, that Bibliography. All the American race is essentially separate and peculiar, whether we re- gard its physical, moral, or intellectual relations. The evidence of history and the evidence of the Egytian monuments, go to prove that these races were as distinctly stamped three thousand five hundred years ago as they are now; and in fact tat they are coeval with the primitive dispersion of our species.” 2. The Journal of the Boston Society of Natural History, Vol. IV, No. 4, pp. 377 to 512. Pl. 17 to 24.—The contents of this number are as usual chiefly zoological, and embrace a variety of interesting topics. The articles in this department are the following. ‘*‘On the external characters and habits, and on the organization of Troglodytes niger, Geof., by Tuomas 8. Savace and Jerrries WyMAN, M.D.” This is the conclusion of a paper commenced in a preceding number. The anatomical details by Dr. Wyman are characterized by his usual care and accuracy, and tend to confirm the observations of Prof. Owen on the same animal. Its distinctive characteristics are now well understood. The remarks of Dr. Savage on its habits possess a peculiar interest, from the opportunity which a residence of several years on the western coast of Africa, as a missionary, has afforded him for observing these animals in their natural-condition. It appears that their habitation is chiefly in trees, where they construct a slight nest of broken twigs and branches, usually resting on a large limb or ina crotch, but sometimes suspended near the end of a leafy branch twenty or thirty feet from the ground. They are timid and inoffensive to man, and feed chiefly upon vegetables and fruit. The canine teeth are un- commonly developed and serve as a means of attack and defense, but do not indicate carnivorous propensities. ‘They are very filthy. The degree of. their intelligence appears to us to be overstated, and is prob- ably derived in part from the imagination of observers. *‘ Descriptions and figures of the Araneides of the United States, by Nicnoxas Marcetius Hentz.” This elaborate article by Dr. Hentz is illustrated with excellent figures, and his descriptions are ample and in general accompanied with remarks on the habits of the respective species. The species described are the following: Lycosa lenta, ru- ricola, saltatrix, erratica, littoralis, maritima, aspersa, riparia, punc- tulata, scutulata, sagittata, ochreata, venustula, milvina, sawatilis, fu- nerea. Crenus hybernalis, punctulatus. Dotomepes tenax, hastula- tus, tenebrosus. ‘“‘ Description of an African beetle allied to Scarabeus polyphemus, with remarks upon some other insects of the same group, by THaDDEUS Wituram Harris.” This paper contains an account of the group of magnificent insects known as the Goliath beetles, with copious remarks 5 Py “e Kies —_ af A12 - Bibliography. on their natural history, derived mostly from Dr. Savage, by whom they were brought from the western coast of Africa. Dr. Harris has here described the female of Mecynorhina Polyphemus, which was not known until brought to notice by Dr. 8., and institutes a new species under the name of Mecyndthina Savagii, from male and female spe- cimens derived from the same source. ‘“‘The importance of habit as a guide to accuracy in systematical ar- rangement, illustrated in the instance of the Sylvia Petechia of Wilson, &c., by T. McCuntocs, Jr., of Halifax, Nova Scotia.” ‘The author of this paper takes a very just view of the insufficiency of external char- acters alone for the accurate discrimination of allied species, and insists upon an acquaintance with internal structure, stating also that in its absence, habit may sometimes serve as a guide in finding the true place of aspecies. Apart from the main object of the paper, which is well sustained, the observations of the author upon the Sylvia Petechia form a valuable supplement to the history of this species. “On the anatomy of Tebennophorus Carolinensis,” and ‘on the anatomical structure of Glandina truncata,” two papers by JerFRiEs Wyman, M.D. The object of these papers is to show that the inter- nal structure of these animals, justifies their separation from the genera in which they have hitherto been repeatedly placed, and their institu- tion as the type of distinct genera. ‘Tebennophorus was founded on the animal described by Bose as Limax Carolinensis, and unless all the naked slugs are to be included under one genus, we cannot doubt the propriety of its adoption. The details of its structure vary consider- ably from those of any other genus. So too with Glandina truncata, both externally and internally it differs as much from every other genus, as any two do from each other ; and the possession of a third pair of tentacles stamps it with a marked peculiarity. ‘“‘ Description and habits of some of the birds of Yucatan,” by Sam- vEL Cazor, Jr., M.D. p. 460. Dr. Cabot accompanied Messrs. Stevens and Catherwood in an expedition to Yucatan, and the present remarks | are among the results of his observations. He gives some particulars of the habits of Ortyax nigrogularis of Gould, and an extended descrip- tion of the female, which was not seen by the latter. Dr. Cabot brings forward as new to science, four species of birds, of which he gives full descriptions, taken both from males and females, with notices of their habits, and an account of some of his own adventures when procuring them. The species proposed are Falco Percontator, Corvus vociferus, Oriolus musicus, Momotus Yucatacensis. “Enumeration of the recent fresh-water mollusca which are com- mon to North America and Europe ; with observations on species.and their distribution,” by S. S. Hanpeman. The species supposed to be Bibliography. A13 common to the two continents are,—1. Paludina vivipara, Linn. 2. Pa- ludina fasciata, Mull., P. achatina, Lam. 8. Physa hypnorum, Linn., P. elongata, Say. 4. Limnea palustris, Miull., DL. elodes, Say, L. stagnalis, Linn.? L. jugularis, Say, L. truncatula, Mull. 5. Pla- norbis albus, Miull., P. nitidus? Mill. 6. Cyclas calyculata, Drap. 7. Pisidium appendiculatum, Leach, P. amnicum, Mull. 8. Alasmo- don margaritiferum, Linn. The author names four causes affecting the dispersion of the same species into different regions, viz. transporta- tion, former connection of the regions, distribution from several original centres, and transmutation. On the first three of these but few re- marks are made, but on the fourth, which is: not strictly a means of distribution of identical objects, various reflections are ventured. The author leans to the doctrine of transmutation, but we do not see the force of his reasoning, even to the limited extent to which he goes. ‘‘ Descriptions and notices of some of the land shells of Cuba,” and “‘ Descriptions of land shells, from the province of Tavoy, in British Burmah,” two papers by Aveustus A. Goutp, M.D. The first named paper consists principally of descriptions of the animals of known species, with notices of their habitats, and other information relating to them, together with some corrections of existing errors; these being mostly derived from the memoranda of a gentleman long resident in the island. The following species are brought forward as new, and good figures are given of each of them. Pupa (Siphonostoma) porrecta, S. lactaria, Planorbis dentatus. The most interesting points of this paper are, that Dr. G. sees occasion to unite into one species the three follow- ing. Helicina submarginata, Gray, H. Sagra, D’Orbigny, and H. pulcherrima, Lea; and that the animal of Glandina oleacea, Fer., cor- responds with that of G. truncata, Say. In the list of species there are three which are common to the United States as well as to Cuba, viz. Helix septemvolva, Say, Pupa contracta, Say, Pupa rupicola, Say, (P. servilis, Gould.) The paper on the shells of 'Tavoy contains descriptions of the follow- ing species, Hetrx procumbens, infrendens, gabata, anceps, retrorsa, Petitii, Virrina prestans, Buutmus atricallosus, CLavusILia insignis, Cyciostoma pernobilis, sectilabrum. X. 3. Actonian Prize Essay. Chemistry, as exemplifying the wisdom and beneficence of God ; by Grorce Fownes, M. D., Chemical Lecturer in the Middlesex Hospital Medical School. New York, Wiley and Putnam, 1844. 12mo, pp. 158.—This ingenious and well written little essay is the first of a series on a plan similar to the Bridgewater trea- tises, and to be continued septennially, founded on the liberality of the late Samuel Acton Esq., of Euston Square, London, who invested one Vol. xtvi1, No. 2,—July—-Sept. 1844. 53 A414 Bibliography. thousand pounds in the three per cent. consol bank annuities, in the names of the trustees of the Royal Institution of Great Britain, the interest of which was to be devoted to the formation of a fund out of which the sum of One Hundred Guineas was to be paid septennially, as a reward or prize to the person who, in the judgment of the com- mittee of managers, for the time being, of the Institution, should have been the author of the best essay illustrative of the wisdom and benef- icence of the Almighty, in such department of science as the com- mittee of managers should, in their discretion, have selected. The subject chosen for the prize of the first seven years, was the title of the present volume. The prize was awarded in April last to the pres- ent essay. The subject was perhaps a novel one for an essay of this nature, but it has proved in the hands of Mr. Fownes a rich mine, from which he has drawn the most satisfactory and delightful evidence of that wise beneficence, which is seen in every department of the works of our Great AvTHOR. We have not space to present an analysis of the argument, but hay- ing read the volume with great pleasure and profit, we cordially re- commend it to the attention of all who are interested in works of this nature. 4. A Manual of Chemistry ; containing a condensed view of the science, with copious references to some extensive treatises, original papers, &c., intended as a Text-Book for Medical Schools, Colleges, and Academies. By Lewis C. Becx, M. D., &c. 4th edition. New York, W. E. Dean, 1844. pp. 480, 12mo. The issue of a fourth edition of Dr. Beck’s Manual is presumptive evidence of its adaptedness to the objects of the author. Being print- ed in a small condensed type, the amount of matter contained in it is much greater than is usually found in similar works, and the full ref- erences to original authorities which accompany each section, renders it a truly valuable book to the teacher. Its arrangement is in the main similar to the former editions of Turner’s Chemistry, which has been so popular as a text-book in this country. The present edition has been revised, to render it as complete a view as possible of the present state of the science. 5. The Principles of Chemistry: prepared for the use of Schools, Academies, and Colleges. By Danie, B. Smitu. 2d edition. pp. 312, 12mo. Uriah Hunt, Philadelphia, 1842. ' This unpretending little volume is well worthy the attention of teach- ers, as being a most concise and at the same time clear exposition of the main facts and reasonings of chemistry. It is not a condensation Bibliography. A15 or abridgment of any larger work of an European author, (as most American text-books of this sort are,) but the offspring of a mind well imbued with the science, and capable of presenting it in a forcible and attractive style. No experimental details or figures of apparatus are given, and it is evidently intended by the author that these must be supplied by the oral instructions of the teacher, who has access for the purpose to more extended works. The separation of chemical phi- losophy from chemical manipulation seems to be the leading feature of Mr. Smith’s creditable work. 6. New Books received.—The Medals of Creation; or, First Lessons in Geology, and in the study of Organic Remains. By Gideon Alger- non Mantell, Esq., LL. D., F.R.S., author of the Wonders of Geol- ogy, etc. Two volumes, with colored plates, and several hundred fig- ures of fossilremains. These beautiful volumes have reached us only at the last moment, and all notice of them must be postponed to our next. On Dinornis,* an extinct genus of tridactyle Struthious Birds, with descriptions of portions of the skeleton of six species which formerly existed in New Zealand. By Prof. Owen, M.D., F.R.S., Z.5., &c. Part I. Geological Observations on the Volcanic Islands visited during the voyage of H. M.S. Beagle, together with some brief notices on the . Geology of Australia and the Cape of Good Hope; being the second part of the Geology of the voyage of the Beagle, under the command of Capt. Fitzroy, R. N., during the years 1832 to 1836. By Charles Darwin, M. A., F.R.S., Vice President of the Geological Society, and naturalist to the expedition. London: Smith, Elder & Co., 65 Corn- hill. 1844. pp. 175, 8vo. Transactions of the New York State Agricultural Society, together with an abstract of the Proceedings of the County Agricultural Societies. Vol. Il. Albany, Carroll & Cook, 1843. pp. 671, 8vo. This vol- ume contains, besides much valuable agricultural matter, a condensed review of the labors of the New York geological corps, from the pen of Mr. James Hall, which is an interesting paper, fully illustrated by figures of fossils. Lectures on Polarized Light, delivered before the Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain. pp. 110, 8vo. London, 1844. Researches on Light; an examination of all the Phenomena con- nected with the chemical and molecular changes produced by the in- fluence of the solar rays; embracing all the known photographic pro- cesses and new discoveries in the art. By Robert Hunt, Secretary to the Royal Cornwall Polyteclinic Society. London, printed for Long- man & Co., 1844. pp. 303, 8vo. * 6 Asivos, surprising, and deus, bird.” 416 ' Miscellanies. MISCELLANIES. DOMESTIC AND FOREIGN. 1. Extract of a letter from Prof. Hrrencocs, respecting the Lincoln- ite.—I wish to say a few words in arrest of judgment respecting the Lin- colnite, which Mr. Alger has endeavored to show, in Vol. xivi, p. 235, of this Journal, to be identical with Heulandite. His paper is also published in the last No. of the Boston Journal of Natural History. This mineral was found by me, only in small quantity, more than thirty years ago; and I had revisited the spot only once in that interval. I then procured, within a few rods of the spot, some very minute crystals, which I judged by the eye, to be Lincolnite; and I found a like mineral on gneiss at Bellows’ Falls. But I never attempted to measure these minute crys- tals. 'Those which I first obtained were much Jarger. Yet when Mr. Alger requested specimens, I found that I had lost or parted with nearly every one, except these small ones; and I believe that these were the variety placed in the State collection. Now it was probably these which were measured by Messrs Teschemacher and Alger, and they may very probably have been Heulandite. But I still feel quite confident that the original crystals which I measured, differed from Heulandite by about 10°. After reading Mr. Alger’s remarks, I searched among my duplicates, and found two isolated crystals of those first obtained; and on measuring them, by marking their angles on a smooth hard surface, I found them to be nearly 60° and 120°, as stated in my Report. More recently I have discovered a still better specimen in the cabinet of Amherst College; and at my request, Professor Shepard has applied the reflecting goniometer to some of the crystals, and finds the angles of the base to be from 116° 45’ to 117° 15’, as taken by the reflection of a strong lamp-light. I have never felt, or expressed, any great confidence that this species would maintain its ground; but it strikes me that as yet it has not been identified with any other species. E. H. The primary lateral angle of Heulandite (M:T') equals 130° 30’, and differs widely, as Mr. Hitchcock states, from the angle obtained by Prof. Shepard for Lincolnite. But the secondary prism formed by the planes T and @, has for the lateral angle 115° 10’, to which Prof. Shepard’s angles are as close, as could be expected from the mode of measurement. By lettering the second of Prof. Hitchcock’s figures, (Rep. Geol. Mass. p. 663,) as an- nexed, the relation to Heulandite is apparent. The plane @ is that let- tered f in most mineralogical works, and the figure is turned around; so that this plane is brought in front.—Eps. Miscellanies. A17 2. Singular crystals of Lead from Rossie, N. Y.—These crystals, ficured in Alger’s and Dana’s Mineralogy, have received the following explanation by Mr. J. E. Teschemacher, (p. 500, Vol. 1V, Bost. Jour. Nat. Hist.) While crystallizing from the melted state, ‘the uncooled liquid central portion pressed by the contraction of the cooling exterior, oozes out from the middle of the plane and spreads in a thin liquid plate over part of the surface, taking nearly the form of the plane; con- traction still continuing, a succession of thin plates ooze out, each of course spreading somewhat short of its predecessor, but retaining the same form.” He illustrates it by remarking, that on examining with a microscope the cooling of a globule of phosphate of lead, “the an- gles of the planes appear to start out from the circumference, as the outer surface of the globule cools and the planes to flatten into their symmetrical shape.” But these crystals of galena are cleavable to the very centre like others of this mineral, showing that instead of this oozing from the interior, they were formed throughout by successively applied laminee. The peculiar distorted form appears to be attributable to their confine- ment in the limestone, already partially hardened around them when they were crystallizing, and to the peculiar laws of crystallization by which planes are added to the surfaces of a primary—this intercepted mode of modification being by no means uncommon. 3. Dipyre—(Extract from an article by M. Acuttte Detesse, Comp- tes Rendus, 1844, May 20, p. 944.)—This name was given by Laumont and Charpentier to a mineral from the vicinity of Mauléon in the Lower Pyrenees, but has since been referred to the species Scapolite. It occurs in square or regular 8-sided prisms, cleavable parallel with the lateral faces and the diagonal. The crystals are usually transparent and vitreous, though sometimes partially decomposed and opaque. It occurs with talc or chlorite, or an unctuous argillite. ‘The mineral was imperfectly analy- zed by Vauquelin. I obtained for the mean of four analyses, silica 55°5, alumina 24.8, lime 9°6, soda 9'4, potash 0'7. From the large proportion of alkali, the mineral appears to be allied to the feldspars. Von Kobell, some time since, referred it to Labradorite, but the system of crystalliza- tion is not the same; the specific gravity of Labradorite is 2714, and that of dipyre 2°646; moreover the composition, although similar, is still essentially different, and appears to show that it is distinct also from Sca- polite. The formula it affords is the following,— 2(Ca, Na, K) Si+3Al Si. Before the blowpipe dipyre loses its transparency and fuses with a slight effervescence, yielding a white blebby glass. Melts easily with salt of phosphorus, and the pearl formed contains a floating skeleton of silica. A18 Miscellanies. Forms easily a limpid glass with soda. The strongest acids attack it, when finely powdered, with difficulty. 4, Blowpipe characters of the supposed Pyrrhite of the Azores; by J. E. Tescuemacuer. (Bost. Jour. of Nat.Hist., Vol. IV, p. 499.)— The minutest transparent crystals change immediately in the redu- cing flame toa deep, dull indigo blue, perfectly distinct; the edges then rounded, and, after considerable exposure, fused without intumes- cence ; on the application of borax, the fusion was immediate, and a small transparent light brown bead remained. ‘The largest crystal was then exposed to the outer flame; it became opaque, of a light gray color; before the reducing flame it changed apparently to black; but the blue color is clearly seen, in a strong light on the solid angles. Of this crystal, the edges alone could be rounded on long exposure. 5. Formula of the Pink Scapolite of Bolton.—Dr. C. T. Jackson (Bost. Jour. Nat. Hist., IV, 504) deduces the following formula from his late analysis of that mineral, (the silica, alumina and alkalies, hay- ing the ratios of 4, 2, 1, respectively.) Formula, 2Al Si+-(Ca, Na, Li) nee ee 6. Head of Carpinchoe.—Lieut. H. C. Fuace, U. 8. N., of New Ha- ven, has recently presented to the Natural History Society connected with Yale College, a fine skull of the Cabybara or Carpinchoe (Hydro- cherus cabiai) from Guiana, the largest animal of the class Rodentia : also the well preserved skin of an albatross. 7. Natural Polariscope-—In the mica quarries at Grafton, New Hampshire, where this mineral is obtained in large quantities for stove fronts and other economical purposes, black tourmalines are frequently found compressed between the lamine of mica. In looking over a large quantity of this mica, I found several specimens where the tourmalines were so thin as to be transparent and of a fine clove-brown color, although the crystals are ordinarily quite black. ‘The thought at once suggested itself that we were here provided by nature with the means for polarization, and no time was lost in constructing of two thin tourma- lines and a piece of the binaxial mica in which they are imbedded, a very good instrument. It will be observed that the compression of the tourmalines has taken place in a plane perfectly parallel to the vertical axis of the prism, and consequently in the right direction to ensure the maximum effect. It is feared that the color of the tourmalines will be found too dark to allow of their general use, as they must be made very thin in order to admit light enough to pass. But the fact is an interest- ing one, that nature should have anticipated the construction of one of the most refined of modern optical instruments. B.S. Jr. Miscellanies. A419 8. A new Comet.—By the annexed extract from the Cleveland (Ohio) Daily Herald of Sept. 24, 1844, it appears that Mr. Hamitton L. Suirx has had the good fortune to discover a comet, which, so far as we know, has not been detected by the European astronomers. ‘Mr. Harris,—Below I give you the apparent places of a telescopic comet which I have been observing for nearly two weeks, and of which I have not seen any account published. The observations are as ac- curate as my means for determining them would allow. It was first seen on the 10th of September, at which time, with a night glass of 22 inches aperture, it was in the same field with Beta Ceti, and about 12° above the horizon at 11 o’clock P. M. The tail was about a degree in length, and the nucleus very bright, and presented a fine appearance in a 44 inch achromatic. lig! Sipe deg. m. Sept. 10, A. R. 24 31°75, Dec. 8. 15 26 cabanas 2 be “34:25, 14 54 ee, es “ 36°75, 14 23 ate 39°25, 13 52 ome * 41°50, 13 22 seam 9.3 “© 43°75, 12 52 ee G6, ** 46-00, 12 23 i Ae 48:25, 11 54 “Liha “ 50°25, 11 25 Fe Woe 52:25, 10 56 mie A) & 54°25, 10 27 ee ok, cloudy, cloudy. Sees “ 58°25, 9 30 H. L. Surrs.” 9. Fluorine in Bones.—Dr. Rees has examined recent human bones before and after calcination, without finding a trace of fluorine. J. Middleton found fluoride of calcium in the bones of an ancient Greek, a mummy, and the bones of fossil vertebrata from the Sivalic hills, and ascertained that the proportions increased according to the age. He also found it in aqueous deposits of different kinds and ages. He refers its presence in bones to deposition from fluids, and hence accounts for its great abundance in fossil bones, which had been long exposed to aqueous infiltration Phil. Mag. 1844, xxv, 119, 222. Berzelius and Morichini, previous to the above investigations, assert- ed the presence of fluorine in recent bones. Dr. Daubeny, in view of the conflicting statements, has made new investigations with the follow- ing results. By freeing the bones of animal matter and of carbonates, and obtaining the phosphates separate, and treating the latter with sul- 420 Miscellanies. phuric acid, he succeeded in engraving upon glass, not only by means of fossil bones from Stonesfield, from Montmartre, from the cave of Kirkdale in Yorkshire, and from that of Gailenreuth in Franconia, but likewise with the bone of some quadruped that had been lying fora long but unknown time exposed to the weather in the soil of the Bo- tanic Garden, with the vertebra of an ox recently killed, and with hus man teeth of recent date. The tibia of a human subject gave indica- tions almost as distinct as any even of the fossil bones operated upon. —Mem. and Proceedings of the Chemical Society, Part 8, p. 97. 10. New Project for Reforming the English Alphabet and Orthog- raphy.—On a former occasion, (Vol. xxxrx, p. 197,) we stated the le- gitimate objects of an improved English orthography, and noticed sey- eral proposals for attaining this end. We proceed now to state the plan of Rev. Ezekiel Rich, of Troy, New Hampshire, contained in a memorial to Congress, and published in the Documents of the House of Representatives, 28th Congress, Ist session, Doc. No. 126. 1. Mr. Rich finds in the English language sixteen vowel sounds and twenty four consonant sounds. Among the vowel sounds he reckons u in duke, and 7% in pine ; and among the consonant sounds ch in church, and 7 in just. Of course his object is not to discover the proper simple sounds in the language. 2. Instead of adopting one simple character for each simple sound only, Mr. R. proposes simple characters also for the diphthongs ow and oi, and the double consonants fs and gz, and even for whole words. He thus mars the symmetry of his system. 3. He employs a temporary character, such as the types now in use would permit, to illustrate his principles. But his characters are ill chosen, and indicate no special familiarity of the author with the prob- lem before him. 4. He says nothing of expressing analogous sounds by analogous forms. He seems not to have directed his mind to this point. Yet it is Important. 5. He thinks that in the choice of anew character, great regard should be had to ease and convenience of writing; but he makes no suggestion as to their particular form. 6. He endeavors to simplify the names of the letters by using the sounds of the vowel for their names, and by using double names for the consonants, according as they occur before or after the vowel of the syllable; as dé for the initial sound in dad, and éd for the final sound in rub. We ought to add that the reverend author is zealous ina good cause, and has exhibited in a strong light the defects of our present orthogra- phy, and the desirableness of a reformation. INDEX TO VOLUME XLVII. A. Aborigines of America, distinctive charac- teristics of, 408. Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadel- phia, formation of, 6. — museum and library of, 17. Actonian prize essay, Fownes’s, noticed, 413. Alger’s Phillips’ Mineralogy, reviewed, 333. American Geologists and Naturalists, Asso- . ciation of, proceedings of fifth session, 94. Prof. H. D. Rogers’s address be- fore, 137, 247. Ammonia, formation of, 193. salts of, their action upon sul- phate of lead, 81. Anatase, analysis and figure of, 215. Angelicic acid, discovery of, 196. Anthracite and plumbago near Worcester, Mass., 214. Appalachian basin, geological nomenclature of its strata, 154, Astronomical operations at Pulkova observa- ‘tory, 88. Atmosphere, ancient, constitution of, 105. Atomic weights of simple bodies, 187. B. Bailey, J. W., notice of Ehrenberg’s re- searches on microscopic life, 208. Balmain, M., on combinations analogous to cyanogen, 192. Baltic, fall of water in, 184. Beamish, L., on the fall of water in the Bal- tic and elevation of the Scandinavian coast, 184. Beaumontite, analysis of, 216. characters of, 337. Beck, Dr., note on Graptolites, 372. L. C., Manual of Chemistry noticed, 414. Berzelius’ annual report for 1843, on the progress of chemistry, extracts from, 187. Berzelius, festival in honor of, 218. Bibliographical notices, 198, 408. Biography of William Maclure, 1. Birds, coprolites of, 308. of Crete, Corfu, and the Ionian isl- ands, 186. Birds’ nests, enormous, on the coast of New Holland, 217. Bleaching of oils, 196. Bones, fluorine in, 419. fossil, 116. composition of, 131. Borate of lime, hydrous, analysis of, 215. Boston Society of Natural History, Journal of, noticed, 411. Brachiopoda, cause of their various size and form, 109. British Association, proceedings of, 182. Vol, xtvu, No. 2.—July-Sept. 1844. C. Calcium, atomic weight of, 189. Calculus, gouty, analysis of, 197. Calomel, pulverization of, 193. Calvert, M., on the preparation of quinine, 196. Caoutchouc, how impermeable to gas, 194. Carnegie, Capt., on the earthquake of Anti- gua and Guadaloupe, Feb. 8th, 1843, 182, Carpinchoe, skull of, 418. Cerium, atomic weight of, 190. Chemical equivalents whole numbers, 105. Chlorine, atomic weight of, 188. solubility of in water, 191. Cinchovatine, a new vegetable base, 196. Clerke, S., observations on volcanoes, 182. Climate of the United States, &c., 18, 221, Coal, evaporative power and other proper- ties of, 126. Cobalt, oxide of, 131. aw J. H., on the moon’s mean motion, 24, Comet, new, discovery of, 419. Cook, Capt., account of a bird’s nest in New Holland, 218. Copper, determination of in a solution of a binoxide salt, 193. native, found in Whately, Mass., 322. Coprolites.of birds, 308. analysis of, 310. Corals, composition of, 135. influence of temperature on their distribution, 123. Couthouy, J. P., acknowledgment relative m1 ane charge of plagiarism by Mr. Dana, 122. on the influence of temper- ature on the development of corals, 123. Crania ASgyptiaca, Morton’s, 205. Cretaceous strata of New Jersey, 213. Coments of the sea, causes and effects of, 161. Cyanogen, combinations analogous to, . 192. D. Damour, M., analysis of anatase, 215. Dana, J. D., on the composition of corals, &e., 135. withdrawal of the charge of pla- giarism against Mr. Couthouy, 122. Deane, J., on the discovery of fossil foot- marks, 381. rejoinder of Prof. Hitchcock to, 390. surrejoinder to Prof. Hitchcock, 399. De Candolle’s Prodromus, notice of -the eighth volume, 198. Delesse, A., analysis of Beaumontite, 216. of Sismondine, 217. characters and analysis of Di- pyre, 417. Dioptase, analysis of, 216. Dip of the magnetic needle, 84. 54 422 Dipyre, characters and analysis of, 417. Drift, some singular phenomena of, 132. theories and phenomena of, 264. Drummond, H. M., on the birds of Crete, Corfu, and the Ionian islands, 186. E. Earthquake of Antigua and Guadaloupe, Feb. 8th, 1843, 182. Earthquakes, phenomena and theory of, 182, 274. Ebrenberg’s researches on the distribution of microscopic life, 208, Electricity generated by the action of light upon an iodized silver plate, 190. Endlicher’s Mantissa Botanica, 201. Ethers of the vegetable acids, preparation of, 197. Ethnography, Morton’s Egyptian, 205. Fitna. and its Convulsions, announcement of, 100. in Fauntleroy, R. H., on the condition of equi- ee between living and dead forces, 41. Fielding’s Sertum Plantarum noticed, 204. Fishes of Connecticut, catalogue of, 55. Flinders, Capt., account of a bird’s nest in New Holland, 218. Fluorine in bones, 419. Footmarks, fossil, Prof. Hitchcock’s report on, 292 ; new species, 304. on the sandstone of Hudson River, 314. classification of, 317. Dr. Deane on the discovery of, 381. Forces, equilibrium between living and dead, 241 Forry, S., on the climate of the United States, &c., 18, 221. Fossil footmarks, Prof. Hitchcock’s report on, 292 new species, 304. on the sandstone of Hudson River, 314. , classification of, 317. Dr. Deane on the discovery of, 381. Fossil bones found in South Carolina, 116. composition of, 131. mammalia of Great Britain, 186. Fossils, geographical distribution of, 117. of the tertiary basin of the Middle Rhine, 183. in the cretaceous strata of New Jer- sey, 213. Fownes’s Actonian prize essay noticed, 413. Franklin, Dr., the discoverer of the Gulf Stream, 162. G. Gardner, J., meteorological register at Rio de Janeiro for 1832-43, 290. Gaultin, M., on the preparation of the ethers of the vegetable acids, 197. Gauss’s theory of terrestrial magnetism, comparison of with observation, 278. | INDEX. Geology and magnetism, connection be- tween, 101. Glauberite, characters of, 338. Glucinium, atomic weight of, 189. Gold, native, specimens of, 98. Gouty calculus, analysis of, 197. Graptolites, generic characters of, 373. Gray, A., bibliographical notices, 198. Gulf Stream, theories and phenomena of, 161. H. Hadley, E., notice of Rigg’s Experimental Researches, 211. Haldeman, S. S., on the fresh-water Mol- lusca common to North America and Eu- rope, 99. Hall, Prof. F., biographical notice of, 139. Hall, J.,; on the Erachiophtla and Orthoce- rata, 109. on the geographical distribution of fossils, 117. Hayes, A. A., analysis of hydrous borate of lime, 215, of Glauberite, 338. of Ledererite, 339. Hayes, J. L., on the geographical distribu- tion and phenomena of volcanoes, 127. Heat, distribution of, 18, 221. Heulandite, its identity with Lincolnite, 416. Himley, M., on a new method of precipita- ting the sulphurets of metals, 193. Hincks, W., on the Neottia gemmipara, 185. Hinds, R. H., Botany of the voyage of H. M. ship Sulphur, 202. Hippopotamus, supposed new species of, 406, Hitchcock, E., on the trap tufa or voleanic grit of Connecticut River valley, 103 on some singular phenomena of drift, 132. on birds’ nests seen by Capts. Cook and Flinders on the coast of New Holland, 217. report on Ichnolithology or fos- sil footmarks, 292. description of several new spe- cies, 304. onthe coprolites of birds, 308. on a supposed footmark on the sandstone of Hudson River, 314 on native copper, found in Whately, Mass., 322. on the discovery of yttro-cerite in Massachusetts, 351 rejoinder to Dr. Deane, 390. Dr. Deane’s surrejoinder, 399. on the identity of Lincolnite with Heulandite, 416. Houghton, D., on geological and linear sur- veys, 115 Hydrogen, atomic weight of, 188. Hydrobromic and hydriodic acids, method of obtaining, 192. if Tee, antarctic, 114. Ichnolites, classification of, 317, Ichnolithology, Prof. Hitchcock’s report on, 292. Interest, new method for computing, 51. Iron ores, apparatus and processes for their reduction, 106. INDEX. J Jackson, C. T., analysis of Beaumontite, 337. : of yttro-cerite, 353. formula of pink Scapolite, 418. Johnson, W. R., on the evaporative power and other properties of coal, 126. Jussieu’s Cours Elémentaire de Botanique, 204. K. King, H., on the geology of the valley of the Mississippi, 128. Kunth’s Enumeratio Plantarum noticed, 200. L. Lanthanium, atomic weight of, 190. Lea, I., observations on the Naiades, 104. on fossil Brachiopoda, 109. Lead regions of the Upper Mississippi, 106. sulphate of, action of some alkaline salts upon, 81. ise singular crystals of, from Rossie, N. Y. Ledererite, description of, 339. Lepidoptera, method of preserving, 131. Light, colored, its influence upon plants, 194. its action upon an iodized silver plate productive of electricity, 190. Lime, hydrous borate of, 215. Lincolnite, its identity with Heulandite, 416. Linsley, J. H., catalogue of the fishes of - Connecticut, 55. Link, H. F., Anatomia Plantarum Iconibus Tllustrata, 205. Locke, J., on the connection between geol- ogy and magnetism, 101. on the lead regions of the Upper Mississippi, 106. Loomis, E., on terrestrial magnetism, 278. Lyell, C., on the cretaceous strata of New Jersey, &c., 213. on plumbago and anthracite near Worcester, Mass., 214. M. Maclure, William, memoir of, 1. list of his published works, 16, Magnetic needle, dip of, 84. Magnetism and geology, tween, 101. terrestrial, comparison of Gauss’s theory with observation, 278. Mammalia, fossil, of Great Britain, 186. Manganese and zinc in solution, separation of, 194. connection be- Mantell, G. A., on the Unionide of the coun- try of the Iguanodon, 402. Meet M., on the boiling point of water, 190. Marchand, M., analysis of gouty calculus, 197. Mather, W. W., on the sedimentary rocks of the United States, 95. Maury, M. F., on the Gulf Stream and cur- rents of the sea, 161. Meteorite, mucilaginous, analysis of, 197. Meteorological register at Rio de Janeiro for 1832-48, 290. A23 Microscopie life, Ehrenberg’s researches on, 208. Millon, M., on the solvent power of nitric acid upon metals, 191. method of obtaining hydrobro- mic and hydriodic acids, 192. Mississippi valley, geology of, 128. Mollusea, fresh-water, common to North America and Europe, 99. Moon’s mean motion, secular acceleration of, 324. Morton, 8. G., memoir of William Maclure, 1. Crania Augyptiaca noticed, 205. on a supposed new species of Hippopotamus, 406. Inquiry into the distinctive char- acteristics of the aboriginal race of Amer- ica, noticed, 408. Mucilaginous meteorite, analysis of, 197. Mulder, M., on mucilaginous meteorite, 197. Murchison, R. I., on the fossils of the tertia- ry basin of the Middle Rhine, 183. remarks on Graptolites, 371. N. Naiades, observations on, 104. Needle, magnetic, dip of, 84. Neottia gemmipara, 185. New York Geological Reports reviewed, 354. Nicollet, J. N., biographical notice of, 139. Nitric acid, its solvent power upon metals, 191. Nomenclature of the paleozoic strata of the Appalachian basin, 154. Nooney, J., on the astronomical operations at Pulkova observatory, 88. O. Oils, bleaching of, 196. volatile, adulteration of with alcohol, 197. Opianic acid, discovery of, 196. Ornithoidichnites Redfieldii, a new species, 304. gracillimus, 305, Dane, 306. Orthocerata, peculiarity of their structure, 109. Owen, D. D., review of New York Geolo- gical Reports, 354. Owen, Prof., report on the fossil mammalia of Great Britain, 186. GBiseeall ech Page, C. G., mode of preserving the Lepidop- tera, 131. Paleozoic strata, nomenclature of, 154. Payen, M., on the bleaching of oils, 196. Pelouze, M., on the atomic weights of sim- ple bodies, 188. on the solubility of chlorine in water, 191. Pennine, analysis of, 216. Perkins, G. R., on a new method for com- puting interest, 51. Perry, T. H., on the dip of the magnetic needle, 84. Phillips’ Mineralogy, Alger’s edition, re- viewed, 333. A424 , INDEX: Plants, influence of colored light upon, 194. experiments upon their inorganic el- ements, 194. : Plumbago and anthracite near Worcester, Mass., 214. ; ; Polariscope, natural, of tourmaline and mica, 418. Polstorff, M., experiments upon the inorgan- ic elements of plants, 194. Polygons, measurement of, 380. Potassium, atomic weight of, 189. Pulkova observatory, astronomical opera- tions at, 88. Pyrrhite, description of, 340. blowpipe characters of, 418. Q. Quinine, preparation of, 196. Quinoline, production of, 196. R. Redfield, W. C., on some phenomena of the diluvial period, 120. Rich, E., project for reforming the English alphabet and orthography, 420. Rigg’s Chemical and Agricultural Experi- mental Researches noticed, 211. Rio de Janeiro, meteorological register at, for 1832-43, 290. , Rogers, H. D., address before the Associa- tion of American Geologists and Natural- ists, 137, 247. on the constitution of the earth’s ancient atmosphere, 105. Rogers, R. E., apparatus for the reduction of iron ores, 106. Hosers, W. B., on chemical equivalents, 105. Rowles, M., on the evaporation of water un- der electrical insulation, 190. Ss. Salts, alkaline, action of on sulphate of lead, 81 Sauroidichnites abnormis, a new species, 307. Scandinavian coast, elevation of, 184. Scapolite, pink, formula of, 418. Sedimentary rocks of the United States, 95. Spee Treatise on Mineralogy reviewed, 46. Silliman, B., Jr., on the intrusive trap of the new red sandstone of Connecticut, 107. ag on a natural polariscope, Silver, atomic weight of, 189. Sismondine, a new mineral, 217. Smith, D. B., Principles of Chemistry noti- ced, 414. Smith, H. L., discovery of a new comet, 419. Smith, J. L., on the action of some alkaline salts upon sulphate of lead, 81. _ on fossil bones, 116, 131. on oxide of cobalt, 131. notice of Berzelius’s Annual Report for 1843, 187, Soubeiran, M., on the pulverization of calo- mel, 193. Succinic acid, production of, 196. Sulphur acid, new, 191. Sulphurets of metals, new method of pre- cipitating, 193. Sulphuric acid, tension of, 191. ay Talc from Chamouni, analysis of, 216. Temperature, laws and phenomena of, 19 e¢ seq. influence on vegetable geog- raphy, 221. Terraced banks of Connecticut River, 98. Teschemacher, J. E., on singular crystals of lead from Rossie, N. Y., 417. on the blowpipe char- acters of Pyrrhite, 418. Ticknor, G., letter of Baron von Waltershau- sen to, 100. Trap, intrusive, of the new red sandstone of Connecticut, 107. Trap tufa of Connecticut River valley, 103. Troglodytes niger, characters and habits of, 411. U; Unionide of the country of the Iguanodon, 402. Unio Valdensis, description of, 403. Uranium, atomic weight of, 189. Vv. Volcanoes, geographical distribution and phenomena of, 127. of Vesuvius and the Solfatara, 182. Volney, M., his theories of temperature, 232. Ww. Walpers’ Repertorium Botanices Systemati- cee, 200. Waltershausen, Baron von, letter respecting his “ Etna and its Convulsions,’’ 100. Water, boiling point in different vessels, 190. evaporation of under electrical insu- Jation, 190. solubility of chlorine in, 191. Webber, S., on the alluvial banks of Con- necticut River, 98. Wgbster, N., his opinions on temperature, 28. Weights, atomic, of simple bodies, 187. Whitloeks G. C., on the measure of polygons, 0. Weigmann, M., experiments upon the inor- ganic elements of plants, 194. Wilkes, C., on the formation of antarctic ice, 114. . Winds, direction of, 40. Winthrop, J., catalogue of objects of natural history, 282. Ne Mae getites discovery of in Massachusetts, 51. analysis of, 353. Z. Zinc and manganese in solution, separation of, 194. aad ACKNOWLEDGMENTS TO CORRESPONDENTS, FRIENDS AND STRANGERS. Remarks.—This method of acknowledgment has been adopt- ed, because it is not always practicable to write letters, where they might be reasonably expected; and still more difficult is it to prepare and insert in this Journal, notices of all the books, pamph- lets, &c., which are kindly presented, even in cases, where such no- tices, critical or commendatory, would be appropriate ; for it is often equally impossible to command the time requisite to frame them, or even to read the works; still, judicious remarks, from other hands, would usually find both acceptance and insertion. In public, it is rarely proper to advert to personal concerns; to excuse, for instance, any apparent neglect of courtesy, by pleading the unintermitting pressure of labor, and the numerous calls of our fellow-men for information, advice, or assistance, in lines of duty, with which they presume us to be acquainted. The apology, implied in this remark, is drawn from us, that we may not seem inattentive to the civilities of many respectable persons, au- thors, editors, publishers, and others, both at home and abroad. It is still our endeavor to reply to all letters which appear to require an answer ; although, as a substitute, many acknowledgments are made in these pages, which may sometimes be, in part, retrospective.— Eds. SCIENCE.—FOREIGN. ~Bulletin de |’Academie royale des sciences et belles lettres de Bruxelles, Année, 1842. ‘Tom. ix, lre partie, 2m partie, et tom. x, lre partie, de Ja Academie. Bruxelles. Nouveaux memoires de |’Academie Royale des Bruxelles. Tome. xvi, 1843. From the same; received Jannary, 1844. Bulletin de la Societé Geologique de France. Paris. Tome dou- zierne, 1840 a 1841, de la societe. Annales des sciences Geologiques, publiées par M. A. Riviere premiere année. Paris. From the editor, with a proposal to ex- change. Revue des fossiles du government de Moscow, par C. Fischer de Waldheim. No. 2. Fossiles du terrain oolithique. Extrait du Bull. de la Soc. imper. des Natural. de Moscow. Tome xvi, 1843. From Chas. Cramer, Esq. |. 2 Geology ; by D. Thomas Ansted, M. A., Prof. of Geology in King’s Coll. London. Part. I. Feb. 1844. Rec’d Feb. 27. Experimental researches on the compound nature of carbon, by Robert Riggs, F. R.S. Octavo, pp. 264. London, 1844. Smith, Elder & Co. From the publishers. Sketch of the Analytical engine invented by Charles Babbage ; by L. F. Menabrea of Turin, with notes by the translator. London, 1843. From Mr. Babbage.—Addition to the memoir of M. Men- abrea, on the Analytical engine. Scientific Memoirs, vol. iii, part 11, pp. 566. Thoughts on the causes of compass variation, by Peter Cunning- ham, surgeon R. N. London, 1843. From Dr. Mantell. Received Nov. 1843. Manchester Geological Society. Fifth annual meeting, Oct. 26, 1843. From the society, Jan. 1844. Report of a committee appointed to consider the rules by which the nomenclature of zoology may be established on a uniform and permanent basis. Feb. 1842. From the British Association. Report of the mineralogical observations made on the isle of St. Helen, in the river St. Lawrence, by John S. M‘Cord. Mon- treal, 1842. ; Haudbuch einer Geschichte der natur. Von Profs. G. Bronn, Erster, and Zweiter Bauds. Svo. pp. 448 and 836. Verbreitung und Hinflus des Mikroskopischen Lebens in Sid- und Nord-Amerika, Ein vortrag von C. G. Ehrenberg, (nebst 4 colorirten Kupfertafeln.) 4to. pp. 158. Berlin, 1848. From the author. Magnetical Investigations, by the Rev. William Scoresby, B. D., F.R.S., and E. &c. &c. Part 1, Svo. pp. 92. London, 1839. Longman & Co. Do. Part 2, 8vo. pp. 364. From the author. On the connexion of Geology with Terrestrial Magnetism, by Evan Hoppins, C. E., F.G.S. 24 plates. London. R. and J. E. Taylor. 1844. 8vo. pp. 129. List of English fossils. Svo. London, 1843. From Dr. Man- tell. Revista Ligure: Genova. Forwarded regularly by C. Edwards Lester, Esq., U. S. Consul at Genoa. 1843. Memoires of William Smith, LL. D., author of the map of the strata of England and Wales, by John Phillips, F. R. S. London, 1844. From the author. Memoires de la Societé Royales des Antiquaires du Nord. 1840- 1843. Section Americaine. Copenhagne, 1843. From the society. SCIENCE.—DOMESTIC. Transactions of the American Philosophical Society, vol. ix, part 1, 1844. From the society. 9g 3 Tables of organic remains from the geology of the fourth district of New York. From and by James Hall. A System of Mineralogy, by James D. Dana, A. M. Second edi- tion, octavo; pp. 633. New York and London. Wiley & Putnam, 1844, From the author. Monograph of the fresh water univalve Mollusca of the United States, by 8. Stehman Haldeman. No. 7, 1844. ‘Two copies from the author. Zoological contributions, by S. S. Haldeman. No. 2, 1843. Phil. From the author. Le Sueur’s philosophy of the Pantonomic system of the universe. Book first. 1843. Hartford. From the author. Observations on vegetable and animal physiology, by W. L. Wright, M. D. Petersburg, 1843. From the author. On the organic functions of animals, by Jas. Moultrie, M. D. Charleston, S. C. 1844. Two copies from the author. Mr. Wheelwright’s report on the steam navigation in the Pacific, with an account of the coal mines of Chili and Panama. 1843. The Encyclopedia of Chemistry, by J. C. Booth. Philadelphia. Nos. 3, 4. 1844. No. 18, of Conrad’s Unionide. From J. R. Dobson. Two copies. Meteorological register. From Roswell Marsh. MISCELLANEOUS.—DOMESTIC. Dr. Haddock’s discourse before the Rhetorical Society in the Theological Seminary at Bangor, Me. Aug. 30, 1843. From the author. An address delivered before the Railroad Convention at Lebanon, N. H., Oct. 10th 1843, by Charles H. Haddock, D. D. Hanover, 1843. From the author. The key to nature’s Laboratory, by Smith Oliver. New York. An address before'the Alumni Society of the University of Nash- ville, Oct. 3d, 1843, by the Hon. John Bell, A.M. Nashville, 1844. Speech of Cassius M. Clay against the annexation of Texas to the United States of America, Dec. 30th, 1843. Lexington. Annual report of the Commissioner of Patents for 1843. Wash- ington. From the Hon. H. W. Ellsworth. Report of Capt. G. W. Hughes of the Topographical Engineers, relative to the working of copper ore. April 9th, 1844. Washing- ton, D. C. Report of the late F’. R. Hassler relative to the operations and condition of the coast survey. Jan. 31st, 1844. Annual report of the Secretary of the treasury on the state of the finances. Dec. 6th, 1843. From Hon. J. H. Lumpkin. Report of the committee on roads and canals, to the 28th Con- gress. April 3d, 1844. 4 Letter of Mr. Walker of Mississippi relative to the annexation of Texas. Washington, D. C Report of the committee on public charitable institutions to the House of Representatives of Massachusetts. Address before the society of Natural History of the Auburn Theological Seminary, Aug. 15th, 1843, by James Hall, A. M. Auburn, 1844. From the author. Prairie Farmer, Chicago. March—April, 1844. Army and Navy Chronicle. Washington, Thursday March 7th, and Feb. 8th. Transactions of the historical and literary committee of the Amer- ican Philosophical Society. Vol. iii, 1843. Phil. From J. R. Tyson, Esq. Fifty seventh annual report of the regents of the university of the state of New York. Albany, 1844. Southern Literary Messenger, from Nov. 1843 to May, 1844. Richmond, Va. ~The Enquirer. Vol. i, No 3. Dec. 1843. Albany. Compendium of the enumeration of the inhabitants and statistics of the United States. Washington. From the Secretary of State. Proceedings of the American Antiquarian Society, at their thirty first annual meeting at Worcester, Mass., Oct. 1842, and at their fifty second semi-annual meeting at Boston, May, 1843. Twenty third annual report of the board of directors of the Mer- cantile Library Association, Clinton Hall, New York. Jan. 1844, Two copies. Twenty fifth annual report of the directors of the New York Insti- tution for the instruction of the deaf and dumb. 1844. New York. From D. Bartlett. Annual report of the trustees of the Perkins institution and Mas- sachusetts asylum for the blind. 1844. Eighteenth annual report of the board of managers of the Prison Discipline Society. Boston, 1843. - Report of the Pennsylvania Hospital for the insane, for 18433 by T. S. Kirkbridge, M. D. Phil. 1844. : Review of Dr. Caldweld’s pamphlet, entitled Physiology vindi- cated, by Robert Peter, M.D. Cincinnati, 1843. Lecture introductory to a course of chemistry in the University of Pennsylvania, Nov. 7th, 1843, by Robert Hare, Phil. 1843. Three copies from the author. District School Journal. Feb.—April, 1844. Albany. Lecture before the Boston Historical Society, by President 'Tal- mage of the Oglethorpe University. Arts, sciences, and civilization anterior to Greece and Rome, by R. W. Haskins, A. M. Buffalo, 1844. From the author. An examination into the charter of Trinity church. 5 Analytical report of a series of experiments in mesmeric somnil- cequism, performed by an association of gentlemen, with speculations on its phenomena, by Dr. Drake. Louisville, 1844. Two years experience in the employment of magnetic electricity as a remedial agent in disease, by Dr. N. Walkly. Tuscaloosa, Ala. 1844. From the author. Medical almanac for 1844. New York. Prince’s catalogue of trees. New York, 1844. Catalogue of Jefferson Medical Coll. of Philadelphia. Phil. 1844. Catalogue of the University of the state of Alabama. 1844. From Prof. A. P. Barnard. Catalogue of the members and library of the Geethean Literary Society of Marshall Coll. Petersburg, Pa. 1844. Catalogue of Western Reserve Coll. From Prof. St. John. 1844. A decree in chancery. Constitution, by-laws, &c. of the Maryland Historical Society. Baltimore, 1844. American statistical association. Boston, 1844. Address on insanity by Dr. White. Albany, N. Y. A letter to a lady in France in answer to inquiries concerning late imputations of dishonor upon the United States, by T. G. Cary, Esq. From the author. Prospectus of the Trinity coal and mining company. New York, 1844. From Dr. Page. Love to the doctrines of the Bible an essential element of Chris- tian character, by Rev. Ed. W. Hooker. Phil. 1844. The dead are the living—a funeral sermon for Mrs. Ward Staf- ford, by Rev. Dr. Cox. New York, 1843. The law of Christian rebuke—a sermon delivered at Middletown, Conn., by the Rev. J. Burt, before the anti-slavery convention of ministers and other Christians. Oct. 18th, 1843. A discourse by Rev. 8. Elliott, Jr., on occasion of the fifth anni- versary of the Georgia Historical Society. Feb. 1844. Supplement to the spirit of the nineteenth century, for 1843, by Robert J. Breckinridge. - Modern school geography with an atlas, by Wm. C. Woodbridge, and Woodbridge’s and Willard’s universal geography, with modern and ancient maps. Hartford, 1844. From the author. Report of the commissioner of the general land office relative to the probable cost per mile of surveying township lines to the mineral lands on Lake Superior. May 4, 1844. From Hon. L. Lyon. Memorial of the citizens of Cincinnati to the Congress of the Uni- ted States, relative to the navigation of the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers. From Paul Audubon, Esq. 1844. A letter to the people of the state of Illinois on the subject of public credit, by a citizen of Chicago. ‘Report of the committee on naval affairs to whom were referred certain communications from the war and navy department, on the 6 subject of large iron wrought guns. May 15,1844. From Hon. O. Baker, M. C Sermon preached on the day of the annual fast, April 5th, 1844, by Rev. Lyman H. Atwater of Fairfield. From the author. Seventh annual catalogue of the Med. Institute of Louisville. 1844. Annual report of the Connecticut State Colonization Society, adopted at their meeting held in New Haven, May 22, 1844. Hartford. Speech of his Excellency, Roger S. Baldwin, governor of Con- necticut, to the legislature of the state, May, 1844. The Prairie Farmer, late the Union Agriculturalist and Western Prairie Farmer; edited by J. S. Wright and J. Ambrose Wright, June, 1844. From the editors, with a notice of this Journal. Chi- cago. Vol. iv, No. 6. Analysis of cotton wool, cotton seed, indian corn, and the yam potatoe, made for the Black Oak Agricultural Society, by Prof. C. U. Shepard. Charleston, 1844. From the author. Constitution and by-laws of the Mechanical Institute of St. Louis, with the names of the officers of the Institute for the year 1843. St. Louis. Physiology vindicated in a critique on Liebig’s animal chemistry, by Charles Caldwell, M. D. From the author. Louisville, Ky. MISCELLANEOUS.—FOREIGN. Report of the Medical Missionary Society. Macoa, China. NEWSPAPERS.—DOMESTIC. New York Daily Tribune, April, 1844—discovery of cobalt in Missouri. American Intelligencer, Phil., April, 1844. Baltimore Clipper, Nov. 1843. Boston Cultivator, April, 1844. Brooklyn Weekly Eagle, with a meteorological register for Feb. 1844, from W.O. Bourne. Onondaga Standard, March, 1844, with an ac- count of the best way of making salt. Sentinel of Freedom, New- ark, N. J. Boston Mercantile Journal, with a notice of this Jour- nal. Albany Evening Journal. The Republic, Zanesville, Ohio. New York Daily Tribune. Louisville Journal, April, 1844, from H. C. Banks. Tri-weekly Cincinnati Gazette, Jan. 1844. New Orleans Commercial Bulletin, Dec. 1843. Bristol County Demo- crat, March, 1844. The Retina, from E. A. Thompson. Saratoga Republican, from Mr. Root. Baltimore Patriot, March 7th, 1844. NEWSPAPERS.—FOREIGN. Columbo Observer, Jan. 4th, 1844, with a notice of this Journal. The Morning Star, published at Jaffna, March, 1843. The Morn- ing Chronicle, March 7th, 1844. London. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF SCIENCE AND ARTS. CONDUCTED BY PROFESSOR SILLIMAN AND BENJAMIN SILLIMAN, Jr. VOL. XLVII—No. 1.—JULY, 1844. - FOR APRIL, MAY, AND JUNE, 1844. NEW HAVEN: ~ Sold by B. NOYES.—Boston, LITTLE & BROWN and W. H. 8S. JORDAN.— New Vor, WILEY & PUTNAM, C.S. FRANCIS & Co., and G. 8. SILLI-. MAN.—Philadelphia, CAREY & HART and J. S. LITTELL.—Baltimore, Md., N. 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Published at New Haven, Oct. 8, 1844. _ TO CORRESPONDENTS. pea Exwe Bibpsrisents on the Solar Spectrum.—We are obliged to omit, fe room, a paper by Prof. Oumsrep, describing a series of very beautiful e: ee on the colors of the solar spectrum, first performed by Mr. Forrest Suzr PHERD. - The communication will appear in our next number. : Papers, “on the analysis of the Coprolites of Birds,” by Dr. 8. ‘ pt ana «0 4 _ servations upon the Valley of the Jordan and the Dead Sea,” by Mr. J. D. Sher- — wood, will have an insertion in the January No.; and also communications ees Prof. Strong, Prof. Bailey, Mr. J, D. Dana, and Prof. Dewey. — Authors’ Copies of Communications —We wish it understood dink amsetpe copies of every original communication, published in this Journal, are at the , disposal ot the author, on making known his desire to have them. 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